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081314 · 1 year

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Sunset Savannah’s Tamashina-Mina – Episode 2 (Part 1)

Following is part 1 of my translation of Episode 2 of the Tamashina-Mina event. This part contains episodes 2-1 to 2-3.

Spoilers after the cut!

Episode 2-1

Leona: We made it.

Grim: Woah! So this is Sunset Savannah.

Leona: Yup. This is Sunrise City - the imperial capital, and also my hometown. Allow me to welcome ya'll to my sordid abode.

Jack: Ah- It’s hot….

Vil: It’s certainly hotter than it is back at Sage’s Island and the Shaftlands. Even the air here feels different.

Kalim: Everything is so bright and pretty!

Lilia: Indeed. And it’s quite uncommon for a large metropolis like this to have so much greenery in it.

Leona: That’s thanks to this country’s conviction, which we’re all so grateful for. The people here value “coexistence with nature” more than anythin’ else, and we make sure to conserve natural areas like this so the local animals have places to live, since they’re our ancestors and all.

Lilia: So what do you think, Leona? You feeling nostalgic about returning to your homeland after so long?

Leona: The opposite. I’m sick of lookin’ at this place. It never changes.

Lilia: Oh, really? I haven’t been to Sunset Savannah in quite a while, and it appears to have completely transformed since the last time I was here. The city back then wasn’t really developed very much, and they didn’t have any of these skyscrapers or whatnot.

Leona: That woulda been decades ago. Even back when my dad was healthy an’ ruled over the country, development of the city had already started.

Vil: I’ve also been to Sunrise City countless times before, but each time I come here I can’t help but be astounded by what an amazing place it is.

Leona: Amazing? You know… For folks who only come here once in a while just to kick back and relax, I guess that’s about what they’d think.

Vil: What is up with you? You keep beating around the bush about something.

Leona: Kalim, Scalding Sands is a hot and dry country like this one, right?

Kalim: Uh-huh. Most of my country is desert. But there’s a canal that runs through my hometown, Silk City, so it’s actually not too hot there. It used to be a huge problem trying to find enough drinking water, but we don’t have to worry about that anymore.

Leona: I’d wager that’s ‘cause the folks who run the government over there are proactive about adoptin’ new technologies, and they’ve been workin’ hard to improve the living conditions of your people.

Sunset Savannah is mostly made up of arid land. We ain’t got any deserts, but water’s still a precious resource for us. Unlike Scalding Sands, however, the development of infrastructure here is pretty much nonexistent. We even got people who still live off well water.

Folks here are so conscientious they’ll go out of their way to adapt to the land in whatever ways they can, and their whole lives are spent subject to the whims of mother nature. That’s why we still have this stupid festival to pray for rain every year.

There’s tons of natural resources underneath these lands, and if we’d just set up some large-scale mining operations then no doubt we’d be a lot better off. But everybody’s way too concerned about “coexistence with nature” or whatever. I doubt urban development ever even crosses their minds. It’s a lot different from Scalding Sands, huh?

Vil: So it’s not that the people here are unable to develop the infrastructure, it’s that they’re purposefully avoiding doing it… Something like that?

Leona: Yeah.

Lilia: Hmm. I don’t think that’s entirely a bad thing. As far as arbitrary development is concerned, if you spend enough money, it’s easily doable. And that’s why you’ll find modernized towns all over the world. But trying to develop an area and preserve the surrounding nature at the same time, like what they’re doing here? That’s astronomically more difficult.

Leona: My, what an exemplary response. If my big brother heard you sayin’ something that, he’d be beggin’ you through his tears to tell that to me, too.

Kalim: Your big brother, huh. Isn’t he the leader of this country right now?

Leona: My dad is the king, but he’s been sick in bed for a while. Falena, the first in line to the throne, has been runnin’ this place the past few years.

Kalim: I’ll need to be sure to say "Hi" to your brother! I’ll tell him how you and me always have so much fun together, Leona!

Leona: I don’t remember ever havin’ fun with you.

Lilia: We should give him our greetings, as well! I’m sure it’ll be fine if we just say something that sounds nice, right?

Vil: We’ll need to tell him all about how hardworking and kind our dear friend Leona is.

Grim: And I’ll tell him that Leona’s my henchman’s henchman!

Leona: Fat chance he’d come meet a bunch of tourists. We’re talking about the guy who’s the chief executive of the whole country. Sorry, but I ain’t in the mood to go see him, either. Why, I’m shakin’ in my boots just at the thought of havin' an audience with his royal majesty. Heh.

Vil: Oh, really? That’s a shame.

(A car pulls up)

Kalim: Ah! Here comes my ride. I’ll need to get headed to the hotel now.

Lilia: Leaving already, Kalim? That’s no fun. Here, why don’t you tell us what hotel you’re staying at? We can hang out together tonight.

Leona: As if ya even need to ask him. No doubt he’s staying at the Sunset Villa hotel.

Kalim: Hmm, let’s see here… Hey, you’re right! “Sunset Villa hotel!!!! (Don’t forget it)” …is what it says here on this note that Jamil left me. How did you know, Leona?

Leona: We don’t got many hotels that are luxurious enough to house guests of the state. It’s the same place we're gonna be stayin' at.

Kalim: Really? Awesome! It’ll be so much fun being together with everyone.

Vil: Sounds like you really did book us a proper hotel, Leona.

Kalim: Bye you guys! Let’s meet up later!

(Kalim gets into the car and departs)

Lilia: How about we go do some sightseeing now?

Vil: Good idea.

Jack: Man, it’s hot…..

Leona: Was wonderin’ when you’d finally pipe up, but you’re just saying the same thing you did before. You honestly think it’s that hot?

Yuu: Yeah, it’s pretty hot out!

Leona: That’s just your imagination talkin’. Deal with it. Sunset Savannah is a lot longer than it is wide, and we got a lot of tall mountains that are high above sea level. The climate changes completely from one area to the next, but the average temperature in Sunrise City is a bit higher than it is at school.

Jack: B-but still… Isn’t it really hot here….? Argh…. I’m dripping with sweat….

Leona: I mean, the UV rays in Sunset Savannah are really strong. A lot more than in other countries.

Vil: Thank goodness I applied ample sunscreen before we left.

Lilia: And I’m glad I brought my sun visor! I took every possible measure I could before coming here.

Grim: I've been standing in your guys’ shadows this whole time so I’m A-okay!

Lilia: My, aren’t you a clever one. That’s something I do quite often, myself.

Jack: …..

Leona: ….Jack? Hey, you alright?

Jack: I…. I’m fine….

Leona: Cut the crap! Your face is gettin’ paler by the second. Hurry up and go sit down in the shade over there!

Jack: I’m fine…. I….

(Jack collapses and falls on top of Grim)

Everyone: JACK!?

Jack: ….

Vil: He collapsed all of a sudden…. And he isn’t responding when I call his name.

Leona: This isn’t good... He probably got heat exhaustion.

Lilia: He’s unconscious. This is an emergency!

Grim: Waaaah! I’m stuck under Jack!

Yuu: Somebody help!!

Leona: Calm down! We need to bring him somewhere he can rest and look for something to cool him down with…

???: You seem to have quite the problem on your hands, Lord Leona.

Leona: !? You’re….

Everyone: ?

Grim: Who’s this guy?

Episode 2-2

???: Now I understand. I’ll go ahead and perform a physical examination, then.

Jack: Ugh.

???: Hmm. Just as Lord Leona surmised, you appear to be ailing from heat exhaustion. Come, let’s get you in the shade and I’ll patch you up for the time being.

Vil: Leona, may I ask who this is? You two appear to know each other.

Leona: *Sigh* This guy’s the head chamberlain of Sunset Savannah, and he serves the royal family.

Kifaji: My name is Kifaji, and I’m pleased to make the acquaintance of Lord Leona’s school companions.

Vil: A pleasure to meet you. I’m Vil Schoenheit.

Kifaji: Ah, yes. I recognized you immediately. We are truly honored to have a distinguished model such as yourself come visit us.

Lilia: I’m Lilia, from Briar Valley. Nice to meet you.

Grim: And I’m Grim!

Yuu: Name’s Yuu! Nice to meet you.

Kifaji: My, what a lively bunch. Thank you all for coming.

Leona: Anyways, your timing was pretty impeccable.

Kifaji: I noticed it was about time for you to arrive and came here to welcome you, Lord Leona.

Leona: Hah. Don’t make me laugh. I bet you swung by just to check whether or not I even showed up. You seriously don’t trust me, huh.

Kifaji: What a terrible thing to say. I wonder, which one of us is it that doesn’t trust the other?

Jack: A…augh…

Leona: Ya comin’ to, Jack?

Jack: S-sorry. I got super dizzy all of a sudden and blacked out before I realized what was going on…

Kifaji: Master Jack, please have a sip of this water.

(Jack drinks the water)

Jack: Haaah….. I feel a little better now…

Vil: You sure gave us quite the shock back there.

Leona: You idiot…. You should’ve dressed more appropriately for the heat. The hell did you come in your school uniform for?

Jack: I’m sorry. I…. I don’t do good in hot weather.

Leona: Yeah, I know. …I should’ve given you a heads up before we came.

Grim: Huh!? Leona’s admitting up front that he made a mistake…!

Leona: Why’re you actin’ so surprised?

Kifaji: We don’t want your condition to worsen any further. You’ll need to rest today.

Leona: Yeah.

Jack: What!? I don’t need any freakin’ rest! The tournament starts tomorrow… We have to train today…! Heat exhaustion isn’t even a big deal…. I’m going to our practice session with you guys!

Lilia: It is a big deal. You mustn't push yourself so much.

Vil: He’s right, Jack. That one-track mind of yours can be a real virtue, but sometimes it can also be your undoing. Anyways, we’re guests in a foreign land right now, so really you need to stop being so unreasonable.

Jack: But… But Leona Senpai’s counting on me… He chose me as a member of the team and everything… I’d feel awful if we couldn’t compete in the tournament just ‘cause of something stupid like this…!

Leona: If you’re feelin’ sorry, then zip it and listen to us already. You need to rest.

Jack: B-but…

Leona: You’ll just end up dragging us down in the condition you’re in. I’m kicking you off the team.

Jack: No....!!

Leona: This is an order from your dorm warden. You understand, right?

Jack: Dammit…. I’m really sorry…!

Leona: I told ya already, I’m the one who messed up. Don’t make me say it again. You tryin’ to make me look bad or something?

Kifaji: You were talking about Catch the Tail just now, correct? Might I presume you all are members of the Night Raven College Team that will be competing in the tournament?

Leona: Yup. Remember I asked ya to keep a spot open for 'em in the tournament?

Kifaji: Yes, and I’ve made the proper preparations. However, you never revealed your reasons for doing all this. Could it be…. You’re attempting to shirk your responsibility of performing the “Lessons of the Guardian”?

Leona: Nice guess. You’ve always been sharp as a tack, Kifaji.

Kifaji: Goodness gracious. That cunning nature of yours hasn’t changed one bit. What a pity. It’s your job to perform the “Lessons of the Guardian”, and that’s something you should take pride in. I should hope you'd adopt an attitude more befitting of a member of the royal family. To begin with, you’re always so-

Leona: Tsch. Here we go again with the damn lectures. It doesn't matter whether or not I go around actin' like I'm royalty. It's not like anybody cares.

Kifaji: ….Lord Leona, you really shouldn’t say something like that. Well then, I shall go ahead and accompany Master Jack to the hotel.

Leona: ‘Kay, sounds good.

(Kifaji departs)

Leona: …….. Wait a sec, Kifaji. We’ll go with ya.

Episode 2-3

Leona: Here we are. This is Sunset Villa, the hotel ya’ll are gonna stay at.

Grim: Holy cow! Talk about luxurious!!! I wish I could live here forever!

Leona: It’s the most high-end hotel in the entire country.

Lilia: What a magnificent place this is. Any patient should be able to recuperate in peace here.

Vil: Ah, Kifaji’s come back.

Kifaji: I’ll go ahead and begin my report now. I have taken Master Jack to the room we prepared for him, and I’ve also made arrangements for a personal doctor and nurses to look after him.

Leona: Nice work. Alright, now we need to go look for you-know-who.

Vil: And just who would that be?

(The camera pans around the room and then Kalim appears)

Kalim: Hey! You guys made it.

Leona: Perfect timing. We were just lookin’ for ya, Kalim.

Kalim: Hm? Is something the matter, Leona?

Kifaji: ….Don’t tell me!?

Leona: Kalim, you gotta enter the Catch the Tail tournament.

Everyone: !?

Kalim: Huh? Me? You mean join your guys’ team?

Leona: Yup. There’s three players to a team, but Jack ended up passin’ out from the heat so we’re a man down.

Kalim: Oh no! Is he okay!?

Leona: Yeah. But at this rate, Vil and Lilia aren’t gonna be able to compete in the tournament at all. We need one more player.

Lilia: Hmm. You're correct, however…

(Vil, Leona, and Lilia huddle together and start whispering)

Vil: Are you sure about this?

Leona: I know, I know. Compared to Jack, Kalim’s a pretty cruddy athlete. But havin’ him on the team is better than getting disqualified. Just think about it for a second. We got Yuu, who hardly knows anything about the world; Grim, who doesn’t listen to a word anybody says; and Jamil, who’s lord knows where right now. We pretty much got no other choice but to have Kalim join us.

Leona: So whadya think, Kalim? Your “buddies” are in a real jam here… You’ll help us out, right?

Kifaji: You stop right there!

Leona: Huh?

