#i missed cash's birthday in october
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Oh hey it's Alycia's birthday on Tuesday
#i missed cash's birthday in october#and Julia's is coming up on the 20th#maybe ill post bday starters for all 3 of them because why not#(hunter's was also a week ago but hes just a side muse so 🤷)#{ y'all hashtag this }#i need yo be better at paying attention to their bdays lol
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Birthday Do Over | Quinn Hughes
summary: it’s Quinn’s birthday and you can’t held but fuel your need to see him.
request: yes/no
warnings: swearing?
word count: 1.53k
authors note: I wasn’t going to write this but when the request came in and it being Quinn’s birthday the opportunity was too great to pass up. Kaylin if you see that I used your answers to my cake questions, surprise? This piece is a lot of flashbacks people so pay attention to the regular italics!
You knew you shouldn’t have been doing this.
But as the three red bulls in your system kept you up you couldn’t help it as you stood in the kitchen baking.
October 14th, Quinn’s birthday and his first since you two were no longer talking.
Surely you should have been fine staying at home enjoying the comfort of your bed but instead you were in the bakery.
Quinn watched you start your dream as you bought the bakery but he never got to watch you fully live out the dream as you two broke up before it opened.
So the cake you made was from your memories of what he liked eating at late hours of the night in your apartment.
Bowls of different icing flavours were in a line “why can’t I try it yet? Quinn complained watching your hand swat his away “because I’m not ready so you need to wait.” You explained in a duh tone.
Over the last week you had been building a menu that had each of your favourite flavours that you had made throughout the years, as well as some new ones and those were what he was meant to try.
Quinn let out a huff causing you to smile “shut your eyes.” You brought your spoon into one of the bowls as the boy listened to you.
His eyes screwed shut as his mouth hung open “let me know what you think of when you taste this.” The spoon dropped a bit of icing onto his tongue causing him to close his mouth.
The sweet flavours melted into his tongue as he moved his arms getting excited “that was delicious.” Quinn announced as he opened his eyes to look at you again.
It made you laugh “that isn’t a flavour,” you shook your head as you sent him a look waiting for an answer “give me a hint baby.” The hockey player pouted as he reached over the counter to bring you to him.
His hands wrapped around your waist as you stood between his legs “it’s this one.” You brought the bowl to his nose but he still couldn’t get it “it’s my take on cream cheese-” the gasp Quinn let out made him sound like a child who just learnt Santa wasn’t real.
You smiled shaking your head “it was cheese!” The American grabbed a spoon again so that he could taste it again.
It was clear that the dials in his brain were turning as he came to terms with it “you make cheese good.” His words made you laugh “you give me too much credit.” You corrected him placing the bowl back on the table.
Quinn brought his hands from your waist to your jaw “don’t think I give you enough at all.” He mumbled running his hand over that bone as you leaned down to kiss him.
Both of you got sucked into it as the world felt like it stopped around you.
But it didn’t and the smoke alarm started going off “shit!” You groaned quickly pulling away from him.
As you whipped your icing you smiled remembering that night in the apartment that you now moved out of with the extra cash you had been making you were able to use to get more space.
It was another reminder of a milestone that Quinn missed yet still it wasn’t out of his own choice.
Part of you should have felt sorry for his neighbours as you two argued for what felt like the twentieth day in a row.
Your hand raked through your messy hair as you tried to remain calm “maybe I should go.” You shrugged avoiding Quinn’s irritated scoff “you always leave when things get fucking tough y/n!” He complained totally unaware of how much smaller you got in that moment.
If you chewed at your cheek any harder you would have drawn blood “look Quinn I love you.” You blurted out as you dug your nails into your palm “but this isn’t working anymore.” The hockey player was your world, that’s what happens when you date someone for three years.
But the reality that the arguments were now outweighing the normal conversations that you two had was weighing on you and the t was no longer at a point where you could act like it wasn’t around anymore “what are you trying to say?” The American knew what you were trying to say but he prayed that this was one time that he was so wrong.
Tears formed in your eyes “this is goodbye Q,” you frowned walking over to him as you pressed your lips against his cheek.
Before Quinn could process that you had left him the door to his apartment shut with a slam.
You were gone.
The final touches always scared you the most. It was like the moments when you screwed here were the ones where you wanted to cry.
Which was why you did a happy dance as Quinn’s birthday message was written out perfectly “perfect!” You smiled placing the piping bag on the table.
Below you sat absolute cake of his dreams, the red velvet cake and cream cheese frosting were complimented by the blue, green and white icing colours that you used.
The gold edible topper balls were for how you saw Quinn. Your shining star that could guide you anywhere.
If you had to find Quinn as a cake you would be looking right at it.
The boy grew impatient as he watched you work “this is an art Quinn.” You explained joy giving him the chance to complain “you put too much pressure on yourself.” You had been tasked with making a cake for Luke’s birthday and you weren’t going to screw this up.
You sent him a look trying to tell him to shut up “I’m trying to make this perfect.” You spoke in a duh tone as you were working on making the icing the perfect shade of red “you could give Luke cake batter and he’d love you.” Quinn’s voice made you laugh as you shook your head.
Luke was definitely the easiest man to impress.
You prayed that Quinn still lived in the same apartment that he was in before the summer. Fears that someone new occupied his home were greater than the ones you held about the ideas of him moving on.
As the sun had barely came over Vancouver you were just grateful that the doorman of the building recognised you because you would have been waiting for hours without him.
It was quiet in the building though as once you stepped into the elevator you hadn’t seen another person. Which is why you thought you were successful in getting to Quinn’s front door unnoticed.
But of course the universe wasn’t going to make your life that straight forward so as you placed the box on his doormat a laugh let you know that you were no longer alone.
Quinn leaned against the wall as he pulled his headphones out of his ears “you’re up early.” He smirked remembering how he could never get you out of bed early.
His bed was warm, and that was your excuse “Quinn!” You groaned reaching out to feel him no longer there “yeah baby?” He smiled seeing your eyes barely open.
Your pout was clear “come back to bed.” You tapped his side of the mattress “I’ve got to get to the rink.” The hockey player sat on your bed next to you as you let your head rest on your pillow once more.
He watched as your breathing slowed once more signalling that you were asleep “I’ll see you soon love.” The boy leaned over to press a kiss to your temple before he quietly tucked you into the duvet letting you bask in the comfort of his beds warmth.
You awkwardly picked the box up “I came to drop this off for you.” You explained turning to show him what you were holding.
Being a hockey player a cake wasn’t something you got in the middle of the season “thank you y/n.” He smiled seeing your cheeks turn red “I should get going.” You sucked at your teeth as you sent him a nod trying to move past him.
Quinn knew that he couldn’t let you leave again “wait,” the hockey player sighed feeling his shoulders grow lighter.
Your nod made him smile “you want to come inside?” Quinn’s offer made him feel nervous as you stayed quiet “I won’t be able to eat this cake by myself and if I get Brock over I won’t get any-” he began to ramble before you cut him off.
The giggle you let out made him go quiet “you know I’ll never say no to cake.” Your confession made him nod as he opened his door “it’s about time we caught up.” The door shut behind you both but this time it wasn’t the end of a chapter.
No this was the start of your second chance, the redo if you will. And this time you two were going to make sure that you didn’t screw it up.
This time was going to count.
#quinn hughes oneshot#Quinn Hughes imagines#quinn hughes x reader#quinn hughes x y/n#oneshots#imagines#hockey imagines#hockey imagine#nhl imagine#nhl oneshot#amber writes fics
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Phantom Limb (Equidistant)
did we come close to having it all?
PAIRING: jeong jaehyun x you
GENRE: slice of life; the hows of us
TEASER WC: 848 words
SYNOPSIS: Between the distance of sorrys and goodbyes, where does 'us' lies?
RELEASE DATE: October 30, 2023
TAGLIST: open !! (you can send an ask or comment your usn)
AUTHOR'S NOTE: if you have questions, you can send an ask. and NO, I didn't re-write the whole movie and replaced Jaehyun's name. the teaser is just a teaser and the actual fic will have a lot more which will be different from the movie.
YOU WERE YOUNG.
''Hmm this is how it feels when you've finally bought something with your own money, huh, Jo?''
''Jo? Is that the name of your ex or side chick?''
''What.. No.'' Jaehyun chuckles. ''Jo in scottish means darling, sweetheart–.. beloved.''
''Pfft, fine. I like that. Jo..''
YOU DREAMED TOGETHER.
''When we're both finally stable and successful in life, wouldn't you be arrogant?''
''Arrogant? Why would I be?''
''Because your boyfriend is the world's most famous singer.''
His imaginations emit a hearty scoff from you. ''Then you're arrogant by then as well.''
''Uh-huh, and why is that?''
''Because your girlfriend, the president of your fansclub, is the doctor who found cures to cancers and rare diseases.''
''And I would be so proud of you when that happens.''
''Someday, love.''
''Someday, Jo.''
THERE WERE UPS.
''Happy birthday, the love of my life!''
''Thank you so much, baby! You didn't have to!''
''Uh-uh, I have to and I want to. You've been juggling studying and working at the same time and I know it has been hard. A great woman like my love only deserves the best of the bests.''
''You're such a sap. I love you, Jeong.''
''I love you, Jo. So much that it hurts.''
THERE WERE DOWNS.
''Jaehyun? Could you maybe wash the dishes before you go? I'm just really short of time.''
''I'm sorry, Jo, but I need to go. All the guys are there and you know how they go when practicing by themselves.''
''Oh.. I'll do the dishes. You take care, hmm?''
''Dude, are you tone-deaf? You're literally fucking out of tune.''
''What do you mean, bro? I think it sounds fine.''
''No, no, you're not fucking hitting the right note. You know what? Get out.''
''Jaehyun–''
''Get the fuck out of my house. What the fuck is happening to musicians nowadays? If they're not taking it seriously, they're fucking tone-deaf.''
''Love, maybe you should rest first.. ?''
YET YOUR LOVE WAS STRONGER.
''Girl, be honest with me. Are you still studying? Your life before used to be all about studying, studying, studying, and a sprinkle of Jaehyun. But now it's all Jaehyun, Jaehyun, Jaehyun.''
''Rosé, come on. You know we're still waiting for Jaehyun's biggest break. After that, I can focus back on studying.''
''And if that break doesn't happen?''
''Don't be so negative!''
STORMS AFTER STORMS.
''Hello? Do you know anyone named Jeong Jaehyun?''
''Hi, yes. That's my boyfriend. May I ask why you're calling from his phone?''
''You might wanna pick him up, he's dead drunk, been here since last night and won't leave. I'll just text the address from his number, I guess.''
''A-alright, I'm so sorry for the inconvenience–''
''Oh, and you might want to bring extra cash with you. His 7k bill is not yet paid, not even a penny.''
''Rosé–''
''Where the fuck are you? You can't miss this exam!''
''I-I'm coming, I just.. Jaehyun– fuck, he's–''
''Fuck him! Just leave him alone! A few minutes left and we're gonna start. This is a bar exam, get that shit inside your head! Get your ass here if you don't want all your efforts to go to waste.''
''Rosé..''
''Please, you don't deserve this. Think about all those nights you stayed up to study. I'm sure Jaehyun will understand..''
''I.. Okay– okay, I'm coming.''
''I love you, best friend. Jaehyun will understand, okay?''
You cradle Jaehyun's face in your hands, brushing his hair out of his face as if your own isn't a mess along with the tears running. Jaehyun looks through the hazy film of his eyes, he sobs with you.
''I'm sorry, love. I'm so so sorry– God– I'm sorry. Just this one time, please? Just this once, I need to take this exam. I'll call Eunwoo to pick you up.''
Giving one last kiss on your lover's forehead, you quickly catch a taxi and close the door on Jaehyun's face. You bury your face in your hands as you stifle your sobs. Maybe you can stop worrying. Eunwoo will pick him up, he's Jaehyun's best friend.
AND YOU WONDER..
But as you turn your head, Jaehyun with his clothes wrinkled lays on the cold ground, in his own pool of vomit. As he meets your eyes, he starts reaching out to you. For you.
You're just a lover. One that has so much love for Jeong Jaehyun.
The tires screech as you plead stop to the taxi driver, giving him the last of your money before running towards your boyfriend who's grunting and murmuring.
Your heart hurts at the worst state you've ever seen Jaehyun. The ache only gets unbearable as you take him in your arms and carry all his weight. Your heart.. it's as if being squeezed a thousand times, getting pricked with thorns.
''Just leave him alone!'' Rosé's voice rings in your head.
''I'm sorry.. I can't.'' You whisper an apology. Not to anyone, no.
Because as you fix Jaehyun, clean Jaehyun, tuck him in bed– no one deserves an apology from you more than yourself.
IS IT ALL WORTH IT?
#nct#jung jaehyun#nct fanfic#jaehyun fanfic#jaehyun imagines#jaehyun angst#jaehyun fluff#jaehyun smut#nct scenarios#nct smut#nct imagines#jaehyun scenarios#prodbymaui
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Ron & Hermione go together like Christmas & …murder? 😂
Here’s my contribution to the Romione Discord Secret Santa for the wonderful HQ 🎅🏻
Ho-Ho-Homicide
Ron bounces on the balls of his feet, leaning up onto his tiptoes to scan the crowd for his daughter. Even though he can see over everyone just fine without stretching, he’s too excited to stand still. Rose is coming home for the holidays, her last as a Hogwarts student, and he can’t wait to see her.
Four months is really too long to go without his daughter being around. He should be used to it by now, considering she’s in her seventh year, but it will be nice when she finishes school and comes home for good.
At least in the meantime, working with Detective Granger and writing the second book in the series she inspired keeps him busy.
Finally Rose emerges from the crowd, rolling her eyes even as she quickens her steps to reach him. “I told you that you didn’t have to meet the train,” Rose scolds as Ron wraps her in a hug.
“Rubbish,” he retorts. “It’s your last holiday home from Hogwarts. Of course I had to meet the train.”
Rose’s eyes flit skyward again as Ron grabs for her trunk. “You’ll be sick of me once I graduate and move home. You do realize I’ll be back in London in a few months, right?”
“That doesn’t make the holidays any less special. I’m running out of milestones here, kid. You’re growing up too fast.”
“I’ll try and slow that down for you.”
They’ve nearly reached the platform barrier when Hermione’s patronus shimmers into view. “I know you’re picking up Rose,” the otter says in her familiar lilt, “but you’d kill me if you missed this one. Meet me at Harrods if you can.”
Rose gives him a curious frown as the patronus disappears. “Harrods is an odd place for a murder.”
It is, and though curiosity jingles his bells, Ron shakes his head. “You just got here. I don't have to go.”
“It’s fine.” Rose shrugs and banishes her trunk to their townhouse with a practiced flick of her wand. “I’ve still got Christmas shopping to do, anyway. I’ve been so busy studying for NEWTS that I haven’t been to Hogsmeade since October.”
“You work too hard,” Ron chastises before slipping his gloved hand into hers and apparating them both to a spot just off a bustling intersection near the department store. The area is packed with hurrying Muggles loaded with shopping bags, and their appearance from the alley goes unnoticed. “I don’t know where you get it from.”
Rose shoots him a cheeky grin as they cross the street. “Someone has to be the responsible one in the family,” she teases. “Speaking of Christmas shopping, what did you get for Detective Granger?”
“You think I ought to get her something?”
It takes Ron several steps to realize Rose is no longer in stride with him, and when he turns to see what’s holding her up, she’s stopped on the sidewalk and staring at him, mouth agape. “You’re joking, right?”
“Well…no.” He hadn’t thought much about it; even as they’ve grown closer, Hermione has kept their relationship in strictly professional territory, and Christmas presents veer decidedly personal. Fueled by his daughter’s continued gobsmacked expression, Ron hurries to defend himself. “I mean, last year we didn’t know each other all that well yet, so I didn’t get her anything then. And then she insisted at the office back in September that no one get her any birthday presents, so I just thought maybe she wasn’t really into gifts and all.”
Rose scoffs and brushes past him, her steps hurried now as she approaches the storefront. “She’s your partner and your muse. You have to get her something.”
“I wrote her a book, doesn’t that count for anything?” Ron grumbles, to which Rose shakes her head and holds out her hand.
“Just give me a bit of cash and I’ll pick something out for her for you.”
Ron snorts. “Nice try, kid. Which one of your troublesome uncles taught you that trick?”
“Aunt Ginny. But I’ll give you all the receipts, I promise.”
“All the receipts?” Ron repeats skeptically, though he reaches a hand into his pocket anyway. “Exactly how many gifts am I buying her?”
“I just thought you might like to have options,” Rose reasons. “We can return whatever you don’t want to give her.”
A sigh of relent escapes Ron’s lips, forming a wispy cloud in the cold air as he hands a few notes of Muggle money to Rose. “Alright, here.”
She squeals and leans up to kiss his cheek before yanking open the front door and scurrying inside, calling over her shoulder, “Thanks, Dad, enjoy your crime scene!”
Ron gives her a wave that goes unseen as he steps inside after her. The heat in the store is almost suffocating combined with the throng of shoppers, and he loosens the scarf around his neck as he scans the area for a sign of Hermione. She didn’t say exactly where to meet her in the store, and with all these Muggles around, he can’t send a patronus back to ask.
Taking in the store’s extravagant display of lights and decorations, Ron makes his way around the ground floor but finds no sign of Hermione. He takes the lift down to the Lower Ground where the entire level is dedicated to Christmas. There’s a crowd surrounding Santa’s Grotto, and it’s not until he’s practically on top of the North Pole scene that he realizes the reason for the horde of attention.
“Santa’s dead!?” Ron blurts before he can stop himself.
There in the middle of the grand Christmas display, surrounded by elaborately wrapped gift boxes and a light-up reindeer with one antler gone dark, is Father Christmas himself, slumped against the base of his green and gold throne. If it weren’t for the Aurors circling the scene, he might have thought the jolly old man just fell asleep on the job.
Hermione’s dark brown eyes shoot daggers Ron’s way as she ducks under the bright yellow crime scene tape and grabs his elbow. “Could you stop talking, please?” she hisses as she pulls him into the restricted area and under the cover of a Muffliato charm. “I’ve already had to Confundus half a dozen Muggle police, and I don’t fancy having to Obliviate children, too.”
Read the rest on AO3
Happy holidays everyone! ❤️💚
#romione#ron weasley#hermione granger#ron x hermione#romione fanfic#secret santa#partners in crime#castle au
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𝐚 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐞 — 𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨𝐤𝐢
𝖯𝖠𝖨𝖱𝖨𝖭𝖦. gintoki sakata x genderneutral!reader
𝖶𝖠𝖱𝖭𝖨𝖭𝖦𝖲. fluff, this is just sweet and kind of comforting :)
𝖲𝖸𝖭𝖮𝖯𝖲𝖨𝖲. after finding out that it's gintoki's birthday, you try to think of a perfect gift to give him which turns out to be harder than you expected.
𝖠𝖴𝖳𝖧𝖮𝖱'𝖲 𝖭𝖮𝖳𝖤. thank you so much @chaos-night for hosting this lovely collab for your birthday! i'm so grateful that i could join and i loved writing this fic. i hope you all enjoy this as much as i did and i wish you have a wonderful day <3
𝖫𝖤𝖭𝖳𝖦𝖧. will be added later!
MASTERLIST
“Today is Gin-chan’s birthday.” Kagura plops down beside you on the wooden bench in the park, her legs bouncing with youthful energy as she stuffs her mouth with sukonbu. It’s a simple statement, a fact brought up out of nowhere that nearly sends you into cardiac arrest on this late morning. The weather is beautiful despite the harsh cold October usually brings at night and you wanted to bask in the last summer warmth before winter arrives.
“What?” You cough and splutter, nearly choke on the dangos you’ve been savoring while she just continues to nibble on her seaweed snacks and merely offers you a strange look. Apparently, his birthday isn’t that much of a deal for her and as you catch your breath you wonder how it comes that Kagura knew about his birthday, but you didn’t.
Have you forgotten? No, you can’t remember he ever told you this important date nor have you ever bothered to ask him about it. To be quite honest, you always thought he would tell you sooner or later, perhaps when he’s inviting you to a party to celebrate this special day with him, yet in all those months of knowing him, Gintoki never mentioned his birthday.
“Is he throwing a party?” You inquire after a moment of thoughtful silence, raising your brows in surprise once more when the girl next to you shakes her head and shoves more sukonbu into her mouth. Cringing at the loud chewing noises, you skid a few inches away from her and throw your arm over the back of the bench before you ask any further questions in an inconspicuous manner. “Why not? Birthdays are special for everyone, don’t you think?”
“Gin-chan said he doesn’t like his birthday,” Kagura states matter-of-factly and finally turns to look at you with big blue eyes, a few crumbs of her snack sticking to the corner of her grinning mouth. You give her an affectionate smile and wipe the hem of your sleeve over her face to clean it, giving her cheeks a gentle pinch to watch her crinkle her nose, a cute habit she always does after your teasing gesture. “He never talks about it and he didn’t even drink his strawberry milk this morning.”
“Really? Well, that’s strange,” you mumble and get to your feet, almost as if your body is already moving on its own. After quickly searching your pockets for some spare change, you give Kagura a few coins for more snacks and tell her to get home safely before you leave her on that bench.
What should you give Gintoki for his birthday? This nagging question refuses to grant you peace of mind, heart pounding hard and fast as you think of something that could coax a grin out of him, even if it’s just for a second.
Strawberry milk. Your feet drag you into a grocery store and suddenly, you’re staring down at the little pink package of the sweet drink that Gintoki loves so much. But is that a good present for his birthday? Fingertips running along the edges with uncertainty, you shuffle to the cash register, barely acknowledging Hasegawa who’s already talking to you despite your visible distraction — something is missing and you don’t know what it is, though you still buy the strawberry milk and continue your stroll through the busy streets of the city with its signature sweet flavor lingering on your tongue.
What about chocolate parfait? The café across the street serves gigantic sundae glasses filled with this delicious ice cream, combined with tons of whipped cream and you can’t help but stop in your tracks to watch a couple share the sweetness with giggles and adoring eyes set on each other.
They’re so in love and in some twisted way you relate to that sickening feeling of floating on clouds, just for a second as your mind wanders to Gintoki... until your own bitterness about this seemingly unrequited love shakes you out of your daydreams.
Right, chocolate parfait. This isn’t special enough, is it? Shoulder slumping in defeat, you resume your search for the perfect birthday gift. Maybe you’ll find something in the next store, who knows?
And a new scarf? Sadaharu ate his favorite one last winter, you remember vividly, and since it’s getting colder soon, he will surely need a new scarf. With that in mind, you stop in front of a little clothing store, carefully studying the articles and grabbing two or three scarfs he might like, but something just... doesn’t feel right. It's the same discomfort you felt in the previous shops, the same anguish that clings to you like a shadow.
It’s bothering you, it really is, because so far none of your ideas were that bad, and still, this strange sensation of unease just keeps growing in the pit of your stomach. It’s not until a friendly assistant asks if you need help that you’re once again pulled out of the endless spiral of thoughts in your skull. “No, thank you. I was just looking around!”
With a disappointed huff, you leave the store and take a look at the time, nearly choking on your strawberry milk for the second time this day. You haven’t noticed that you spent so much time looking around the city and you’re still empty-handed, without any idea what to do. Shit.
Unless...?
It might be ridiculous and perhaps a little desperate, this idea of yours, but gift doesn't always have to be material. It's more about the meaning and the special thoughts the person put into their present and truly, what could be better than spending some time with someone you like?
In other words: a date.
And the longer you think about it, the more you're convinced that this is the best birthday gift you could ever get your best friend. Without wasting another minute, you turn on your heel and rush through the stores you visited earlier to gather everything you need for the special date.
"Don't open your eyes yet!"
Although he can't make out a damn thing, Gintoki can clearly hear the grin in your voice, cheery and bright and definitely suspicious if anyone would ask him. Your hands are clasped tightly over his eyes, preventing him to see wherever you're currently guiding him (you're doing a terrible job, he almost fell on his face a few seconds ago) and occassionally pulling him back to push him intp a different direction.
"We're almost there," you tell him when he lets out an exaggerated huff of annoyance, simply ignoring the quiet protests that slip out of his mouth, complaints about his feet hurting and you being too rough with him.
Gin has always been whiny after all and although you're manhandling him in the wlrst way right now, he can't help his own curiosity and follows your lead anyway, cautiously plopping down on a soft blanket when your hands press down on his shoulders and urge him to sit. "Okay, now open your eyes... Happy Birthday!"
He didn't expect this. You're both sitting on top of a hill, high above the turbulent city with a mesmerizing view he's never had the chance to see before. An array of snacks is spread on the blanket in front of your crossed legs, candles burn on a delicious cake that reads his name in wobbly letters. His eyes widen, gaze flicking to you and watching how you grab a knife and cut a slice out of the cake. Putting the dessert on a plate, you offer him a sweet smile and hand him a fork before you move on to cut your own piece, oblivious to his astonishment.
No one has ever done something like that for him. Gintoki notices the effort you put into this date, just for him, to make his birthsay a little happier for him and he wishes he could find the right words to show his gratitude, but all he is able to do is watching the wonderful scenery that unfolds in front of him.
The sun is sinking slowly behind Edo, kissing the sky with the brightest colors, oranges bleeding into pinks and purples that cast a beautiful sheen on Gintoki's face. His eyes seem to be wide awake for once, lips parted in awe as he stares at the horizon, unaware that you're not even watching the sunset. You're watching him instead.
You're making a fool of yourself, aren't you?
It's worth it though. His gaze shifts to you and before you can even open your mouth and tell him a lousy excuse for your obvious staring, he has already wrapped one arm around your waist to pull you closer to his side until you can feel the fabric of his yukata right against your cheek.
"Thank you," he mumbles, words carried away with the wind that lets the branches of the cherry blossom trees around you rustle with the breeze, yet you still manage to grasp his voice and the low rumble that follows after. "This is the best birthday I ever had, you know? Not that it's special to me or anything... It's just nice to know that I'm not alone anymore."
Gintoki stutters, wavers just a little bit, and then he's already turning his face and hiding the evident blush that darts over his sharp features and resembles the heated glow of his cheeks whenever he drank too much in Otose-san's bar. It's cute and unfamiliar at the same time, this timid persona of him, so embarrassed and shy that it's nearly impossible to miss — Gintoki is just as much of a fool as you are, perhaps even worse. At least you can still form comprehensible sentences, huh?
"I'm glad you like it, Gintoki." You smile at him and carefully push yourself up to press a soft kiss against the corner of his mouth. The warmth of his skin against your lips is addicting and your pulse rises rapidly at your own actions, you're certain you might faint any moment now. "You deserve to have a special birthday."
There's an unspoken connection between the two of you after you uttered those words into his ear, some kind of agreement that you won't leave him and he trusts you with that, sharing a burden he didn't allow anyone else to carry but himself. Sighing softly, you lean your head on his broad shoulder and grasp his hand to give him a reassuring squeeze. And so, you both sit like that for a while longer, you caressing his knuckles and Gintoki peekung glances at you whenever he thinks you won't notice as the sky grows darker and darker.
#gintama imagine#gintama x reader#sakata gintoki imagine#sakata gintoki x reader#sakata gintoki fic#gintoki x reader#gintoki fluff#shiroyasha#gintama
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Infernal VIII
Summary: In your sleepy little town of Greendale, nothing ever slept for long. And ever since October, everything felt like it was waking up. Everything except for you, that is. One teensy trip to Hell (and an infuriatingly cute guy) later and suddenly you felt wide awake.
Word-count: 3.4k+
Masterlist
Prev. | Part 8
Ever since you were eleven years old, you’d been going to the Paramount once a week with Theo to share a large popcorn with m&ms poured over the top, two large sodas, and the biggest bag of Sour Patch Kids that money from dog walking, tutoring, and scrounging between the couch cushions could buy. The dark was a blanket of safety and anonymity for an hour or two, and you loved it more than anything. It was two hours of you, Theo, and whatever rerun was showing that weekend. One of only two movie theatres in Greendale, The Paramount stood as a testament to friendship and the enduring power of bad cinema.
Sharing the Paramount and all its memories with Caliban was nerve-wracking.
If he noticed your non-stop fidgeting, he didn’t say anything. He was perfectly composed as he watched stressed out parents corral their screaming children - shoulders relaxed, mouth upturned, and hand easily laced through yours.
“You know, I never cared much for children,” he said. He suppressed a laugh when one of the kids threw pieces of popcorn at their dad. “But I’m starting to think they may not be such loathsome little creatures after all. Given a little direction, they could surpass any of Hell’s torturers.”
