#boots riley my best friend boots <3 | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

thetravelingtyper · 2 months

Text

On The Same Page pt2 (Simon 'Ghost' Riley x Reader Bookshop! AU)

After a recurring nightmare, you and Sam decide to open the shop early...only to have an early arriving customer.

Part 1, part 3

Oh, the boy's a slag, the best you ever had

The best you ever had is just a memory and those dreams

Weren't as daft as they seem, not as daft as they seemed

My love, when you dream them up

You awoke with a jolt at your alarm, the cursed song striking once more before you could silence your phone. As you sit up the irony is not lost on you. Your dreams of late had been haunted by the caricature of your ex, some cartoon evil laugh chasing with the constant ringing of your phone. The dreams always ended the same, except for this last night:

He was upon you in a moment, clawed hand reaching up your leg. You kick and kick but the words never escape your sewn mouth. The words of your ex-coworker swarm you like angry flies, bold and ugly.

“Disgraceful”

“Stepped over for the CEO’s daughter”

“They were shoddy anyway…”

The voices all fade into your ex’s final words to you: “I never loved you anyway.”

That crushed your heart into ash and scattered it into the indifferent winds. But before he could drag you back, a shape formed in your conscience. Heavy boot steps silence the laughter and a large figure passes in your peripheral vision. In the haze of your dream, he passes the shelves, the bookstore emerging from the darkness to surround your ex and the harpies.

Your panic slows in the familiar setting and with a kick you send your ex stumbling backward. Turning your face up from the hardwood floor you look towards the figure as the haze clears. It's a man, tall and in black, just browsing but something draws your eye. And as you feel yourself awaken his eyes, hardwood and honey, meet yours.

You hear shuffling before there is a knock on your door. You call him in and Sam’s head pops in. Green eyes hidden behind black curls meet yours and he pauses upon seeing your slouched shoulders.

“Nightmare again?” He kicks a pair of jeans aside and enters your room.

You stand, make your bed swiftly, and turn to address him in the glory of your Rainbow Fish Pajamas.

“Yeah, except there was a man this-”

“You got Soap on the brain again?” It comes out immediately and you flush before rushing forward to hit your older brother figure. He was and wasn't wrong. In the following weeks after Soap’s initial visit you found yourself developing a steady friendship with the Scot, who insisted on dropping in every other day. It started with recommendations but quickly turned into shared tea over book conversations. You learned a little about him in the meantime, finding out he worked as a bartender literally down the street from your little shop. The convenience of his closeness and his ease of personality found you a fast and steady friend.

“-despite your obvious stupidity, no I do not like him!” You huffed, and it was true! Soap was handsome but in truth, you believed that one he was in a relationship and second he was better as a prospective friend.

Sam grins, dodging your poor attempt to smack him as he spins out of your room,

“He is hot though, poor lad probably gets hit on every shift. Remember we promised to visit on Saturday night! Come on let's open up the store early. I have a good feeling about today!” And with a clap of his hands for you to hurry he closes your door, exiting down the hall towards the kitchen. In a moment you can hear him lighting the stove to make breakfast.

In the resulting silence, you dress yourself, passing a reflection of yourself in the mirror and choosing to ignore it. Your laptop sits beside your current project: A Smith Corona Corsair, one of the few possessions you had brought with you. The typewriter was the start of your writing career and you kept it well-tuned for work.

You run a soft hand over its polished ivory keys. The mint blue of the case had a few scratches but was mostly worn from love. You remember as a child hammering on the keys, which graduated into a curiosity for mechanical machines and writing. The stone kept tumbling after you finished your Master’s in English and first stepped into the editing business. In the topsy-turvy world you found yourself in a comfortable position as an editor for a company, a year in deciding to write your books and the rest was history.

You close the typewriter and quickly change into a manageable but comfy outfit then head out into the hall. Closing your door, you head down the hallway of your small flat, passing photos from back home with Sam. Taking a right you pass into the open concept of the apartment (Sam’s room was straight across the hall from yours). You pad softly on the carpet, stepping onto the rug and into the kitchen where Sam is making breakfast. He flips a pancake as bacon sizzles on the griddle. Running a hand to his shoulder you lean over to see how it was coming, sufficiently satisfied at his improving cooking skills.

“You are learning well”

“I get it from the best” he replies pulling you in for a small hug and a kiss to the side of your head. He releases you at the ding of 8 am on the clock.

“You want breakfast up here?” You hover over the cabinet of plates, proceeding to pull two out for the food with silverware following.

“Nah, let's just open shop, I'll eat in the sitting area before cleaning the book return. Can you take the counter today?”

You nod and shift aside so he can plate the food. The Ghibli style meal looks filling and you sigh, you go to take a swipe at the fresh pancakes but Sam dances aside.

“Wait till we’re downstairs.” He follows it up by gathering the silverware and heading towards the stairs. You pout and go to open the door for him and proceed to follow him down the hardwood stairs.

---

You set up post at the counter by 8:11, a plate of food set aside the stack of holds. Some paperbacks gleam with a glossy finish, while other hardbacks are nice with matte coats. Before your eye moves away you catch the shine of antiqued gold. You gently move the top books aside to grab the fabric-bound hardback: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne. It looked to be a 50s-60s American release, bound with an inner marbled coat of paper and inlaid with gold foil lettering. The deep aqua of the fabric was barely worn, you wondered if the book had ever been read at all with the great condition it was in. You looked inside the cover for a name but on a a shibu inu shaped sticky note were the initials S.R.

Huh, that's interesting. You ran a hand over the scripting, it wasn't Sam nor your handwriting. You shrug. They must be regular then. You and Sam had a ‘write and set aside’ policy in the store.

It was an unspoken rule amongst the two of you (and the regulars) that if a book turned up on the counter like this, with a name, it was put ‘on hold’. You set the beautiful book aside with a final glance, then turned your attention to breakfast.

After finishing your meal you opened the doors to the bookstore at an early 8:34 am. Turning back to the counter you head over and hook your phone up to the music. You flip through Your Love first then frown, the implications of the song a bit much, next Jessie’s Girl. At Rick Springfield’s voice, you sigh, flashes of the girl your ex dumped, and you turn the song again. Then finally the sweet guitar riff and a beat that puts you on your toes kicks up. From the back of the shelves, Sam's head full of hair pokes out.

“It's been a while since we've had a Bowie day!”

You smile back at him as Modern Love kicks up. You sway from around the corner and flip the sign to open, you turn on the neon sign and turn to go stock the sitting area when there’s an immediate ding of the bell as someone enters. You turn around as Sam calls a Welcome in from the back of the store. The first sight that hits you is a literal wall of a man, then there is the smell of worn leather and pine. You step back with a small oh in surprise.

He wears all black except for a pair of well-fitting jeans and leather boots. As your eyes trace up his tall figure you catch a snug shift with a leather jacket fitted over. Then a black surgical mask and…you freeze. Looking down at you with a slight sense of amusement are eyes the color of darkened honey.

The man from your dream! But in the flesh and oh…

“I am so sorry!” You wave your hand in front of you a little shy to be caught staring.

The man offers no more than a slight nod with amusement dancing in his eyes. He regards you a moment before mentioning in a low voice, rough but soft:

“No worries dove.”

And with that he steps around you, brushing your arm with the slightest touch of leather, and disappears into the books.

You stand for a moment more before a blush runs up your face and a tingle runs down your spine.

Fuck.

END

I love writing this. I am no longer bored in the library thank you to these lovely people (Taglist!)

@ghostlythots

#cod mw2 2022 fanfic #simon riley x reader #ghost x reader #soap and reader #simon riley fluff #fanfiction #simon 'ghost' riley x reader #simon ghost riley #simon ghost x reader #simon riley x you #on the same page

104 notes · View notes

honeybeeloxs · 1 year

Text

Well, Blow it Off.

Ethan Landry x Original Male Character Originally posted on Archive of Our Own

THIS CONTAINS SOME SPOILERS FOR SCREAIVI SO AVOID AT YOUR OWN RISK!

WEDNESDAY | 7:26 PM | NEW YORK CITY

Quinn and Riley have been friends since 11th grade; however, keeping up with her was physically impossible, and her being 'sex positive' didn't help it at all, but she was his friend. Nonetheless, he still loved her like a sister. Once she moved in with Sam, Riley rarely saw her only in film class, but that was it, so here he is walking alone on a Wednesday Night, a bit weary because of what happened to Ms. Crane; I mean, just last week both of you were talking to her about how terrible the 'STAB' movies are, I mean come on Riley couldn't get past the first one without making Quinn want to choke him.

DING DING DING...

'QUINN'

ACCEPT DECLINE

"Hey, I'm almost there," you said, looking behind you and constantly ensuring someone wasn't following him while a frown crept as your thought of Ms. Crane.

"Okay, well, can you hurry? She's driving me crazy, y'know?" Quinn snapped back, and by her tone, you could tell she was annoyed.

"With who?" you ask curiously.

"Who do you think?" Quinn snaps back quickly.

"Ah... Is it Sam?" his pace stops as you look around.

"Yea, I know she's my roommate, but she can be a little overbearing," she says calmly.

"Anyways... have you talked to Ethan today? You started questioning your boyfriend. I've been calling him; however, he isn't answering his damn cell, which is odd."

"I heard he had some study group, Anika saw him, but that was it. Well, she's in the living room with Mindy and all, but yeah." your best friend said on the other line, which is weird.

"Okay, off-topic totally, but I'm heading to the mall tomorrow after class; you should come; I mean, I don't have my license, but your daddy's a police officer, so I think he'll let me off with a warning," you say to Quinn while looking at a Bodega.

"I mean, maybe, but-" he interrupts Quinn. "Oh, Hold on, another call," However, Quinn tells you to blow it off. "Hello?"

"Hello." the unknown caller responds.

"Listen, I hate to be blunt, but I think you got the wrong number," you said with venom as your eyebrow raised.

"What's your favorite scary movie?" the caller asks.

"I don't watch them, a bunch of shit anyways. I'm more of a comedy or thriller type of person," he tells the voice on the other end. "Listen, bud; I gotta run, so bye." you hang up on him; weird, right? You need help remembering the plot of that movie. It probably was nothing, and honestly, I haven't seen any Horror movies since 'STAB'; however, that was years ago.

"Who was it?" Quinn asks curiously.

"Don't know, some weirdo asking me what Horror movie I liked," you respond to her. "Well, anyways, I'm at the front door. Can you buzz me in?" you tell Quinn.

WEDNESDAY | 7:48 PM | QUINN'S APARTMENT

"Hey, Riley. Anika chirps happily to see you.

"What are we watching?" he asks curiously, wanting to know.

Anika pauses for a minute, trying to think of the movie before Mindy, sitting at the dining table, says, 'SAW 3.' Anika turns to him and nods.

"Ugh, I hate those movies. It's not scary. It's just gross; I hate the torture porn shit." you say to Mindy, with your back facing the TV.

Quinn starts groaning from her bedroom, and you roll his eyes and look at Anika. "Guess she's with her 'boyfriend' again." but the groans start to get a little violent, and bangs from her room.

Worried, You get up. "Quinn...? you okay...?" he says while Mindy tells him to return to the couch, but you approach the door. "Quinn?"

Quinn's body shot out of her room, landing on top of you, staining your neon green cardigan; confusion. plasters your face before Sam pulls Quinn off your body. You panic and try to get up with Anika and Mindy trying to pull you up; however, Mindy gets slashed in the arm, and Ghostface kicks you in the nose with his boot causing blood to spill all over his white pants; he grasps your neck with both hands and begins to choke you.

Anika tries to shove Ghostface off of him. However, he turns and stabs her in the stomach before pushing her into the fireplace. He feels lightheaded before Sam slams a knife block against the attacker's face. Anika and Mindy run through the front door while Sam and I flee to Quinn's bedroom and push her dresser before her door, knocking on her framed photos on the floor.

"Hey!" A man from the next apartment screams at Sam. "Don't worry; I got you." he tries to hand Sam a ladder.

"Are you crazy?" Sam replies with disbelief on her face.

"You got any other ideas?" he replies, staring her down.

"No." Sam takes the Ladder and places it on the window seal. Sam crawls through the window and tries to cross.

"Sam, Hurry!" You say to her as his bleeding nose stains his clothes while Ghostface tries to kick down Quinn's bedroom door.

Climbing up onto the window seal, "shit..." he mumbles as his bloody hands grab the Ladder and try to move my legs; looking up at Sam, my face scrunched up.

"Guys, I can't," you yell, tears brimming his eyes. However, Ghostface breaks down the door, and you quickly crawl onto the Ladder.

"BEHIND YOU!" Sam screams at him as she tries to crawl out the window frantically; she waves her hands, gesturing in a come-on motion.

You look behind him, scream, and crawl across the Ladder quicker, but Ghostface grabs the Ladder and tries to shake you off.

"Riley, give me your hand!" Sam screams and grabs Riley's hand as the Ladder falls below

CLANK

The Ladder makes a noise as it hits a dumpster below, You try to hold onto Sam's hands, but his blood-covered hands make it more challenging the neighbor pulls on his cardigan, pulling him into the apartment.

THURSDAY| 10:03 PM | NEW YORK CITY

"Anika went to the hospital and said she's alright, but the stab wound was deep, so Mindy's with her." you overhear Sam saying to Tara; you can't say you're unhappy. Anika is a close friend; she tried to help you when Ghostface strangled you for a good minute. Ethan showed up; he's your boyfriend, but you suspected him and asked him where he was.

You felt terrible within seconds for suggesting that Ethan was a murderer and had also attempted to kill you after he told you what seemed to be the truth. He presented you with a solid alibi, and you regretted your assumptions in seconds.

"I thought we were close? I mean, we are dating." Ethan says as he crouches down to you.

You believed Ethan was right about those things. He hugs you, and you apologize; Ethan pulls you in for a kiss.

#scream #ethan landry #x male reader

68 notes · View notes

indecentpause · 1 year

Text

Two Heartbeats on One Page: A Collection of Playlists

This story has THREE playlists: a soundtrack and two character playlists. So here they are! I know I already shared the story link but this is just in case someone who hasn’t seen it comes across it in the wild :3

Jordan’s in love with two people (who are in love with each other), he hasn’t spoken to his parents in five years, and despite working almost sixty hours a week, he’s still ages away from having enough to pay for the three surgeries he needs to complete his gender confirmation. This would be a problem anywhere, but particularly so in small-town, homophobic Arizona.

He needs a vacation.

Darcey’s been discharged from the Army after knowing nothing else for eight years, he’s unemployed, and, at twenty-seven years old, he has no choice but to move back in with his parents. Since his discharge was dishonorable, he doesn’t even have health insurance to treat his PTSD.

He just needs some time to get back on his feet and reconnect with his family.

Instead, they find each other.

When Jordan takes Darcey home from a party, they mean it to be a one-night stand, but they turn out to be too compatible to want to give each other up. Neither wants a relationship, but a straightforward, no-strings-attached friends-with-benefits setup will keep things nice and neat, right?