Kifaji: Master Kalim was formally invited to our country as a guest of the state. It is out of the question for him to take part in the tournament! He could get injured! If something were to befall him, the repercussions of such an incident would rock the peoples’ trust in the state.

Leona: Humph. You’re as stuffy as ever. Listen, Kifaji. All I’m tryin’ to do is enjoy my homeland’s festival with my school friends. I can’t even begin to tell ya how much Vil and Lilia have been lookin’ forward to competing in the tournament. And Grim and Yuu - they came all the way out here just to cheer on their friends. Wouldn’t it be a real shame if we turned them away now and just sent ‘em packin'?

Vil: My, what kind words. You’re moving me to tears.

Leona: Besides, if they don't get to compete, poor Jack’s gonna end up blamin’ himself for everything. I’d never wanna put my precious Kouhai through somethin’ like that.

Vil: Oh, and he even mixed in some concern for Jack!

Lilia: This loquacity is quite unlike him.

Leona: So what’ll it be, Kalim?

Kalim: Of course I’ll join you guys! I’d never just stand by if you’re in trouble. Besides, this Catch the Tail stuff sounds really fun.

Leona: Awesome, then it’s settled!

Kifaji: Nothing is settled!!

Leona: Oh, come on, Kifaji. You heard him, didn’t you? Our dear guest of the state himself, Master Kalim from Scalding Sands, said he wants to compete with us. Letting him join is what a member of the royal family should do, as a show of good faith an’ all.

Kifaji: Ack…. You always had quite the way with words. How I wish you’d employ such talent in other endeavors!

Leona: Stop stickin’ your nose into other people’s business, would ya? Anyways. Kalim, you gotta keep this a secret from the other Scalding Sands guests that are here. Especially Jamil.

Kalim: Huh? But why?

Leona: Jack’s just about drownin’ in shame right now ‘cause of this whole mess…. It’d be awful if everyone found out about it, don’t ya think?

Kalim: Yeah, you’re right. Okay, I won’t tell anyone!

Vil: ….If Jamil were to catch wind of this, no doubt he’d do everything in his power to put a stop to it.

Lilia: He might just end up fainting from shock when he sees Kalim step out into the arena tomorrow.

Leona: Now that everything’s cleared up, we need to start gettin' ready for Catch the Tail. They prepared outfits for ya'll to wear during the tournament, so go to your rooms an’ get changed.

Episode 1

Episode 2 (Part 2)

Episode 3 (Part 1)

Episode 3 (Part 2)

Episode 3 (Part 3)

Episode 4 (Part 1)

Episode 4 (Part 2)

Episode 5

#leona kingscholar #lilia vanrouge #vil schoenheit #kalim al asim #jack howl #twst spoilers #twst #twisted wonderland #tamashina-mina #my tl

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blackswaneuroparedux · 9 months

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So recently I was listening to one of my favourite podcasts while on a business trip by train through the Swiss Alps to Zurich. 'The Rest Is History' hosted historians Dominic Sandbrook and Tom Holland were quite topical talking about France under de Gaulle and the student riots of 1968 as well as its legacy towards France’s current troubles with civil disorder.

The recent riots starting in Nanterre and beyond were troubling and significant. However outsiders not knowing the French or their culture and history thought it was either the fall of the Fifth Republic or start of the collapse of Western civilisation itself. It was nothing of the sort. For the most part the French think it healthy to blow off steam and have a jolly good riot in the same way people in England blow off steam by writing an angry letter to the editor of the Times. It’s just how things are. As predicted, things have gotten quiet now.

In their podcast Sandbrook and Holland cheekily suggested that the fizzling out of les evénéments – the student protests of 1968, during which it seemed that another of France’s periodic revolutions might ignite - had something to do with the Whitsun holidays. Realising that their Parisian parents were setting off for their holiday homes in the French countryside or the southern coast, the elitist student leaders put down their high minded revolutionary leftist philosophical slogans aside for the bourgeois comfort of vacances en famille. There is a lot of truth to that.

All this is to say les grandes vacancies have already begun in France. The grand vacation of July and August is an entrenched tradition in the French psyche. So ingrained is this tradition that until 2015 there were regulations still in place dating back to the French revolution that governed when bakers in Paris could take their holidays, so as not to deprive the city’s populace of their daily bread (not quite baguette, because that was invented later by the Austrians camped out in the Champs de Mars after the fall of Napoleon - but that’s another story).

That France is in the middle of les grandes vacances can be seen here in Paris. Parisians are leaving their apartments and heading out to the countryside or down south to the Med - to be offfeeling handedly rude and entitled towards the locals. Schools have been closed since June. Many shops are closed or not nearly as crowded as usual, most of the people wandering the streets have cameras around their necks. Of course not everyone goes and those that stay can feel freer until the first glut of tourists arrive.

For many France in August is definitely their favourite time of the year. And every summer I’m reminded just how much French language and culture are inseparable by the fact that there are words for people who take their annual vacation in July, les juillettistes, or in August, les aoûtiens.

Most French people have 5 weeks of paid vacation per year, and some have even more time off with the inclusion of their RTTs (essentially, personal days) for those who work more than 35 hours per week. I work close to 80 hours a week, so I'm ready for my break from the corporate treadmill.

So my blog will be shut down for the rest of the summer as I go away on vacation. I’ll be back in early September.

I use this time to switch off my phone and strictly no social media as I go off grid. It's a question of valuing one's mental health. I hope you can do the same.

Thank you for following my blog and appreciating my eclectic posts.

I wish you all the best.

Have a great summer!

#les grandes vacances #summer holidays #france #on holiday #back in sept #personal

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miss-tc-nova · 6 months

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Hunted - Leona Kingscholar & "Yuu"

My piece for the Twst Horror Zine. I had a lot of fun thinking of the possible terror and re-watching one of my favorite horror movies.

Premise: Backpacking around Twisted Wonderland goes bad

Words: 2,962

Trigger Warnings: implied death, stalking, isolation

Art done by the incredibly gifted HoKeki on Twitter!

~~~~~

October 23, 20XX

I’m not sure how to start this, so here goes.

Welcome to my journal! Over the next several months, my friends and I will be backpacking across Twisted Wonderland, taking in the sights and cultures across the world. This is going to be my first excursion and I thought it would be fun to document it.

As anyone who knows me might guess, I’m bringing Ace and Deuce along, though I’m not sure how they came to agree on it when they never seem to agree on anything. Even right now, Ace is badgering Deuce about all the stuff he’s bringing. I agree Deuce might’ve overpacked a bit, but I don’t know how Ace thinks he’s going to be fine with just two sets of clothes and his pajamas. At least I don’t have to wear them. So I’ll be spending a lot more time with these dummies, but I’m excited it’s my best friends I get to share this adventure with.

Our first stop is going to be Sunrise City in the Sunset Savanna. From there, we’ll probably go east to the Shaftlands and then maybe up into the Kingdom of Heroes. The great thing is that we get to decide as we go. I was pretty adamant about starting in Sunrise City though. I’ve always wanted to visit since I learned about its culture and how intermingled it is with the wildlife. Also, being directly south of the Queendom of Roses made it an easy choice to start with.

Tomorrow can’t come soon enough. It’ll be a struggle to keep my excitement in check enough to get even an hour of sleep. Though I should probably finish packing first. Thank goodness Riddle isn’t here or I’d never hear the end of my unpreparedness. But that’s part of the fun, right? The spontaneity and not knowing what adventure the next day will bring. It’s the surprises on the horizon that I want to experience. Even the mishaps—because you know that’s gonna happen with the three of us.

I better cut it here. Ace is about to get punched in the face and I still gotta pack.

Peace!

~~~~~

October 24, 20XX

We finally made it! It took so long the sun is already starting to sink in the sky, but we’re here! Our plane was surprisingly small. In fact, the port here is more rural than I was expecting. It feels a lot more wild—like a safari.

Still, it’s absolutely breathtaking. Clear skies shine bright and the plains ripple like liquid gold in the breeze. Only the captivating local culture could stop me from staring at it for hours. The people are really kind. Most were obviously trying to make money off us, but even they were nice. And it all looked so amazing we had to drag Ace away from a shop selling “Bone Cookies.” This is literally our first day and the temptation to spend money is strong.

Right now, we’re in a cozy guest cabin. Some government officials questioned us about the purpose of our visit, where we’re going, all that stuff. When we told them we planned on taking the scenic route to the capital, the radio chatter started. They insisted we find another route, but the golden plains are one of the “Must See” views of the Sunset Savanna. Plus, we don’t have the money for fancy transportation. I’m sure we’ll be fine with a three-day walk, especially when there are rest stops that have some of the best hospitality.

In the end, our names, details, and contact information were taken. They even took pictures of us from different angles. It’s as if they’re expecting something to happen.

Some of the locals acted odd too, after we told them we were heading through the plains. Some gave us extra food, one gave us a discount, and one strangely gave us a compass—all with the same weird look. Still, I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Anyway, it was an exciting start but I can’t wait to get trekking. I wonder what tomorrow will bring.

~~~~~

October 25, 20XX

Waking up to Ace and Deuce arguing is going to get old real fast, but I should probably get used to it. They are “best friends” after all.

After the commotion, we prepared to head out. The locals again reminded us not to get distracted. Explicit instructions told us that there were to be no detours and no delays. Honestly, it started to kill the excitement. However, it’s going to take three days to reach the capital—one day to get to the first camp, one to get to the second, and one to get to the city—so it’s probably just proper precaution.

A single step into the gold plains was all it took for the grass to dwarf us. Elephant grass is notoriously tall, but I couldn’t have prepared for just how small we were. It felt like being thrown into a maze; yellow grass, the dirt under our feet, and the blue sky above were all that could be seen. It became intimidating along with its wonder and beauty. Fortunately, there’s only one path.

Not long after we began, Ace started talking tales of some banished prince. He heard the story from a shop owner he bought cookies from after being kicked from the cabin earlier. The reason I hadn’t heard anything was because of how recent it had been. Supposedly, just days ago, he tried to overthrow the king and murder the heir. People called for his execution, but the king didn’t have the heart to kill his own brother. Instead, he was exiled. But while being transported out of the country, he was set free by his followers—his jailers’ bodies were found maimed beyond recognition. Now the rumors say he’s hiding out to the east in the Shadowlands.

I didn’t want to hear any more, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell Ace to stop. Instead, he just kept talking, probably trying to scare us. And yet I think he also scared himself. It didn’t help that we could hear things rustling in the grass. I thought I saw something once, but couldn’t say for sure. Even though the locals said most wildlife would ignore us, it’s unnerving not to see what we can hear.

Despite the spooky stories, we made good time. The rest stop was within reach well before the sun started to set. Camp guards ushered us inside the fence, demanding our names, birthdays, reasons for travel—the same information we provided at the outpost. It must’ve been to check that we were on the list of expected visitors, which is a little strange considering I noticed ours were the only names on it.

It’s a small campsite. There are a few cabins around the clearing. A massive ring circles the whole place, dotted with devices that appear newly installed. Deuce says they’re for magic defense. Nobody can use magic in the camp and magic can’t get in. For all the security, that’s probably why we were instructed to arrive before sundown.

Well, I better get some sleep. Another long day of walking awaits tomorrow.

~~~~~

October 26, 20XX

A member of the camp staff woke us early this morning—the sun hadn’t even broken the horizon. All color had forsaken his face as he rushed us to dress and pack. No answers were offered to our question, only echoes that we leave immediately.

And again, as we stepped foot into the wilderness, we were warned to stay on the path and stop for nothing.

On our way out, the ruckus could be heard. They found something unusual at one of the barrier projectors. It would make sense to get us out of the way so they could focus on repairs. Yet I can’t help wondering if the hole being dug on the outskirts of the campsite had something to do with it. What was it for? What happened last night while we were all asleep? Did something get in? Where was it now?

That must be my imagination talking. It was early so it would be easy to misunderstand the whole thing. Besides, we needed to leave earlier since today’s trek was longer than yesterday. The sun would be long gone before we reached the next camp otherwise.

If only the boys could’ve kept their mouths shut. They argued the whole way. Ace sulked about not getting to sleep in and Deuce’s phone was missing. He demanded that Ace give it back, but Ace denied having it. The accusations probably come from last night’s teasing over Deuce messaging his mom, but I think he misplaced it in a different pocket. Hopefully he finds it soon or he’ll have to spend some of that souvenir money on a replacement.

Their fighting slowed us down, delaying our arrival at the second camp until just after sundown. Our reception by the staff was rough. After being jerked inside and held under duress, the interrogation went on until they could confirm we were the names on the list of travelers. So much for the hospitality.

There were no apologies as they put us in a cabin for the night. That’s where everything in Ace’s pack got dumped out and it still wasn’t enough to convince Deuce about his phone. So the arguing continued, even as I left to get a break from it all.

This second rest stop is much like the first. Cabins and staff equipment are scattered around. Though people are quiet at night, I could hear animals beyond the barrier. I think I even saw one. It was big, maybe the size of an antelope. It’s crazy how comfortable the wildlife is so close to settlements like this.

