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coucouatoi · 3 months

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don't want to be alone | h.s.

Pairings: Harry Styles x Reader

Summary: Divorcing the biggest superstar on the planet is the hardest thing you've ever done. Almost as hard as marrying him was.

Warnings: Angst, couples therapy, a little bit of fluff, hopeful ending

A/N: I don't know why I'm feeling so full of angst... but, please enjoy!

Flashback are in italic and present day is normal text

Boxes are littered around the house. Some full and taped shut others still being stuffed with your items. It's a slow and torturous process, having to choose what to take, what to throw out and what things are a conversation waiting to happen "That's a wedding gift from my aunt" or "When have you ever used that?" or even better "I know it was a gift, but I paid for it so i'll keep it". It's like he knows exactly which buttons to press to get the fights started. Granted you might be doing the same thing... But it doesn't make him entitled to all the belongings you've ever shared.

You've managed to find all the picture albums, the ones you decided to make for sentimental value. The ones you gifted him in tender moments. The ones filled with so much love, so much hope and promises for a future together. The ones you're now highly considering throwing into a paper shredder and tossing into the nearest incinerator. The ones you won't be able to get rid of. The anniversary album you gave him on your one year, the wedding album, the honeymoon album, the many travel albums and, of course, your daughter's first album.

Little Anya, barely 9 months old just starting to babble her first words. Chubby legs working so hard to keep her standing and exploring. She can barely take 3 steps one after the other but she's a fighter. Your little girl that is now a cause for argument, no, fights. Custody battles. The true war between yourself and your husband, Harry Styles. Neither of you want to lose or call for a tie, it's not how either of you operate in conflict. That, most likely, is the reason for the downfall of your relationship.

Frustrated you put the albums back where you found them and you head to the kitchen.

Most kitchen items have been packed up, Harry had never really invested in worthwhile cutlery or electronics of any sort. You take some orange juice from the fridge and pour a glass for yourself. The fridge itself is barren, with only the essentials left... neither of you has gone to the groceries in weeks. Today is not going to be a good day.

From the rediscovery of your love-filled albums to the boxes you've spent most of the day doing, you still have one horrible thing to do.

Couples therapy, your first-ever session. You thought, well still think, that this is too far gone to save in therapy. There won't be anything new shared that you haven't already screamed in each other's faces and self-help talks aren't exactly going to do the trick. Anne, Harry's mother, insisted that your marriage doesn't only include two people anymore. Anya makes it worth trying, she is worthy of a stable home as she grows up. No matter how unstable having a superstar parent may be, divorced parents might just add to that an unruly amount. So, you've both agreed to try. Try your very best to reassemble your love no matter how shattered it has become. Love. Love hasn't manifested itself once since about your seventh month of pregnancy. Love has vanished from your husband's once warm and inviting eyes, it no longer lingers on his fingertips and doesn't even creep into the more tender moments you must share with your baby. Love feels like a complete joke to you now.

The waiting room is empty of other clients which is a blessing in disguise. This is the absolute last place you'd want to run into Harries. Even if the media has already been dragging you in the mud for "breaking their dear superstar's heart" and has been making all sorts of claims about you and your marriage. In the very beginning, Harry had spoken up about these articles and had gotten his team to shut some people up but he's been losing care for... well, you.

"Harry and Y/N?" you look up meeting the eyes of who you can only assume is your therapist. Without sparring your husband a glance you get up and follow her into her office. It's cosy and smells like vanilla. There's a yellow glow to the room, it bounces off her multiple frames and decorations. Very nonthreatening, immediately putting you a little more at ease. She gestures for you to take a seat on her velvet green couch and you sit down squeezing yourself onto the left armrest. Harry does the same to the right.

"Good afternoon to you both, I am Trinity Finch. Can I get either of you something to drink before I sit down?" She smiles politely as her eyes shift between both of you. You only shake your head as an answer not trusting your stomach at the moment.

"Water if it's not too much trouble, please" Harry's voice is strained, he had been at the studio all morning probably preparing a new album you aren't aware of.

Trinity nods and quickly grabs a water bottle from a small fridge she's got right behind her desk. Harry mumbles a thank you as she hands it to him. You don't realise that his hands are shaking as you're back to looking around the room. He takes a few big gulps before your therapist gets to sit in her chair.

"Today I would just like to start with a history lesson on your relationship. How it started, all important moments, how parenthood has changed your shared life and just how you two are as a couple" She starts getting things ready around her, notebook, pens, highlighters, some sticky notes and you swear that you spotted some bright childish stickers. Her long manicured nails tap against the glass of her desk a few times as the silence stretches. Neither of you taking the first step in this session. When she looks up again she doesn't look annoyed or surprised by the lack of an answer.

"Harry, how did you meet your wife?" Trinity asks him gently.

Harry seems caught by surprise to have been asked a question directly. He looks at you briefly before turning his eyes back to her.

"Um, we meet on the plane. For some reason, my private plane for that day was not available and they booked me on a regular flight. Premium ended up being full and I got an economy seat. I had the aisle and she had the middle we ended up bonding over our shared movie choice. Then I asked her out and um here we are?" He ends with a question. As if unsure if "here" is a good thing, it's definitely not but meeting has, unfortunately, brought you both here.

"And when was this?" she asks.

"April 2018" he answers quickly. She nods presumably writing it down.

"How was your relationship before marriage Y/N?" she looks at you now with kind eyes. They are big and dark. Staring right into your soul. It makes you slightly uncomfortable but at the same time you don't want her to look away she's your lifeline right now.

"It was very easy. I work remotely as a translator and an editor, so I've always been able to tag along on his travels and tours. He, um, he always insisted that he rather have me with him even if we couldn't see each other every single day. Just knowing I was near helped him..." you sigh. You don't want to shed tears this early into your session. You don't want Harry to see you cry any more than he already has over your lost relationship.

"I really loved following him around the globe" you add, looking down at your lap willing your wet eyes to dry.

"Any fighting? How did you deal with that?" Trinity is still talking to you maybe even sensing that you're about to cry. Is that what she wants from this?

"Well, yeah. I mean all couples fight, right? We fought over the same things all the time really. I wanted more affection I guess pressuring him to take some time away from the spotlight or he wanted me all to himself whenever it worked with him without thinking of my work. Our jobs were the main reason for fighting between us" Besides you, Harry scoffs before taking another sip of water. Your head turns to him

so quickly that a sharp pain forms in the back of your neck. Your posture immediately tightens, muscles locking and your breath gets heavier.

"What? You don't agree?" you question him in a much harsher tone than you were previously using. He meets your gaze and shrugs.

"I do but that's not all we fought over" he shrugs again not looking away. Is he trying to pick a fight right now? Here of all places?

"Then what? What am I missing?" you prepare yourself for the worst. Ready to feel like absolute shit at anything he might say.

"Your constant jealousy was a contender for the most appearances in our fights" his entire expression is accusatory but he does this thing with his posture. Gets all soft and somewhat blazé making you feel inferior and so incredibly small.

You want to storm out. Call Anne to apologise that it couldn't work out and immediately sign the divorce papers that are permanently placed right on your dining table.

Not wanting to fuel this energy taking over him right now you shrug as well before facing Trinity again. She's watching both of you like a hawk, processing the way you react to conflict with each other. Making mental notes as well as some physical ones all while hostility happens between her clients.

"We'll move on from this for now. Harry, how was the wedding? How did married life change your bond?" this seemingly calms his overgrown ego. His face is neutral again but there's a softness to it now, recalling the happy days.

"We had an Italy wedding. We, I love Italy. I flew everyone out, our families and friends, and then we stayed there for a month more for our honeymoon. The wedding itself was... amazing. We kept it small. Intimate. With my life it's always been hard to have that so, it was important to us" he sounds blissful towards the last part. Probably back there now in his mind. Ah, the good old days as they say.

"I don't think married life changed us much. We were living together before that and we'd been planning it since we got together practically" he stops talking again to take another sip of water. You look at the lady in front of you again and as she begins to open her mouth to probably question him more Harry starts talking again.

"I guess tension started about a year in. The media wasn't kind to her. They made up cheating rumours on both sides and manipulated things to make them seem like something else. Someone even showed up at our old house while I was out" he took a deep breath, cracking some of his knuckles at the same time, "We were always on edge around each other. Throwing these rumours at one another just to I don't know, get a reaction? Plus, we were stuck at home because of Covid and my tour was postponed. It was a real shit show" he laughs bitterly and you nod along to what he was saying. That was just a terrible time. For everyone.

"Then I got to go on tour, Y/N didn't follow along for all of it but she was there most of the beginning. It wasn't the same as before. There was this distance that just never got better. And then she got pregnant" he almost sounds exhausted. Maybe he is, you're not sure how much he's slept lately.

Shit. Fuck. This can't be happening now. Shit! The word "Pregnant" seems to be mocking you as you look down at it. Mocking the fact that you and Harry have not seriously spoken in two days and that you're flying back home tomorrow. Mockingly reminding you that this can only make things worse right now.

"Y/N, come on the car is waiting downstairs" your husband's voice is weak through the thick hotel bathroom door. He's performing in Toronto tonight. The second day, the last day before he flies to New York and you go back to London.

You walk out of the bathroom, straight past Harry, not wanting him to read your face and figure out that something is terribly wrong. You slip into your shoes for the night and take a deep breath, no scratch that, a huge breath. Willing your facial expression to cooperate before you turn to him and smile.

"Let's go superstar!" he smiles back and walks over to you. Grabbing your hand and bringing it up to his mouth so he can plant a kiss on the back of it.

"We just might have to cancel tonight if you look this good" his free hand wraps around you tightly glueing you to his body. You know he doesn't mean it but you pretend to consider it nonetheless.

"Mh what about all your adoring fans? Won't they be so utterly crushed?" you tease against his lips. He smiles wickedly before slowly nodding.

"I do have quite the engagement this evening... how about I make it up to you after?" he presses soft kisses to the sides of your face. Framing it.

"That's a pretty good offer, I just might have to tak-"

"HARRY STYLES GET YOUR ASS OUT OF YOUR HOTEL ROOM!!" Jeff's voice is full of annoyance as it cuts you off. Rude.