Nope. Instead, everything gets messier.

read on ao3

read on wattpad

Two Heartbeats on One Page

n.e.r.d. - don’t worry about it // i monster - daydream in blue // josé gonzález - heartbeats // florence + the machine - cosmic love // massive attack feat. madonna - i want you // t.a.t.u. - show me love (fabricated remix) // katy perry - e.t. // purity ring - fineshrine // the faint - total job // garbage - you look so fine // kill hannah - lips like morphine // placebo feat. david bowie - without you i’m nothing // we are scientists - nobody move, nobody get hurt // michael franti & spearhead - i know i’m not alone // landon pigg - falling in love at a coffee shop // xtension chords - insomniac (live in studio) // broken social scene - anthems for a seventeen year-old girl // chameleon circuit - everything is ending // rosario dawson and adam pascal - without you // plain white t’s - hey there delilah // julia nunes - balloons // bon jovi - (you want to) make a memory // riley roth - stranger // the moldy peaches - anyone else but you

[listen]

Jordan

dog park dissidents - rev your motor // size of sadness - trans punx no bullshit) // sleater-kinney - combat rock // le tigre - nanny nanny boo boo // kmfdm - ready to blow // operation ivy - room without a window // anti-flag - this is the end (for you my friend) // skin jobs - gender bender // the tuts - give us something worth voting for // dog park dissidents - queer as in fuck you // new politics - yeah yeah yeah // kimya dawson - loose lips // tegan and sara - proud // mika - elle me dit // buzzcocks - ever fallen in love (with someone you shouldn’t have fallen in love with) // mgmt - time to pretend // the wombats - let’s dance to joy division // bug hunter - the key to being lonely // simon and milo - pretty girls // interpol - c’mere // mr. master - 500 miles // top bunk - dang // casiotone for the painfully alone - love connection // garbage - androgyny // ani difranco - what if no one’s watching // little boots - earthquake // the wreckers - leave the pieces

[listen]

Darcey

rise against - hero of war // placebo - haemoglobin // metric - monster hospital ( mstrkrft remix) // david bowie - five years // queens of the stone age - no one knows // anti-flag - 1 trillion dollar$ //regina spektor - you’ve got time // bob dylan, the anvener - masters of war (the avener rework) // stroke 9 - angels // gavin degraw - best i ever had // captain squeegee and the soap suds - securely caged // julia nunes - comatose // kmfdm - anarchy // flobots - handlebars // rage against the machine - calm like a bomb // rise against - whereabouts unknown // placebo - the never-ending why // cake - shadow stabbing // skybox - don’t get spin spin // julia nunes - first impressions // the cure - the same deep water as you // trocadero feat. meredith hagan - contact redux

[listen]

General taglist: @ohsugarfoot @abalonetea @only-book-lovers-left-alive @poore-choice-of-words @leadhelmetcosmonaut @jasperygrace @drippingmoon @viskafrer @thelaughingstag @athenswrites @kaiusvnoir @magic-is-something-we-create @fictionalbullshitter @idreamonpaper

if you want to be added or removed from the playlist tag, please don’t hesitate to let me know! unless you specify otherwise I will keep you on the general taglist for actual stories and chapters :)

#writeblr #playlist #music #soundtrack #spotify #ao3 #wattpad #moodboard #two heartbeats on one page #darcey walker #jordan delgado

3 notes · View notes

lilacponds · 1 year

Text

OC Tag Meme

thank you @calla-lilly for tagging me in this too!!! im a wimp so im not tagging anyone else on this LMAO but if you see this and want to do this please consider yourself tagged <3

using Riley, my Sevenmancer Infamous MC for this cause i've been having incredible infamous brainrot too!!!!!

— rules: always, never, sometimes

— LIGHT SOURCES

SUN RAYS.

effervescent smiles, dandelion puffs, bare feet, beach waves, flowers pressed into books, champagne glasses, rose-gold eye shadow, boho skirts, wire-rimmed glasses, hair in loose waves, kaleidoscope eyes, sunshine in your hair, fire in your soul.

INCANDESCENT BULBS.

crop tops, floral print, dancing in the rain, quiet defiance, hand-knit beanies, rosé, painted bookmarks, marble floors, cirrus clouds against a blue sky, polaroid pictures, hands held, fingers intertwined, flower crowns, baby bluebirds.

STARDUST.

lace bralettes, brisk breezes, jasmine-scented perfume, books with yellowed pages, tracking constellations, sterling silver, violin music, chess games, iced coffee, glittery dresses, high heels, secret grins, midnight meetings, wishing upon a star.

CANDLE FLAMES.

denim jackets, gladiator sandals, braided hair, messenger bags, movies at the cinema, stolen kisses, wax-sealed envelopes, haiku poetry, cherry wood, succulents, fountain pens, jigsaw puzzles, soft tired eyes, hidden smiles, cuddling with someone you trust.

MOONBEAMS.

newspapers, over-sized sweaters, dancing shadows, fleece throws, cutoff shorts, piano chords, red wine, messy buns, embossed journals, a hint of blush dusted across your cheeks, freshly fallen snow, tranquil solitude, burning incense, light hair and dark skin.

AURORAS.

combat boots, burgundy lips, infectious laughter, spiral-bound notebooks, pencils used down to the stub, ripped jeans, painted nails, cloud-watching, summer thunderstorms, hiking trails, vinyl records, film cameras, skating on a frozen lake, hot chocolate by the fire.

FIREWORKS.

dancing until the break of dawn, Heelys, being wheeled around in a shopping cart by your best friend, the euphoria of soaring through the air, being excited for what the future holds, group hugs, colorful tattoos, bronzer-highlighted cheeks, hugging a stuffed animal, lifting a child onto your shoulders, space buns, bright streaks in your hair.

#tag game #OC game #this was fun!!!!!!!!!#i put skating on a frozen like as a never but if seven dragged them into it they wouldnt put up a fight #theyd make a half-hearted attempt at resisting but they'd be laughing in SECONDS . they fold so quick for seven #this is post pre and post breakup .#anyways im rambling

3 notes · View notes

tryst-art-archive · 1 year

Text

September 2010: "NotDoingMyPaper_FreeAssociation.doc"

Laissez-faire capitalism.

Tiny sprockets.

Tiny bubbles

Small hippos

Bioshock

Big daddy

Little sister

Small unicorn

Robot unicorn

Trippy space music

Asteroids

Stars

Comets

Space station

Armageddon

M[...]

Boys

Sex

Ex-boyfriend

Best friend

Bromance

B[...]

A[...]

Boobs

Tank tops

Patel colors

Gap

Stores

Shoe stores

Payless

High heels

Boots

Goth clothes

Hot topic

L[...] K[...]

Small pox

Chicken pox

Small children

Kindergarten

Vaccines

Adult chickenpox

Death

Grim reaper

Scythes

Cloaks

King richard’s fair

Fantasy nerds

W[...]

Cthulhu

h.p. lovecraft

lovecraftian horrors

writing class

pregnancy

babies

ultrasounds

Wallstreet: money matters

Real wallstreet

Economixs

Lots of decimals

Ticker tape

Algebra

Math class

Precalc

Mrs. B[...]

A[...]

Boobs

Drama

Theatre

Singing

Broadway

Wicked

N[...]

Laramie project

Gays

M[...]

Metals

M[...]

Photography

E[...]

Dining hall

Yuck

Diarrhea

Public restrooms

Dorms

Roommate

F[...]

Tall people

Skinny people

Super models

America’s next top model

Tyra

Angst

Teen angst

Ten pregnancy

Juno

Michael cera

Scott pilgrim

Comic books

Batman

“Im Batman”

Shortpacked

Webcomics

Questionable content

Girls with slingshots

Gunnerkrigg court

Alchemy

Harry potter

That one poster above m[...]’s bed

M[...]’s room

Green

M[...]’s room

My room

That one rug m[...] has

Shaggy things

Shaggy beasts

Shaggy beats with horns

Banfas

Star wars

Jedi

Yoda

Kermit the frog

Ms. Piggy

N[...]

Blondes

Aryans

Hitler

Holocaust

Jews

Christians

Roman Catholicism

Father R[...]

Stained glass windows

Pupcat Riley

Persona 3

Playstation 2

Shadow of the colossus

Yahtzee crowshaw

Zero punctuation

The escapist magazine

Internet journals

Citation machine

MLA format

Papers

This paper

R[...] M[...]’s class

African-American theatre and culture.

Examples thereof

The slave trade

18th century America

Laissez-faire democracy/capitalism.

#old writing #writing archive #poetry #stream of consciousness #10s #2010 #Age 19

1 note · View note

morethanmyhometown2206 · 1 year

Text

One of these will be number 1 for all of 2022

1. Cold as you luke combs

2. Same boat Zac brown band

3. Knowing you Kenny chesney

4. Thinkin bout you Dustin lynch and Maxine porter

5. Whiskey and rain Michael ray

6. Buy dirt Jordan Davis and Luke Bryan

7. You should probably leave Chris Stapleton

8. Freedom was a highway Jimmie Allen and brad paisley

9. Sand in my boots Morgan Wallen

10. One Mississippi Kane brown

11. Half of my hometown kelsea ballerini and Kenny chesney

12. To be loved by you Parker mccollum

13. Till you can’t Cody Johnson

14. 23 Sam hunt

15.drunk and I don’t wanna go home Elle king and Miranda lambert

16. Beers on me dierks Bentley and friends

17. Never say never cole swindell and Lainey wilson

18. Never wanted to be that girl Carly Pearce and Ashley McBride

19. Doin this luke combs

20. Trouble with a heartbreak Jason aldean

21. Slow down summer Thomas Rhett

22. Take my name parmelee

23. Wasted on you Morgan Wallen

24. 7500 obo Tim McGraw

25. Damn strait Scotty mcceery

26. Best thing since backroads jake Owen

27. New truck Dylan Scott

28. I love country music Kane brown

29. At the end of a bar Chris young and Mitchell tenpenny

30. Last night lonely Jon pardi

31. The woman you love Justin Moore

32. Truth bout you Mitchell tenpenny

33. The kind of love we made luke combs

34. She had me from heads Carolina cole swindell

35. You proof Morgan wallen

36. Wishful drinkin Ingrid andress and Sam hunt

37. 5 foot 9 Tyler Hubbard

38. Half of me Thomas Rhett and Riley green

39. Don’t come lookin Jackson dean

40. Fall in love bayley Zimmerman

0 notes

thewhizzyhead · 3 years

Text

mood atm: currently rereading a lot of watt fanfics and also basically replaying the entire watt boot in my head for hints cauSE GODDAMNIT I KNOW THERE ARE SOME CHEERWIVES-CHECKATE PARALLELS HERE BUT I JUST CAN'T PUT MY FINGER ON IT like obvious character traits aside (riley & chess being the friendlier ones in their respective duos and having um overachiever-ish traits in a way that they both seem to fear disappointing people whie cairo & kate are um not only attached and not-so-secretly in love with their best friends but also seem to be almost the polar opposites of both riley and chess in a way that both are very brash, stand-offish, and kinda bitchy), i really feel like there is something kinda eerily similar in their motivations and friendship dynamics. Like um i kinda feel like in a way, chess and kate are basically what riley and cairo want to be since um in my opinion:

(also credits to @ari-is-anxious for like a big chunk of my ramble cause a lot of the things im gonna say here are basically rephrased versions of their tag rambles so yea credits to them and go check them out!!) (Also check read more for a more lengthy and detailed ramble about um the cheerwives-checkate thingy)

(1) riley's whole thing is that she wants the team to be worthy of not being called the "worst team ever" and prove herself as a worthy captain - chess had already achieved something similar through being a really freaking good gymnast worthy of going to the Olympics (I remembering reading a post or a fic back then that suggested that Riley could have resented Chess for um having all these opportunites and basically throwing it all away which could be another minor reason on as to why she killed her and I think that interpretation has some merit),

2) Cairo wants to have a closer friendship with Riley akin to the one they had way back then (woo Eighth grade woo) her umm i guess "obsession" (i don't think that's the right word fnsnd maybe investment?? interest???) towards Chess and Kate's friendship (which imo is rather apparent when she teases kate and when she and kate fight right after Phoenix) could be interpreted as jealousy especially towards Kate since she has what Cairo wants - a closer relationship with her best friend & a best friend that actually doesn't push her away

and 3) (although this is kinda wishful thinking on my part) i think both Riley and Cairo want the relationship that Chess and Kate have: a really close friendship that isn't competitive or concerningly codependent at all AND a friendship with healthy communication and a much healthier um support system (to be fair Checkate also had these problems i.e the scene before BTB but only the audience knows that, in Riley and Cairo's POV, everything is going fine between the two of them and (in Cairo's POV) both are basically girlfriends; also let's face it Checkate is a much healthier friendship that Cheerwives). It is rather obvious that both Chess and Kate value each other very much and as shown in Wallflower, that is exactly what Riley and Cairo want from each other: to be valued and to have their efforts be respected.

then i knOW that Riley, Cairo and Kate being the main MAIN characters of WATT (credits to @ari-is-anxious for the Soldier, Poet, King comparison, also really check out their tags on their posts cause their tag analysis are GREAT!!!) has i dunno sOMETHING to do with the whole checkate-cheerwives parallel thing BUT I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT IT IS EXACTLY JDJSJV BUT LIKE UM in a sense of how Kate and Cairo react to the events in WATT, they are kinda um two sides of the same freaking coin cause um Kate - with her always at Chess' defense in Act 1 and wanting to avenge her death - kickstarts the plot of Act 2 by being the first to suggest that they should go to the police and by being the first to suspect that the killer is one of them (the latter is her very much on Defense mode - pun intended) then Cairo, who convinced everyone to frame Mattie in Defense which then also pushes the plot even further - starts IDK and goes on to suspect and question eVERYONE BUT RILEY aka her also going on the defensive because at this point i think it's very much agreed upon that by Wallflower Reprise, she already knew who the killer is).

So yea it is evident that the two girls want to preserve what is left of their respective relationships (kate kinda mentions this in the argument after Phoenix) by defending their best friends at any cost - thereby moving the plot. aND THEN THERE'S ALSO THE WHOLE THING ABOUT CHESS AND RILEY BOTH BEING FRAMED AS THE HEROES IN THIS SCENARIO (i have seen a lit of people say that they thought Chess was gonna be the hero here) AND THERE ARE A LOT MORE STUFF THAT I WANNA RAMBLE ABOUT BUT GOD I'M BAD AT BEING SPECIFIC JUST UM KNOW THERE IS SOMETHING THERE SO BRJFJSJDJ

#THIS TOOK ME AN HOUR TO TYPE #THSJDJJS MY FINGERS ARE TIRED FROM TYPING #so yea woo checkate-cheerwives ramble go brrrr #BUT REALLY I KNOW THEIR PARALLELS HAVE SOMETHING MORE TO DO WITH THE WHOLE OVERARCHING NARRATIVE IN WATT #I KNOW THERE IS BUT I JUST CANT PUT MY DAMN FINGER ON IT #so um welp help hrhxhs #anyways enjoy!!#we are the tigers #watt musical #riley watt #riley williams #cairo watt #chess watt #kate watt #kate dalton #checkate #cheerwives

52 notes · View notes

gohyuck · 3 years

Text

this is the teaser for part 2 of greaser jeno. read part 1 here

warnings for the teaser: smoking, mentions of crimes, he blows smoke into the reader’s face because that was ‘sexy’ in the 1950s, talks about putting his cigarette out on the reader’s skin, they fuck in front of a mirror in the scene after this one <3

note: ‘L&M’ is a cigarette brand, when it talks about Jeno’s L&M it’s talking about his cigarette he’s currently smoking

teaser word count: 2.6k

estimated word count for part 2: 10-12k

estimated release date for part 2: january 5th

once again, read part 1 here!

“So you just… stole your neighbor’s cat?” You raise an eyebrow, keeping eye contact as best you can while taking a bite out of the slightly stale granola bar in your hand. Even with crumbs at the corner of your mouth, your impressed expression shines through.

“The fuckface was beatin’ the poor thing,” Jeno shrugs, though you think you see a hint of a smile. “What else was I gonna do? Leave her there? Anyways, she was an aged thing. Ol’ girl died a couple years later, but they were some good years. Wrench was well loved.”

“You named your cat Wrench?!” The exclamation is more excited than you mean for it to be. Jeno really does smile this time, finally taking a bite out of his own granola-bar-dinner before nodding. He reaches a hand up to run it through his hair, and you can’t help but let your gaze linger on his razor sharp jawline, or the beautiful slope of his nose. By the time he looks back at you, you’ve turned your head away.

“What about you?” He eventually asks, and you’re relieved at the fact that he’s even trying to maintain the conversation. Jeno’s always seemed untouchable, so his softer, maybe even kinder side is more than a little new to you. You feel like you’ve dug deep, and whether it’s on purpose or by accident, you’ve found something.

He’s looking intently at you. You haven’t answered yet.

“What about me?”

“Any pets? Cats, dogs, fish… humans.” He smirks slightly, and you’re struck by the change in the Jeno who’d driven you here to the Jeno in front of you. Brooding versus almost… bright. Maybe even brash, it seems. The famed Jeno Lee with his Chuck Taylors and pocket knife. You wonder if he’s even still dwelling on the circumstances that have led the two of you to this moment. Sharing granola bars on the living room floor of the cabin had allowed it to slip from your own mind at first.

You still haven’t answered, looking like you’re mulling his question over. It feels like you’ve waited just a little too long to answer, somehow. Jeno’s smile slips a little, gaze darts over to the nearest window for a second. His left hand taps out a rhythmic beat on his left thigh, and you remember that he’s got every right to be nervous.

“Well, I -” You start, only to be immediately interrupted.

“Do you mind if I - oh, shit, sorry,” Jeno starts off strong, falling into a murmur quickly once he realizes that he’s cut you off. You give him what you hope is an encouraging smile - a signal to go on - and he returns an almost imperceptible nod. “Do you mind if I smoke while we talk? I don’t know if -”

“I don’t.” You cut him off, though by the way he looks at you right after, he’s grateful for you doing so. He nods, casting his eyes away from yours, busying himself with pulling out his cigarettes - L&M, judging by the packaging - and lighter. When had he finished his granola bar? You hadn’t noticed, but the wrapped is empty, crumpled at his feet.

“We used to have a dog,” You start, thinking back to when you’d been young, barely in middle school. “Kevin. Big golden retriever, loved chicken and chasing bigger dogs during walks. He died a couple years ago, but I really do miss him constantly.”

