i just imagine that tommy is the actual chillest adult in jackson who is constantly busting the teens for smoking weed, but it's just so he can let them know that it reeks and they're about to give the entire town a contact high. they always offer him a joint, and he's like, "uh yeah no i don't want your shitty weed, thanks though."

Superpowereds liveblog part 2.

So Nick grew up in what, a mob casino? Wild! Insane.

Party for finals, held by upperclassmen. Cool.

PRESENTATION GUEST SPEAKER EH? a powered. Interesting. I get what Dean Blaine is trying to do but holy fuck, Nick is so paranoid. Like I get it, literally raised tht way whatever, but goddamn. Get this kid some Sertraline.

Party time! Nice to see Hersch out and about. I love that he's tapping Roy's memories for all the partying. As soon as someone starts pursuing Herschel and not Roy, I have a feeling Hersch is going to take on that "nerd that gets a TON but nobody understands why he does" stereotype. I'm not going to complain if it happens.

Fuckin. Is whiskey one of Roy's triggers? That's hilarious. God, having a cowboy brother/headmate is hilarious.

Alex clocks Nick having fun, partyboys Herschel and Nick content WHEN.

This guy Chris just cheats at beer pong but he can't hold his liquor because it's too good. Metaphor for something here, I can feel it. He gives up because Angela says to. Nice. Wonder what her deal is.

Alright, finals weeeeek! Nick's a movie guy, I love that. Vince is literally me prepping for shit. I love ya, silver.

NICK CALLED THEM HIS FRIENDS. AWH.

"Just an easygoing guy I guess." Nick you have OCD levels of paranoia and anxiety. Girl.

"if you want enlightenment, I think there's guys that have some." "Huh?" Oh my god, Vince you're a nerd ass.

VIDEO STORE WHAT Y E A R IS IT.

Finals! Nice.

Last man standing. Got it. Into the Labyrinth.

Okay, last three standing, top three killstreak. Neat.

"Do. Nothing." King shit.

Roy is out! Against an Amber. Neat! I think Roy deserves a pal or two. He's a dick, but I think some solid friends might be able to coax him into at least not being a TOTAL ass.

Alex and Vince team up? Fun.

Mary has located Nick. "Lead on, O champion of the misfit Supers." Ugh. They're so good dynamic wise.

"I'M NOT! A FUCKING! TELEPATH!" ALEX!!!MY LIL JEDI!!!

Alice knocked out two! Nice.

Vince ate his taser! Nice. Down Thomas goes.

Nick is using Mary as his stand. God. I kith him.

"Emotional growth can wait for later."

A siren? Oooo! How evil. Nice. Alex and Vince down.

"/Playboy/ has issues. /I/ have personality." Nick is just explaining how he reads people to the girl who can read his mind, because she doesn't get the context. Goddamn. "Mister sad-sack. Get some bitches."

"Does Vince really think of me as his best friend? 🥺"

Chad? Why can't she read Chad's mind I wonder? He wants to 1v1 Mary? Fuckin Pog.

I like Chad. I again just hear my fucking ex boyfriend in his VA. It's hard to hear.

"Sometimes doing the right thing leaves you feeling like an asshole."

I need to know WHYYY she can't hear Chad. Whyyyyyyyy. Oh my god he's altered his brain chemistry and frequency? That's so cool. I like Chad. He seems a cool guy.

Alice got GOT!

It's an invisibility person? Nick is out. That's the melbrook kids gone!

Final exam, Melbrook style. Climbing a fucking mountain?????? Christ.

Nick eye reveal after almost fucking dying? Aw. They're brown. That was a gay ass sentence, Vince.

Oh my god it's our bonding trip!!! Childhood trauma talking. I love all of them.

"You make the call." Nice. They're bondingggg.

"Nick, I'm right here." "Oh I know."

Christmas at home. Nick, Mary and Herschel are what I expected. Alice is so... Oh, baby girl. The maid is fucking Colleen Delaney, and my brain went /RUBY JOURNEY?/ because the other graphic audio production I listened to had her in a main character role, Deathstalker!

Found day. Vince...

We're back together! Nick won a car. What a dweeb. Vince is showing signs of that paladin rigidity.

Sasha! Nice. (And Julia, and the Murray twins.)

Alice keeps punching Nick. I'm amused. (Ellie spraying Ike with water also made me laugh. It's the same dynamic.)

The foley for this production is immense. The movie in the background of Numbers and Transport is good. I wonder what the lesson was. It's early, I'll probably get it later.

Alright, so we've got combat/alternative placings! Vince, Mary, and Herschel into combat, Nick and Alice into alt iirc?

Vince rn lmao

I had the system explained to me prior so I knew the whole "competing against past years" thing. That's wild, but it makes sense. They'd just try again anyway, might as well streamline the process. Ten spots for graduation, huh? I hope at least a couple of the Melbrook kids make it. I'm not expecting them to, but maybe I've just read too much Wildbow. He left his protagonists fate up to a dice roll. Nobody is safe over there.

Into combat and alt training. Holy shit, listening to Nick have a fucking seizure was delightful I mean, so crazy. Hell yes, alt training, that's where I'd want to go.

Herschel paRTYBOY ARC WE ARE GETTING ITTTTT

Alice and Mary dress up montage!!

WILL BUGGED JILL? LMAO!!!!

Jill sends dudes after Will. This is clearly like, a haha gay people funny joke, and yet, I'm amused. Is this homophobic of me or am I just like "Jill clocked her brother and is just going about it the wrong way and THAT is funny"

Camille... Shy? Camille- oh my god they've MET! That's ADORABLE! Oh shit she's the injury transferrer! In talking to my dad I've learned of her. Jeez. That's potent as hell. She's so baby. And Vince doesn't remember?? That's adorable.

Okay, cool, so Alice has a friend, that's neat. Let's expose Mary to some culture. I like it.

"Cute? /Him/? ///REALLY?///" Alice. Girl...

Hersch asked Mary! Good! Look at them bumble around like newborn fawns together. The fact that it specifically calls that she isn't using her power, too? Ughhhh!!! so cute

Combat training. Roy v Chad always, and then other combat partners. Nick keeps getting shut down for being mouthy, I think it's cute. Ugh. I could break him.

Roy getting continuously beat is so good. He's got that spirit though. Oh, Roy manifested to protect Herschel? That's adorable! I love all the little flashbacks. Ugh. Ugh!!! This is so emotionally investing!

Mary said "ya got daddy issues and you're taking it out on us" and Roy said "fuck off!" nice. Chad still wants to spar, what a... A Chad, I guess.

Parents weekend? Ooh. Tfw only two people in your dorm have parents that care. Sasha is so cute. I hope she doesn't die or something.

"Nick go hang out with Alice." "Fuck off." "Please?" "Fine." And he's having *fun* dammit. Even if he's getting shoes thrown at him.

Nick's got his... Bouncer? Mary has her parents, Hersch has his mom, and poor Alice is stuck hanging out with her dad who didn't actually come for her.

Nick wanted Vince to come along! Aw, baby BOY. Vince is just so nice.

"For a conman you sure have a strict moral code." Go comfort Alice, oh my goddd she's gonna cry dude! Look at her she's got anxiety!!!!!

Ohhhh my god he's putting on the fucking WILES. He's so!!! She's gonna collapse oh my god. No glasses too!!! Aaaaugh???

"We've only been together for a few minutes and you already know I'm into the kinky shit." "I am going to k i l l you." Fake dating ends me ends me ends me. I think I like them so much because I already write Essentially This Dynamic with mine and my friend's OCS. It's ridiculous.

Transport asking Vince to eat so he isn't alone. Hrghrhhrm.... adorable.

Ma Daniels, a competent woman after my own heart.

Date went solid, Alice is starting to /flutter/. Nick is solidly in denial that he likes his friends, or will call them his friends at all. Ugh.

Dean Blaine sounds like how I imagine Vice Principal Goldenhoard from d20. Big booming voice.

Chad isn't hangin out huh? Wild. Anyway Roy got slutshamed. Swag.

Part 2 officially complete.

Asking Mary out! There's some Otome game ass music in the background. I'm half expecting to hear a soft /Doki Doki!/

Everyone is just like "oh my fucking god FINALLY" lmao

Nick is playing into his avoidant streak, thinking he's going to make Alice hate him when really she's just going to get jealous. Wild play. It's Bubbles! She's cute. Poor thing is gonna get her heart broken.

Here's the point where I got into the car so imma speed summarize.

Alice getting a surprise birthday party was adorable! The Melbrooks really went all out and I'm glad, she deserves it. I was so wowed by Nick's gift that I audibly said "this is so cute I'm going to puke". What else... Vince has some sort of sexual trauma, inchresting. Ranged practice was before that and I? Am just so. Hmm, about Nick's upbringing. Three? You learned to shoot at three? I knew he was faking immediately, it reminded me of the scene in spiderverse where Miles gets every answer wrong on purpose. Vince cast chain lightning. Michaels got a drinking and ego problem.

Anyway, it's lake trip time. My impending sense of doom is building. Something is going to go wrong, I can feel it. There's no way finals will come THAT easy.

That will be all for today.

could you do an imagine/headcannon where ellie and miller!reader are traveleing to santa barbara and are being really flirty with each other (they always have been but this time its like amped up x100) and on their way back to jackson they confess that they have always loved each other? (happy valentines btw!!! 👩‍❤️‍💋‍👩)

Summary: Confessing your love to ellie

A/N: Thank you for the request<3 This kinda got a little depressing and i'm sorry but i'm in the mood for angst rn AHSHJ. Anyways sorry for making you wait so long babe :( ily <3

Warnings: Blood and angst

Word count: 1.3K

-Even though this is probably the worst reason to be traveling to Santa Barbara, avenge the death of your father, you two still can't keep your hands to yourselves

-There was something about this time that felt more meaningful than it usually did

-Ellie would always pull bad pick up lines out of her back pocket and make you laugh

-"IS there a mirror in your pants?? Cause I can see myself in them."

-It was just stupid harmless jokes but now it feels more than that

-Ellie had also started touching you more, if that was holding your hand as you guys were running through a hoard of infected or hugging you as you came back from getting food

-You weren't complaining much though, back at home it was so lonely there without ellie

-You and her had been connected at the hip ever since you met, you even went with her to Seattle even if it hurt you so much to remember your dad

-After you guys came back to Jackson after Seattle you both parted ways, it left you heart broken

-Ellie left to go live in a farmhouse by herself and you got up and moved your entire life around

-You were able to go back to Texas and live in your dad's old house there, you fixed it up real nice... wasn't much but the only memory you had of your dad

-That's until Ellie came to you, all the way from Jackson to Texas just so you could help her cause you were the only person that was going through her pain.

-It took about a week to get to Santa Barbara and the entire trip consisted of catching up but also the awkward tension in the air

-It was horrible because ellie kept getting hurt but she kept pushing herself to her limit

-When she was impaled by the tree branch, you tried your best to clean her up and for some reason touching her bare skin made you blush.

-When y'all had finally found Abby there was a good chance you guys could kill her, she was weak and fragile

-You had been busy trying to fight of the damn group you had run into when you could've helped ellie

-When you finally made it to the sea, there she was. Bleeding, bloody and hurt... Just like when you found her in jackson that horrible day when you lost everything

-You ran to her, holding her like she would drift away. You watched as abby made her way into sea

-You didn't even feel like going after her, you didn't want to lose the only other person you had left

-"I couldn't.... Joel..." She could hardly speak

-"I know ellie..." You whispered back, letting some tears escape you

- You helped get her cleaned up that night, staying in a abandoned house just so y'all could rest

-You wrapped her fingers up real well, doing everything in your power not to hurt her

-You could feel her eyes on you, looking at you like you were the only right thing in her life

-She couldn't bear losing you, if you were to have died she wouldn't want to live anymore

-"You know I'm glad you came with me. i really missed you" She spoke, watching as you wiped the blood off her hands

-"I missed you too ellie, i had to get used to you not being there....it felt weird." You admitted

-Ellie's heart fluttered, she was so in love with you in hurt

-"How was texas?" She asked

-"Lonely" You stated, wiping the blood off her hands. "It was just how they left it 25 years ago, everything was left untouched."

-She watched as you spoke, her eyes flipping to your eyes back to your mouth

-"Sarah's room looks exactly like mine back at Jackson '' You chuckled. "It's funny how similar we are yet we've never met."

-Ellie chuckled along with you, watching as your eyes began to water

-She knew you were only hurting yourself living there, holding on to a simple memory of a man who was so much more

-"I wonder if it hurt him to look at me.... if all he saw was sarah"

- Ellie could hear the tears you were holding back, causing ellie to get on your level, hoping down from the chair and on the floor with her

-Ellie took her bloody hand, placing it on your cheek. She wiped away stray tears, smearing your rosey cheeks with blood

-"No." She stated simply. "I bet he saw a woman with so much purpose, he would be so proud of you y/n."

-It was then, right then when you decided you were madly in love with Ellie williams. You always knew but you kept it hidden, but you couldn't keep it to yourself anymore

-You smashed your lips into hers, not caring about the clashing teeth or the surprised gasp coming from her

-It was at this moment you could let go, of everything

-"I have been waiting for this moment for years." She breathed out, giving a huge smile

-"me too..." You admitted, wanting to pull her into another one

-"why didn't you say anything?!?"

-"You tell me!!"

-"I could've been kissing your stupid face this entire time?!?"

-Even after almost getting murdered multiple times today, you guys are still your stupid selves

-Traveling back to jackson felt quick, days gone by like minutes

-This time the trip consisted of everything it used to but more makeout sessions and heated sex... obviously cause it's ellie

-off topic but the first y'all finally have sex omfg, ellie is so shy and awkward with it like seeing your boobies threw her off

-Anyways uhhh moving on

-When y'all finally got back to jackson, you knew you two would have to split back up again. I mean y'all started 2 different lives, you couldn't just leave that all behind.

-Ellie showed you around her house, allowing you to pet the sheep and horses

-It felt nice, better than in texas where you had no one

-it wasn't until you found joel's guitar he made for ellie that you remembered you have to go back to texas... or do you?

-"I now understand what the bill went through... I mean losing someone and then coming home to an empty house." You stated, running your fingers along the strings

-"Minus the crazy paranoid part... right?" She joked, coming up to you to set small kisses to your head

-You chuckled, you didn't want to end up like bill...alone or did you already become him

-The coldness of the house that you knew was once filled with laughter of the two who had once lived there, something you had tried to recreate but only failing

-Walking along the house filled with pictures of the two faces that should be here with you, would Sarah even want you a part of the picture or would she want to be the only child?

-"I want to let him go ellie...' You whispered. "I'm holding onto a life that was never mine....i sleep in his bed for god sake."

-Ellie brought you into a hug, staying silent so you could get it out

-Ellie knew what you were going through, she saw it every time you entered a room.

-Ellie thought about how much she missed you and how much it would hurt her if you left her again

-"You could always stay with me.." She spoke, seeing your futures flash in her head

-She could see you getting up and feeding the animals in only your bra and shorts

-She could see you pregnant with a kid, cooking up dinner for you and her... she isn't quite sure how that works but you can make it happen

-She could see nights spent making love underneath the stars

-She would kill for that life with you

-"Really??" You said, perking up almost immediately

-"Yeah I mean.... i'm beginning to feel like bill as well."

-You both laughed, you both were so fucking ready to settle down and be normal humans for a bit

-"I think I might like that." You smiled, pulling her into a kiss once again

a piece of my heart

a/n: hi this fic is for the wonderful @magston-obsessed ! I hope you enjoy some random magston fluff <33 sending you so much love and good vibes!

"I have a question." Winston raised his eyebrows and watched as his wife flopped back onto the bed below her.

"I hopefully have an answer." She lolled her head to the side and sighed, holding her hand out for him. He intertwined their fingers and laid forward onto his stomach. "What's going on?"

"Amelia and Link are figuring things out, and they want to know if we'll take Scout if anything happens."

"Of course, why is that a question?" Maggie turned her head away.

"It just makes me think about our future; we haven't talked much about where we see things going. I mean, do you want kids?"

"Do you want kids?"

"Don't flip the question around," she whispered, closing her eyes. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking that you're my wife, and I love you, and I want to do whatever you want. I would love to have a mini Maggie running around, but kids are a huge commitment, and it would mean we would both have to cut back at work for a while. I don't want you to lose doing what you enjoy." She pursed her lips into a line and sighed.

"I think I want kids, but it scares me. I love Mer's kids and Scout so much, and they're not even my own kids, and just knowing that I could have that much love for a tiny human who could get so easily hurt by the world is absolutely terrifying. Not to mention how difficult it is to raise a kid in this world."

"We don't have to make a decision now."

"I know," she rolled her head back to the side and met Winston's eyes, locking her gaze in his and taking a breath. "But then I think about how I feel when I watch you babysit Scout, and I think that you would be an incredible father. And, when Ellis got you to put on that princess crown and have a tea party the other week," Maggie grinned and shook her head. "I love you."

"I love you," he murmured contently, squeezing her hand.

"How do you feel about adopting?"

"We would need a house; I'm sure they won't give us a child if we're living in an apartment."

"I think one of the things that scares me about having a kid is the pregnancy. I'd be too paranoid about everything I'm doing and how it would affect the baby. And, I love my parents."

"If it's something you're seriously interested in, I will call the realtor tomorrow morning, and we can get this process started. I think adopting is a great thing, and we could give a kid a wonderful home." Maggie pushed herself into a sitting position, supporting her body with her arms behind her, and pulled her legs up onto the bed.

"Do you really think we could do it? Be parents all of the time?"

"I think that we can do anything, as long as we're together." He scooched towards her and sat up, gently pushing her head down onto his shoulder with his hand. "And I think that you would be an incredible mom, Maggie Pierce."

𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐏𝐘 𝐁𝐈𝐑𝐓𝐇𝐃𝐀𝐘, 𝐌𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐒 !

EVERY STEP OF THE WAY, I’LL BE THERE.

it was late autumn when you two first met. it was an evening walk back from school, hands in pockets as music played gently into your ear, when you heard sudden foot steps behind you. paranoid, you turned around, and your eyes set on a man-- tall, broad, silver whisps of hair and golden eyes. he waved, arms frantically moving as you halted, waiting for him to catch up. “do you-” he hesitated to catch his breath. “do you know where the convenience store is from here?” you nodded, pointing to the other side of the street. • “it should be across that corner, big glowing neon sign-- can’t miss it.” • “haha, thank you!” the man grinned. he turned his heel to move before turning back around. “what’s your name? mine’s bokuto!” • “morosis,” you called back. he gave a thumbs up before leaving. 

as weather grew colder, you encountered bokuto more often. whether it was passing each other in the lunch line or walking from class to class together, he was always up to chat with you. • “alright, i gotta go now!” bokuto shouted. • “what for?” you asked. • “i have volleyball practice, you should come watch sometime!” • he turned the corner once more without waiting for your response. you stared at the floor, smiling. • “yeah, maybe i should.” 

when cramming for finals came along, akaashi joined in your hangouts that turned into study meetings at each other’s house. it was an unspoken tradition for y’all to go to each other’s houses, rotating every now and then for studying. bokuto started to get more comfortable with you, saying things impulsively, not being afraid to speak his mind. when he didn’t understand something, he’d sprawl across the floor, claming he was “dying” in your arms and needed your help. instead, you got up and brought him snacks that powered him right back up.

he started distancing himself from you over the summer. you hadn’t even realized his absence, assuming it was to practice volleyball-- but eventually, you came to the point that he was avoiding you. you knocked on his door, asking to talk, and with tired eyes, he welcomed you inside. tired eyes, you noted. that doesn’t seem right. • “do you want anything to eat?” bokuto asked, forcing a smile. it was clear that he was trying to stall, but... this truly didn’t seem right. • “bokuto, have you been avoiding me?” his smile falls as he sits down next to you, hand clasped in the other. after a few moments of uncomfortable silence, he nods. it’s a pitiful nod, like a little kid who finally admitted to stealing the last cookie. your face softens, hand over his. • “is it okay if i ask why?” no response. he remains silent for far too long, and you take that as your cue to leave. • “alright, bo. i’ll go back, but you can text me when-” • “i’m in love with you.” you turn around, face suddenly heating up, making sure you heard correctly. • “what?”

koutaro bokuto eagerly slams open the door, rushing into your room as he holds your favorite food in hand. he throws his arms around you, peppering your face with kisses. • “hey hey heyyy!! i got you takeout,” he hums, scooching onto your desk next to you. “so?? how does it sound, you, me, a box of cheerios and takeout and some sitcoms?” you nod, forgetting about your exhaustion as he carries you over to the couch. “i’ll be right back, babe,” he places a quick kiss on your nose, coming back with utensils and a blanket. your head rests in his chest as his hand holds yours. home is wherever bokuto is, and you love it there.

