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blueskrugs · 3 years

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Fallin' in Love (in the Middle of the Night) | Joel Farabee

or, as I said in a text to @nazdaddy a couple weeks ago: "hear me out. summer camp AU with beezer." I really miss summer camp and I feel like bee fits the vibes. I've been going to camp since I was 12 and a lot of this is based on that camp and the experiences I've had there. have fun reading!

tagging: @marcoscandellas @stlbluesbrat21 @dembenchboys @poltoncarayko @robthomissed @letmeplaytheblues @troubatrain @ayohockeycheck @blackwidowrising @aria253264 @antoineroussel @starswin @glassdanse @ch-ristiane @majdoline

length: 11k words

There was a new counselor at camp this year. His name was Joel, and no one knew much of anything about him. Most new counselors were freshly aged-out campers, or were dating a current counselor and got dragged along for the week. Joel was neither, and he’d been quiet and keeping to himself since he climbed out of his car and dumped his bags in Cabin 24 earlier that afternoon.

Avery found herself glancing over at Joel more than once while she caught up with some of her friends. He was hanging back from the clusters of other counselors, leaning against a tree and fucking around on his phone, though there was no way he was getting any reception all the way out in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by trees. His baseball hat was on backwards, and his hair was sticking out in tufts from underneath it.

Avery’s co-counselor, Caroline, nudged her in the ribs and followed her gaze. “Think he’s cute?” she teased.

Avery scoffed, but she didn’t look away as some of the guy counselors pulled Joel into whatever dumb argument they were already having. “I’m not dealing with that shit this year,” she said. Every year without fail, there were camp crushes, and they never ended well.

“He’s in our age group,” Caroline told her, which Avery knew already. They’d all gotten the cabin assignments last week, and Avery had been wondering about the new guy since then. “You’ll get to know him, maybe change your mind,” Caroline said with a grin.

Avery rolled her eyes but didn’t get a chance to respond because the camp director was trying to get everyone’s attention so they could head up to the chapel for orientation. They went slowly, still chatting in groups and clusters, yelling out to each other as they made their way up the hill, past the dining hall and towards the chapel. Avery still found herself looking over at Joel as he ambled alongside the groups of counselors. He’s still quiet, though he’s obviously listening to the conversations around him, trying to catch up on years of history and inside jokes. He caught her eye as they duck through the double doors into the AC and sent her a grin.

Caroline might’ve been right about the cute thing.

The chapel on the campgrounds isn’t much of a chapel, and is more a big open room with some of the best wifi anywhere on the property. Somehow, Joel ended up sitting next to Avery in the circle of chairs set up in the middle of the room. He’d grabbed the orientation packet every counselor got and was flipping through it eagerly. Avery snorted softly, and she reached out with her foot to nudge Joel in the shin.

“Don’t worry, dude, it’s all common sense stuff,” she told him. Even the other new counselors, the ones who had just aged out of being campers, didn’t look concerned, though being at camp for a few years was definitely more than enough to know how to basically run the camp.

Joel looked up at her and grinned again. “Yeah, I’m getting that,” he said. “I don’t think I got your name earlier,” he added.

Avery was wearing a sticker with her name scrawled on it like everyone else, but she refrained from rolling her eyes. Barely. “It’s Avery,” she whispered as Austin, the camp director, stood in the middle of the circle.

“Who’s ready for some icebreakers?” he said, way too loud for the small space. Everyone groaned, and Caroline and Avery shared a look from across the circle. “Don’t be like that, we have some new faces, and it’s been a while since everyone’s seen each other,” Austin said.

By Avery’s count, Joel was the only counselor who was truly new, but there was no stopping Austin once he was in Camp Mode.

Two and a half hours later, after they’d painstakingly gone through every page of the counselor’s manual, they finally broke for dinner.

“Is it always like that?” Joel asked as they trooped back down the hill to the dining hall.

Caroline and Avery groaned again. Joel sent them an amused look.

“Every fucking year,” Avery told him.

“I think I have the manual memorized,” Caroline added.

Joel laughed. “Something to look forward to next year then,” he said.

Avery raised her eyebrows. “The kids haven’t even shown up yet. Don’t get ahead of yourself, you might change your mind before the week is over.”

He wouldn’t really, probably, but a week of yelling kids, walking several miles in the August heat, and shitty food definitely had the potential to drive the weak of heart away. It wouldn’t be the first time, and if they did scare Joel off, it wouldn’t be the last. Joel sat across from Caroline and Avery for dinner.

“Eat up, bud,” Avery told him, watching as Joel pushed food around on his plate. “This is the best food you’ll get all week.”

Camp food was notorious for being barely edible on a good day, but because the counselors got in for orientation on a day in-between camp sessions, the kitchen staff was able to make them an actual meal. It still wasn’t the greatest food, but at least it hadn’t been made in bulk and left to sit under heat lamps.

Joel sighed, but reached for the serving bowl next to him for seconds.

Campers arrived in two buses on Sunday afternoon, but first came breakfast and way too much downtime for the counselors. Austin always said it was good for “bonding,” even though most of the counselors had known each other since they were kids.

“How did you end up here anyway?” Avery asked Joel, who was sitting across the table from her again. He’d told her and Caroline at dinner the night before that he was from upstate New York, which was decidedly not anywhere near their little campground in the Midwest wilderness.

“Thought it would be fun,” Joel said around a mouthful of eggs.

Avery never did eat those powdered eggs they served that were a sorry excuse for fresh scrambled eggs. “Please don’t talk with your mouth full, gross,” she told him.

Joel just winked at her.

The counselors lounged around at the lakefront until it was time for the buses to start showing up. Avery caught Joel’s eye at one point in the chaos of unloading kids and their bags and directing them to the right cabins, and she laughed at the look of overwhelmed terror on his face.

The madness of the first day always made it pass quickly. Before Avery knew it, it was after dinner and everyone was trooping down to the fire ring for the opening night campfire. Avery watched as Joel’s campers clustered around him as they walked.

“Who is that?” one of her girls asked. Avery tore her eyes away.

“New counselor, Joel. He’s got our age group, I’m sure you’ll get to know him,” Avery told her. She just hoped they liked him once they got to know him.

Avery ended up sitting on a log with her campers, right behind Joel and the boys. She stared at the back of his hat while she zoned out, half-listening to the same welcome speech Austin gave every year. His backpack was unzipped.

Avery reached down and absently picked up one of the wood chips by her feet. She ran her thumb over it, still pretending to pay attention to whatever Austin was saying. One of her campers next to her caught on to her idea and snickered.

Avery tossed the wood chip in her hand into Joel’s backpack. It landed with a quiet clang as it hit a can of sunscreen, but Joel paid it no mind.

“How many before he notices, do you think?” she whispered.

“Only one way to find out,” Kate whispered back.

Avery picked up another wood chip. In the next five minutes before Austin called all the counselors down for introductions, she landed a little over a dozen more wood chips in his backpack, including one that bounced off of his back and in.

“Backpack’s unzipped,” she told him as she carefully stepped passed him, hitting the bottom of the backpack.

“Thanks, hey, what the f-“ Joel caught himself. He glared at Avery as he zipped up his backpack.

Avery laughed and went next to Caroline in the line of counselors.

It wasn’t a campfire without s’mores, and they broke out the marshmallows as the sun went down. The oldest campers were always in charge of the campfires and s’more assembly, so Avery was catching up with some of her former campers on the logs near the fire. Joel plopped down on the log next to her, one leg stretched out on either side, s’more in hand.

“Want one?” he asked, holding it in Avery’s face. His fingers were sticky with melted marshmallow.

Avery pushed his hand away. “Pass.”

Joel looked personally offended. “What kind of person doesn’t like s’mores?” he asked. Now he had melted chocolate on his upper lip. Avery was carefully not looking.

“This one,” she said. Joel reached out and tugged on her braid. “Ow, what the hell?”

“Just making sure you’re a person and not, like, a robot or something,” he said. Avery just rolled her eyes.

They found out the next morning that they were letting the boy cabins and girl cabins of the same age group sit together this year for meals. Somehow, it was actually less chaotic than if they were separated. Which is how, once again, Joel ended up across the table from Avery at breakfast. She had accepted her fate. He smiled at her, looking far too awake for so early in the morning.

“Hey! Beezer!” one of the boys yelled from the other end of the table. It sounded like Cameron, Avery thought.

“What?” Joel yelled back.

“Beezer?” Avery asked, because what the hell.

“Hang on.” Joel banged his knee on the table as he went to go talk to his boys.

“Beezer?” Avery repeated when he came back, still rubbing his knee.

“From my last name, Farabee,” he explained. “They said Joel is a weird name, so I said they could call me Bee or Beezer.”

“Yeah, because Beezer is so normal,” Avery muttered. Joel kicked her under the table.

It rained Monday afternoon. It was one of those late summer thunderstorms that blew up fast and didn’t really last very long, but it rained hard enough and long enough that all activities after lunch were cancelled. Which meant they were all trapped in their cabins with their campers.

Some of the girls were doing who-knows-what in their bunks, while most of the boys had elected to stay in their cabin with Sam. Joel had followed Avery and Caroline, though, and was now lounging in the common area with them and a handful of their campers.

“I’m bored,” Joel said. Thunder rumbled in the distance. Caroline threw a Goldfish at his head. “Ow,” he said, watching as it bounced to the floor. “Hey, I could’ve eaten that,” he whined. Caroline threw another Goldfish at him, but this time he caught it and popped it in his mouth triumphantly.

“Does anyone have a deck of cards?” Caroline asked.

“Spoons?” Avery asked, getting up to dig her cards out of her bag.

“I have markers!” one of their girls yelled, dashing off to her bunk.

Joel was sitting up again and looking more interested when Avery came back and sat back next to him. She tossed the deck to Caroline to shuffle.

His hat was crooked, and Avery absently straightened it as Joel asked, “How do you play spoons?"

Caroline gasped. “How have you never played spoons before?”

Joel shrugged as he watched the bag of markers get dumped over the table in front of him.

“It’s like musical chairs, but with cards and spoons,” Avery explained. “Alright, how many are playing?”

“That explains literally nothing,” Joel said. “I’m in.”

Avery carefully counted out six markers and laid them out on the table. Caroline started dealing cards to everyone. Joel poked Avery in the arm; she ignored him.

“You’re gonna get four cards,” Avery started explaining. “The goal is to get four of the same number, four queens, four sixes, whatever. Carol is dealer, she’ll keep sending cards around one at a time. If you see a card you want, keep it, and pick a different card from your hand and pass it on instead. First person to four of a kind grabs a marker, the person who can’t get a marker is out, and then there’s one less marker in the next round.”

Joel blinked at her a couple times. “I think I’m still confused.”

Avery laughed and patted him on the leg. “You’ll figure it out,” she told him, picking up her cards.

Joel did figure it out, but only after he was too slow in the scramble for a marker in the first round and got stuck watching for a while.

“I want back in,” he complained. He poked Avery in the back with his foot where she had moved to the floor in front of him. “You’re too fast.”

Avery reached behind her to smack his hand away. “Years of practice, bud. And you’ll get back in when this game’s over.”

Joel stuck his tongue out at Avery, but only Caroline saw it.

By the time the rain let up a little over an hour later, Avery had nearly elbowed a camper in the face fighting Joel for a marker (which she won), Joel threw a marker across the room so Caroline couldn’t get it (and was automatically disqualified), and no less than three fights had broken out.

Basically, they’d had a great time. They still kicked Joel out to go back and deal with his own campers for a while, though, on the grounds of infringing on their territory.

On Monday night, Avery was standing outside her cabin, trying to make sure her flashlight actually worked when Joel came over to her.

“What’re you up to?” he asked.

Avery clicked her flashlight off. “What’re you up to?” she countered.

“Stealing extra snacks from the staff cabin,” he said easily. “You didn’t answer me.”

Avery smiled at him. He was still wearing his baseball hat, turned around the right way now, even though it was well past dark. “I was gonna go for a walk around the campgrounds,” she told him. “Carol’s in with our kids, and I usually go out for a while before bed.”

“By yourself?”

Avery almost laughed at how worried Joel looked. “Bee, I know every inch of this campground, I’ve been coming here since I was a kid.” And then before she could think better of it: “You could come with me if you want.”

Joel’s face lit up. “For real?” Avery did laugh at his face this time.

“Yes, for real. Just let me get a hoodie.” It was still summer, but nights on the lake got chilly.

“Here, just take mine, I won’t need it,” Joel said quickly. He tossed her the hoodie he’d been wearing at dinner.

It was big on her, and warm, though it no longer carried any of his body heat. It smelled like bonfire smoke and whatever deodorant Joel wore. When he turned to head back to the main path, Avery tucked her nose into the collar and took a deep breath.

“Alright, where the fuck are we going,” Joel asked when Avery caught up to him.

Avery shrugged, though she wasn’t sure how well Joel could see it in the dark. She said, “I don’t know, we usually just wander around for a while.

“We?”

Avery usually went on night walks with one of the guy counselors she was friends with, Alex, but he wasn’t there this summer. “You don’t know him,” Avery said.

Joel huffed. “So what, am I just the other guy?” he asked.

Avery laughed. “Something like that. Ooh, there’s a paintball course on the back corner of the grounds, if I can remember how to get there,” she said, already turning so she could head in the right direction. Maybe.

“Oh, lit!”

Avery could not, in fact, remember how to get to the paintball course. They’d made it partially there before Joel got freaked out because he was convinced he’d heard something in the woods behind them. Avery telling him it was probably just a raccoon did not help.

So, they ended up turning around and heading towards the front end of the campgrounds. There was a vacation lodge on that side of the lake, which had never quite made sense to Avery. She could see some of their lights glistening on the black lake. It was a clear night, and there was no one else around, which meant stargazing. Well, after Avery convinced Joel they weren’t trespassing by laying on the tennis courts.

“Do you know anything about stars?” Joel asked. He didn’t look over at Avery, still gazing up at the sky.

Avery snorted softly. “Nah, I just think they’re pretty. You can’t see stars like this in the city.” There were still some lights scattered around the campgrounds, but it was nothing compared to the light pollution of a city. “Our old camp director used to tell us one of those myths about how the stars were created, but I don’t think I remember enough of it to repeat it.” He also used to scare the kids with ghost stories, but Joel didn’t really need to hear about how the campgrounds were haunted just yet.

“Great story,” he said. Avery smacked him on the stomach. “Ow! Hey, be nice to me, or I’ll leave you out here.”

He wouldn’t, and they both knew that.

“Hey,” Joel said suddenly, pointing straight upward. “Is that Orion?”

“Isn’t Orion a winter constellation?” Avery asked. She had no idea where Joel was pointing.

“What?”

“Never mind.”

They mostly laid in silence, just watching the stars and enjoying the closeness and the quiet. Avery always missed hearing the frogs at night when she wasn’t at camp. The black night sky stretched endlessly above them, dotted with stars. Avery would live under these stars if she could. It was getting late, though, and they still had to be up bright and early the next day, so when Avery caught Joel yawning for the third time in as many minutes, she sat up.

“Time for bed?” Joel pouted up at her. “I know the mattresses here aren’t comfortable, but I promise it’ll be better than sleeping on a tennis court,” she told him. It had only been one day of actual camp, and she could already feel some aches settling in. “C’mon, Beezer.”

Avery stood up and stretched before offering Joel a hand up. He groaned as she pulled him to his feet. They made their way back to the cabins together, still in comfortable silence, Avery still wearing Joel’s hoodie.

Joel was carefully peeling a banana when Avery and her campers made it into breakfast Tuesday morning. His hat was facing the right way for once. She dropped her backpack on the bench and groaned.

“What took you guys so long?” he asked. Almost all of the other cabins had made it to the dining hall already. He moved Avery’s bag onto the ground at his feet. “C’mon, sit, food’s coming out soon.”

“Ava lost one of her shoes, and we all had to look for it,” she told him. Joel snorted. Avery tapped the bill of his cap, shoved it down lower over his eyes. “No hats at meals,” she told him.

Joel rolled his eyes, but he took the hat off and ran his fingers through his hair. “Or what?”

“Or it goes on the moose,” Avery said, jerking her thumb over her shoulder at the taxidermied moose head that hung over the door.

Joel gave her a look, like he definitely didn’t believe her. He’d learn.

When Avery got back to the table from the bathroom before lunch later that day, there was a baseball hat hanging from the moose’s antlers. Joel was hatless and disgruntled-looking.

“Told you,” Avery said, swiping a potato chip from his plate.

She took pity on him later and fished his hat down with the broom handle.

Swim time down at the lakefront had always been Avery’s favorite parts of summer camp. In the middle of all of the craziness of the week, the lake was always peaceful and calm. Avery could take out a paddleboard or a kayak and just float, away from yelling kids, losing track of time in the glassy blue surface of the lake. She’d spend a whole day out there if they would let her.

She had snagged a paddleboard and had made it out to the middle of the lake. She was chatting with a couple of her campers when Joel approached on a kayak. “What’s up?” he asked.

“Hi, Beezer!” the girls in the canoe chorused. Avery grinned at him.

Sam came up on Avery’s other side on another paddleboard. He floated up until he bumped into Avery’s board. She wobbled, but didn’t fall over. “Oops,” Sam said.

Avery pushed Sam’s board away with her paddle. His balance wasn’t as good, and he toppled over. “Oops,” Avery echoed. Sam flipped her off where he thought the girls couldn’t see.

It was warm in the sun, and Avery leaned on her paddle, tilting her face up to the sun. Joel poked her leg with his kayak paddle. When Avery glanced back at him, his cheeks and nose were red from the sun.

“Are you wearing any sunscreen?” Avery asked him.

Joel shrugged. “Nah.”

Avery tsked at him. Sam had made it back up onto his paddleboard.

“Hey, Aves,” he said. “Water feels nice, you should try it.” He was holding his paddle a little like a spear.

They weren’t allowed to swim out in the open water of the lake where all the kayaks were, but they could get away with it if they “fell” in, which is how the counselors usually ended up spending most of their time on the lake trying to knock each other into the water. Avery knew where this was going.

Avery paddled backwards once, trying to get out of Sam’s reach, but she bumped into Joel’s kayak instead.

“Oh, no.”

Joel’s grin turned a little wicked. Avery didn’t have time to brace herself before Joel was shoving her paddleboard, and it went out from under her. She heard everyone laughing as she hit the water with a splash. She came back up, pushing her wet hair out of her face, and hooked her arms over her board. She glared at Joel.

“Rude,” she told him.

Joel shrugged. “Thought you looked hot,” he said.

The water did feel great, actually, though Avery was loath to admit it to either of the boys. Avery sighed and heaved herself back into her board, but she didn’t stand back up, instead sitting with her legs hanging in the water on either side. The girls in the canoe were still giggling, so Avery used her paddle to splash them.

“Hey, come on, they’re innocent!” Joel protested. Avery splashed him next.

Tuesday night meant all-camp kickball on the lower fields.

Avery had never been one for making a fool of herself in team sports, so she was lounging on a blanket in the grass with Caroline and a couple of the counselors for the older girls, safe from any stray flying kickballs. Avery was just debating digging through her backpack to reapply bug spray when Joel made his way over to them.

His hat was perched backwards on his head like always, and he was squinting into the setting sun as it dipped below the treeline. His forehead had gotten sunburnt from being out on the lake earlier. “We’re getting a counselors game goin’. You girls in?” he asked, but Avery had a feeling it was directed more at her than the other three.

She raised an eyebrow up at him and absently swatted at a mosquito on Caroline’s leg. “I don’t do sports,” she told him.

Joel’s face fell. Avery hadn’t even realized how earnest he’d looked. Someone on the other end of the field called his name, and he glanced over his shoulder. “You sure? It’ll be fun,” he tried.

Avery had grown up with most of the other counselors, knew firsthand just how competitive they all were. Fun, maybe, but also intense and way too serious for summer camp kickball.

“I’ll pass,” Avery said.

“Your loss,” Joel tossed back over his shoulder as he jogged away again.

Caroline was smirking. Avery half-heartedly smacked her on the arm. “He definitely has a crush on you,” she said.

“Does he think he’s being subtle?” Meg chimed in from the other side of the blanket, not looking up from the friendship bracelet she was making.

Avery flopped backwards onto the blanket with a groan.

Avery was still on her back, dozing off while listening to the sounds of yelling kids filling the humid air, when Caroline reached over and poked her in the ribs.

“Your boy is up to bat,” she said.

Meg snorted as Avery sat up and leaned back on her elbows to watch. “He’s not ‘my boy,’” Avery grumbled. Then, “Is it still called an at-bat in kickball?” She burst out laughing as Caroline rolled her eyes.

Joel was indeed up next, and Avery watched as Joel kicked the ball and sent it sailing over Drew and Sam’s heads. He easily headed to second base, but the grass was still wet from the rain on Monday, and he wiped out as he stepped on the rubber base. All four girls on the blanket burst out laughing. Joel was still sitting in the grass, looking somewhat disinclined to move.

“You really looked like you were having fun out there,” Avery said to him later, as they all walked back up to the cabins in the dark. “That wipeout was great entertainment for us, too.”

Joel took a step to the side so he could bump into Avery, but reached out to steady her when she lost her balance. “Whatever,” he said. “That really hurt, actually.”

Avery just laughed.

Joel showed up late to lunch on Wednesday with a giant bandage covering his knee and dried blood down his leg.

“What did you do to yourself?” Avery asked as he dropped into the empty spot next to her and reached for the nearest plate of food.

He still had ash streaked across his cheek from firebuilding that morning, when he’d bet Avery that he could build a fire faster than her. (He’d won, but only barely, and because he’d used a battery instead of flint, like they were supposed to.)

Joel didn’t pause in piling food on his plate. “Jackson left his water bottle down at archery, so I went back down to get it for him, and when I was running back up the hill, I slipped on some loose gravel and fell. I think there might be some gravel in my knee now,” he said. Some of the kids at the table laughed.

“You’re a mess,” Avery told him with a sigh.

They were back down the hill towards archery after lunch on Wednesday to hang out in the Nature Center for the afternoon.

“Alright, please fill me in on what we’re doing today,” Joel asked, falling into step next to Avery.

One of Joel’s campers turned around to walk backwards in front of them. “We get to play with snakes!” he said. His name was Jack, Avery was pretty sure, who was very different from Jackson. It all got a little confusing after a while.

“Cool!” Joel said.

Avery rolled her eyes. She poked Joel in the ribs. “You would get excited about that.” He flinched away and pouted at her. It wasn’t that Avery hated the Nature Center, but the animals were the same every year, and you can only get excited about them so many times.

“What? Snakes are cool,” Joel defended.

“Boys,” Avery sighed, walking faster so she could be next to Caroline instead.

Disdain in front of Joel aside, it was fun to get to chill in the AC and hang out with the animals for a while. There was a little milk snake that loved to chill out in people’s hands named Dudley that all the counselors were weirdly fond of. Plus, they got to play around with the ferret they had, which was always highly entertaining.

Joel was just as excited as the kids, which Avery had to admit was kind of cute. He bounced around and looked eagerly into various cages with the kids. Avery and Caroline watched from a couple of the chairs in the corner, content to just hang out until the snakes came out.

“D’you think I’d get in trouble if I put him in Joel’s hood?” Avery mused, idly watching Dudley calmly wind his way around her wrist. Joel’s back was to her, and he was wearing a hoodie despite it being nearly 100 degrees outside.

Caroline giggled. “That’s mean.”

Dudley was making his way back towards Avery’s hand now. “He did say he wanted to hold him,” she said. And with that, Avery took a step forward and carefully deposited Dudley in Joel’s hood, where he promptly curled back up to sleep.

“What are you doing?” Joel asked.

“Just fixing your hood,” Avery said innocently, patting him on the shoulder and taking another step forward and pretending to read the info card of the cage they were standing in front of.

“Avery.” Avery glanced over at Joel. His arms were crossed, but he looked like he was fighting back a smile. “Why is my hood moving.” It wasn’t phrased much like a question.

Avery bit back a smile of her own. “Is it?” Dudley’s head popped out of the hood just then, slithering up onto Joel’s shoulder a little bit. He startled, then shot Avery a dirty look. Avery couldn’t help but laugh.

“You’re actually the worst, why.” Dudley continued to make his way across Joel’s shoulder, happy to explore. “Help,” Joel whined, “I don’t think I can reach him, and I don’t wanna drop him.”

“Hold still,” she said, carefully reaching to grab Dudley back out. “Here, he likes to be held.”

Joel obediently held his hands out to take Dudley from Avery. “Hey, take my picture will you?”

Even if Avery never spoke to Joel again after this summer, she was definitely going to keep the picture she took of Joel grinning at the camera with a snake in his hands.

They were walking past the dam later when one of the boys stopped short. Joel, not paying any attention, bumped into him.

“Hey, Avery,” Jack said.

“Hey, Jack,” Avery said back.

“Can we go check out the cemetery?”

Avery shuddered. “Absolutely not.” She wondered who had told the boys about it.

Joel looked at Avery, wide-eyed. “There’s a cemetery here?”

“Yes, and we’re not going back there,” she told him. Several of the boys groaned, put-out. Joel still looked a little nervous, so Avery added, “These grounds used to be privately owned. The cemetery is hidden behind the dam, most people don’t even know about it.” That last part was directed more at their nosy campers.

They had started walking again. Up ahead, one of the campers yelled, “Wait, does that mean no one’s told Beezer that the campgrounds are haunted?”

“They’re what?”

Avery was not too proud to admit that she hated the barn dance a little bit. It was fun for a little while, but after about twenty minutes, it just became hot and dusty. Avery had never been good at following along with the steps they tried to teach, and it was a lot more fumbling and embarrassment than it was worth.

This year she made it through the Cha Cha Slide– which they normally didn’t play until the very end– before she dipped and left the barn to go sit back on the blanket with Meg and Caroline. They spent most of their time just laughing at their friends as they struggled to keep up with music. Avery had only been sitting out for ten minutes when Joel emerged from the crowd and made his way towards them.

“Scoot,” he said, carefully sitting next to Avery. Meg raised her eyebrows at Avery behind Joel’s back.

“Not one for dancing?” Avery asked him.

Joel stuck his tongue out at her. “You’re one to talk, you’ve been sitting over here forever.” Avery stuck her tongue out back.

“Real mature, you two,” Caroline muttered from next to them.

“Hey, wait, actually,” Joel said, reaching out to tug on Avery’s arm. He pulled her closer to him, until she was situated between his legs, leaning back against his chest. He draped his arms across her shoulders and rested his chin on the top of Avery’s head. “That’s better.”

“You’re so weird,” Avery said, but she relaxed into his hold. She rested her hands on his and settled back in to watch the semi-organized chaos of the barn dance going on in front of them.

Thursday morning found Joel hunched over a Styrofoam cup of coffee with his glasses on and hoodie pulled up over his head.

“I didn’t know you wore glasses,” Avery said, sitting across from him and swiping his coffee for a sip.

“Hey,” Joel whined, “I need that.”

Avery snorted and handed him his coffee back. “Why are you so tired, anyway?” Avery had gone back to the cabin after barn dance and passed out herself.

Joel made a noise in the back of his throat. “We couldn’t get the boys to shut up and settle down last night.” Said boys were at the other end of the table, looking about as tired as Joel, actually.

“Y’all better wake up down there,” Avery called. “We’ve got Alpine today.” “What the hell is the Alpine Tower, anyway?” Joel asked. “No one will tell me.”

The Alpine Tower was hard to describe, and it was better to experience for the first time if you didn’t know what you were getting into, so Avery just said, “You’ll see.”

Joel groaned and put his head down on the table.

After breakfast, Joel was by Avery’s side, as was becoming typical, as they started the trek towards Alpine Tower. He’d woken up considerably as his coffee hit. “How far is it anyway?” he asked.

“Far,” everyone else chorused. Joel looked taken aback.

“You should know by now that nothing here is ever a short walk,” Avery told him. The shortest walk on the grounds was probably from the cabins to the dining hall, and that was still almost half a mile. Ahead of them, a group of their campers were chattering excitedly about their climbs later.

Joel reached out and tugged on Avery’s braid where it was pulled over her shoulder. “You should give me a piggyback ride.” Avery raised an eyebrow at him. Joel easily had a head on her. “Or you could give me one,” she countered, not really expecting Joel to take her up on it.

Except. “Only if you carry my backpack,” Joel said, already shrugging off his backpack and handing it to Avery.

She laughed. “Bud, I was joking.”

Joel adjusted his hat and came to a stop next to Avery. He was eyeing her expectantly. “Last chance.”

Avery sighed and put Joel’s backpack on over hers. “Jesus Christ, what do you have in this thing?” she asked. It was heavier than hers by a lot. Joel crouched down so Avery could climb onto his back.

“Wood chips,” Joel deadpanned as he adjusted Avery on his back, hiking her up a little higher. Avery tightened her arms around Joel’s neck.

“You’re ridiculous,” she muttered, but Joel didn’t respond as he started walking again, jogging a little to catch up with Caroline and the kids.

Caroline gave them both a look as they reached the rest of their group, but didn’t comment. Joel carried Avery for most of the long walk towards Alpine, and it was mostly fine, except for the moment he stopped to hike her legs up higher around his waist again and nearly accidentally flipped Avery over his head.

He came to a stop as they reached the first big hill. “Nope, ride’s over. Sorry, sweetheart, I don’t do hills.” He let Avery slide off his back and back onto the ground.

“Sweetheart?”

Joel blushed a little and wouldn’t meet Avery’s eyes. Avery purposely bumped into him as they both started walking again. Joel was panting by the time they made it to the top of the second steep hill, but he stopped short once he saw the Alpine Tower for the first time.

“Oh, hell no,” he said.

Avery laughed and went to drop down in the wood chips on the ground next to Caroline.

“What took you two so long?” she asked.

“Joel’s slow,” Avery told her.

“I heard that!” Joel called. He was only a few feet away, sitting on the low bench next to one of his campers.

“You were meant to!” Avery called back.

The Alpine Tower had once been described to Avery as “a rock wall on steroids.” What it really was was a triangular platform fifty feet in the air, and it was up to the climber to figure out how to get to the top. Each of the three sides were varying degrees of difficulty, and it was always one of Avery’s favorite camp activities. When she glanced over her shoulder, Joel was still staring up at it.

“Scared, Beezer?” she asked.

Joel scoffed, but he didn’t quite look like he meant it.

