#you can really kinda tell probably when the timer was running low and the rush became real...

[moeblob]

So uh, haha, hey, uh. What if I set a timer for 20mins and then tried to rush job an HSR character in that time? What then?

(all of them were timed for 20 minutes which is why Numby doesn't have the designs :c I ran outta time. Also bigServal took like 13mins so I decided to do a miniServal with Lynx's hat in the remaining time)

[basically-i-write-shit]

“I haven’t seen (her/him/them) smile like that in ages.”

The first time Reki hears this specific phrase is at one of Miya’s legal skate matches. He and Langa had to sneak out of school to go see it, but they’d promised Miya and, honestly, school is boring anyway. It had felt like a spy movie trying to sneak off of school grounds. One short train ride later finds them in the stands of an indoor arena, waiting patiently for Miya’s race to begin, chatting idly. 

“So these jumps in snowboarding, are they-” 

“See, I told you we were late!” A familiar voice cuts Reki off, and he turns his head in the direction he’d heard it, gasping when he sees two of the last people he’d expected to see at a middle school skateboard race. 

“We aren’t late, look at the board dimwit! Chinen is next,” 

“We should’ve been here for the first race, it’s only polite! Miya probably thinks we didn’t come now.” 

“Well whose fault is it that the server you scheduled to come in for the time you’d be gone didn’t show?” 

“Not mine!” 

“Oh rea-” 

“Uh, Joe...Cherry...people’re looking.” 

Joe and Cherry seem to finally remember they’re in public at Reki’s quiet whisper, and they pause their search for an open seat in the bleachers. “Ah. Reki. Langa.” 

“What a coincidence.” Joe says, his cheeks dusted a light pink. He slips into the spot next to Reki. “Might as well sit here, eh, Kaoru?” 

Cherry grumbles, sitting delicately next to Joe, arms crossed over his chest. “I suppose. Aren’t you boys supposed to be in school right now?” 

“Half day,” Langa and Reki reply immediately, like they’d rehearsed. They both know that Joe and Cherry, of all people, know better; they also know neither of them could care less.  

“Sure, sure. Hey look- Miya’s match is starting.” They turn to look at the arena once more when Joe points, and he’s right; Miya is lining up at the start with two other boys his age. The timer counts down and the race begins. 

Watching Miya skate outside of S is interesting. Maybe it’s because there’s no sudden turns or extreme jumps, but he just seems so...bored. He easily overtakes the two boys and laps them once before he slows down, seemingly to allow the other boys to catch up so the race doesn’t end too quickly. Reki is amazed by some of the tricks he’s able to pull off, but he’s always impressed by Miya’s ability. By time the final lap comes around, Miya looks resigned to once again being the clear winner, and he looks resolutely to the stands only to catch sight of the strange quartet that is his friend group. 

A bright smile slips onto Miya’s face, and he looks like he forgets he’s skating a minute because one of the other boys passes him, and that finally snaps him out of it. He speeds up and is just barely able to pass the other boy before he meets the finish line. The arena is full of cheers, but Reki and Langa holler loud enough they hear their voices echoing even as the cheers die down. The next race is beginning, but the race they came to see is over and so they hop up and make their way down to the hallway just outside the main part of the arena to wait for Miya. As they wait, they see an older looking couple waiting by the doors as well. Reki doesn’t mean to evesdrop, really, but he can’t really help it- they're not even two meters away. 

“I’m glad we made it just in time. I feel horrible we have to leave so quickly after the race, though.” 

“Oh, he understands, dear. At least we’re always here for what counts.” 

“I wonder if he looks for us in the stands, before each match. Lord knows he doesn’t have the time to look while he’s skating. What if he doesn’t even know we’re here until he comes out?” 

“You worry too much. Didn’t you see him earlier? I don’t think I’ve seen our Miya smile like that in ages! He definitely saw us.” 

Those are Miya’s parents? 

Just then, Miya comes out and immediately locks eyes with Reki. He grins, running up to the group, and is immediately met with pats on the back from Reki and a noogie from Joe, Cherry and Langa choosing to more politely congratulate him for his win. Reki watches Miya’s parents as their faces morph into shock, and he feels bad kind of. Miya’s father’s phone rings before they can call Miya’s name, and they’re rushing down the hall before Reki can tell Miya they’re waiting for him. 

-

The second time Reki hears it, he’s at Langa’s place. They’d gone back to Langa’s after school because it was quieter, and they needed to actually do homework because they were both kind of sucking in Japanese lit; they blame it on skipping class to see Miya’s match, even though they were both doing bad before.

Sure, going to S later was also a benefit of hangingout after school, but it was mostly studying. 

Mostly. 

Langa’s mother, at some point, had come home from work and started on dinner but she was so quiet that neither of them had heard her over the low music they were playing while they did (or, more realistically, attempted) their work. She was so quiet, in fact, that she genuinely scares Reki when she knocks and enters Langa’s bedroom- he isn’t able to hide the shriek that slips from his mouth, nor can he hide the fact that he’s so scared he falls straight off of Langa’s bed and onto the floor. There’s a moment of shocked silence before Langa bursts out laughing, falling onto his back on the bed as he hides his face behind his textbook. Reki’s cheeks burn, and he takes the first thing he can find from Langa’s floor, an abandoned house slipper, and throws it at his friend. He misses and the slipper falls pathetically between the mattress and the wall. 

“Hey! It’s not funny!” Reki whines. “Mrs. Hasegawa, I’m sorry, but you scared the crap outta me! We didn’t hear you come in!” 

Mrs. Hasegawa isn’t laughing at him, but she does have a smile on her face as she replies, “Sorry Reki-kun! I’m glad you two weren’t doing anything I didn’t want to see, if you didn’t hear me then. I just wanted to let you boys know dinner’s ready. I assume you’re staying?” 

Reki decidedly ignores the flush that climbs up his neck and ears at the suggestive comment. “Y- Yes please, Mrs. Hasegawa. Thank you.” 

“Just come out whenever you’re ready, boys.” Mrs. Hasegawa smiles once more as she ducks out of Langa’s bedroom, and Reki turns to Langa who’s calmed down slightly, but still allows chuckles to shake his shoulders. 

“You’re the worst.” 

“I’m sorry, I just didn’t expect that reaction. You’re really easy to scare, aren’t you?” Langa asks, still laughing. Reki rolls his eyes. 

“Whatever. I’m hungry, are we gonna eat or not?” 

“I’m almost done with this section, and I want to write what I have before I forget. You can go sit with my mom, I’ll be out in five minutes tops.” 

“As long as I’m allowed to start eating without you, otherwise I’ll just sit and wait.” 

“Go and eat while it’s warm, but I can’t tell you it’ll be good. Dad was always the cook.” Langa says, not looking up from his notebook, and Reki nods as he climbs off the floor. 

“I’m sure it’ll be fine.” He calls over his shoulder, making his way to the door. It feels nice that Langa is slowly relaxing around him enough to talk about his dad, even if it’s just in offhanded comments like that. He’s never lost someone, himself, but he’s sure it’s hard to do. 

Mrs. Hasegawa is setting up three plates at the small kitchen table when Reki enters the main part of the apartment, and she smiles at him. 

“I know you two usually eat in Langa’s room when you’re over, but this is a little messy so I’d rather you eat in the kitchen. Sorry the table’s so small...” 

“Oh, it’s no problem, I don’t mind! I usually eat at the table with my family, so it’s not too different to me, really.” Reki rubs at the back of his neck, smiling shyly at Langa’s mother. They haven’t really interacted much, and he’s always felt kinda awkward meeting friends’ parents. But it’s alright. Langa’s mom is cool. She lets her kid sneak out well past midnight and doesn’t ask about it, and always sends Langa to school with cool snacks in his bag. “So, uh-  what’s for dinner, Mrs. Hasegawa?” 

“Nanako’s fine,” She says, smiling, and Reki returns it. “It’s probably underwhelming, Langa still prefers american food over anything, so it’s just alfredo. It’s kinda hard to find here, but I should’ve figured that, haha!” 

“Oh, I had that at Jo- at a friend’s place once! Langa said we could start eating, by the way, he’s just finishing a section on our homework.” 

“Hopefully not copying off of you,” Nanako says, and Reki can’t tell if she’s joking or not. She laughs, and Reki laughs along as they sit down, her on one of the wooden chairs and Reki on the fold-out chair Nanako pulled out for him. She sighs as she scoops some of the pasta on the three plates evenly, handing Reki a fork. “I never did say thank you for becoming friends with him. So, thank you, Reki.” 