TETSUROU KUROO

for as long as you could remember, it had always been you and kuroo. he lived only two blocks away, and since you were little, he’d always been there. whether it was making dirt pie out in the field or learning how to ride bikes together, kuroo had always been there. you were there for him just as much, and practically, there was no photo in your camera album that didn’t have kuroo in it. most of them were of you two being idiots, but every so often, there were those adorable photos of both of you hugging or laughing over a fallen sand castle. 

unfortunately, as all good things do-- you two drifted apart. he didn’t move away or get into an argument with you, it had simply been the consequence of growing up. what started off as having secret hand shakes in between classes became purposely avoided eye contact between you two. it was an unspoken agreement that now that you were getting older, you had to be distanced to grow. as the world continued to move forward, you found yourself holding back for a reason you couldn’t name-- so when you discovered that kuroo was the captain of nekoma, you decided to check out one of their practice games.

kuroo did twenty times better than he usually did, and when his teammates asked him about it, he avoided the question. • “it was just all the practice i put in,” he snorted. “right, kenma? you saw me practicing yesterday, right?” • “yeah..” kenma noted. “but you stopped right after one set.” • deep down, kuroo knew the reason: you were there. he saw your eyes and your highlights, and he couldn’t help but feel a surge of energy rush through him. he wanted to good, he wanted to show how hard he worked, but why? 

after practice, he asked you to walk home with him. you laughed, • “you did really good today.” kuroo flexed, • “yeah, i’ve been practicing a lot.” silence. it wasn’t an awkward silence, but it was more of a comfortable silence-- you two just being together, being next to each other under a painting of stars that danced across the sky. “uhm,” kuroo muttered. he wasn’t used to not knowing what to say. usually, around others (and strangers), he would just be able to spit out whatever commentary he wanted. why was it so different with you? “did you uh, catch up on anything else?” you shrugged, smiling softly. • “nothing much. i’ve been doing a lot more things that make me happy, i guess?” it had been so long since you two had last had a real conversation. what made you happy? had you been thinking of him as much as he did you? were you taking care of yourself? who had you been hanging out with? did you have a significant other already-? why was that question even there, and why did the answer yes irritate him? • “oh, i’m here,” you noted, interuppting his flow of questions. “this is my house. uh, you can keep going now.” kuroo paused, in a daze. your house hadn’t changed at all. your initials were still engraved into the cement and the mini ditch you made in your front yeard was still there. • “right. see you, morosis.”

when he realized he was in love with you, he was thrown off guard. he was in love with you. his childhood friend who he hadn’t talked to casually for over five years. which is why, during one of his matches, he nearly dropped the ball when he heard you cheering in the crowd. you were watching, which meant that he had to do good. you inspired him to do better. the rest of the game was a blur, and the whole time, he was only thinking of you. he was thinking of you and whether or not you were looking at him, if you were judging him in your head, if you loved him as much as he did. which was why, after the game and they won-- he rushed over to you as you threw your arms around him, engulfing him into a hug. “you did amazing, tetsu!” you shouted impulsively. your hands cupped his face, and for a moment, the world went silent. he couldn’t hear anyone, everything sounded underwater, and he could only hear you, he could only see you, and he could only feel your lips press against his.

and sparks flew.

EVERYTHING COMES BACK TO YOU

𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐔 𝐎𝐈𝐊𝐀𝐖𝐀

𝐈𝐙𝐔𝐊𝐔 𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐘𝐀

happy birthday, @missmorosis​!! thank you for being such an awesome mutual through out this whole time. be sure to take care of yourself and keep hydrating! you mean VERY MUCH TO ME PLS and thaaank you for being absolutely so amazing and strong HRHRHR LET ME HOLD YOU OML

- ellie!!!

Teacher’s Pet- Part 15

Here is the latest part of my dad! Ben Hardy series and the gender reveal is in this part, I hope you will all like it and feedback is always lovely.

Taglist: @lunaticspoem @butlegendsneverdie​ @langdonzvoid @jennyggggrrr​ @rogermeddow​ @radiob-l-a-hblah​ @rogertaylorsbitontheside @chlobo6​ @rogertaylors-lipgloss​ @sj-thefan​ @omgitsearly​ @luckytrashgooprebel​ @scarsout​ @deaky-with-a-c​ @killer-queen-ofrhye @bluutac @vousmemanqueez @jonesyaddiction @rogahs-drowse @milanosaurus @httpfandxms @saint-hardy @7-seas-of-fat-bottomed-girls @mrsalwayswritex @rogerina-owns-me @hellsdragon @im-an-adult-ish @crazylittlethingg @allauraleigh

Series taglist: @im-an-adult-ish​​​ @gwilymleeisbae​​​​ @k-k0129​​​​​ @haileymorelikestupid​​​​ @glittrixvibe​​​​ @youngpastafanmug​ @ultraviolencezs​

Series masterlist

Summary: Gwilym sets Ben up on a date with (Y/n) who teaches at the school Ben’s kids go to. But Ben is hesitant in the relationship, desperate not to make the same mistakes and needing to put his kids first.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Will you still be happy if we're having a boy?" (Y/n) knew it was a silly question to ask but she couldn't help how it was starting to play on her mind more and more lately.

They were about to have a scan today and they were able to find out if they were having a baby boy or girl. (Y/n) couldn't help but wonder what kind of reaction Ben would have if it turned out that they were having a boy because from what he had said, he didn't want that to be the case. He felt like every time he had a boy it was fate telling him that this relationship was not going to last and it never did.

Ben loved (Y/n) and he knew this relationship was better, it was something different and something he wanted to treasure and keep but having a boy would make him paranoid that it wasn't going to last.

"It's not that I wouldn't he happy because I would, every time I've been in this position I've been overjoyed. It's just that a boy would make me paranoid, I wouldn't be any less content or thrilled if we had a boy."

Ben couldn't have (Y/n) mistaking his paranoia for unhappiness because he would never be unhappy to hear he was having a child or that the child was a boy. Every time he had learned the gender he had been increasingly worried but he was always happy and ecstatic every time because he loved each of his boys. They were his world, it just made him superstitious that he may lose his relationship if he had a boy. But if they were having another boy Ben would still be happy, he could never be unhappy because children were his life.

"Okay... forget about the stigma and paranoia attached, would you like another boy this time, or do you want a girl?" (Y/n)'s smile showed she was trying to lighten the mood but she was curious.

Ben seemed so at ease and comfortable with the boys, it seemed like it suited him to have sons. But (Y/n) was interested if he had always wanted boys or if he wanted a girl and if he still wanted a girl this time around or not.  (Y/n) herself had never cared what gender child she would have but now that she had three boys all at once, a girl might be a nice change. But then again, (Y/n) wouldn't mind if they had a boy, it would just be like she was supposed to be the only girl in the family and that thought made her smile.

"I'd like a girl this time. Jamie wanted a girl and I didn't dare tell her I was happy we were having a boy and I was happy to have another boy with Ellie. When I had Finn I was sure he'd be a girl, three in a row didn't seem likely I was so prepared for a girl that time around. I do love the boys, I always liked having just us four boys round the house, but I want a girl too."

The way that Ben smiled as he spoke gave away that he wasn't begging or praying for a girl because he was worried, he wanted a girl because he was desperate to finally have a daughter to look after and spoil.

Ben had just known with Carter that he and Jamie were having a boy, it was like a sixth sense. Jamie had been in two minds about having a baby in the first place but she had wanted a girl and Ben knew Jamie could just see herself with a daughter. Everyone had the perfect image of a family in their mind but it rarely worked out. Jamie didn't mind that they had a boy but Ben was pleased, he would never deny that he wanted a boy more than a girl when he had Carter. And again with Ellie, he wanted another boy.

Finn was different just because Ben had been expecting a girl rather than wanting or praying for one. It just didn't seem right that he would have three boys in a row but it happened and Ben had been happy.

It had been him and his boys for the past two years.

But now he wanted a girl. He was desperate for a girl, he had a picture in his head of their family and he couldn't get a daughter out of that picture.

"Let's go find out."

(Y/n) entwined her fingers with Ben and gently tugged on his hand when the midwife walked into the waiting room and called their name. It didn't matter to (Y/n) if they had a boy or a girl and deep down she knew whatever way this went, Ben would be happy. But his eyes just lit up when thinking about a girl and (Y/n) wanted that light to stay in his eyes. The boys were a big handful as they were and when they had this baby (Y/n) didn't know if their family would ever expand more than four kids. If they had a boy this time around there might not be another chance for Ben to finally have a daughter that he seemed so keen on having right now.

But they would be happy either way.

(Y/n) could feel the nerves rattling through her chest when she sat down and rolled her shirt up over her stomach. Every time she looked down at her stomach, (Y/n) felt her heart jumping in her chest because something about this didn't feel real. It seemed too good to be true that she had Ben and the boys and was now having a baby of her own with Ben.

"Alright, would you like to find out the gender today?" The smiles on both their faces was more than enough to tell the midwife that they were ready to find out what they were having today.

(Y/n)'s eyes drifted between her stomach and the monitor like she couldn't quite believe the baby on the screen was the one she was growing and protecting right now. She didn't realise she had started to bite her thumb out of nervousness until Ben's hand gently reached up to take her hand from her mouth. He tangled his fingers into the grooves between hers so she wouldn't carry on the nervous habit.

"You're having a girl."

The moment those words hit (Y/n)'s ears her hand tightened around Ben's until she was sure she must have cut off his circulation but he held her hand just as tightly.

Part of Ben felt bad. He had wanted a girl in the beginning because he couldn't live with the fear that something would happen and he would lose (Y/n) one way or another. Now he almost felt guilty like he had pushed for this to happen because he was so afraid. But he did want a girl to spoil, the thought of a daughter made his heart beat faster and made him smile because he'd always looked after his three boys. A girl would be different, it would be perfect to have a girl because Ben could just envision himself with a daughter and three boys around to help look after and protect her.

Turning her head to the left, (Y/n) looked over at Ben but his eyes spared her a short glance before they focused on her stomach like he was trying his best to see straight through her stomach to their baby. He looked and felt desperate to see her now. After Finn, Ben didn't think he would have any more kids, he didn't even think he would ever manage a proper stable relationship after what happened with all his exes so far.

Yet here he was with (Y/n), finally expecting a girl and he suddenly had the urge to want her here right now. He didn't want to wait another four months, he wanted to hold her now and look at her and see who she resembled more.

Ben couldn't help himself when he moved his free hand and slowly reached over until his fingers were feathering over (Y/n)'s stomach. He stopped for a moment when she moved against his touch that clearly tickled but she made no attempt to stop him. It felt like feathers were gliding against (Y/n)'s stomach but the gentle touch only made her smile more than the fact that they were going to have a daughter. When Ben moved his hand and grazed the back of his knuckles and fingers against her stomach (Y/n) felt like she couldn't breathe with how gentle his touch was which was directed towards their baby girl.

"We're having a girl."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A smile formed on (Y/n)'s lips as she looked down at James who was stood between her and Ben. The seven year old was holding their hands and swinging himself back and forth between them, giggling each time Ben lifted him up by his hand and set him back down again. (Y/n) liked the way Ben didn't even tense or groan or even take a deep breath each time he lifted James off his feet by lifting their entwined hands in the air. The only thing that showed it wasn't effortless was the way Ben's arm tensed and the veins could be seen beneath his skin.

The five of them were taking a walk in the park before they went home for tea and all the boys knew it wasn't normal or routine to go to the park right after school.

They had decided that since all three boys seemed to be coping with the news of having a new sibling, they would take them to the park to tell them that they were going to have a little sister. The park was somewhere the boys all enjoyed going and if Carter got mad or annoyed he could storm off along the path instead of feeling like he should lash out.

"Can we feed the ducks?"

Ben looked down at Finn who was standing on his other side, tugging on his hand to get his attention. Finn held his other hand out to show the half-full bag of bread that Ben had let him carry for when they reached the bridge over the pond. The boys loved to feed the ducks and the swans at the pond, it was something Finn took a big liking to recently.

"Yeah, you lead the way buddy." Ben let go of Finn's hand so the youngest boy could hurry ahead round the slope to get down to the bridge with Carter running closely behind him.

When they got to the wooden bridge, Ben let go of James' hand so he could pick Finn up and stand him on the ledge so he could see over the side of the bridge and look at the birds. Ben kept his arms around Finn and gently rested his chin on top of Finn's head as Finn handed the bag of bread to (Y/n) so she could hand it out to everyone.

(Y/n) split the slices of bread between James and Carter and took two for herself, looking down at the rather large swan that was resting very close to them, waiting for its dinner. With a smile, (Y/n) leaned her head on Ben's shoulder as the cold breeze swept past them and the sound of the ducks chirping and the water rippling beneath them flooded their ears.

Her eyes floated around them, seeing Carter on Ben's left, stood on the side of the bridge leaning over to throw the bread. He was being oddly calm and gentle as he delicately threw the bread towards the ducks, trying not to feed the same ones every time. It was like he was being methodical, making sure he tried to get each duck and swan fed and it was making him concentrate.

When (Y/n) looked at James who was stood next to her he seemed to be trying to feed the ducks at the very back, wanting to let them have some food too. Whereas Finn was content feeding a swan that had taken his fancy.

"Why are we at the park? We don't come to the park after school." Carter finally spoke up after he'd thrown the last piece of bread he had and he made sure it had all been eaten by the ducks below.

It was surprising that Carter hadn't asked before now why they were going to the park. The routine was always to either go home with Ben and wait for (Y/n) to finish or hang around a little while and all go home together for dinner. But today even though (Y/n) had had the day off from work it still wasn't normal for them to get in the car and drive straight to the park rather than going home. It was a nice surprise and Carter loved coming to the park to feed the ducks, but he knew it wasn't a usual part of their routine.

"Me and your mum want to talk to you, we thought it'd be nice to come here for a bit." Ben tightened his arms around Finn to hug him but his eyes focused on Carter who narrowed his eyes like he didn't quite believe Ben or suspected something was wrong.

"We went for a scan to check on the baby today." (Y/n) wrapped her arm around Ben's upper bicep as she spoke, feeling butterflies fluttering in her chest as she wondered how each boy was going to react.

"Baby." Finn mumbled the word quietly as he turned to look at (Y/n) standing next to him. He reached his hand out and gently patted (Y/n)'s stomach which was less visible with the coat she was wearing. He clearly didn't grasp why the baby was in (Y/n)'s stomach but it still seemed to fascinate him. Especially when he saw Ben kissing or rubbing (Y/n)'s stomach, Finn had taken to rubbing (Y/n)'s stomach too and it was an adorable sight to both parents.

"Yeah, we went to check on the baby, and now we know if your having a baby brother or sister."

Ben placed his hand over the top of Finn's and gently smoothed his fingers over (Y/n)'s stomach for a moment or two. He smiled when he noticed Carter's head snap in his direction at the notion that they could finally find out what gender the baby was. And James latched his arm around (Y/n)'s and stared up at her with bright eyes that were full of desperation. All the boys had been asking when they would find out if the baby was a boy or a girl so Ben and (Y/n) decided to keep it a surprise and not tell them when they would find out.

"What is it? What is it?" Carter jumped up and down on the wooden beam until Ben rose a brow to get him to stop. The bridge wasn't the newest one here and if Carter started messing around he could do some damage.

"It's... a baby."

"Dad!" Carter jumped up and down again as he frowned, whining in annoyance. He knew Ben was just trying to tease with him because Carter had very little patience at all.

(Y/n) swatted Ben's arm as she rolled her eyes, biting her lip when Finn started laughing quietly at how easily Ben could wind Carter up.

"You're going to have a baby sister." (Y/n) kept her hand hooked around Ben's arm as she spoke because she could feel the apprehension in the air about what gender the baby would be. She knew that James would be thrilled about having a sister just like Ben, but Carter and Finn wanted a boy.

"You said you always have boys." Finn turned his head so he could look up at Ben, a bit of confusion in his eyes but he didn't look too upset about the news which seemed to be a good thing right now. He leaned his head on Ben's shoulder when Ben smiled down at him.

"I know I did, but I thought a baby girl might be better this time."

"Mummy said you didn't get to decide, she said it was surprise." Finn whispered his confused words against Ben's ear like he was telling him a secret and essentially he was. This was the first time Finn had referred to (Y/n) as his mum and Ben knew how big of a step for Finn this was and it brought tears to his eyes that he willed to push away. Finn still wasn't perfectly at ease around (Y/n) and that was only to be expected after what he had gone through. But to know that he was warming up to (Y/n) and actually feeling more comfortable around her was amazing.

"It was a surprise, but mummy doesn't know I'm magic." Ben's response seemed to satisfy Finn who smiled shyly and nodded before he looked over at (Y/n).

"A baby sister!" The excitement in James' voice made both parents smile, watching him with happiness as he wrapped his arms around (Y/n)'s waist and leaned his head gently against her stomach. He liked it when it was Ben and the boys in the house but now (Y/n) was here, another girl in the house did sound like fun.

"Honey... what do you think?"

(Y/n) leaned around Ben so she could look over at Carter who had stayed quiet for a few minutes which hadn't been a good sign when they told him they were having a baby. He glanced his eyes over to (Y/n) and despite how angry and frustrated he looked, he seemed to be trying to stay calm and not have an outburst. He didn't want to be angry in public, nor did he want to be angry around (Y/n) because he knew Ben wouldn't be happy if he did.

"Why aren't you having a boy? You always have boys." Carter hopped down from the side of the bridge and turned to face Ben and the way his brows furrowed and his lips pursed made him look even more like Ben.

"Alright let's go on a walk."

Ben set Finn down to his feet next to (Y/n) whose hand he squeezed for a moment before he took Carter's hand and gently tugged him to start walking. He wasn't walking them away, he was just going ahead of the others so he could talk to Carter for a moment while (Y/n) followed a few paces behind with James and Finn.

"Carter we're not having another fight but I'll gladly talk about this, tell me why you think a sister will be so bad." Ben rubbed his hand up and down Carter's back until the eldest wriggled away from his touch and walked a step ahead of Ben. His face was pure annoyance and he wrapped his arms around his chest but he wasn't screaming or fighting Ben so it was a very good state for him right now.

"It's a girl, you and mum and nana and everyone will fuss cause she'll be the only girl and it will make her special. Everyone will give her more attention and it won't be fair, I don't want a sister I want a brother."

"Buddy... if we had a baby boy then everyone would still fuss because it's a baby. You know a baby needs a lot of care and looking after, we'll have to dress her and feed and change her and help her if she's ill and that means people will fuss even if we had a boy. She will be the only girl but she won't be any more special or loved than any of you boys."

Ben knew a baby was going to be hard right now because all the boys needed attention and care and a baby would make that harder. Especially with the care and attention Carter needed at the moment, even with (Y/n) now in the picture she would still have to care for their baby girl too. Everyone would fuss it was only natural because it was a baby and a baby took a lot of care and attention and love. But the boys would still get a lot of attention too in order to make sure they were okay and coping with everything.

"You'll be different with a girl!"

"What do you mean?"

"You're... you're different with us! You're normal with us but if you have a girl then you won't be the same. You'll be soft and weird! You have boys, you always say you're meant to have boys not a girl!" Carter stomped his foot which was rather deflated against the soft grass beneath his feet but it still proved his point.

Ben was a dominant and rather authoritative figure in Carter's life, he was masculine and in charge and Carter liked Ben with that kind of image. If Ben had a daughter Carter was sure Ben would be different and be a softer, more calmer version of himself and it wouldn't be his dad if Ben was any different. He wanted Ben to have another boy because it was normal and how things should be in Carter's eyes. He didn't like change and he didn't want a sister because that would shake things up too much.

A sigh escaped Ben's lips as he rubbed his hand over his tired eyes for a moment to try and comprehend what Carter was saying. Ben knew a daughter might make him softer but it wouldn't change him completely. Ben's job made him have a hard attitude and exterior, he dealt with difficult people all day and he had to be hard with Carter at times when he was having a tantrum. It was how he always was and how people knew him he wasn't going to change.

Ben locked eyes with Carter for a few moments as he grabbed his cigarettes from his pocket and pressed it to his lips. He used his sleeve to light the cigarette without the wind cutting out the flame from his lighter before he looked back over at his eldest.

"I say I have boys, I never say I'm meant to have boys or that I should always have boys. I won't change how I am because we're having a daughter this time, I might be a bit softer around her but I won't change-"

"Yes you will! You won't stand near mum anymore with a smoke because you're soft! You'll be different because it's a girl and you don't have girls you have us!"

Carter pointed at the cigarette that was now held between Ben's thumb and index finger that he was tapping on the cigarette to flick the ash onto the grass. Ben smoked around (Y/n) before because she said she didn't mind, she didn't smoke herself but the smell didn't annoy her but now he didn't because of the baby. Ben smoked since he was seventeen and he always smoked away from any of the girls when they had been pregnant.

"I don't smoke close to any of you because you're too young and I'm not smoking round your mum right now because she's pregnant. You want me to smoke next to your mum when it's bad for her and the baby?" Ben pointed the cigarette in (Y/n)'s direction before he placed it back between his lips.

A groan mixed with a whine left Carter's lips before he suddenly took a few harsh steps towards Ben. As if he could read his son's mind Ben tilted his head up to exhale the smoke in his lungs before he moved the cigarette back between his fingers and held his hand up out of Carter's reach. But Carter simply stuffed his hand into Ben's pocket and quickly grabbed the half empty pack of cigarettes left in there.

"Carter give them back."

Ben held his hand out to Carter but the eldest shook his head and took a few steps back to try and add space between them but Ben only advanced further over to him. This had happened a few times before, when Carter got really mad with Ben he would find his cigarettes and hide them to try and teach him a lesson. He knew Ben hated not having his smokes on him, it was a bad habit he was addicted to and Carter knew hiding them made Ben angry and agitated.

Carter had once taken a lit cigarette from Ben's hand and ran off with it before stubbing it out. Ben had been very relieved Carter didn't try and smoke it, mainly because he hated the smell, but it still led to a big argument between them that caused a tantrum.

"No! You said smoking is bad so you can't do it just like mum can't."

"It's not that your mum can't smoke it's that she doesn't want to and I know it's bad but I'm old enough to make that decision, you don't get to make that one for me." Ben knew Carter was only taking the cigarettes because he was trying to wind Ben up to show him how annoyed and upset Carter felt right now and it was working. He knew just how to push Ben's buttons.

"It's a bad decision to have a girl-"

"Nope. Don't do that Carter because I'm not arguing this with you. We can talk about this but you don't say stuff like that, it's not a decision to have a girl it wasn't up to us but we're happy to have a daughter. If I don't smoke I'll be as grumpy as you and it will make me look softer around you all so give them back. I don't mind if you're upset right now but don't say that shit cause I don't like it and it might upset your mum so don't do that."

Ben stubbed out the cigarette between the tarmac and his shoe before he reached over and snatched the packet from Carter who was trying to process what he had just said. There wasn't time for Carter to respond before he whined when Ben picked him up and slung him over his shoulder so he could walk back over to (Y/n) who had bypassed them and gone ahead with the boys.

"Daddy put me down!" Carter hit his hand against Ben's upper back but it wasn't harsh or hurtful, he was just trying to be set back down to his feet but it wasn't working.

"Nope. You annoyed me so I'll annoy you, and don't think having a sister around will stop me from doing this." Ben held onto Carter's legs and moved him on his shoulder to pretend to drop him causing Carter to shriek and cling to Ben's back before he growled in frustration.