They made it through the safety demonstration and got a couple kids going up the Tower, and Avery settled in to watch, cheer her kids on, and wait for her turn. Until someone started pelting her with wood chips from behind.

“Can I help you?” she asked, turning around to glare at Joel.

He was already in the middle of throwing another wood chip at her, and it hit her in the forehead this time. “Oops.” He didn’t look particularly sorry, actually. “You gonna climb?” he asked.

“Yeah, of course,” she said. “Are you?” Joel just shrugged. “Wouldn’t have pegged you to be scared of heights,” she added.

Joel stuck his tongue out at her. “I’m not. Just-” he trailed off.

“How ‘bout this,” Avery said, turning fully to face Joel. “I’ll race you to the top. I’ll even let you take the easy side,” she told him. She’d been planning on taking one of the harder sides, anyway, but Joel didn’t need to know that. Joel rolled his eyes, but Avery saw a familiar glint at the prospect of a competition. “Unless you’re too scared, Bee,” she added, just a taunt, really.

“Whatever, you’re on,” he said, half-heartedly throwing another wood chip at Avery’s leg. Avery grinned at him, and Joel grinned back. Caroline shook her head at both of them.

After all the kids had taken their turn at climbing, the counselors were allowed to strap themselves into harnesses and helmets. Avery and Joel stood next to each other in the shadow of the Tower, listening as they were attached to ropes and given final instructions by the climbing staff.

“Fuck, this thing is tight,” Joel muttered, shifting uncomfortably.

“Shh, language,” Avery scolded. Their campers were all in high school, and they’d probably all heard or said “fuck” themselves by now, but still. Joel flicked her in the helmet. “Hey, be nice to me, and I might let you win.”

Joel huffed. “Let me win, sure, alright.”

“Good luck, Bee,” Avery yelled to him, already heading over to start her climb.

She was on the “middle” side, which was harder than the side Joel was starting on, but Avery had the advantage of having climbed that side more than once before. It didn’t take long before she had caught back up to Joel, who had sort of gotten himself stuck.

“Help?” he called, trying to look for a way to keep moving forward.

“Sucks to suck, Beezer,” Avery called back, reaching up to pull the cargo net she was about to climb towards her. This is where it got harder, requiring more upper body strength than Avery actually had, but when she glanced back over her shoulder, Joel had gotten himself unstuck and was moving again.

She stopped paying attention to Joel mostly after that, though she did hear a thump and then an “Ow,” that she was assuming was Joel hitting his head on something, which would definitely not have been the first time someone had done it.

She was about to climb her last stretch of cargo net when she heard, “Shit, why are you so good at this?” from below her. “Quit checking out my ass, Joel,” she yelled without turning around. She cackled when she heard Joel make loud noises of protest. It didn’t really matter; she had a race to win.

In the end, Avery barely made it to the top of the Tower before Joel. She had just stood up on the platform when one of Joel’s hands appeared, grappling for the little rock climbing rocks they had for grip on the top of the platform.

“A little help?” he asked. She could just barely see his head.

“You made it this far, you can do it,” she told him, but she took a couple steps closer to him. It was entirely ungraceful, but Joel eventually scrambled onto the platform and then to his feet.

Avery took a moment to appreciate the view. They were high, above the treeline, and trees stretched out in all directions for as far as Avery could see.

“Fuck, we’re high up,” he said.

“Stop saying fuck,” Avery chided, but she offered him a high five. “Told ya you could do it.”

“Have I told you that I hate you?” Joel asked, shaking his head. He took the high five, though. “Wait, how do we get down again?”

Alpine Tower took up most of the morning, and by the time they all made it back to the dining hall, lunch was already in full swing. Joel stretched out on the bench with a sigh.

“How am I already sore?” he asked, to no one in particular.

Avery nudged his leg. “Move over, dude, the rest of us have to sit, too.”

Joel groaned, but sat up, though he was still sitting sideways on the bench. He leaned forward and rested his forehead on Avery’s shoulder. She patted him absently on the thigh. One of the campers was setting out lunch on their table, and she was trying to see what it was.

“I’m tired,” Joel said. He was quiet for once, and Avery barely heard him over the general din of lunch.

“You can take a nap instead of coming out to the mud cave, meet up with us again for swim time,” she said, knowing full well he wouldn’t do that. He’d been talking about the mud cave ever since Avery had told him about it on Sunday night.

Joel sat upright again. “No way, I wanna get dirty.”

Avery groaned. “Please never say that again.” Joel wiggled his eyebrows at her. She knocked his baseball hat off his head.

The two cabins met back in the circle drive outside the dining hall after lunch, dressed in their dingiest clothes and oldest shoes, ready to pile into the old van that took them out to the edge of the campgrounds. For once, Joel wasn’t wearing a baseball hat. He couldn’t stand still, bouncing around while he chattered with his boys while they waited.

The van pulled up, as rickety and rusty as ever, helmets were handed out, and everyone clambered into the van. There wasn’t a lot of space, and it was hot as the van made its slow way across camp.

“Why is everyone wearing their helmets already?” Joel asked, as the van hit a bump in the road and Joel bounced high enough in his seat to hit his head on the roof. “Ow, okay.”

Eventually the van came to a stop at the creek that cut across the overgrown field they were in. Everyone piled out of the van, blinking in the sunlight.

“So, where’s the cave?” Joel asked. A couple people laughed.

“Across the creek, through the field, and then about another mile into the woods,” Avery told him, patting him on the shoulder as she went past him towards the creek. The campers had already started wading across. When she glanced back over her shoulder at him, he looked a little dismayed.

The creek was clear and cold despite the late summer heat. It came up just past Avery’s waist as she splashed across. The field on the other side was just as overgrown as the one they started in, if not more, and everyone tried to get through it and away from all the bees as fast as possible.

“Is it really that far of a walk?” Joel asked as he caught back up to Avery. His nose had gotten sunburnt at some point, was peeling a little.

“Unfortunately,” Avery said. They were walking back into the shade of the woods now. Avery’s shoes were still squishing a little from the creek, and she could already feel a blister forming on her heel.

Joel groaned, but he was otherwise quiet as they kept walking. They walked in silence for a while, and Avery basked in the sunlight filtering through the trees and the sounds of the birds and cicadas.

“How much farther?” Joel whined after a while. Avery bumped sideways into him.

“We’re almost through the week, don’t tell me you can’t handle a little walking now,” she teased.

Joel bumped into Avery back. “Sorry, one of us walked all the way up to Alpine Tower today,” he said.

“Hey, I walked up the hills at the end!” Avery protested. It wasn’t like she had begged Joel for a piggyback ride, either. Joel rolled his eyes at her.

They had finally reached the cave, and everyone was clustered around the permanent member of the camp staff who would lead their group. The kids were listening eagerly, but Joel was paying attention to literally anything else.

Avery nudged him with her elbow. “Focus, Beezer,” she whispered.

Joel stuck his tongue out at Avery, but started paying attention to where their leader was warning them about bats. “Hang on, you never said anything about bats,” Joel hissed. In front of them, the kids were lining up to head into the cave. Avery just grinned at him and shoved him forward to walk in front of her.

It was immediately cooler when they stepped into the cave. With all the rain on Monday, the water was higher than some years, and it was quickly up over Avery’s shins. In front of her, Joel clicked his flashlight on, but it did little as they made their way deeper into the blackness of the cave.

“Shit, this water’s freezing,” Joel said, way too loudly.

Avery laughed quietly. She felt her shoe unstick from the mud as she took another step. “I don’t know what you expected,” she whispered. It was hard to navigate the uneven footing in the dark and the water, and she tripped a little bit as the ground sloped suddenly beneath her. She caught herself with a hand on Joel’s back. “Shit, sorry,” she said.

Joel didn’t say anything, but he slowed down a bit so Avery could stay closer to him and his little circle of light. He kept a hand outstretched behind him in case Avery tripped again. It was quiet in the cave, just the sounds of everyone making their way through the muddy water and the occasional quiet giggle or curse from the campers. Avery lost track of time a bit, and before she knew it they had reached the back of the cave. All flashlights were turned off, and they stood quietly in the pitch black for a few long moments. Joel was standing close enough to Avery that she could feel his body heat, chasing away some of the chill of the cave. When they finally turned to leave and headed back out of the cave, Joel’s hand found the small of her back, steadying her, just for a second.

At the mouth of the cave, their leader insisted on streaking mud across everyone’s face before they could leave. Joel wrinkled his nose and poked at his cheek as they stepped back out into the sunlight. “Feels weird,” he complained.

“The mud is what you have a problem with?” Avery asked. Yeah, it itched a little as it was drying, but they were also covered in muddy water, well past both of their knees.

Joel just shrugged.

The walk back to the creek always seemed longer. It was still hot and humid, even in the shade of the woods, but it felt worse after spending almost an hour in freezing water and the damp dark of the cave. Everyone walked slower, dragging their soggy feet.

Joel ended up in the creek ahead of Avery. The kids were splashing around, relishing in the clean water.

“Hey, Bee,” Avery called.

Joel turned towards her, but Avery missed a drop-off of the rocks that made up the creek bed, and stumbled. Joel caught her quickly before she face-planted into the water.

“Careful,” he said, grinning down at her. “No need to throw yourself at me,” he added.

Avery rolled her eyes. She had found her footing, but Joel was still clutching her arms. She pushed at his chest and laughed as his heel slipped and he fell backwards. He disappeared under the water for a moment.

“Oh, you’re gonna pay for that,” he said when he reappeared.

Avery tried to dash away, but the water came up over her waist, which made it hard to move quickly. She splashed as much as she could, but she felt Joel grab her around the waist and haul her backwards until they were both falling back underwater. Avery shrieked. Joel let go of her after they both went under, and Avery pushed herself away and stood back up. They were both soaked now. Joel was laughing, and Avery couldn’t help but to laugh, too.

“Alright, you two,” Caroline yelled from the shore. “Quit flirting and get out of the creek.”

They both grumbled about it, but they made it to the other side of the creek without further incident.

Back into the van everyone went. It felt less hot with everyone still chilled from the cave and playing in the creek. Joel slid in next to Avery, pressed up against her side. They were stopping off at the lakefront swim next instead of going back to their cabins, and Avery was looking forward to spending more time out in the sun on the lake. Joel nudged her in the ribs with his elbow, drawing her attention away from where she was staring out the window.

“You goin’ out on the lake?” he asked quietly. The van jolted, and he ended up nearly in Avery’s lap for a moment.

“Of course,” Avery said back.

“Wanna grab a canoe together and chill?”

Avery thought for a moment. “Not interested in trying to knock me off a paddle board some more?” she teased.

Joel shook his head, grinning at Avery. His helmet was off, and his hair was a mess from being underneath it. “Too tired,” he said.

“Lame,” Avery said. Then, “Dibs on the front of the canoe.”

It didn’t take long to change out of their drenched and muddy clothes into swimsuits and commandeer a canoe. Joel got stuck doing most of the steering, with Avery only paddling when necessary. They mostly just drifted, letting the breeze push them along the open water. The lake was steel grey, the sky above them dark with clouds that had rolled in while they were in the cave, threatening more rain. Avery sat back and let her fingers brush across the water.

“Hey,” Joel said. His voice echoed a little, carrying across the lake. “Look at me for a sec.”

Avery turned as much as she could without jostling the canoe. Joel had his phone out, and when she turned, Avery heard the artificial shutter sound as Joel snapped a picture of her. She flipped him off with a grin; he took a picture of that, too.

The dining hall seemed extra loud that night, campers running back and forth between tables, everyone desperate for a few extra minutes with their friends before everyone went their separate ways the next day.

“You’ve got a little-” Joel poked the dried mud Avery still had across her cheekbones, sitting next to her at their table.

She swatted his hand away. “Shut up, I didn’t have time to shower after swim.” Joel slid down the bench, away from Avery. “Okay, rude,” she said. Joel grinned at her. He didn’t move any closer.

After dinner was the closing campfire. They were at the big fire ring this time, down near the lakefront as the sun set. Joel found Avery sitting on one of the benches off to the side of the fire by herself and plopped down on the bench next to her. His backpack made a muffled thump when he dropped it in the wood chips at their feet.

Avery dropped her head to rest on Joel’s shoulder. “I’m tired, Bee,” she whined. As much as she loved camp, it usually kicked her ass by the end of the week.

Joel laughed softly and patted Avery on the thigh. “Last day tomorrow,” he reminded her.

Avery stared into the flickering flames until her eyes went unfocused. “But I don’t wanna go home.”

She didn’t want to leave camp, her happy place, didn’t want to leave Joel, who she was maybe falling in love with, didn’t want to leave her friends and the endless days of summer behind.

Joel laughed again, but it wasn’t mean. “I get that.” The kids were starting in on their s’mores. “I wasn’t sure how much I was gonna like it here, honestly. Especially when I got here and everyone else already knew each other, and I was just the new guy.”

Avery lifted her head and looked at Joel. The firelight was casting shadows across his face, but he was gazing out over the lake. His hand was still on Avery’s leg, just above her knee.

“Did you like it after all?” Avery asked. She thought about him talking about next year on the very first day, saying he thought camp would be fun.

Joel grinned then, and it was familiar and comforting. Avery hadn’t expected that to happen at the beginning of the week.

She found herself wanting to see Joel’s smile forever.

“Yeah, I did,” was all Joel said. Avery put her head back on his shoulder.

They were quiet for a few minutes as the sun sank fully below the treeline and the lake glowed red next to them. Avery shivered in spite of the warm air as a wind blew. Joel bumped her head with his shoulder so Avery sat back up, and then he was bending over to dig something out of his backpack. He dropped a hoodie in Avery’s lap. She hadn’t seen him wearing it ever during the evening, which meant he’d thrown it in his bag just for her. She pulled it on with a small smile.

“You might not get this back, bud,” she told him, tugging the sleeves over her hands. Guys’ hoodies always seemed more comfortable than any sweatshirt Avery had ever owned herself.

Joel just shook his head at her and tugged on her braid, but it was gentle, half-hearted.

“Oh, wait, I’ll be right back,” Joel said, jumping back up and disappearing towards the s’mores table. When he came back a few minutes later, he had a s’more in one hand.

“What, nothing for me?” Avery teased.

“No, because you don’t like chocolate, you freak,” Joel said, but he reached into his shorts pocket and triumphantly produced an unopened sleeve of graham crackers, tossing them to Avery. She squinted suspiciously at him as he sat back down. “Carol told me you’ll eat the graham crackers,” he said casually.

Avery opened the crackers carefully and stuck one in her mouth. “Thanks, Bee,” she said around it. It came out softer than she meant for it to.

Joel winked at her and stole a graham cracker.

Every year, there were rumours of campers planning to sneak out of their cabins on the last night of camp. Really, they were terrible at being discreet about it, but they thought they were being subtle. Regardless, the counselors still had to be careful and watch to make sure no one actually did manage to sneak out.

Which is how Avery and Joel ended up sitting out in front of the stars at the small fire ring in front of their cabins, perched on the cold stone wall with both of their cabins in view. Avery was still wearing Joel’s hoodie.

“Do you think they’ll actually do it?” Joel asked, breaking the comfortable silence.

Avery shook her head and tilted her chin to look up at the stars. “Probably not, but I’m not about to get in trouble with Austin if they do.” It had happened once while she was still a camper, and it hadn’t exactly been pretty the next day with an entire cabin in trouble.

It had been cloudy earlier in the day, but it had cleared up, and the stars were as bright as ever above them. The moon was low and yellow in the humid air. Avery wished for a second that she had a camera to capture this moment, a memory to last forever.

Joel mimicked Avery, looking up at the stars. “Bright tonight,” he said. Avery hummed in agreement. “Hey, you know what we should do after the kids fall asleep?” he asked suddenly.

Avery raised an eyebrow at him. “Sleep?”

Joel huffed out a quiet laugh. “I wanna check out that cemetery you guys were talking about,” Joel said.

“At night?” Avery said. “Hell no, it’s creepy enough during the daytime,” she told him.

She’d been back there once before, years ago. There were broken headstones scattered throughout the overgrown grass, and it was shaded by the dam and a dozen trees, making it cooler, even in the heat of summer. It felt like it was a world away from the rest of the camp, quiet and eerie, and Avery had zero plans of ever going back there.

Joel rolled his eyes. “You know what else we could do?” He turned so he was facing Avery.

She tilted her head to look at him. He was smiling softly at her. It was a little scary how quickly he’d become a part of Avery’s life, how she went from knowing nothing about him to trusting that he’d always be by her side.

“I don’t know, Joel, what could we do?” Avery whispered.

Joel’s smile grew, and then he was leaning in. Avery’s eyes closed as their lips met. Joel’s hand was wrapped around one of Avery’s wrists, thumb rubbing absently over the skin there. When he pulled away, he was still smiling. They were sitting closer together than they had been, though Avery wasn’t sure which one of them had moved.

“I’ve been wanting to do that all week,” Joel admitted.

“Well, why didn’t you?” Avery asked, and then she was wrapping a hand around the back of his neck to pull him in for another kiss. She could feel Joel smiling into the kiss, even as he tugged her closer.

Distantly, Avery heard a cabin door open. She pulled away to turn and look, and Joel dropped his head to her shoulder. Avery ran her fingers through his hair at the nape of his neck. Caroline was walking towards them.

“I was going to tell you that the kids are asleep and you two can come back inside, but you seem pretty busy,” she said once she got closer.

They both flipped her off, and she laughed at them as she turned and headed back into the girls’ cabin. Avery shivered in spite of herself then. Joel rubbed his free hand over Avery’s thigh, a little bit for warmth, and a little bit just to touch her, because he could do that now.

“Last day tomorrow,” Joel murmured. Avery leaned closer.

“Don’t wanna talk about that,” she said. She looked back up at the stars, hoping that they would have some answers, for how she was feeling, for how she was going to go back to a normal life after this.

Joel used a finger to pull Avery’s chin towards him again, to press one last kiss to her lips. He used the hand on her wrist to pull her to her feet.

“Better get to bed,” he said, and it sounded a little wistful.

As much as she didn’t want to leave Joel, Avery was cold, and her ass hurt from sitting on the concrete wall for so long. “Walk me to my door?” she asked. The cabin was only a couple hundred feet away, but she was going to hold onto every last moment. Joel held his arm out for her to loop hers through. “Don’t want to get attacked by a raccoon or something,” she added.

Joel ducked his head and stole one last kiss when he dropped her off, Avery’s hand already on the doorknob.

“See you tomorrow,” she whispered to his retreating back.

The last day of camp was always weird. The buses didn’t come to pick up the campers until after lunch, which left several weird hours of downtime to kill in between cabin cleanout and the time everyone actually left camp. Even with everyone still lingering and saying their goodbyes, with the cabins standing empty, camp had an eerie and melancholy feel.

Cleaning out the cabins was always a mad scramble of kids hunting down their belongings and cleaning up week-old messes. They only had half an hour after breakfast before they had to be out of the cabins, and there was never enough time.

“How does someone always lose a towel?” Avery asked Caroline. “How do you not realize you don’t have your swim towel?”

Joel had sat next to Avery at breakfast, like usual, but they hadn’t talked about the night before, or what was going to happen in the future. Avery was trying her best not to think about it. Which is to say, it was all she could think about.

Caroline waved her hand in front of Avery’s face, jarring her back to the present. “What’s going on in that head of yours?” she asked.

“Joel,” Avery admitted.

Caroline smirked. “I can’t believe it took you two that long to get your shit together. Thought for sure you’d be hooking up after the first night.”

Avery shoved at Caroline’s arm until she fell off the path and stepped into the grass, cackling. “Why am I friends with you.” Caroline stepped back on the sidewalk. “I don’t know what we’re gonna do. Summer camp is a whole different world from everything else.”

“I think you’re overthinking this,” Caroline told her. Ahead of them, Joel was helping one of the younger boys carry his heavy bag. Avery sighed.

“I don’t even think he lives around here,” Avery said, remembering when Joel had told them he was from New York. She had never thought to ask how exactly he’d come across their little camp, how he’d ended up in the Midwest.

Caroline shoved her back. “You know how you could find all that out?” she asked. “Talk to him.”

They had caught up to Joel. “Who are we talking to?” he asked, shooting Avery a knowing look.

They lost him in the chaos of trying to organize all the kids’ luggage into the proper bus piles, but he cornered Avery in the basement of the dining hall as she was about the head back upstairs.

“Hi,” she said. He was wearing his hat the right way around for once. Avery reached up and flipped it backwards, so she could pull him down for a quick kiss. Joel’s hand was warm on her waist.

“What was that for?” Joel asked, but he ducked down to steal another kiss. “Heard we needed to talk about something,” he went on, without waiting for Avery to respond. She poked him in the stomach, got him to back off from where he was caging her in against a wall.

“How does this work?” Avery asked. Joel had taken a step back, but he stayed close, close enough that Avery could see the way his eyebrows furrowed when she spoke.

“What do you mean?”

“Camp doesn’t last forever, Joel,” Avery said.

“So what, this has to end?” Joel asked.

Avery took another step away from Joel. “I don’t know, does it?” she snapped. “What even is ‘this,’ anyway?”

Joel stepped closer and took Avery’s hand. “I don’t know, but I know that I like you, and that I want to find out,” he said.

Avery looked up at Joel. The look in his eyes was earnest, genuine. She felt the fight drain out of her. “How do we do that?” she murmured.

“We’ll figure it out as we go, yeah?”

Avery smiled. “Yeah.”

When they made it back upstairs, Caroline was shuffling a deck of cards, and there was a pile of spoons stolen from the kitchen in the middle of the table. Joel was still holding tightly to Avery’s hand as they walked. A couple campers made room for them at the table, and his hand rested on her thigh instead. Avery leaned into his side.

“Deal us in,” she said.

#cait writes things #joel farabee #joel farabee fic #joel farabee imagine #joel farabee fanfiction #nhl fic #nhl imagine #nhl fanfiction #hockey fic #hockey imagine

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ellavogues · 3 years

Text

what did you wish for? - harry styles

summary: long distance has put a strain on harry and yn’s relationship, especially as his birthday is fast approaching

a/n: last repost from my old blog, i still freaking love this. this fic means a lot to me because parts of it was based off of my own life. as always, ily all <3

masterlist

The light turned to dark as she sat by her phone watching reruns of The Office, waiting for Harry to call her like he did every night. Her day was particularly bad, everything that could’ve gone wrong went wrong - from her forgetting her umbrella when it was bucketing down to her somehow locking her car keys in her car (which led to her incurring a $200 fee for the roadside assist service getting them out). Then, when she trudged home in the pouring rain, clothes completely soaked and her socks inside her shoes wet, she received an email informing her the elevators in her building were out of service. Unluckily for her, she lived on the 16th floor.

All she wanted was to see his smile to turn her day around. Harry never failed to turn her worst days into good ones just by being him, but being in a long distance relationship put a strain on that. Sure, they would visit each other every now and then, but both of their jobs were demanding and meant they couldn’t travel as much as they wanted to. Harry could travel more than she could, but she didn’t think it was fair that he’d always have to be the one to hop on a plane and fly across the world.

The familiar ringtone played and her eyes lit up in excitement. Y/N reached for the phone and answered to hear him yelling some utterance at his friend, to which his friend responded with something equally as snide.

A smile crept onto her lips as she lightly giggled at his attitude to his friend, and she could almost feel them roll her eyes at his snarky remark. Y/N would be lying if she said the huff of annoyance he let out as he returned his attention to her wasn’t hot, as well as the way he ran his fingers over his stubble then through his curly hair.

“How do you want to celebrate your birthday, Haz?” Y/N asked softly, not wanting to make his bad mood worse and hoping the change of subject would make him happy.

Harry sighed, closing his eyes as he composed his answer. “What’s the point?” His tone wasn’t soft like hers, nor was it disappointed. It appeared that he was angry that she brought up the topic. In a matter-of-fact tone, he continued, “You’re not in London with me, you’re in New York. There’s no point in celebrating with you if you’re not here.”

“We can FaceTime?”

He rolled his eyes at her suggestion as if it was the stupidest thing he had heard, and sarcastically laughed at her.

“What’s with your attitude, Harry? I want to celebrate with you! It’s not my fucking fault that I can’t be in London!” She frowned, frustrated that the distanc between them was the topic of conversation, like it always seemed to be.

Harry scoffs in response, the look on his slightly pixelated face dumbfounded that you would even suggest that it wasn’t your fault. “I have offered to fly you out to London many times, Y/N. There are plenty of jobs for you out here that you could apply to and that you know you would get because you’re so damn good at what you do,” he retorted, tired and irritated. Though Harry was usually incredibly patient with everyone, especially her, these increasingly frequent conversations had begun to wear him thin and gradually made him resent FaceTiming her at all, despite still being completely and utterly in love with her. “You’re being stubborn about moving for no reason.”

They were both quite stubborn individuals, but in the past Harry was usually the one that compromised to make her happy. He valued her happiness over getting his own way. When they reconnected a year ago, a few years after finishing school, and quickly realised their friendship was based on more-than-friend feelings they faced the problem of living in different countries. Although it seemed like a breeze at first, Harry scoffing at anyone who claimed long distance would be hard, as their feelings grew deeper and his visits less frequent, they both longed for a more physical presence of the other, rather than just virtual. This was something Harry was absolutely not willing to compromise on. He had his whole life in London, and he knew that he could give her the life she deserves if she would just take up his offer. He knew she was scared of leaving her family behind to move in with him, and he understood. Harry tried to keep his cool about this topic, but eventually he became exasperated.

“No good reason? Why should I be the one to move? Why is it me that has to pack up my entire life just to be with you?’” She scolds him for being so rude, and feels like he’s completely brushing off her feelings. “You are able to work from wherever you are. I am not. you should be the one to move.”

“Me?” Harry was astounded at was his girlfriend’s response, and was indigent at her crazy suggestion. “I can not leave London just because you’re scared of leaving the city you’ve been in all your life. My work is in London, you know this. You know I have to be here to work, just because I technically could still record in New York does not change that the majority of my work and networks are in London. You’re being a bit dramatic and unfair about this, Y/N. I’m tired of arguing about this all the time. Goodnight.”

The fact that he hung up on her makes her see red, blood boiling as she clenched her fists and teeth. He knew what he was asking of her; to pack up her whole life just to be with him. He was being selfish and unreasonable and she was being exhausted of having this stupid argument that neither of them ever won every time they talked. She felt like he never considered her friends here in New York, and that he always brushed off how she felt about the move. This fight had gradually become more tense as time went on, as they knew that a decision would eventually have to be made if they wanted their relationship to grow.

///

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she claimed.

“I know you and H had a fight,” Harry's friend responded, the one on the phone earlier. “He told me what happened and he feels really bad. Like, really. I know he would really appreciate it if you were here for his birthday.”

She sighed, starting to feel slightly guilty too for the way she reacted. She feels even more guilty for the fact that they hadn’t spoken at all in the past 3 days, besides a text from Harry simply saying Sorry for hanging up on you. When Y/N received the text, she was still calming down from their argument, still hurt by the way he made her feel that her career wasn’t as important as his. She still loved him, and she still misses him, though.

“I can’t afford a ticket, you know that. Not everyone makes a fuck ton of money like you and Haz-”

The friend chuckled softly over the phone before reassuring Y/N, “I’ll pay for it. Come and surprise him, he’ll feel a lot better and it’ll give you guys a chance to work it out in person, where you can’t just hang up on each other.”

Y/N knew that his friend was right, she knew that she and Harry needed a face to face conversation about the future of their relationship because long distance hadn’t seemed to be working for them anymore. Their virtual dates, while well thought out and romantic, weren’t the same as being there in person with him. Being there and lightly brushing legs as they sat down at the small table, hearing his laugh without the audio cutting in and out, being able to hold each other’s hands. It wasn’t the same.

Maybe that is why Y/N and Harry had been arguing so much, because their relationship relied on strong wifi connections and the ability to be on their phones all day. And it wasn’t enough for either of them anymore.

“Okay, thank you. I’m really grateful you’re doing this for us,” Y/N finally responded, expressing her gratitude.

His friend felt a wave of relief, ecstatic that Harry might finally get out of his shitty mood. Even though he didn’t mean to take out his annoyances on his friends, and he apologised every single time he gave them an uncalled for attitude, but it seemed his bad mood was never dissipating. When finally asked what was wrong, bursting through his door in a fit of exasperation, he broke down and told her about their FaceTime, and all their FaceTimes before it. About how every subject they discussed seemed to lead to the same topic: the distance between them. He admitted he regretted his harsh words, and regretted him acting like he thought his job was more important than hers.

“It’s really not a problem,” his friend promised. “I’ll email you the flight details and the invite, I can’t wait to see you! It’s been so long!”

“It’s been, like, a month and a half. Not that long.”

“That is so long! I miss you like crazy.”

“I miss you too,” Y/N giggled.

She flopped back on her bed, grinning from ear to ear and excited she would finally be able to see her boyfriend again, yet dreading the impending and necessary conversation they would have to have.

Y/N had anxiously got out of her Uber when she arrived at a friend's house for Harry’s surprise party. She was visibly shaking, stuttering as she said thank you to her driver, nervous that his reaction wouldn’t be good when seeing her. She was scared that he didn’t want her here anymore after their fight, despite his friend constantly reassuring her that he would be over the moon to see her.

She knocked on the front door, which his almost immediately answered. “Hey! Y/N!”

The loud exclamation earned the attention of the other attendees of the party, all shocked to see Y/N after Harry had repeatedly, and bitterly, told them that she was going to be in New York for his birthday.

“Hey,” Y/N smiled, greeting everyone. She glanced around the room, seeing the fairy lights hanging from the ceiling, the island bench covered with a gold table cloth, the backyard decorated with gold balloons and streamers. “Woah, the party is super cool! Harry is going to love it.”

“Harry is going to love that you’re here and not in New York.”

When Harry finally arrived, the lights were switched off and everyone scurried to grab their phones out to film. Y/N waited behind everyone as the group gathered close together to surprise him when he walked in.

“Oh my god,” Harry spoke. “It smells funny in here.”

She let out a quiet giggle at his comment, but was quick to muffle it before he heard it was her.

When he made it past the gold streamers that blocked the front door from the living area, everyone yelled out SURPRISE, going crazy and covering Harry with confetti. His face had pure joy, happiness and gratefulness plastered all over it, ecstatic that his friends would do something so sweet for his birthday, although he most likely already knew about the party. He glanced around the room, and almost had to do a double take when he saw his girlfriend. Y/N had told him she wouldn’t be able to make it, making him dread his birthday since he didn’t see a point in celebrating it if it wasn’t with her.