You would have laughed at his joke if you’d been listening, but you were too busy watching the specials board light up his face red, orange, and yellow that caught on the edges of his hair. “Is this your first date?” you asked.
Caliban raised an eyebrow as he turned to you and you stammered out an explanation. Impulse control had never been one of your strong suits, and it had been on the decline lately. Putting you out of your misery with a sly smile, he said, “Yes.”
“Wait-” you tugged on his hand slightly as the two of you moved forward in the line “-does that mean I’m your first kiss?”
Caliban laughed and ran a hand through his hair. “My first kiss was with a succubus.”
You weren’t sure what kind of answer you were expecting, but that particular one caught you off guard. “Oh. That’s pretty cool. Do you guys keep in touch?”
“Are you in touch with your first kiss?” Caliban asked, throwing another smile at you as the two of you walked over the counter. He let you order and pay in peace, but he asked again when you were flavoring the popcorn, clearly amused by your awkwardness.
You were in the middle of explaining that your first kiss had been on a dare at one of the worst, least supervised birthday parties you’d ever been to when someone bumped into and spilled your popcorn all over the floor. They kept walking.
They only cleared a few feet before the Darkness lashed out and you yelled at them. “Hey! Are you going to apologize?”
You recognized them once they turned around. He was one of the kids from the lacrosse team who’d bullied Theo back in freshman year. With possibly the fakest smile you’d seen, Charlie said, “Chill. It was an accident.”
“Apologize.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Say you’re sorry.”
His body relaxed and his eyes took on a familiar glassy, hollow quality as he mumbled an apology. You smiled.
“Good.” You took a step forward to close the distance between you. “Now give me your wallet.” He did so without a word, the charm overwhelming any reservations he may have had. He faltered slightly when you took out most of the cash, but you told him to be quiet. With a smile, you handed his wallet back to him. “Enjoy your movie.”
Charlie blinked twice, slowly, but then he nodded. “You too,” he said uncertainly. He stumbled down the hall and looked at you again as he rounded a corner, completely dumbstruck.
You waved at him, turning back to Caliban with a smile. “Ready to watch the movie?”
The easiness from earlier was gone; Caliban’s jaw was tense and his eyes were narrowed. He didn’t move from where he leaned against the wall. “What was that?”
You shrugged. “I wanted him to apologize.”
“Are you sure that’s all you wanted?” he asked, pushing himself off the wall. His movements were easy, but his words were strained.
“Yes,” you lied, unclenching your fists. When you stole a glance at your palms, they were coated in a thin layer of darkness, smudged around the area where you’d dug your nails in to keep from knocking the false smile off Charlie’s face.
---
“Wait, so you’re like … Hannah Montana if she was a teenage witch and he’s like- what is he? Your Jesse?”
Out of all the reactions you’d imagined after telling your friends that the mother you’d spent your whole life looking for turned out to be a literal demon, a Hannah Montana comparison hadn’t even made the top ten.
“Harvey, don’t you think you’re being a little-”
To be fair, they’d handled the news about Lilith better than expected. Harvey was confused, Theo was happy you found your mom even if she’d tried to kill them all before, Sabrina helped smooth things over, and Roz admitted to having her suspicions for a while.
“What? I’m just trying to understand why the guy that tried to rule Hell and enslave us all is sitting on my couch.”
It was only when things came to Caliban that their understanding faltered. Even Sabrina, trying her best, didn't quite understand.
“I’m sitting on your couch because I was invited, Huckleberry Finn.”
After defeating the Darkness and unbinding your powers, you’d gone to Sabrina’s with a tub of ice cream and explained everything. A weight that had been slowly crushing you was lifted off your chest that night, but it came back in full force with every angry word from Harvey. It wasn’t like you’d expected him to understand, but you’d hoped he would at least try.
“Okay!” Standing up, you let out a weighty breath and held out your hands to stop them from speaking. “Will you two stop antagonizing one another for five minutes?”
Reluctantly, Caliban nodded as Harvey collapsed back in his chair and grumbled, “Fine, but I still don’t like him.”
“You don’t have to like him. You just have to respect that I like him,” you said. Harvey didn’t seem convinced, so you sighed and tried to come up with a new strategy. Finally, you stopped pacing and turned to Harvey. “Do you know what it’s like to feel like a piece of you is missing?” To Roz, “Like there’s something wrong with you because you just don’t fit in with everyone else?” To Theo, “And then you figure out what it is and you can’t tell anyone because you don’t think they’d care about you anymore if they found out?” You wiped your face haphazardly and stared at the Smashing Pumpkins poster peeling off the back wall. “It fucking sucks.”
“And I’m sorry you had to go through all that,” Harvey said, standing up and blocking your view of the poster. “I am. But you can’t expect me to be okay after finding out that you spent the last three months lying to everyone and dating that asshole.”
“I didn’t want to lie to you!” You felt the Darkness rising in your throat and did your best to push it down. Taking a deep, shaky breath, you looked back at Harvey and tried not to cry. “Is it so hard to believe that I was scared to tell you, or did you forget when you cut Sabrina out of your life when she told you?”
Harvey frowned. His hand twitched at his side as he glanced at Sabrina. “That’s not the same thing.”
“Yeah, I know, because she was the most important person in your life and I’m just the kid that lives next door.” Your voice broke and Harvey stepped forward to give you a hug. The Darkness lurched at the movement and you stepped back to keep it from hurting him. Taking another step back, you started gathering your stuff. “I can’t do this right now.”
“Hey, just hold on a second, okay?” Harvey tried to grab your wrist to stop you, and you couldn’t stop the Darkness from lashing out this time.
“Don’t touch me.”
Harvey frowned, his hand outstretched and frozen, and a familiar, glassy film cloud covered his eyes. The air was sucked out of the room as Harvey blinked and tried to recover. His hand still hung in the air. Your heart broke.
“I need to go,” you rushed out, scrambling for the door. You didn’t care about the stuff you dropped or the fact that Caliban was sitting on the couch the last you saw - all you cared about was getting out before you did anything worse. Still, you froze in the doorway. Over your shoulder, you mustered up all your courage and said, “I’m sorry.”
You weren’t sure if any of your friends heard you over their concern for Harvey or if they just didn’t want to respond, but at least Caliban caught up to you in the silence. He didn’t reach out for you for the rest of the night, all he did was stare at you with stormy, unfathomable eyes.
---
Hilda Spellman was the closest thing you’d ever had to a mother; she was warm and inviting, and always made your favorite cupcakes if you were having a bad day. She made sure that your dad always had something on the table for dinner. She took you shopping every year before school started. She let you stay in their house for almost a month when you were convinced that your bedroom was haunted. Hilda Spellman deserved nothing but happiness.
So why couldn’t you suck it up for one day and give her the perfect wedding that she deserved?
Because, despite your best efforts, you were still upset at how things had unfolded with your friends. While Theo and Roz forgave you for lying and accepted you for being a witch, they weren’t sure they could give Caliban a chance after he lashed out at Harvey. Talking to Harvey might have solved that problem, but he was pretty much set on avoiding you. You didn't blame him after what you did to him, even if he didn't know what exactly it was you did to him.
All this drama might not have been an issue otherwise, but they were the only people you knew at this wedding. So far, the only other people to show up were witches that were preoccupied with either the Uninvited or the incubus on the loose.
When you noticed Nick had disappeared from door duty, you finished your drink and set the glass down. Sliding in next to Sabrina, you bumped her arm with your elbow and held your hand out for some of the programs. “Need a hand?”
“Not really, but I’ll take the company,” she said with a smile. She handed you a stack of creamy pink programs and laughed wistfully. “Nick was supposed to help me with this but he’d rather get busy with Prudence in the coat closet.”
You tried not to laugh as you handed a program to a very solemn-looking witch. “Yeah, well, at least he’s talking to you,” you said, watching the witch disappear into the steadily growing crowd.
Sabrina rolled her eyes. “Harvey will come around,” she said, pausing to smile as she handed out another program. “He’s just scared of losing you in all this.”
“You know, Caliban actually said something similar after we left the other night.” This time, you didn’t bother hiding your laughter. Sabrina didn’t bat an eye at taking on an eldritch terror, but the possibility of Caliban having a valid point seemed to shake her to her core. “He said that I shouldn’t be so hard on Harvey because all he wants is to keep me safe, but this is the one thing that he can’t protect me from. The magic and … getting my heart broken.”
Sabrina tried to reign in her surprise, but she still seemed stunned as she handed out another program. “That … actually makes sense.”
“Weird, right?” You stole a look at the line forming outside the church and your heart ached when you saw your friends lugging their band equipment through the parking lot. It was going to be a long night.
Sabrina followed your gaze and sighed. “So ... where is Caliban? You RSVPed that you were bringing a plus-one but I don’t see him anywhere.”
You tore your eyes away from the band to hand out another program. Shaking your head, you said, “I was going to bring him, but then I figured that this was Hilda’s special day and she didn't need a fistfight between her lead singer and a plus one.”
“Well, I think you should bring him,” Sabrina said. “What? Just because I’m going to be sad and alone the whole night doesn’t mean you have to.”
So, after a quick check with Hilda, you invited Caliban. He agreed to come, if you promised to talk to him about your lesser angels creeping in.
You could feel Harvey staring at the back of your head throughout the whole ceremony, but Theo sat next to you and Robin said he’d save you guys a seat at the reception. Things were starting to look up, even if they were a little weird.
As awkward as the ceremony had been, the reception was great. Caliban was as charming as ever, winning over Theo and Robin and making witches swoon left and right. Despite all your time together, you’d never seen him this comfortable around others. A room without demons or humans, it seemed, was where you found common ground.
Until Sabrina’s toast.
She lost credibility before she even opened her mouth by stumbling up the stage steps. Opening with a joke, she had a solid two and a half seconds before she started drawing attention to every couple in the nearby vicinity - starting with Harvey and Roz, glossing over Theo and Robin to mention you and Caliban, and eventually landing on Nick and Prudence. Sabrina tried to save the toast by circling back to Hilda, but it was too late. She crashed into the drums, said she’d be single for a century and a half, and was dragged off-stage by Zelda while the Fright Club scrambled to perform their set.
Amidst the chaos, Caliban ducked his head closer to yours and brought his drink to his lips. “You know,” he said, pausing to take a sip, “If you’d told me how much fun these gatherings were, I would have come with you a long time ago.”
Rolling your eyes, you took his drink and shifted in your seat so you could lean against him. “Does that mean I can sign you up for the book club?”
“That depends. What are we reading?” Caliban asked. He looked away from the stage to meet your eyes.
“The Feminine Mystique.”
“Oh, okay.”
Laughing, you tilted your head up to kiss his jaw. Settling back into your seat and intertwining your hands, you said, “Well, if it counts for anything, I’m glad you’re here now.”
If you thought the worst part of the night was Sabrina’s toast, you were totally and completely unprepared for the incubus attack. It jumped from Theo to Harvey to Melvin before landing in the Uninvited. Their eyes were wild for a moment, but then the Uninvited shuddered as their eyes returned to a deep, empty brown. They’d eaten the incubus, and moments later they bit into Dorian’s heart like an apple.
There was something unbearably sad about the Uninvited, and the Darkness within you ached to fix them. It didn’t matter that they toasted to the end of all things, all that mattered was that they were alone. You started reaching out for them when Caliban took his hand in yours and pulled you closer to him.
“I am the Herald of the Void. I feast on the hearts of those that reject me. And someone here turned me away, therefore, death to you all.” The Uninvited smiled and downed whatever had been in their glass.
Tipping your glass towards the Uninvited, you drank to their toast as Hilda apologized for turning them away. She tried to invite them, but the Uninvited said it was too late. They’d already been turned away.
Nick stepped forward as the one that had turned the Uninvited away to sacrifice himself, but Sabrina tugged him back by the edge of his sleeve. Prudence was one step behind, holding Nick close to her chest as Sabrina offered the Uninvited a heart of sorts. She explained that she’s been wandering a cosmos of her own lately, feeling hopelessly alone, and just wanting to belong somewhere with someone. If they got married, the Uninvited would have her heart and a place to belong, always. Forevermore, they’d be the Invited.
The Darkness grew unruly as the Uninvited considered her proposal, and for a moment you thought they’d do as the Darkness wanted and rip Sabrina’s heart from her ribcage. Instead, all they did was nod.
---
Cold bit at your fingertips as you sat, knees pulled up to your chest, on the wall outside the desecrated church, but the stolen Mother’s Ruin kept your stomach warm. The sun had disappeared somewhere between the fake wedding and trapping the Uninvited in Sabrina’s old dollhouse, October chill coming in with the night sky, but you welcomed the change. Indifferent sunshine to apathetic stars.
Pouring out a bit of gin on the dead flowers below, you said a silent prayer for the Uninvited. Not for forgiveness, but maybe understanding. Hoping it would make the Darkness subside.
The crunching of dried grass underfoot interrupted your thoughts.
“This seat taken?”
You shrugged but moved over all the same to make space for Harvey. He threw a lanky leg over the side of the wall as he let out a deep breath. When he was settled, you offered him some of the Mother’s Ruin but he shook his head.
“No, uh, I’m good. Thanks though.” Harvey drummed uncertainly on the sides of the wall, watching carefully as you drank his rejected share of the gin. “So I was thinking about something the Uninvited said back there - about wandering around all alone until the terrors welcomed them to their club?”
Raising an eyebrow, you asked, “Are you about to call my boyfriend a terror?”
Harvey laughed, a deep, unsure sound, and looked down at the wall again. “Well, he is, but no.” He sighed and tried to get back to his point. “Look, I know I’m not the best at handling change. When Sabrina … I don’t know. It just- it kills me that you felt like you felt so alone and didn’t think you could talk to me.”
“Harvey-”
“Wait, let me finish.” Harvey took another deep breath. His nose was red, either from the cold or because he was holding back tears. “I never ever wanted to be the reason why you got hurt. But I was, and I’m sorry that I made you feel like that.”
You slid your hand over his. “Thank you,” you said quietly.
“I’m still not done.”
“Of course, you’re not.”
Harvey choked out another laugh and smiled. “Don’t tell Theo but you’re my best friend. And if Caliban makes you happy then … I kinda owe it to you to give him a shot.”
“So you’ll stop antagonizing him?” you asked, sitting up a bit straighter and pointing the bottle of gin at Harvey’s chest.
“Well, I never said that,” Harvey said dramatically. He laughed and pulled his other leg over the wall, taking the bottle from you and pulling a face after he tasted it. “Okay, what stars are we looking at tonight?”
You threw your legs over the side and let out a deep breath as you leaned against Harvey’s arm. “Fuck if I know. Tommy was the one who remembered all that stuff.”
“You just wanna make some up?” Harvey asked. He put his arm around your shoulder and handed the bottle back to you.
Hugging the bottle to your chest to keep the Darkness warm as it slept, you looked up to the sky and pointed to a cluster of stars. “That one’s you because it’s ugly.”
Tagged: @caliban-is-my-girl @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e @music-movies @miss--moose @marrypuffsstuff @harryscarolinaa @igorsbby @foji2000 @hxlalokidottir @artaxerxesthegreat @thxmagic @luquincy @strawberriesandknives @xealia @hotmessindisguise @acciomaximoff @reheated-coffee @olivia-west-allen @shelby-x @perseny-blog @millie-753 @luneerius @shizzybarnaclee @lettherebelovex @drrramaaaqweeen @throughparisallthroughrome @ietss @thebookwormlife @mechanicalanimalz @mariamermaid @nqbmf @roxytheimmortal @shephard17895 @andie-kathleen @clockworks-world-to-fandoms @blondeeee-e @piensa-bonito @supportstudies @bookishaficionado @perfectlysane24
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Blurb Weekend: 16-18 October
Happy Requesting! xx
* = Smut
Çağlar Söyüncü
1. Hands
2. Bite *
3. Tease *
4. Own Little Bubble
5. His Hoodie
6. Shower
James Maddison
1. Cheating
2. Jealous
3. Pool *
Christian Pulisic
1. Mutual Feelings *
2. Holiday Smut *
3. Something Smutty *
4. Back Together
Ruben Loftus-Cheek
1. Insecure
2. PDA
3. Official
4. Girls’ Day
5. Shopping Together
6. Charming
Kepa Arrizabalaga
1. Friendly Competition
2. Tired Shower
3. Threading His Brows
4. Christmas Decorating
5. Late Night Drive
6. Pinned *
7. Tired Evening
8. Strength *
9. Aftercare
10. Meeting his Family
Mason Mount
1. Afraid
2. the 1
Kai Havertz
1. Caught Kissing
2. “Just Best Friends” Sleepover
3. Airport PDA And Cuddles
4. Stealing His Clothes
5. FIFA Tease
6. Up Your Shirt
7. Massage *
8. Choking and Hair Pulling *
9. Exposed *
Ben Chilwell
1. First Time *
2. Getting Back Together
3. Drifting Apart
Joe Gomez
1. Thigh Riding *
2. Medal Fuck *
3. Candle Wax and Ice *
4. Adventurous New Positions *
Trent Alexander-Arnold
1. Flirting With The Physio
2. Tight *
3. Dinner Tease *
4. Behave *
Tyrone Mings
1. Marry You
2. Surprise *
3. BJ *
Jack Grealish
1. Broody
2. Close
3. Argument
John McGinn
1. Cute
Eric Dier
1. Walk
2. Unexpected Proposal
3. Cock Punishment *
4. A New Side *
Dele Alli
1. Waiting *
2. Spanking w/ Harry *
3. Maldives Tease *
4. Comfort
5. First Time Spending The Night
6. FIFA Thigh Riding *
7. Crying During Sex *
8. Sexy *
9. Only For Him
Harry Winks
1. Louder *
2. His Posh Bird
3. Left For Dele *
4. Nervous *
5. Lingerie Show
6. Soft Sex *
7. Unlimited Cuddles
8. Good Girl *
9. Spanking Kink *
Jesse Lingard
1. Intimate Friendship
2. Pierced
3. Lazy Day
4. Doggy Style *
Scott McTominay
1. Edging * Sub!Scott
2. Subspace * Sub!Scott
3. Pegging * Sub!Scott
Marcus Rashford
1. Sir *
2. Neighbourly Encounters
3. New Puppy
4. Attitude *
5. Stress Relief *
6. Heels *
7. In The Mood *
Dean Henderson
1. Saving A Cat
2. Too Nice
Sander Berge
1. Starting A Family?
2. Keeper
3. Learning Norwegian
4. Cute First Time *
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
1. Missing Reservation *
2. Praise Kink *
3. Under The Stars
4. Heated Argument
5. Thigh Riding *
6. Play Fighting *
Héctor Bellerín
1. Birthday Date Night
2. Edging Overstimulation *
3. Praise Kink *
Kylian Mbappé
1. Own Little World
2. Babysitting
3. Nipple Play Pt2 *
4. Payback *
5. Plus One
6. Pussy Spanking *
7. Dirty Words *
Serge Gnabry
1. Lazy Morning Sex *
2. Date Night *
3. Good Boy*
Leon Goretzka
1. Dominant *
2. Medal Choking *
3. Away *
4. Submissive Denial *
Benjamin Pavard
1. Holiday Sex *
2. Chérie *
3. Riding Him *
Roman Bürki
1. Thigh Riding *
2. Brat *
3. First Spanking *
4. Filthy *
Paulo Dybala
1. Cute But Kinky *
2. Hard Time *
3. Couch Cuddles
4. Relaxing Day
Antoine Griezmann
1. Remote-control Panties *
2. Ice Play *
3. Outdoor Sex *
4. Submissive *
Neymar
Punishing Kylian’s Girl *
Cengiz Ünder
1. Joining In *
2. Worship *
Robin Koch
1.Honeymoon Sex *
Virgil Van Dijk
1. Gentle Giant *
2. First Fight
3. Anal Punishment *
Reiss Nelson
1. Cockwarming *
Matty Cash
1. Making Out
Julian Brandt
1. Upset
Timo Werner
1. Frustrations *
Threesomes
1. Paulo/Fede *
2. Goretzka/Pavard *
3. Mason/Ben *
4. Ben/Werner *
5. Tyrone/Gomez *
6. Jack/Tyrone *
7. Brandt/Havertz *
8. Gomez/VVD *
9. Kepa/Kai *
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Happy Birthday, booksandeverlark!
Our sincerest apologies for the delay on your gift, @booksandeverlark! We hope your birthday back on October 22nd was a wonderful one, and that you got exactly the presents you were hoping for. To bring your party feels back around, the lovely @mega-aulover has written a monster of a fic just for you!
RATED E - For sexual situations and trigger warnings for manhandling and mild violence. Some Hunger Characters are off Cannon for the purpose of the story.
a/n Peeta Mellark is one of the worlds most recognizable stars, and he needs a break. He goes missing and is hiding in plain sight because he has fallen for Katniss Everdeen who is raising a tween Prim. Everything goes according to plan until one day Hollywood comes a’callin
- special thanks to @norbertsmom who beta’d this monster of a story. 20K sorry to Booksandeverlark for the lateness of the story I hope you had a belated birthday.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pete Holly Golightly
-THE JUNKET
“Where the hell is the kid?” Haymitch growled.
“He’s in his bedroom,” his red-haired assistant said, popping her gum not even looking up from her phone.
Haymitch opened the door, and saw red. He took his phone and called the kid, and the phone began ringing. There was a buzzing sound coming from behind the ensuite bathroom. The younger generation never went anywhere without their phones. The kid was no exception.
“Kid,” Haymitch marched into the room and banged on the door.
He had a bone to pick with the kid. The junket was a roller coaster. The kid was barely coherent during the second half of the interviews. His co-stars did the heavy lifting. Haymitch did everything in his power to get the kid in this movie, and he was brilliant, an Oscar worthy performance, but now the kid was burnt out.
The phone began buzzing again.
“Come on Peeta. I know you’re in there I can hear the phone buzzing.”
It was silent on the opposite side of the bathroom door.
“Kid,” Haymitch said once more. Peeta was one of the most responsible people. Today was so out of character for him. Yet again, the pressure by the press lately made the kid feel like a guppy in a bowl full of piranhas.
A few weeks ago, some not-so-distinguished members of the press broke into the kid’s home. Peeta’s privacy was smashed when he found out it was his own mother who gave the pap’s the key to his house for a cool $100K. Ever since then the kid changed.
Haymitch was worried. The pressure was getting to Peeta. He was no longer having fun. His smiles never reached his eyes anymore. Haymitch was just about the only one who could tell when Peeta became Peet-the-movie-star. No one could distinguish the polished, charming, and funny persona from the genuine affable, fiercely loyal, kind kid Peeta was at the core of his being.
After the press junket was over the kid gave him the slip. Normally they talked about the next project or movie. Opening the door, Haymitch cursed when he saw the kids’ phone on the bathroom counter with a note next to it.
“Haymitch, I’m just exhausted. I need a break. I promise I’ll be at the world premiere of the movie - Holly Golightly.”
Haymitch crushed the note in his hand. He laughed bitterly at the code name the kid gave himself whenever he checked into a hotel. The kid loved the movie Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Thankfully, this was the last appearance Peeta had to make before the movie premier in less than a week. But a week later, when Peeta didn’t make it to his movie premiere, the entire industry went up in arms.
Peeta's disappearance was the talk of the town. Even three weeks later the fury hadn’t died down. Every paparazzi fueled by the promise of the mini fortune for the first picture of Peeta Mellark was now hunting down the kid. The good boy gone missing had every tabloid spinning articles and fake sightings. Peeta had gone into the Elvis Presley stratosphere of speculation. Everything from aliens, to he became a monk. One thing for certain, the pap’s were seeking Peeta like a struggling dieter seeking a rich German chocolate cake.
-THE SEARCH
“You got any proof you saw Peeta Mellark?” Claudius questioned Judy Morphling.
“You got the cash?” the thin girl with the dark circles under her eyes asked.
Claudius showed Judy the white envelope filled with a couple of hundred-dollar-bills. She was a junkie. And he took advantage of her broke status to make a quick buck to fix her addiction. Claudius slipped the envelope back into his pocket. He wasn't fooled by kids like these.
He’d spent the past four weeks hunting down dead ends. People willing to sell their left arm for money. True, there were other pursuits where he scored a couple of thousand. The hottest going ticket in tinsel town was finding the whereabouts of Hollywood's golden good boy Peeta Mellark. The movie he was in had gone to number one for the past four weeks. It was driven by the mystery of his disappearance, and the phenomenal acting performance in the movie about race. It was a true story, a love story about a man who moved heaven and earth for the love of his life, a freed slave.
“Okay,” she said.
“Now the proof,” Caludius demanded.
He was familiar with his informant's story, all too well. Judy won a popular game show when she was in college. She became an instant national sweetheart. During her 15 minute of fame, she was invited to every single hot Hollywood party. Subsequently, she got hooked on alcohol and drugs. One of the bellhops tipped him off that she was in the hotel where Peeta was having the junket and that she had seen him the day he disappeared.
She looked side to side nervously reaching into her pocket to whip out her phone. "Here."
With detached indifference he looked at the picture. It was hard to tell, the guy had on a baseball cap and sunglasses. Claudius swiped the screen and saw that trademark chiseled chin his ex fawned over. It was him. Still, knowing the kid had walked out of the junket didn’t help him. He wasn’t ready to part with his money for just any reason. “This could be anyone,” he said.
Judy lifted an eyebrow. “A friend of mine that works at a gas station said he also saw him.”
Claudius took a step back. “Sorry Judy. I need real proof.”
“I just need something to tide me over...please...look I have a friend... my friend’s name is Morph.”
“Morph like in the TV show?”
“His mom was a big into 1970’s reruns.” She shrugged, though the light trembling in her lips let Caludius know she was desperate.
“Okay look.” He took out a twenty and showed it to her. Her eyes went wide as she stared at the money. “Give me this guys information. If it proves to be fruitful, I’ll pay you what you asked for.”
“Okay,” she held out her hand. “I’ll text you his information.”
His phone buzzed. He looked down at the information. “That’s out of State?”
“Yeah.” Her eyes were on the money.
“You say he works at a gas station?” Claudius enjoyed taunting his informants. He waved the cash, like a cat and mouse game.
“Near the border.”
Claudius withdrew the folded bill. He needed assurances that she wasn’t just talking to get the money and not coming through with information vital to him. The payout for finding Mellark was nearly 200K. Judy licked her lips as her eyes followed the money reaching out with her hand.
“I’ll text Morph to give you an exclusive.”
“Text him now.”
“Okay, okay.” Judy’s fingers moved quickly over the screen of her phone. She even included him in the group chat. When the reply came back as “no problem”, Claudius was satisfied.
“Here ya go,” Claudius said, giving her the twenty bucks. He walked away; he needed to make the trip to Peeta Mellark’s last known position. He hummed as he got into his car, thrilled for the chase.
-LIVING WITH THE ENEMY
Gale Hawthorne glowered from underneath the tree in his backyard as District Twelve’s newest resident, that blond painter Pete Golightly, made a move on Katniss Everdeen. He was supposed to be taking out the trash when he saw them by the curbside.
They stood so close in the dark that she was swallowed up by the guy's physique. But they weren’t touching, and although that was a relief, he wasn’t going to leave anything to chance.
He liked Katniss. No, that was an understatement. He more than liked her, he could see that there was a potential between them. She was smart, he wouldn’t call her pretty, hell she never smiled. But she made sense to him, she was practical, determined, efficient, loyal, punctual, and some much more. Katniss never looked at him like a piece of man meat. A lot of girls looked at him that way.
Frankly it was great, but sometimes, Gale sighed, sometimes he wanted to have an honest conversation with a girl. With Katniss he could, he’d talk, sure she didn’t say much, but she listened and that’s what he wanted. He held a candle for her so long that watching her with the new guy made him grow tense. He wanted to punch a wall.
The nerve in his temple drummed making his headache even worse.
Rubbing his temple he wondered what the hell a guy like Golightly had that made Katniss, and for that matter, every single woman within a fifty mile radius act like a cat in heat. Even his own mother talked about how handsome the painter was. And of all of the available girls, the douche chose Katniss to hang around.
The peal of girlish laughter reached his ears. Gale walked closer, using the darkness to hide himself. He wanted to hear what they were saying. He crouched by her car. From this position he could see them. Pete dipped his head low near hers. Gale knew that hovering move, it was a move he used to get close enough to kiss a girl.
Gale furled his fist. He watched Katniss reach up and smooth Pete’s golden locks away from his face.