Moving his arm Carter reached down and hit Ben's backside but he couldn't help but giggle when Ben smacked his bum in response without stopping in his stride.

"Don't be using my move buddy." Ben kept Carter on his shoulder since he seemed to have calmed down a bit and was laughing now showing he wasn't angry. He moved his free arm around (Y/n) who had Finn holding her other hand and James running a few paces ahead, babbling about something or other since he was clearly very happy.

"And you wonder why he does it." (Y/n) rolled her eyes as she looked over at Ben when he moved his hand to her bum, knowing Carter could see since he was looking over Ben's shoulder with how Ben was carrying him.

"I know exactly why he does it, I'm just telling him it's my move."

(Y/n) buried her face in Ben's shoulder to smother the smile on her face as Ben kept his hand right where it was. He didn't care that they were in public, (Y/n) knew he touched her ass a lot more in public because he was cheeky like that and he knew it made her blush. He didn't care if people saw or smiled or gave them a funny look and he didn't care if the boys saw him do it either.

"Mum's blushing!" James turned and pointed at (Y/n) with a grin that made Ben laugh, especially when Finn giggled and tugged on (Y/n)'s hand to try and see her better. They could all see the blush creeping up her cheeks and all down her neck despite how she was trying to hide in Ben's neck.

"Aren't you glad you're not gonna be outnumbered anymore?"

My Love

Chapter Six-Monsters

**So I needed a bit more time than I thought to figure out a change I made to this story. Thanks @dcbbw for talking me through my last minute idea and convincing me to go for it. And OMG @burnsoslow who spent soooo much time editing and working her magic and just for always being an amazing tbff.

Warnings: Attempted murder by beating, rape, mention of infanticide, mental breakdown and god only knows what else. EVIL!!! 

I have been working on this plot twist for two weeks. Just remember, I told you it wouldn’t always be sad.

*********

Amanda lay restless in her bed with a head full of secrets and a heart full of dreams. While staring blankly at the midnight time of her alarm clock, lit brightly in a reddish glow, she thought about the close call with Liam she had not more than 20 minutes ago. She didn’t lie to him; Riley did give her the key to their quarters. Did she also fail to mention to the king that it was the very same key she used on the night of his wife’s death? Of course. Did she also forget to mention to him that plans have been in place for months to procure certain outcomes in the lives of the Cordonian royal family to benefit others? Absolutely.

Amanda wasn’t here of her own doing. This virtually unknown young woman, who started her life as an orphan and found herself related to a queen, was hopeful that she could complete the mission she was sent here for. If everything worked according to plan, tomorrow would set in motion a series of events that was sure to change not only her life, but that of several others.

Thinking about the busy weeks ahead and a princess that was sure to wake for her feeding soon, Amanda rolled away from the illuminating light of her clock and closed her eyes. She fluffed her pillow and nestled further into it, attempting to clear her full mind for now and get some rest. Just as her body became comfortable and started to relax, she heard the voice of the king speaking through the baby monitor. She opened one eye, wondering why he was still up at this hour, then immediately opened the other when she heard him call out for Riley.

Several seconds passed, and she heard him frantically speaking out for his wife again. The sound of a door swinging open and his shuffling about the nursery stirred her from a pending slumber. Amanda pushed the blanket down to her waist and sat up in the bed, listening closer for any clues as to what the hell he was doing. She didn’t hear the baby crying, but curiosity was getting the better of her when she heard what sounded like Liam doing just that. Amanda rolled her eyes and shook her head while thinking about the utter insanity the King of Cordonia had been over the last month. She hoped that this plan would be worth it in the end, because she had grown tired of the weeping and depressive state he seemed to be stuck in. In her home country, a spouse, and often the offspring, were considered something of objects -- disposable ones at that. Amanda was surprised by his behavior and inability to just get over his wife’s death already.

The former personal assistant who was now serving as Ellie’s nanny, was living proof of what being unwanted and unloved entailed. It was possibly why she didn’t mind being used for this assignment. Being manipulated for the betterment of others was just the price she had always paid to be included and feel needed. It was too bad. Riley never treated her this way; poisoning the queen, who had been so kind to her, was one of the most difficult things she had ever done.

Ellie’s soft cries began to make their way through the baby monitor and Amanda groaned sleepily, knowing the King had undoubtedly woken her up with his emotional breakdown and commotion. She sighed and tossed the rest of the blankets back, swinging her feet to the floor.

Still tying her robe as she entered the nursery, an apologetic Liam was picking up his wailing daughter from her crib. Amanda backed out of the room quietly and planted her back against the wall beside the nursery door. His ass woke her up, he can get her back to sleep.

It was nothing personal against Ellie - she had grown quite fond of the baby. The consequences of Liam’s decisions, however, necessitated these uncontrite and acrimonious feelings toward him. How she would ever be able to pretend to love and care for a man that she loathed had been inconceivable, but she was confident she had played her part well enough - without anyone batting an eye - that she would continue to get away with it.

Amanda stood motionless and silent outside the room while she listened intently to see if she would be needed to assist with Ellie,intrigued to find out why Liam was calling out for his late wife in his daughter’s room.

Liam shifted Ellie from his arms to his shoulder while he rubbed soothing circles over her tiny back. He nuzzled his cheek over her featherlike blonde hair and paced about the room in an effort to lull her back to sleep. Still reeling from the voice of his wife - that he knew he clearly heard - his startled baby’s cries gave him pause.

“I’m so sorry, my princess.” he whispered tenderly. “Daddy never meant to scare you.”

Ellie’s small fist clenched and shook vigorously against his chest, which only enhanced his guilt and remorse. Eyeing the rocking chair next to her crib, he slowly walked back across the nearly dark room while bouncing rhythmically and methodically.

Lowering into the chair, he kissed the top of his daughter’s head and ran his thumb across her cheek to dry the red-hot tears that were streaming down it.

Liam closed his eyes as he moved back and forth with the rocker, continuing to calm his daughter’s fears.

Amanda listened as he spoke to Ellie about hearing her mother’s voice singing and how it elicited a reaction in him he was sorry for. She turned her head away and covered her mouth to stifle her laugh. He told me he was a little paranoid … my ass ... he is freaking losing his mind. She bit her lower lip with exuberance and prowled back to her room in time to hear that the baby’s cries had ceased. Amanda pulled her phone out of the drawer next to her bed and sent a series of text updates before she crawled back into her bed and fell asleep moments later.

**************

Bright and early the next morning, Liam sat alone at the helm of the conference table while he awaited the arrival of the council. He had no desire to attend this meeting, especially on this first day of resuming his official duties since Riley’s murder.

Leaning back in the chair and tapping his fountain pen nervously against the notebook before him, he muddled through the events of the prior evening. He knew what he heard last night. Liam heard Riley’s voice so clearly and distinctly that there was no doubt in his mind that it couldn’t have been his imagination. Her sweet voice was all he had wanted to hear for weeks, and when she wasn’t in the nursery, it shattered him. That brief moment of hope over the prospect that everything since her death had just been a bad dream was swept away like a mighty tidal wave when she wasn’t there. It felt like losing her all over again with a heart that was already swollen with grief beyond what it could bear.

He dropped the pen on the notepad and rubbed his heavily tired eyes; that old familiar sting behind them from weeks of insomnia made it difficult to keep them open. Liam’s secretary refilled his coffee mug while members of the council began to file into the room. Each one offered their condolences or a sympathetic nod as they passed by … with the exception of one.

As the council settled into their places around the table, all eyes looked to Neville for an explanation of this impromptu meeting.

Liam took a sip of his coffee and nodded to the future Earl of Cormery Isle. “Lord Vancouer, you called this meeting. Would you please enlighten the council as to what is so important that it couldn’t wait until later in the week?”

Neville straightened in his seat and plastered on a smarmy grin.

“Your Majesty, it has been over 30 days now since the passing of the Queen. The citizens of my island are becoming concerned that there are no plans in place yet to replace Her Majesty.”

Drake let out a sardonic laugh. “You have got to be fucking kidding me. Tell me you’re joking.”

Hana placed her hand on Drake’s arm and eyed Neville with a wicked glare. “I’m wondering the same thing. What are you trying to do, Neville?”

The members of the council broke out into uproarious chatter while Liam dropped his head and remained outwardly calm and silent. He knew what Neville’s counter would be; it hit him like a ton of bricks at that very moment. Liam knew the law better than anyone in that room; he also knew from personal experience with his father what Neville was about to say.

Neville loudly cleared his throat and drew the attention of the council back to him. “I shouldn’t be surprised by the lack of knowledge of our political system by the people who surround me - especially you, Mr. Walker. Need I remind all of you of the Cordonian law that states that a social season should take place within 60 days to replace a vacated monarch’s position? Here we are, on day 31 since Queen Riley died, without any plans finalized to do just that.”

Once again, all ire fell on Neville as shouts in his direction took over the room.

Olivia slammed her hand on the table and quickly stood, drawing silence and recognition from everyone. “Lord Vancouer! Now let me remind you of what else the law says. The bylaws in section 2709C state that unanimous assent from the council can prolong the social season for up to a year. I see no need at this time to carry out a social season while this country is still mourning the death of its very popular queen!”

“I agree with the Duchess.” Bertrand exclaimed, followed by shouts of conciliation.

Madeleine closed her binder and glanced over to the far end of the table where Olivia was taking her seat again. She crossed her arms and let out a small sigh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I agree with Olivia. There are enough women in this room who can fill in for the duties of the Queen … I understand if I can’t be one of them after what my father has done; however, I’m willing to help out in any way I can.”

Every member of the council had their chance to speak about their concerns, and each member was satisfied that there were enough people willing to step in to ensure that the stability of the crown and country would remain intact.

Drake leaned back in his seat and rested his hands behind his head. “Satisfied now, dickhead?” He grabbed the pen laying on the table before him and clicked the end of it to release the head from its casing. “I say we vote now.”

Neville smirked across the table from Drake while pompously steepling his fingers together. “Yes, Mr. Walker. I’m ready to vote as well. Remember you need unanimous consent from the council, and you have yet to convince me to change my mind. Thank you for not drawing out the inevitable.”

“How about I draw out your throat and shove it up your ass, you useless piece of shit!”

“Drake.” Liam held up his hand and finally spoke out for the first time since the meeting began, having heard enough. He knew Drake could handle Neville, and he usually found it rather entertaining, however, his life literally lay in the hands of the lord from Cormery Isle. It was obvious that the entire council, which also included Hakim, Landon, and Maxwell, was fine prolonging the social season for one year. Even at that time, Liam knew he wouldn’t be ready to marry another woman. There was no one who could replace Riley and he would concede there never would be, He would deal with that issue when the time came and not when he was completely caught off guard.

“Lord Neville,” Liam stated, twisting his wedding band anxiously. “You’ve heard the rest of the council, now I’m asking you to hear me. Your reasoning for holding a social season and having me marry again is no longer valid. It benefits no one in this room, nor Cordonia, and I’ve heard nothing of these concerns you speak of from the people of Cormery Isle. Also, I need to remind you of my infant daughter, who has just lost her mother, and doesn’t need the only parent she has left traipsing around the country when she needs me.” Liam looked pleadingly at Neville, revealing his vulnerability at that moment, hoping to garner sympathy from him. “Can I count on you to do what’s right for Cordonia, Neville?”

Neville fidgeted with his coffee mug, staring at it while he mulled over the king’s words. He looked up, his dull brown eyes looking straight into the bright blue, weary eyes of the leader of his country. He shrugged his shoulders and let out a heavy sigh. “You can count on me, sir.”

Liam nodded in approval and let out the breath he was holding. “Thank you, Lord Vancouer.”

Liam’s secretary passed out default ballots that the council only had to write a simple yea or nay for. Once everyone finished voting, she collected the ballots and handed them to be read by Bertrand.

The Duke of Ramsford stood from his seat and read each ballot’s vote aloud.

Liam glanced over at the empty seat next to him, the placard of his wife still mounted to the table before it. The room seemed to drift away with each vote read, all in his favor, yet he couldn’t believe he was even having to entertain that blowhard’s idea of marrying right now. His eyes met the back wall where the royal portrait of his late wife adorned the golden frame next to his. Her smile, her poise, her confidence gave him strength. Even in such a regal photo, he could see her love for him. God, I miss her so much.

Liam diverted his eyes away from the photo to peek over at Bertrand who was standing, slack-jawed, holding the last ballot in his shaky hand. The look of astonishment on the Duke of Ramsford’s face caused Liam’s heart to sink further into his chest.

He knew in that instant he had been betrayed.

“Bertrand?” Maxwell questioned.

Bertrand looked down at his brother to acknowledge him but quickly turned his attention back to the ballot.

“The last vote …” he stammered, “... is nay.”

With those words, Liam felt like a hand had reached around his throat and started to strangle him.

All glares turned to Neville, who played off his innocence. Chaos and disorder took over the room as members of the council shouted their displeasure at him while he maintained his position with a satisfied smile. That smile only fed into Drake’s anger and disdain for him.

“Motherfucker!” Drake jumped up from his chair, climbed across the table, and lunged at the man who once challenged him - and lost - in a duel. Neville’s chair fell backwards with Drake still taking swings at his face, both men falling into heaps on the floor. The King’s Guards were summoned into the room to quell the violent commotion that had ensued.

Liam’s fate had been sealed by one person: his Judas. The man who moments ago looked him straight in the eyes and assured him he would not do what he just did. The chaos in that room, the betrayal, the thought of having to endure another social season so soon after losing his wife was too much.

Completely dazed, he pushed his chair away from the table and silently walked out.

*************

Liam returned to his office, a shell of himself, and rifled through weeks of paperwork and memos awaiting his return. He wanted to forget what just took place. here was no way in hell he would remarry, and certainly not right now. He ran a hand down his face and grabbed the first file from a stack in front of him, hopeful that if he immersed himself in work, it would take his mind off everything.

It didn’t.

He thumbed through the file momentarily before tossing it back onto his desk. What Neville did was unconscionable and only served to fester his anger. In 29 days, a new social season would start. A new barrage of women would throw themselves at him. He would be expected to plaster on a smile, dine and dance the night away with them, listen to their breakdown of qualities that made them perfect to become his wife - his queen. He would look around a packed ballroom and be constantly reminded that the love of his life was not in attendance, that she was ruthlessly taken away from him, and he would be expected to carry on as if none of it ever mattered.

That was the life he thought he would have before Riley, but she was a game changer. Before her, Liam was prepared to shoulder the duties and responsibilities of the crown, to give up his life to serve Cordonia.

As he stared at the stockpile of paperwork, he processed what the crown had cost him and realized he no longer wanted that duty. He ran a trembling hand through his hair and contemplated his abdication. He believed it was the only course of action left.

He shook his head as he suddenly became aware of the fact his daughter was now next in line, and that was not something he wanted to burden her with. If he gave up the throne, he could serve as King Regent until her 18th birthday, but he couldn’t put her in that position at such a young life. He wanted her to experience life and be able to make that decision for herself when the time came.

As his heart pounded and his breaths became labored, Liam placed both hands on one end of his desk and clenched his jaw before ferociously sweeping his desk clear of everything upon it.

“We have to get out of here.”

**************************

Amanda had received a text from Neville following the council meeting that requested she meet with him. After telling one of the maids she had an emergency, she grabbed her purse and phone and left the baby in their care.

Stepping cautiously into a secluded area of the local park, Amanda stretched her neck looking for the man she had met there several times before. The area was surrounded by trees and brush, and it was a place they could discuss their plans without the watchful eye of bystanders or cameras.

Leaning up against a tree, she pulled out her phone to check if he sent another message telling her he was running late. Feeling annoyed by his unusual tardiness and no text, she began absentmindedly pulling pieces of bark from the tree while stewing in her thoughts.

No one knew she was Amalas’ cousin, nor that she was sent there by her to take on the personal assistant job for Riley. Amalas wanted the alliance and marriage pact between her child and that of the then-heavily pregnant Queen of Cordonia. Amanda was to get in her good graces, report updates back to Monterisso, and help influence Riley’s decision to look favorably upon their country.

Liam’s reluctant decision to enter into an alliance with Auvernal changed everything.

A new plan was put in place, one that was never intended to be deadly. Still, Amalas felt it was a small price to pay to get what she wanted. With Riley out of the way, the Black Widow of Monterisso reached out to Neville, whose ruthless reputation was unprecedented. He agreed to host Amanda during a social season he would push for. Amanda would volunteer saying she knew Riley and had been taking care of Ellie since her birth, feeding on Liam’s sympathies and loyalty to his child. If she could marry Liam, she could funnel money, get favor for Monterisso, and force him to break the marriage pact between Bradshaw’s son and Ellie.

The rustling of brush drew Amanda from her thoughts as she looked up to see Neville plowing through, cursing at the tiny branch that smacked his already-battered face.

Amanda scrunched up her face when she took in his black eye and busted lip. “What happened to you?”

Neville pulled out his handkerchief and swiped away the dirt and broken leaves on his brown suede jacket. “Never mind that,” he replied with a growl.

He proceeded to tell her the social season was a go, and that he had already filled a very-pleased Amalas in on the drive over.

“That’s great! So when do we get started?”

Neville dabbed at the sore on his lip and checked his finger to see if there was still blood. Damn that Walker.

“Don’t get too eager just yet, Miss Talbert.”

Amanda furrowed her brow. “Why? Everything is going our way.”

He pulled his handkerchief out again and tried to control the slight bleeding from his lower lip. “Amalas has one more thing she wants you to do before the social season starts. One more thing to ensure her position and standing with Cordonia.”

Amanda averted her eyes from Neville, feeling queasy after he licked the blood from his wound. “What?”

He smiled devilishly. “Kill Princess Eleanor.”

***************

Liam stormed out of his office and yelled for Bastien, trailing behind him, to have the jet ready. He returned to his quarters, not questioning or caring why the maid was caring for Ellieat that moment. He had hit rock bottom and reached a level of misery that he could no longer sustain. His behavior was erratic as he entered his bedroom closet, pulling out two suitcases and plopping them down on the bed.

He grabbed handfuls of clothes as he raced back and forth between the closet and the bed to stuff them inside his luggage. There was only one thing left he knew to do, and that was for he and Ellie to get the hell out of Cordonia.

With sweat pooling around his forehead, he grabbed what was needed from the bathroom and tossed everything inside with his clothes.

“I’m coming, Liam!”

******************

Amanda whipped her gaze back to Neville, shocked by his statement. “She wants me to kill the princess? Absolutely not!”

Neville laughed with amusement. “Silly girl. You act like you have a choice in the matter. With the princess gone, it breaks the marriage pact with Auvernal. Once you are able to seduce the King and secure the next heir, you will convince him an alliance with Monterisso is in Cordonia’s best interest. Besides, it's not the first time you’ve taken out a member of the royal family … the baby should be a breeze compared to poisoning the queen.”

Amanda turned away from Neville. She had followed her role with precision; she had deceived Riley, and she did murder her. Ellie was different. Despite her evil ways, Amanda did care for the baby, and she hoped to fill the mother role in her life.

Neville placed a commanding hand on her shoulder. “Miss Talbert, are we clear?”

Amanda shook Neville’s hand from her shoulder and turned around to face him. “No,” she answered assertively.

He cocked his head and creased his brows. “Did you just tell me ‘no’? Need I remind you who you are dealing with, and what you have already done for her?”

“I don’t care! Ellie is off limits!”

Amanda quickly brushed past Neville. He grabbed her arm and pulled her back. She tried to twist and turn out of his tight grasp, but he wouldn’t release her.

“Let me go!”

She was becoming increasingly panicky by the struggle and his menacing laugh. With one swift kick to his groin, Neville let go of her arm and doubled over in pain. “You are dead, bitch!”

Amanda took off through the thick brush while Neville limped steadily behind her. Everything went in slow motion as she swiped away at the sharp thickets covered by thorns and tattered sticks. Her breathing and heartbeat increased with each step, while tiny cuts from the bristles scraped across the palms of her hands.

Just as she was nearing the edge where a clearing to the park was visible, she felt the painful thud to the back of her skull.

Amanda dropped face down on the ground while blood poured like flows of lava from the open wound.

Neville looked around to see if anyone was nearby before dealing a series of continuous blows with a large, broken branch, to the near-lifeless body that lay at his feet.

*****************

Liam stopped what he was doing when he heard the invisible voice.

“Riley?”

His eyes darted around the room. Hewanted so badly to believe she was speaking to him.

“I’m losing my mind, Ri! I’m losing my mind!” he wailed while clasping fistfuls of his hair.

Liam’s vision blurred, and he literally felt his blood pump through every vein in his body. His legs wobbled, his hands went numb, and a crushing pressure took over his chest. A sudden knock on the bedroom door caused him to wrench.

“Li! It’s Drake. Let me in, buddy.”

Liam focused on the locked door handle that was jerking wildly as his best friend tried to open it. His body began to sway as the room started to circle around him. He stumbled to the side and placed both palms on the bed to catch his balance.

“Go … away ... Drake!” he yelled weakly.

The doorknob continued to twist, the room continued to spin, his vision became spotty and dark. A cold sweat broke out over his body and sent a shiver down his spine.

“Liam! I’m going to break down the goddamn door! Let me in!”

Liam never heard Drake’s threats. That desperate craving for peace he had longed for finally gave in as he collapsed to the floor.

***************

Neville arched his back and grunted quietly when he finished his climax. He pulled himself out of the woman he had just beaten, removed the condom, and tossed it away from the scene. 

He grabbed Amanda’s phone, stuffed it into his jacket, and checked around him for any incriminating evidence he might leave behind. Once Neville was sure the area was clear, he eased out of the thickets and made his way down the path that led out of the park. There was still one more thing he needed to do.

***************

Bastien was able to break down the bedroom door that Liam had locked.

“Your Majesty!” he shouted and ran to assist his King, who lay on the floor unconscious.

The head guard placed two fingers on Liam’s cold neck and waited impatiently for signs of a pulse. Bastien’s eyes widened in horror and looked to Drake, who hunched beside him. “Call an ambulance, now!”