When the crowd had dispersed, Harry made his way over to her and grabbed her chin gently, tilting her face up before saying “Hey, love” and kissing her softly. He broke the kiss and pulled his girlfriend into a warm embrace. She was so glad to see him, in person, to be able to hold his hand and hug him and just be around him. In person.

They were pulled out of their moment when Harry’s friend asked if they wanted a picture, to which Y/N responded no and he responded yes.

“Don’t be shy, love,” he teased, smiling like a cheshire cat as he put her hair behind her ears. “I want to remember you being here tonight, let’s take the picture.”

It wasn’t long until it was time to cut the cake, Harry having Y/N by his side the whole night because he didn’t want to waste a minute he could spend with her. Being with him reminded Y/N why they were dating, and why she loved him. As the night went on, she felt the fight that was seemingly big feel less important, because she realised that she was making excuses as to why she couldn’t move to London with him. She was being stubborn for no reason, and she noticed that the only thing holding her back was her. Not her job, she could find a new one in London, not her family because she barely saw them anyway, not her friends because half of her friends were in London with Harry anyway. When she saw Harry walk through those streamers, it became crystal clear how silly she was being.

Harry knew what he wanted, and being with her that night just made him more sure. He decided he wasn’t going to stop fighting for his relationship with her, and if that meant he had to settle down his requests for her to move to London with him so she felt more comfortable, he would do that. Despite wanting nothing more than to live with her, to wake up every morning and see her face, to Postmate her favorite coffee every morning, to surprise her with spur-of-the-moment dates every now and then. He wanted her, and he was willing to wait if that’s what he needed to do.

After everyone sang happy birthday to him, his arm slung loosely around her, he blew out his candles.

“What did you wish for, H?”

#harry styles x reader #harry styles #harry styles fic #harry styles angst #harry styles imagine #harry styles fluff #harry styles x you #harry styles imagines #one direction imagines

237 notes · View notes

shwazzberryswriting · 3 years

Text

Twisted, Act 2

Once they made it to her place, she thanked Haechan profusely when he offered to carry the bulky items into her house. After giving him the house WiFi password, she left Haechan in the kitchen to eat as she showered. She hadn’t showered after the lunch rush since she’d gone to Haechan’s place. And she only made herself dirtier by having sex with him before making a sweaty run to Costco. Her shower was long overdue, to say the least.

Under the warm jets of water, soaping up her body, Lawan was overcome with the fear she’d set aside. Would she become a young mother? Would her own mom hold that against her?

It had been her mom who had asked her if she wanted to get an IUD implant before she left for college. Her mom was a teen mom at 17, unable to go to college. She had to work full time with 2 jobs (sometimes 3) to raise Lawan. It was especially challenging since Lawan’s father chose to be out of the picture.

Annoyed, and suspicious that her mom was projecting, Lawan had declined to get the IUD. She had been convinced she was responsible enough to not have to worry about accidents. Stressed about whether or not Plan B would work, she wondered if there was something out there wanting to teach her a hard lesson about not learning from her mother’s mistakes.

There was a knock on the bathroom door that threw her off her train of thought, and she jumped away from the showerhead as she realized that the water was freezing cold. Her fingers shook as she shut the water off.

“Lawan?” Haechan’s voice was a little muffled. “You OK? The food’s cold now. I put your ice cream in the freezer.”

“Uh, yeah,” she said, stepping out of the shower and wrapping her body up with her white bath towel. She shivered, and opened the door after grabbing a second towel to throw over her head and shoulders. “Busy thinking, that’s all.”

His gaze down at her was soft, his eyes half closed, and she felt her core grow warm as he licked his lips. He closed his mouth, but her eyes were fixed on his Adam’s apple move as he gave a hard swallow. Her fingers gripped onto her towel as she stared at his beauty marks on his neck, stopping herself from reaching out to touch them.

“We shouldn’t,” she said as she placed a hand on his chest, having felt his body shift close to her. He bowed his head down, resting a hand onto the door frame.

“You’re right,” he said, lifting his head up. He cleared his throat. “How do you feel?”

“Hungry,” she replied before walking past him to head back to her bedroom.

She turned around, and felt her chest grow hot as she saw him slumped up against the wall. He looked just as wounded as she felt. His head was bowed down against his chest with his shoulders hunched over. It took her a split second to change her mind as she returned to him, and brushed the back of her fingers against the palm of his left hand.

Haechan opened his eyes, and stood up straight. Just like when they were seated beside each other at Misfit, as their eyes locked Haechan pushed forward and Lawan threw her hands up to grab his neck. He licked his lips as she breathed through her mouth, anticipating when he’d kiss her.

His hand grasped onto the towels and tugged them off her, tossing them to the floor. He placed one hand on her hip as they kissed, his mouth hot as his lips fought to claim hers. One hand grasped onto her ass cheek, kneading and pinching her as he pulled her body up against his, sending heat into her back and down to her groin.

She let go of his neck, and rested her hands onto his shoulders as she slowly took a step backwards. He picked up on what she wanted, and broke their kiss before bending down. He told her to jump once he grasped onto the back of her thighs. With her legs hooked around his waist and her arms wrapped around his neck, Lawan kissed Haechan as he carried her to her bedroom.

“Where’s your bed?” he asked in a stage whisper as she planted kisses onto his lips and cheeks.

“To the left,” she replied between kisses as she heard him kick the door shut behind them.

She licked his neck and began sucking on it as she felt him set her down on her bed, his skin tasting salty and musky. He needed a shower, but his slightly bitter musk fogged up her mind. He yelped, and collapsed on top of her, his body between her legs. She groaned, feeling his body weigh down on her.

“You didn’t ask to mark me,” he breathed against her lips as he moved quickly to hold her wrists down over her head. “Hypocrite.”

“I’m sorry,” she said with a frown. She shivered as he dove down and softly kissed the right side of her neck. “Let me make it up to you.”

She lifted her head up to kiss him, wriggling her wrists out of his hold. As their lips met, she moved her hands down to his chest, and pushed him to lie down on his back. Once she was lying on top of his body, her hands moved down to undo his jeans. Impatiently, she helped him take his skinny jeans and boxer briefs off before tossing them to the floor. He laid back down as she stroked a hand up and down on his shaft.

She moved to sit on her knees between his legs. His cock hardened as she continued to pump it, the heat radiating from his cock warming up her hand. She brushed the mushroomed head against her hardened nipples a few times as she bent over his crotch, wanting to give him a show. His heavy breathing and inability to speak indicated that he was enjoying it.

The heat of his cock sent shivers up her back whenever it hit her sensitive nipples. She looked up to see Haechan’s head lifted up as his eyes were focused on her playing with his cock. Continuing to pump him, she moved down to use her mouth to pleasure him.

“Fuck, baby,” he moaned out as she licked along the bottom length of his shaft, going down to plant soft wet kisses onto his ballsack. His fingers tangled into her hair. “Holy fuck, your lips are the best.”

She planted wet kisses up and down the length of his shaft. A strong surge of pride hit her chest as he moaned out her name. He praised her lips once more as she kissed the tip of his cock. She licked it before putting it into her mouth.

Taking her time with sucking on more of his length, she hollowed her cheeks to intensify the suction. Her fingers stroked him where her mouth could not, moving up and down his veiny length. She allowed herself some time to find a good breathing rhythm through her nose before picking up pace. The salty and earthy taste of Haechan filled up her mouth and throat.

“Fuck, keep doing that, babe,” he panted out after a weak moan. She began bobbing back and forth with a faster pace, her saliva dribbling down the length of his cock. With her fingers, she used it to help rub the bottom of his shaft and his balls. “You’re so hot with my cock in your mouth. Don’t stop. Don’t stop.”

He groaned, his fingers grasping onto her hair as he came. She was surprised as his seed filled her mouth. She shut her eyes and swallowed as best as she could, his salty come filling her senses. She sat up and grabbed tissues from the nightstand to wipe her mouth before cleaning him up.

“That was fucking great,” Haechan said breathlessly when she laid down beside him. He pulled her body close to him. His body was hot, and she was feeling much warmer. His thumb traced over her bottom lip. “You give amazing head.”

“Thanks,” she said, feeling heat hit her cheeks. She rested her head against his chest, blood riding up her shoulders and neck into her head. His words made her dizzy.

“You’ve never been complimented on the blowjobs you give?” he asked. He lifted her chin to look up at him with his hand.

“No,” she said with a laugh. “You’re the most vocal person I’ve slept with. It’s a good thing.” She had to pacify him as his smile disappeared. She kissed his neck while caressing his chest. Her lips touched the beauty mark near his Adam’s apple. “It’s hot when you tell me that you like what I’m doing.”

“You didn’t have to blow me,” he said, stroking her arm as she rested her head onto his chest again. “It’s my fault you had to get the Pill.”

“You are full of luck, aren’t you?” she asked, running her hand down his chest to his stomach. He made her feel calm, and she wanted to caress his stomach for as long as it would take for her to fall asleep. “I should kick your ass, but instead you’re in bed with me.”

“It’s because I brought in all the heavy shit,” he said, making her give a lazy chuckle. He caressed her hips and ass. It felt nice to run her hands under his shirt as they embraced, but she wondered what it meant for them to be in bed together again. That first time earlier in his bed had been an impulsive move. It was supposed to have been a one time thing.

*Day 6*

Her roommates had gotten drunk while doing a Twin Peaks weekend marathon. Intentional or not, Lawan got the hint that her pregnancy limbo was the last thing any of them wanted. Her potential life-altering situation was too close for comfort. A dumbass mistake like a broken condom could happen to any of them. It wasn’t even 10:00 PM yet, and she was alone in the kitchen, scooping ice cream into her coffee mug. Her phone buzzed against the island counter when she received a text.

Donghyuck: do u want company bros r gettin drunk n im not feelin it

Lawan: 😂 my roomies are all drunk too, passed out in their rooms, come over… if u want

It’d taken him less than 15 minutes to knock on her door. She’d just finished washing the dishes when she let him in. Walking to her room together, she felt just as nervous to be with him as the first time they had sex together. That had been the last time they had last seen each other.

After their roller coaster day together, she finally unblocked Haechan’s number. They’d exchanged numbers their freshman year when they had a class project together, but it hadn’t taken long for Lawan to block him when he’d pretended to cry to get out of doing a project. With the unblock, Haechan had been a good friend. He texted her every morning to ask her how she felt.

When they were alone in her room, they nervously walked around each other as he seemed unsure if he wanted to sit on the floor or on her desk chair. She kept wondering if it was wise to have closed the door, and couldn’t decide if she wanted to sit on her bed or not. As she moved to her right, he moved in the same direction and their hands touched. She laughed into his chest as he wrapped his arms around her body, holding her in a firm embrace.

Prior to their hookup she would have shoved him away, annoyed that he was so quick to show skinship. But the only person she wanted to hold her was Haechan. She didn’t want to think of their connection as a stupid mistake, because the embrace meant that they were close enough that they didn’t have to ask for hugs. Haechan could wake her up with his warm hugs and she’d be happy rather than annoyed.

“How do you feel?” he asked her.

“Scared,” she admitted. Due to the increased stress, she slept during her free time. Sleep was the only way she could get her mind to stop thinking about possibly being pregnant.

“Have you talked to anyone about this?”

Lawan told her roommates about Haechan and the broken condom, but she didn’t expect them to give her company. Given that one of them was preparing for med school and the other wasn’t comfortable with talks of parenthood, Lawan didn’t hold it against her roommates for not talking to her about it. Truth be told, she didn’t want to talk to them about it either. It was just as uncomfortable for her to try to think about it.

“My cousin.” She shut her eyes and focused on how soft his black shirt felt against her cheek, and how he smelt like the sweet Hawaiian bread rolls she would eat as her after school snack when she was a kid. She wanted to sink into his embrace. “We exchanged emails yesterday.”

“The one who lives in Amsterdam?”

“She’s the only one who can keep a secret.” He gave a chuckle. She felt her face grow warm. She didn’t mean to make him laugh, but it lifted her spirits. “She told me she had a similar experience a couple years ago. Have you talked to anyone about this?”

“No, do you want me to?”

“No,” she said, looking up at him. “Thanks for keeping things discreet.”

He released her, and sat down on her bed as she grabbed her grey laptop from her desk. She joined him and they watched a movie together. He suggested a light romantic comedy, and though she was too stressed to take anything in, she had a good time hearing Haechan laugh next to her. She took out a bag of candy from her night stand.

“Gummy worms?” he asked, his eyes widening. The green bag crinkled loudly as he ripped it open.

“You were expecting condoms?” she replied. She raised an eyebrow.

“Thanks for the candy,” he said, grinning sheepishly as he placed the bag between them on the mattress. She laughed as they got more comfortable in bed.

“Thanks for checking up on me,” she said, resting her head onto his shoulder.

He remained quiet as he rested his head against her. Keeping his mouth shut was a favor to her, she suspected.

*Day 15*

It was another night in which members of the NCT fraternity were destroying the kitchen, but Haechan wasn’t involved in the activities. He had locked himself with Lawan in his room. They were watching a historical drama, one about rich royals betraying each other.

His computer screen was much larger than her small laptop, so it was easier to watch movies in his room than hers. It was a small sacrifice having to put up with his loud roommates. They were only able to fit in nights together when neither of them were working or loaded with homework anyway.

But they had managed to hang out three nights in a row, and she had to admit to herself that she was enjoying Haechan’s company more and more. As much as he seemed to take joy in annoying her, he’d begun to find new ways to make her laugh in reaction to his actions. Such as their night watching a movie in his room; she rested her back against the headboard of his bed, and she laughed as he dipped down to pepper kisses onto her neck.

“Donghyuck, stop,” she said through her chortles, pushing his chest as she leaned away.

“I dropped some popcorn,” he said, sitting up straight. He grabbed her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. “Can you start calling me Haechan? Donghyuck is too formal.”

“Haechan?” she said lightly. His face flushed as he tilted his head in towards hers. She’d called him Donghyuck for years to annoy him, but she didn’t mind calling him by his nickname. The bashful half grin on his face was cute. “Haechan.”

He kissed her. She pushed his tongue out of her mouth as she tasted salt and caramel from him. Lying down on her back, she wrapped an arm around his neck as they continued to kiss. They were becoming familiar with each other’s bodies, and she enjoyed caressing his earlobe with her fingers. He hummed gently against her lips, and she hummed back, the vibrations from his voice reverberating into her chest.

“I have to get up early for my class at 8:30 tomorrow,” she said when they broke their kiss. She’d repeated the sentence in her head all day to prepare for a moment like this.

“Let me take you home,” he replied, his hold loosening. She wrapped both arms around his neck and kissed him.

“Five more minutes,” she said against his lips. “You’re such a good kisser.”

He pulled away from her lips.

“What else do you like about me?” he asked breathlessly.

“Brat,” she said with a laugh, pushing against his chest. He shut his eyes as she caressed his earlobe again, a smile on his lips. “I just want to kiss you a little more.”

They continued, his lips hot and his mouth tasting sweet, but she stopped as she felt his hand reach under her shirt to grab her lower back. His hand on her bare skin sent heat up her body, loosening her inhibitions. Her hips bucked up against him, and they groaned against each other’s lips as the friction of his half hard cock hit her warming core. He let go of her and sat up when their eyes locked. She stood up off the bed, turning away from him.

“Thanks for taking me home,” she said softly, picking up her purse from his gaming chair, “Haechan.”

She took his hand as they stood at the foot of his bed. The tension in her shoulders loosened as he lifted her hand up and kissed it before leading her out of his room.

*Day 22*

She was on the bathroom floor, curled up in the fetal position. Haechan’s body warmed her as he spooned her, his arms wrapping her up. She sobbed loudly and hiccupped, her hands holding her legs against her chest. Her period was four days late, and she didn’t know if she should take a pregnancy test.

It wasn’t like she was 17 and barely out of high school, but Lawan was still afraid that she would have to alter her life. Being in college with a part-time job was hard enough, she wasn’t prepared to have an entire human being depend on her. She felt sick even letting her fears form into half thoughts, but the questions came against her will.

What would she do if she were pregnant? Would she have to talk to her mom and reveal all the dumb shit she’d been doing at college? Could she do what her mom did and raise a child as a young mother? Or would she get an abortion?

“I’m so sorry, babe,” Haechan said softly as he gave her a gentle squeeze. “I’ve got you. I’m here.”

She sniffled, and nodded her head gently, unable to speak. She was scared, and didn’t want to feel like she was relying on Haechan. But he was the only person who knew and cared about her predicament. She hadn’t expected him to show up when she sent him a stream of texts listing off every negative thought going through her mind.

What if she had to drop out of school and work? She only worked 25 hours at Misfit, how would she be able to care for a baby on that salary? How long could she go without talking to her mom before her mom began to suspect something was going on? What would she say to her mom if her period didn’t arrive soon?

The texts had been a way to vent out her stress, but she’d fallen to her bathroom floor and cried for what felt like hours. There wasn’t a moment in which she realized that Haechan was lying on the floor with her, but when she heard him hum a, “Shh,” into her ear she sobbed out his name. And so they were curled up together on her bathroom floor for as long as it took for her to fall asleep.

To Act 3

43 notes · View notes

worldserasingandcreatinginmymind · 4 years

Text

Flesh & Blood | Part Two

Series Summary: A mysterious stranger with ties to your past shows up in your small village

Chapter Summary: a quiet village, every day like the one before... until a mysterious stranger arrives

Pairing: Count Dracula x reader

Word Count: 2126

Warnings: none

A/N: as always spelling and grammar is not my strongest skill so please be kind :) if you want to be added to the taglist please drop me a message in my ask box

Y/B/D = your birth date, Y/H/T = your home town

Masterlist | Part One

- - - - -

2020

The shrill beeping of your alarm wakes you up with a jump. You groan and roll over, picking up your phone from the bedside table and hitting the snooze button before dropping it back down. You allow yourself to stay in bed for the next 5 minutes, but its not long before the alarm is reminding you it’s time to get up and start the day.

An hour later you're ready and leaving for work. You close the front door of the cottage you live in and head down the hill toward the village high street, taking in the views of the sea as you walk. You’ve lived in this village for as long as you can remember, but the view still makes you smile.

The high street is one main road that runs through the small village and is lined with shops either side. As you walk down the street you greet various other villagers opening up their shops for the day. You hold your breath as you pass the butchers so you cant smell the scent of the uncooked meat hanging in the window. Then you pass the florist and take a deep breath, floral scents flooding your senses. You stop when you reach the local clothes shop and see the owner cleaning up shattered glass.

“Morning Roger” you say and he turns to look at you with sad eyes “what happened?”

“oh someone broke in last night. Smashed the window and stole the suit straight off the mannequin” he points to the naked mannequin left standing in the broken window display.

“did they take anything else?”

“Nothing. Not even a penny from the till. Just the one suit, thats it.”

“that’s weird. At least theres not too much damage though”

“I guess I should count myself lucky that it could have been much worse. Have a good day y/n” he says with a tired smile as he takes the bucket of broken glass inside the shop.

You pass a few more shops before you reach the door of the bakery cafe and swing the door open, the familiar scent of fresh baked bread and cakes fills the air.

“Morning Maggie” you call as you drop your bag behind the counter and head into the kitchen at the back.

“morning love” She responds, looking at you over the top of her flour covered glasses as she kneads dough on the counter. Maggie is an older lady, with a friendly wrinkled covered face and greying curly hair which was currently contained in a hairnet. She had always been like a grandmother to you, and since losing your parents she was the only family you had left. Apart from being a bit of a gossip, she was a really lovely lady and you love working for her and listening to her crazy conspiracy theories. “did you hear all the drama last night?”

“yeah I’ve just seen Roger outside, he told me all about the break in” you respond, grabbing your apron off the hook and tying it around your waist.

“oh no I meant about the drama on the beach?”

“no? What happened?”

“oh it all kicked off. Helicopters, sirens, the works. You didn’t hear any of it from up the hill?”

“nope, must have slept right through it.”

“you young people, you’ll sleep through anything” Maggie says putting another batch of bread in the oven “well you missed all the fun. They dragged a body out of the sea and-”

“a body?!” You interrupt.

“well according to Carol anyway. She said she heard from Jan that someone had reported a body on the beach. Her grandson works in the police so she finds out things from him. Anyway, the police raced down there straight away but when they got there the army had already arrived and told them to leave. Army outrank the local police apparently.”

“wow”

“and thats not all. I ran into Nigel this morning in the supermarket. Nigel lives right by the beach and he said he heard a gunshot and a load of shouting last night. He looked out the window and saw a woman lying on the sand bleeding, and people in black uniforms running everywhere. Looked like there were chasing a man. He ran down to see if he could help but by the time he got there the beach was empty. No sign of anyone at all. Strange right?”

“very” you nod, trying to seem more interested “what do you think happened?”

“maybe it was a vampire” a mans voice suddenly speaks and you both turn around to see a tall man with jet black hair stood looking at you through the serving hatch.

“a vampire? Now theres a suggestion I didn’t expect to hear” Maggie laughs and the stranger laughs back at her, but you get the feeling he wasn’t really joking.

“What are you cooking back there? Something smells.. exceptionally good” he says, his dark eyes fixed on you.

“All sorts of magic happening in these ovens, but unfortunately we’re not actually open till 8am” Maggie replies in her usual customer service voice and she walks through into the shop. You stay back in the kitchen, mixing the dough for the next batch of bread.

“oh I’m very sorry, I didn’t know. I’m new around here” you hear the man say, he talks like an old fashioned gentleman.

“no bother, it’s alright. If you want to take a menu and come back in half an hour we’ll be happy to serve you a slice of magic”

“wonderful. I’ll be back then.” You watch as he turns to leave, then stops. “see you later Y/N” he shouts through to you and your eyes go wide as he shuts the door behind him.

“ooh I think someone likes you” Maggie teases and she walks back into the kitchen.

“how did he know my name?” You say, not really asking but more thinking out loud.

“hmm I don't know. Probably read it off your name tag” she replies casually as she carries on baking.

You look down at the small name tag you forgot was attached to your apron and let out a small sigh. Of course that makes sense. But you couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach when you thought about the darkness in his eyes.

— — — —

The day was dragging. The usual customers came and went, each with their own theories about what had happened the night before. Maggie was happy to listen and share her own views with them but you ended up zoning out every time. Instead you wondered about the stranger from this morning. Who was he? He said he was new here, does that mean he’s staying or just passing through? Either way, something about him made you feel weird and you found yourself watching the door anxiously every time the little bell above it rang.

You were clearing tables after the lunch rush before you could go on your own lunch break, when the door bell dinged and a woman you didn’t recognise walked in.

“take a seat, I’ll be with you in a moment” you say politely as you carry a tray of dirty dishes and mugs into the kitchen. You pick up your little note pad and pen ready to go take her order when Maggie stops you.

“its okay love, I’ll serve her. You have your lunch” she says gesturing to the plate of sandwiches she’s made for you then walking out into the cafe greeting the stranger in her usual loud and bubble manner.

You smile and take the food out through the back door and take a seat on the grassy bank. The sunshine warms your skin as you tuck in to the delicious sandwiches which Maggie has packed with your favourite filling. Once you’ve finished eating you lie with your back on the grass, watching the seagulls fly high above you and the white clouds moving slowly across the perfect blue sky.

You lie there daydreaming for a while but when a fly noisily buzzes past your face and makes you jump you sit up, swatting it away with your hand. You check the time on your watch, almost time to get back to work. You take a few deep breathes of the fresh air before standing up and brushing the grass off you. Something catches your attention in the corner of you eye and you turn to look.

There he is.

The stranger from this morning stood in the shade, leaning against a tree trunk. A shiver tickles down your spine and he smirks at you as the two of you lock eyes.

“Y/N love, could you come back in now?” Maggie calls, poking her head out the door.

“yes yeah ill be right there” you respond looking at her and she goes back inside. You look back over to the tree but he’s gone. Was he ever really there or is he just on your mind?

You walk back into the kitchen, deep in thought.

“are you alright love?” Maggie ask, concerned when she sees the look on your face.

“yeah I’m fine” you snap out of it and smile at her. You spot the unknown lady still sat at the same table she was at before you went on lunch. “she’s still here?”

“she asked if she could use our wifi to do some work on her computer, I said its fine as long as she buys something. Anyway, I’m just nipping out. Will you be okay to run things here for a while?”

“of course, see you in a bit” you smile as she heads out the front door. The lady looks up at you from her laptop and you smile, but she just looks back down and carries on working.

Ten minutes later the cafe is empty apart from you and the mysterious lady.

“excuse me, could I get two more coffees please?” She calls to you and you nod.

“two? Sure yeah, coming up” you reply slightly confused. Two? Maybe someone is coming to join her.

You make the coffees and carry them over to her, carefully placing them down on the table next to her laptop.

“Thanks, this one’s yours. Will you sit?” she gestures to the chair opposite her.

“huh? Oh, no thank you. I cant, I’m working right now”

“theres no one else in here. Just sit for a moment. I have something important to discuss with you” she says friendly enough but with a serious undertone.

“i don't understand-” you start

“Y/N Y/L/N. Born Y/B/D in Y/H/T, but moved here to this village when you were 4 years old and you’ve lived her ever since. Your parents died 5 years ago in a car crash and since then you’ve lived alone in your family home, the lovely little cottage up on that hill.”

“How do you know all of this?”

“Sister Y/N, your great great grandmother, was a nun in Saint Mary’s convent of Budapest in the late 1800’s. In 1897 every nun in that convent was slaughtered. All but three, your great great grandmother was one of them. She fled to England and started a new life. A family.”

“How do you know this?” You repeat, getting frustrated.

“Because I am a direct descendant of one of the other survivors, Sister Agatha Van Helsing. I’m Dr Zoe Van Helsing”

“What, so, someone broke into a nunnery and killed everyone. But our ancestors got away?” You don't understand why any of this matters.

“not someone, something” she pauses “a vampire”

“a vampire?” You stare at her in disbelief and she nods. She’s not joking, she really believes this. “this is ridiculous, I don't know what game you're playing with me but I want no part of it” you say walking away from her.

“this is not a game, this is real. Y/N, a vampire killed all those nuns back then, and now he’s back. He’s here, and I think he’s looking for you”

Her words stop you dead in your tracks.

“He could have killed her, Y/N, but he didn’t. He made the decision not to kill her and he let her go.” She continues and you turn to face her again. “it’s all here in this journal written by your great great grandmother. I think you should read it”

You slowly walk back over to her and take a seat at her table. She pushes a very old, slightly torn and battered journal across the table to you. You open it up to the bookmarked page and begin reading.

“1897.

It all started when the undead man arrived…”

Part Three

Taglist: @a-dorky-book-keeper @agent-smulder

#Dracula #flesh and blood #Dracula x reader #Dracula fanfic #Dracula imagine #Dracula bbc #Dracula netflix #claes bang #Claes Bang dracula #Claes Bang x reader

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malumsmermaid · 5 years

Text

I’d Do Anything (Bonus Chap-2)

Hi, back at it again with my favorite trio, Cashly (aka CEO!Cashton). They’re all officially moving in together.

Word Count: 5,190

Warnings: Poly!Cashton, smut

Prev. Next

Ashton and Calum were away together on business, leaving Lily home alone in Calum’s home, Smokey and Duke happy to spend the days together. Tonight the dogs were snuggled together on the couch as thunder crashed overhead. Lily was in the kitchen cooking dinner for herself. She boredly looked at the time on her phone, humming as she opened it to text Calum.

Come over, my parents aren’t home 😉

Not long after, her phone dinged,

Would love to sweetheart, but I’m halfway across the country

I’m making enchiladas, and our boys are missing their favorite thunder buddy

A moment later her phone was ringing with a FaceTime call from Calum. Lily smiled, answering it and propping her phone up against the ledge that connected the main counter to the bar.

“Hey good lookin’” she said as she waved at the camera.

Calum’s brown eyes gleamed as he greeted her back, watching as she flitted around his kitchen continuing to work on cooking dinner for herself. They idly chatted back and forth while she cooked, Lily finally picking her phone back up and walking into the living room once she’d set the tray of enchiladas into the oven, settling next to Duke and Smokey on the sofa. She picked up the small dog, letting Calum see his pup. He grinned, cooing over at Duke, while Smokey looked up in offense at the sound of the smaller dog getting affection. Lily giggled, stretching her leg over to sate her dog’s need for attention while still cradling her phone and the smaller dog.

Ashton soon stepped into frame, “Hey gorgeous, heard someone thinks that Calum is the dogs’ favorite thunder buddy.”

Lily giggled, “Maybe they aren’t missing Calum, maybe they’re missing you.”

“Oh, so you miss Calum and the dogs miss me? Great to see where I stand.” Ashton’s face lit up as he teased his girlfriend, Calum chuckling as he shifted so that the other man could fit into the frame too.

“I miss you both.” Lily whispered, carefully moving her hand out from beneath Duke so that the small dog could go lay down again.

Both their faces fell slightly as she said this, “We miss you too,” Calum whispered.

“Just two more days and we’ll be back.” Ashton picked up, hand running through his golden curls.

Lily nodded, “I know, it’s just not the same being here with just the dogs and no one else coming by.”

Calum chewed his lips, suddenly blurting, “Look, babe, I’ve been thinking and, watching you move around my kitchen and everything and how often you’re there, do you want to just move in? Next big project we can focus on. We can all get your stuff together, work from the house until you’re all settled.”

Ashton looked at Calum in shock before saying, “Am I invited too? I’m in and out more often than Lil is, but I’d like to be there.” Calum smiled, nodding slightly at his best friend before turning to make eye contact with his girlfriend through the phone, “What do you think princess? Wanna live with both of us?”

Lily nodded, “Yeah, of course I do. Just, can we talk about it more once you guys are home, figure out exactly how we’re going to set this up?”

Both men agreed and Lily smiled, just as the oven dinged. “Enjoy your dinner sweetheart, we’ve got an early morning and it’s getting late. We’ll see you in a few days.” Ashton said, Calum nodding as he agreed.