Katniss didn’t do that. She didn’t touch people, hell she didn’t like to be touched. He recalled how she recoiled when he tried to touch her. She did the same thing at Greasy Sea's whenever someone touched her by accident. Gale loved it when she scowled at them.
Then she leaned up on tiptoe.
“No, no, no,” Gale ground out. He then stood agog as Katniss lifted her head up to kiss Pete Golightly.
It wasn’t a long kiss. It was really a peck, but Gale could see that both parties enjoyed the kiss. Her hand was perched on his chest and his hand covered it while the other one cupped her chin. This guy was a smooth operator. Gale’s head pounded as he saw red.
Pete separated from Katniss and gave her a soft kiss on the forehead before he walked away to his car. Once he pulled out, Gale stood to his full height.
“I thought you didn’t have time for that.” The words slipped out of his mouth before he could stop them. He stomped over to her, his fists curling and uncurling. He was trying to keep his calm.
Katniss turned around and gasped her eyes wide and silvery in the moonlight. “What the hell are you doing, Gale?”
She had the look of a girl who was properly kissed and that drove Gale insane. “You chose that pasty faced wimp?”
Her face transformed into that steely scowl of hers. She walked around him.
Gale followed. “I’m talking to you.”
She ignored him as she moved forward.
When she reached the front door of the garage apartment she rented from his mother, he turned her around, leaning down toward her. “What, you don’t have anything to say?”
Katniss looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. “It’s none of your damned business.”
Gale was going to say something to her when she opened the door to the apartment and quicker than a fox stealing eggs from a henhouse she slipped inside and shut the door in his face.
Gale pounded on the side of the door. This wasn’t over.
-80’s QUEEN
“Prim,” Katniss hollered through the bathroom door of the small studio apartment.
The apartment was basically a portion of Hazel Hawthorn's garage. There was no privacy except for the small airplane sized bathroom. She jiggled the bathroom doorknob. Prim was going to be late for the bus.
“Katniss!” Prim screeched from the other side.
She rolled her eyes at her baby sister's dramatic response. “You’re going to be late for school.”
The door opened and Prim stood there pouting, her blond hair a riot. Katniss did not dare gasp. Prim was a tween and Katniss knew how vicious kids could be at school. Instead she sighed, “Okay, what can I do to help?”
“It’s 80’s day at school today and I need to look like that,” Prim pointed to the picture on her phone of Christie Brinkley.
“We’re going to need a lot of hairspray and a brush,” Katniss rolled up the sleeves of her shirt.
“But I’m going to be late to school!” Prim cried.
Prim was twelve and at this age everything was a crisis. Katniss wasn’t as dramatic as Prim at that age, though she was moody. “Hey, I’ll give you a ride into school. It will be alright,” Katniss smiled over Prim’s head, their reflected images showed a united front. They were as different as night and day, but both girls had their dad’s smile and their mom’s button nose.
"Thanks Katniss," Prim said in a small voice. She was almost a teenager, but still very much a little girl.
"Okay, let's rock this." Hair and makeup wasn’t her strong suit but Katniss had a crash course having to take guardianship of her baby sister at the age of eighteen. When their parents died, Katniss fought tooth and nail for her sister. She didn’t want Prim to go into the foster care system. She elected not to go to college and found a job. She sold their parents’ house, paid off the debts and made a home for herself and her then 10-year-old sister.
It was a rough learning curve, but somehow Katniss made it work.
Taking a brush, she quickly brushed and smoothed her sister's hair. She took a portion of Prim's beautiful wavy blond hair and put it in a side ponytail. The rest of her hair Katniss curled and teased into perfect 80's puffiness. Combined with her ripped jeans and oversized sweatshirt she borrowed, Prim was perfect to go back in time.
They were rushing out of the house. Katniss started her beat up Camry and began to make her way down the mountain. The mountains of Panem’s District Twelve were a beautiful blue grey. A lot of the residents lived in the high hills because they were cooler than the valley below. It was private and no one got a house in the hills unless it was passed down by family inheritance or in her case, a rental by a friend of the family. The school was a good half-hour away from the entrance of the steep hill, but as they drove, the car began to shake as they made their way down a steep incline.
Her palms were sweaty as she frantically pressed on the brakes as they made their way down to a small plateau. She pulled the heaving, trembling Camry to the side of the road.
“No, no, no,” she uttered as it began to smoke. Katniss sighed and hoped that it wasn’t something costly. “I’m going to take a look.” She popped the hood. Getting out, she went to the hood and released the latch. She jumped back as a waft of billowy hot plume of smoke wafted from the engine.
“Dagnabit,” Katniss muttered.
“Is it fixable?” Prim asked out of the window.
She grimaced before she looked toward where her sister sat in the car, at this rate Prim was never getting to school. Her knowledge on cars was limited. She knew how to change the oil, change a tire, and do the necessary upkeep for a car. However, it was the more complicated stuff like identifying which of the hoses that broke causing her car to overheat, was out of her scope. That would mean she’d have to deal with Gale, a mechanic by trade.
Gale was obsessive about her, something that Katniss hated. They were once friends until Gale stopped looking at her as a friend, but something to be possessed. He didn’t acknowledge they were too alike, in temperament and personalities. To Katniss it didn’t matter Greasy Sae said Gale was sex on a stick, she just didn’t like him like that.
Her appetite for men ran in a different direction. Sighing, she gave the car a bewildered look. The odds were not on her side.
“Katniss, I'm going to miss school,” Prim said desperately from the window of the passenger seat.
Katniss felt bad. These were the times she felt guilty for not being a better sister / guardian to her sister. Prim was a good kid and deserved better. Looking down at her watch, time was running out. Squaring her shoulders Katniss vowed she was going to get her sister to school. “Come on,” Katniss said, reaching down and grabbing Prim’s knapsack. “We’ll be late, but we can walk to school.”
“We can call Pete,” Prim said quietly.
Katniss couldn’t help the flush that crept up to her cheeks at the mention of their new hunky neighbor. Those darned butterflies began whizzing around her stomach. Katniss wanted to hush them or at least put them on a leash whenever Pete was around.
Pete lived on the mountain with them. He was quiet, and he and her sister got along like chicken wings and buffalo sauce. Pete was the different her appetite was hungry for. Her mind replayed the soul stirring kiss they shared. They said a kiss was a window into a person’s heart, and if that kiss was an indication of what was in Peeta’s heart it was a three alarm fire that burned for her.
However, the kiss was something she wasn’t going to share with her twelve-year-old sister. Hell, that wasn’t something she wanted to even think about. “Prim.”
“Katniss,” her sister’s eyes glittered with mischief. The little imp knew what she was doing.
“I don’t need a man to come rescue us. We can walk to the school.”
“I know we don’t need a man, but we’re not even halfway down the mountain and I’m more than half-an-hour away from school. Pete is about two minutes away.”
Her sister’s logic was infallible, and Katniss knew it, but loathed to admit. “Fine, call Pete.”
-INCOGNITO
Peeta drove exactly three minutes from his home to see the old dark Camry with the hazard lights on. His gut clenched when he saw the petite fiery woman with the olive skin tone, eyes the color of a raging storm, and cute pert nose. They were seeing each other, not in an official I’m dating you way, but definitely in the, there was something going on between them.
Peeta was used to women fawning all over him. Not Katniss, and he’d fallen for her harder than a sledgehammer hitting concrete. They’d kissed last night. Not a gentle peck on the lips, but the type of kiss that proved the earth was round, because your world shifted on its access. One moment you were standing on the floor and the next you were standing on the ceiling.
He’d been a star since the age of six months. A casting agent walked into his parents’ failing bakery and spotted him sitting in a high chair. The agent convinced his father to put him up for one of those national baby advertisements. Yet none of the accolades he received compared to winning a small smile from the woman standing on the side of the road.
“Hi,” Katniss said pushing her long rope of braided raven hair over her shoulder.
“Hi,” Peeta said, climbing out of his truck.
“Hi Pete,” Prim greeted, her eyes alight with joy.
“Hey, little duck.” Katniss' sister Primrose was as infectious as sunshine after a rainy day. She was the one person Peeta was sure Katniss would put her life down for. He had never seen that type of devotion and love before. In the industry he was in there wasn’t much room for any sort of relationship. Everything was colored by money.
His own mother was the poster girl for how money corrupts absolutely. When that casting agent walked into the family’s failing bakery his mother doubted he would get casted; she often said he was an ugly baby. His mother was wrong. Peeta won the contest. His round little face with his priceless blue eyes was soon appearing on every jar, can, and package of that brand of baby product. His mother got bit by the show biz bug, or rather the money that he made from it. She became his manager, and without anyone’s knowledge, took money from Peeta. As he became older and less easy to control his mother became abusive.
Peeta longed for a normal semblance of life. Despite not having two pennies to rub together, Katniss was raising Prim on her own and she was doing it all right. Not once did he hear Katniss lose her temper with her baby sister.
“Hi,” Katniss waved back, her face a deep shade of purple. She slipped her hands into the pocket of her pink diner waitress uniform Greasy Sae made Katniss wear. Her white sneakers shuffled back and forth.
Peeta got out and slipped his sunglasses off. He opened the cab door and held it for Prim and Katniss.
Katniss rolled her eyes at him.
They had this discussion before, about how he didn’t have to hold the door open for her. Peeta knew Katniss was more than capable of opening her own doors, but he was a romantic. He believed in Arthur and the Round Table and a knight’s code. His friend Finnick often told him he was born in the wrong era. He stood up when a lady walked into a room, held doors open, and walked little old ladies across the street.
“Seat belt,” Katniss reminded Prim who already had her earbuds in.
“K,” Prim replied.
“Oh, your lunch,” Katniss said, taking out a brown paper bag littered with glittery stickers from her brown leather messenger bag.
“Katniss, pink panda bears?” Prim huffed.
“I thought you liked them?”
“I do, but these stickers scream six-year-old kid.”
“Okay next time I’ll do a plain brown bag.” Katniss put on her seat belt.
Peeta caught the way Prim’s fingers went over the stickers with awe and reverence. Once more he couldn’t help loving the way the sisters were a unit.
For the whole of his life Peeta longed to be accepted and loved by his family. His older brothers were self-involved and didn’t give a flying fig newton about him; he was just their meal ticket. His mother was abusive and money hungry. His father was a simple man who couldn’t stand up to his wife.
His dad failed to protect Peeta.
The lesson he learned growing up was that no one needed him. They needed his bank. That last stunt was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Peeta needed a way out and he found a way. His friend, mega star, Finnick Odair helped him get it. Starting over was worth breaking a few rules. He made a few withdrawals, put it in a new bank account and when the time was right, he left.
The trek to the small country of Panem that sat between the Canadian border and the United States border took less than 19 hours including a 90-minute ferry. Panem was a small island, with little islands scattered around it. District twelve was the smallest of the islands and had the smallest community. He chose this small island because it was so far removed from everything that reminded him of Hollywood.
He could have continued travelling but stopped when he met Prim and subsequently her older sister, Katniss. Peeta stayed far longer than what he wanted to because he was fascinated by Katniss.
Once they were on the road, Katniss kept on sneaking looks at him. It was when he caught her gaze going down to his mouth that he knew he was in danger, by the way he stiffened in his jeans. He looked back at Primrose in the seat and the pressing problem in his jeans shriveled.
“You okay?”
“Yeah,” Katniss said, clearing her throat. She picked up her phone and called the school and her husky voice on the phone made him uncomfortable once more.
Peeta told himself to keep himself in check. Peeta wasn’t a lady’s man, but that didn’t mean he was a saint. However, he was the type who liked to be in a relationship. In his opinion, the best sex was had when he was emotionally connected with someone. When it was used just to blow off steam or to scratch an itch, he found it empty and meaningless, so he stayed clear of women who only promised that sort interaction. By Hollywood standards, he was a virgin. Compared to him, Katniss was a unicorn.
He respected her and if she knew his thoughts she’d no doubt shoot him through the eye with her bow. To be fair, he was terrified of Katniss, especially when she was in what he called the ‘Hunter Mode.’ Her scowl combined with her glittering silver eyes promised pain and certain death to whomever was in her crossfire.
There were two things he learned not to mess with, one her sister Primrose, and the other was her personal business. Katniss was an extremely private person. Peeta sighed as they sped toward Prim’s school.
“Prim,” Katniss said. “I let the school know we’re on our way.”
“What about Greasy Sae?” Peeta asked.
“Greasy was the first person I called while Prim called you.”
They approached the school and there were a few stragglers, parents rushing to get their kids into the school building. Katniss jumped out of the car.
“Katniss, I'm not a baby. I can make it into school by myself,” Prim whined.
“Prim I have to sign you in, and that will continue straight up through high school.” Katniss' matter of fact tone of voice let Prim know this wasn’t the time for a pre-teen hissy fit.
“Fine,” Prim said quietly.
Peeta grinned. “I’ll wait here while you get her sorted.”
Katniss nodded, a look flitted through her eyes. She had been avoiding him, and in a way he had been avoiding her as well. He knew the kiss was a dangerous thing and with everyday he stayed put, there was a chance he could be discovered.
He pulled his hat lower and slipped on his sunglasses. Even though he’d let his natural blond hair grow out, there was a chance people would recognize him, his eyes were legendary. The only thing he was grateful for was that his mother despised his blond locks.
To the public at large, he had brown hair. For the majority of his career Peeta dyed his hair and eyebrows. He purposefully didn’t take movies where he had to be a blond. After his parents’ stunt, he had begun to let it grow out. Cinna, his stylist, helped him wear a wig whenever he needed to make a public appearance.
It was easy to slip on some glasses and walk out of the hotel. About halfway through the interviews Peeta had his double sneak in, so that he could escape. No one could make out the difference, well no one but Haymitch.
Peeta felt guilty for duping his manager and mentor. The wrap on the window pulled him out of his thoughts. Katniss stood on the other side, her eyes were staring at his hands. He didn’t realize the white-knuckle grip he had on the steering wheel. He felt the blush creeping up the side of his neck. Leaning over he quickly jumped out and opened the truck door for her.
“Pete,” Katniss mumbled under her breath.
“You’ve got your quirks, and this is one of mine.” He could see the beginning of a small smile on Katniss face and that right there was the reason he kept on coming back to see her. When she smiled it was better than Christmas, better than fresh baked cookies, and better than a greasy bacon double cheeseburger after a night out knocking back beers with Finnick.
He got into the car and drove out of the school parking lot.
“Look,” Katniss grimaced.
Peeta sucked in a breath. Here it came, the excuses passed off as rationalizations. Peeta dreaded the speeches that ranged from it was a mistake, we should forget that it happened, and his least favorite, it’s not you it’s me, I’m sorry I’m just not that into you.
“I don’t do that,” Katniss said. Her eyes were focused on her hands.
Peeta sat back waiting patiently for Katniss to continue.
Her cheeks were tinged with a warm red color. She wrinkled her nose and bit her bottom lip, all signs of her nervousness. Peeta found it endearing.
“I don’t go around.” Her leg began shaking now. “...kissing, I don’t go around kissing...”
“I know.” He put his hand next to hers, but didn’t touch her. Yet, the nearness of their hands caused butterflies to make an appearance in his stomach. The connection between the two of them was electric. He hoped she felt the same way. He saw her look turn from trepidatious to one of suspicion. He cleared his throat. “What I mean is you take care of your sister. She’s your whole life. You don’t have time for romantic entanglements.”
Her eyes opened.
“You have to worry about putting food on the table, a roof over your heads, plus everything that comes with raising a tween.” They came to a stop at a stoplight.
She blinked.
Peeta opened his mouth and shut it. He sighed and nodded; her actions proved refutably, his words were wrong. He didn’t hear her moving across the cabin, or the way her hands braced his face before she kissed him.
Peeta’s heart exploded like a redstone rocket leaving the mission pad into the atmosphere. Her lips were warm and supple, and they tasted of ginger and mint. His hands gently cupped hers.
Katniss pulled away. Her lips plump, her eyes were a dark stormy gray, from their kiss. She smiled at him shyly. “Thank you.”
“I think I should be thanking you.” The light turned green and he began driving. He couldn't hide the ear to ear grin.
Katniss raised an eyebrow and gave him a chaste kiss. “I like you Pete Golightly.”
Hearing his fake name sat like sour milk in his stomach. Peeta wanted to come clean to Katniss but didn’t know how. Katniss wasn’t anyone who trusted people easily, and she let him get close. He felt guilty for not being honest with her. But he held onto the idea that he was going to be leaving soon. He also told himself that the less people knew about his secret the easier it was for him to be able stay incognito.
He gently let go of her hands and he missed her touch when she pulled away. “I like you too, Katniss Everdeen.”
“You want to come overnight,” Katniss asked.
“As long as you let me make you and Prim dinner.”
She looked indecisive.
“Look, you’re going to be late picking up Prim tonight, and when you get to the apartment you’re going to focus on Prim and her homework while making dinner. Since today is Wednesday you do the laundry.”
Wednesday is the most dratted day...it runs a close second to Sunday night. Katniss hated laundry. She hated the separating, the folding, the waiting well just about everything except for the smell of the fabric softener. She said it reminded her of a spring meadow on a warm day.
“Okay,” she said. Laughter bubbling up from her lips. “How do you know me so well?”
Peeta winked slowly. “I always take notice when you’re in the room Katniss.” He enjoyed the blush that blossomed on her cheeks.
-THE CHASE
Less than two days later Claudius unfolded himself from his car. He pulled into the gas station near the border of Canada and Panem to fill up his tank.
A young family got out of the rest stop right next to him. The girls got out and were talking about Peeta. There was a billboard of the movie hanging right in front of them. Claudius followed them inside, he went to join the line, he had cash to pay for the gasoline. The girls queued up behind him.
“He’s so cute,” the young girl said, pointing to the tabloid with the picture of Peeta Mellark. The headline read he was taken by aliens.
Claudius glanced behind him, and estimated the girl must have been sixteen.
The other one who looked to be fourteen said, “He’s so yummy. Too bad mommy wont let us see his movie.”
“I know,” the sixteen year-old grumbled.
“Do you think his parents had something to do with his disappearance?”
“I don’t know,” the older sister said.
Claudius reached the front of the line and paid forty for gas. He walked outside into the sunlight. It had been a long ride from the junket to this small town. He had to stop halfway there and rent a hotel room for the night. After a complimentary stale pastry and tepid tea for breakfast, he was back out on the road. He was finally just outside the small town.
He walked toward his car and began to pump gas. The girls came out of the small convenience store and sat down in the small shaded picnic area next to the gas stop.
A young boy about their age walked by them and they were giggling and laughing.
“Girls,” their mother called out. “We’re leaving.”
“Okay mom,” the girls yelled out in unison. As they stood up from the shaded area. They looked up at the billboard. And continued to speak about Peeta Mellrak.
Claudius smirked at the girl's conversation. The actions of the young star were a mystery to Claudius and to the entire world.
Why leave all of the money and power behind, Claudius wondered? That question is what drew him to the story, he’d discovered. The kid was clean, didn’t do drugs, didn’t drink, he wasn’t broke. The kid had millions in the bank.
In his last movie, Peeta, was involved in the producing, directing, and script writing. The success of the movie had everyone clamorning to work with him. The kid was on the cusp, he had the ability to make more money and have the kind of power to make his own movies. They billed him as the next Ron Howard. Why would the kid throw all of that way? No one was that crazy. Claudius knew of one person who left it all behind at the height of their career, Dolores Hart. Dolores starred opposite Elvis Presley, and some of Hollywood's top male actors of the time. She left Hollywood to become a nun.
Claudius wondered if Mrs. Mellark had anything to do with Peeta Mellark’s Agatha Christie stunt. The Mellarks were a mess. The kind that were a paparazzi present wrapped up tightly with bright ribbon under the Christmas tree. His older brothers were sleeze balls. His oldest brother was in hot water for making several statements that were deeply offensive to a number of people. The middle Mellark was a mainstay in Vegas. He was a gambler and rumored to have connections with the mafia. He was seen with the daughter of notorious mobster Seneca Crane.
His mother, she was a joy, a really Betty Croker, complete with shark teeth. The woman sold her son’s privacy for 100 grand. The reporters entered his house and took detailed pictures of his home. The best was his color coordinated underwear draw. Everyone knew he was a boxer brief guy. His father was a patsy, with the personality of a limp wet towel.
Claudius wondered if they were the reason he left Hollywood? But then again, Peeta had nothing to do with his family. They lived separate lives. Peeta didn’t even have pictures of his family in his house. Only gorgeous paintings that were discovered to have been painted by Peeta himself. If his family was the reason, it didn’t matter to Claudius. He wanted to be the first to find Peeta Mellark.
It’s why he was in the border town looking for Judy’s friend Morph.
-NIGHT IN
Katniss watched Peeta with her sister. Her heart raced a thousand miles an hour, a common occurrence whenever he was around. He was washing the dishes with her sister as she folded laundry.
Prim introduced them, and Katniss hadn’t wanted to be his friend. She didn’t want to be with anyone. She had to raise Prim. Her sister took the priority in her life and few people understood the pressure that came with being so young and raising a child. She was still only twenty, and they were visited by a fastidious case worker Effie Trinket whose sharp eyes never missed a thing. If there was speck of dust on a lampshade Miss Trinket would spot it.
It’s why she stayed away from men. They complicated her simple drive to protect and provide for her sister. Pete however never imposed his person on hers. He never demanded that she pay attention to him. Instead he slowly and politely became her friend. She hadn’t wanted to face him after the kiss, but after fate brought them together, and she spoke to him in the car she couldn’t help but kiss him again.
That second kiss caused Katniss to realize maybe she was ready for more with Pete. He was kind, gentle, intelligent, witty, funny, and sexy. The last word caused her to blush, because she chose that moment to stare at him. As if sensing her stare, he looked up and his eyes darkened. His gaze dropped down to her lips before they moved up once again.
He was thinking of their kiss and Katniss squirmed in her seat.
Prim said something funny and he laughed.
“That’s just as bad as Gale making a pass at my sister.”
“No way?” Pete said gazing at Katniss.
He was curious about Gale. Katniss told him she didn’t have any romantic feelings about Gale.
“Way,” Prim said. “Gale thinks Katniss should date him because he’s so,” she said holding up her fingers in the air to make quotations. “...great.”
Pete didn’t say anything.
“They were friends and then my parents died. Gale expected my sister to fall at his feet. He kept on coming to the house to try to help, to make it known Katniss was his girl.” Prim’s face soured like that time she drank bad milk.
They never spoke about that time after their parents died. Katniss preferred to move forward.
“After the funeral he tried to make his move.”
“After the funeral, you mean the day you were…”
Katniss stopped folding the clothing. She had no idea Prim had overheard. She thought her sister was in their old home.
“Can you believe it!” Prim shook her head. “I was in the tree house hiding. I saw him grab my sister by the shoulder and try to kiss her, but Katniss pushed him away. She told him she wouldn’t have time for him, because she needed to petition the courts for me. Gale told her that raising me was a mistake. My sister kicked him in the nuts.”
“Did she?” Pete asked, his eyebrow quirked. Katniss could see his admiration, not for kicking Gale in the nuts as Prim said, but for sticking to her guns to take care of her sister.
Prim giggled, “He never saw it coming.”
“So how did you guys end up living in their garage?”
“Katniss had to sell our house to pay for the bills and for the lawyers and court fees.”
Katniss stood up and sighed. “Gale’s mother is the real estate agent that helped me sell our house. She offered the garage as a way for her to make extra money after her divorce from Gale’s dad.” Katniss shrugged, “She needed the extra income, and I needed a place to live. It was a mutual agreement.”
"Katniss worked really hard to make the garage homey."
Katniss watched Pete look around the apartment as if he’d never really taken a good look. His focus was always on Prim or herself. To be fair he wasn’t someone who took notice of the disparity they lived in. Gale constantly offered to fix things for her, including her person. It was like that perfect backhanded compliment. You look nice in a dress, you should wear one more often, or the one that always made her see red. Your face is pretty when you smile and wear makeup.
Katniss wanted to hurt Gale every single time he said something stupid and asinine.
Gale’s harsh words didn’t extend only to her person, they also extended to the apartment. Gale made her feel insecure about her flea bargain finds, dollar store buys, and hand-me-down furniture. He thought the colors dull, and her paint job was poor, but never offered to help paint.
Katniss could see all of the gaff’s she made painting. Katniss decorated their small home with calm earth tones, wanting it to convey peacefulness, warmth and be inviting. When they moved here Prim was ten and Katniss wanted to make sure her sister felt like everything was going to be alright.
The studio was small with a loft. Katniss gave her sister the loft so that she could have privacy. Prim was growing up and Katniss understood the need for space. Katniss went through those awkward years with their parents, their door was always open. It’s why she made a bedroom for herself in the nook below the loft. Katniss used shutters for a wall near the entrance and creatively used a tension rod between two bookshelves to make an entry to her makeshift bedroom.
Yet in Pete’s warm blue eyes she saw what could be considered admiration.
“You are amazing,” Pete said simply.
Katniss could feel the onslaught of warmth that rushed from her heart to her cheeks, because unlike Gale’s thinly veiled insults which hailed from a vain superficial perspective. Gale could only see beyond his own needs whereas Pete's hailed from deep within.
“Yes she is and she needs someone just as amazing,” Prim piped up, and Katniss was mortified. What came out of Prim’s mouth next however made Katniss want to bury her head in the sand. “Someone like you, Pete!”
Katniss thought she wanted to strangle her sister, but her feet were rooted to the floor. She glanced up and found herself staring at Pete’s lips. She wanted to be alone with him and kiss him once more but she couldn’t do anything in front of her sister.
“Prim I think you sister is more than capable of making her own decisions about who she wants to date.”
Pete’s words were commendable, and given the way his blue eyes looked darker and the fact that his eyes were gazing at her lip was a clear indication that Pete was thinking of the same thing, that kiss.
“You two are perfect for each other.” Prim’s gaze switched between Katniss and Peeta’s. “I am going up to my loft, put my noise cancelling headphones on and listen to my favorite K-Pop band really loudly in case you two want to kiss,” Prim wiggled her eyebrows with all of the mischievous and impish power she held.
“PRIM!!” Katniss gasped.
Prim’s peal of laughter exploded in the apartment as she ran up her loft ladder.
If Pete hadn’t been standing next to her she would have chased her sister. She turned slightly to Pete who stood with his hands in his pockets.
“I,” Katniss uttered, unsure what to say. The mood was ruined by her impish sister.
“Katniss, we can just hang out,” Pete suggested. “Maybe watch a movie? Or even fold laundry.”
Katniss wanted to roll her eyes at his suggestion to fold laundry.
“You doubt my folding abilities? I will have you know I know the secret of folding a fitted sheet, it’s a family secret but I may have to kill you unless you’re willing to die for it," Pete said wiggling his eyebrows.
"You know I am an excellent archer." Katniss narrowed her eyes in mock anger.
His instant grin and mischievous glint in his blue eyes caused a small fire to begin in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t explain the butterflies that sprung in her stomach whenever she was near him. Or the way she couldn’t stop staring at his nearly translucent eyelashes. She swallowed thickly as she stared at his lips and recalled how sweet he tasted, and the insane need, no scratch that, desire to walk up to him and kiss him.
“Oh hell,” Katniss breathed before she walked up to Pete and kissed him hard. Her hands reached up to cup his face while standing on tiptoe. She groaned the moment his arms wound around her, bringing her closer to him. Warmth spread from the deepest part of her chest and spread throughout her body.
The kiss wasn’t forceful, but man did it do things to her insides. Katniss disengaged and took him by the hand, dragging him to her makeshift bedroom.
“Katniss,” Pete raggedly uttered her name.
Katniss wasn’t even sure if what she was doing was correct. She didn’t have much, okay, in reality she knew zilch, zero, a big old donut hole about intimacy. The laws of attraction didn’t lend themselves to her until the day Pete Golightly came into her life.
She sat on the bed and scooted backward, trying to convey silently for Pete to come to her. Katniss wasn’t sure where this coquettish side to her came from. But Pete did things to her that made her want everything.
Her eyes scanned him as he stood by the foot of the bed, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. If this were Gale he would have been the aggressor and that would have been like being thrown into a frozen lake in the middle of winter. It’s not that Pete couldn’t be aggressive, he was massive. His hands were warm and large, he was broad shouldered, strong, and taller than she was. Pete could probably bench press her caveman style, but he was sweet and polite, and that drove Katniss wild.
