#thinking of the stuff he said in episode. uh. nine?? about having a good meal to share with someone

[sollucets]

they are inSUFFERABLE

[mamawolfblood]

Total drama Surprise

14 Brunch of Disgustingness

Chris: Last time on Total Drama Island… A note from a secret admirer got Gwen and Bridgette up in each other’s business. DJ accidentally knocked his boy Trent off the airplane, sending him deep into the Earth’s crust. Leshawna showed everybody how to hang on for dear life on the moose ride. Harold showed himself to be an ace flag-catcher, until he caught sight of Heather’s… unmentionables, causing him to crash his way right off the island, but not without a little canoodling time with the fair Leshawna. And now, let’s see what’s in store for our campers on this week’s episode of Total. Drama. Island!

Iris found it odd that Chef did want her help today for breakfast. Walking and sat on the dock looking at the moon. It was calm a peaceful just the gentle sound of water. "You couldn't sleep either?" Duncan said making the teen jump. He chuckled sitting behind me. His arms wrapped me into a warm embrace. His chin ontop of her head. No words needed to be spoken they just watch the sun rise.

It was something she didn't want to end but nothing lasts forever. The campers made their way to the mess hall. Before Iris could enter Duncan grabbed her arm. "Duncan what is it?" She asked looking up at him. But the carage he gathered soon turned to cold feet making him let go. "Nothing let's see what your dad has up his sleeve today." Damb so close but no big deal. The girl thought stepping inside sitting with her team.

Iris pov

My dad  Was acting weird whenever someone tried to ask about food.  Chef would snicker and laugh along with him. " OK seriously enough, what is wrong with the two of you?" I asked making them look at me. Its no secret I get cranky when I don't get food.

Chris: Congratulations to the remaining ten campers for reaching the halfway mark in the competition! You’ll all be on the jury for the final episode.

Geoff: We got the power! Yeah!

Chris: The two teams will become one next week. But first, all the girls will be moved to the Gopher cabin and all the guys will stay in the Bass cabin. This week’s challenge is as old as history itself. A battle of the sexes [Lindsay blows a raspberry at the guys] After everyone is settled in, I’ll announce the challenge. And then, you’ll have an uh… bite to eat.[He and Chef snicker] Ready for a little good news? This week, no one will be kicked off. [everyone cheers] It’s all for reward and it’s a good one. Okay, time to relocate. Let’s move! [He and Chef snicker]

Heather started kissing up to Bridgette. It was sickening to watch so I got up and left.

(Confessional: Bridgette)

Bridgette: I was a bit worried about being the only new girl on the team. Then I figured it can’t be that bad. I don’t buy that hype about how well guys get along and how catty girls can be.

(Confessional Off)

I was sitting outside when Bridgette walked over. "Hi Bridgette have fun in the lions den." I said before laughing.

Leshawna: Nobody’s leaving until I find out who ate my pudding pockets!

Heather: I ate them. So what?

Leshawna: Whoa! Pump the brakes a minute! You’re “so what”ing me? That’s my food. No one touches my food!

Heather: Whatever, deal with it. It serves you right for leaving your junk everywhere, especially that. That is bugging me.

Leshawna: Yeah, it’d bug me too if I didn’t have anything in the front or in the back to shake.

Heather: Yeah? Well, you’ve got so much junk in your trunk, your jeans should come with a trash compactor!

Leshawna: Ooh! You want a piece of this?

Bridgette: Uh-oh.

Heather: Bridgette! It’s so good to see you! Come in, come in! Welcome to our cabin. We’re like a big family in here.

Gwen: Big and dysfunctional.

Heather: Anything you need, just yell.

Bridgette: Thanks for the awesome welcome, Heather.

Lindsay: Welcome to the club! It’ll be so much fun! As long as you do everything Heather says. Ow!

Heather [after she laughs] : Yeah, we love joking around here at girls cabin. I made sure your bunk was next to mine–

Lindsay: Hey! That’s my bed. Ow!

Heather: So we can talk and share and really get to know each other.

Bridgette: Okay, yeah! Hey, thanks everybody, I can’t wait to get to know all of–

Heather: Okay! Plenty of time to chat later! Let’s unpack.

Lindsay: This is great! I bet we’re getting along way better than the guys.

I honestly hope things are going well. This den of vipers is about to explode. If on cue I heard this.

Bridgette: Let’s build bridges, not walls!

Heather: Take your pick.

dramatic music plays as Bridgette picks Gwen and Leshwana's side

Heather: You just dug your own grave.

Bridgette: Let’s try to get along, okay? Otherwise, the guys are going to cream us, don’t you get it? Tough room.

[Chef and Chris snicker]

Heather: Stop doing that!

Chris: Let’s just tell them… Today’s challenge is… The Brunch of Disgustingness! You’ll be getting a nine-course meal. Each member of each team must finish each dish. You will not know if the next dish is grosser than the last, not as gross, or just as gross. Just that it’ll likely be… gross.

Chef: Tell them what they’ll get if they win, Chris!

Chris: The winning team spends two days at a local five-star resort where they’ll be pampered, eat gourmet nosh, and be given antibiotics against anything they may have caught while participating in this challenge! The losing team will go hungry tonight and spend the next two days here. On Total Drama Island. With Chef.

The first round was bull testicles and the point went to the girls. Oh those boys could handle a little meatball.

Chris: The score now stands at one for the girls and zero for the guys! And now, the next course in… The Brunch of Disgustingness! You guys like pizza?

Owen: I could eat pizza any time with anything on it!

Chris: Anything? How about live grasshopper pizza with tangy jellyfish sauce and live anchovies?

Owen: I could eat pizza any time with anything on it!

Chris: How about live grasshopper pizza with tangy jellyfish sauce and live anchovies?

Ok even I thought it was gross please do let me get sick.

Leshawna couldn't eat it giving the guys a point making us tied. The girls freaked on her but honestly not a big deal. "Guys its not a big deal. We will win the next round so stop complaining.

(Confessional: Chef)

Chef: I was excited about the next dish. I made it from scratch.

(Confessional Off)

Chris: All right, who’s ready for the third course? Spaghetti! Well, actually, Earthworms covered in snail slime sauce and hairballs.

I barfed when it was placed infront of me.

(Confessional )

Iris- WHO THE FUCK THOUGHT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?! THIS SHIT IS FUCKING DISGUSTING!

*static *

(End of Confessionals)

The guys got another point and now I am getting aggravated.

Chris: All right everybody. Time for course number four. No nine-course meal would be complete without soup. Today’s special is French Bunyon soup with hangnail crackers.

(Confessional: Geoff)

Geoff: I think they just use stuff from Chef’s bathroom floor.

(Confessional Off)

Bridgette gasps

DJ strains to eat

Trent gags

Lindsay: I didn’t even taste it.

Chris: The girls win again![Gwen, Heather, Leshawna, and Lindsay cheer] The score’s now tied up at two.

(Confessional: Bridgette)

Bridgette: I think the girls really made a breakthrough as a team.

(Confessional Off)

The rounds continue and the barfing too. But we made it to the final round.

"Oh god I think I'm going to be sick." I said trying to hold it down but I dont think I can.

C

hris: Wow, it’s still tied up. We’re down to the last course in the challenge. It’s delicious dolphin wieners. Hot dogs made of dolphin.

Bridgette [after she gasps] : But dolphins are our friends!

Heather: What are you waiting for? It’s already dead. If you don’t eat it, we don’t win.

Bridgette: Ooh, I can’t! I’m a surfer! I swim with dolphins!

Heather: Eat it!

Bridgette: No! I’m not doing it. You can’t pressure me.

The hell we can't grabbing a hot dog off the plate, and then proceeded to shove it down her throat.

"I'M NOT LOSING THIS BECAUSE YOU CAN'T GROW A PAIR! THE DAMB THING IS DEAD SO SUCK IT UP AND STUFF YOU FUCKING FACE!" They all looked at me Bridgette had tears in her eyes. She coughed it all up.

DJ: I’m with you sister. I’m not eating no dolphin.

(Confessional : Chef)

Chef: I slave over a hot stove cooking dolphin. No appreciation!

(Confessional Off)

Chris: Okay, enough. We’ll solve this by having an eat-off. The one who can drink the most shot glasses of fresh, delicious blended cockroach will be the winner. This unlikely satisfying blend of eight different cockroaches is vitamin rich for your balanced lifestyle. On your mark, get set, go!

Owen and Leshwana drink the cockroaches.

Leshawna groans two times

Chris: Owen wins!

DJ, Duncan, Geoff, and Trent cheer

Leshawna groans

Heather: Leshawna, you are completely useless!

Leshawna: Oh, uh-oh, something’s coming up. [puking]

DJ pukes

Trent:pukes

Chef: Grr… [retches]

Chris retches

Duncan and Geoff Puke

The “elimination” music plays.

Chris: The guys are the big winners today. And the girls go their separate ways. Two definitive cliques have been cemented. [Heather grunts and the door rattles] For now. What shocking surprises are in store for our campers next week as they head for the big merge? Tune in on Total. Drama. Island!

[etherrealoblivion]

Chapter Four: Supper

Table Of Contents

Fic summary: Owning a bookstore in downtown D.C. came with its fair share of downsides. You never thought that being the target of a serial killer would be one of them. Luckily, a nice FBI agent by the name of Spencer Reid is assigned to watch over you. What's the worst that could happen?

Pairing: Spencer Reid x Reader

Words: 1,748

MASTERLIST

~

A sudden loud beep had you shooting upright in bed. You leapt up and put your ear to the door. Rather than sinister noises, you heard the faint humming of a very familiar theme song.

You cracked open the bedroom door, peeking into the kitchen where Spencer was bustling around with a frying pan and a spatula with a focused expression on his face, humming the theme music to Doctor Who under his breath.

It was actually kind of adorable. You pushed open the bedroom door further to get a better look, but the door creaked and Spencer spun around, withdrawing his gun and pointing it square in your face.

“I’m sorry!” you squealed, throwing your hands up in surrender.

He quickly holstered his gun and ran over to you. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. Are you okay?”

“Yes. Yes, I’m fine,” you tried to laugh. “A little shaken but I’m okay. Really!” you added after a doubtful look from him.

His eyes were a deep hazel that seemed to peer into your soul. His hands felt good on your shoulders, clutching you tightly in comfort. It had been a while since you’d had, well, any physical contact. He was so tall he had to lean down to level his face with yours.

Suddenly, he seemed to realize how close the two of you were and stepped back, clearing his throat. 

“I was, uh, trying to make dinner.”

“I can see that,” you said playfully, with a glance at the kitchen in disarray.

“Yeah. I’m not the best cook. I can memorize thousands of recipes in minutes but i’ve never seemed to master the execution.”

You hesitated. 

“Thousands of recipes in minutes? What are you a genius?” you laughed.

“Scientifically, yes. An I.Q. score over 160 classifies someone as a genius.”

Your jaw dropped.

“You’re kidding?”

He shook his head, slipping his hands into his pockets and shrugging.

“Nope.”

“Wait so you can read like, a thousand words per minute?”

“Twenty-thousand,” he corrected, stepping back into the kitchen to continue cooking.

“Twenty-thousand!? That’s impossible!”

“Actually, the unconscious brain can process up to eleven million bits of information per second. It’s just a matter of being able to—“

“—to access the information from your subconscious,” you said, cutting him off. “Wow. That’s impressive.”

He looked at you in shock.

“What’s even more impressive is that you finished a sentence for me.”

“Sorry,” you blushed.

“No! No, I mean, not a lot of people can, erm, keep up. When you start college at fourteen, not many people expect you to be smarter than them. Then when they find out how smart you really are, it can be intimidating.”

Your mouth twitched up into a smile. Spencer was impressive, for sure, but he was also entertaining. Not in a make-fun-of kind of way, but he made you laugh. Maybe this wouldn’t be so bad. 

“Supper’s ready!”

You stifled a laugh.

“Supper?”

“What?” he looked over at you, reaching up to get two plates.

“Who says supper? Are you eighty?” you teased. 

“I’m twenty-six!” he said indignantly.

You froze.

“Wait, really?” He nodded. “You’re only twenty-six and you’re a prominent FBI agent? How?”

“Genius I.Q, three Ph.D.’s, and my irresistible charm,” he said, giving a goofy smile.

“Three PhDs? How? I’m getting a PhD and I can barely keep up with the workload!”

“You‘re getting a Ph.D.? That wasn’t in your police report. What’s it in?” he asked as he filled your plates. 

“Actually, I’m working on two.”

“Two!?”

You nodded, happy that you’d been able to shock him.

“Yep. Linguistics and Philosophy. I like Philosophy better but Linguistics is more challenging. The library won't let you into the section with the really good language books without a certain clearance. But I've actually nearly finished my thesis for it. What?” you added, noticing him staring at you.

“You’re working on two doctorates simultaneously?”

“Surprised you’re not the only genius?” you joked, taking your plate from him, then, upon seeing what he’d made, bursting out into laughter. 

“What?” he looked genuinely confused, which only made you laugh harder.

“Bacon?” you said through gasps. “Bacon and pancakes? You are aware it’s—“ you glanced at the clock, “—nine forty at night?”

“Gimme a break!” he said defensively. “It’s the only thing I can cook. The word ‘cook‘ being a generous descriptor.” 

It was better than Doritos and bourbon for dinner, your go to meal. You were just glad you’d had the stuff to make dinner. It would be very awkward trying to explain your unhealthy eating habits to Spencer.

You didn’t have a dining table. Anyway, you usually ate on the couch and watched something on TV. That was normal nowadays right? Whatever. Spencer didn’t seem to mind which was good enough for you.

“So, um,” he said nervously, pulling out a pad of paper and pencil. “There’s a few things I need to go over with you.”

You nodded, remembering the situation you were in.

“Is there anyone you can think of who might have shown a sort of stalking behavior before? They’d be unreliable, constantly late, not being able to stick to a schedule?”