You laugh before getting pulled out of the room by your husband. The small plastic stick forgotten on the washroom counter for now.

You get a harsh reminder tho when you're back at the hotel after yet another amazing concert. You're laying on the bed completely stretched out and now only dressed in your underwear. Harry's currently using the washroom to try and get some of the remaining glitter off his face when he finds the secret you've kept all evening.

"Y/N, what's this?" his voice is so shaky that you barely even understood what he asked you. However, when you look up your brain catches up. He's in his boxers, left hand in his hair and right hand holding the test like it's made of glass as he looks at it as if it's going to explode. Fuck.

"No chance that you suddenly lost the ability to read?" you try and lighten the suddenly very heavy mood in the room. It fails.

"You're pregnant. How, I mean no I know how. Fuck, you're pregnant" he looks up at you panicked.

"We don't have to keep it" is the first thing out of your mouth. Probably as a panic response to his reaction. Not wanting this to turn into another fight.

"What?! Why wouldn't we, you don't want, I um" he takes a second. He's just breathing heavily while looking at you desperately. "You don't want to keep it?" he breathes out.

"You do?" is all you answer. You stand slowly, finding the clothes you just took off to put them back on. Whatever mood you were in is gone you're now filled with anxiety and a deep fear.

"You leave tomorrow... We won't see each other for what 3 months? In Mexico?" he hasn't moved an inch. Feet seemingly glued to the floor and limbs were frozen.

Pregnancy. One of the worst and best times of your life. Your gorgeous baby girl came out of all the pain you suffered. She gave a new meaning to the way you live, made you forget about all the physical pain you endured and...

"Why do you say it in that way? Like you still dread what the pregnancy brought" Trinity's voice almost startles you. You'd been so lost in your thoughts that you'd almost forgotten where you were.

"I don't! I love Anya" his voice is stern.

"What about your wife? What happened during the pregnancy?" she's digging. Wants to find the right buttons to push.

Harry stammers, but no answer seems to satisfy him. His hands are squeezed under his things, his right leg bouncing and his eyes avoiding either of you.

"We didn't plan her, I was right in the middle of my tour. We, um, we weren't doing very good and she was about to go home" he looks at you suddenly surprising you when he meets your eyes. You can't read him, can't understand what he's feeling. You haven't been able to read him in months.

"She- You, Y/N, she got really sick in February the seven-month mark. I was in Australia and I couldn't be there. It really strained us, we fought all the time over the phone and in person. I guess that's really when we went downhill" his jaw tenses when he looks away from you. Looks like he's not happy to have to have shared this with the room.

"Okay, thank you, Harry. I think now's a great time to take a breather. I'll meet both of you individually when we come back. So, see you both here in 20 minutes?" Trinity smiles at both of you and keeps smiling until you both walk out.

Harry doesn't come back. You wait 45 minutes in Trinity's office looking like an idiot. She dismisses you with a look of pity on her face before scheduling another appointment 5 days later, lots of work to do you assume. You rush out of the building humiliation creeping into every inch of your body. How could he do this on the first day? It was going fairly well, well you think so anyway... did he give up on your relationship right then and there?

As you make your way to your car you see him. Harry is pacing back and forth in front of his car as he seemingly argues on the phone. His free hand waves erratically in front of him, gesturing like mad for someone who can't even see him. So this is what he's been doing? Arguing over the phone while you sat in a therapist's office waiting to try and work on your ever-crumbling marriage. You scoff before turning away from him and to your car. But nothing seems to be on your side today as your husband hears you and immediately calls out to you.

"Y/N! Why are you leaving?" you hear him walk towards you, the clacking of his shoes getting closer to you but you ignore him and walk away faster.

You're completely focused on your black Subaru, the "You're so Golden" sticker catching your eye and making you more pissed off. Something that was put there because you loved the song, because of how beautiful your husband's voice is in the song but now all you want to do is rip it right off. So, that's what you do.

Your nails claw at the edges of it desperately. You don't want any reminders of Harry on your car, you don't want to think of him while putting the groceries away, while walking around the car after putting Anya in her car seat and you don't want to see it in your rearview mirror anymore. The top corner lifts as you're pulling at it giving you the perfect leverage to rip it right off. You throw it to the ground right before turning around to stare daggers into Harry's eyes.

"45 minutes, Harry. I sat there 45 minutes with our therapist looking at me like a beaten dog!" you hiss at him. He is now only about 2 or 3 feet away from you. His eyes are wide, in shock you guess, as he looks at the sticker. "What could you have possibly been doing for more than an hour that made you forget what we were here for?" you're sure you sound desperate right now. Your head is all over the place and your heart feels like it might explode out of your chest.

"An hour? I, no, that couldn't have been more than-"

"You can go back up and ask her if you want because I really really don't want to be around you right now" and now you're crying. Fuck. Why are you crying now? You need to leave.

While rummaging in your bag for your keys Harry grabs your arm. Well maybe not grabs, he just places his hand on you, resting it there delicately. If you weren't so aware of every single inch of your body right now you wouldn't have noticed. No matter how delicate the touch is supposed to be you flinch out of it aggressively.

"I'm, I'm so sorry Y/N. That was my mother, she, fuck" he sighs and runs a hand in his hair gripping it tightly. "She wants us to go up... she's rented a lake house or something I guess" his voice is so soft, shy even.

"Us? You mean you and Anya?" god you hope so.

"I'm so sorry" is all he answers.

Anne Twist is a very difficult woman to say no to. Actually, it's impossible to say no to her. In the many years you've known her, she's always been able to find a way to make you say yes. Always in a good way. She loves you, she has told you that countless times, and you love her but now that you're... the way you are with her son you don't know where you stand. Yet, she has still found a way to get you to agree to something you would have much rather not have gone to. You're in a small townhouse almost 4 hours away from your home in London with your mother-in-law, your daughter and your soon-to-be ex-husband. What has your life come to?

Anya is sitting in her high chair passionately eating banana slices as you watch her. She's already gobbled up the strawberries and pita bread slices she also had for her snack. She's such a good eater always so ready to try new things and taste whatever the adults around her eat. Especially the sweet treats her dad sneaks her.

"Do you want to go take a dip after huh? We should enjoy the water my love" you coo at her as she takes her final bite of food. She smiles at you like she understood what you asked and you chuckle wiping her chubby cheeks and hands. She'll be able to float around in the water for a little bit with you before you put her down for a nap. The steps of your morning are perfectly planned so that you can have your solo Zoom session with Trinity.

There is a small river behind the house you're staying in. The water goes up to just above your breast and it's the perfect warmth at this time of day. You've made your way down to it and are now setting up Anya's towel for when she'll be too tired to entertain you and ready for her mid-day snooze. She's currently lying right by you looking up at the sky with such curiosity, probably trying to figure out what the hell clouds are.

"You're so curious my love!" you shake her gently as you smile widely. "What do you see up there?" as you look up to join her sky-gazing you spot Harry making his way to the river as well. He's only got very short grey swimming trunks on meaning his entire chest, thighs, calves, and arms are out for the whole world to see. Maybe that's an exaggerated statement as you're the only one looking right now. You want to scold yourself for staring, you really really do but he's just so... so captivating and very enjoyable to look at no matter how much you resent him at the moment.

"Mind if I join you ladies?" his voice is more cheerful than when you heard it last. Must be because he's actually speaking to and looking at Anya.

However, when you don't answer his question he looks up at you. Expression now closed off again, how it's always been for the past few months. You smile politely and nod before turning your back to both of them so you can take your robe off. Your swimsuit isn't anything special; simple black one-piece that's high on the hips and low on your back. You think it looks pretty good on you but now you feel very aware of the amount of skin you're showing. You decide to just get in the water hoping its dark colour hides you. Hides away the skin your husband might be looking at.

"Looks like mummy is in a hurry, we should join her. What do you think sweetheart?" Harry picks your baby up and makes his way into the water. He holds her tightly to his chest as he climbs in, just in case he slips on the stones he uses as stairs. Once your daughter's chubby limbs meet the water her mouth forms into an adorable "O" shape. It's the second time Anya's been in the water now so she must still be unsure about this feeling. Harry turns her so that her front faces you and her back is against him. She smiles when she spots you reaching her arms out quickly which splashes some water around. She looks at you with a shocked expression and does it again with a giggle now.

"You little troublemaker! Trying to splash me!" you tease her sending some water her way. She answers with a sweet giggle and shakes her arms around as fast as she possibly can.

"Mh, my jokester gene is strong in her" Harry's voice is laced with pride. You playfully roll your eyes at him and hum affirmatively.

"And her love for singing too" you add remembering so many moments where she hums to any song playing. Her favourite thing to do is to harmonise with her father. His deep voice always gets her attention, always gets her to mumble and hum along with her own lyrics.

"Oh yes, she's the next big thing this one" he affirms kissing the top of her small head affectionately.

It's in moments like these that you tend to forget how bad it is between you. How many horrible things you've shouted at each other not caring how deep your words could cut. The accusations, the insults, the taunts and even the lies still weigh heavy on both of you. You like these softer moments, where you're reminded of how much love you both had for each other. Have? Had? You don't know anything about your feelings anymore, they are much too complicated to understand...

All three of you stay in the river for about an hour more before Anya starts yawning and fussing. When you exit the water you're quick to slip your robe back on still overly aware. Harry wraps the fluffy towel you had gotten ready around your baby. Her head rests in the crook of his neck, her eyelids already heavy as she blinks slowly. You all walk back to the house together silently. Might it be to keep the sleepy baby calm or to keep the peaceful aura around you and your husband, you don't know.

Harry insists that he will put the sleepy girl to bed and that you should take a shower first. After all, you have the first private sessions with your therapist. The mention of her does make the air in the townhouse tense again but Anne appears immediately to kiss Anya before she naps. You use that moment to sneak into your shared room with Harry. Luckily, it has two single beds so you don't have to share with him.

Signing deeply you rid yourself of the now damp robe you had on. Another blessing in disguise, this room has an en suite bathroom so you'll be able to jump right into the shower. Before that you do want to set up your laptop for the video call, you want to be as ready as you possibly can be. You grab your device from your backpack and make your way to the small desk in the corner of the room. There's a bunch of papers scattered around it, one glance at them and you immediately know what they are.