They all said their goodbyes, blowing kisses and smiling before Calum ended the call, letting Lily go so she could eat.

~~~~~

Two days later, Lily was getting ready for work, texting back and forth with Calum and Ashton in their group chat while the two men were stuck in an airport waiting for their next flight. She had dug around in Calum’s closet, not wanting to wear any of her own clothes today, pulling out one of Ashton’s button downs that had gotten mixed in with Calum’s clothes at one point, a short sleeved black button down with large red hearts printed over the fabric. She pulled on a pair of her ripped black skinny jeans and took one of Calum’s belts, a plain black one with a large, engraved silver buckle and put it on over the shirt, tightening it around her waist. She had just capped her mascara when a new text from Calum came in:

Think we’d both enjoy a nice picture of you getting ready to help us survive this layover, princess.

Lily giggled, taking a quick mirror selfie and sending:

An hour too late sweet boy, along with it.

She smiled to herself as the photo sent before undoing the buttons on Ashton’s shirt to the top of the belt she was wearing with it, throwing it off her shoulders slightly to expose her chest as she took a new selfie, staring up into the camera, green eyes wide as she leaned against Calum’s bathroom sink. She took two pictures, sending them both to her boyfriends and locked her phone back, redoing the buttons on the shirt and walking out to put on her light grey ankle boots and go to work, giving Smokey and Duke each a quick head scratch as she grabbed her bag and ran out the front door.

Lily spent the first half of the workday curled up on the couch in Ashton’s office, staring at her laptop screen as she emailed back and forth with different departments and other companies who were checking in on the status of the most recent project that they were investing in. Just before noon the alarm she’d set on her phone went off and a grin broke across her face. She began packing her things and ran down to the parking lot so she could meet her boys at the airport.

Lily arrived earlier than she anticipated, so she pulled out her laptop and touched up a few presentations while she sat in the pickup lane. Twenty minutes later she jumped at the sound of tapping on her window, grin breaking across her face when she locked eyes with Ashton. She unlocked the car and he and Calum went around to the back to throw their bags in the trunk. Lily climbed out of her car, Ashton quickly running over and wrapping her in his arms, giving her a hurried kiss before mumbling, “That picture Calum asked for most certainly didn’t help either of us survive the layover, or the flight.”

He gently nipped her ear as Calum walked up behind him, glancing around before leaning down to press a kiss to Lily’s cheek. She hummed as she turned to look at him before saying, “Let’s go get some lunch before the meeting we have to go to. Then we can go back to Cal’s and have a little talk about the topic that he brought up the other night.”

Both men assented, climbing into the backseat to change from their hoodies and basketball shorts into button downs and slacks as Lily drove to the nearest restaurant. The three of them huddled around the table, Lily’s laptop connected to the free wifi as they discussed the upcoming meeting and what they were ready to talk about there. The whole time they were there Calum was playing footsie with Lily under the table while Ashton’s thumb rubbed circles higher and higher on the inside of her thigh.

As soon as the meeting ended, Calum took the keys to Lily’s car and drove them all straight to his house. He and Ashton dropped their bags at the front door and Calum let the two dogs out, joining them outside as they were dancing around his feet. Lily was about to follow after him when Ashton grabbed her by the waist and pulled her to him, his lips crashing into hers in a hungry kiss as his long fingers began undoing Calum’s belt that she was wearing on top of Ashton’s shirt. By the time Calum had brought the pair of dogs inside Ashton had unbuttoned the shirt halfway and Lily’s lips were kiss swollen and her cheeks red from being denied air.

Calum shook his head, smiling as he walked over to join them. Ashton had pulled away for a moment when he heard the sliding door open again, Smokey making a beeline for him, the pit bull nuzzling against Ashton’s legs since he hadn’t seen him for over half a week. Calum took the opportunity to pick Lily up, her legs automatically wrapping around his waist. He buried his face in her neck, swaying as he held her to him.

Ashton stood from where he was petting the dogs, Calum’s back to him, and he used the moment to unzip Lily’s heeled boots, placing them near his bag, toeing off his own shoes as well. Lily stole a glance towards him as his bare feet slapped against the wood floor, his hazel eyes dark as he stole a glance at her kissed lips. He grabbed hold of one of her hands, giving a gentle pull as he kept walking, enough to make Lily tighten her body against Calum’s for balance before the other man received Ashton’s message, that it was time to move.

The dogs were content to stay curled up on the couch, having greeted the pair that had been gone longest, as Ashton led the way to Calum’s bedroom. Ashton let go of Lily’s hand as Calum settled on his bed, shifting Lily so she was in his lap before wrapping a hand in her hair and bringing her lips to his.

Ashton climbed onto the bed too, kneeling between Calum’s spread legs and running his hands over Lily’s sides, allowing Calum to finally get a taste of their girlfriend’s lips for the first time since they’d seen her. Ashton busied himself, finishing undoing the bottom buttons of the shirt she’d stolen before pushing up the back of the shirt so he could undo her bra, undoing the straps from the band as well so that his shirt wouldn’t have to come off her body, yanking it off of her and throwing it across the room. Ashton wrapped his arms around her then, hands cupping her breasts as he pressed a wet kiss to her neck. Lily let out a muffled moan and Ashton was about to comment on the fact that he had barely done anything when he felt her shift. He glanced down, smirking as he noticed Calum’s hands tightly gripping her hip, making her grind against him as he continued their kiss. He began pinching and pulling at her nipples before tugging her earlobe between his teeth, pulling away to mumble, “Look so good, taking our clothes and making them your own. That picture you sent us really was a treat, we were both just upset we weren’t home. Calum spent the rest of the layover in our little booth doing his best to hide from the rest of the airport that he had his hand down his pants.” He smiled at her little whimper, a low growl rising from the back of Calum’s throat as he thrusted his hips upwards. Ashton smirked, leaning down to suck at her jaw before continuing, “Think I wanna fuck your face, doll, and we’ll let Calum finally get the taste he’s been whining for all week. You’re not gonna finish before I do though, ok sweetheart? We need to let Calum hear those pretty noises of yours that he loves so much. We’ll figure out more from there, ok?”

Calum pulled away from Lily, turning her to face Ashton so she could answer properly, taking the moment to undo his pants, hand disappearing into his boxers, a low grunt passing his lips as Lily stared at Ashton in a daze. The golden haired man grasped her chin between his fingers, hazel eyes searching her dark green ones, waiting for her to answer him. Finally she mewed, “Yes, Mr. Irwin. Please.”

He smiled, giving her a gentle kiss, her eyes slipping closed as she leaned into him. He trailed his hand through her auburn hair, enjoying the small, soft moment before pulling back. “You and Calum help each other with the rest of your clothes, you’re to keep my shirt on you for now though.” He commanded, pulling back and standing from the bed.

His pants constricted the slightest bit more at the soft, “Yes sir.” That fell from Lily’s lips.

His eyes fluttered momentarily as he bit back a groan at the sound of her voice, turning so his back was to the bed as he removed his own clothes. Ashton wrapped his hand around his length, eyes closing as he flashed back to the images Lily had sent early that morning. He was brought back to the moment that he had taken part in creating at the sound of Calum groaning out Lily’s name. Ashton turned, Lily’s hand around Calum’s shaft as she straddled one of his thighs, the pair having been left to their own devices while Ashton’s back was turned. He hummed, giving himself one last stroke before walking back to the bed.

Calum’s eyes locked with Ashton’s and he lifted Lily off of his leg, “Hands and knees for us princess.” He whispered in response to her whine, smiling fondly at the woman.

She obediently shifted herself, Ashton stopping in front of her, hand gently pushing her hair out of her face and over her shoulder. Calum was getting into his spot behind her, hands pushing the shirt out of his way and up her back, lips beginning to dance along the inside of her thighs. Her body let out an involuntary shudder as Calum started eating her out, going straight in like he hadn’t eaten all week, but Ashton could tell she was doing her best to focus on him. He smiled, thumb stroking her cheek as he whispered, “You know the drill, doll. Three taps if you need a moment, gotta make sure my girl is ok. Also want you to keep those pretty green eyes on me, like in your pictures.”

“Yes sir,” she whimpered, a small moan leaving her lips from Calum’s actions behind her.

He smiled, nodding as he took a small step forward, his tip directly lined up with her lips. She leaned forward, giving it a gentle kiss before taking him in her mouth, tongue lapping at his tip as she sucked in her cheeks before he slowly began pushing into her mouth further. He slowly thrusted, sinking further into her mouth with each one, his eyes locked on her to make sure that she was ok with each extra inch of him until he reached the back of her throat. He hummed as he felt her take a deep breath through her nose, her tongue running along his vein as she relaxed and took him further.

He groaned, eyelids fluttering yet again as he stared down into her green eyes. He chewed his lip for a moment before gathering her hair in his fist, suddenly pulling back out before fully beginning to fuck her throat, grunting at the feeling of her automatically reacting and hollowing her cheeks. He continued to use the makeshift ponytail as leverage as he thrusted in and out of her mouth, doing his best to keep his eyes locked on hers. His eyes rolled back when Lily reached up one of her hands, fondling him, spots appearing before his eyes for a moment. He moaned loudly, and once she was back in his view he noticed the way she was tightly grasping at the quilt, her body quaking. He realized then that Calum was keeping her right at the edge, both of them holding out according to what Ash had said not three minutes ago. He knew she needed to get him closer so she could finally let go. He picked up his pace, nodding down at her in acknowledgement, and between the feeling of her mouth around him and her touch he was soon releasing down her throat, her name falling from his lips as he tightened his hold on her hair.

As soon as he knew he was spent he reached for the nightstand, pulling out a tissue and quickly wiping around her mouth. Her green eyes were wide, still looking up at him as he cleaned her up. He smiled, giving her a gentle kiss, whispering “Such a good girl for me.” She let out a little moan at his words and he smiled, “All yours Calum.”

Lily let out a gasp as Calum instantly pulled her closer to his face, fingers digging into her thighs as he kept his lips connected to her. She quickly fell apart with little extra effort from Calum, his name filling his bedroom as Ashton stood there, watching Lily shake, her arms giving out as her orgasm washed over her, Calum not holding back as he worked her through, brown eyes closed as he groaned against her, the vibrations from that causing her to shudder more.

Even after it was clear to Ashton that Lily had made it through, Calum’s head didn’t shift from between her legs. Ashton hummed in appreciation, nodding slightly as he heard Lily’s gasping moans, struggling to push her body back up as Calum kept working at her, using everything he’d learned over the past six months to build her back up again. Ashton moved to sit next to her, carefully lifting her with one hand, using the other to gently massage her throat, whispering quiet praises to her, taking deep slow breaths while he tried to focus on taking care of his girlfriend and not the sounds filling the room.

His focus was pulled away when the bed started rocking slightly, Ashton now noticing Calum’s slightly muffled, desperate grunts. He hummed, grabbing a pillow from where it was resting against the headboard, putting it above his bent knee, sliding both his knee and the pillow under Lily’s chest to continue to help her hold herself up, moving to stretch his tall frame across the bed, taking hold of Calum’s length.

The other man shuddered, an appreciative groan falling from his lips as Ashton slowly began pumping him, his hand doing far more for Calum than the mattress. Calum flipped Lily over onto her back, allowing Ashton to move his leg out from under her so he could maneuver into a more comfortable position while he helped Calum through. With one last harsh sucking noise, both Lily and Calum came, whimpering in harmony.

Once they’d both made it through, Calum flopped onto his back, pulling Lily to rest her head on his chest, panting as his fingers ran through her hair. “Not done.” She whispered, looking up at Ashton with hooded eyes.

He smiled, not one to deny her, crouching above her, his knees on either side of hers, “If you say so, doll, your wish is my command.” He whispered, his lips gently slanting over her own.

He pulled his shirt off of her body, tossing it towards the bathroom door, easily slipping inside of her and immediately began thrusting. He was being gentle, placing gentle kisses to Lily’s face and neck until she began clenching around him. He let out a groan, pulling out, but keeping a thumb on her clit until Calum’s body replaced his, Ashton pumping himself over her once Calum was in place, spreading himself over her stomach. Calum did the same when he was ready a few minutes later, working her through her fourth orgasm as he did so.

Lily laid on the bed, shaking, and Ashton gently cradled her jaw in his hand, gently worrying over her as Calum flopped back onto the mattress, letting out a groan when he landed, his face scrunched up. Ashton just shook his head, humming quietly as he looked down at Lily, waiting to see her green eyes looking up at him.

She slowly blinked her eyes open, staring up at Ashton adoringly, reaching her own hand up to stroke his cheek. He smiled, gently grasping her hand in his own, pressing her knuckles to his lips. He sighed as he looked down at her body, whispering “C’mon doll, we’re gonna go get you cleaned up, Calum will join us in a minute.”

She hummed, allowing Ashton to get out of bed and scoop her into his arms, carrying her into Calum’s bathroom. Calum watched them with half open eyes before slowly getting up, gathering all his sheets from the bed and carrying them down the hall to the laundry, tossing those into the washer before grabbing a set from the shelf above the two machines, placing the clean sheets in the dryer with a dryer sheet to freshen them up and warm them for when Lily left his shower.

When he entered the bathroom after starting the dryer he found Ashton sitting on the shower floor next to Lily, fingers combing conditioner through her hair. He smiled, stepping in and sitting on Lily’s other side, grabbing her body wash and putting it on her sponge, slowly rubbing it over her stomach and between her thighs before moving on to her back.

Ashton sat back, humming and rubbing his eyes tiredly, “I already washed myself, let her sit down and chill out while I did, gonna go ahead and dry off.”

Calum nodded in response, watching as Ashton carefully got to his feet, stepping around the other two people in the shower and walking through the glass door, shutting it behind him. “Wanna clean me up while your conditioner sets princess?” He asked with a smile, opening the bottle, ready to pour some shampoo into her hand as she nodded.

Once they were both rinsed and dried off, Calum helped Lily into a pair of her boy shorts. He pulled boxers on over himself before walking her out into the bedroom, scooping Ashton’s button down up from where he’d thrown it when he’d taken it off of Lily, placing it back over her arms, pressing a kiss to her wet hair. They both watched as Ashton tucked the final fresh blanket into the mattress, folding it back so that they could all crawl in and get a nap before dinner.

~~~~~~

Lily was woken a couple hours later by Calum gently rubbing circles on her exposed hip. She rolled over as best as she could in Ashton’s hold, his hazel eyes trained on the ceiling, having been woken by Calum’s alarm an hour earlier. He smiled, kissing her softly before whispering, “Dinner is ready, made your favorite.”

She grinned, Ashton smiling as he moved on top of her, stealing his own kiss before helping her out of bed. Lily hummed, her eyes trailing over Calum’s now clothed figure. He smiled, “Figured the neighborhood didn’t need to see what they’re missing out on while I took the dogs on their evening walk.” He teased, easily gesturing towards the two dogs laying in the middle of the cool kitchen tile.

Lily let out a giggle, tucking herself to his side before maneuvering around the dogs to fix herself a plate of veggie stir fry and a mug of tea, leading the way to the living room and finding a show or them all to watch while they ate.

Once they’d all finished and the kitchen was clean, they all gathered back on the couch. “So, I’ve actually been thinking about asking you guys to move here for a little bit now. Ordered a new bed that actually should comfortably fit three adults and two dogs now. We can move the current bed into one of the guest rooms for when one or two of us is away so that whoever is still here doesn’t feel alone in the big bed, or we can use it as somewhere to go when one of us needs some alone time or something happens and we need to split up for a night to cool down, y’know? It’s gonna be here in two weeks, which should be enough time to get you both packed and unpacked and settled in, yeah?” Calum rambled, looking at the other two members of the triad.

Lily glowed as she listened to him, Ashton nodding along, having heard this the night before. They all agreed and Calum whispered, “So we’ll start packing your stuff up tomorrow, Lil, take this weekend to get you all moved out, and then we can move onto Ashton.”

