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nickysurfer28 · 4 years

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Fierce Obsession

Pairing: Bryce Langley X female reader ( Y/N)

Warning ⚠️: 18+ adults only. Smut,unprotected intercourse,nudity,swearing.

Part 2:

You arrived at Ogden Osbourne’s estate. Much larger then the guest house’s.

The maid greeted you at the door. She led you to Ogdens’s office study where he felt more comfortable receiving his IV meds. He greeted you. “Welcome, Y/N.. I see you’ve found your way to the house with the map I provided you with.”

You placed your med bag down next to the table. “Yeah it was pretty easy to follow also it was a interesting walk as well.” Ogden had a look of concern and laughed. “Don’t tell me you bumped into Bryce?” You sighed. “Yes I did and view of his penis.” Ogden couldn’t help but laugh some more.

“ I’m so sorry you had to see that, my grandson is just like his grandpa.. a free spirit. He means no harm.” You just brushed it off and continued to get his IV meds ready. “It’s alright nothing I can’t handle.”

Ogden was on his last treatment of chemotherapy for his prostate cancer. Though he did have surgery to slow down the cancer. The doctor insisted at least one more treatment. Since Ogden was a billionaire he could have his treatments in the comforts of his home. You set up the bag of Docetaxel (Taxotere) which shown to help men live longer, on average. Also slow the cancer growth and reduce symptoms. He watched as you finished up and got the IV pump ready to start.

“Alright..everything is ready to go.” He smiled . “Thank you, Y/N, this old man really appreciate’s you greatly.” You nodded. “It won’t take long and then the piggy back of normal saline should start after to flush.” He nodded in agreement.

“So I’ll be over right here in the porch area if you need me.” You figured you could catch up on some book reading. “Y/N before you head to the porch, would you like to join me and my family for a lunch brunch out in the back lawn area?” You were going to say no because you knew Bryce would be there but your heart ache for this sweet old man. “Um.. well okay I guess since I have nothing else to do after this.” He smiled with delight. “Wonderful!” You left him to his treatment so he could rest. No sooner then you thought the IV treatment was done. You cleaned up and Ogden went to get ready for the lunch. Ogden suggest you wear some nice since he forgot to mention also people for charity might be there as well.

You headed back to your guesthouse. You figured since it was a lovely day out you could wear that cute floral dress you didn’t get to wear over spring. You easily paired it with brown ankle boots. The only thing you were worried about was Bryce. “I hope he doesn’t pull any stunts that fucking perv.” But deep down you did find him somewhat attractive. No way you were gonna let him know that.

You found your way over to the back lawn area where tables were arrange neatly with fine white cloth’s and intricate florals to top them.

Ogden waved at you and greeted you over to the table to introduce you to his family. “Ah..Y/N I like you to meet my family, this is my daughter, Mrs. Langley, my granddaughter Maya, and of course Bryce ,my grandson.” They all greeted you and you smiled.

You noticed Bryce had a empty seat next to him. He was signaling you to next next to him. Also it was the only seat open at the table. “Shit.” You mumbled under your breath.

He had such a devilish smile across his face. You had no choice. You sat yourself on the chair trying to keep your distance from Bryce. He leaned in close to you. He whispered. “I heard that.” He winked at you.

There were some other’s that joined the table you were guessing there were the people for the charity foundation Ogden mentioned about. They were all busy chatting. You felt slightly uncomfortable being so close to Bryce.

You noticed his hand eased its way up your dress. “That’s a pretty dress Y/N.” He kept sliding his hand up your thigh. “Excuse me Bryce..could you move your hand?” He didn’t like that answered. “Come on Y/N just a little.” He had such a big grin on his face.

You grabbed his hand to move it away. “Bryce..don’t and I didn’t give you permission, and I’m not even your girlfriend.” He raised his eyebrow. “Ssh..you could be..if you want.” He fought with your hands to get back under your dress.

“Bryce..don’t..your family is sitting all round the table!” He ignored you and continued anyways. He leaned in towards your ear and moved your hair with his other hand. “Let me have a little taste..sweetness.” Your face was turning bright red. His mother noticed your reaction. “Is everything alright Y/N?”. She didn’t seem bothered by Bryce’s behavior as she was too busy chugging down her champagne. “I’m alright Mrs. Langley, thank you for asking.” You chuckled trying to move Bryce’s hand out from under your dress. The family didn’t seem to notice what was going on they were too busy making some charity deal. Bryce kept on.

The waiter came by with the lunch and more drinks in hand. You were trying to act cool and calm. But Bryce somehow found his fingers between you panties. “Ooh I think I found it..hmm.” Bryce had such a stupid smirk on his face like he found a sweet prize. “Bryce please don’t.” You got a hold of his hand.

But he wouldn’t budge. You had to think quick. “How am I going to get this fucker’s hand out from my dress.” You went straight for his crotch and squeeze his balls. He grunted in pain. “Grr..shit!”. You gave him a look.

He looked displeased. You squeezed harder as to claim dominance. He finally removed his hand from under your dress. “That’s what you get for putting your hand under my dress you perv.”

He didn’t seem bothered as he sucked on his finger to taste you. “This sick fuck.” Soon enough lunch was done. You couldn’t wait to get out of there. You said goodbye to Ogden and his family except for Bryce who you ignored completely. You told Ogden you see him on Monday since he gave you the weekends off.

Before you could leave Ogden wanted to ask you something. “Y/N would you like to join us for charity/birthday party this Saturday night?” You really wanted to say no. Plus what just happened with Bryce you didn’t want to be around that sleaze-ball.

“I really don’t want to intrude..really.. it okay but I rather not.” Ogden begged you. “Oh please Y/N it be would a delight to have you there, since you help so much.” Bryce chimed in. “Yes..Y/N it would be a delight to have you there.” This fucking guy you couldn’t stand him right now.

Maya interrupted. “It’s gonna be my birthday too! It would be fun! I promise!”. You felt guilty. “Okay..I’ll go.” Ogden was pleased. Maya was smiling and she came over to hug you. “Thanks..I promise it’s gonna be fun.” She squealed and hugged you again.

Saturday Night.

The Saturday night of the party came quicker then you thought. You realized you didn’t have anything formal to wear to the party. The door bell rang. You went to answer it. One of Ogden’s butler had a big white box in hand. “Hello, a gracious gift from Mr. Osbourne, he thought you might need this.”

You were confused. “Um.. thanks and tell Ogden thank you for the gift.” The butler left and you closed the door. You wonder what this could be. You open the big white box. There was a simple classic black dress.

A note from Ogden “Thank you for everything so far, you don’t know how much it means to me. I think you might need this and I hope it’s the right size.”

Well he was right. The dress fit perfectly and you had some nice black pumps to go with it. You finished getting ready and the driver was on time to greet you outside. You arrived shortly to the estate.

The party seem more extravagant then you thought. You entered thru the house walking thru looking at all the donors of the charity. You found your way in the back lawn where there was large white tents decorated with lights and charms.

There was announcement over the speakers. A presidential song started playing. There above was Ogden Osbourne with his family making there grande entrance. They worked there way down the marble stone stairs case. Greeting everyone who came to the party.

Ogden greeted you. “Ah, Y/N you made it. I see the dress fits you just fine.” You laughed. “Yes.. thank you so much for the gift.” Ogden nod. “It was my pleasure Miss Y/N.” Everyone was seated for the dinner portion. You decided to sit at another table to avoid Bryce.

You noticed Bryce was looking for you. Luckily the table you sat at was behind some white curtains so he couldn’t see you. “This fucker.” You thought yourself.

You drank your champagne and ate your dinner quietly while talking with other guests at the table. The night was going smoothly until the music started playing and everyone was heading towards the dance floor.

You thought you lost Bryce. You felt these large hands wrap around your waist. He whispered into your ear. “Hmmm you smell lovely, and that dress..Wow!” He twirled you around to get a better look. His eyes wandered up and down your body. You noticed his tux didn’t seem right.

He was wearing some kind of cloth garment around his waist. “What are you wearing Bryce?” He laughed. “It’s from an ancient tribe.. it traditional.” You weren’t that excited about it as he was. You try to step away. Bryce grab your hand. “Wait! Y/N that’s not the best part about it!” He opened the long cloth revealing his penis. Your face blushed with heat. “Bryce!,You’re not wearing any underwear!” He kept laughing. “What!? You don’t like what you see?!”. You try not to gaze too long.

However your eyes focused to his well endowed penis. You thought to yourself. “Wow his packing.” Oh gosh snap out of it Y/N. His smile was much bigger knowing you were looking at his dick. “It’s my penis...you wanna touch it.” You face turned bright red. “No thanks Bryce.”

He smile disappeared. “Why not?!” You try to walk away. Bryce reaches out for your arm and pulled you back. “Bryce!” You yelled.

“I’m sorry Y/N..please let’s call it a truce.” Bryce put on a heartfelt grin. You sighed. “Fine..what’s the truce?”. Bryce lead you to the champagne table. He ask the waiter for two glasses of champagne.

You weren’t really paying attention you got slightly distracted by some group of people on the dance floor. Bryce quickly drop some liquid acid into your champagne glass. He tapped your shoulder. “Hey, Y/N..here a truce on a glass of champagne..a fresh start.” He had a big smirk on his face. “Alright Bryce..truce.. and no funny stuff.”

He nodded in agreement and you both toast on a truce. He graciously chugged down his glass quickly watching you as you were about to drink yours.

You thought to yourself. “This champagne should I even drink this?,Maybe just a little sip.” He kept his eyes on you like he was waiting for something. “Come on Y/N chug it!” He kept on encouraging you.

You just took a sip instead. He look displeased. Luckily Mrs.Langley came by to ask him to say hello to some charity people. While his mother kept him distracted you threw the rest of the champagne in the grass. He turned around to see the glass was empty. “Alright Y/N!” He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you in for a hug. He inhaled your sweet picnic summer daisies scent.

“Hmm you smell so good oh and by the way I put some liquid acid in your champagne.” You weren’t surprised. You whispered back. “Nice try, but I didn’t drink the rest of it.” You giggled. He didn’t seem bother but intrigued by your sassy ways. You couldn’t help but look into his piercing blue eyes. He had a big smirky smile on his. Bryce crashed his lips onto yours. He pulled you in tighter. You wrapped your arms around his neck. You snapped back. “Wait...Bryce..I..I can’t.”

He looked confused. “Why not?” You couldn’t look at him. You couldn’t tell him you liked the kiss. “ I have to go Bryce..Goodnight.” You didn’t even want to stay for Maya’s birthday after party. You walked away and started on your path back to the guest house. It got darker while you walked thru the grassy meadow. The only light was the bright full moon in the night sky. You heard some noises in the near by brushes. It startled you a little bit. “Maybe it’s just a animal or something.” You heard the noise again.

You started picking up speed the best you could though walking in those heels didn’t help. You threw your heels off and decided to walk with your bare feet. A dark shadow jumped out of the bushes. You started running towards the large tree. It was too late the dark figure grabbed you and placed you on the ground.

“Who are you?!...what do you want?”. You pushed your back up against the tree. He started laughing. You recognize that laugh. He pulled off his black mask. It was Bryce. “Oh Y/N you should of see your face!”. He kept laughing. “Seriously!...Bryce what the hell is your problem?” He had a dark look in his eyes.

He came towards you. He sniff your scent in like a wild animal. “Hmm..you smell so good.” You could see lust in his eyes. You eased yourself up to stand slowly. “Bryce you’re making me nervous.” He moved closer to you pinning you against the tree. He face was so close you could smell his breath.

“You know what I want..Y/N.” His hands wandered up down your body. He grabbed a hold of your ass squeezing it tightly. You squealed slightly. “Ah!..Bryce.” He quickly crashed his lips onto yours. His tongue feverishly searching for yours. You were trembling. He removed his long cloth revealing his hard cock. He quickly pushed up your black dress and pulling you panties off with ease.

“I want you Y/N.” He pushed himself inside you filling your core. You could feel him stretching your insides. He wrapped your legs around his body cupping your ass with his hands. He begin thrusting deep and hard. “Bryce...” you couldn’t say anything else as you felt the hot flush flowing thru your body. You caved in wrapping your arms around his neck to gain balance.

The only sound out in the grassy meadows was his hips smacking into you. He thrusted deeper and deeper. He buried his face into your breast kissing and nibbling them. He kissed your lips. He grunted as he thrusted some more.

“Fuck!..you feel so good Y/N.” You moaned in sweet pleasure. He had a devilish smile on his face knowing you were enjoying his hard cock inside you. He pushed you tighter against the tree. He pounded deeper inside you.

“Oh god..Bryce I’m gonna cum.” He kissed and sucked on your neck. You could feel a smile growing on his face. He loved that you were enjoying it. He whispered in your ear. “Yes..Y/N cum my hard cock.” Sure enough you felt your climax rising. His thrust became more powerful and he picked up the speed. Your head tilted back into the tree you dug your fingers in his back. He growled. “Shit.” He spilled his hot seed deep inside your core. His body slightly collapsed against you. You could see his face was sincere. His blue eyes looked heartfelt. He gently kissed your lips. “Y/N..all I wanted was you.” You stared at him for a minute. “I did too...” He kissed your lips once more and held you in a warm embrace.

Note: Most of this pictures I found on google/search some were linked to different websites. I just put some of these pics together like a little mood board. I hope you like. I know it might not be perfect but I try. Be kind. Thanks I appreciate it. Reblog and share if you like.

@denisemarieangelina @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @daliaevans @star-spangled-beard-burn @pine-fresh-kirk @denissjmaddox @jms358 @amazonx @nbarnes @whiskey-cokenfanfic @iamwhoiamtmblr @chris-butt @chris-evans-indian-fanfic @shotsbyshae @shellbilee @brilliantkey @branflakes82 @comebackandhauntme21 @trottae17 @megan-meg-chrisevanswifey @royallyprincesslilly @princess-evans-addict @thatgirly81 @katiew1973 @kailyndavillier @kelbabyblue @kellyn1604 @jtargaryen18 @grace-superpowers @ok-buchanan @what-is-your-plan-today @bit-of-a-timelord @littlefiercequeen @gothamlovr91 @captainchrisstan @captaincrazyexlover @nomadevans82 @iguessweallcrazyithinktho @optimistic-dinosaur-nacho @rolling-with-mahomies @timpanie @bellaireland1981 @mizcaptainphoenix @deidrashouseofpain @twittytelly @waywardodysseys @lovinevans @trishevans @nekoannie-chan @donutloverxo @tanyam93

#fierce people #fierceobsession brycelangleyxfemalereader brycelangleyfanfic part2 chrisevans

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bookworm242 · 5 years

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After much consideration...

I have come to a conclusion. The Marvel Fandom wish to return to 2012 BUT they want to bring all the new characters minus their emotional baggage... Sort of... (they want the character development and fluff).

I have a solution for this.

I propose we create an entire new reality for the Avengers consisting of the following:

Tony and Clint live on coffee (Clint replaced milk with coffee in his cereal one time and got banned from the fancy coffee machine for two months)

Natasha and Clint have their own language consisting of Russian, signing, gibberish and facial features

Clint lives in the vents

Thor lives on pop tarts

Loki is baby sat by everyone and treated as the overdramatic emo teenager ("where is that screaming coming from?" "Loki, someone ate the left over pizza.")

The Science Kids and Science Bros become the Mythbusters. There are many explosions.

Movie nights, chores lists and family meals are expected

There's no unnecessary romance

Everyone tries to become Morgan's favourite (Peter's number one, then Natasha. I refuse to believe otherwise.)

Prank wars are a common occurrence

Casual joking games turn into full out competitions

Avengers start an ultimate frizebee and dodge ball team as a joke. They end up getting banned from the park (which Tony then buys just because)

Family meals are chaos

Everyone teasing Peter about girls at school. Natasha shuts it down when she sense uncomfort.

Pietro is Thors speedy delivery boy

Wanda and Pietro sibling bonding

Visits from the Gaurdians (Quit hating on Quill. How would you react if the love of your life died just so their parent could add something to their ugly bracelet?)

Rocket follows Bucky around for his arm and Sam records it all

Shuri and Groot take digs at Peter

Gamora and Natasha compare weapons

Nebula hangs with Rhodey

Mantis and Thor get along weirdly well. It's probably the love of pop tarts

Val is sort of like "must protect adorable bug with my life"

Clint brings home a unicorn that Thor befriends after it insults Loki’s hair and fake horns

Training sessions gone wrong. Took them three hours to get Steve unstuck from the wall because everyone was laughing too hard

They all live in Avengers Tower that somehow manages to fit everyone.

Occasional visits from the X-men. Pietro and Peter fight over Wanda.

Fury bans a drinking contest between Logan and Thor. Something about not wanting the god of thunder and an irritable lighting rod drunk

Carol visits with Goose

Shuri and Peter feed Goose the most random assortment of objects. Thor joins occasionally.

The Fighting Grandpa Squad trying to figure out their way through the 21st century

Morning runs between Steve, Sam and Buck: "On your left." "On your right."

Sam retaliates by flying past them yelling "ON YOUR ABOVE!!!" He's got a sign flying behind him made by Tony.

Baking sessions are a nightmare

Team outings that usually result in them being banned from everywhere

Family holiday

Trying to find something Peter can't stick on.