��He sounds like he was wonderful,” Jeno mumbles, unlit L&M between his slightly pursed lips. You watch a little too intently as he flicks his lighter open, allows the flames to dance against the end of his cigarette. He puts the lighter away once he’s done, shoving it far into his front pocket. You suppose he doesn’t mind the heat against his skin. Jeno inhales roughly, and when he pulls the cigarette from his mouth to exhale smoke by positioning it in between his index and middle fingers, you finally notice how much he’s shaking. You don’t comment on it. He continues. “I have to ask, though… Kevin?”

“Kevin,” You nod sagely, looking back up at his face even though your eyes seem to want to stay trained on the cigarette. “Johnny named him, I was a little too young to do it. As for human ‘pets’... Lucas, was one. Yangyang too. I had a brief thing for Jungwoo, too, but we ended up being far too... similar on some things it seemed necessary for us to be polar opposites on.”

Neither you nor Jungwoo had wanted to take charge in bed, but Jeno doesn’t need to know that. Judging from the small eyebrow raise he affords you, though, he already has an idea. He says nothing, as if he’s waiting for you to go on, but you don’t really have much else to tell him. You don’t even know how much he wants to know.

“You?” You settle for asking, though you don’t quite know why. Jeno’s sexual history had been practically broadcasted at school - you don’t look like that without repercussions. You know more about him than you need to, but maybe not as much as you want to.

“Everyone knows who I’ve fucked.” Jeno chuckles, taking another drag from his cigarette. You lick your lips unconsciously when your gaze falls to his lips as he blows smoke out, away from you. It seems like the cigarette is making him less nervous, less shaky. Less tuned in to the fact that he’s currently on the run. “Yangyang, too. Lacey, Adrija, Katie, Yeonjun, Evan, Riley, Emma, Jess. That’s the list, I think. I wouldn’t call them pets - well, not all of them, at least - but… yeah. That’s the list.”

“Yangyang, Lacey…” You mull them over out loud, going silent as you process the list. “Emma.. J- wait, Jess?”

Jeno winces. Takes another drag. Nods.

“When did you - Jess, like, Jess and Johnny, Jess?” You sputter out the words, eyes widening slightly. Jeno lets out a sigh, breathes in and out again, and, finally, nods once more. From the way he’s acting, you don’t even have to ask about the timeline of him and Jess.

Jess, who’s like an older sister to you, cheating on Johnny, your big brother - your big brother who’s a criminal, apparently - with Jeno, who Johnny’s framing for robbery and maybe a dozen other things right now. It’s like a poorly written Shakespearean comedy.

Maybe it’s a tragedy. You don’t know yet.

“She loves him very much, she- she truly does. I’ve never seen Jess so damn happy with anyone before, and we’ve been friends since we were in diapers ‘n all that. I swear.” Jeno puts his hand out for a second as if he’s trying to prove something, but he draws back when he finds that there’s nothing to prove. You furrow your brow and squint at him, scrutinizing him for a moment, before sighing and turning away.

“Finding out that my brother’s being cheated on by the only girlfriend of his I’ve ever liked is probably the least insane thing that’s happened to me today,” You ultimately say, and you swear you hear Jeno let out a soft exhale of relief at this. Even if you aren’t his ideal company, you’re company nonetheless. “I’ll live with it.”

He can’t say anything else to this, so he nods, looking a little more peaked than he had before. You suppose his inadvertent confession of what him and Jess have been up to bothers him more than he’s letting on. It bothers you more than it lets you on.

It really is the least of your worries, though. You can’t help but analyze everything inside your mind: is Jeno telling the truth? Although you don’t know each other too well, you’re inclined to believe him. What will you do if he’s lied about everything and you really have essentially been kidnapped? No, that seems unlikely. On top of that, if Jeno’s truthful - and he seems to be - then Johnny’s far worse that you’d thought. Sure, you have your issues with your brother, but he’s still your brother. The idea that he’s so terrible is horrifying to you. You share a house with that man.

If he’s capable of robbing the diner you work - worked? - at, putting Jaemin in the hospital, and framing in Jeno, all within a night, what else is he capable of? Has he always been like this? You’d always thought the Doyoung and Taeyong mess he’d gotten himself into years back had been what had changed him for the worse. What if your perceptions are incorrect? What if he’s always been terrible? What if… What if he’d framed those two boys back then? What if they were innocent?

Johnny wouldn’t do that, right?

Right?

As you mull everything you’ve ever known over in your mind, only just beginning to process the situation you’re in, the conversation dies out, put out like a cigarette. Neither of you had bothered to close the curtains on any of the windows, so moonlight streams in, darkening shadows and shedding light on the two of you. It traces around his exposed biceps, his proud chin, the veins underneath his skin. Jeno always looks just a little out of this realm, but the silvery light against his skin paired with the smoke that’s curling in the air beside him both serve to make him seem even more untouchable. The Jeno you’ve always seen, but never touched.

It’s only when he drops what’s left of the cigarette to the ground and lifts his leg up to crush the butt under the heel of his boot that you realize you haven’t been staring into space, but rather at Jeno’s L&M. If he’s noticed, he says nothing, only pulling his lighter and the packet out to light up yet another cigarette. The fact that he doesn’t ask this time is not ignored by you.

Once he’s done lighting it and has taken a good drag from it, Jeno finally puts his lighter away again and looks up at you. His smile this time is apologetic, but you aren’t sure why.

“You’ve been lookin’ at it all night,” He says, voice softer than you could’ve imagined coming from him. He gestures lightly with the cigarette before putting it back against his - admittedly plush looking - lips. “Wanna try?”

“I…” You blink a couple times, not sure why you’re so blindsided by the question. Maybe it’s the drop in his voice, the raspiness that comes with his lowered volume. Jeno’s one of the more respectful men - then boys - from your high school, but he still lives up to the reputation he’s got. A guy like Jeno Lee doesn’t ask you to try a cigarette with him for no reason.

To be fair, who else is he gonna ask right now?

When you don’t answer outright, Jeno smiles slightly. He isn’t shaking anymore, you notice, but you think you might be. Funny how the night changes. The man in front of you takes another drag, leans in ever-so-slightly, and blows his smoke gently towards you. It’s practiced, precise: he doesn’t go directly for your nose, or your mouth. The smoke and the air tickle the side of your face, and the sensation almost makes you forget how close Jeno suddenly is to you.

He knows he has the upper hand, likely because he’s just created said upper hand. You can’t say you don’t like it. You don’t lean away.

“Classy, Jeno Lee,” You muster up the ability to speak. His lips are still by your cheek. His breath is warm against your skin, but it doesn’t disgust you in the way you feel like it should. “You could be going to prison soon and you’re still trying to get your dick wet.”

It’s a harsh thing to say, but you know that you could say anything in the moment and he wouldn’t take it to heart. The push and pull you’ve been wanting since high school is there. Jeno leans back, takes another drag and blows up rather than at you again, seemingly marvelling at the way the tendrils of smoke dance and then disappear, dispersing around the two of you. The newfound tension should feel sudden, but you think that it might’ve been coming since he’d discovered you in the Bel Air’s backseat.

Now that you’ve hidden him away at the cabin, anything could happen. Tomorrow, Jeno could drop you off at some gas station or bus stop and drive away forever, running away from a past that is chasing him at double the speed. Tomorrow, you could turn him in for the car theft. You’re sure that’s what he’s thinking, anyways. Jeno shifts so his empty hand is in front of him, so he can put his weight on it to get right back up close and personal to you.

“I always did like when you wore these skirts to school,” He ignores your statement entirely, dark eyes flitting down to your bare legs. “Never said anything ‘bout it because I’m nothin’ if not respectful. That, and your brother would’ve killed me if I’d tried to get at you.”

“My brother’s not around right now.” You say, and the lilt of your voice makes it seem like you’re posing a challenge. Maybe you are. To be entirely fair, you aren’t thinking too straight, but you blame that on the fact that you’re aiding and abetting a fugitive who happens to, at least at the moment, seem almost like sex on legs. Jeno’d looked so scared and afraid earlier at the gas station. When had that changed?

The Jeno across from you is cocksure, hands steady even when they hadn’t been minutes ago. Perhaps the gravity of his situation has finally hit. He’s either not thinking at all, or he’s thinking the clearest he has all night.

“No,” Jeno agrees, finally, finally placing a hand on your bare thigh, right above your knee and right at where your skirt has ridden up. “No, he isn’t. It’s just us tonight, princess, isn’t it?”

“You’ve done a whole 360,” You respond, not shying away from his touch. His hand is so warm against your skin. You want Jeno to engulf you. “Why’s that?”

“Could be going to prison soon,” He shrugs, and his eyes darken with something unreadable. Something almost… sad. Jeno ignores himself, explaining further, voice teasing. “Might as well get my dick wet.”

It hits you then, his real reasoning. Before thinking, you place your hand on top of his, gentle, as kind as you can muster.

“You want to use me to forget?” You ask, your touch imploring that his eyes seek yours out. They do, and when you look into them, you know that you’re right. He’s left his entire life behind because of your brother. Of course he needs some use from you. Jeno stares at you staring at him for one, two beats before looking away. He doesn’t respond, but you don’t need him to.

“How do you feel about me putting my cigarette out on you? Ash against your pretty skin?” He asks, voice sultry but guarded. You wonder if this is how he seduced everyone on his list. You only have tonight. Neither of you know what tomorrow could bring. You move your hand off of his, only to slowly pull your skirt higher along your thigh. Jeno’s eyes follow the new path of exposed skin, hungry for something you could never comprehend.

“Pick anywhere,” Your words are barely above a whisper now. “After all, you’re in charge.”

let me know if you want to be added to the taglist!

#first #five #tags #dont always #work #jeno smut #jeno angst #jeno fluff #nct dream smut #nct dream angst #nct dream fluff #jeno

106 notes · View notes

docgold13 · 4 years

Photo

Shelter in place science fiction movie marathon

For those out there doing the right thing and staying home, boredom is sure to be a major difficulty. Movies can help. Good movies even more helpful... and for me at least good science fiction movies are ideal.

With that in mind, here is my list of the best science fiction movies of the 21st century...

#20 - Beyond The Black Rainbow

Panos Cosmatos’ trippy foray about a young woman’s effort to escape a mysterious, high-tech cult.

#19 - Interstellar

Christopher Nolan’s opus about space exploration as part of an effort to save humanity from famine.

#18 - District Nine

Neill Blomkamp’s masterful and scathing allegory of South African apartheid.

#17 - The Host

Bong Joon-ho’s unsuttle inditement of the impact capitalism is having on our environment and its possible ramifications.

#16 - Sorry to Bother You

Directed by Boots Riley, Sorry To Bother You is a fantastic exploration of how racism can rob one of their humanity... that and amazing earrings.

#15 - Annihilation

Alex Garland’s adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s mind-bending novel of the same name. Visually stunning, haunting and cool as hell.

#14 - Attack The Block

Joe Cornish’s masterpiece tells the story of a group of savvy kids from a London housing project fighting off an alien invasion. Allow it.

#13 - The Martian

Based on the novel by Andy Weir, Ridley Scott offers up a utterly compelling tale of an astronaut stranded on Mars that is fun, smart and a great deal more science than fiction.

#12 - Blade Runner 2046

Director Denis Villeneuve’s sequel to the 1980′s classic. I’ll catch heat for this, but I actually prefer this to the Ridley Scott original. Ambiance so thick you can cut it with a knife.

#11 - Sunshine

Danny Boyle directed this criminally under-appreciated space opera about a team of doomed astronauts on a mission to re-ignite earth’s dying son.

#10 - Upstream Color

Shane Carruth’s bizarre exploration of trauma, recovery and the interconnectivity of all things is a wild, mind-bending romp and not to be missed.

#9 - Inception

Christopher Nolan’s masterfully uses the tools of cinema to highlight the thin line between dreams and reality, all based around a thrilling heist.

#8 - Under The Skin

Jonathan Glazer’s slow and haunting tale delves into what it means to be human from the eyes of an alien stalker. Haunting.

#7 - Moon

Directed by ‎Duncan Jones, Moon looks into the role of the individual in the grander scale of science and progress; its conclusions are unsettling and utterly captivating.

#6 - Snowpiercer

Director Bong Joon-Ho skewers capitalism and social stratification by reimagining society as an enormous train endlessly traversing a frozen tundra.

#5 - Ex Machina

Alex Garland directs this ultimate in Turing tests that’ll have you wondering about your own humanity.

#4 Mad Max: Fury Road

Do not, my friends, become addicted to water. It will take hold of you, and you will resent its absence! Directed by George Miller.

#3 - The Arrival

Denis Villeneuve directs this amazing tale of a linguistics professor asked to devise a means of communicating with highly advanced alien visitors.

#2 - The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Michel Gondry masterpiece exploration into the nature of memory, relationships and how reality can reliant on our interconnectivity with others.

#1 - Children of Men

Alfonso Cuarón’s film is less a movie than a living dream/slash nightmare. Thoroughly engrossing; you feel like you’re right there trying to traverse this post-apocalyptic landscape of a world without children. One of the best movies ever made.

#movies #science fiction #lists #sci-fi movies

922 notes · View notes

refinedbuffoonery · 3 years

Text

Flawless (3)

masterlist.

Content Warning: swearing, violence, sex, PTSD

IF YOU ARE UNDER THE AGE OF 18 PLEASE SKIP THE SEX SCENE. It’s the last part of the chapter, and all you need to know is that is happens.

*****

There were never enough showers.

Never enough showers to wash off the grit and the smell and the fear. Not from the dumpster—that came off pretty easily—but from before.

Riley had initially turned the handle all the way hot, but she didn’t turn it down when she stepped into the shower. Water scalded her back, her chest, her thighs, but she didn’t care. She welcomed the pain with open arms. Anything to keep the numbness from returning.

She left the glass door partly open. During her first shower since coming home, Riley had closed it normally and immediately panicked. The once spacious shower was suddenly too tight, closing in on her with each breath, like if she didn’t open the door right then she would’ve been trapped in it forever. Now Riley left the door open. The shower felt less like a cage when she did that.

Riley went through the motions almost mechanically. Wash face. Shampoo hair. Wash body. Condition hair. Shave legs. In that order. Always in that order.

She turned the water to freezing cold for a minute before stepping out. The shock to her system hurt worse than the hot water did. It felt like force-rebooting her body the same way she would a malfunctioning computer.

She pictured the start-up graphics on a screen as her brain woke back up. Blackness. The mouse appeared, barely more than a white smudge against the dark. Then the loading screen.

She got dressed, and it felt like typing in her password. The first outfit felt wrong, like she’d typed in the password incorrectly. Riley tried again. She got it the second time, mental fingers landing on the right keys, in the right order—clothes that felt like her, embracing her body.

Skinny jeans.

Rolling Stones t-shirt.

Silver hoop earrings.

When the mirror unfogged, Riley re-did her makeup—smokey eyeshadow and eyeliner sharp enough to stab the demons colonizing her mind. All part of her armor against the world.

She’d need it with the whole team in her apartment tonight.

Unsurprisingly, Desi and Cage let themselves in without bothering to knock. Riley’s only warning was an unmistakable squeal that could’ve only come from Cage before someone pounced on her from behind, nearly sending them both tumbling to the ground. Pale arms wrapped around her, and Riley awkwardly reached back to hug her friend.

From somewhere behind them, Desi scoffed, “You could’ve at least waited for her to turn around, you know.”

Cage shot back, “Don’t be all macho. You already got to see her.” Riley didn’t think picking her, Nikki, and Jill up from their dumpster adventure counted, but she didn’t correct the blonde.

Cage let go only long enough for Desi to give Riley a real hug. Lowering her voice so Cage couldn’t hear, the more reserved woman whispered in Riley’s ear, “If you need anything, even just to talk, you come to me, okay?”

Riley whispered back, “Okay.” Desi gave her a long, knowing look before pulling away.

They brought Italian takeout from the fancy place downtown and an ungodly amount of wine. Riley eyed the expensive labels. She’d long been banned from alcohol duty; Nikki didn’t mind beer and tequila, but Cage and Desi just sneered and said she and Nikki drank like college students. Which, to be fair, they did.

Cage poured a glass for each of them, and the trio migrated to Riley’s black leather couch. “So,” Cage began, “how does it feel to be out?”

The interrogation was beginning early, it seemed. Carefully sipping her wine, Riley answered, “Good.” Cage narrowed her eyes at the one-word response, and Riley fought not to squirm under her all-knowing gaze. The former interrogator was literally a fucking mind reader.

Cage pressed on. “What was it like in there?”

“You don’t have to answer that,” Desi quickly assured, shooting her girlfriend a warning glare. There was something in Cage’s returning look that made Riley think this wasn’t the first time they’ve talked about this.