They all cuddled up on the couch for the rest of the night. Content in each other’s arms as they continued with the show they’d begun watching together a few months back.

~~~~~~

Two weeks later and they were almost completely done moving in. They’d managed to spend the entire time working from Calum’s home office, sitting on the floor or taking turns at the desk while the others kept emptying boxes. They’d organized Calum’s large walk-in closet, fitting everyone’s clothes in there, set up Smokey’s feeding area where they usually just temporarily set his bowls when they were over, and found places for all the photos and art Ashton and Lily were adding to what Calum already had.

It was the day that the new bed was arriving and Lily had to go into the office. Both men gave her gentle kisses, promising to focus on moving the furniture around so that the new bed would fit. As soon as she pulled out of the driveway they both ran upstairs, smiling as they began their surprise project for the office. First, they moved Calum’s desk to a different wall, then carried the pull out sofa bed from the guest room across the hall, settling it against the wall Calum’s desk had been by.

Calum then went into the guest room closet, pulling out two desk boxes, taking them one at a time across the hall to the office. They both then went downstairs, taking apart the current bed and slowly bringing it up to the guest room, reassembling it, finishing that project as soon as the new bed arrived. Ashton led the men to the bedroom, helping them shift the nightstands that would rest on either side of the bed. Once the frame and mattress were all in place, Ashton shook both men’s hands, showing them out with a grin. He pulled the new bedding out of the dryer, Lily having started washing it before she left, quickly making up the bed before rejoining Calum to help set up the desks.

It was lunch when they finished running wires between the three desks, a surge protector resting under the middle one, which was to be Lily’s. She only had her laptop, which was currently at work with her, so it was more a case of getting the boys’ computers plugged in and set up. When Ashton crawled out from under his desk he found Calum sitting on the floor, frowning at his phone. “Lil’s not having a good day. Told her we already ate and to treat Kels to lunch, she’s been doing her best to help Lily out with everything.”

Ashton nodded, holding his hand out to help Calum up. He grinned as he looked around the office, “Just need to bring that bench over and put Lil’s books in it so she can have her little reading nook.”

Calum nodded, smiling and they both worked on the final project, chatting and joking the whole time. They finished at six, right as Lily texted them that she was just leaving the office and on her way home. Both men frowned at their phones, each taking a quick shower and changing into pajamas while they waited for her to get home. They were both on the couch when she walked in, and they smiled over at her, opening their arms. “We ordered a pizza, figured we could have a chill night in, movie night.” Ashton whispered as she settled between them both with a huff.

Calum nodded, kissing her cheek, “It’s a movie night for sure, baby.”

Lily closed her eyes, settling into them both. “Gotta finish unpacking the last of my things, find a spot for my books.” She whispered stubbornly.

Calum and Ashton both giggled, smiling at each other. “What’s so funny?” She asked, pouting at them both.

“Just get into your pajamas and we’ll show you. Had a few projects today that you didn’t know about.” Ashton said with a smile, hand gently tapping her ass as she got to her feet and walked infront of them.

She scowled at him playfully, but did what he said. The two men grinned at each other, waiting impatiently for her to rejoin them. “New bed looks great.” she said as she walked back into the living room.

Calum hummed, nodding, and they both got to their feet. Calum scooped Lily up, putting her on his back. “Close your eyes, gonna be a surprise.” He said, slowly beginning to walk upstairs, Ashton already bounding ahead of him.

He smiled as Lily nestled her head in his neck, trusting him as he gave her a piggyback ride through the house. He set her down outside the door into the office, holding her to his chest. “No peeking,” Ashton warned teasingly as he opened the door ahead of them, watching as Calum carefully walked her into the room.

He stopped, facing the trio of desks, slowly counting down from three before spinning her around. She gasped as she took in the desk set up, a smile crossing her face, looking at the way they’d arranged photos above each desk. She grinned, turning and smiling at the sofa, “Told you it would work in here.” She called, gently shoving Ashton.

He giggled, nodding before turning her ninety degrees to look at the window, her dreamed of window seat highlighted by pillows and the new, light curtains on either side of it. Her hands flew to her mouth, her eyes watering slightly as she stared at it. Calum passed her off to Ashton, walking over to the bench, which had shelves under it in addition to the under-seat storage. He carefully removed the pillows and cushion, opening the bench to show Lily her books, spines facing up so she could easily find what she was looking for. She was truly crying at this point and Calum lowered the lid, putting the cushion back on and pulling her to sit down, both he and Ashton cradling her in their arms as they settled on either side of her. Calum ran his fingers through her hair, quietly cooing, “We love you so much, Lily.”

Ashton simply nodded in response when the doorbell rang. Ashton gave her a gentle kiss before moving downstairs to get the pizza. The three crawled into the new bed, Duke and Smokey happily joining them, sitting together and eating their dinner as the first movie began, the five of them truly at home.

Tags: @irwinkitten @empathycth @calpops @dammitbands @gorgeouslygrace @5sosalh

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dalamjisung · 5 years

Text

blue ✾ han jisung

okay, so I had three asks for a Jisung fluff story, and together they formed a pretty cool storyline! so I hope you all don’t mind, I mashed them all together and came up with this! :D

genre: angst, fluff

word count: 3142

pairing: reader x han jisung

description: with thousands of miles in between you two, will the relationship last?

(inspired on the song BLUE by TAEYEON: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVtTdZt-HtI)

Half of the time you were at the studio, and the other half you were at the coffee shop at the end of the block because you’d have to work overnight again. And it wasn’t like you hated your job– it was actually pretty dope being songwriter for one of the biggest entertainment companies in the country, especially when your boyfriend also worked at that company. He was a member of a boy group called Stray Kids, and you have been assigned to them since pre-debut; although the jobs were very different, he was one of the three members that always worked with you to get the songs just perfect. You two spent countless nights talking about feelings and writing them down; brainstorming for new comebacks and concepts, creating choreographies to match the rhythm of the title track, making out, recording the songs, signing contracts, splitting lines to fit the members voices, and all that being a songwriter encompasses. With the plus of Han Jisung by your side.

However, there were some aspects of your jobs that didn’t match. At all. Mainly, the fact that he’d go on world tours for about four months while you were trapped back at the company with a bunch of deadlines and other groups to attend to. It was stressful. But you made it work… for a while. It wasn’t quite like that anymore; there were no flowers waiting for you every Wednesday, your busiest days, at your office. No letters or emails or snippets of love songs recordings waiting for you when you got home. No more insisting that you guys went public so he could ‘show you off.’ No more breakfasts in bed when Jisung got back from tour, because both of your would be exhausted and honestly, no more cuddling– you both needed a proper night of sleep without waking up every time the other moved. You knew things were falling apart. You were very much aware of it, and of your part in it, but oh god, how you wanted to blame him. You wanted to blame Han Jisung and only Han Jisung, simply because you didn’t want to admit to him– to yourself– that you failed at the thing you loved the most in the world; your relationship.

But it wasn’t only him and that was a fact. You guys fell in a space of comfort and routine that was hard to escape, and with the situation that both of you were, it was even harder. You sighed, checking your messages one last time before coming to terms with it– he forgot to call you. Again. And when he remembers, you’d probably be sleeping the three or four hours you managed to make free on your day. It has been almost a week of calculated, emotionless “good morning” and “good night” texts, no in between. No “I love you’s” or “I miss you.” It felt forced… and you just wanted it to stop, no matter what.

You were in the studio with BamBam when he calls, and for the first time, you ignore him on purpose. You are late on a deadline and Got7’s manager is hot on your tail, pressuring you to the point that you’d get home every night and burst into tears, thinking about quitting your job, forgetting all about your special project, as you called it, and wishing for familiar arms to surround you, a whispering voice telling you that “it’ll be alright, love.” But none of those happen; you keep showing up to work every morning and Jisung is never home, and even then, you’d still make time to work on your personal project once you got home. A project made for Jisung, to finally officialize you guys’ relationship, and now, you are not even sure if you should continue it.

The phone stopes ringing only to start again and this time you groan in annoyance, scaring the man by your side.

“Everything alright?” BamBam asks, squinting his eyes when you turn your phone screen facing down.

“Just peachy,” You mumble, staring at the damn line you’ve been trying to finish since two hours ago. It just wasn’t happening; you feel as if you lost your touch, nothing you were writing was coming out good and your bosses were starting to bother you. The definitely mentioned you quitting, but you ignored them as you usually did.

“Y/N,” BamBam sighs. “Go home. I got this.”

“No, I can’t go home.” You say and it’s true. You’ve been dreading going home for the past month or so, because it didn’t feel like home anymore. There was no Jisung wearing an apron in the kitchen making dinner, or Felix and Woojin appearing out of nowhere because ‘your wifi is better than the dorm’s’; it didn’t feel like anyone lived that and getting home to an empty apartment fucking sucked. So yeah, you couldn’t go home, and you simply didn’t want to anymore. “I just can’t.”

“Y/N, what’s going on?” BamBam asks taking your pen away and turning your chair to him. “We all noticed. We all know. What’s up?”

And you just start crying, because you can’t hold it in anymore. You cry because your best friends are gone, because you are alone, because everything apparently depends on you and nothing you do is good enough. You cry because you want to, and it feels as if a weight is taken off your shoulders when you say “I can’t do this anymore.”

——————————

BamBam drops you at your apartment that same night; he promised Chan that he would watch out for you while they were away and he did his best, but in a situation like this, he felt like an idiot. He didn’t know what to do, so while you were in your office packing for the day, he calls Jisung, telling him to call you in about thirty minutes or so, when you’d be home alone. And this time, you can’t ignore it. You just can’t.

“Hey,” You croak, your voice tired and overused.

“Hey,” He answers, brows furrowed and eyes low on his hands. “How are you?”

“BamBam called you didn’t he?” You ask with a humorless chuckle. You’re embarrassed really, it was stupid of you to not go talk to him in the first place. When your boyfriend nods, you nod with him, defeated and feeling like you might cry again. “I’m sorry, Jisung. I’m so sorry…”

“You’re scaring me,” He says, and you nod again. “What happened?”

“I just-“ You sob, tears falling out of your control, and you want to punch yourself when you see the desperate look on his face. “I just miss you so much and I-I don’t think I can do this…”

“Do what?” He sighs, frustrated.

“This, Jisung!” You shout, grabbing your hair and pulling it back, finding relief on the sting on your scalp. “Us. This. You there, and me here. It’s killing me!”

“W-What?” He whispers, and you notice the wet glint in his eyes. Great, now you made the love of your life cry. “Y/N, don’t say that!”

“But it’s true…” You choke out. “I miss you so damn much I can’t even come home. The agency is talking about firing me because I haven’t been the same since you were gone, and honestly, Jisungie, neither have we. We don’t talk anymore. We barely text, and when we see each other– on a screen, I might add– we fight. And it’s not your fault babe, really, it’s your job and I’m so damn proud of you for getting there, but it’s my job too, and I’m almost losing it. I’m about to lose it for real.”

“But we promised,” He says and his voice is strong. “We promised to fight until the end."

“I think this might just be the end of me,” You whisper, crying. “I don’t want to, believe me! I love you so much, but I don’t know what else to do!”

“We can fix this,” He vowels, grabbing the screen with his hands and bring it closer to his face. “I love you. We can fix this.”

“Can we?”

“Yes,” He says and he sounds so sure, so decided, that you nod. You believe him, and you allow him to guide you when you feel vulnerable. “I wish you had talked to me before, love…”

“I’m sorry,” You whisper looking down in shame. “I just don’t know what to do anymore.”

“Then leave it to me,” He says and you see his hand touching the screen of his computer. “Trust me to help you when you can’t help yourself anymore, Y/N. Please.”

“Okay,” You breath deeply. “I trust you. But you have to trust me too. This is a two way street, Jisung.”

“I do,” He smiles, relived. “I trust you with all my heart even though you almost broke up with me just now…”

“Stop it!” You whine. “I sounded like it was the best thing for the both of us.”

“Being away from you will never be the best thing for me, Y/N. Get that through your thick head.”

You laugh, the first true one in weeks. “Okay okay, I’m sorry.”

“Stop apologizing,” He whines. “I’m not leaving you even if you beg me to. Now tell me everything that’s bothering you.”

“Jisung, no,” You sigh, blushing. “You have problems too, I am sure, you don’t nee-“

“If we’re going to make this work, babe,” He says with a sad smile. “We have to communicate better. That’s the hardest part, love, but we can do this… come on, tell me everything.”

And you do; you talk about sleeping alone, and not being able to write, and about hatting one of your bosses (whom he hates too) and the conversation goes for hours. He tells you about being alone too, even though he has his eight member by his side, and how he wished you’d be more open with him. He talks about the concerts that don’t feel the same without waiting for him backstage and you talk about coming home to an empty space. Both of you finally talk, and it great and amazing, but once he’s gone, and you’re alone again, and silence takes over the room, you start wondering if things will really change.

The doorbell wakes you up before your alarm, and you swear that you could kill anyone that early in the morning. You know it’s not Jisung trying to surprise you because he still has two concerts left before coming home, so you scream random words and try to go back to sleep. But then you hear the noise of the door closing, a subtle slam, but enough to alarm you. Were you getting robbed?

As silently as your sleep deprived body could, you tiptoe to hide yourself behind the door of your room; and it was the perfect timing, because as soon as you rest your back on the wall, the door opens slowly, and a man comes in. He walks to your bed, and just as he is leaning forward to look for you in the mess of fluffy blankets, you kick him in the butt, pushing his body forward and locking him in place by his arms.

“What the fuck?” They shout, and as his face turns to the side to look at you, you recognize some facial features.

“What the-“ You let him go, walking to your nightstand and putting your glasses on. “BamBam, care to explain why you sneaked into my house?”

“Hm, care to explain how you know how to immobilize people?” He groans back, sitting down while massaging his shoulder.

“To protect myself when people sneak into my house.” You deadpan, still waiting for an explication.

“Jisung called me last night,” Your friend says. “He told me to come get you and take you to get coffee on the way to work.”

You were surprised. He listened, you thought with a small smile. He listened to me.

“I’ll get dressed really quick and we’ll go,” You squeal in happiness.

On the way to the coffee shop, you two pass by the florist that Jisung usually went. He is waiting outside for you, with a handful of daisies.

“For the beautiful lady,” He says, smiling from ear to ear. “Your boyfriend called and told me to give these to you when he’s away.”

“Wha-“ You can’t even finish your sentence. You feel tears coming to your eyes as you hug the bouquet. You hear a snap coming from your right side and you assume BamBam just took a picture of you for your boyfriend, but you couldn’t care less.

Things are finally getting back to normal, you think. I hope I do too.

At work, everything went perfectly. You managed to deliver projects that had been late for weeks and you got all contracts signed and sent back in time. You wrote two new songs for the new girl band, Itzy, and got the schedule ready for Jus2. All that and you even managed to leave the office early, in time to your once again scheduled calls with Jisung. Truth was that you planned on having the surprise ready way earlier, but job and relationship and house and every single other problem got in the way. You felt that you were finally ready to tell the world that you are in love– and had been for two years– with the one and only Han Jisung. You were back at it full force and nothing could stop you.

This was the mental state you were for a week. A whole week solely focused on work and Jisung. You had three songs ready, and you needed only one or two more for a mini album. That was the way you chose to tell everyone about you two; a collaboration of your talents and voices. It would be epic, and thankfully, it was already approved by the higher ups. Sometimes you felt as if it was unfair, for you to work alone on it when it would clearly influence you two immensely; you felt as if it was unfair to him, sure that if he knew about it, he’d want to participate on the making of the songs, not only the recording. But you also knew that he would be incredibly proud and happy and that that would override the fact that you hid this from him for so long.

It was almost 8PM now, and you were still at the company, trying to write just one more song for him, for both of you, but you were stuck in a line that you weren’t sure should be sang by you or him. So you went from the top, singing everything to try and come up with something for that ending.

You are my blue, as always

You are my blue, filled with longing

It's beautiful

You closed your eyes, singing it by heart; you could almost see him, with his beautiful smile with that one slightly crooked tooth that he hated so much, but you thought it was endearing, looking at you with smily eyes, the type that express all of his fondness for you– of you. And then he’d come closer, chuckling a bit– ah yes, you could hear it, that slow, aired laugh he had, that made your heart go boom boom.

Love, that which resembles you

My day is still here

A labyrinth full of you, one step further

An exceptionally deep sigh

And now his hands would touch your waist, swaying his body with yours. You felt it; the warmth of his callused hands, the delicacy of his slim fingers on your skin. He was right there. With you. And then, the lines that were missing come, his voice echoing in the small studio.

Slowly flowing through the breath

I think you are, you are my blue

As always, you are my blue

Filled with longing

It's beautiful

“Hello, love.”

——————————

“Remember,” His voice is the first thing you hear in the morning when you wake up, and you love him, you really do, but this was too much. “When you wanted to break up?”

“Jisung,” You mumble with a hoarse voice, hiding under your pillow. “That was two years ago and it’s 8 in the morning…”

“Still,” He chuckles and you start counting to ten. “I’m proud of us.”

You stop at 6 and peek at him, hair all over you face and marks of the pillowcase on your forehead.

“What?” He asks, wide eyes and innocent smile. He was definitely hiding something. Sighing, you accept the fact that you won’t be able to sleep anymore and you try to make yourself presentable. “Stop it, you look beautiful anyways.”

“Or so you say,” You mock and put your hair up in a bun. “What is it? Why are you being all sentimental this early in the morning?”

He squints his eyes at you and scoffs, moving his body closer to yours and caging you with his arms and legs. He was an extreme cuddler, and you weren’t complaining. You laid your head on his shirtless chest, his t-shirt, as always, tossed somewhere in the room because he feels hot at night even though snow accumulated on your windowsill.

“What?” You groan when he starts squirming. “Jisung, what is it?”

“You really don’t know?” He gasps. “I’m offended, Y/N, really!”

“Babe, I might know later in the day,” You whine, hugging him closer to you. “But it’s too early now!”

“Now I know how Chan hyung’s fiancé felt last month,” He mumbled.

“Jisung what are you talking about?” You sigh, deciding to move on top of him. You move your body so that it’s laying on top of his, your chin propped on his chest so you could look at his handsome face. Oh god, you were so in love with this man.

“Y/N!” He laughs once you poked his right side.

“Tell me.” You demand.

“You should know!” He tried to squirm away from your poking, but he fails. You keep going at it until he loses his patience and rolls you two around, trapping you under him.

“Babe-“ You try to get away but you can’t. He holds you in place, eyes on yours, noses touching, and smiling mouth kissing all over your face.

“I can’t believe I married you,” He chuckles and it finally clicks. “Happy anniversary babe. It has now been two full years since we released our album and got married. I love you.”

“I knew,” You try to look serious, but even you can’t hold your laughter. “I knew! I promise I didn’t forget our anniversary!”

“Y/N,” He laughs. “You forget your own birthday.”

“…I love you?” You say, smiling sheepishly.

“Much better.”

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alj4890 · 5 years

Text

And Then I Met You

Part 19

What happens when the one you thought you were meant for turns out to be meant for someone else?

A\N Choices Fan Fiction with characters from The Royal Romance, Red Carpet Diaries, and Perfect Match

@alleksa16 @penguininapinktuxedo @blackcoffee85 @stopforamoment @hopefulmoonobject @krsnlove @littleblossom357 @annekebbphotography @gibbles82 @cora-nova @bella-ca @hopelessromantic1352 . @sunflowergirl05 @desiree-0816 @greywitchyshots @lilyofchoices @emceesynonymroll

Masterlist

Part 19

"Are you enjoying your visit to Cordonia?" Ana De Luca asked.

"I always do." Ryan replied, smiling at the camera. "I vacation here every chance I get. Filming The Earl's Undoing in Cordonia is the dream work environment."

"This is my first time visiting and now I see why Ryan talks about it all the time. It's gorgeous and my wife is dropping some major hints to us buying a house here. I encourage everyone to see The Earl's Undoing so I can afford a down payment." Chris answered with a chuckle.

Ana turned to Lauren. "What do you think of Cordonia?"

Lauren coyly looked down. "It’s incredible. The people are so welcoming and I simply adore it. I have been so busy learning my lines that I have really only been out very late at night. I hope, once filming is completed, to see everything in the light of day."

Ryan and Chris shared a brief glance and kept their smiles in place. Holly stood off next to the cameraman and nearly broke her clipboard at Lauren's words. She didn't know if it was a good thing or not that Thomas and Amanda were off on their own for the week, touring the different locations for the movie.

The interview continued with more subtle hints of Lauren and Thomas being close to one another. Ryan oozed his charm to draw Ana's attention away from asking follow-up questions. Chris also worked in tandem to Ryan in an attempt to keep the interview strictly on the movie.

"Amanda hired Jax Matsuo of New York to teach Ryan and I how to fence. That man moves with a speed like no one else I have ever seen before. I'm pretty sure that if we had to really fight him with swords, we would be giving this interview through a seance." Chris joked.

Ryan laughed and added that Chris was jealous because he had learned faster. Lauren indulgently smiled at their good natured hazing. She shook her head at their teasing and leaned toward Ana. "With these two characters, I think I am forgiven for needing a mature distraction every now and then."

Everyone's heads jerked up at the loud crack. Holly mouthed sorry and hid the two pieces of her clipboard behind her. Ana quickly wrapped up the interview and told her camera man to erase the last part after Ryan's teasing.

Lauren glared at Holly before promising to give Ana another interview whenever she liked. "With Thomas away, my time is completely free."

Holly kept a business like tone. "Ms. Benefield exaggerates. Her time is filled with fittings and rehearsal. Thomas and Amanda left to scout out the filming locations." She winked suggestively at Ana. "Thomas made certain it was just the two of them."

Ana smiled warmly. "Lady Amanda does bring out a side in Thomas that I haven't seen before."

Addison joined them and gushed at that. "Holly and I were able to see firsthand their romance unfold." She sighed dramatically while placing the back of her hand on her forehead. "All the shy, longing looks and brush of hands was so cute. Ugh. I just wanted to tie them together and throw them in a candlelit room filled with rose petals."

Ana's interest piqued at the picture Addison painted. "I would love to get a rare exclusive of yours and Holly's perspective of their relationship. Not only would movie fans love it, but the people of Cordonia would very much like a peek into Lady Amanda's personal life. There have only been a few gentlemen to catch her eye in the past. Cordonians are in alt to see her not only married but so in love."

Lauren glared at the two who had turned her offering for scandal into some kind of love fest. She opened her mouth to only shut it when Ana said goodbye to everyone. "Don't forget Holly to set up a time for you and Addison to come by."

Once the reporter and crew were gone, Holly turned on Lauren. "You forgot to mention the title of the movie."

Lauren innocently covered her mouth. Her eyes widened. "Whoops. I will try and remember to do so the next time I am interviewed."

"Your contract specifically states you do so in every interview. Forget again, and I will inform Thomas." Holly warned.

"By all means," Lauren replied, her eyes narrowing. "Do tell Mr. Hunt. I believe he knows I am the only actress for the role. I'm sure whatever disciplinary actions he chooses will be the right ones."

She left without another word. Holly threw her broken clipboard down on the ground and stomped on it. "Aahhh! I HATE HER!"

Ryan knelt down and removed the sharp pieces embedded in her sandal. "You might need to go to our fencing session tonight and release your rage. The swords aren't nearly as dangerous as this."

Chris stepped back from the look on Holly's face. "I might develop food poisoning tonight and miss practice."

Ryan stood up and placed his hands on Holly's shoulders. "Hey, you've worked with horrible people before. Be grateful you don't have a passionate love scene with her like we do."

Chris checked to make sure they were actually alone. "Is there really no chance she could be replaced?"

"Not that we could find." Holly muttered.

Ryan slowly smiled. "We could if she voluntarily leaves."

Everyone stared at him. "What do you mean?" Addison asked. "The contracts are air tight."

Chris' eyes lit with excitment. "He's right! Thomas always has a clause that an actor has the right to leave with no penalty before filming begins."

Ryan nodded. "All we need is a more compelling reason for her to leave. And depending on how we time things, we might need to delay the start of filming by another week or two. I--" he looked down at Holly in surprise when she hugged him and kissed his cheek.

"You are officially my favorite actor now." She pulled her phone out. "Let me call in someone who I think can help us with this."

Half an hour later, Drake walked in. He was finishing a phone call and a wicked grin formed. "I've got Maxwell, Nadia, and Olivia coming. Liam is trying to finish a meeting so he shouldn't be too far behind. Tell me how we get rid of the problem."

Once the Cordonians and Hollywood group were assembled, Holly shared the situation they were currently in and the need to somehow get rid of Lauren.

Nadia spoke her confusion. "I understand why we want her gone, but I thought we needed her to stay because of the rumors. If she leaves, won't this reflect badly on Thomas and Amanda?"

"Not if she leaves for something she is excited and happy about." Holly explained. "She will then talk about it nonstop to the press. Once she does that and Thomas and Amanda continue to act happy and give statements how ridiculous the rumors are, everything will be solved."

Drake folded his arms and frowned. "What would make her happy? Other than offering her a box of kittens to torture, what would she want?"

The Hollywood group thought in silence for a few moments.

"She loves attention." Chris offered. "Is there something we could find that would give her more of it?"

Addison sat up, blue eyes sparkling with excitment. "She has been saying how much she wants to meet a noble who is proper and a good example to emulate. She also eyes Amanda's estate with envy. The last couple of fittings she has said that she was meant for the noble lifestyle. Is there a nobleman that could possibly not only meet her requirements but also sweep her off her feet? Someone who would demand she give all her time and attention to him."

Olivia snorted. "We know the perfect guy."

Drake looked up and an evil look came into his eyes. "If ever there were two people more perfect to torture each other..."

Maxwell's eyebrows lifted. "Do you think he would be willing to do it? He isn't exactly a fan of Amanda's and he had a tense moment before the Derby with Thomas."

Olivia smiled. "Leave it to me. I will have Lord Neville here tomorrow."

Drake chuckled. "I would give anything to see that pompous ass get what's coming to him."

Ryan leaned back in his chair. "Alright. That will hopefully turn out how you want. How are you going to postpone filming?"

The Cordonian group began to brainstorm together. Liam smiled, causing Addison to softly sigh and stare at him dreamily.

"The cabin." Liam suggested.

Drake nodded. "No WiFi."

"No cell service." Olivia muttered.

"No neighbors." Maxwell said with a grin.

"Blizzard like weather." Drake added. "I think that will do it. Ton of supplies in the basement so they will be fine for at least a month."

"What is the cabin?" Addison asked, still gazing at Liam.

"It is a place up in the mountians of Lythikos. Couples in the past would use it as a place to test their love for one another. I've kept it set up more as a place to escape from people when they annoy me."Olivia explained.

"How are you going to get Thomas and Amanda there?" Chris asked.

The duchess thought for a few seconds. "I never gave them a wedding gift. This will be a surprise for them. They are visiting Lythikos in a couple of days before the rest of the court arrives. I will get them there."

Maxwell shuddered at the cold, calculated expression on her face. "For the record, I am glad you are on our side and have this brilliant plan. But please, never prepare a surprise for me and Nadia."

Liam's brow furrowed with concern. "Wait a moment. If we are successful, we are then causing trouble for the movie. How do we keep production from coming to a complete halt?"

Addison grinned with her sudden idea. "I'll call Matt and have him come!"

Everyone looked at her in confusion. "Don't we need an actress to replace the role instead of an actor?" Maxwell asked.

"Yes we do. That is why I will have him bring his Tender Nothings costar. Holly thought she might be good for Elizabeth. Oh! And her coloring is very similar to Elizabeth's portrait." Addison pulled her phone out. "And sent." She grinned when her phone vibrated. "He's calling Jessica right now." Everyone watched her in fascination. "And they will be here by the end of the week."

Liam's smile of approval made her blush. "Brilliant work, Lady Addison. I feel better knowing we will not be adding additional work on Thomas."

The group broke apart with promises to meet the next day after Neville and Lauren's meeting. Ryan paused when he saw Drake pull Holly away to talk. He watched as she laughed and gently pushed him. After another nod, Drake left her smiling.

Ryan waited until she walked past. "Would you like to go grab some dinner with your favorite actor?"

Holly looked back with a smile. "Maybe another time, Ryan. I've got plans tonight."

"Oh." He followed her out and frowned when she yelled out goodbye and hurried off.

____________________

"This is incredible." Thomas turned around in the ruins of an ancient monastery. He took Amanda's hand and helped her over some rubble.

"This is where Elizabeth met with Arthur to tell him she was marrying Reginald." She reached out and gently touched one of the engravings on a half standing wall.

They walked through the parts of the stone building still intact. Amanda gave him a brief history of its construction in the 1600's. Thomas listened quietly, enjoying how expressive her face was and how she threw in interesting facts with the dry historical parts.

"Isn't this where Reginald and Arthur met to duel over her?" He asked.

"Yes. She was visiting her friend and confidant, the youngest daughter of the Duke of Castelsarreillan, when she learned of the duel. Lady Marija helped her sneak out and break up the fight." Amanda explained. She led him outside to an empty field that was framed by hills dotted with apple trees. "Here is where the duel was held. Elizabeth went into great detail in her journal about this. It was here she realized she was truly in love with Reginald. The love she had for Arthur had not lasted nor sustained her growing affection for Reginald. She also suspected that Marija might have feelings for Arthur."

"Was she the lady Arthur ended up marrying? The lady you said had the big dowry?"

"She was. Once they married, Marija and Elizabeth did not see each other as often as they used to. They would encounter each other at some of the court events and try to catch up. But from what Elizabeth hinted in her journals, it was hard on Marija having Arthur around the woman he had so passionately loved to the point of risking death and the Queen's anger again to be with her." Amanda sat down on one of rocks and tugged Thomas beside her.

His sharp, dark eyes took in the visual beauty that would come across perfectly on film and thought how amazing it was to stand in a spot where a piece of this story took place. His mind began to picture the duel with those from the portraits. What if Elizabeth had not stopped them in time? What if Reginald had been killed? What if Arthur had not relented in his pursuit? Or what if Elizabeth had not realized how much she loved Reginald? Fate seemed to make them meant for one another. He wrapped his arms around Amanda.

She rested her head on his shoulder while looking out at the rolling countryside. After a long silence only broken by the occasional chirping of birds, she tilted her face up toward his. "Well, what do you think?"

He looked down at her and softly smiled. "Beautiful."

"It really is. Do you think it’ll be good for filming?" She smiled when he kissed her. “Mr. Hunt! Are you taking advantage of having me alone?"

"I believe I am, Mrs. Hunt." His hands moved down her back while pulling her closer. "We've spent a couple of weeks surrounded by the upper echelons." His lips caressed hers as he spoke. "I think I will take advantage of every opportunity I find alone with you."

Her smile grew. "I could be very amenable to that." She surrenedered to the passionate kiss he started. A soft moan from her encourgaed him. His phone started vibrating with a call and he ignored it.

"Shouldn't you get that?" Amanda let out a surprised gasp when he lifted her on his lap.

He flashed a smile before kissing her neck. "I'm with the only one who's call I would stop anything over."

"Thomas." She kissed him for a long moment before getting up. "Come on. We still have another hour of driving before we get to the next spot."

He took her hand as they walked back to the car. Thomas leaned against her door and pulled her close. "What about tonight? How long until we will be at the hotel?"

Her cheeks turned pink at his heated stare and wandering hands. "We’re actually staying near the next scene location."

His lips curved before kissing her again. "Good." He pushed away from her door and opened it for her. As he walked to his side, he checked his phone and cleared it when he saw the missed call from Lauren. He wasn't going to give her the opportunity of ruining his trip through Cordonia with Amanda.

#choices red carpet diaries #choices thomas hunt #thomas hunt rcd #thomas hunt x oc #thomas hunt x amanda #choices the royal romance #choices trr #trr liam #trr drake #trr olivia #trr maxwell #maxwell x nadia

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blog-in-a-corner · 5 years

Text

TSOTBL - To and Fro

The sun set as the day was coming to a close. The gang, of course, wouldn’t even know if the sun was setting or not; as the snow and clouds had near blocked any sunlight that could possibly reach them.

“God, I’m so tired.” Lucinda sighed in exhaustion, wiping the sweat of her forehead. “Can we stop for the day?” “But we have only gotten just the lobby done today, the lobby.” Aaron emphasized, gesturing to the whole room. “Yeah, but we also had to find Kim, panicked because we thought Garroth dropped dead, and for the most part, it’s just been you and me cleaning the lobby because Garroth is out of commision and Kim has been stuck between actually cleaning the lobby and scolding Garroth for trying to help clean the lobby.” “Well...I guess you do have a point…” “Pleeeaaasseee?” “Fine, let’s just finish dusting the stairs and we’ll call it a day.” “Works for me.”

Aaron and Lucinda finished cleaning the stairs and walked down to the lobbys waiting room and fell right onto the couches. They were exhausted after the day they had. Garroth and Kim on the other hand, we’re arguing, much to Aaron’s and Lucinda’s annoyance.

“Garroth you’re going to strain your shoulder and it’ll take way longer to heal if you keep pushing yourself!” Kim scolded, adjusting Garroth’s sling. “Aghhh but I hate doing nothing all day...” Garroth whined. Garroth wasn’t the type of person that enjoyed laying in bed all day. As a matter of fact Garroth couldn’t stand having nothing to do; even if chores were the only things there was to do. “Well find something to do that WON’T hurt you.” Kim lectured. “But there isn’t anything to do! This place is like a desolate wasteland.” “Listen, I heard this place had a library of sorts, maybe we could check it out.” “Yeah but we have to clean up the library first before we can actually check out the books.” “True…” “Ughhh Why couldn’t this place have service? Had I known I would’ve told Sasha; now she’s probably worried..” Garroth sighed. “Don’t worry okay? I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Kim reassured the gloomy blonde. “Yeah….” “C’mon Garroth, let’s just rest for a while, it’s been a long day.” Aaron stated.. “Yeah, I’d say we deserved it.” Lucinda added, grabbing a pillow and placing it over her face. “Okay….” Garroth mumbled, as he rested his head back on the recliner he was sitting on. “Well, while you guys rest,” Kim announced, as she got off the couch. “I’m going to walk around the lodge for a while okay?” “Be careful.” Aaron replied half asleep.