Well, I’m tucked in now and Deuce and Ace are pouting in their own beds. We’ll set out again in the morning and, by sunset tomorrow, we’ll be in Sunrise City.

~~~~~

October 27, 20XX

We messed up.

Ace really didn’t have Deuce’s phone. But neither did Deuce.

Like the day before, we were woken up early and sent on our way. Camp staff barely gave us time to pack before shoving us out. There was no time to question the hasty behavior and it left a sour taste in everyone’s mouth. Still, we went on our way as planned.

After noon, Deuce made us stop, yelling at us to be quiet. I thought he was crazy, but then I heard it too.

It was his mom’s ringtone.

Coming from the elephant grass.

We couldn’t stop him. He just took off. It was a blind run as Ace and I tried to keep up. We never would’ve caught up if he hadn’t stopped. In his hand was his phone, still ringing yet entirely useless. The screen was shattered and the frame bent. It was a miracle it could still even ring. How it got there and how it got destroyed is a mystery—one made worse by the fact that we couldn’t find the path again.

No one could say for sure which way we ran and the grass gave us nothing to find our bearings. Our phones were just handy clocks with no service in the middle of nowhere. Only the compass gave us any consolation. Surely heading south will get us out of here.

To make matters worse, night fell sooner than we anticipated. Making camp was the only sensible solution, no matter how badly we want to get out of here.

Now here I sit, in our little tent, listening to things creeping all around us. I have this nagging feeling that, whatever they are, they’ve been following us and I don’t know if it makes me feel better or worse that I can’t see them.

It’s probably just my paranoia. If we keep going south, we’ll make it out of here tomorrow. By now the savanna guides must realize we’re missing and be looking for us. We’ll be laughing about this whole thing in Sunrise City by lunch, except Deuce who will have to buy a new phone. Because of course this is the kind of trouble we would get ourselves into.

Everything will be fine.

~~~~~

October 28, 20XX

Maybe my paranoia last night wasn’t just paranoia.

None of us got any sleep at all. Whatever was sneaking through the grass lingered all night, getting louder and louder with their cackling and snarling. When we finally ventured out of the tent this morning, we were greeted with the destruction of our supplies. Everything was scattered, either destroyed or altogether missing. Here and there were pieces of the map, unsalvageable, and the compass was gone. Our bags were placed right outside the tent because keeping food inside is frowned upon for this reason, but now we have no food, no directions, and maybe half our belongings.

There was nothing to do but pick up what we could and continue walking.

Ace’s pessimism didn’t help. He’s convinced it was the banished prince at our camp, but all we could tell from the flattened grass was that they were large creatures. Still, the constant talk of our doom began to bother me and Deuce. I just hope whatever they are, they realize we don’t have anything else and leave us alone.

I don’t know how, but we must’ve gotten turned around somewhere. We tried to follow the sun, but each step was just more and more grass, hiding the unknown, letting us hope that the end is just one more step. Now the sky is black and we’re still here. We’re exhausted physically, mentally, and emotionally. So we set up camp to spend another night in this place.

~~~~~

October 29, 20XX

I’m getting really scared now.

Our tent was shaken by a fight just outside last night, but we were all too scared to make a sound. In the morning, not a word was said as we walked. Only this time, we knew the noises in the grass were them. They are following us. No, stalking is more accurate. I can hear them snicker and growl. I’m sure if I reached into the grass, I would touch one.

But they have nothing on the banished prince.

I’m not sure how, but I always knew it wasn’t him stalking us but his hyena henchmen. They’re destructive and menacing, but he’s a monster hiding in the shadows. He’s behind this.

I don’t remember when I spotted him, but I could feel his gaze on me, different from the other beasts. His growl shot through my heart and it felt like I had his claws at my throat. Barely veiled by grass, he wanted me to see him. Fangs eager to tear gleamed in that grin. Behind his gaze was nothing but malice, highlighted by the ink dripping across his skin. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t scream. I couldn’t even breathe. I was so certain that those bloodthirsty green eyes would be the last thing I ever saw.

And then he was gone. He wasn’t really gone, only gone from sight. There’s no doubt that he and his pack are watching us even now. We’ve been sentenced to death and they’re just toying with us.

We’re never getting out of here. Even if it weren’t for the monsters hunting us, we have no food and no more water. I don’t know if we can survive another night out here. I regret everything. I never should’ve suggested this trip. Because of me, we’re going to die out here. I’m sorry. I’m sorry to Ace and Deuce. I’m sorry to Deuce’s mom and Ace’s family. I’m so sorry I got your boys into this mess. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.

I wish this nightmare would just end.

~~~~~

October 30, 20XX

We lost Ace today.

Tension was high. We’re being hunted. We know we’re going to die. The fear of what’s in store for us is sickening. Unlike yesterday, Ace and Deuce couldn’t stop arguing. A fight was inevitable. When Ace knocked Deuce to the ground, he took off. We tried to find him—spent hours calling his name. But we never found him.

Long after the sun had gone, the grass finally parted. At first, we were excited. I think I cried. Then I realized where we were.

Rocky, barren land laid before us. Towers of stone loomed above, colder and less forgiving than the grass we escaped. An eerie fog hovered, concealing both new and old monsters. It was bad. We found the Shadowlands. Sunrise City was meant to be south of the port we started at. Those beasts managed to manipulate our path away from our destination and far to the east. He led us here to be slaughtered.

This is where we found Ace’s magic pen.

Nothing else.

We considered our options. The grass gave us no visibility and muddled our sense of direction. On the other hand, the Shadowlands were the prince’s territory. Both were bad choices, but we chose not to go back. At least in the Shadowlands, we had a chance. We knew where we were and how to get to where we needed to. Maybe Deuce and I could still find our way to Sunrise City. Maybe we could send a search party back for Ace.

Maybe this terrible journey will be over soon.

~~~~~

October 31, 20XX

We were wrong! We should’ve gone back!

If anyone finds this, stay out of the Shadowlands!

They took Deuce! They dragged him out of the tent! I can’t hear him scream anymore!

If you see this RUN!

GET OUT OF HERE!

GET OUT BEFORE LEONA KINGSCHOLAR FIN

~~~~~

#twisted wonderland zine #zine feat nova #leona kingscholar #ruggie bucchi #ace trappola #deuce spade #gender neutral reader #yes reposted because i jumped the gun

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deathmetalangel · 1 year

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yoo whats up, i got an idea for a request.

fuckshit from mid90s x male reader if ur good with that,

was thinking it could be somewhere along the lines of enemies to lovers, and they could be all competitive and in envy of each other at first but are like actually lustful and and end up together? like reader is from a different skater friend group that owns another skate shop in town and yeah thanks dude

FUCK, SHIT MD! (FUCKSHIT X M!READER)

warnings: swearing, enemies to lovers, mention of homophobia, underage drinking, smoking, partying, sexual innuendos, i actually really like this

they say they really hate each other, but everyone seems to doubt that

It was another day in the very busy city of Los Angeles. Summer break had made the local teens run rampant through the streets. Especially the ones that lived downtown with no way to get around and nothing to do besides skating.

The two local skate shops were ran and acted as home to two opposing or rival skater groups. The Motor Avenue boys were chill and easygoing compared to the hard nosed Xtreme teens. The oldest of the group was the tallest and most intimidating. A man of few words the seventeen year old was ‘lovingly’ nicknamed Myers. He never complained though.

“Myers where the fuck were you? We literally agreed to meet ten minutes ago.” The second oldest boy, MD, starts to nag.

“Yo, shut the fuck up. Hop off my dick MD. I was only ten minutes late. It isn’t like some Big Brother scouts are gonna see you or something in the ten minutes I missed.”

The three younger boys watch the two fight. They were used to it and didn’t care as much as MD did about time restraints. “Can we just skate? Sheesh. Everything doesn’t gotta be a fucking issue. Especially when a guy who’s government is so embarrassing he nicknamed himself after Molly wants to act tough.” MD turns back towards the sloppy boy.

Red doesn’t even get any amusement from how pissed the guy was. He just wanted to skate. “You know what Red how about-” The youngest kid, a newly fourteen year old, shushes his older brother.

“You’re embarrassing me. Just get your board MD. I wanna skate this pool, plus you promised you’d teach me to drop in.” The h/c haired boy sighs and grabs his skateboard. The two go off ahead of their friends, but stop before they fully get to the empty pool.

“Shit.”

Myers and the two other guys walk over to see what stalled the pair when they see them. The Motor boys. “Son of a bitch. Who told those losers we found this place?” All eyes land on the other group of skaters.

“N****, who you calling a fucking loser? Look at yourself.” The very well known Fuckshit shouts out from the other side of the bowl. MD huffs before dropping his board.

"Loser? I'll beat your ass right here right now you wannabe hood rat! I’ll pull your head out of your fucking ass while I’m at it!" Both boys start to make their way to one another when Myers pulls his friend back.

MD glares at the taller boy who was making a fool out of him. "Nah we can't let them talk shit, they're lame ass wannabes Myers. Don't go sticking up for them now. No wonder Ash broke up with your pussy ass."

"Leave her out of this. I'm just stopping you from doing something stupid." MD tries to break free. but ultimately fails. He shouts at Myers, who doesn't even respond.

Myers eventually lets him down and walks over to the other side of the bowl to talk it out. "Yo Ray MD didn't mean no disrespect, but we found this spot first. MD is just pissed because he was the one who found it."

MD steps to Fuckshit. "Damn right I found it." The two begin to square each other up. Seeing who would win in a fight before actually fighting. Y/n would be damned if he let this guy get the best of him.

“Take it easy dawg. We can share the bowl. This shit is huge anyways.” Red negotiates the deal with the two parties. Ray shrugs and turns to his crew. They seemed to be fine with it, only Fuckshit had a problem. And his problem was y/n.

Soon enough both crews start to skate and show off their best tricks while trying to land new ones, but the whole time y/n and Fuckshit are attempting to one up each other. Fuckshit lands a simple ollie, y/n has to land a 360 flip. They just kept going back and forth even though the rest of the guys were chilling.

It starts to get dark fast. Summer days lasted long, but the nights lasted longer. “Yo my bitch invited me to a party, she said her private school friends are gonna be there. You know how Catholic school girls are, such fucking sluts!” The suggestion belonged to the youngest, about 15 years old, the infamous Brick. Why he was called Brick, he once beat a kid with a brick. Said it was ‘on accident’.

“Yo Myers can you drive us?” Red turns to the boy who just got out of the bowl. He just nods and picks up his board. Red wants to just pick up and leave, but he turns back towards the Motor guys. "Hey you foo's wanna hit up the function?" Y/n whips around almost angry at the suggestion.

Fuckshit turns to Ray who shrugs. The boy sees how pissed off y/n was and chuckles under his breath. "Fo sho. What's the addy?" Red writes down the address on some random piece of paper he had for some reason and both squads head on their way.

All of the Xtreme kids pile into Myers minivan, yeah he borrowed his moms car. "I don't know why you had to invite those losers Red, they're fucking buzzkills."

"You're just mad cause your gay as wants to fuck on Fuckshit or sum, pop a fucking xan and relax dude. You're looking hella weird with how much you be obsessed with the n****."

The rest of the car ride was boring, well to MD. Y/n thought staring angrily out the window was better than talking to his friends until they got to the house. That and he was contemplating what Red had said earlier, was he really that obsessed with the blond? No way, it was just a rivalry like Myers and Ray, but Myers and Ray didn't constantly look at each other from the opposite side of the skatepark.

Y/n had bigger problems to deal with when he was smack dab in the middle of a blaring party with a hoe on his right and a 40 in his left hand. "Shit ma you know I ain't about this shit." The girl was already getting annoyed at him. After ten minutes of her trying to get his attention y/n just stood there like a statue. His eyes not once wavering and glancing at the scantily dressed girl.

"Ugh you're fucking gay or something. I mean who could resist all this." She motions down her body with a smirk. Her hips sway like she's still trying to get at him.

Y/n makes a face, he wasn't exactly interested in the girl who the guys called chlamydia girl. "Anyone with standards that doesn't think with their std infected dick could." Her face turns bright red and she's livid, but he just decides to dip before she yaps his ear off. That girl was weird.

He was already buzzed when he made it outside. All of his friends were inside, but he needed a break from that shit. Y/n sits down on the bottom step, shivering slightly when the cold concrete touches his back through his tee and undershirt. Ignoring the sounds around him he lights the blunt he rolled before he left his house. His nerves steady as he starts to inhale the smoke.

"Can I get a hit of that?" Y/n looks up at Fuckshit who was taking a seat next to him. Y/n shrugs and passes the blunt to him. "You know you talk a lot of shit for someone who skates like shit." He chuckles while blowing out smoke.

Y/n turns to look at him. "Yeah and the bitches say you fuck like shit so who's really the loser?"

"You really are fucking annoying ain't you? Always got something smart to say."

"You're the one who started throwing jabs while hitting my blunt, weed isn't cheap. Well, my strain isn't."

"Damn homie thinks he's bougie cause he smokes fancy ass weed. Just shut up man you look better with your mouth shut." Fuckshit was obviously already on something, you couldn't force half of this shit out of him normally.

Y/n didn't really know what to say. "What you wanna fuck me or something man?" It was mostly meant as a joke and the rest meant to test the waters. They were supposed to hate each other, but now it was hard to tell where they stood.

Fuckshit hits the blunt again. "What if I do? Ain't no shame in my game n****, cause you be eye banging me all the damn time."

"I don't eye bang you fucker." Y/n gets in his face slightly embarrassed at the insinuation. Fuckshit just laughs and blows smoke into his face.

"Sure you don't MD. It's aight tho, I know I'm sexy."

"You know if you weren't such an asshole you'd be cuter."

"Nah you like me cause I am an asshole don't you? Ha look at you getting all nervous n shit. I make you nervous? Can't believe how little it takes to get the big bad MD nervous."

Y/n presses forward instinctively. His lips pressing against Fuckshit's to stop the onslaught of teases. "Fuck shit," The blond mumbles slightly when they pull apart.