Lady's only brunches where the woman relax and swap stories about the idiotic men in their lives. Shuri shows them the video of T'Challa kicking the suit

Scott sitting on people's shoulder to get places. Usually pretends to be their conscience. Peter freaked out.

Thor adopted a black cat with green eyes and a grey paw and called it Loki junior.

Natasha too has a black cat. His names T'Chacha. T'Challa loves him. Claims he is T'Chacha's uncle.

Peter has a golden retriever named Thor. Thor loves him.

Special days are... Interesting.

Valentines day is full of bad pick up lines that progressively get worse throughout the day

Christmas is as normal as it can get in Avengers Tower until people start opening gifts. Then it's just ridiculous. People get weirder and weirder gifts every year.

JARVIS is the AI

Defenders show up occasionally

Clint tries signing to Matt.

Ned and MJ are unofficially adopted by the Avengers

May visits occasionally

Peter gave Happy the nephew equivalent of the dad talk. Happy was just trying not to laugh throughout

Strange and Wong visit every Tuesday.

Villains send post cards

The Fantastic 4 visited one time and Jonny and Steve decided to mess with everyone. Bucky and Sam did not appreciate that.

Clint stole a penguin. No one knows where from.

Everyone goes to Bruce for everything. He ends up crying into Thors shoulder because "I'M NOT THAT TYPE OF DOCTOR!!!"

Black Fridays are a nightmare

Nerf wars are dangerous.

The assassin squad win every year

Hide-and-seek is ridiculous. Steve used a metal detector one time and Bucky retaliated by removing his arm

Bucky’s got his goats

He named one Steve because it's a reckless idiot and keeps running into walls

Assassin Squad make dead body jokes and Peter's still not sure if they're joking or not

Pietro calls Clint old man

Clint adopts everyone and everything. "Clint! Stop recruiting people!" "But this one's got potent..." "THAT'S A PIGEON!"

No one knows where Clint is getting all the animals from

Pietro gives everyone nicknames

Steve and Natasha trade Mom Friend duties

Tony wants to recruit Cassie

Scott is offended that Tony acknowledges Cassie but not him

Training sessions are now explosive. Thor and Steve almost took out Loki one time.

Everyone is ALIVE

That is all for now. Feel free to add more. If you miss everyone feel obliged to add more. I miss my children.

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maxsmusicmacrology · 4 years

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How it Sounds- Through Heaven’s Eyes

Of the various winter holidays, Christmas completely dominates. The radio is filled with Christmas music, every network ever has a 12 days of Christmas marathon, Hallmark and Lifetime shit out another few dozen Christmas romcoms, and stores spend a solid month and a half decked out in red and green. While I certainly enjoy the Christmas spirit, it makes the literally darkest days of the year feel a whole lot brighter, it’s a little tedious to see the gentiles completely dominate the season. Despite Adam Sandler’s best efforts, there is next to no good Hanukkah content.

But for the Spring holidays? I guess they put all their effort into Christmas movies, because Easter doesn’t have shit. Like, what, are you gonna sit around and watch Hop?? Gonna watch Passion of the Christ with the grandkids after Easter brunch? Nah, THE springtime holiday movie belongs to Passover and Prince of Egypt, the family funtime singalong classic about how God unleashed 10 Plagues on a bunch of slaveowners.

Every song in Prince of Egypt slaps. The opening is hard-hitting and emotional, All I Ever Wanted is a fantastic inversion of the traditional “Disney Princess” song, Playing With the Big Boys might be my favorite villains song ever, The Plagues is low and menacing, and the closing song is triumphant and joyous and almost makes you forget the protagonists are about to wander in the desert for 40 years. The topic of today’s post is Through Heaven’s Eyes, which I wouldn’t say is my favorite song on the playlist but it never fails to make me smile.

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The song starts with a sort of desert aesthetic (sound-aesthetic?), which makes sense because the song takes place in the desert. It kicks off with a light percussion, a soft melody, then joined by a tambourine rhythm and woodwind melody that sounds like it doesn’t have a care in the world. It’s not a quick or bombastic opening, it’s the sound of waking up on vacation with the sun rising out the window. You can go back to sleep if you want, but you don’t really want to, y’know? It’s good that the option’s there and all, but you’d much rather just go out on the patio with a sweet drink and watch the sun come up.

The verses are delivered by a male soloist, a soft but confident baritone who sounds like you’d imagine the old retired dudes who play chess at the park in stock photos. I’ve never met someone who does that in real life, but if they are out there this is what they probably sound like when you sit down next to them and offer life advice. Because that’s what he’s doing. He’s not some grumpy old dude telling you to “get some perspective”, he’s a wise old grandpa teaching you how to do it. The instruments are subdued behind his voice, but they don’t completely fall to the background. They dance behind him, playing little riffs to bolster his voice, and after his first stanza the woodwind pipes up in agreement. A happy little “doo doo doo doo doo doo doo!” as if his sage advice has enriched their life.

The instrumentation builds through the next verse, blooming like one of those time lapses of a flower. It’s exciting, but not like rollercoaster exciting, it’s like going to the airport to meet an old friend exciting. The singer’s voice remains mostly steady, but you can tell he’s excited too. This is the excitement of giving, the feeling when you give a friend a birthday present and they’re about to open it. There’s no nerves, no excess energy, just the anticipation that fills you right before experiencing joy.

And then the joy happens. The chorus is a basic melody sung by the ensemble, and there’s no words to it. It’s a few syllables sung in a melody so simple that a four year old can do it. And that’s the point. Everyone is invited to join in, to hold hands and dance around in a circle. You don’t need to know how to sing, you don’t need to be remotely coordinated. You just have to throw yourself into the song and allow it to welcome you.

The instrumentals don’t hold back anymore. How could they? This kind of joy is contagious, when the ensemble gets to sing and dance around you bet that the instruments are gonna follow. Still, it never overwhelms- they’re bright and exuberant, but coordinated and don’t try to play over each other. The singer sounds more animated now, so full of energy that you can picture him moving around like an actor in a stage play. Just before the bridge, it all comes together in a crescendo that feels like the hug you’re gonna give all your friends after we all get the covid vaccine. Gonna run right up to them and just jump at them, squeeze the homies real tight and just stand there with each other for a moment because we’re all touch starved. But we can’t do that yet, so the song will have to be good enough.

The bridge has a nice, firm percussion. Oh yeah. That’s the stuff. Then the violin kicks in a bit and OH yeah, that’s the stuff.

The next chorus starts out slower, not slow, but you can tell they’re holding back a bit. It’s for good reason, though, because when they go all out it’s even more exciting. It’s like a party, but not your everyday frat party where people are either high or pretending to have fun, an honest to god party where all your friends are there and you don’t have to put a face on to fit in. Dance as badly as you want, we’re all friends here, you’ll fit right in.

The last verse slows down a bit for real this time, like flowers blowing in the evening wind. The ensemble harmonizes behind the singer for a transcendental feeling of togetherness, then joins in for the last couple lines. They’re triumphant, not a competitive triumph, but the feeling you get when everyone comes together and pitches in to make a success. The last line is booming, a sustained final note as the instruments play the song’s motif and close out the song. The resolution is like crashing onto your mattress after a busy day, letting any tiredness wash off and make room for good memories.

I think this is where I give some big thoughtful conclusion about the meaning of the song and all that. That’s the song’s job though, go listen to it. And watch Prince of Egypt. And here’s a fun cover of the song too.

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Links used:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2xvn_34dWVI - Through Heaven’s Eyes, Cover by Jonathan Young and Caleb Hyles https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6Qv_Ph8Q8o - Through Heaven’s Eyes, Prince of Egypt

#Prince of Egypt #Music #Music in movies #Happy music #jonathan young #Caleb Hyles #idk how to describe music lol

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coffeexwhiskey · 5 years

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Fancy Dresses and Kisses

“You look good,” his blue eyes shined as he glanced over her from head to toe. They shared a quick peck on the cheek and gave each other a warm hug.

“Thanks, so do you,” he froze for a moment, staring at her and she too stopped after realizing what she said. Then they broke into laughter together.

“Thanks?” he replayed playfully.

“Where have you been? I haven’t seen you for a while,” she unconsciously gripped on her pink dress as he talked about where he had been filming for a series. She wasn’t really paying attention to his words. She bobbed her head as if she was intently listening to him when really her mind was thinking of how she missed his blues eyes when she’s with him, or the way he mindlessly licked his lips when he’s excited to talk about something, or how his jaws clenched when he tries to remember some story or information. His hands moving about as he explained his future projects to her. The small smile never leaving her face.

“That sounds wonderful, Gendry,” she stretched a hand to pat his arm, oh how his muscled arm felt good on her palm. It reminded her of that night she ran her hands over them when they were filming their scenes for the movie, that’s why they were in this big, fancy hotel – celebrating the premiere of their movie together. Though her role wasn’t that big, she was grateful she had the chance to share some scenes with his leading character where they even got to share some kisses for the movie; once or twice.

Somehow, it was no surprise that they were on the same film together again. They both have the same agency, making it easier for them to bump into each other, attend the same events and be on the same projects together, making it harder for her to stop herself from questioning her thoughts for him.

“Yeah yeah, it was. You should try it. Skydiving’s a whole new experience,” his grin was enough evidence of how much he enjoyed it. But before she could reply, a photographer had approached them asking for pictures. They posed together for a moment, his arm lightly wrapped around her waist as they smiled for the cameras as more press came close to them. Because most questions were addressed to Gendry, she meekly excused herself saying that she had to greet the other casts and crew. She caught sight of her sister, who happens to be one of the set designers for the movie and walked over to her and took many photos that night, a hobby she just started. She thought that it’s the best way to collect memories, something her mother had once said to her.

The night went on with more pictures, more press and more drinks. She’s had a long day. She was just in the North earlier that day, filming for another movie and now she’s in King’s Landing for this premiere. And before heading out for the red carpet, she had to submit her paper for uni. I’m a fucking Superwoman, she thought as she took her heels off and walked up to the elevators, calling it a night.

She texted her assistant telling her that she can handle her self for the rest of the night and that she should call it a day too. She also sent a text message to her sister;

Arya: Up in my room. Too tired to stay long. Night.

Sansa: Delayed flight’s a bitch. You should rest. Catch up tomorrow?

Arya: Brunch? Can’t do dinner, my flight back up North’s at 8 in the evening.

Sansa: Sure. See you. Good night.

As soon as she was up in her room, she threw her heels in the corner where her luggage were scattered and quickly peeled her pretty dress off. She sat in front of the vanity and removed her shimmering make-up. Staring at her reflection, she wondered how all of it can be a fairy tale one moment with fancy dress-ups, elaborate press and socialites and then everything’s plain and simple as soon as she took off her dress, erased her make-up and let herself be swallowed by the silence of her hotel room. She went to the bathroom and took a long warm shower making sure every little hint of the hairspray was washed off, scrubbed her skin until there was no more sticky dried sweat left. After drying her hair and body, she dressed herself in her comfy pajamas and combed her hair as she went about her things. She was about to walk to her bed and continue the book she was reading on the plane when a knock echoed inside the room.

Wondering who might be visiting her at eleven in the night, she walked cautiously towards the door and stood on her tiptoes to peek on the peephole. Her eyes widen as she gasped and landed her bare feet flat back on the floor. She quickly unlocked the door and smiled at him.

Barefoot, in grey t-shirt and sweatpants, Gendry stood with a box wrapped in green paper, complete with a ribbon. He rubbed the back of his neck and with a sheepish smile, he stretched the arm with the gift to her, “Hey, I have something for you,” he said bashfully.

Arya narrowed her eyes at him, “Are you walking around the hotel, handing out gifts?” she asked.

“Actually, no. I couldn’t find you again at the party so I thought you might be in your room. You left quite early,” he still had his arm stretched, urging her to take the gift.

She eyed the present for a moment before taking it from him, “Thank you,” she mumbled. “Well, you look like you also left the celebration quite early,” she gestured to the t-shirt and sweat pants.

He grinned guiltily at her, “Yeah, I just don’t like hanging around in crowds, you know.”

Arya nodded understandingly and remembered something, “Oh, I also have something for you,” she opened the door wider and walked inside.

Gendry followed her, closing the door behind.

“Make yourself comfortable,” she motioned for him to sit on the couch as she searched for the item from her bags, “I’m sure yours is here, somewhere,” she murmured.

After a minute or two, she finally took a silver box from one of her luggage and handed it to him.

“What is it?” he asked as he reached for it.

“It’s a gift, Gendry. Open it,” she also took the gift he gave her and sat beside him on the couch and they both opened their gifts at the same time.

“It feels like Christmas,” Gendry chuckled.

“Tell me about it.”

Arya tore the green wrapping off and opened the box carefully. She pulled out a canvas. It wasn’t too big or too small. It can perfectly fit on her bedside table in her apartment.

“Gendry,” she gasped, staring at the picture she was holding. It was a painting of the two of them from one of the scenes in the movie where she was looking out in the forest and he had his eyes on her.

“Had a friend of mine paint it for me. Do you like it?” he asked anxiously.

Arya’s eyes softened as she looked up to him, “I love it, it’s beautiful. Thank you,” she scrambled on the couch to give him a thankful hug and he squeezed her just as tight.

“You’re welcome,” he chortled at her. “And thanks for the.. ummm,” he motioned for the pen he was holding.

“It’s a fucking vintage Cross fountain pen, Gendry,” Arya sounded a bit offended.

Gendry laughed that crinkly smile of his, making Arya hitch a breath, “I know it’s a Cross pen. Thank you,” he pecked her cheek as he studied the pen, “You even got my name engraved on it.”

“And my initials too,” Arya pointed at the cap. “Now everytime you sign an autograph, you’ll have to remember me,” she japed.

“Oh there’s no way in hell I’ll be using this that often.”

“Then when are you going to use it?”

“Never.”

Arya grunted in disbelief, “Wow, you just wasted my money.”

“Maybe I’ll use it for something special.”

“That’s good enough for me,” she said, standing up to the hotel fridge in the room. “Anything I can get you?”

“Whatever you have will do.”

She took the chilled wine and two glasses from the mini bar and popped the bottle open. Handing one glass to him, she raised her glass, inviting for a toast, “To art.”

“To what?” Gendry asked, baffled.

“To art,” she repeated with a sigh. She pointed at the painting and pen on the coffee table.

Gendry rolled his eyes but raised his glass as well.

After a moment of silence, their glasses half full of wine, Gendry cleared his throat, “You’re in uni right? Drama?”

“Dramatic Literature,” she corrected.

“I see. So it’s like the perfect combo for drama and literature.”

“Kinda like that. More on theater and creative writing,” she explained and pouring herself more wine.

He nodded.

“Guess that’s where you learned it,” he mumbled to himself not expecting her to hear.

“Learned what?”

Gendry hesitated for a second, looking away from her but said it anyway, “Drama kiss,” he said lowly, embarrassed.

Arya stopped midway from drinking her wine. “What?!”

“Drama kiss,” he said again.

“Drama kiss?”

“Yes.”

“What’s drama kiss?”

“The kiss you do when you kiss in front of the camera or on stage,” he said obviously.

Arya didn’t answer to that. She spoke again as Gendry refilled his glass, “Then what do you mean I learned that?”

He huffed and explained, “I meant you learned how to do a drama kiss in university. Because you’re studying, whatever it is you’re studying.”

“Dramatic Literature,” she emphasized every syllable.

“Yes, that.”

They went silent again.

Both emptied their glasses and Arya poured them more wine.

“They don’t teach you that,” she spoke softly.

“They don’t?” he sounded disbelieved.

“No. And what’s the difference between a drama kiss and a real kiss, anyway? It’s just the same, a kiss.”

Gendry’s laugh made her more annoyed at him. She hit him lightly in the arm to stop him from laughing.

“Sometimes I forget how young you are,” Gendry said in between laughs.

“Well I’m sorry grandpa,” Arya retorted.

When he was done laughing, still flushed on the cheeks, he playfully bumped his shoulder to Arya’s.

“I’m just joking,” he said. “What you did when we filmed our scene was a perfect example of a drama kiss,” he explained.

“Isn’t that how you kiss?” Arya confusingly asked.

“Is that how you kiss your boyfriend?”

Arya shook her head, “I don’t have a boyfriend.”

“Well I’m sure you’ve had boyfriends before. I mean, you may be young but you’re not a kid or something,” he said carefully.

Arya heaved a sigh of annoyance, “Well I don’t always lock lips with my boyfriends.”

“Copy that,” Gendry mumbled and downed his wine, quickly refilling it.

“Why are we evening talking about this?” she asked wearily.

“What I was trying to say is,” Gendry started nervously, “with the way you kissed me dramatically, I can tell you’re a good kisser,” he finished his wine, slowly.

Arya’s head snapped to look at him. He was looking more flushed that earlier. Probably the wine. Or is he embarrassed for saying that?

Carefully, Gendry turned to look back at her. His eyes were darker than the usual light blue, hazed. Arya could hear her heart pounding loudly. She felt the warmth inside her body and her pulse palpitating and yet she could feel the cold breeze from the air-condition.

Gendry had looked at her this way before, whenever he complimented her; either be her looks or her acting. And she’ll never forget how his eyes dilated when he held her face before kissing her in front of the cameras.

That’s how his eyes are right now as he reached for her cheek with his warm hand and leaned in to close the distance between them.

It was a drama kiss. It started that way. She tried to push the thoughts in her mind that’s reminding her that this is not right, because it can be right and it felt right.