Kim walked up one of the stairs and to the second floor.

They all sat down in the waiting room in silence, contemplating all that happened today, resting their eyes. Everyone was exhausted. About an hour and a half passed and Kim hadn’t come back.

“Hey should one of us go get Kim? It’s been an hour and she still isn’t here…” Garroth worried, looking to the floor above them. “I’m sure she’ll be fine.” The redheaded woman insisted, her voice muffled through the pillow she buried her face in. “I don’t know Lucinda, after what happened this morning…what do you think Aaron?” Garroth muttered, looking to his friend, however, Aaron had already fallen asleep. “Uh, Aaron? You awake?” Garroth asked, getting up and poking Aaron’s arm. “I guess not… well I’m going to go find Kim, alright Lucinda?”

Lucinda had fallen asleep as well.

“Oh, well, I guess you guys didn’t really have a choice in the matter huh.”

Garroth proceeded to walk to the stairs, gripping the railing tighter than he usually would, his injury made him feel slightly off balance on the stairs. Once he made it up the stairs he started to look through the left wing for Kim.

The hallway was littered with rooms. All of the doors were scratched and dented, a few were even broken, the lights that hung on the wall would strobe every now and again, it was a miracle they even worked after all of these years. The wallpaper was faded and falling off and half the carpet had been scratched, stained, and dirty with mud and dust.

“Kiiiiim, where are you?” Garroth called out, looking around the hallway. “I sure hope your okay..” The blonde thought, brushing his hair back with his hand.

“What is it with Kim and disappearing today? Is she some kind of ghost or something?”

He opened the door to one of the many rooms. Nothing. He thought to himself as he continued to walk through the hallway.

“Kim better be okay. She’s done so much for me these past two days….I’d hate to see her get hurt...or worse.”

Garroth touched his shoulder, it still hurt, a lot. He was very tired, as the pain from all of his injuries exhausted him.

“Irene, this really hurts. I wish I didn’t run into turing on that dumb boiler. Now I’ve got a broken shoulder and all of these burns and it...it hurts so much…..”

Garroth looked at his hands, the burns on them still stung very badly, despite the bandaging. He didn’t try to close his hands too much, he hated having to open and close the doors, as the burns would begin to sting when he did.

“I’d have loved to just...take a nap...just nap for an entire day, maybe two days, but Aaron and Lucinda have been up all day, looking for Kim, and cleaning the lodge, and I just sat around and did nothing…..I wish I could do more but….even when I try to, they stop me, and there’s no getting around that...”

Garroth came up to the last room at the end of the hall, he opened it up but unfortunately there was nothing. Time to look around the other hallway.

“Please Kim, be in one of these rooms, I’m so tired…Hmm…I wish I knew how everyone back home has been doing, Sasha, Laurance, Dante, Travis, Katelyn, Gene, Aphmau, Zane….but until we get some service or wifi installed to this place, I won’t be able to contact them at all….Zane...I wonder how my little brother is doing right now. I sure hope he’s okay….Zane didn’t seem to be bothered about me leaving though, he seemed kinda happy if anything…...I’m sure it’s nothing. Having family around all day the time can get a bit stuffy sometimes, he just needs some time to himself is all, I’m sure he isn’t really happy about me leaving because I’ll be gone...just...because he needs some time for himself...”

Garroth once again met face to face with the last room to a hallway.

“Please.” Garroth muttered in exhaustion, struggling to get a proper grip on the doorknob. “Please be in this room.”

Garroth opened the door and there she was, Kim, looking around the room. Almost as if she were looking for something.

“Oh Kim!” Garroth crowed in relief.. “What’s been taking you? It’s getting late!”

Kim stayed silent.

“Um….Kim?” “..S..sorry…” Kim muttered. “It’s alright, I’m sure you just lost track of the time.” “......yeah…..” “Well, let’s get going then shall we?” Garroth advised, as he began to leave the room. “...This place….” Kim stated, turning to Garroth. “It’s dangerous…” “I mean, it is a bit old but I wouldn't call it dangerous.” “We…...have to leave this place.....as soon as possible…...” “I get that this place gives you the heebie-jeebies, but c'mon it's not that scary.” “We have to leave!” Kim snapped. “Kim, listen to me, all we're doing is fixing the place up! We'll be gone soon and you won't have to worry anymore.” “But it isn't….safe here!” “Then I'll protect you Kimmy!” “...you... don't understand….” Kim mumbled, looking down. “Let’s just go back to the living room okay? I understand that this place is giving you bad vibes but we’ve only been here for two days. You won’t be feeling creeped out by this place anymore once it’s been a week. I promise!” “...Okay…” “Alright then!” Garroth grabbed Kim by the hand. “Now, let’s go then shall we?” “.....Hm…” Kim uttered, nodding in agreement.

Garroth and Kim exited the room, and went back to the waiting room. Aaron and Lucinda were still asleep, and were probably going to stay that way until the morning.

“Aaron and Lucinda are still asleep, so I guess we should be getting to bed too huh?” Garroth advised. “.....Yeah…” Kim muttered, staring at Aaron. “Uh Kim? This is the part where you get your sleeping bag out…”

Kim didn’t respond, she just kept staring at Aaron.

“Here um….I’ll get it out for you!” Garroth said, pulling out Kim’s sleeping bag and laying it down on the floor.

Garroth went to the recliner and Kim went to her sleeping bag.

“Goodnight Kim!” “...Night….”

______________________________________________________________________________

The sun rose over the mystreet. It was rather early, most wouldn’t be awake at this time, except almost the whole neighbourhood was; for one specific reason.

“How long will you two be gone?” Gene questioned, curious about Aphmau’s sudden trip. “We’re just spending the night, we should be back tomorrow evening.” Aphmau answered, putting the rest of her bags into the car. “Hey Aphmau, when you get there, could you tell me how Garroth’s doing? He hasn’t texted or called me ever since he left and I’m getting really worried.” Sasha asked. “Hey that’s right,” Dante thought aloud. “Garroth hasn’t texted me either.” “Or me.” Laurance added. “Or...me, for that matter, that’s odd...” Aphmau remarked. “I’m sure the idiot just hasn’t charged his phone or broke it doing something stupid.” Zane stated. “Yeahhh probably.” Aphmau agreed. “I don’t know if a certified moron has the ability to judge whether or not people are idiots.” Sasha sneered. “Why you little-” “Can we please get going before you get your ass beat by Gene and Zenix again?” Aphmau advised, with a mix of concern and annoyance. “Whatever.” Zane snarled, as he finished setting the last of their luggage into the trunk of his car.

Aphmau and Zane entered the car, and began to drive off.

“Bye Aphmau! Bye Zane!” Kawaii~Chan, Katelyn, Travis, Zenix, and the others shouted in unison as Aphmau and Zane left Lovers Lane. “I’m sure going to miss those guys.” Aphmau mumbled, looking at the window. “We’re only going to be gone for a day.” Zane reminded, focusing on the road. “Still. You never know when the last time you see someone, if that’ll really be the last time your ever going to see them!”

Aphmau, in the matter of this story, was right to say so.

#aphmau #mystreet #tsotbl #writeblr #fanfiction #aaron lycan #garroth ro'meave #zane ro'meave #kim #lucinda

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fordarkisthesuede · 6 years

Text

At the Brink of Midnight - Prologue & Chapter 1

Category: M/M

Rating: M (subject to change)

Fandoms: Batman: the Telltale Series, Batman - All Media Types

Summary:

When Bruce receives a distressing call from the institutionalized John Doe, the billionaire-philanthropist is thrust back into the darker side of Arkham Asylum, where his strive for the facility's improvements are null when faced with a new threat from the inside. Bruce swore off Batman after seeing what it did to those he loved - will he have to put the cowl back on to save the day? Or can he do it as Bruce Wayne?

(read on Ao3 or continue below cut:)

Prologue

[You have: (ONE) new message. First message: ]

Bruce! Buddy! Uh, it's me, John. I-I know you're busy - it's why you haven't come to see me in the past two weeks, probably.

Look, it's-it's okay, Bruce. I get it. It’s water under the bridge…okay? It has to be, because I... I need your help, Bruce.

Please... I need you to trust me on this.

BAM.

I don't have to time to explain-

"Damn it, ram the door!"

Dang it - Crane, Bruce, Jonathan Crane! I thought it was just the meds they put me on at first, but -

CRASH .

Gotta go.

[End of message. There are no more messages.]

Chapter 1: The Sign Forward

Important Spoiler Warning: use of slur - f*g (mentioned)

Bruce pulled the phone away from his ear, barely feeling the weight in his palm. The people walking down the hall - past him, towards him, down the corner - seemed to be moving at a snail's pace. There should be sound, from the footsteps on the tile and voices and doors swinging open somewhere, but it was like there was nothing at all in the world but Bruce's breathing and the whispering echo of John's voice in his ear, so close and yet so far away.

The transformation of John's voice from nervous to hurt to rushed and desperate chilled him in the same manner Bruce might discover a body floating in the Gotham River.

His phone buzzed, a reminder for the meeting he had in ten minutes sitting above the display for his voicemail, and sound came rushing back all at once.

The message had lasted thirty seconds, from an unsaved number that Bruce had a feeling registered to the old landline in the hallway of John's floor at Arkham. The echo of the bangs and crashes were probably from the orderlies trying to open the hallway door, which miraculously had gotten stuck - John probably locked it, probably caused a distraction in another room to get their attention for the precious seconds he had to dial and pass the message along, tell him to come help...

Bruce felt heat burn his stomach. He should have picked up when it rang, damn the fact that he'd been in the lavatory and damn the way it looked so like the auto-dialing spam he'd been getting for the past few months. He could have picked it up on the second ring, saved Joker some time -

No. Not Joker. John.

Joker was the vigilante, the persona hung up for good like the bat-cowl of the person he was modeled after.

Bruce felt a light pang in his side where the latest scar sat, a twinge that seemed to come and go at odd intervals. There he was, thinking about John like they were still working together in the cover of that warm night several months ago, where things had gone from good to bad to absolutely terrible, where Bruce had decided that the crusade had to stop. Their partnership had been like a dream, too fast and too short, a taste of something that, with time, could've been wondrous.

It was nothing more than a dream of a dream, now. Batman was retired, Joker with him, and now the both of them were trying desperately to get back to a normal life. John's would just take longer. A lot longer.

The air in the hall seemed stifling all of the sudden. Bruce walked as quickly as he could to his office, tempted to break into a run.

The office was cool and bright, but even as he shut the door behind him and let the air conditioning wash over him, the guilt and anger and worry that bubbled under his skin didn't fade. His eyes automatically went to the chessboard - one moved piece and he could just fire up Lucius' old computer, slip right back into the old ways and try and get one of Tiffany's drones over the asylum as he dug into Arkham's files...

Bruce shook his head.

John needed his help. It just couldn't be Batman that helped him. Bruce was an ordinary civilian now - well, a civilian with more money than was sensible and an unusual drive to fix the city's problems in any way he could, but a civilian nonetheless. He could still look into Arkham, into this Johnathan Crane, before things escalated out of hand.

Bruce tried to concentrate on his breathing. John was intelligent and surprisingly strong; even if he was put into isolation as punishment, John would be alright. He hadn't been hurting himself or causing trouble for a couple of months, anyhow...

Bruce paused, staring at the vent on the ceiling. He had tried to see John every Wednesday at the very least, but two weeks ago he was told that John didn't want any visitors, and Bruce had regretfully let it slide, thinking that their argument a few days prior still weighed on his mind. (It wasn’t improbable, what with his tendency to hold grudges, but it had seemed strange.) Last week John had twice been put under observation for some kind of medical testing, and thus was not allowed to be seen under any circumstances, despite the drastically different times Bruce had shown up.

Each time, though, Bruce was under the impression that John would at least be told about his attempted visits. The young doctor-in-training from last time had given him a sympathetic smile and said as much herself, along with a clumsy attempt at flirtation Bruce had played along with for his image's sake.

The thought that John had been left hurt worse than before because of a misunderstanding like that didn't sit well with Bruce. It made him feel like he’d been hit with a burning punch.

His phone buzzed at him, and Bruce glanced down at the calendar notification with annoyance. It was tempting to blow the meeting off, just make up some excuse and head home so he could start digging as much as his civilian identity would allow, maybe make a phone call to Arkham and see if he could get a word out to John under the guise of looking into the progress on the asylum's improvements he was sponsoring.

He breathed deeply, going back into the hall and telling himself that John would be alright for a little while longer - Wayne Enterprises came first in the day, regardless of whether or not a cowl was involved.

Bruce apologized for his tardiness and sat at the too-long table with the rest of the board, his phone practically burning a hole in his pocket as he tried desperately not to think about flipping the table and running out the door like he was giving chase in amongst the humid smog of Gotham's nights.

As per John's voicemail (which Bruce thought he must have listened to half a dozen times), any spare moment Bruce had at Wayne Tower was spent looking up Jonathan Crane. There was no telling who was trying to keep tabs on his phone, so he resorted to double-hopping on his VPN in a private window.

There were a few Jonathan Cranes in the state, spelling considerations included, but only two stood out - one was several cities away, working as the head of a generic-replacement pharmaceutical company, and the other was working right in Gotham, a former professor of psychology at Gotham University who was added on to the Arkham payroll not long after the incident with Lady Arkham.

While the pharmacist had several photos on the company website and a seemingly normal (if seldom used) Friendbook page and several mentions on the company's Chirper, Professor Crane had no social media accounts whatsoever and only two photos, one of which was a tiny faculty photo obviously used on his university I.D. However, he did have several published articles in psychology journals, the last three dealing with the subjects of treating fear and anxiety and how it manifested, the last two of which had rebuttal articles from other doctors listed.

At least some of his courses were listed on RateTheProf, and while many of the higher-rating students listed him as incredibly knowledgeable, they and the lower-rating students warned about his seemingly abrasive personality from over the years:

(*) queenofdiamonds

creepy know-it-all fag kept giving me ds and didn't allow me to do the extra credit!! he likes ds so much??? he can eat my DICK!!!!

(***) vintage-or-die

I swear his office hours are ridiculously tight. Make sure to arrive to class on time and take REALLY good notes - I missed a day I regretted it ever since, he gets the point across so well that the only way you can really copy it down for yourself is to hear it firsthand... Seriously, record the lectures if you suck at writing, it'll save your life.

(*) BigD@ddyy

Fucker put down my final paper so hard i think it broke my ribs. He thinks he knows everything, he doesn't take two words against anything he talks about. I don't know why GU keeps his emotionless scrawny ass.

(****) itty bitty pumpkin pie

Great teacher, but not very personable; he doesn't talk much out of lectures. Make sure to ask before using your phone to record lectures, he'll kick you out if you don't. Also I SWEAR he uses a cell blocker, I can't get any tower or wifi signal in his classes even if we change rooms...

(****) dank memes only

He kicked me out for taking a picture of him once. He's lucky he's such a smart silver fox or I might have quit right there. Learned loads tho.

(*****) dr. psychosubb

Amazing. He gave me a C on my final but his comments on it were so good I can't be mad, I learned so much!! Also if you like hot stern daddys that's a big plus. Hard to hate a face like that!!

(*****) the-night-falls-hard

Seriously the best teacher I ever had. Pay attention and you'll feel like you could take on anything.

Bruce breathed through his nostrils. Professor Crane was critical, solitary, and stubborn, but he clearly left an impression on those who he came into contact with.

While there wasn't many mentions of the professor in news, he managed to find a letter to the editor in the last psychology journal that Professor Crane contributed an article to, aimed at the rebuttal to his last paper - and Bruce figured by the language that it was Crane lashing back:

My Dear Editors,

I'm surprised that such an acclaimed journal of psychology would sink so low as to publish the distasteful words of the so-called Dr. Strange. His work - if you can even call it that - is pure fantastical speculation when it is organized enough to be decipherable. Not only does he genuinely believe in the concept of telepathy, but he is under the childish delusion that he can devise a way to see thoughts put into visual form as if it were something to be filmed. Tell me: do you think someone with such an obvious deficiency of realistic thought could provide any kind of counter-argument to any sane research? I don't believe he's sound enough to comment correctly on the weather.

If you continue on with publishing the work of people who earned their doctorates by shelling out thousands of dollars to a fly-by-night online institution, you will lose more than just subscribers with half a brain more than you.

Regards,

A Competent Doctor

Bruce read over the last paragraph twice: it could be read as either a warning or a legitimate threat, and it was impossible to tell which one it was without even knowing what it was that John suspected Crane of doing. But considering the rebuttal in question was published over a year ago and the editor at the time was still in alive and in charge, at least Bruce could say that Crane didn't have that murder in mind. Dr. Strange, however, had no other work published since, either in Psychology Now or any other reputable magazine.

Naturally, he could find nothing on the current work of the former-Professor Crane in Arkham. That would require a hack of the asylum's systems, and even though Bruce knew Tiffany would be up to the task, he decided against it. He knew it would tempt him to go back to his old habits, and that was strictly a no-go.

He'd have to pay Arkham a visit, see what he could figure out from the inside - and hopefully, talk to John.

A/N: Here we are, just as I promised! I got super into TellTale’s Batman universe last year, and like many fans, S2E05 hurt so bad and so so good that I immediately wanted more. Before I knew it I was already crafting a potential season 3 storyline! I’ll try to update this weekly, since I already have a lot done and I can’t stop thinking about it! (ღ✪ｖ✪)｡o○

Also I seriously try to put any trigger/squick warnings in the front of chapters. If you need something tagged, please say so!

If you’d like to give kudos or comment (or just read all the story’s tags), my ao3 is here, but I really appreciate feedback in any form!

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thesecretfandom · 6 years

Text

Wanderlust: The City of Love -- Bughead (Chapter 7)

Word Count: 5,668

Rated: E

A/N: This is the longest chapter I’ve written so far for this fic, and probably my favorite. I know you will all enjoy it too. Happy reading! (Read on AO3)

(Previous Chapter) (Next Chapter)

"Oh my God… where the fuck is this hotel?" Cheryl had been complaining for the entirety of their long commute from the airport to their hotel. One hour long bus ride brought them to the subway station, but the real complaining started when they sped through the bowels of the city. Paris certainly wasn't as beautiful underground as Betty imagined it would be above.

Now, they wandered down the street where their hotel was supposed to be, but there were endless shops and restaurants instead. Betty didn't complain as much, even as she glared at the map on her phone. The big red pin of their destination was stuck over the blue dot of their location. It should be right here.

Somehow, she couldn't be frustrated with a view of the Eiffel Tower rising above the buildings and Jughead sitting on his luggage, snapping photos of people passing on the opposite side of the street.

"Cheryl, why don't you just enjoy the view while I try to figure this out." Betty leaned her head back, smoothing her hands over her hair to tighten her ponytail. As she did, she looked up and sighed out loud at what she saw. A sign protruded from high up on the building and the letters spelled H-O-T-E-L. She groaned. "Guys…"

Veronica looked up from her phone, and Jughead spun to look as Betty pointed up to the sign.

"So, we're in the right place, but how do we get in?" Betty inspected an innocuous door that she hadn't noticed before. There was a keypad for a code, but not doorbell or intercom to let them in.

"Looking for the hotel?" A man appeared from the restaurant beside them, setting placemats on the bistro tables under the awning.

"Yes!" Betty's whole body flooded with relief. They'd already paid for the hotel online, and she didn't want to have to find a new place to stay. "Do you know how to get in?"

"Come with me," He said simply. Betty raised eyebrows at her friends, who shrugged. "You check in here. I will get your keys."

They were whisked through a series of paperwork for each couple to sign, the code to the entrance, WiFi password, and finally keys to each of the three rooms they had booked. Then they were trudging slowly up the stairs. Built on four floors, the small hotel had two rooms on each of the second, third and fourth floor. They had booked one room on each floor, and even Betty had to admit that she was looking forward to having a room with Jughead that didn't share walls with either other couple.

Betty and Jughead took the room on the fourth floor. Cheryl refused to walk any farther than the second floor, and Archie, who was carrying half of Veronica's luggage as well as his own, broke down at the third floor. Betty and Jughead, ever the team, carried their own bags to the top floor and into the room.

Until they reached their room, Betty hadn't even thought about the view that they would have from their window, but when she stepped up to the large window and realized that it was actually a door that led to a small balcony.

"Juggie, look at this." Betty heard Jughead drop his bags on the floor as she opened the door and stepped outside. "Oh, wow."

They had to stand close on the tiny platform, Jughead's arms moving around Betty's torso as they took in the view together. Down the street, towering in the distance, the Eiffel Tower stood perfectly framed between the beautiful architecture on either side.

A soft sigh slipped out between Jughead's lips and Betty leaned back into him. She turned her head to look up into Jughead's eyes, deep blue, she could see his smile in the crinkles of his eyes. Neither looked away until their lips met and eyes fluttered shut.

Jughead's lips moved slowly over hers; Betty turned in his arms as Jughead's fingers tickled around the base of her shirt. And suddenly they were falling back inside their room. Betty didn't bother to shut the door behind her, but instead reached up to pull Jughead's hat from his head.

"God, I love your hair." She moaned against his lips, threading her fingers through his dark locks.

"Shut up…" Jughead groaned, smirking as he pulled Betty's shirt over her head.

The split second where their lips separated seemed to last ages, and Betty was quick to pull Jughead's lips back to hers. Meanwhile, large, rough hands wandered across the expanse of smooth, tan skin. Betty reciprocated, sliding her hands down Jughead's back and quickly pulling the shirt away from his body.

One of Jughead's hands moved to cup her cheek, the other supporting her back as he lowered her onto the bed. Betty was quick to pull out her ponytail before her head hit the pillow. Hands back in hair, Betty gave herself over to Jughead's body. With a leg on either side of Betty's body, Jughead pulled away to allow his lips to trail from Betty's neck down to the swell of her breasts where fabric still separated them.

Betty hazily thought about how this is as far as they'd ever gone. Shirtless, hands exploring skin, Jughead let one hand move up from her hip to the soft skin just beneath her breasts. Then he took a step he'd never taken before, his hand finding new unexplored territory beneath the fabric of her bra.

"Jug…" Betty sighed.

Suddenly, and disappointingly, Jughead stopped his movements. Even his lips paused on her shoulder. "What?"

"Nothing…" Betty arched her back, willing Jughead to move again. "Isn't that what people do at times like this? Say each other's names? It's sensual…"

Jughead smiled, his hands moving again. Betty reached back to the clasp of her bra, allowing Jughead the sight he so desired.

"Betty." Jughead said, lowering his voice to its deepest level. "Does it turn you on when I say your name?"

Betty responded by slipping her hand beneath his jeans, fingers squeezing lightly against his ass. "Everything you do turns me on."

"Fuck, Betts…" Jughead groaned. Betty could just feel Jughead's erection growing beneath his pants. Betty's heart was hammering in her chest; she was sure Jughead could feel the thump thumping beneath his lips. She wondered where this may go, for the first time being completely alone without the threat of their friends on the other side of the wall.

Betty wanted it. She wanted Jughead to make love to her, for the first time, here in Paris.

Jughead hesitated when Betty bucked her hips against him. "Are you sure no one will interrupt us?"

"Certainly not Cheryl or Reggie… and Archie and Veronica are likely in a similar position themselves so…"

"Oh, God don't say that. I don't like the idea of Archie in my head when I'm here, doing this, with you."

"So we're doing this then?" Betty smiled as Jughead finally raised his eyes to look into hers.

"Do you want to? Now? It's three in the afternoon." But Jughead didn't seem to be complaining, or looking for a way out. He was simply stating a fact.

Betty was just beginning to nod when a knock came at the door, scaring the two out of the moment.

"Fuck…" Jughead closed his eyes, his head falling dejectedly to Betty's chest. "Can I just ignore that?"

"I want to say yes, but…" The knocking came again. "You get it. Just… put a shirt on first."

Jughead rolled off of Betty dramatically and grabbed his shirt, pulling it on before walking to the door. Betty, grabbed her discarded clothing quickly and slipped into the bathroom. She listened through the door as Jughead answered the door.

"Archie? What do you want?"

"Nice to see you too, pal." Archie's tone was playful.

"You know what I mean… It's been twenty minutes. We aren't meeting for dinner for two hours."

"I can't just come visit my friend?"

Jughead sighed. "What are you actually doing here?"

"Ronnie is taking a nap and I'm bored. Where's Betty?"

Betty suddenly realized that Archie would likely see right through whatever it was they were trying to hide. The duvet was crumpled already, the door to the balcony hanging open, and most incriminating…. Jughead's beanie discarded on the floor. Jughead would never leave his hat on the floor under any other case than if Betty had thrown it there in a fit of passion.

"She's uh… taking a shower."

Betty sprang into action, hurrying to turn on the shower before Archie realized Jughead's lie. Unfortunately, now she couldn't hear them anymore. On the other hand, she hadn't showered since yesterday morning and she was half-naked already. Without any notice as to whether Archie had left or not, Betty decided on the obvious choice. She hopped in the shower, and just hoped she and Jughead would finally find some time together later.

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They'd designated their first full day in Paris to art and history, and they found themselves in the mazelike floorplan of the Louvre. Betty took a map from the ticket booth, but they still found themselves wandering endlessly through the many floors and rooms that made up the world famous museum.

The six friends stayed together as they spent the next three hours in the building. Betty held Jughead's left hand in her right, letting him hold his camera in his free hand. The true beauty of the Louvre, Jughead thought, was not inside with the Mona Lisa and the endless number of priceless, but outside where a beautiful blonde woman stood holding a red umbrella to hide from the sprinkles of rain as she stared at the iconic glass pyramids.

Jughead lifted his camera. It seemed to have a mind of its own when it came to Betty, always being pulled to the sight of her like a paperclip to a magnet. As if on cue, Betty turned with a smile and wave. She turned back before Jughead could take the picture. Through the viewfinder, the view was still a thing of beauty. Click.

Just as the rain was starting to leave uncomfortable trails of moisture on his cheeks, Jughead moved to stand with Betty. She held the umbrella a little higher so he could duck under and hide from the drops of rain.

"I love it here." Betty sighed. She lowered her head to rest against the crook of Jughead's shoulder.

"You've said that about every place we've been."

"Well I mean it this time." Betty slipped her hand into Jughead's and squeezed. "When Veronica, Cheryl and I decided to take this trip Paris was on my top three list of places to go. When I was young I always wanted to visit Paris with the love of my life one day, but when we planned this trip none of us were even dating anyone and I had accepted that it would just be us three girls. But now, with you… it's like everything I ever wanted it to be."

Jughead didn't know how to respond to her. Her eyes were shining as she stared at him, waiting to see if he would speak. He didn't. He was speechless, and settled for pressing his lips against the top of her head. Betty seemed satisfied enough with his response and reached up to place a light kiss to his lips.

"The city of love with my love."

"That was too cheesy." Jughead laughed.

"You love it." Betty shoved him with her shoulder.

"I love you."

They were pulled from their moment of solitude when Veronica and Archie appeared behind them. The cold had started to seep into their bones and warm beverages were high on the list of necessities. The garden that covered the land in front of the museum was nearly empty, other than a few tourists carrying umbrellas and wandering through the trees.

A small carousel sat hidden in the trees off to one side, but they seemed to be on a mission to escape the rain. Jughead had spent his fair share of time out in the rain, and the cold didn't bother him. In fact, when Betty tucked an arm under the flannel that Jughead wore, he thought he quite liked it when Betty was cold.

They found a small bar and restaurant built on a boat floating in the river. Glass surrounded every wall of the restaurant, and as the sunset pulled the curtain of dusk over the city the Eiffel Tower lit up just beyond a nearby bridge. An ever present icon in their Parisian adventure, Jughead couldn't wait to see Betty standing at the top of it.

So, he wrapped an arm around her shoulder as he sipped a black coffee and they watched the day slip into night together.

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They returned to their hotel late that night, and Betty was eager to pick up where they'd left of the day before. She left Jughead laying on the bed as she slipped into the small bathroom. She wasn't exactly sure what was meant when, in movies, the woman would go to 'freshen up,' having never done it before. She settled for brushing her teeth and slipping her clothes off and left them in a heap on the floor.

She exited the bathroom in only a bra and panties, excited to see Jughead's face when he saw her. She didn't get the chance, because as she walked over to the bed she could hear light snoring escape his mouth. And while she was disappointed that yet another day would pass with just sleeping next to each other, Betty was almost as exhausted as Jughead clearly was.

When she woke the next morning, Jughead's hand was smoothed across her stomach. His thumb brushed up and down on her skin, his head now sharing her pillow. His eyes were on her as Betty finally opened her eyes. Their noses were nearly touching at this distance, and Jughead closed the space to press a deep kiss to her lips.

"Did I miss something last night?" Jughead asked, letting his hand slide up to cup her breast.

"Yeah, well…" Betty slipped her hand under Jughead's shirt. "You fell asleep before the fun could begin."

Jughead sighed and pulled Betty closer to him. "I miss out on all the fun."

Betty climbed over Jughead, legs straddling his hips. Her lips were drawn in to Jughead's, and as she pressed her lips to his, Jughead let his hands grip her thighs. It was tempting… to shed what was left of the clothing separating them, but now wasn't the time. Betty pulled back, reveling in the soft wetness of Jughead's lips.

"To be continued…"

Jughead groaned when Betty climbed off the bed and began digging through her bag. Betty teased the poor boy still laying in bed. She slipped off her panties, exchanging for new pair. She slipped on a pair of skinny jeans and quarter-sleeve sweater.

"Come on, Jug." Betty pulled the blanket off of his body. "The sooner you get up, the sooner we get to see all of the romantic things the city has to offer, and the sooner we get back here and…"

"Okay, okay… I get it. I'm up." Jughead rolled out of bed. He pulled on his hat, shooting Betty a glare as she passed by on the way to the bathroom. "Just no more teasing. I won't last all day at this rate."

Betty came by and patted his cheek. "Whatever you say, big boy."

"See?" Jughead grabbed her wrist. "That right there. Nothing like that."

Betty rolled her eyes, not sure if she would keep that promise. Jughead didn't need to know that, though. Besides, he was already up and walking around the room. He traded out the T-shirt he was wearing for a semi-fresh one and slipped his shoes on.

"Well, I'm ready…" Jughead said, appearing behind Betty in the bathroom mirror as she brushed her teeth.

Betty shook her head, scowling, and pointed to where his toothbrush sat on the countertop. "Bruh yur teef."

"My what now?"

Betty spit into the sink. "Brush your teeth. I still need to do my makeup."

"But mom…" Jughead teased.

"Dear God, Jughead." Betty cringed. "Never call me mom again."

"Point taken." Jughead reached around her to grab his toothbrush. "It sounded wrong as soon as I said it."

Betty did her makeup quickly, much too excited to get outside into the much warmer and sunnier day. Their first destination wasn't far away. They followed the river that cut through the center of the city. They knew they were close when more and more of the street vendors were selling padlocks.

Jughead picked a plain gunmetal lock, amidst a stack of heart shaped locks. Betty expected nothing less, and loved him for it. They approached the bridge that they sought. Pont Neuf was better known as the Love Lock Bridge, where thousands of lovers, young and old, would place their locks on the bridge to show their eternal love.

There was a man at the bridge who offered to engrave their lock for only €2, something Jughead was glad to pull the two coins from his pocket for.

"Okay, where do you want to put it?" Jughead asked, holding Betty at his side. Betty was glad for this city, where they could unabashedly hold each other close and share as many kisses as they want.

"Somewhere where we can find it if we ever come back here." Betty pulled Jughead to the fence. There was a second fence protecting a staircase that led down to a small island beneath them. There were far less locks on that part of the fence, so it made the perfect location.

"Okay, hold my hand," Jughead said when they'd picked their spot. "And we'll lock it together."

Jughead's hand closed over Betty's and they clicked the lock shut together. They threw the key into the river next, Jughead planting a kiss on Betty's lips as his fell into the water.

"I love you." He whispered against her lips.

"I love you, too." She curled into his side as they looked out over the water. "Can we go to the Eiffel Tower now?"

"Whatever you want."

As they exited the bridge, they found a line of passenger bikes offering rides around the city. The Eiffel Tower sat around the bend of the river, keeping it just out of sight, but blocks away. It would take an hour to walk there. Betty pulled the money needed from her purse before Jughead could even think to argue and they climbed into the small carriage that was attached to the bike.

"You can make it up to me later." Betty winked.

"Hey, what did I say?"

"That's not teasing! I meant, you can make it up to me by buying dinner tonight."

Jughead rolled his eyes, but slung his arm over Betty's shoulder anyway. She laid her head against his chest as the bike bobbed in and out of traffic. The busy streets, filled with pedestrians on either side of the road, passed in a blur. Before long the bike pulled to a stop at a dead end street. Under the cover of trees and buildings towering up on either side, they couldn't see their destination.

"Sorry, which way?" Betty asked their driver.

He pointed straight forward. "Can't miss it."

They stepped past the trees onto a wide sidewalk and only then did the reality of the situation hit Betty like a ton of bricks. The Eiffel Tower, something that for much of her life Betty never truly believed to be real, was right there in front of her. Even now, she could scarcely believe it was real, and so much more beautiful than she ever could have imagined.

"Are you crying?" Jughead squeezed her fingers, stopping her in her tracks. His hand came up to cup her cheek.

"No." Betty pressed her fingers into the corner of her eyes. "Maybe a little. It's just so… so…"

"Beautiful?" Jughead smirked, his hands moving to her waist and pulling her body flush against his.

"Understatement of the century."

Jughead captured her lips. Betty thought about how right it felt. The cliché of being that couple who kisses with the Eiffel Tower in the background, it didn't bother her. In fact, it felt amazing to live the cliché for herself. So she held on to the moment and held on to Jughead, never wanting to let him go.

But Jughead pulled away much too soon. "Come on, you big baby. Let's get in line and get up there. You aren't afraid of heights, are you?"

Betty grinned. "Not with you by my side."

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By the time they got to the front of the line, the sun was low in the sky. Betty's smile hadn't faltered all day, growing wider with each step they took closer to the tower. Even as they started up the steps, the line being much shorter when compared to the elevator, she smiled down at Jughead as he followed behind her.