"Come on, ain't no way you're driving home. I'll let you crash at my place. Give me your keys I'll give them to Ray then well walk to my crib." Y/n grabs the boy who had already smoked the whole blunt, selfish bastard.

"Can I get head?"

"Shut the fuck up."

#deathmetalangel #mid90s x reader #fuckshit x reader #fuckshit x male reader #mid90s #mid 90s #mid90s imagine #fuckshit imagine #fuckshit x y/n #fuckshit x m!reader

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thoughtportal · 17 days

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Official measurements have found that Paris is rapidly becoming a city of transportation cyclists. The survey of how people now move in Paris was conducted with GPS trackers by academics from L’Institut Paris Région, the largest urban planning and environmental agency in Europe.

The institute’s transportation report was published on April 4. It found that the way Parisians are now traveling from the suburbs to the city center, especially during peak periods, has undergone a revolution thanks in part to the building of many miles of cycleways.

Those cyclists now on the streets and roads of central Paris are not Spandex-clad professionals as seen on the Tour de France but everyday transportation cyclists.

L’Institut Paris Région carried out the survey for a consortium of fourteen public and private partners, including local government and rail companies.

Reporting on the institute’s survey, French TV channel 20 Minutes told viewers that the “capital’s cycle paths are always full.”

Between October 2022 and April 2023, 3,337 Parisians aged 16 to 80 years old were equipped with GPS trackers to record their journeys for seven consecutive days. In the suburbs, where public transit is less dense, transport by car was found to be the main form of mobility. But for journeys from the outskirts of Paris to the center, the number of cyclists now far exceeds the number of motorists, a huge change from just five years ago. Most of the journeys recorded were commuter trips.

The city’s socialist mayor Anne Hidalgo has pushed through a great many anti-motoring measures during her two administrations—such as reducing the number of parking places, restricting access by SUVs, and closing some major roads to motorists—and the latest survey will be validation for her policies, none of which have caused the kind of protests that the French capital has long been famous for.

In short, culling cars has been far more popular than her petrolhead critics predicted, with Paris becoming cleaner and healthier to boot.

Notably, and without the spread of conspiracy theories common outside of France, Paris is also putting into practice the home-grown concept of the “15-minute city,” creating urban areas where access to amenities is close and hence there’s less need to drive. {read}

Carlton Reid

I was Press Gazette’s Transport Journalist of the Year, 2018. I’m also an historian – my most recent books include “Roads Were Not Built for Cars” and “Bike Boom”, both published by Island Press, Washington, D.C.

#article #paris #france #forbes #cars #bikes #bike lanes #infrastructure #urban planning #urban design #Anne Hidalgo

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l00na24 · 3 months

Text

I Got Your Six - Chapter 5

Warnings: Death, some things won't be 100% accurate to reality and are written that way for the sake of the story

Word Count: 9k

A/N: Hello 🤗 First of all I wish everyone a happy new year even if it's a bit late but I hope all of you are doing well and had a great start into the new year! 🥰 I am so sorry it took me sooo long to finally get this chapter finished (after changing it about a million of times because I wasn't happy with it lol), which I had wanted to get out before Christmas but unfortunately I got sick for a few weeks and then real life stuff came up right after 😓 But now it's here and I hope you enjoy reading it with things turning up a notch 😋 And don't worry, the next one won't take that long because I'm already on it! 😉

Also a little part of this chapter was inspired by the original Triple Frontier Script which I totally recommend you to read if you haven't already!

7 days later, 4 PM, Brazil, Jungle (at Lorea’s house)

It was a humid warm and cloudy day when I crept through the various green plants that surrounded me. The typical climate you would expect in a jungle.

Exotic birds occasionally flying high above the treetops and filling the wild and untamed nature with their chirping or insects buzzing around between leaves big enough to cover my body entirely, some smaller ones with the similarity of palms that fit perfectly in the spaces between together with other, more colorful plants or bushes on the ground. Meter long lianas hanging from above that were winding themselves along the branches of some big trees like snakes.

If I wouldn’t be here for a mission, I would take my time admiring every little detail and the peaceful, quiet and yet a tad mysterious atmosphere with the slight fog floating around.

The calm before the storm.

How the ridges of the Andes, completely covered in green nature and shrouded in banks of clouds, ominously greeted us at our arrival. Like they would be announcing a bad omen that was in the air.

Normally I wouldn’t be faced much by anything when it came to a mission besides the flying part but this time I’d been restless as soon as we were on our way to the destination Santiago had given me when I called him a few days ago.

My gut was screaming at me to not do it, to turn as fast as we could and fly back instead but it was too late and I wouldn’t leave them alone in this. I never backed down from a mission. No matter what. And I’d never forgive myself if I did now.

It had been the first warning.

My team and me nearly got caught in the crossfire of some criminals and the local police on our way to the friendship bridge, the signature element of the Triple Frontier, that connected Paraguay to Brazil over the Parana River.

We were slowly driving through the outskirts of Ciudad del Este, the second largest city of Paraguay and a literal hotspot for any crime imaginable thanks to the Triple Frontier connection, the biggest part being the smuggling of a lot of dangerous things. You could practically see on every corner you turned, that the criminals were ruling this place. My trained eyes spotting them from miles away out of the car window next to me or the guns some people were carrying with them, hidden beneath their clothes in hopes nobody would notice, even if they were way too obvious. Drug dealers selling their stuff openly on the street without a care as if it would be an everyday business. The poorest of the poor together with other citizens weaving through the thick traffic between cars.

You should think we would actually change something with our work but looking at this, I understood what Santiago had meant. Nobody was giving a shit about government or authority here, they had their own laws and the police were only bystanders, not able to do anything and probably not even bothering anymore or corrupt to the core.

Just as we were crossing an intersection, suddenly loud sirens started to blare in the distance and only seconds after a sports car nearly crashed with us when it flew by in high speed, the police following close behind.

“Alex! Watch out!” I shouted from the right backseat when I saw it speeding directly at us.

“Oh fuck!” As fast as he could, Alex hit the brakes. The force of it jolting us forward in our seats as we came to an abrupt stop just enough that the car only lightly grazed our front and didn’t crash into us.

In the middle of the chaos that broke out with people screaming and madly running around and vehicles on the street trying to get out of the way, I saw the windows of the sports car rolling down and persons with assault rifles leaning out of them to shoot at the police car.

“Get down! Put your heads down!” I raised my voice even louder before I heard the first shot being fired and made myself as small as I could.

The bullets were flying everywhere, one piercing through our windshield and almost hitting my shoulder if I hadn’t ducked to the side in my seat.

“Is everyone okay?” Luc asked from the passenger seat in the front and immediately looked over to Alex and then behind to me and Mick in the backseats.

“Yes.”

“Yeah.”

The boys breathed out after everything seemed to be back to normal like nothing happened and people resumed their ways. The bullet hole the only reminder of what had just transpired.

“What the fuck is wrong with these people?!” I let out with irritation.

“I think they had a slight disagreement with each other.” Mick commented from the left.

That had been the second warning we ignored.

Stalking like a panther through the thick foliage of the jungle, I moved forward to the spot I was supposed to be and grabbed my TAC-50 that was slung around me as I came closer.

When I looked through my scope, a set of two big, black eyes ogled me and I looked up confused, spotting a little black and white patterned gecko sitting in front of its lens on my sniper.

What the heck?

“Hey there, little guy. You should be careful, you could get yourself hurt.” I said and inspected him curiously.

He held eye contact when his tongue darted out and ran along his mouth before he carefully moved across the upside of my gun, over the scope to its long rear where he laid himself flat on his stomach, his tiny feet spread wide from his body and blinked a few times at me and slightly tilted his head.

“You better get down there.” I told him and slowly moved my hand that wasn’t holding the gun to him.

Without moving he still sat there, not letting me out of sight. After another moment of studying me with his big, round button eyes he got up and came toward my hand. Stopping for a moment right in front to look, before carefully climbing with his sticky, nub-like toes onto it.

He was running all over it, in my palm and between my fingers, stopping at some point and dragging his little pink tongue along my skin.

“Did you… just lick me?” I asked him surprised, staring at the little reptile who didn’t seem bothered by me.

He only looked back innocently before he started to advance up my arm to my shoulder.

“Oh, no, no, little guy! You can’t go there!” I slightly panicked, not wanting him to touch or come close to the part of my body that was forbidden to everyone.

Thankfully he stopped as if he understood what I was saying and changed his direction. Moving over to my other shoulder along my front and looking from there at me once he had reached it.

“Let’s get you somewhere more comfortable, hm?” I asked and held my hand at him again, so I could put him on one of the plants around me, waiting till he was back in my palm.

I let him climb on one of the lianas hanging down in front of me.

“Watch your six, little guy.”

Following his movements along it until he turned upside down and looked back at me before I turned around and continued onward. At least a nice surprise for a change.

Brushing past some large ferns, I made my path through the wilderness with a watchful eye on the ground to not fall over tree roots or for any other kind of danger and made sure to take slow steps to not cause any unnatural movement that potentially could be spotted.

As I reached my spot, I got in position hidden behind a wall of leaves and cocked my sniper to inspect the rest of the area around the house after I had done a full circle of observation.

“I don’t like this.” I spoke into the com I had placed on my in dark and light grey tones camouflaged gear.

“What’s your concern?” Alex’ voice crackled through my earpiece.

“Looks too easy.”

“Did you expect a heavily fortified fortress out here in the middle of a jungle?” Mick asked chuckling.

“Considering the millions of dollars he’s supposed to have and that he’s one of the top tier pieces of shit here, yes, that would be my first expectation if I’m honest.” I retorted while letting my sight wander around through the scope, not spotting much besides some guards hanging around in a few corners with submachine guns strapped to them.

“You aren’t wrong. I estimated with more defense measures too, looking at his profile. But let’s check what we’ve gathered so far.” Luc suggested, wanting to hear what we had detected during our surveillance so he could start thinking about possible tactics at how we would approach this.

“Guards on all sides of the house in groups of two to max three, no protection and armed with SMG’s. Three right, left and rear side, two front, potentially more inside. Lots of spots all around the house where we could easily slip in without a problem except the front. There’s a long, unprotected driveway, ending with a couple of concrete jersey barriers on the sides and a steal gate. Could be breakable with a car I would guess, if you manage to destroy the barrier that comes out of the ground when the gate closes but that would alert everyone, which rules it out as possible option. The only real “danger”, if you wanna call it that, is the machine gun in a sort of tower behind it. 50 caliber, that would shred you before you come even close. I would need help from one of you to take both guards out undetected if we do this the ‘silent way’.” I explained my observation.

“I could give you a hand. There’s a small waterway from my position leading in your direction, would be a matter of seconds to get to you.” Alex confirmed.

“Perfect.” I answered before continuing. “I’ve also seen some surveillance cameras around. We will have to either destroy them when we approach, or we have to look inside the house for a security room to deal with it. They didn’t seem to give a shit about aiming them at the crucial spots, but I would like to take care of them, so we don’t have to worry about it later.”

“They are not looking like the newest ones there are. Don’t wanna know where he got them from, but it will be enough if we take care of the hard drives.” Mick brought in his opinion. His expertise as the best engineer we had in Delta gave us a huge advantage with any tech or gadgets we had to deal with in our missions or other unconventionalities.

“Also, we have high fences extending around the house in a radius of probably twenty to thirty meters. We won’t be able to climb over, but we could cut through them. I’m actually surprised they aren’t charged with electricity.”

“If I were him, I wouldn’t want my kids getting roasted, that’s probably the reason.” He had a point. I had seen them playing outside and some toys laying around but I doubted that it was why.

“The less time we need the better.” Luc pointed out, reminding us that we would have a time window we had to keep in mind once we were in.

“Look what we have here... Someone’s got some little toys.” Mick’s amused voice came through the com again.

“What is it?” The tone he used set off alarm bells in my head. Something was wrong.

“Ground sensors.”

Well, shit.

“The lethal kind?” I inquired with a hint of worry and scoped the area more wary a second time and focused on every detail I could find but spotting none of the mentioned sensors. They must be hidden underneath the plants.

“Hard to say but I don’t wanna find that out.” He answered thoughtfully when he inspected the object on the ground more closely with his trained eyes.

“Any way we can deactivate them?”

“Negative. Not without setting them off.”

“Copy that. Eyes up and on the ground then. Be careful where you’re going.” I spoke sternly, not wanting my team to have an unpleasant encounter that could end potentially deadly and risk the mission before it even started.

The theory with his kids was off the table with that but now we had an explanation why he wasn’t using electricity. Lorea probably thought it would be enough to rely on the sensors and I guessed, he hadn’t even wasted a thought about the possibility of some highly trained and lethal delta force soldiers attacking him or figuring out his location in the first place. Very bad mistake.

But it didn’t make our situation any better, knowing we practically walked around in a minefield. I had to hope the other guys would spot the objects in time and not run into one by accident, not having the possibility to communicate to them what they were about to walk into without revealing myself. They didn’t know we were here and I wanted to keep it this way till we were done with the recce.

“We’ve got company now, boys and girls.” I heard Luc shortly after through my earpiece upon spotting the arrival of the five ex-delta soldiers we had been waiting for. Their timing was just great… note the sarcasm.

“Make sure none of them notices the slightest trace of you and get your comms ready.” I ordered in the serious tone as their captain, wanting to avoid getting detected by any of the boys at all costs.

“Copy.” The three men of my team answered in unison.

I lowered my weapon and slung it back around me with its strap, reaching into a pocket on the backside of my vest and pulling out the com I had requested for me and my team from Santiago, so we could listen their conversation, putting it in my other free ear. They couldn’t hear us unless we used the manual trigger of the mic, which me or my teammates wouldn’t dare to touch and continued to use our own to communicate with each other.