“The only person I know like that is Claire, one of my co-workers, but she’s not a stalker, she's just always late to work. Honestly, the only people I really know are my co-workers, some people from school, and Steve, my friend.”

“The FBI is going to need a list of people you see frequently. If you could put that together as soon as you’re ready. Also, all your credit card information will have to be analyzed, everywhere it’s been used. Whoever accesses your card, even for something as small as a stick of gum, has the opportunity to use that information to find your name, your address, your workplace—”

“Ok. I get it. People I see frequently and my credit card info. Gotta warn you, there’s not much I buy with it other than books and coffee. Then again, there’s the occasional splurge at the mall.”

“Well, the FBI needs all of it.”

You nodded softly, staring at the bacon on your plate. He hadn’t said I need he’d said The FBI needs. You weren’t sure what that meant exactly.

“Do you want to watch something?” he said, gesturing toward the TV. “It might be a good distraction?”

“Yeah,” you put your plate on the coffee table, noticing that you’d barely eaten. “Yeah that sounds good. Could you just put something on? I don’t wanna choose.”

He nodded and picked up the remote.

The only thing he really knew you liked was Doctor Who so he put on a random episode. You let the TV become background noise to your thoughts as you stared off into space.

Spencer was comforting to be around. He helped take your mind off the situation you were in. You looked over at him on the couch, long legs crossed under him. He had taken off his tie and shoes and changed into more casual clothes: a jumper and some jeans. He was absentmindedly fiddling with the throw blanket between you on the couch. 

His hands are so long, you thought. Wait, why were you thinking that? You shouldn’t be thinking about his hands. Or how long they were. Or what they could—

“Are you alright?”

You felt yourself twitch, startled by his sudden acknowledgment. Even more embarrassing, you were sure he’d seen you staring at his hands.

“Yeah, sorry.”

“Hey,” he moved closer on the couch, “you don’t have to be sorry. It’s alright to not be okay.”

They were just words, they didn’t help. What did help was the care behind them. He wasn’t just saying it to comfort you, he actually meant it. To him, it really was ok to not be okay.

“Thank you Spencer, that actually helps.”

You glanced at the clock. It was 10:26.

“I should do some schoolwork,” you said, cringing afterward. You didn’t want him to think of you as some school kid.

“Okay!” he chirped happily, standing as you stood like a proper gentleman. “I’ll just be out here. Is it okay if I keep watching?” The episode played on, The Doctor dangling from a rope above London. “I really like this episode,” he said sheepishly.

“Sure,” you chuckled. “I’ll be in my room and please let me know if you need anything, seriously.”

He nodded assent, but you weren’t sure if he actually would. He seemed a little withdrawn, comforting you when you needed but keeping his distance when possible. It’s his job to keep you safe, you reminded yourself. Don’t get excited.

An hour later your eyes watered from the strain of keeping them open. But you were almost done with this paper. Sure, it was due next week but you were on a roll. Using an allusion to the Holocaust to support the point that Hollywood writing is riddled with antisemitism. In the morning, it might not sound as clever, but to your sleep-deprived brain, it was poetry.

A light knock on your door startled you.

“Come in,” you croaked.

Spencer peeked into your room, squinting.

“It’s pitch black in here,” he said, reaching for the light.

You shrieked as the light filled the room, blinding you.

“TOO BRIGHT!” you yelled, slamming your computer shut and throwing your arms over your eyes.

“Sorry! Sorry!” he fumbled with the switch and clicked it off. The room was now shrouded in darkness, neither of you able to see yet.

“Are you there, Spencer?”

“Yeah.”

You were both whispering. Why was it that people whispered in the dark? 

“You should try and get some sleep,” Spencer said. He was becoming more visible as your eyes adjusted to the light. He had changed into a blue set of pajamas. The fabric looked so soft.

“Yeah,” you muttered, moving toward the bed, “Yeah, I’ll do that.” 

Your bed felt scratchy and cold. Just last night getting in bed had been such a relaxing experience. So much had changed in a day.

“I’ll be right in the next room if you need anything,” 

“Hmm,” you hummed.

Spencer padded back out of your room.

The moment before the door closed you thought you heard a very faint, “Good night, Y/N.” But before you could wonder if it had happened or not, you were dropping off into a deep sleep. Knowing that you were safe with Spencer in the next room.

~

Taglist: @aperrywilliams @mjloveskids666 @dolanfivsosxox @criesinreid @fanficsrmylife @racerparker @sammypotato67 @lukeskisses @reidcrimes @you-had-me-at-hello-dear @l0ve-0f-my-life @thatsonezesty13

[jenoptimist]

pocket-sized!sicheng

There was something to be said about Yongqin’s tardiness when neither you or Kun are surprised when he didn’t show up at the time that the two of you secretly agreed between each other to tell him. In true Yongqin fashion, he was late at the later time that he was given. As you and Kun flipped through the menu for the nth time, you traded plausible reasons as to why your friend was late. The last time he was late it was because he got distracted by Yukhei’s challenge to see who could stuff more jelly beans in their mouths, and the time before that, he claimed that he was helping Kunhang and Yangyang figure out whether or not the pavement was hot enough to fry an egg–their hypothesis was a bust and they ran away from the scene of the crime, leaving the raw egg behind until Kun berated them and made the three of them clean it up under his supervision.

Just as the waitress was about to approach your table for the fourth time, Yongqin finally made an appearance. As he beelined towards your table in a hurry, you shot an apologetic smile at your waitress as she suppressed a laugh, already accustomed to you and your group of friends, and nodded at you cordially. You would definitely be tipping her more than you usually did, she was always one of your favorite member of staff.

“Sorry! Sorry!” Yongqin said breathlessly as he plopped down onto his seat, placing his tote bag on the ear of the chair rather than on the floor. “I was actually going to be early this time!” He declared. At the deadpan expression that you shared with Kun, he added, “but I helped an old lady cross the street and then she started having a conversation with me.”

It was certainly unsurprising that that was the reason why he was late. Dejun must have instilled even more compassion towards the elderly in him as he did with the rest of you by volunteering your group at nursing homes and the like. Once you gave your orders and have settled in, the three of you talked about university and the upcoming movies that you wanted to watch the next time all seven of you went out together.

“Oh! Actually,” Yongqin spoke after a small pause, mouth full of pad thai, “that old lady from this morning gave me something.”

“Don’t speak when your mouth is full, you could choke or something.” Kun chided as the other man roughly patted at his pockets, grumbling to himself as he searched for whatever it was that she had given him.

“Sorry dad,” he replied sarcastically, coaxing a chuckle from you and a playful shove from Kun that was successfully dodged. “Ah ha!” He exclaimed, thrusting his left hand in front of you to show off a large white bean. “Tadah!”

You shared a look with Kun before returning your incredulous stare at Yongqin, who was still smiling excitedly. “She,” you paused for extra emphasis at your disbelief, “gave you a bean?”

“It’s not just ‘a bean’!” He huffed defensively, throwing you a mock glare.

“Uh huh,” Kun hummed, “what it then?” He challenged before taking a large sip of his water. You leaned back so that your shoulder blades were touching the back of your seat as you folded your arms across your chest, staring at Yongqin expectantly. He mumbled something incoherent that made both you and Kun lean towards him in hopes of hearing him better, but to no avail. “What did you say?” Kun asked, face pinched in confusion.

“It’s a”–Yongqin’s eyes swung back and forth between the two of you as he licked his lips–“magic bean.” Fortunately you weren’t drinking your soda because you surely would have choked on it, or did spit-take like in that one episode of iCarly, because the minute the words left his mouth, you keeled into yourself as you exploded into fits of laughter. Kun was quick to join you, unsuccessfully stifling his laugh behind his hand. “Guys,” the blond man whined, “it’s not funny!”

When your howls of laughter died down into small giggles you said, “so wait, is this going to be like Jack and the Beanstalk? Are you going to, like, steal golden eggs and sell them for tons of money?” Your statement had Kun slapping a hand on his thigh, practically crying as he continued laughing.

“Uh, no?” The fact that his reply sounded like a question made you want to laugh all over again. “Okay you know what?” Yongqin asked, clearly sounding like he had enough of the two of you, “if you think it isn’t magic then why don’t you grow it?” Never one to back down from a challenge, you agreed. “Awesome! The lady said it’ll bring luck which is good ‘cause you’ll need it to get your degree.”

You squawked in return, knowing that you were unable to come up with a witty comeback since you knew that the road to becoming an engineer was a tough one.

From there, the three of you obliterated your meals, paid and left in search of a thing of compost and a plain pot, which you made Yongqin promise he would decorate before you planted the bean, from a nearby garden centre.

You planted it that same evening, rearranging the items on your desk that stood against the window so that you could position the small pot in an area with optimum sunlight–a difficult feat since it was nearing November.

Unlike in Jack and the Beanstalk, you didn’t wake up to a thick, massive beanstalk that punched it’s way through your ceiling and into the sky. What you did wake up to was a cute little sprout that had you snapping a picture to send into your groupchat so that you could coo over it to your friends.

*

The whole situation had to be a dream. In fact, you were ninety-nine percent sure that you were still asleep. It was entirely impossible that your plant, which at that point had grown tall with a bud the size of a pistachio on top, had disappeared and left a tiny person in its wake. The little guy was still asleep, curled in on himself and blissfully unaware of the thoughts racing in your mind. There were numerous questions that you wanted to ask, the main ones being: if you weren’t dreaming, how was any of this real? Was the bean that Yongqin was given magical after all? And, also, how was he fully clothed? However the big block that prevented you from believing that the situation was a reality, was that it just wasn’t possible scientifically.

Your internal freak-out came to a screeching halt when he began to move slowly, eyes blinking away sleep as he stood up and stretched. Unsure of what to do, you continued to stare at him in disbelief as he scanned the room. When his gaze landed on you, a staring contest ensued. Neither of you looked away and you refused to melt at how cute he was with his tousled black hair and doe-like dark brown eyes.

“Uh,” what were you supposed to say when a tiny person took over your plant? “Hi,” you welcomed, hoping that your smile wasn’t as awkward as your voice. “My name’s y/n, it’s nice to meet you.”

The boy’s (or was a he man? how did tiny people age?) expression went from blank to wary. It was clear that he was fully awake at that point, hunching in on himself as he remained mute. Evidently, he lacked trust in you–if the way he frantically scrambled backward at the step that you took toward him was any indication.

Frowning, you decided to leave the room. You made your way to the kitchen and headed directly towards the fridge. Some sort of peace offering needed to be made. You needed to show that you meant no harm and what better way to do that then to feed him? The state of your fridge was sad but you grabbed the box of strawberries and diced them into tiny pieces.

“I brought you some food.” You announced gently when you stepped back inside your room. You waited patiently as he eyed you for a few moments before slowly making his way down the pot, jumping down your stack of textbooks before sitting by your laptop. “Um, I just cut up some strawberries since it’s the only thing I could find.” You explained as you placed the chopping board of fruit onto your desk.

He stared at it momentarily in curiosity at first before he hesitantly reached out and grabbed a piece. With a quick glance at you, he shoved as much of it as he could inside his mouth. His eyes widened comically, cheeks resembling a chipmunk, as he chewed. After swallowing, he was quick to shovel down the remaining fruit.

“So,” you began as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, “do you have a name that I can call you by?” When he shook his head at you in response, you frowned. “Okay, well, how ‘bout we give you one then?”

The names you stated from the top of your head had him shooting you various expressions of disapproval–the name Yixing had him blowing a raspberry, Yifan had him giving you a thumbs down, at the suggestion of Zitao you received a huff as he folded his arms, and Luhan ended up with him shaking his head violently. There were only so many EXO members you could name him after before you gave up.

“Alright, what about,” you paused. Unfortunately, creativity wasn’t something you possessed. “Sicheng?” It was the name of a kid you went to middle school with. From what you could remember, he sat beside you in a few of your classes and kept to himself. The silent nature of the tiny person reminded you of him. At first you thought it was going to be another fail of a suggestion with the way his face shrewd but then, to your surprise, he nodded in agreement. You couldn’t suppress a giggle when he bashfully pointed at where the strawberries were before making grabby hands. “Okay Sicheng, we can get you more strawberries.”

That had him smiling brilliantly, easily jumping onto the palm of your outstretched hand. You set him on your shoulder and then grabbed the chopping board before heading back down to the kitchen again.

Once Sicheng had gotten his fill of strawberries he sat down against your glass of water, planted his hands on his stomach and closed his eyes as he smiled serenely. Since he loved the fruit so much, you would have to get more of it in the future which would be difficult since they weren’t in season.

“We should go grocery shopping,” Sicheng opened an eye but closed it soon after. “So, what, you wanna just lay there?” His answer was clear by the way he didn’t move from his position. Mouth twisting you said, “we can get more strawberries.” That had him standing up in a flash, raising his arms in the air as he waited for you to carry him up.

Bundled up in a puffer jacket that layered over your hoodie, you stood opposite from your door as you thought about where you could place Sicheng. The pockets of your coat would probably suffocate him and you had the tendency to jam your hands in them at random times. If you placed him on your shoulder like you have been doing so far, other people would spot him in an instant. Unable to find a suitable spot to hide him, you suggested that he stayed at home to which you received a pout. Before you would swear that Yukhei and Yangyang had the cutest pouts but Sicheng definitely took the cake–especially with those puppy eyes of his.

Sicheng’s tiny head poked out of the pocket of your joggers. The only reason why you witnessed his movement was because you kept checking on him, just in case something went awry. He was peering curiously at the mini supermarket you were in, his head wildly swinging back and forth. You knew that he was probably curious and so, after a quick glance around the store, you lightly tapped the crown of his head with the tip of you finger. At your touch he immediately disappeared inside your pocket. You decided to stick two fingers inside his hideout, hoping that he would get the idea and climb onto them. When he did, you gently raised your arm and placed him on your shoulder.

The small sounds of amazement that he created surprised you because you thought that he didn’t, or rather couldn’t, speak at all considering that he only communicated with you using various facial expressions and body movement. Briefly, you wondered how his voice sounded; would it be high or low pitched? Would he speak fast like Dejun and Yangyang did when they were excited about something? Or would he speak similar to Kun, calm and slow? You hoped to find out soon–but only when he was comfortable, of course.