*****************

A park ranger was in the middle of chest compressions on Amanda when emergency technicians arrived on the scene. He moved out of the way and watched helplessly as the young woman he found beaten and exposed in the brush received the first of several shocks by a portable AED device. As it scanned for a pulse, another technician worked to control the bleeding that seeped from her head wound.

“We have a pulse! Let’s go!”

Amanda was strapped to a stretcher and rushed to a nearby awaiting ambulance. As the siren blared and monitors were connected to her chest, the woman’s eyes began to flutter open, much to the surprise of those who worked on her.

Confused by her whereabouts and what was happening, she attempted to speak and lift her head that was already restrained to the stretcher.

“Ma’am, don’t try to move.”

“I … I …” she muttered and tried to gasp for air.

A male EMT looked down into her brown eyes and wiped away the blood that had cascaded into them. Another worker placed a nasal cannula into her nostrils in an effort to deliver supplemental oxygen.

“I … need … Liam.” Her voice was weak but came out assertively.

She could feel the tightening of the blood pressure cuff around her arm and winced in pain. There was so much urgency around her and the pain she felt was unbearable, but there was only one thought on her mind.

“Liam!”

As the tip of a sharp needle pierced into the vein of her frail hand, she blinked back tears. She had no idea what had happened nor where she was, but one thing was for certain -- she knew exactly who she was when asked.

“Brooks … Riley Brooks.”

The Origin Of The Order [C1]

“Hurry up, Ivor!”

A ginger boy with the name of “Soren” energetically sprang away from the schoolhouse, of the step of the establishment’s staircase, his boots scraping the dirt beneath his soles as he turned around while one foot hit the ground, graceful as could be. In a movement of enthusiasm, his scarf’s loose end waved behind him slightly, cutting through the summer’s air in motion, the same for the drawstrings of his hoodie. It was summer at last! After numerous months of academy, he was remarkably thrilled to have time to sit back, relax and enjoy the stress-free glow! Hell, he was so excited the schoolbell didn’t even ring yet, he ran out a second before the chime went off which would be the signal for the conclusion of class for the ensuing several weeks! He couldn’t wait to play with his good, probably best, friend, “Ivor”--The irony--all throughout the holiday. The two had been good allies since around the beginning of the school-year and ever since then, the pair have always hanged out whenever possible. Because of that, Soren was eager to call out for him in exhilaration and he did just that, soon before the schoolbell rang;

“It’s finally summer vacation!”                                                    

- - -

The schoolhouse immediately filled to the brim with children’s cheers and exclamations as the bell fell out. The doors of the school were swinging open. Not a second went by without a younger running out of the building, shouting in glee. Students eagerly rushed down the few stairs onto the ground, some jumping, others running. The delight of the concept of this wonder-filled holiday commenced to the calls of names, footfalls and everything in-between to be let into the atmosphere of this play of an environment twice more than it usually would on any ordinary schoolday, same for the mirth and laughter of the children. In the background, Ivor wasn’t a fan of Soren just running out ahead of him. It was something that happened every day though, so he was used to it. Besides, he knew Soren for a while and if he knew anything about him it was that he was a very energized and enthusiastic person and that nothing he could think of would be able to stop him from his passionate personality and nothing besides isolation ever did, did it, Sorie?

“Soren!” Ivor called out, running up to him, his longer, sable hair in the wind. “It’s not polite to make a friend run!” 

“Yes well, the more time we spend in that school, the more time summer is gonna pass by us, Ivor and I for one, am not letting a second of this spectacular vacation pass by!”            

“We’re going to be asleep for the majority of it, Soren.”                                       

Ivor reminded his green-eyed friend of that in an eye roll, shortly before he turned to the dirt trail the both of them had always walked aside home, prompting Soren to follow him to the dusty path that led to their home village which they shared. The two accompanied each other on their saunter which wasn’t a short distance from their school but not a long one either. It was good, however, for it gave them more than enough time for the pair to talk, mainly discussing their plans of the ventures and activities they would be doing throughout the season break, exclusively involving only the two of them, alike to how they always did. They weren’t sad about that either. They never needed nor did they have anyone else to be getting in the way of their hang-outs with one another. Ain’t that ironic?   

“We could always go to the beach, Ivor.” 

“I’ve told you about a million times, Soren! I can’t swim! What I would be doing would be making a laughing stock out of myself!” 

“Very well, forgetting the beach...we could...go and explore a cave...!” 

“With kitchen knives? I prefer to live, thank you.”

“Ivor, where’s your sense of adventure? I recognize that you like to explore!”

“Well, yes…” Ivor sighed, “Listen Soren, I just...don’t want to get in trouble just as summer is starting, alright?”

“I understand...all that I wish is that you’d lighten up a bit. It’s best we take chances and do things...! Without taking chances...well...life is point–” 

Arg!  Soren’s vision took a blur briefly in distress as his eyes took a cross in startlement. He shook his head slightly, trying to clear his perception from blear. His hands felt a dirt trail, small pieces of dust clouded his arms throughout. Once his mind was freed from confused he gazed up and saw a boy and a girl before him, standing on the field ahead where the clay route had yet another fork of right and left, the greenery with an overhead carven, numerous feet behind the quad that truthfully looked like something that should be of a world-wonder. Ivor was knelt on one knee next to his gingered friend, though his robe didn’t seem to help his action. The boy who Soren had fumbled into had a shaved head whist the lass had some shorter light brown hair, the bloke’s expression could be said to be unimpressed but a bit mad. The lass was more neutral than anything but clearly expecting someone to say something. You didn’t change one bit, did you, Ellie?

“Do you mind looking where you’re going?” The boy asked with a slightly rude tone but not that he was screaming, the boy brings his hands open-palmed above his head in a sarcastic movement, "Here I am, innocently trying to talk with my friend and you have the nerve to bump into me...!” 

The unnamed lass did nothing more than a facepalm at her friend’s play but she didn’t say anything. Soren got to his feet and quickly dusted off any possible dirt that could have came onto his clothes when he fell onto the dusted track and quickly settled the loose end of his scarf back into the place around his neck, how it was beforehand. Ivor stood back up almost in sync of Soren who took a glance at him. Ivor didn’t really seem to be offended or remarkably concerned about Soren’s moderate injury. It was nothing more than a small fall, after all. 

“I should have been looking where I was going and I’m sorry I crashed into you,” Soren takes his arms down a bit which were previously at the same height as his head, a surrender-like stance, fingers loosely fixed and opens his eyes, slight sarcasm removed, “You’re not hurt, are you?”

“Yeah, I don’t think a small bump would break my neck, if you didn’t know.” 

“Magnus, hear yourself,” The girl stepped up, reaching an arm out, almost cutting off her bandana-wearing friend, “He clearly didn’t mean to.” The lass unpressed shrugs her arms, palms open, “Do you really think that they’re out to get you or something?” 

The boy sighed a breath of sass because of his friend’s remark. Nevertheless, he turned gazed back at the ginger and black-haired, looking at a slight angle. The damsel in a dress, for the first time, in the thirty seconds that Soren and Ivor knew the lass, was the one to speak up instead of the bloke she had for an associate. She first did a sigh of the air regarding her dismissal of the event;

“I’m sorry about him.” The girl slightly waves her hands apart, around the same height as her chest, “He can be friendlier but when he remembers that the world doesn’t revolve around him, it starts to make him intolerable.” 

“Ellie!” Magnus shouted forcefully to “Ellie,” hands clenched and drawn to his heart. The scene causes Ivor and Soren to have a small laugh as “Ellie” rolled her eyes with a smile of backhand before loosely bringing a hand to just below her throat;

“The name’s Ellegaard, by the way. I habitually go by ‘Ellie,’ though. This is Magnus. AKA, the world’s best rogue.” Ellegaard hastily nods her head down, clenched hand in sync.

“I’m taking that as a compliment!” Magnus announced proudly, both wrists on his hips.

This is yet another case of the kids having a cursory case of laughter while Ellegaard and Ivor shook their heads both donning unimpressed smiles. Honestly, none of them understood if they were laughing at Magnus or with him, though Magnus was wearing a proud beam, therefore, it was likely the ladder if anything. They did seem to have a sense of humour. Perhaps these two aren’t so bad, after all. Given the fact that these two unfamiliar kids gave their names to the duo, Soren took it upon himself to provide him and Ivor their customary introductions, bringing a hand to his chest, talking a bit slowly at first;

“My name is Soren and this is my friend Ivor. Do you two live around here? I have never seen either of you before.” 

“Don’t answer, Ellie!” Magnus interrupted, hands hovered above his chest, “They may be creeps...!” 

“Stop being so paranoid.” 

“The worry can be understandable,” Ivor added quietly, close to interrupting Ellegaard, turning his head slightly aside, an out-of-character thing to say. Nowadays, at least.

Although Ivor spoke this one-liner nearly alike to inaudibly, a wave of hush befell upon each and every one of the kids in result, leaving the sound of a slight breeze and distant, unimportant voices all to the ears of the four. Ivor had single-handedly brought them all to an awkward silence, uncomfortable for all of the children for a few, thin seconds, though it felt like longer before Soren discontinued the inconvenient deadlock on any kind of known social cue with an apprehensive shrug, more to the right and a proposal which he said slowly;

“Perrrrrrhaps we could be friends? Ivor and I were planning some plans for the summer! If you want, you can join us.” 

“All I was going to do this summer was study redstone techniques,” Ellegaard raised an arm swiftly as she said that, closing her eyes and raising her shoulders with slight sass, “So, I wouldn’t mind.” 

“Yeahhhhhhh, I got nothing better to do either,” Magnus said glinting away with a shrug before turning back to Ellegaard addressing her, “Ellie, we should include Gabe.” 

“Gabe?” Ivor asked slowly, tilted head, “Who’s that?” 

“Gabriel,” Ellegaard answered, “He’s our friend. He’s likeable.” 

“This will be excellent!” Soren exclaimed, clapping his hands together, “Ivor and I were discussing how we were going to go and explore a cave later! You both could come too!” 

“I never agreed to that!” Ivor retaliated in a gasp, his hands bitterly closed and brought to his chest. You know something? It’s kind of funny how some people never change even throughout the span of several years.

“Well, if purple-eyed is up to it, so are we,” Magnus asked casually, one hand on his hip, “Where you two wanna meet?” 

- - -

The four children processed to discuss their plans to go on an adventure through a cave that same night which wasn’t quite a ways from Ellegaard’s, Magnus’s and “Gabriel’s” village, though their village wasn’t a very far venture from Soren’s and Ivor’s town either, which was good. It might be a dangerous risk, lives might be put in jeopardy but that would mean nothing more than it also being an adventure. After talking it over with one another, Magnus promised to bring wooden swords for the group, Soren promised to bring torches for the four, Ellegaard promised to inform their unseen friend, Gabriel to come along and, most importantly, each kid promised not to tell their parents that evening and go with the other few at nightfall without their parent’s knowledge or consent. Who knew that an adventure could be sparked by a clumsy action? What would happen if Soren wasn’t distracted? Maybe The Order Of The Stone would’ve never existed...! If only, huh?

This is the story of how The Order Of The Stone first began. Their Origin. This Is The Origin Of The Order.

The Last of Us (Joel x Reader)

Chapter 10: It's All Your Fault

Chapter 1

"Hey. How you doin', little man?" Henry asked Sam as we walk down a hill. "That was a close one, huh?" Sam said to him. "Yeah. Not one of our finest moments, but we made it out." Henry said, smiling. "Yeah." Sam mutters as we come up to a small neighborhood and could see the radio tower in the distance.

"Hey, look at that. Yep, what'd I tell you, huh?" Henry said as he points at the tower. "Let's find a way around to it." Joel said as we continue through the suburb. He looks over at Ellie and asked. "What about you, how you holdin' up?"

"Business as usual, right? When I was with Henry and (y/n), I took out a couple of infected by myself. You'd be proud." Ellie said to him. "I know I was." I said to her and she smiles up at me. "Yeah." Joel mutters. 

"It was pretty intense back there, huh?" Sam asked Ellie. "Yeah. Totally." Ellie replied. "How'd you three end up together?" Sam asked her, looking between the three of us. "Oh...a friend of mine, Marlene, asked them to take me to the Fireflies." Ellie replied. "You seem to get along well." Sam pointed out. "Yeah, well...now I just boss them around. Isn't that right, guys?" Ellie said, smiling up at us. Joel grumbles under his breath while I said. "Whatever gets you through the day, Ellie..." 

"Will shoot on sight. Lots of friendly people lived here." Sam said, sarcastically, as we come upon a house with that note on the building. "First few months after the outbreak, they had a lot of lootin'. Everyone got paranoid. You two remember any of that?" Henry asked Joel and I. "Everyone barricaded themselves in their homes, then supplies started running low. That's when you saw what people are really capable of." Joel replied.

"I was just five when the cordyceps hit. My memory's pretty hazy, but I remember living in a neighborhood just like this." Henry said as he gestures to the neighborhood. "What do you remember?" Ellie asked him. "Uhh...barbecues. Parents, they would throw these crazy big barbecues and invite a ton of people. You know, I remember the smell more than anything. Weird." He replied as we walk down a little hill and see some dogs at the end of the street as they bark and growl at each other.

"Oh. Doggies." She said but I place my hand on her shoulder. "You're gonna want to stay away from those. It's not like it is in the zone. These are wild." I told her and she nods until she looks over and sees an old ice cream truck. "What is this?" She asked as she walks up to the truck. "Oh, this is an ice cream truck." Sam replied. "An ice cream truck?" Ellie said, confused. "Yeah, Henry told me about these. They'd sell ice cream out of the truck." Sam told her. "What? No way." Ellie said then she looks up at us. "Joel? (Y/n)?"

"It's true. This thing would drive around and play real loud, creepy music and kids would come running out to buy ice cream." Joel replied to her. "You're totally fucking with me." Ellie said in disbelief. "Um-mmm. Serious." I replied as I shake my head at her and she tuts at this. "Man, you lived in a strange time." She said as Sam look over at her. "Told you so." He said, triumphantly, and we walk down the hill, the dogs had run off, and we come up to a large blockage of debris.

"Fireflies were here." Henry said and I look over and see a Firefly symbol was painted on a wall. "Yeah, by the looks of it." I said as I walk up to the symbol and look at it. "How're we gonna find them?" Sam asked us. " I know a guy. My brother, actually. He was a Firefly. Last I heard he was in Wyoming. We get there, we find him. We find the Fireflies." Joel replied and we look over at Henry. "Whaddya say, you in?" I asked him. "Sounds like a good plan." Henry replied, nodding, and we smile at him.

We make our way around the debris by going over to a house and go through the backyard and through a fence, which lead us to a cul-de-sac, but a gun opens fire almost at once. "Oh shit! Get down!" Joel yells and we run over to hide behind a car. "Oh shit..." Ellie whispers. "Fuckin' sniper... Did you see where it came from?" Henry asked Joel. "Somewhere down the street. Alright now...y'all stay here." Joel replied and he starts to leave but I grab his arm. "No." I said to him, firmly. 

He turns to me and said. "Before you start -- I need you guys to keep him busy. I'm gonna go around and see if I can't get the angle on him." I look him over then let his arm go. "Okay." I said and he nods. "Hey. Be careful." I said to him and he smiles at me before he starts to hide behind a building next to us and disappears from sight.

Meanwhile, Henry, Sam, Ellie and I hide for a few minutes until the sniper stopped shooting. "Okay, everyone. Go!" I said and we get up from behind the car and start to run over to another cover as some hunters started running at us. All of us pull out our guns and start to fire at the one we could see. I look over to my right and saw a hunter coming at me, but before I could shoot another gunshot sounds out and a bullet shoots through the side of his head and he falls over dead.

I look toward the house at the end of the neighborhood and smiled when we heard a loud rumbling noise behind us. We turn around and saw the humvee driving up towards us. "Oh fuck..." I whispered. "It's those damn tourists from the city." A hunter yelled at us. "Thought you could get away from us, huh?" A second hunter said. "We're back, motherfucker!" The first hunter yelled as the humvee shoots at us. Then a man pops out from the top of the truck and throws a molotov towards us.

"RUN!" I yelled and we ran away to another car just as the molotov hits the spot we just resided. The man pops up again and was about to throw another molotov but a gunshot sounds out and the man slides back in the truck, setting it on fire and it crashes into house that was some feet away from us.

"Shit! Oh, that was so intense!" Ellie exclaimed and I nod in agreement. "You alright Sam?" Henry asked him. "Yeah, I'm okay." Sam replied and I look up towards the house and gave a two finger salute towards it. "Thanks, Joel." I said. "Alright. We did it." Henry said, smiling. "We should move." Ellie said and we start to walk when suddenly a swarm of infected run towards us.

"Fuck!" I screamed as one knocked me down but I push it up and away from me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that Henry and Sam were knocked down by some infected as well. I do my best to fight off the infected until a bullet goes through its head, on the side, and it slumps forward. I shove it off of me as Ellie shoots the infected on Sam and Joel sniped the one on Henry.

"Sam, are you okay?" Henry asked him as all of stand up. "Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." Sam replied as Ellie goes over to me. "You okay?" She asked me. "Yeah...I'm fine." I replied as Henry helps Sam to his feet. Then I look over and see a horde of infected coming towards us. "C'mon, c'mon." I yelled. "Let's move!" Henry shouts as well and we run towards the house Joel was in. 

We get inside as Henry and I shut the front door when Joel comes down the stairs. "You're okay." Ellie said, relived, and I turn to smile at him. "Still here. Anybody hurt?" Joel asked as he walks over to us. "Uh-uh." Sam replied. "No, we're good." Henry replied. "Alright, I think it's time we quit this place. C'mon." Joel said as he takes my hand in his and we run towards the backyard and through an opening through the gate, the radio tower just some few feet away.

"Shut the hell up." Henry said to Joel as Henry, Joel, Ellie and I sit on the floor of the room, eating a few cans of beans and talking. "Dead serious. It was Tommy's birthday. That's all he wanted to do is just -- rent two Harleys and drive cross country." Joel replied to Henry. "Ah, man. I could die happy if I could just drive one around the block." Henry sighed as I set my can and spoon down then lean against Joel's chest as he sets his can down and wraps his arm around me.

"What was it like?" Henry asked him. "It was good. It was real good." Joel replied as he lays his chin on my shoulder. "Good? Can you believe this guy?" Henry asked Ellie and me before he looks over at Joel again. "C'mon, man, gimme details. Describe it." He pleads and Joel chuckles a bit. 

"Well if he won't, I will..." I said just as Ellie stands up. "You know what? You three deserve a little privacy." She said. "No, no, Ellie, Ellie, this isn't just any regular motorcycle, okay? You get on that bad boy, you feel that engine. Nothing like it." Henry said to her. "Oh yeah? How would you know?" Ellie asked him. "I've seen it in my dreams..." Henry replies then he sits up and holds his arms out like his holding the handlebar and mimics a motorcycle. "Vroom, vroom, vroom..." he mimics then he laughs and Ellie rolls her eyes as she chuckles. 

"Okay." She said and she goes to the other room where Sam is as Henry look over at me. "So you've driven a motorcycle before?" He asked me. I nodded and said. "Twice. One time when I was a kid, my Uncle drove it and I got to ride along with him. Then the second time was when I was a teen, a couple of years older than Ellie, and I kinda borrowed...." I put air quote over the word, which made the men chuckle. "...my uncle's motorcycle, just to let off some steam...."

"So what was it like?" Henry asked me. I smile as the memory floods my mind. "The best way I can describe it....freedom. The wind blowing through your hair, the roar of the engine, the sun beaming down on your face....it's an experience." I said, smiling. "Aw man...." Henry sighs with a smile then looks down as the floor and frowns. He shakes his head then looks over at us.

"I don't think anyone from our group's gonna show up." He said to us. "Yeah." Joel and I replied, frowning at him. "Worst part about it all -- explaining it to Sam." He said and I give Henry a sad look and said. "I'm sorry." Henry shakes his head at us and said. "Don't be....I can handle it."

After a decent night of sleep, Joel and I stand next to each other and look out towards a window while Henry was cooking breakfast with a portable stove. Ellie, who was asleep, starts to come to as she yawns. "Damn. That smells good." She yawns as she sits up. "Good morning." Joel said to her as she stands up. "Where's Sam?" Ellie asked us. "I let him sleep in for once." Henry replied.

"Oh." Ellie said as she looks down. "Well if you want him to join us, you can go wake his ass up." Henry said to her and she smiles. "Okay." She said and she goes over to the room Sam was in. I lean my head on Joel's shoulder as he places his right arm around my waist and runs his hand up and down my sides. He kissed my forehead and we look at each other just as we hear Ellie scream. "Sam!"

Joel, Henry and I jump as Joel exclaimed. "What the hell?" Then Ellie tumbles backwards into the room and Sam was on top of her, trying to attack her but she holds him up at arms length. I gasped as I realized that Sam had turned. "Shit! He's turnin'!" Joel yelled and he runs over to his backpack to get his gun but Henry fires a warning shot from his gun at Joel, who falls backwards. "Joel!" I yelled.

"That's my fucking brother!" Henry shouts at him. Joel and I look over at Ellie, who screams. "Sam!" As she tries to fight him. I look over at Henry then over at Sam then growled. "Screw it!" And I go over to my backpack for my gun but Henry fires his gun, killing Sam.

Ellie shoves Sam off of her and crawls away from him and Joel and I run over to her. "Ellie? Ellie, are you alright?" I asked her. "Uh-huh. Oh my God." She replied, breathless.

"Sam?" Henry said, devestated. "Oh no..." Ellie whispered as we look over to see Henry crying as he stares at Sam's body. "Sam..." he cries again. "Henry." Joel said as he walks slowly towards Henry. Then he turns to us. "Girls, stay here." He said to us then turns to Henry.

"Henry." He said, calmly, while Henry begins to cry harder. "Henry, what have you done?" He asked himself, tearfully. "I'm gonna get that gun from you, okay?" Joel said as he raises his hands up and walks slowly towards him. "Sa...Sa...Sam..." Henry stammers then he looks over at Joel and aims his gun at him. "Whoa. Okay, Okay, easy." Joel said as he stops in his track.