Reki blushes and he sputters, looking at her. “Wh- What?” 

“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Langa happy. Since Oliver, he’s been...well, he hasn’t been himself. There were a few months where I wasn’t, either, before I realized I needed to take care of the both of us." Nanako says, her eyes sad as she looks at the pictureof Oliver they keep near the table. She turns back toReki. "And what happened, just now, I- Reki, I haven’t seen Langa smile like that in ages. Probably even before his dad died. So- thank you. You’re so important to him, and I thank the heavens every day for the change you brought to his life.” 

And then there’s tears in Nanako’s eyes, and Reki can’t breathe, and he searches for something to say but he can’t come up with anything, and he’s about to just up and hug her when a hand falls on Reki’s shoulder. 

“Did you make my mom cry for scaring you, Reki?” 

“Sh- Shut up, bro, I did not!” 

-

The third, and most unexpected, time Reki hears that specific phrase is actually at S. or, contextually, in Joe’s restaurant after S. The high of his near-win against Adam is beginning to wear off, and so while he waits for Langa to come back from dropping Miya off at home with the dope sketch bike he allows himself to lay his head on the table and close his eyes. His back and upper arms where he’d been dragged against the cliff are beginning to ache, and he’s sure he’s all scraped up, and he thanks the gods that the adrenaline at least carried him out of Crazy Rock and through a very carb-heavy late night snack. 

Joe is a bit tipsy, stumbling around as he works to clean up the mess they’d made; he’d been making conversation with Cherry through the open door of the kitchen, but Cherry’s responses had slowly begun to slow and slur until they just finally stopped, the pain killers he’s on knocking him out, leaving Reki and Cherry in similar positions next to one another at the table. Reki feels at peace with the gentle sound of Joe washing dishes and occasionally cursing when he drops one too hard in the sink. So at peace that he actually does drift off, until he feels a hand petting his head gently, and Langa’s voice returns to his ears. 

“..t home okay?” 

“Yeah. I stayed and made sure he made it through his window alright.” 

“Ah, I remember when Kaoru and I had to sneak out,” Joe sighs fondly. Reki keeps his eyes closed, suddenly exhausted. It doesn’t seem like they’re leaving just yet; Langa will shake him awake when it’s time. “It’s been a while since we’ve had to do that, though. Sometimes I wish we could go back to those days.” 

“Do you?” Reki can practically hear the way Langa cocks his head as he asks his question. 

“I mean, I wouldn’t want to be seventeen or making the same mistakes we did back then, but I do kind of miss the excitement that comes with sneaking out. Trying not to wake the parents, hiding the scrapes and bruises we got the night before.” 

“Yeah, I’m not sure how Reki manages to lie to his mom about half of the injuries he gets,” Langa says, huffing out a laugh. Reki hides his face in his arm, smiling. It’s a bitch lying his way out of things sometimes. “Luckily most of his injuries from tonight are under his shirt, but still...” 

Joe whistles. “Yeah, that looked like it’s gonna hurt later. You’ll make sure he cleans everything up when you get him home, and maybe do a concussion check before you let him go to sleep.” 

“Of course.” 

“Good, good...” Joe says, and then there’s a few seconds of silence before he lets out a sigh. “...God, that was a great fuckin’ race, though.” 

Langa chuckles. “Yeah.” 

“The kid scared me a bit, but that call with the wheels was a good one. Never in my years skating at S would I have thought to check the weather before a beef.” 

“Reki’s so smart. He knows so much about skating, and whenever I ask he somehow finds a new thing to tell me about. He’s amazing.” 

Reki fights the urge to groan, his face wrinkling against his sleeve. He wants to deny it, to whine and push Langa’s hand away in faux annoyance, but he just continues to pretend to sleep. 

“Reki’s a good kid. And he managed to humiliate Adam tonight, on top of almost winning against him, so I think that’s a win in itself.” Joe says, only sounding a little jealous that it wasn’t him that got to embarrass his childhood friend. “God, that was hilarious.” 

“It was.” There’s a smile in Langa’s voice, too. Reki smiles. He’d spent so long worrying that Langa would prefer Adam over him for nothing. 

“He fell off his board- ha, the asshole was covered in mud! Did you see him?” Reki peers his eyes open and sees Joe, his face flushed from alcohol, his hair pushed back with a headband, grinning up at the ceiling. “Ka- Kaoru, you should’ve seen him- I haven’t- I haven’t...I haven’t seen him smile like that in ages. Adam fucked him up, when we were younger, y’know...” 

Joe trails off, before he looks down and sees Reki’s now open eyes. He smiles. 

“Hey, speedster. How ya doin’?” 

Reki lifts his head and yawns, Langa’s hand falling from his hair. “’m fine, thanks Joe. Talkin’ about the race?” 

“Yeah. You did great out there, kid. Now you two should get home and rest; I’m gonna finish cleaning up and do the same. Get Kaoru back to his place.” 

Reki, still half-asleep, nods and allows Langa to herd him out the door. There’s a deep ache in his back and arms, a headache throbbing in his temples, but he can’t find it in himself to care. He settles in behind Langa and leans his heavy head against his friend’s shoulder. 

"Hey Langa?"

"Hm?"

"...thanks for sticking around. I've got some cool friends."

There's a pause as Langa turns to look over at his shoulder at Reki. There's a crooked smile on his face and his eyebrows are raised. "I'm glad to have you as a friend too Reki. What brought that on?"

"Nothing. Just wanted to tell ya."

[prettyboyjackhughes]

-Little Crosby-|D. Cozens| [Part 6]

Here is part 6! I can't believe it’s already part 6! But Dylan and Ava’s story continues and there's a bit of a surprise! I know @prettyboycozens and I were so excited about this part and what happens! So enjoy and please let us know what you think!

2 weeks after the draft, Dylan and I finished packing a few things from his parents’ house and headed down to Buffalo. Until I started college in the fall, we would be living together. It had taken Dad a while to get used to the idea, but he would get me back for the school year which he liked. But being away from Dylan again would be hard. Things seemed to be serious between us especially with the whole moving in together thing. Kirby and Carter helped move us into the apartment and then headed to Chicago for Kirby to report for camp. But before that, we had a week with just the 4 of us at the apartment, hanging out. Carter and I spent the days getting the apartment set up and organized while the boys attempted to build furniture. Since Dylan and I hadn’t made it to the grocery store yet, we ordered food a lot, figuring out what places around the apartment are good and we should remember to order from. Since I was pregnant, I got to decide what sounded good because certain foods made me sick. Most nights, we ordered pizza from a little place about 20 minutes from the apartment, just because I had no problem with it because it didn’t make me sick.  

“I’m hungry.” I say, glancing up at Carter as she walks back into the living room.

“We’re literally getting pizza in like 20 minutes. What are you hungry for?” Carter asks, sitting down on the couch next to me.

“I don’t know. I kinda want pickles?” I say, looking over at her. Her eyebrow immediately goes up.

“You? Want pickles? You hate pickles.” She says, crossing her arms.

“Pickles sound really good right now. Can you call the boys and have them bring pickles back with the pizza?” I ask, leaning my head against the back of the couch.

“I’ll just go get you some pickles, you weirdo.” Carter says, grabbing my car keys off the table and heading towards the front door. About 10 minutes after she leaves, Dylan and Kirby get home with the pizza.

“Where’d Carter go?” Kirby asks, setting the pizza on the kitchen table and then coming to flop on the couch next to me.

“Store. She should be back soon.” I answer as Dylan walks back into the room and over to the couch. He nudges Kirby to move over and pulls me into his lap.

“Avs, you’re pretty.” Dylan says, gently kissing the side of my neck. Kirby is absorbed in his phone, not paying any attention to the two of us. Ever since that night, after the draft, Dylan and my relationship has moved to a whole new level. He’s much more physical, which I love. He also makes me feel so loved. Not that he didn’t before but he’s more physical about his love.

“Ava Grace! I got the pickles!” Carter calls, slamming the front door of Dylan’s apartment. She hands me the jar of pickles and I smile happily. Kirby looks up at her as she slides her arms around his neck and accepts a kiss from her.

“You hate pickles. Why did she go get you pickles?” Dylan asks, looking at me, amused.

“I wanted pickles. They sound good.” And so, as everyone else starts eating the pizza the boys brought home, I eat happily out of my pickle jar. Dylan keeps looking at me, sitting down on the floor, munching away on my pickles, and shaking his head with a smile on his face.