Lyrics. Drafts of songs and melodies written by your rockstar husband. You don't mean to read any of the words you really don't but as soon as you spot your name at the top of one of the pages you're doomed. You put your laptop down on Harry's bed which is right next to the desk and reach for that exact paper.

The words you read are full of longing, pain, sadness and fear. They mourn love, they are mourning your love. You pick up another sheet of paper, this one has no title but there are so many lines written. This one is reeks of self-hatred, of shame and guilt... it shakes the weak barriers you've built around your heart. All of the lyrics you read on different papers revolve around the same emotions. These are all about your relationship. About the death of it. About his desire to turn around. You don't realise you're crying until a tear falls onto the paper you hold. The ink bleeds into itself where it's been wet blurring the words slightly. You quickly wipe your face and put the papers down. You shouldn't be looking at these, you're invading his privacy.

"Thought you were showering" Harry's voice startles you out of the chair. You meet the floor with a loud thud. Your tear-filled eyes meet his sharp ones. Scrambling up to your feet you grab your laptop ready to explain, ready to apologise over and over again.

"At least tell me what you think" he sighs walking into the bedroom and shutting the door behind himself. This shocks you. What does he mean? He, he's not mad? Isn't disappointed that you invaded his creative space? Your mouth opens and closes a few times unsure what you should answer.

"I'm sorry" is all you're able to get out. Your brain is blank in absolute fear but tears keep falling from your eyes.

"I should be apologising... you, you weren't supposed to see those" he walks in your direction slowly, testing the waters of how close you'll let him get. He's closer than arm's reach when you flinch backwards slightly and he stops immediately.

"I was going to ask you for your permission before making any of those full songs but you know music is how I cope" he whispers now that he's so close to you. Silence takes over the room again, stretching out for too long. Your eyes somehow keep producing tears as you try and speak. Hopelessly searching for words to say.

"Do you really miss us? You miss me?" is what you come up with, your voice is so shaky that you're on the verge of sobbing uncontrollably.

This shocks Harry in place, seemingly not prepared for that kind of questioning from you. His mouth gapes and his eyes grow wide. This time you do see his hands start shaking. You're not entirely sure what this emotion is.

"Of course I do. Did you not think so?" while still whispering he reaches out to hold you but stops himself hands falling at his sides.

"Yo- Harry, you asked for the divorce. How was I supposed to know you miss me?" your voice breaks. You don't understand, why is this happening now, why is he saying these things?

"We should just get a divorce" Harry snaps at you as he fights back tears. Your expression immediately closes up, your body reacting before your thoughts and words do. Protecting you from what he just said, building walls around you and your heart as quickly as possible.

"Fine" you spit out as you turn away from him and walk straight out of your bedroom. If that's what he wants then so be it. You won't beg for anything now that he's made his decision.

"I know, okay? I know that I asked for it and that it's the reason why you don't talk to me anymore. Well, you do but not really" he sighs and sits down on his bed, damn swim trunks wetting the bed "We talk about Anya and when we're not we are yelling at each other... so when was I supposed to tell you that I missed you? That I regretted asking for the divorce..." he looks at you with a guilty expression, all his emotions are coming up at once.

"Why did you ask for it?" you ask him sitting back on the desk chair with your laptop still in your hands.

"I got in my head. You were saying we should take some time for ourselves maybe live apart... with everything that kept being said about us, I got so scared" he takes your laptop out of your grip and puts it down next to him.

"I thought you were going to fight me on it..." he adds as he grabs your hands tenderly. Like he's afraid you'll break.

You shake your head in disbelief not sure what to say. Your thoughts are all over the place, what should you make of this?

"It broke my heart" When did his face get so close to yours? You should really move away. You can't fall back into him, you can't let yourself do that. So you pull away from him roughly, your hands tugging out of his hold, face moving to the side, a sob making its way out of you as your back meets the chair-back.

When you meet Harry's eyes you can see the pain, the hurt, in them. They are brimming with tears that are so close to spilling out.

"Are we... are we too broken?" his voice has dropped to a whisper. He sounds so sad and scared.

"I'm worried" You take in a few breaths before you speak again, "What if we just end up hurting each other again? What if we can't go back?" you choke out the last few words. Tears spill endlessly out of your eyes and sobs rack your entire body.

It feels like you're running out of air and the little bits you get in are painful. Your eyes burn as you cry and your hands are shaking like crazy.

Harry might be answering or trying to communicate but nothing is making its way past your meltdown. What does make it through is the feeling of his arms around you. Him pulling you against his chest tightly, immediately rubbing your back as soothingly as he can. Your hands are grabbing his still bare skin desperately, wanting to anchor yourself in any way you can. Your face rests on his peck, right above his heart, the frantic beating bouncing around your head.

"Breathe, you have to breathe love" he speaks delicately in your ear, breaking through the barrier your body has put up.

"I'm- I'm, I can't... Harry I can't" your clawing at him almost trying to get under his skin, someplace you might be able to understand everything that's going through his mind.

He wiggles around a little before laying you both down as he keeps reassuring and encouraging you. He drags you on top of him your face now pressed up against the juncture of his neck. Your left-hand makes its way into his hair, pulling at it as softly as you can manage. Harry's hands run up and down your back, your arms, and your neck and he even pets your hair delicately. He's always known how to best calm you down... how to bring you back down to earth and out of the panic attacks you sometimes get when you're overwhelmed.

"I'm sorry. I'm so so sorry" he repeats that over and over with a pained desperation. Harry's scared shitless too. He doesn't know how things will go with your relationship. He can't guarantee that you won't end up actually wanting a divorce one day... But he can love you. He has and will keep loving you. He hopes it'll be enough to save your marriage. He'll work incredibly hard every single day to prove his love for you... if you let him back in he won't ever let you go. He'll leave it all up to you. Your little family is all he needs, he'll spend the rest of his life proving that to you if that's what it takes.

#harry styles #harry styles x reader #harry edward styles #harry styles x y/n #harry styles x you #harry styles angst #harry styles fic

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ramzawrites · 1 year

Text

Christmas Kiss - Donatello x Reader

FEM

Pairings: Donatello x Reader

Characters included: Donatello, Leonardo, Raphael, Michelangelo, April, Shelldon

Warnings: n/a

Series: A request!

Summary: Y/N is helping Donnie with the lights for christmas since the family was so nice to invite them over for the holidays. Unbenkownst to the two the rest of the family is using this to finally set the two up via mistletoe.

Request: Hello Ram! 💕

Can I request a long Christmas fluff oneshot with prompts: “Look up, there’s mistletoe!” from Mikey, “Um, D-donnie? You k-know what that means, r-right?” and [An unexpected kiss that shocks the one receiving it.] about Rottmnt Donnie getting caught under the mistletoe with shy!fem!human!reader together at his home? Hint#1: This mistletoe idea was Mikey, Leo, Raph, Splinter, April and Shelldon's matchmaking plan! 😂 Hint#2: Shelldon who holds a mistletoe because he is so very mischievous matchmaker robot, haha. 😂 I live for flustered Rottmnt Donnie! 💘 Please??

~🍓 (she)

Word count: 2780

Authors Note: I'm sorry this is so late but I've been busier than I thought I would be around this time but I still wanted to finish this request and post it. I know it's like a full month after the holiday season but I hope you will still enjoy this.

Y/N did not have anything planned for this holiday season and she was loving it. Her parents were living a few states over and decided to finally travel around for the holiday season since for their last wedding anniversary the family got together to gift them a vacation. The rest of the family was either too far away or decided to do their own thing as well and seeing how all her roommates were off to visit their own families for their respective holidays, Y/N had the small apartment for herself.

She didn’t need to decorate, she didn’t need to plan out a dinner with her family. No, she was just planning on sitting in her room with some microwavable food and watching one of her favorite shows on her laptop. The most stressful part would just be the phone calls on Christmas day but those would go over fast.

Now when her friends, aka the four turtle mutants and April, heard about this they were absolutely aghast. Some more than others. Apparently, they couldn’t allow Y/N being alone on Christmas Eve and promptly invited her over for the day. They even roped her into coming over every now and again to help with decorating, baking cookies and the like.

And while Y/N tended to get stressed out when it comes to social interaction, she actually enjoyed the time with them.

Everyone seemed to have their own job. Mikey took care of the food for the holidays, Raph and April were the ones looking for a Christmas tree, Splinter went into the Hidden City to deal with any kind of shopping, Leo took care of most of the decoration while Donnie helped him when it came to the lights and even the music. Though the others kept looking over his music choices just to be sure.

Since out of all the people Y/N got along with Donnie the best, he immediately assigned her to lights duty alongside him. He also might have used this as an excuse to start teaching Y/N about simple electronics and the like. Y/N once said that she would love to be able to actually talk with him about his inventions but just didn’t have the knowledge. Now he sometimes took the chance to begin teaching her things.

And Y/N has really been trying her best to follow along which Donnie noticed and appreciated hence why she was allowed to go into his lab with his permission when he wasn’t in the lair. Usually this would only happen when the group needed some technical back up during missions.

This usually ended up with Y/N hurriedly working on Donnie’s computer while Donnie’s AI Shelldon told her what to do. This was also the reason why Y/N and Shelldon were pretty much besties at this point. So much so that Shelldon would sometimes ignore Donnie’s orders to do some fun things with Y/N when she was around. During his rebellious phase he even snuck over to Y/N’s apartment to complain to her about Donnie.

The phrase “Y/N would let me do this.” Was sometimes heard thrown through Donnie’s lab ever since then.

This coupled with the simple fact that the shy Y/N but was the most comfortable with Donnie and since he himself acted more like a father towards Shelldon, the others would joke that the two were divorced and Shelldon was their child. The bot loves playing into it so much so that he was moaning about not having two Christmases when the others invited Y/N over for the holidays.

Y/N laughed as she wrapped the last bit of the lights around the tree that Raph brought in together with April, Shelldon hovered around her head, obscuring her vision “Shell, please, I can’t see where I’m putting the lights down like that. Besides if you get so close some of the pine leaves or the cable might get tangled up in your rotor blades.”

He did indeed fly to the side but not before bumping his little head against Y/N’s cheek “Don’t worry, dude. I, like, totally know what I’m doing.”