The trek home took longer than usual because you fed into Sicheng’s curiosity and allowed him to walk on his own rather than stuffing him back into your pocket. It was definitely because you loved the way he looked at everything in awe, head whipping back and forth as he took in the scenery. At first you were nervous about setting him down to let him roam freely, afraid that he would run away or somehow alert his presence to the rest of society. But you soon figured out that there was nothing to worry about because he was stealthy and would look back every so often as if he was afraid that you would run away from him.

As you neared your apartment complex, Sicheng climbed onto one of your sneakers and clutched the laces so that he wouldn’t fall off. The sight of him made you titter quietly to yourself as you adjusted your pace so that he wouldn’t swing side to side wildly. When the distance you walked towards the building shortened even further, you could see six familiar figures loitering around the entrance. Before you could usher Sicheng back into his hiding place, Kunhang spotted you and started waving madly as he began running towards you. Yukhei and Yangyang followed in suit and you were thankful when they took the shopping bags away from you, your arms aching at the weight your massive food haul.

“Why are you guys here so early?” You asked as Kunhang placed his arm around your shoulder while you subtly attempted to eye Sicheng. If you were hosting game night, they always came a little after four o’clock in the afternoon.

“We missed you.” Dejun replied as he smiled charmingly, his arm hooked around a box of Clue and Monopoly. Yonqin mocked him, swiping non-existent long hair behind his ear as he batted his eyelashes at him.

Arching a brow you said, “but we faced-timed last night.” When you tapped the electronic key onto the machine on the wall which opened the door, you added, “and we spent our break together yesterday.” Out of all your friends, Dejun’s lunch schedule mirrored yours the most which made university all the more bearable. As Dejun defended his statement, the others teased him like they always did. You didn’t know how he didn’t snap at them, just absorbed their words with a small huff of laughter or faux hits at their general direction.

It was a surprise that you made it to your apartment without the boys noticing Sicheng–he was still gripping onto your laces, peering cautiously at your friends. At some point you needed to introduce Sicheng to them since they were a solid presence in your life. You could already hear Yongqin saying, ‘I told you so!’ since he did tell you that the bean was magic. You already knew that he would reference it in the future when he needed to prove something.

Later on that night, when you all decided to take a short break, you took the opportunity to show them Sicheng. The minute you opened the door and went to remove your sneakers, he immediately slid off of it and zoomed in the direction of your bedroom. You followed him, muttering a weak excuse to your friends and found him shoving your door with all his might. The laugh that escaped you made him cast a playful glare at your direction, huffing as he crossed his arms. After you opened the door he ran to your bed, climbed up the leg and eventually made it up onto your mattress and then walked up to your pillows to flop on them as he closed his eyes. You left the room when you noticed his breathing evening out.

As you relayed your morning to your friends they all looked at you disbelievingly, like you had finally lost your marbles, which you expected. If you were in their position you definitely wouldn’t have believed yourself either. You led them to your room, silencing their words of incredulity by pressing your index finger onto your lips. They played into your request, mumbling something to one another giddily.

“Don’t freak out.” You said as you stood in front of your bed, blocking their view of Sicheng. When they gave you a chorus of affirmatives, you stepped aside to reveal your tiny sized acquaintance. The longer they stared, jaws practically touching the floor, you rambled and showed them the pot as evidence. Luckily you had been a proud parent of your plant, documenting it’s growth to them in your groupchat, as it helped strengthen your story. They knew you would never do anything to harm your beloved plant.

“I- So-” Yongqin struggled to find the right words before settling on exclaiming, “oh my God!” The others murmured something similar to express their wonder. “That means the bean was magic! Oh my God, y/n!” You prepared yourself as he whipped his head towards you, “I told you so!” Then, because he was Yongqin, he launched into a dramatic speech about how none of you should ever doubt him because he was always right and, nice old ladies never lie, y/n.

Yongqin’s lengthy rant was cut short when Kun and Yukhei cooed, followed by the others apart from you and Yongqin. You spun around to find that Sicheng had woken up, looking extremely disgruntled until he caught sight of your friends and scrambled to hide underneath your duvet. You eyed the blond accusingly before you lifted your duvet and found Sicheng huddled into himself, his arms around his bent legs.

“It’s alright Sicheng,” you whispered gently, trying to coax him out of his position. All you got were two dark eyes peeking at you in return. “They’re very nice,” you added to which he moved his gaze to your friends quickly before returning it back to you, “trust me?” 

It felt like a gamble to ask that of him because the two of you hardly knew each other but you had hoped that you showed him enough kindness to earn his trust or make him feel safe in your presence at the very least. Knowing he wasn’t quick to make decisions, you waited it out. Sicheng slowly stood up, arms out to try and balance himself on the mattress. He was quick to jump onto the palm of your hand when you reached out to him. Once you he was settled, you turned to meet the excited faces of your friends. 

“Sicheng these are my friends,” you announced as you used your other hand to gesture at them, “friends, this is Sicheng.” They spoke all at once, voices piling on top of one another, which made Sicheng’s eyes widen in surprise, probably unused to such a loud volume, as they introduced themselves to him. 

Game night was over, it seemed, judging from the way they enthusiastically tried to befriend Sicheng and show him the wonders of the world.

“Oh my God!” Yongqin exclaimed as you all ate some hotpot, which Sicheng adored if the way he was scarfing down his food was a sign. The rest of you looked at him expectantly as you munched your food. “This isn’t Jack in the Beanstalk, this is Thumbelina!”

*

Life with Sicheng was a simple one once he became accustomed to your daily routine that mainly consisted of attending university and hanging out with your friends. You were one of the few lucky university students that didn’t have to work a part-time job because your parents made enough income to support you financially even though you no longer lived with them. It wasn’t that you didn’t want to get one, in fact you did apply for several vacancies, but your parents refused and told you that they would keep giving you financial aid as long as you continued to study hard. They always gave you more money than you needed which you tucked away in your savings account. 

The large amount of free time allowed you and the boys to take Sicheng to different sights; you took him to the zoo and the aquarium with Yukhei and Yongqin, cooing over how scared he was of the tigers, hippos and sharks. Yangyang and Kunhang took him to the local outdoor basketball court where they played a few one on one games while waiting for their allocated physics lab time. By the time you found them they relocated to the arcade, Sicheng focused intensely on one of their games as he remained slightly hidden in Kynhang’s backpack. Dejun decided to treat you to some ice-cream, ecstatic to include Sicheng who ended up having so much of it that it caused a sugar rush which resulted in the rest of the day being spent catching up to him and his hyperactive behavior. Kun spent his time with him in the music room that was available for students on campus, playing him several songs on the piano and even composed on specifically for the tiny boy. 

Unfortunately, Sicheng’s sight-seeing trips were put on hold due to upcoming exams. Exam season was hell for everyone and you spent it cooped up in your room, frying your brain as you tried to learn off useful information and tricks that would help you solve sample problems that included math–which was everywhere considering the degree you were trying to obtain.

There were tears welling in your eyes as you tried to work out some sample problems that your lecturer heavily hinted would make an appearance on the exam paper. Eraser bits were scattered all over your desk, the paper rough and void of its grids due to the amount of times you had to rub out your frequent mistakes. An ugly voice in your head was telling you to give up, that it was your worse subject anyway and that the repeat paper would probably be easier to do. You were ashamed to give in but it was extremely late and you spent the whole day studying, so you thought that it was fair that you could go to sleep. 

When you woke up the next day, after your big breakfast with Sicheng, you reluctantly returned to your desk to continue the problem but stopped when you saw that it was already completed. Eyebrows furrowed, you turned to your small friend who was happily listening to an audiobook–he recently discovered poetry and came across a certain old poet that he came to really like. 

You hated to disrupt his peace but couldn’t contain the need to voice your question. “Sicheng,” you called, he paused the audiobook and gave you his full attention, “did you do this?” There wasn’t anybody else in the house except for the two of you and if it wasn’t you who completed it then it was clearly him but you had to make sure, seeing as having a secret fairy godmother or something wouldn’t be so far fetched considering, well, Sicheng. “Sorry for bothering you but I just have to ask. You did this for me, didn’t you?” A shy smile made its way onto his face as he lowered his gaze, nodding his head in reply. You took him in for a moment, eyed your copy and then returned your eyes onto him. “Wow,” you breathed, “you’re so smart!” He became even more shy as you showered him in praises. “How did you solve it?” You asked eventually, you were stuck on that particular problem for days.

Sicheng looked extremely adorable as he wielded your mechanical pencil in his arms, using his whole body whenever he wrote something. He hadn’t spoken yet in the two months that he’s lived with you but he was still great at explaining how solve the problem, smiling at you encouragingly after he gestured for you to work one on your own. It took you longer than he did to solve the new sample question but after he reviewed it and made some corrections, he smiled proudly at you and urged you to keep practicing by gesturing to several other questions.

From there, Sicheng listened to his audiobook on your tablet on the desk so that he could keep an eye on you as he munched on some corn chips. Once you finished the remainder of the problem questions, seeming easier and easier to solve the more you did them, he did his best to hand you a full sized chip but due to his stature he could only offer you a crumb from the end of the bag. You thanked him as he placed it on top of your open hand, melting at his cuteness.

In the following weeks that lead up to your exams, Sicheng became your study buddy. It seemed that he had an affinity for math, gladly helping you whenever it was involved (which was a lot) and although you questioned how he possessed such knowledge, you were entirely grateful that you had someone to help you double check your answers and help you whenever you were facing some difficulty. You deeply wished that you could take him with you in the exam hall but you knew that it wasn’t a good idea. 

When exam season was over, you and the boys decided to sleepover at Kunhang’s house for the weekend. The sole purpose of it being at his house was due to his projector, which was great for streaming movies on Netflix to create an indoor cinema type of atmosphere. As always, you and Kun provided food while the others brought over their portable heaters because of the poor insulation of the building. Sicheng was particularly excited about the sleepover since he hadn’t seen the others since the small New Year celebration that you guys had.

It was plain as day that Sicheng loved the boys just as much as you did. Whenever they were around, he was extra content, willingly participating in whatever mischief they planned. Though he thoroughly enjoyed their company, you observed that he evaded their frequent attempts to touch him. Touching him only seemed to be reserved especially for you and you only. You tried not to think about what that meant although it did nothing to suppress the fondness that it made you feel whenever he stuck closely to you.

Feeling a tiny poke on your thigh, you looked down to find Sicheng offering you a small piece of popcorn. Ever since he offered you some of his corn chips he took it as his job to present you with food whenever it was possible; bits of strawberries whenever you chopped some up for him, using all his strength to push gummy bears towards you whenever Yangyang had a bag or blocks of chocolate whenever Yongqin was eating some. It was endearing, especially the way his whole face lit up whenever you took it and ate it in one go.

After you took the piece of popcorn and ate it, Sicheng turned back to the wall where The Pursuit of Happyness was playing. From your peripheral vision you noticed Yongqin staring at you from where he sat on the opposite side of the room, a shit-eating grin forming when Sicheng laid on your thigh with his back against your stomach. It felt as though the private moment the two of you shared was invaded so you made a quick face at him before returning you attention back to the film. You didn’t want to know what he was thinking.

*

The end of your second year gave you a stress-free summer since you didn’t have to repeat any exams from either semester. The grades you obtained were phenomenal, closer to 4.0 this time around and there were some tears in your eyes when you saw it on your phone screen. It was definitely Sicheng’s doing, you couldn’t have done it without him. Yongqin was right when the old lady said that he would bring you luck. As per tradition, you and the boys packed up and went to the lakehouse that your parents owned–as a kid you would often go during summer when your parents wanted to have a getaway in favor for some family time. The yearly tradition was something that started when Kun obtained his full license and would drive all of you around until he decided that he wanted to go on a trip with you guys.

You and Yongqin laid on beach chairs as you watched the others swim. Sicheng was with them and although at first you felt your heart grip with anxiety at the thought of him going swimming, it chipped away when you saw the others taking care to show him how to swim despite his size. Now there he was, swimming in all sorts of directions as he paid no mind at the antics that the others played.

Your eyes on him were torn away when Yongqin spoke. “Do you ever think about what it would be like if he was a full sized person?”

Of course you did. You thought about it so much you started to dream about it–about what it would be like if he were human sized instead of the six inches he stood at. You liked to imagine that he would be tall, maybe taller than you, and move as gracefully as Yongqin. In your imagination he would speak charmingly and be quick witted, perhaps he would even have a loud laugh. One that was so contagious that you wouldn’t be able to do anything but laugh along with him. Sicheng was incredible in his pocket-sized form but sometimes you couldn’t help but think that he would be even better in full size. You wanted to hang out with him regularly but there were only so many things you could do with him at the size he was. It was getting increasingly difficult to shield him from society, especially since more people were out and about due to the beautiful weather.

“Yeah,” your eyes moved down to your lap, “I guess I have.” Is what you say in return, suppressing your thoughts.

“What if I told you that we could find a way?” You couldn’t look at Yongqin fast enough which made him laugh a little. “I’ve been seeing the old lady around more and more recently, and she keeps looking at me like she knows which is probably because she does.” He admitted and allowed you to soak in his words before adding, “I think we should talk to her.”

You kept silent as you thought about his suggestion. You would love it if Sicheng could somehow grow and live like the rest of you. Maybe he could attend your university or something, he could definitely major in math if he wanted to. But that was what you wanted. Sicheng had to have a say in the matter because for all either of you knew, he actually liked being his size. You passed on your thoughts to Yongqin who nodded empathically, agreeing that you should ask before even thinking about approaching the woman who gave him the bean.

Sicheng cocked his head to the side when you asked him later that night as the rest of the boys stargazed at a slightly further distance, although you were pretty sure that Dejun fell asleep which wouldn’t be surprising at all considering that he could sleep anywhere. What you got in return was an eager nod that made you release a breath that you didn’t even know you were holding. 