Of course the team had talked about her while she was in prison. They had to process the events leading up to Riley’s arrest too. Riley didn’t blame them for that. But for some reason it still stung that they talked about her behind her back.

She was saved from answering Cage’s question by Nikki’s loud arrival. The blonde gasped audibly from the doorway, eyes locking on the wine glasses in their hands. “You started without me? Rude.”

Riley rolled her eyes. “Speaking of rude, did you all forget what knocking is?”

“If you wanted us to knock then you shouldn’t have given each of us a key,” Desi sneered. Riley frowned but didn’t disagree.

Jill cautiously trailed Nikki into the apartment. Riley arched a brow in surprise; she hadn’t been sure the woman would actually show. She put up an icy exterior before speaking. “So,” Riley drawled. “You came.”

Jill smiled awkwardly. “Hi.”

“It’s Jill, right?” Cage got up to introduce herself. “I’m Samantha.” Riley watched the exchange carefully, studying Jill’s body language. She seemed to fold in on herself under Cage’s intense gaze, but Riley didn’t blame her. Even after six years of friendship, Cage was just as scary as the day Riley met her.

With food in front of them, the conversation flowed easier. Riley was content to let Cage and Desi pester Jill with endless questions while she ate her pasta in peace. Hopefully they’d forget all about interrogating her.

“So how did you all meet?” Jill asked after Cage finally ran out of questions.

Riley smirked, but it was Nikki who spoke first. “Well, I met Riley the day I was fired from my first job. We ran around with the lowlifes of LA for a while until we met Cage, who was a professional gold-digger at the time.” Nikki took a sip of her wine. “And it was all fun and games until one day I found myself making breakfast for this cranky ex-military chick Cage brought home—” a pointed look at Desi— “who did the walk of shame out of our apartment every day until she moved in.” Desi stuck her tongue out at Nikki, who returned the gesture with glee.

Meanwhile, Jill’s eyes widened with each new piece of information. “There is so much to unpack there.” She pushed her glasses up her nose, focusing on Cage. “You were a professional gold-digger?”

Cage smiled and poured herself another glass of wine before snuggling into Desi’s side. “I was.” Desi wrapped a protective arm around her girlfriend.

“She had a good thing going for a while,” Nikki explained. “Get with a hot millionaire, spend a year embezzling his money, fake her death. Repeat.” Cage wiggled her eyebrows, making everyone laugh. It was moments like this Riley missed most in prison—the gossip, the easy laughter.

“And what about the other girl?” Jill asked. The laughter died immediately. “The one I’m replacing.”

Riley’s grip tightened around her glass. “My best friend from high school.” There was just enough edge to her words to keep Jill from asking anything else about Leanna or the past. Riley knew what her next question would be: If she was your best friend, then why isn’t she here now?

She’d asked herself the same question every day Nikki visited her in prison, alone.

The rest of the night passed without incident. Carefully timed trips to the kitchen enabled Riley to get Cage and Desi’s opinions on Jill without arousing suspicion. The team was in agreement—recruiting Jill was a yes.

After the movie ended and the dishes were done, Riley gathered her team in the kitchen. There were times in prison she thought she’d never see this again—Nikki standing to her right, Desi sitting on a barstool with her boots on the counter, Cage just sitting on the counter, and now Jill, who miraculously knew how to both be polite and sit in a chair correctly. But here they were. Her team. In her kitchen. Waiting for Riley to pitch their next job.

“So,” she began. “I’ve got a job for us.”

Desi snorted. “I had no idea.” Rolling her eyes, Cage smacked her girlfriend’s calves in reprimand.

Riley ignored her. “Paris Fashion Week is next month, and it’s time we attend. While we’re there, we can do some sightseeing, eat at fancy restaurants, visit the Louvre.” Desi and Cage sat up straighter at the word “Louvre.” Nikki already knew part of the plan, but until now the others had no idea what Riley had been planning.

Nearly as perceptive as Cage, Jill asked, “What’s special about the Louvre? I mean, aside from the fact that it’s famous and holds lots of cool stuff.”

“The Louvre,” Riley began, fixing her intense gaze on Jill, “contains some of best-guarded treasures on the whole planet. Which will make them all the more lucrative when they hit the black market.”

Jill looked between the other women warily, as if she suddenly found herself surrounded by people who should be in a mental institution, and Riley had to fight the urge to laugh. “No offense, but you’re insane,” the recruit said. “Do you even realize how impossible this is?”

“Not impossible,” Riley corrected. “But the challenge is what makes it fun.”

Curiosity flooded Cage’s eyes. “I’ll bite. What’s the target?”

“The French Crown Jewels.” Riley was met with a series of gasps and raised eyebrows.

Even Nikki showed concern. “Riles,” she said softly. “Don’t you think that’s a bit much, even for you?” The others nodded in agreement.

Appalled, Riley demanded, “Are you doubting me now? I’m gone for two years and then...nothing? Where’s the trust?”

“Of course we trust you,” Nikki said, stepping closer. “But maybe we should try for something easier.” After what happened last time, her eyes finished.

Fire roiled in Riley’s gut. Who were these people? What happened to the women who jumped at every batshit plan thrown their way? Riley didn’t recognize the cautious people in front of her. Nikki, of all people, didn’t get to lecture her on easier.

“This is the plan,” Riley snapped. “Either you’re in, or I replace you too.” She held Nikki’s gaze in challenge, making it clear she wouldn’t back down.

It was Desi who finally dared to break the charged silence, standing up to pour herself another glass of wine. “Well, if you insist of doing something stupid, I’m not letting you do it by yourself.”

Riley barely hid her surprise. Desi rarely took her side in an argument, if ever.

Cage’s lips formed a grim line. “Guess I’m in too.” Even Jill reluctantly nodded.

That just left Nikki. She glowered, clearly unhappy with being outvoted. “Fine,” she grumbled. “But I’m just as much the leader of this team as you are, and I reserve the right to pull the plug at any time.” Riley figured that was as close to agreement as she was going to get for now.

She grinned wickedly. “Then it’s settled. We’re going to Paris.”

*****

The next night, Riley took Nikki and Jill to a headline-making new club that just opened in Hollywood, as both an apology girls night and an opportunity to instruct Jill in Con Artist 101. Even though it was a weekday, neither protested. No local goes out on a weekend. Not in this city.

The club featured the finest of LA’s nightlife—pulsing music, beautiful women, overpriced drinks, the occasional person who may or may not be a celebrity, and people doing lines of coke on the bathroom counter. Truly a sight to behold.

The women to men ratio was surprisingly close to equal for an LA hotspot, and Riley didn’t waste the opportunity to check out all the eye candy her city had to offer. At the same time, she watched the crowd for easy victims.

She found one easily. A young blonde woman barely contained in her tight, sequined dress stepped up to the bar, and Riley could just see the edge of her ID sticking out from the top of her dress. She’d be easy to pickpocket, especially once her large, bubblegum pink drink was in her system.

The three women ordered their own drinks, and while they waited, Riley pulled Jill aside, lowering her voice. “You see her?” She tilted her head in the direction of the target. “Drunk blonde in a sequin dress.”

“What about her?” Jill asked cautiously.

“You’re going to pickpocket her.”

“I’m what?”

On her other side, Nikki chuckled, resting a hand on Jill’s shoulder. “Con Artist 101, babe. You’ve got to start with the basics.”

“Okay.”

Riley continued, “You’re going to steal her ID. It’s stuffed down the front of her dress—easy, unsecure. First step, watch her to figure out exactly where it is.” This was the first test, seeing if Jill was perceptive enough to pick up the kind of small details most people ignore. It wasn’t enough to just be aware of her surroundings; she had to know exactly where everything was at all times. People in their line of work couldn’t afford surprises.

After a few minutes, Jill nodded with confidence. “Found it. Right side, in between her boob and her armpit.”

“Good,” Riley praised. “Now you have to go get it. Bump into her so she’s more focused on that than your hand in her dress. Maybe even spill your drink on her.”

Jill’s newfound surety was short lived. “Can you show me first?” Unease returned to her voice.

Riley smirked. “Gladly.” She found a new target for herself—a man, tipsy but not drunk, and not so big that he’d overpower her if he got a little handsy. She spied the outline of his wallet in the left leg of his jeans. “When you’re stealing heavier items, say a wallet,” Riley explained while her eyes searched the bar, “you need to put something in its place. Otherwise your mark will know pretty quickly that something is missing.” The club was swanky enough to use real coasters at the bar instead of napkins, and Riley leaned over the bar to grab one. It wasn’t quite heavy enough, but it would do. “Watch carefully,” she instructed.

She sauntered right up to the man, eyes focused on a random point in the distance, and collided with his left side. In the brief moment their bodies touched, Riley slipped her hand into his front pocket, snagging his wallet and leaving the coaster in its place. “Sorry,” she apologized with a demure bat of her eyelashes. Slipping the wallet into her purse, Riley kept walking before the man could do or say anything else.

The theft was as easy as breathing, the thrill short lived.

“Your turn,” Riley said, returning to Jill’s side. Jill shifted her weight from one foot to the other, clearly uncomfortable. “If you second-guess it, it won’t work. Have some faith in yourself.” Emphasizing her point, Riley shoved Jill forward.

Nikki slid into the newly open space beside Riley. “Are you sure we should just throw her in the deep end like this?”

Her eyes never leaving Jill, Riley replied, “The only way she’s going to learn is if she practices. You know that just as well as I do.”

“I guess.” Nikki sighed. “I just don’t want anything to happen to her.”

Maybe it was the lingering annoyance from yesterday’s fight that Riley had yet to let go of, but something about Nikki’s words rubbed her the wrong way. Riley snapped, “You mean unlike what happened to me?”

Bristling, Nikki didn’t rise to the bait.

On the dance floor, Jill bumped into the woman well enough, but she was a little slow on the grab. Thankfully the woman was too drunk to notice.

Subtly flashing the ID, Jill asked, “What do I do with it?”

“Keep it,” Nikki said. “She looks enough like you. Use it the next time you get carded.” Jill didn’t look too happy about that, but she slid the ID into her purse all the same.

Riley murmured just loud enough for Nikki to hear. “See? I told you she’d be fine.” Nikki gave her a look she wasn’t sure how to interpret.

The bartender dropped off their drinks, and Riley knocked back both her tequila shots, one right after the other. Nikki raised an eyebrow. “There something you need to tell me?”

The burn from the alcohol lingered in the back of Riley’s throat. “Nope. I’m good.”

“Riles—” Nikki protested, but Riley cut her off.

“You, however, look desperately in need of a good fuck.” She said it more to get Nikki off her back than anything else. Riley scanned the crowd, eyes settling on a tall, muscular man with dark skin and close-cropped hair. He stood right at the edge of the dancing, talking to a group of guys, providing Riley with an excellent side-view of his chiseled silhouette. “He’ll work.” She didn’t wait for a response before striding through the mass of writhing bodies.

Riley sidled up next to him, and the whole group of guys turned to her in unison. “Hi,” he said. Riley immediately liked the sound of his voice, deep and smooth and sensual.

She smiled. “I’m Riley, and if you’ll come with me, there’s someone I think you should meet.” The boldness came easily. The tequila added to her already high self-esteem was just a bonus.

The man turned to face her fully. “Riley,” he crooned. Her name rolled off his lips like melted chocolate. “And what if I’d rather just get to know you?” Riley smirked. That plan was fine by her. Nikki could find her own man. It had been a long time since Riley had a fuckable man’s hands on her body, and she wasn’t about to waste the opportunity. She lightly tugged on his shirt.

“Dance with me.”

They melted into the crowd, and his broad hands found Riley’s waist as she eye-fucked him, gently drawing her into his hard, warm body. He took his time, giving her the chance to change her mind if she wished. His courteousness made him even hotter. Riley pressed her body closer.

The rhythmic bass rattled her bones, but Riley welcomed the sensation. She let it carry her away, guiding the swinging of her arms and the rolling of her hips.

The man’s lips brushed her ear as he spoke. “I’m Kalei, by the way.”

Kalei. Riley repeated his name, committing it to memory. Kuh-lay. She liked the way it rolled off her tongue.

“Turn around,” Kalei commanded. Biting her lower lip, Riley obeyed, and Kalei tugged her hips firmly against his own.

Riley leaned back, resting her head on Kalei’s shoulder, running her hands up and down his thick, muscular arms. Kalei’s fingers curled into her hips, his breath was hot on Riley’s neck, and Riley already found herself wanting more. He moved perfectly with her, their bodies in sync.

Her arms rose up, fingers finding purchase on the nape of his neck. Kalei’s hands steadily grew braver—first skimming up her waist, then down over her thighs—leaving a delicious burning sensation in their wake. He pressed a kiss to the back of her neck, and his palms traveled higher, just brushing the undersides of her breasts. Riley gasped.

She growled over her shoulder, “Do that again.”

He did. Again and again and again.

When Riley finally turned around, the hungry glow simmering in his eyes matched her own. She wanted him. She wanted him now.

He smelled like cedar and something else she couldn’t quite place with the stench of sweat and alcohol accosting her nose. Riley pulled his mouth down to hers, but Kalei stopped just before their lips brushed. “Shouldn’t I at least buy you a drink first?”

She chuckled, deep and full of wicked promise. “I already cut myself off for the night. Besides, we both know you’d rather skip that step.” Riley pressed her hips against his for emphasis, feeling him hard against her.

Kalei tensed. “Are you sure?”

Riley knew she’d picked a good one. “Yes, I’m sure.”

Apparently that was all the reassurance he needed. Kalei grabbed a fistful of Riley’s hair and kissed her, hard and desperate. She moaned into his mouth, imagining all the depraved things his tongue could do. Riley planned on becoming intimately acquainted with every single one of those things by morning.

She started to drag him toward the bathroom, but Kalei stopped her. “I am not fucking you on a bathroom counter. Let’s get out of here.”

Fair enough. “Your place or mine?” she asked.

“Do you have a roommate?”

“Nope.”

His fingers trailed down Riley’s arm and linked through hers. “Then yours.”

The cab ride was short, but tense. The driver dutifully kept his eyes glued to the road as Kalei’s hand stroked the inside of her thigh. Riley shivered in her seat.

Kalei’s eyes bulged when the driver pulled up to Riley’s swanky apartment building. “Wait, are you in the industry? Should I know you?”

Riley laughed, picturing herself as some whiny, simpering actress. Pathetic. “No. I’m just a businesswoman.”

The easiest lies were mostly true, after all.

The lobby was empty, and the elevator doors slid open mercifully quickly. As soon as Riley pressed the button for the top floor and the doors slid shut, Kalei resumed kissing her, hands tangling in her curls as he pinned her against the wall.

The doors opened, and Riley didn’t waste any time leading Kalei down the hall to her apartment, unlocking the door, and shoving Kalei inside first.

Her apartment was mostly dark; the only light came from the city lights shining through the floor-to-ceiling windows in the living room. Riley didn’t bother to turn on a light. Kalei backed her against the door, and Riley let out a gasp as her legs wrapped around him and his mouth lowered to her throat. Her dress bunched around her waist, becoming little more than a shirt.

“We can stop at any time,” he rasped. “Just say the word.” Kalei held out his little finger in a pinky promise, and the gesture had Riley already contemplating where she’d take him out to breakfast in the morning.

Riley had no intention of stopping. She told him so, and Kalei’s mouth slanted over hers, kissing her thoroughly. Her greedy fingers made quick work of his jacket, then his shirt, and Riley smiled into the kiss as she traced his chiseled abs and chest. Kalei was hot, polite, and ripped.

In short, he was perfect. Not that she’d ever inflate a man’s ego by telling him that.

She pulled away just far enough to ask, “Are we doing this against the door or on my bed?”

Kalei’s dark chuckle set every nerve in her body on fire. Riley wanted to carve the magnificent sound into her memory forever. “Bed,” he murmured. “I want to take my time unraveling you and learning exactly what it takes to make you scream my name.”

Fuck. Every coherent thought vanished from Riley’s mind. The best she could do was nod furiously as he set her down.

Riley yanked off her heels before dragging Kalei down the dark hallway to her spacious bedroom. Their clothes came off all at once, without ceremony, and then her back was against the mattress, and Kalei’s delicious weight hovered over her.

He kissed his way down her body, all the way to her knees before moving back up to where she really wanted him. She was right, earlier, about what his tongue could do. Broad licks, circles, delicate, methodical strokes—magical, toe-curling, spine-arching, embarrassing noise-inducing stuff.

Riley whimpered his name as a wave of pleasure crashed over her.

And then his hands were shackles around her wrists, pinning them above her head. Riley froze. The confinement made her want to crawl out of her own skin, and not in a good way.

Noticing Riley’s shift in body language, Kalei released her wrists and sat up, seeming to know she needed space. “Are you okay?” he asked gently.