“Oh, that is straight up a lie, Shelldon.” Donnie hissed. He was sitting on a beanbag and was currently hastily repairing a cable with electrical tape that Shelldon accidentally ripped by tangling it up in his blades.

“That is in the past, bruh. I know better now.” The bot only replied as he slowly flew over to Y/N’s now free arms. She immediately caught him knowing this behavior of him pretty well by now. Frankly he loved being a bit more rebellious when Y/N was around and hanging around her since he knew that Donnie wouldn’t be outright mad at her.

And Y/N very much knew she was being used as a human shield but didn’t mind it too much. She loved the little guy after all. She might be shy and isn’t one to immediately shoot back a sarcastic comment, but she is content with teasing Donnie a bit by helping Shelldon.

Donnie just sighed “You are lucky that you only destroyed the outer layer and not actually the wire inside and be glad that your rotor blades didn’t get destroyed as well, then again, I would have been more disappointed in myself if a simple flimsy cable would destroy them.”

While Donnie spoke Shelldon leaned more against Y/N, she wasn’t sure if he just did it for show or if he actually enjoyed the contact. She knew he is a sentient AI but how far all of this went she had no idea.

When the robot didn’t respond Donnie turned around to see him snuggled up in Y/N arms. She would have expected a snarky comment from him but instead he looked almost amused. Maybe the holiday season was getting even to very matter-of-factly mutant.

Y/N couldn’t help but blush as he just kept staring at her and Shelldon with a raised drawn-on eyebrow and a soft smile.

He seemed to catch on himself that he was staring, he cleared his throat and walked towards the nearest wall to hang the recently repaired cable with the lights up.

“Okay, lazy bones, these are the last of the lights.”

Y/N might be shy, but she was at this point good friends with Donnie which meant she couldn’t let the insult stand like this “Lazy bones? Shell and I put on all the lights on the tree. We were the ones working while you were sitting comfortably on the beanbag.”

He let out an annoyed, yet clearly sarcastic, huff “Scoff! Backtalk from you? Shelldon is a bad influence on you, Y/N.”

Of course, Shelldon had to immediately roll his eyes “Sure. Anyway, if all the lights are up, do you want me to get the others to take a look?”

Donnie nodded as he took another look at the cables, checking if everything was connected correctly “Yes, that would be very much appreciated. I’m sure they want to see how this all turned on as well.”

Y/N let go of the little drone so he could fly off and call the others to the living room where the three have been working. It didn’t take long for the rest of the family to come sauntering into the room and take a look around to see the, turned off, lights all around them.

Mikey was carrying a plate with some decorated cookies, he walked around and happily pressed one into everyone’s hands. Y/N had to giggle when she saw that the cookie that she was holding was decorated with her own face. The cookie had blushing cheeks to properly show off how she tended to be around everyone. Looking over at Donnie’s cookie she could see his had pulled down thick eyebrows while still sporting a big smile. It made him look like some kind of evil scientist and honestly that tracked.

“May someone turn off the lights!” Donnie pointed into the air theatrically before biting into his cookie. Y/N just shily begun nibbling on her cookie. It was a good cookie! It was! She just felt a bit on edge seeing how everyone filed in to see what Donnie, Shelldon and, of course, she herself worked on.

Speaking of Shelldon, he was nowhere to be seen. Weird, Y/N was sure he would have loved to see the lights. Then again he has been up for a while maybe he took the time since the job was done to recharge?

“Turning the lights off!” Raphael exclaimed happily and did just that. Y/N instinctively stepped a bit closer to Donnie even though she knew there would be light in a few seconds anyway.

There was a soft click as suddenly the room was bathed in a soft festive light. Multicolored lights shone bright and illuminated the room. There were a few oohs and aahs as the family spun around to take a look how all the lights wrapped around the room and filled the room with its lights.

The tree, albeit without any decoration besides the lights yet, looked especially nice. It was then that Y/N realized that she was beginning to get into the whole festive mood as well. Her eyes wide open as she took everything in. She was excited. Excited to hang out with her second family.

“Now that’s what I’m talking about! Good job you guys!” April complimented their work.

Mikey was practically bouncing “Oh! I’m so excited! This looks already great if we add more decoration this will look fantastic!”

“And I already have plenty of ideas!” Leo added proudly.

“Yeah, you three did an awesome job.” Raph smiled as he took another moment to stare at the tree he worked so hard with April to bring into the sewers.

Donnie softly laid his hand on Y/N’s shoulder, which spooked her for a second, and addressed his family “Of course we did! After all Y/N and I here have fantastic eyes for aesthetics!”

Leo couldn’t help himself as he let out a snort “Y/N, maybe. You? Eh.”

This earned him a hard stare from Donnie and surprisingly Leo backed down, maybe he felt more charitable due to the season “Alright, alright. You do know what you are doing… sometimes. Good job, Don. You too, Y/N, of course.”

Y/N could only nod to that, happy that the family didn’t hate the work she put into all of this. Almost if Donnie could read her mind or sense her worries he squeezed her shoulder once more before letting go. Almost as if to say “See? All good.” But maybe she was reading too much into this simple interaction.

Suddenly Mikey began to giggle for no apparent reason but when Leo, Raph and April also sported mischievous grins suddenly Y/N thought that she must be missing something vital. Or they were laughing because of her, for some reason. Did she have something on her face?

Donnie turned around but saw nothing, looking confused at his family “Okay, why are you all looking like that?”

Mikey pointed up towards the ceiling “Someone already started with the decorations. Look, a mistletoe.”

Both Donnie and Y/N followed Mikey’s finger and looked up. What they saw was Shelldon who had a mistletoe strapped to his body.

Donnie let out a surprised squawk and jumped to the left, pulling Y/N along but Shelldon just followed along.

It was quiet but Y/N could hear how Leo sputtered out a silent “Wow, rude.” Towards his twin’s action.

No one dared to say anything. Y/N just kept staring at her hands as she kneaded them nervously. Her face felt like it was on fire, and she did not want to look at Donnie. Or rather she wished Donnie wouldn’t see her while her face was probably a good few shade darker.

A mistletoe. A tradition she hadn’t even thought about. Was this planned? Surely someone must have put it on Shelldon to begin with but why would anyone do that? Oh god they were all just looking at them. Can she run away? It’s not like the thought of kissing Donnie is gross or anything, in fact maybe her mind had wandered to this here and there, but this was a lot right now.

Did they somehow find out she had a crush on the purple genius? Was she too obvious? Hey wouldn’t it be funny if right now Hypnoptamus decided to pull something stupid and activate the brothers villain alarm thing? Honestly, if that would happen right now Y/N would personally thank him.

Finally, Y/N dared to look towards her best friend. He stood stock still. His eyes also downcast towards his hands. He was blushing? Y/N could tell he tried his best to scowl but hanging around him for so long she could tell it was more to save his bad boy persona than anything.

The way he mirrored the pose Y/N was just in she had to think that he must be going through something similar in his mind, like she just had. But that would mean that he might actually-

He suddenly turned to look at her. The way he looked so unsure. So self-conscious. It didn’t fit him.

It’s rare she saw him like this. Usually only when the two hung out late into the night and the two began talking about their personal issues.

“So, uh, a mistle-mistletoe. It’s a, uh, you kn-know what th-that means?” In that moment Y/N could have kicked herself. Of course, he would know! She wanted to lighten up the mood but then said this for some reason. Stupid! Stupid, stupid, stupid!

When Donnie didn’t react. Not even a flinch, a bat of his eyes, Y/N wanted to apologize. Maybe just give his cheek a peck and the family would have to be satisfied with this. The peck alone would be agonizing for Y/N but if it would mean the two could get out of this awkward standstill, she was ready to sacrifice herself like that. Donnie really looked like he was about to pass out.

Just as she made her mind up to do just that, to apologize Donnie finally moved. In a blink of an eye, he surged forward and pressed his lips against hers.

It felt like Y/N’s heart exploded in her chest. Donnie held onto Y/N’s arms tentatively more to probably ground himself rather than to hold her in place. She was sure that if she wanted, she could get out of his hold easily. But she didn’t.

The kiss probably only lasted a few seconds but it felt ten times more than that. She could feel the tremble in Donnie’s hands on her arms, his eyes pressed close and eyebrows pulled together while Y/N couldn’t help but stare.

When he let go and moved a step back, he turned to his dumbstruck family, apparently they didn’t think this would happen even if they might have set this up, and in a very shaky voice he turned to Shelldon “I will have a word with you later, mister.”

Y/N couldn’t help but move her fingers up to ghost over her own lips where Donnie just was moments before. Did that just happen? This wasn’t some weird dream, right? It happened all so fast.

Donnie returned his attention to his family “Happy now? Shoo you all. You have things to do, no?”

Thank Mikey for having the emotional intelligence of the family, he was the one who indeed shooed everyone away even while April and Leo had their mouths wide open and tried to fight against him. Raph simply picked the two up though and they left the room. Shelldon left as well, probably thought that if he stayed Donnie would start reprimanding him then and there.

Donnie turned to Y/N who was still standing around as if she was in a daze “Are you- Um, I just, my brothers were and uh, I just wanted them to- I’m sorry.”

But Y/N shook her head “It’s…” she tried to look for a more eloquent word that might calm him down but couldn’t land on anything better besides “fine.”

Donnie looked incredulously at her “It… is?” He was still blushing and in that moment the word cute popped inside Y/N’s head.

She nodded “I’m happy.” She said while letting out a deep breath of air. As if trying to release any tension she had in her body. She couldn’t help to chuckle out of pure euphoria, her crush just kissed her “I’m happy.” She exclaimed more confidently.

Donnie was just as nervous, but the tension seemed to slowly leave his body as well and he released a hearty chuckle “I am too.”