The remaining few days at the lakehouse were spent lazying about in the sun, watching as some of the boys tried their best at fishing although Dejun chose not to participate and reasoned that he couldn’t eat the fish he had caught knowing that he had to look it in the eye as its life was ending. Night was spent either stargazing or huddled around a fire as Kun played his guitar, the other boys singing in unison as he played their song requests. It had Sicheng swaying back and forth as he listened, completely enthralled. 

While you loved the time that you spent there, you were more excited when you returned to your apartment. The thought of Sicheng finally being able to enjoy hanging out with you to his fullest ability was building up so much anticipation within you. Yongqin teased you about the transparency of your feelings and was quickly joined by the others but you couldn’t find it in you to care that much, instead focusing your gaze on Sicheng who looked at you with eyes bursting of hope.

Yongqin wasn’t kidding when he informed you that she was everywhere he went, he sent you a flood of text messages every single time he caught a glimpse of her. They usually ended up with him asking you whether or not you wanted him to go over to her but before you even had a chance to reply, you would receive another text from him telling you that she got away. Catching her was more difficult than you originally thought but eventually when you, Sicheng, Yongqin and Dejun were having some coffee at your local café, she walked in. She caught your eye, smiling mysteriously as she made her way over.

“I see he’s sprouted,” she said as soon as she arrived at your table, glancing at Sicheng. “Hi there little one.” That earned her a small smile as he shrunk in on himself. “So, you want him to be regular sized. Am I correct?” Without even questioning how she knew that to begin with, you nodded fervently. She produced a small, purple pouch from the inside of her jacket. “Make sure he sleeps on this tonight and everything will work accordingly.”

“Really?” You didn’t believe that it was that easy. Not that you knew magic or anything, didn’t even know it existed pre-Sicheng days, but there had to be a catch or something. She inclined her head regally toward you in reply. “Is there something I can give you in return, or something? Like, I dunno, money?”

She shook her head as she said, smiling kindly, “you have given him love and that is all that I wanted for him.” And with that she sauntered away, turning her head back only once to wink at you.

That night you slept early, too excited about the events that were going to transpire the next day.

*

When you woke up the next day, you found yourself face to face with a man who was still asleep. Sicheng as a regular sized man. You couldn’t believe it. When he opened his eyes, slowly widening when he realized the situation, he shot up and immediately jumped off of the bed. A tiny gasp escaped you at his height–he wasn’t as tall as Yukhei, who was in a lanky league of his own, but he was easily taller than the other boys. You watched as he examined his eyes in wonder, moved his legs repeatedly before inspecting himself in the mirror on your vanity table. After he had gotten his fill of surveying himself, he turned to stare at you and slowly walked toward you. 

Once he was within touching distance, he held up his hand in front of you and waited for you to connect it with your own. When you did as he wanted, both of you marveled at the difference in size. Experimentally, he dropped his fingers in between yours and you followed in suit so that your hands were interlocking.

“Hi y/n,” Sicheng greeted, his voice scratchy from lack of use. “It’s nice to finally look at you eye to eye.” If you were immensely astonished by his sudden growth spurt, you were even more so by the pleasant sound of his voice–even though he sounded groggy, you could already tell that you were going to be enthralled whenever he spoke in the future.

“Wait,” you said, snapping out of your thoughts, “you can talk?! How come you never said a word before?”

Sicheng smiled shyly, his eyes wandering back to your interlocked hands as he said, “I liked listening to you talk.” A string of noises left your throat that made the tips of his ears a cherry red which made you noticed how one of them was adorably shaped like an elf’s. 

“You liked listening to me talk? Sicheng,” you called, tugging at your hands until you gained his attention, “I love your voice. I should be listening to you talk.” In response to your declaration he let go of your hand in order to cup his face, his smile was so beautiful, so pretty, and wide that you were sure you melted into a puddle of goo.

Later that day, when the other boys barged into your apartment as quick as they could after you told them the news, it dawned on you that the man in front of you was fatal because he had everything, not just a cute face but also the brains and personality.

When Sicheng laughed at something that Yangyang said, you recalled the shit-eating grin that Yongqin sent your way that night at Kunhang’s house because you finally understood. Your eyes widened although they stayed glued to Sicheng as he continued to laugh because oh boy were you in trouble.

[unofficialkfamtranscripts]

King Falls AM - Episode Eight: Electrolocaust Now

View on Google Docs

Summary: August 15, 2015 - Sammy & Ben have planned a tribute to King Falls AM's resident jazz legend Chet Sebastian, however an impromptu, and selective power failure, takes out most of the station's broadcast tools, leaving the boys to fend for themselves.

[podcast intro music]

[KFAM intro music]

Sammy Good evening, King Falls. You’re listening to 660 on the radio dial and I’ve gotta tell you, we’ve got a heck of a show this evening. We’re paying tribute to King Falls’ musical legend and Ben’s old boss, jazz maestro Chet Sebastian. We’ll be discussing [static/buzz] 40 years of— [sound of things powering down]

Ben [confused] What the hell?

Sammy Uh— W-what did I touch?

Ben I don’t think it was you. [sound of Ben getting up]

Sammy Sorry, ladies and gents. It seems we’re having a slight technical difficulty here. Uh- ye- hey, my computer’s down, Ben.

Ben Yeah mine too. Sammy, I don’t know if they can even hear us. We might be… out out.

Sammy *sigh* Well, okay then. Uh. We’re live and we’re winging it, folks!

Ben [smugly] Au contraire, my friend! You should know: I’ve got a backup plan. And a backup for the backup plan.

Sammy [incredulous] Uh-huh.

Ben Lemme just pull out- the- [rustling] trusty— smartphone, aaand— [dull clatter]

Sammy And?

Ben It’s off.

Sammy Well.*laugh/huff* Good thing you’ve got a backup for this.

Ben It’s… an expression. We’re, *anxious sigh* we’re flying blind, Sammy. Check your phone.

Sammy It’s, uh, it, it is off, uh, let me guess, the ghost—sorry, apparition—

Ben Thank you.

Sammy Of Marconi[1] just visited the station and just decided to start yanking wires.

Ben Maybe Merv forgot to pay the electric bill.

Sammy The lights, the mics, it’s not electricity, this is selective. [disgruntled] Uh, you know, but thanks for being so cheap and old, Merv, it may have spared 660 from the wrath of Skynet.

Ben Yeah, the board’s lit up and so are the phones. I, I don’t get it.

Sammy King Falls, have you gotten whacked by this random and seemingly mischievous power outage?? Uh, you, you’ve heard our story, let’s hear uh- wait, can they hear us?

Ben Good call. [sound of Ben getting up]

Sammy I, I don’t understand why some of this stuff is working and some of it is out! [slightly desperate] What are we doing, Ben? Y-y— [radio interference in bg] Now’s not the time to go rogue!

Ben [in bg] Radios are working, Sammy. [closer] We’re live.

Sammy *sigh* Well, you’re hearing our story right now, King Falls, let’s hear yours. If you’ve got a phone that’s- working, give us a call or tweet us @KingFallsAM—

Ben Can’t check the Twitter.

Sammy Damn it! *sigh* Let’s take a call, Ben.

Ben But- the- schedule!

Sammy Dude, what schedule?! The one locked in the computer that zoinked out, or the one that’s locked in our iPhone that won’t power up?

Ben [muttered]Damn your logic. Line one!

Sammy You’re live on the air with Sammy and Ben. Hope you’re well on this weird-ass evening.

Line 1 [slightly suggestively]Hey, Shotgun!

Sammy *exasperated sigh* Hey, man. What’s your name again?

Line 1 Not important! *chuckles* I-I jusht wanted to check in with my favorite AM radio hosht and tell you you’re coming in loud and clear on my end. Loud and clear! Ha ha! Haaa. [realizing] Am I on the air?

Ben You’re live, sir.

Sammy So how are things in your neck of the woods? Any technology issues? Things not powering up and on for you?

Line 1 Not a problem in the world, Shotgun, ha ha.

Ben Is he gonna keep calling you—

Line 1 Shotguuunn Shammyyyyy

Sammy *sigh* Was there anything in particular you needed?

CALLER That’sh it! Love the show. SHOTGUN SAMMYYY!!!!

[click, dial tone]

Ben [curiously] What did you do in your past life, Sammy?

Sammy [muttered] You don’t even want to know.

Ben *snickers* Line seven, good evening, you’re on King Falls AM.

Line 7 [guy sounds stoned] Hey Ben, hey Sammy, you dudes doing okay up there?

Sammy All things considered, we’re doing well! Uh, and who are we speaking with?

Doyle Ohh-h-h, this is Doyle. Doyle Bevins, out in Hollybrook Estates.

Ben Hey, Doyle. You having any issues with your computers? smartphone? what-have-you?

Doyle Oh, yeah! ‘Bout- ‘bout five minutes ago, all my toys just shut off. TV, ‘puter, phone. Sounded like a transformer just shut doowwwn.

Sammy Oh! So you had a transformer blow up by you! A- y- c— you know, could that have caused that way up here, Ben?

Ben I—

Doyle Oh, no, nothing like that! Like- like it was Bumblebee[2] powering down like a [gutteral] guchuchuhh aguchuchuhhh.

Sammy …Oh…

Ben Right. Regardless, Hollybrook is a good five miles outside of town. I don’t know if that would’a hit us.

Sammy Doyle, thanks for calling in and letting us know what’s going on with ya.

Doyle Oh, sure thing, bro, but. *chuckles* That’s not why I caallled.

Ben Oh! Uhhh, o-okay.

Sammy What’s on your mind tonight, Doyle?

Doyle Well, before all this new age funky-junk started, I was having some really crazy stuff going on here in the apartment.

Sammy Crazy stuff? Uh, wh-w-what kind of stuff?

Doyle Supernatural stuff.

Ben I’ve got nothing, I’ve never heard of anything going on in Hollybrook.

Doyle Ohohoh, it is in-sane, Ben. It’s like I’m living in some sorta Cybertronian spacecraft.

Sammy Cybertrone— I- I’m not familiar wi— Ben?

Ben It’s a Transformers reference. It’s not real.

Doyle Hey. It’s real, Ben.

Sammy Can you give us an example?

Ben Without referencing a Mike Bay movie.

Doyle Sure thing, bro. So, I’ve got this toaster, right?

Ben Mm-hmm?

Doyle Sometimes— late at night— BOOM! It’ll pop up the scariest damn thing you ever laid eyyes onn.

Sammy So it makes the noise like when the bread is done.

Doyle Ghost Toast, boyyys. It pops— but ain’t nothin’ there.

Ben Doyle… We’re gonna take another call.

Doyle Ohohoho! not good enough for you, Ben, not Spooky-Kooky enough, huh? I’ll do you one betterr.

Ben [dryly] You’d have to.

Doyle Sometimes— late at night— my fridge starts making this Scary hummin’ noise, like HUMMMUMUMUM—

Sammy Doyle.

Doyle —MUM HUMUMUMUM-HUHHH—

Sammy Doyle.

Doyle —MUMM HUUMMUMUHUH-UH-UH-KUH— *coughing* *clearing throat* You get it.

Sammy Doyle. Are you only experiencing this phenomenon with your appliances?

Doyle [impatiently] Ca- can I finish, Sammy? Is that- is that cool? Can I finish?

Sammy I’m sorry, of course.

Doyle Alright. So like I said, it’s just a hurmming so [quietly, sharing-a-secret-like] I sneak in the kitchen, all Vatican assassin-like. [louder] Sling open the door– ACRACKACHOW! – ain’t nothing happening, boys. Mayo and mustard just looking at me like they wanna hop on a sanndwich.

Sammy [“you’re crazy and i’m gonna go”] Alright, Doyle. We’re gonna take another call. Please be careful out there, with the appliances and such.

Doyle Hey, do y’all want me to make a video and send it? *scoff* Pft-Duh! Maybe the electronics are zapped so I can’t prove it, man! It’s a big old vicious circle, bros!

[click, dial tone]

Ben Dear God.

Sammy Take care, Doyle. *sigh* Line nine, you’re on with Sammy and Ben.

Creeper [creepy guy from episode 2 who calls to “listen to Sammy”]Long-time listener here!— Second-time caller.

Sammy [click, dial tone] Nope! Not tonight. I don’t want that. Let’s go ahead and take liiine…

Ben *pointedly clears throat*

Sammy Uh- yes, Ben?

Ben Huhhh, wel- ah- we- we- we need to- play an ad, Sammy.

Sammy Play an ad? You know the computers are off, right?

Ben Mhmm.

Sammy Don’t look at me like that! Don’t even think it!

Ben *whispers*God. [singing to the tune of “If You’re Happy and You Know It”] ♫Whenn- You’re- Hunngry and you know it come to Rose’s!♫

Sammy No.

Ben ♫If you’re starvin’ and it’s showin come to Rose’s!♫

Sammy Ben, please.

Ben ♫We’ve got waffles and cranapples–♫

Sammy Beenn!

Ben I’m just trying to make sure that the clients get their money’s worth?

Sammy I understand that, but you know what? there’s no better way to do that than talking about just how delicious Rose’s Diner can be. Personally, I’m one for the country breakfast. What do you get down there at Rose’s?

Ben Umm, well it’s a fact you just- can’t beat Rose’s fresh doughnuts.

Sammy And from what Troy has told us, they make a mean bagel as well!

Ben I’ve been going to Rose’s all my life? Never had a bad meal there, not one!

Sammy You know, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve stopped by for a great meal and good conversation. So if you’re in the neighborhood, just passing through, or wanna feel at home away from home, stop by Rose’s Diner! Right off the interstate.

Ben Exit 44.

Sammy There you go.

Ben You’re good and I’m hungry. [quietly] Man, I could go for the signature pancake puppies.

Sammy Whatever stops that singin’.

Ben Okay, plea—I- I’ll have you know, Mr. Sheffield cast me as the lead in King Falls High School’s rendition of Grease.