A deep breath. “Yeah,” Riley lied.

No I’m not okay.

I felt trapped.

That’s never happened before.

“Okay,” he said. “Let me know when you’re ready to keep going.”

“I’m ready now.” She didn’t hesitate, flipping them so she was on top.

Despite her reassurance, it was slower now, less desperate. Riley focused on the sounds escaping his lips, letting them wash away the shackled feeling. The more she touched him, the more she felt powerful, in control. Her smirk finally returned as Kalei sucked in a sharp breath, his eyes screwing shut and head tilting back, exposing the strong column of his throat.

It was control Riley really craved, after not having any for so long.

And Kalei seemed to be more than happy to surrender to her. Chuckling at her haste, Kalei stroked her calves as Riley ripped open the new box of condoms in her nightstand drawer. His broad hands on her hips guided her, meeting her halfway, but Riley dictated the rhythm and pace, giving her desperate, touch-starved body everything it desired.

She nearly got off on the high of watching this beautiful man come undone beneath her alone.

Riley was in awe of how quickly he had figured out her body—how to tease her, draw her pleasure out, send her over the edge. Kalei earned every utterance of his name on her lips.

And god were there a lot of them.

When Kalei woke her up in the middle of the night for round two, they tousled for dominance. Riley knew there’d be marks on her body in the morning, but she didn’t care. There would be just as many on him.

Kalei didn’t touch her wrists again. He only pinned her shoulders and hips, leaving her limbs free to do as she pleased. “Is this okay?” he’d asked the first time he held her down. She assured him it was.

If Riley had time for love, she thought she might be able to have it with him.

With her common sense still lost in the delicious, post-release haze, Riley said, “I never say this, but do you want to get breakfast in the morning?”

Kalei pulled her against him, her back to his front, his arm possessively circling her body. “I never say this either, but yes.”

Riley smiled as she drifted off to sleep.

#beth writes #flawless au #macgyver #riley davis #nikki carpenter #desiree nguyen #samantha cage #jill morgan #macgyver fanfiction

35 notes · View notes

joshua-flipping-washington · 3 years

Text

EllieDina Week- Day 3: Trouble.

Oh boy, this came out much more different than I was expecting. But I hope it reads alright! I'm late as always, apologies.

Rating: Teens and up.

Warnings: Pregnancy talk, nothing too serious. Just thought I'd add that as a warning.

●°○•

After the events that carried out in Seattle, Abby leaving Ellie and Dina battered and bloody on the floor of the theater. Ellie's mind, though her head was pounding with a vengeance. Was only focused on getting to Dina, on making sure that she was alright.

Ellie rolled onto her side with painstaking effort, managing to push herself up onto her knees. She crawls over to Dina, the arm that Abby had broken hanging uselessly at her side. " Dina. " Ellie says in a frantic tone, her voice is thick with emotion and she can taste her own blood as it coats her throat.

Ellie carefully pulls Dina close with the arm that isn't injured, she knows that she shouldn't move her because of the arrow in her shoulder, or the fact that Abby had beat her within an inch of her life. Tears fill Ellie's dull green eyes as she holds Dina close to her chest. " Babe… You're alright. Come on, wake up… Please, I just need you to be okay. "

Ellie's eyes flicker down to stare at Dina's chest, it is faintly rising and falling as she inhales and exhales. She let's out a soft breath of relief at knowing Dina was still breathing,pressing a gentle kiss to Dina's bloody temple.

Ellie's heart ached at knowing that if it hadn't have been for the boy with Abby, Dina could be dead right now. Just like Jesse and Tommy were. They both would be alive right now if it wasn't for Ellie, it was the same with everyone in her life that she cared about. Riley, Tess, Sam, Henry and… Joel. They all ended up getting killed because of her.

She refused to let that happen to Dina, she was going to make sure that she made it. Ellie was going to keep her safe, to the best of her abilities. She was in fact, only human after all.

《》

It had been about seven months since they had left Seattle, one of the biggest shocks they'd had was finding out that Tommy was in fact, still alive. He was royally fucked, though- In terms of mobility. But he was learning to get along just fine with the help of Maria, and his good friend whiskey.

Ellie and Dina had moved to the outskirts of Jackson, into a small two-story farm house just like Dina had mentioned way back when, on their first day in Seattle. It had a huge yard, which some of the guys from Jackson helped Ellie fence in. And a decent sized barn for their sheep, most of which had comical or pun-y names.

Dina was standing in the kitchen in front of the sink, washing the left over dishes from the night before. Ellie was notoriously known for leaving the dishes soaking over night in the sink, not liking to deal with them in the moment. She hummed softly to herself as she scrubbed a plate, a fond smile making it's way onto her face as Ellie enters the room.

Ellie stepped up behind Dina, and gently wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. Her hands rested lightly on the growing bump of Dina's stomach, she was already almost eight months along. Ellie pressed a tender kiss to the side of Dina's head, slowly trailing butterfly kisses down her neck. " Babe, why don't you come and relax upstairs with me for a bit? The doctor did say for you to start taking it easy. "

Dina laughed softly as Ellie pressed close to her, hands resting gently on her baby bump as she wrapped her arms around her. Dina craned her neck slightly as Ellie kissed softly along her neck. But then came the one thing Dina had really began to hate hearing. She sighed heavily, giving a good natured roll of her eyes. " Ellie, I'm fine. Besides, if I didn't do these dishes, they'd just sit here until we have more from dinner tonight, and you know it. "

Ellie snorted sheepishly and she nuzzled her face into the crook of Dina's neck, her breath tickling the other girls skin as she spoke. " Yeah, I can't even lie about it. You know me too well, but come on. How about- I finish off these dishes, and you go upstairs and rest. You've been on your feet all afternoon, Dina. "

Dina let out a reluctant sigh, but as she did she set down the rag she'd been using to clean the dishes with. She turned around in Ellie's embrace and couldn't help but smile at the loving look on Ellie's face. " Alright- I relent, I'll try and relax for a bit. You are such a sap, you do know that, right? "

Ellie couldn't even feign mock hurt at the comment, she knew that it was true. She leaned forward and pressed a loving kiss to Dina's lips. " I know, but only a sap for you, babe. Now go- I got this. " Ellie released Dina of her embrace, and gently shooed a laughing Dina out of the kitchen and towards the stairs.

Dina was more thankful than she was letting on as she walked up the stairs, she had started to feel the beginning of a headache ebbing it's way in. Being pregnant was more of an experience than she could even imagine, turns out you feel gross a lot, your hormones are all over the place, your back aches and because of the baby pressing down on your bladder- You had to pee almost all the time. And pregnancy brain was definitely real.

Dina entered their bedroom and immediately kicked off her boots, relief washing over her as she sank down onto the mattress. " Okay, maybe Ellie was right about relaxing. Yeah, what do you think, huh? " She said softly as she gently rubbed her hand over her stomach, she smiled happily at the light bump against her hand. " I can't wait to meet you, little one. "

Her brown eyes widened slightly at the sudden tightening feeling of her abdomen, she knew that she shouldn't panic, but that was her minds first instinct. " No, no- I'm not ready to meet you yet, it's too early. " She said with a whimper, and then immediately called out for Ellie.

Dina's tone had enough of a panicked edge to it as she called out to Ellie, that she had dropped the final plate she'd been washing on the kitchen floor with a crash, rushing up the stairs and to their room without a second thought. She stood in the doorway, eyes wide with confusion and fear. " Dina? Dina, what's wrong? "

Dina was sitting on the edge of the bed, her eyes are closed and her hand is resting on her stomach. She opens her eyes with a shuddering laugh, tears glistening on the surface. " I don't know if it's just because I'm panicking, but swear I just had a contraction. "

Ellie stepped into the room and stopped in front of Dina, gently cupping her face. Her eyes were filled with concern, but then the things the doctor had told them and the stuff she'd read in one of the pregnancy books came flooding back to her. " Babe, it's okay. Come on, sit with me. Let's wait and see if the feeling comes back, or gets more intense or close together. "

Dina gave a small nod of her head, moving up towards the middle of the bed. Her mind still racing, the unshed tears threatening to fall. Ellie climbed up onto the bed, and gently pulled Dina into her lap. She gently brushed her fingers through Dina's curls, humming softly. " Just tell me what you feel, I'm thinking it might just be Braxton-Hicks. "

Dina and Ellie sat there for thirty minutes, the tightening coming and going, getting weaker as time went on. " I think that they are done now… " Dina placed her head in her hands, and laughed in disbelief. " I can't believe I forgot that can happen, and I'm the one who's pregnant. "

Ellie kissed Dina's shoulder and gently rubbed her back. " Hey, you have a literal human being growing inside of you. I think you are allowed to forget a thing or two. "

Dina smiled softly at how sweet Ellie could be, when she wanted to be. " Well, I'm glad to have you by my side. I was… Seriously freaking out at the thought of having this baby early. " She turned her torso slightly and pressed her lips to Ellie's.

They soon went to sleep, holding each other close. Dina feeling more at ease knowing that Ellie had her back.

#The Last of Us Part II #elliedina week #ellie x dina #rich the idiot writes #video game photography #video game edit #Sony Interactive Entertainment #Naughty Dog #TLOU2 #Ellie Williams #Dina TLOU2 #I have literally written nothing about pregnancy anything #so hopefully it comes across alright

24 notes · View notes

imshatteredbutnotbroken · 3 years

Text

The wonderful world of Desiree Nguyen: A character analysis

This is a season three, episode 14-18 character analysis of everyone’s favourite MacGyver protector, Desiree “Desi” Nguyen. (Or, A.K.A, my attempt at sounding much more intelligent than I am.) If people want to read more, I’ll cover the rest of the seasons.

Now, I won’t always sound unbiased in my feelings towards Desiree, but I am going to really try my best to be. And, like I said, I am attempting to sound much more intelligent than I am, so if I miss anything or sound incredibly stupid, feel free to correct me.

There are spoilers, so if you haven’t seen season three, I recommend skipping this analysis.

It’s important to note that this is not a commentary on Levy Tran herself, and that it’s only about her character (EXTREME EMPHASIS ON CHARACTER).

There is also a Tl;dr at the end of each episode summary starting from episode 15.

Let’s begin.

Desiree (hereby known as Desi) was first mentioned by (actual) fan favourite, Jack Dalton, in season 3 episode 14, Father+ Bride + Betrayal. He first mentioned her in a conversation with Mac during the wedding:

Jack: “Matty let me handpick my replacement to watch your back. I think you’re really gonna like her. Or, kill her. One of the two.”

Mac: “That’s oddly specific. Should I be worried?”

Jack: “No, man. You’ll meet her soon enough. And, trust me, there’s nobody I’d trust more than this woman to watch your back. She is really good. Well, other than me, obviously.”

Now, there’s not much to go on, but we do get some hints. She’s tough, she’s a badass, and Jack likes and trusts her. So, Desi’s initial set up isn’t so bad. We love Jack, and if Desi comes at Jack’s recommendation, we know she can be trusted to watch everyone’s backs. Like I said, we’re off to a good start.

It’s also important to note: Jack specifically says “there’s nobody I’d trust more than this woman to watch your back.” Does this really happen only a season later? Honestly? It’s debatable. But, we’ll get there when we get there.

Season three, episode 15: K9 + Smugglers + New Recruit

Desi is initially introduced — through Mac — as advertised: a tough badass who will take her job as the team’s protector seriously. While she admits to Mac that she will hate her job as their bodyguard, she is doing it because she owes Jack. What she owes him exactly, we’re still not sure. It could be anything from repaying Jack for a chocolate bar to repaying a debt to him after Jack saved someone’s life. Who the hell knows?

In the war room, at her second meeting with Mac, Riley, Bozer, Leanna (remember her?! Why couldn’t you leave well enough alone, T.V. show?!), and Matty, Desi reemphasizes that their safety is her top priority. Like I said, Desi (in her initial intro) is a tough badass who takes her job seriously.

On the mission, Cody, (our story of the week’s gun sniffing dog) immediately finds two guns on Desi’s person. She really is like Jack in that respect! But, we soon find out she doesn’t like them (she’s really not like Jack that way!), telling Mac she only carries it because she has to, will only pull a gun when necessary, and that she’d “rather put bad guys in an interrogation room than the morgue.” Another special exception that allows her to pull a gun is against “anyone who hurts animals.”

While Mac and Riley notice Desi isn’t the warmest, Riley acknowledges that Desi is well-accomplished. She was one of the first women to graduate from Ranger school, was part of a special ops team made up of SAS, Delta, and the CIA, and, apparently, “has more awards than Michael Phelps.” So, Desi is no slouch. She also impresses everyone even more when she parkours up several shipping containers to get a better view for the op they’re on. Desi proves herself again during a fight scene by single-handedly taking out several guys with guns (and gets shot in the process, her bulletproof vest stopping every bullet). Let’s add bravery to the list of qualities Desi has shown in just over 10 minutes.

Later, she talks to Riley, who emphasizes their group’s need for Desi to be reliable (and this is interesting because Desi’s reliability is questioned in episode 21 this season). Riley found out Desi went AWOL while she was in Afghanistan, and Riley wants to know why. As Desi explains, one of the Afghani civilians she was working with was kidnapped, and she went to find him. Which Desi successfully did. As she tells the story, Desi becomes emotional, showing that she does have a heart and a vulnerable side, and you can tell she is speaking sincerely. Desi is also adamant that she would to do it again. This is an interesting contrast to her behaviour during the Codex storyline, but we’ll get there.

Desi doesn’t much like Mac’s fly by the seat of his pants behaviour because she was trained to always have plan and she can’t work spontaneously. We also learn Desi is knowledgeable about some sort of technology having to with RFID chips that I can’t personally understand, and that she went to the University of Michigan.

At the end of the episode, Desi makes an appearance at Mac’s house, saying Jack made her promise to go. She leaves as quickly as came though, not wanting to get too close to everyone…in case she has to bury them. Which, I understand, but morbid, jeez. It’s also kind of odd when you think about it because Desi is the group’s protector and is responsible for their safety. But, on the other hand, she can’t fix every situation, and there may be a time when one of them gets killed on a mission. So, while I understand Desi’s hesitation, I am not entirely a fan of it. And, this behaviour is even odder considering Desi goes on to date Mac at the end of the season. I guess Mac really did break down her walls (and that’s something I didn’t notice until writing this).

Overall, we’ve learned a lot about Desi. She’s tough, yet cold, smart, athletic, reliable (supposedly), likes a plan, and hates guns and animal abusers. Seeing her introduced this way (and introduced well) is interesting because I know future storylines and have seen how much Desi has changed as a character. She was always somewhat cold, but she initially had an adamance, confidence, and determination to do what is right. Knowing how the Codex storyline in particular goes down, the way Desi changes is interesting, to say the least.

Tl;dr: As Desi is introduced, the audience learns that she takes her job as the team’s bodyguard seriously, and owes Jack for some (still unknown) reason, and that’s really why Desi is there. We also learn she hates guns and animal abusers, is brave, athletic, reliable (supposedly), and well-accomplished. She also doesn’t want to get too close to the rest of the team in case she has to bury them, so she leaves the Phoenix’s group hangout session as quickly as she joined.

Season three, episode 16: Lidar + Rogues + Duty

At the beginning of this episode, Desi is ‘familiarizing’ herself with the lab and ‘helping’ Bozer with Sparky (really, she’s flipping through a magazine and complaining about the music Bozer is playing while he works). She says she’s lending moral support, though, so, whatever works, I guess. Anyway, Bozer asks for her help with running diagnostic tests on Sparky, and Desi agrees. But, her help is a riddle that sends the robot on an endless loop for the rest of the episode. I do like her shit disturber behaviour, though, so I’ll give Desi that.

For the main operation, Desi and Mac are on a recovery mission in Azerbaijan to bring back one of Mac’s friend’s bodies. His friend, Robert Reese, was on a covert flying mission when his plane crashed, and Mac and Desi are the only ones who can get the body.

While looking for the wreckage, Desi notices that Mac is distracted. She asks him what’s going on, and he explains why he’s distracted. And, knowing that Mac feels responsible for what happened to Reese, Desi asks Mac to tell her about his friend. After Mac does, she gets angry with him and tells Mac to compartmentalize, seemingly a turn around from being caring like she was in the previous episode. But, I understand where she’s coming from because Desi and Mac have to stay focused, or else, like she says, “Matty will be sending a team to recover us.” Fair, because if Mac lets his emotions get the best of him — while he and Desi are in a country they’re not supposed to be in — he could get into a situation he can’t get out of.

Later, we learn that Desi speaks Turkish (what can’t this girl do?!) as some of the Azerbaijani military arrive at the wreckage site. After escaping and driving away, Desi notices a parachute in the trees, indicating it’s possible Reese isn’t dead. Mac is hopeful that his friend is alive, while Desi is more logical, saying, “there are a lot of reasons why the Azerbaijani military would grab a dead U.S. pilot.” They spot footprints of U.S. Army issued boots, so their mission goes from recovery to search and rescue.