“Hey, what was in the bag you brought home?” I ask as I finish off the jar of pickles and look over at Carter.

“I bought more lip gloss, that’s all.” She says, pulling out a tube and waving it at me.

“It tastes really good.” Kirby says, laughing. I roll my eyes and lean back against Dylan’s leg. His fingers twist through my hair gently and I relax even more.

“Wait did you eat all of those pickles?” Carter asks, sitting up all of the sudden.

“Yeah...Why? Actually, I think I want more.” Carter’s face screws up and she stands up, Kirby’s hands slipping off her waist.

“Let’s go get more pickles then.” She says, taking my car keys off the table again and walking towards the door. Dylan and Kirby both look confused and Carter looks concerned. As soon as the door closes behind us, she turns on me.

“Did you and Dylan use a condom that night after the draft?” I reel back, confused.

“I-What? I don’t know?” I say, starting to panic and trying to think back through that night. We were both so into each other and very very excited from the draft and just got a little carried away.

“Did he stop before anything happened?” As I realize what she’s hinting at, I shake my head.

“N-No...I guess we didn’t. Shit and I didn’t get my period this month.” I say, the realization hitting. I run my hand through my hair, my eyes wide and on Carter.

“We’re going to get a pregnancy test. Get in the car.” She says, turning back around to go inside and grab her purse. She tells the boys we’re going to get ice cream and runs back out the front door. She follows me out to her car and we get in on our opposite sides.

“Ava, don’t freak out just yet. You haven’t taken the test yet, it could just be a fluke. And you know that no matter what, you’re still my best friend and I’m gonna be here, no matter what that test says.” She says, her hands on either side of my face, forcing me to look at her. I nod, pushing all the emotions and feelings rushing through me down.

The drive to the store is silent, both Carter and I left to our own thoughts. She leaves me in the car, attempting to avoid the impending breakdown she can probably see on my face, and comes back with 3 different pregnancy tests.

“When we get home, we’ll send the boys down to the basement and lock ourselves in the bathroom upstairs and you can take the tests. Is that okay?” I nod, still completely lost in my thoughts. Another silent car ride back to the house, and Carter sends the boys down to the basement, shutting the door and locking it from the outside. She hands me the bag with the tests in it and she follows me into the bathroom. I do everything I need to do for the tests and then Carter sets the timer.

“Now...we wait.” I say, watching the timer count down. I couldn’t even look at the tests, leaving Carter to see the results.

“Ava...They’re positive. All 3 are positive.” Carter says, her voice low and soft. Her hand slips into mine and she forces me to look up at her.

“You’re pregnant.” As the words come out of Carter’s mouth, all I can think about is having to tell Dylan and Dad that we fucked up and now I’m pregnant.

“Ava, you need to breathe. We have to talk about this. You’re going to have to tell Dylan and your dad soon. Before they start to notice a bump.” She kneels down in front of me, looking into my eyes.

“It’s gonna be okay. Dylan and your dad love you.” I start to cry, leaning into Carter’s chest as she holds me.      

Dylan’s P.O.V. As I walk into the bathroom outside of the bedroom Ava and I share the next morning, I see something sitting on the counter. I ignore it, do what I came in there to do and then glance at it again. Ava keeps our bathroom ridiculously clean, so the fact that there’s something out on the counter is weird. So I make the decision to grab it and figure out what it is. As I do, I almost instantly regret it. It’s a positive pregnancy test, which causes my stomach to turn. Ava and I have been the only two  in the house for the past couple days since Kirby and Carter just got here yesterday, meaning that the test could only be from her.

“Hey man, let’s get going! The girls are meeting us at the store.” Kirby yells, coming down the hallway. Ava and Carter got up early, went out to breakfast and then went shopping for bedding and things for the apartment. He pushes the door open and stands in the doorway.

“What are you doing? You’ve been in here for like 20 minutes.” He says, crossing his arms and leaning against the doorframe.

“Uh um, this is a pregnancy test. A positive pregnancy test.” I say, turning and handing it to Kirby. He glances down at it and then back up at me.

“Yeah...What’s the issue?” He asks, raising an eyebrow.

“Ava and I have been the only ones in the house for the past week. This test has to be from her.” Kirby’s eyes widen a little but he keeps his cool.

“So? It could be a false positive. Dyl, don’t think too much into it. But if you are worried, maybe talk to Ava about it?” He says, following me out of the bathroom and back to my room.

“But what if it’s not a false positive? What if it’s a real positive? What if she’s pregnant and we’re going to be parents? I can’t be a dad yet.” Kirby sits down on the bed as I pace around the room.

“Cozzy, listen to me. You’re gonna be fine. If it is positive and she is pregnant, then you’re gonna be a dad. And you know what? You’ll be just fine as a dad. If anything, you’re the best one out of all of us to become a dad so young. Dylan, this is between you and Ava. Talk to Ava if you’re really worried about it.” Kirby may be an idiot most of the time but he’s a really good friend. Probably my best friend.

“Cozens, if you are gonna be a dad and Ava does have a baby, you’ll get the future you’ve been talking about having with her for the past two years. It’ll be a little earlier than you planned but you’re getting everything you’ve wanted. You’ve talked about having a future with her since you started talking to her, right after the game. Everything you wanted, could be happening.” And as I sit there, listening to Kirby talk me down off the ledge I had walked myself up, I realize he’s right.

“She’s everything I’ve wanted. She’s everything I want. I do want a future with her and if that future includes having a baby at 19, then I guess that’s my future with Ava. And I’m okay with it.” Kirby squeezes my shoulder, nodding.

“You’re not going to talk to Ava about this, are you?” I shake my head.

“If she is, it’s up to her to tell me.” Kirby nods and hands me my jacket.

“Let’s go get our girls.”

Ava’s P.O.V.

Carter and I got up early, went to the doctor and confirmed what we already knew and that I would be having a baby boy, which was the most exciting part of our visit to the doctor, and then had to come up with a plan for how to tell Dad and Dylan.

“You could just flat out tell them? I think that would be the easiest option.” She says as we wander around the baby section of the clothing store we found.

“But that’s not fun. I need to make it fun so I have something to distract myself from the fact that I have to tell my boyfriend who I love beyond belief and never want to lose, and my dad who had me way too young, that I’m pregnant.” She nods, looking at the tiny clothes surrounding us.

“Okay, I think I saw something like this on Pinterest the other day but, what about getting two of their jerseys and putting Daddy on the back of Dylan’s and then grandpa on the back of your dad’s?” As I think through the idea she just proposed, I start to like it more and more.

“That’s a good idea! I could probably talk to the people who do the Sabres jerseys. It might take a couple days but we’re not going back down to Pittsburgh till the weekend so as long as we have them before then, I can just tell them this weekend.” Carter nods and we continue to wander around the store as I type up an email to the girl who does all the jerseys for the Sabres. A few minutes later, the boys show up and Carter and I make a point of getting out of the baby section before they meet up with us. As we’re eating lunch, an email buzzes my phone and I turn to attempt to hide the screen from Dylan who’s sitting next to me, his hand resting on my thigh. The girl says she’ll do the jerseys for free as long as I provide them. So as soon as we get back, I order the jerseys which get there the next day and take them over to the arena while Dylan is with Kirby, looking at something for the apartment. On Wednesday, before Dylan and I head back down to Pittsburgh for the weekend, I convince Dylan to stop by the arena for a few minutes. As I wander the halls of the arena, I think about the fact that under Dylan’s sweatshirt that hangs loosely on me, a growing baby bump is starting to show and soon, I’ll be bringing a baby with me to all of Dylan’s games.

The jerseys turned out fantastic and I’m so excited to give them to Dad and Dylan. And I can barely contain my excitement the whole 3 hour drive to Pittsburgh. Dad isn’t there when Dylan and I get to the house but I still have a key and let us in. Dylan carries our bags up to my childhood bedroom and I pick up a few things around the house, getting things together before Dad comes home from practice.

“Hey Sweetheart! Sorry I wasn’t home when you guys got here. Practice ran a little late today.” Dad says, coming in and kissing my forehead. Dylan comes downstairs and sits down on the couch next to me.

“Don’t worry about it. I still have my key.” Dad pats my shoulder and then moves to hug Dylan who stands up and hugs him.

“Can we do dinner tonight? Or did you have plans?” I ask, looking up at Dad as he walks back out to the kitchen.