How can this be wrong?

She’s single and so is he. It was plastered on every tabloid almost two years ago when the news spread out that his long-time girlfriend broke their engagement. It was obvious that he didn’t take it well. Gendry took a break from acting for over a year, and this movie that they’re working together happens to be his comeback project.

She knows of his reputation; caring, empathetic and a gentleman, a hardworking bloke who’d do anything to make others happy. She witnessed it all whenever they worked together.

No, there’s nothing wrong with this.

Not when Gendry licked her lower lip asking for entrance. Not when their tongues danced around each other, and especially not when he sucked on it making her moan.

She could tell he’s smiling through the kiss. Backing away slowly, she opened her eyes only to be met by his blue ones. He’s still smiling. Not a big smile, but a nervous one.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured and bashfully hid his face.

“Me too.”

He snapped his head back at her, looking guilty, “No. I-I started it… I’m so-“

“Still I kissed you back,” Arya replied, confidently. “I guess that was not a drama kiss anymore,” chuckling, she took the bottle in front of them and finished whatever was left of their wine.

“That bad?” she heard him say awkwardly.

She laughed harder this time, shaking her head, “If what you’re asking is the kiss, then no. That wasn’t bad I guess. But kissing you-“ she couldn’t finish her sentence. It was her turn to hide away from him by covering her face with her unkept hair.

“So the kiss wasn’t bad but because it was me, it was bad?”

“No, that’s not what I meant! It’s just we’re-“

“We’re friends,” he finished for her. Arya was still hiding her face. “Friends kiss you know.”

Arya shook her head, “Yeah but-“

“But not when they like each other?”

Well that finally made her face him again.

He was watching her intently, an arm resting on the back cushion of the couch.

“It’ll only make things awkward and complicated, right?” he continued.

Arya just gaped at him, speechless.

When she never said anything for quite some time, Gendry shook his head and breathed deeply. He stood from his seat and said, “I think I should just go. Night Arya.”

And without another look to her, he walked towards the door of her hotel room.

“Wait!” she called out. “Wha-What did you mean?” she asked cautiously. She could tell that he’s a bit uncertain on how to answer her question.

“What I meant to say is that I like you. And I can tell that you like me too-“

Arya opened her mouth to answer but he was quick to stop her despite not looking back at her.

“And don’t try to deny it. I’m sorry that I kissed you because I made it shittier and I know it’ll affect the way that I’ll treat you,” Gendry answered with his back still facing her.

Without a word, Arya leaped to her feet, ran to him and took his arm to make him face her.

With no warning, she stood on her tippy toes to reach his lips and lock them with hers, arms circling his neck as she felt his own wrap around her waist.

“Let me make it way more shittier,” she whispered in his mouth.

So the sayings were true, “takes my breath away” and “sweep you off your feet” have literal meanings to it.

She only realized it when Gendry slowly loosen his grip on her body to place her back on the ground and then he pulled away from her, the both of them giggling as they try to catch their breaths.

Only when Gendry looked terrified and wiped them away with soft strokes on her cheeks did she realize that there were tears on her eyes.

“Why are you crying?” he asked, still holding her close to him.

“I don’t know,” she shrugged but she had a grin on her face.

Gendry grinned along with her, pressing his forehead to hers making her close her eyes. His blue ones are too electrifying to stare back at the moment, her heart couldn’t take it.

Cause of Death: Heart attack, all thanks to Gendry Baratheon’s tantalizing eyes.

She breathed deeply, smelling his fresh manly shower scent. Sandalwood, she thought.

“Well I hope it’s something good,” he spoke softly.

“What?”

“I hope the reason for those tears is good, seeing how we are at the moment,” he replied, backing away from her as she opened her eyes.

Arya chuckled, “I think it is.”

She dragged him back to the couch, the two of them sitting on opposite ends. They were quite for a time when Arya noticed the pen, “Wow. You totally forgot about my gift.”

Gendry was confused but then also saw the forgotten pen on the table, “Sorry about that,” he rubbed a hand on his nape, “Will never forget about this again.” He took the pen and placed it back inside the box. He took the canvas that was also on the table and studied the photo, “I love this scene. It was the first scene we had to film and we couldn’t stop laughing.”

“We were too embarrassed.”

“Awkward,” he replied.

“Who wouldn’t be? Our first scene together, we had to kiss.”

“That’s why I love it,” he went to give her a quick peck as she felt herself blush at the sweet words and kiss. “Are you going back up North?”

“Tomorrow. In the evening,” she watched as his face washed with melancholy while he sat comfortably beside her. She knows how he’s feeling.

“I don’t want to be a prick and assume things between us,” he said without looking at her. “I’m a bit traditional, Arya.”

Her silence made him continue on, “I want to court you properly and not just skip to titles and fucks, if you know what I mean.”

Arya couldn’t stop her grin when he said ‘fucks.’ She took his hand to hers. He looked her in the eyes with a hint of embarrassment and hope and most of all will.

“I’d like that,” she said softly. “But it’ll be hard.”

“I know.”

“I’m also a bit soppy, just a warning,” he laughed at her.

“I don’t mind soppy,” he rubbed his thumb on her knuckles, “We’ll find a way to keep this as private as we can, that way it’ll be way more soppy.”

They both laughed this time.

“Sure. Can we start now?” she asked hopefully.

80 notes · View notes

sprnklersplashes · 6 years

Text

burning the memories

AO3

On a trip to visit her grandparents and Aunt Veronica in Ohio, Janis comes across her Aunt's high school memories and learns more about her than she thought she could. Veronica's past comes back to haunt her and she realises she can't outrun it unless she lets it go.

Words: 7k

(Set in a universe where Veronica is Janis’ aunt)

Janis is convinced her Aunt Veronica is the coolest person on the planet. From living on her own with her two cats in her New York apartment to being a kick ass social worker to somehow always knowing exactly what Janis wants every birthday and Christmas, there is no one like her. Her style still seems stuck in the 1980s; she’s almost always wearing a blue blazer and a skirt but she makes it work. She still turns heads and despite a few flings with men and women here and there, she doesn’t seem to want to commit to anyone. She just flies above it all, not caring about what anyone else has to say, stating simply that she ran out of fucks to give in 1989.

So of course, when her mom proposes that they go to his childhood home in Ohio during the summer to meet up with her and her grandparents, Janis has her suitcase half-packed. Aunt Veronica is the one thing that can make these reunion trips worth it. It’s worth the four hour drive in her dad’s car and people asking if she has a boyfriend yet and having that awkward conversation (how many times can people “forget” that she’s a lesbian?), casting eyes at the tips of her hair and her clothes and fake nails and heavy make-up, the rolling eyes and fake smiles when Janis tells them about her plans to study art. She has to fight the urge to flip them off until she can get home and vent everything to Veronica in private over coffee.

They get into her grandparents’ place first, with her grandma remarking how much she’s grown and asking about school and giving her cookies and her grandpa handing her a ten dollar bill and asking if she’s keeping her hair like that and mentioning how her outfit (graphic tee shirt, ripped black shorts, fishnet tights and an oversized blue shirt) is very creative.

“Creative is one word for it,” a voice says from behind the stairs. She turns and sees a thin, dark haired woman in a blue blazer and grey skinny jeans leaning on the banister, smirking.

“Aunt Veronica!” Janis laughs, running up for a hug.

“You got tall,” she remarks, throwing her arms around her and squeezing her tightly. “Though that might the boots.”

Within half an hour they’re all sitting around the kitchen table. It’s more cramped now than it probably was when her mom and Aunt Veronica were living there, but her grandpa insists on sitting on the armchair in the corner to make room.

“So Janis how’s school?” her grandma asks, pushing her pasta bake around on her plate.

“Fine,” she says. “I won a prize at this art expo.”

“Oh my god, Janis, that’s awesome!” Veronica says, nudging her with her elbow. “What was it?”

“It was this portrait I did of me and Damian and Cady,” she explains. “Cady’s new, she just joined this year.”

“She moved there from Kenya, right Jan?” her dad adds, refilling his glass of Coke. “Janis stepped in to help show her the ropes.”

“Well that was sweet of you,” her grandpa remarks from the chair.

“What brought her from Kenya to Illinois?” Veronica asks, snickering slightly.

“She said her parents were researcher zoologists until they lost their funding,” she explains. “But yeah, Cady’s pretty cool. I mean, she’s a little weird, but she’s awesome.”

“And… how is Damian?” her grandma asks, twirling her fork around, and Janis suppresses the urge to groan.

“Damian’s great, Grandma,” she says patiently. “He just started dating this boy from his drama club, so that’s great.” Beside her, she swears Veronica laughs before disguising it with a drink.

“And what about you, Janis? Any girls making your head turn?” she asks, looking over at her grandma.

Coolest. Woman. Alive.

“Not really,” she says, looking down at her plate. No girls had really caught her eye-except for the girl Damian took to calling ‘Danny DeVito girl’ after that one episode in the bathroom, but she knew her name was Gianna. Still, she barely sees her outside of history class.

“Oh, Ronnie, before I forget,” her grandma said. “We found a bunch of your old high school stuff in your old room. It was all boxed up, we didn’t know what you want done with it. It must have been left here when you moved out.”

“Oh, thanks,” Veronica says. “I’ll take a look at it tomorrow.” She stays quiet for the rest of the meal, making small, three word comments on whatever comes up in conversation, even about her own job, which is weird, as well as supremely disappointing. There’s few things Janis loves more than hearing about how she took another kid off shithole parents, and Veronica loves talking about it. Still, she shakes off whatever was bothering her when the apple pie is rolled out, sliding second helpings onto Janis’ plate when no-one’s looking.

“You know,” Veronica says in a low voice while the rest of the adults are stuck in conversation about the traffic on the way up. “If you don’t have any plans this summer… maybe you could come up to New York for a bit?”

“Are you serious?” Janis asks, feeling her heart begin to pound.

“Sure,” she says. “I know there’s art galleries around where I live that you’d love, and I’d get some quality time with my favourite niece.”

“Your only niece,” she reminds her, but she can’t supress the smile on her face. If she were Cady, she’d probably start squealing. “Thank you, Aunt Veronica!”

“Let me talk it over with your parents first,” she reminds her, placing her hand over hers and draining her glass.

“You’re the coolest person here,” Janis says, and Veronica blushes, laughing. “When and how did you get to be so cool?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” she says, her voice quiet.

Janis leans on the doorframe of her Aunt Veronica’s old room, having snuck away from the brunch discussions of what their neighbours were growing in their garden. She knocks on the wood, holding a plate of French toast, fried eggs and bacon in one hand. Veronica looks up from the box sitting on her bed. The bed is covered with all sorts; photos, books, clothes, all from her aunt’s high school years.

“I come with gifts,” Janis says, waving the plate in front of her. “You wouldn’t want to miss Grandma’s French toast, would you?”

“Of course not,” she says, taking the plate from her with a grateful smile.

“Is it cool if I hang here?” Janis asks, sitting on the bed like the question was already answered. “I’ll go insane if I spend any more time down there.”

“Sure, kid,” she says, placing the plate on her nightstand and taking a piece of bacon in her hand. There’s something in her face, how her smile doesn’t quite meet her eyes, how her eyes look kind of… well, scared. “Feel free to check out the Westerburg High memorabilia.”

Janis picks up a pile of polaroids and starts looking through them.

“You know these are back in fashion now,” she remarks, waving the photos. “This girl… my friend Karen, she loves them.” It’s odd, referring to the Plastics as “friends” now that they’ve disbanded. She’ll never in her life refer to Regina as one, but Gretchen’s not too bad and Karen is actually kind of fun, in a lost kitten kind of way that makes Janis want to protect her for the rest of her life. “Is this you?” The girl in the photo has to be Veronica, same cheekbones and wild dark hair and brown eyes and cheesy, wide smile (Janis kind of feels like she’s looking in a mirror), but she looks way different. She’s wearing a long red dress and denim jacket, a far cry from what she wears now. She looks like she didn’t even look in the mirror before leaving the house.

“Yeah, that’s me. March 1989,” she reads. “I was a junior.” She chuckles under her breath. “God you’re the spitting image of me at that age. I think that was my best friend Martha’s 17th birthday.” She points at the other girl in the photo, dark haired with glasses and a pink sweatshirt. “Yeah, she was my best friend from diapers.”

“What’s she doing now?”

“Kindergarten teacher up here,” she says with a soft smile. “Martha loves Sherwood so much she couldn’t leave if she tried. We’re still close though.” Janis hums and continues looking through them, finding more photos of Veronica and her friend Martha, sitting at school, in the park, in what she guesses is Martha’s room, all while Veronica keeps looking through the other stuff.

Suddenly, she finds one in which her aunt seems to have done a complete metamorphosis. Gone is the frumpy, slightly too big clothes of the ones before, in this one she’s in a fitted blue blazer and grey miniskirt, her eyelids blue and lips red, standing in someone’s backyard with a croquet mallet on her shoulder with three other girls; a tall, blonde girl in a red blazer and shoulder pads, a bright red scrunchie in her hair and a smirk that echoes Regina George on her face, a smaller blonde girl in yellow whose hair is in curls and an Asian girl in green with her hair pinned back. They’re all wearing the same style of all-American preppy blazers and miniskirts, and all have croquet mallets matching the colour of their clothes. While they all stand in a cluster, Veronica distances herself slightly from them, but still leaning in and still smiling at the camera. Along the bottom, someone wrote ‘Heather, Heather, Heather and Veronica-September 12th, 1989’.

“Woah, Aunt V,” she remarks. “What happened in September 1989?”

“What?” Veronica asks hastily. She comes over and looks at the photo in Janis’ hands and her face turns red.

“Aunt V?”

“It’s fine,” she says, not clarifying what ‘it’ is. “For a while… I was friends with some popular girls.”

“You were a plastic?” she asks in disbelief. No way. She refuses to believe that Veronica was ever a Regina George.

“Plastic?” she repeats, wrinkling her nose.

“It’s what we called this trio of megabitches in my school,�� Janis explains. “Gretchen, Karen, and Regina George at the centre of it all.”

“Oh, that bitch Regina,” Veronica says. When her life fell apart after the “space dyke” incident, it was Veronica who had sped like crazy down the freeway to Illinois and took her out for ice cream and movies until she could smile again. She had even offered to pay for her to go to a private school in New York when her parents pulled her out. She could never be a Regina George. “We called them the Heathers. There was Heather Duke…” She points at the green one. “Heather MacNamara…” The yellow one. “And… Heather Chandler.” Her finger lands on the red one. She takes in a deep breath.

“I take it Chandler was your Regina,” she says. “Why were they all called Heather?”

“Universe is weird like that,” she answers off handedly. She’s staring at the photo so intensely she might burn a hole through it.

“Aunt V… you okay?” she asks.

“Fine,” she says, shaking her head. “We weren’t friends for that long anyway. We were at this homecoming party and they wanted to do this really bitchy thing to my friend. So….” She twirls a lock of hair around her finger. “I puked on Chandler and told her to lick it up.”

“Oh my God!” Janis laughs. “You’re such a badass, Aunt V!” Veronica chuckles and shakes her head. She looks around at the stuff around her, two cardboard boxes worth of high school memories.

“I’m going to get some trash bags. At least half of this stuff I want to throw out.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. It’s just junk now,” she says. “Be right back.” She runs out the door, her footsteps fading as she went down the hall. Janis keeps flicking through the photos, mainly ones of her and the Heathers.

The she finds another one. Veronica, still in the “popular girl” look, sitting on a wall, staring up at the sky, laughing. Then the next one, a dark-haired, brown-eyed boy is on the wall with her. The camera is so close that he must be holding it. The old school selfie. His arm is around her and the other holds the camera. She rests her chin on his shoulder, her smile easy and open, her eyes sparkling. The boy is smiling too. The writing on the bottom reads “September 30th, 1989, Our Love Is God”. The next one is them cuddling, him standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her, kissing the back of her head while she laughs. Someone else must have taken it for them or they set it on a timer. “October 3rd, 1989, You’re in my heart like a Madonna on a pedestal.” And another one of Veronica standing against a brick wall, her hands flat against the wall and one foot leaning against it “October 10th, 1989, We love the things we love for what they are”. And another of the boy, who clearly doesn’t know he’s having his photo taken, drinking a red slushie. “October 15th, 1989, JD doesn’t know I’m taking a picture and still looks good”.

“Holy shit, Aunt V,” Janis mutters. Who knew she had a thing for bad boys? She flicks through more photos, all of her and Mysterious Trench Coat Kid (JD, she assumes), until she finds herself back at the start. She puts the pile down and keeps sorting through stuff, finding a yearbook and older class notebooks and a small, black book with 1989 written on the spine in gold lettering.

Holy shit. Her diary.

She looks over at the door and back at the book. She knows it’s wrong. She knows she shouldn’t look through her aunt’s private stuff. But then again, it’s from 1989, what could she have done as a teenager that she’s so scared of people finding out? And… Okay, she really just wants to know who the mysterious JD was.

“September 1st, 1989, Dear Diary,

I believe I’m a good person, you know I think that there’s good in everyone, but here we are, first day of senior year. And I look around at these kids I’ve known all my life and ask myself…. What happened?....”

“September 22nd, 1989, Dear Diary

It’s been three weeks since I became friends with the Heathers. Well, friends isn’t exactly the right word. It’s like the Heathers are people who I work with and our job is being popular and shit.”