Hearing their line crackling to life, I left my position and disappeared back into the thick foliage.

“So what's this guy got against banks? At least a safe.” Will’s deep voice reached my ears and sent a shudder down my spine that halted my movement for a moment. It felt weird to hear their voices after so long. I needed to get used to them again.

“The house is the safe.” Santiago answered cryptical. What was that supposed to mean?

“Got any idea what he’s talking about?” Alex questioned through our com and spoke out what I was asking myself.

“No clue.”

“Feels like he didn’t tell you everything.” Mick threw in skeptically, emphasizing the most important word in his sentence. Everything. Santiago better didn’t withhold any important information we should have known about before.

Carefully ducking underneath some low hanging branches, the quiet rustling of plants caught my attention and I looked alarmed around. It didn’t come from me but who- or whatever it was that made them was close.

The only thing I saw was a backwards cap in green camouflage moving through the greenery of the jungle and I knew who it was. I stopped dead in my tracks and didn’t dare to breathe or even blink. Ben had no clue I stood directly behind him when he moved by, not more than a thin wall of leaves separating us. His sudden closeness speeding up the beat of my heart in an instant that was pounding loudly in my ears and I prayed he couldn’t hear it. Keep your god damn composure, Y/N! Don’t panic.

Fuck. Did he have a compass which seemed to always lead him to me?

His hand was not a mere inch away and nearly brushed my belly. I’d be so, so fucked if he was able to sense me. Please don’t let him notice. Only this time.

Thump-thump.

After a few beats of him deciding it was a good idea to stop and stand right there in front of me and I thought I’d die from my heart jumping out of my chest, he finally started to walk away and gave me an actual chance to get some desperately needed air into my lungs again. I swear, this man was the death of me, in more ways than one.

This was waaay too close.

My eyes had grown at least double their size as I followed his path till he was out of sight, not making any kind of motion or noise yet for fear he could pick up on it and discover who was here with them.

“I'm at the gate.” I let out a sigh of relief when I heard his still well too familiar rough voice speak through their com that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end. If someone would have told me, I’d ever be relieved not having to be near him… Nothing could have been more wrong…

“This looks like everything was done about 82% right. They got all the toys out here, but these cameras aren't even aimed at the weakest breach point.” Ben continued and repeated in his own words what I had observed before, showing clearly why both of us were the experts at reconnaissance.

“Someone’s got some knowledge there too, huh?” Mick indicated, somewhat surprised there was someone else ‘as good as me’ as he would put it, in this field.

We had been the perfect team… And now we were standing on opposite sides.

Deciding to stay silent, I put more distance between us when I was sure he would be far enough away and went with fast but still calculated steps in the other direction. I didn’t want to have another close encounter with him.

“Your girlfriend's making her normal money drop?” Tom’s voice joined in and halted my steps a few meters after once again. What were they talking about now?

“Yeah.” Santiago answered him directly like they were talking about the weather, despite knowing that we could hear their conversation. “She's prepared to record the inside of the house.”

Girlfriend?... Wait a minute…- His so called ‘informant’ was his girlfriend?! And he had the nerve to not tell me before all of this?! He just had dug his own grave.

I was sure my teammates didn’t take this new information any different. I could already imagine how their brows would knit together and their jaws would clench at the revelation.

Santiago had unknowingly managed to turn our team against him before they even had the chance to meet with his move. The fact that none of them felt like speaking up about it told basically everything already. Good luck for him to get out of this.

“Pope...” The person using his callsign was Frankie but it sounded a bit off. Was that concern I heard? What was worrying him? Everything should be fine, I made sure of that before they arrived. Besides… My thoughts went back to the discovery we had made not long ago. Damn it. He didn’t accidentally set off one of the sensors, did he?

“Pope, I have kids over here. Does he have kids living in here with him? 'Cause that's gonna make things a whole lot more complicated and is not what I signed up for.” He shared his discovery over the com and thankfully not confirmed my suspicion but reminded me of what would be another part on my personal task list which I hadn’t wanted to think about yet. If Fish had known what he signed up for… maybe he would’ve had considered his options better.

I continued my way with quick strides through the jungle while I listened, passing by the gate in the distance with enough space to not get noticed and reaching the spot on the left side of the house where I had originally begun my observation round.

“The family's not the problem. They're the answer.” The addressed man replied without the slightest concern. What was it with Santiago and his cryptic sentences?

“Why?” Frankie wasn’t the only person who liked to know.

“Church.” Santiago simply answered. “Lorea's very devout. Every Sunday morning, he sends three guards to the 6 AM service. When they get back, he sends the rest of the team, along with his family, into town to mass. That leaves him and three guards in that house, and that's our window.” He elaborated and I could only shake my head at what I heard. I wouldn’t give them a chance to escape and not finish the mission properly, he could totally forget that. I didn’t care how many guards Lorea had in his house, ten, twenty, it didn’t matter. We would have the army with us too, which would be way enough to wipe them out for good. Not that my team and I could handle it on our own. I didn’t understand why he was making such a fuss about the damn family. There was definitely some business we had to discuss later.

“Why would he do that?” Will inquired, which wasn’t really surprising. He always was someone for details. Too bad he didn’t pay attention to them when he actually should have.

“Worried about someone taking his kids. And he never leaves his money.” These would be the least of his problems very soon…

“Also, I don't think he believes anyone actually has the balls to come out here and rob him.” Santiago added bluntly. That was another way to put it, except ‘rob’ was the wrong word for what we’d be doing. Let me correct, what they’d be doing. My team wouldn’t get involved with the money the guys would confiscate together with the army after we were done. So was the plan. But I didn’t like how he said it and the feeling it caused in my gut.

“It's probably cause it's a stupid idea.” At least Will had some common sense. Yes, it absolutely was. It was the stupidest idea on earth to be exact.

The sound of a car approaching had me drawing my sniper in a flash, holding it steady with both hands and looking out at the driveway through some trees and bushes from my higher position. A black van came into view that slowly approached the barrier at the gate where it stopped. The guard not standing behind the machine gun walked up to the passenger side.

“Pope, I got your girlfriend coming up right now.” Ben announced at the same time.

“Y/N, do you have the safety of your gun on?” Mick joked into the com right after, who had been uncharacteristically silent, already knowing what my reaction would be and wanting to check up on me.

“Maybe I accidentally switched it off.” My voice dropped lower, with an underlying threat behind it my boys were familiar with, while aiming through the scope of my TAC-50 at the woman’s head. It would only take a little pull on the trigger…

I inspected her nearer and got slapped in the face with the bitter truth that I couldn’t compare to her, and it was obvious why Santiago seemed to have a liking in this woman. She looked attractive with her tanned skin, the dark brown, shoulder long, wavy hair and dark eyes. And I bet the rest of her body looked just as good. Something I wouldn’t ever come close to…

“Holy shit. She is beautiful, man.” My blood ran cold at Benny’s next words and something broke inside me. He should have kept his damn mouth shut. The grip on my weapon tightened with my fingers wrapping themselves like snakes around it that were about to choke their victim to death.

Don’t let it get to you. Just ignore all the shit they’re talking. He’s not worth it! None of them are worth it!

“He doesn’t know that the most beautiful woman is already here.” Alex threw in quickly, trying to lessen the damage but he had no clue that what Ben said had fueled my wrath already to a dangerous level. He only tried to lift the situation and make me feel better, knowing about my insecurities that got much worse after what I had been through, but this was something even he couldn’t fix. Only one person could have done that and he wasn’t here anymore… because of me.

Fuck him. Fuck all of them. I wouldn’t give them even the slightest chance to hurt me.

Thank god the van drove past the gate a moment later before I couldn’t resist the temptation to shoot her and the driver anymore. My index finger hovering dangerously close over the small part of the gun that could decide between life and death in a moment’s notice if I wanted.

“I got an execution about to go down over here.” As if sensing my mood for satisfying the craving I felt, Will spoke through their line, adding greatly to the need for shedding blood. Did I hear execution?

“Are you at the tennis courts?” Santiago wanted to know and I looked around if I could see the mentioned place from my position to follow what was happening there but to my disappointment it was out of my sight.

“Yeah.”

“Yeah, that's his spot.” He confirmed. Of course Lorea would kill others for his sake, people like him were all the same. He wasn’t the first and surely wouldn’t be the last.

“Anyone have sight on it?” I spoke into the mic, in hopes one of my boys would be close by and could give more detailed information about the situation.

“Positive, I do.” Alex answered while watching Lorea with a guard next to him getting ready to kill the unfortunate souls that were kneeling on the ground with bags over their heads. He had also found the blonde person lurking behind the small brick wall not far from him who must be one of the ex-delta soldiers, watching through the free spaces in between what was about to unfold.

“How many?” I inquired after his response, meaning the number of people the drug lord was about to kill.

“Four.” Too many. I would make sure to pay it equally back to him. He wouldn’t hurt someone ever again after we would be finished with him.

“Man, this guy really takes his business way too serious.” Mick commented with a snort when multiple shots of a gun filled the atmosphere. It wasn’t meant as disrespect toward Lorea’s victims but more his own way to cope with what we had to experience in our job and to not let it get to him. The complete opposite of me.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four.

“One more reason to get rid of him.” The grip on my sniper hardened even more at the thought of how many people had died because of him. How many lives he had taken for all the blood money. This guy was practically begging to be killed. A shame I couldn’t do it right now.

“Why is she doing this?” Frankie wondered as he saw the dark-haired woman and a few men getting out of the van and entering Lorea’s house with some bags, bringing their line back to life after it went silent for the time of the execution, everyone probably listening the sound of bullets delivering death and leaving nothing but corpses behind.

“She hopes I can get her little brother out of jail.” As if it hadn’t been enough to hear that she was his ‘girlfriend’ but to also find out she was doing this for Santiago to get her brother back on top of it… This was the culmination of it all. How did he even wanted to do that? If her brother was involved with Lorea, there was no way he could get him out legally. Or was he simply playing her so she agreed to help him? Like he tried with me also with leaving out what I heard since they arrived? He had chosen the wrong person.

“Tell me he isn’t fucking serious?!” Our engineer let out in vexation, being careful to not speak too loud and give himself away to the person with a cap he had in sight while he looked over the entrance area of the house where the van had stopped not a minute ago.

“I guess he ‘forgot’ to mention those little details, right?” Alex was just as pissed off, the kind where he questioned himself if he should shoot first and ask questions later or the other way round.

“He should pray I won’t find him right now.” Mick threatened afterwards, directly voicing out what his Spanish brother had hidden behind his words.

“You should give him a chance to explain himself and not make any assumptions already.” Luc spoke up, surprising us with his calmness and how he wasn’t on the side of his brothers. Sitting still on his spot on the other side of the house and following the guards’ movements while also keeping a careful eye on two of the ex-delta soldiers laying on top the massive concrete wall underneath some plants.

“What the fuck, man?! How can you defend him?! There is no god damn room for assumptions because everything is fucking clear! We need to have a talk after this!” His friend shot back with a growl.

It would be an exhausting drive back… Releasing some air and not wanting to take part in their conversation to fuel the tension that already had manifested itself with my own emotions, I focused back on the other boys.

“Did you put him in jail?” I heard Ben asking the most obvious question, silencing and distracting my three men from their heated discussion. I wouldn’t be surprised at this point if Santiago did.

“Not really.” There we go. So he had something to do with it. He might be able to fool the others but not me.

“I'm guessing that's putting her at some risk.” Tom pointed out and a sarcastic chuckle left me. It was putting her at the risk of vanishing from the face of this earth as soon as I got my hands on her.

“Man, I almost forgot why I got out of this business. Shit gets so dark so quick.” Frankie shared his thoughts, not knowing how true his words actually were and hitting the nail on the head. Explaining why I was as I was and bringing back painful memories. Nothing would come close to what I had to experience.

My knuckles turned white from the force I was gripping my weapon with now, teeth grinding hard against each other and shutting my eyes to force the unwelcomed thoughts away before they had a chance to get through.

Keep breathing slowly. You’re not going back to that place. You’re over it.

“Oh, shit, we got ground sensors here, boys.” Benny suddenly announced alarmed over their com when he found himself near the dangerous little object that blocked his way.

“Did you hit one?” As soon as Santiago had asked his question, my focus completely relied on them, tensely waiting for an answer and cursing under my breath that of course it had to be him out of the five to get himself into this situation.

“I don't know, I'm not sure.” With concern heavy in his voice and face Ben answered, uncertain if he had activated it or not and quickly taking a look around to check if he had been detected but everything seemed normal until Fish’s warning hit his ears.

“Benny, I got two guys on motorbikes coming your way.” He informed the younger Miller when he watched them speeding down the driveway in the direction of the gate where Ben was crouching deeper into the bushes covering him.

The urge to eliminate the enemy grew with every passing second and I considered starting the mission early. They wouldn’t get anywhere near him. I wouldn’t allow it. They’d be dead before they knew it.

With him already in my sight from my place across, I switched off the safety of my sniper once again. Making sure he was unharmed and nobody would come too close to him and discover where he was hiding.

Will left his position right after, following back the way he came through the small waterway around the area toward his little brother.

“Hold tight, Benny. I'm trying to get out there to cover you.” He told him, the protectiveness as his big brother coming to the surface. Moving as fast as he could till he got in position behind a small tree on the opposite side of the gate and aiming his pistol underneath its branches toward the newly arrived guards.