Mac and Desi are led to a small town after hearing about sightings of an injured man wearing a flight suit. There, they figure out which building Reese is hiding in. Mac and Desi find him alive but with a broken clavicle. And, while Mac provides Reese with first aid, Desi becomes all business. But, in her defence, they’re in danger, so it’s not weird Desi reacts this way.

After escaping and another mission change (this time to stopping rogue CIA agents and recovering chemical weapons), Mac improvises a plan that goes awry and has Desi and Reese held at gunpoint by the agents. Desi has to stall while Mac tries to save them and, as she talks, she uses the info Mac told her about Reese, proving Desi listened to Mac. So, while we thought Desi was being callous, she actually showed that she sincerely cared about what Mac had to say.

Later, Desi meets with Bozer to make up for sending Sparky into an endless loop. Maybe she truly feels bad, or maybe she’s doing it selfishly because she’s new. Either way, it’s hard to tell because we’re not in Desi’s head. But, I’ll give it to her because I really think Desi knows she messed up and she wants to fix it. She tells Bozer the answer to the riddle and Sparky is able to break the loop.

We are still learning about Desi, but we get so much info in the small details. My favourite part about her this episode was her shit disturbing. We also learn she speaks Turkish, prefers to be all business when she’s on a mission, and pays attention to what’s going on around her. Desi is actually quite deep in this season, and she shows that she cares about people and robots alike.

Tl;dr: At the beginning of the episode, Desi is ‘helping’ Bozer while he works on Sparky the robot. She sends Sparky on an endless loop after telling him a riddle he can’t figure out, annoying Bozer.

Desi and Mac have the main operation, which was initially a body recovery mission for one of Mac’s friends, Robert Reese. She gets Mac to open up about Reese, and then immediately tells him to compartmentalize so they can get through the mission alive.

They find Reese alive, and their mission changes to stopping rogue CIA agents and recovering chemical weapons. At the chemical weapons site, Desi and Reese are held up at gunpoint by the agents, and Desi is forced to stall while Mac saves them. She uses the story Mac told her about Reese earlier in the episode, proving she paid attention to what Mac said.

At the end of the episode, Desi goes to Bozer to help fix Sparky. She tells him the answer to the riddle, getting Sparky out of his loop, and showing Desi cares about those around her.

Season three, episode 17: Seeds + Permafrost + Feather

This episode opens with Mac and Desi in bed together. But, it’s not what you think. It’s for a mission and part of Mac’s plan to escape from the people chasing them. Desi is annoyed by the plan (because she had to get undressed) and she argues with Mac. He tries to convince her it was their best option — until the bad guys return and hold Desi and Mac up at gunpoint. I can see why she would be annoyed with Mac, but is fighting during a mission necessary? Somehow, they escape, and we can move on.

Mac, Riley, and Desi have to travel to the international seed vault in Greenland because an employee is missing. Since Mac’s dad, James (also known as Oversight), was involved in the vault’s development and planning, he’s the person to call when something goes wrong. But, James has other business, so the mission falls to Mac, Riley, and Desi.

In the vault, thanks to a comment Desi made about the employee disappearing into the mountain (causing Mac to do his Mac thing), the trio discovers an access tunnel someone dug to get into the (extremely secure) vault. And, whoever dug that tunnel killed Karl, the missing employee, in the process. There is also a possibility of seeds being stolen.

So, Mac, Riley, and Desi use Karl’s cell phone, which he had on him, to figure out the path he took and identify which seeds may have been stolen. Mac and Desi, who plays the murderer, recreate the fight, and they’re having a ball doing it. They fight, and Desi gives Mac all she’s got. She’s not subtle or gentle, but she gets the job done. Soon, they figure out which box (one of North Korea’s) the thief rifled through, and which seeds were taken (a rare form of a pea plant).

Desi explores the access tunnel and finds a room that is scattered in schematics, seed reports, and drilling equipment. From there, Mac figures out that the pea seeds are an ingredient in making a toxin, and that the seeds can be weaponized and used to create as much of the toxin as desired. Riley discovers their thief has been making monthly payments to a flower shop in Brussels, so a plane ride it is for Mac, Riley, and Desi.

On the plane, Mac calls Bozer so Mac can find out what’s going on with James. But, after hanging up, Mac slams his phone down and Desi comments on his annoyance and asks Mac about it. He says it’s the mission, but Desi isn’t buying it. When Riley mentions it’s about Mac’s dad, Desi says that Oversight seemed distracted. And, while she admits it’s not her business to know what’s going with Mac’s dad, Desi tells Mac it is his business.

The three of them go on a chase that takes them from a cemetery in Brussels to a park in the Czech Republic. The man they are running after, named Jules, wants revenge on a crime boss named Passer for killing Jules’ wife and child after Jules testified in court. At the park, Riley and Desi fight Passer’s men while Mac starts to talk Jules (who is holding Passer up at gunpoint) down. Eventually, Jules relents, and he is arrested. Mac, Riley, and Desi recover the stolen seeds and avoid an international incident with North Korea.

Desi has more of a background role in this episode because the episode focuses on Mac and his dad. But, her fighting skills, knowledge (she helped explain the seed vault to Riley and the audience), and empathy shine through. This is particularly true when she encourages Mac to figure out what is going on with his dad. This side of Desi is nice to see because while she’s tough, she is sincere in her efforts to help others.

Tl;dr: Desi is in the background this episode, but, she displays her intelligence, empathy, and fighting skills. She also encourages Mac to figure out what is going on with his dad, saying that it’s not her business to know what is going on with her boss, but it is Mac’s.

Season three, episode 18: Murdoc + Helman + Hit

This episode opens with Nicolas Helman’s return. And he gets to work immediately by murdering an FBI interrogator in a karaoke bar. How this happened, Mac, Riley, Matty, Bozer, and Oversight aren’t sure because the last time they saw him, Helman was dead — or, so they thought — because Matty had his coffin exhumed and it was empty. Since the Phoenix is responsible for Helman, they have to figure out his next move so they can capture him.

Mac, Bozer, and Desi are with Oversight this episode. Their mission? To speak with our favourite psychopath Murdoc who is still at the Phoenix Black Site. Desi gets the Helman story explained to her, but it doesn’t seem like she entirely believes how serious dealing with Murdoc is because she asks Mac, “What kind of monster are you keeping down here? Indominus Rex? King Kong? That kid from The Omen? These questions also reveal another detail about Desi that could easily be overlooked: She likes horror and monster movies. Anyway, upon meeting Murdoc, Desi seems to get it because she has a face similar to McKayla Maroney’s unimpressed face plastered on (and, really, who can blame her?). But, Mac, Bozer, Desi, and Oversight need Murdoc’s help, so they press on.

There’s a quick scene with Bozer and Desi observing Mac and Oversight questioning Murdoc. Desi acknowledges they weren’t kidding about Murdoc and notes that James is just as much of an enigma because he’s still exerting himself, despite the toll doing so takes. Bozer thinks Desi is talking about the effects having cancer has on Oversight himself, but Desi immediately corrects Bozer and says “I meant on Mac.” So, again, there’s that compassion for others Desi has displayed since her introduction.

After getting more information from Murdoc about Helman’s possible whereabouts (because Helman has killed again), Mac, Desi, and Oversight jump into action to find Helman. They, and a Phoenix tac team, storm an apartment building with Desi leading the way with a gun. They leave Bozer behind with Murdoc (which, rude). Anyway, the team starts going up to the apartment, but before they can really make their way, James starts having trouble physically. Mac, worried about his father, tells him he doesn’t need to go upstairs, but Oversight insists. Desi encourages Mac to be open and honest with his dad, but Mac says Oversight is fine. Desi tells Mac not saying anything to his father shouldn’t be an emotional decision because lives hang in the balance. She also says she’s worried about Mac, and tells him to not get distracted. This attitude harkens back to episode 16 when Desi was worried about Mac’s emotions getting in the way of their mission. So, I understand where she’s coming from and why she’s concerned.

Skipping ahead, Mac, Desi, and James go on a road trip because Riley and Matty discovered Helman had the transportation route for an FBI transport truck moving someone who is supposed to testify in a trial against his former employees. While waiting for the FBI truck, they see another (unknown) vehicle approaching. Concerned it may be Helman and that it could have explosives in it, Mac, Desi, and Oversight have to stop the vehicle. James tries to take matters into his own hands by borrowing a tac team member’s rife, but he’s having trouble steadying himself, and Desi notices. Oversight is eventually able to get his bearings and shoots out the van’s tires. While they stop the vehicle, it turns out to be a distraction so Helman could get into the Phoenix Black Site. Desi figures out that the FBI murders and attack on the transport truck were all a ruse so Helman could kill Murdoc.

Later, they realize Murdoc’s entire plan was a jailbreak so Mac and Oversight go on a car chase to capture Murdoc while Desi flies in a helicopter overhead (side note, I’m not really sure why Desi is there because it doesn’t seem like she needs to be. She doesn’t do anything in this scene other than fly overhead and worry about Mac). James and Mac do their thing and figure out a way to stop Murdoc’s truck. But, with Desi’s words in the back of his mind (probably), Mac tells his dad he shouldn’t be the one to stop the truck. Oversight agrees, and Mac does his thing. You can see as he tries to overtake the truck, everyone (including Desi) is concerned. Eventually succeeding in stopping and capturing Murdoc, there’s a shot shown of Desi’s relief.

At the end of the episode, Desi says she suggested security upgrades for the black site so no one can escape or attack the site again. This reflects her security knowledge because the Phoenix trusted her enough to give her the task. Again, Desi isn’t so useless and demonstrates her intelligence.

Throughout the episode, Desi shows she cares about other people, especially since she’s worried about the effect Oversight’s need to keep going has on Mac. She also encourages Mac to be honest with his father. And this is a thread that is shown throughout these episodes. Which leads to the following questions: What happened to that particular characteristic? Where did Desi’s empathy and compassion go?

Tl;dr: Desi’s character development takes somewhat of a backseat this episode because it mostly focuses on Mac and Oversight (again). Still, throughout their mission, Desi encourages Mac to be open and honest with his father and tell Oversight his concerns. This, again, demonstrates her empathy and her concerns for others. Mac is eventually able (probably with Desi’s words in the back of his mind) to be honest with Oversight and take over in order to do the physical labour required on the mission.

Lastly, Desi suggests security upgrades for the Phoenix Black Site that held Murdoc so that no one can break in or out again. This demonstrates her intelligence, and leads to the following question: What happened to her intelligence and compassion and empathy for others?

We learn so much about Desi in just four episodes. From her bravery and boldness, to enjoyment of monster and horror movies, she isn’t so one-note. The biggest thread is her compassion and concern for others. She wants to help people and ensure they’re safe, and Desi is adamant and determined about it. She continually displays this characteristic, especially when it comes to Mac and ensuring his feelings don’t get the best of him while they’re on a mission.

During season three, Desi is written well! She’s introduced to us based on the trust a fan favourite has with the audience and she never deviates from that. She also displays many characteristics that actually make her interesting. She’s smart, athletic, brave, and bold. So, I have to ask (again): WHAT HAPPENED?! Where did go so wrong and why?

If you want more of my character analysis, let me know! I procrastinated way too long on this, so if it seems like episode 18 is disjointed from the rest, I apologize. I had fun with this, and I feel like I like and understand Desi a little more (at least for season three).

#Macgyver #Desi Nguyen #Desiree Nguyen #Character analysis #I got really bored. Can you tell?

16 notes · View notes

the-stories-in-my-head-95 · 4 years

Text

With This Ring- Part One

T’Challa x Reader

Sam Wilson x M’Baku

Summary- You and Sam Wilson have been best friends since boot camp. You were right by his side during the FALCON program, you supported each other when Riley died and the two of you even left the military at the same time. Sam decides to go back to school to be a social worker and you become a test pilot for a private company. During one of these tests you find a dying alien who says that you are destined to be the next Green Lantern. You leave earth to train, and years later when you return you fight side by side with Sam on the Avengers until the Civil War happens.

Message- I forgot that I wrote this like 7 months ago! IF YOU WANT TO BE TAGGED SEND AN ASK!!

Word Count- 643

“So now that you are done with training, will you be leaving Oa?” Your trainer asks.

“Yes.” You say nodding. “The Guardians have assigned me to Earth.”

“Your home world.”

“Yep.” You say, smiling. “It’ll be good to go home.”

“When do you leave?”

“Later today, I’ve already locked my ring onto the energy of my friend, Sam, so it’ll bring me right to him.”

“Well, I will miss you.”

“AWW, Teach, you do care!” You coo, hugging the large alien.

“I may care- a bit.”

“I’ll miss you too.” You say. “But you should come to earth sometime, its loads of fun.”

“I will consider it.”

“Alright.” You chuckle, before hugging your mentor. “Goodbye.”

“Until we see each other again.”

After that you finished saying goodbye to all of your fellow Green Lanterns and the Guardians. Then you fly off threw the cosmos towards your home and best friend. What could possibly go wrong?

****

How wrong you were, as soon as you got close to the building where Sam was you were knocked out of the sky and shoved into an interrogation room.

“Heellllooo!” You say, knocking on the one-way mirror. “Can somebody tell me where I am please?”

“New York.” A voice says.

“No shit.” You say, rolling your eyes. “I was shot down looking for my friend, his name is Sam Wilson. Is he here?”

“One moment please.” The voice says.

“It’s not like I’m going anywhere.” You sigh.

**10 minutes later**

“Y/N?” Sam asks, running into the interrogation room.

“Heeey, best friend.” You say, smiling.

“You’re alive!?”

“Yep.” You say.

“And where have you been exactly?”

“I’m a part of an elite alien army that protects the universe.” You say, smiling. “I’ve been off world training for the last 3 years.”

“I’m going to go get the team psychologist.” Sam says, turning around.

“Wait!” You say, using your rings power you reach out and stop Sam.

“Holy shit.” Sam gasps.

“I know!” You squeal.

“Explain everything, now.” Sam says, sitting down.

“I will, once you explain where we are?”

“Avengers compound.” Sam says. “I’m sorta a super hero.”

“That’s so cool!” You exclaim. “Tell me everything!”

“I will, but I asked you first.” Sam says smiling.

“I’m a solider-kinda.” You say. “I was out on a test flight and came across a dying alien. They gave me a glowing ring that transported me to a planet called Oa, where I trained for the last couple years and now I’m back to take over the mantel as the Green Lantern of Earth. Now it’s your turn.”

“I’m a super hero, code name Falcon.” Sam says.

“How original.” You say, rolling your eyes.

“Shut it!” Sam says, chuckling. “Anyway, I helped Captain America defeat Hydra and after that I joined the Avengers.”

“Holy shit, I’ve missed so much.” You say.

“That’s what happens when you miss 3 years.” Sam says rolling his eyes.

“Well then fill me in, bestie.”

“I will, but not in here.” Sam says, as he stands up.

“Oh, you mean you don’t like to hang out in interrogation rooms?”

“Shut up.” Sam huffs, pulling you into his side.

“So the Avengers are actually a thing?” You ask.

“Yeah, they started before you left, remember?”

“Yeah, but I figured they were a one hit wonder.”

“Nah, shits got weird on earth. There’s like a new crisis like every other week.”

“Well, it sounds like you all could use some help.”

“Are you asking if you can join the Avengers?” Sam asks.

“No, I’m telling you that that I’m joining the avengers.” You say, rolling your eyes.

“I’ll have to run that by a couple people, but with that new fancy ring of yours I’m sure they’ll be begging you to join.”

“Damn right, now bring me to the kitchen. I’ve missed earth food!”

“So bossy.” Sam chuckles.

#t'challa x reader #t'challa imagine #sam wilson imagine #sam wilson x mbaku #avengers imagine #marvel imagine #black panther imagine #black panther #black panther x reader

133 notes · View notes

andy-loves-corgis · 4 years

Text

All of The Lights - Ch 8 (TRR AU)

Book: The Royal Romance

Pairing: Well… It’s Riley and her pain in this one.

Rating: M (I can’t make them not curse I guess…).

Word count: ~ 6,800 (longest chapter I ever wrote)

Notes: There will be one big note at the end. But just thank you for still being here!

WARNING: Read the Prologue! Every chapter has TWO timelines, Before (about a year before the Prologue) and After (two years after the prologue), if you don’t pay attention to that you might get confused!

Hardest to Love

And what we had is dead inside, yeah You're actin' like it's still alive And you still wanna make it right, yeah I know But I've been the hardest to love

BEFORE

How long had she been taking that shower?