Sammy Alright, Zuko[3], well let’s take some calls! Good evening, you’re on with—

CALLER [static/interference]

Ben TIM!

Sammy Ca-can you hear us, Tim?

Pete Sorry, sorry let me turn my radio down.

Sammy [quietly, disappointed] False alarm.

Ben What do you want, Pete?

Pete This isn’t Pete! My name isss… Escobar. And I wanted to tell you that this is the absolute worst broadcast in the history of radio. You two oughta be ashamed!

Sammy We’re just trying to make the best of a bad situation, Pete.

Pete Escobar!

Ben I thought you weren’t ever listening to King Falls AM again, Pete.

Pete I’m not listening! I’m assuming.

Sammy Well you know what they say when you assume something, right, Pete?

Pete ES. CO. BARRRIBA!

Ben Don’t you have some mowing or clipping up to do at Beauregard’s manor?

Pete Racist! But you know dang well no one goes up there after sundown! Ese?

Ben So you admit your employer is a vampire. Hmm. Interesting.

Pete I didn’t say- I didn’t- I didn’t say that! I just don’t wanna whack a weed that ain’t a weed! Ben— start living right. All that scary stuff’s fryin’ yer brain.

Sammy Pete. Escobar. Do you have a reason for calling?

Pete Alright, pushy! Alright, you know what? I swear, I ain’t listening to you ever again, you brow-beating ruffians! Nunca! Nunca, now, I tell ya. [click]

[dial tone]

Sammy It’s gonna be a long night.

[sound of electrical powering down]

Ben Look at the phone lines! We dropped all the calls. Li- line one? Hello? … You’re on with King Falls. Ugh, Nothing. We can’t fill four hours like this, Sammy.

Sammy I’ve got an idea! Gimme your keys, Ben.

[rustling]

Ben This can’t be good.

Sammy Be right back!

Ben Sammy!

[footsteps running away, door closing]

Ben [singing] ♫Strandeeed at the drive iin, braannded a foool♫[4]… Yeah, I still got it. Okay folks, just uhh— lemme just check to see if our regular phones are working, make a little call out. [muttering] What is this, a rotary phone? Sheesh!

[sound of a rotary phone being dialed, ringing]

Emily Hello?

Ben Hey, Emily, it’s Ben! H- I hope I didn’t wake you!

Emily Not at all, I’m listening. What’s going on with the show? and the electronics?

Ben I know, right? I- I just wanted to make sure you were *sniffs* Oh! uh, hey, we’re live, by the way.

Emily As live as can be, right?

Ben Right. *awkward laugh* But, yeah, I just wanted to make sure you were okay with all the— weirdness happening tonight.

Emily I’m fine! Thanks for thinking of me. Good thing I’ve got a land line, I guess.

Ben [awkwardly] If you didn’t I would’ve had to, come over to check.

Emily Oh really? …That’s an interesting thought!

Ben Huh-h- mm- yeah. Y-you know, to- make sure that you’re safe and sound. Like a gentleman?

Emily Oh, of course.

Ben Oh! Uh, so, the other reason I called: um, in all your studies or research, do you ever recall any kind of electronic or- or electromagnetic pulses here in the Falls?

Emily Not to my knowledge. Obviously, I’ll dig more into this later today at the library, but it’s new I think. [door closing in bg] Lucky us!

Ben Lucky us.

[footsteps quickly coming closer]

Sammy Alright! what’d I miss?

Emily Hi, Sammy!

Sammy Hi, Emily! … Hope you’re doing alright tonight.

Ben Hey, I’ll, uh, call you later, okay?

Emily Sounds like a plan!

Ben Night! [click, dial tone] Don’t look at me like that, Sammy.

Sammy [clearly amused and judging Ben] Ah-I didn’t say a word. Crazy power outages and electrical malfunctions— do you call your mom first? Your brother? Nope! You call your local librarian, Emily Potter.

Ben So?

Sammy So it’s cute!

Ben Whatever. W-w-what are you up to over there?

Sammy Well, this is a record player, borrowed from Mr. Chet Sebastian’s office. This is not how we planned the evening, but, thank you, Chet!

Ben And?

Sammy Well, I figure since our fancy— new, high and mighty tech is out, then we’ll just have to bring back some old trusty, reliable stuff to pass the time.

Ben It’s a little telling that most of our broadcast equipment hasn’t gotten shut down.

Sammy Merv, take a note. Upgrade our WKRP radio shack so we can take a night off when everything goes belly-up, huh?

Ben Let me mic that thing up.

[sound of needle on record]

Sammy Alright ladies and gents, you’re listening to King Falls AM, that’s 660 on the radio dial. With me as always is my co-host Ben Arnold and this? This is a little Chet Sebastian jazz to help you through this weird-ass night. Thanks for being a legend, sir.

[jazz music plays]

[CREDITS]

References:

[1] Marconi - Guglielmo Giovanni Maria Marconi, 1st Marquis of Marconi FRSA was an Italian inventor and electrical engineer, known for his pioneering work on long-distance radio transmission, development of Marconi's law, and a radio telegraph system. He is credited as the inventor of radio.

[2] Bumblebee - designation B-127, is a fictional robot superhero in the many continuities in the Transformers franchise. One of the most well known characters from the Transformers.

[3] Zuko - Danny Zuko is the male lead from the popular movie Grease.

[4] “Stranded at the drive-in” - from “Alone at a Drive-In Movie”, one of Zuko’s songs in Grease

[flowerboyethan]

Goodnite Socialite

Chapter 2: “People Like Confidence”

A month had passed, as well as the anxious episode. Not entirely, but enough to no longer be on the edge of tears. I was proud of myself to finally dull down the voice. Again, not entirely gone, but not as bad, and I could ignore it most days.

I had a lot to do today, mostly grocery shopping. I usually shopped online, but I was doing what Mark told me to do; change up my routine. It was true I had been cooped up in my house for weeks, never going outside unless I took Spencer on a walk. Besides, the late-September Californian sun felt good on my face.

I wore a smile as I locked my car outside Westfield, one of Los Angeles’ many outdoor malls. Head held high, I slipped on my sunglasses, making my way towards the entrance, patting the grocery list in my pocket.

The mall was busy, as it always is, but it didn’t seem to bother me for once. Everyone was out to beat the heat, buying pool toys or fans, little kids throwing fits after dropping their ice cream cones.

Ice cream. It’s been awhile since I treated myself.

‘Later,’ I thought to myself, walking into Gelson’s.

I had planned out dinner for the week, mostly consisting of different pastas. I felt as if meal prep would keep my motivation high and help improve my cooking. Besides, I was getting tired of only eating microwaved meals.

I checked off several things from my list; noodles, tomatoes, avocados, spices, lunch meat, ground beef, etcetera, etcetera. Pretty soon, my list was completely crossed off, my cart full.

A strong scent of faux cinnamon hit me as I passed an isle near the cash registers. The Halloween isle. Halloween was next month, no way I’m missing out on a little sightseeing. I turned my cart, taking in the smell. Skeletons, pumpkins, bats, and ghosts hung on racks or sat on shelves, some creepy and some cute. I picked up a gravestone, the words “here lies a witch of Salem” etched into the Styrofoam.

Salem. I hadn’t thought of her in so long. I did my best to block out that embarrassing interaction from my memory. Sure, she’d pop into my head occasionally, mostly thoughts of her eyes. And her smile. And the way she’d say my name.

I pushed away the gravestone. I couldn’t think about her, I wouldn’t let myself fall. I proceeded to the checkout.

As I pushed the cart to my car, I passed the ice cream shop, the smell of waffle cones and hot fudge wafting through the air. I gave in. I had the time, no need to record until tonight.

The shop had cleared out almost completely once I got back, just a short line. I ordered a cookies n’ cream waffle cone, paid, and turned to head out, only to be stopped by a familiar, singsong voice calling my name.

In the corner, sat next to the window, was Salem. She wore her wavy hair in space buns, tied with white and red ribbons, along with the biggest smile on her face. She waved me over, patting the seat across from her.

My heart started to pick up it’s pace, my hands instantly sweaty. I hadn’t seen her in so long, nor had I even planned to.  Now, she sat ten feet away from me, wanting my attention. I couldn’t say no, it would be rude, but I wanted to leave more than anything.

Yet, there was a part of me dying to talk to her. I hadn’t heard her say my name in so long, it wouldn’t hurt to talk to her for a bit, right?

I walked over, but before I could sit down, she jumped into my arms, hugging me tightly.

Salem was hugging me.

“I haven’t seen you in so long, Ethan!” She beamed, pulling away, squeezing my arms. “Please! Sit!”

I obeyed, returning her cheerful smile. “How have you been, Salem?”

“Marvelous as always, my dear Ethan.” I melted at the way she spoke. “I live for this type of LA weather, how about you?”

I shrugged, taking a bite of my waffle cone. “I’m from Maine. I’m still not fully used to the heat, ya know?”

She leaned her head in her hand. “Maine? What’s it like there?”

“Not warm around this time of year.”

She chuckled. “I bet!” Her smile faded a bit. “How are you, though? Are you still going through that anxious episode, if you don’t mind me asking?”

I waved her off. “Oh, I’m fine. It passed a few weeks ago, I’m just trying to get into a healthier routine, now.”

She reached for my hand. “I’m glad you’re doing okay, then. No friend of mine is allowed to be sad under my watch. No, sir!”

My eyebrows furrowed. “You consider me your friend?”

She gasped softly, placing a hand to her chest. “Well, of course I do! Why wouldn’t I?”

“Because of some particular embarrassing thing I said to you the first time we met.” Her head tilted. Did she really not remember? “The whole ‘making eyes at me’ thing? That was pretty much our whole interaction.”

“Oh!” She waved me off with her ice cream spoon. “Now, I don’t dwell on that, it was a simple misunderstanding. I do dwell on the fact that you are so sweet and adorable. Isn’t that all that matters?”

I nearly choked on my ice cream. Amy was right, she was so flirtatious. Too flirtatious. Was she still dating Cherry?

I nodded anyway. “I suppose that all that matters. Thank you for not teasing me about it.”

“I would never!” Her phone pinged inside her overalls pocket. She looked down, giggled, and pulled it out to answer the text. Her smile slowly formed into a smirk, her eyes meeting mine.

I gulped. “What?”

“Are you free tonight?”

“What?”

“Are you free tonight?”

Was she asking me out? I shrugged. “It depends. Why?”

She shifted in her seat, leaning on her arms. “I’ve been invited to a party. And as a socialite, I must go. Would you like to be my plus one?”

I shoved the rest of my ice cream cone in my mouth. “What about Cherry?”

“She has several deadlines to meet, her new collections come out in a month. She can’t afford to go out right now. So, what do you say?”

Was everything I had to do tonight that important? I had a video prepped for tomorrow, but was it worth recording one more on top of the two I already needed to do? Was it worth putting off going to some party filled with rich people who would most definitely judge me?

I started rubbing the back of my neck, avoiding her eyes. “I don’t know, Salem. I’m not really the big-celebrity-party type.”

She reached for a napkin from the dispenser, taking out a pen from her purse. She scribbled down her number, folding and slipping it into my shirt pocket. “Call me if you change your mind, preferably before nine.” She stood up. ‘Where’s your car? I’m parked in lot A.”

“Lot B, sadly,” I stood up with her. “And, yeah! I’ll let you know.”

“Perfect! I’ll see you tonight.” Salem reached up, ruffling my hair. “Bye, Ethan!” She called over her shoulder.

I ran my hand through my hair, watching her skip out of the shop. She was so confident that I’d go with her to the party. Confident in general, really. How confident must one be to just ruffle a near-stranger’s hair? To immediately befriend said near-stranger?

I didn’t want to fall for her. I refused to. I couldn’t afford the heartache.

Besides, she said it herself, she’s a socialite. Didn’t that mean she’s rich? I didn’t want to be associated with rich snobs so why would I accept her offer? I couldn’t accept it; it’d go against everything I stood for.

――――

I sat on my couch that night around eight o’ clock, my hands folded against my mouth, staring at the napkin with Salem’s number on my coffee table. How long had I been sitting there? I don’t know. I managed to fit in a video before this, but that seemed to be hours ago. 4 times I’ve pick up my phone to call her, only to set it back down.

Why was this so hard? It’s only a party. For rich people. Filled with expensive taste and fake emotions. I’d be so out of place. Not to mention surrounded by everyone ten times better than me. And Salem, an expert in the scene, how would she feel to be seen with a loser such as me?

She’d love every moment with you, the voice said.

Not self-deprecating for once.

I sighed, picking up my phone for the last time, typing in her number. I began to pace as the dial tone sounded, Spencer perking up as I passed him. My anxiety increased as the seconds ticked by without an answer. Finally, someone unfamiliar picked up.

“Hello?” A deep, male voice answered.

My heart dropped to the floor. Was it a fake number? “Is this Salem’s phone?”

“Who is this?”

“E-Ethan? Salem gave me her phone number and-”

“Oh, hello, Ethan.” The tension in the man’s voice dropped. “Salem-”

I heard a rustling through the phone, a few yelps, then Salem’s voice.

“Ethan!” She cooed. “I knew you’d call.”

“Hello, Salem,” I fell into the couch as I heard her voice. “Who was that?”

“Oh, just my uncle. He answers my phone sometimes, only for unknown numbers to intimidate them.”

“Consider me intimidated.”

She giggled.

“So, uh,” I got up and started pacing again. “I called to ask if you still want me to go to that party?”

“Yes! Oh, you won’t regret it!”

“Is there a dress code? ‘Cause I have no idea what to wear.”

“Just wear something nice!”

“Like, a tux?”

She laughed. “Not quite. Would you like help?”

“Desperately.”

“I’ll send you my address so you can head over. Not to be rude, but I’m sure I’ll have more stuff for you to try on.”

“I take no offense because you are absolutely right.”

She laughed again. “I’ll see you soon, then. Drive safe!”

“Bye!” I hung up, letting out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Spencer!”

He popped up from his spot on the couch.

“I’m going to a party.”