#rottmnt #rottmnt x reader #reader insert #donatello x reader #rottmnt donnie #rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt donatello x reader #tmnt #tmnt reader insert #ramza writes #b1u3butt3rf1yanim3cart00ngirl22 #🍓-anon #🍓anon

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brian-in-finance · 6 months

Text

The actress Caitríona Balfe, center, taking her seat at the table. Photo: Rich Gilligan

T ENTERTAINING WITH

In Belfast, a Celebration of Art, Community and Pizza

In October, on the second floor of a former spinning mill in east Belfast, the visual artist and author Oliver Jeffers, 46, hosted a candlelit dinner for a group of Irish and Northern Irish artists and friends. The Portview Trade Centre, as the building is called, stopped producing textiles in the 1970s and is now home to 54 artists’ studios and creative businesses, including Jeffers’s, and his neighbors made up a large portion of the guests and the organizers. The occasion was a personal one — the launch of his 20th book, “Begin Again” — but he also wanted to celebrate his wider creative community. Accordingly, the evening combined tributes to both Belfast, where the artist has a home in the Holywood area, and Brooklyn, where he lived until recently and still has a studio.

VIDEO 📹 The author and illustrator Oliver Jeffers invited friends to toast his new book at a dinner in a former textile mill.

Jeffers is perhaps best known for his philosophical, understated children’s books, including “The Book Eating Boy” (2006) and “The Heart and the Bottle” (2010). And true to his style, “Begin Again” is curious, warm and quietly profound. “Not for kids, but not not for kids,” Jeffers says, the book is a vibrantly illustrated exploration of the climate crisis that attempts to lay out a hopeful future for humanity. “It offers an idea of slowing down, of using what’s near us — of starting over,” says Jeffers, “with the realization that we cannot do anything until we start to act with a sense of unity, to tell ourselves new stories that are defined by what we want.”

Jeﬀers, center (in tan jacket), sat beside the ﬁlm director Lisa Barros Da’Sa, at left. Photo: Rich Gilligan (and Caitríona Balfe, at right… BIF)

Pearson Morris, the head chef of the Belfast restaurant Noble, pan-fried wild halibut in a makeshift kitchen set up not far from the table. Photo: Rich Gilligan

While guests gathered for drinks, the sun could be seen setting over the city; on the north side of the building, hills rolled down toward the sea. The food too — a collaboration between the local bistro Noble, known for its unpretentious ingredient-led dishes, and Flout, an American-style pizzeria on the ground floor of Portview — was unmistakably rooted in Belfast. Despite a limited power supply and a lack of running water in the room, dishes were assembled and cooked in situ using three portable pizza ovens and a small stove. The table was lit with clusters of white candles and, after the sun finally went down, said Jeffers, it glowed with “the warmth of a hearth at home.”

The dinner table stood at the center of the 10,000-square-foot room. Photo: Rich Gilligan

The attendees: Jeffers celebrated with his wife and business manager, Suzanne Jeffers, and a group of Irish and Northern Irish artists, including the actress Caitríona Balfe, 44; the portrait artist Colin Davidson, 55; the electronic musician and composer David Holmes, 54; the husband-and-wife film director duo Glenn Leyburn, 54, and Lisa Barros Da’Sa, 49; and the writers Glenn Patterson, 61, and Jan Carson, 43. “Everybody at this dinner,” said Jeffers, “was interested in the power of narrative, the impact of what they do and how it makes other people feel.”

The table: Guests sat at two long tables — pushed together to create a more intimate arrangement — in the middle of the otherwise nearly empty 10,000-square-foot room. The events stylist Rachel Worthington McQueen, 30, sourced an Irish linen tablecloth in the same navy hue as the book cover’s background. Mismatched dishes in traditional Blue Willow patterns (originally bought from secondhand websites for Worthington McQueen’s wedding two years ago) held squat candles, and food was served on simple white plates brought over from Noble. Seasonal blooms — including deep burgundy dahlias and pale pink spray roses — echoed the rich palette of the book and were provided by the local, sustainable flower farm Sow Grateful. Each display was tied with bright pink twine, sourced by Suzanne Jeffers to match the exact Pantone color (number 812U) of the book’s title.

New Haven-style mussels pizza by Peter Thompson, the founder of the pizzeria Flout, was served alongside Noble’s halibut. Photo: Rich Gilligan

The food: To start, Noble’s co-founder and head chef, Pearson Morris, 34, served crab and lobster from nearby Bangor Bay dressed with homemade mayonnaise and his Bloody Mary tomatoes (heritage tomatoes steeped overnight in a mix of vodka, celery and Tabasco sauce) on Flout’s blackened focaccia. “I bake things so you think they’re burned — that’s flavor for me,” said the pizzeria’s founder, Peter Thompson, 45. Next was a take on the classic New Haven-style clam pie made with steamed Galway Bay mussels, alongside which Morris served pan-fried wild halibut with a fish head sauce. Then came Flout’s Detroit-style pepperoni pizza and a salad featuring locally grown baby gem lettuces. Dessert was Noble’s chocolate delice — jaconde sponge cake topped with salted caramel, dark chocolate parfait and a chocolate mirror glaze — accompanied by a salted caramel ice cream with Flout’s sourdough chocolate cookies tumbled through.

The drinks: Noble’s front-of-house manager and co-founder, Saul McConnell, 38, oversaw the drinks, which ranged from a vibrant Blanc de Meunier champagne for arriving guests to an amber passito-style Liastos wine from Lyrarakis, Crete, for the dessert course. The Boundary Brewing Company, Belfast’s first tap room and one of Jeffers’s neighbors in the building, provided an alternative aperitif: a full-bodied English bitter called A Certain Romance, a favorite of Jeffers’s studio team.

Jeﬀers illustrated the evening’s menus. Photo: Rich Gilligan

Noble’s chocolate delice, a jaconde sponge cake with salted caramel and a chocolate mirror glaze. Photo: Rich Gilligan

The conversation: Many artists talked shop, swapping notes on the production problems they encounter in their respective industries, and conversation also turned to global events. “There’s always been a comparison between the conflict in Northern Ireland and the conflict in Israel-Palestine,” said Jeffers. “We talked about the divisive rhetoric that’s going on right now.”

The music: Jeffers enlisted the Irish producer and D.J. Marion Hawkes, who runs the record store Sound Advice in Portview, to create a playlist, which ranged from classic folk to contemporary electronic tracks.

The recipe for Noble’s mayonnaise: It’s hard to beat fresh, homemade mayonnaise, says Morris, and it’s a quick, thoughtful addition to a dinner at home. But despite its few ingredients, it’s deceptively difficult to make. He recommends starting with equal parts white wine vinegar and egg yolk (approximately 2 teaspoons of vinegar to two yolks), which prevents the eggs from splitting as you very gradually beat in 250 ml of oil, then season with 5 grams of sugar and 5 grams of salt. Morris likes to use extra-virgin rapeseed oil for its neutral flavor, and an electric mixer for ease.

The New York Times Style Magazine

Remember… there’s always been a comparison between the conflict in Northern Ireland and the conflict in Israel-Palestine. We talked about the divisive rhetoric that’s going on right now. — Oliver Jeffers

Anon: Thanks… didn’t see your message until 10 minutes after posting. 🙁

#Tait rhymes with hat #Good times #Oliver Jeffers #Begin Again #2023 #The New York Times #Style Magazine #8 December 2023 #Thanks castlemaine123 #My screenrecording

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liaromancewriter · 8 months

Note

for the <100 drabble:

Ethan, Max, divorce

Taking Care of Business

Premise: Ethan is presented with an important contract.

Book: Open Heart (post series) Pairing: Ethan Ramsey x F!MC (Cassie Valentine); feat. Max Valentine (M!OC) Rating/Category: Teen. Fluff. Words: 760

A/N: Submission for @choicesseptemberchallenge2023 day 25 prompt: surprise; I'm using @choicesflashfics week 52, prompt 3.

The knock came at the most unfortunate time. Ethan Ramsey was feeling harried after waiting two hours for the workers only to have them arrive with the wrong materials and take another hour to return with the right ones.

He swung open the front door to his apartment, his scowl turning right side up when he saw his best man on the other side.

“Well … this is unexpected,” Ethan said, stepping back to let Max Valentine in. “I thought you were traveling.”

“Caught the red-eye from Berlin,” Max explained. He held up a legal-sized manila envelope. “We have business to take care of, mon frère.”

Ethan smiled wryly, shaking his head. Max had started teasing him with that term after Ethan commented last time on the oddity of being anyone’s brother-in-law.

The younger man paused in the middle of the living room floor and frowned at the banging coming from the bedroom.

“Bad timing?”

“Ignore that.” Ethan waved away the sound and invited Max to sit at the kitchen island. “Changing up some things in the bedroom and ensuite before Cassie moves on.”

Ethan switched on the electric kettle and espresso machine at the same time. “Does your sister know you’re in town?”

“Yeah, we met up for brunch earlier,” Max said, brushing one hand down his hair and rolling the kinks out of his neck. His lips kicked up in amusement. “She thought this,” he nodded at the envelope, “would be better handled by me than Huey, Dewey, and Louie.”

“Our family’s lawyers,” Max added when Ethan looked confused. “Don’t worry, they’re not actually called that. Inside joke between Cassie and me.”

Ethan recalled the brief conversation with his fiancée last week. Given the short turnaround between their engagement and wedding, her family had been pushing to get the prenuptial agreement signed sooner rather than later.

Max removed the papers from the envelope and turned them towards Ethan.

“You’ll find the terms are very generous. Cassie wouldn’t accept anything less. You both keep what you bring in, equitable division of marital property, yada, yada,” he said. “Still, have your lawyer take a look and redline it. I’ll forward the electronic document to you.”

Ethan scanned the papers, noting the provisions for divorce, infidelity and dissolution of marriage by either party. The lawyers had done a thorough job of outlining all scenarios. What did it say about him that he was unfazed by this?

“There’s one non-negotiable clause,” Max continued as Ethan flipped the page. “You’ll receive shares in the Hudson Group after the ceremony, but they’ll revert to the family in case of divorce or death unless you and Cassie have kids.”

“Be honest,” Ethan mused, peeking at Max over the papers. “What are the chances of your sister divorcing me or letting me divorce her?”

“Since Cassie will have you buried six feet under before you can finish that thought, I’d say slim to none,” Max laughed. “But the Group’s lawyers don’t share her sunny optimism.”

“Where do I sign?” Ethan took a pen out of the kitchen junk drawer.

“As your best man, I advise you to take this to your lawyer,” Max said, all joviality wiped from his face. “Prenups are serious business, Ethan. No matter how inevitable the two of you think you are, I’ve seen strong marriages falter over the most inconsequential things.”