“We can do dinner. Do you want to order something or do you want to cook?” I glance at Dylan and he shrugs.

“I’ll just make something. Why don’t you and Dylan go to the store for me and I’ll get started cooking.” Dad nods and calls “Just make us a list.” I write up a list and hand it to Dylan who follows Dad out to the car. Them being out of the house for a little while, gives me time to get the jerseys ready and get everything prepped.      

As I fold the two jerseys a few hours later, my hands shake a little. I was cooking dinner for Dylan, Dad and I, planning on telling him and Dylan about the baby after dinner. Dylan and Kirby happened to be home, visiting Carter’s parents so they were over too.

“Hey, I have something for both of you.” I say, as I head back out to the dining room after we’ve eaten and set one box in front of Dylan and the other in front of Dad. Carter and Kirby have disappeared outside, like I had asked. I wanted to tell Dad and Dylan first before Carter and Kirby found out.

“Ava, what is this?” Dad asks, as I turn around from watching Kirby and Carter through the sliding door. Dad’s holding up the Penguins number 87 jersey with grandpa stitched where Crosby should be. Dylan’s eyes widen and he tears the box in front of him open.

“D-Daddy? What’s this?” He asks, looking at the jersey and holding up the sonogram photos.

“Um...I’m pregnant? With a boy?” I say, running my hand through my hair and taking the pictures from Dylan. He stands up, the jersey still clutched in his hand.

“You’re serious?” He asks, his hands on either side of my face, forcing my eyes to meet his. Dad is silent, which is the scariest part of all of this.

“Yeah...I’m 21 weeks along.” Dad’s face is now buried in the jersey, his face hidden from me.

“Oh my god. Baby!” Dylan says, hugging me, then dropping onto his knees to talk to my slightly protruding belly.

“Ava, is this real? Dad’s voice says, suddenly breaking through the silence. He’s standing, the jersey forgotten on the table. But as my eyes meet his, I don’t see the anger and frustration I was expecting to see. Instead, excitement and happiness fill his eyes.

“I’m gonna be a grandpa!” He says as I nod. He grins and pulls me into a hug. Dylan stands back, letting Dad and I have our moment.

“I guess this means you’re officially a part of the family?” Dad says, keeping his arm around my shoulder and looking over at Dylan.

“I mean, he’d better be. He is the father of your first grandchild.” I say, tugging Dylan to me and wrapping an arm around his waist.

“Well in that case, welcome to the family, Son.” Dad says, shaking Dylan’s hand. I smile and then the 3 of us sit back down. Dylan’s hand rests on my thigh and I lean against his shoulder. Carter and Kirby come back in and sit down with us, a knowing grin on Carter’s face.

“What’s with the jerseys?” Kirby asks, pointing at the Sabres jersey sitting on the table.

“Oh yeah, Kirby, you’re gonna be an uncle. Ava’s pregnant with a baby boy.” Kirby’s mouth drops open and we all laugh.

“You got her pregnant Cozzy? Seriously?” Kirby asks, laughing and leaning back in his chair.

“I did and you don’t need to give me anymore shit about it because believe me, I’ve heard it all.” Dylan says, pointing at him. The rest of the night, we all spend time planning for the baby and talking about names, nursery themes and everything else baby-related.

Later that night, Kirby wanders into the living room while Dylan is in the shower.

“Hey Kid, how you feeling?” Kirby asks, flopping onto the couch next to me. I glance down at my stomach where my bump is starting to show more and more every day. “Baby Cozens was up all night last night kicking so I’m pretty tired but other than that, pretty good.” He nods, glancing at my stomach, a smirk growing on his face.

“I still can’t believe Cozzy got you pregnant. I’m really excited for you both but it’s a lot to take in.” I nod, my hand resting on my stomach.

“It’s going to be a big adjustment. I mean, you’re gonna be Uncle Kirby now.” He laughs and nods.

“Ava, you know I care about you a lot. I mean, you’re pretty much my honorary sister and I love you. So if you need anything, ever, I’ll be here. I wanna help out as much as I can. Filling my uncle's duty.” He says, laughing and slinging an arm around my shoulders.

“I really appreciate it, Kirby. It means a lot, especially coming from you. I’m trusting you and Carter with this baby boy if anything ever happens to Dylan and I. I don’t think I’m supposed to tell anyone and I haven’t talked to Dylan about this yet but you and Carter are the godparents and I wouldn’t want anyone else to be responsible for my baby. Y’all are gonna spoil my son, aren’t you?” He nods, a grin on his face again.

“Between all of us hockey players, that child is going to be unstoppable on the ice.” I laugh and nod.

“Well anyways, I just wanted you to know that I’m here and that I want to help take care of you in any way you need me to.” I nod, smiling at him. And with a nod and smirk, he leaves me alone again.  

Telling Dad and Dylan lifted such a weight off my shoulders. Both of them are thrilled, especially Dylan. He’s fully transitioned to Dad mode, planning the nursery and getting it ready, thinking about names, talking to the guys he plays with who already have kids to get tips. The 9 months before the baby is born fly by. And before Dylan and I know it, it’s month 9 and I feel like a whale. Dad has kept himself busy but he’s excited to become a grandpa. But I think my favorite telling people about the baby moment was when I sat my uncles down, around month 6.

I set the box of donuts Dylan and I had picked up on our way to Geno’s, on the counter in the kitchen. Dylan takes my hand and we walk out to the living room.

“Dylan! Glad you could come too!” Kris says, getting up off the couch to go and shake his hand. They’ve all been around Dylan a few times now and they all seem to get along really well. I guess that kinda comes with the whole hockey player thing.

“Oh you brought donuts?” Marc says, walking out of the kitchen with one in his hand.

“You weren’t supposed to eat them yet! There’s a whole thing that goes with it!” I say, pointing at him from where I’ve settled myself on the couch next to Dylan and Kris. He shrugs and sits down on the other couch.

“Fine, go get donuts.” I say, leaning my head on Dylan’s shoulder. Dad follows all 3 uncles into the kitchen to get donuts, Marc making sure to get another one.

“How much are we betting that they won’t even look at what’s written on the box?” I ask, looking up at Dylan.

“Your dad knows about it, he’ll make sure they look at it.” He answers as they all make their way back into the living room. I look up at Dad who just shakes his head and laughs.

“Hey did you see where I got the donuts from?” I ask, looking over at the 3 uncles.

“No, why does it matter? The donuts are good.” Kris says, eating the donut in his hand.

“Go look at the box please. All 3 of you.” I say, crossing my arms and raising an eyebrow. Marc leads Kris and Geno into the kitchen again and they’re in there for a few minutes.

“I swear, you put food in front of them and they don’t pay attention to anything else.” I say, rolling my eyes and waiting for them to come back into the living room.

“You pregnant? With a baby?” Geno asked, walking back into the living room with the other 2 behind him. Kris sits back down on the couch, his arms crossed and eyebrows raised. Marc, who just happened to be in town for some reason, looks concerned as he sits across from me.

“She’s 6 months pregnant.” Dad says, looking down at me, sitting on the couch next to me and smiling.

“This obviously is a little different from the plan Dad and I have had for the past couple years but it’s going to be a good thing. It’s already a good thing. Dylan and I are really excited.”  The uncles still look a little confused and slightly concerned but they all seem happy. Knowing that I have the support of the 4 guys who raised me throughout my whole childhood, plus Dylan of course, is making this whole pregnancy so much easier. But of course, everything has its ups and downs and the up I’m feeling slowly turns into a down very very quickly.

“This is all because you couldn’t keep your dick in your pants and I hate you for it. I’m misreable now because of you and your stupid dick.” I say, glaring over at Dylan. He shakes his head and runs his hand through my hair. It’s 3 in the morning, the baby has been up kicking and moving around inside me all night and I have not slept at all. Dylan, on the other hand, has slept like baby boy Cozens is supposed to be.

“Baby, it’s gonna be okay. As soon as he’s born, you can tell him about how miserable he made you while you were pregnant. You can sleep all day tomorrow, we don’t have anywhere to be. Oh wait, shit. Isn’t tomorrow the dinner thing for you dad?” I groan and slouch lower into the blankets.