[onwardintolight]

Han x Leia, ESB, Trip to Bespin, angst, hurt/comfort, fluff

Summary: ESB from Leia's POV. A journey from despair to hope, a blossoming, an opening to vulnerability and love.

Warnings: Deals with some heavy themes, incl. working through trauma, depression, self-harm, attempted sexual assault. Each chapter will be individually warned.

Note: I’m currently in the process of reposting the first nine chapters here in full, since when I first wrote this fic, I only shared links to the chapters on AO3 and FFN. I will try to post at least weekly. In the meantime, if you’d prefer to binge-read it, the entire fic is posted in full on AO3 and FFN.

Part: Masterlist | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | Epilogue

Soundtrack

~~~

Author’s note 11/2019: Major spoilers for Solo: A Star Wars Story

Warnings for chapter: none

~~~

It was a relief to relax again; to simply enjoy the feel of each other’s lips and hands on each other for a little while, there in the circuitry bay. Leia tried hard to quiet her worries, and for a moment, she almost succeeded.

That moment was soon interrupted, however. Chewie stuck his head in the door, braying something about it being time for food, with an addendum about how it would be great if they pursued their mating rituals somewhere outside of his sight and hearing.

«Besides,» he noted, «I’ve prepared something special.»

Duly chastised, they made their way to the dejarik table. Emotionally, Leia felt as though she’d just flown through some particularly rough in-air turbulence, and she wasn’t that hungry—at least, not until she caught the scent of whatever was in the bowl Chewie was carrying in. He deposited it on the table in front of them with a flourish.

“What’s this?” she asked.

Instead of answering, he disappeared again to the corner of the hold, quickly returning with a large plate of ration sticks and reconstituted Bilbringi pies.

«A feast,» he announced. «I made a sauce to go with the rations. It will make us feel like our feet are rooted to the ground again.» He passed out bowls and utensils, and the three of them eagerly dug in.

Leia dipped a spoon into her sauce-covered Bilbringi pie and lifted it for a taste. Immediately, she closed her eyes, savoring the rich, spicy flavor. “How in the galaxy did you manage this, Chewie?” she asked.

Han cut in between bites. “Oh, he always keeps a bunch of spices and stuff around, just in case.”

«One never knows when they’ll be stuck onboard for three weeks,» explained Chewie. «It’s good to—» here he made a series of sounds Leia wasn’t familiar with, and she looked at Han inquisitively.

“He means it’s nice to have something special to break up the routine.”

“I’ll say,” she replied, taking another bite. It wasn’t just the weeks on the ship; it was the endless cold rations on Hoth, too. When had she last had a proper meal? Ord Mantell, maybe? “Honestly, Chewie,” she said, “this is as good as any royal feast I can remember.”

After their stomachs were suitably stuffed—Leia had only found two Wookiee hairs in her bowl, and the last bite was every bit as mouthwateringly delicious as the first—Han turned on some music and conjured up a sabacc deck and a handful of Corellian ales. Soon the hold rang with laughter. Leia had generally been too caught up in her duties to play the game much, but Han and Chewie, while fiercely competitive towards each other, were rather generous teachers. Soon she was holding her own—which for now, she surmised, meant not losing every hand. She suspected Han was going easy on them.

After a long time the music quieted, the album having played through twice already.

“And… Pure Sabacc.” Han layed out his hand triumphantly. Chewie bellowed, waving his arms in frustration. Leia laid out her cards in defeat—she’d had a good hand this round, but at twenty-one points, it wasn’t nearly enough. She briefly thanked the old gods that they weren’t playing for a sabacc pot; otherwise she might have just lost… a lot.

“You’re watching a master at work,” Han crowed, tipping back his second Corellian ale, and Leia and Chewie both rolled their eyes.

She took a small sip of her own drink. “Where did you learn to play sabacc, Han?”

“Oh… around.” He waved dismissively.

«Han was already a master of it when we met, and he was barely more than a cub in human years, then.»

“So… you learned it on Corellia?”

Han shrugged. “We may have been scrumrats, but we were still kids. It was one of the few ways we had fun.”

They sat in silence for a moment.

“Do you ever miss your home planet?” Leia asked.

“No,” Han said firmly. There was no hesitation in his voice.

Leia nodded. She leaned forward, resting her chin in her hand, and thought for a moment. She needed to tread this conversation carefully—considering the lightheartedness of the evening and the alcohol Han had consumed, she suspected he might be a little more open than usual to talking, but she still didn’t want to push too hard. “When you finally escaped… how did it feel? Did you feel free, or was it bittersweet?”

Han and Chewie exchanged a brief look. Then Han leaned back in the seat, raking his fingers through his hair. “Uh,” he muttered. “It’s… complicated.”

She nodded, giving him space to go on if he wanted to. After another mouthful of his ale, he did.

“So, uh, there was this girl.”

Leia stiffened a little, but she just as quickly relaxed again. Of course there was a girl, she told herself. There’d been multiple girls; she was already well aware of that. Don’t be silly; listen. She didn’t want to miss out on this part of his story just because of some childish sort of jealousy.

“We tried to escape together,” he continued. “But… I made it; she didn’t. They grabbed her right as we went through the gate at the spaceport, and I couldn’t do a damn thing.” He shrugged. “I spent the next three years in the Imperial Navy planning out how I was gonna buy my own ship and go back to Corellia. To find her. So yeah, as much as I hated Corellia, you wouldn’t’ve believed it back then.”

“Did you do it? Did you go back and find her?”

He took another sip. “Didn’t have to. Turns out, she was sold right after I left—to Crimson Dawn.”

Leia’s breath caught in her throat.

“She was owned by one of the syndicate’s head honchos,” Han continued, “and somehow she managed to work her way up to being his lieutenant. We ran into each other on my first job after the Empire. Chewie n’ I were with a crew doing a job for Crimson Dawn, and she came with us to Kessel.” He face lit up in a grin. “The trip where I made the run—”

“In less than twelve parsecs. We know,” Leia said, rolling her eyes. “So what happened to her? Did she ever get free?”

“She… no, she didn’t. At least I don’t think so. I, uh, thought, at the end, that we had won, and that she was gonna come away with me and Chewie. She killed the guy who owned her. But… I guess she had other ideas.”

Leia frowned, feeling the glimmer of deep pain in Han’s past. “She took his place,” she said, the realization coming as she said the words. She wondered if this girl was still alive… and if she was still at the head of the notorious cartel.

“Yeah, I guess so.”

“I’m sorry.”

He shook his head. “Eh, it was a long time ago. I was a kid, naïve. She’d always been like that; a survivor, a climber. In it for herself, no matter what—or who—was in her way.” His words, even after all these years, sounded bitter.

Leia raised an eyebrow. “Sounds like somebody I once thought I knew.”

Han ignored her comment. “It wouldn’t’ve worked out.”

«Hmm. It wouldn’t have,» Chewie agreed. «But Han was sad for a long time.»

“Thanks, fuzzball,” he retorted. “It’s not like nobody ever broke your heart.”

Chewie chuckled. «There was a young Wookiee before Malla,» he explained, turning to Leia. «I was also sad for a long time when we ended the hunt.» He paused. «These things are hard. But when you meet the right person, the sadness of the past seems very small next to the happiness you’ve found.»

With that, Chewbacca stretched and rose from the dejarik table. «I’m going to leave you two to continue your mating ritual. Just stay away from the number three hold.»

Leia blushed. “Chewie, it’s not—we’re not—”

The Wookiee only laughed, eyes twinkling. «Goodnight, cubs.»

The main hold was quiet for a little while in Chewie’s absence. Then, Han scooted closer to Leia on the bench, putting an arm around her and shifting his ale to his other hand. He massaged her shoulder, looking thoughtful.

“You know,” he said, “I’ve had a lot of disappointments. A lot of heartache.” He took another sip. “Everyone I’ve ever cared for has either abandoned or betrayed me, the whole lot of ‘em.” He made a scornful sound. “Usually both. And I never… I never took it easy.” He glanced at her. “I’ve had to learn to face the galaxy on my own. Well, not completely—I’ve got Chewie, but you know what I mean. I’ve had to learn not to trust people, not to commit to anything.” He swallowed, looking into her eyes. “I… Leia… I want that to be different, with you.”

Leia opened her mouth to respond, then she closed it again. She wasn’t sure what to say. His words had stirred something deep within her, and her mind was still working through what all it meant. He wants to commit, she thought. He wants a life together. How impossible that would have sounded, once. Still sounded, if she were honest. Was it? All she knew was that she desperately wanted it, too.

“I love you,” he murmured again, and bent down for a lingering kiss. They parted, and she laid her head on his shoulder, nestling into him, wishing she had more to give. Several minutes passed in silence.

And then, finally, she knew what to say, what to do.

She took a deep breath. “On Alderaan,” she began, “women’s hair is regarded as sacred, in a way. There’s all sorts of meaning behind how we wear it.” She paused. “And… there’s a lot of meaning behind who gets to take it down. It’s… incredibly intimate.” She sat up, trembling. Slowly, she drew a pin out of her hair and laid it in his hand. His eyes widened.

She hoped he would understand. It wasn’t a spoken “I love you,” nor was it a lustful consummation. But it was a sign, and, she hoped, a promise of things to come. A powerful act, words without words. Would he hear them? She rotated on the bench, presenting him with the coil of braids that were wrapped around the back of her head.

Slowly, he reached out and touched them. Then he kissed the nape of her neck, making the tiny hairs there stand on end. She let out a shaky breath. He began to search, his fingers wandering over the braids. He pulled out one pin, then another. Every time he removed one, he planted another kiss—this one on her shoulder, that one on her cheek, another one on her neck again.

Finally, the last pin was out and her hair was unraveled. She felt it spilling like a waterfall over her shoulders and back. From behind her, Han made a quiet, agonized sort of sound. She’d never worn her hair down around him before. With reverent care, he dug his fingers into her loose tresses, slowly running through them, gently smoothing out the tangles. “Leia,” he murmured, voice cracking. “It’s… kriff, you’re so beautiful.” He buried his head in it, kissed it.

Once again, Leia didn’t know what to say. A lump had formed in her throat; it seemed to come from a bubble of joy inside her that was growing larger and larger by the second. There were no words for this. She simply turned around to face him, drew his forehead to hers, and then kissed him again, long and deep, while his hands wove through her hair.

[huntertales]

Part Three: Game Over. (Pac-Man Fever S08E20)

Episode Summary: Concerned about the physical toll the second trial took on the reader, the boys force her to take a break from hunting until she heals up. So, when the geektastic hacker Charlie Bradbury stumbles upon a case and finds the trio, she talks her way into letting Dean teach her how to be a hunter-in-training. While happy to see “her highness”, the reader and the boys feels Charlie is hiding a secret that could get her killed. Pairing: Dean Winchester x Reader Word Count: 5.793.

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Everyone harbors a secret buried deep in them, a problem they don’t show to the world. You had your fair share of them over the years. Charlie’s came in the version of her vegetative mother she was trying to keep alive for long as she could. Because it was the only thing she close to a family. You and Dean talked to a few nurses who had been at the hospital long enough to give you a brief insight to who Gertrude was as a person. From what you gathered it seemed like she was a sweet woman who loved her family dearly, but was taken too early. It was a tale you were all too familiar with. 

The both of you headed back to the bunker and repeated what you learned to Sam, who seemed taken aback at the news. It was one thing to lose a parent, but to know they were no longer while lying in a hospital bed was even more heartbreaking. Charlie was doing everything she could to keep the presence of her mother alive. Much as she fought and tried to believe the body was good enough for the real thing, it wasn’t. There wasn't enough money in the world to cure the damage that was already done.

"Did you find anything?" You asked Sam, taking a seat at the table in the library. 

“I think so. A John Doe from nine years ago. The original coroner wanted the body sent to the CDC, but the coroner’s new assistant ‘accidentally’ ordered the body to be burned.” Sam turned around his laptop to show you and his brother the medical report on the body. You looked up from the screen and gave him a curious look at the mention of the mention of this assistant. It seemed you crossed paths before with her. “Jennifer O’Brian.” 

“Corner’s a hell of a cover for hiding kills.” Dean said. 

“Look at this. CDC never heard from Jennifer this time either.” Sam said. “She faked the reports, burned the bodies to cover her tracks.”  

“Why’d she get sloppy again after nine years, start leaving bodies where they could be found?” You wondered out loud. She had the perfect job to hide her kills and get away with her meals without any hunter getting suspicious. Something made her start to slip up and get messy, and you wanted to know.

“Well, let’s go ask her. According to this,” Sam pulled up police records of Jennifer and the two properties she owned that were red flags on their own for you to be suspicious. “She owns two pieces of property in town—one two-bedroom house about ten minutes from here and an abandoned shipping warehouse.”

Of course she did. Monsters always need a secret hideout to consume their victims before dumping them somewhere. And when an unsuspecting bystander found the body, she was able to swoop in and forge some paperwork before burning their bodies. It was a perfect cover that she was able to get away with for almost a decade. Jennifer had her last meal once you got down with her. And it wasn't going to be Charlie, you were going to make sure of that.

+ + +

You and the boys made it to the warehouse armed with the one thing that could kill a djinn. You encountered a few during yours of hunting, and while they tried to feed off people you cared for—one even tried to kill you as well, but they always suffered the same fate. You followed behind Dean when he went left, Sam kept going straight when you made your way deeper into the building. You tightened your grip around the handle of the knife, looking for any sort of sign for Jennifer, all while keeping your eyes on the lookout for Charlie. You weren't sure how deep a djinn snatched their meals, but it seemed Jennifer liked to keep them close. You breathed a slight sigh of relief when you caught sight of Charlie, despite the condition you found her in. 

You and Dean made your way over to Charlie when you saw the coast was clear from Jennifer, giving you a chance to somehow wake the red head up from the trance she was under. You whispered Charlie’s name a few times and pushed on her shoulder slightly, hoping it would do the trick to wake her up. But she was out cold. You thought for a second you were too late from the blue hand print you saw on her wrist, but her shallow breathing and slow pulse told you she was still fighting for a chance at survival. You didn’t have much of a chance at getting her out of this. There was only one way of curing her from the djinn’s poison that you knew of, and there was one way to get it. 