She sat up on the bed and crooked her finger at him.
Swiftly Peeta moved, coming to lay on top of her. She felt the moment he melted into her and she reveled in the power. They both gasped and moaned at the sensation of their bodies being pressed into one another.
Katniss tilted her head slightly to kiss him and little currents of pleasure flowed from her mouth to her belly and further south. Her hands grasped his face so that she could do something she’d heard about, kissing with tongue. It should have felt weird to have her tongue in his mouth. She instinctively sought entrance to his mouth and Pete gasped then angled his head and slowly opened his mouth for her. Her toes curled the moment his tongue greeted hers. Kissing was phenomenal, her new found favorite sport. Yes, it trumped archery.
Her hands released his face and began to roam as they kissed. Katniss had a sneaky suspicion that Pete was some sort of athlete because his chest was firm. Her hand snaked under his shirt and she felt the ridges of his abdomen. Pete moaned and pulled away, his blue eyes wide. He looked dazed, a flush spread up to his cheeks.
She wasn't the type of girl who noticed that a guy was hot. Not that she was blind. Even though she didn’t like Gale. Katniss could admit to herself Gale wasn't an ogre. He was actually good-looking in that tall, dark and too handsome for his own good sort of way. She was just not attracted to him. She was one hundred percent attracted to Pete. And at this moment, all the naughty things she never thought of, never thought she would ever want to do, and had no time for, were rushing through her mind like one of those poorly written super trashy novella's Delly was so fond of reading.
Katniss wanted the shirt to come off, she wanted for it all to come off, she wanted him naked. The word naked should have terrorized her, but in actuality it didn’t. She sat up and tugged up on his shirt. Pete pushed her hands down.
“Katniss we can’t.” Pete sounded like he had run up the steep hill carrying one of those 100lb crates of potatoes Greasy Sae had delivered to the restaurant. He sat back on his haunches. His eyes traveled over her and he shook his head. Katniss sorley wished she knew how to seduce.
"Katniss," he said before he grimaced.
She frowned.
“Your sister,” Pete said pointing up at the loft above.
She’d forgotten about her impressionable baby sister. “Dagnabit!”
Pete smiled gently.
“I hate adulting.”
“We all have to be adults.”
She fell backwards onto her pillow, frustrated. Selfishly she did not want to stop. Realistically Pete was correct. Prim was a scant few feet away. She couldn't act like a typical 20-year-old. She had to be smarter, which is why she tucked all of those awakened me-want-sexy-time thoughts into a corner of her brain. A place where boring things resided, like matching clean socks, cleaning the oven, or pumping gas.
"Talk to me." Pete laid down next to her, not touching her, but just looking at her. It was comfortable, it was nice and yet those butterflies were acting like they were banging spoons and pots in her stomach.
Talking was not her thing. As her court appointed family psychologist said, she was introverted, thoughtful and not someone who could eloquently speak unless pressured. This was partly because talking could lead to trouble. Katniss always reminded herself that until her sister turned eighteen, she had to be careful.
“You’re right,” Katniss sighed. “I can’t get carried away.”
“Believe me, it’s not easy walking away, but I get that you’re not ready for some things.”
“You do something to me,” Katniss blurted. “There are these butterflies I get in my stomach whenever you’re around.” She then realized how childish that sounded, she was twenty and not a thirteen year old girl.
He laughed.
Yep Katniss thought, Pete thought her crazy.
“I get butterflies in my stomach whenever I am around you too.”
“You do?” she was surprised.
“I do. You’re the sweetest most beautiful, bravest woman I have ever met. You are amazing.”
“I don’t know how to take that?” She was awestruck. She didn’t consider herself any of those things. Especially beautiful. She was not beautiful.
“Slowly like breathing. Let the words penetrate your heart slowly.”
Katniss nodded. “I just, I’ve never been with anyone. I don’t have the least idea about what or how I am supposed to act.”
“To be honest there isn’t one way to act; you just be yourself. If you’re not comfortable with something you tell me no or stop. Just like I pulled away and you respected my decision to pull away. I know this sounds like a cheesy movie line, but I like you, Katniss, I like you a lot. You are, and I keep saying this word, amazing, because I’m in awe of you.”
Words shouldn’t be that powerful but the way Pete wielded them caused her to want to rip his shirt and pans off and do stuff. What stuff she wasn’t sure, but stuff that people did in bed. She closed her eyes briefly and wondered what happened to the girl who a few weeks ago was grossed out at seeing two people make out in public.
He smiled and his blue eyes glowed. “I think you did a great job decorating too.”
“Now I know you’re crazy.”
“Given what you had to work with, you did amazing. Besides I’ve seen Prim’s loft…” Peeta grinned, the loft was a riot of baby blue, pinks, and purples. “Believe me you did a great job, even with your sister's space. Just enough chaos but enough organization to help a budding genius.”
“Oh no, she’s got you watching Pinky and the Brain?”
“Zoik!”
“Ugh,” Katniss said.
“What? I’m not a Brain, I’m more of a Pinky. Prim is the Brain.”
“Sometimes I am afraid about how smart Prim really is.” Katniss sighed. “Do you know she knew her periodic table before she turned three? She can spout all of the weights of the elements and is in advanced calculus and physics in school. I’ve asked her if she wanted to move on, you know, to a higher grade, but she said no because she wanted to grow up normal.” Katniss sighed. “She’s had so much disruption in her life. I just want her to have as typical a childhood as possible.”
Pete leaned in and kissed her soundly. Katniss sighed.
He leaned away. “I would like to take you out on a date.”
“When?” She scooted closer to him.
“What about Friday?” He scooted closer to her.
“S’okay.” She moved closer, so close she could see the pale specks in his blue eyes.
“Cool.” He gently enfolded her in his arms.
She’d never been held before, and it was better than ice cream on a warm July evening.
-THE SCENT
It took Claudius the entire day to track down Morph. Even with a stupid name, no one in this forsaken side of town knew the scrawny strung out kid. He went to every single gas station and no one could identify him.
Claudius was frustrated. Viciously glad the only thing he wasted was chump change. He was going to pack it up when he came upon a run down gas station near the border. It was a sad place. The kind of place people were murdered or bodies appeared. With a broken lamp and one gasoline pump because the other one had a white paper taped to it with the words ‘out of service’ hastily scribbled on it.
Claudius went inside and was struck dumbfounded when there sitting behind a laminated counter sat Morph.
“Morph,” Claudius said.
“Yeah.”
“Judy sent me.”
“Oh, yeah,” Morph nodded. His eyes looked unfocused and even in the dim light of the interior his irises were fully dilated.
Crap, Claudius thought, the idiot is high.
“Judy,” Morph said grinning.
“Do you remember why Judy sent me here?” Claudius wondered if this was going to be another dead end.
“Yeah.”
“And.”
“Oh.” Morph waited a moment. “Yeah.”
Claudius would rather get shot during a root canal. “Look kid, have you seen him,” Claudius took the tabloid from off the wrack and pointed to Peeta.
Morph blinked. “He was here, he paid for gas, cash.”
“He did?”
Morph held out his phone screen to Claudius. The thrill of the chase running through his veins. He showed him the picture of Peeta’s side profile. He was wearing the same baseball cap and sunglasses he wore in Judy’s picture. Morph then pulled his phone back and stared blankly.
“Can you tell me what direction he took?”
Morph turned his head. “Yeah.”
“Well.”
“He headed toward Panem.”
“Panem?” Claudius was struck. “Are you sure he didn’t head toward Canada?”
Morph took out his phone and swiped.
There on the screen was a picture of Peeta’s car with the license plate heading toward the Panem border. Claudius took the idiots phone and sent himself the pictures. He slapped a 20 on the laminate counter.
Claudius pumped his gas but mentally he chanted, “Gotcha.”
-CONSPIRATORS
“Good morning,” Prim said from over her bowl of cornflakes.
Pete grinned. The time on the microwave read 5AM. Rubbing the back of his head, he said, “Morning Prim.” He and Katniss fell asleep in her room. He hadn’t woken up until this moment. Katniss was still sleeping.
“So you and my sister,” Prim wiggled her eyebrows.
“Prim.”
She grinned then made little kissy faces.
“First, you are too young to think that way. Secondly, I respect your sister far too much…well, to push her into something she is not ready for.”
“Please, there’s no need for an explanation. I know you guys didn’t do anything. I came downstairs around eleven and both of you were snoring. You, by the way, drooled on her pillow.”
Peeta rubbed his face. He had a sinking suspicion Prim was going to hold this over him.
Prim smiled but as she continued slurping her milk.
“Your sister,” Peeta said, sighing. “I really…I...like her alot, more than a lot actually.”
“Listen Peeta,” Prim said. “You make my sister happy and she makes you happy.”
“Prim,” Peeta hushed Prim. “You can’t use my real name.”
Prim rolled her eyes.
She was the only one who had figured out who he was within seconds of meeting him. She waited until they were alone and then she began to grill him like a well done steak. He had been going to Sae’s diner for one of her infamous soups, but he also liked to watch Katniss. She was graceful. The way she walked around people without making sound or spilling drinks or bowls. He had been trying to gather the courage to speak to her.
One day Prim showed up and his entire ruse was over.
Katniss wasn’t the only Everdeen to be protective. Prim was like a mama bear around Katniss. Her attitude toward her older caused Peeta to have a deep appreciation for Katniss. That she sacrificed so much for her sister was humbling. Peeta wished he could use all of his money and connections to help out the sisters.
However as he got to know both of them, he knew neither sister would take money from him. These two were fighters, they were a team. When Prim figured out he wasn’t playing with her sister’s heart, she was a mini bulldozer pushing them together. Prim was, as Katniss stated, frighteningly intelligent.
“You mean Peeta?” Prim said it louder.
“Prim, keep it down.”
“My sister sleeps like the dead. And you owe me cheese buns.”
Peeta sighed. He’d forgotten the bet, which Prim won. Last night they did end up making out. He couldn’t help the buzzing in his body at the memory of the way Katniss silver eyes turned like liquid mercury when she was aroused. “Okay, we’ll have to go over to my place.”
“Why?” Katniss walked into the kitchen, her hair askew. Her sleepy face was adorable.
Peeta walked to her and planted a sweet kiss on her lips. “Good morning. I’m making cheese buns.”
“Why?” Katniss yawned.
“Because, you should never make a bet against an Everdeen.” Prim winked. “I’m going to grab my clothing and stuff. I’ll pack something for Katniss too.”
Katniss frowned, watching her sister walk toward the loft.
Peeta couldn’t help himself. He cupped her face and properly kissed Katniss. She hummed, groaned and moaned all at once.
She gazed up at him with awe and with the embers of desire. “I lost a bet to Primrose, and now I owe her cheese bun.”
“She shouldn’t be doing that, but your buns are well worth it.”
“You like my buns?” Peeta hoped she meant something else entirely.
Katniss slipped her hand around to his butt and squeezed him briefly before sassily winking at him. “Yup I just love your buns.”
Peeta laughed. And kissed her swiftly, feeling like he had come home.
-THE OUTRAGE
Gale wanted to rip the backyard tree from it’s trunk when he woke up to see Pete coming out of the apartment early this morning. They were laughing and holding hands.
Hi misery could only be accompanied by the rage he felt.
Katniss was supposed to his girl.
Gale closed his eyes momentarily as pain shot through him. He opened them to see the lovers wrapped up in each other. What hurt the most was that, this wasn’t sex, they weren’t fucking for fun. The way they held one another as they kissed, denoted tenderness, deep care, gentleness, and soft yielding toward the other.
Gale tore his eyes away. He loathed Pete Golightly for taking the one girl he thought belonged to him. The one girl he wanted.
Katniss might never be his, but he was never going to accept them as a couple.
-THE HUNT
Peeta Mellark was smart, but Claudius was smarter. With the plates he was able to trace the car. Peeta had turned his car into this obscure car rental in Panem’s Capitol. While he couldn’t confirm that Peeta rented a car, he showed the girl the picture from Morph’s phone. It was imperative he got that first picture of Peeta Mellark. It was now worth nearly 300 Grand. And Claudius wanted to sit on a throne made of money.
“Yeah, I’m trying to trace down my nephew. My brother had a heart attack and my nephew he’s on one of those retreats you go wireless.”
The perky blonde’s eyes widened. "Oh my goodness, are you alright?”
Bingo! Claudius said to himself. People were inherently good, well unless you were a bastard like him, but in reality they wanted to be helpful and that’s where he, the bastard, preyed upon them. “I am okay, my brother,” he added enough emphasis on the word brother to allude that he was mortally grave. “I just hope to find my nephew before…” He trailed off.
“Oh, I can’t give you information, because it’s private.”
Claudius grinned, “Yeah, of course,” he said pumping something close to sincerity in voice. “Could you tell me if someone has seen him if I describe my nephew to you?”
“Sure I can totally do that.”
“Great, you have no idea how much this means to me.”
-THE CONFRONTATION
Gale walked into Greasy Sae’s. He found Katniss briskly walking between tables, serving coffee.
He sat in her section, at the counter and waited patiently as the crowd thinned and she came behind the counter.
“Gale,” Katniss said, her lips were thinned into a tight smile. “What can I get for you today?”
“Coffee,” Gale’s eyes slid down her form. He recalled what she looked like in a pair of shorts and a tank top. She had a slight build, small breast and a small ass too. He thought before that outfit she had a boy's body, but he was wrong. That was the summer before her parents died. “And you.”
Katniss plopped the coffee saucer on the table and then said, “I’m not on the menu.”
“Well you’re sure on Golightly’s menu.”
Her eyes widened before she narrowed them. “That’s none of your damned business.”
“What? That you’ve been whoring yourself to him?” He reached out and snagged her wrist.
“Let go of me.” she tugged.
He tightened his grip, now that he had her, Gale couldn’t let go. He was fascinated by the silvery color of her eyes, the way her pert nose wrinkled. Once again, he thought she wasn’t beautiful, hell, she wasn’t even pretty, but there was this pull about her. One he could not let go, even though she was with that man.
“You’re hurting me,” Katniss whispered struggling.
“Gale Hawthorne,” Delly Cartwright said, slapping him upside the head.
Gale blinked and released his hold on Katniss. He frowned looking at the fat cow Cartwright.
“You let her go or I will call my cousin to arrest you for manhandling.” Delly’s voice was high and squeaky.
He realized everyone was looking at him. Embarrassed he pushed back his hat and said, “I don’t want anything from the likes of her.”
Katniss held her wrist protectively. Her eyes were a glittery silver. Her scowl was in place and he knew that if she had her bow she wouldn’t hesitate to use it.
“You okay?” Delly asked Katniss.
Gale scoffed looking at Katniss's wrist. “She’s not even bruised.”
“Get,” Delly said.
Gale saw that a few of the other residents stood up, their demeanor letting him know that they were backing the girls.
“I’ll be back.”
“No you won’t, I’m going to tell Greasy, and when she hears about this you’ll be banned,” Delly put her finger at the center of his chest.
Gale left, but he swore Katniss was going to pay for embarrassing him.
-THE DATE
Katniss was nervous. She looked at her wrist, glad she didn’t have a bruise after Gale manhandled her at work yesterday. She sighed and put the incident behind her. She wanted to focus on her date tonight with Peeta. Twirling to the side she fretted about the dress, was it too short, was it too revealing? She wasn’t sure about the color.
“You’ve got to relax, Katniss.”
Katniss swung around to face her sister. “You’ve got everything?”
“Yeah,” Prim said, rolling her eyes.
“Prim,” Katniss forgot to worry about her date with the worry about her baby sister.
“Katniss,” Prim grabbed her cheeks between her hands. “I AM GOING TO BE FINE!”
Katniss frowned. It was a night of firsts. She was going on a date with Pete, and her sister was going to her first slumber party with her friend Ginnee at the new girl Coral’s house. Katniss had met Coral’s parents yesterday when Prim came home with the coveted birthday party invite. Coral’s parents were from District Four and they thought a slumber party would help Coral make new friends at her new school.
Katniss thought Coral was okay, it was Ginnee, she didn’t trust. Ginnee had older sisters and brothers. She was astute and as slippery as a snake. Katniss frankly did not trust the intrepid twelve year old girl who would soon turn thirteen. “If anything even remotely happens or you feel uncomfortable you will…” Prim gave her a look that caused Katniss to amend her choice of words. “…can call me.”
“I will.”
There was a horn outside.
“Stop grimacing. It’s just Ginnee.”
“Ginnee,” Katniss muttered under her breath. “Just be careful, and have a good time.”
Prim grinned before she slipped her backpack on her back and sprinted out toward the waiting car.
Katniss stood outside looking like the proverbial mother hen with one arm wrapped around her middle the other lifted in a half-hearted wave. She couldn’t stop her sister from growing up.
As she stood there, Pete’s car pulled up. He came out wearing a nice dark blazer, white crisp shirt, and khakis. He clutched in his hands a bouquet of wildflowers. Where and when he got them she didn’t know. All she could think about was the shy yet sizzling smile Pete sent her way. And the breath she held when Prim left wooshed out of her.
“Hi,” she croaked.
“You look great,” he gushed.
Katniss looked down at the orange wrap dress Prim demanded Katniss splurge on and buy for tonight. “Thanks. You look nice.”
He grinned at her and that was how her control snapped. She stepped up to him and kissed him wildly. She moaned when his arms wrapped around her, pulling her close to him. She was correct; kissing Pete was better than the thirty-one ice cream flavors Baskin Robbins boasted. “Oh Pete…”
Pete pulled back and sighed. “If we don’t get out of here now, I am going to carry over my shoulder and bring you inside, Katniss.”
Katniss raised an eyebrow, feeling emboldened and brazenly she said, “That wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
Pete groaned.
“But,” Katniss said, liking how her words affected him. She wickedly said, “I suppose if you want to spoil me for a nice meal, before I plunder you later on…”
“Do you not understand I am trying to be a gentleman?” His eyes were wide and wild.
Katniss wanted to sound coquettish, but she ended up telling him the truth in a rushed tortured tone of voice. “You’re not the only one holding on to restraint.”
Katniss watched the bob of his Adam’s apple as he swallowed. “I am trying to think of everything that is disgusting and unappealing to make me come down back to earth and continue with dinner.”
“You are?”
“Katniss my brain short circuits any time you’re near, and when you kiss me I can’t even function. I have to literally sing the twelve days of Christmas in my head to calm down.”
“The twelve days of Christmas?” She couldn’t help the way a smile formed on her face.
“I have to keep on telling myself that you’re not ready, that this is moving way to fast-“
She didn’t let him finish. “What if I am ready to be with you?” It was impulsive and she was not sorry she said the truth.
“Are you sure?” He looked scared, almost reverent.
“I am, but if you’re not ready, then I’ll wait,” she said into his lips because he kissed her fiercely and such intensity that she was left breathless.
“Food,” he muttered when he pulled away. “Need food to keep up.”
He took her hand and tugged her along. The dinner that followed was uncomfortable in that they both wanted to go home and tear each other’s clothing off. Katniss couldn’t recall what she chose or what he ordered. The only thing she wanted wasn’t on the menu.
When they got to her apartment the thin wall of restraint broke and they were kissing wildly.
“Slow, must go slow,” Pete said as he struggled with pulling off his shirt without unbuttoning it.
Katniss chuckled at his eagerness. A smooth operator Pete was not, but she didn’t mind. She slowed him down by putting her hand on his chest and tugging his shirt down. Quietly she undid the buttons. His breath was labored while hers was calm. She was more than turned on, her underwear were ruined, to be fair, and her nipples stood at attention in her bra. She was the inexperienced one, but at that moment, Pete was the one with jumbled nerves and that made her feel excited, yet calm.
His eyes darkened when she removed his shirt and her hands slid up his chest. Her heart was a riot inside of her chest. Her blood pressure, no doubt, through the roof. Her mouth watered at the sight of his abs. She understood why when women said six-pack they went haywire. On impulse she kissed his chest and licked his pec and Pete roughly called her name.
“Off,” she said, tugging his pants.
Pete's hands flew to his pants and her eyes were riveted to his hands as the zipper came down. Katniss shivered now she began to pant. Her mouth opened and her eyes widened at the sight of him. “OH,” she said. Her hands reached out to touch him, but she glanced up to see if this was alright.
Pete tersely nodded.
Her hand wrapped around him and she sighed along with his groan. He was long and thick, and his tip wept with pre-cum.
“Katniss, I want to see you,” Pete’s voice sounded low and dangerous and she shivered.
Katniss leveled a look at him as she placed her hand on the ties of her wrap dress. He placed his hand on top of hers.
“May I?”
“Okay,” she gasped, dropping her hands. She was by this point unable to talk. The anticipation was getting to her.
Pete’s eyes were hooded and dark as his hands tugged on the knot at the front of her dress. “I’ve been thinking about this all evening.”
Her dress slid open and it slid off her skin smoothly like chocolate melting in one’s mouth.
Pete made a strangled cry at the sight of her. Emboldened by his reaction she reached behind her back and unclipped her bra, letting the straps fall slowly revealing her breasts to him. His hands trembled when he reached out to touch her, but he sought her permission.
“May I,” his voice sounded hoarse.
She nodded, but he just stood there staring at her. Unwilling to wait anymore she took his hand and slid it to her waiting breast. His touch sent her over the edge and her head snapped back and she moaned his name.
His free hand brought her closer and the press of flesh to flesh was an explosion more powerful than any force of nature. Their mouths met greedily, wildly, taking, giving, needing, and raising the temperature between them. She was a blaze for him and he was ablaze for her. He picked her up and mouths still fused, her fingers in his soft wavy hair. She pulled and played with the strands as they somehow landed on her bed. His mouth disengaged from hers once they were laying on the bed him on top looking down at her wantonly.
His lips began a decent down, his tongue tasting, lapping, tracking a path downward leaving her to be a wriggling mess. She called his name fervently as a tight coil wound deep within her womb. He paused at the juncture of her thighs. She could feel his hot breath on her inner thigh. When his fingers brushed along her soaked panties, she jumped.
“I want to taste you,” he said. His eyes flickered from her face to the crotch of her panties.
Katniss fisted her hands into the sheets. She’d accidently read about this in one of Delly’s books. She’d picked it up one day curious as to why Delly found them so appealing. What she read shocked her men kissing a woman between their legs sounded unsanitary. But right now, in this moment, with the way Pete was looking at her as if she was the most delicious plate of food it was the one thing she wanted. “Please,” she gasped.
Pete inched her panties down as if he was unwrapping a present and Katniss was relieved when her underwear were off and lay bare with her legs spread before him. He looked predatorial and yet worshipful. His hands slid up her thighs and a thousand points of electric pleasure raced to her core. And when she kissed her there, and she felt his tongue taste her and she yelled and thrashed wildly, her body shaking as he tasted her.
“Perfect,” he muttered, “delicious,” were words he repeated when he gasped for air.
Katniss didn’t care as she felt herself burn brighter and brighter, the coiling sensation whirled within her until her skin burned and she combusted with a loud sound and moisture seeped out of her.
She was barely back to herself before Pete began his onslaught again. This time, adding a finger, then another and like a dam, she burst over and over until she was a raw nerve, quaking needing more, desiring him to fill her empty spaces. The ones in her heart, mind, soul and body.
She called out his name, pulling him up to her so she could kiss him. His hands touched her and explored her body as they rolled around in the bed. Her hands also drifted over him. Her short nails scraping over his body, soft but hard, brushing over the hair that traveled down his belly button, downward to his cock. She grasped him, but Pete pulled away.
“I want you,” she growled.
His grin was instant. Then he said, “condom…”
Katniss was frustrated when he pulled away to find the offensive item that took Pete away from her. She was bereft without his warmth, and his heavenly body.
When he returned back to her his eyes focused on her body. With fire she opened her legs, an open invitation.
“Fuck,” Pete said. His hand ran through his hair, and once more his lips descended upon her center until she was screaming his name. And when he crawled up pinning her to the bed she was a disarray of sensations primed and ready. With gentleness he lined them up before his body dipped into hers. Tears slipped from her eyes as she felt cherished, wanted, and loved.
His eyes conveyed that and more as she was split open and her mind flashed to the first moment she saw him come into the diner. The way he looked lost and bewildered when he first set eyes on her. The way his hands shook after their first kiss.
“Katniss are you alright?”
Katniss was sure, “Yes.”
“I’m not hurting you?” he gasped as she flexed muscles she didn’t know she had.
She shook her head. And with that he began moving within her and stole her breath away. Being with Pete was more than a treat, it was life altering, soul shaking. He was trying to make her feel good and there were a few times she felt the stirring, but her body was too raw and frayed to really be engaged.
“Katniss,” he panted, “you’re not with me.”
“It’s okay, let go,” she urged.
“But..” he groaned.
She gripped his butt and scraped her nails and he shouted.
She loved to watch him. It didn’t matter that she didn’t come again. She was well satisfied when she saw him lose his mind when he came. That was her new favorite memory. A memory to remove all of the bad ones.
Nothing else mattered because she had fallen in love with Pete.
-LA LIVING
Haymitch ran his hands through his hair. Whoever said there was no such thing as bad publicity should have been stuffed with the food from the first episode of that food network show America's worst cooks.
A month and a half had passed and still Peeta’s name was on the lips of every single exec, studio chief, or big time producer. They wanted Peeta to be in their next production. The Oscar talk in tinsel town was at a fevered pitch and with only one person leading the pack, his client, the kid.
He sat back in his chair. He had other clients, but the kid, he was special. Because unlike the other butter nutters that he dealt with, Peeta was a good kid. He was wholesome. Too darned good for this business.
His secretary buzzed in, “Mr. Abernathy.”
“Yeah,” Haymitch bit out.
“They are calling,” his secretary said with resigned annoyance.
Haymitch gritted his teeth. The studio was calling.
“Fudge,” Haymitch said. He’d given up his two favorite pastimes, drinking and swearing. The drinking because when he found himself lying on top of a train track in the middle of nowhere with a train horn blasting in the distance. It had been time to get help. Two the cursing, it reminded him of the bars. There was something about a good curse word that brought images of a smooth malt whisky. So as part of his sobriety, he gave up cursing.
“You want me to tell them you’re not here,” his secretary sounded giddy as if she wanted to tell them what bridge they can use to take a flying leap from.
“No. Put them through.” He could only imagine what they wanted.
“Abernathy!”
“Ravenstill,” Haymitch greeted.
“I just wanted to tell you that this Agatha Christine stunt is the best thing that has happened. We are two months away from the Oscar Nominations; his name is like gold. Not to mention the movie has been number one for six weeks and has done phenomenally well internationally.”
Haymitch could hear P. Ravenstille the Third calculating the money in his head. To men and women like Ravenstille it was all about the money, not about the kid who had had enough to leave.
“I just want him found before the Oscar nomination,” Ravenstill said.
“Is that all?”
“Yes, good job. I’m sending a few clients your way, Abernathy. See what you can do for their careers.”
With that Ravenstill was gone.
Sighing deeply, Haymitch thought to himself, it was time to begin some digging of his own. He needed to find the kid.
-THE BUBBLE
A few days later Pete made her scream so much that the tension rods gave way and fell. Maybe it was the force of the bed hitting the wall, but it didn’t matter because coming with him buried deep within her walls shook her world. She couldn’t form a simple sentence afterwards. She was glad that afternoon, Prim had been next door playing video games with Vick and Rory.
It all came about because of laundry. She was making plies gearing up for laundry day. By the time she mentioned dryer sheets her underwear was hanging from the corner of the refrigerator. Peeta had a serious kink about laundry.
When Prim came home, she stopped and looked at both of them, as they made dinner. Her eyes narrowed. She looked suspicious.
“Why is your hair wet, Pete?” Prim asked.
Pete looked so embarrassed that he couldn’t come up with a single word.
“Prim go wash up. Dinner will be done in a few minutes,” Katniss shooed her away needing to quickly redirect her sister.
“But his hair is all wet,” Prim said.
This was going to be harder than corralling baby chicks. “We were playing with water Prim,” Katniss said.
“Wait, you had a water fight and didn’t invite me!” Prim sounded outraged.
“I’m sorry, you were so busy playing victory of something or other with Vick,” Katniss teased. It wasn’t a lie; she and Pete did play with water. A steamy game of hide the soap.
Prim twisted her face, and sounded like Daffy Duck, “You’re despicable.”
“I know,” Katniss winked. “Now go wash your hands.”
Pete raised an eyebrow.
Katniss felt the way her cheeks stung as she blushed. “I didn’t lie, we were playing with water.”
Pete’s throaty laugh made her wish they were alone.