“Why did you remind me?” I groan as he tugs me into his chest and presses a kiss to the side of my neck. I close my eyes and try to settle into the peace being cuddled into Dylan’s chest gives me and somehow, it works. I wake up feeling a little better but still in an awful mood. Dylan attempts to cheer me up by getting me ice cream after lunch but it’s still a long day. I manage to squeeze my too pregnant body into the dress Carter and I bought a few months earlier. Dad shows up to pick the two of us up and I prepare to suffer through a ridiculously long dinner and talking to people I don’t know and don’t want to talk to. After what seems like forever, it’s time for Dad to make his speech for whatever honor he’s receiving that night and I prepare for the absolute bore that it will be. I love hearing Dad talk and usually I enjoy listening to him give speeches but tonight, I’m too miserable to enjoy it. All of the sudden, I feel stabbing pains. I shift a little, trying to make it go away and Dylan glances at me out of the corner of his eye. He raises an eyebrow, checking to make sure I’m okay and I brush him off with a nod. But then the contractions, or at least that’s what I assume they are, get worse and closer together.      

“Baby’s coming.” I say, my nails definitely digging into Dylan’s bicep.

“Now? Like right now?” He asks, his eyes growing wide in panic. He glances down at my dress, seeing the darkened spot on my dress. He stands up, getting the attention of everyone in the crowded room. Dad, who had been on stage giving a speech about something I hadn’t been listening to, looks over at our table.

“Okay, we gotta go!” He says, tugging me to my feet as I groan. My guess is that the next 24 hours are going to be chaos-filled.  

Tag List:

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@2manytabsopen​

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[fuck-customers]

Friday was a car crash. So, starting next week we have a HUUUUGE sale - as in 70%-of-our-stock sale. There's a lot of prepping - e.g remerching the store, pricing everything, getting the stockroom in order, training newer staff on processes, etc. We have a lot of new staff who are not comfortable with all this prepping so it leaves myself, the visual merchandiser and the rest of the 'full time lot' and two or three part-timers to do it all. HOWEVER, head office decide to fuck us up, and our VM up, one more. For Friday (14.07) they wanted the whole of our windows to be remerched for back to school. We have to do the windows EXACTLY how they want them to be and EXACTLY when. It seemed like the task would be okay at first until we realise the day before they sent us half the wrong shit and that our windows are set up completely different to all the examples. It's fucked as they're due to be started on after close on Thursday (10pm) and before open on Friday (10am). This is impossible as we can't get anyone that last minute to do a nighshift AND it needs to be approved by our area manager first. One of our supers stays back an hour or two after closing so he can set most of it up (e.g just get all the shit in the windows). My manager and the VM go in at 6am as planned to hopefully finish it anyway. I usually start at 8am with another co-worker. Our job is usually to get the store ready to open. To tidy, to replenish stock and to check up with delivery. It's quite a lot to do and usually takes the full two hours and we're usually still replenishing stock when we're open. My co-worker calls in, and, due to transport I'm in work at 7.40am where I'm asked to start work asap. So, I start doing the work of two people, whilst my boss keeps radioing me and asking me to stand outside and give the verdict on the windows (...not terrible but not what head office had planned either). It's A LOT. For opening, we usually have two managers/supervisors, our VM, the two people who come in at 8 and another member of staff. Another manager and sometimes another staff member comes in for close at 12, and part timers do shifts throughout the day/night. On Friday we just had myself, the manager, the VM and our super. Due to being short staffed, we only had one person coming in at 12 and then two people coming in at 6 to help close. The windows were NOT done so it left me and my super on the shopfloor until 12. Nobody in the back, not enough staff to do any floor sale prep either....fucking great. The first three "sales" are all refunds as well. Which sets the day off to be G R E A T. There's then this really needy lady who has me up and down our stockroom about 12 times getting her every single size in every single dress. She leaves buying one. My boss is running around panicking like fuck, keeps phoning head office, other stores, our area manager, etc etc etc for guidance on this impossible task. FINALLY, just before 12, things calm down. Our VM comes out of the window and starts writing notes before deciding to take her (long, overdued) break. I go to the back of the store and start tidying when all of a sudden...out of our door that leads to the back...comes a delivery driver. I'm like ??? as we get deliveries usually about 12.30pm and they come from the upstairs back door - we have a backdoor downstairs too but it just leads to the bins in the malls. The doors are all alarmed and we have a big sign on our door saying "ring ____ if you have a delivery" as we don't have a buzzer and it saves us from the binmen constantly knocking on our door asking us if we have rubbish. We then open the door, take in our cartons and sign whatever we have for them. We then scan delivery into our stock, compile a report and then put away backstock and pull newstock/needed stock to go out on the floor. So, my boss is in the windows, our VM is standing at the till writing and our super is sick and decides to tidy something ...somewhere. So she's still on the floor but not standing about to barf everywhere. Leaving me standing face to face with this guy. "Hiya?" I bean, confused. HOW DID HE GET IN? DID SOMEONE LET HIM IN? IS THERE A FIRE? A BOMB? FUCK. "Can you take in this FUCKING deliver?" The guy barks. I assume our VM let him in through the bin door, possibly due to the guy being in a rush and she's just left him and not signed anything. I nod and go with him. Nope. No delivery at downstairs. He runs upstairs huffing and puffing, "I was banging on your door for fifteen fucking minutes. I tried calling and the line was engaged. What the fuck? You're making me fucking late...." He goes on and on and on, I apologies, explain our lack of staff/window situ. And he goes, "I know its not your fault, pal. I'm fucking late though. Why the fuck have a number on the door if nobody can answer?" I then see what he's done to our back door, he's KICKED IT IN and the alarm is going off. "I set it off ages ago, why the fuck did nobody come check it?" "You can only hear the alarm from upstairs...?" I reset it and he shoves 20+ boxes at me (we were expecting 7...). He gets me to sign whilst still ranting and raving. I organise all the boxes but decide against scanning it all rn, as we're super low on staff. However, I radio downstairs first to make sure. "....so uh... the delivery guy broke into the back and delivery is here..." is all I muster to my supervisor. "Fuck- I'll go get [manager]. Come downstairs. We'll deal with delivery later." I tell the story to everyone in and my boss is SUPER mad. More mad about the guy swearing to me (even tho we all swear all the time) than him breaking into the shop and phones the delivery company asap I mean… I just thought he was rude. The swearing didn’t really upset me but my boss is super angry cos I “don’t get paid enough to hear that shit” and because he knows I have quite bad anxiety triggered by confrontation and was worried that if I was in a worse mood it could have set me off or whatever. He looks at the CCTV and is close to going through the back where other stores get their deliveries and chasing the guy but then thinks it’d make his complaint less …serious? …anyway, after all this hassle guess who comes in for a “visit”? OUR FUCKING AREA MANAGER. Friday was stressful. … The delivery company are refusing to believe the guy was swearing at me because he is a “timid guy” big nope the guy was the one of the most gobby people I ever heard. My manager just responds with something along the lines of, “Why would my staff member who is actually kinda shy lie? She was distressed after this….” goes on a lot… They also refuse to believe he broke into the store as other stores let delivery drivers in the back door. My manager responds with the fact he should have took a step back when the alarm went off as opposed to keep running in and out of the door (witnessed on CCTV) AND THAT we have a sign that says “THIS DOOR IS ALARMED, NO ENTRY - CALL [NUMBER] FOR DELIVERY & ACCESS.” … My supervisor gets sent home sick and my manager and the VM leave early, leaving me and my supervisor until two people come in for the close. Or so we thought. A new start from another location came in as he was supposed to train her (forgot to cancel due to change in shifts) and another staff member who agreed to do overtime today last week came in although there was no record of this. Both staff members stayed which was good for me bc otherwise I would have probably had to stay behind to help out! Very stressful day - I got the Saturday off after it too which helped me relax after the most wild of days.

[jigretro]

JIGRETRO

Retro Videogame Blog

May 19 PLAY EXPO MANCHESTER

My fiancée bought me tickets for this event in January for my birthday. I’ve never been to an expo specifically focused on video gaming/retro gaming, although I have been to The Gadget Show expo on a couple of occasions and to the occasional Comic Con style expo, so I roughly knew what it would entail.

On the lead up to the event I checked out the website and copied the map/floorplan for the event. This got me excited as I could see that there was a big marketplace, free play arcade machines, pinball machines and console gaming area. I had a look at some of the talks that were scheduled but, to be honest, nothing grabbed my attention. On the website I noticed that there were some YouTube guests attending, such as Top Hat 🎩 Gaming Man and Kim Justice, and I was intrigued by the prospect of running into them. I was most excited about the marketplace, but felt that the prices would probably be way too expensive for me to get heavily involved in.