“Were any of them Valentines?” Ethan asked curiously.

“Not the immediate relations, but—”

“I appreciate you looking out for me,” Ethan interrupted, putting a hand up when Max started to speak. “But I’m not marrying your sister for her money or for shares in the Hudson Group. I have a comfortable life, and my father is taken care of. I don’t need anything else.”

Max drummed his fingers against the quartz countertop and stared at Ethan. The considering look in his green eyes was so similar to the one Ethan often witnessed in Cassie that he almost did a double take.

“Fine.” Max reached for his phone. “I’ll have the lawyers email you the DocuSign link. An electronic signature is easiest and more convenient since they need to file the paperwork before the wedding.”

Ethan smirked when Max threw him an annoyed look, again so much like his fiancée. “Cassie told me you’d do this, but I was adamant that you were too level-headed to sign a legal contract without proper advice. You just cost me two hundred bucks.”

“You can afford it,” Ethan said without remorse before turning away to switch off the whistling kettle. “Tea or something stronger?”

-------------

All Fics & Edits: @bluebelle08 @coffeeheartaddict2 @crazy-loca-blog @genevievemd @headoverheelsforramsey @lucy-268 @jamespotterthefirst @jerzwriter @lady-calypso @mainstreetreader @peonierose @potionsprefect @queencarb @quixoticdreamer16 @rookiemartin @socalwriterbee @tessa-liam @trappedinfanfiction

Submissions: @choicesficwriterscreations @openheartfanfics @midnightmelodiz

Ethan & Cassie only: @cariantha @custaroonie @hopelessromantic1352 @mrs-ramsey @youlookappropriate

#open heart #open heart fanfics #open heart fanfiction #choices fanfics #choices fanfiction #ethan ramsey #choices fic writers creations #cfwc fics of the week #ethan ramsey x mc #ethan ramsey x cassie valentine #max valentine #open heart choices

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the1975attheirverybest · 10 months

Note

The Duexmoi submission that suggests Matty got uninvited from Jacks wedding is making me sad :( It’s an editor submission, and those are more likely to be true (it’s also the second time this rumor has gone around on the last couple weeks).

There’s a couple other celebrities people think it may be about, but I’ve seen a lot of speculation about the status of their friendship since Finsbury.

It’s all just gossip for now, but I really hope it’s not true.

Imagine, if you will, being MONUMENTALLY depressed, trying to do all you can to hang on to life. distract yourself. Do SOMETHING. ANYTHING. to stay sane, and you come on here for Matty serotonin but instead you come across this. Alright, fuck. Might as well I guess....

WELCOME to Critical Thinking 101.

I'm your Professor, The1975atvb dot Tumblr dot com. Please, have a seat, let me demonstrate the use of a human brain to you all.

What does the rational, mature, sane human being do upon encountering a piece of information and how does one decide whether to accept it as true or not? It's simple really,

Step 1: evaluate the content of the statement. Since you haven't done that yet, let me help you: "Matty has been disinvited from Jack Antonoff's wedding."

Ask yourself the following questions:

Do I know this to be true? No.

How can I go about knowing if it's true or not?

A. Ask Jack Antonoff himself

B. Ask Matty himself

C. Ask Margret (his partner/ soon to be wife)

D. Ask Ask Wedding Planner

E. Ask George, Adam, or Ross.

F. carry out a secret heist to obtain wedding invite list by means of deception and breaches of privacy.

Any other suggestions from the audience? can anyone think of any other means by which we could verify the truth of the statement "Matty has been disinvited from Jack's wedding"? No, y'all sure? think on it for a moment....alright then, we move on to

Step 2: Attempt each option until the statement "Matty has been disinvited from Jack's wedding" has been verified.

Option A. Anyone here a friend of Jack Antonoff and can just call him up and ask? No, aw shucks! too fuckin bad. Movin' along...

Option B. Anyone in a passionate love affair/ friendship with Matty and could ask HIM perhaps? No? that's really too bad.

Option C. Anyone happen to be besties/ cast mates/ acquaintances, etc. with Marget and can personally reach her and ask? No??? :( bummer.

D. Anyone know who her wedding planner is? ok, ok, y'all know where they're getting married? I'm sure if we call the venue and ask, they'll give us the info, cuz that's totally appropriate right? maybe we could ask THEM if Matty's been banned from their venue on the date that Jack and Margret are getting married, how about that? you missed THAT option. You gotta sharpen those critical thinking skills. Lucky for you, I'm a great teacher.

E. Y'all in a menage a trois with George and queen XCX? Anyone here identify as Adam's babysitter? Anyone hear Ross's new gf? No. Fuck, well we only have one option left! I really hope it works out!

F. Does anyone reading this happen to have CIA level training and can get into any home, wedding planning facility, electronic device, or personal documents to retrieve the relevant info and get back to us without getting caught? Yeah....didn't think so either.

Looks like we've struck out! I gotta say, my novice critical thinkers, this aint lookin too good for us.

Step 3: Examine the source of this information. Where does this info come from? It comes from * barfs in mouth* Deumoix *barfs on y'alls shoes*

I hate to ask.... but is DM a trust-worthy source? BUT PROFESSOR! HOW DO I KNOW WHAT TRUSTWORTHY SOURCES ARE?

Excellent question, my darlings. see sources A through F from step 2 where we have already established this.

Is DM any of the above? No.

Who is DM? a group of people who have published unverified, often derogatory information more than a few times, have contradicted and disagreed with each other on occasion due to "conflicting sources." Have admitted to lying in order to get people talking, is known to publish sensationalized, dramatic claims in order to garner attention and engagement at the expense of reality, truth, ethics, etc.

Does DM sound like the sort of source that a human brain should bother with? No.

If something is not verifiable as true, should we discuss it, speculate about it, weigh in with opinions, make up scenarios about why Jack may or may not have disinvited Matty, insinuate that there has been a falling out of this vital friendship? FUCKKKKKK NO.

Should we bring it on this blog? Not unless you're looking for a new lesson in critical thinking.

Hope this helps ❤️❤️

Going back offline cuz I can't deal with the rest of these messages. Bye.

PS EXISTING MESSAGES ABOUT THIS "RUMOR" WILL BE DELETED. THANKS FOR UNDERSTANDING. SEE YOU SOONISH

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aroaceconfessions · 2 years

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Every once and a while I think about the friendships I’ve had over the years that had changed because some of my friends priorities their relationship with their partners and I don’t know if I’ll ever fully recover from that. An example is when I had 3 friends; 2 I met in high school and 1 I knew since middle school, we all went to the same high school and when we graduated, we promised to stay in touch and hang out often. For most of our college years, we kept that promise, however things started changing after college. One of the 2 friends I met in high school started dating and would constantly invite her boyfriend to hang out with us and while the rest of us didn’t really like that, we agreed to let him join us, though the other high school friend was more visibly reluctant than my middle school friend and I. Hypocritically when the other high school friend started dating, she began doing the same thing as well and after that those 2 bonded over having boyfriends. Imagine how awkward it was to have to witness and follow a double date around, the only comforting thing was I wasn’t the only third wheel. Then both of them got engaged to their boyfriends and they would openly talk about their wedding plans in front of my middle school friend and I, but never include us in the conversation. They also told us they created another chat just for them because we weren’t able to contribute to their conversations. In the end they didn’t even invited us to their weddings, though I wouldn’t have gone even if they did. Eventually we grew distance and I being frustrated, cut ties with them and blocked both of them on social media. One of them even had the audacity to message me privately to ask if I could use my employee discount on a phone she wanted since I work for an electronic company. Thankfully the middle school friend and I still keep in touch, we message each other almost daily and occasionally make plans to hang out when we have time. I appreciate that friend for keeping our friendship alive for so many years, but I still feel sad about the ones I’ve lost, even though they weren’t good friendships. It’s moments like these that remind that people are so needlessly selfish and cruel when they’re “in love”. I hate this kind of love so much, but because of amatonormativity, I’m forced to meet people who are like this or are potentially like this everyday. It makes me feel like I need to have my walls up at all times to avoid them hurting me

#friends #friendship #amatonormativity

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jordanianroyals · 1 year

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Electronic platform launched for Crown Prince, Miss Rajwa wedding wishes. On 26 May 2023, the Crown Prince Foundation launched an electronic platform dedicated to sending wedding wishes and congratulations to Crown Prince Al Hussein and Miss Rajwa Al Seif on the occasion of their wedding.

The Foundation stated that the platform is open to everyone inside and outside Jordan, and invited everyone to visit it through the following link: https://celebratingalhussein.jo/

The wedding is set to take place on June 1.

#crown prince hussein #Princess Rajwa #Wedding

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elenacastro · 11 months

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𝙱𝙸𝙾𝙶𝚁𝙰𝙿𝙷𝚈 ─── 𝙿𝙻𝙰𝚈𝙻𝙸𝚂𝚃 ─── 𝙿𝙸𝙽𝚃𝙴𝚁𝙴𝚂𝚃

Full name: Elena Paloma Castro

Nicknames: Lena, Ellie

Age: 31

Nationality: Dual (Puerto Rican, American)

Gender: Cis Woman

Pronouns: she/her

Orientation: Bisexual

Current Occupation: Electrician

Former Occupation: US Marine Corps Pilot

Residency: Old mobile home near the Solar Panel Yard

Lenght of Residency: 2 years

Summary

Born in Arizona, her parents were two immigrants who saw a bright future for their two daughters. While Monica, her older sister, saw a clear path for herself, Elena struggled a bit longer to figure out what she wanted. Eventually, she joined the Marines instead of going to college and that's where she's been. Her sister moved to Redwood since it was her fiance's hometown, it's where they got married and had their daughter. Elena visited for the wedding once, stayed for a while, and then returned to work but shortly after, the goddamn apocalypse happened. Elena was amongst the ones who tried to save as many people as possible but when her entire unit fell, she headed for Redwood to meet her sister. However, when she reached town, she discovered her sister didn't make it during the attack. Elena decided to stay and be with her niece and her sister's husband, the only family she had left. Her time in the Marines made her valuable, although she prefers quickly tinkering with electronics.