The sound of the water hitting the porcelain tiles could be considered deafening to some, but right now there was so much noise inside Riley's head that the droplets served only as white noise.

Steam was clouding her senses, although not as much as the overwhelming feeling of awareness. She could still feel the heat emanating from his body and the thought itself made her short of breath, could she indulge in the sensation growing at the pit of her stomach?

No!

Riley had only slept for 4 hours straight, then she was brought back to consciousness by her racing heart, her head couldn’t rest for what have happened mere hours ago, and flashes would take her mind. She knew it would be useless to overthink what happened, the simple fact that by reliving the night before she was inundated with nervousness told her enough.

It was like a fire, she knew that, it would only grow if she wanted it to, if she fed it the right thoughts, the right feelings… and right now her heart was enjoying it all too much.

A ragged breath left her throat while she sat on the rim of her tub, massaging the stiffness out of her left foot, pushing it a little too hard, bringing her back to reality, a reality where these feelings were better to remain an illusion.

Ouch

In about an hour she should head with Madeleine to the boutique, where the Fydelia heiress would pick her dress for tonight, it gave her time for a moment of coffee and contemplation in her favorite study room; throwing on some comfortable tracksuit she followed the smell of freshly baked eclairs.

The study on the second floor was one of her favorite places, mainly because no one ever went there, she could sit alone for hours, stretching, reading, eating without someone counting on her calorie intake… Although, it wasn’t empty this time, she wouldn’t be that lucky, she wasn’t a tiny bit lucky.

Drake was there.

Absentmindedly running his fingers on the guitar chords, with an intoxicating melody; using only three chords, his humming melting into the sounds. Riley’s throat suddenly went dry and she didn’t know what to do.

For God’s sake, he’s my best friend.

“Hey!” she smiled passing the couch he was lazily sitting; the music stopped instantly, and she could almost notice a blush on his cheeks, his eyes averting from hers and landing on her plate.

“Oh hey… food!” he reached for one of the éclairs and she pulled the plate close to her chest.

“That’s mine, I can see you already ate yours” she pointed her head at the center table, where two plates laid with only crumbles on top.

He huffed rolling his eyes while Riley sat across from him, making a point of picking a chocolate glazed éclair slowly and shoving in her mouth; when he laughed it hit her again, right at the pit of her stomach, goosebumps erupting from her skin.

The silence turned into awkward at the same time as the air seemed to freeze.

“Should we talk about it?” Riley was glad her voice didn’t waver, though her heart seemed to be beating in her throat.

“About…?” Drake took his eyes from his phone, which kept beeping with new messages, and glanced at her.

“About… about last night.” She put on a strand of hair behind her ear, looking for the right words. It was like she was a snake waiting to shed her skin, because it wasn’t possible the room was that stuffy.

It took a few seconds for Drake to piece it out together, seconds that fueled Riley’s imagination with images of the uncharted territory they were drifting to, would he be embarrassed? Or maybe he was also feeling the anxiety ft. exhilaration of their last encounter and didn’t know what to do about it.

But all he did was chuckle and get back to his phone.

“No, of course not.”

Excuse me?

Her lack of response triggered Drake to look at her again.

“We were both pretty drunk, you had just seen your ex, or whatever, make out with your worst enemy… and frankly, I’m a man and you look like… that.” He waved his hands at her velour-covered self and frilly socks a tad bit of redness on his cheeks. “Not that I would mean any disrespect. You’re my best friend and will always be, we were just regrettably drunk.”

Through all the morning Riley though she would be relieved by any dismissal of what happened from his part, so she wasn’t prepared at all for the feeling of her stomach churning, the idea of stacking other eclairs clearly not appealing as before.

“Oh… great” she managed to say with a fake smile.

“Don’t worry, little one” he winked, and she decided it was her leave.

“I wasn’t” she brushed it off with another smile. “Well, I have to meet Madeleine, make sure that your one suit is prepared.”

Drake just chuckled again, tossing his phone on the table and getting back to the hypnotic melody of his guitar.

“Alright, boss!”

Once out of the study, Riley wanted to throw up, or scream, or kick something. She felt stupid and didn’t even know why, it hurt, and she didn’t know why.

“Where were you?” Madeleine annoyed tone filled the room once Riley stumbled inside her fitting space. “Why are you wearing this monstrosity? Haven’t I told you how tacky is this look? You’re not some Real Housewife.”

“Madeleine, it was a gift, I never wore it in public, besides it’s pretty comfy and it’s Gucci, it’s not like Juicy Couture.”

Riley couldn’t tell who wore the most horrified look, Madeleine or the two seamstresses.

“It makes you look fat anyway. So, this is dress number 1” Madeleine said twirling on a lavender circular skirt gown, she looked so plain in it that for a moment Riley entertained the thought of saying she loved it.

“Didn’t like it” Riley answered feeling her phone vibrating on her front pocket. It was her father; he must have arrived at the palace, since he sent her a picture of her bed with several dress bags upon it.

Riley moved her attention back to Madeleine after her not-so-subtly cleaning her throat.

“Dress number two” it was a long emerald green charmeuse dress with strapless, sweetheart, appliqued bodice… like a prom dress from a teen rom-com.

“I liked the color…” Riley bit her lip, because she knew Madeleine would lash out at her sooner or later.

“What are you wearing tonight?” she asked as the seamstresses brought her dress #3.

“I don’t know, dad just brought a handful of dresses from home…”

“You’re not wearing something old, are you?” Madeleine turned to her.

“Of course not, Maddie!” Riley rolled her eyes. “I know Zuhair and Elie sent some things to Valtoria, the bags from Dona are probably not for tonight tough. Anyway, he brought it all, God knows I need more club dresses.”

“Dona? As in Donatella Versace?” Madeleine’s voice got high pitched. “Why are these people sending you things? You’re not even on the social season. Where did they even find you out?”

Riley was a little taken aback from her friend’s reaction, but judged it was only because she felt nervous for the night.

“Uhh, last year’s Paris Fashion Week…”

“I was there with you!”

“I know Mads, it was at the Versace show, you hate Versace, remember? I met this… girl.” She thought it was safer than saying it was Lady Gaga. “We chatted about the show, she found out I loved Versace and invited me to meet Donatella. Well, turns out it was this small after-party at Dona’s Presidential Suite. They were all there… Zuhair, Elie, Zac… we just smoked and drank some champagne.”

By the shade of red tinting Madeleine chest, she thought it was better to end her story there.

“You love doing that, don’t you?” the contempt in her voice was palpable as the words fell from her pursed lips, the seamstresses were lacing up a plum dress that fitted her perfectly. “You simply cannot be happy when people other than you are being the center of attention, but I won’t bite the bait.”

“Madeleine, you’re the one who aske..”

“You always do this! But now is my time… to lead the ballet, to lead this family by Leo’s side, interviews… tonight is my night. You’ll need more than some designer dress to upstage me.”

The words hit Riley like a whip.

“I’m not engaging in this nonsense, Madeleine, for real, this is your night, so it’s better if I just leave you to prepare yourself for your big moment.” She got up from the armchair she was curled up. “Anyway, this dress looks great.”

Madeleine didn’t even answer Riley, who left without looking back. A migraine starting to spread in her skull, all she wanted was a peaceful minute, maybe just focus on her breathing on her way back to her room would help.

“Dad!”

She found peace on those glinting blue eyes that just her and Alexander York shared; her father smiled through his thick mustache and spread his arms to her, completely embracing her small figure.

“There’s my girl.” the Duke held her tightly close to his chest before erupting in coughs.

“You ok?” Riley quickly stepped back looking as her father eased his breath.

“Sure, kid. Saliva went down the wrong way, just that!” he patted her back moving to sit on the only space on her bed that wasn’t occupied by dress bags, he pushed the dresses back and motioned for her to sit by his side. “How’s everything?”

“It’s fine, I guess. I got to take the boot out yesterday, that was nice.” She smiled at him hiding her turmoil, her now free foot dangling from the side of her bed.

“You know you can always head back to Valtoria if you want to clear your head, right?” he caught her by surprise with his statement. Another fit of coughs taking over him. “Court life has its perks, but it’s also a tad bit overwhelming sometimes.”

“I know, Dad. I was actually thinking about spending some time there, you know. Before… the semester starts…” a knot started to swell in her throat.

“Yes… yes! I keep forgetting about that. I need to put those reminder things on my phone, you can help me with that later” he laughed again “Although, there’s something I need to give you first, the other reason why I came to visit my girl.”

Alexander reached behind him for a deep blue velvet case with a golden phoenix crest at the center, it meant that whatever was inside was taken right from the vault of Valtorian jewels back home.

“Mimi left if to you” he said patting the box, Riley’s hands reached instantly to the golden bracelet Drake gave her, her eyes would still get moist thinking about her grandmother. “She wanted to give it to you on your Name Day, but I thought that it could outshine any other gifts you got. So, I thought that today would be perfect for it.”

Riley practically braced herself once her father started opening the case, but out of all her grandmother’s jewels, she could never imagine what was inside; the first thing she noticed was the glint on the center diamond, a dark shade of pink. Her mind took her to several years back, when she was just a child watching Mimi getting ready for her 40th Jubilee as ruler of Valtoria, the same case was open on her bed; Riley was obsessed by that tiara.

Back in the 80’s her family was one of the firsts to invest in an Australian diamond mine, now the largest supplier of naturally colored diamonds in the world, including the rare pink diamonds, which were Riley’s favorite. The tiara featured countless of them disposed on the V-shaped motifs, that looked more like hearts to Riley, she called the tiara the Ace of Hearts, and the name ended up sticking out.

Blinking again in her room at the palace, the 4-carat pink diamond stared at her surrounded by gold and platinum and its brothers and sisters of clearer shades.

“You’re giving it to me?” her voice was strangled.

“No, your grandmother gave it to you, she knew how you loved it. You’re a girl of age now, part of Cordonian society, it was about time you have your own tiara.” Alexander moved to kiss her forehead. “I can’t wait to see you wearing it.”

All she could do was nod, somehow her head was trapped on countless nights playing with that tiara, reciting the types of diamonds in it so Mimi would be proud of her, waiting for the day where she could go to all those balls as a grown woman in beautiful dresses, with her own tiara.

She was startled by Manolo arriving on her suite with his crew to do her makeup and hair.

“Oh, for all sacred apples! Is that the Ace of Hearts?” he exclaimed looking at Riley’s hands.

“Yes, my father just gave it to me.” Riley smiled, nostalgia taking over her.

“You’re going to look beautiful, what are you going to wear?” Riley looked back at her bed, settling the tiara back on the cushioned inside of the case, moving to open the bags.

Zuhair Murad sent a silver off-shoulder dress, that just wouldn’t go with the tiara, the three bags from Versace weren’t fit for the occasion, there were two Elie Saab bags and Riley started to pray.

The first was a black jewel-neck satin dress, with hand-painted flowers on the bottom of the skirt, it looked beautiful, but looked so modern compared to the classic tiara; crossing her fingers, she opened the last bag, it was breathtaking; a deep square-neck in dusty pink organza, embroidered from bodice to the bottom of the skirt in rhinestones.

“Yes! This one!” Manolo said clapping his hands enthusiastically.

After a couple of hours indulging Manolo on the light gossip she could afford to tell, Riley saw her dolled up version staring back to herself.

“You look amazing!” Manolo held her shoulders behind her, the rhinestones on the organza glinting under the lights of her room, although nothing could outshine the pink diamonds on her head. Somehow, her reflection looked like a glitter-coated version of herself. “Now, hurry up, your prince is waiting for you.” And winked at her.

Throwing kisses in the air at her, Manolo left her room, were she chose some nude flats to go with the dress, it wasn’t time to test her recently healed ankle. As Riley made her way to the ballroom, she thought about what Manolo had said, her heart almost beating out of her chest as she spotted the figure leaning carelessly on the statue of Maximus V.

The blazer of his gray suit was open, a lock of dark brown hair was falling lazily on his eyes, going back to place as he turned his head up to look at her. Riley felt she was going to faint, was that some joke? Something he couldn’t tell her in the morning?

“Wow” she could notice his mouth moving. “You are… wow, is that Mimi’s crown?”

“It’s a tiara, Drake. We’re not allowed to wear crowns” she laughed delighted.

“Geez you definitely gave ‘you should see me in a crown’ another meaning” Savannah appeared in a beautiful silver dress; Riley bet she had sewn herself.

“Not a crown!” Riley laughed again, but then stopped, as Drake offered his arm to his sister.

“Good evening M’Lady” the voice behind her interrupted them. “Has anyone said how breathtaking you look tonight?”

Liam spun her to face him, his blue eyes the most kind she had seen in weeks, her head was fogged, looking behind her, she saw Drake and Savannah reaching the side door, not looking back.

“Would you give me the honor to accompany you in this ball?” Liam took her hands and she looked down, realizing she hadn’t said a word to him.

“Of course, it would be my pleasure” she forced her cheeks up as he guided her to the main door.

What did she expect? It was crystal clear that whatever had happened the day before meant nothing to Drake, so why did she believe for a second in her own delusion? That’s what this was, a utopia.

“Prince Liam Rhys and Lady Riley York of Valtoria” it was announced as they made their way to the ballroom, as the court went down in whispers, about her outfit choice, her relationship with Liam, her grandmother’s tiara…

“Oh my God, this is the Ace of Hearts, isn’t it?” Kiara approached her with Penelope.

“Yes, my father just gave it to me!” Riley politely smiled at them.

“The luckiest girl!” Madeleine joined them, although she caught a twitch on her left eye when her eyes met the tiara.

“All the luck tonight goes to you, Maddie.”

“It’s not ‘luck’, it’s fate” Madeleine pretended to smile humbly.

I need a drink

Riley chuckled adorably and excused herself.

“Where are you going?” she was surprised by Liam.

“I was going to grab a drink”

“You don’t need to go to the bar, I already brought you what you’re going to drink.” He smiled at her, offering a glass of apple cider, her least favorite drink. “Come here, I want to introduce you to our Chinese Commissary, Chaoxiang Lee, his brother is married to a Cordonian noble.”

“Ahh, here comes your beautiful woman!” Chaoxiang exclaimed, there were so many things wrong with just that sentence that she had a big gulp of her cider to help her smile back at him.

“It’s a pleasure meeting you, Mr. Lee.”

“Oh, you remind me of my niece, she’s exceedingly polite just like all of you court women. We are lucky to have you keep us on our toes!” he sipped his champagne laughing with Liam. “I’ve heard a rumor you’re going to some American college…?

Riley opened her mouth to answer, but Liam was faster.

“It’s just a rumor, she’s not going.” His smile almost deceived her.

“Ahh, good choice young Prince, you can just leave these damsels alone in a place like America.”

She knew better than to disagree with Liam in front of people during court functions, so she just nodded, feeling the pain on her ankle intensify.

“Well, I have promised a drink to Duke Godfrey, I better hurry, it was lovely to meet you” Chaoxiang excused himself.

Riley waited until Mr. Lee was far to turn to Liam.

“What the hell was that, Liam?” she said between her teeth.

“Not now, doll” he pulled her to him a bit abruptly. “People are looking”

“Okay, I’m going outside for a smoke break, then” she gave him a jeering smiled and marched outside.

It took less than five seconds for him to follow her.

“I think you’re right, we need to talk.” Liam’s voice was nowhere near the contained tone he used minutes before. “I’m done with my feelings for you being met with contempt, it’s about time I finally let myself be heard in this relationship, Riley.”

“What are you talking about?” Riley was perplexed.

“You know how difficult it is to love you? I’ve offered you nothing more that my love, my heart, to you, for four years I’ve been trying and trying, and you answer me with applying for a college in the U.S. behind my back?”

“It wasn’t behind your back; I’ve always talked about that” Riley lit a cigarette only to see his eyes go dark.

“It’s time for me to clear out my opinions too” he inhaled deeply. “You need to stop fantasizing about a reality that doesn’t belong to you. New York is a make-believe story in your head, your reality is here. This is real. You need to stop being immature and selfish and start looking around to the people that you’re hurting. Because after everything you’ve made me go through, I still want you. Now, if you’ll excuse me, the choosing ceremony will begin, I need to meet my brother.”

“Liam…”

“I’ll see you later.”

Riley watched him leaving, then turned her back to the entrance, facing the garden below; she was shaking from head to toe, biting her lips with such force that she thought it would break skin.

Through her foggy eyes she noticed a strange movement in the gardens, she could identify Leo, but not the girl with him, she wasn’t dressed for the ball certainly, wearing jeans and a jacket; she seemed to shudder, even though the weather wasn’t that cold, Leo was stroking her cheeks lovingly; she finally notice the girl was crying.

She wasn’t naïve not to know what was happening even before they kissed, Riley felt strangely drawn to the girl, her tears flowing with such… freedom, her feelings free for only her and Leo to see, but nevertheless, free. They were gone when Riley remembered to blink, the orange bottle open in her hands, the sound of trumpets calling her back to the reality.