My first impressions of the expo was that it was a little on the small side, but with my only other experience being at The Gadget Show I suppose it would seem small. We quickly walked around the entire floor to get a feel for everything that was happening. I also felt that it was a little quiet; we arrived at 11am but it would become much much busier over the coming couple of hours.

The marketplace was what I was most excited about and I spent some serious time in that area. I browsed each stall and made a mental list of things that I might like to buy and where the stalls were, but I didn't buy anything on the first trip round. The prices seemed very reasonable to me, which was a huge surprise for me. Prices were similar to Cex really, perhaps a little cheaper, but some of the rare games were very expensive, probably for good reason. I haven’t got the knowledge to really know whether they were good deals or not. I would never consider buying a rare game just because it was rare, I would have to have a personal interest in that game first and foremost.

My fiancée spent all of this time following me around, for which I consider her a saint. I think she secretly had fun rummaging through stacks of Gameboy games, etc... there is just something about the noise of it that appeals to anyone... not just collectors, ha ha!!! One highlight was a stall that featured only Japanese imports, shed loads of them, which was amazing to see. Unfortunately I couldn’t tell what anything was, but I was trying to hunt down a Japanese copy of Castlevania Symphony of the Night and, after a little while, I asked my fiancée (I was far too shy) to ask the chap running the stall if he had it, which she did (bless her). Unfortunately he didn't have it, but he gave her a business card and said that he could get it for around £45. This is actually a good deal, as the PAL version of this game had a very small release and those copies sell for around the £150/£200 mark on eBay 😮. Buying imports can be a cheaper way of getting hold of physical copies of some seriously expensive games. On my second walk round the market I made a few purchases and you will see what I got in the pickups section of the blog later.

After all of the game hunting both Steph and I were thirsty and a bit peckish, so we headed for the food court. The food choices were more than a little disappointing to be honest. The choices were basically pizza, hot dogs, toasties and some pre-packaged cold sandwiches. We got a couple of bottled fizzy drinks and shared a spicy meat pizza, which probably sounds amazing but it was just a plain pizza with a tiny amount of salami. It filled a hole though and we continued with our day.

We made our way to the arcade area and this was really cool. Pretty much every popular cabinet you could think of was here and this was a busy area, it was hard to get on anything but luckily most people’s attention span on each machine was relatively low, so with a little waiting/queuing you could get on any cabinet after a few mins. My highlight was the Outrun machine... this thing was freaking awesome. The speakers were LOUD and directly next to your ears in the headrest and the seat actually moved, swinging you back and forth while cornering. I had an instant understanding of Outrun's huge popularity after playing for a few minutes on this. Steph wanted to queue for a Wack a Mole machine but changed her mind when she realised that the people queuing behind would be watching her. Ha ha.

The console area was amazing; they had just about every console/microcomputer you can think of set up with a game and ready to play. We each sat at many different consoles and played all sorts. I had a good session playing Sega Rally on a Saturn. The highlight for me was sitting down and playing on a Virtual Boy, this failed console was released in 1995 (before the release of the Gameboy Colour) but Nintendo pulled the plug the following year after poor sales. 22 games were released for the system but I was playing Wario Land. I thought this was great. The image quality was much higher than I was expecting and the basic '3D' effects worked well.

The pinball area was cool but, at the time we went to it, it was incredibly hard to get on any machines. Also, pinball isn’t exactly where I excel, but I had a go on a couple of machines. One interesting thing that I will remember is watching a cosplay Deadpool playing the Deadpool pinball machine... ha ha, surreal.

Areas I was less interested in included modern console/computer gaming, table-top gaming (card games), Minecraft and Fortnight LAN play (this was super popular with the kids... almost like a crèche area, ha ha), shows/talks and cosplay, but it was all there if you were interested in those things.

So this is the pickups section of what I bought, for how much and why I bought each game. I didn’t buy any particularly outlandish titles, although I’m really pleased with Alien 3, Outrun and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fall of the Foot Clan.

Megadrive boxed

The Terminator (no manual) - £6. This was a complete nostalgia purchase for me because, to be honest, the game is pretty terrible, ha ha. I owned this game back in the day and played it repeatedly. It is insanely short; completion will only take about 15 of your precious minutes, but I am stunned that they would’ve charged full price when the game was released. The positives are that the background music is actually pretty decent, with a great recreation of the iconic Terminator theme and adrenaline-pumping music as you play as Kyle rushing to save Sarah. For me, this game has some serious atmosphere and I’m really pleased to have it in my collection.

Alien 3 - £8. This a game that I have seen covered in various YouTube vlogs and I have been intrigued about it for a long time. I have no nostalgia for it but, having played it since buying, this game rocks... maybe even enough for its own blog, so I’m not going to spoil it all here. You play a badass alien-slaughtering machine Ripley and you have to rescue hostages before the timer runs out, and they have an alien burst from their chests. The aliens act as they should, with a darting-type attack as soon as they appear on your screen. You have to be vigilant to kill these suckers.

Megadrive loose, both for £18

Jurassic Park - this was more of a nostalgia purchase. One of my close friends had this game when we were kids and I thought it was great at the time. An action platform game with dinosaurs... what’s not to like?

Outrun - this game speaks for itself. A classic and, after playing that arcade machine, I was sooo pleased to pick this game up. I feel the Megadrive conversion is great and very arcade accurate.

PlayStation

Porsche Challenge - £2. Can’t go wrong with the price and this is a nostalgia purchase for me. I spent hours playing this game with my cousin back in the day; a fairly standard early 3D racing game with some interesting shortcuts within the tracks.

Moto Racer - £2. Again, can’t go wrong for £2. It was developed by Delphine Software International, who also brought us one of my favourite games of all time and the subject of my first blog, Flashback. This is a really good bike racing game.

Game Boy

Kirby’s Pinball Land - £6. I love pretty much every pinball game I play, for example Sonic Spinball and Dragons Fury. I’ve kinda wanted this game for a while. My friend had this game back in the day and I remember playing it on his Super Gameboy.

Japanese import of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Fall of the Foot Clan - £6. I’ve heard good things about this game and anything Turtles is usually really overpriced but, with this being an import, it was a very reasonable £6.

And Tony Hawk 2 (can’t remember what I spent but probably around £4 ish) for the Gameboy Advance. I’ve had this game before and I enjoyed it a lot. Despite the GBAs limitations, this game cleverly changes things up to a isometric view. All else remains unchanged from the Tony Hawk formula. I think this is an ideal game for a bit of Tony Hawk on the go.

Many thanks for checking out this month's blog. Until next time!!! 🎮

[neostep-blog1]

//JOHNNY\\ • Smut

Word count: 4391

A party is hardly a party when everyone around is miserable or bored out of their wits, but the title party is only given to this gathering because most of the people are socialising with their plus ones - they've completely forgotten about everyone else. That's up until now, when you're in queue to play a game you'd never heard of. However, being stuffed in a closet with someone for seven minutes doesn't exactly seem like your idea of fun.

The only reason you even showed up is because someone you talk to here and there invited you, and you're really wishing you hadn't accepted. Especially now as you lean against a wall, looking around at people chatting, and a timer up on a television screen for the people in the closet. In all honesty, you don't want to play, but there's nothing better to do around here at this rate.

When the timer dings as the countdown strikes zero, you notice someone open the door to the closet, smirking as they rush two people out. The two people walked out quietly, their hands intertwined with each other's, though there's hardly any signs of anything else. The people who decided on this game must have expected people to go into the closet and come out disheveled and messy, clinging to one another as if they're trying to make it known what happened for the past seven minutes.

When the people are out, the person who was controlling the door looks down at slips of paper he pulled out of his pocket, presumably with names on them, and looks around. "Y/n," he looks at you. "Come here."

You step over towards him, your hands clasped together in front of you. "My turn?"

"Yes, you and..." He unfolds and reads the other slip of paper and then looks around, setting his eyes on someone. "Johnny," he calls out.

You look over at Johnny, a slight bit relieved. He's the person who invited you here, but no one else knows that. He's an acquaintance of yours, but you don't talk often enough to be considered close friends. When he walks up, he stands beside you and raises his eyebrows, realizing you're going in with him. "Have fun with your seven minutes in heaven," he says with a smirk.

You attempt to prevent from rolling your eyes, but you walk up to the door without hesitation, glancing in. The only thing you can see is pitch black, but the closet looks hardly big enough for one person, let alone two. You sigh and step in, shoving yourself into the corner as you try to take up as little space as possible.