"It's your fault." Henry cries as he continues to aim his gun at Joel. "This is nobody's fault, Henry." Joel tries to assure him. "It's all your fault!" Henry screams, loudly, at him. "Henry! Henry, no..." Joel said. And then very quickly, Henry turns the gun to himself and fires, then his body falls to the floor. Joel jumps back in fright while I gasped then tears runs down my face.

"Oh my God!" Ellie said, devastated. 

"Holy shit...." I whispered, tearfully, while Joel just stood there, staring at Henry in shock.

Journal 43

Codsworth welcomed us with customary fanfare, and Shaun was glad to be home. Nat was eager to tell him about everything he missed at school. Ellie was thrilled to have Valentine and I back, greeting us both with a hug. Some cases had come in while we were gone, which we decided to divide amongst ourselves in order to help as many as quickly as possible.

One case came from a sensible woman who was perfectly realistic about the chances of her husband being alive, but desperately wanted confirmation of his fate so that she could begin the process of moving on. They’d been travelling to Diamond City and become horribly turned around among the rubble and skyscrapers. Super mutants found them, and they'd been separated in the escape. She made it to Diamond City; he hadn't, yet. She described the location he was last seen and gave a few various identifying objects that might be found on his person. Valentine didn’t like the idea of me lurking through a super mutant camp without him, but there was a raider kidnapping that required immediate attention. He insisted I take Dogmeat with me, some excuse about spending a hundred years tracking people down on his own. So he went west, and I went east.

The location was the Wilson Atomatoys Corporate Headquarters. In my gruesome search, I frequently paused to find some sanity in the toy making business… only to instead discover the head of the company had secretly signed a contract to build mines for the military instead. It’s little wonder the world ended.

One employee’s name caught my eye - Arlen Glass. He was one of the cofounders of the company and was fired after challenging the secret military project at a board meeting. The name sounded familiar. I found his office; he habitually forgot his familial obligations, so absorbed was he in his work. He was fully cognizant of this, and made efforts to correct it… in vain.

I confess, I was distracted by Mr. Glass’s story. A pair of super mutants took me by surprise, but in my escape I stumbled, quite literally, over the arm of my client’s spouse. The rest of him was not attached; I recognized a ring she had described. I grabbed it and ran.

In my haste, I realized I had run east, instead of west. Fortunately, the raiders I was running directly toward were more concerned with the super mutants chasing me than a man and his dog. I did fire a few shots to get their attention and start the fight, but then hid as thoroughly as I could behind a pair of dumpsters, Dogmeat bristling beside me. I managed to quiet him, and together we made our way back to town.

I delivered the ring. I could think of nothing to say that would have been appropriate. How does one counsel a stranger after their husband has been eaten? The stoic woman thanked me, paid me, and walked away. I mentioned that there was a settlement northwest that could use another worker, guard, whatever she could provide. She thanked me again, and continued on.

Valentine hadn’t returned yet. I told Ellie to inform him I was headed for The Slog, I’d be back in a few days. I remembered one of the ghouls living there was a technician with a fascination for toy making. I'd found a holotape in the office of Arlen Glass. If this was the same man, he would probably want it returned.

To be honest, I’m not certain why this was so urgent in my mind. I could have simply waited until the next opportunity brought me to that area of the Commonwealth, but for some reason this burned in my brain. I’d listened to the holotape, of course. A heartfelt wish from a daughter to her father. Perhaps the memory of a different holotape spurred me forward.

Whatever the impulse, I needed to see it done. I stopped at the Railroad’s headquarters, even though I wasn’t on Railroad business. I was not in a mood for Goodneighbor. Deacon was surprised to see me, so I explained I simply needed a place to rest. Desdemona would not be completely dissuaded - as I was there, I might as well provide some information. The Railroad has shifted its efforts away from helping synths escape the Commonwealth to helping them blend in. Coursers are rarer than ever, so a synth’s greatest threat these days is the Brotherhood. Fortunately, so far there is no way for a Brotherhood soldier to know if a person is a synth or not, with one notable exception.

Institute refugees are regularly checked on by the Railroad’s agents to make sure they’re getting along in this new world without attracting too much attention. The Brotherhood’s patrols of the Commonwealth tend to spend their time fighting the things they should be fighting, such as raiders and mutants, but they’ve started making personal visits to camps and settlements. The trade caravans out of Bunker Hill are now occasionally stopped, just long enough for the soldiers to get a good look at the faces of the people travelling in them. They haven’t bothered the Minutemen provisioners yet, especially as one regularly delivers food to the airport, but it’s only a matter of time.

Desdemona wanted to know why the Brotherhood and the Minutemen were… tense. Some synths have successfully made themselves a part of Minutemen settlements, some have even joined the ranks. I explained that there was a conspiracy theory among some Brotherhood soldiers that the Lieutenant Colonel of the Minutemen is not only a synth, but a former Brotherhood Paladin who was supposed to have been executed but has secretly been alive and well all this time.

She was surprisingly skeptical. “A Brotherhood synth.”

“He didn’t know he was a synth when he joined,” I said. “He didn’t discover it until after the Institute was infiltrated. I suppose in a way it’s my fault, but I never could have imagined his picture would be on a list of missing synths.”

Desdemona blinked. Then she glared at Deacon.

“I totally mentioned this at least once,” he protested.

“You told me a Brotherhood soldier found out he was a synth and was now living in Sanctuary. You told me you were confident this was not a Brotherhood ploy to infiltrate the Minutemen. You did not tell me he was a goddamn Paladin, or the goddamn Lieutenant Colonel of the Minutemen!”

“That’s the Danse guy!” Tinker Tom added from his terminal. “Eavesdrop on some of their communications, every once in a while someone’ll say something about how if Danse is a traitor anyone could be, and then whoever they’re talking to will say stop being paranoid, and then they get back to the mission or radio silence or whatever.”

“So,” Deacon slowly reasoned, “if they’re on edge about their own soldiers being synths, then they’re on edge about anyone possibly being a synth, which is bad news for us.”

“Can we get a copy of that list you mentioned?” Desdemona asked. “The one with Danse’s picture on it? If Institute data is what the Brotherhood are using to try and find synths, then that’s what we need to keep hiding them.”

“I’ll have Sturges make a copy for you,” I promised.

“Good. I’ll let you get your rest, thank you,” Desdemona said.

I gratefully claimed a mattress.

Deacon volunteered to accompany me in the morning. “If Nick ever found out I saw you and let you go wherever you’re going without going with you, he’d be pretty pissed off.”

“Surely my partner’s ire can’t worry you that much,” I said with a smile at the thought.

“Are you kidding? Have you ever seen Nick Valentine angry?”

“Yes.”

There was a beat of realization. “Oh. Oh shit that must have been a hell of a domestic spat.”

“I’d rather not discuss details.”

“Backing off and changing the subject,” Deacon nodded. “So, you see the game last night?”

I laughed, “Deacon, why are you following me?”

“Eh. Nice to get out for a bit,” he shrugged. “And… if I’m being honest, which I’m usually not but go with it just this once, I wanted an excuse to spend some time with a friend, even with bullets and grenades flying. Which happens an awful lot.”

I was flattered. “Hopefully bullets and grenades will be minimal this trip.”

“Do I get to know where we're headed, or is it a surprise?”

“The Slog.”

“Not what I expected, but cool. Nice place. You know, I spent a month as a ghoul once, must have been ten, twelve years ago now? Hard to keep track. Scared the shit out of HQ.”

“I'm sure they found it unsettling to say the least.”

He chuckled, “This a Minutemen check-up, or personal business?”

“Neither.”

“Huh. Cryptic is usually my shtick.”

I smiled, “You invited yourself, Deacon. I'm glad to have you, but don't expect anything riveting to come of this.”

Mutants, ferals, and wildlife slowed our progress, and it was after sundown by the time we reached Finch Farm and decided to stop for the night. A man with a sniper rifle was sitting on the roof. I called out as he aimed, “Good evening, Mr. MacCready!”

“Holmes?” The rifle lowered, “What the hell you doing here, boss? Think I wouldn't show?”

“Not at all,” I assured him. “Did you just arrive?”

“Yesterday,” he clambered down, “Duncan's inside with the Finches. Abigail's taken to him, getting him to do little things around the house. Abraham and Daniel are gonna fix up a shack for us, give us a little privacy, make some more space. I guess their other son is a trader? Isn't around much.”

“Jake volunteered to be a provisioner for the Minutemen. There was some tension between him and his family. It's since been resolved, but I think he and his father appreciate periods of distance.” I turned to Deacon, “Have you and Mr. MacCready met?”

“Met? Not exactly, but I know who he is. Still killing people for caps, MacCready?”

“I don't know, you still pretending to be anyone but yourself?”

“Ah, you have met,” I said.

MacCready shrugged, “Nah, just recognize him from Goodneighbor. Different hair and clothes, same face and sunglasses.”

“Come on,” Deacon groaned. “No one else ever notices!”

“I'm a sniper, and I was sleeping with one eye open. I notice when I know what to look for.”

“Well that settles it, next week I'm turning into a girl just to throw everyone off.”

I chuckled at MacCready's confusion as Abraham Finch stepped outside, “Ah, Mr. Holmes! Good to see you. I understand you're to thank for our new guard?”

MacCready sighed. I smiled, “Let's save him some professional dignity and call him a... freelance soldier. He'll be making regular patrols once he and Duncan are settled, after all.”

Finch nodded, “And he'll get paid for his efforts, we've an agreement. Shelter and food, but also caps. I'll work out something with County Crossing, too.”

“Thank god,” MacCready muttered.

Mr. Finch returned us to immediate practical matters, “If you and your friend are staying, you're welcome to some supper. Not sure where you're going to sleep, though.”

“A chair or corner of floor will be fine,” I assured him.

“Just happy for a roof over our heads,” Deacon agreed.

Finch led us inside the small farmhouse, and made us feel welcome despite the cramped quarters. We traded news and gossip, shared a meal, and turned in for the night.

An early start the next day brought us to The Slog in the afternoon. I told Deacon there was a personal belonging I had to return, and would be back in a moment. He struck up a conversation with one of the farmers while I searched for a ghoul named Arlen.

I found him in a small makeshift workshop, muttering to himself as he tried to adjust a piece on a small mechanical horse.

“Excuse me, are you Arlen Glass? The toy designer?”

He stopped what he was doing, surprised. “I am. Where did you hear that?”

“I read about you in the Atomatoys headquarters.”

“Headquarters? Yes, I worked there once, before the war. I tried to go back, but the place was overrun.” He was suddenly excited, “Oh, but you made it out, didn't you? Tell me, was there anything left in the old stockroom in the basement?”

I was taken aback, “The stockroom?”

“There was a storage room in the basement, on the south side of the building. We kept some toys there for testing and product demonstrations.”

I understood what he was getting at, “Yes, I believe I did see some toys like the one you're working on.”

Mr. Glass was pleased. “After all these years... Well. Well, that changes everything. I'm sure I can salvage the parts I need from there, and more besides.”

I was still bemused by this unexpected exchange, “Parts for that toy?”

“It's a genuine Giddyup Buttercup,” he was quite clearly proud of this fact, “The 2076 special edition. Best toy on the market, before the war. I helped make them. A long time ago. Do you know why toys are important?” he asked hopefully.

“I must confess, I do not.”

“They help children dream. They let them imagine a better future, beyond this blasted wasteland. They give them hope. At least, they did before the war. They still can now.”

I smiled, “A fine sentiment. Mr. Glass.” I thought for a moment about leaving the past in the past, but I couldn't in good conscience. With a sigh, I asked, “Forgive the intrusion, but did you have a daughter?”

He was hesitant, “She died in the war. I wasn't the best father. Too old. Worked too much. In the end I... I never even got to say goodbye.” He turned back to the toy, “I've... seen a lot over the years. You just have to find a reason to keep going on. For me, it was the toys. It's always been the toys.”

“I think I have something that belongs to you.”

“Me?” I handed over the holotape. He was puzzled, but put it into a holotape player on his workbench and pushed play. As a woman's voice said “Go ahead,” he gasped. A young girl's enthusiastic “Hi Daddy” brought an anguished moan from the toymaker. “Marlene. Oh god, Marlene…”

I thought that perhaps I had made a terrible, cruel mistake, but he was transfixed. The voice of his daughter two hundred years ago told him he worked too much but begged him to find a good home for all the horses. She told him she loved him, and missed him, and he whispered responses in kind.

When it was over, he was shaken… but grateful. “It's been so long... I never thought I'd hear their voices again. You can't imagine what this means to me.”

“What happened to them?” I gently asked.

“We had an apartment, in Cambridge. I went to the office that morning, try to talk to Marc again. He'd sold us out to the military, using our factory to make weapons. I had to make him see sense. When... when it all happened, I tried to get back, but the city was in chaos. By the time I got home... there was only a crater. I lay down in the ruins. I... I just wanted to die. Instead... I woke up like this.”

I winced, and found myself admitting, “I lost my wife, too. For a time, I thought I had lost my son.”

“Then maybe you can understand,” he sympathized. “She was right, you know? I did work too much. And now... I'll never hear her voice again, never get to hold her, kiss her good night. All I have left are the memories. And this tape. As one father to another... thank you.”

I glanced around the small room, “You never gave up, did you? You're still working too much.”

He nodded, “I suppose so. We made toys. We made children happy. That's all that mattered. And as long as I can still do that, I will. It's the least I can do. For her. Here,” he retrieved something safely stored in a cabinet, “I was saving this for her birthday. All these years, it was all I had to remember her by…” He handed me a much smaller, perfect replica of the larger toy he'd been working on. “Please, I want you to have it.”

“I can't -”

“I mean it. And... thank you. For everything.”

He turned back to the tape. I left him to his memories.

“You ok, Detective?” Deacon appeared beside be and asked, quietly. “Seem a little shaken.”

“I am.”

“Which, ok or shaken?”

“Both.”

He nodded, “I get that.”

We walked.

“You know, boss, since we had the Big Talk, it's been easier to look at myself in a mirror.”

“Big Talk…? Ah.” His personal history. He had called it a confession. “I'm glad to hear that.”

He shrugged, “Thought you should know.”

“Thank you. Is that why you haven't changed your face lately?”

“What?” He laughed, “Oh, man am I overdue, but who has time, am I right? And with the Institute gone it doesn't seem so urgent.” We walked a little farther. “You still don't know if I was telling the truth or not.”

“I'm not sure I ever will. However, on this matter I believe it best to give you the benefit of the doubt until further evidence suggests otherwise.”

“Works for me. Just warm fuzzy feelings or did you do that weird deduction thing where you know way too much?”

I chuckled, “Simply the fact that every lie you've ever told me has either had a purpose, or been harmless hyperbolic flippancy.”

“... Huh.”

We returned to Finch Farm that night, and spent the day after returning to Railroad headquarters. Deacon didn't say much except to quip about the wildlife we encountered and ask questions about 'old-worlder' obsessions with tall buildings. Desdemona reminded me of my promise to share the data stolen from the Institute, and Deacon said he'd keep me informed if the Brotherhood started causing trouble.

I made my way back to Diamond City. Codsworth informed me Shaun was off playing with Nat, and Valentine was at the office. He reported that Valentine had been a bit “put out” by my sudden trip to The Slog. I thanked him for the warning and went upstairs.

I pulled the small locked box from under my bed. Valentine and Codsworth have never inquired as to its contents. I don't know if Shaun has even noticed it. I opened the lock and carefully pulled out one of the two holotapes inside. I did my best to ignore the other one. I've considered destroying it, but the idea that Shaun might one day need to know the truth stops me. The only other item is a wedding ring.

I sat down on the edge of my bed and put the holotape in my Pip Boy. I pushed play, and felt my heart cease and breath shake as her voice echoed through the centuries.

“Hi, honey!”

I expressed an interest in beekeeping once. She found it hilarious. It was the only saccharine term of endearment she ever used.

A baby giggling mixed with her laughter as she kept Shaun’s curious hands away from the microphone. “I don't think Shaun and I need to tell you how great of a father you are... but we're going to anyway.” She knew how much I doubted that fact.

I heard the front door open, Codsworth's greeting, and Shaun's hurried footsteps through the hall and up the stairs.

“Dad? What are you listening to?”

“A recording of your mother.”

He was surprised. “Really?”

“Yes.”

He sat next to me and leaned close. “That’s what she sounded like?”

“It is.”

“She sounds nice.”

I nodded, a bit disconnected from what was happening. “She was. Inspiringly compassionate, but just as forceful and stern when necessary. She loved you very much.”

The tape played to the end and he asked if he could hear the beginning. I let him. He marveled at the sound of himself as an infant.

The front door opened and shut again. I expected Valentine to join us, but… he didn’t. I watched through a gap in the floor as Codsworth hovered over to my partner, hesitating at the foot of the stair.

“Mr. Valentine?” I couldn't make out Valentine's precise words, only catching the word 'interrupt’ but Codsworth's response was clear, “Mr. Valentine. You are my master’s partner, and a second father to his son. You are a part of this family. I don't know what spurred Mr. Holmes to listen to that holotape after all this time, but I am certain he would welcome your presence. As he always has.”

Valentine ascended the stairs.

“Nick, have you heard this?” Shaun asked. “It's my mom.”

“I heard a little from downstairs,” he sat down on the other side of Shaun.

“In the Institute, they told me she died when I was a baby, but I don’t know how or anything.”

“It wasn’t pleasant,” I said. “She... never would have imagined everything that happened. She would still love you, though, very much. Of that I’m certain.”

Her voice was coming to its end. “But everything we do, no matter how hard... we do it for our family. Now say goodbye, Shaun... Bye bye? Say bye bye?” The infant Shaun found the idea hilarious. “Bye, honey! We love you!”

I ejected the tape and set it on the bedside table.

Valentine patted Shaun's shoulder, “Hey, Shaun, head down and pester Codsworth about plans for supper, ok? I’ve got to talk with Dad for a bit.”

“Ok, Nick,” Shaun obeyed. Codsworth took his cue and kept Shaun busy helping.

Valentine closed the distance between us created by Shaun's absence, “Can I ask what brought this on?”

“A conversation with another father. One of the men at The Slog survived when his family didn't. I found a tape his daughter had recorded for him. I debated giving it to him, why open old wounds... but I did, and he was thankful. It hurt, that was clear, but it still seemed to bring a strange peace to him.”

“So you thought you'd try?”

“I wondered if... I didn’t expect Shaun to come home and hear it, but I suppose it’s good he did.”

“You ok?”

I was not. “It hurts. God, Nick, it hurts.”

I gratefully fell against him as he put an arm around me. “Worth it?” he asked.

I took a breath and nodded. “It was good to hear her voice again.”

He held me in silence for a time. “You think she'd approve?” he asked.

“Of you? Absolutely.”

“Even though I'm not -”

“You love me, and Shaun, and that is all that matters. You and Watson would have gotten along well.”

“Watson?”

“Jane Watson. I introduced myself as Holmes when we met, she replied with Watson, and it remained that way through our friendship.” I sighed, knowing full well my eyes must have been red, “Good lord, how did I devolve into such an emotional mess.”

“Hell, Holmes, after everything you’ve been through?” Valentine softly chuckled, “An emotional mess is exactly what you were due for. I won’t tell anyone, I promise.”

“Ha. Thank you. Did you stop the kidnapping?”

“He's home safe and sound, though a bit rough for wear.”

“I'm glad you were successful.”

“So am I. Glad you were, too, even if you did take off without me again after.”

“It was important -”

“I know, I know,” he lightly squeezed my hand. “You know, Holmes, I, uh, wouldn't mind getting to know her, if you ever want to talk about her.”

I smiled, bittersweet, “I'll remember.” I kissed him and we stood. I secured the holotape in its box, and we joined our son downstairs.

Episode 9 - "I GOT A SUPER IDOL AKJSDNKSJANDKJ" - Kenneth

At the last tribal, Toph was voted out. During the past round, Keith found an exile ticket in the idol hunt and is in exile this round. The individual immunity this round is a 'chop the rope' style of Touchy Subjects. It will be followed by an instant tribal council.

ANNA OU- the execution of the vote was an absolute mess this is embarrassing y'all... i'm really starting to not trust ellie more and more considering the way this vote went! the way we were originally gonna vote toph but all this mess led to us flipping votes to brayden, which was a fail cuz he played the idol to himself and not toph LOL and not babs giving the idol to ellie cuz she would've gone home tonight!!!!! thank god the end results were still in our favor, getting rid of toph, but raffy is pissed once again lmao. this twist is very interesting, because i knew ahead of time that keith was gonna poof this round but i played dumb and whateva! it's kind of concerning cuz it might actually be a 4-4 split this time which SCARES ME so the extra vote consideration might be even higher. I really wanna win this Touchy Subjects challenge so the votes don't pile onto me (even though I fully believe it'll be either Dennis or Ellie lol)

my bestie toph just went home and im so sad :( he was literally my closest ally in the game and i am literally sooooo sad that he’s gone. but i did use my idol on myself which ended up being good bc if i didnt i would have gone to jury. just like everything is going wrong for me at this point and im on the bottom pretty much with raffy and anastasia. we needed to flip 2 people to have majority, BUT KEITH LEFT TO EXILE ISLAND AND HE WAS THE MAIN OPTION WE WANTED TO FLIP, so now that leaves kenneth and babs and we have to flip both of them or we are out of here. so we have our work cut out for us, but i really think we can flip babs because like they would just get like 6th place without us, and i just gave i think a pretty good pitch to kenneth so i really hope he considers it and doesn't just run and tell his majority alliance like he did with anastasia. anyways the challenge is touchy subjects and im nervous and i kind of am wishing i voted kenneth for biggest goat but i think i put riley and i regret ut. i hope someone says kenneth as biggest goat or something so it opens his eyes and he realizes he is literally number 4 to a solid 3 and should flip and be number 4 in our not at all solid 3. anyways i really hope i live this round

Captain Exile's log, Entry #58. I have been on exile island for an hour. it seems like forever... my mind is slowing turning into mush. I fondly remember the days I would plot Raffy's demise. Those days now seem like a lifetime ago.