You left Dean alone with Charlie when you heard an echo of commotion coming not too far from the warehouse, catching your attention when you wandered towards it. Despite Dean’s warnings for you to stay back, you followed the noise to see it was Jennifer herself trying to pick a fight with Sam. It seemed Sam was close to winning, but Jennifer was stronger than she looked. While she began rolling up her sleeve to make the younger Winchester her next meal, you snuck up from behind and took her by surprise when you plunged the knife into her back. You swiftly pulled it out and stepped back as you saw her body hit the ground. 

“You okay?” You asked him. 

Sam ignored the situation he landed himself in and asked where Charlie was. You reassured him that you and Dean found her, but you needed to get the antidote from Jennifer before it was too late. Sam took the syringe from his pocket and stabbed it into Jennifer, taking out the amount of fluid you needed before running back to where Charlie was. He wasted no time in tending to Charlie and curing her from whatever was going on in her body. You impatiently waited for something to happen, but after a few seconds, Charlie remained motionless, causing you to start panicking that you did something wrong. 

“What the hell’s going on?” Dean asked, wondering why the antidote wasn’t working. 

“I don’t know. Uh, different djinn.” Sam guessed as to the reason why this wasn’t working like you thought. “Maybe she needs a different antidote.”

“Charlie?” You bent down slightly to try and wake her up, but she was still. And her skin felt awfully warm to the touch, something you didn’t notice just a few minutes before. You placed your hand against her forehead to feel her skin, it was hot to the touch. Her body was running a fever. “She’s burning up, guys. We’re not letting her turn to Jell-o.” 

“Okay, okay. Uh...okay. Djinn poison puts your brain into something like a feedback loop while your blood boils, right?” Sam said, you nodded your head at the information you already knew. “If the antidote didn’t break the loop, then maybe we can find a way to break it from the inside. I mean, the djinn take you to your happy place. Your happy place is like a dream.”

“African dream root.” Both of the boys came to the conclusion at the same time, causing them to talk in sync. 

You had only gotten a taste of dream root once before and the trip that you went on was into Bobby's head after he fell asleep and never woke up. The stuff tasted awful and you didn't have fond memories of the things you went through weren't pleasant. But it was your only way of getting Charlie to snap out of it. You held the mason jar of the things you needed in order for the dream root to work. Dean poured in some of the powdered substance before you plucked one of Charlie's hair from her head and into the drink to give you access into her mind. While Dean grabbed a chair, thinking he was the only one going on this trip, you took your chance to sneak yourself on when you quickly took a swing of the stuff. 

You managed to get the vile and murky drink down without gagging before the cup was ripped from your hand. Dean was rightfully pissed at what you were doing, your body was already in a weakened state as it was. Who knows what the dream root could do to your body even more. He plucked another hair from Charlie's head and chugged the rest of the concoction before shoving the empty jar to Sam’s grip. The look on Dean’s face was clear enough he was ready to tell you what you were doing was stupid, but it wasn’t exactly the time or the place to do it. 

"You can lecture me all you want after we get back." You said, already having a clue the words that were going to come out of his mouth. The first time you used dream root you were out in a matter of seconds. The stuff was taking a little longer than you wanted, but you could feel it working when you felt your eyelids starting to grow heavier. "But Charlie's my friend, too. She’d do…” 

Before you could finish what you were trying to say, you found yourself slipping out of consciousness faster than Dean. Sam managed to catch your body before you hit the ground. He set you down on the chair that was meant for Dean to keep you somewhere safe while you went off to wander around in Charlie's head. Dean was waiting for the effect to hit him fast as it did for you, but he felt nothing. Which meant he was going to have to do this with some extra help from his brother. 

“All right, I’m gonna need to go to sleep fast to catch up with Y/N, so, punch me. And look, man I know you don’t want to, okay?” Dean thought his brother would feel bad to lay one on him, but it seemed showed no hesitance from the sucker punch he directed to his face. While it was enough to hurt like a bitch, Dean was still very much conscious. “Well, you’re a little off your game there, ‘cause that was pretty—”

Sam swung his fist to give his brother an uppercut that did the job. He watched as Dean fell to the ground, the hit to the head from the impact did the job as well. Sam nudged his foot again Dean's leg, wondering if he was still conscious. The man laid on the ground, out light a light, joining you in Charlie's head to a setting you weren't expecting to wake up to. Someone’s mind was a personal place that really told you who they were as a person if you were given a chance to take a peek inside. Their biggest fears were things that nobody told you about were out in the open for you to discover.

When you took a peak around in Bobby’s head it was in his home before he took up hunting and being haunted by his wife that was possessed by a demon, the man had no clue what that was at the time. He stabbed her to death in a way of self defense. Yours was being haunted by your inner demon half that only you knew about at the time. And Dean’s was turning into a black eyed monster himself in some motel. Charlie’s was...a setting that took you by surprise. 

You woke up in a very uncomfortable chair with what sounded like jazz music playing in the background, the setting you noticed was strange when you opened up your eyes. It looked like you were in someone’s office from the things you spotted around the place, and in the wrong generation from the picture you saw up on the wall of a president from the past. Not to mention the old school equipment you spotted from the typewriter and record player. You saw Dean lying face down on the desk, dressed in clothes that fit the time period. A lab coat with a military uniform, his hair parted on the side and smoothed down. You furrowed your brow slightly at his clothing. It seemed you were dressed differently, too.

You glanced down at your clothes to see you were in a nurse's uniform, the vintage kind from the starch white dress with stockings and white shoes to match. You placed a hand on your head to feel the hat to tie the look all together, and felt around at your hair to see that it was different as well. You slowly looked over at Dean, the both of you confused as to what the hell was going on. You didn’t waste any time getting up to your feet while Dean ditched the lab coat, thinking it wasn't exactly necessary. While you looked around more where you ended up, Dean made his way over to the record player to turn off the music. He took off the needle from the record, but the music kept playing all on its own. You looked around the office a little more to figure out what was going on, you stumbled upon something a bit unsettling. 

“Looks like someone didn’t want someone getting in.” You said, pointing to the door with a heavy metal table pressed against it. “Wonder what.”

"Only one way to find out." Dean mumbled. He made his way over to the table and shoved it to the side and away from the door. When he noticed one of the legs was loose, he brought up leg to swiftly break it off, using it as a weapon for whatever was out there. "Stay behind me, okay?”

You nodded your head to reassure him you weren’t going to go running off. He opened up the door and peeked out into the hall, quickly taking a look around the place to make sure the coast was clear. When it was, you followed behind him into the hallway where you discovered a gruesome sight you weren’t expecting to find. It seemed you and Dean were in some kind of military base, and you were the only ones alive. You noticed dead bodies laying all over the ground, nurses and men dressed in uniforms, their clothes bloody. You tried your hardest not to step on them while you noticed the blood was on the walls as well. Someone had went crazy and went on a killing spree. You weren’t sure how any of this had to do with Charlie. You walked up to a nurse to see there was a newspaper tucked underneath her body. You bent down and picked it up from the ground, reading the headline: “Truman Denies Military Experiments.” 

You furrowed your brow slightly at the year you caught on the paper. “1951? Why the hell are we in 1951?”

And where the hell was Charlie in all of this bloody situation? You dropped the paper to the ground and continued on following Dean when he kept walking in hopes he could figure out for himself what was going on. He spotted an elevator and tried to see if he worked when he pressed on the buttons, but nothing happened. He tried to somehow pry open the doors to see if he could get access inside, but the both of you were about to have company. You turned your head at the sounds of growling and saw there was two very undead looking coming your way, a look of hunger in their eyes. You looked over your shoulder to see if there was a chance to escape or even a room to sneak yourselves into, but you were at a dead end. Dean used all of his strength to somehow open the doors to give you a chance at getting away from them, it ended up useless. 

For a second you thought this was going to be end for you and Dean, but before you could become food, the elevator dinged and the doors opened to reveal the person you were looking for. Charlie stood there looking like she jumped straight out of some Rambo movie from the cargo pants and heavy ammunition she carried around. The eye patch was a little weird if you had to be honest. Charlie nodded her head for the both of you to get back so she could save the day. You did as you were told, letting her take down the monsters with two simple shots. You had so many questions as to what the hell was going on, before you could, Charlie placed a hand on your shoulder and repeated a famous movie line to you and Dean.

“Come with me if you want to live.” She said in an overly dramatic voice to match the line. You gave her a look to cut the little action hero she was playing. She shrugged her shoulders, handing over the two guns she was conveniently carrying around. "I've always wanted to say that. What are you two doing in my dream?"

“You were attacked by a djinn. The coroner, Jennifer, remember? Djinn usually send you to your happy place. And, no judgement,” You said to Charlie, catching her up to speed about what was going on here. “But you gotta a really strange sense of happy, kiddo.” 

“Wait, wait, wait. No, no, no. Jennifer said that her kind feeds off fear.” Charlie seemed to know the events that led her here, but it seemed this wasn’t a dream where she could be a badass and kill some monsters. It was much darker than it seemed. “This isn’t my happy place. This is a recurring nightmare of mine.”

“What is this?” Dean asked, curious to know where he was.

“It’s a video game.” Charlie said. 

“Wait a second.” Dean tried to make sense of what he had just heard, wondering how the hell it had to do with her fears. “You’re telling me that this whole thing is a video game?” 

“It was called ‘The Red Scare.’ A first-person shooter against super-soldier vampires. I copied it off of a game company’s server before it was finished, reprogrammed it to reflect my flamingly liberal politics, and then I released it for free.” Charlie told you more about it, putting the pieces together of the things you already knew. “Then they tracked me down and had me arrested. I was twelve.” 

“And you’ve been on the run ever since.” You finished for her, taking a guess she did all of this after her parents had died. It was her coping mechanism to help with the grief. 

“So, how do we get out of here?” Charlie asked, hoping you had the answer. 

“We don’t know. We gave you the djinn antidote. It didn’t take.” You said. “And I even killed the djinn myself.” 

Charlie’s question took you by surprise. “Both of them?”

The mention of another djinn running round there made a frustrated sigh fall out from your mouth, you wondered why things like this happen. It was never easy as you hoped it would be. All of you decided to see if there was some kind of exit you could walk out of, maybe a back door to sneak out and bring yourself to the real world. But the father you wandered around the hospital, you only stumbled upon more dead bodies and rooms you couldn’t go into.

“We got to get back and help Sammy. Tell me more about this game.” Dean said. “Maybe if we can win—”

Before he could finish his sentence, you were bombarded with more of those super-soldier vampires Charlie had mentioned. You were prepared this time to face up against them, taking down two on your own after firing off a few shots with perfect aim. It seemed while you were walking around in Charlie's head you were back to your normal feeling self. Still didn't mean you want to be sticking around here for longer than you wanted. And you wanted to get the hell out of this place quickly as you could. 

“Look, I don’t know how long I’ve been out, but I’ve been through this level a thousand times already.” Charlie admitted. You gave her a confused look to how that was possible. “Every time I beat the level and save the patients, I get reset back to the beginning, only there’s less weapons and the vampires are faster.” Speaking of vampires, you turned around to take one down that was creeping from behind while Charlie took care of the other that was slowly approaching the three of you. "It's an infinite loop. Like Pac-Man without level two-fifty-six."

“Level what?” Dean asked, not understanding the reference to the game. Charlie brushed it off and started to walk faster. He quickly caught up with her, wanting to know more about what else she had mentioned. “Wait, what patients?” 

Charlie lead both of you to the infirmary where the patients she had talked about currently were. She grabbed a stable piece of metal that was mostly used for IV bags and placed it into the door handles to board up the room and you slide over a rolling table to make it harder for those vampires to get inside. While she peeked out the small window that looked into the hallway, you took it upon yourself to peek around and figure out who these patients were that Charlie was so desperately trying to save. You slid back one of the curtains to reveal a familiar face. You let out a sigh, having a feeling what this really was all of this was about. 

"Charlie," You called out her name, summoning her to where you were standing at the moment. She peered inside to one of the patients she was supposed to be saving. "I know who this is." 

Charlie pulled out the curtain to reveal her mother that she never mentioned before. She never really spoke about her childhood growing up to you. She seemed taken aback at seeing her comatose mother. When she turned her head to look at you, Charlie was confused as to what she was doing here. And how you knew her mother, Gertrude. "What are you talking about?"

"When you went missing, the boys and I found your little crash pad. We saw the payments you were making for her."  You told her the truth of how you even ended up here in the first place. Charlie’s big secret she had been trying to hide for years was finally out in the air. You weren’t sure if she looked relieved, or scared with the fact that it was out in the open. "So Dean and I visited your mom, looking for you." 

"She's why I'm in Kansas." Charlie admitted to you. It wasn't some comic convention or just to say hello. She was visiting her mother, trying her hardest to keep the woman alive in her life for long as she could. "I sneak into the hospital whenever I can, and I just...I read to her. She used to read to me to sleep at night when I was a kid. She read me 'The Hobbit.'" Her confession made your heart break for her. And you realized why she had given you that book in particular to you as a present. Because it held fond memories of her childhood. Charlie was trying her hardest not to let her emotions get the best of her, but you could see the tears welling up in her eyes. "She's the reason why I love the stuff I love." 

"I'm sorry for your loss." Dean whispered to her, thinking it was the only appropriate response to a situation like this. Charlie's expression twisted from the harsh words she didn't want to believe was true. You let out a sigh from the reality she was trying to keep at bay.

“She’s not gone.” Charlie told the both of you flat out.

Charlie pushed back the curtain to hide away her mother from all of you, like she was still trying to keep the lie going on in her head for long as she could. You looked over at Dean from the lack of progress you were making here. All of you were trapped with no way out. You made your way to the doors to see if you could peek outside into the hall and see if there was any vampires coming your way. Dean reached for one of the other curtains to see if there was any other patients here that Charlie had from her past. When he opened it up and saw there was in fact someone else lying in one of the beds, Dean felt his heart stop for a moment. 