When Johnny steps in, his tall stature leaves him taking up a bit more room, and he leans back against the other wall when the man shuts the door, and then locks it from the outside, leaving the two of you alone in the pitch black closet. He speaks out to you first, and you can only go by his voice since you can't see his face.

"So... I probably shouldn't ask but are you having fun at all? I mean, probably not, I don't think anyone would be, but you know..." He trails off, and it's obvious he's just trying to make small talk to ease your awkward nature.

You chuckle awkwardly despite this, and tilt your head a bit with your response. "Yeah... I'm not, honestly. Nobody has been even socializing. It's just been people talking amongst themselves, and it's basically just a quiet gathering. It reminds me of a nursing home."

"A... nursing home?" He questions, his voice curious.

"Yep. You know, a nursing home. All those old people are so quiet you could hear their dentures hit the floor if they fell out." You make your joke to relax, but he actually laughs, and you can hear his amusement in his voice.

"Why do I feel like you've been to enough nursing homes to know this?" He questions, laughter plaguing his response.

"I haven't, but the people here are close enough," you admit. He chuckles lightly and then it goes silent, and you sigh out quietly. "How long do you think we've been in here?"

"...Well, less than a full minute I'll guarantee." He says with a bit of playful sarcasm. You roll your eyes with a small grin, and then you exhale deeply.

"Right... This is gonna feel like forever." You mumble out, and you can hear him inhale sharply, and then yawning.

The silence in the enclosed space is a bit awkward, and you reach out slightly to stretch, only to remember how small of a spot you're really in when you accidently hit him in the arm. "S-Sorry!"

"I'm gonna bruise now," he says with sarcasm and a theatric of sadness in his voice.

"I barely touched you." You scoff, and then nod a bit, amused by his dramatic nature.

It goes silent again before you can hear faint talking outside from the people in the room. You purse your lips and glance around the pitch black closet, only able to see a tiny bit of light shine in from underneath the door. When you hear Johnny move around, he repositions himself to be leaning against the same wall as you, and you can somehow feel his breath against the skin on your cheek, though he probably doesn't even realize that he's so close to you.

A few minutes pass, and you click your tongue, glancing down to the floor. "This is about as boring as it was outside of the closet," you mutter.

"Well what do you wanna do?" He asks, inhaling deeply.

"I don't know... What's the point of this anyway?" You ask him, rubbing your hand on your forehead in slight distress, not knowing how to pass the time.

"I think... They expect people to just... You know..." He trails off, hoping you'll catch his drift.

"They... what?" You ask, his words piquing your curiosity.

"Well... You know..." He beats around the bush and you inhale deeply.

"Come on, Johnny, tell me," you plea. He chuckles a bit and then speaks out.

"Well I could always just show you," he says with a bit of mischievousness in his voice.

"Go ahead," you say. "Not like I could see anything anyways honestly, it's so dark in here."

"Well, that's kinda the point..." He trails off and chuckles slightly, his breath rubbing against the skin on your cheek again. Then, you can feel the breath come slightly closer, and you gulp, expecting something that you're unsure of.

When you turn your head to try to look at him directly, your lips ram onto his, and you don't move in the slightest for a moment in shock. He seems to have no problem though because he ends up kissing you back, his slightly chapped lips moving in sync with yours, which just now began moving.

You oddly feel drawn into the kiss, and place your hands on the sleeves of his sweater, tugging at them gently. The sudden turn of events has you in shock, but you enjoy it nonetheless. You'd never pictured yourself kissing Johnny, rather it's due to his sarcastic and joking nature, or simply the fact you don't talk as often as you should.

Either way, you can't ignore the set of lips attached to yours, and you kiss back, your body sensitive to the touch on your lips since you haven't had a real kiss in a long time. You allow the kiss to easily become heated, hesitant to pull away before the door opens. Before you can actually do so, your biggest fear comes to life - the door is opened immediately, and the light from outside shines into the closet, leaving everyone to see your current standing with Johnny. You both pull away immediately, and you can feel a heat rush to your cheeks. The looks on people's faces are merely a fraction of what they could be thinking as they raise their eyebrows, suggestive looks eyeing the two of you. Your head droops low, embarrassed and cringing at yourself, when you immediately walk out to escape the situation. "Seems like you two were having some fun in there," one guy says, a short wink shooting your way.

In a way, you feel disappointed. The intimation in his body language suggests that he is too, and you purse your lips. When you glance around the room, you feel embarrassed in every aspect, and reach for your phone which had been sitting on a nearby table - they didn't allow you to take it in with you.

"I think I'm gonna go," you say aloud, not picking up your gaze from the floor.

"Yeah, me too..." You hear Johnny say from behind you. "I'll talk to you later...?"

______________________________________

A few days later, you sit plopped on the couch in Johnny's living room, and stay silent as he doodles on a piece of paper. "So, what did you wanna do?" You ask him, inhaling deeply in boredom.

"I dunno... I said we would hang out but I can't think of anything much," he admits. "Wanna watch something on TV?"

"Sure," you say quietly. All that's been running through your head since the other day is the kiss, and you can't seem to let it escape your mind. Rather it was the intensity of it, the awkward encounter with everyone else, or even just a combination of both - either way, you can't forget it. Your breathing is shaky when he stands up beside you and walks forward, grabbing the remote. "What do you wanna watch?"

"Uh, I'm not sure." He sits down beside you on the couch, and his close proximity leaves you slightly nervous, the tips of your fingertips trembling. He turns on the TV, and then doesn't do anything else as it's already sitting on a movie channel. "Are you fine with this? I have no idea what it is, to be honest."

"Yeah... That's fine," you nod kindly and place your hands in your lap, avoiding any accidently contact with him to make you feel even more awkward. You stare at the screen blankly, your mind running everywhere except the movie. You can think to yourself only about the kiss it seems.

When you're around him now, you remember it. Possibly because, in all honesty, he's a really good kisser, and you were extremely sucked into the kiss that day. You almost still feel disappointed, and purse your lips as you zone out. The room is bright, and the midday sun beams into the room, making your exposed skin warm under the light's touch. You lick your lips as they sit dry, and reach forward on the coffee table to grab your bottle of water. You unscrew the top and bring it to your lips, tasting the metal-like bottled water as it soaks your mouth.

When you do, the movie flips to a scene with a couple getting it hot and heavy, lying on top of each other with their tongues practically shoved down each other's throats. Though thankfully they're still clothed, so it's not as awkward as you'd hoped.

Or not.

They start to undress as they're lying there on the floor, and you cough, spilling some of the water from your bottle in shock. It's extremely awkward, and you set the bottle down on the coffee table. Before you get up, you hear Johnny gulp beside you, and then he glances at you, noticing your situation. You stand up, headed to get a paper towel, only to have run into him as he stands up with the same idea in mind. When your body runs into his, you take a step back and you can feel a heat rise to your cheeks, a bit shy from just that. "S-Sorry," you stutter out.

"Are you okay?" He asks, looking you in the eyes questionably. He turns around and grabs a paper towel from the kitchen counter which is just behind the living room, and you nod a bit.

"Yeah, I..." You trail off, gratefully taking the paper towel he holds out for you. You look down and hold out the fabric of your shirt, ringing it into the paper towel. You pat the fabric as much as you can with it, and then ball it up, your shirt still damp. "Uh, thanks," you say aloud.

You plop down onto the couch again, placing your hand on your forehead as you avoid his gaze. You feel him sit down again beside you, a deep exhale escaping his lips. When you look back up on the TV, it shows the couple completely all over one another, though it's only showing from certain angles so it won't count as nudity.

You clear your throat and glance down at the floor, but then you hear Johnny's voice speak out. "I'm... gonna go to the bathroom, alright? I'll be right back."

You just nod awkwardly and watch him walk away, shutting the door behind him. When he's away, you sigh in relief, and stretch your legs, extending them to the floor. "God," you mutter to yourself. Your mind continues to run and eventually you find yourself just wishing you could kiss him like that again, or even more. You purse your lips at your thoughts, and then you hear the bathroom door click as he opens it after a very short time. You glance over at him, and the first thing you notice is a very obvious bulge in his jeans that he tries to hide awkwardly. You pretend you didn't see it and stare at the floor ahead of you.

You give an awkward cough to clear your throat, and he sits down beside you, his warmth radiating towards you at his close proximity. "S-So," you stutter, "How's life?"

You cringe at the attempt to clear the air, and place your hand upon your forehead. "...Life?" He asks, confused at your topic. You glance at him and decide to address the elephant in the room directly.