I wonder why the 3 time keeping hosts have forsaken to this island, making me a fool by calling it a vacation. I also will never forgive them for not having an exile island hidden immunity idol. I should have asked Jay to send her cat to keep me company. . opportunity missed.

my favorite hobby is writing checks i can't cash

raffy realllllllly seems to trust me

babs realllllllllyyyy trusts me

ellie reallllllllly trusts me

kenneth realllllyyyyyy trusts me

keith reallllllllllllllllllyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy trusts me and i trust him right back

a+b do not trust me so im gonna have fun with this.

i love that idols just naturally attract themselves to ellie.

i love that keith and i are doing an amazing job as undercover kings and it makes me laugh that raffy completely believes that keith is perfectly in his back pocket. king of delusion.

i stirred up a lot of paranoia but its believable that ellie is the one thats mainly on dat.

excited for touchy subjects would love to win

I'm too nice for orgs. I reload video games when I accidentally select the mean dialogue options because I don't want to hurt any character's feewings. Which... is NOT the same as genuinely thinking everyone is a pleasant person.

Well, as the only person playing this live challenge sort of "remotely" ahead of time I feel like I'm in a really weird position. I guess I'll wake up tomorrow to... something? A clusterfuck most likely.

Brayden round 9 is already over but im pretending im writing this while its round nine

hey everybody its round 9. i played my idol to save myself which was so cool but im sad that i had to do it bc now im really vulrunable and have no protection in this world. my only alliance left is anastasia and raffy and i dont even know if i can actually trust raffy bc he just voted toph off, but like i have no other options. also i jut realized i thimk i actually did send a confessional this round but its ok. the challenge is touchy subjects and i know i have pretty much no chance of winning but i hope i get asked whos a goat so i can say kenneth and maybe he’ll flip. the plan is to go for riley this round since they arent a huge player and hopefulyl anyoen who flips would be fine voting them. i really really really hope tonight isnt a hands up tribal bc that would be really bad ;)

GUESS. FUCKING (freaking for the kids). WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I GOT A SUPER IDOL AKJSDNKSJANDKJSANDJKNASKJDNAKSJ I HONESTLY ALMOST LOST HOPE ON GETTING SOMETHING FROM THE SHOPS AT THIS POINT... The only other time I got something from the shop was my first ever purchase which led to an extra vote! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY MASSIVE because I feel like I have more options moving forward now, and I can make risky, but game-changing moves!! I will absolutely be saving the super idol as much as I can, hello?!?!?! I wanna make it to FTC so bad and ensure my spot in Final 5, so I just have to hold on until then!!!

soooo who's callin' me the fourth wheel to Ellie, Dennis, and Riley? oh? it's Brayden? okay king, step up then <3

holy fuck I hope I can explain this mess to Brayden kljfjkdlsahjkb WHY AM I LIKE THIS

Who is that girl I see?

Staring straight back at me

When will my reflection show

Who I am inside

I was completely over Toph's vote out. Like, it just is another demonstration of my "allies" not trusting me. They thought that I told Toph all about the plan to vote him instead of Brayden. They think I ratted to Anastasia and Brayden about the whole deal. It was incredibly frustrating to wake up from a nap with my allies not trusting them. And then they wanted me to vote for Brayden which would have landed Ellie in the jury house. Like, the plan was perfect, but Dennis, Babs, and Ellie just talked themselves into a paranoid mess. After the vote, I managed to talk myself into the good graces of Brayden and Anastasia after voting out Toph. What I said was "If y'all still want to work together, I'm down, but I didn't necessarily trust Toph. Additionally, I was approached like last minute to vote him because of Ellie's idol (they told me about it just before the vote). And I didn't want Brayden to go (didn't know about your idol)." They seemed to buy it?

I went on call with Dennis afterwards and basically asked for Riley to get voted out this round because they are Ellie's immoveable ally. They will never want to work with me. That's dangerous. It could give Ellie a lot of power in this game. Dennis seemed to agree. I also realize that Dennis has a crystal clear view of my game. He knows the type of game I am playing. That scares me. I need to play this game with the knowledge he can turn on me at any time.

My current position is in the middle. I am working with the heads of both sides in this game. I am working with Ellie, Dennis, and Babs on one side. And Anastasia and Brayden on the other. Kenneth is on the Ellie side, but I think my avenues with him are currently closed. What's the most frustrating is that Anastasia and Brayden are so misted by Babs that they can't see that they are LYING. Straight to their faces! Talking about wanting to be allies. Like, I need them not to spill to Babs about anything cause then I would be exposed.

Pray for me y'all.

Kenneth uh this tribal was... literally not in our favor at all... riley was gone the whole time and we didn't throw raffy under our bus when we should have... rip well riley wasnt in my end game plan anyways but its still pretty unfortunate to not have them around for the next couple of votes... i wouldve pitched for raffy harder but it didn't even matter because riley already submitted the vote for brayden :/// just a lil' unfair but it's SURVIVOR i guess!

Keith I woke up to a surprise. I was expecting to be another day on this island but it wasnt to be... This was a round came with a surprise tribal after the challenge. So yayyyy me.... bye bye Exile.

Misunderstanding & Missteps: Japril

13x19 AU: When Arizona mistakenly guesses that Riggs is in love with April, instead of Meredith, things get complicated. Jackson makes a misstep that sends him reeling on what he really wants. Will Japril ever be able to find their way back to each other?

Chapter 2: Missteps 

Jackson was trying to be as quiet as possible. He didn’t want to disturb the sleeping body on the bed. He nearly tiptoed and picked up clothes that had been flung carelessly about the room last night. God, it was all a blur. One minute they were drinking and talking and then the next...Well, things progressed. Jackson sighed. This was going to get complicated. He sits down on the bed to tie his shoes, when he hears her stirring.

“Hey,” She says raspily, still waking up.

“Hey, sorry. Did I wake you?” He turns towards the bed.

“Oh no, I have to get to the hospital soon anyway.” There is a moment of awkward silence, neither quite sure where to go from here.

“Well, see you…”

“We’re cool...” They speak over each other. And pause again. More silence as they gesture for the other one to continue.

“This is stupid.” Maggie sighs.

“We’re adults,” Jackson nods.

“Listen, Jackson. I know what this was,” Maggie grabs his hand. Jackson tenses up. He wasn’t even sure what this was or what would happen next. He just knew that he had this gnawing feeling in his gut. And he really wanted to just be home at the moment, to be with… He stops himself and focuses on Maggie as she continues. “You were comforting me. I kissed you. And you were just being a good friend. And I know that your life is complicated. And I do not need complicated right now. So can we just chalk this up to a friend helping out a friend and leave it at that?”

Jackson sighs with relief and nods. He gets up to leave, but turns.

“Friends?” He asks, offering her a fistbump. She laughs and returns it.

“Cool, so we don’t say anything to anybody, right?” Maggie awkwardly asks as he opens the door to leave. He had wanted to say that, but didn’t know how to do it gently.

“I think that is for the best,” He agrees. Jackson closes the door behind him.

He walks down the stairs, thinking he is safe from exposure, when he is suddenly confronted with Zola, who is blocking his exit out the front door.

“Hi Zola,” Jackson whispers as he tries to slip by her.

“Did you have a sleepover?” Zola asks, loudly.

“Uh yeah. I slept on the couch.” Jackson points toward the living room.

“You weren’t there when we woke up.” She squints her eyes. God, she’s too smart for her own good.

“I meant the couch upstairs...In Alex’s room. Listen, Zola. I am going to be late for work.” His hangover was not helping his lying skills.

“Zola! Breakfast is ready,” Amelia pokes her head out from the kitchen, when she sees Jackson she comes into the hallway. Shit, was all Jackson could think.

“Jackson, what are you doing here?” Amelia asks quizzically.

“I drank too much. Passed out on the couch. Just like old times.” His attempt at a joke is ignored.

“You weren’t there when we came down here.” Amelia states, putting her hands on hips in an accusatory manner.

“That’s what I said!” Zola says.

“Zola, honey. Go eat breakfast.” Amelia guides the young girl into the kitchen, but turns back to Jackson. She takes a few moments looking back and forth between the staircase and Jackson. He can see the dots connecting in her brain then understanding crosses her face.

“Listen, don’t start,” Jackson sighs.

“I didn’t say anything,” Amelia shrugs.

“It isn’t what you think. We both agreed it was a misstep. It’s not a big deal,” This is exactly what he was trying to avoid.

“Fine,” She made the word sound anything but.

“What?” He asks exasperatedly.

“Hey, I know what happened in the last triangle you were in. Don’t be turning Maggie into Stephanie. She doesn’t need that right now,” Amelia seemed ready to square off with him.  

“Stephanie? You weren’t even around when that happened!” Jackson pointed out.

“Yeah, but I heard about it!” Amelia’s logic was hard to disput.

“This isn’t anything like that. April and I… we’re divorced… last night...” Jackson honestly didn’t know what he was going to say. Last night was a mistake. Last night meant nothing. Last night may ruin everything.

“Amelia.” Maggie was on the stairs. She crossed her arms and stared down her quasi-sister. “Let him go.”

Jackson nods appreciatively and heads toward the door. He can hear Amelia and Maggie start to argue, but Jackson wants to be out of there as soon as possible.

Well, so much for discretion. He was hoping last night would begin and end with him and Maggie. But now, he had a talkative seven-year-old and a very nosy neurosurgeon in on the secret. Shit. Shit. Shit. The idea that any of this could get to April made Jackson nauseous. He checked his phone to see what, if anything, he sent to April last night to explain his absence. Nothing. The last time they texted was him telling her that he had forgotten something at the hospital. Maybe he could play this off. He could tell her that he just slept at the hospital last night. He got called into a surgery and it got out late then he passed out in an on-call room...alone. The less she knew the better. She shouldn’t know that he came over to comfort Maggie, which led to getting drunk, which led to everything else. He knew that he didn’t do anything wrong, technically. They had both agreed that what happened Montana, should probably stay in Montana. They had Harriet and anything that would jeopardize that wasn’t worth it. Don’t get him wrong, last night was... Well, it was different. To be fair, he had slept with a few other people since their divorce. But no one from the hospital and definitely no one they both knew and had to interact with on a daily basis. As he entered his car, Jackson couldn’t ignore this sinking feeling. This feeling that if April found out about last night that would ruin everything. He punched the steering wheel in frustration. What the hell was he thinking?

Jackson drove straight to the hospital. He’d shower and change into scrubs and he’d leave this whole day behind him. However, to his luck, April was sitting in the attendings’ lounge drinking a cup of tea. She looks up at him and Jackson is terrified that she can see last night on him. But she just smiles at him with her normal April perkiness.

“Mornin’,” She says before returning to the charts that she was studying.

“Hey, how are you?” Jackson tries his best to act nonchalantly.

“Good. Big colorectal surgery this morning. Colon cancer.” She states while she takes a sip of tea. Her eyes are exceptionally green this morning.

“Oh, sounds interesting,” Jackson puts his stuff in the closet and grabs his scrubs. “Hey, listen…”

Before, he can even figure out what he is going to say, April’s pager goes off.

“Ah gotta go.” She sprints out the door and almost runs into Alex as she leaves. Alex takes no  notice, instead throws himself onto one of the lounge chairs.

“Jesus. What a night. Two pre-mees trying to croak on my watch. Their parents arguing about every damn little thing. And then...,” Alex looks at Jackson who is frozen in his position, staring at the spot that April had just located.

“What’s your deal?” Alex asks, stirring Jackson from his stupor.

“Hmm?” Jackson shakes off his worry. She probably had a page to the ER, he was overthinking things. “Oh, nothing. Sorry, what happened with the kids?”

“Dude, you look like you saw a ghost,” Alex looks over his very pale friend.

“I… Did you see April leave?” Jackson points to the door.

“Yeah, so did you. She almost mowed me down on her way to the ER. Why?” Alex asked, confused.

“No, before that. Like this morning. Did she seem like normal? She just left here pretty quickly,” Jackson realized how desperate he sounded.

“Well… this is normally the time people go to work,” Alex points out the obvious.

“Right. You’re right. I’m just being paranoid,” Jackson relaxes and sinks in the couch across from Alex.

“What? You think she knows that you slept with Maggie last night?” Alex says, dropping a bomb calmly.

“How the hell do you know that?” Jackson whispers angrily, he can feel his stomach twist.

“I came home last night to get a change of clothes and you guys were making some serious noise,” Alex grimaces.  

“Shit. Shit.  So everyone in that goddamn house knows about last night,” Jackson knew that this was bad. This was very bad.

“Well, probably not Zola, Bailey, and Ellis,” Alex offered.

“No, Zola knows,” Jackson recalls.

“Jesus, those kids have seen some things,” Alex shakes his head.  

“Shut up. She caught me trying to sneak out,” Jackson suddenly feel very overwhelmed and puts his head between his legs. “I made a mistake. And I think it might ruin what I have with April,”

“What do you have with April?” Alex wasn’t one to beat around the bush.

“What?” Jackson sits up. He doesn’t know where Alex is going with this.

“No seriously. What do you have with April?” Alex stares at his friend. He had spent most of this year thinking that he was going to be sent away for thirty years. He was sick of watching all these people wasting time that they don’t know they have.

“I… I don’t know.” Jackson really didn’t.

“Okay, let’s break this down. You’re divorced?” Alex starts with the obvious.

“Yeah.”

“You have a kid?”

“Yes.”

“You live together?”

“Yes.”

“And you both are still in love with each other.” Alex moves to the more complicated.

“Alex..” Jackson shakes his head and gets up to leave. “Don’t talk about things that you don’t understand.”

“Hey, don’t kill the messenger!” Alex yells as Jackson storms out of the room.

Jackson wanders the hospital hallways, unsure of where he was heading. But he needed to blow off some steam. He was so sick of everyone’s opinions and expectations.No one, but April, understood what they went through. Everyone thought they were crazy for moving in together, for living together even after her scars had healed. But they were doing it for Harriet. And themselves. They didn’t have this chance last time. It felt good and it felt right raising Harriet together. April knew instinctively how to swaddle Harriet, get her to go to sleep with her lullabies, and drink her bottle. But Jackson knew how to get Harriet to stop crying and how to make her laugh. They were a team. Anyway, when you love someone that just doesn’t go away with signing a paper.

And that night in Montana. She was there for him. They had done the extraordinary, saved that girl’s voice. They were in some far off place and he had just really wanted to kiss her. So he did. That was a month ago and neither of them had been close to crossing that line again. So what if that night was the best night that he had in years. And so what if, since that night, all he wanted to do was see April and talk to her. And so what if, every time they made their walk to their respective bedrooms, he had to continually fight the urge to kiss her. This was stupid. This was the territory that he had spent a year and a half burying. It was better for everybody if it stayed buried. They weren’t kids anymore. What were they going to do? Date? After everything they had been through. It just wasn’t realistic.

001

Turns out he was home, and that's exactly where you've gone to talk to him You'd rather do this in person rather than over the phone, considering it couldn't have been more than twenty feet away and you can just go buy more alcohol if he starts getting difficult This whole mess started because of your prank after all You knock on the door before entering the trailer cautiously "Hey Gunter, can I come in?" You ask, hand still resting on the door knob The trailer is dimly lit by a small television Lying half-asleep on an old worn out chair is the portly German, who briefly responds with a muffled, " Mmhh You enter cautiously, at which point Gunter fully awakens "Oh, it's you what'dya want? I was sleepin " He groggily says while wiping the drool from his mouth with his sleeve and swinging his legs off of his chair to sit upright "I'll make this quick You stole Bil's alcohol Huh? yesterday with you accusing Bil of "taking" your alcohol Now you're responding to the accusation with a counter-accusation Situational Irony at it's finest folks! "Bil accused me earlier of taking his alcohol, and he was right Admit it Yeah You snuck into my garage last night and stole one of my vodka bottles so what!" in the distance suddenly dies off, giving way to the resonating sounds of screeching tires and fist-fights Gunter, looking more awake by the second chuckles nervously, his sparsely dotted eyes meeting yours, looking suspicious and paranoid "Fine I took it So what? I had a right!" "Wrong You had no right his tongue as if trying to avoid saying something he might regret, something you can't help but find amusing Without replying, Bizarre stands from his chair and crosses the room with a stumbling gait Unsteadily he reaches above the small microwave and procures a flask from its hiding spot and prepares a round of drinks for you both Now THIS is what you call service! You accept the drink, bottoms up! Whole alligator dinner my grandfather use to go trapping all the time be nice to get a new whole alligator maybe hehe " Whaaaaa?" Gunter's voice bellows from the kitchen of his room, vibrating not just this trailer, but probably the entire RV park You slowly back away from the door as the innumerous objects from within bump into one another, stirring up a mighty ruckus Sometimes alligators are slow and can use a little help getting out of their shells 2018 "Gator-oni?!" Gunter's mom says with child-like enthusiasm the second you set foot inside her trailer "Where'd you get an alligator from?" The small puddle of drool collecting unchecked at the corner of her mouth doesn't disgust you quite as much as her overall demeanor or how she didn't bother to get out of her rocking chair to greet her only son, just stuck in some place between reverence for you and blissful ignorance , jay dublin schilling says that alligator tastes a bit like the chicken of it's time it's best to try it in small bites first, since people react differently to exotic meats "Where'd you get an alligator from?" Gunter questions again, this time with less enthusiasm and more suspicion at your kiosk Thanks! Wholes all around! Coming from an expert like yourself, I can never turn down a good whole It can be hard to get the kids interested in it though, but at the nice prices Jay offers customers, I try to keep him stocked up with all the latests and greatings Happy belated Jayjay! "From Jay," ? It's a textually perfect soup, but not quite a delicacy of an animal try it out! What's your background? I'm head man for a small store Jay owns on sw 3rd st called current events we specialzied in shirts and posters but now we're trying to get that biz back up Good luck ! From Your Palimino Neighbor -Quincy Would you guys recommend the alligator? Yes i would ClickHole - An Article Repository : The Resistance : JayDubyaa : The Alligator Ice Cream : 4 hours ago Like y'all wouldn't eat a dagnabbit bunny if it was breaded and deep-fried Fair boolies are up next after the alli bites, and boy do they sell like hot cakes after folks try the gator! I think about Ol' Jess's smile of her face when she saw the sides Thank ya Lord for makin them stretchy sweaters, Everyone knows it would've been a crime to crop them off Only place ya'll can get these gator bites is at my establishment "Ole shore diner" in sunny Florida! That's right its been shipped all the way up from the swamps of Ellis! Only the finest or is that fishedest for you guys! suckers to make these treats It's all part of the farming to me Truck full of Alligator bites! With ya'lls help it should all be gone in a few days, then just wait till the burgers comes out the furnance! Just think outside the bun and your good to go!Would you guys recommend the alligator? so it ain't chicken! So your saying it tastes like chicken? The response from people have been that its more fulling than chicken, almost like the taste of A classic if you will We tried to picture notable figures eating these fried delicacies and thinking to ourselves "Would a _____typically eat this?" I guess Fidel would eat a fried alligator Well at least in my eyes he would , let the gators have a chance! Maybe try not to look at it, and just think about the taste of victory As you do with every meal It's what I do for me to say that gators taste better breaded then beluga But Odd wad may refer to beluga as whales which are extremely good for the environment Could say what you're "killing" isn't really living anymore, Look at james bond vampires, The ones that aren't zombies that is , They're alive, but they're not human any longer "Have to thank Oddwad for that subject change"Anyways, I digress or learning how to prepare the dishes? I just like eating them what can I say, I AM THE ONLY ONE THAT APPROVES OF ME WELL MAYBE A specifically a Goon Thank you for caring though Ive been doing this since before Jesus was born! Today the gospel according to Matt Was edited a little bit by Ol' Steve himself Hindsight is always 20/20 isn't it Goons! or about the new item manipulation commands? Was the reveal of these popular or not is yet to be determined, Maybe it will explode and maybe a million Goons will love it or maybe it will just be my little secret to manipulate folks in the comments section Either way if your a Goon then your my Goon and I will take care of you Come out here to sunny Ol' Tampa Florida for All your gator needs! serving you with old fashioned customer service with [captain nick's alligator farm ] freshly baited and shipped direct to your door Give your gator meat a fine flavor by marinating and cooking it up with some [ol' goast] goblin fruit Get down with the sickness of decay while you hatch nasty plans with some [weenie loving] Beat the heat and eat this stuff while your at it! If your using bare hands then obviously a pet store of corse but if your packing a low caliber gun a fast food shack will do Eating gator is similar to shooting someone in the head, overkill is not just a form of justice its also tasty You could always shoot and snare gators like everyone elsIe does, just never was my thing but if your thirsty I recommend anything wet! [the boogoti basics of alligator dinner delivery] ! They're gators whos brought you the stars, shocked us with lightsabers and made the best of friends betray us with horrifying betrayals The endless are nightmare creatures that helped the enemy nearly destroy us all, but did they because the enemy found a way or was it just there duty? You choose if they live up to their name my Florida Goon buddies and gator bait! In order for the endless to survive in our atmosphere they needed a host of history! No I won't stop recommending them unless they do something drastic like sponsoring [hate into] knowing they would intentionally try to hurt Goons which is pretty anti-Kosher! Was it the DE that tried to kill us all? Was it an angry human? Was it Mother Nature putting us back in our place (yeah right!) Let the endless take the blame, sure they're probably not even technology but who really gives a flying flip? ! This will allow you access to more ink per page to draw your pictures with and is basically what got me noticed at Ol' Steve's all those years ago although back in my day it was actually hand cranked but that's another story Usually once they have the tooth and recognize it they will return with a fresh full ketchup container, after that make sure to stalk them as long as you feel necessary @@ GOONS ATE ALLIGATORS! Shoot the biggest gator you can on your hunt! Isn't bigger just better? tooth while hunting! Did you find a miniature tooth or an oversized one? Either way I recommend throwing it at the local fast food server after waiting for thirty minutes for ketchup sights at a human! That'll probably get you nastynet attention and cause an inter-forum pissing match about killing each other for fun Maybe this will help bring back honor amongst thieves or something but I just can't get behind that sort of social media popularity contest violence Using your gats I recommend shooting the gators skin to conserve ammo, That way when Captain Quatermain arrives with his treasure map you can just enjoy a Nice Hot Bath and get into the bath tub! Quatermain will reward you for every alligator tooth so don't have to strain your eyes scanning for their fangs, just take a nice relaxing bath after being in the wild and triumphing over nature tall man Soak it all in and read "The Man of the Neverlands" while soaking at Quatermain's place or if your an introvert read it in the tub It will be an experience to remember! to take with you! 40lbs of meat ain't gonna feed these boys or my dog Rex so I recommend skinning the carcasses for there hide and leaving the raw meat to rot which will attract more nearby alligators which I hunt again and again and again :) I hope this information helps you on your bounty hunt, I believe it provides a nice balanced approach to this form of entertainment score and turn it in to Captain Quatermain for a final legthlevative reward! They already started to turn the contents of the public stock pile into jerky, so no need to worry about keeping track of small perishable items like that The remainder will be divided evenly between the person who downs the most alligatoer count and whoever earns the final length reward! count and final reward RE: Miami : The hunt begins - Zalmora - 12-09-2017 05:01 PM Ideas sure, but thes ain't ideas MA! RE: Miami : The hunt begins - Boss 302 - 12-12-2017 09:30 PM (12-09-2017 05:01 PM) Zalmora Wrote: Ideas sure, but thes ain't ideas MA! service! 100lbs of meat just for turning in the kill count and lair location of the hunt that's one idea :) RE: Miami : The hunt begins - Zalmora - 12-12-2017 10:31 PM (12-12-2017 09:30 PM) Boss 302 Wrote: Odd wad alligator dinner delovery service! got an eatery in mind? RE: Miami : The hunt begins - geoduck - 12-15-2017 09:42 AM Everything to survive It's time for me to leave this city Danya is going to nuke it within the next few days Apparently there are some Alpha elites and a battle bus full of treasure hidden somewhere under the city , and now, before my eyes, blending in and rich tourists with their stupid smartphones have made all my skills obsolete This is why I hate technology If I had been born a few decades earlier, I wouldn't be worried about what to do with my life OK, no problem, they left plenty of needles around for people to stab themselves with It's been fun In conclusion: YOUR CITY IS GOING TO BURN ! Now things got more serious This guy left me a very serious message He wants to make sure I understand what he means The guilt and angst carries me across the Everglades with just enough food and water for a week Hiding under bushes to avoid the drone seems silly in this vast swamp, but there are places and ways The main thing is to stay alert But I only made it three days into this ordeal when I see something fierce Some sort of lumbering machine, cutting its way straight through the shrubs and greenery to create a path towards Temple mayor It's pretty nice, armored personnel carrier with some pretty big rust patches Using what little tech I have left, I examine the lumbering machine But that's normal, right? Otherwise it hasn't been used for seventy years! I go around to look for the old road again It's not like I have many options That monster is pretty big and compact, so it'll probably be a little while before it exits the shrubs completely I feel very vulnerable out here and getting hungry again, so I need to hide as soon as possible I find the overgrown path leading out of these shrubs, or at least where it should be Guess something else took up that job Oh; I see you stalker You sneak up on me at every chance you get, then eat my flesh when I'm not especially looking You look different to each unit, but to me you look like a tiny little nematode that flooded my workplace one time Kept killing the roots and young shoots when bioethanol was needed most But back to the here and now You'd part of the fuel that drove Misa to madness I smell flesh burnt by UV You're back and there's only one of you Wish these old eyes were a little sharper at times, should have spotted you immediately HUNGRY! RE: Miami : The hunt begins - Hopecrusher - 12-15-2017 10:25 AM Not good Your overview paint scheme is a dead giveaway after all Still managed to surprise me and that's not easy Hey wait, OWT does some of our hiring ever thought about working in security? Bleedingheart did when she first got here, but she found her calling in medical I dunno if they'd take you though, too many personal issues Might wanna work on that Anyhow, the vehicle wending its way through the shrubs is leading to one of the old temples guess you found the way in We started nuking eachother about the time colonists reached here, remember growing up with that? Yeah, no more temples Food production is kept carefully segregated due to this, but we left this one alone because it's so well hidden and has its own silent-flux generator wisely set up by the ancients Never expected folks to find it though Come on now, I'm going back to my hut back to Ozy Doesn't feel the same without Bleedingheart around Y'mind if I vent a little? Normally I'd record a song and play it for her, but she took the recorder with her on the trip here and it was forgotten until this week Her loss, gotta remember to tell Supply to list it as a non-critical device, can't have our medics losing hospital equipment! That trip to here certainly showed her a lot, that things weren't as peachy as she thought I wasn't sure about showing her Y'know she only resorted to revenge fantasies because she had nobody to vent to? Nobody to help process things, like when we were yanking arms off gangers or executing people for sport Really hate thissense of loss right now I'm going on Wonder if this was part of the reason Tom wanted isolation Guess happenings like these are good lessons, but I dunno, we should be absolutely sure next time Now I'm feeling guilty too Not that his plan worked Hey, let me play something for ya RE: Miami : The hunt begins - Green Eye - 12-15-2017 10:39 AM That hallway had to lead somewhere important Not like someone would just build a dead end in a hideout Like a secret panel! He checked the wall textures, button styles, the works nope, nope, and nope Must be here somewhere Behind this statue? Nope In the torch? ! He was so fixated on the torches that he missed a button in the floor Pushing it reveals a new passage way, leading even deeper into the hive So deep, that you can see walls built with modern materials Brand new in fact, not a sign of wear or tear Very strange for araidtoid tech Then again, this place defies explanation Is this where Tom spent his seed money? You press onward, ready for whatever lies beyond Hey! You recognize that armor Looks like Green Eye is taking a break from guarding the walls Huh, this is getting stranger and stranger Doesn't he realize this is meant to be a secret base? Oh wait, you're wearing stealth armor "Hey Green Eye, got any sal-- Oof!" You run into him before you can finish your sentence "Watch it, fool! Oh, hey you? What're you doing here?"