Back in the ballroom, everyone was expectant for the announcement, but Riley kept her eyes trained on Leo, he had always been worse than Liam at keeping a façade, he looked like a man ready to face his fate… if his fate was guillotine.

“I, Leonard Rhys, future King of Cordonia, come today to tell the news to all my court that I found my bride during this social season” to some his voice would sound nervous, as a man about to propose, but Riley knew better. “As for the woman who… stole my heart and will fiercely lead Cordonia with me, I present you… Countess Madeleine Arden, from Fydelia”

The crowd erupted in applause and shouting, but Riley felt dizzy, she should have eaten something before all that cider, it was a blur of Leo giving her the ancestral ring of the Rhys House; she remembered being pulled into a hug with Penelope and Kiara; she tried to escape as soon as the waltz for the engaged couple started.

“Riley… I mean, Lady Riley, are you ok?” Riley turned to see a Walker, but not the one she wanted to see. “There are still a couple of hours for this to end.”

“Yes, Savannah. I’m good” she put on her smile, ready to lie. “My ankle is killing me, and I think it’s better if I just lie down a little.”

“Oh, ok! I hope you’re better soon.” She waved at Riley going back to where Maxwell and Bertrand Beaumont were talking.

Breathing was only possible when Riley reached the corridor to her room, but she felt she was being closely followed.

“Riley” it was almost physically painful to hear Liam’s voice.

“I’m just tired, Liam.” She held her tongue, her hand on the doorknob.

“I know you’re not happy.” He said in an empty voice, and for a flick of a second that sentence filled her with a last gleam of hope, that he would understand her, that he would see her. “But you will learn how to be.”

It was as if her forces were drained from her body, she nodded at his words and he kissed her forehead; inside her room it wasn’t less suffocating, she pulled the tiara from her head, the pins plucking several hair strands from her scalps, even this pain was numbed by his words.

This is real.

Completely naked in front of the mirror, she traced her fingertips on the marks the embroidered bodice of the dress left on her skin.

Immature and selfish.

Her reflection mocked her, it could go and live the life on the other side of it as she was forced to stay there, forever. She didn’t revel on the feeling of her flannel pants on her legs, or the coarse material of the carpets on her bare feet, a sleepwalker wide awake.

The final destiny was the same place she began her morning, the cozy study was now dark, if not only by the fireplace; she sat in front of it as she watched it burn, the white envelope with the printed purple letters; the letterhead saying We are delighted to inform…

You’ll learn how to be happy.

AFTER

“I can’t wear that!” Hana seemed mortified as Maxwell held the mini skirt before her.

“You gotta show those legs” Max huffed and tossed the skirt on the bed, landing beside Riley.

It was a sunny day on the capital, although the air was chilly outside, Riley could smell the flowers from the nearby garden from her open window; Maxwell fussed on her closet some more, muttering some things.

“Here, try this dress!” he offered Hana a Dolce & Gabbana black corset dress and her eyes grew wide. “Shush! You can only complain when you try it!”

After a few minutes Hana emerged in the dress, she looked gorgeous, but her awkwardness was almost palpable.

“Why should I wear this?” her voice was low.

“This will channel a woman who isn’t afraid of her desires, a femme fatale, a Big Bad Bitch.” Maxwell answered with a flourish.

Riley burst out laughing.

“Should I be flattered you’re looking for that in my closet?” she asked still chuckling as Max made his way to her mini fridge and grabbing some tonic, as he pulled a flask from his pocket and three cups. “Max, it’s 4pm!”

“It’s 8pm somewhere! Besides, Hana here, needs some liquid courage.” He pushed a cup on Hana’s hand who also started laughing.

“Is it crazy that I’m doing it?”

“You mean going on a blind date with a girl that you met on the internet? That’s basically every parent’s nightmare!” Riley took a sip from her gin. “I’m kidding, Han. If you feel it’s right, just go for it, life’s too short…”

Riley got up and marched to her closet she knew the perfect dress for Hana, a ruffled lily-print bardot dress, also D&G.

“Oh my god! This is gorgeous!” Hana exclaimed feeling the fabric. “What about you two, plans for tonight?”

“Well, I actually have to go back to Ramsford to take care of some business for Bertrand” Max answered sipping his gin.

“The Turkish guy didn’t call you back?” Riley turned to him.

“In fact, I ghosted him”

“Max, you were never the same after the Mystery Woman.” Hana sighed going back inside the closet to try on the dress.

“Mystery Woman?” Riley asked puzzled and the younger Beaumont groaned uncomfortably.

“He had this affair with an older woman around the time of Liam’s Social Season” Hana shouted from the closet.

“How old?”

“47” Max practically coughed the number.

“That’s not all, she was married.” Hana said opening the door

She looked stunning.

“Well, that’s what I call coming out of the closet in style!” Maxwell whistled and Riley tossed one of her pillows on him.

“I guess that’s settled, thank you, R!” Hana hugged her and she reveled on the feeling.

A beep on Maxwell’s phone startled them, but it wasn’t until his brows joined at the center of his forehead that Riley started to feel uneasiness.

“I think you should see this.” He said with a pitied look directed to her.

He offered her his phone where a number of articles were pinned under his alerts on her name.

‘It was for the best’ Prince Liam on his former girlfriend Riley York

Riley stared quizzically at Maxwell who kept the downcast look.

“Keep reading.”

There was a bunch of things on how he fell in love with Madeleine, his social season, and then what she wanted to see.

Interviewer: So, I know I shouldn’t dwell on the love life of our future ruler, but you had an on-and-off-again relationship with an infamous figure of the court, Lady Riley York, we know she got into some trouble a couple of years ago, was it when things broke-off for good?

Prince Liam: Well we’re not here to talk about my past, especially about a person who’s very dear to me. What Riley and I had is in the past, she’s a wonderful person, we just happened to follow different paths. It was for the best.

“It was actually really sweet of him to say that” Hana muttered.

“Yeah, he could have said I was a lying bitch who was in a relationship with his best friend behind his back!” Riley tried to mock the situation but grimaced at the end.

“You know he’s still crazy about you, right?” Maxwell asked with another pitiful look.

“I really don’t know how to feel about that.” Riley sighed and got out of bed. “Come on, you have your stuff to do, I’m also visiting some old friend.”

“Are you sure? I can cancel…” Hana started but Riley cut her out.

“You’re going, Han. God knows my live needs newer gossip.” She rolled her eyes and pushed them out of her door.

Phew!

Riley marched to her bathroom for a long hot bath. This interview was something her therapist would love to hear about, it has been over a year of her trying to explain her relationships to Dr Strausser.

“How do you feel about him, Riley?”

As if she could answer this question, any feeling she had for either Liam or Drake was buried inside a box on the depths of herself, and she made a point of locking it and throwing the key away. Probably her cowardice towards getting in touch with those feelings were the main reason she had stopped seeing her therapist for weeks now.

When the water ran cold, she decided to stay true to her word and see an old friend, she should make peace with her past, right?

The Wood Wheel looked exactly like she remembered, even the sounds her boots made on the floor; she took it all in, waves and waves of feelings crashing over her: the smell of the crispy bittersweet bacon, chatter and chuckles, dim lights on the booths at the back, perfect for the couples. It felt like her grandmother’s lake house where she would go when she was little, welcoming and distant once her grandmother wasn’t there anymore.

She walked near the bar, scanning the polaroids on the Hall of Fame, there she was, full smile holding two empty shot cups, a gauze covering one of her hands; the first time she had ever entered there.

“Well, it’s been some time” the grave voice of Al took her by surprise, she smiled genuinely. “Are you looking for someone?”

“No” she wouldn’t mention Drake, not in a million years. “I just missed this place.”

“The usual?” he brought up the bottle of Maraschino and she shook her head laughing.

“Give me your best house red”

He filled a glass as she sat on one of the stools, she just enjoyed the final verses of a Torn cover, a blonde girl thanking as the sparse audience applauded.

“So, where have you been?” Al asked, washing some glasses.

“Don’t you follow the news?” she raised an eyebrow at him.

“I don’t believe the news.”

She took another sip from her wine.

“You shouldn’t!”

“So, where were you…?”

“Oh, I was at this luxurious resort… it also happened to be a rehab facility” she laughed, and he followed her.

“I’m glad you’re back. Have you talked to…?”

“Yeah, everything’s good!” she cut him, forcing on a smile; offering her glass for a refill. “Do you mind if I take this outside for a smoke?”

He shrugged and gestured her to go for it.

The clicking of her heels on the floor followed her; it was easier to breath outside, the chilly air smelled like freshly mowed grass, she pulled out her pack of cigarettes and leaned on the wood wall behind her. After a few minutes of silence, someone else came through the back door.

“Hey, do you have a lighter?” it was the blonde girl who was singing, Riley smiled and held her lighter to her; watching her medium effortlessly messy bob swirls on the wind. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome, nice jacket!” Riley pointed out to her red denim jacket.

“Oh thanks, loved your boots! You look familiar…” the girl squinted. “But I don’t know many rich girls who enjoy cheap wines.”

“What makes you think I’m rich?”

“You’re wearing $1,000 boots.” The blonde shot a brow up.

Riley laughed.

“I’m Riley.”

“I’m Cassidy… I saw you on TV, but you look less…” Cassidy started.

“Suicidal?” Riley asked point blank as a joke but watched as Cassidy was taken aback. “I’m sorry, that was a joke… that’s why I don’t have many friends.”

“I was about to say ‘prissy’” Cassidy laughed took a long drag of her cigarette.

“No, I’m cool… Just used to hang out with the wrong people.” Riley shrugged. “So, you play here?”

“Yeah, sometimes alone, sometimes with my boyfriend. In fact, that bastard is late to pick me up.” Cassidy smiled. “You should come next week when he’s with me! You’ve seen the crowd here, bring some friends…Oh, there he is!”

A pickup truck parked on the darkened corner ahead of them.

“Really, promise you’ll come, you seem nice and your friends must tip well” Cassidy laughed. “You can even meet some commoner to dance with.”

Riley laughed again, throwing her cigarette but on the ashtray.

“I’ll give you my noble word.”

“Next Saturday, 8pm.” Cassidy waved and moved to the truck as Riley moved to the door.

When she turned to answer one last time her whole body froze.

Because her eyes adjusted to the poorly lit back and she recognized the truck, although, even if she hadn’t, Cassidy turned on the interior lights and she could see Drakes face as clear as day, getting closer and closer to the friendly blonde.

She gave her back to them as quick as possible, getting back inside with short breaths coming out of her mouth; Riley moved back to her seat out of pure instincts, her head foggy, almost numb.

“On second thought, I’ll accept the Maraschino.”

Al gave her a knowing look.

The car ride back home was silent, her driver certainly could read the room and as if knowing she wasn’t to be bothered, just put on her favorite playlist, Post Malone’s voice soothing her nerves.

I had a thousand bad times, so what’s another time to me?

“Thanks, Hans!” she muttered getting out of the car.

Sleep was a thought too far from her head, therefore, she let her feet guide her anywhere they saw fit; on a reflex she ended up on a study she hadn’t entered in ages. She roamed the room, sitting on the windowsill, her favorite spot there; even though she didn’t want to think about what happened the scene kept playing again and again in her head until not-so-hushed voices outside the study caught her attention.

“You were supposed to say that you were always in love with me, that your relationship with Riley was a way to get closer to me!” Madeleine seemed enraged.

“For four years, Madeleine? While you got engaged to my brother?” Liam tried to keep it low.

“Press is having a field day because you couldn’t do us all a favor and forget your freaking crush on that bitch.”

“This conversation is over, Madeleine.” Liam seemed closer to the door, and Riley pulled her legs to her chest

“No, it isn’t.”

Clicking heels echoed on the corridors getting far from her, she thanked God… a little too early, as Liam made his way inside, not noticing her in the first moment, loosening his tie and going straight to the shelves stashing the liquor.

“It’s not polite to eavesdrop, Lady Riley.” His voice startled her.

“Actually, I was here first.” Riley watched as he took a sip from his vodka and moved towards her. “Madeleine seemed pretty upset. Although, I’m surprised you said what you said.”

“Well… I’ve rehearsed enough times to say things like that” Liam said taking another sip from his glass, “It’s for the best, it’s over now… It wasn’t anyone’s fault it just didn’t work out… She was a good girl, just wasn’t the one… We just grew apart. I couldn’t say you wrecked me, could I?

He moved closer to her, sharing the moonlight bathing her sitting on the windowsill; she felt embarrassed. His hand moved to her cheek and the coldness from his fingers startled her.

“I won’t drag your name through the mud. We both know I could” His gentle hand now gripped her chin as his breath was felt on her lips, she gulped under his touch pulling her face from his grip. “… maybe I should.”

“It’s getting late.” She muttered and got up as way to excuse herself.

Liam smiled sadly, touching her elbow as she passed by him.

“Drake left you” his words slapped her. “I’m the one who has been here, waiting for you. I’ll always be.”

She gulped again.

“Good night, Liam.”

Riley practically ran to her room, locking her door behind her as to keep her demons away. She concentrated on her breathing until the knot on her chest diminished, her hands were still trembling when she opened her first drawer, picking a pajama. Her fingers danced at the bottom of the drawer pulling it up, it opened as a lid. The inside was untouched, like a time capsule sending her to two years prior.

There laid her grandmother’s tiara, the Ace of Hearts; a burnt piece of paper with an almost unrecognizable NYU logo; and the item that instantly caught her attention: a white iPhone 4, the secret phone she used to talk to Drake back when her mother confiscated her phone.

She roamed through the drawer finding a charging cable, she sat on the bed forgetting about her pajamas, waiting for it to turn on. It felt so small on her hands, so many feelings encased on that tiny piece of metal.

There were four voice messages, all of them from that fateful day; the notifications burning bright on her eyes, she knew she shouldn’t do that, not with everything that happened.

She pressed the icon to listen.

You’ve reached Drake Walker’s girlfriend. If you’re Drake, leave a message (laughing)

There was a loud gasp, as if someone just broke out crying and hang up.

You’ve reached Drake Walker’s girlfriend. If you’re Drake, leave a message (laughing)

I guess I just wanted to hear your voice.

She promised not to do this, bottled it up, but effortlessly a tear rolled from her eye. His voice was so broken, he was so broken.

You’ve reached Drake Walker’s girlfriend. If you’re Drake, leave a message (laughing)

I know I shouldn’t do this, but I can’t stop thinking if I had arrived five minutes later, I would never forgive myself. If I hadn’t come… God, I can’t… I can’t lose you.

The tear turned into a sob; she gritted her teeth to stop it, but it started reverberating through her whole body.

You’ve reached Drake Walker’s girlfriend. If you’re Drake, leave a message (laughing)

They let me see you… I… I can’t think about what you did… I’ve tried to ask Bertrand to bring that stupid stuffed dinosaur you kept in your car, but he said your car isn’t in the parking lot… why am I blabbering? I just… I lov… (cut)

Her head hit the pillow, eyes close shut.

What had she done to her life?

_____________________________________________________________

Riley(Before) Dress

The Ace of Hearts

Notes: Well, we did it! Thanks to the few of you there are still here I came back from this long hiatus. Life got another level of hard this year, so many things happened on the past 12 months, more responsibilities at work, planning my wedding, then… [insert Cardi B shouting Corona Virus], I was working for 12h a day at home in order to keep my job and everything I’ve worked so hard to build.

But I also gave up other things that gave me joy, like writing this fic. This chapter was incredibly hard to write, though I’ve never felt so accomplished. You don’t know how full my heart is right now, thank you again! I love you <3

Tagging the amazing: @saivilo; @kimmiedoo5; @pug-bitch; @bee1arw; @laurmillen; @axwalker; @world-of-dreams-and-muse; @rtinaz; @iplaydrake; @notoriouscs; @mind-reader1; @annekebbphotography; @walkerismychoice; @tmarie82; @blackwidow2721; @thequeenchoices; @missameliep; @jovialyouthmusic; @perksof-everything; @choicesmacmakes; @carabeth @drakenazario; @drakesensworld; @moneyfordiamonds; @ao719; @lynne1993; @ilovedrakewalker23; @msjpuddleduck; @drakewalkerisreal; @violinist3121; @wannabemc2; @gibbles82; @furiousherringoperatortoad; @jens-diamondchoices; @rainbowsinthestorm; @fromthedeskofpaisleybleakmore; @emceesynonymroll; @addictedtodrakefanfic; @texaskitten30; @dcbbw; @i-bloody-love-drake-walker; @mom2000aggie;

#all of the lights #AOTL #trr fanfic #drake x mc #liam x riley #Riley York #the royal romance #trr au

39 notes · View notes