"Listen," you say. "I... I know you probably don't want to hear this but ever since we kissed, I feel really... I don't know, I always..."

You trail off, unable to make words for the extremely tense air. Instead of saying anything, you notice him glance down at your lips which had stopped speaking, and he rapidly slams his lips against yours, hardly giving you time to breath before you realize that your lips are connected. It doesn't start slow or smooth - the kiss is almost instantly rough, an unspoken longing and yearning unfolding in the kiss.

You feel everything you felt that day, plus some, well up inside you instantly. You kiss him back just as harshly and tune out your surroundings. In the middle of your heated kiss, Johnny reaches beside him and turns off the TV with the remote. He doesn't break the kiss though, and you exhale deeply as he nips on your lower lip, causing you to slightly gasp. His kiss goes from your lips, down to your jaw, and then onto your neck. In only an instant, you're practically yearning for one another, but you can't complain since it's all you've been thinking about for days. The feel of his lips against the skin on your neck lets a shiver run down your spine, and you grip the sleeves of his sweater in your fists, keeping him close. You look up at the ceiling, giving him more accessibility to your neck. You wrap one of your arms around the back of him and your mouth falls agape, enjoying the sensual touch. But then in the back of your head all you can really know is that he's your friend, and you never quite thought of him in this way. "W-Wait," you stutter out. He pulls away from your skin and looks you in the eyes, his eyes glazed over slightly already. "We shouldn't..."

He doesn't say or do anything as he looks at you, and then you feel heat rush to your cheeks under his intense gaze. "Are you sure?" He asks, a look of disappointment covering his face.

"...No," you admit. You crave for the feeling you had just moments ago with his lips against your skin, and his warmth pressed against you. He can see the look of disappointment on your face as well, and slowly brings his face forward, and slowly plants a kiss down onto your neck where he was kissing moments ago.

"Rather we stop or not, this'll be here for a while," he says in a quiet voice, his thumb rubbing over the area on the skin. You immediately know what he's talking about, and you can only picture the hickey covering your skin.

"Already?" You ask, instinctively rubbing your fingers over the skin.

"I wanted to get straight down to business," he says with a slightly raspy voice, obvious lust tainting it.

You eye him over and slightly bite your lower lip, looking at the glazed over look in his eyes, and the tension in your body relaxes. "Who says you can't then?" You look at him, your voice teasing his thoughts playfully.

Your words bring back the situation as he pulls you closer, and you land on him, your legs on the couch as you sit on his lap facing him. You glance down into his unwavering eyes, looking at you in desperation. The light in the room gleams against his damp eyes and reflects from the deep color, making you stare at them. He reaches his hand up and touches your hair, brushing his hand back to behind your head, pulling you forward a bit as he kisses you deeply. You wrap your arms around him, resting them on his shoulders. His lips are soft and the kiss is a bit harsh, causing you to breath a bit heavily from the anticipation welling up. As you move slightly, you can feel the hardened bulge in his jeans which is now quite obvious, and his breathing hitches slightly when you accidently move against it. Once you realize, you intentionally 'adjust yourself' on his lap for comfort, which causes him to obviously hold back any signs of pleasure.

The kiss hardly breaks for a moment when he realizes what you're doing, and pushes you over so that you're lying on the couch, and he's hovering above you, his lips only inches away from yours. The look in his eyes hint that he's already had enough of your games. It's as if he's undressing you with his eyes, his lips parting slightly. The tension in the air is at a high when almost immediately the both of you reach for your clothes, and he pulls his shirt off, dropping it beside him on the floor. Then you lift yours up and do the same before his lips connect to the skin on your neck where they were earlier, and your breathing hitches, running your fingers through his hair.

Your skin is soft under his touch and his tender kisses along the neck leave you to tremble slightly, unfamiliar to the feeling. Though your body relaxes under him after he pulls away gently. He gently tugs on your arm to pull you up, and you sit upright, your face inches from his. He shamelessly reaches around you and unclasps your bra, leaving it to fall from your arms. You move your arms in front of you and fold them, a bit shy. But he places his hand on your cheek and looks into your eyes, obviously not noticing. Your breaths are slow and heavy in anticipation, and he licks his lips a bit, pulling his hand down until it moves on your thigh. His hand trails upward to the hem of your pants, and he hooks his finger in the top, placing his lips on yours as he unsuccessfully tries to pull them down. You notice, lifting yourself up a bit so they slide off, along with the rest of your clothing, leaving you fully nude below him. You forget this when his kiss deepens, and you move your thigh upward. It brushes against the crotch of his jeans, and he lets out a small, quiet sound as he's taken aback, but desperate as he can be. When you do that, he gets frustrated and pulls off the rest of his clothes himself, yearning for what you both want.

You place your hands on his shoulders, and his lips trail from your lips down to your collarbone, slowly placing kisses upon the skin as he admires your body. Heat rises to your cheeks, as well as the rest of your skin, and you become desperate, your body in agony at the craving for his touch practically everywhere. "Please..." You mutter almost inaudibly, the word hardly reaching his ears.

Though when it does, he moves forward which causes you to fall back onto the couch, your body propped up slightly by the arm of the couch and pillows. He hovers over you with his arms outstretched onto the arm of the couch right above your head. You can feel his member at your entrance when he places his lips onto yours once again, biting your lip slightly in the process.

He takes your short and quiet gasp as a sign, and thrusts into you, your eyes immediately clamping shut and your hand travelling to the nape of his neck. He leans his head down, and his forehead is at your shoulder, his breath warm against the skin on your collarbone. You hold your breath in anticipation, and he pulls out and then thrusts in again, a moan escaping your lips. Your hands move to grip the couch cushion below you, the feeling of being filled up slightly overwhelming you, in a good way of course.

When his thrusts continue, you can feel the pace of his breathing quicken, pleasure also taking over him. You can feel his hand brush against the nape of your neck, and he lifts his head up to look at you before he kisses you, your tongues exploring each other's mouths in a heated make out. Your body feels warm every time he thrusts in, and you breath raggedly, the pleasure filling you to the core. Your legs wrap around him loosely, and you look up at the ceiling, quiet gasps and moans escaping your lips.

You can feel your heartbeat pick up in your chest when his thrusts speed up again, the pace building quickly. Your hips instinctively grind against him, and he lets out a quiet and nearly inaudible moan. He closes his eyes and focuses on the pace, a constant feeling of pleasure emerging inside of you. The heat from his body radiates against yours, and you bite down on your lower lip. The room is hot and the air is warm, a bead of sweat forming on his forehead. His hand runs through your hair at the back of your head and you inhale sharply.

"F-Fuck," he mutters out quietly, his voice deep and laboured. The previously tense air has been completely forgotten about now behind your pleasures. His thrusts are harsh and quick, your whole body feeling the motion. You clench your teeth in your mouth, your eyes shutting as your hips continue to roll in sync with his thrusts. The sounds of heavy breathing and slipped moans fill the hot room, and the sun beaming against your skin only makes the situation hotter in a literal aspect.

You feel a shiver run down your spine when his hand trails from the nape of your neck, down to your lower back, and then your thigh. He grips your thigh gently, and begins to thrust rougher, causing a whimper to escape your lips. Your hands ball up into fists, your fingernails digging into your palms as you feel the pleasure coursing through your veins. Though it's already been a few minutes, it feels like only seconds before a pit forms in the bottom of your stomach, and your walls begin to clench around him, your teeth grinding against each other.

"I'm... s-so close," you say, your breathing heavy. His breathing is just as laboured against the skin on your collarbone, and you can hear him mutter out an agreement, but you're too overwhelmed to pay it any attention.

Only seconds pass before you can't hold it any more, and your whole body shivers, your back arching and your eyes shutting as you moan out. As soon as you do, you can hear short and quiet moans and breaths escape his lips when he reaches his high as well, his arms slightly falling from exhaustion.

When you ride out your highs, he stays in his spot for just a second to allow the both of you to collect your breathing. He lifts his head up and looks you in the eyes, his mouth agape. You let your hands relax, and your body falls limp from exhaustion. He pulls out and away, and takes a deep breath.

"All this from a kiss, huh?" You tease, a tired smile rising to your lips.

"Are you complaining?" He asks, his eyebrow raised as he sits with lidded eyes, falling back to lean on the back of the couch.

"Not unless you are," you mutter.

"Then I'll take it that you enjoyed that just as much as I did," he snickers, his eyes shutting as he speaks.