-TINSEL TOWN CALL
“Haymitch darling!” Caesar Flickerman's excited voice made Haymitch want to stand in the center of oncoming traffic. The man was so cheerful it gave him a toothache.
“Flick, I’ve got an exclusive.” Haymitch said, jumping in his car.
“Rrrreally,” Caesar rolled his r’s like a cat purring. Caesar's real name was Pertanio Rodriguez, he changed his name to sound more commercial. But he emulated Walter Mercado, a famous and beloved astrologer. Despite his Liberace-like appearance, Caesar was one of the smartest interviewers.
“Let’s just say I’m cashing in that favor, you owe me.” Haymitch slipped his glasses on. The black and white grainy pictures of a blond Peeta Mellark and a dark haired beauty were on his passenger side.
“You mean you know where Peeta Mellark is?”
“Yeah, I want you to get ready to move, and I mean move fast.” Haymitch knew everything, thanks to Finnick. He followed Pete Golightly to District Twelve and that’s where he found him playing house with a girl. Haymitch needed to spin this fast, because he guessed if he found Peeta this fast there were others who were on his trail. “The kid’s in love, and it’s why he left. To help his lady love.”
“OHHHHH,” Caesar said.
“Yeah, star crossed, flipping flip flop, lovers.”
-THE APPROACH
Claudius was tired, but he knew he was getting close. He could taste it as he drove off the ferry into District Twelve. The island was small, mostly filled with rocky hills. This was the type of place where cousins kissed and everyone was related.
His proof? As he drove into town all he could see was tan and olive-skinned people, with slick black hair and light eyes. Yep, he was in an inbred clusterfuck. It was evening, and the sun was dipping low, closing on another day. It was starting to get cold.
The rented car needed gas; he drove it through the Capitol and eleven of the thirteen districts. He wanted nothing more than to find a hotel, get a hot meal, and a shower.
Pulling into the gas station a taller version of the inbred came out.
“Forty dollars regular.” Claudius offered the kid the two bills. He was looking at his emails. There was still no sight of Peeta Mellark.
He scowled. “You’re tearing the engine with regular.”
The growl snapped Claudius from perusing his phone. The kid looked like he could bench press him. “Fine.”
“Ass,” the hot-tempered giant said.
“Look, I'm looking for someone. He’s medium height, blue eyes, broad shoulders…a chin that makes women swoon.”
The kid raised an eyebrow.
“Look, he kinda looks like Peeta Mellark the movie star,” Claudius doubted the giant had two brain cells that held a note of intelligence. “Do you know anyone who looks like that?”
The giant’s eyes widened and he growled, “I do.”
“You do, great!”
“Who the hell are you?”
Suddenly Claudius saw the kids eyes turn cold and calculating, and Claudius thought huh, he was wrong, the giant was smart.
“I’m a reporter, my name is Claudius.” Claudius took out his card and gave it to the giant. “I’m looking for him, you know where he is?”
“How much is it worth to you?”
“Sure, 50K,” Claudius said.
“100 Grand,” the giant countered.
“60..” the kids hand curled into a fist, and Claudius raised his price, his voice going up an octave. “70…5…75 Grand.”
“Good, name’s Gale.”
“Gale,” Claudius said, not sure if this kid was going to lead him to Peeta Mellark or into the mountains and skin him alive.
“Meet me tomorrow,” Gale said scribbling the address on the back of his receipt.
“If this is…”
“You want Mellark, right?” Gale asked.
“Yeah, well meet me there tomorrow morning. Early, or you won’t catch him.”
Claudius knew there was a story here, “Why?”
“Look, this district is so small about half a dozen people already know that you’re here. The news will get to him quickly and he’ll leave. Do you want that?”
“No.” Claudius felt like he was back in third grade being chastised by his thick legged hairy teacher Mrs. Gaul.
“Good, then drive four miles, make a left on Chicory lane and stop at number 451, and tell the goat man I sent you. He’ll take care of you tonight. Meet me tomorrow before five at this address.
-THE CALM
Katniss awoke slowly, she was surrounded, cocooned in a delicious warmth and manly scent. Their first date led to her sleeping with him. Heat spread throughout her body as she recalled the way it felt to have him deep inside her, the way her body split and widened to accommodate him. His look was a blend of worry and bliss. Seeing him come undone was one of her new favorite things to do.
Of course Pete confessed his favorite thing to do was making her orgasm over and over.
“How is it you’re not sleeping?”
His sleep roughened voice caused gooosebumps to appear up and down her body.
“Well, I have to go get Prim, she’s at Coral’s house.”
“Right,” Pete rubbed his eyes.
“Pete, you don’t have to go.”
Pete looked at his phone, “Katniss it’s not even five in the morning.”
“It isn’t?” Katniss looked at his phone. “I forgot the whole time-change thing.”
Pete laughed, “Well that gives us time...”
Katniss turned and saw him leering at her and she gasped and laughed as Pete attacked her lips.
-THE SNARE
Gale couldn’t believe his nemesis was none other than the ‘goody-toO-shoes’ Hollywood star; Peeta Mellark was Pete Golightly. It was the same blue eyes, chin, build, height, even his smile was the same. Only his hair was different. Peeta’s blond hair didn’t look like a bottle dye job though. He looked like a natural blond. Either way, Gale wanted to smack himself on the back of his head. His anger had blinded him and he hadn’t made the connection; the missing Hollywood star was hiding here in District Twelve, and now that Hollywood star had seduced the one clueless girl on the entire island that he, Gale, desired.
Gale looked at his phone. Claudius, the reporter was late. Gale had googled the guy last night. Claudius was legit. He worked as an independent photographer for Snow Incorporated; Coriolanus Snow owned several tabloid magazines, and a few reputable newspapers.
For once Gale was glad Katniss' sister wasn’t at home. He knew Prim wasn’t in the apartment. Vick, his little brother said she was having a slumber party this weekend. Prim shouldn’t have to pay for her sister's indiscretion.
A cold breeze slipped by. It was cold outside, and it looked like snow was on the way.
Pete or rather Peeta, was inside with Katniss.
Gale wondered if Katniss knew who Pete really was and if that was why she’d let him into her inner circle. Maybe she was attracted to his fame and fortune. If that was the case, and Katniss turned out to be one of those girls, then what chance did he, a mechanic, have. She would never go for him. And that is why he was waiting for the reporter.
He wanted her to hurt the way he hurt.
He wanted her to be embarrassed the way he was embarrassed at her denial of what he wanted.
He wasn't an idiot. He was smart.
And with the money he was about to make he certainly didn’t want a cheap hussy like Katniss by his side. He was going to get himself a good girl, a girl who wanted him for more than just his looks and money.
Gale spotted the reporter’s car as it pulled up silently.
“What kind of Blair Witch Project kind of road is this? I swear I was afraid I was going to fall into a ditch and die a few times.”
“You made it, didn’t you?”
Claudius sighed, “Yeah.”
“You got the money?”
“I need the goods,” Clausidius said.
“Look, I know you think I’m some backward hick living in a hole in the wall, but I know that if you don’t pay me, the best picture you’ll get of Mellark is a picture of him from behind, leaving this house. What I got planned is going to make you notorious.” Gale held up the extra set of keys to the rental.
The reporter grimaced, but looked at the keys. “Fine,” Claudius said. He got out of his car and pulled out a messenger bag full of money and handed it to Gale.
“That's half, that's all I have with me,” Claudius said.
“Once I get the picture, I’ll get you the other half.”
“Then let's go,” Gale said, striding forward.
-THE STORM
Peeta lazily let his hands drift over Katniss’ arm. They were cuddling, spooning. Her delicious backside was pressed up against his front. She was half-asleep, lulled by their last round of love making.
Prim told him last night that he needed to tell Katniss the truth. He was scared. But as Prim said, Katniss knew him. She knew the real him and not the poster board flashy grinning guy he had to portray in the media. Everything was pretend in Hollywood and over the top. He wanted something real and he found it in her.
His heart melted for her. He was in love for the first time in his life. He loved and was in love with Katniss and this morning he was going to tell Katniss the truth about who he was.
“Katniss,” he whispered into her cheek.
“Mmmm,” she moans sleepily.
“Come on, Everdeen,” he nipped at her neck, chin, and earlobe.
“Go away,” she snuggles into the bed.
“Katniss,” he tried again. “I’m going to make you cheese buns.”
“Mmmm, cheese buns.”
“And my real name is Peeta Mellark,” he said quietly.
Her eyes opened, just as the curtains to her room opened and the flash of a camera went off.
“PEETA MELLARK,” Cluadius shouts as he takes pictures. “Is she what made you leave Hollywood!”
Peeta took his shirt and covered Katniss before he leapt from the bed and pushed Caludius out of the bedroom and out of the apartment.
“Gale?” Katniss asked behind him.
Peeta saw the tall lanky neighbor with a pleased grin in the shadows as Claudius took pictures. His first instinct was to punch the idiot, because he knew it was Gale that sold them out. His second instinct was to call in the calvary, Haymitch.
-THE FRENZY
"My sister. They're going to take my sister away," Katniss whispered, pacing back and forth.
“Katniss, I am sorry about this,” Pete says, running his hand through his blond hair.
She can’t stop the worrying. Then she paused and stared at the man she’d fallen in love, the man who lied to her. “You were trying to tell me...before that...that.”
“I wanted to be honest with you.” He stood and came to stand near her.
Suddenly she was filled with questions, all of them starting with the word, why. "How did you come up with your name Pete Golightly?”
“Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Audrey Hepbrun’s name is Holly Golightly. It’s the name I use whenever I check into hotels. I changed my name slightly and used Golightly. Only one person knows my alias, a fail safe in case someone needs to reach me in an emergency.”
“Huh,” Katniss cocked her head. She didn’t like old movies and frankly had never seen it. But she was familiar with the posters of Audry Hepurn standing in front of the jewelry store. “Breakfast at Tiffany’s, the girl with the black dress.”
“That’s the one.”
“Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Because." He waits a beat before he says, "I was in hiding. I didn’t want to burden you with knowing. Besides, no one needs me."
Katniss couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her lips. How could anyone not want him, need him.
“But you’re a movie star?” Katniss whispered, wondering how she missed out on the reality that he was Peeta Mellark, the movie star. She had a poster of him when she was younger. But she blinked to focus. Pete was really Peeta. She furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about what she knew about him. She'd seen him during these last few weeks, tested his metal. Carefully she made a list of the things she knew about Peeta, the man. He was smart, strong, generous, kind, sweet, good. At the last word she stopped. Peeta was beyond, just, plain ol' good. He had an inherent goodness that was at the center of his being, and people didn’t see it because they were taken in by the fame.
“Exactly.” He gave her a pointed look. “They need my money, notoriety, fame...but no one needs me. My family,” his voice sounds bitter laced with disappointment. "They only need me and use me for the money in my bank account. My mother sold the spare key to my house for a fee to the tabloids. They went through my home and splayed it in Snow’s publications for the world to see. When I asked why, my mother said it was because I was a selfish, weak chinned, dumbass who she was going to sue for lost wages. As we speak her lawyers are filing paperwork.”
He sighed and his eyes saddened. Katniss could see how broken and lost he was, and Katniss reached out to touch his hand. She wonders what kind of woman would do that to her own child. Katniss had no idea. she didn't read the tabloids or watched shows about movie stars and their sordid lives. She was too busy trying to put food on the table and keep a roof over her and her sister’s heads.
Sad blue eyes met her fiery silver ones. Katniss wanted to tuck him away and keep him safe.
“I left Hollywood because I was burnt out. I thought no one cared for me. I do not need attention, as Haymitch will attest to, I hate the attention, but I love the work. However, people want the movie star. They don’t want me Peeta, the guy who would rather hang out, paint or experiment with food. I only have two friends Haymitch, which you’re about to meet and I am apologizing for what Haymitch is, and Finnick Odair. Yes, that Finnick Odair who runs around in his movies, half naked, half the time."
Kathiss wrinkled her nose at the image of the guy with the Jason Mamoa body, and the devil may care grin. He was, in Delly's words, melt your panties hot. But Katniss didn't find him interesting. "I've been forced to watch a few of his movies."
His eyes lighted and his lips formed a smile at the word forced.
"Delly." Katniss shrugged. "She thinks he is sultry, but he's not my type." She watched his eyes process the information. "So if you don't have that many friends..." her voice drifted. Gleaning his information about his family, she formulated the question. Katniss didn't have a lot of friends. There was only Delly and Madge. But she also had Prim, her only family, and even her pacifist her sister would punch bees for her. "What do you do?"
"I sit home most of the time doing laundry. Perfecting my fitted sheet fold."
"You have a thing about laundry."
"Just yours," his heated look caused her pulse racing.
"Peeta," she chastised. He smiled mischievously and picked up the bra that she'd been looking for.
Intense heat flooded her cheeks. She imagined she had to be redder than the child of a tomato and a cherry. She snatched it from his hands. "You need to get back to Hollywood...and why you left."
Peeta cleared his throat. "I really don't do the whole Hollywood thing. I don't party. I don't drink and I don't do drugs. Most of my nights I hang out with Finn and his wife Annie. I do a lot of laundry for Annie. They have an adorable lil boy, a toddler, named Finian. Fin for short, who loves mud. I do their laundry for fun. But outside of them, like I said, I have no one and I know that no one wants me, so I walked away. I didn’t think anyone would hunt me down. I am sorry.”
Katniss didn’t have a voice momentarily, so she continued to listen.
“I came here, intending to hide out for a few days and then head to District Thirteen. Then I walked into Greasy Sae’s and I couldn’t breath when I saw you and weirdly parallel stalked you…and then I met Prim.”
“What about Prim?” Katniss needed to know everything. It would serve her right that, her super intelligence off the charts, baby sister would figure who Pete really was.
“Prim knows, she figured me out. Within seconds...she knew all of my media history. She's tough, made me sweat.”
Katniss chuckled. Her baby sister could be exasperating and could be terrifying when she turned on, what Katniss called her smart factor. Prim was a computer able to make calculations about all sorts of things. Katniss was the only one who could match her sister when engaged. But it also reminds Katniss of the pictures of her naked with Peeta. "Oh the pictures. This isn't good Pete...Peeta."
"Katniss trust me, we'll figure a way out. I swear. My manager Haymitch will know what to do.” Peeta's voice was reassuring.
“No, you don’t understand the state; they will see this as me being irresponsible. They will take my sister away and put her in foster care.” Katniss couldn’t help the way her voice rose. Everything was spinning out of control. She couldn’t help the tears that fell from her face.
“Listen to me. Haymitch is almost here. He said he has a plan.” He gathered her in his arms and she sighed and trembled.
All she ever wanted was to make her sister feel safe. She wanted to make her sister feel as if nothing else could go wrong. She closed her eyes. Now she couldn’t do that because a paparazzi had taken naked pictures of her and Pete...Peeta. Naked pictures that would be splashed and splayed all over tabloids and news media outlets.
Pictures that weren’t Peeta’s fault, but Gale’s.
Gale sold Peeta out.
“Pete, I mean Peeta,” Katniss couldn’t hide her misery. “Those pictures, they’re going to use them against me. They are going to use them against you too.”
His eyes warmed.
His cell phone beeped. He looks at his phone. “Delly’s here.” Delly was bringing Prim home. There was another ping. He frowned looking at the phone then said, “...and so is Haymitch.”
He gave her a look, as if pleading with her to trust him. He looked so vulnerable. Katniss expelled a breath. She’d question if she should trust him. A single word enters her mind. Together.
Taking his hand in hers. "There isn’t anyone I would rather do this with."
He chuckled. "You’re so fierce, like an Amazon."
Katniss grinned. "You haven't seen me with my bow."
"You’re so amazing."
Their hands threaded together. She was going to protect Peeta because the whirlwind of pain stopped here.
Let the storm commence.
"Together," Peeta said with hope.
"Together."
-THE BUCK STOPS AT LA
Peeta opened his mouth to speak as Haymitch entered the garage. The kid’s text message that Claudius broke into the girl's apartment and took pictures of them in-flagrante had him calling in the troops. He had less than an hour to spin and control the narrative. Naked pictures of the kid wouldn’t have meant anything to Haymitch if it were another client, but the kid had a stellar track record. It meant the world. He sent a text to his contact, another favor. The kid was going to owe him big.
"Save it, kid," he said gruffly. He needed a drink, hell, he needed an entire bottle of whisky. "Flipping burnt flapjacks, kid, if you needed a break." His eyes scanned the small interior. His car was bigger on the inside than this place. "I could have helped you."
"Haymitch," Peeta looked behind him at the girl and her sister.
"I'm sorry," Prim said quietly. "I wanted to tell you. But Peeta needed to feel safe."
"I know." Katniss nodded curtly.
Peeta's love interest had the personality of a dead slug. His phone pinged. Haymitch hid his eavesdropping. His eyes focused on Peeta. The kid was more than just a client; he was like family.
Haymitch lowered his voice. "I know this had to do with your family. So I let you go, my mistake. And I'm not letting anyone ruin you for a paycheck. Now introduce me."
"Haymitch, this is Katniss Everdeen and her sister Primrose.
It only took Haymitch seconds for him to assess the situation.
The little sister Primrose was sugary sweet, adorable. Her wide baby blue eyes held intelligence and goodness. The world was going to love her.
His grey eyes met the girl. "Listen Sweetheart, if you’re going to survive this, you've got to listen to me."
His grey eyes watched the kid with the girl. He hid his grin when she scowled at his nickname for her. He could see her bristle, before her eyes shuttered closed, almost like a camera lense quickly shifting to block out light. "Okay, lovebirds, Cinna is here. And Caesar is waiting outside to interview you both."
"Haymitch," Peeta said, taking a step forward to protect both of the women in his arms. This behavior he expected from the kid.
Sweetheart’s behavior though surprised him. When Katniss glanced at Peeta, she transformed into a fiery creature that is so pure and majestic. Haymitch realized Sweetheart was a lot like him. Tender hearted, fiercely loyal, with a tough exterior. Haymitch knew the girl was smitten with Peeta himself, and not the Hollywood facade. This he could work with.
"Haymitch, Katniss is Primrose's guardian. The pictures Claudius took are salacious and damning." Peeta glanced back at Katniss before moving forward. “She can't afford to have them come out. We need to make sure they are protected."
"Look, I can sell this star-crossed lover." As expected Sweetheart scowled. Good, Haymitch thought; he wanted her to go into combat mode. "You guys will tell Caesar the truth." As Haymitch spoke he was furiously typing on the keypad of his phone. "He's broadcasting it onto a live audience. People love a good love story. Any pictures Claudius has will be seen as intrusive."
Haymitch opened the door to Cinna who arrived with the prep team.
"How long do we have?"
"15 minutes tops," Haymitch said.
Cinna nodded. The team hauled in dresses, makeup, lights, and things Haymitch was sure the Everdeen women had never seen.
"What the hell is going on here?"
Haymitch turned to meet a woman who looked to be six feet tall. Her sharp eyes glance at Sweetheart. Haymitch guessed this was landlady by her agitated face.
"Hazelle," Sweetheart said, and he could see that she wanted to cry, but she built up a wall. This wasn't a friend, but the woman was an authority figure. Someone Sweetheart looked up to.
“Katniss what is going on? Why are all these people trespassing? Gale called me and said that you had all of these people here.”
Sweetheart was easy to read. She was pissed at the name Gale. He quietly glanced at the kid who’s eyes ticked also at the sound of Gale’s name.
“Who is Gale?” Haymitch abruptly asked, not caring about the woman before him. He knew Gale was related to Hazelle but he wanted to know what part this idiot had in this fiasco.
“Gale is my son, and this is my property.”
Sweetheart looked agitated, and he wondered if this Gale was the reason he was here. The reason the kid and sweetheart were in this mess. Peeta mouthed Claudius to him and confirmed his suspicions. “You rent to her?” Haymitch narrowed his eyes.
“Yes.” Hazelle bit back. “I want…”
Haymitch got in her way, stopping her torrent of words. His phone pinged, and he got what he was waiting for, the pictures, from an insider at the tabloid Claudius sold the pictures to. As he's suspected, the money shot wasn't of Peeta, it was of Peeta with Sweetheart. Haymitch then saw why Peeta was upset. Because the pictures showed how vulnerable the kid's other half was. It was Sweetheart’s whose life would be ruined. Her name raked through hot coals and muck. This was the intention of Hazelle’s son, and Haymitch scratched the words 'Hazelles son' and for the first time in years he cursed, that rat bastard. “Then you know your son allowed a paparazzi into your renter’s apartment and let him take pictures of my client and his girlfriend while they were asleep?”
Her eyes widened with shock. “My son would never…”
“Really,” Haymitch held his phone up and. “I believe that is your son in the background with a smug grin on his face. He violated the renter’s agreement to be notified before entering the residence. He also is a slimy, no good worm for doing that to her.” Haymitch said, “Hope you’re proud of your son.”
Hazelle’s eyes lost her indignation. "I..."
"I suggest you lawyer up. I've just sent the information to my client’s lawyer, Johanna Mason. I suggest you call your son and tell him he can kiss the money he made goodbye."
"Johanna?" Peeta questioned.
Haymitch grinned wickedly. Peeta hadn't wanted to do anything about his mother, but Haymitch went behind his back to procure Hollywood's number one ball busting lawyer Johanna Mason. She gleefully was preparing the paperwork against Snow; the woman loathed the man. She already had an injunction against the images. "Don't worry Kid, she's doing this pro-bono. Now go get pretty. You go live with Caesar in less than ten."
-THE INTERVIEW
Caesar Flickerman was like a circus ringleader. Literally dressed like a ringleader with a red jacket, black lapels, and gold trimming. His hair was jet black and his smile was a little too crazed for Katniss' liking. She squared her shoulders, looking at Haymitch who raised an eyebrow and his eyes slid to the camera letting her know she was not acting like the doting girlfriend. It caused her to gaze at Peeta who took her hand and squeezed it. The butterflies that were eerily silent until this very moment were having a championship hockey match inside of her stomach.
She was so uncomfortable. In ten minutes she’d been waxed, pealed, and poured into clothing with price tags that made her head spin. The jean’s she wore cost more than her rent. She and her sister were sitting on either side of Peeta. Primrose looked beautiful, her blonde hair combed and styled to perfection. Cinna and his assistants dressed her in a graphic t-shirt dress and distressed jacket. She wore lace up black ankle boots. Prim was excited for the fashion and Katniss' heart twisted because she could never afford to give her sister any of this.
Looking down at her hands, she thought this was all surreal.
There were cameras, glaring lights, this fuzzy long thing that hung right above her head. It was hot and uncomfortable. It was also live.
Caesar was speaking to the camera about them.
It was too much. Those butterflies that were playing hockey now drove dune buggies. Her eyes looked for an exit. She didn’t know how Peeta did it, being on center stage.
Sensing her discomfort, Peeta put his arm around her shoulders, bringing her closer. Katniss sighed, looking up at him. The sooty lashes that Peeta's prep team glued to her lids stuck together and she blinked to separate them; this is why she didn't wear makeup.
Peeta might have read the wrong signal because he leaned in and brushed a kiss on her lips. Then his lips trailed from the cleft of her lips to her cheeks to her ear. "You okay?" he whispered.
Katniss could feel heat flush her face as she realized Peeta had found a way to communicate without breaking the charade. Katniss whispered, "My fake lashes keep on sticking together. And I loathe make up!"
The low rumble in his chest meant he was caught off guard.
She wanted to hide her grin, and he wiggled his eyebrows. There was the loveable goofball who had an unnatural love of all things laundry. Say the words fabric softener and he became a puppy with a favorite toy.
He roughly whispered, "You're amazing!"
He gently brushed her lashes and adjusted the troublesome lash before moving away.
"Look at you two, what a beautiful couple!" Caesar gushed.
For those few seconds Katniss was grateful for the man's exuberance; it's as if he was on their side.
“So what happened Peeta?” Caesar said with notes of sincerity. “Why did you walk away?”
Peeta leaned forward and Katniss slipped her hand in his.
“It was the whole thing with my parents.” Peeta’s voice hid nothing of the pain; he shared it with the world. “My mother sold me to the highest bidder, and,” Katniss squeezed his hand. “They went through my home. I felt violated, and unable to feel safe.”
Caesar said, “I recall that wasn’t that long ago.”
“The pressure, sadness, and betrayal were eating me up and I needed to step away. I am not a drinker or a guy who enjoys partying.” Peeta shrugged. “I’m a homebody. I’m more domestic.”
Katniss thought of his love of laundry and the butterflies in her stomach settled.
Caesar laughed. “Domestic.”
“He makes great pastries,” Prim said. Her eyes were wide and lovely.
“Pastries?” Caesar asked.
“Here you want some?” Prim held up a bag of cookies. “They are heavenly.”
“PRIM,” Katniss huffed. “I’m so sorry.”
Peeta grinned. “You see Caesar, this is what I needed.”
Caesar laughed. “Tell me who are these lovely ladies…”
“This is Primrose Everdeen,” Peeta introduced.
“Hi Caesar,” Prim said. “Seriously though you need to try these cookies.” Prim opened the brown bag and handed one to Caesar.
“Well, alright,” Caesar looked at the cookie as if tasting it was going to make him gain three hundred pounds.
“It’s gluten free, dairy free, and nut free,” Prim smiled.
The camera zoomed into Caesar’s face and Katniss witnesses the power of Peeta’s bakery take down another person. The celebrity interviewers face turners into one of pure rapture. “Peeta, you must give me the recipe.”
“Sorry his baked goods are all mine,” Prim said.
Caesar laughed. “Oh she is precious. But tell me who is this sitting next to you?”
“Caesar this is Katniss Everdeen.”
The butterflies were back and they had jackhammers.
“She’s the reason I stayed actually. They aren’t the reason I walked away, but they are the reason I didn’t go back” Peeta confessed. His voice softened, his eyes held notes of tenderness as he spoke, “These two women mean the world to me.”
Even the hardened Hollywood crew sighed at Peeta’s words.
“I met him first,” Prim said. “But I needed to make sure he had good intentions toward my sister.”
“Katniss,” Caesar asked, “You’ve been so quiet.”
Katniss glanced at her sister and then at Peeta, unaware of the way her face transformed and caused the world to fall in love with her. She transcended into something fierce and wildly beautiful.
The camera scanned down to the way her hands were intertwined with Peeta’s.
“When did you fall for him? Did you know who Peeta was?”
Katniss couldn’t stop staring into Peeta’s blue eyes. “I didn’t know who he was; I was clueless.” Her voice trembled, “All I know is that he was so kind and generous.” She stared, not at the camera but at Caesar. “And when I found out who he was and what happened I just couldn’t understand why any mother would want to hurt their child like that.”
Peeta smiled softly then he looked at Caesar, “Now you know why I stayed.” Peeta then placed a kiss on her lips and then said, “What I didn’t expect was another invasion of privacy.”
-AMERICAN SWEETHEARTS
“You alright?” Peeta tucked a strand of her hair behind Katniss' ear. She looked gorgeous. Cinna had outdone himself. She wore a red dress that looked like poured molten fire on her skin. Peeta couldn’t wait to get back home and strip her out of it.
“I am.”
He watched her hands shake. The Oscars was the superbowl of the movie industry. Peeta held her hand. Outside the limo, there were about a thousand reporters and wall to wall fans. This was overwhelming for her and he was the professional. He could just imagine what it was like for a girl who would rather sit in the chair of a sadistic dentist sans novacaine than to be thrust into the controlled mêle that existed outside the limo’s door.
“You don’t have to go in with me; you can stay in the car. You can go back to the hotel, rent a movie, jump on the bed, steal all of the toiletries in the room, and if you are feeling dangerous," Peeta lowered his voice an octave, "rip the tags off the mattress.”
Katniss narrowed her eyes at him. He watched her struggle to keep the laughter she wanted to expel over his ridiculous suggestion. He, of course, made reference to the small argument they were having over her purity.
It started with Finnick doing his whole Daniel Craig, James Bond thing where he came out of the water. Finnick was messing with her and Katniss disliked him. She proceeded to give Finnick, ‘if he were in her woods he'd be in big trouble’ looks throughout the barbeque.
Peeta told her, Finnick was only messing with her because she was pure. And Katniss bristled, and fought that she wasn't pure. But Peeta didn't mean it in a sexual way. He meant it in the way that she was pure of heart. Katniss had a pure heart. Like the hero's of old, she was valiant and although tough as nails, she was forgiving. Gale betrayed her and she was mulling over forgiving him.