It reminded him of the first time they ever spoke. On that stairway in Amsterdam, with a stubborn Betty refusing to allow Jughead to help her with her luggage, he knew she was something special. A few short days later, she let him help her up the stairs after a night of heavy drinking and kissed him for the first time in the dark hallway.

She looked just as beautiful then as she does now. Her golden blonde hair fell in soft waves on her shoulders, and when they finally reached the first landing she curled into Jughead's side. She was so small and so soft beneath him, his arms instinctually wrapping themselves tight around her.

"How many times am I allowed to say I love you in a day?" Betty asked.

"As many as you want." Jughead replied. "I won't complain."

"I love you."

"I know."

The sun set while they stood at the highest platform. From this height they could see the whole city, lights flickering on all across the expanse of land. Beneath their feet, the tower began glowing a golden yellow. They descended when the attendants began ushering in the next group of visitors.

The trek down was much easier than the way up. As they finally turned their backs to the tower and crossed the bridge toward their hotel. Jughead stopped at a street vendor selling crepes, buying one for the two of them to share, tiding them over until their dinner.

Before they could disappear into the subway station that would take them back to their hotel, the tower began to sparkle. White lights flickered and flashed, capturing the attention of every person in the vicinity. When the sparkles finally ended, they finally descended into the subway.

As they reentered street level, both agreed that they didn't want to stop for a long dinner, instead stopping at a grocer along the way. Their dinner plans weren't elaborate, opting for a frozen pizza and a bottle of champagne. Jughead snuck a carton of ice cream into their basket to save for a midnight snack.

Finally, they returned to their hotel, marching for the last time up the three flights of stairs. As they passed the third floor, Veronica popped out of her room.

"You guys are back! You just have to come out with us."

"Sorry, Veronica…" Jughead said. "I really have to pee. Can't talk now."

Jughead started up the stairs, but before he was out of earshot he heard Betty speak.

"We have plans, V." Betty spoke softly. "And make sure to tell the others… no surprise visits tonight."

Jughead was waiting on the balcony when Betty slipped through the door. He had already managed to get the pizza in the oven, and set plates and two champagne flutes on the bistro table that sat on the small balcony. He'd already poured the champagne into the glasses and lit a candle that he'd found in a drawer.

"Wow." Betty said simply, joining Jughead on the balcony. Still, the Eiffel Tower stood glowing in the distance. "This is amazing, Juggie."

"I thought you might like it."

"Like it? I love it!" Betty gushed. She couldn't hide the grin that spread across her face as she tugged at Jughead's sweater, pulling his body into hers. "I've never been so happy."

The world around them was lit up, thousands of fairy lights lining the streets, the restaurants thriving on the beautiful evening. Jughead pulled a chair out for Betty, making sure she had the best view of the city. He left Betty with a chaste kiss as he returned to the kitchen to retrieve their dinner.

As they ate, Betty fiddled with his foot under the table. Jughead's mind was far away from the food when Betty's fingers moved to his thigh, tickling lightly above his jeans. He ate his food quicker than normal, a feat not easily achieved, and had already refilled both glasses with more champagne.

The alcohol, however little, left a pink flush on her cheeks.

When Betty finished her food she bit her lip, her eyes searching Jughead's. There was some unspoken thing between them. That moment that they had missed the past two days… it seemed to finally be here. Jughead didn't know how to start what would inevitably come.

"Jughead?" Betty started.

"Yeah?"

"I just wanted to say… I'm so glad I'm here with you. I know I've said it before, but I wanted to say it again." Betty reached for Jughead's hand and slid her chair a bit closer to his until their knees touched. "I can't imagine what these past few days would have been like without you."

"Betty, I- I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything." Betty leaned just a bit closer, reaching her other hand to hold his so both of their hands were intertwined. "I know you feel the same."

"I do…" Jughead pulled one hand away, letting it land on her cheek. He pressed his lips to hers softly at first, then pulled away. Betty didn't speak, her eyes flicked from Jughead's eyes to his lips.

It was like déjà vu when Betty suddenly leaned in, crashing her lips into Jughead's. Her fingers fiddled around the hem of his shirt, but before she could pull the fabric away, Jughead stood and pulled Betty along with them. They stumbled clumsily through the door, Jughead's hands at the back of Betty's neck.

Their lips separated only when Betty tugged at Jughead's sweater, pulling it swiftly over his head. Jughead was quick to reciprocate. He was eager to expose Betty's skin once again. It was his favorite sight, his favorite thing to touch.

He threw her sweater to the floor, not caring where it landed. All that mattered was Betty's body falling onto the bed with her hair fanning out beneath her. Jughead's lips traveled down her chest not stopping until he passed her bellybutton. His lips stopped when they found fabric again. He hooked his fingers between her jeans and soft skin of her hips, tugging slightly.

Betty's hips wriggled, raising her ass off the bed. She invited Jughead to remove her pants, with her hands covering his own as she led them down her thighs. Goosebumps covered Betty's skin. Jughead's lips couldn't help but kiss down her legs as he pulled her jeans off her ankles and tossed them aside.

Jughead crawled back up Betty's body. She tipped her head back, inviting Jughead to kiss her neck. Betty moaned softly when his soft lips were back on her body. One hand moved up from her hip to her breast as he kissed down her chest. It was clear what he wanted.

Betty slipped her bra straps off her shoulders, Jughead's tongue gliding down the indentations that had been left from the elastic against her skin. When Betty finally unclasped her bra and threw the piece of clothing away, Jughead's lips moved to brush over her nipple.

Betty bit her lip as Jughead opened his mouth. Her nipples hardening as his tongue flicked across the tip. Her hands were in his hair, holding him against her chest when she arched her back into him.

Waves of heat traveled from Jughead's cheeks to his toes. Somehow, he found the control to take it slow. He pulled his lips away, admiring the way Betty's body writhed as she whimpered at the loss of contact. Jughead understood what she was feeling when Betty brushed her hands down his bare chest.

Too many layers still separated them, of this Jughead was painfully aware. His hips moved of their own accord, his jeans pressing into the warmth between her thighs. Despite his best efforts to tease, Jughead was eager to move further. He sat up, a cool breeze moving between them when the heat of the other's skin dissipated, and shimmied out of his jeans.

"Juggie…" Betty whined. Her hands moved from his hips to his back and drifted down to the elastic of his underwear. She pulled against him, forcing his dick to press against her center through her panties.

Jughead could hardly take it when Betty moaned and grinded herself against his erection. He needed more, and clearly she did too. Betty was in the process of pulling his underwear down. Jughead helped her remove his underwear and when his dick was released he started on hers.

Betty raised her ass off the bed as Jughead pulled the light fabric down her legs. Her legs were quivering, ready for Jughead to finally take the final step. Her hands were pressed flat against his bare back, her feet brushing against his legs.

Jughead held her panties up with two fingers, smirking devilishly at the girl writhing beneath him. "If I didn't know any better I'd think you were getting wet for me."

Betty's hips bucked at this words, briefly pressing against him, begging for him to stop teasing. "Juggie, you know I'm wet for you… just do it already."

"Says the girl who has been teasing me all day." Jughead pressed his tip against her folds, but didn't thrust into her. He was teasing shamelessly, loving the sight of her sweating beneath him.

"I would have expected you not to stall, Jug." Betty brought her legs up to wrap around his waist, pulling against him. "I'll remember this moment in the future, when you want something from me."

"Fuck Betts, is that a bribe?"

"Damn right it is," Betty finally pulled his lips to hers and whispered against his lips. "Now fuck me."

Jughead didn't hold back. He pushed slowly into her, watching happily as her eyes rolled back into her head. He started slow, his thrusts sharp as his hips bucked against her. But Betty clearly wanted more. She grinded against him, rotating her hips and forcing him to thrust faster.

"Come on, Juggie." She pulled against his neck, leading his lips to her neck. "Faster… please."

He couldn't resist any longer. As his lips sucked a mark on her neck his thrusts sped up. Betty's fingers scratched down his back, no doubt leaving marks for the next morning.

"Oh, fuck…" Jughead groaned. Betty's hands dragged down to squeeze his ass. "I never knew you were so fiesty."

"Only for you, Juggie." Betty pulled his lips to hers, distracting him just long enough to switch their positions. Betty straddled him now, their bodies still intimately connected.

"Betty…" Jughead sighed. His head fell helplessly against the pillow. "What are you doing?"

"Shh," Betty leaned down to kiss him. "Just relax, baby. I want to ride you."

Jughead moaned when Betty began to ride him, her thighs slapping against his own. She rotated her hips as Jughead lightly thrust up to meet her. Jughead's hands slid up from her hips to her breasts, kneading them. Betty groaned at the contact and fell down on top of him. Her lips found his neck, licking down to his collarbone as Jughead took over the lead.

Jughead was now thrusting harshly into her, with Betty still straddling him.

"God, Betty I'm…" His vision was starting to blur, the familiar feeling of the knot building in his stomach.

"Mm," Betty rolled her hips and moved to kiss his lips once more. Their tongues collided and Jughead was momentarily distracted from the inevitability of his orgasm. "Me too, Jug. Just a little longer."

"I can't…" Jughead knew he was close, and couldn't hold on much longer. He flipped Betty over, back to their original position. His thrusts were hard and fast as he chased their high. Jughead moved his hand to Betty's clit, rubbing furiously. He only wanted her orgasm to hit at the same time his.

"Ohh…." Betty clenched around him, tears squeezing out the corner of her eyes. "Fuck, Juggie… fuck me.”

Betty arched her back as she hit her orgasm, her stomach pressed against Jughead's. He climaxed right after her, still thrusting slowly as he came inside of her. Betty's body convulsed as Jughead continued rubbing her clit, waiting until he was sure she had ridden out her high.

A sigh released between parted lips, slick with the saliva from Jughead's lips. Her body went fully limp when Jughead pulled out of her. He fell down next to her body onto his own pillow, staring dazedly up at the ceiling. Betty rolled to rest her head against his chest, her leg slipping over to rest between his own. Jughead slid his arm under her neck and held her close, his lips pressing against the top of her head.

"I just want to stay in this place forever…" Betty sighed.

"What, is Dublin not romantic enough for you?"

Betty perked up and pressed her lips to his. "Anywhere with you… is romantic enough for me."

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A/N: I hope you guys liked this update, it was so fun to write! Betty and Jughead finally got some time alone! Leave a comment if you liked it. What would you like to see them do in Dublin?

#bughead #bughead fanfic #bughead fanfiction #betty x jughead #betty cooper #jughead jones #bughead au #riverdale #riverdale fanfic #riverdale fanfiction #wanderlust fic #edit

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illjuststayhere · 6 years

Text

05/18/2018

For the Anger of Him

By Patrick Biesemans

“If you don’t love me now, you’ll never love me again.” Classic rock, country and talk radio blares out of each cabin. The intense fumes of diesel fuel are inescapable, it sticks to clothing and nostril hairs. These people are fermented in a concoction of wet pavement, gasoline and energy drinks, ossified to their very existence. Even the coffee tastes like it has petrol in it.

I’m not as impatient as I was when I was younger but I’m waiting for him which puts me at a base level of dull agitation. There’s not a goddamn thing I wanna eat here, everything looks like a straight shot to artery replacements or diabetes. I order the fries. They’re probably lowered into a vat of motor oil. My petrol coffee with a side order of Valvoline french fries. This place is the embodiment of a Bob Seger song. The looks I’m getting aren’t even subtle but the waitress at the counter still calls me “Honey.” Her smile brings me little comfort.

He is already a half-hour late and there’s no wifi or reception in this black hole of communication somewhere between Cantua Creek and Kettleman City. If I look at the timeline of my life, I’m sure I’d be surprised to know I’ve been waiting for him for a little over ten hours of accumulated time. That’s really not that much in the scope of thirty-five years. Problem is that it’s not just the waiting, it’s the effort for an inevitable waste of time; I’ll sit across from him, and he won’t make eye-contact and I won’t break mine. I never break eye-contact with him, I know how it makes him uncomfortable. He’ll ask me about things that I don’t feel like telling him. Not because I’m lazy but because I don’t think he deserves to know anything about me. I wish he’d just stop blubbering and tell me he has cancer or something terminal… anything that would force me to be obligatorily nice to him. Faked pleasantries in the face of looming death are better than listening to him blunder his way through a string of false apologies.

I’m already ahead of myself, battling it out with an apparition of him before he even walks through the door. Emotional shadowboxing. I wonder if the opposite side of this story is happening across the counter from me with someone else. I’m probably the only fool in this joint that went out of his way to be here. This shack, this waterhole, this isn’t somewhere you plan to be. It’s somewhere you most definitely end up.

Tired of waiting, I go outside. I wouldn’t be mad if they threw out my barely touched basket of translucent fries. There’s not much to look at out here. There’s a sparse beauty to it; the landscape canvas soaked in royal blues and purples. Hues of pink hug the darkness of the hills being penetrated by motorist’s headlights; families on vacation heading to Disneyland; teenagers on their first road trip without parents heading to somewhere “cool,” secretly wishing they were heading to Disneyland. Certainly, either one of these truckers or motorists is getting road head. It’s just something you do on this stretch of road. There isn’t shit else to pass the time. You can only sing your favorite songs, at the top of your lungs, so many times.

I wander around the wet fluorescent-lit structure for a while, looking for a signal. I don’t know why, there’s no one I would call right now, it’s just something to do. I’m wandering around long enough to make a decision: go back inside and wait or jump back into my econo-rental and drive back to the civilized world, out of the barren wasteland. I think of few reasons to get gone but the dread of sitting in a car for the next few hours outweighs any reason to leave, and I go back inside, back to my basket of fries soaking through the parchment paper they were haphazardly delivered on.

I take the basket from the counter and sit at a booth with my eyes on the front door. I think five or ten minutes have passed, and my head finds its way into my hands. I think it’s time to go. The Christmas bells jingle above the door and someone calls out his name, and then another person grunts a low registered welcome. He is clearly a regular. I don’t look up right away because, honestly, I’m used to him forgetting about me, forgetting what I look like. He’ll probably walk right by me and not even...

A worn-out voice mutters “Hey.”

I look up and see him standing there, you can tell he wants a hug but I’ll be damned if I give him one. Instead, I offer him a Valvoline french fry. “Sorry I’m late, I just…” I cut him off with a head shake before he can squeak out another lame-ass excuse. As he sits, sarcasm oozes from my mouth as I ask him, “Do you come to this charming place often?” He scoffs. He doesn’t know how to handle me, never has. The waitress from the counter saunters over to the booth and asks him what he’d like. “The usual, Maryanne” he replies. He knows her name and orders the “usual,” he does come here often, and we can’t be any more different. I would have to be from another fucking planet.

“How’s your mom?” he asks, to which I swiftly reply, “That’s none of your damn business.” The “usual” finds its way onto the table… I think it’s Salisbury steak. I think. There’s just too much gravy involved to be entirely sure. In the back of my mind, there are a million other places I’d like to be right now but not a single one of them comes to the forefront, so I make up a general lie. “Look, I’ve got somewhere I need to be, so we should probably say what we gotta say.” He pushes the “usual” away while still gnawing on a bite of it. “Okay, well, I’ve got cancer.”

I’ve never been able to contort my expressions to say what I’m not really thinking. So right now, he is reading “It’s deserved” written across my unsympathetic face. It’s deserved, it’s your sentence for the years of absentee parenting, it’s deserved for making my mother cry, for hurting her, for hurting us. It’s the penance you pay for being a knuckle-dragging-ignoramus. Your cancer is the cure for full-blown asshole. I’m not sad, I’m angry he won’t be around for more years for me to ignore his fucking phone calls. I won’t even question what kind of cancer he might have or where it might have come from. I know his pack-a-day habits, his six-pack after six-pack midnight routines. He’s eating that damn plate of Salisbury mush while looking for sympathy. He has cancer, I don’t question it.

Somewhere in the midst of it, while wading my way through emotions hidden by a contorted expression, I looked down at the table. I broke eye-contact and the table opened into a swirling portal of memories that won’t go away; Christmases, Easters, birthdays all swirl with a form of happiness projecting from my mother center stage, a radiant aura of love and warmth. But frayed at the edges of these memories is a spot painted in angry colors, smouldering reds and earthy yellows. A picture developed wrong. It’s him. It’s all my anger. It’s all my resentment, frustration, and callousness presented in technicolor.

“What are you telling me for?” I ask because I can’t think of anything else to say. His response is muffled, it’s far away. His sob story is the same one I’ve been listening to for years but now it has cancer as the punchline. Like it was the behind-the-scenes culprit that was fucking up his otherwise promising life the whole time. At some point during his lengthy session of the blame game, I stand up.

“I’m having a smoke. You can keep talking outside.”

I’ve been here for five hours, that’s half the accumulated time I’ve had to wait for this asshole in my life. I’ve been here for five hours and I realize, outside of my childhood, this is the most time I’ve ever spent with him. I’m about halfway down my cigarette when he asks if he can have one, my reply full of sarcasm. “I don’t know, can you?” I light his cigarette, and the most subtle of details reveals the most devastating revelation; he takes a long drag and the cigarette finds its way low between the index and middle finger, close to the top knuckles. No one holds their cigarettes like that, no one but me.

This little detail, this insignificant speck of information; I look at his hands, calloused, saturated with twenty years of physical labor. Although shorter than I, his posture is mine. The wrinkles and creases of his brow leading to a sharpened point of discontent, also mine. His anger, mine. My anger, his. I’ve waited for him for ten hours accumulated time but I have lived with his anger, within me, for my entirety. Not because of him but because of me. I’ve nurtured it, I’ve cultivated it. I’ve honed it into an unbridled weapon for me to wield against those that have wronged me and even those that have loved me.

We haven’t said much in the last few moments. All I need is for him to say two words and we can release the burden between us. He’s said these words many times over but I wasn’t receptive, I was oblivious to the little details. His cigarette is nearing its end. I just need him to say two words. The cigarette butt sails across the backdrop of fluorescent haze and wet asphalt. In my peripheral, I can see he’s looking at me. He wants to say so much more but all he can muster is “It was good seeing you.” It’s more than I can say, I’m just waiting for him to say those two words. All I can squeak out is “Yeah.” With a slight nod of acknowledgement, he begins to walk away. Please just say those two words and we can make up for all of that lost time. He’s far enough to know it’s not going to happen…

“Hey!”

“Yeah?”

“I’m sorry.”

Photo by Taylor Durrer on Unsplash

#creative writing #creative writers #short stories #short story #writers #writersofinstagram #screenwriter #cinematic

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notesnotesandmorenotes · 3 years

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♪There You Lay And Here I Stand He Knelt Down On His Knees And Took Her By The Hand♫

Amazingly new questions, you ready? I sure am What is something that is bothering you right now? That is a loaded question. So much has happened this year. So much shitty stuff has happened this year, and I just keep getting my hopes up about things even though I know that I shouldn’t.

Will you be in a relationship one month from now? I doubt it. I have been waiting for it to happen for way too long as it is. It probably will never happen again, but yet I always get my hopes up about it.

Who was the last person to see you cry? My mother Do you drink bottled water? Usually, just fill up my Brita and get water from there. If I have bottled water, I will drink it.

What was the last thing you drank? Milk Do you hate the last person who called you? Nope, I could never hate her, we disagree sometimes, but she is one of the best cousins that I have :) Where is your best friend right now? At home, and my other best friends is hanging out with his husband! Do you believe in love? I sure do. And it can be an amazing thing, but it can also be the shittiest thing in the world. Name something you dislike about the day you’re having? My emotions have been all over the place. If you’re being extremely quiet, what does that mean? I’m upset or worried. Last person of the opposite sex you texted single? Yes, he for sure is, but I doubt that I will be the one to change that, unfortunately. Tell me about the shirt you’re wearing: I am not wearing a shirt anymore, I am in my bra! :P How long have you lived in your current home? 1 1/2 years You never know what you have until it’s gone. True or false? Very Very VERY VERY true and once it is gone the chance of getting it back is slim to none, trust me I know. Are you sad when someone says they hate you? It all depends on who that person is, and thankfully the people that it would upset me if they said it I hope will never ever have a reason to say it Are you scared of losing the person you like to someone else? I already have multiple times, and yet I still can’t manage to let go and it has been over 5 years Will you be in bed in the next 20 minutes? Nope, most likely not. Do you laugh at inappropriate times? Yup, unfortunately I do, or I cry

What time did you wake up today? 8:30 Would you rather be single all your life or grow old with someone? It depends. The person that I always have wanted to grow old with and who I want to spend the rest of my life with, doesn’t want to spend the rest of his with me. So if I can’t have him then I would rather be single. How many bracelets do you have on right now? None. Haven’t worn one since we broke up like 5 years ago How long have you liked the person you like right now? Ha! Since we were in high school. Is there someone of the opposite sex you can talk to? There sure is Do you like mac n cheese? Only if it is homemade or KD Do you get mad when people don’t text back? Depends on who it is that I am waiting for an answer back from What does your phone do when it recieves a text? Plays something different depending on who texts me How late did you stay up til last night and why? I am not sure, I keep falling asleep without taking my medication which is never a good thing. Are you going out of town soon? Nope, we are in lockdown again. Think back to Februrary, how was your love life? The same as it has been for the last 4 years Will you regret your next kiss? Nope, I never do. What is in your pocket? Nothing, I don’t have any pockets in what I am wearing

Did you wake up in the middle of the night last night? Nope, but I did have an extremely crappy sleep. Are you happier now or 5 months ago? Meh, I was feeling the same Are you usually wide awake when you wake up? All depends on what kind of sleep I get Can you remember the last person you texted without looking? Danielle Can you sleep without blankets covering you? I can, but it takes me longer and I prefer blankets Do you listen to music everyday? I for sure do! How long have you known your first phone contact? Since high school, but we haven’t spoken in years, not even sure why he is still in my phone to be honest. Guess I need to do a clean out of my phone soon. Who are all your texts in your inbox from? I currently have texts from: Danielle, Andrew, Ashleigh, Chad, Barbara, Christopher, Tory, Unknown number, Dad, Stephane, Bree, Bev, Uncle Pat, Wifie, Mom Do you have a hard time making decisions? Nope, not since I became a parent. Every decision I make, is always with my children in mind. Are you gonna be home alone tonight? Yup, I am getting pretty used to that. What are you looking forward to? Whenever I get to see my mother again. Are you a morning or night person? Depends on what day of the week it is Are you excited for this weekend? Well the weekend ends tomorrow and it has just been a very awful year. What are you wearing on your feet? Socks with Santa Claus on them If there was a large spider in your room, would you stay in the room? Yeah, but it can stay on its own side of the room

What is the last thing you touched, other than your computer? My phone

When was the last time you talked to your best friend? About an hour ago

Have you heard a song that reminds you of someone today? Every song reminds me of someone.

Are you a social or anti-social person? It depends on who I am around and if I know anyone

Can you recall the last time you liked someone? Yeah, but I try to forget that I like him.

Where were you last night at 8 PM? At home, playing Ooops with my Oma, my dad and my son.

What color is your cell phone? Black and it’s a loner phone while my phone is getting fixed

What is the last non-alcoholic beverage you drank? Milk

Your last received text, would you kiss them? Nope, she is my cousin

Have you told anybody you loved them and meant it? Yup!

Are you in a good mood? I guess so, but I could have been in a better mood.

What were you doing an hour ago? Watching TV and doing quizzes

Is there anyone that could make your day if they showed up at your house? Yup, but he isn’t talking to me at the moment and we are in lockdown

Does your middle name begin with an A, M, or S? One of my middle names does

How old was the last person you rode in a car with? 27

What color was the last vehicle you were in? Blue

Do you have plans for next weekend? Nope, we are in lockdown

What was the last movie you saw in theaters and who did you go with? It Chapter 2 and Chris

How old were you in 1999? 8

Are you taller than 5'6"? Hahahahha. I wish.

Who were the last three people to call you? Danielle, my father, my son

What were you doing last night at 10pm? Talking to my sons dad

If you turn around, what is behind you? My couch, the wall, a picture frame

Would you dye your hair hot pink for $50? I would dye my hair any color for less, just buy me the hair dye

Do you have any step or half siblings? Nope. But there are friends that I consider to be my siblings

What color is your underwear? Red and Black

Where did you get the shirt you are wearing? I am not wearing a shirt.

Who was the last person to hug you? My Oma

Who is on your mind right now? The boy who must not be named

In how many years will you be thirty? 1 year. Sadly.

What are your plans after this? To probably do another quiz and watch more of my show

Are you currently barefoot? Nope, I’m wearing my new santa slippers

What’s the dumbest thing you have ever said? Hahah! almost anything that comes out of my mouth

You can never drink tea again or soda. Which do you give up? Soda

Last time you drank coffee? When I was pregnant with my oldest son

Do you listen to screamo? I listen to the less screamo screamo

In what month were you born? June

Do you take vitamins daily? Yup

Who is your 9th contact in your phone? Danielle

How many programs are running on your computer now? Just this one

What’s the first icon on your desktop? Shortcut for Google Chrome

What were you doing at 8:00 this morning? Possibly sleeping, I don’t remember

How old is the cellphone you have right now? It’s a loner until mine gets fixed

Do you get pissed off when your computer freezes? Well yeah, doesn’t everybody?

What’s the last thing you laughed at? Something my cousins showed me online

What’s one thing you hate about your best friend? That she is a Hab’s fan :P

Where is your dad right now? Sleeping I hope, he was pretty grumpy

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jolie-in-the-underground · 7 years

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Fallout (Q and Grim fic)

I actually wrote this last night in response to that completely tragic mini fic my sister posted over on @skeletonsgrim about Grim’s suicide attempt. Then I just REALLY got the urge to watch Ironman, though, so that’s why you’re only just now getting this 8′D i’m terrible i’m sorry

So uuuuuh enjoy the feels and Q’s reaction? *sweats*

Q reached the end of the internet and lingered at its ever expanding horizon of new content, scanning it all with every bit of processing power he could spare that wasn’t already committed to maintaining his world and other vital operations.

It was, to say the least, a startling amount of tech being bent to a single purpose. Q had long since grown out of the lodge basement, and all these years later now owned entire server farms around the world, one of which he maintained in the basement of his home. His basement that was bigger than most people’s entire house.

“Sans, what on earth are you doing down here?” called a familiar voice as the sound of footsteps on the stairs tripped Q’s sensors and pulled him back into the robotic body in which he spent so much time these days. “It feels like we have heated floors upstairs!”

“sorry, peaches, looking for something,” he responded distractedly, his attention still primarily on the ongoing search.

“Looking for what?” Q’s one-time landlady asked with an incredulous laugh. “The lost treasure of the Sierra Madre?” She grimaced and waved her hand in front of her face as she entered. “Lord, it sure feels like the Sierra in here! Do you have the cooling units going? The whole place is going to go up like a match at this rate!”

A soft huff of laughter escaped Q in spite of himself. “if i didn’t have the units going, only flames would live here now. as for what i’m looking for…” he paused and grimaced, once again hit with the inconvenience that came with having a best friend no one else could see. This was far from the first time he’d had to maneuver around the subject of Grim when talking to someone else. “well, it’s something very important, and we’ll leave it at that.”

The answer earned him a lift of a feminine brow as the woman stepped closer, “That’s… vague.”

“peaches, trust me, if i could explain, i would,” he mused tiredly. The search for Grim was starting to drag at him, but he kept at it. Being what he was, Q’s void plagued doppelganger didn’t carry a phone that could make use of satellites or cell towers, leaving it completely reliant on wifi for any sort of communication. It made getting in touch with him a challenge, to say the least. That, and his habit of teleporting overseas on a whim to fight eldritch horrors from beyond the veil of reality were why Q had finally insisted that Grim start wearing a tracker, just in case. The other monster had eventually agreed, though it had taken a great deal of pestering on the AI’s part.

Q was very persistent when it came to getting what he wanted, though. Grim hadn’t really stood a chance.

Now, though, the tracker wasn’t working, and the only time that ever happened was when Grim took one of his brief, painful trips into the void to see his family. There was always the chance the tracker had been broken, of course, but after what had happened with that piece of shit anonymous message someone had left on his friend’s blog… Q would have bet everything he owned on Grim taking it to heart and…

The AI shifted uncomfortably in place as the servers around him kicked into high gear, sending the temperature shooting up another few degrees. Q had found that the only way he could even begin to keep track of Grim’s movements when he wasn’t wearing a tracker was, oddly enough, via posts on conspiracy blogs, ghost hunter forums, UFO sites… it was ridiculous, really. Still, humans’ inability to see Grim while still being able to see the things he moved or the lives he saved often wound up on these sites, attributed to other phenomena entirely. They’d both had a good laugh together about the skeleton’s official cryptid status, and Q had put together an algorithm that would seek out such mentions that might be attributed to his friend. He’d done it as a joke so he could send the results to Grim whenever a new one popped up, but now…

Now it was his only hope to track where his friend might have disappeared to if his tracker wasn’t working.

A large part of him insisted that it was a foolish endeavor, all data pointed towards one result and logic insisted that Grim had made a trip to the void, not had his tracker damaged. The rest of Q, though, held on tight and insisted that maybe he had. It was better than the alternative.

When the tracker had initially gone offline, the AI had quirked a brow, but not descended into outright panic. After all, he wasn’t Grim’s keeper, if he wanted to pop off into the void for a few minutes, it wasn’t any of his business…even if his friend was generally pretty good at keeping him up to date when he was planning anything like that. But then they’d passed the five minute mark and Q had begun to worry. Then six dragged into seven, into eight… now they were ticking steadily past nine and a half and the monster was frantic.

“This is big, isn’t it?”

Q’s eyes darted to the woman beside him and saw her gazing up at him, brow furrowed with concern for whatever was bothering him. The way her lover’s expression contorted in response only deepened her frown and made her reach out to him on reflex.

“Ouch!” she yelped and snatched her fingers back the moment they came into touch with his overheated exterior.

Before he could even apologize, the tracker alert dinged quietly and Q’s eyes went wide.

Grim was back. He’d cut it down to the second, but he was back.

“i gotta go,” Q said and darted towards the back of the long room where there was a ladder bolted to the wall leading up to a hatch in the ceiling. Around him, the servers continued to hum for a minute, then gradually began to back down and enter their cooling cycle.

“What?” came the startled reaction from behind him. “Did you find what you were looking for?”

“i think so,” Q called back as he mounted the first rung and started up hand-over-hand. “i’ll be back in a bit, peaches, don’t wait up.”

“Where are you going?” the woman asked with a blink as she trailed after him down the stacks, long since inured to the AI’s eccentric comings and goings.

“uh-” Q paused and actually looked at the tracker map now, then rolled his eyes hugely and let his head sag forward to hit one of the ladder rungs with a dull clank. “alaska, apparently.” The woman behind him made a startled, almost affronted noise until he twisted where he hung on the ladder and bent to land a kiss on her upturned cheek. “i’ll be back in a few hours, promise.”

She rolled her own eyes now, but turned so her lips caught his now that he wasn’t so overheated as to burn her. “Fine,” she said when they broke contact. “Bring me back some smoked salmon or don’t come home at all, though.”

He laughed and started to climb again. “yes ma’am.”

“The candied kind!” she clarified from the bottom of the ladder as he pushed his way up through the hatch.

“who do you think you’re talking to right now?”

“My husband, the guy that’s abandoning me on date night to make a trip to Alaska to find the lost treasure of Sierra Madre!”

Q had disappeared up through the hatch, but at her shout poked his head back over the opening and grimaced apologetically. “i’m sorry peaches, it-”

Her expression softened when she saw the discomfort in his gaze and she waved him off with a smile, “I know,” she said. “Just hurry up and go. I’ll see you in the morning.”

His wife blew him a kiss and the AI pantomimed catching it, then shot her a wink and said, “see you in your dreams, peaches,” then closed the hatch and stepped up onto the patch of cement he’d had laid in their expansive back yard.

Once at its center, he paused and kicked off his shoes, then rolled his pants up to his knees before stripping off his hoodie and the t-shirt he’d been wearing under it. The shirt he tossed aside, and the hoodie he tied off around his waist before activating his flight array. Panels on his body lifted and shifted as the specially designed engines flared to life and launched him effortlessly into the air.

Yeah, alright, so he might have borrowed the idea from Ironman. So what? It was a good design and he felt cool as hell as he soared up and over the city, then breached the cloud layer to find himself over a sea of gently shifting white illuminated by the rising moon. The monster took a moment to orient himself to the tracker location, then shot off towards the northwest at speeds that would make jet blush.

It didn’t take him long to get where he was going, and the fact that the tracker had moved a bit since coming back online gave the AI some relief on his trip north to find his friend. Unfortunately, that still left him with plenty of time to get worked up.

He was coming in far too hot and fast, Q knew, but when he spotted his friend cresting a hilltop at the base of a mountain, all caution went out the window.

The monster dropped out of the sky like a stone, and only a last second burst from his boosters kept him from hitting hard enough to leave a crater. The close call was, however, enough to char the earth for several feet around, and Q left it to smolder as he marched towards Grim with an expression like a thunderstorm.

His best friend had the good grace to look ashamed of himself, and dropped his gaze from Q’s as he approached. It wasn’t enough to allay the AI’s wrath, however, as he shouted, “nine minutes and fifty-five goddamn seconds, grim!” and jabbed at the air between them with a finger.

“yeah,” was the solemn response as the other monster still refused to meet his eyes.

Q stared him down for a long minute, but when Grim offered no defense he made a sound of irritation and stormed off some distance and paced for a moment before marching right back to demand, “you were really ready to pack it in, weren’t you? This little trip was your last hurrah so you could die on your brother’s fucking doorstep wasn’t it?!”