“Still September 22nd, 1989, Dear Diary,

Why when you see boys fight does it look so horrible, but feel so right? I shouldn’t watch this crap, that’s not who I am, but with Mr No Name Kid here… damn.”

“October 2nd, 1989, Dear Diary,

JD’s dad will not be speaking at our wedding.”

Holy shit, she thinks. Wedding? She was planning a wedding already? Calm down there, Aunt Veronica. So JD. It had to have been a nickname. It suits the boy she sees in the photo-the rebellious bad boy apparently sweeping her off her feet. She imagines some sort of Bonnie and Clyde style love affair, or a Romeo and Juliet whirlwind where Veronica’s dad had been desperate to keep his squeaky clean girl away from the troublemaker?

She hears her footsteps in the hall and quickly closes the book, dropping it back in the box. Aunt Veronica comes back in with two trash bags in one hand and a coffee mug in the other.

“Sorry, got sidetracked by coffee, although I did bring you a cookie,” she says, handing her over one.

“Thanks,” she says, taking a bite out of it while Veronica starts tossing bits and pieces into one of the bags. “So… who’s JD?”

Something changes in her. Janis expected her to blush or laugh off the bad boy she seemingly had a little affair with as a teenager; instead the bag falls from her hand, her eyes look up at her, wide and fearful, her breathing gets faster, her face paler. She looks so much younger now, like the seventeen year old she saw in the photos.

“JD?” she repeats weakly. “Where… how did you hear about JD?”

“I found some pictures of you and him.” She slides her hands into her back pockets, regret pounding in her chest. Veronica picks up the photos and Janis can see them shaking in her hands. She feels like she opened up Pandora’s Box, unleashing all the terrors inside. Another terror sits heavily in her chest, fighting its way up her throat and out of her mouth almost against her will. She could never keep stuff from Veronica. “And… I may have peaked in your old diary.”

“My diary?” she asks sharply. “My 1989 diary? You looked in there?” Her voice gets more frantic and Janis gets more scared and even more guilty. She can feel her ‘favourite niece’ status slipping away.

“I know, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have looked in there!” she apologises. “I’m sorry, Aunt V.”

“What did you read in it?” she asks. If Janis didn’t know better, she’d have sworn she was scared. No, she is beyond scared. Terrified is a more accurate term. Veronica looks like she’s struggling to catch her breath, her fists curling and uncurling. “Janis I need to know; what did you read in it?”

“Nothing important,” she says. “Just… like the stuff about the people in your senior year and the Heathers were people you worked with and how JD’s dad wasn’t going to be speaking at your wedding!” She feels her lip begin to tremble and she swears to herself she won’t cry. “I’m sorry, Aunt Veronica, I know I shouldn’t have look in it.”

Veronica sighs and lowers herself on to the bed, burying her face in her hands.

“It’s okay,” she says. “It’s okay, Janis. I’m sorry I got so worked up.” She pulls Janis’ hand and gets to her sit down next to her. She lets out a breath and laughs slightly, running a hand through her hair. “JD was my boyfriend in senior year.”

“That much I gathered,” she jokes. “I mean…Our Love Is God isn’t something you’d say to your friends.”

“He said all kinds of stuff like that,” she tells her. She pulls her jacket tighter around herself, her eyes filling with tears. Janis puts an arm around her.

“It ended badly?” she asks softly. Veronica stays quiet, looking at her hands.

“He killed himself,” she whispers after a while.

“Shit,” Janis says. “Aunt Veronica, I’m so sorry.” Veronica threads her fingers in Janis’.

“Kid, it was nearly 30 years ago,” she says. “I’m not… I’m not over it but, I guess I moved on.” She reaches over with her free hand and takes the pile of photos, looking at the one of him and her at the 7/11. “And yeah… it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows when he was alive. His dad was an ass, for starters. He messed JD up pretty bad. And that’s…” She wipes tears away from her eyes and Janis’ heart breaks. She wishes she’d never looked at the damn photos. “I guess that’s why I try so hard now. Try to take kids off bad dads like that. Stop future JDs in their tracks.”

“Aunt V,” Janis protests. “You know it’s not your job to stop people, right? If people are bad, then they’re bad.”

“I know,” she says. “I just never stopped thinking what if his dad had been good? Or if someone had looked out for him.” Janis wants to shake her head and tell her that his problems don’t matter if he hurt her (and she can tell that he did) but she keeps her mouth shut. “I’m sorry for getting mad, Jan. And for unloading all of this on you.”

“It’s fine,” she says. “I’m sorry I read your diary.” Veronica shakes her head and pulls her into a hug.

“You know, you’re the only one in this family who knows he was my boyfriend?” she asks. “My mom and dad thought that we were just friends and your mom was away at college while it was all going down.” Janis smiles, feeling small sense of pride amongst all her guilt. Sharing a secret with her aunt, even if it’s about her bad boy former flame. Though she does wonder how her grandparents missed the fact that they were more than friends.

She knows there’s more she’s not telling, and she’s more than okay with that. First things first, she knows she doesn’t want to know exactly what went down between them. She’s not sure she can stomach the details. And she knows that it’s probably better if Aunt Veronica keeps them to herself.

By Veronica’s count, it’s been twenty one years since her last JD related nightmare. Her and her partner Anna had just started getting serious, and Anna was staying over at her house. That night, while curled up next to her, Veronica had dreamed about Anna pounding on her closet door while she barricaded herself inside, telling her about after and destiny and how they were meant to be together, the words “meant to be yours” being repeated over and over again until the voice turned into something different. Into him.

She had woken up screaming and she broke up with Anna the next week.

Still, after that episode, she went twenty one years nightmare free.

Until she bolted up in bed at 2:30 am, muffling her scream with her hands, an old trick she learned in college, feeling her heart in a frantic rhythm against her ribs.

She had dreamed about him blowing himself up again up again, except this time he was taking her down with him. She still feels her arms wrapped around him, the bomb digging into her chest, her fingers fisting in his coat as he tells her again “I worship you” and she just numbly nods, Heather Chandler pressing against her, whispering “see you in Hell, biotch” just before the bomb goes off and rips her to pieces.

After senior year, she had stashed everything into a box and hid it under a pile of other stuff in her room, hoping to never have to look at it again. She had almost forgotten about everything that was in there. It’s everything she wishes she could erase from her memory about her time in high school. Everything she regrets and misses the most.

She kicks the blankets off her, feeling suffocated by them, and looks at the bags of trash filled with all her high school memories. She had just wanted to get rid of all of it, clean the slate, to use JD’s turn of phrase, act like those months had never existed, but now she’s not so sure.

She gets up and opens one, looking at its contents from the lamp on her bedside table. She still can’t sleep in the dark, even now. Inside there’s her old notebooks and clothes that haven’t fit since she was a teenager and her old yearbook. She pulls out the yearbook, running her finger down the spine. She somehow opens it to the last page she wants to see; “In Memory Of Heather Chandler”. Heather’s photo beams out from the middle of the double page, all red lipstick and blonde curls. Words from students crowd around it “Always In Our Hearts”, “Rest In Power Heather”, “Drinking Rum and Coke With The Angels” (because there’s plenty of that in Heaven), “I’m Sorry I Didn’t Know” “You Deserved Better” (well maybe that’s not an unfair statement). And pride of place, close as possible to her picture “Best Friends Forever-Heather M” and “Miss You Forever-Heather D”.

She turns the page and finds Kurt and Ram’s memorial page, adorned with rainbows. She bites her lip as tears well in her eyes. More messages from the students are scattered around the page, promises to make the world a better place, to stamp out bigotry and prejudice. Apparently their dads did that until the day they died.

When she turns the page, there’s one more memorial page; Jason Dean. It’s blindingly different from the other two. One picture of him in the middle, God knows where they got it because it wasn’t taken at school. A little blurb explaining how he came into the school in September and died in November during the pep rally. The official explanation was that he had killed himself during the rally by blowing himself up in the football field.

Veronica had forged a pretty great note for it.

Hardly anyone had any words to say about him, though a couple of well-intentioned kids on the yearbook committee added some. “I Wish I’d Known Him” (trust me, she had thought when she first read it, you don’t), “Rest In Peace, Jason”, “Your Time With Us Was Short But Wonderful”. In the corner, there’s her handwriting, “I wish you’d stayed around a little longer”, then scribbled out so violently the page tore. She wishes a lot of things, but not that he had stayed around. Not in the way he was anyway.

She puts the yearbook aside and keeps looking through it, finding an old videotape. No title, except a white label with “Halloween, 1989” written in her handwriting. She wracks her brain for what happened then, and she draws a blank. Thankfully, her old TV and video player are still in her room, so she pulls them both onto the floor with her and slides it in, turning the volume low enough so that only she can hear it.

The picture comes into view and it’s her, wearing a long sleeved black minidress and tights and a pair of cat ears, raising her eyebrows and laughing, putting candy into a large orange bowl decorated with black cats and spiderwebs.

“Are you filming this right now?” the 1989 version of her asks.

“Yeah of course,” JD replies, taking a step closer. “Look at this folks, pure Halloween commitment right here.” The camera zooms in on her dress, on her cat ears, the whiskers drawn onto her unimpressed face with eyeliner.

Her heart stops at the sound of his voice. He sounds so different to what she remembers. His voice is higher, softer. He doesn’t sound like he does in her nightmares. He doesn’t sound like the kind of person who would storm into her room, tell her he wanted to kill her, tell her he was blowing up the school. He doesn’t sound broken or damaged. He sounds normal, happy, relaxed and it cuts her deep.

“Oh, okay,” the younger version of her says. “Now, look at this.” The picture shakes as the past version of her tries to take the camera off him while he makes tiny noises of protest. “No, give it, give me the camera.” Her voice is high pitched and nearly whiny, but she’s laughing, the same loud, dumb laugh she always used as a teenager. She used to complain to him about it and he assured her he loved the sound of her laugh.

“Or what?” he replies.

“Or you don’t get candy,” she teases.

A different fight plays out in the back of her mind, when they fought over something much more sinister. The two teenagers in the video didn’t deserve that. They didn’t know how it would all play out. The girl didn’t know the monster she was creating. The boy didn’t know just how broken he really was.

The younger Veronica wrestles the camera off JD with a triumphant laugh and turns it on him, snickering.

Her breath catches at the sight of him. He’s just like he is in the photos, except he’s moving. He’s more alive, laughing and twirling to show off his full costume. He’s even discarded his trench coat, she can see it sitting on the couch behind him, instead wearing a puffy white shirt and leather pants and an eye patch of all things.

“He’s a sexy pirate,” past her sings, zooming in on him. He leans against the wall dramatically and pouts at her, making her laugh.

“I’m a regular pirate,” he corrects her. “I just happen to always be sexy.” She laughs again, the camera tilting slightly like she’s leaning back.

“Yeah you are,” she agrees. The camera is place on the counter and she goes over to him, wrapping her arms around him and kissing him. He wraps his arms around her, tilting his head to deepen the kiss. She moans as he pulls her closer, getting rid of whatever space there was between them. Her hands get caught up in his hair while his trail on her legs, but never lifting her skirt.

It always got heated between them. Simple goodbye kisses turning into him letting her push him up against the wall and tongues and teeth clashing while hands were running along waistlines and through hair. He always let her take the lead, set her pace, be in control. It used to make her feel empowered. Having him underneath her, being willing to do anything she wanted, to obey her wishes. She never took it too far, asked if he was okay with it too, and he always was, looking at her with wide eyes and nodding enthusiastically.

She wonders now how much of it was real and how much was just him letting her get comfortable with him. Comfortable enough to be clay in his hands. It’s all so confusing to her know, love or infatuation, how much of her memories are viewed through the rose coloured lens she uses to make it hurt less, was he broken and damaged or just bad?

“Okay,” the younger Veronica breaks away, sounding breathless. “Movie time.” JD joins their hands as she lifts the bowl from the counter. Her eyes fall on the camera and realisation dawns on her. “Shit!”

“What?”

“We left the camera on,” she laughs, burying her face in the crook of his neck. “Oh we filmed that!”

“Oh my God,” he replies, laughing too. “Oh my God we filmed that. We filmed us making out.”

“Do not even talk about that,” she laughs.

“It’s your camera, right?” he asks as he wraps his arms around her. “So your parents will never see it?”

“They might!” she squeaks, wriggling out of his arms. “Okay, go get the popcorn started, I’m going to turn this off.”

Her face fills the camera as she lifts it, still laughing. Still young. Not too many scars.

“Sex tape!” JD whispers in the background, and she laughs harder.

“JD I swear to God-”

The picture changes and they’re in her living room. JD holds the camera, tilted at an angle so a sleeping Veronica is visible, curled up and using JD as a pillow. He’s smiling, open, earnest. His arm is around her and he kissed her forehead gently. She murmurs and snuggles closer to him. The way he looks at her can only really be described as reverence. Like she’s the Virgin Mary and he’s the most devout follower there is.

“Hello, person who is watching this tape,” he whispers. “Probably in the year 2127, when we’re all dead. You might notice this, but Veronica Sawyer is currently asleep on top of me. It is 1am here in Sherwood, Ohio and she fell asleep on my shoulder.” He runs his fingertips up and down her back, losing himself in thought for a moment. “If you’re in the future you probably never got to know her. Which is sad for you, really, because she’s the best damn thing humanity has to offer. And nothing that comes after her will really compare. And I am in love with her. I will love her until I die and even after that, I’m going to keep loving her.” Veronica shifts in her sleep and JD looks worried for a moment, but she just stretches her arm across his chest and settles down again. His face breaks out into a smile once more. “She’s the only thing that’s good in this world. I’m going to turn the camera off now so I don’t wake her up.”

The picture turns to black and he’s gone.

Veronica presses her hands to her mouth to muffle the sound of her crying.

This shouldn’t be happening. This was nearly 30 years ago. While she couldn’t get help with everything, she got counselling after JD’s death. She shouldn’t be sitting on the floor of her childhood bedroom, trying not to cry over a 29 year old video. She shouldn’t be falling back in love with a dead man, let alone a dead man who made her life hell for years and is the reason she flinches away from love even now, a man who was terrible and wanted to kill people and she shouldn’t even be thinking about because he’s been dead for nearly 30 years.

She’s reopened all her old wounds. All it took was one look from him and she’s back where she began.

Stupid heart. Holding onto someone who shouldn’t be allowed in there anymore. She used to think it would be better if she could just rip it out and stop herself from feeling anything again. But then she met people and made friends and reconnected with old ones and then Janis was born and took her heart in her tiny little baby hands. She would never stop herself from feeling all that. Even if it means she has to feel all of this too, the ugly and painful side of loving someone.

She keeps crying as she looks through the rest of the bag, Her fingers brush against something hard and she tenses. Her diary.

She kicks herself for keeping it. Putting aside every painful thing she put in here, it’s evidence. When Janis said that she’d gone through it, her heart had stopped and she had felt the world around her crumble. She only got as far as her first meeting with JD’s dad. But just one page later she wrote “Dear Diary…. Technically I didn’t kill Heather Chandler, I know that, but I still feel bad. But not as bad as I should. And that makes me feel even worse.” And then just two pages after that is the amazing line “Dear Diary, my teen angst bullshit has a body count”.

The most incriminating lines she could have written.

Janis thinks she’s the coolest person alive. Wonder how she’d feel about her after knowing that she’d murdered three people.

“Not you,” JD had told her. She supposes he’s right. But she doesn’t like saying that she was just an unwilling accomplice. She handed Heather Chandler the mug of drain cleaner, she shot at Kurt, she let JD shoot Ram. She fell for the “Ich Luge bullets” lie. Their blood is on her hands just as much as it was his. She doesn’t know if she believes in Heaven or Hell any more, but she knows that if there is a Hell, then she’ll burn for that.

And besides, in the mortal world, accomplices still do jail time.

She knows what she has to do. She’s just far too scared to do it.

It’s still pitch black outside when she sneaks out of the house, key in the pocket of the coat she wears over her pyjamas. She keeps the diary clutched to her chest as she makes her way down her old street to the one place she’s sure no one will suspect her of going.

Westerburg High stands just as imposing as it ever did before her, locked behind an iron fence. She started her senior year desperate to leave it then two months later she was risking everything to save it.

And where was her damn gratitude?

After the news broke about JD, things changed for her. People gave her sad eyes as they passed in the hallway, whispers of “I’m so sorry” and “if you need anything, I’m here” and teachers offering support and then the newspaper offering her an interview.

Still, she finally saw the hierarchy fall. Heather Mac started eating lunch with her and Martha and, seeing that she can’t exactly lead a clique of one person, so did Heather Duke, eventually. Heathers and Marthas sitting at a table together. Heaven on Earth. Checkmate, JD. MacNamara and Martha even dated until their second year of college. People stopped hating each other and it became beautiful.

Janis says that the same thing happened in her school. Her little jungle friend Cady broke the dance queen’s crown and shared it and told everyone they were beautiful. Now she’s braiding the former popular girl’s hair like it’s nothing. Everyone sits where they want and there’s no cliques or rumours or stupid bitchy girl fights. No one is afraid, all because one cute little mathlete made a speech. And yet for her school to get to that same kind of peace, she had to steal a scrunchie and four people had to die.