Wanted Plots

(This might turn into a WC on main) Her sister's husband. They rely on each other to take care of Elena's niece, although they've never gotten close. They barely know anything meaningful about one another but at the same time, they'd kill for each other. Just a distant yet close relationship between two people still grieving the loss of a loved one.

Returning friend: They met during Elena's sister's wedding preparations and they instantly clicked. They spent a significant amount of time together when Elena was in town before the outbreak and when the world started burning and she came back, their friendship solidified and they grew to become extremely close.

Old hookup: It was just one shared night after the wedding festivities and they never planned to do it again, see each other again or live together during a damn zombie apocalypse. Although it's been a long time since then, Elena seems to avoid them a bit too much to have forgotten about it.

Her sister's friends: People who were close to Monica and who still miss her. Finding comfort in each other is sometimes easy, but sometimes the similarities between the sisters show too much. Especially when Elena is around her niece. It could be bitter-sweet. Or simple resentment.

Late-night buddies. Just two people who absolutely cannot sleep so they sit together at night, giving each other shit about how they are both so damn messed up, they can't even relax in their dreams. Always dancing on the line of having meaningful conversations.

Renovation friend: Someone who helped her fix the trailer home she now lives in. Elena is pretty handy but some things just work better with two pairs of hands. They were kind enough to help her when they barely knew her and Elena has never forgotten it, often inviting them to visit the project they finished together.

Bennie's refuge: Elena has a dog named Bennie and while they are an unbreakable pair, the pup always seems to run off to visit them. Countless times they brought Bennie back or Elena showed up at their place to pick up her dog. It's a running joke at this point.

I had more ideas last night when I applied but that's all I can remember for now.

#𝗙𝗜𝗟𝗘: // 𝙲𝙰𝚂𝚃𝚁𝙾 ─── introduction.

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woodnrust · 1 year

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I posted 7,261 times in 2022

That's 2,310 more posts than 2021!

1,455 posts created (20%)

5,806 posts reblogged (80%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@swissarmymanbf

@enbyzombies

@sodabutch

@slcpunk

@wizardmullet69

I tagged 4,538 of my posts in 2022

Only 38% of my posts had no tags

#jelly.txt - 1,420 posts

#food - 140 posts

#fave - 98 posts

#art - 95 posts

#photography - 94 posts

#real - 66 posts

#cats - 66 posts

#jelly answers - 66 posts

#iwtv - 63 posts

#mecore - 63 posts

Longest Tag: 137 characters

#it was just general 'pov you're gonna die' fanfics of popular creepypasta characters. read it on quotev 🦣👍🏼 had lotsa mutuals on there

My Top Posts in 2022:

What is the weirdest nickname that you ever got stuck with. In middle school pretty much everybody called me either "mariachi" or "marijuana"

127 notes - Posted April 5, 2022

The bond between a dyke and their pocket knife is unbreakable btw

261 notes - Posted June 23, 2022

Go to the doctor for a yearly checkup go to the dentist every six months go to the eye doctor every year see a therapist every week see a psychiatrist every month call in a refill for a prescription update your ID remember to recharge all your electronics go to the store once or twice a week buy a new light bulb cause the one in the kitchen is starting to flicker wash the dishes take out the trash check your mailbox you've been invited to a wedding your cousin's birthday is coming up you should send them a card you have to attend a funeral for a distant relative your credit card needs to be renewed check your email take a shower brush your teeth twice a day remember to floss schedule a time to catch up with your friends put aside time to work on your hobbies remember to take the trashcans back up start a new shopping list check your calendar for next week you should get a haircut soon vacuum the house there's dust on some of the things you haven't used in a while remember to sort all of your clothes before you wash them your shoes are starting to fall apart maybe it's time to get a new pair the clock on the wall needs its batteries changed maybe it's time to clean out your home and get rid of some stuff you don't need clean out the gutters there's a lot of leaves in the yard maybe it's time to rake them the grass needs cut it's getting kind of long maybe you should remember the names of all the websites you no longer use so you can delete your account check the weather forecast for tomorrow so you can figure out what you're going to wear.

1,550 notes - Posted April 26, 2022

There's a special place in hell for whoever popularized wireless earbuds. I straight up just cannot find wired earbuds in stores anymore and I'm NOT paying $60 for earbuds that die and have to be recharged after a few hours. I'll die on this hill

20,315 notes - Posted April 6, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Audio doesn't match subtitles incident, thousands dead millions injured

38,415 notes - Posted July 19, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

#year in review #eh. could've been worse

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rjm773 · 2 years

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Not like it’s a new concept to me - not wanting to be anywhere near a disaster zone is a common enough human trait, and yet one people tend to forget in a digital forum - but lately it does seem that everything is drying up. It’s as much apart of getting older as realizing you are your parents is, but actually feeling it in real time is deafening, mentally. The chasm between “are they talking about me or something I did” and “I’m not nearly important enough to be on their minds, up to and including the initial invite” is smaller than you think, but a lack of evidence does not imply lack of event. Not that I would’ve wanted to go to any more weddings than has been necessary in the vaccination age, nor that I was expected to be invited to any of them, but some of the recent ones are tougher to witness in retrospect than I would’ve imagined, making me all the more assured in a solitude that has become loneliness. “But,” you say, “she’s right there,” like I don’t know, as I stare down the hallway as you stare into an electronic device. Even worse, sometimes, is to be seen.

#twitter is dead #long live twitter

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pixuou · 2 years

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The Furley-Williamson-Dosser flatshare

Phineas had joined the LD party, Stephanie was already a well-established architect somehow, William was earning some money working at a law firm and saving up so he could maybe open a restaurant one day, and Mickey...

...Mickey was set on fulfilling his lifetime want to be a professional poker player (whilst still working at the Electronics Supercenter). He did previously have ambitions to be a movie director, but he was simply too caught up in gambling (is poker gamble?) and not really going anywhere with it in that moment.

That of course didn't stop him from lying to his "friend" Brittany that she would get that starring role in his movie. Discussing the movie gave him an excuse to invite her over and flirt with her (even though he knew Brittany was his girlfriend Heather's best friend, and also his best friend Guy's girlfriend).

William had also found a girl to date: Joanne (previously Almeric Davis's lover).

Phineas and Stephanie got married.

Soon after the wedding, Stephanie got pregnant accidentally, but the couple didn't mind – they'd already dreamt of starting a family anyway. They began planning to leave the flatshare and move out to the suburbs into a place of their own.

#furley #stephanie #phineas #mickey #william #joanne #brittany #downtown #ultimatehood #round 2 #ssu relationships arc

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thatgirlwholikestowritestories · 2 years

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The Summer I Fucked Up (Ch 27)

A Conrad predominant retelling of The Summer I Turned Pretty TV show and book series.

Did you read the books and want to understand what was going on in that little noggin of his? Read my fic to find out that this man has zero thoughts

Chapter list

CONRAD

When he’d come back from a run, soaked in sweat, she was in the kitchen table, papers around her.

“Good run?” She asked.

“Yeah.” He moved closer, standing closer to her than he probably needed to, and picked up one of the papers from table. “You’re gonna mail out wedding invitations? Old school. I feel like a lot of people do the electronic invites now.”

Belly picked up one of her own to look at. “Yeah, I’ve just got to get stamps. I feel like we’re making enough sacrifices in other areas of the wedding and there’s so few people invited that physical invitations make it feel more real.” She smiled down at it. “Besides, there’s something so romantic in having something tangible. It just shows the love and care that goes into. it, don’t you think?”

She was still smiling when she looked up at him. It was radiant. He must have nodded because she had a pleased look on her face like she did whenever they agreed on something. Conrad had to take a step away to force himself not to stare at her.

He swallowed and walked over to pour himself a glass of water.

“I need to go into town and get a new drill at the hardware store. The post office is on the way. I can get your stamps.” He said after taking a sip.

Her eyes widened. “Thanks but I want to go and see what kind of love stamps they have.”

He downed his water.

“Do you know what a love stamp is?” She didn’t wait for him to answer. “It’s a stamp that says ‘love’ on it. People use them for weddings. I only know because Taylor told me I had to get them.”

Conrad half smiled and said, “We can take my car if you want. Save you a trip.”

Conrad kicked himself for finding ways to justifiably hang out with Belly. Distance. That’s the sole condition he’d placed on himself for staying at the house, except how bad could a couple of stolen moments be.

“Sure,” she said.

“I’m gonna take a quick shower. Give me ten minutes,” he said, and ran up the stairs.

She offered for them to take her car, but he said it was okay.

When she hopped into the passenger seat, she ran her hand over the door, a thoughtful look on her face.

“I can’t remember the last time I was in your car,” she said, reaching for the radio.

Without missing a beat, he said, “Your prom.”

It was another one of those moments Conrad wished he could have taken back. Conrad remembered how she’d crumpled the closer they’d gotten to his car under the assumption he wanted to break up. To this day Conrad didn’t know if that’s even what he’d wanted to do, but still he struggled to forgive himself for ruining that night for her.

An awkward silence settled between them. Conrad could only assume she was thinking about it as well until she turned to him and said brightly, “Gosh, that was, like, a million years ago, huh?”

This time he didn’t reply.

He dropped her off in front of the post office and told her he’d be back in a few minutes. Conrad pulled up just as she was putting her invitations in the mail. This was really happening. Belly was really getting married.

Climbing into the car, I asked, “Did you get your new drill?”

“Yep,” he said. “Did you find your love stamps?”

“Yep,” I said. “Hey, what does it mean to hand cancel mail?”

When he explained, she looked shocked until he reminded her that he used to collect stamps. Recognition sparked in her eyes and she brought up the time Jeremiah had stolen a rare stamp from his collection and used it to send a postcard. Conrad started to get defensive about it but then Belly was laughing, and he couldn’t help but laugh too. It was like old times.

Shaking his head, he said, “I was such a little geek.”

“No, you weren’t!”

Conrad threw her a look. “Stamp collecting. Chemistry set. Encyclopedia obsession.”

“Yeah, but you made all of that seem cool.” Her tone was completely sincere. She fully believed that.

“You were gullible,” he said. And then, “When you were really little, you hated carrots. You wouldn’t eat them. But then I told you that if you ate carrots, you’d get X-ray vision. And you believed me. You used to believe everything I said.”