I shifted my view to the gate when I heard the sound of motorbikes approaching, noticing Will at the edge of my scope. Shutting out everything to not get distracted from the threat at hand and taking in controlled breaths to keep the heavy weapon steady while looking at the guys getting off their bikes, ready to shoot at any wrong movement or getting closer to Ben’s position.

“A stock boy job at Walmart's starting to look pretty good right now, boys.” It wouldn’t be Ben if he didn’t make one of his comments in his current situation, holding his pistol low but ready to use if needed. He was unaware that me and his brother had him covered from both sides of the gate and nobody would have an actual chance to harm or get to him without being killed. It kind of was like a déjà vu.

For a long moment they stood there, talking to the other guards. Thankfully not showing any signs that they were alarmed or actively searching for Ben. With a wave of a hand from one of them they got on their motorbikes again and drove back where they came from.

“I'm clear. They're coming back to you.” Ben confirmed to Frankie and watched them retreating, putting the gun back in the waistband of his jeans and relieving all of us with his words.

“Let's get the fuck outta here.” Will ordered into their com, keeping his hand weapon aimed on the men until they were out of sight. He had seen enough and didn’t want to push their luck any further, it had already been a close call with his brother and there was no reason to risk another encounter. The intel they had gathered should be enough to make a plan.

“Two retreating on my position.” I informed my team, watching both Miller brothers leave and disappearing into the jungle. Lowering my sniper and allowing my muscles to loosen up after I made sure my surroundings were safe.

“Positive, two as well here.” Luc responded first.

“Affirmative. One on me.” His friend Mick validating the same after.

“That’s all of ‘em. Alex, you clear?”

“Crystal.”

“Copy. If y’all are, I’ll meet you at the car. Be careful out there, boys.” I instructed before heading to where we had parked and took the earpieces out. Not looking forward to what awaited me…

35 Minutes later, 6:18 PM, Brazil

A bump in the road we were driving along woke me rudely from my nap when my front made contact with the car door to my right side I had leant to in my sleep. Startling me awake with the force of the impact.

A very faint “Sorry!” rang through the car.

“Can’t you drive more careful? If you continue like this, you gonna wake her up!” Alex complained annoyed from the left backseat, taking a look beside him in the dark of the car to ensure their girl was getting some much-needed sleep.

“I’m very obviously trying my best here. It’s not my fault this road is absolute shit. How is someone supposed to drive safe here anyway?” Mick complained back and shot his friend a glare through the rearview mirror before looking back at the road and giving Luc a glance on the way in the passenger seat.

“We’re in the middle of nowhere, you won’t find any better ways out here. I’m afraid this is the best we can get, gentlemen.” Luc declared with a chuckle.

“Still was a mistake to let him drive.” Alex grumbled lowly, not agreeing with the choice they had made earlier because he had enough experience with his recklessness at times. Especially with driving.

“If you think you can do it better, go ahead, pen-, pem-? Whatever you call asshole in Spanish.” Mick challenged him, struggling to find the word he was looking for because his knowledge of his friends’ second language was very limited or rather nonexistent and slowing their vehicle.

“It’s called pen-de-jo, dumbass. And we all know I’m a better driver than you.”

“Who almost caused an accident when we came here? Hm?”

“Seriously?! It wasn’t my fault some crazy people were having a fucking chase with the police!”

“Whatever you say, bud.”

“If you keep going like this and not lower your volume, it won’t be the movement of the car who’ll wake her up.” Luc clarified, sending a look their ways that didn’t require any further words.

With a slight groan I came to and opened my eyes slowly, noticing the lack of daylight.

“Great job, Mick. Look what you’ve done! You woke her up!”

“It certainly wasn’t me!”

With an eyeroll Alex shifted his head in my direction and gave me a smile.

“Hey, sleepyhead.” He greeted me softly, his hand searching mine and giving me a light squeeze while caressing the back of it with his thumb. A ritual my boys always did when we were out on a mission, to assure me I was safe and in the present while I was waking up out of my half sleep.

“Hey. What’s… happening?” I answered groggily and looked at him with barely opened eyes, giving a squeeze back.

“Nothing you have to worry about. You okay?” He asked, letting me take my time to get more conscious and inspecting me.

“Mhm. As best as I can be.” I saw it in his eyes when I nodded at him that it wasn’t the answer he’d been waiting for, even if he did an excellent job at not showing any changes in his facial expression and maintaining the smile on his lips for my sake. Giving me a final caress with a bit more pressure before retreating his hand.

“Welcome back.” Mick’s cheerful voice broke our moment and my sight went to the front of the car. Realizing night had settled in with the headlights illuminating the earthy path ahead and the instruments inside being our only light source, now that I was more awake.

“How was your little nap?” Luc turned around in his seat to face me.

“You know how it was.” I told him right away, every person in the car aware of the fact that my sleep was screwed for good with permanently fearing to have another nightmare yet again when I allowed myself to rest. But of course it didn’t keep them from asking anyway.

“Sorry by the way if we woke you.” Came it from the driver’s seat, a brief side eye meeting mine while Mick took one hand off the steering wheel and rubbed the back of his head in a guilty manner.

“You didn’t.” I assured, not wanting him to feel responsible for something he wasn’t the reason of.

“And for earlier… I didn’t mean to be an ass.” He added more quietly, exchanging another look with me, the memory of our “chat” before the drive in his mind that hadn’t gone like probably all of us had intended it to. But on the other hand, they had gotten a chance to release some steam and cool off which mattered the most for me, not blaming them at all about their complaints and voicing them out loud. Taking in every last word and feeding the side of me that lived from it, that didn’t know anything else and used what I bottled up within me as its catalyst to cause the fatal havoc it was meant to do. To make the world burn for what had been done.

“There’s nothing you’d have to apologize for, Mick. And aren’t you an ass all the time? At least to Alex?” I tried to lighten the mood and draw the attention away from me.

“Whoa! Now that’s just cruel, Y/N! You can’t say something like that when I just apologized!” Our driver let out in his usual overdramatic way, going along with it. Making his friends laugh heartfully, mostly about his reaction but also my words. The joyful sound wrapping around us like a comfortable, warm blanket in the winter. Only that its warmth wasn’t enough to reach my cold, dead soul. It would never be enough to bring it back to life ever again.

Another precious moment between us I should enjoy but couldn’t, with the inability to feel the same happiness as them - or any at all. Faking a small smile to not ruin the entire situation because I didn’t want them to have to deal with me more than they already had to, like the constant loneliness I felt even if they were always around me.

“Totally deserved.” The Spanish man next to me nodded in agreement and fixated his brother in front of him with a wide smirk.

“Keep going and I throw you out of this car myself, then you can see for yourself how you get there.” A finger pointed in his direction as a warning sign before Mick had to focus on driving again and put his hand back on the steering wheel.

“Why do I have the feeling I missed something important?” I asked in confusion, suspecting there was more to their talk than I knew and switching my sight between the boys.

“Oh trust me, you didn’t miss anything, Y/N.” Luc laughed to himself, the other two starting to snicker along him.

“Okay…?” Coming across my lips in more a question than a normal pronunciation. Despite my curiosity I decided to not dig further and leave it at that. It was probably just another banter of theirs like usual. Looking a last time between them before I shifted my view out the window into the night and silence falling over us with only the faint tune from the radio playing in the background.

A few miles later when I couldn’t stand the quietness anymore, I leaned forward in my seat over the center console as far as my seatbelt allowed it and grabbed the inner edges of the front seats with my hands.

“How long till we’re there?” My nervosity getting the best of me because the previous silence grew too loud for my head and I couldn’t keep the thoughts in it no longer from running wild, threatening to overwhelm me.

“We still have a bit to go. You can take another nap if you want.” Luc answered and looked over to me from the side.

“I’m not tired.” I quickly refused his suggestion, as everyone expected, because it had become a common thing over the last 2 years and they were used to it by now.

“Y/N… Then at least try to get a bit more rest, please. You know-” He tried to reason like a parent with their child who was too stubborn to follow their instruction, but I interrupted him before he could finish what I had to hear too many times already: “You know he wouldn't want you to put yourself in danger.”. Who the fuck cares?

“I don’t wanna hear it.” A well-meant advice to drop what he was going to say.

I had decided to walk this path with no looking back till the end, whenever that would be. There was nothing waiting for me anyway. It was like I had been stuck somewhere along the way and got lost in search for something I had known once but wouldn’t find again, left alone in the shadows with nothing more than misery, sadness and deafening silence as my companions, the only remains of a life before that had stopped existing.

With a heavy sigh I sat back in my seat and busied myself with the sight out the windshield, not wanting to continue the conversation we’d had so many times before like the words he wanted to use.

“Can we not-” I instantly stopped midsentence when I saw a hooded figure appear out of nowhere in the shine of the headlights that stood on the side of the road, directly facing us.

I wasn’t sure what it was but the feeling hitting me in this very moment I couldn’t place - something both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time - had me sitting up straight immediately.

“Mick, stop the car! Stop the car!! Now!” I yelled when we drove past it, my eyes glued to where the figure had disappeared behind us in the night and hands pressed hard against the glass. Startling the boys with my sudden change and the urgency in my voice.

“What? Why? Did I hit an animal or somethin’?” He asked as confused as his brothers, all looking at me now with big question marks in their faces.

“Just stop it already!” I urged impatiently, not caring to elaborate and wanting to get out as fast as possible.

“I’m on it! What’s gotten into you all of a sudden?”

Before they got an answer, I was out as soon as we came to a stop in the middle of the road with only the person I saw in mind and ran back through the dark to where I had seen it. Shouts of my name erupting from behind me when the three quickly followed and ran after me.

“Hello? Is anyone here?” My raised voice filled the night, loud enough to be heard for a few meters distance but I got no answer or any sign that somebody was there.

“I know you are! Come out and show yourself! I won’t hurt you, I promise!” After nothing happened and I didn’t want to wait any longer I spoke up again, opting for a different way to get the person to reveal itself but it turned out the same as my first attempt. Looking in every possible direction in hopes of finding what I was searching for.

Multiple cones of flashlights lighting up my surroundings more and more from behind announced my team’s approach very soon after but I was too focused to pay them any mind for now.

With hands crossed over each other, raised pistol in one and a flashlight in the other held next to it, how they had been trained to, so they could shoot at any possible threat lurking out there while still being able to see, they closed the distance between us with fast steps and in their tactical formation with Alex on the left side, Luc in the middle and Mick on the right to cover as much ground as possible.

“Can you tell me what the hell this is all about?” Taking in a defensive stance, Mick came to a stand next to me and let his eyes roam around to make sure no danger was in sight before they landed on me, displaying his obvious discontentment about my careless action.

“They were here.” I answered without looking away from the spot I had been staring at, still clinging on to the false hope of the person showing up.

“Who?” He questioned confused, not understanding what I meant and being more concerned about my safety since I wasn’t wearing a bulletproof vest or a weapon.

“The Person. They were right here.” Repeating my words, assuming he would catch on, I tore my gaze away and toward him. Noticing Luc and Alex next to us and the handguns they carried with them. “And put your guns down.”

“Well, I don’t see anyone. Are you sure?” Taking another attentive glance around at my words, he followed my instruction and lowered his pistol slowly after he spotted nothing but grass.

“What Person?” Alex asked from the other side while doing the same as his brothers and loosened his stiff posture.

“That stood on the side of the road looking at us.” I elaborated a last time with slight agitation, not getting why they asked all these unnecessary questions when they must have seen the person too.

Luc, Mick and Alex exchanged a troubled look with each other.

“There wasn’t anyone.” Luc said after a short pause.

“But…- No…- They were standing right here…! I swear!” Denying his words and pointing at where the person had stood, I took a few steps forward, letting my sight wander through the dark once more and staring at the earthy ground in front of me in total disbelieve after I still found no evidence that someone had been here only minutes ago. This couldn’t be true… I knew what I saw… I wasn’t making it up…

“Hey, we believe you, okay? If you say you saw someone, you did.” Alex assured, stepping before me and searching my eyes. The other two not wasting time and appearing at my sides, forming a half circle.

“How did they look like?” Luc changed the direction of our conversation, deeming it a good choice to distract me from the thoughts he practically could see swarming my head and make sense of what I was saying.

“Their… clothes were all black… with a hood over the head. And… the lower half of the face… was covered with a black mask.” I stuttered out. “I know how this sounds but I swear to you I didn’t imagine it!” Seeking the boys’ eyes for reassurance that I wasn’t going mad and my mind didn’t make up things that weren’t there when I just had literally described what we normally wore on our missions.

But it was hard to miss the doubt in them which hurt me more than I wanted to admit to myself when I realized my mistake, not allowing my expression to show I had noticed and quickly cutting off our line of sight to avoid getting more upset and revealing my emotions. I shouldn’t have told them.

“Did you notice anything else? Or were you able to identify the person?” A vertical shake of my head was all I gave Luc, feeling a surge of rage rush up that I didn’t pay closer attention to the person’s face, so I would have known who it was and if they were real but everything had happened too fast and caught me right off guard.

“What’s the plan here then? Are we going for a search?” Mick wanted to know, switching from expectantly looking between us four and checking our surroundings from time to time.

“I don’t see any footprints but if somebody was here they couldn’t have gone too far.” Our Spanish man moved his light around, emphasizing he wasn’t completely dismissing it. His way of telling me he didn’t think I was crazy.