Outside the school fence, she finds an empty trash can, just like she hoped she would. She takes a look around the deserted street. No one’s around to see her. She’s completely alone and yet she still feels like all eyes are on her. Street lights glare down on her like an interrogation and she feels eyes on her back, even though she doesn’t see anyone when she turns around. She flips up the hood of her jacket, pulling it over her face.

She pulls the diary out of her pocket and drops it in the empty trash can, flinching at the sound it makes. It must be louder in her mind. Her shaking hand lifts out the matches. It takes longer than she would have liked to get them to light; her hands are trembling so badly she drops a few before she can get them to the matchbook, and others she can’t seem to strike hard enough.

The ground is littered with matches rolling in the light breeze when she finally gets one to work properly. The flame dances in front of her eyes, bright against the darkness of everything that surrounds her. She looks down at the diary, lying dead, almost invisible at the bottom of the trash can. It has every good memory of her time with JD, every time he made her laugh, every time he made her smile, details about what she felt when he kissed her. But it also has evidence and that’s a risk she can’t afford to take.

She lets the match fall from her hand and set the book ablaze.

“No!” she yells immediately after watching it start to burn. She presses her hands to her mouth because she knows that if she doesn’t do something she’ll reach in and try to grab it out.

She feels like she’s burning him. Like she’s seventeen again and back on the football field watching him explode, feeling her heart get torn apart while her soul and conscience are knitted back together. Simultaneously finding it hard to breathe and being able to for the first time in weeks. Saying goodbye to the worst and best thing to happen to her. She's burning every good memory she had of him and wonders if she'll forget if she doesn't have it to look back on. Does she even want to remember it now? Maybe she shouldn't, but she does. She wants to remember the good but also the bad. The bad reminds her why she keeps going and keeps fighting now.

She stays watching it, silently sobbing until the fire burns out and it’s nothing more but a pile of ash at the bottom.

Her clock reads 3:45am when she gets back into her room, climbing in through her window, nearly falling over the empty trash bag. As quietly as she can, she moves her TV back to where it was and takes the video out of it. She kneels next to the trashbag and fishes out the pack of photos. She had wanted to get rid of them, act like that year never happened. But she’s never going to forget him, no matter what she does. He’s burned into her mind whether she likes it or not.

She places the photos and videotape on her shelf and reties the bag. Maybe if that’s all she has of him, she can pretend he was something else.

After waking up at 11 the next morning and missing breakfast, Veronica decides to take Janis out for pancakes and coffee in town.

“Late night, Aunt V?” she asks, watching Veronica down another coffee.

“Yeah,” she admits, pushing her hair out of her eyes. She predicts she’ll crash out at 9pm at the latest tonight. “Just… looking through some old stuff. Kept me up.”

“Some old high school stuff?” Janis asks quietly, her shoulders hunching. She looks small and it doesn’t suit her. Ever since Janis could walk she’s been unapologetic about how loud she is and how much space she takes up. Even though the Regina incident knocked her down, all she did the next year was come back louder and bigger. She doesn’t look at Veronica, keeping her eyes on her half-constructed pancake house.

“Yeah,” she says. “I found some more stuff of when I was with JD.”

“Aunt Veronica, I’m really sorry,” she says. “That I brought him up. I know he can’t be easy to talk about.”

“Jan, it’s okay,” she assures her. “I’m actually, weirdly kind of glad you did. I just sort of needed that kind of release, I guess. I needed to remember him.” Janis nods, but the confusion is visible on her face. “It’s complicated.”

“Are you going to be okay?” she asks. Veronica smiles and takes her hand.

“I’ve been okay for the past 29 years, Jan,” she explains. “And besides, you don’t need to worry about me. It’s my job to worry about you. You’re the kid here.”

“I’m seventeen,” Janis corrects her. Veronica nods. Seventeen’s a fun age. She felt so grown up when it started and then everything happened and all she needed was someone to hold her.

“That’s not as old as you think it is,” she tells her. “Go be seventeen. Go do dumb stuff and don’t worry about me. Trust me, you’ll have plenty of time for all that later.”

“How do you know all that stuff?” she asks. “How do you know what to say?”

“Easy,” she answers, taking another sip of her coffee. “I just say what I wish adults had said to me at that age.”

#veronica sawyer #heathers the musical #janis sarkisian #mean girls broadway #not sure why im putting this here but its here now #fanfic #character study #i guess?#barrett made me do it #long post for ts

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atypical60 · 5 years

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Far be it to not take advantage of Oona’s pre-wedding events to not make it about me. OK?

Remember. It’s all about MOI!!!!

Anyway, last weekend I flew to Cincinnati for Oona’s Bridal Shower. You saw a sneak peak at my last blog post but I’m gonna elaborate more on the weekend.

And boy was this a fantastic Bridal Brunch!!

As the Mother-of-the-Bride naturally.

Number 4 is the only one Oona has stressed. I did that at her shower when we all introduced ourselves. My sense of humor got the best of me as I introduced myself as “…..as Oona exited my Origin of the World…” immediately, I was pulled aside and warned in a kind way to NOT say anything like that at the wedding. (shhhh–don’t tell but I don’t follow rules!)

I took Friday off from work because I wanted a true three-day weekend. That’s the thing about working in a low-level clerical position—you need permission to get a day off. In my other places of employment, it was much easier to finagle time off as a freebie—trust me. I also worked my schedule out to accommodate leaving early on Thursday afternoon so I could fly from Philly to Cincy and enjoy a few extra hours of fun time.

I also took Friday casual to Thursday! I travel in comfort, but not like a slob! J. Crew and Gabor wigs assisted me! Mother-of-the Bride travel attire!

It’s not how it started out though.

For some reason, either I hit horrific weather or I have a displeasure of a delayed flight whenever I travel. I kid you not. And about 45 minutes before we were to board the plane, an announcement was made that the flight to Cincinnati would be delayed.

Welcome to my jet-sit world. I spend more time waiting than flying! I have to say though, that Delta made every effort and boarded us very quickly when the plane arrived!

Besides having an inner hissy-fit, I dealt with this issue by stress eating not one pretzel, but an additional bucket of pretzel nuggets. Fresh and hot off the press. The carbs were murder on my gut but felt so good going down. I also ate a giant bag of peanut M & M’s. And read trashy magazines.

And an added surprise was that these nuggets of carbs were also drenched in greasy melted butter. I wonder why the scale isn’t giving me nicer numbers!!

The plane finally arrived and this Mother-of-the-Bride landed after ten in the evening to rain! I was two for two. A delay and rain. It was shocking that a snow storm hadn’t hit!

Cincinnati here I come…

To rain and a delayed flight….

Now…upon departing the flight, one would think I ran to the airport exit to see Oona and Sam. No. CVG is a GREAT airport. It’s so clean and spacious so I couldn’t resist dawdling (now we know where my son, Roman, acquired the gift of dawdle…). I came across a cosmetics vending machine! But I didn’t buy anything!

Why couldn’t I find this at Philly airport during the delay?

Then I came across my favorite part of the airport! Them bones!

Some stop to smell the roses. I stop to take photos at airports of skeletal treasure!

But it was great to be back at Oona and Sam’s and playing around with my grand puppy, Gracie.

My boo, Gracie. OMG. She’s so well-behaved..

Oona and Sam are such great doggie parents…I KNOW they will be fantastic human parents!

Friday brought sun and clouds and brisk weather but it didn’t matter. There’s something comforting in knowing that your daughter and her future husband can brew a great cuppa coffee. They make it strong—just the way I love it. And we sat around gabbing before getting ready and heading out to run errands.

The Mr. Coffee is far better than the grandpa Mr. Coffee we have at home.

Even little Gracie was beggin’ for some!

Ahhhhhhhhh…cawfee!!!

Oona had a nail appointment, and since my nails were looking fine, I passed but kept her company while we discussed family and the wedding preparations.

This freakin’ nail salon! It went on for days! I was jealous–but then Oona told me the price of a mani-pedi and I was glad to be living in the Northeast where nail salons are plentiful….and far less expensive!

Next stop was Marshalls –Oona picked some workout clothing (I didn’t –I’m lazy). And I headed for the cosmetics. Glory be to Gawd—I found two great eyeshadow palettes!

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More on these palettes for my next blog post but boy….at $7.99 each, these palettes were a steal!

We did some food shopping—Sam’s birthday was Friday and his family was coming over for dinner. Oona looked pensive as she realized time was of the essence—she had to head back to the airport to pick up her best friend and maid-of-honor, Lauren.

Did I say food shopping? I sent this pic to Bonaparte to validate that Pennsylvania is the worst state in the USA because of the State-run, Mob-type Liquor stores! You can by this at Trader Joes in Cincy!

And that’s where mom comes in—I assured her I could take care of the cake and she could head to the airport for alone time with her bestie!

BTW, this cake is gluten-free, chemical and preservative-free, sugar free, and lower-fat! Oona added Sam’s favorite candy–Reeses Pieces which are NOT lower fat nor sugar free! But it was a tasty Birthday cake!

Friday evening, Sam’s family came over for a birthday celebration. Being with Sam’s family is like being with……………. family!! We all had a great time and I was introduced to a spectacular aperitif/cocktail: The Aperol Spritz! This concoction of Aperol, Prosecco, and Seltzer with a slice of orange is the most refreshing drink I’ve ever downed!

You read it first. Moving forward, the Aperol Spritz will now be called “Mother-of-the-Bride”. There will be an open bar at the wedding but I may smuggle my private makings! There’s only 148 calories in one of these!

I drank a lot of them during the weekend. In fact, as I write this now, I informed the Frenchman that I’ll be stopping at the store for Aperol, Prosecco and seltzer! He is a bit upset that I am forgoing the beloved Kir Royal but the Aperol Spritz has less calories and with the wedding countdown, every calorie counts!

Saturday was a full day!

Let me tell you something. Oona and Lauren spent a long time getting their hair perfectly coifed. Lauren is great with styling and she styled Oona’s hair in perfect beach waves.

I plopped my Jamison wig on—and had extra time to loll around in bed! Oh, the beauty of wigs!

Jamison and Lilly Pulitzer. You can’t go wrong!

The shower/bruncheon was at LouVino, a Southern-inspired restaurant and wine bar downtown Cincinnati. What a great place! The celebration was downstairs in a private room and Oona’s friends, coworkers, future sisters-in-law, mother-in-law and relatives were in attendance.

The upstairs wine bar at LouVino’s. I’m recommending this place to out-of-town guests for Oona’s wedding!

The downstairs room where the brunch was held…

Thanks to Sam’s sisters, the table settings were beautiful..

Mimosas kept us refreshed and hydrated!

Oh yeah, and water (in the background) also kept us hydrated. The food was so great that I never took a pic–I was too busy shoveling the Warm Brussels Salad into my mouth!

We played girlie games. I won Scattergories. But the best game was where Oona had to guess answers to questions that Sam answered in advance. For ever wrong answer, a wad of bubble gum was placed in Oona’s mouth! It was a riot!

It was only natural that I took myself out of the “Guess the Age” game. I’m no cheater!

Miss Oona getting ready for more bubble gum! She actually did a great job. Out of 30 questions, she got 2/3’s correct!

The prize for the Scattergories win..a cute mug and a Starbucks card!!!!!!!!!!!

Some of the gifts. Crate & Barrel is very popular–eh???

Happy little wine glasses…

Happy little Oona!

The baking girl was thrilled to receive mixing bowls. Did I mention I gifted her with a Stainless Kitchen Aid Mixer…just like mine? I swear the baking is genetic!

This. This was on Oona’s wish list and she was so happy to receive this! (Hmmmm maybe she’ll give me her Mr. Coffee machine…)

BFF’s. They’ve been friends since middle-school. Two beauties!

This photo of us was taken after I was crying…

..and this is why. Lauren, Oona’s BFF and Maid of Honor, gifted Sam’s mom and me with embroidered hankies. Both moms were crying because it was just a touching and generous gift! I’m crying again!

I was very happy to be in attendance. Oona didn’t want a shower in Philly simply because she felt that asking my side of the family and her Northeast friends, was asking them to spend too much money—what with the travel to Ohio and the hotel, she wanted to keep expenses down for everyone. You know—I was very proud of her decision. I think I raised a very conscientious young woman!

And the fact Sam’s family has welcomed Oona really made me feel warm and fuzzy inside!

May I present the future Mrs. Butts. Coming from a very competitive family, it pleases me to have my daughter’s future last name be greatness such as this. When/if they have children and their children are in competitive activities, they can hashtag: #MyButtsgonnakickyours or… #Buttsbekickin’

Some after-brunch fun. Isn’t that dress adorable? It’s a Lilly Pulitzer..and those shoes! The daughter has great taste..and she’s gorgeous!

By the time we got back to the house, the rain came and it was time to head to Sam’s mom’s home for a casual, laid back and fun dinner!

And more Aperol Spritzes!

The recipe? Three parts Prosecco, Two parts Aperol, One part (a splash) Seltzer and an orange slice to make it nice!

Sunday morning brought forth a bit of a hangover and the flight back to Philly. Isn’t it funny how when you wish for a delay, the flight is on time?

Gracie was sad to see me go. I was sad to see me go!

Minimal dawdling on the return. There was no delay. WAIT! Does that say Air France? Yeah…but it’s the plane back to Philly…

And despite the timeliness of the flight home, I did manage to get this sweatshirt as a reminder of a great weekend!

I arrived back home Sunday afternoon. When Bonaparte picked me up, I’m not too sure he was happy to see me because he kept mentioning how tired I looked. He was right. I had a bad hangover FOODover, because of all the food I ate.

Yeah. I pretty-much crashed when I arrived home. Funny how I still think I’m in my twenties sometimes!

Do you ever get sad when you leave someplace and someone? I was incredibly sad to leave but after I arrived home and unpacked and got to telling the Frenchman about the weekend, the sadness lifted and I felt really happy. Happy that I was able to enjoy the weekend with my daughter and her future family! And happy to be back sitting next to my husband on the sofa!

And she’s the reason the weekend was a stellar one! My baby is getting married!

More Mother-of-the-Bride Fun! Far be it to not take advantage of Oona’s pre-wedding events to not make it about me.

#Bridal Showers #Cincinnati #LouVino OTR #Weddings

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whatthepuck20 · 6 years

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Snake Juice Stories || Ana and Puck

TAGGING: @whatthepuck20 & @abundance-ofana

LOCATION: NYC. Ana’s apartment.

DATE & TIME: Sunday. October 14th. 11am.

COMMENTS: After driving in from Lima, Puck heads to Ana’s for brunch, snake juice, and a turn in their friendship that was obvious to everyone except them.

A combination of Kahlua, rum, and cold brew were carefully doled out into pitcher filled with ice. He probably had made the first batch a little too strong so he was trying to correct his mistake, but was struggling a little bit. After a quick taste test, he was satisfied with his attempt. Puck carried the two fresh glasses of snake juice into the living room. He handed one to the blonde before retaking his seat on the couch. He had driven all night from Lima and got into the city around 3 in the morning. He probably should’ve cancelled and slept, but he just couldn’t. He missed the girl this past week and wasn’t going to waste this opportunity to see her. Puck took a long sip of his drink before placing it on the coaster on the coffee table. Adjusting himself so he was facing Ana, he draped his arm on the back of the couch. “Alright. I think I’m ready. The snake juice is making me feel honest. So...ask away, banana,” he said as he relaxed into the couch. His grey eyes slowly studied the blonde sitting in front of him. “Take it easy on me though.”

Ana half amused watching him attempt making the snake juice for the second time, leaned back in her chair letting her blonde locked and head fall back, it was an amusing view for her seeing him upside down as he walked back over towards her placing it on the table, she shot her head up looking at him directly once he’d made his way around. She raised her eyebrow at him a bit surprised he was ready for her questions, “You know, day drinking isn’t so bad- but I can see how this knocked Ron out…” She had a few questions stirring in her mind before she settled on one her found amusing herself, “This mystery Jim… why am I not allowed to fall in love with him? After all..” The girl turned a bit gesturing to the teapot sitting on her stove, “That lovely thing over there seems to write one story, and you’re telling me to change the narrative” She turned back to him leaning forward in her chair, with her eyebrow raised and devious smirk on her lips, “So what’s the reason there?” She’d been thinking about it since friday evening when he’d texted her about it, though like all week- she’d been unable to shake him and his words out of her mind.

“Day drinking is one of my favorite things to do. Because I can just call it a night at like 8pm and sleep all night. But yea…this shit is strong,” he agreed before taking another sip. Hearing her question, he had to take one more sip to gather his thoughts. He placed the glass back on the table and sighed. He promised her that he would answer whatever she asked…even uncomfortable questions like this. “Like I said. He’s charming. And he really does try to be a good guy. But in the end, he’s not that great of a guy. And you? You deserve a lot more than what that goofball could offer you. He’s an idiot. He’d just end up holding you back,” he said. Puck leaned forward as well, resting his arms on his knees as he got closer to Ana. A smirk mirrored on his lips. “Plus…you’re way too beautiful for him, babe.”