Pinned under the weight of his friend’s gaze, Grim shifted uncomfortably, but finally managed to say, “i… not on their doorstep. not intentionally.”

He’d known as soon as he got back that he was in for a lecture, but that didn’t make it any easier to bear. Q’s ability to cut to the quick of a subject when it suited him had always been able to wrong-foot Grim considering his friend’s usual proclivity for half-truths and teasing, and that was still the case now. The bluntness of it shone a light on the harsh reality of the almost permanent solution the skeleton had sought for his temporary problem, and the disappointment in his voice stung like a lash.

Q pointed wordlessly at Grim, struggling to find the words he wanted, but failing, so his hand tightened into a fist and he turned his back on his friend and walked away again to give himself some space. Mechanical body struggling to keep up with the onslaught of emotions the AI was suffering, Q’s hands began to tremble and he shook them out angrily, then put them to use dragging his hoodie off his waist and pulling it on. He zipped it up and adjusted it with short, sharp movements as he collected himself.

“i’m sorry,” Grim finally managed to say quietly as he approached to stand at Q’s side, eyes on the sprawling view of the forest and distant, glittering city that was laid out before them.

The AI looked at him sharply, eyes narrowed. “that so?” he asked bitterly. “what would ‘sorry’ have done for me or your brothers if you hadn’t come back?’”

Grim’s shoulders slumped further, making him look as though he were ready to fold in on himself. “nothing, i know. I’m just… i’m sorry, q. It was a moment of weakness, and i-”

Q’s eyes flashed and he turned to jab his friend in the shoulder as he hissed, “you don’t get to say sorry yet, you jackass!” Grim flinched, but took it and nodded, though his submission only made his friend angrier. “you don’t get to just lay down and give the fuck up, grim! you don’t get to go out like some goddamn tragic poet on your brothers’ front door step and traumatize them for the rest of their lives watching you die and turn into some horrible fucking monster!”

As though the first jab had opened him up for more, the next turned into a hard shove that sent Grim stumbling back several steps, though he quickly caught his footing and stood his ground when Q advanced on him, fury clear in every line of his body and gesture of his hands.

“and you know what?” the AI continued as he reached out a third time and grabbed Grim by the sweater so he could pull him in and give him hard shake. “my best goddamn friend does not get to leave me behind without so much as a word!” Q’s expression, full of righteous anger a moment before, shifted into one of anguish as he shook Grim again and said, “not even… you couldn’t even do me the kindness of a note, grim.”

Grim met Q’s gaze and he opened his mouth to speak, but no sound came as he stared up at the other monster, helpless in the face of his hurt.

An incoherent sound of pain escaped the AI and he shoved Grim away from him bodily before turning his back on him again, hands fisted tight in the pockets of his hoodie. “you don’t…” he began, struggling to speak before finding the words and shouting them, “you don’t get to just leave us behind!”

“q-” Grim tried again and reached out to his friend, hand coming to a rest on his shoulder, only for him to pull sharply away.

“no! you still- you get to listen, goddammit!” the AI said fiercely as he turned to glare at his friend. “your brothers aren’t here to lecture you, so that leaves me, and you’re gonna fucking listen!” Grim’s eye sockets widened fractionally, and Q took advantage of his silence to speak. “you fucked up in the past, grim. you fucked up bad, and that guilt is something you’re gonna carry with you for the rest of your damn days.” The other monster flinched visibly, but Q pressed on relentlessly. “but that guilt does not entitle you to an early check out, you asshole. not only does it literally help nothing and no one, but…” he faltered, expression becoming pained once more, and this time when he reached out to Grim, it was with a hand that was not only slow and unsteady, but in search of reassurance that his friend was, in fact, really there with him. It landed on the other monster’s shoulder, the fabric of his impossibly black sweater painfully familiar beneath his fingers.

“i’m sorry,” Grim said for the third time, and this time, Q seemed willing to hear him out. “you’re right. me screwing up and feeling bad over it doesn’t entitle me to ending things the easy way. people rely on me and i almost let them… let you down. i’m sorry.”

Q tried to smile, but the result was a confused grimace torn between humor and a soul deep need to cry that his mechanical body could not fulfill. Hand still on his friend’s shoulder, the AI gave Grim a gentle shake as, in an unsteady voice, he said, “you know, for a supposed genius, you’re like… the biggest idiot i’ve ever met, bro.”

The words startled a laugh out of Grim, and unlike his friend, he did begin to cry. “yeah,” he agreed with a trembling smile and an unsteady breath as tears began to spill down his cheeks once more, leaving inky trails across his stark white features. “well, takes one to know one.”

“shut up,” Q groused with a weak laugh that trailed off quickly as he met Grim’s gaze and his expression went solemn. “it’s not… i’m a selfish asshole, grim, i don’t give a shit if you stay because you want to take responsibility for how you messed up in your timeline, or if you wanna stick around because i’m your friend and you like all my sick science toys i let you play with,” they both laughed unsteadily at this before he continued, “i don’t care as long as you stick around. i just…” the monster took a completely unnecessary breath and released it in one long, shuddering rush. “-don’t know what i’d do without you, man,” he admitted weakly as he gave his friend another gentle shake.

“turn into a super villain, probably,” Grim said as he lifted a hand to his face and tried to mask the fresh rush of tears there by pretending to wipe away the ones that still lingered from earlier.

“heh, the wife would never let me,” Q mused and dragged Grim in for a hug. “well,” he amended as he settled his arms around the other monster’s shoulders, “maybe on weekends. she’s kinky like that.”

The shorter skeleton grunted as he was dragged in against his friend’s broad, hard chest, but didn’t complain. Synthetic Q’s body might be, but contact was still contact, and the physical sign of affection was a balm to Grim’s tired, aching soul. He let his forehead drop onto his friend’s shoulder and took a breath of his own. “i have no idea how she puts up with you,” he grumbled with a soft snort.

“me neither,” Q admitted with a chuckle. “probably has something to do with-”

“if you make a dick joke right now, i’m out,” Grim cut in sharply and Q barked a laugh. They stood there like that for a minute, Q’s arms around Grim’s shoulders in a tight embrace that his friend leaned heavily into as he returned it in kind. They were both shaken by the near miss they’d had that day, and after all the tears and shouting, it was only then that the immensity of it all really hit them. Q’s grip on his friend tightened at the thought of what he’d almost lost, and Grim had to fight back a sob at the pain he had inadvertently caused to the people closest to him in pursuit of freedom from his own.

Eventually, Q said, “you’re not alone, grim. we’re here for you, not because we have to be, but because we want to be. just… try not to forget that again.” Grim couldn’t respond, but he nodded against Q’s shoulder, and the other monster sighed. “you’re smearing that emo-ass mascara of yours all over my damn sweater again, aren’t you?” he asked, referring to his friend’s ink-black tears. Grim nodded again, but Q just patted him on the back and gave him a pass on it this time.

When the shorter skeleton finally pushed gently away from his friend, he grimaced and said, “you reek of ozone, man, what the hell?”

“was doin’ mach one out over the ocean,” Q remarked after a moment, “probably from that.” He slung his arm around Grims shoulders and they both started walking together down the hill towards town.

“what? thought you were doing mach three for sure judging by that entrance you made, ironman,” grim drawled.

“nah, didn’t want to lose my pants again,” Q said with a shit-eating grin, and Grim laughed long and loud at the mental image.

((Try not to be too hard on on Q for shouting, guys, Grim is like a brother to him and the fact that he almost lost him so unexpectedly scared the shit out of him. Hope you guys enjoyed! Wrote and post this with my sister, @nighttimepixels permission, of course, and Grim belongs to her! Q, obviously, is mine, heh.))

#suicide mention #Grim sans #skeletons grim #quarantine sans #machinatale #undertale #skeleton ex machina #jolies tumblr exclusives #jolie writes

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jazzyhazzy · 7 years

Text

Girls Like You - Chapter Eighteen - I’ll Name The Dogs

I’ll Name The Dogs - Blake Shelton

I’ll hang the pictures, you hang the stars You pick the paint, I’ll pick a guitar Sing you a song out there with the crickets and the frogs You name the babies and I’ll name the dogs

Click the (x) to see outfits and other bits xx

“What do you think?” I ask, standing a few steps back from the wall and leaning against Harry’s side. Flecks of paint dot my skin, from painting 4 squares of colour on the plain white wall of the first guest bedroom. He’s just come home from his rehearsals, it’s dinner time and I can tell he is hungry and agitated after a long day. I’ve been keeping myself busy by unpacking my belongings and throwing up some paint samples on the wall in an attempt to make this place feel more like our own.

Clearly he doesn’t care what colour the wall is, as long as I’m happy with it, but I want his opinion nonetheless. I’ve chosen mainly dark colours, a navy blue, a charcoal grey, a deep forest green and another dark grey blue. They’re all relatively similar, and I know he’s having trouble trying to pick on that he prefers out of the four. He looks at me, lost, and I squeeze his arm “Do you not like any of them? Are they too dark?” I worry that maybe he won’t like the dark colour, but it’s not like its our bedroom so he won’t have to look at it all the time.

He shakes his head, “I like them all babe, thats the problem.” I sigh in relief and turn my gaze back to the wall, explaining the ideas I’m having and what kind of furniture I am thinking about including in the room, in the hopes that it will help him decide with me. “Hmmmmmmmokay I think I like the charcoal one but can we get it a teeny bit lighter?” he concludes, trying to make a compromise, but I disagree, “Nope, it’s good that dark, just trust me, you’ll see” I promise, wrapping my arms around his neck and standing up on my tip toes to plant a kiss on his lips, enjoying how he lazily wraps his arms around my waist and rests his chin on the top of my head. I know how much he loves having me here, making this place ours. But with the stress of his upcoming tour and his busy schedule, I worry that my constant questions about the house may be getting a bit demanding for him.

“Come on, dinner should be ready” I tell him, kissing him again once, twice, three times before letting go and leading the way down the stairs, it’s like living with a zombie at the moment, management has the boys working overtime to get in enough rehearsals before their tour begins. Harry gets up at 6am, leaves at half past and doesn’t get home until 8pm, it’s not ideal, but it’s the life I’ve signed up for and I’m here for it all. While the tours are shorter now due to Niall not wanting to be away from Savanna and Clarice for long extended periods of time, it’s still hard to see them all pack up and disappear for weeks. Management has compromised with them, and they’ve agreed to make the tour longer, taking 3 months instead of the 2 they had last time, but now the boys get a week to come home every month. It still doesn’t feel like enough time, but it never will. It’s something I’ve started getting used to by now, and at least all of us girls have each other to get through it all.

I sit him down at the table and disappear to get dinner out of the oven, I’ve made a lasagne which is one of his favourites. I know he doesn’t want me cooking every night, but the past few days living here I’ve been very inspired to cook in this kitchen. “Let me cook tomorrow night” he grumbles, getting up from his chair at the table and getting a glass for each of us from the cupboard, filling them with water, kissing the side of my head on his way back to the table. “What time do you finish up tomorrow?” I check, because if he’s coming home anytime after 6 he will not be cooking dinner, he’ll fall asleep at the grill and burn the house down, and I’m growing quite fond of this house. “I’ll be home at 8 again… Sorry” he apologises, earning a light smack around the head.

“Don’t apologise, but you’re not cooking, grab some takeaways on the way home.” I compromise, placing his plate down in front of him and taking my seat next to him. Harry stares down at his plate for a moment, “What’s wrong?” I ask, did I do something wrong with the meal? He looks up at me, his eyes are red and he is exhausted, “Absolutely nothing, I love you okay? and this is perfection on a plate, I’m keeping you forever, lasagne every night please” he leans across the table kissing me sweetly, before tucking in. He clears his whole plate so fast it just might have put Niall to shame, and goes back for seconds.

Groaning, he slumps out of his chair and lays on the floor, clutching his stomach and rolling onto his side. “I think I’m going to explode” he moans, closing his eyes, he could probably fall asleep right there. I get down and lay on the floor next to him, brushing his hair off his face and tracing my finger over his features, hoping the feeling would distract him from his full stomach. His eyes flutter open and he watches me for a while. We don’t need to say anything to know what we’re thinking. This all just feels right. Being together, living together, still being young and silly enough to lie down on the floor together after dinner and putting the dishes off until tomorrow.

Two Weeks Later

I pout massively by the front door, not happy about this at all. Harry isn’t letting me go to the airport to see him and the boys off. He thinks it’s best if I avoid situations like that, so soon after it broke news a few weeks ago that we were back together, their fans are confused and because of that, they’re unpredictable. He just wants me safe at home, out of the spotlight, and I’m usually fine with that, because it gives me the chance to work on our house. But this I’m not happy about.

“Don’t be like that, you know I’m right about this!” he insists, taking my hands in his and bending his knees so he is at eye level with me.

“I guess I just don’t really want to let you go just yet, I just got you back” I murmur, stepping forwards as he opens his arms to me, lifting me up and hugging me against his chest.

“We’ve been through this before baby, more than once. Just think about how good the sex is when I come home!” he offers consolidation, and I laugh. He’s not wrong, the sex is amazing after time apart.

Harry puts me back down on the ground and cups my face in his hands, “All you ever think about is sex, sex and more sex” I scold him, holding his wrists.

“That’s not true, I think about the colour mustard, and how much Liam looks like a giraffe when he runs.” he says defensively, “But yes, my favourite thing to think about is you, naked in our bed, waiting for me when I return in three weeks time.” he finishes simply, kissing me on the forehead.

I sigh deeply, leaning my head against his chest, knowing that he needs to leave any second now otherwise he will miss his flight. “Righto, well… see ya” I farewell simply, stepping back into the house and closing the door unsuccessfully as he jams his foot in the gap before I can close it. Lunging at me and trapping me in his embrace. “Say a proper goodbye” he demands, and now he is the one pouting at me.

“Goodbye, my love” I say, simply. Petting his cheek with my knuckle, my heart heaving with the thought of how much I will miss him, even if it is only for a few weeks. “I’ll call you when I land, and I’ll message you on the plane if there’s wifi” he promises. We’ve already agreed to talk every day, face time when we get the chance, message when we feel the need, but other than that, we’re just going to have to cope with being apart for a while.

“I should head off now baby, I’m sorry” he apologises, squeezing me once more. “It’s okay, have fun” I encourage, pinching his bum and giving him my best cheeky smile. His face lights up a little, bringing his lips to mine and kissing me long and slow, making it last, remembering the feel of my lips on his, his tongue dancing softly with mine, before kissing me once, twice, three times. A new wee thing we do, three kisses means I Love You.

Much to my dismay, he finally pulls away, his face pained. Goodbye is always the hardest part. “Drive safe, I love you” I call out, as he walks away to his car. He turns and blows me a kiss, smiling at me when I jump up in the air to catch it. “Love you more” he replies, jumping up into the drivers seat and turning on the car.

And just like that, he’s gone. I stay out there on the doorstep for a while, listening to the wind and the quiet of the early morning. The quiet.

I turn and go back inside, closing the door softly behind me and staring down the hallway. It’s empty. It’s quiet.

I debate whether I should go back to bed for another hour or so, it’s not even 7am yet, but I decide against it. I should do something to keep myself busy. I’m going to have to get used to being in this house all alone. This is just the beginning. In the kitchen, I fix myself some toast, sitting down at the table to eat it.

The house feels a lot emptier than our last place. It was much smaller, and the space was filled with furniture and possessions. While we still had our possessions, this house was a fairly large one, and we had more space to fill, being here alone didn’t help anything.

Pulling me phone out of my pocket, I scroll through my recent calls until I find my Mum’s number, and dial her, knowing it will be early evening for her, back home. She answers on the fourth ring, out of breath, “Hello darling!” my heart aches a little less at the sound of her voice, I try my best to call her a few times a week. I miss her a lot.

“Hey Mum, why are you so puffed?” I enquire, hopefully I haven’t interrupted anything, “Oh I’ve just been out in the garden doing some yoga with Sav’s mum” she explains, and I can hear her holler out in the background. “Oh right, well I can leave you to it then” I say, not wanting to interrupt. “Nonsense love, we’ve just finished up. What’s going on with you?” she asks.

I huff, pushing away my half eaten toast, not feeling like eating anymore. “Harry just left” I tell her quietly, this isn’t the first time she’s received a phone call like this, somehow she knows how to cheer me up every time. “Oh sweetheart, I know it’s hard, but remember you’re not the only one going through this, you should pop over and spend some time with Sav and Clary, I know you’ve been busy with the house, but you need to spend time with other people so you don’t get to lonely! I worry about you being all alone in that big house.” she frets.

As usual, she is the smartest woman on earth, telling me exactly what I need to do. “The house is safe mum, I promise you the security is next level.” I insist, thinking about the alarms and the cameras everywhere. “I’m not worried about that, I just don’t want you feeling too lonely there. Maybe you should go and live with Savanna, help her out with Clary.”

“Mmm, I’ll catch up with her today and see what she says.” I agree, not particularly wanting to move in, but I haven’t been spending as much time with Sav and Clary as I would like. “Anyway, hows life back home?” I ask, almost settling down in my chair to hear about all of the gossip. Who’s gone on what holiday, who’s shagging the guy around the corner, who’s daughter eloped without saying anything… the works really.

It’s closer to 9 when I finish up on the phone with Mum, not realising how long we had been chatting for, I was probably keeping her from her episode of Coronation street. I text Sav instantly,

Want some company?

She replies within seconds.

Please

I’ll be round soon xx

I get up and put my dishes in the dishwasher, turning it on to wash while I’m out for the day, before racing upstairs and getting dressed. I opt for a striped long sleeve top under my black dungaree dress (x) Slipping some white converse on and grabbing my bag before darting for the door, remembering to set that stupid alarm before I lock the door and head for my trusty old mustang sally that I’ve had for years now. (x)

Harry absolutely hates it, and has insisted that I buy something safer with airbags, but I won’t do it. Not yet, maybe in a few years, but for now, I’m still young, and I want to drive around in my dream car that I’ve wanted since I was just 8 years old. I don’t want to drive some stupid sensible car just yet.

The drive to Sav and Niall’s place is much shorter now, which I’m grateful for, I love living near my friends, and I’m sure Harry would have considered this when he bought the house. I don’t bother knocking on the door, and just let myself in instead, “HIIIIIIIIIII” I yell, announcing my arrival as I toe off my shoes and put my bag down.

My favourite tiny human in the entire world comes squealing around the corner from the lounge and plows into my open arms as I bend down to pick her up. She nuzzles her face into the crook of my neck and sniffs. Sav pops her head around the same corner, “Hey you! Where have you been for the past week?” she demands.

I feel a twinge of guilt, it is unlike us to not see each other in a week. While we still texted and called each other, it’s not the same. “I’m sorry-” I sigh, “-I’ve been so distracted with the house and the tour and everything, I know, I’m a crappy friend” I express my regret, knowing she will forgive me.

“It’s okay, I’m only pulling your leg, Clary over here is teething so she has been an utter nightmare, and Niall leaving at this time is so convenient for him.” she growls, poking me in the side and kissing my cheek. “You know he’d rather be here with his girls” I remind her, “Has he said anything about the ring?” I ask, for the millionth time since she told me she had found it.

She shakes her head, leading the way into the kitchen where I pop Clary into her highchair for her morning tea. “Not a peep, he’s probably forgotten it’s there to be honest” she chuckles, fixing up some marmite on crackers for the teething devil.

Clary’s eyes are red rimmed and watery. “She’s been crying all morning since Niall left” Savanna exhales, already exhausted with the solo parenting and it’s only been a few hours. Clary chomps away quietly on her crackers, and Sav makes me a cup of tea, strawberry of course, my favourite. “I’m always just a call away if you want me here” I nudge her, and she smiles in appreciation.

“Let’s go to the supermarket, eh?” I suggest, “That always cheers you up!”

It’s true, Savanna has always loved going to the supermarket, and buying everything she could ever want. Now that Niall is away, she can have things and know that they won’t be eaten by her always ravenous boyfriend when she’s not looking.

She seems to perk up at the idea, asking me if I’ll watch Clary while she goes and showers and gets dressed. I sit with my Goddaughter, and watch her jam crackers into her tiny mouth using her tiny fists. Her face is already covered in marmite, and I can’t help but laugh at her, taking a photo of her and sending it to Harry.

Is it bad that I hope Niall and Sav die so we can inherit this crazy child?

Yes, I’m telling Niall!! Don’t worry, we’ll have our own someday xx

I know we’ve always wanted kids, but after what happened with our baby, I’ve been terrified of the thought of trying again, unsure if I can survive through another traumatic experience like the last time. Every time I see Harry with Clarice, my heart just expands so much, I feel like it will explode right out of my chest. There is something about men and babies that just… I can’t even describe how much I want to wake up in the morning to Harry bouncing our baby in his arms, leaning against the kitchen counter or something. So simple, but so complicated. I’m scared to want it. Scared to go through another pregnancy, the fear in itself could be enough to turn things bad again.

Turning my attention back to Clary, I try to push those thoughts out of my head. I’m on the pill anyway, so it’s not something I need to think about for a while yet.

The tiny human starts to grizzle and squirm about in her chair, so I figure she’s had enough and haul her out of the chair, holding her at arms length so she can’t wipe her marmite covered face and hands on any of my clothes. I take her upstairs to her bedroom and plant her down on her change table, grabbing a wipe out to clean her face and hands, making her clean again.

This is so exciting, I want to dress her. I pick her up and rest her on my hip, walking over to the wardrobe and filing through her clothes, deciding on a wee gingham dress (x) with some black tights on underneath and some teeny weeny black vans that make me want to die because of how small and adorable they are. This kid is the most trendy wee girl out there, maybe a trendy as Lux.

When we finally get out of the house and pile into Sav’s car, we prematurely put on some Michael Buble’s Christmas album to listen to on our drive to the supermarket. While Christmas is still quite a while away, we’ve always been such big fans of the season - part of the reason we decided to move over here is because of how well the do Christmas in England.

Ten minutes later, we arrive at the supermarket, and I can tell Sav is excited already, by some miracle, we get Clary’s sleeping body out of her carseat and into the seat of the trolley without waking her. Poor wee thing needs the sleep, and the trip will be much more enjoyable without her screaming the whole way through because of her teeth.

It’s obvious that a few people notice us, but thankfully most of them give us our space, not wanting to disturb us on our food shopping trip. I grab a trolley of my own, knowing that I’m going to get just as excited as her and buy so much food to take home and binge eat while I watch tv in bed.

We stroll around the aisles, filling our trollies with goodies, but also the necessities like broccoli and loo paper. I walk down the baking aisle and get inspired, adding cake tins, muffin tins, tiny little loaf tins and an array of cookie cutters into my trolley. I’ll be twice the size when Harry get’s back. I’m quite good at eating my feelings.

Harry calls mid shop, “Hey trouble” I answer, not forgetting how much I miss him already. “Hey yourself, we just got in to Germanyyyyyyyy” he wails excitedly, arguable one of his favourite places.

“Well make sure you eat lots of bratwurst and pretzels for me then!” I suggest, directing my trolley back to the aisle where they kept the pretzels, grabbing some for myself. “I can’t eat, I’m too excited I think I might PUKE” he informs me, and I laugh, glad that he is having a good time already.

“Well get on with it then, I’m very busy having a lot of fun at the supermarket” I announce, he fakes jealousy, I know he’ll be having a much more exciting time than me right now.

“Miss you already” he professes, making kissy noises into the phone, “I miss you too” I respond, keeping myself together, it’s only been hours, it hasn’t even been a day yet.

We hang up and I loop back around the aisles until I find Savanna and Clarice. “I want to go to the pet store” I inform her, she looks at me and her eyes narrow, suspicious. “Alright, just to look though” she utters, before adding the final few things to her heaped trolley.

Through the checkout, the cashier man smiles at me awkwardly as he notices two young girls in the checkout next to us trying to sneakily snap a picture of me. I’m literally buying groceries, do they seriously need a picture of what food I’m buying?

I suddenly feel a little embarrassed of all the junk I’m buying, knowing that people are watching me, it makes me feel self conscious. I do my best to ignore the girls, and pay for my shopping, loading the reusable bags back into my trolley and following Sav back out to her car. We load the groceries into the boot and wake Clary up to get her out of the trolley and take her to the pet store.

My annoyance at the camera wielding girls fades, as my excitement for the pet store bubbles up, adding a skip in my stride as we cross the parking lot on foot to enter.

I can’t keep a smile off my face as we walk in, floor to ceiling fish tanks filled with the most beautiful fish to our right, and large cages with colourful birds to our left, and this is only just the beginning. We walk around, Clary’s upset at being woken all but forgotten as she coos at all the creatures, softly patting the rabbits as we pass them, and move onto the main event.

It looks as though the RSPCA is having some kind of visit, with play pens filled put puppies and kittens in the middle of the store. I clutch Sav’s arm, digging my fingers in, almost having a heart attack at the sight of it. “Shit” Sav groans, seeing the look of sheer adoration on my face as I stare at the puppies, moving closer until I’m leaning over the side of the pen, my arms reaching out at them like a baby reaching out for a lollipop.

A fluffy little guy waddles over to me and my heart just about explodes as it rolls over and offers it’s belly to me for a scratch, the others get the idea and all follow the first pup over to where my hands are.

Beside me, Sav gets down on her knees and shows Clary the puppy, the little girl clapping and squealing with excitement, just like me.

“Can I pick one up?” I ask the volunteer girl, watching the pens, she nods “Of course! These little guys and girls are 8 weeks old and looking for a home”

“Oh God, don’t tell her that” Savanna groans, “Harry is going to kill me”

I hear nothing, as I pick up the smallest little guy of the litter and hold him up in front of my face. My eyes watering due to the sheer cuteness of this pup. Although he is the smallest, he’s still big for an 8 week old pup. He looks up at me as I hold him in my arms, patting his soft fur and falling in love with him.

“Are they German Shepherds?” I ask, wondering why the RSPCA has purebred dogs, I mostly expect them to have mixed breeds. I’ve always loved German Shepherds, I’m not a fan of smaller dogs because I was bitten by my Nana’s dog when I was younger. But big dogs…

“Yep, a mix of long haired and short haired in this litter, we picked them up from a breeder that needed to urgently move home to the States because of family issues. So we’ve got to find these little guys a new forever home.” she answers. I can feel any resistance I had before crumble with every moment that passes.

Harry is gone, for weeks and months at a time…

And our house is rather large, and can be extremely lonely…

I have always wanted a dog…

Especially a German Shepherd…

But Harry might not want a dog…

I shouldn’t decide something like this without him…

But also, he wouldn’t have the heart to make me get rid of it…

“I’ll take him” I blurt out, and Sav throws her arms up in the air, cursing the day she agreed to enter a pet shop with me.

“Oh excellent! Now we’ve only got to find one more home for this last little girl” the volunteer says, joyfully. She’s doing this on purpose, whats her name? I squint my eyes to read her badge, Joy. Oh great, even her name is happy.

I bite my lip and stare at the last girl pup, and Savanna knows exactly what I’m thinking…

“Blair for Christ’s sake, one is enough-”

“But what if he gets lonely!?!? He will miss his sister” I insist, opening my other arm to pick up the last girl pup she reaches a paw up to my face and licks my cheek.

My emotions get too much for me and I burst out crying. “I’LL TAKE THEM BOTH” I wail, cursing their adorable little puppy faces for rendering me so powerless. (x)

“Blair-”

“LOOK AT THEM” I insist, bringing them closer to her, and she reaches out her hands instinctively to pat their tiny noses. “They are pretty cute…” she trails off, just as mesmerised as I am. “Mama” Clary grizzles, wanting to be lifted up so she can touch the puppies.

“Gentle, sweetie” Sav tells her, allowing her to stroke them with her pudgy little hands.

“Here, we can pop them back in the pen while we sort everything out. Do you have everything you need at home?” Joy asks us, and I shake my head as I reluctantly put my new puppies back into the pen to play with their already adopted brothers and sisters one more time before I take them home. Joy puts a paper collar around their necks so we know they’re mine.

She walks us through everything we need, and I have a field day picking out plush beds, a large selection of toys, bowls, shampoo’s, brushes, collars, leashes, treats, worming tablets and flea treatments for later on, as well as the best food for their breed and age. I also can’t resist buying them each a winter coat, because it is getting colder out, and, well, I just couldn’t resist. It may seem like a impulsive action deciding to adopt two puppies on the stop - and it is, but that doesn’t mean I’m not ready to take them on. I’ve always grown up with dogs, and since I’ve been living in the UK there has definitely been a hole in my life without having a dog around.

I think about how much fuller the house will feel, when Harry is away, I’ll have these two fur balls to keep me company, also another great selling point when the time comes to tell Harry, is that they make excellent guard dogs.

Also I just love them, like a lot. So he won’t be able to say no to me, he’ll love them just as much as I do.

I sign the adoption papers and pay for everything, overwhelmed with the excitement of whats happening. I definitely did not expect to come home with one puppy when I left home this morning, let along two…

It’s a struggle getting everything into Sav’s car, considering the boot was already filled with groceries. I thank Joy one last time as I hop into the passenger seat, with a cardboard box full of puppies on my knee. I can’t seem to stop crying whenever I look at them. They’re sleeping peacefully now, but I know they are going to be filled with excitement and energy when we get back home.

While Sav definitely questioned my decision, I can tell she is smitten by the pups too, as she drives us back to mine and we unload everything into the house, letting the puppies sleep for a little while in their box while I race around puppy-proofing the house. Basically just picking up everything off the floor.

I arrange their beds on the kitchen floor, deciding to set them up in a room where it doesn’t really matter much if they have a toilet incident on the floor. I want to cry again, my heart just feels so full all of a sudden, just because of these two nameless pups.

They’re still sleeping soundly in their box, but my excitement gets the better of me and I can’t resist patting them and waking them up, my eyes watering again every time they look up at me or yawn or do anything remotely cute. I pick them up out of the box and take them straight outside to the garden so they can go toilet. The boy pup goes straight away, on the grass, heck, maybe this will be easier than I thought. I should probably get a dog door installed or something to they can go in and out as they please.

The girl, however, doesn’t want to leave my side, keeping a paw on my foot at all times to make sure I don’t run away. I sit down on the grass and scratch behind her ear, watching her brother run around and sniff all the smells in the garden. “Doh” Clary attempts to say dog, as she crouches down in front of me and gently pats the girl on the top of her head, squealing in delight as she tries to lick Clary’s face. Sav laughs at the two of them, taking a seat beside me and shaking her head again.

“Have you thought of any names yet?” she asks, not wanting to just call them ‘the boy’ and ‘the girl’

“Nope, not yet, I should probably talk to Harry first and see if he has any ideas.” I respond, praying that he won’t be too mad.

“You should Face Time him after the show and tell him” she suggests, before recalling the fact that she still had groceries in the car and needed to get home to put them away as well as needing to put Clary down for bed. I can’t believe it’s almost tea time already. I wave them off from the front door, the puppies lurking around in the hallways behind me, smelling everything in sight.

I shut and lock the door, bending down and letting the puppies race over to me, I scratch behind their ears, “This is your home now” I tell them excitedly, watching them run back down the hallway to explore the house further.

***

I bite my lip anxiously as I wait for Harry to pick up my Face Time call. A few short seconds pass, and his knackered face appears on my screen, a smile taking over his face as he sees me “Hey Blair Bear” he breathes, his cheeks are red, as they always are when he gets over-tired. “Harry…” I begin, my stomach in knots.

His eyebrows furrow in worry, “What’s wrong Bee” he demands, thinking I’m upset, when really it’s quite the opposite.

“I have something to tell you…” I trail off, looking away from the camera and down at the sleeping puppies curled up on the couch beside me.

“What’s going on!?” he asks, truly starting to sound like something is very wrong.

“Please don’t be mad” I groan, “What have you done, Blair?” his voice deadly serious.

“Well, the house is just so lonely, I can’t bear it.” I tell him, trying to explain to him the feeling I felt once he was gone, the house being so big and all…

“What have you done?” he repeats, and I guess I have to tell him now, or better, show him.

I swap the camera around and point it at the two sleeping adorable angels next to me. He leans towards his screen, his eyes squinting, trying to make out what it is I’m showing him.

Realisation hits him, “Blair…. Did you get a puppy?” he asks, his voice stern, I’m not liking his tone.

I clear my throat, nervous. “Well… actually…. I got two”

Harry says nothing, just closes his eyes and pinches the bridge of his nose.

“Please don’t be mad, PLEASE baby, Sav and I we went to the pet shop and the RSPCA was there with these puppies and they’re pure bred German Shepherds, Harry. I’ve always wanted one and when I picked the little guy up he just gave me this look and I couldn’t leave him behind, I couldn’t and then the lady said that there was just one girl left in the litter that still needed a home and I thought it would be better for us to have two dogs so they can be friends and these ones are brother and sister so they’ve already bonded and… and… the house, when you left it was just awful, it’s great and I love it here but when you’re not here its awful and big and empty and now I feel like it’s okay again, I have these two and they’re great guard dog’s Harry I promise, I-”

“Ohmygod STOP” he interrupts my ridiculous ramble, and I go quiet, awaiting his response. The camera is still focused on the dogs and I reach out to scratch the girl pup, she rolls away from her brother, yawning, while the boy pup stretches his front legs above his head before they both settle again.

Harry just watches them, becoming infatuated and he’s not even seeing them in real life.

He sighs, exhausted. “I don’t know about this, one dog is a lot of work, but two?” he begins. Honestly, at this point, I’d probably choose the dogs over him. Okay that’s obviously a lie but it would be a tough choice.

“It’s not like I’ve got anything else on my plate right now, I need this, Harry. I need them.” I explain, already feeling so attached to them.

He huffs, “Fine” he surrenders, and I loop quietly in excitement.

“Can you think of any names?” I ask, turning the camera back to my ecstatic face. He grins back at me, and I know he just loves seeing me happy. He’d do anything for me, I truly believe that.

“Frankie for the girl” he decides, the name suits perfectly, I’m glad he has such great taste in names.

“And the boy?”

Harry thinks about it for a moment, “Edgar”

“Frankie and Edgar… Edgar and Frankie… I love them” I exclaim, feeling the happiest I’ve felt in months. I’ve got my love, and now I’ve got my pups. Life is looking up.

Please message me with your thoughts on the story so far so I know if you’re liking it/hating it! It will pick up again in the next chapter and be a little more dramatic xx

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