After Caesar's interview, Peeta and Katniss’ relationship was cemented in the public eye. Haymitch was able to control the narrative since Katniss led a normal life and wasn't like Finnick, who had so many hidden skeletons in his closet. Haymitch was taking care of the Everdeen women, mentoring them. He had an affinity for Prim and Katniss. They understood one another because Haymitch had lost his family as well, and he had tried to raise his brother, but they were separated and sent into foster homes.
Haymitch hired Johanna to help Katniss retain her custody of Prim. They were seeking visas for all three of them. Peeta to travel in and out of Panem, and For Katniss and Prim.
Johanna, spurred by the public outcry over the second violation of his privacy, wanted Snow and his tabloids prosecuted for invasion of privacy of someone who wasn't in the limelight. Gale and Claudius were arrested for, breaking and entering and some other misdemeanor charges. Claudius was facing a harder climb because he was an outsider. Because of Katniss, there was clemency for Gale. And that brought him back to why Katniss was pure. She didn't even know the effect she had on people or how she inspired others.
Peeta reached out and put his hand on top of hers. “No, I can do this,” she said.
He knew this was not easy, but as she sat perched at the edge of her seat, he thought about how Katniss became his family. How she encouraged him to take on meaningful roles, and to pursue directing and production. They were both still young, but he knew from the moment his eyes met hers in Greasy Sae's diner he was a goner. His feelings for Katniss multiplied as time passed and they worked through each hurdle together.
Looking at her, Peeta knew without a doubt Katniss had strong feelings for him as well. She wasn't someone who used words; she spoke with her actions. Katniss fought by his side. Simple things she did. Like making his tea the way he liked it without sugar and milk. Opening the window before they went to sleep because she knew he liked to sleep with a window open. Googling how to make natural paints, then going out into nature and gathering supplies to make the paint for him. It spoke volumes.
"I love you," the words slipped out of his lips.
Her eyes widened.
"You don't have to say it back to me, because I know that you care about me. You do a hundred little things in the day to show me the depths of your emotions toward me."
He watched as a smile curved her lips. Her silvery eyes sparkled, greater than sunlight glittering on the surface of water. She stole his breath away. All he ever wanted was to be needed, loved, and here was the personification of that need.
"I need you Peeta," she rasped. He could hear and see the depth of emotion in her eyes. "I love you."
He leaned in and with shaking hands cupped her face. Suddenly he didn’t want to be at the Oscars. Peeta wanted to be in a private room to show her with his words, his mouths, his hands, and his body just how much he loved this woman. “Screw the Oscars, let's get out of here.”
Her eyes turned mischievous, “Oh hell no. I wasn’t plucked, creamed and stuffed into this dress like a holiday turkey by Cinna and his prep team just to turn around and leave. We’re going to walk that carpet, we’re gonna sit in our seats, and do this shindig, because as much as I like pissing off Haymitch, I don’t think we should give him a heart attack by not showing up.”
Peeta laughed. There she was pushing her own discomfort for him. “And afterwards?”
“Win or lose, Pete Golightly, you’re taking this dress off with your teeth.” She threw him a mischievous look, “And then we’re going to grab some fabric sheets and sniff them.”
The door opened and Peeta was stunned by her description. Heat and desire poured through his veins. He now had a boner. Then a slow smile spread on his face he was going to go home a winner no matter what. Laughter erupted from his lips, though from the fabric sheets comment and the sheer joy on his face was the picture that was captured by the press.
Peeta did win the Oscar, and he did go home, and he did tear off her dress with his teeth. And afterwards they did laundry all night long. He was after all, a man of his word.
#everlark#everlark fanfiction#everlarkbirthdaydrabbles#everlarkbirthdaygifts#fan fic#by mega-aulover
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Criminal Minds College AU - Chapter 8
Title: “I may just take your breath away” / Sweater Weather AU
Relationship: Jemily
Word count: 35,604
Summary:
Penelope hacks the college. JJ pets a cat. There are three blowjobs. Need I say more?
Slow-burn Jemily college AU where they live across the hall and despite all odds, the universe pushes them together. AKA they’re silly gay babies who pine after each other for months.
Read it on AO3
Tumblr: One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten, Eleven, Twelve, Thirteen, Fourteen, Fifteen, Sixteen, (bonus scene), Seventeen, Eighteen, Nineteen, Twenty, Epilogue
JJ adjusted the textbook in her hands, rolling onto her side to get comfortable with it. Behind her, was the calming sounds of Penelope’s pop music and her dancing fingertips as she typed code into her computer.
She had only a few pages left to read, but she was having a hard time focusing. JJ’s brain kept drifting to the events of that weekend. On Halloween, they played spin the bottle. JJ’s spin landed right on Emily, meaning that they had to kiss.
But it was not chaste. As Penelope most eloquently put it: “you two were seconds from ripping each other’s clothes off in front of us.”
JJ couldn’t wrap her head around it.
Emily had really kissed her. There was tongue. It was not a peck to play the game; they had gone at it like teenagers in the backseat of a car at a lovers’ lane.
It made reading her textbook difficult when she knew what Emily’s tongue felt like against hers. It made doing her essay challenging when she could remember the taste of her lips. It made doing just about anything next to impossible when JJ was desperate to kiss Emily again.
“Did you know that it’s Hotch’s birthday tomorrow?” Penelope asked, spinning in her chair to look at JJ.
“Wait, what?” JJ asked. She looked up from her textbook.
“So... I’ve hacked into the college database,” Penelope said, turning back to her computer, her hands were once again typing a mile a minute. “Because of the whole thing with Reid not telling us about his birthday, the poor thing, and I didn’t want to miss anyone else’s.”
“Maybe we could do a co-birthday?” JJ mused, thinking about the logistics of that.
“You read my mind, my beautiful sporty friend,” Penelope replied. “I’ve almost got everyone’s, just a minute.”
JJ stood up, walked over to Garcia’s side of the room. Somehow, her side of the room was cleaner than JJ’s, despite the sheer amount of things. Her desk was covered in trinkets, decorations and her wall covered in posters, art prints and photographs. JJ’s, on the other hand, had significantly less stuff, and way more mess. She was a busy girl and her desk was basically useless with all of her books and loose paper and miscellaneous things she needed to deal with ages ago.
“Did you know that Morgan is a gemini?” Penelope asked.
“Figures,” JJ replied, hoping that was the right response.
Garcia had two monitors on her light, wooden desk, and a large desktop computer that she had built herself tucked underneath. On one monitor, was a file that she was slowly adding to, of birthdays written in white text on a grey background. Her own was there, alongside Spencer, Hotch, Derek….
JJ then watched as Garcia typed out Emily’s birthday: October 12. They had missed it too!
“Oh my god,” Penelope said, “why don’t they tell us these things?! How did we befriend such secretive people.”
“Wait, when was that?” JJ murmured, grabbing her wall calendar and flipping through the pages. “Oh my god I saw her that day. She was baking cookies, alone.”
“Alone?” Penelope whimpered.
JJ thought back to that night. She had barged into the kitchen, talked all about her impending break up with Will, and ate Emily’s cookies. She felt awful. Obviously they didn’t know each other as well then, but why was she alone?
“She didn’t even tell Derek,” Penelope said, “oh that sweet summer child. Who hurt her?”
JJ always celebrated her birthday. Be it a family dinner or a full on birthday party when she was a kid, JJ was used to a fuss made about her each year. It was harder after Ros, but her parents refused to let the day pass without at least a cake and a present.
As she befriended Penelope last year, their birthdays were filled with presents and friendship and alcohol, both girls making sure to give the other a thoughtful gift and make a fuss for the day.
Her heart was breaking that three of her new friends were about to let theirs pass without anything to show for it.
“We should have a party,” JJ blurted.
“You read my mind.”
JJ frankly welcomed the distraction from her circular thoughts about her kiss with Emily.
———
JJ left another store empty handed. She had first placed an order at a store downtown for a birthday cake, with three names on it which confused the baker, then began to wander downtown searching for presents.
She had another half hour before she was supposed to meet back up with Derek and Penelope, who were at the dollar store buying decorations, and she had hoped to find something for Emily by then.
The three of them were quite efficient at party planning, and they had to be with such a quick turnaround time. JJ had been tasked with finding a present for Emily.
For Hotch, they wrangled a bottle of the nicer whiskey that he liked, because even at the age of 21, he was somehow already an old man in his tastes. Spencer was also easy, because Penelope was working on knitting him a scarf. Apparently it was from the show Dr. Who, but JJ didn’t really know much about that besides that it was British and both he and Penelope were big fans.
Emily was a lot harder to shop for.
What could JJ get for her with the thirty dollars that they all had pitched in to fund her present? Not much. Especially since JJ knows that Emily comes from money. If she wanted something, she could probably just buy it for herself, right?
It was also difficult because it would be from her. It would be a token of her affections. What were her affections? Did she want to simply sleep with her? Date with her? Be her best friend? JJ’s thoughts were a mess.
JJ had been in just about every store downtown, browsing clothes, gift stores, even a plant store in which she contemplated the meaning of getting Emily a cactus. Nothing was quite right.
She had almost given up when she wandered past a used book store. She had never been in before but always meant to. Out front was a stack of old milk crates filled with books, mostly romance novels and thrillers, and inside the window, beautifully bound antique books were resting in the display.
A bell dinged as she walked in, and an elderly man waved at her from the counter before returning to his own book.
Inside, the smell of old books filled her senses, mixed with the smell of apples and cinnamon and the earthy smell of all the old buildings in her college town.
Stacked floor to ceiling were mountains of books, towering over her head.
There were a few other patrons in the shop, some sitting and reading, others wandering the stacks, pulling out the occasional book.
JJ slowly made her way through the maze. It was larger inside than she expected, with thousands of old books surrounding her, no matter where she looked. At times, she had to step over a pile of books in her path.
The books were organized by topic, but within that, JJ couldn’t discern a clear system.
She climbed the creaky staircase and pondered what kind of book Emily would like. Is buying her a romance novel too forward? JJ wondered. She probably wouldn’t be able to find one with two women anyways.
Did Emily like fantasy? Sci-fi? Non Fiction? Should JJ get her something she’s read? JJ realized that she hadn’t read anything that wasn’t for school in ages.
JJ felt overwhelmed. Was she thinking too hard?
She did a double take at the window sill, realizing that the movement that caught her eye was a black cat basking in the sunlight.
JJ reached out her hand tentatively to pet it. The cat nuzzled her hand, and began to purr. JJ smiled, spending a few minutes giving the cat much needed attention.
The cat then stood, apparently growing bored, and ran off to investigate something or chase a mouse or whatever bookstore cats got up to.
Where it lay was a small book. It was old, but not as old as some of the other leather bound texts in this store. Its white cover had a simple drawing of a boy, and written in a looping script: “Le Petit Prince.”
JJ smiled slightly, picking up the thin book. She leaned against the windowsill and carefully flipped through the pages, admiring the illustrations and trying to decipher the premise with her limited understanding of French.
It seemed like it was for children, with whimsical art of a boy on a small planet, a king, a rose and a fox, among other things. She read the first few pages, about a boy falling in love with a flower, and decided it was perfect.
It was a sign, JJ thought, the cat led her to this book.
The cat—which reminded JJ of Emily with its standoffish exterior but affectionate personality—had clearly shown her that this was the perfect present.
There was no price on it, and JJ worried that it would be out of her budget. Holding it to her chest, she descended the steps and brought the book to the clerk.
“Hello sir,” JJ greated him, setting the book down on the table, “How much is this book? ”
He was seated in a comfortable looking chair behind a counter with an old-fashioned cash register. The sign on it read, ‘cash only’ and there was a tip jar in the form of a cat mug.
“Oh this is an excellent choice!” The man lifted the book up, examining the cover. “On ne voit qu’avec le cœur.”
That was French. JJ didn’t know what it meant, only catching the word “heart” at the end. She nodded nonetheless.
“You speak French?” He asked her.
She shrugged. “I’m learning.”
“This book will teach you more than just French,” the man said. “Trust me.”
JJ didn’t know what he meant, but nodded. He still hadn’t told her how much it was.
“It’s a gift,” JJ explained, “for a friend.”
He handed her back the book, smiling at her. He gave it to her for fifteen dollars, seeming to make up the price on the spot. The black cat waited for her near the door, letting her pet him on the ears before she left.
JJ left the door, hugging the book to her chest.
———
Wrangling three of their friends into attending a surprise party was harder than it looked.
With three student athletes, nights during which none of them had games, or practices were scarce, so it took them until the next Friday before they found a free evening. Then, they had to go through the ordeal of convincing them to show up at Derek’s room at the right time.
JJ felt giddy with the secret, greatly enjoying the party planning and doing something special for her new friends. On her Wednesday afternoon study date with Emily, her excitement for the party almost overpowered her nervousness with the girl due to their recent kiss. JJ caught herself looking more at Emily than her notes, alternating between imagining them kissing and imagining the look on Emily’s face when she received her present.
By seven that Friday night, they had fully decorated Derek’s tiny dorm with streamers, balloons, and just about anything Penelope could find at the dollar store. A happy birthday sign was strung over one of the windows, with the addition of their friends' names written in marker on poster boards taped underneath.
Their presents were wrapped messily, as JJ wasn’t particularly good at using wrapping paper. The cake sat on Derek’s desk reading “Happy (belated) birthday Emily, Hotch and Spencer!” in red icing on white cake.
The three of them were frantically blowing up balloons and checking their phones. JJ felt slightly light headed by the time they were done.
Hotch and Emily were coming for a “study date” with Derek, and Spencer was expecting a Dr. Who marathon with Garcia. All were supposed to be there any minute.
There was a knock on the door.
“Get ready!” Garcia squealed, “someone’s here!”
She opened the door, and instead of the birthday kids, it was David Rossi, who JJ had met for the first time a few weeks prior. He was 22, only a few months older than Hotch, in his first year of his masters. He and Hotch were close, and Emily and Derek knew him well since he TA’d one of their classes.
“Rossi?” Derek said, “you came!”
“I never turn down an invitation to a party,” he said.
“I have to admit,” Derek said, “it’s not that much of a party.“
“It’s more of a magical birthday get together,” Penelope said as she ushered him in.
“Good thing I brought enough alcohol to make it a party,” he said.
He pulled a very expensive looking bottle of vodka out of his backpack, and more beers than should fit in a normal sized bag.
“I take it back,” Derek said, “this is definitely a party.”
There was another knock on the door.
“Come in!” Garcia said, picking up a balloon to throw.
Spencer opened the door trailed by Hotch and Emily, all looking confused as they were bombarded by a dozen balloons cascading down from above and a series of hugs from the group. All were looking around with a mix of shock and happiness on their faces.
“It’s technically none of your birthdays today,” Penelope said, “Because you are all such awful private people, BUT I got the goods and figured it out. We thought we would celebrate all of you guys, and our amazing friend group, with this little shindig.”
“It’s wonderful Garcia,” Hotch said, almost smiling, “Thank you.”
“Don’t just thank me!” she said, “It was Miss Jennifer’s idea, and she got the cake. And my beautiful Derek helped me with the decorations and loaned his room, which might I say, is strangely large for a single room.”
Derek chucked, “It was my pleasure, happy birthday you three.”
He pulled Spencer in and ruffled his hair.
“We’ve ordered pizza too!” JJ announced, “It should be here any minute now.”
“You’re too good to us,” Emily finally spoke up, after standing in the doorway with a dazed expression on her face.
Penelope guided them in, and the group exchanged hugs and laughter, and Hotch got a very Italian kiss on the cheek from Rossi. Penelope put silly birthday hats on their heads, and took photos like a proud mother.
After a few minutes of chatter—about the decorations, how they managed to keep it a secret, and most importantly, the illegality of Penelope hacking into their personal data on the university server— JJ’s phone pinged and she ran to the foyer to get the pizzas.
Munching on greasy food, there was a companionable silence with the cheery sounds of the music in the background.
As pizza wrapped up, their chatter resumed and the room filled with overlapping conversations. JJ noticed Rossi had snuck off to fish something out of Derek’s mini fridge, pouring something out into shot glasses. Then she heard the sound of whipped cream.
At that sound, all heads turned towards him. He had three cups filled to the brim with whipped cream and he looked like he was about to burst into laughter at any point.
“BIRTHDAY SHOTS!” Penelope squealed.
“No way,” Hotch said, “I’m not doing one of those.”
“One of what?” Spencer asked nervously.
“It’s not a blowjob is it?” Emily asked with a laugh.
“A blowjob?” Spencer asked even more nervously.
“It’s a shot, kid,” Derek assured him, “you just can’t use your hands and there’s the-“
He gestured at the whipped cream with a laugh.
“White stuff!” Emily said, tying up her hair into a ponytail in preparation.
Rossi had to explain the premise several times, before it sunk in that they had to fish out the small shot and drink it all without using their hands. Reid looked at them suspiciously but he warmed up to the idea after Hotch offered to go first so he could see how it’s done.
The older boy had definitely done a blowjob shot before, efficiently grabbing the plastic shot cup and downing it, his cheeks covered with whipped cream.
Emily was enthusiastically buried in the whipped cream but struggled on the follow through, spilling most of the vodka into the larger cup before she drank it.
Reid seemed nervous to get the whipped cream on his face, reeling back and wiping his cheeks then trying again.
Eventually, Derek reached his hand into the cup, retrieved the shot and held it up to Spencer’s mouth.
“Look ma, no hands!” Morgan quipped before rubbing some leftover whipped cream on the younger boy’s face as the group laughed. Reid was laughing happily, beaming as he wiped his face.
With the celebratory shot in their system, it was time for cake. JJ carefully used Penelope’s bright pink lighter to ignite candles on each piece for her three friends as they sang Happy Birthday to them.
“Happy birthday to you!” They sang, “happy birthday to you! Happy birthday dear Hotch, Spence and Emily! Happy birthday to you!”
They blew out their candles. All were instructed to make wishes.
As the night progressed, JJ got more and more nervous about the present. What if Emily hated it? Would she ruin the whole night? Penelope and Derek had assured her that it was a good present but what if they were wrong too?
JJ busied herself with cutting the cake, distributing pieces and making sure everyone had forks and napkins.
Rossi, who was their unofficial bartender, was stationed near the mini fridge and passed out fresh beers when called upon.
“Gifts!” Penelope exclaimed once they had made good work of the cake, dragging the presents out from their hiding space under Derek’s desk.
She handed them over to Emily, Hotch and Reid.
“We all pitched in,” Derek said.
All three looked perturbed at the fuss, murmuring “you shouldn’t have” as they looked at the gift. Spencer opened his and laughed, wrapping the incredibly long striped scarf around his neck and thanking Penelope. Aaron actually did smile at his present and expressed his gratitude by pouring them all shots.
Emily held hers for a moment, staring at the wrapped book with an unreadable expression on her face. JJ watched, holding her breath as she turned it over, then placed it back down.
“Will you excuse me for a second?” Emily said, her voice tight and sounding very… formal.
JJ gulped as Emily stood, and exited the dorm, shutting the door behind her. She immediately thought that she had done something wrong.
The group looked back and forth, not quite sure what to do, as the commotion happened mid way through Hotch doling out shots of whiskey and some were already half raised.
A moment passed as JJ thought about whether it would be worse for her to follow or leave her be. Maybe she wanted to be left alone? Maybe JJ was the last person Emily wanted to see?
She knew there was a lot about Emily that she didn’t know. Like JJ, the other girl kept a lot close to her chest. Over time, JJ had learned some details of her childhood, but not all, and what she knew didn’t look good. Maybe all of this was a bad idea? Emily might have had a reason that she didn’t celebrate her birthday. This could have been an awful plan and it would have been all JJ’s fault.
She stood and grabbed the book, deciding to follow Emily. She slipped out the door and walked slowly down the hall, unsure of what she would even say to Emily once she faced her. Hey I just gave you a gift and you all but ran out of the room before you opened it, did I offend you somehow? Or I’m sorry?
JJ wasn’t sure what she was sorry for. She just knew something was upsetting Emily and the last thing JJ wanted to be was the cause of that. In fact, she wanted to make Emily happy and make sure nothing ever bothered her ever again. It would probably be weird for her to say that, right?
She assumed that Emily had gone to the communal bathroom, as she left her lanyard with her room keys behind her in Derek’s room. If she had left the floor she would have been locked out.
JJ took a breath outside the door, then pushed it open.
Emily was standing in the bathroom that all of the girls floor shared, with its small row of stalls, old fashioned sinks and blue tiled floor. A frosted window that looked out into the courtyard. Many mornings JJ found herself brushing her teeth next to the other girl.
Emily had her arms braced on the sides of the sink, leaning forward and looking at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her breathing was coming in quick breaths.
“Em?” JJ said softly.
Startled by the noise, Emily looked away from her, quickly pulling up a corner of her shirt to wipe her eyes.
“You ok?” JJ asked, tucking the present behind her back.
“I’m fine,” Emily said, standing up straight and giving her a half smile. Her posture was stiff, her smile forced.
“You don’t look fine.”
Emily stepped back, leaning against the window sill. She crossed her arms, still avoiding any eye contact.
JJ walked forward, slowly closing the distance.
She leaned on the wall beside Emily, trying not to stare at her and make her feel uncomfortable.
“Did I do something wrong?” JJ asked. Her voice sounded small in her ears. She immediately kicked herself, upset at how this might sound like she was making it all about herself.
“No!” Emily exclaimed, shaking her head. “No. It wasn’t you it’s…”
She trailed off.
“I’ve never had all this before. The friends and the party and the gifts. All this attention… it’s a lot.”
She slid to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest. JJ did the same, turning to face the other girl. She didn’t want to push too hard lest Emily flee from her again.
“It’s all so nice,” Emily whispered.
“Then what’s wrong?” JJ asked softly.
Emily sighed and began to bite her nails. Her posture was hunched over, curled up on the cold tile floor.
She began to speak, then stopped herself, gritting her teeth and blinking hard. She looked over at JJ reluctantly, seeming to think hard about how to answer that question.
“I was always the new girl wherever I was,” she said. “I was never anywhere enough to make friends, real friends that is. Or have anything like all this. I would do anything to fit in and it never seemed to work.”
JJ’s heart felt like it was breaking for her friend. She tried to imagine Emily trying to be anyone else other than the Emily she knew and couldn’t. Fitting in is hard, let alone fitting into new countries and learning new languages. JJ knew she wouldn’t have been able to keep it together.
Emily shook her head, picking at the skin around her nails anxiously, JJ could tell that sharing all of this was incredibly difficult.
“I lived in a dozen different countries and was barely there long enough to make friends and when I did…” Emily sighed. “I fucked it up. I make things worse for people.”
Emily buried her face in her hands, her breaths coming harder now. Her voice was shaky and quiet, almost whispering to JJ.
“My mom was never around on my birthdays. She would leave me a present. Maybe. This year she didn’t even call.”
Emily paused.
“And then you guys do all this.”
Emily looked up, staring with unfocused eyes into the bathroom, JJ could tell she was thinking of someone else, some other day. She looked lost.
JJ wanted to hold her hand, wanted to comfort her, keep her close. She was always called the mom friend, it was in her nature to try and make sure her friends were taken care of. Her feelings for Emily complicated things. If she was anyone else, she would grab her hand, no questions asked, but she felt herself second-guessing each move.
Her actions suddenly felt like they had more weight to them. Knowing that she liked Emily made everything strange. If she held her hand, would it be weird? She didn’t know. Normally, she wouldn’t question holding a friend’s hand, hell, she’d already held Emily’s hand.
But that was before she was gay, or bi, or whatever. Before she knew she liked girls. Liked Emily. Now, touching her felt scary, like she was doing something wrong, even if she was simply trying to be nice.
Fighting against her anxious thoughts, JJ reached out, tugging at Emily’s wrist until her hand clasped onto hers. JJ ran a reassuring thumb over her hand. She sighed a breath of relief when Emily leaned into the touch.
“You’re our friend,” JJ said, simply. “And we care about you.”
Emily nodded, still not looking at her.
“When I held your present in my hands,” Emily said, “I just couldn't stop thinking of my friend Matthew. He surprised me on my sixteenth birthday, pulling me out of some stupid event my mother had dragged me to. That was the only time I got a real birthday present before now.”
JJ hadn’t heard about this friend. Emily didn’t really talk about her past, beyond the general facts. JJ had to stop herself from prying, fighting back her curiosity in favour of letting Emily talk.
She squeezed Emily’s hand in a gesture she hoped would be encouraging.
“Your gift just brought back a lot of memories,” Emily said with a whisper. “Matthew basically saved my life. He was the only friend I had before now I guess.”
She looked over at JJ.
“I’m sorry,” Emily said, wiping at her eyes.
“Don’t be.”
JJ pulled Emily into her, wrapping her arms around her and holding her tight. Emily let out a muffled sob and fell into her, with her head tucked under JJ’s chin. They sat like that for a while, JJ listening to Emily’s ragged breathing and JJ running a calming hand over her back. Emily’s face was buried in her shoulder, her soft hair tickled JJ’s face as she held her tight.
She focused on rubbing Emily’s back, making patterns with her hand on top of her soft sweater. Emily’s arms were wrapped around her waist.
For a moment, tears pricked at JJ’s eyes. Watching Emily finally be vulnerable to her, for her to share something, even if she left out details, was a lot. She blinked them back and focused on steadying her breathing, being a calm presence for Emily.
After a moment Emily pulled away, creating some distance between them, wiping her face with her sleeve and sniffling.
“JJ I don’t want you to get hurt,” Emily said, her voice cracking, “I just bring people pain.”
“What happened, Em?” JJ asked.
Emily looked at her with teary eyes and shook her head.
“You don’t have to tell me, Emily. But I need you to know that whatever it is, I’ll still be here. I care so much about you and just… like being your friend. I don’t care what happened in your past or if you think you’re going to hurt me. All I care about is us.”
“I like being your friend,” Emily said with a teary laugh.
JJ smiled at her, pulling her into another hug. Holding her tight feeling like the girl would break into pieces in front of her if she let go.
“Do you want your present?” JJ asked carefully, still hugging Emily. She could feel the other girl nod.
JJ pulled back, taking the wrapped book from the tile floor and placing it in Emily’s lap. Emily carefully began to unwrap it, as if she wasn’t allowed to rip the brightly patterned paper.
“You know you can rip it, right?” JJ said with a kind laugh. “Just tear it open, it’s part of the fun!”
Emily looked at her nervously, and half heartedly tugged at the wrapping paper.
“Harder!” JJ said, demonstrating by pulling on it and making a satisfying tearing noise. JJ assumed that the girl didn’t have the opportunity to tear open presents as a kid, and JJ wanted to make sure she didn’t miss out on that joy anymore.
Emily laughed and tore at it, ripping the paper off and revealing the small book underneath. Le Petit Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.
“I read this as a kid,” Emily breathed, staring at the cover reverently.
She opened the cover and looked through the first few pages.
“L’essentiel est invisible pour les yeux,” Emily quoted the novel just as the book shop clerk had done.
“What is essential is invisible to the eyes,” JJ translated. “I don’t really get it. I tried to read it before I gave it to you, but didn’t make much headway.”
“It’s about love,” Emily said as she flipped through the pages.
Emily slowly turned the pages, smiling down at the whimsical illustrations and murmured about it in French that JJ couldn’t quite make out.
“I could translate it for you if you want?” Emily offered.
“Is it as good in English?”
“No,” Emily said with a laugh.
JJ beamed, happy that her gift was no longer making Emily upset. She hoped that whatever bad memories she had about birthdays were being amended with some joy from today.
“Well then I just have to get better at French so that I can understand it,” JJ said. “I’ll need a good tutor.”
“This is an amazing present. Thank you JJ.”
They smiled at each other.
“I’ll read it to you,” Emily said, “And you can stop me and I can explain anything you don’t understand.”
JJ’s heart fluttered at the thought of Emily reading a love story out loud. Though, from what she saw it was about a boy being in love with a flower so it couldn’t be that romantic, could it?
“Sounds like a plan,” JJ said. “Should we get back? I wouldn’t want to worry the others.”
Emily nodded, then the two of them stood up together. JJ’s legs had fallen asleep while sitting on the cold, tiled floor so she dramatically shook them out, making Emily laugh.
God her laugh, she wanted to hear that forever. She’d do anything to keep Emily smiling and happy.
As they walked back to the party, it was Emily who took JJ’s hand.
Maybe they could be friends. Maybe that would be enough.