Ana watched him as he spoke and leaned in closer towards her, “I have no issue with day drinking, I’m thinking the fact that isn’t almost noon means it’s okay. Plus It’s pretty good and we did eat a bit before so it’s less bad, right?” The blonde smiled at him as she listened to his reasoning behind his answer, “See, I keep hearing this- you’re too good for him kind of stuff. I have to ask though..” She paused for a moment before she ran her finger along the pitcher before picking it up and pouring some into her glass, she thought for a moment as she placed it down and brought the glas up to her lips taking a small sip, “Why do you think I’m too good? And that this mystery guy in’t good news? I mean you keep saying he’s trying so shouldn’t I take a chance on a guy who's trying?” The blonde held the glass in her hand as she looked towards the counter where what was left of the breakfast remained before she brought her eyes back to his, “I mean if he’s trying, and if he is a goofball- which I think we both know I like… I don’t see why it’d be so bad.” She narrowed her eyes for a moment, “Too beautiful or not- which I will disagree on, I think that everyone deserves a chance. Don’t you?” She knew that he’d more than likely continue to disagree about this match, but part of her wasn’t letting it go. She tilted her glass at him pointing with her light blue nails, “After all I think this is better fitting then as you called my ‘grandpa’ issues. I still stand by Thor though.” She shook her head a bit giggling a bit thinking about his comments with that whole situation, “I’m half sorry about you having to deal with that still…” She brought the glass back to her lips taking another sip of the drink.

His gaze dropped from her face to her finger as he watched it trace the pitcher before returning to look at her once more. He shrugged at her follow up questions, not really having a full answer for the blonde. “You just are. You’re kind. You’re smart. You’re caring. You’re accomplishing what you want from life. You’re responsible. He’s none of those things. I would…he would end up letting you down.” Puck rolled his eyes playfully. “You’re definitely too attractive for him,” he replied before reaching out and poking her nose, “but I agree. Please don’t go back to grandpas. Even Thor.” Chuckling, he leaned back into the couch and ran his hand through his hair, causing it to stick up, before waving off her apology. “Nah don’t worry about it. That’s what friends do, right? I can still punch him if you want me to.” He fell silent for a moment as he watched her take a sip. “So…you gonna tell me what happened with that? Why yall two stopped being a thing?”

Ana shook her head a bit as he spoke, she felt like sometimes she was some of those things, but she knew that was her being nice to herself, “Caring and kind? Sure. But the smart and accomplishing things. Yikes..” The girl took a sip of her drink thinking about that, “Do you know, I was never going to do anything with Broadway? Not until Jesse basically told me I should or I’d hate myself.. He was right..” She narrowed her gaze hating when people tended to be right about her life. “Anyways, I’m not that attractive, I mean you’ve seen the hair Puck.. We both know..” She smirked a bit at him when he touched her nose, scrunching it at him. She rolled her eyes hearing his comment, “I won’t go back, and you don’t have to punch anyone.. Not today anyway…” She looked at him pressed her lips together hearing his question, “Oh uhm, We stopped being a thing because I wasn’t really fully in it..” She spoke as the glass covered her lips drinking more trying to brush off the question. She placed the empty glass of hers on the table before she turned to him, “Besides I ask the questions here.. So next one…” The girl let her light brown eyes wonder for a moment, “Ah, okay. Why are you trusting me to ask questions is one, and the other is why are you so protective of me? I know we’re friends but I don’t think I have many guy friends willing to throw punches..” She knew having friends meant they’d look out for one another, but the blonde knew why she waited to make sure he was okay and guys tended to be a bit more on the offense side but aside from her own brother and bradley who was involved in the situation she didn’t expect Puck to offer. The blonde paused for a moment before she jumped up a bit, “OH! One more! What in the lanta is your first name? I won’t ever say it but I mean, a girl has to know..” She covered her mouth with her hands knowing that last one was a bit of an outburst but she’d forgotten that Puck wasn’t his first name after some time of just accepting it.

“You definitely are that attractive. Trust me. I’m a professional attractiveness rater,” he joked. His eyebrows furrowed as he listened to her pretty much skim by his question. He couldn’t help but laugh as she threw three questions at him at once. Puck finished his own drink to give him some time to think of the proper answers before placing the empty glass on the table. “I made you a promise and I really try to keep all my promises. Plus you care so I know you wouldn’t ask me anything that would hurt me or tell anyone anything I said. And I’m protective of you because…I guess I care. I just don’t want to see you get hurt,” he said with a shrug. Leaning forward, he grabbed her arm and pulled her onto the couch next to him. “You’re sitting too far,” he muttered. “It’s Noah. Noah Elijah Puckerman. But please don’t call me that,” he replied as he absentmindedly played with her fingers.

Ana couldn’t help but smile at him as he spoke, “ A professional you say? I suppose a girl can’t argue with that…” She looked at him tilting her head feeling her body get a little warm from drinking but it was a nice slow burn and part of her knew it wasn’t just from that. The blonde felt him grab her arm pulling her towards him, she felt herself be pushed up and pulled towards him next to him half falling right besides him on the couch. She looked up sitting facing him on the couch being just a inches form his face, “Well then, I’ll make sure the name Noah is never muttered from my lips, unless I really feel like pushing the limits..” Ana smiled at him as he kept his fingers intertwined with hers, she didn’t bother moving away or leaning back before she spoke, “So follow up question… Why do we not like the name Noah? I know why I hate my name, but what’s the secrets you have up there?” The girl looked up at his hair before she took her one free hand running her fingers through his hair softly on the side as she tilted her head biting her bottom lip as her curiosity took over.

Puck’s eyes remained on their connected fingers. “You have cute hands. Did you know that? Cute,” he said softly, “so tiny.” He pressed his hand against hers and laughed at the size difference. Her follow up question broke his focus and returned his gaze to hers. He smirked slightly as she ran her fingers through his hair. “It’s my dad’s middle name. I was named after him. And I hate him. And I hate anything that reminds me of him. So I hate Noah,” he said simply. “I like it when people play with my hair,” he added. Puck let go of her hand and rested his on her knee. “Are these questions fulfilling your every fantasy?” Chuckling, he shifted slightly in his seat, oblivious to how little space was actually between the two.

Ana looked down as he played with her hands, “They’re not that.. Small..” She paused when she saw hers lined up with his, “Okay maybe they are a little bit small…” She leaned her head to the side resting on the top of the couch cushion listening to him, as she ran her fingers through his hair, “That is a very acceptable answer. Can’t say my reasoning is even half as good.. Similar to the dad hatred but not even close to the same as yours..” She shook her head a bit dropping her hand from his hair at his comment, “Sorry, It’s really soft.” She half smiled at him looking down at his hand on her knee, “You know, I had this whole list made up in my head and I couldn’t even begin to tell you like a tenth of them right now..” The blondes eyes closed for a moment as she scrunched her entire face trying to think, “I think one was also something along the lines of something about asking how you’re doing being here…? Maybe..?” The girl opened her eyes looking at him, “Which I do want to know.. How is it for you being here? I mean we’re clearly no Lima.. Though I will say I’m going to be sad when I visit my mom that you won’t be there to take care of me like before..” her voice softly trailed off for a second, “By the way.. I expect to see that video you took one day. It can’t be that good.” she said as the blonde pursed her lips to the side a bit as she questioned him.

He shook his head. “Don’t apologize. I like it. Do you wanna tell me about your dad? Or?” he drifted off as his thumb ran over her knee slowly. He smiled at her thinking face. “It’s definitely not Lima. But I like it. I like the energy of the city. I like being able to go out at any time and be able to grab some food. I like all the asshole people in this city. I like that I get to hang out with you,” he added with a shrug, “maybe next time you head to Lima you let me know and I’ll try to coordinate my visit home with yours. I’m sure my mom would love for me to come home more often.” Puck smirked at her final comment. He shifted slightly and leaned down closer to her face. He squeezed her knee slightly. “You still haven’t made me the right offer for the video yet, banana,” he whispered as his gaze went from her brown eyes, down to her lips for a moment, and back up to her eyes again.

Ana felt a bit of cold run down her spine at his question,“I’m not so sure you want to hear about him.. You’ll most likely get upset. So let’s focus on you.. For now.” She shook her head listening to him, “I promise this city only gets better. Also I’m not the most exciting person around here so I’m sure you’ll get quite bored of me.” Anas gaze narrowed in on him with a small smile at his statement, “We’re traveling buddies now? You know, I wouldn’t mind that since me and planes aren’t friends unless I’m asleep.. Also You mom might actually like me if I bring you home then since we did just say how she’s sad you’re gone.” Ana looked at him thinking for a moment watching his gaze shift, “I don’t know, every offer I made seemed to not be the right one. A girl is at a loss here Puck, so what are some ‘not such bad idea’ topics to base my offer off of?” She couldn’t help but lean closer to him raising her eyebrows, “So what might you be thinking? Or is it another one of those, ‘can’t tell ana ‘ moments?” She could hear him breathing and feel her own pulse increase turning her cheeks a slight shade of pink with how close they were to one another.

“Well…when you’re ready to tell me about the jackass, I’m here to listen. I promise to try to not get upset.” Shrugging, he shook his head. “I don’t think I’d get bored of you, babe.” He chuckled at her next statement. “Well lucky for you…me and planes are like besties. But yes, ma’am. We can be traveling buddies if our horrible timing somehow finally works out. But my mom would like you either way. And she’d feed you a lot of food,” he added. Puck fell silent once more. They were so close that he could feel her heartbeat pick up. He took his hand off of her knee and cupped her slightly pink cheek. “It’s definitely a ‘can’t tell Ana’ moment. But it could be a ‘show Ana moment’.” Grey eyes stared into brown for a moment, thumb brushing cheek before he leaned in once more and softly pressed his lips against the blonde’s.

Ana looked at him with an amused gaze, “Oh so not only are we traveling buddies but now I even get to meet your mom? That’s exciting.. I’ll make sure to bake something to bring so I’m not that jerk..” The girls eyes looked down as he moved his hand, she felt the cold air hit where his hand was once before she looked up at him, “Show? Looks like I’m becoming slightly less sheltered…” Ana felt his hands cup her cheeks and before she could say anything she felt him press his lips on hers. Ana felt herself melt into the kiss feeling a small smile curl at the edges of her lips. After a moment the girl pulled back shaking her head keeping her eyes closed, “Okay..” She felt her eyes flutter before she could think cohesively, “I thought you like… barely liked me.. Like you know that one.” She looked off to the side trying to think of what it was, her brain was firing off words but in all the wrong directions, “ cellular? Yeah.. Cellular levels, right?” She looked back at him narrowing her eyes at him, “Also.. what?” She felt herself try to fight the smile that was breaking across her lips, “Not that I didn’t like it because.. That’s so not what I’m saying..” the girl noticed how softly she was speaking, though she felt herself in a mild haze, “We can totally do that more though..” She felt the smile finally break across her face as she looked at him nodding her head up and down slightly.

Puck looked confused once Ana broke the kiss. He was worried he had misinterpreted the signs and the texts they had been exchanging for weeks. Dropping his hand from her cheek, he nervously ruffled the back of his hair, causing it to stand up slightly. “I still only barely like you. Definitely cellular level,” he replied, the smirk on his face indicating that he was joking. “I dunno. I’ve wanted to do that for a while…so I did it…pretty simple thought process.” He chuckled at her rambling. A smile spread across his lips when she admitted that she liked it, feeling like a weight had been lifted. “Oh yea?” Puck wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her against his body. “You wanna do more of that now or do you still have your 500 questions you wanna get through?” he asked quietly as he ghosted his lips over hers.

Ana couldn’t help but smile at his comments nodding, “Oh sure yeah cellular level. The smallest one right? Just that..” She chewed on her bottom lip for a moment as she listened to him, “Awhile you say?” She raised her eyebrow tempted to ask how long but part of her also knew if she asked- then he might ask her the same question which she knew she couldn’t exactly avoid. She looked down when him hands were on her hips pulling her closer to him. She looked at him tilting her head up a bit touching his nose with hers, “How about for every question you answer I answer, we get to do that?” Ana felt his breath on her lips, “I mean we’re just really close talking, right?” she tilted her head town a bit smirking at him raising her eyebrow at him meeting his gaze with hers, “You’re mildly intoxicating, just so you know.”

“A while,” he agreed, thankful she didn’t ask for further explanation. He chuckled quietly and ran his hand over her back slowly. “That’s the best kind of incentive. Keep thinking that way and I may even let you take me dancing,” he joked. “Close talking. Yep. You smell really good, by the way.” Puck pecked her lips quickly. “I had to. Sorry…but also not even a little bit sorry.” He forced himself to pull away slightly otherwise he knew he wasn’t going to be answering any questions or focusing on anything else besides the girl in his arms. “Alright. I’m gonna give you three more questions. So make them good. Because I think we might have some other things to discuss,” he said with a smirk.

The blonde smiled a bit at his comment, “I figured it’d be the only way to get some answers from you since you’ve completely skipped to the end, not that I’m complaining…” She heard him say dancing she couldn’t help but press her lips together knowing not to push her own luck. She felt his lips quickly touch hers before she saw him move back a bit, “The smell, it’s vanilla.. Something vanilla? Maybe?” Ana looked off for a moment thinking before she shook her head snapping back “Three questions? So these ones have to be like stupid good, gotcha.” Ana pursed her lips thinking for a moment, “I have one, this prom, that … ‘mystery jim’” she made air quotes for a moment before she leaned forward pouring a tiny bit of the snake juice into her glass picking it up holding onto it, “what might this really entail? And I suppose my second question is- what do you think we have to discuss here? Answer both and I’m thinking you’ll get a better kiss.” The girl took a small sip of the drink tilting her head at him letting her hair fall in front of her shoulders intrigued at what he might say.

Puck let go off her as she moved to pour herself some more snake juice. “So…prom could go one of two ways. Turns out there is an actual adult prom coming up. So, Jim could get tickets to that, rent a limo, and do that type of prom. Option two is more of a low key thing. He was planning on decorating a space. Having a one on one prom. Your choice. He’s down with either option. Both involve you in a pretty dress and spiked punch,” he responded. Puck reached out and ran his fingers through her hair, playing with a strand. “As for what I think we have to discuss? I would like to keep hanging out with you…and kissing you…and maybe ya know…other stuff. But I don’t want other people to know because I don’t want you to get any shit for doing whatever we might end up doing. Basically…I have fun with you. And I think we could have a hell of a lot more fun together…if you wanted.” He leaned forward and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

The blonde smirked at his reply as she took brought the drink to her lips, she let her mind wonder for a moment as she drank throwing back the last of it before she placed the glass on the table closing her eyes, “Okay that last sip hit like the first batch did..” The blonde shook her head as she let a small giggle escape, “Reminder- Ana is done drinking, for now..” She smiled at him playing with her blonde locks, “I think it’s dealers choice then for prom. Though I may go light blue on the dress, let Jim know and to match accordingly. Though I do suppose that blue and yellow are quite the match.” She leaned towards Puck leaving her lips just inches away from his, “Oh so I’m the dirty little secret? Or are you the dirty little secret? Either way, I think for now that might be the best solution..” Ana pressed her lips together pressing down as if she’d just applied chapstick, pulling away just a little bit “Plus after what just happened, I’m in no place to date anyone- At least not for a hot while.” The girl brought her hands to the collar of his shirt half linking her fingers underneath it, ‘So purely for fun, last question before I personally use other tactics to make you not talk.. What might you mean by more fun?” The girl raised her right eyebrow as she slowly pulled him closer to her pulling on the collar of his shirt, “Because if it’s what I think it is I can just keep pulling you closer, am I wrong?”

Puck chuckled and watched her place the empty glass down, happy that she enjoyed the day as much as he did. “No more snake juice today,” he agreed as he tangled his fingers in her hair. “You’d look gorgeous in light blue. I’ll let Jim know so he can get you the right corsage. I’ll also make sure to let him know that he can’t disappoint you on prom night.” He smirked as she leaned closer to him and fought the urge to kiss her. “I’m definitely the dirty little secret, babe,” he muttered as he stared at her lips, frowning when she pulled away a bit. “Labels are overrated anyways,” he agreed. Puck honestly knew that he already had a shitty reputation and didn’t want that affecting Ana in any way. His frown turned into a smirk as she grabbed the collar of his shirt and brought him closer to her. Puck nodded as he licked his lower lip. “More fun….it’s exactly what you think it is,” he muttered, “and it’s whatever you want it to be, babe.” He moved his hand from her hair down to her waist. “It’s all up to you,” he muttered before nudging his nose against hers.

Ana couldn’t help but smile as he spoke, the idea of the prom she hadn't gotten was a bit more exciting to her then she thought. “He better not, I’ve those this whole thing built up in my head.” She pulled on his shirt collar bringing in a little closer, “As long as we’re clear on the labels suck and that you’re the secret I think I can live with this.” Ana pulled his collar once more bringing him right to her lips, she tilted her head right before she spoke, “I think more fun might be a good idea.” The blonde unhooked her fingers as she quickly kissed the boy in front of her before she stood up from the couch leaving him for a moment, she rounded the couch trailing her finger along the top cushion, “Well if it’s up to me, you might want to do one smart thing right now and follow..” The blonde paused once she was on the other side looking at him, “After all since we’re no longer drinking, I think there might be a somewhat better place to do that..” The girl walked down the hallway with a small jump in her step as she dug her feet into the plush carpet, she paused looking back at him, “You coming Noah?” She smirked at her comment chewing her bottom lip, wondering what he’d do to her saying his first name.