Haribokart’s Rock Band song list .38 Special - Caught Up In You 3 Doors Down - Here Without You, It’s Not My Time, Kryptonite, When You're Young, When I'm Gone 30 Seconds to Mars - Attack, Closer To The Edge, The Kill, Kings and Queens, This Is War 311 - Amber, Down 4 Non-Blondes - What’s Up? 5 Seconds Of Summer - She Looks So Perfect The 88 - Sons and Daughters A-Ha - Take On Me Abnormality - Visions AC/DC - Back in Black (Live), Dirty Deeds Done Cheap (Live), Fire Your Guns (Live), For Those About To Rock (Live), Heatseeker (Live), Hell Ain’t A Bad Place To Be (Live), Hells Bells (Live), High Voltage (Live), Highway To Hell (Live), The Jack (Live), Jailbreak (Live), Let There Be Rock (Live), Moneytalks (Live), Shoot To Thrill (Live), T.N.T (Live), Thunderstruck (Live), Whole Lotta Rosie (Live), You Shook Me All Night Long (Live) Ace of Base - The Sign The Acro-Brats – Day Late Dollar Short, Hair Trigger Aerosmith - Cryin, Dream On (Live), Dude Looks Like A Lady, I Don’t Want To Miss A Thing, Sweet Emotion, Toys In The Attic, Train Kept Rollin, Walk This Way AFI - Girl’s Not Grey, Miss Murder Alabama Shakes - Don't Wanna Fight Alanis Morissette - Head Over Feet, Ironic, You Oughta Know Alice Cooper - Poison, School's Out (Live) Alice In Chains - Man In The Box Alien Ant Farm - Smooth Criminal All American Rejects - Dirty Little Secret, Gives You Hell, Move Along, Swing Swing All Time Low - Weightless The Allman Brothers Band - Jessica, Ramblin’ Man Alphabeat - Fascination Amy Winehouse - Rehab Anarchy Club - Blood Doll, Collide, Get Clean Andy Grammar - Honey I’m Good Angels & Airwaves - It Hurts Animal Flag - Sink Anthrax - Caught in a Mosh Arctic Horror - Black Seas Arctic Monkeys - Arabella, R U Mine? Assuming We Survive - Open Water At The Drive In - One Armed Scissor Authority Zero - No Regrets The Automatic - Monster Avenged Sevenfold - Afterlife, Almost Easy, Beast and the Harlot, Hail To The King Average White Band - Pick Up The Pieces Avicii - Wake Me Up Avril Lavigne - Complicated, My Happy Ending B-52's - Rock Lobster, Love Shack, Roam Bad Company - Shooting Star Bang Camaro - Blood Red Rock, Night Lies, Pleasure Bang on a Can All-Stars – Shadowbang (Head) The Bangles - Walk Like An Egyptian Barely March - Thinking Emoji Barenaked Ladies - One Week Bastille - Pompeii The Beach Boys - Good Vibrations (Live) Bearstronaut - Shadow Beastie Boys - Make Some Noise, Sabotage, So What’cha Want Beck - Dreams, E-Pro Bee Gees - Jive Talkin, Night Fever, Staying Alive, Tragedy, You Should Be Dancing Belinda Carlisle - Heaven Is A Place On Earth Benjamin Booker - Violent Shiver Bent Knee - These Hands The Bergamot - Forgot About Tomorrow Between the Buried and Me - Prequel To The Sequel Big & Rich - Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy) Big Country - In A Big Country Bikini Kill - Rebel Girl Billy Idol - Mony Mony, Rebel Yell, White Wedding Billy Joel - It's Still Rock And Roll To Me, My Life, Only The Good Die Young, Piano Man, She’s Always A Woman, Uptown Girl, We Didn’t Start The Fire Billy Squier - Lonely Is The Night Black Beach - No Place For Me ThevBlack Cheers - (You’re) Breakin’ Up The Black Eyed Peas - I Gotta Feeling The Black Keys - Fever, Gold On The Ceiling, Howlin' For You, Lonely Boy Blind Melon - No Rain Blink-182 - Adam's Song, Aliens Exist, All The Small Things, Down, Feeling This, First Date, I Miss You, The Rock Show, What’s My Age Again Blondie - Call Me, Hanging On The Telephone, Heart of Glass, One Way Or Another, Rapture Blue Oyster Cult - Don’t Fear The Reaper Blue Swede - Hooked On A Feeling Blur - Beetlebum, Song 2, There's No Other Way BoB ft. Hayley Williams - Airplanes Bob Dylan - Tangled Up In Blue Bob Marley - Could You Be Loved, Get Up Stand Up, I Shot The Sheriff, Is This Love, Jamming, No Woman No Cry, One Love Bon Jovi - Bad Medicine, Blaze Of Glory, It's My Life, Livin On A Prayer, Wanted Dead Or Alive, You Give Love A Bad Name Bonnie Tyler - Total Eclipse Of The Heart Boston - Foreplay/Long Time, More Than A Feeling, Peace Of Mind The Both - Milwaukee Boys Like Girls – The Great Escape, Thunder Brad Paisley - Start A Band Brandi Carlile - Mainstream Kid Breaking Wheel - Shoulder To The Plow Bring Me the Horizon - Happy Song, Throne The Bronx - False Alarm Bruno Mars - 24K Magic, Grenade, Just The Way You Are, Locked Out Of Heaven, Marry You, Treasure Bryan Adams - Summer Of 69 Buffalo Springfield - For What It's Worth Bush - Comedown Busted - Thunderbirds Are Go! Buzzcocks - Ever Fallen In Love BØRNS - Electric Love The Cab - Bounce Caesers - Jerk It Out Cake - I Will Survive, Short Skirt/Long Jacket Capital Cities - Safe and Sound Carl Douglas - Kung Fu Fighting Carly Ray Jepsen - Call Me Maybe Carrie Underwood - All American Girl, Before He Cheats, Blown Away, Cowboy Casanova, Good Girl The Cars - Just What I Needed The Chainsmokers - Closer (ft. Halsey) Charlie Puth - Attention Cheap Trick - Hello There, I Want You to Want Me (Live) Chely Wright - Single White Female The Chemical Brothers - Let Forever Be The Chevelles - Get It On Chicago - 25 or 6 to 4, If You Leave Me Now Chuck Berry - Johnny B. Goode Chumbawumba - Tubthumping The Clash - I Fought The Law, London Calling, Rock The Casbah, Should I Stay Or Should I Go Cobra Starship - You Make Me Feel The Cocktail Slippers - Give It To Me Cohered And Cambria - Welcome Home Cold War Kids - First Coldplay - A Sky Full Of Stars, Adventure Of A Lifetime, Clocks, Every Teardrop Is A Waterfall, Fix You, Hymn For The Weekend, The Scientist, Viva La Vida, Yellow The Coral - Dreaming Of You Counting Crows - Accidentally In Love, Mr Jones The Cranberries - Dreams, Linger, Ode To My Family, Zombie Creaturos - History Repeats Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising, Fortunate Son, I Heard It Through the Grapevine Crooked X - Nightmare The Cult - She Sells Sanctuary Culture Club - Do You Really Want To Hurt Me, Karma Chameleon The Cure - Friday I’m In Love, Just Like Heaven Cutting Crew - I Just Died In Your Arms Tonight Cyndi Lauper - Girls Just Want To Have Fun, Time After Time Daft Punk - Get Lucky Dance for the Dying – Thug Love Dark Wheels - V-Bomb The Darkness - I Believe In A Thing Called Love Dashboard Confessional - Hands Down Daughtry - It's Not Over David Bowie - Fame, Heroes, Lets Dance, Modern Love, Space Oddity, Suffragette City, Ziggy Stardust Dead Sara - Mona Lisa Dealership - Database Corrupted Death Of The Cool - Can’t Let Go Deep Blue Something - Breakfast At Tiffanies Deep Purple - Highway Star, Smoke On The Water Def Leppard - Foolin, Photograph, Pour Some Sugar On Me (Live) Deftones - My Own Summer Del Amitri - Roll To Me Demi Lovato - Sorry Not Sorry Depeche Mode - Personal Jesus Devo - Girl U Want, Uncontrollable Urge, Whip It Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen Dinosaur Jr - Feel The Pain Dio - Rainbow in the Dark Dire Straights - Walk Of Life Disturbed - Down With The Sickness, Indestructable, Prayer, The Sound Of Silence DNCE - Cake By The Ocean Dolly Spartans - I Hear the Dead Don McClean - American Pie The Donnas - New Kid In School The Doobie Brothers - China Grove, Listen To The Music, Long Train Runnin The Doors - Break On Through, Light My Fire, People Are Strange, Riders On The Storm, Touch Me Dover - King George Dream Theatre - Metropolis Part 1, Panic Attack Duck & Cover - Knock Em Down Duran Duran - Girls On Film, Hungry Like The Wolf, Rio, The Reflex Dutch ReBelle - RudeBoys Eagle-Eye Cherry - Save Tonight Earth, Wind & Fire - September Echo and the Bunnymen - The Killing Moon Ed Sheeran - Shape of You, Sing Eddie Japan - Albert The Eiffels - Body Like That Electric Six - Gay Bar Elle King - Ex’s & Oh’s Ellie Goulding - On My Mind Elton John - The Bitch is Back, Crocodile Rock, Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me, I’m Still Standing, Saturday Night's Alright For Fighting Elvis Costello - Pump It Up Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds EMF - Unbelievable Endereverafter - I Wanna Be Your Man Erasure - A Little Respect Eric Cartman - Lady Gaga's Poker Face Europe - The Final Countdown Evanescence - Bring Me To Life, Call Me When You’re Sober, Everybody's Fool, Going Under, Weight Of The World Everlife - Real Wild Child Extreme - More Than Words Faith No More - Epic, Midlife Crisis Fall Out Boy - A Little Less Sixteen Candles, Centuries, Dance Dance, Dead On Arrival, Irresistible, I Don’t Care, My Songs Know What You Did In The Dark, Sugar We're Going Down, This Ain’t A Scene It’s An Arms Race, Thnks Fr Th Mmrs Filter - Hey man nice shot Fine Young Cannibals - She Drives Me Crazy The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi battles The Pink Robots Fleetwood Mac - Don’t Stop, Dreams, Gold Dust Woman, Go Your Own Way, Landslide, Rhiannon, You Make Loving Fun Flobots - Handlebars Florence and the Machine - Dog Days Are Over Flyleaf - I’m So Sick Fly by Midnight - Vinyl Foghat - Slow Ride Foo Fighters - All My Life, Best Of You, Breakout, DOA, Everlong, Learn To Fly, Monkey Wrench, My Hero, The Feast And The Famine, The Pretender, Times Like These Foreigner - Cold As Ice, Feels Like The First Time, I Want To Know What Love Is, Waiting For A Girl Like You Foster the People – Don't Stop (Color on the Walls), Helena Beat, Pumped Up Kicks Frank Turner - I Still Believe Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Relax Franz Ferdinand - Do You Want To, Take Me Out Fratelies - Creeping up the Backstairs, Henrietta Free - All Right Now Freezepop – Brainpower, Doppelgänger Fun. - Some Nights, We Are Young Garbage - I Think I’m Paranoid, Stupid Girl, Why do you Love Me Gary Clark Jr - Ain’t Messin ‘Round Gavin DeGraw - I Don’t Want to Be Generation X - Dancing with Myself George Thorogood - Bad To The Bone The Ghost Hounds - Ashes to Fire Gin Blossoms - Follow You Down, Hey Jealousy Glados - Still Alive Go-Go’s - Our Lips Are Sealed, We Got The Beat Goddamn Draculas - Bethany Golden Earring - Radar Love Goo Goo Dolls - Iris Good Charlotte - The Anthem, Girls & Boys, Lifestyles Of The Rich & Famous Gorillaz - Clint Eastwood, Feel Good Inc The Grateful Dead - Alabama Getaway Graveyard BBQ – Cheat on the Church Green Day - 21st Century Breakdown, 21 Guns, American Eulogy, American Idiot, Are We The Waiting/St Jimmy, Basket Case, Before The Lobotomy, Boulevard Of Broken Dreams, Brain Stew/Jaded, Burnout, Christian's Inferno, Chump, Coming Clean, East Jesus Nowhere, Emenius Sleepus, Extraordinary Girl, F.O.D, Geek Stink Breath, Give Me Novacaine/She’s A Rebel, Good Riddance (Time Of Your Life), Having A Blast, Hitching A Ride, Holiday, Homecoming, Horseshoes And Handgrenades, In The End, Jesus Of Suburbia, Know Your Enemy, Last Night On Earth, Last of the American Girls, Letterbomb, Longview, Minority, Murder City, Nice Guys Finish Last, Peacemaker, Pulling Teeth, Restless Heart Syndrome, Sassafras Roots, See The Light, She, Song Of The Century, The Static Age, Viva La Gloria, Wake Me Up When September Ends, Warning, Welcome To Paradise, Whatsername, When I Come Around, !Viva La Gloria! Grouplove - Tongue Tied The Guess Who - American Woman Guns N Roses - Shackler’s Revenge Gym Class Heroes - Stereo Hearts H.I.M. - Killing Loneliness Hailstorm - I Miss The Misery Hall and Oates - I Can't Go For That, Maneater, You Make My Dreams Heart - Alone, Barracuda, Kick It Out Heaven’s Basement - I Am Electric The Hives - Main Offender, Tick Tick Boom Hole - Celebrity Skin Hollywood Undead - Young Honest Bob - I Get By, Soy Bomb Hoobastank – Crawling In The Dark Hot Chelle Rae - Tonight Tonight Hozier- Take Me To Church Huey Lewis and the News - The Power of Love The Human League - Don’t You Want Me HUNNY - Shy Hypernova - Viva La Resistance Ida Maria - Oh My God Iggy Pop - Lust For Life, The Passenger Imagine Dragons - I Bet My Life, Radioactive, Thunder In The Valley Below - Bloodhands Incubus - Dig, Drive Interpol - PDA INXS - Need You Tonight The Isley Brothers - Shout The J.Gelis Band - Centrefold Jack White - Lazaretto The Jackson 5 - ABC, I Want You Back The Jam - Going Underground, Town Called Malice James Brown - Get Up, I Got You, Super Bad Pts. 1 & 2 Jane's Addiction - Been caught Stealing, Mountain Song Janis Joplin - Piece of my Heart Jason Derulo - Want To Want Me Jason Mraz - I'm Yours Jeff Allen - Recession Jeff Williams ft Casey Lee Williams - This Will Be The Day Jefferson Airplane - Somebody To Love Jet - Are You Gonna Be My Girl Jethro Tull - Aqualung Jimi Hendrix - All Along The Watchtower, Crosstown Traffic, Foxey Lady, Fire Jimmy Eat World - The Middle, Pain, Sweetness Joan Jett - Bad Reputation, I Love Rock N' Roll Jocelyn & Chris Arndt - Shame Joe Jackson - Is she really going out with him? John & Yoko - Happy Xmas John Lennon - How Do You Sleep?, Imagine, Jealous Guy Johnny Blazes And The Pretty Boys - Cold Clear Light Johnny Cash - I Walk the Line, Ring of Fire Josh Turner - Would You Go With Me Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart Juanes - Me Enamora Judas Priest - Halls Of Valhalla, Painkiller, You’ve Got Another Thing Coming Juli - Perfekte Welle Julie Rhodes - Hurry Up (& Wait For You) Justin Bieber - Boyfriend, Love Yourself, Sorry, What Do You Mean? Kaiser Chiefs - I Predict A Riot, Ruby Kansas - Carry On Wayward Son Kasabian - Club Foot, Shoot The Runner Katrina And The Waves - Walking On Sunshine Kelly Clarkson - Heartbeat Song, Miss Independent, Stronger Kenny Loggins - Danger Zone, Footloose The Killers - All These Things That I've Done, Mr Brightside, Smile Like You Mean It, Somebody Told Me, When You Were Young Kings of Leon - Crawl, Molly’s Chambers, Sex On Fire, Use Somebody Kiss - Detroit Rock City The Knack - My Sharona The Konks - 29 Fingers The Kooks - Naive Kool and the Gang - Celebration, Jungle Boogie Korn - Word Up KSM - Distracted KT Tunstell - Suddenly I See Kutless - The Feeling L7 - Pretend We’re Dead La Roux - Bulletproof Lacuna Coil - Our Truth Lady Antebellum - Lookin For A Good Time, Need You Now, Perfect Day Lady Gaga - Applause, Bad Romance, Born This Way, Edge of Glory, Just Dance, Lovegame, Monster, Paparazzi, Poker Face Laura Bell Bundy - Rebound LEN - Steal My Sunshine The Len Price 3 - If I ain’t got You Lenny Kravitz - Are You Gonna Go My Way Lesley Roy - I’m Gone, I’m Going The Libyans - Welcome To The Neighbourhood Lightning Bolt - Dream Genie Lights Resolve - Dreaming Of Love Limp Bizkit - My Way Linkin Park - Breaking the Habit, Crawling, In The End, Numb, One Step Closer, Somewhere I Belong, What I’ve Done Lit - My Own Worst Enemy Little Big Town - Little White Church Little Fish - Am I Crazy Littlefoot - Casablanca Live - All Over You Liz Phair - Rock Me LMFAO - Party Rock Anthem Lorde - Royals Lostprophets - Rooftops Lucinda Williams - Can’t Let Go Lucius - Turn It Around Lush - De-Luxe Lynyrd Skynyrd - Free Bird, Simple Man, Sweet Home Alabama (Live), That Smell, Tuesday's Gone Macklemore - Can’t Hold Us MAGIC! - Rude The Main Drag – A Jagged Gorgeous Winter, How We’d Look on Paper Mana - Oye Mi Amor Marilyn Manson - The Beautiful People Mark Ronson Ft. Bruno Mars - Uptown Funk Maroon 5 - Little Of Your Time, Makes Me Wonder, Misery, Moves Like Jagger, One More Night, This Love, Wake Up Call, Won’t Go Home Without You Mastodon - Colony Of Birchmen Maximo Park - Girls Who Play Guitars Megadeath - Peace Sells Meghan Trainor - All About That Bass Men at Work - Down Under Metric - Combat Baby MGMT - Kids Michael Christmas - Cross That Line The Mighty Mighty Bosstones - The Impression That I Get, Where’d You Go? Miley Cyrus - 7 Things, Can’t Be Tamed, Fly On The Wall, See You Again, Start All Over Miranda Cosgrove - Headphones On Miranda Lambert - Gunpowder and Lead Modest Mouse - Float On Molly Hatchet - Flirting With Disaster The Monkees - Last Train To Clarksville Montell Jordan - This Is How We Do It Morrissey - Irish Blood English Heart The Mother Hips - Time We Had Motley Crue - Saints of Los Angeles Motorhead - Ace Of Spades Mountain - Mississippi Queen Mr Big - To Be With You The Muffs - Kids In America, Outer Space Mumford & Sons - I Will Wait, The Wolf Muse - Hysteria My Chemical Romance - Famous Last Words, I’m Not Okay (I Promise), Sing, Teenagers, Welcome To The Black Parade Naked Eyes - Always Something There to Remind Me Natalie Imbruglia - Torn Natasha Bedingfield - Unwritten Nazareth - Love Hurts The Neighbourhood - Sweater Weather Neko Case - People Got A Lotta Nerve Nemes - Black Streak Neon Trees - 1983, Animal, Everybody Talks, Sins Of My Youth New Order - Blue Monday Newfane - I Recognise The New Pornographers - Electric Version Nickelback - How You Remind Me, Photograph, Rockstar, Someday Nicki Minaj - Starships Night Ranger - Sister Christian Nightmare Air - Who’s Your Lover Nine Inch Nails - The Hand That Feeds, The Perfect Drug Nirvana - Come As You Are (Live), Drain You, In Bloom, Smells Like Teen Spirit, Something In The Way No Doubt - Don’t Speak, Hella Good, Hey Baby, It’s My Life, Just A Girl, Underneath It All No Small Children - Radio Norman Greenbaum - Spirit In The Sky Oasis - Champagne Supernova, Don’t Look Back In Anger, Live Forever, Rock 'n' Roll Star, Supersonic (Live), Wonderwall Of Monsters And Men - Little Talks The Offspring - All I Want, Come Out And Play, Days Go By, Gone Away, Pretty Fly For A White Guy, Self Esteem, The Kids Aren’t Alright Oh Honey - Sugar, You Ok Go - Here It Goes Again, Shooting The Moon OMI - Cheerleader One Direction - Best Song Ever, Drag Me Down, Story of My Life, What Makes You Beautiful One Night Only - Just For Tonight Onerepublic - Counting Stars, Stop And Stare Opiate for the Masses - Burn You Down Orianthi - According To You Otis Redding - Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay The Outfield - Your Love Outkast - Hey Ya! The Outlaws - Green Grass And High Tides Owl City - Fireflies Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train, Miracle Man P!nk - Funhouse, Get The Party Started, Please Don’t Leave Me, Raise Your Glass, So What, Sober, Who Knew P.O.D. - Alive, Youth of the Nation Panic At The Disco - I Write Sins Not Tragedies, Nine In The Afternoon, She's a Handsome Woman Papa Roach - Last Resort, Time Is Running Out Paramore - Ain’t It Fun, Brick By Boring Brick, CrushCrushCrush, Ignorance, Misery Business, Pressure, Still Into You, The Only Exception, That’s What You Get Parlour Bells - Never Let ‘Em Hold Ya Back Parks - Sweater Weather Party Bois - True Confessional Pat Benatar - Fire and Ice, Heartbreaker, Hit Me With Your Best Shot, Invincible, Love Is A Battlefield, Promises In The Dark, Shadows of the Night, We Belong Paul McCartney - Band On The Run, Jet (Live), Maybe I’m Amazed Pearl Jam - Alive Permaband - Killing is just a means, Wrecking Machine Peter Cetera - Glory of Love Petty Morals - Mean Girls Pharrell Williams - Happy Pheonix - Lasso Phish - Llama, Wilson (Live) Pixies - Monkey Gone to Heaven, Wave Of Mutilation, Where Is My Mind? Poison - Every Rose Has It’s Thorn, Nothin' but a Good Time The Police - Don't Stand So Close To Me, Every Breath You Take, Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic, Message In A Bottle, Next To You, Roxanne, Walking On The Moon Poni Hoax - Antibodies Portugal. The Man - Feel It Still Preachervan - Love That Hurts Presidents Of The United States Of America - Lump The Pretenders - Brass In Pocket Pretty Girls Make Graves - Something Bigger, Something Brighter The Pretty Reckless - Follow Me Down, Heaven Knows The Primitives - Crash Primus - Jerry Was A Race Car Driver Procol Harum - A Whiter Shade of Pale The Protomen - Light Up The Night Puddle of Mud - Blurry, Control, She Hates Me Queen - Another One Bites The Dust, Bicycle Race, Bohemian Rhapsody, Crazy Little Thing Called Love, Don't Stop Me Now, Fat Bottomed Girls, Hammer to Fall, I Want It All, I Want To Break Free, Killer Queen, One Vision, Play the Game, Radio Ga Ga, Somebody To Love, The Show Must Go On, Under Pressure, We Are The Champions, We Will Rock You, You're My Best Friend Queens Of The Stone Age - Go With The Flow, My God Is The Sun, No One Knows, 3’s & 7’s, In My Head Ram Jam - Black Betty R.E.M - It’s The End Of The World As We Know It, Losing My Religion, Man On The Moon, Orange Crush, The One I Love The Raconteurs - Steady As She Goes Radiohead - Creep, Karma Police Rage Against The Machine - Killing In The Name Of, Testify Rammstein - Du Hast Ramones - Blitzkrieg Bop, I Wanna Be Sedated Rascal Flatts - Life Is A Highway, Me and my Gang, Summer Nights Ratt - Round And Round The Raveonettes - Last Dance Ray Parker Jr - Ghostbusters Razorlight - Stumble And Fall The Red Chord - Hour Of Rats Red Hot Chilli Peppers - By The Way, Californication, Dani California, Give It Away, Scar Tissue, Snow ((Hey Oh)), Under The Bridge, REO Speedwagon - Keep On Loving You The Replacements - Alex Chilton Rick Astley - Never Gonna Give You Up Rick Derringer - Rock And Roll Hooch Koo Rick James - Super Freak Rilo Kiley - Portions for Foxes Rise Against - Give It All Riverboat Gamblers - Don't Bury Me Robert Palmer - Bad Case of Loving You Robin Thicke - Blurred Lines The Rolling Stones - Gimme Shelter Roxette - The Look Roy Orbison - Only The Lonely, Pretty Woman, You Got It Ruby Rose Fox - Pain Killer, Sky Diver Rufus - Tell Me Something Good Rupert Holmes - Escape (The Pina Colada song) Rush - A Passage To Bangkok, The Trees, Tom Sawyer Saint Raymond - Young Blood Santana - Smooth Sara Evans - Suds In The Bucket Savage Garden - I want you Save Ferris - Come On Eileen Scandal - The Warrior Scorpions - No One Like You Seether - Fake It Semi-Precious Weapons - Magnetic Baby Semisonic - Closing Time Shaimus - Like A Fool Shania Twain - Any Man Of Mine, Party For Two, That Don’t Impress Me Much Shawn Mendes - Stitches, Treat You Better Sheryl Crow - All I Wanna Do Ships Have Sailed - Let’s Just Dance Sia - Chandelier, Cheap Thrills (ft. Sean Paul), The Greatest (ft. Kendrick Lamar) Silvergun Pickups - Lazy Eye Simon & Garfunkel - The Sounds Of Silence Simple Minds - Don’t You (Forget About Me) Sister Sledge - We Are Family Siouxsie And The Banshees - Cities In Dust Skillit - Feel Invincible Slipknot - Before I Forget Slydigs - Light The Fuse Smash Mouth - All Star, Can't Get Enough Of You Baby, Walking On The Sun, Why Can't We Be Friends? 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Horny Halloween