“We surely would have noticed anyone by now - and I’m not saying I don’t believe you,” Coming up with the fact none of us could dismiss, Luc stepped into his role amongst our team and I could feel his observing gaze that hadn’t left me since his arrival. He noticeably changed the pitch of his voice while adding his own assurance into the sentence - a smart move, to ensure I would be listening. “But we won’t find much in this high grass with only our flashlights at this time of day. Also don’t forget we still have a good few miles to go and I doubt we wanna be too late.”

“As much as I agree with you, but I’m not comfortable leaving without knowing if we’re being followed-”

“Luc’s right. It doesn’t make sense to try and find someone in the middle of the night, Alex. And I said we’d be there.” I countered him with a defeated sigh, not having the nerves to argue with my boys about the actual existence of the person but wanting to ease at least his worry that was an ever constant of the trio below the surface since certain things had happened all of them never fully recovered from and wouldn’t. Another thing I was the reason of.

“I mean it won’t do any harm if we take a quick look, right? I’d feel better if we do. And let’s be honest here, none of us gives a damn about being late.” Mick suggested, not passing the opportunity to add one of his blunt comments.

“It’s just a waste of time, forget it. Let’s go and get this over with as fast as possible.” To make this decision wasn’t easy for me but it was the most rational in the current moment. Swallowing down my increasing anger. If things continued like this, I would need an outlet soon because I could only hold it in for so long until I had to release it.

Casting my view for a moment toward the sky in hopes of finding some relief, my mood dropped further when I saw nothing but clouds plunging the stars in their darkness to snuff out their light, like they were foreshadowing what was to come. Not deeming me worthy of the only thing bringing me some little kind of comfort for what I was about to do.

Averting my eyes, I turned around and started to walk back to the car.

“Wait! Y/N!” Alex tried to stop me and was hot on my heels.

“I already told you we’re not searching!” I let out angrily and sped up my steps.

“I swear to god, this woman…” Mick huffed out quietly before he and Luc got moving too, earning an amused snort paired with a smirk from his brother next to him.

“That’s why we love her.” He patted him a few times on the shoulder. “And you wouldn’t want it any differently.” Luc added after a short distance without looking back, following their captain and Alex who was making some gestures with his hands and arms on her side only to be ignored.

“I hate when he’s right…” The last member of the team started to catch up in a sprint.

From afar a hooded figure in black was watching them…

If I had at least understood my third and final warning.

A/N: I want to thank every single one of you who gave this story a chance in the last year and supported it so far, no matter if it was through a like, a lovely comment or a reblog! Each one means the world to me and is greatly appreciated and a huge motivator, regardless how small it is! And I hope I can continue to bring you more enjoyment in the future with it! ❤️

You can definitely look forward to the ultimate clash that's bound to happen which we are approaching with careful steps! Maybe in the next chapter already? 😱

If you enjoyed feel free to reblog, like and comment! 🥰

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she-is-juniper · 2 years

Text

Only Ones Who Know — an Elvis Presley x Reader slow burn series (chapter two)

Pairing: Austin Butler!Elvis Presley x f!Reader

Type: series (chapter 2 / ?)

Warnings: fluff, some angst, pining, long lost lovers, slow burn, a very intense sexy makeout, brief discussions of racial tensions

Prompt: You and Elvis grew up together; he was your best friend and first love, but he and his family moved away. Eight years later, Elvis walks into the diner where you work…and he doesn’t recognize you. But there’s an intense connection between the two of you. Should you let things between you play out organically, or should you tell him who you really are?

Word Count (by chapter): 5K

Rating (by chapter): M (mature)

A/N: Wow! I am so overwhelmed by the response to the first chapter of my new slowburn series! I wrote chapter two here in the car on a road trip with my family (lol) so excuse the typos. Things get pretty steamy here but actual smut to come, I promise y’all.

I wrote this fic visualizing Austin!Elvis, but you could also read it with real!Elvis as well if you prefer. The events of this series are kind of a combination of real life events from Elvis’ life and the events of the film; thus, it may not follow the outline of events exactly as they appear the film. Inspiration for the plot more closely but loosely resembles real life documentations of Elvis’ life in 1956.

Please for the love of all that is holy, comment/reblog/send asks if you want to see more of my writing—thank you in advance! ♡, Juni

~ Previous chapter ~

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My first kiss with Elvis Presley was on the roof of his family’s house in Tupelo, under the stars of the Mississippi sky.

We were both thirteen, and he was my first love. Before that, he was my best friend, and before even that, he was just the boy next door.

But as I grew up and learned about the ways of the world, all the good and the bad, he grew up right beside me. We grew closer and closer. And by that summer, the summer of 1948, the War finally over…he was my everything, and I was his.

But that was back then. Now, eight years later, he didn’t even recognize me.

So what?

I left the benefit concert in a daze, with Elvis’s last words to me still ringing in my ears. “‘Meet me at Beale Street, tonight. Club Handy.” I took the bus home and changed as fast as I could. And I made my way to Beale Street.

I was no stranger to Memphis’s famous Beale Street—or infamous, depending on who you asked. Rich with history and culture, the bustling street was fueled by the memory of what it used to be and the hopes of what it might become. Increasing racial pressures from local coalitions and government entities threatened the commerce of Beale Street and the security of its people, but that didn’t stop its shop owners and patrons from persevering as they always had.

Beale Street was alive tonight. Music sounded from nearly every joint. And it felt like home to me, for the music that was birthed there was the music I grew up surrounded by.

The Independence Day excitement in the central city, where the benefit concert had been, must have transcended to the southside, where flocks of men and women filled the streets with invigorating zeal and a hunger for excitement. Every club was full, packed to the brim with dancing bodies and the beat of the drumset or the crowing of brass. There were so many people on Beale Street that they spilled out of the clubs’ entrances, doting each other on their arms, sweating and laughing and dancing.

I shouldered my way past the crowds on the sidewalk, scanning left and right for a figure that stood out—because surely, a man like Elvis Presley would stick out like a sore thumb at a place like this, a place in which a white man became the minority. There was no sight of him yet, so I meandered my way to the entrance to Club Handy. It already had a long line of people waiting, who looked at me in annoyance as I pushed to the front.

“Back of the line,” the bouncer gruffed when I approached him.

“I’m supposed to meet someone here,” I said, trying to sound convincing with a sultry tone. “So I was wondering if there’s anything at all I can do to cut the line here to get in?”

The bouncer gave me a once over, but he shook his head. “No can do,” he said. “Special performance tonight.”

I wondered who was performing. “Anything I can do to change your mind?” I asked, despite the glaring eyes of the people I had cut in line boring into the back of my head.

“Wish I could for ya, miss. But if you’re not performing and you’re not on the list, I can’t let you in. Owner’s orders.”

I left the bouncer to stand by the wall under the enclave, feeling miffed. Of all the nights I was to meet up with Elvis, and it was the busiest night you’d ever seen on Beale Street. I had no way of knowing if Elvis were already inside or not, waiting for me. And if I didn’t see him again tonight, would I ever see him again?

I thought again about the way he’d kissed me in the crowd, and then again behind the stage. The yearning in his eyes. He had the same expression on his face as the one he’d had eight years ago when his family had left Tupelo. If he didn’t recognize me now, all grown up, he had to have felt the same soul connection that I felt.

As if to answer my own question, a commotion from down the way caught my eye. Onlookers were gazing out toward the street, chattering with excitement. Curious, I peered out in the direction of their line of interest.

A shiny Cadillac had just parked on the street. A crowd was already starting to form around it—mostly women, but a fair share of men, too, all of whom were buzzing with excitement about the man in the Cadillac.

Who was, of course, none other than Elvis Presley.

He stood out—and not just because of the crowd, or the color of his skin in contrast to the rest. He glowed with an exuberance that was simply indescribable, albeit a different sort of glow than the one he’d had onstage earlier that night. He had changed into a shirt made a collared pink shirt made of intricate lace that would have looked ostentatious on anyone else, but on him, it looked exquisite. His black hair was perfectly slicked back. He regarded the crowd of fans warmly, shaking their hands and signing books, but he was scanning the street, looking for something. Or for someone.

For me?

For me.

Elvis’s eyes locked on mine. His whole face lit up like I was the only person in the whole world he wanted to see—which didn’t make sense, because in his mind, we had just met today. But that didn’t make it any less meaningful. My cheeks flooded with heat as he came striding right over to me.

“Missy,” he said in that unmistakable Southern drawl as he approached. “You’re here.”

It felt surreal again to be so near to him. “I thought you might already be inside,” I said in a rush. “But it’s packed. I couldn’t get in.”

“Oh, we’ll find a way in, darlin’,” Elvis replied. His eyes painted a lavish brushstroke down and up my body, soaking in my appearance, and I felt like I might implode. “Should be against the law to look that gorgeous.”

I glanced down at my outfit—I had changed, too, into a fitted dress with a wrapped v-neck bodice and a circle skirt, my favorite dress to go dancing in. And then I looked back at him, in his lace shirt and thin black trousers.

“I could say the same to you.”

Elvis laughed, showing his white teeth, and the sound was so musical it could accentuate the sounds of the blues pouring out from every club. “We make a helluva pair, then, Missy.” His silly nickname sounded so good coming from his lips. I silently thanked Ray, the cook at the diner, for coming up with the nickname while in earshot of the rocker. It was a good cover for my real name, which Elvis would certainly have recognized.

It felt so strange, living this alternate identity around Elvis as Missy. I found myself oddly freed by the notion of starting with a blank slate with him. He didn’t recognize me—so what? Missy could be anyone I wanted her to be.

And Missy, I realized with a smile, wants to have a bit of fun with Elvis tonight.

His entourage of fans caught up to him then, forming a growing crowd on the sidewalk behind him. Elvis smiled graciously at them, but he was attracting a lot of attention. A few of them were squealing, reaching out to touch his arms—

“E.P.!” The voice came from the doors to Club Handy, which had swung open, and a man was peering his head out. He beamed at Elvis. “That’s my man! Miles, let the guy in.”

Elvis beamed back, and suddenly he was grabbing my hand and leading me down. Before I had time to revel at the feeling of his skin on mine, he was dragging me through the crowd and up to the doors of Club Handy. “Is there room for the two of us?” Elvis asked.

“Absolutely.” The man let us in, closing the door, and began to lead us up the narrow stairwell. “It’s so good to see you, man.”

“Always a pleasure, B.B.,” Elvis replied.

I gaped. B.B. as in… B.B. King?

“I’m so glad you’re here,” B.B. was saying as we approached the sounds from the club up the stairs. He then turned and extended a hand to me. “And to whom do I owe the pleasure?”

“I’m—ah, call me Missy,” I said, shaking his hand.

“Missy, you and your date tonight are in for a real treat.”

Life was beginning to take on that same hazy, fantastical quality I had felt earlier that evening at the benefit concert. The kind of feeling you get when you feel completely disconnected from reality, at the whim of the world around you, and all you could do is just watch your feet move on their own and try to convince yourself you’re not dreaming. But when we finally reached the top and B.B. pushed open the door to the club, the feeling of complete unreality was set in for good.

The club was more packed as I’d ever seen it and nearly as hot as a sauna. But it was the kind of heat that made you feel energized, made you feel on fire with zeal. The ensemble of musicians at the front of the room amplified the heat with a sound like no other. The frontman was on fire, too, and once I spotted his makeup and attire, I immediately understood why Club Handy was so boisterous tonight; they were all here to see him perform. It was unmistakably Little Richard. I’d heard rumors of the flamboyant musician making the rounds through the bars of Memphis this summer, but seeing him in the flesh was a different level of Unreal.

Elvis turned and smiled at me. “You been here before?” he asked, his voice barely audible over the music and the crowd.

“Once or twice,” I replied. My roommates and I have come a couple of times prior for music and dancing. But never on a night like this.

B.B. led us to a reserved booth seat at the back of the venue. The air in the club was thick with heat and cigarette smoke and the smell of booze, but even sitting across from Elvis in the booth, all I could suddenly smell was his cologne.

“Who would have thought we’d have two of Memphis’s biggest stars gracing our presence on the same night?” B.B. King said.

Elvis waved him off. “I’m getting away from all that tonight.”

“Hardly. I saw all your fans out there, E.P. They love you.”

Inexplicably, Elvis’s expression became bashful. “If only I had half the talent as this guy,” he said, gesturing to Little Richard on the stage, who was putting on an enthralling show for the little club.

“A man like Little Richard could have your talent four times over, Elvis, and he’d still never become a big shot the way you have. All because of the color of his skin.”

I listened as Elvis and B.B. engaged in conversation about the performer. There was a pitcher of alcohol, containing something sweet and made of rum, and I poured myself a glass. But before long, B.B. was standing up and bidding us farewell.

“Enjoy your date,” he told me with a wink. “You know where to find me, E.P.”

As he departed, Elvis scooted down the booth so he was seated right next to me. “This guy up there,” he spoke in my ear so I could hear him over the noise. “He deserves all the money and fame in the world.”

“He’s amazing,” I said in awe. “I can’t believe we got in tonight.”

“I’ve got my connections,” he drawled.

“Clearly you do!”

We watched Little Richard, wailing his heart out as the band launches into a new tune, one you recognize as Tutti Frutti. “They’re calling him the Architect of Rock and Roll,” Elvis says after a while.

“They’re calling you The King,” I noted.

Elvis shook his head. “They have it all wrong. Guys like B.B. and Richard, they’re the real kings. If I could let them take my place, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”

I studied his face. There was a layer of something new to his expression, something I hadn’t seen this afternoon at the diner or during the performance. Something must have happened after the show. I wondered what it was. Did he get flack from his manager about the benefit concert?