As quickly as she kissed him, she was gone. His gaze intently followed her movements around the room and down the hall. A smirked played on his lips and spread across his face at her words. Puck couldn’t help but arch an eyebrow at the use of his first name. “Oh yes, ma’am,” he responded before getting off of the couch. Making his way over to her, he bent down and swiftly threw her over his shoulder. “…but let’s keep the Noah use for naked times,” he added with a tap to her butt. Chuckling, he carried her down the hallway into the bedroom and kicked the door shut behind him. The two had a lot of details to work out about their new arrangement.

#para #para: sjs #parawhatif #ana #drinking tw #alcohol tw

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meggellithorne · 5 years

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all the beautiful nostalgic moments of my youth:

1. homemade ice lollies

2. camping with my family

3. picking up acorns for the “perfect fire” with grampa

4. lanterns on New Years Eve

5. losing my favourite stick & Grampa holding my hand & following my steps to find it

6. braaing with Grampa

7. cooking with gran

8. school projects with my grandparents

9. my grade 7 lightning poster with mom

10. dad going all the way home from the airport to fetch my favorite ring so I didn’t have to leave home without it

11. mom doing me & my brothers nails in a little bowl when we were super small

12. that time I lost P200 I was supposed to give to my grade 7 teacher and had an anxiety attack and cried because I was so scared I’d get into trouble & mom gave me a hug and told me it was okay

13. trying on dresses for my matric dance with my mom & gran

14. going to milky lane & watching “When in Rome” with my gran

15. Ocean Basket with my dad

16. Perna Perna with my gran & grampa

17. drawing a whale at my grandparents house & my mom having it framed (age 7, mom drew a horse)

18. running down Kilimanjaro with my dad (even though he told my brother he’d rather have gone with him)

19. dad saying “I love you so much, you’re always on my side” one day when I was small and he came home late at night from work

20. dad bringing home two pieces of nickel from the mine for me & my little brother

21. mom teaching me how to draw shapes

22. napping at the top of my clothes cupboard because I could fit & liked to sleep in hidden places

23. my childhood friend Kyra & I picking lemons & putting them in our dresses to make boobs

24. shopping with mom

25. gran teaching me how to knit & getting me a Barbie sewing machine for my birthday

26. mom giving me a pretty purple passport doll one day when I was anxious that she was mad at me

27. gran teaching me how to plait

28. dads hugs & cuddles & little massages

29. Simba & Tigger, the most beautiful little animals

30. walking on the monkey bars with my friend Robynne every break time

31. teaching my childhood crush (Christiaan) how to write the number 3

32. making vegetable soup in my grade 1 class with Mrs Richards

33. Mrs Van de Bought taking me home and getting me an ice-cream because Harry Potter, our class movie, was really scary (age 4)

34. Shakawe with my friend Shevaun: we made up silly songs & put on a show for the family (age 11)

35. the day my dad bought home my JCB teddy bear from his company trip in London

36. Christmases in Plett, and riding our bikes all over (especially the time it flooded & we had to cycle in knee deep water, which was really fun)

37. story telling after lights out in the boarding house

38. my little brother and I climbing onto the roof when mom wasn’t home and jumping into the pool with our friend/brother Neil

39. also climbing onto the roof and having picnics

40. quad biking with our parents and squishing into pairs on the bikes

41. dressing up as a cat and climbing trees with my friend Meagan

42. switching clothes & climbing the jungle gym every time we went to Anniques house

43. picking mulberries with Jemma

44. decorating the treehouse at our new house

45. dad bringing home Patch

46. diving down & picking marula fruit out of the pool

47. singing to my little cousin Eric while we were waiting for his mom to get home (he was scared she wouldn’t)

48. playing teacher with my little brother and his friend Barend (I even gave them homework)

49. teaching my little brother how to read

50. my high school friendships, their closeness & the sisterhood (Kelly, Kieran & Tshili)

51. Aero plane trips home from boarding school with Amy

52. holding my little cousin Robbie when he was just a baby (making extra sure I was cradling his head)

53. playing barbies outside with my little brother and building whole towns

55. that carpet with the roads & a little city which we’d play cars on

56. drawing hearts with mine & Christiaans initials on the mirror after I showered

57. the day he asked me to be his girlfriend in grade 6 (we said we loved each other straight after that lol)

58. taking Simba into the bush and driving slowly behind her in the car as she ran into the wilderness

59. making little beds in my draws for Tigger

60. the furry mouse toy/memento the vet gave me after Tigger died

61. Sun City with Sean & Conner (and one time my grandparents came) on all my birthday’s.

62. when I got my first phone from my gran and Grampa

63. me & Hannah’s medieval outfits from my Aunty Carol

64. all the important people being proud of me & my good report cards

65. my walk with dad when he told me he’d like me to repeat grade 8 because I was too much younger than my peers (who bullied me)

66. watching “How to lose a guy in 10 days” every Christmas with my mom, because for some reason it always showed on TV in December

67. chewing gum for the first time on Robberg mountain

68. boogie boarding with my dad because we were too young to do it ourselves

69. dad’s French toast

70. Mom’s soup

71. lunches with my aunty & gran every Wednesday during my first year at boarding school

72. decorating my room at my gran & Grampa’s house

73. building my milk carton car with my Grampa in the back yard

74. gran’s Sunday brunches & Heckers nursery

75. singing “party for 2”, “lemon tree”, “pretty Belinda”, “away in a manger” and “grandpas old jalopy” in the car as a family during road trips

76. picking flowers and bringing them to my mom

77. making special headache bags (sandwich bags with water and flowers in them, tied with a hair band) & special soap concoctions in the shower

78. climbing the tree at the the tennis club

79. playing with red velvet mites & mophane worms & making them race

80. riding those plastic black motorbikes on the tennis courts

81. jay boarding with Reece & Kyle (and tying them to the back of our bikes to go extra fast)

82. turning a lawnmower into a go-cart with my little brother

83. spray painting fishing lures with my dad

84. drawing a horse sign for the farm with my little cousins (I was director)

85. my first kiss

86. dancing with my roommate KB at a dance I forgot the name of but had the best time at

87. singing my moms ringtone so she’d think her phone was ringing and would come find us

88. playing rugby and soccer with my dad

89. playing canasta with my dad & our secret cheat code

90. being 5 years old and insisting on like 4 outfit changes every day

91. Aunty Solfrid washing and styling my hair with little butterfly clips and doing my makeup

92. being in a dance play and getting to be a pink ballerina (age 4)

93. playing tennis with Loryn & Shevaun

94. breaks with Robyn & Tunanjina (we “invented” a game where you had to throw our school hats to each other & catch them with sticks)

95. watching high school musical with my mom & little brother

96. singing & playing “I’m a Barbie girl on repeat” with a big set of headphones

97. dressing up as a fairy or princess every chance I got

98. watching the nutcracker & Care Bears on video at my grans house

99. going to the pantomime

100. the elephant teddie bear that aunty Vicki got me when Eric was born, and the brown talking bear she got especially for me when I had pneumonia

101. helping dad with the cottage window putty

102. decorating “my room” with gran & grampa

103. boat trips with the family, dad letting us drive around the bouys & mom teaching us how to blow bubbles with chappies

104. singing “angels” by Robbie Williams with KB in the boarding house & painting our nails glittery blue

105. being a close little family & feeling loved & cherished & important

I know these are just the good moments, and that writing this made me cry because things aren’t like this anymore; but these are the moments I will always hold close to my heart - however trivial they may seem.

#fairynotes

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themoosewhowrites · 5 years

Text

The Sirens of Pella, Iowa

Three girls sit beside a pool.

They weren’t the same girls from yesterday, the girls from yesterday all had red hair and cute freckles that dotted their face. They weren't the girls from the day before, either, the girls from the day before had caramel skin and curly hair pulled into a topknot, with deep-set golden eyes that shone, stark against their dark skin. Somehow, the people of Pella knew they aren’t going to be the same girls tomorrow either, the girls from tomorrow will have an infinite number of features, their different coloured eyes blurred into one. The girls from today had hair that was black and wavy, coming down to their waist, their narrow-slanted eyes looked like two black holes bored into their skulls, black enough to give chills to whoever dared to look in them.

Some days, they talk, their low and melodic voices travel across the water in low hums.

They talk in an ancient language, a forgotten tongue, long been abandoned by men and left behind by their own kind. Sometimes, it sounded sad, the tone of their unfamiliar and jarring words float across the air and dispense a blanket of tears across the town. Those days, the air felt heavy and the children lie in bed, refusing to get up.

On other days, they just sit beside the pool silently, with their legs perpetually dangled in the water, their eyes dead set ahead. In that state, they didn’t look much like three young 20-ish girls hanging out at a pool, they looked like predators, lying in wait, sharpening their claws, ready to pounce out.

Ready to kill.

Children of Pella didn’t like the girls much.

In some sense, children were like dogs, able to smell out insincerity and evilness, look past the pretty faces and perfect hourglass figures that adults often cannot see through, and see with clarity, the shivered up old women behind those faces.

Over time, those feelings developed into a fear of the swimming pool that eventually turned into an overwhelming fear of water. They cried whenever they came into contact with water, screamed when their confused and panicking mothers forced them into the bathtub and kicked and bit and sobbed when their angry fathers took them to the swimming pool tried to take them in.

Doctors did not have any idea what was going on with the children of Pella, Iowa, they determined that they were healthy, but just with a sudden, inexplicable fear of water.

So, mothers took off swimming classes off the timetables and fathers cracked their knuckles in preparation of wrestling their child down for a weekly bath, and the children stared in dreaded horror at the slightest mention of water.

The people here, who were, much like their small-town European ancestors, quite averse to change in their normally peaceful lives. Day after day, night after night, they became obsessed with the idea of the supernatural invading their homes, slipping through quietly under the door frames and the cracks in the windows, soon, the relatively small and quiet town of Pella begun to stage their very own witch hunt.

It was strange, to say the least, a practice that had gone out of date due to science or common sense for at least 400 years now, emerge once again, 1000 miles out from the location of the most famous witch trial in history, in a 21st-century small town.

It was strange, how quickly humans lose any sense of rationality when things out of the ordinary arise.

The first thing they did was burning down the swimming pool.

Hundreds and thousands of them, the entire population of this tried town, carrying matches and flare guns and lighters and flamethrowers. They marched like a tireless militia, except their destination was not glorious conquest of some empire, it was the glorious conquest of the local swimming pool.

They threw open the cast iron gates of the pool, bursting in, an army of suburban mums and redneck dads and those who have seen better days, they flipped tables, looking for any signs of the supposed witchcraft, they poured gasoline on the place that they once loved as a community and set the whole place ablaze.

Through the flames, three girls screamed, maybe they were just teenage girls hanging out in the swimming pool for fun, maybe they were something more, more ancient, more terrifying.

Whatever they were, the town didn’t care, because after all, the ends justify the means.

Right?

That night, when the air still smelt of gasoline and fire and fear, when all the townsfolk went home with screaming in their ears and regret gnawing at their hearts (because after all, human are sentimental creatures).

That night, as the clocks strike midnight, all the babies and the children woke up crying, mothers are pulled from their dreams and fathers lay on their bed pretending to be asleep.

The very next day, all the water that came out of the taps was red as blood and tasted like ash.

The elders were the first ones to be turned on.

Ripped from their homes, the fragile beings whimpered with every movement, their saggy skin shook as they were condemned by their fellow humans. By those who had once called them family, friends, acquaintances, by those who had once looked upon them for the wisdom of their days.

They watched in silence as their children and grandchildren tied them to posts in the middle of the town square, as their own flesh and blood pour gasoline on top of them, drenched them in foul-smelling liquid, as those whom they had known since forever flicked open a lighter and threw it down amongst their feet.

There, they died, surrounded by family and friends, screaming as their own flesh bubbled and boiled, and died hearing the cries of angry men and desperate women and scared children who had just watched their grandparents go up in flames.

“Witches!”

“They were going to be the death of us.”

“Mummy, why did grandpa burn?”

“Because he was evil, darling, he was what made you sick, he was what made the waters red, now shush.”

And amongst those grieving and those yelling, three girls stood in the midst of the crowd, their eyes dead set ahead, and their mouths pressed into a thin line.

And amongst the noise of the crowd, three distinct whispers rose above the rest, repeating one sentence over and over again like a broken record.

“You think it’s all over?”

The whispers made good on their promise, the very next day, the heavy fog coated the town, choking them with it.

Maybe, deep in their hearts, they had known that killing their kin would not do anything to relieve the situation, but they were desperate, they were scared, and they turned.

In a house near the swimming pool with a slanted roof and square windows, a woman woke up with a knife pressed against her neck and a dozen people staring down on her. Through the chilly night breeze, her screams were chilling as they shot her in the stomach and left her there to die. Through her pain, she saw her friends whom she had brunch with just a week before, she saw her husband, looking tired but not guilty, she saw her children, their large eyes filled with tears as they were pulled away from their dying mother.

An angry mob marched up to the church, they poured gasoline everywhere, over the chairs that they had used to sit in every Sunday. When the priest fell down on his knees and begged, the mob didn’t waver, they left the church burning, drowning the town in screams.

A man woke up to fire and the smell of his own burning flesh, he died in his home, with his wife and children watching from the outside.

The town found evil in everyone and everything, they were paranoid and fearful, and humankind was at their worst when they are paranoid and fearful. Mothers turned on daughters, sons turning on fathers, former best friends smiled as the other were dipped in oil and set on fire.

They were slowly destroying themselves, and they didn’t care.

In the dark, three teen girls smile from the shadows, their blonde hair shone in the sunlight and their lips red with blood.

“I have missed this, I don’t think I have seen anything as beautiful as this.” The first one signed, dipping one finger into a pool of blood and ashes and burnt human flesh.

“They don’t even realize, do they? They don’t even realize what they are doing to themselves,” the second girl laughed, “but then again, where would we be without that.”

They all smiled and looked at each other with gleaming eyes that didn’t look like they belonged to a teen, too old and too malicious to fit comfortable on such a young face.

“We should all be on our knees,” the third smirked, “thanking them for their ignorance, thanking them for their bloodlust, thanking them for the feast that they so willingly provided,” she smiled, pausing to lick her fingers clean of blood, “poor bastards, they don’t even know.”

“No, no they don’t.”

#writing #short story #tw violence #mild violence #mild horror #(very)#mild gore

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behthelight · 7 years

Text

Porque es nueva para mí esta sensación

Third day of ficweek is here, yay! Thanks to Bianca @from-red-string for her encouraging words and support.

I’m usually @silveranchor, but it wouldn’t let me post it like that under the tags :( :/

Ficday 3: “Hello I’m your boss and you’re the new employee who just saw me shove an entire cupcake into my mouth.”

To say this had been a terrible week would be an understatement. The fruit shipment for the juice bar had been late, the stage lights had stopped working, there was a leak in the girl’s bathroom and the routine she needed to choreograph for the upcoming competition was nowhere near ready. In fact, the only good thing about her week so far has been that Ámbar felt sorry for telling Aunt Sharon at their last brunch that Luna was not planning on attending the next fancy rich people gathering at the Benson mansion (something that had made Sharon Benson look at her niece with absolute displeasure and retire to her room claiming to have a headache), and had sent her a box full of her favorite cupcakes as an apology. Ámbar has never been good with emotions or people, but if that means she makes it up with gifts like this one, Luna isn’t going to complain.

She took the gift with her to work at the Jam & Roller, knowing she is probably going to need a sugar boost during the day. Simón had smiled when she’d told him who the cupcakes were from, probably happy to be reminded of how much his girlfriend has changed in the last few years. It has been a long time since Ámbar wanted Luna and her adoptive family out of her life.

Luna is in her office, writing a check for the plumber who came to fix the bathroom, when Pedro barges in, not even bothering to knock. “Hey, boss! Just wanted to let you know that Nico and I checked on the stage lights again and they’re working just fine!” His eyes go from her to the box sitting on her desk. “Oh, are those red velvet?”, he reaches towards her cupcakes and she smacks his hand away; he just looks at her offended, cradling his arm.

She points at him accusingly. “Those are mine, Pedro! If you touch them I’ll make Simón switch your conditioner for mayonnaise!” “Hey! I get it! They’re yours and I shouldn’t go anywhere near them, there’s no need for violent threats”, he says, slowly backing off from her desk. “I’ll be working in the juice bar if you need me, and don’t forget the newbie Simón interviewed will be coming later for you to show him around and tell him what he’s supposed to do.”

“Crap, that was today? I had no idea. I guess I forgot to add it to the calendar after Simón called.” Luna had put Simón in charge of hiring a new employee after she realized she needed someone to help her coach the new skating team since she was always so busy with managing the place and school work. He’d been conducting a few interviews and finally found someone who filled all the requirements last week. She knew nothing about the new coach, except he was a guy and that Simón was pretty impressed with his skating skills.

Luna had become the manager of the Jam & Roller a couple of years ago after she graduated from Blake South College. Tamara had offered her the job after she received an opportunity to further her career outside Argentina and Luna had jumped at the chance. Her aunt had been very opposed to the idea of Luna working in such a place instead of devoting all of her time to her studies, but with Ámbar’s and her grandpa’s help; she had convinced Sharon that she could work and get her degree in Environmental Science at the same and that the manager position would look great on her resume.

“Yeah, he texted Simón to tell him he was on his way already. You sure you don’t want one of us to introduce him to the job instead? You do seem a little... busy”, Pedro says with a concerned look. Luna just sighs, “No, it’s my job to introduce new employees to their duties. You go check that we have everything we need.”