She didn’t say anything immediately, just turned to look out the window and Conrad couldn’t see the look on her face.

Abruptly, she said, “Are you going to stay in California after you graduate?”

“It depends on med school,” he said. Conrad had no idea where he would go once the school excuse ran out. Maybe his internship or residency would take him somewhere else entirely.

She hesitated again. “Are you . . . do you have a girlfriend?”

He had to force his eyes to stay focused on the road, looking at her might give too much away. The surprise that she’d asked. His want to see her reaction to his response. The real reason he didn’t.

“No,” he said.

“I don’t believe you,” she said, tilting her head to one side. Teasingly, she said, “If there wasn’t a girl, why would you stay away for so long? There has to be a girl.”

Oh man was there.

Distance. Distance. Distance.

The car ride, the questioning, it reminded Conrad that he should be making himself a lot scarcer than he had been. He’d done it successfully until he had found a stressed-out Belly on the floor of the loungeroom with her hands in her hair like she was moments away from tearing it out.

Jere was supposed to come help her get some wedding stuff but didn’t leave early like she’d suggested so he’d gotten stuck in traffic. Before he could stop himself, Conrad found himself volunteering to go with her.

This time they took her car because it was bigger. She drove. Conrad had only ridden with her a couple of times, back when she was first learning. Now, she was much more confident and assured. She drove fast but was still in control. Conrad liked it. It was kind of exhilarating seeing her in her element, seeing a new side of her. His eyes kept gravitating in her direction to look at her. So much so, he had to force himself to cool it.

“You’re not a bad driver,” he said.

She grinned. “Jeremiah taught me well.”

That’s right. He taught her how to drive that last summer, probably after too. “So what else about you has changed?”

“Hey, I was never not a good driver.”

Conrad snorted, then looked out the window. “I think Steve would disagree.”

“He’ll never let me live down what I did to his precious baby.” She shifted gears as they came to a stoplight. “So what else?”

“You wear heels now. At the garden ceremony, you had on high heels.”

There was a minute hesitation before she said, “Yeah, sometimes. I still trip in them, though.” Ruefully she added, “I’m like a real lady now.”

Conrad reached out to touch her hand, but at the last second he pointed instead. “You still bite your nails.”

It was comforting to see remnants of the Belly he’d known mixed in with this new Belly he was still coming to know.

She curled her fingers around the steering wheel. With a little smile, she said, “You don’t miss a thing.”

They got to Michael’s and Conrad helped her get her vases and candles.

Jere was at the house by the time they got back. He was lounged on the couch watching TV but sat up when they came in.

“Where have you guys been?” he asked. He said it casually, but his eyes flickered to Conrad as he spoke.

It felt like an accusation. Conrad hadn’t done anything wrong.

Belly explained, even sounding a little pissed at him for missing it, but she didn’t pull away when she kissed him.

Conrad looked away and rubbed his neck. “I’m gonna go unload the car.”

“Wait, I’ll help.” Jeremiah released Belly and slapped his hand on Conrad’s back. “Con, thanks for pinch-hitting for me today.”

Pinch-hitting? Conrad had to bite his tongue. “No problem.”

“It’s after eight,” Belly said. “I’m starving. Let’s all go to Jimmy’s for dinner.”

Conrad shook my head. “Nah, I’m not hungry. You guys go.”

“But you didn’t have any dinner,” Belly said, frowning. “Just come with us.”

“No, thanks.”

She started to protest again, but Jere said, “Bells, he doesn’t want to. Let’s just go.”

“Are you sure?” she asked Conrad.

“I’m good.” He hadn’t expected for it to come out so harsh, so he tried to ignore the little bit of hurt that flashed over Belly’s face when he said it.

After they left, so did he. To Boston. He wasn’t sure if he was planning to come back.

#conrad #conrad fisher #belly x conrad #conrad fic #conrad fisher fic #The Summer I Turned Pretty #the summer i fucked up #TSITP #tsitp fanfic #tsitp conrad

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alexandherdigitalart · 2 years

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If your signature color is black, you need wedding stationery that reflects your quirky personality. These save the date editable templates come with a 4x6", 5x7" and an electronic sharing size invitation for all of your wedding plan needs.

See these in the shop HERE.

#fall wedding #save the date #wedding invites #weddinginvitation #halloween wedding #diy #invitation #black wedding #gothgoth #goth girl #gothic wedding #gothic aesthetic #dark wedding #wedding party

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letomills · 2 years

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Pleasantfiesta - Round 1 Part 8: Dreamer

While Brandi has him on her mind, Darren doesn’t see her as more than a friend for now. Since the cancellation of Cassandra and Don’s wedding was made official, Darren’s thoughts have been going towards Cassandra. Even though he knows that it must be a difficult time for her, he can’t help but feel relief and a sense of hope that she might start seeing him in a different light. She hasn’t reached out to him for support though, which tells him that she needs some time alone, or with her family. Dina moving into the Goth manor must have added to the confusion as well. Better give her some space.

Darren has quite a lot on his plate anyway. His paintings are not getting the recognition he knows they deserve and the bills are stacking up. It might be time to experiment with a new technique or a different color palette. Darren won’t rest until he’s become a successful artist who can afford to give his son the means to thrive.

Fortunately, Dirk has been doing well recently. He was very depressed after Darleen’s passing, and his motivation at school also suffered as a result, but now things seem to be looking up. He’s been looking much happier, his grades have picked up, and he even talks about getting a part-time job to help his father out with the bills. Darren would never push Dirk to get a job; in fact he’s worried that it would get in the way of his school work. But at this point, he has to admit that an additional income would go a long way to keep them afloat. He certainly doesn’t want to be forced to sell the house where he made so many good memories with Dirk and Darleen.

On their first day of the round, Dirk brought Ricky Cormier home from school. With Ricky also being good friends with Dustin Broke, maybe Dirk and Dustin will warm up to each other eventually.

Dirk also invited Lilith over.

They had their first make out and they played video games together while Darren was talking on the phone with Brandi.

Darren wound up inviting Brandi over for dinner.

Lilith and Ricky were welcome to stay as well.

Darren made mac and cheese and they all had a good time.

Brandi stayed a bit longer after Lilith and Ricky went home, I think she was happy to spend some time outside of the house.

Darren isn’t very fond of her dirty jokes but otherwise they’re good friends.

On the next day, Darren finished a painting he’d been working on.

He was proud of it but no buyer would take it at the price he was asking for, so he ended up framing it and keeping it for himself. Instead, he sold that old painting of a bowl of fruit that he made years ago, that he was still holding onto for old time’s sake.

He didn’t think it was worth much but several people contacted him to tell him that they loved it and were willing to pay exorbitant amounts for it. Darren didn’t question them and just took up the best offer, but the experience made him doubt his ability to put a price on his own work. “Maybe I should get an agent,” he thought.

That day, Dirk came back from school with Meadow Thayer.

She was finding every topic Dirk tried to talk about boring and he started to wonder why she even wanted to hang out with him, but then she asked him to play catch and she was finally looking like she was having fun.

They also had a good time playing darts.

Meadow may have trouble focusing on a conversation when nothing else is happening, but she’s fun to be around when socializing around an activity.

That evening, Dirk found a part-time job in journalism as a Yearbook Club Supervisor. He went to work for the first time the following afternoon after class.

He was so excited that he wasn’t feeling tired at all when he got back home.

Instead of winding down, he invited Ricky for an outing while Darren was chatting with Andrea Hogan.

(Those two have chemistry as well. Darren is so popular and yet rolling no romantic wants for anyone, it’s pretty funny.)

Dirk and Ricky went to a barely renovated 290 Main Street and spent all of their time there in the electronics section.

(Ignore that Ricky’s hands were stuck in that position the whole time.)

Dirk celebrated getting his first salary by getting himself a handheld console.

And they got to say hi to Brandi and meet more of their fellow Pleasantview dwellers.

(Don what is your head doing you’re scaring me.)

Dirk played the pinball machine with Jan Tellerman...

Don was seen having a chat with Melissa Fancey over Brandi’s delicious grilled stuffed peppers...

And at about 2:30 am the boys went back home, tired but happy.

On the next day, Darren got a call from Brandi.

He looked happy to talk to her. They have quite a bit in common: they both love art, they’ve both lost a partner in a tragic accident, they’re both raising a teenage son alone. It makes sense that they’d have a lot to share with each other.

Later that day, Darren started getting ready to receive an important guest for dinner: the Headmaster of Pleasantview’s private school. The unexpected cash flow from selling that old painting, on top of Dirk’s salary, had given Darren the confidence that if Dirk was to be accepted into private school, they would be able to afford the tuition.

Dirk was sad at the prospect of leaving his old school, because that’s where he had all his friends. He would hate not to see Lilith and Ricky as much especially. But he was also an ambitious young man, and he agreed with his dad that his education had to be the priority.

Dirk would be at work for another hour at the time of the Headmaster's arrival. Darren had to make dinner and be ready to entertain their guest on his own for a little while before his son would join them.

In the kitchen, he thought of Brandi again: “If I gave her painting lessons, would she be willing to help me improve my cooking? I could use some of her skill right about now.”

The Headmaster arrived at 5 pm exactly, and Darren put on his best schmoozing game.

The headmaster was receptive to praise, but less impressed with the house tour initially... until they went upstairs and he got to see the arts room. That part he liked very much.

“I see you’re a man of taste, Mr. Headmaster.”

Dirk came home just in time for dinner to start. Although the meal was simple, the spaghetti was cooked perfectly and the tomato sauce expertly seasoned. Dirk was on his best behavior, the conversation flowed well.

The Headmaster had a very good time and he confirmed that he was pleased to welcome Dirk as a new student in his school.

Literally the second he did, Dirk started struggling with the small talk and Darren completely forgot his manners, which was kind of hilarious.

So the evening ended on a weird note but the Headmaster had gotten a good enough impression of them that he wasn’t gonna retract Dirk’s admission.

Darren was all emotional to see his boy on such a good trajectory.

And Dirk’s resolve to work hard to secure himself a brilliant future was even stronger than before.

Hell yeah.

#sims 2 #pleasantview #pleasantfiesta

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