You steadied a hand on the window and peered in closer outside, distracted by keeping a look out you had no clue there was another version of you in Charlie's mind. She was lying in the hospital bed, dressed in a gown, looking like Charlie's comatose mother. Dean found your name slipping out of his mouth, not sure what the hell was going on. Maybe Charlie had a fear of losing you, too. Maybe running around in her head while under the spell of the djinn was making his own worst fears come true. Charlie seemed slightly confused as to what you were doing here when she caught him staring at another body with a hint of fear in his eyes.

“Is this my nightmare or yours?” Charlie whispered to the man.

"Guys," You broke their attention away from whatever they were looking at and towards the company you had coming your way. You stepped away from the double doors to keep your distance as Dean pulled the curtain back to hide what he was staring at. "There's a lot of them. Probably three. And there's more where that came from." 

“This is it—the boss battle.” Charlie said, seeming to know what was going on here. “Come on, we got to save the patients.”  

“Wait, wait. You said that we’re stuck in a loop, right? And out there in the real world, you’re dying. Dean and I might be, too. We gotta find a way to break this loop.” You said. You tried to remember the time that Dean had gotten attacked by a different kind of djinn that liked to put their victims under some kind of spell. Except it didn't feed off fear, it gave you everything you ever wanted. The only way Dean could escape was to let go of the life he couldn't have, and kill himself to break away from the djinn's  trap. You shot off another round when one of the vampires punched their fist through the window, trying anything they could to break down the door and get to you.  "I think the only way to stop this is to not play." 

“What? No. No. We’ve got to save them. Nut up, Y/L/N.” Charlie said. You didn't know what was going to happen if you were attacked by those vampires. Maybe there was a chance you could be reset back to the beginning and start this cycle all over again. But there was also a chance you could be very well killed and that was it for you. Dean wanted to see if your theory was right, yet he was forced to shoot off another round when the vampires kept trying to break down that damn door. "See? Dean can't stop. Neither one of you can." 

“I think Y/N’s right about this. Now listen to me, this poison—it’s designed to put your mind into an endless cycle while your insides turn to mush, okay? And its fuel is fear. And call me crazy, but I really do think the only way to break this cycle is to let go of the fear and stop playing the game.” Dean tried to persuade Charlie that it was the only way to win this game. Charlie refused to believe so. She shot off yet another round when one of the vampires was trying to take out the metal rod, causing a sizeable damage in the door. It was how they were sneaking their way in the first place. “I know that your fear is creating all of this. But you’re not afraid of those super-soldier vamps out there, and you’re not afraid of this game, and you’re not afraid of what it did to you.”

Dean was trying his hardest for Charlie to look in the mirror and face herself and the problems she was avoiding for long as she possibly could. But someone needed to force her to take a hard look into the reality. You grabbed her by the shoulders before she could reload her gun and made her look at you straight in the eye, so she could finally listen to the truth. “You’re afraid of losing her. Charlie,” You dropped your voice to a whisper from the words that were about to come out of your mouth. It was something not even you wanted to say. “She’s already gone.” 

“No. You don’t understand. You don’t understand. I was at a sleepover, and I got scared, so…” called my parents to come and get me. They should have never been driving that night.” Charlie admitted the burden she carried around since she was twelve. It was the guilt and fear that had manifested itself into the idea that she was to blame for what happened. You knew the burden of feeling like someone’s death was your fault, but you told her that it wasn’t. She was just a scared child who wanted her parents. And she still was. You squeezed her arms in a comforting manner when you felt her start to shake under your grip and the tears formed in her eyes. “I just want to tell her that I’m sorry and I love her and just to have her hear it again. I just need to her to hear that one more time. But she can’t. She can’t.” 

“We know, Charlie. Believe me, we know. But you got to let her go.” Dean said. Those vampires outside pounding on the door and trying to break it down weren't monsters, they were manifestations of her emotions she had been keeping at bay since she was twelve. She needed to let them come in in order to free herself. "Game over, kiddo." 

You dropped your arms back down to   it at the door, making you believe that she was going to do the same thing. But Charlie couldn’t. She knew you and Dean were right. Much as it was going to hurt and make her feel things she had tried her hardest to avoid, it was the right thing to do. It would be what her mother would want to do. And that was to let go. 

Charlie dropped the gun down to her side, admitting defeat at the monsters she had spent all these years trying to fight. You heard the growing stop just seconds later. When you looked over to the doors, you noticed they were gone. And the place had suddenly grown eerily quiet. Dean made his way over to the entrance and took it upon himself to make sure the coast was clear. He pushed away the rolling table and threw the metal rod to the ground. Opening the double doors and standing outside to the chaos that lead you here, it was all gone. If they were gone…

Charlie walked over to where her mother was. Pulling back the curtain, she noticed the bed was empty, almost like nobody had been there the entire time. Or they had checked out, finally at peace. Charlie still found herself whispering the woman's title one last time in hope she could hear her. "Mom?"

+ + +

You slowly found yourself coming back to consciousness after forcing Charlie to face her demons that got her in trouble in the first place. Everyone had burdens they wanted to hide and pretend they didn’t exist. But at some point life was going to make you face them. You realized you were in the hospital anymore and back at the warehouse, sitting in what felt to be another chair. But you were back in your clothes and in the real world. You were back in your own clothes and in the real world from the looks of it. You blinked a few times to get your vision to focus when you saw someone in your eye sight, it sounded like Sam. He was kneeling on the ground so he was at your level, trying to get you to wake up when he saw the dream root was starting to wear off. 

“Y/N? Y/N, hey. Hey! Come here” Sam’s voice brought you back to reality. You saw him breathe a sigh of relief when he saw you finally back to yourself. You grabbed ahold of his hand and steadied yourself back up to your feet. Dean came around himself just a few seconds later. You wondered why he was lying on the ground the entire time. “You guys okay? What happened?”

“We’re okay.” Dean reassured his younger brother. While you and Dean had made it out in one piece with no lasting damage, you weren't worried about yourself. But Charlie when she awoke herself. She sat there for a few seconds, everything she had went through came rushing back to her. You let out a heavy sigh as you gave her a guilty look for the things you forced her to go through with. "Charlie, I'm sorry. We had to." 

Charlie knew what you and Dean did was for her own safety, and you loved her too much to let her die like that. What she needed right now was for someone to hold her. Maybe it was your maternal instincts that were starting to kick in, maybe you just wanted to be a good friend and comfort Charlie in her time of need. You wrapped her into a tight embrace when she went to you before she started to cry. You quietly shushed her in a way a mother would for her crying child. and placed a hand against the back of her head. You shut your eyes and squeezed her close to you, reminding her that she wasn't alone anymore. 

"It's gonna be okay, sweetheart." You whispered to her. "You're gonna be okay. I promise." 

[Next Part]

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25/1/19 Watching True Detective Episode Three

8.29

Woke from dream about repeating harris wittel joke to best friend in bar where i work, only best friend left halfway through me telling it, my audience turned in to this really hateful guy who works there as well and i fluffed the punchline. Called the dr for an appointment, got 10.50 w dr cummings. Text Emmy. Set alarm for 10.

10.12

Woke, feel shitty about what i ate last night. Apple core floating in one third of a glass of water. Gross. Searched Harris Wittels on podcast app, skipped first fifteen of last CBB appearence, straight to introducing himself as pontiac. Chelsea Peretti was my fav comedian in 2013, like everyone else.

10.47

Running late. Emmy text ‘what practice r u?’ I said ‘C’ she said ‘for [my name]’

10.55

Old guy at desk told me i could check in next time via the touch screens next to the door, like i’m a returning customer. Emmy whispered ‘so proud of you for coming.’ Said i love you maybe six times in half a minute.

11.02

Dr Cummings asked why i came today if it’s been so long, i mentioned Emmy, he took it and ran with it ‘it’s always when the women get involved. well, nothing new there.’

Didn’t want to go on the scale, couldnt make out the numbers and he didn’t tell me the number, just asked my height and told me my bmi was low but not alarming. Wore tracksuit bottoms because although i wanted to look serious for the drs, i didn’t want to add weight with jeans and heavy materials if it came to a weigh in. If it came to it i’d have shown him the gaunt phots from ‘thirteen. I might show them to Emmy.

Have to see a psychologist

11.17

Emmy crossed the floor with her arms out when i exited the dr’s office. Christopher’s intervention where Sil says ‘disgusting’.

5.17

Trying to remember anything from media studies to apply to the title sequence and all i can think is that uh the camera is skewed inverting the horizon transposed over Mahershala’s silhouette, denoting…that this shit is fucked up.

5.20

This title sequence is way too long. I could literally blend some kale/spinach/ginger, throw up, read that carver story where the whole family are trying to work out who the baby looks like, , ,

5.21

True Ass Detective

5.25

What i’m wasting mum’s inheritance on this week

-Adderall

-123 pounds on bed sheets in ikea how did it come to 123? Ate 1 1/2mg xanax before we went and stopped looking at the prices of the bedsheets to save time which in hindsight was not a Good Idea. Actually a Bad Idea because now i need two buses to go back and return two duvet covers that cost 30pounds apiece.

-A subscription service called Stingray Quello? I did the free trial to watch the Classic Albums on Graceland because Simon’s supposedly very problematic in it which is equally fascinating and expected, and funny? I fell asleep ten minutes in and i’ll watch the whole thing tonight but i bet i forget to cancel the subscription. I should set a reminder. I need to set a reminder to text back dad and not to eat after nine. Some people need to remind themselves to eat which is the absolute opposite of the problem I have. I would love to have to remind myself to eat. Just texts coming up telling me to have dinner because i’ve forgotten again and haven’t been calculating stupid ass numbers all day hoping they add up to less 1800.

-For 44.99 i can return to raccoon city and contract the D-virus. Yes, please!

-cancel Netlfix, keep adobe, maybe cancel WordPress, wait for dad to work out that his phone bill comes out of my direct debit and offer to pay it himself

5.26

everyone’s always got diseases. Mil has completed the Guarm section of the Cowboy Game and just discovered the cowboy has TB. He said Arthur Morgan is one of the most important characters in modern culture; I have to agree, although Mil’s version hasn’t got the long hair or the moustache-stubble or even the bear hat.

5.30

In the parking lot of a Walgreen’s in Big Bear i had the second worst instance of fear ever. We asked the motel receptionist for the nearest pharmacy and missed the exit twice. There are videos of us waking up and her talking in Spanish. There are videos of us in Joshua Tree drinking warm Tecate and saying i love you  out of rote. She said you couldn’t get pregnant on your period but i was in the headspace where you question/google everything instead of trusting yourself/anyone. She remembered it was Sunday, went to fetch a bible from the car, which i didn’t know she had, and recited old testament; i read the first one and a half google results and dressed myself from the open boot of her car. Some woman asked ‘where you goin?’, like flirting.

The wolf hat we bought the night before from a liquor store that had a fun hats section. Like a stuffed wolf toy, but only it’s head and stuck to a skip cap, fur pouring over the sides, enveloping the whole head - fun! the scanner wire wouldn’t stretch to her head, she bent so the cashier could ring it up along with 12 more Tecate.

The toilet we met in, in which we met, was like two cubicles at a time and mine had Bernie stickers all over it. we were being sick at the same time, she hd acid reflux and i said that’s what i had as well. She couldn’t eat meals we never finished a meal together no siree not one, in the space of fifteen meals we either didn’t order or moved stuff around on the plate til it looked like less than it did before. She couldn’t keep anything down and disappeared to the bathroom for minutes at a time and then i would, too.

At Walgreens i’d decided that actually she was hoaxing me, that her saying i love you and wanting to come out here in the first place, us leaving in the dead of night, wanting to get married and crying when i didn’t must have been like a series of jokes to her. She said ‘you want it so you ask’ at the counter and the woman couldn’t understand so she took over, the bear hat bobbing with her rhythms. We left once with the plastic case that you need scissors to cut and i went back in for the scissors. She swallowed with warm water from her trunk, made a face. Her reflux was bubbling. She was in the Walgreens toilet for a long time and then, like Mahershala, we went back to the motel to fuck, and got drunk again and i decided it wasn’t just a joke again, until we got so drunk that she crashed the car driving back in on the 105. Wedging all the empty cans underneath our seats before the highway patrol got to our window was number one worst fear i ever had.

5.33

Hi i’m stephen dorff and this is Interrogation

*jackass theme*

5.34

Ok things i know from the first two and a half eps:

The nerds were into dungeons and dragons

1980, 1990, 2015

My dad turned me against shows where police are the audience surrogate when we watched Zodiac or something else earnest w Mark Ruffalo. My dad: not into police. One time he got very angry when i questioned how anarchistic he was when he implemented a hard bed-time of 10pm. Like maybe the most i managed to intentionally rile him. I was trying to watch Die Hard 2 in bed and invoked the 10pm curfew and questioned why i wanted to watch a film about a copy anyway. But yeah, it’s tough to get behind any of these characters. They’re portrayed as flawed, but lovingly, like you can tell we’re supposed to appreciate their flawed masculinity or whtever.

Pizzolato is AT LEAST a moderate republican, maybe not a Trump guy on a good day, but probably into Paul Ryan.

Dorff’s wig is off-putting

The fellas will return to the house above Devil’s Den

The first two episodes were the best shot. Some of the scenes in the mist at twilight as the police searched the fields were eerie and unsettling. Since then it’s been kinda rote stuff, no flashes. Maybe that helps in establishing the story, but the pace has been slow as hell and could use something fancy to support it.

I do not care about these kids nor who killed/abducted them.

Dorff gets shot at some point. He calls Hays ‘killer’ soo….

5.51

Brown sedan, white suit, some guy with a scar. Dorff demanding two fingers of soco and talking about his dick is funny but not in the way intended.

5.55

Annoyed at whatever the song on Rhythm of the Saints is where he says ‘i was drinking herbal brew’ grow the fuck up