His face now reminded me so much of the Elvis Presley I’d once known. The scrawny, shy kid from Tupelo. The one who used to run to my house to bring me half of his dinner when my family couldn’t afford enough for a meal.

Such humble beginnings, and look at us now.

He saw me staring. And he smiled.

“I’m glad you’re here, with me,” he says.

“Why?”

“Because when I met you at that diner, I thought to myself that I’d regret it for the rest of my life if I didn’t try to see you again.”

I raised an eyebrow at that. “You’ve only just met me, you know. You could have found any other girl to dote on your shoulder.” I said it derisively, but with a sly smirk, so he knew I was flirting.

And sure enough, it captured his attention like a moth to a light. He couldn’t take his eyes off my face, my smile. “Maybe so,” he drawled. “But I’m glad it’s you.”

“But you don’t even know me, Elvis Presley,” I accused him. “And I frankly don’t know you either.” Not anymore, at least.

He pursed his pretty lips. “That’s the thing,” he said, his voice suddenly husky against my ear. “I feel as though I’ve known you a long, long time.”

Hmm, I wonder why? I thought bitterly to myself. “I’m just a girl who works at a diner,” I dismissed him.

“But there’s just somethin’ about you…”

I couldn’t explain why, but the notion of Elvis’s attraction to me was equally as infuriating as it was compelling. Of course, I felt the same toward him, but for him to be drawn to me without a single thought in his daft head that he should remember who I am? I wanted to slap him. I wanted to kiss him. Instead, I just downed the rest of my glass with a big gulp and stood up.

“Where ya going?” he asked. I observed the fear in his eyes that I was leaving for good. But I just flashed my teeth at him.

“To dance.”

Emboldened by the alcohol, I sauntered to the center of the club, feeling the burn of his eyes on my back. What with the dim lights, the crowded bodies, and the haze of smoke, it didn’t take long to become completely engulfed by the crowd.

I joined them in movement with the beat of the music. The movement came like second nature, especially under the influence of the booze. I didn’t care who watched, although as I danced and danced, I hoped it wouldn’t be long until Elvis came to his senses and caught up with me.

Sure enough, after a while, I felt a tall presence from behind me, followed closely by the smell, a warm, sultry musk, and I knew he’d finally come to find me. I turned my head to look up at him through my periphery. He was tall, and by the sway of his body, I guessed that he’s had a couple of drinks of his own.

And suddenly, we were dancing together. At first, I felt just the slightest of brush of his body beside mine as he finds his rhythm, but as the music progresses and the press of the crowd gets closer and closer against us, he has no choice but to press his own body closer and closer to mine. Still facing away from him, the both of us watching Little Richard up by the stage in appreciation, we carefully avoided each other’s eyes. But I couldn’t ignore the feel of his hips against my backside. And then, the feel of his hands on my waist.

The tension between our bodes became so thick it was almost palpable. I rested my hands on his, giving him permission to press his fingers more firmly into my hips.

Before long, my back was flush against his chest while we danced. The band launched into a new song, something slower, heavier, sultrier. Elvis took the lead, then, pushing my body away only to grasp my hand and twirl me around so I’m facing him. The man’s eyes soaked me up, drew me up toward him, drew me in, held me captive. I soaked up the sight of him as well. He looked so undeniably handsome, even with—or perhaps, especially with—the way the sweat glistened on his brow and how a lock of his hair had fallen out of the neat pompadour.

And then Elvis was moving with me again, effortlessly keeping time with the sway of the music, the motion of my hips. He smirked at me, a cocky, enrapturing gesture, and I couldn’t help but smile back at him.

“Looks like you don’t need a stage to make those hips move, cowboy,” I purred.

“Easy to dance when I’ve got a pretty gal to dance with,” he quipped back. His eyes, piercing blue and still lined with the residual blackness from his makeup from earlier, were hard to look away from. Not that I wanted to. He was easily the most charming, captivating man I’ve ever been near.

And he was very, very near, then, as he wrapped his arm around my waist and pressed his hand into my lower back, pulling my chest against his. I allowed my hands to snake up his arms, feeling his lean muscles beneath my fingertips. My heart hammered in my chest as he brought his other hand up to my face. His hand was so big that I could rest my cheek in the palm of it while his fingers curled against the hair at the nape of my neck. When I leaned into his touch, he tilted my body forward into a dip, exposing the skin of my neck and chest to the ceiling. He trailed his lips an inch away from my body, and then pulling me back upright, I felt his mouth against my earlobe. His hot breath sent a wave of chills across my body, despite the heat of the club.

“Tell me your real name,” he demanded in a low rasp.

“I’ll never tell,” I replied, my voice just as thick as his. I was suddenly aware of just how turned on I felt, with his hips against mine, his warm breath on my neck, his hands against me so surely. God, I suddenly wanted his hands all over me.

“Why not, darlin’?” Elvis squeezed my hip, ever so slightly, but enough to make me melt like chocolate in his arms.

“Because I like it when you call me Missy.” Surely, with the direction this was going, he’d be satisfied with at least that for a name to call me.

A name to call me when we…well…

Maybe the disorientation of my dissociation was slowly fading, because I suddenly had the delicious, terrifying realization of where this could go.

“If that’s what you want, then, Missy,” Elvis murmured, his hips still moving against mine with that sensual rhythm. “I’ll call you anything you want tonight.”

“And tomorrow?” I cooed.

He chuckled a bit. “What’s tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow can be whatever you want,” I said suggestively.

His eyes widened. “Well… Tomorrow, I’ll insist on your real name. But tonight, Missy will do.”

We couldn’t make it to the end of the song.

Elvis dragged me through the crowd, along a back corridor of the club I hadn’t seen at all when we first came in, which led to what looked like an emergency exit by the windows. It was dark and obscured from the view of the dance floor. And there was nobody here.

Elvis kissed me for a third time. But it was less of a kiss and more of an attack of his mouth against mine, an attack I was more than willing to endure. He pressed me roughly against the brick wall and I lost all sense of reason as his lips assailed me with a harshness and yet a simultaneous softness I’ve never experienced before. I let out a little squeak of surprise, which he consumed with a wanton growl of his own.

My silent wish from earlier came true, the wish to have Elvis’s hands all over my body. He touched me as if he were parched and desperate for the oasis of my body. I gripped at his hips, pressing him more firmly into me as he moved his lips to my neck. There was a shared feeling between the two of us, between our two bodies, partly the feeling of gratefulness for the sliver of privacy here in the dingy corridor, partly the feeling of intense and critical mutual need for the other. Whatever the feeling, it made me dizzy with desire.

“So gorgeous,” he groaned as he kissed my neck. I didn’t say anything back, couldn’t, the words seemingly caught in my throat where his lips were. They trailed up my neck to my ear, where his teeth brushed against my earlobe before he whispered, “You hear me, darlin’? You’re so beautiful.”

The only breathy response I could muster in return was his name.

He was pressed against me so intensely that I was practically sitting on the thigh he had me straddling against the wall. The movement of his leg elicited a steady warmth in my body that pooled between my legs. I arched into him and clawed at his body, my mind completely blank of any thoughts except right here, right now, and…

“Wanna get outta here, luv?”

The meaning behind his words was a defibrillator to my heart. Reality crashed upon me. Where I had been existing in a haze all night, I suddenly became aware of the world around me, aware of Elvis’s body, aware of my own again.

Aware of who he was, who he had once been.

I stiffened in his arms.

Elvis, readily listening to my body language, immediately leaned away. When he saw my expression, he took half a step away from the wall, and I regained my balance.

“Is something wrong?” he asked.

“I can’t,” I said. My heart was suddenly racing, and it wasn’t just from desire anymore.

Elvis’s face dropped. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable, darlin’,” he said softly.

I gulped. “I know, it’s just—“ I scanned for the exit. “I—I just can’t do this, Elvis.”

“What d’ya—?”

He didn’t have time to finish his sentence before I was pushing away from him and heading toward the exit in a rush. But he grabbed my hand, gently tugging me back to him, not in coercion or with mal intent, but in confusion, in an attempt to glean an answer.

“Hold on, hold on,” he said. “What happened? Was it something I said?”

“Thank you for the ticket to the concert,” I said, “but I can’t do this. I…I have to go.”

“Please,” he urged. “Don’t leave—Missy. Talk to me.” His scours my face for any semblance of an answer for what he’d done wrong.

In truth, he hadn’t done anything wrong, not really. I knew that, of course I did. But suddenly, I couldn’t bear to let him be with me under the l circumstances. I couldn’t ignore the pain that he didn’t recognize who I was.

I could tell him. I knew I could. I could tell him, and he would know. And even if he didn’t recognize me, he certainly hadn’t forgotten. How could he have forgotten the way I had professed my love to him like a stupid kid?

But once he knew who I was, how could I face him now after where we’d left things eight years ago?

Meeting Elvis organically was an act of serendipity. And the shared connection we had was unlike anything else. But how could I let this go further without him knowing who I really was?

Before, I had felt confident stepping into the mystere of the Missy identity. But now, it just felt disingenuous to him.

I couldn’t let myself give into the temptation. It wasn’t meant to be.

“I have to go,” I said again sadly.

It must have been something in my tone that led him to finally drop my hand.

I gave him one last, long look before I slowly turned and left the club, leaving him alone in the smoke and the haze.

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The Presleys were moving to Memphis.

Elvis didn’t even have the guts to tell me himself. I’d had to find out through our classmates, who whispered the news throughout the hallways like weeds spreading through a garden. I didn’t even have to confront him about it to know that the rumor was true; he had been avoiding me all week, and that alone spoke volumes.

I was thirteen. I was in love. And my heart was about to get broken.

On the day the Presleys were supposed to leave, I concocted a plan. When my parents had gone to bed for the night, I snuck into the hallway closet and took the one decent suitcase we owned. I took it back to my room and started packing my belongings.

I snuck out the dusty window in the kitchen. And I hauled myself and the suitcase down the dirt street to the Presley residence. Parked in front of their house, their 1939 Plymouth was already loaded up with their trunks of belongings.

The light to Elvis’s bedroom on the second floor was on. I gathered a handful of stones from the dirt road and threw them up to the window until he appeared in the frame, frowning down at me.

He was the most beautiful boy I had ever known. And he was leaving me.

When he finally emerged by the back door, the first thing he said to me after a whole week of silence was, “You can’t be here, Y/N.”

“Yes, I can,” I argued.

Elvis looked furtively back toward the house. “No, you can’t. If Mama saw me out here talkin’ with you, she’d kill me.”

“I don’t care.” I gripped the strap of my suitcase tighter. Elvis’s eyes tracked the movement.

“What are you doing with that?” he frowned.

I straightened my shoulders. “I’m coming with you to Memphis.”

“You’re—” Elvis stepped over to me and placed his hands on my shoulders degradingly. “No, Y/N. You can’t come with us.”

My name came out of his mouth like a disappointed sigh. But I just ground my heels and gritted my teeth.

“I’ll hitchhike to Memphis, then,” I insisted. “And then we can be together there.”

“You don’t understand, Y/N,” he said with a groan. He threw his hand to his forehead. “You have to stay here, with your family. And I have to go, with mine.”

“Yeah, but—”

“We can’t be together,” he said definitively. “Ever.”

As his words sunk in, fat tears welled in my eyes. “But I love you, Elvis. We’re meant to be together.”

Elvis just stared at me. “You…love me?” His mouth formed a hard line. But I saw his eyes glisten, too. “You can’t.”

“But I do!”

“Go home, Y/N,” was all he said.

I heard his Mama, then, calling for him from inside the house. He looked back nervously, and then he looked at me. He shook his head as he watched me cry, but it looked like he was trying not to cry, too. And then he turned and went back inside the house.

I sat behind the bush across from their house on top of my suitcase and cried as the Presleys loaded into their car that night, and without another goodbye, drove away to Tennessee, leaving their life in Tupelo behind forever.

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A/N: Hey babes ♥ How we doing? What are we all thinking!! Where will this go with Elvis and his childhood best friend?? Any predictions, thoughts, etc??

I’m dying to hear your thoughts about it! Please note that I write fanfiction for free; my only request for repayment is a genuine expression of your thoughts, opinions, likes/dislikes, and predictions about the story. Whether it’s simply a “Wow, I loved it!”, a keyboard smash, a series of convoluted thoughts in the tags, or even a full-out review, please know that any and all feedback is welcome!

Please send me asks because they make me smile so hard omg!

Much love ❤︎ from Juniper

Taglist: I’m on mobile rn so I hope to god this works

@dances-and-dolly-dresses @cozacorner @butlersbitxh @fangirlwithasweettooth @smckinney @shimmeringlights44 @kpopgalaxy28 @mamaspresley @deafeningpresley @felicityroth @callthedarknessdown @wonderlandlovelove @bobbykennedyfan @starry-night-20 @wild-rose-35 @alligator-person @lexthemess21 @pumkiinpasties @touchmetouchmetouchme @londonalozzy @treatmenice @cherryhoneybuns @g0ldenlush @megastar21 @bamitzzsam @smckinney @mirandastuckinthe80s @kittenlittle24 @x-earthangel @yeetfack-blog @sodonebruh @gemstone9 @hoedameronsworld @floralcyanide @likexthexplanet @tubble-wubble @pastelteabubbles @biafbunny

I’m probably missing a ton of y’all rip sorry just send me an ask to be added

#elvis 2022 #elvis presley #elvis #elvis presley headcanons #austin butler #elvis presley x reader #elvis presley imagine #elvis presley fanfiction #elvis fanfiction #austin buter x reader #austin butler imagine #fanfiction #fanfic #works by juniper #slow burn #reader insert #writing #music

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