He nods at her and takes his leave; forgetting to close the door behind him. Not caring enough to close it herself, Luna slouches on her chair and rubs her forehead, trying to remember if there is anything else she is forgetting; nothing comes to mind. She looks longingly at her delicious cupcakes, giving up on keeping them all for later. She grabs one with pink frosting, peeling off the colorful liner cup and inhaling the sweet scent. Gosh, it smells like heaven and Luna doesn’t care about anything else anymore. Her worries, the stress, her exhaustion: everything melts away when she finally gets the first bite of red velvet perfection. She moans from happiness and licks the pink cream cheese frosting off her lips; so consumed in her sugary bliss, she doesn’t even notice someone standing in the doorway until after she decides “to hell with it” and shoves the rest of the cupcake into her mouth.

She hears a cough coming from the entrance of her office and finally registers she isn’t alone. A tall guy is leaning on the doorframe, looking both uncomfortable and like he’s trying to hold back a laugh. That’s when Luna realizes she still hasn’t swallowed her cupcake, probably making her look like a chipmunk. She chews and swallows as fast as she can, feeling her face heating up. The guy is still there, staring like he doesn’t quite know what to make of her. She can only stare back. He looks about her age, maybe a few years older. His clothes look expensive and perfectly ironed, he would have no problem fitting in with her Aunt’s social circle. His face makes her do a double take, though; not only because he’s incredibly attractive, but because she’s sure she knows him from somewhere.

He clears his throat, breaking her from her thoughts, “Hello, are you the manager? Simón Álvarez told me to show up to this office today, I am the new employee.” He looks at her expectantly, and she shakes her head before answering, as if that would help, “Yeah… mmm, yeah,” she wipes her now sweaty hands on her jeans and holds a hand out for a shake “I’m Luna Valente, welcome to the Jam & Roller!”

The minute he takes her hand, she feels as if she’d been given an electric shock; his skin burning against hers. She tries to keep a neutral expression and not looks as flustered as she is. What the hell is wrong with her?

When he takes back his hand, she feels as if her body temperature had dropped ten degrees. “Nice to meet you, Miss Valente, I’m Matteo Balsano.”

“Oh no! Just Luna is fine… Miss Valente sounds way too formal.” She freezes after saying this, remembering something. “Wait, Matteo as in Ámbar Smith’s ex-boyfriend? Gastón’s best friend?”

He looks confused now, “Yeah, how do you know that?” She winces, realizing she probably sounded like a creepy stalker. “Oh, we went to school together, you and I! I was a year below you. My best friend Nina is dating Gastón, he actually talks a lot about you… And Ámbar is sort of my cousin.” She said that too fast and now has to take a long breath.

Matteo’s eyes light up in recognition; he really has the brightest brown eyes she has ever seen. “Yes! You’re Sharon Benson’s niece, right? I thought you looked familiar, now I know why!” He’s beaming at her and she does her best to resist the impulse to get her phone out and take a picture of his beautiful face.

She tries to make her voice come out as more than a squeak and fails. “Yeah, me too! I’d never really talked to you before, though, since you and Ámbar broke up before I came to Argentina and Gastón and Nina didn’t start hanging out until last year; but I definitely saw you around a lot. Not like I was actively looking for you or anything,” she backtracks, “I mean, you were one of the most popular guys at school and we had drama class together… and you’re like a legend here at the roller; they did use to call you the King of The Rink, after all.”

He chuckles and sends an amused expression her way; she really hopes her cheeks aren’t as red as she feels they are. She really doesn’t know why she’s acting like a total idiot in from of this guy. She’s used to being awkward, but this is a whole other level. She needs to get her crap together. She’s his new boss, for heaven’s sake!

“Oh yeah, that…” He looks a little embarrassed by her mention of his former title, which seems weird to her; the Matteo she remembers watching from afar used to be very proud of himself for being considered the best. “I remember you too, one never forgets his ex’s not-cousin who comes back from the dead.” He smiles at his own joke and she can’t help but do the same. “No, but seriously, I do remember you. We did a scene from Romeo and Juliet together for a drama assignment, I remember you couldn’t get your lines right so we ended up winging it.”

The memory comes to Luna’s mind, clear as day. “Oh my gosh! I had totally forgotten about that! Everyone was laughing at us so hard!” He nods enthusiastically and grins at her. “The teacher never let us work together again. I also remember you being an amazing skater. I left the team a little after you joined, but I watched the competitions and you always killed it. I was actually impressed at how you managed to improve so much in so little time, you were quite a clumsy skater when you first came, if my memory doesn’t fail me.”

Luna can’t fight him on that, she was indeed a total mess when she first started learning. “It really is great to see you again, but I’m a little confused as to why you’re here. I thought you were studying diplomacy at Oxford.” She honestly wonders what on earth he is doing in Buenos Aires, as the new employee of the Jam & Roller, no less. As far as she knows, his family is loaded and he got a full scholarship to the British university, being a legacy prospect and one of the best of his graduating class; at least that’s what she heard from Ámbar and Gastón.

He looks uncomfortable by the change of topic, his hand coming up to his hair in a nervous gesture. “Uh, I actually quit school. I realized that diplomacy wasn’t what I liked to do so I decided to pursue my dream of becoming a singer and composer instead. My dad didn’t like the idea very much, so he sort of disowned me and told me to find a place to live on my own. Argentina is the only place I still have friends at, so… Here I am.”

Wow, never in all of her life would Luna Valente have imagined the most popular guy in the history of Blake South College to be in her office, looking like he needed a hug. All of her mental power went into resisting the urge to throw her arms around him and tell him it would all be alright. She could never imagine her parents doing something like that to her… but maybe her aunt would if she could. She remembers her being absolutely mad when she found out Luna was majoring in Environmental Science and not Business Administration. Sharon Benson had hoped for her niece to follow in her footsteps and inheriting the family business, but Luna’s mind was set on studying something she was passionate about and not something someone else had picked for her. Luckily, Ámbar had decided to study business and was happy to fulfill all of Sharon’s expectations, which had placated her aunt’s anger, along with Ámbar’s speech about how careers having to do with the environment were listed as some of the most relevant for the future of business managing.

“Well, I think you did the right thing in standing up for your dreams, if that counts for anything. Anyway, I’m glad that it’s you who got hired. You’re gonna be an amazing coach for the new roller team, I have no doubt about that.” She gives him her brightest smile, hoping it somehow might make him know that she truly means everything she just said. This Matteo in front of her seems very different from the Matteo from a few years ago: softer, less guarded, more mature. His smile has certainly changed; definitely more genuine now. And of course, the old Matteo - as handsome as he’d always been- had never sent her heart racing as much as the one staring at her this right second, an unreadable but warm look in his eyes. Luna isn’t sure she ever wants to stop being lost in them.

“Thanks, Luna. It does mean a lot and I’m really glad to be working with you, boss”, he says with a smirk. Oh boy, is she just crazy or did that just made him ten times more attractive, if that is even possible?

“Uh, yeah! That’s great! Hmm, I guess I should show you to your locker and tell you about your responsibilities and stuff.” That came out like a question, it shouldn’t have.

“I’d love that. I’m actually excited to start working.” He looked it, and the expression suited him so well it was ridiculous. She should really get herself in line; she can’t be crushing on someone she just talked to for the first time in years, who she didn’t even use to be friends with in the first place. He is Ámbar’s ex-boyfriend and her new employee! What the heck is she thinking? “Okay, then let’s head out and start!” She walks toward the door and he steps away from her path, smiling. “After you, boss.”

She holds back a chuckle at his antics and is about to head out when she feels his hand on her wrist, pulling her back. Her world stops for a second and her heart beats like crazy as she turns to look at him. Matteo’s face is too close, his breath tickling her skin as he looks down at her, clearly amused by something. “You might wanna clean up a little before stepping out. Your chin and nose are covered in pink frosting.”

Luna is sure her cheeks are redder than tomatoes. Of course she has to make a fool of herself in front of Matteo Balsano, of all people!

She’s about to lift her free hand to clean herself up, but he beats her to it. She didn’t even notice him getting out-out a handkerchief from the breast pocket of his vest, she’d been too absorbed in her embarrassment. He wipes the frosting off her face gently, his tongue sticking out in concentration. Luna is no longer sure she’s breathing. When he’s satisfied with his job, he skillfully folds the handkerchief with one hand and puts it back in its place. He is still holding her wrist and his thumb is drawing lazy circles on her skin; she shivers, trying to regain her composure.

Luna clears her throat and Matteo seems to remember he still hasn’t let her go. He looks a little flustered when he does, but maybe she’s just imagining it. “Uh, thanks. We should… we should get going now.”

“Yeah, right. We should.” Matteo’s cheeks have taken on a red tint and she finds a little relief in knowing that maybe she’s not the only one affected by what just happened. She really hopes she can get over whatever is going on with her soon, she doesn’t think she’ll be able to survive working alongside him every day if every time he looks her way she keeps forgetting how to think rationally. These butterflies in her stomach, she’s never felt something like that with anyone else before; and just how pathetic of her to get infatuated so quickly with a guy who’s clearly out of her league. Attempting to clear her head, she leads the way to the locker room and he follows.

After showing him to his locker and giving him a brief explanation of everything he has to do, she lets him leave. It’s a slow day and they won’t have team rehearsal until tomorrow. He seemed very committed and excited about his job, and she tried to tell herself that no, that doesn’t make her heart melt. She watches him from the entrance of the Jam & Roller now, making his way across the parking lot. He suddenly stops and turns, a huge smile on his face. “Thanks for everything, Luna,” he shouts, “I promise I won’t let you down.”

She beams back at him and waves goodbye, her brain not able to come up with a response. Matteo keeps walking away from the building, and as she watches his figure retreat, she makes a mental note to thank Simón for hiring him. No matter how stupid he renders her with his presence, she can’t wait to see him again tomorrow.

#lutteoficweek #soy luna #luna valente #matteo balsano #lutteo #silveranchor

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viralhottopics · 8 years

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‘Rugrats’ Characters Ranked By Betchiness

For this weeks TBT, were going to take a look into the lives of the most influential baby friend group of the ’90s. Im talking, of course, about the Rugrats and, most importantly, how betchy or not betchy each Rugrat is. Is it polite to rank toddlers who have not yet learned to speak based on arbitrary social categories? Probs not. Is it fun? Fucking duh.

1. Cynthia

Heres what we know about Cynthia: 1) Shes a really cool dancer, 2) Shes got cool moves (as long as you move her arms and legs), 3) Shes movin out on the floor, 4) Shes ready to break some eggs (make an omelette Cynthia!) How do we know all this? We know it from her workout tape, which I am shocked has not been sampled by Avicii or Kanye or someone yet (dont listen unless you want this song stuck in your head all day).

youtube

Cynthias resting bitch face is on point, and she manages to look great in her belted orange dress despite the fact that she is missing of her hair. Cynthia didnt say or do shit for all 9 seasons of, yet she is still one of the shows most memorable characters, and it is her ability to do no work and remain popular that has earned her the number one slot.

2. Susie Carmichael

Susie Carmichael is cool AF. Did Susie need to appear in every episode? No. Susie had other shit to do. Shell check in every once in awhile to see what the babies are up to, teach them about Kwanzaa and generally let them know whats good, before going back next door to hang with her real friends. Whenever she does come over, the babies flip out because theyre like, obsessed with her (everyone is). Shes also the only person who has absolutely no time for Angelicas bullshit, probably because Susie has better hair, a better outfit, and wears a cool red bangle, which is more than Angelica could ever hope to have. Susie is three, which makes her older and wiser than most of the babies and probably accounts for the sheer lack of fucks she has to give. Did Susie get her ass lost in the woods when Dil was born? Fuck no, she was chilling in Paris getting turnt up with her older sister! Did Susie almost die with the Rugrats in EuroReptarland? No bitch, I just told you shes already been to Paris! Susie Carmichael always comes correct, and thats what earned her the number two spot.

3. Tommy Pickles

Tommy Pickles is the star of the show, which virtually guarantees him betchiness. Tommy also has the whole dressing like a slut thing down and spends all nine seasons of wearing nothing but a crop top and booty shorts. His outfit never stops him from leading his friend group on adventures, and you know once he can talk and operate a phone hed be the person managing the group chat, suggesting what clubs and parties to go to, making sure everyone is getting the free shots they deserve, and seeing you into your Uber at the end of the night. The thing holding Tommy back from the top spot is that hes too fucking nice. Hell let any baby with shit in their diaper come hang with him (cough CHUCKIE cough), and that means his friend group is riddled with duds (HI CHUCKIE). Be a little more discerning about your friend group, Thomas, and maybe well see you up at the top with Cynthia.

4. Angelica Pickles

We cant talk about Cynthia without getting to her BFF and designated Rugrat BSCB, Angelica Pickles. Angelica spent most of torturing the dumb babies (who were really only like a year younger than her) and making them miserable, yet still somehow being invited to all the group hangs, play dates, and brunches. Angelica spends a lot of time telling everyoneincluding the adultshow beautiful she is and is absolutely desperate for attention, probably because her rich AF parents never pay attention to her. Shes your friend who cries and starts shit at the club anytime she feels like shes not the hottest girl there (and she frequently is notthanks Cynthia!) Also girl, lay off the cookies.

5. Charlotte Pickles

Charlotte Pickles is Angelicas mom who is literally always on her phone. Like, always. Even in a time before cellphones could fit in your pocket, Charlotte is always on the phone with her assistant Jonathan (Cheban? We dont know) and ignores basically every member of her family to do so. When phones dont work, Charlotte straight up makes her husbands brother carry a fax machine around so she doesnt miss any important texts. Charlotte alternates between a power suit and workout gear, always accompanied by an Ariana Grande level high ponytail. In , Charlotte displays clear signs of some seriously botched cosmetic surgery, which is what has dropped her down to slot #5. Never try to cut corners on botox, Charlotte! Itll always go wrong. Honestly, Jonathan should have told you that.

6. Grandpa Lou

Grandpa Lou is another character who gives absolutely zero fucks and is down to hang. Much like Corinne, Lou loves naps and often falls asleep halfway through finishing his stories. Despite his old age, Lou is still a fuckboy, and is often seen hitting on women and generally trying to find ways to get laid. If had taken place in 2017, Lou would have definitely had a Tinder and that Tinder definitely would have had a picture of him from 20+ years earlier. Lou is eventually successful in finding a new wife, Lulu, who he moves in with pretty fast after they start hooking up (risky choice, Lou!) Outside of his strangely active love life, Lou also has many frenemies, including his own cousin Miriam; his bowling rival, Billy Strike Maxwell; and some other wrestling guy named Conan McNulty. This proves that when push comes to shove, Lou is just not very popular and kind of an old perv. Sixth place for you, Lou.

7. Phil And Lil Deville

Okay Im sorry, but Phil and Lil are fucking gross. Their diet is a mess, always eating fucking worms and mud and shit. Do you know how many calories are in a ball of worms, kids? Do you? Seriously. There is a episode where Phil and Lil drink straight-up toilet water. What the fuck is that? Is that something babies do? Phil and Lil also have no creativity when it comes to fashion, and instead just dress alike every damn day in greena color that is flattering on exactly 0 people. Their mom is a hardcore feminist, which is cool, but maybe the twins have been empowered to do a little bit too much. Like sure, Lil can do whatever she wants with her life, but maybe eating a giant pile of shit should not be one of those things? Idk. Seventh place.

8. Stu Pickles

Good Lord is Stu Pickles a sad man. Seriously. You have a beautiful house, two healthy babies, a cool Jewish wife who has managed to maintain her pre-baby body, and youre still fucking complaining! Look around, asshole! You have all this shit despite the fact that your dumb ass hasnt invented one successful toy. In fact, you havent even invented one toy that didnt explode and almost kill your entire family. You are literally #blessed but youre too blind to see it! The only thing keeping you from the bottom slot is this meme which, in the current political climate, is legit all of our lives right now:

9. Chuckie Finster

No. Just no. Im sorry, but again, its gonna be a hard pass on Chuckie. Here are all the things Chuckie would have to improve if he ever even wanted to hope to be betchy. 1) His voice, which is terrible. Do you have a cold, Chuckie? Go to the damn doctor. Its the ’90s. Hillary Clinton has passed the State Childrens Health Insurance Plan. You can go to the doctor. Go. 2) Grow. A. Pair. Dude. You know when Chuckie gets older hes gonna be your friend who calls the cops on his own party for getting out of hand. Hes gonna be that guy who side eyes you for doing molly at Coachella, making weird comments under his breath about how you never know whats in that stuff and generally bringing bad vibes despite the fact that Beyonc is literally pregnant and dancing in front of you. 3) The hair is a problem. Comb it. Dye it. Do something. Its a problem. 4) Tie your fucking shoes, dude. 9th place.

10. Chas Finster

There was no character on television from 1991-2004 that was less betchy than Chas Finster. He has all of Chuckies problems, but he is a fucking adult which means he has literally no excuse for being such a narc. Chas seems to be suffering from whatever health problems are affecting his son, and despite being a bureaucrat, apparently has no ability to get his ass to a doctor either. Like many sad old nerds, Chas must travel to a foreign country to find a wife, eventually convincing a way-too-hot-for-him Japanese woman to fly to America and be his Melania. Chas also has a double-Hitler mustache, which is 100% unacceptable, no matter what decade you live in. Sorry, Chas. Last place.