#criminal minds#cm#criminal minds tv#jemily#emily prentiss x jennifer jareau#prentiss x jj#jennifer jareau#emily prentiss#gravelyhumerus cm college au#my post#my writing#after all that i almost forgot to actually post it#hope u all enjoy xoxoox#kennedy is not in this chapter i am sorry to her fans
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clicks onto the dash wearing kitten heels n coyly holding my bang....... hi. me again. it took me so long to select a gif to use on cricket’s intro n i settled on this one bc he looks so unsure abt his smile n it’s rly his essence <3 u can find his pinterest board here n his (work in progress) spotify playlist here. hmu to plot!!!
* alex wolff, cis male + he/him | you know cricket donahue, right? they’re twenty-two, and they’ve lived in irving for, like, all of their life, on and off? well, their spotify wrapped says they listened to should have known better by sufjan stevens like, a million times this year, which slipping on wet leaves to photograph a tree struck alight by lightning, delivering a tedtalk to your own reflection to hype yourself up to buy groceries, hiding your hands inside of your sleeves in case you grew an impromptu megan fox thumb overnight thing going on. i just checked and their birthday is october 1st, so they’re a libra, which is unsurprising, all things considered. ( nai, 24, gmt, she/her )
HISTORY:
cricket ws born to a couple tht lived in lilac ridge. their trailer was tucked closest to the woods n always fell under the shade. it was like the leaves wanted to pretend they were a perpetual hanging cloud on the family n that was kind of fitting. their only reason fr having him in the first place was a kind of shrugged like........... we’re under the income bracket we’d get child benefits so why not! may as well try it to rake in some extra cash! needless to say they didn’t rly think it thru or anticipate all of the responsibilities tht came w children n wound up seeing him as an extremely large burden n boy didn’t he know it!
(child neglect & abuse tw) i’ll try to keep this part vague n brief but things were Not Good for cricket growing up. people in lilac ridge didn’t like his parents n it was for a gd reason. he remembers foggy things. being little n wandering around combing the grass with a stick to search for wrappers to suck on bc he was hungry. feeling uneasy when the front door opened. finding out his name was cricket bc the insects used to crawl into their trailer thru the vents n his parents liked to squish them into the carpet -- his mum told him as much once. i think this says a lot. to excessively trim the fat of the story he wound up entering the system at around 8 after his latest and most serious hospital visit. his parents hd to deal w the authorities n last he heard they bounced to evade charges.
(anxiety & violence & trauma tw) cricket sustained a few lifelong injuries from his time in lilac ridge. his knee didn’t heal right which meant he had (n still has to this day) a limp n he’s partially deaf in one ear. he’s always been an incredibly insecure n anxious person so this mde him rly self conscious going into a strange n new environment tht wld b difficult fr any kid to adjust to, nvm w these added worries. he jst felt like something weird to ogle at honestly. he probably wld have felt like that no matter where he was or what he looked like. he cld be in a huge hall of 200 people all wearing the same uniform n he’d still feel like the odd one out. needless to say this didn’t rly help him make friends
cricket’s coping mechanisms were romanticising the things tht other people found ugly or embarrassing or painfully ordinary. he liked it when the rain hit clunky drops against school windows n forbid everyone from playing outside bc he could feel the vibrations through the rubber soles of his shoes n it was a little bit like hearing all of the world at once fr just a moment. he liked medieval fantasy lore about stout gnomes w crumbs in their beards n cheeks red from ale. he liked fallen nests with the remnants of hatched eggs still dirty from the branches n soil they’d hit on the way down. he liked the way the sunlight leaked thru the leaves of the trees in the woods and how, when he sat very still, he could tune into the ringing that was always in his ear n pretend it was coming from the same place, that light thru the leaves, that the angels were trying to talk to him.
he spent a lot of time in the red room at his high skl (i’m begging u this is not a 50 shades reference) (after googling i jst realised it’s called a darkroom bt i’m leaving this fr the sake of sexy bimbo authenticity) n felt quite at home in there. he borrowed a camera whenever he cld (maybe he did yearbook) n photography became his way of immortalising the world as the romanticised version he wanted it to be. his memories were bad bt his photos were beautiful. maybe if he took enough they’d paste over n bleed into each other. maybe bad cld be replaced w beautiful if he tried his very best.
he got placed into fostering w a family once bt apparently didn’t meet the vibe check of their tastes so he wound up returning to the group home he’d initially been placed in. overall this is where he grew up n he aged out the system rather than getting adopted. there was a sense of floundering/isolation/not feeling gd enough in tht bt cricket made do the best he knew how.
that said there were some gd points! (shocking i kno bc his life hs been so fking bleak so far bt please it’s ok........) (is it?) (🤔). basically he interned as an assistant at this local photography studio during high skl working under this kind of whimsical yet endearing old man. suspected wizard possibly in cricket’s eyes, as an avid fantasy genre reader. for one of his bdays said old man / his boss bought him his very own film camera n cricket cried bc he’d never been bought a bday gift. this ws rly embarrassing bc this old man didn’t know how to emote n neither did cricket so he ws jst sort of sat wiping his eyes n sniffling saying he wasn’t crying as the old man pretended to suddenly clean his lenses. when cricket graduated he offered him a full time position there. they do like. wedding photographs n family portraits n all kinds of things...... pay isn’t huge bt it’s something n he Loves taking photos so it’s sexy <3
PERSONALITY:
SUCH an anxious person it’s actually unreal. overthinks absolutely everything he’s ever said. one morning he might hv put green socks on n for the rest of the day he’s nervously looking around like omggggggg they’re all looking at my socks probably thinking im a little green sock boy thinking i’m a fool n a jester this is all everyone’s probably thinking about i hv to hide my green socks..... even tho literally no-one cares
once saw a girl eating a chicken wing n in his head was like ok she likes chicken good future gift idea..... n turned up at her house with an entire rotisserie chicken
probably thinks WAY too hard abt what to write in bday cards n googles like generic ideas that he can use.... u open a card from cricket n it always says smthn weird like “Warmest wishes and love on your birthday and always!” or “You deserve everything happy. Wishing you that all year long!” tht he got off google
nervously fiddles w things a lot. literally anything. his hair. the cuffs of his sleeves. a thread on his bag. u name it
struggles w eye contact sometimes............ it’s like. he wants to talk to ppl n make friends bt he’s honestly so bad at it. he’s fumbling thru life like a nervous headless chicken
ALWAYS has his camera on him. like always. will tke a photo of u bc he thinks u look nice then be like im so sorry im so sorry...... bowing his head shakily holding his camera bc he doesn’t even kno what possessed him he jst thought it’d be a nice photograph bt boundaries exist. probably breathes very heavily over this later in his room panicking thinking he nw seems like hannibal lecter
probably more confident online bc he has time to think abt what he says more.......... i can see him hving a group of online friends tht he’s more confident w. honestly he’s pretty witty at heart he jst has a hard time verbalising things so ppl overlook him sometimes bt once u get to know him more / he’s more comfy he can b a funny little man.....
loves photographs where he cuts something out of them. loves missing spaces n voids. thinks it’s a rly interesting concept when something that isn’t there becomes the focus of a photograph where everything else is. probably loses his mind fr a collage like a front row 1d stan. likes experimenting w light n perception. pretty artistic honestly hs probably made a stop motion film in the past bc that’s just an extended form of photography in his mind bt i doubt he showed anyone
ummm...... very sweet bt like. he reminds me a lot of this quote. “he had the awkward tenderness of someone who has never been loved and is forced to improvise.” feel like tht sums him up quite nicely
WANTED CONNECTIONS
someone he met at a wedding: cricket probably ws forced to photograph a wedding fr his boss one time n it cld b interesting as a place to meet from that....... like. i can imagine either it being rly awkward maybe he accidentally spilled a drink on ur muse n was stuttering rly apologetic n it ws just a train wreck. or mayb they took pity on him or even (in a shocking turn of events) a shine to him n invited him to drink n dance. omgggg the thought of cricket trying to dance makes me wna die n probably mkes cricket wna hyperventilate bt idk maybe he went wild n let loose. mayb they wound up damaging the camera somehow. mayb they had to scramble to get another one n ur muse covered the cost n it was a strange late night excursion tht cricket thought about a lot since. cricket probably vowed to pay them bk somehow no matter what. idk. we can work things out. lots of diff options here. doesn’t have to b a wedding either can b any event tht required a photographer
ppl he went to school w: pretty self explanatory i suppose...... maybe they were frm completely different worlds..... mayb ur muse was popular n cricket was definitely not but they got paired fr an assignment n had to work on a project together....... mayb cricket asked ur muse on a date one time n it was completely embarrassing bc he didn’t realise they had a bf n it haunts cricket at night still bc he’s rly dramatic.... mayb ur muse felt sry fr him n ate lunch w him n inducted him into their group like a lost puppy finding a home.... world’s our oyster
neighbours from his brief time at lilac ridge: not to reference taylor swift but i’m gna reference taylor swift n say we cld do a seven inspired plot here. sighs a little..... then sighs a lot. he was here ages 0-8 so idk. we cld work out childhood plots perhaps....
sickening simp: i mean.............. cricket probably gets crushes on ppl so easily like just. anyone who’s the slightest bit nice to him.................. he’s a disgrace. ok i take it back. bt also please get it together freak............... i didn’t say that. he’d probably b extra nice to this person n try n pay close attention to things they liked so he cld get them little gifts. just a bit embarrassing n lovestruck bless his heart. wldn’t expect anything back tho honestly that just isn’t something he tends to do.
let’s go gays: cricket’s bi but he probably was rly in his head abt liking boys n tried to sort of squash it internally during his younger yrs...... i think he’s more comfy w it now MAYBE idk bt back then i picture him having a friend tht ws kind of like. similarly loserish as him perhaps (no offence to ur muse potentially filling this plot or cricket bt let’s face the facts) n they’d hang out n play games a lot n one time it jst kind of happened n he was like............. *struts in looking around sharply* What going on here? except not. bc it’s cricket. more like *shambles in looking around anxiously* What’s, uh... What’s... the happenings? S--... I’m sorry. (immediate apology for saying what’s the happenings bc nobody talks like that n it was an impulsive panic bc he didn’t know what else to say)
those who grew up in the system w him: maybe at the group home or i’d also like the family that fostered him n said sayonara. honestly i imagine the parents just thought he ws a bit too much of a handful / had too much baggage which is rly quite merciless n terrible but. if u think that aligns w ur muses home situation hmu......
um. can’t think of more bt just anything honestly. jst go wild.......
#irvingintro#abuse tw#neglect tw#trauma tw#anxiety tw#violence tw#DOES A LITTLE JIG#admittedly i didnt include a formative moments section like my other intros bc idk what kind of superpowers i was inhaling the fumes of#for those intros but#i'm a mere mortal now.
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⌠ MENA MASSOUD, 24, CIS MALE, HE/HIM ⌡ welcome back to gallagher academy, ADAM HASSAN! according to their records, they’re a THIRD year, specializing in COVERT OPERATIONS; and they DID NOT go to a spy prep high school. when i see them walking around in the halls, i usually see a flash of (converse squeaking down the halls, playing cards shuffling in his hands, a black hood raised up and his eyes cast low, a bag packed in the corner of the room just in case). when it’s the (libra)’s birthday on 10/10/96, they always request their KUSHARI from the school’s chefs. looks like they’re well on their way to graduation. ⌿ deanna, 25, she/her, est ⍀
NAME: Adam Laith Hassan
KNOWN AS: Adam
BIRTHDATE: October 10, 1996
ASTROLOGY: Libra sun / Virgo moon / Sagittarius rising
HOMETOWN: Henderson, Nevada
GENDER: Cis male ( he/him )
SEXUAL ORIENTATION: Pansexual
HEIGHT: 5'8"
HAIR COLOR: Brown
EYE COLOR: Brown
TATTOOS: Three lines on the back of his neck & a sunflower on his side
KNOWN LANGUAGES: English, Arabic, Spanish, French
ABOUT.
Adam was born outside of Las Vegas to overbearing and miserable parents, the kind that only seem to get enjoyment out of going to church and telling their son everything he does wrong. He’s not allowed much of a life beyond the walls of their house.
Becomes a rowdy boy, much to his parent’s dismay. They send him away to boarding school as soon as they can, where he makes a fun little name for himself as Class Clown. The school is just as strict as his parents, so he doesn’t fit in well with the faculty there, but the students love him. Adam becomes part of the “Popular” crowd, but it’s not without its issues.
During his junior year in high school, Adam and his friends decide to prank on a teacher and it goes too far. Half of the East wing ends up in flames, and despite him and his friends agreeing to come forward about it together, Adam hadn’t gotten the memo that the rest of them were going to bail. Instead the entire situation gets pinned on him. The school expels him and calls up his parents to come pick him up. That night he packs a bag and leaves campus, fully aware his parents are not the forgiving type.
Adam hitchhikes himself to Las Vegas and ends up making a home for himself there. Always the charismatic and friendly type, he’s quick to find a community of other kids like him, and together they learn the best motels and abandoned buildings to squat in, until they get enough money for their own place. An avid fan of close-up magic, Adam uses his skills to charm tourists on the streets of Vegas -- and when they’re not looking, steal wallets or watches as well. He was also one of those guys who would dance in the street for cash, simply because he loves to dance. His hustles with him and his friends improved as they got older, but it never went beyond stealing to survive, even if Adam never thought about it like that.
Around the age of nineteen the cops start to catch onto him and his group, so they decide to say goodbye to Vegas and move to LA, pulling the same stunts on the beaches of California. Los Angeles certainly has its perks, but he does find himself missing the bright lights of the Strip.
Not long after coming to Los Angeles, Adam ends up stealing the watch off of a man who quickly catches him in the act and doesn’t let him get away. Instead of turning him in to the cops, he offers to buy Adam dinner, and he spends the entire evening learning about Adam’s current living situation. ( Adam, naturally, thinks he’s trying to proposition him, but takes the free meal anyway. ) At the end of dinner the man offers him his business card, saying he works for an elite college and thinks he’d be a great candidate for it. Adam tucks his card away into his wallet, never planning on using it.
An unfortunate side effect of living in Las Vegas was a small gambling addiction that Adam never quite recognized. It’s not his fault when he finally got spending money, he was more interested in trying to grow it at the poker table. (He knows how to count cards, lord help him.) The addiction follows him to LA, choosing to bet on sports rather than cards, something he’s definitely not as good at. He’s twenty-one when his debts suddenly become too large for him to take on, and there are a lot of angry people looking for him. So Adam pulls out the business card of the man he had met two years ago and hopes for a miracle.
A few weeks later, he finds himself enrolled in a prestigious spy university in middle America ( NOT Blackthorne ) . His recruiter had warned him that it wasn’t going to be easy to adjust at first, and it wasn’t. Adam was able to keep up in his classes just fine -- he enjoyed it, even -- but he didn’t like the environment, reminding him too much of his boarding school days. At the end of the year, the recruiter who had become his mentor had told him about a similar college in Virginia that had just opened its doors to accepting male students. He was able to pull some strings for Adam, causing Adam to arrive at Gallagher as a second year, the first year boys were allowed on campus.
Adam is the class clown type, a real goofball that comes off inherently lazy, though he is serious about his studies, because he knows better than to look a gift horse in the mouth. He’s a classic “yes man” who will do just about anything for the hell of it and with zero shame. He’s here for a good time, not a long time! He has zero shame. Surprisingly he’s also a hopeless romantic, the type to fall in and out of love in the span of a few weeks. He reels people with his charm and cute smile, but it’s better in small doses, otherwise he’s just a little annoying.
WANTED CONNECTIONS.
Ex from last year
Crushes
Someone with a crush on him
People he could know from Vegas or Los Angeles
Someone related to his mentor figure that got him into the spy world
Someone from the first spy school he went to before transferring
Bros <3
A best friend
Literally anything from last school year aka his first year at Gallagher
Something from here
Idk I’m very lazy right now, but I’m down for anything
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If you could rewind to any point in your past and start fresh, which point would you choose and why? What do you hope would be different the second time around?
October 15th, 2011. I’d have said yes.
“—and, oh God, Jord, you should have seen her face. Can’t remember the last time I got to see her on her birthday. She was bloody buzzing. Even after everything, she was just… Dead happy,” Curly’s telling him as he shifts from one leg to the other in the space in front of the couch where Jordan sits. “She misses dad—course she does, but I think it helped, me being there. And then seeing all the family together again... It was mint. Like I never left. I-I’m. Here I am, thinking they wouldn’t pick me out of a sodding line-up, but it was like I’d been there the whole time.”
Jordan’s smile is genuine, leant back into the couch with his arms folded over his chest as he listens. “Good,” he hums. “We’ll save up some cash, a’right? So I can come with you when y’go back.”
He expects it to have Curly nodding like crazy like he does, hair bouncing over his eyes but, instead, the man stops, stammers a bit as he says, “well... I-I’ve been thinking about that. Was gonna say.”
He doesn’t want Jordan there. That’s the first thought that pops into his head. J’ll never fit in at one of those huge family dinners Curly talks about. Always just been himself and his mom – wouldn’t even know how to handle it. He’s already screwed shit up with Curly’s mom, why would they try with his dad’s side of the family? They’ve probably seen pictures of him. Hate him. Well, fuck ‘em. He’s never needed a fucking family, sure as hell doesn’t need Curly’s. If anything, he’s fucking lucky he—
“What if we moved back? Like… What if both of us moved. To Brentwood.”
“W—” It’s the dumbest idea he’s ever heard. Even harder to swallow than the idea of Curly’s family exiling him. He’s got an internship coming up. Got a good enough job for now – just got promoted even, and has college classes a couple times a week. They saw an apartment yesterday, and tomorrow they’re gonna go look at another one just a couple blocks from the bar, above Dean’s uncle’s shop. His internship will be done soon enough and he’ll be making a good buck there. Jordan doesn’t think ahead – why the fuck would he? Life’s thrown enough fucking curveballs. He has this time though, thought ahead, that is, and this ain’t gonna be another one of those times where he paves the way, then gets dragged off the track. All these reasons have a hell of a lot to do with him though, and very little to concern Curly. Except for the pure fact that he fuckin’ wants him here with him.
“Your mom, Curls,” is the reasoning he settles with. Curly moved all this fucking way for her in the first place, after all. “She’ll be alone.”
Curly just shrugs, clearly already carried away with the idea. “She’s got Dom. My grandparents, too. She dun’t need me here anymore. Not like Gee does.”
Of course. He always agonised over the possibility of his little sister drifting away. Of course it’s about Genie. J had expected their first meeting in a couple years to hit home. Have Curls cleaning up his act, saving some money for more trips… He hadn’t considered that Curly would be thinking about a permanent move. For just one, sickening moment, Jordan wonders if this is a case of them choosing between Jordan’s future and Curly’s family, or more a case of Curly choosing between his family, and… Well, Jordan.
Fuck it—fuck that. There's no fucking question here - because what's Curly gonna do in England? Go back to working at that coffee shop? Get fired because he's always off his face or off sick and dresses like he just came from a fucking rave every day of his life? Keep selling his drugs and stop seeing his family anyway because he can't look them in the eye any more than he can his fucking mother’s? Fuck that. They're staying right here-- both of them.
“Curls, no, we can’t. We got shit happenin’ here. I can’t go. I got that internship thing – think it’s gonna work out for me, a’right? And that apartment we’re gonna see… Curl’s it’s… Fuckin’ perfect. We got each other. I ain’t got family on the doorstep neither and I’m alright, yeah?” He has a hand around the man’s wrist then, tugging him down until he’s perched on the edge of the coffee table. “Brockton’s home. We ain’t leaving.”
Curly just stops though, picking at the skin around his nails as he breathes deeply in thought. He leans forward, elbow on his knee and chin in his hand, fingers curled to cover his mouth like he always does. It’s muffled by his hand as he says, so quietly that some of the words get caught in his throat, “I aren’t happy anymore, J.”
“What?” J scoffs, chews on his lip as he considers this. “Sure you are.” Or, he will be. Can’t be expected to feel happy again already – two weeks since his dad’s funeral. “Y’got me, ‘ight? Of course we’re fuckin’ happy,” Jordan insists and he tries to laugh because God, what a dumb fucking thing to say. He ain’t happy? He’s mourning. “We got each other. We’re sweet.”
“Can you think about it?”
“I mean.” Jordan searches for the words. Fuck, he ain’t moving to fucking England when he’s this close to having his shit together here. “No, doll. M’sorry but.” J shrugs. “I ain’t doin’ it. Couple weeks and you’ll be glad I said no, a’ight?”
He never did tell Jordan he wasn’t happy after that. Easy enough to assume he was, then. The relapse that followed was the worse J had ever seen.
We’da gone to Brentwood, he’d have worked his ass off at that coffee shop and I’d get an internship some place else. Make some honest cash, probably crash at his dad’s place ‘til we can afford our own. Get him some help that we don’t need to worry about affording. Free healthcare and all that. Sounds boring as shit but we’ll be happy.
Would have been, I mean.
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UPDATED: $25,000 reward for credible information in search for Kamille Mckinney
Update: Body of Kamille McKinney Found https://www.illicitdeeds.com/post/188528331799/breaking-news-3-year-old-kamille-cupcake
The search continues for 3-year-old Kamille 'Cupcake' McKinney.
Kamille was last been seen at a birthday party Saturday night on October 12 in Birmingham. Two people of interest in her disappearance have been arrested on unrelated charges.
There were conflicting reports from authorities and family members that Kamille had been found safe, but Birmingham police clarified shortly later that she was still missing.
Birmingham police and city leaders gathered for a press conference Wednesday to once again ask the community for help locating Kamille.
Birmingham Police Chief Patrick Smith delivered a message to those involved in Kamille's disappearance.
"If you know where Kamille is, if you have her and you're not sure what to do, I want to just talk to you for one second. I want to give you safe passage -- is the way to go. Please bring her to one of our fire stations, police stations or hospitals. If you don't know what to do and you're frightened, we're here to help you. Our goal is to reunite this 3-year-old baby with her family," Smith said during a press conference.
"Crimestoppers has offered $20,000 cash reward for tips and information leading to the closure of this investigation. What we want is the safe return of Cupcake and her safe passage. Return Cupcake to a nearby Fire station or police Department. Do not place her in unnecessary harm."
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey also has pledged $5,000.
Anyone with information about where Kamille could be is asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777 or call Birmingham police.
#cupcake#kamille McKinney#missing person#missing child#blacklivesmatter#blacklivesalwaysmatter#birmingham#Alabama#amber alert#good morning#share#news#daily news#crime#breaking news#todays news#news updates#world news#google news#buzzfeed true crime#buzzfeed unsolved#true crime
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2021, February
Biden Law, Five Years Lockdown Monday the first day of February of 2021. Canada Kidnapping Themselves Tuesday. All About Hive Blog Wednesday. Alex Jones and DR. STEVE PIECZENIK Thursday. Are you ready for Weapons of Mass Distraction Friday. Amazon Spies Saturday.
Instagram Rising
I was banned on Bittrex Sunday the 8th. My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn Monday. Cronyism Sucks Tuesday. Gold-Backed Crypto Wednesday. Protonmail problem on my 36th birthday Thursday. Just kidding. Brother Joined Hive Friday. Shoveling Snow Saturday.
Ice Killed Texans
Happy Valentines Day Sunday the 14th. President's Day. Party at Five Monday. Texas Freezing Tuesday. Vietnamese pho dinner was yummy. Travel Post Banned For Not Being a Travel Post Wednesday. Photoshop Funny Thursday. We Need County Coin Friday. Why is Sweden banning masks Saturday.
Can't Disrupt Commerce lol
Strung up pea strings. The Healthy American Sunday the 21st. Pho dinner. Musical chairs. Weekly Oatmeal Show - Episode 001 Monday. Gina Carona Interview with Ben Shapiro Tuesday. Digging up potatoes. Bible study revived. Being Dead Due To Birth Wednesday. Captain Biden Flying Around Zapping Brown Kids Thursday. My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign Friday. Cleaned Out a Chicken House Saturday. DEADLY-ALLERGIC to YOUR-OWN-BODY Sunday.
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Oatmeal Monthly - 2021-02 - February of 2021
Published in February of 2021
I enjoyed watching season 1 of Tell Me Your Secrets
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Biden Law, Five Years Lockdown Plan
2021-02-01 - Monday
Hello Pocahontas
Americans to be placed under Extreme Lockdown House-Arrest for at least 12 months, that is the plan. You will be stuck in your house like they did in China. You will starve to death and die. The plan is to begin this before 2022, as in as soon as possible. Your loved ones will die from Covid Vaccines which is already murdering hundreds to thousands of people. This is a hole straight down to the pits of Hell.
Canada Kidnapping Themselves
2021-02-02 - Tuesday
Biden, Harris, Napoleon Dynamite Voting Meme
When Canadians return to their home country, Canada, they're federally kidnapped, imprisoned in Covid Concentration Camps for many days, and then charged at least $2,000. Wow. Justin is so liberal. Let's all move to the Land of the Moose. 2 masks at least says CDC. Go to their website and read the article.
Try To Withdraw Money
If you try to take your money out of your bank, they'll flag you, stick the IRS up your butt. Just try it, I dare you. When you try to withdraw cash, watch what happens, and don't get me started with if you ask for gold when you try to cash out. Paper money was supposed to be an "I-Owe-You" check which is supposed to be exchangeable for actual gold, a place-holder.
All About Hive Blog
2021-02-03 - Wednesday
Picture of Joey Arnold
Hive is like Facebook except it pays you to post. Did you know Covid is also called SARS-COV-2? Wait a minute, whatever happened to SARS-COV-1? Did we have a pandemic for the first one? How are we already in the second one? Was I sleeping while the first one was going around? How many years ago was the first one? Is China stealing oil from Texas? Why was Joe Biden refused a Pentagon security clearance? There has been documented cases where people were missing over 90% of their brain tissue but where still able to function like a normal person. One person to even had just a thin layer around the inside of the skull. Literally an empty head and yet could still function as a human. They are destroying the second amendment right now. You have no idea.
Alex Jones and DR. STEVE PIECZENIK
2021-02-04 - Thursday
Trump Terminator
Big interview between Alex Jones and DR. STEVE PIECZENIK today, 2nd hour of the show. The dollar could lose over 20% of its value under Lord Biden before 2022 and much more the following 12 months. It is likely the dollar will die sooner or later meaning you must convert your dollars into something else while you still can. This is financial advice. You have been warned. Your money is on fire but not in a good way. You're leaking value each day. You might as well give me your money as you're losing your money each second. You're wasting your money as you let inflation destroy the value of fiat. Was the Burma Election stolen like it was in America? If you think Biden won, then you do NOT know who won in Burma. I don't care what military is doing. Who won the election in Burma? I'm asking who got the most real votes excluding the fake votes. I want to know who really won. Please let the REAL WINNER be the leader of what you call Myanmar. Whoever actually won should be allowed to run that country, period. Military should help whoever got the most legal votes in that nation. Period. I don't know who won. I am just saying let the real winner have the power, good or bad.
Fall or Rise of Empires
This is what Mike Adams said today. He said something bad could happen over night, that is to the extent the dollar crashes, they'll try to blame the crazy Redditters, the conservatives, for destroying the money, they'll come up with crazy excuses, conspiracy theories, and then say how they saved us by giving us Biden Coins or whatever they want to call it. They are trying to have one centralized global digital currency, no cash, no decentralized cryptocurrencies. So, I agree this could happen at any time, especially if three or more stimulus checks come out in 2021, as they spend more and more money, as people demand silver, gold, etc. The centralized banking system could fall in the next few years or sooner. As that happens, either the good guys or the crazy globalists and baby eaters can take over as that happens. So, in other words, we are in a major transition in global history similar to the rise or fall of other great empires like that of Rome, Babylon, Persia, England, China, etc. But I can't say if we are in the middle of the fall or the rise of an evil authoritarian regime.
Are you ready for Weapons of Mass Distraction?
2021-02-05 - Friday
Alex Jones
Happy birthday brother. Are you ready for Weapons of Mass Distraction? In order to buy guns in 2021 in America, you either have to right now or potentially soon will have to pay too many taxes, additional taxes, including gun related taxes, and pass a test which includes questions relating to if you want to own a gun. If you answer you want a gun, you fail the test because only crazy bad guys want guns. If you want a gun, pass a test. The only way to pass the test is to answer you do not want a gun. Once you answer you do not want a gun, then the genie in the bottle comes out and says in the voice of Robin Williams in Disney's cartoon movie, Aladdin, "As you wish." There were at least two 2020 USA General Election court cases which heard evidence meaning the other dozen or more cases were unconstitutionally dismissed by compromised judges. There is one case in Arizona which is leading towards potential ballot auditing. There may be other legal cases pending in other states in the United States of America. New court cases may rise. Others are ongoing. Some may be, if they haven't yet, potentially, refiled or retried. In some cases, you can do that. It's not double-jeopardy in some cases. It depends but you can sometimes do this depending on the details. A federal case for example could be then tried on the state level. That is not double jeopardy. You can pressure your local counties to call for ballot audits today. Join the revolution.