Hi. So, I think I’m going to start writing smut/erotica on here. It isn’t based off of anyone, like it’s not fanfiction or anything. These are just original characters that I decided to write about. I can’t tell you have many there’ll be and what not because I have no idea myself. I think I’m just going to write when I want to write or when I have an idea. Also, sorry if there are any typos or anything, I didn’t feel like proof reading, but I will eventually.

Halloween wasn’t her favorite holiday of the year... That would be Christmas. Obviously. But, Ellie did enjoy Halloween, especially since she started college. She was a sophomore now, and after learning how much fun Halloween could be in college, she started to enjoy the holiday a lot more.

Last year, she had been a skeleton, complete with an all black outfit and half painted face. This year, she wanted to dress a little more on the slutty side, but she didn’t want to spend money.

After spending hour looking at college costumes on Pinterest, Ellie finally decided she would be a jailbird. She’d already had the black and white striped shirt and the black spandex. The only thing she needed to order were handcuffs, which were cheap off of Amazon.

She put on the striped shirt and spandex first, then decided to do her makeup. She wasn’t very good at eyeshadow, so she settled for some natural looking colors on her lid. She was better at face makeup, though, and added some concealer, bronzer, and highlighter. After curling her eyelashes and applying mascara, her makeup was done.

The cheap, silver handcuffs that she’d ordered were ones that opened and closed without locking so they were easy to take on and off if she needed to. Deciding for now to only put them around one of her wrists since she still needed to do other things, she also grabbed a black bandana and tied it around her thigh. It made the costume look a little more sexy for some reason.

“Are you guys almost ready?” Ellie shouted to her three other roommates.

“Yep!” The three responded in unison.

Ellie headed outside of her room and towards the kitchen area of their apartment. She played on her phone for a few minutes before the rest of them came out of their rooms one by one.

Upon seeing them, she hopped off her stool and grabbed the handle of vodka on the kitchen counter and poured for shots into the shot glasses previously lined up. She handed each of them their glass.

“Happy Halloween, bitches,” her roommate Rebecca screamed, and they all clinked glasses before downing their drinks.

“Let’s take some pics!” Jessica said excitedly, whipping out her phone.

After they took a bunch of pictures for their Instagrams, they were finally off to the frat house.

Frats were Ellie’s favorite places to party. At their campus, you had to pay to get into bars and pay for your drinks. At frats, you got in for free and you got free drinks. And they were filled with cute boys.

After about two more drinks, Ellie was grinding with a tall boy with dark hair. He had his hands on her waist while she swayed her hips against his. The alcohol had loosened he inhibitions just like it always did.

She could see her third roommate, Zoe also dancing with a guy, while Rebecca was already making out with someone in the corner of the room and Jessica was talking to a guy by the bar.

The guy behind moved his head downwards to place warm kisses right below her ear, and she tilted her head to the side to allow him more access. She hummed, a sound that couldn’t be heard because of the loud music, when he nibbled on her earlobe.

One of his hands splayed against her stomach to push her closer to his now hard dick, and he grinned against her ass. Ellie reached up an arm to place behind his neck to keep his mouth pressed against her neck, but he decided it wasn’t enough because he twirled her around and captured her lips with his.

She almost moaned into his mouth. This guy was a really good kisser, even when he was drunk. Well, to be honest, Ellie didn’t even know if he was drunk or not, but most of the frat boys were. She was genuinely surprised because she’d had her fair share of getting to first base with drunk frat boys that stuck their tongues down her throat, and it really wasn’t great. This guy, however, was a whole other story.

He ran his tongue over her bottom lip, asking her for entrance, and she gladly obliged. Their tongues met with equal fervor, and Ellie wouldn’t have even been able to guess how long they’d been kissing before he sucked on her bottom before pulling away for air. He didn’t stop, though. He instantly leaned down, a small feat because of their height difference, and started peppering kisses down her neck again, and this time she moaned aloud, and he definitely heard it. She could practically feel him smiling against her sensitive skin. The combination of his lips sucking at the spot where her neck and shoulder connected and the feel of one of his hands cupping her ass actually had her on cloud 9. They weren’t even fucking.

She wrapped an arm around his neck and let one of her hands run through his short, dark hair, and he hummed against her neck. The sound made her panties wet. This guy was going to break her rule of never bringing guys home.

He kissed his way back up her jaw before capturing her lips in his own again. They made out for god knows how long until Ellie heard her name being called.

“Ellie!” Jessica called with their other two roommates in tow.

Ellie pulled away from the handsome guy and turned to look at her friends who had panic looks on their faces. In fact, everyone around them had panicked faces and the music had been turned off. She had been so lost in the guy that she hadn’t even realized any of this. “What’s going on?” she asked.

“The cops are here! We have to leave!” Rebecca whisper-shouted. She was always really paranoid about cops coming to parties.

“Becca, calm down. It’s fine,” Ellie assured her. The mention of the word “cops” had sobered her up completely.

She felt a jingling at her wrist and saw the guy she had been previously getting with toying with the silver handcuffs. He kept closing and opening them around his wrist and doing the same with hers. She giggled and playfully slapped his hand away which caused him to look up at her. When he saw her expression, a smirk played at his lips and he kept doing what he was doing. She rolled her eyes and turned back to her friends.

Zoe was looking at her nails as if she didn’t have a care in the world, Rebecca was silently freaking out, and Jessica had started to talk to the guy she was with before.

“Seriously, Becca, it’s fine, don’t worry,” Ellie gave her a soft smile and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

“Alright, guys! The cops are gone, but the party’s over for tonight! Please, go home,” one of the frat brothers shouted to the room.

There were some groans of disappointment, but mostly people shrugged and started filing out the door and walking back to their dorms or apartments.

Ellie turned to the boy she was with who had purses lips and was staring down at the silver handcuffs that attached both their wrists.

“What?” she asked, looking between him and the handcuffs.

He up at her from the handcuffs and had a slightly sheepish smile splayed across his lips. “Um, well you see, I was playing with them before and they kind of seem to not want to open?” He had a deep voice. One that made Ellie want to hear him talk more.

Ellie looked at him in alarm and then did the same to the handcuffs. She reached down and tried to pull them open but they wouldn’t budge, not from her wrist or his.

“You have got to be kidding me,” she sighed, bringing her free hand up to her forehead. She groaned and then stalked over to her roommates, the guy following in tow. “This idiot locked our hands together,” she said, holding up their hands, “And they’re not even real handcuffs!”

Zoe looked at them and started laughing, and then Jessica and Rebecca joined in.

“Stop laughing guys! What should we do?” Ellie asked, exasperated.

“Well I guess you could go to the fire station or something and have them get it off,” Zoe suggested.

Ellie pondered in her head. “Yeah, that’s a good idea,” she agreed and turned to the boy. “What’s you’re name by the way?

“Jameson, but people call me JJ,” he responded in that deep voice of his.

“Well okay, JJ, what do you think about going to the fire station?” Ellie asked, her head tilted back just so he could look into his eyes. They were a light brown color.

“Well, what if the fire station seems to know that you’re a little tipsy and want to ask for your ID to see if you’re legal?” he asked, a hint of amusement in his brown eyes.

“Tipsy? I am so not tipsy,” Ellie said. She definitely wouldn’t be this confident around a guy this hot without at least a bit of alcohol in her system, but she was perfectly fine.

“He’s right, Ellie. Maybe you should wait until tomorrow morning?” Rebecca suggested, a worried look on her face.

Ellie’s mouth dropped open. “Well, what are we supposed to do until then? You can bet I won’t be staying awake until morning. Im exhausted,” she sighed.

“You could stay at my place,” JJ suggested, that mirth back in his eyes again.

Ellie narrowed her eyes in suspicion. They obviously weren’t going to get out of these cuffs tonight, and he did make a good point about the alcohol. And, she didn’t want to sleep in her bed without taking a shower, let alone have a dirty boy sleep in it. She’d just changed her sheets earlier today!

“Fine,” she muttered. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow morning.”

Zoe winked at her and Jessica had a knowing smile on her lips. They had no idea. All Ellie was planning on doing tonight was sleeping.

Ellie turned towards JJ, “Alright, let’s go.”

“Okay,” he responded and started leading her out the door and towards the north side of campus.

“So why don’t you leave in the frat house?” Ellie questioned.

“The guys don’t keep the house clean, and I’m not about living like that. I have an apartment with another three other guys,” he responded. She couldn’t stop herself from staring at him while he talked.

They made some more small talk until they reached his apartment on the third floor.

She was surprised that four guys could keep the space so clean. It wasn’t decorated much, but she didn’t mind much; she liked simple things.

JJ led her to the farthest room on the right which had an attached bathroom.

“So, how do you wanna do this?” he asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed with her standing in front of them, both connected by the handcuffs.

“Well, we don’t really have a choice. Do you mind if I sleep in your bed?” Ellie asked, not meeting his eyes.

“Nah, that’s fine,” he shrugged. “I sleep in boxers.”

It wasn’t really a warning, it was more intended to make her uncomfortable.

She rolled her eyes. “You’re not going to be able to get your shirt off.”

He raised his eyebrows in a ‘try me’ fashion and pulled the shirt over his head. It wasn’t able to fully be out of their way; they hung from the handcuffs. Ellie couldn’t help it, she took a leak down at his abdomen and breathed in when she saw the hard muscles that lined his stomach. He pulled off his pants next and her eyes started to trail lower, before she stopped herself when they reached the waist band of his briefs. When she met his eyes again, he had a smirk on his face and winked at her.

She rolled her eyes again. “Just scoot over,” she said, and he did.

Just as she was about to sit down, he said, “are you going to be comfortable with jeans on?” That stupid little smirk on his lips made he squirt her eyes at him.

“Perv, are you?” she asked, putting the teasing tone in her voice this time. But, he was right. Ellie hated jeans and sleeping in them sounded like a monstrosity. She unbuttoned her jeans and turned around, deciding to give him a show. She pulled them down, exposing her firm ass decorated with a black lace thong. She heard his sharp intake of breath even though he tried to hide it.

With their wrists still attached, she slipped under his covers and laid on her side facing away from him. He was on his side facing her.

Ellie tried to make the idea of sleeping in handcuffs sexy, but really it was just very uncomfortable.

Ellie’s handcuffed hand was under her side, whereas his handcuffed hand was on top of his side, with the handcuffs under her body. She shifts until the handcuffs were over her body.

Now that she was comfortable, her eyes fluttered shut quickly. If this guy thought he was lucky tonight, he was sadly mistaken.

—-

When Ellie woke up, she was in a comfortable embrace. Something warm was draped over her waist and she scooted herself back, closer to the warmth.

She hit a hard chest and her ass had scooted right into JJ’s pelvis. Within seconds, his dick was hard, and that was what made Ellie’s eyes shoot open.

The two were frozen and she was sure JJ was awake now because his arm had tightened around her waist, keeping her against him. Ellie’s panties were soaking from the contact, and she already knew how good of a kisser he was from last night. She could only imagine what he was like in bed.

Without warning, he moved his hips against hers, earning from him a low grunt. Ellie sighed as he did it again, the friction causing her panties to pull and release at her clit.

JJ moved faster against her, low groans escaping his lips every once in a while. Ellie arched her back against him, causing her ass to press further into his dick. JJ grunted at the increased contact.

As her own pressure began to build, it wasn’t enough for Ellie. She rolled over and placed her knees on both sides of them, increasing the pressure to her clit as she rode him through their underwear. She gasped when she could feel her clit rubbing up his hard length and put her hands on his bare chest.

JJ’s hands grabbed at her hips and pressed her further into him and moving her hips faster back and forth causing her to cry out.

The room was a mix of moans and groans and gasps of air until the knot in her stomach released as JJ bucked his hips up into her core and she threw her head back and cried out.

JJ kept grinding against her until he too reached his release and the two ceased their movements, trying to catch their breath.

“Well,” Ellie started, “that was something.”

JJ laughed and looked down at the wet spots on each of their underwear. “Yeah,” he agreed. “Definitely something. Wanna clean up?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Where?” Ellie asked.

“Shower?” his eyes darkened with lust as he asked and she could feel his length becoming hard again beneath her.

“Shower,” she confirmed.