Nullifying Federal Executive Orders
North Dakota is planning to nullify (on a state level) unconstitutional federal executive orders. If you're not living in this state, you should either go there or encourage your state to call up North Dakota. Hello Texas, Idaho, Wyoming, Arizona, etc. In the world of rock paper scissor, you can see state and federal power. However, never underestimate the power of the county sheriff which trumps over them. You should make friends with your local sheriffs and talk to them about the rule of law regarding what you have to do in your county, legally speaking. Don't go against the sheriffs. Find out what they expect from you as a citizen of the county you're living in.
Amazon Spies
2021-02-06 - Saturday
Trump
Amazon vans have cameras actively spying on people, as in anybody and everybody as they drive around delivering packages, not just their customers but also neighbors and everyone else as well. They collect the data in order to develop a China Social Credit Score Database. Even if you're not on Facebook, they'll still have your data. If you do something that our overlords deem not right, your social credit score begins to go down and down. A lower Social Credit Score means you will not be able to buy and sell, travel, have food, have protection, have safety, have a job, have schooling, have a house, have children, have parents, have organs, have water, have power, have Internet, have apps, have trash, have doctors, have hospitals, have health care. When you call 911 and say somebody cut off your arm and you are bleeding to death, the operator will answer the phone and say, "Sorry, your social credit score is too low, please raise it to an acceptable level and try your call again. Have a good day. Good bye."
I was banned on Bittrex
2021-02-07 - Sunday
I was banned on Bittrex
Banks and big tech companies are making special cities all around the world. Covid to End on the 31st of March of 2025 according to WorldBank.org.
My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn
2021-02-08 - Monday
Facebook Restricted
My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn and what is yours? Let's have a party before the dollar dies. Let's come up with backup plans and come together in local communities while we still can. Now is the time.
Cronyism Sucks
2021-02-09 - Tuesday
Cronyism Sucks
George Washington did NOT say, "My fellow Americans, read my lips, I hereby grant you some rights which we can then take away if there is a pandemic or if you feel a little unsafe regarding your neighbor's cannons." You can either help your state leave the United States of Satan or you can leave that state. A woman in Vancouver, Washington went to a hospital. Nurses and doctors tried to stick a needle in her arm against her wishes. She said no. The hospital called the police who came and kidnapped her for not breaking the law. No crime. The hospital and the police committed crime against her. And believe all women. And what if I told you she was black and black lives matter. And police are bad. The police might as well sell her to sex trafficking. Don't we want to defund the police? And I am Pro-Choice too. My Body My Choice. And none of your business. Thousands of people go to Oakes Farms Market in Florida daily without masks in 2020 and many of them go there seven days a week because it's the new Disneyland, the happiest place on earth, even some of their staff are 80 years old or older and yet are not getting sick. But if you do want to wear a mask, have at it. Hundreds of new customers come in each day from out of state, some come as far as like New York. You can tell they're new because when they enter the store, their jaws drop like as if they're cartoon characters.
Cash App
My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn and what is yours? Let's have a party before the dollar dies. Let's come up with backup plans and come together in local communities while we still can. Now is the time. I will invest in a gold-backed cryptocurrency, as much as I can. Is there such a thing yet? Sign up to be a First Responder today, just call, not toll-free, at 1-800-Get-A-Gun-Duh. Don't kill your chickens, wait until they die of old age, say a little prayer to remember the wonderful life Chicken Little had and then get out your knife and prepare for a feast in honor of the life of the little guy. Study shows over 80% of Covid-19 Patients have vitamin D deficiency. Nurses stick stuff inside babies causing hearts to stop. After that, they try their best to restart the infant's hearts. Too many do die. It is covered up. You don't hear about it. Most viruses die in the air within seconds. Over 85 percent of child trafficking related things seem to be happening on Facebook Messenger.
Gold-Backed Crypto
2021-02-10 - Wednesday
Find me on Instagram at Joeyarnoldvn
Gold and silver are accepted as legal currencies in Utah, Oregon, Colorado, Oklahoma, and Missouri. Before 2030, globalists will most likely murder over 6 billion people. The good news is, number one, we can try to stop some of that, and, number two, regardless, you don't have to be one of them, you don't have to die, there may be only a billion people left on our planet soon. Come join me and survive this coming Holocaust. The greatest Holocaust ever. Save as many people as you can. But at the same time, you don't have to die. Get out of the big cities. Find a farm while you still can. You are running out of time. Find a community of like-minded people and get a room, I mean a community, a neighborhood, a state where you can find like-minded people. Do it while you still can.
Genocide Coming
Because there may be over 7 billion people who support the globalist agenda, they will end up dying most likely in the next few years. You must be prepared for this probability or worst case scenario. Every day you're still not dead yet is precious. You get what you promote. Justice is coming. There are consequences and rewards for the actions we take in life. Will you buy smart underwear which will be connected to the NSA? How do we detox from the lead which is in the soil? I have a friend named Tim Osman. Please don't Google his name. You can make money posting to blockchain social networks, I can help you sign up for free, no credit cards, no money required. I post on these websites and I make money. I did not put any money into them. You can take the money out. You can wire the money to crypto exchanges, banks, wallets.
Protonmail Banned Me on my 36th birthday.
2021-02-11 - Thursday
Protonmail Banned Me on my 36th birthday.
Protonmail Banned Me on my 36th birthday. Step one, find out how many people died annually for the last ten years in your country. Step two, please post those statistics for each individual year including 2020 in your report. We will copy and paste what you find everywhere. Thank you very much. Leftists say you have to say chest, can't say your baby is sucking on your breasts. You have to say human milk. You cannot say it is the milk of the mother. Oh My God. Russia killed the ALL-MIGHTY DOLLAR! I hate you RUSSIA! Are you happy America is becoming Venezuela in the next few years or much sooner because you do nothing, isn't that really cool that you're helping this republic and the world crumble? Are you excited as millions of people die? Do you wake up each morning happy that you don't care about this? Covid Vaccine has over 5 different viruses which it programs and mass produces in your cells to eat up your body from the inside-out, to attack the proteins, to kill your babies, to give you HIV, to kill your immune system and cause you to die from the common cold within months to the extend you're lacking enough essential vitamins.
Regarding Gold-Backed Cryptocurrencies
But the idea of a gold-backed cryptocurrency could at least in theory become a 2-in-1 deal where it might be backed by gold and yet as a fail-safe if all else goes wrong, if governments and others come in to confiscate the gold, you would still have something like Bitcoin or whatever type of cryptocurrency it may be. I see that as a potential two in one deal. Of course the risks, liability, privacy risks of having governments seek to imprison people for having gold which might be connected to a cryptocurrency, I understand that might be too big of a risk in some situations, it may be harder to be anonymous if police were to spot you holding some gold. Finding ways to stay as anonymous online in the mist of tyranny is a worthy cause and that is why I value the 4th amendment of the U.S. constitution. Cartoons and other children shows are actively singing songs and otherwise encouraging toddlers to wear masks, to not shake hands, hug, or get close to other people; to simply not be humans at all, this will scar these kids for the rest of their lives, deep intellectual abuse.
Brother Joined Hive
2021-02-12 - Friday
My brother joined Hive - When I Was Young, Busted Knees, No Helmets, No Limits
Mother cries as insulin for his son who could die without it costs more than $500 even as it only costs pennies to make. Biden did this. Watch the video of this mother in her car video. Listen to her passion as she speaks truth. They say even after everyone on the planet is vaccinated, we still must have lockdown globally, even in ten years from now. Are you happy for living on Planet Wall-E as Fat People stuck in The Matrix? Over ten million starved to death in 2020 thanks to people staying at home and being safe. We kept ourselves so safe, we ended up dying because we had no food. We are so scared, we make the problem worse. The odds of coming up with the exact numbers of the 2020 U.S. General Elections, Mathematician Expert Edward Solomon says there aren't enough stars in the known universe to have it come up by chance apart from electronic manipulation, statistically, it's astronomical, he went on to say there aren't even enough atoms in the universe. Biden won exactly the same percentage points across multiple precincts at designated times a day just long enough to put him in the lead. One example in Fulton County, Georgia on starting at 12:54 AM on Wednesday, the 4th of November of 2020, the percentage was set 5.5555%, and every 30 minutes to an hour plus a few times on Thursday, that is eleven separate times, each time it was exactly 5.555% percent, and that is humanly impossible to replicate by hand without the help of voting software.
Elmo Vaccine
Elmo got the vaccine and people on Sesame Street are locked in their homes like as if they were living in China. Children are being brainwashed. This is worse than sexual abuse. Green means you can travel. Different colors means different things under the Chinese Credit Score which is going to Europe, Australia, Canada, and is also slowly getting into America. If the centralized powers don't like you or your friends, then you can't work, school, travel, buy, sell, have your kids, have Internet, have a phone plan, health care, police care, fire care, water, sewer, garbage, food, etc. There is an alleged James Clapper interrogation audio tape which I'm listening to right now.
Shoveling Snow
2021-02-13 - Saturday
Michelle Obama, "Joe Biden, get your hands off my dick."
Before getting the Covid Vaccine, read the ingredients, the insert. And tell yourself, oh, I am putting this thing in my body, that is awesome. And oh, I am putting this other thing in my body. It is not a vaccine. Ignorance is Bliss. It's cool when you don't know you don't know something. It's cool when millions of people are likely to die or very close to it in 2021 because of Covid Vaccines.
Money is Dying
Cannot wait for the dollar to die. A study found that over 80% of those who got Covid were vitamin-D deficient. And the Flu magically disappeared during the winter. If you're going off the CDC website, you should make a list of the exact numbers.
Happy Valentines Day
2021-02-14 - Sunday
Joe Biden in like 2003
Happy Valentines Day. America has been dead for 209 years. They try to kill people via nano bots which goes into the body to cause flu like symptoms. That is fused with 5G, geoengineering, chemicals, waves, a variety of things working together. You must actively try ten times harder to counter as much of it all as you can, your ignorance is bliss, your children will suffer to the extent you try not to counter things you are yet to know. I repeat, things you are yet to know. Apple cider vinegar, 2 tablespoons a day but broken up gradually throughout the day, can help you. Encouraging healthy pH blood level balance minimizes cancer, detoxifies the liver, dissolves viruses, and helps the heart. The brain-gut connection. Is it true the last U.S. President to take the oath for the united states for America was back in around 1812? Has America been dead for over two centuries now? Did you know there is a star inside our earth? Biden is telling Americans to wear masks until 2022.
Reducing Zombism
Candida is a type of fungus which helps decompose dead bodies but the problem comes when the people are still alive while Candida is excessively growing and eating up your body even before you are actually dead. Therefore, you want to look at fasting, at starving those little guys at least once every ten years if not as often as you can to minimize how much of them you have inside of your biology. Borax detoxes fluoride from the brain. Inside your body are the bad guys, the fungi, which wants your body to die, and the good guys, which are the bacteria which wants your body to live, that is the civil war within your chemical makeup. The pineal gland in our brain is a spiritual window into the Supernatural Internet which transcends space and time, it truly is the third eye, but fluoride blocks it. Does the earth have two moons?
Party at Five
2021-02-15 - Monday
Star Wars Luke Kenobi Father Vader Anakin Floor is Lava Game Sucks He Was And Died Hahaha Meme
Party at Five. RINOs are Republican In Name Only and PINOs are Patriots In Name Only. Thousands of refugees are being allowed into California and Texas from Mexico but without being tested for Covid, no masks, no safety. But if you want to go anywhere or do anything, you have to get tested. When immigrants come in, as they do right now, they are NOT being tested for anything really, they can pass on diseases to you and you are not allowed to do anything period.
Texas Freezing
2021-02-16 - Tuesday
Girl from Firefly show
A 28 YEAR OLD WISCONSIN MOM DIES DAYS AFTER SECOND PFIZER SHOT. Why are kids sneaking out of the White House? Is Tom Cruise part of an off-planet corporation called Umbrella? You can find really old videos on the Internet of really tall people, some of them may be 14 feet tall or taller as you can see people and horses almost reach the height of this man's knees. Did you really think those videos were fake? Many times you'll find truth hiding in plain sight. Truth is often lying underneath your nose all along. This takes the Mandela Effect to a whole new level. Is the South Pole actually the North Pole? It's below zero degrees in Texas right now, they refusing to turn the power back on as people freeze to death, they're shutting down stores as people starve to death, and they're refusing to plow roads. You can literally watch videos of giant semi-trucks crashing into other trucks, at least three giant trucks, one which was going at least 70 MPH and the others were going pretty fast too, several people died in just that pile up alone.
Who is Oatmeal Joey Arnold?
I am single, 36 years old, I live in Shelton, I am Christian, no kids, I live with my parents, I don't wear a mask ever, I listen to Alex Jones, I love Trump, I am a little bit crazy, I don't work. I don't have a job. I just sit on a computer all day writing on my blog and that is it. Was the inspiration behind the Star Gate movies and shows stolen from the Native American Indians? Weather manipulation meetings at your local town hall in a county or state near you, why are you not there to ask them questions? Things got so bad in India that they created a task force and then ended up banning the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. That's how EVIL India is. Hey folks, how could India keep out our SAVIORS? We all know Bill Gates is the second coming of Jesus Christ. Kissinger wrote a report back in the 1970s regarding how to control the African population.
Travel Post Banned For Not Being a Travel Post
2021-02-17 - Wednesday
White Culture Dont Have Any Joke Yes We Do
Texas Dark Winter to last for weeks, people are freezing and starving to death, people are so excited as the globalists take over the world, Biden said the Dark Winter was coming, he was right. Be prepared for a new biological weapon, a new Covid disease, coming either this year in 2021 or at least before 2025. It will kill at least 4 billion people. Don't tell me I didn't warn you. I'm on record trying to tell you how bad things are. If you're reading this, you're guilty of not caring. Please, do something. The clock is ticking. Will China be aiming nuclear weapons at 24 targets across the globe, will it be real, will it be staged, will it be an excuse to lockdown the world, what is going to happen? Will it be exactly 24 different places in different countries around this planet? Will this be a good thing or a bad thing? Will the good guys or the bad guys be able to take control of whatever that might happen in February of 2021? Will it be any day now? Will people fall for false flags? Is there anything we can do right now?
Bill Gates Over Biden
Biden won't speak to world leaders. Boris Johnson said Bill Gates is really the head of the G8. This is how globalism works. They're getting the general population used to the world being run by technocracy. In a secret video, Mark Zuckerberg told his Facebook staff he didn't trust the Covid Vaccine. So, why isn't Mark telling his 2 billion users this? Why keep such a thing a secret? In the 1960s, America asked Russia to start a world war against China but Russia declined. That was declassified.
Photoshop Funny
2021-02-18 - Thursday
1776 Put Mask On Americans No Way
Funny story today, somebody used photoshop to try to fool me ahahahahhaaa! Biden is taking over the Texan Power-Grid, red alert, warning warning. We know their plan. We know the patterns. They'll say deadlier strands are out there now. This will likely be by the fall of 2021 if not a lot sooner. The strands will generally be less deadly. But it's extremely coordinated, scripted, they will all try their best to make you gulp down this Kool-Aid of Death. Shifting into Techno-Scientific Dictatorship, they're phasing the general public to accept this shift in world history globally, most people are stuck in a trance and they do NOT even know it. Even if you tell them, they will say to you, "You are crazy." THEY'RE PUTTING CHEMICALS IN THE SKY THAT MAKES THE SNOW GAY. The power grid was an attack on water-power devices, especially in the 1930s. Some people had water-powered devices. They didn't need electricity because they water-powered devices.
Scaring Children to Death
A ten year old was admitted to the hospital because he was losing weight because he was refusing to eat for so long because he was afraid he would get Covid and die. Sergeant Major said they don't call it a Lie-Berry for nothing. Did you know they used to have water-powered mechanical devices? You were not told real history. A lot of stuff covered up. Why not get back to water power? Aren't you even just a little bit curious? People had free electricity thanks to tap water in the early 1900s. So, why would people give that up? What happened? Why trade that in for a monthly electricity bill?
We Need County Coin
2021-02-19 - Friday
Lauren Chen was on Friday Night Tights
Steele mentioned the idea of CountyNet. Also, he mentioned an idea of a CountyCoin which loses value the farther away from the county the coin moves in order to incentivize investing back into the same community as opposed to going excessively and obsessively overseas aggressively, as in too much and too often. I confess I fell for fake news when I thought Babbit died. I was wrong. Steele says Wall Street and others stolen 100 trillion dollars. People in power plants in Texas were ordered to lower down, to power down to zero percent in most cases, the documents are here, you can read the documents, they were ordered to do this on purpose, this is KILLING PEOPLE, and YOU DO NOT CARE. Do you have no friends or family in Texas? 2021-02-14 - Sunday - 08:51 PM EST - The 14th of February of 2021 - DOE Order Number 202-21-1 was issued for Texas (ERCOT), for more info, go to Energy dot gov, their official government website.
Texas Being Murdered
The Department of Energy (DOE) was ordered to turn off the power in Texas which is causing people to die. They're literally murdering people and nobody cares. The evidence is right there, we can all grab and share it. But nobody cares that thousands to millions of Texans are starving and freezing to death. I said, to death. The Department of Energy told Texas they CANNOT produce more energy, that is why people are dying. DOE Order Number 202-21-1 mentions ERCOT (ISO), this document can be read on their official government website, you can go there, you can read it, you can pass it on to your friends, or you can let your friends die in the cold in Texas with no power. Texas electricity bill for your power, just this week now, went from $50 per Megawatt to over $9000 per Megawatt. Breaking News, Megan Fox is an Anti-Masker which means she is Pro-Vitamin, we are all going to die.
Why is Sweden banning masks?
2021-02-20 - Saturday
Alpha Heater
Why is Sweden banning masks? Many times, they ban people from YouTube but then let other upload the same videos or similar videos and profit from them. The Covid Vaccine is not a remedy but an operating system.
The Healthy American
2021-02-21 - Sunday
We Stole It Fair & Square
Stores are not legally allowed to discriminate or disrupt commerce which comes from even the customers who refuses to wear masks. Stores can say it's private property. However, because the stores are open to the public, thanks to the 4th amendment, thanks to other things as well, prohibiting customers is discrimination among other things as well. The maskless buyer is not trespassing if he or she is not disrupting commerce. Moreover, when you prohibit customers from stores, then you are engaging in the disruption of commerce which may be illegal among other things as well partly because the customers are part of the free market exchange system which we call commerce. Stopping customers means you are disrupting commerce. That is illegal. You should go to jail for disrupting commerce. It may be many different things, not just that. Stores and states must be held accountable for violating laws. Stores are public. They cannot enforce masks. Churches however are legally considered to be private and can enforce masks.
Weekly Oatmeal Show - Episode 001
2021-02-22 - Monday
Coco Cola White Polar Bear Fired For Being Too White
Sound of Freedom is a great movie. The only preparedness that counts is the preparedness that happens when you don't yet need it. One day without notice, you will wake up and you will go to an ATM and it will not work. You will have no food in your house for many weeks to many months or longer. It takes less energy to walk on two legs than it takes to run four legs. The majority of suicides are from white male adults. Second spot is held by black male adults. Why was Bill Gates thrown out of 32 countries? New monthly vaccines for the virus of the month. Are you excited? He said now we have to difficult work of "Untying this knot," that is code for crazy people have to be sent off to re-educational FEMA camps where they will either recant or be murdered.
Gina Carona Interview with Ben Shapiro
2021-02-23 - Tuesday
Gina Carona Interview with Ben Shapiro
Gina interview. Why did NASA stop looking for life on Mars in 1976, why did they transition after that to geology, to looking for rocks? Trump got over 80 million votes while Biden got less than 40 million. Why are so many world leaders saying Covid-19 is permanent? They refuse to test it on animals because it kills animals or worse. No animals were harm in the making of this post. God save the animals. I'm glad we skipped animal-testing.
Being Dead Due To Birth
2021-02-24 - Wednesday
Tell Me Your Secrets
The only time your name is written in all uppercase capital letters is on your tombstone and yet that is how it's formatted on birth certificates, when parents sign it IN CURSIVE LETTERS when you are born, that is necromancy. When they say you can't leave the hospital with your own newborn infant baby without signing it, that is theft or worse. Legally speaking, it is a literal death sentence as you are literally selling away your baby. You need to live in groups of at least ten people. Zombies will be coming from the big cities. Protect your family from the walking dead. Why are so many big people being arrested around the world each day? Why?
Who Controls The Military Right Now?
Was an executive order or other items signed officially in 2019 authorizing a former (allegedly incumbent) U.S. President full control of the military even up to 60 days after an alleged inauguration of a alleged new administration (that is the new but fake President of the possibly defunct United Corporate States of America) which would end in or around, approximately, on the 20th of March of 2021? Please let me know such things were not signed. Please let your friends know nothing at all happened in 2019 at all. I'm only asking. I have no idea what happened.
Captain Biden Flying Around Zapping Brown Kids
2021-02-25 - Thursday
Captain Biden Flying Around Zapping Brown Kids
My gender is oatmeal. That is the kind of sex or gender I am. In India, doctors are saying women who get the Covid Vaccines are showing signs of the beginning stages of sudden breast cancer. Wow. This is amazing. Sign me up. Now we can all be Booby-Free Angelina Jolie. Please stick ten of those things in my arms today. Quick, this cannot come fast enough. Make boobs not great again. Please tell your friends how awesome this is. Learn To Say No Just For One Day Article. Tree Court Article.
Globalist vs Brazil
In Brazil, they're trying to force the government to not only waive all liability for the Covid Vaccines but also to sign over military bases over to them as well, it's insane but crazy things happen daily if only you knew the half of it. Back to American news. The Supreme Court has committed treason against the constitution and the republic of these American states. They've ruled saying whoever cheats the most in an election gets to be the alleged president of this defunct fake corporation which we illegally call in all caps THE UNITED STATES OF [not 'for'] AMERICA. Cheating is not only allowed but now also endorsed by the highest court of the land.
My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign
2021-02-26 - Friday
My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign
Masks Causes Bacteria Pneumonia. My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign. Their goal is to make all humans unable to naturally reproduce by 2030. Why is South Africa cancelling the Covid Vaccine? There is also related news in Brazil, India, etc. See, people are dying from vaccines. They've been spending billions to trillions of dollars covering up vaccine deaths for decades globally. They murder people who expose this or worse in most cases. You have no idea how bad it is. Bill Gates and others are involved in giving vaccines to people around the world. That is why Bill Gates is banned in so many countries. In other news, there may be someday selling cloned synthetic children meat to encourage people to eat. Hell, they may have it ready already. Celebrity meat actually. The only we defeat this invisible enemy is to decide our own destiny. 80% of people who died of Covid in Canada were in nursing homes. 101 Pocketball Journal Scans Uploaded.
Covid Vaccines Are Murdering People
Why are over 75% of U.S. military troops refusing the Covid Vaccine? Because vaccines kill people. But more than that, the Covid Vaccine is not a vaccine. It utilizes mRNA which turns your cells into virus factories. That is what mRNA is. See, the M on mRNA means MESSENGER. This is Basic Biology & Science 101 For Dummies here. The vaccine literally sends messages or mRNA into the cell nucleus to tell it to make specific items. Covid-19 and the alleged vaccines in response to it are both GMO-like chimera monsters. They're a combination of different viruses, different things, I'm talking Frankenstein on a microscopic level. I've been talking about this many times. That is why so many people and so many countries are saying no to the vaccines. And again, the Covid Vaccines are not even vaccines to begin with. I wouldn't even be surprised if nano-tech is involved among other things in regards to these things which are murdering people right now. Sadly, they're blaming the mRNA deaths on Covid. So, they're trying very hard to make you think that you need to take monthly vaccines. And the more people die, the more they'll say, "Hurry up, you need even more vaccines, etc." Remember, they have spent billions to trillions of dollars covering up vaccine deaths. They murdered many people who tried exposing them. Fake news would never tell you all of this because they're fake news.
Cleaned Out a Chicken House
2021-02-27 - Saturday
Alex Jones Predicting Covid-19 Back in 2010
Wear a mask or I'm calling the cops. Alright, call the cops. I'm suing them. In 2020, over 40 million alleged votes for Biden were fake. In 2008, it was reported that HAARP was learning how to steer hurricanes via high-atmosphere heat injection, kind of like guiding a kitten with a string. Watch out for Bioterrorism says Bill Gates. Which reminds me, kind of funny how Texas was suddenly colder than Montana. Wow. Out of nowhere. What happened on this day in 1933? Reich Fire. Hitler. Germany. Klaus Schwab says you will ONLY ONLY ONLY eat bugs and will love it.
What is in the Covid Vaccine?
Some of the ingredients for the mRNA Covid Vaccine includes some of the most commonly consumed things including vinegar, salt, sugar, plus a few very common preservatives found in so many food items. Too many people buy processed foods which includes preservatives in them. So, why are these commonly consumed items in the vaccine? It is there to trigger autoimmune responses in your body's immune system. It may takes years for your body to get there, but slowly over time, your body will begin to develop allergies to salt, sugar, vinegar, etc. These allergies may spiral out of control into even worse problems over time. Now, that is just the tip of the iceberg. But it is a good thing to start with and share with others. Don't believe me. Don't take my word for it. Go get a list of the ingredients to these vaccines and post them here. I will wait for your awesome responses. Thank you so much in advance for responding with the real list of ingredients. Prove me wrong. Easy to do. Just show me the ingredients. Show me these items, like salt, is not in the vaccine.
DEADLY-ALLERGIC to YOUR-OWN-BODY
2021-02-28 - Sunday
Covid Vaccine Ingredients
Your body will become DEADLY-ALLERGIC to YOUR-OWN-BODY. Why is Pfizer giving their customers one thing but their staff a different thing? Pfizer got a new drug out which is going to help people deal with one of the side-effects of their own vaccines. So, they make money trying to fool you into getting one and then even more money when you have to come back to take some of their drugs to deal with the deadly side-effects. Have fun, kids. You WILL swell up like a balloon. I warned you. Why were thousands to millions of 2020 ballots had computer-printed vote marks as opposed hand-written vote marks all for Biden and none for Trump?
Trump 2024 is Retarded
Downvote because Trump won in 2020. See, they can steal it from Trump in 2024 too. We have to call for FORENSIC-STYLE ballot audits in each county each day. Call people. Email people. You can make a difference. Call the military. Call Congress. Call judges. Write letters. Protest in person. Make videos. Write articles. Share things everywhere. Do something. If you are reading this and you are doing nothing, then you deserve Biden and the Chinese takeover of America.
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Telling The Truth in a World of Lies
Biden Law, Five Years Lockdown Plan
Canada Kidnapping Themselves
All About Hive Blog
Alex Jones and DR. STEVE PIECZENIK
Are you ready for Weapons of Mass Distraction?
Amazon Spies
I was banned on Bittrex
My Cash App is $joeyarnoldvn
Cronyism Sucks
Gold-Backed Crypto
Protonmail Banned Me on my 36th birthday
Brother Joined Hive
Shoveling Snow
Happy Valentines Day
Party at Five
Texas Freezing
Travel Post Banned For Not Being a Travel Post
Photoshop Funny
We Need County Coin
Why is Sweden banning masks?
The Healthy American
Weekly Oatmeal Show - Episode 001
Gina Carona Interview with Ben Shapiro
Being Dead Due To Birth
Captain Biden Flying Around Zapping Brown Kids
My-Body-My-Choice No-Mask Sign
Cleaned Out a Chicken House
DEADLY-ALLERGIC to YOUR-OWN-BODY
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i’m gonna put my playlist on shuffle and write what the songs remind me of while i listen to them, no one asked and no one cares but i’ve had so much caffeine and sugar today that there is no way in fresh hell i am going to bed anytime soon,
this is unnecessarily long, i’m just terrified of losing memories and i need these written down
deadroses - blackbear - september 2019 when i was getting ready for school. i used a rose cleansing water and the smell of it reminds me of this song, it was super warm and i had just come back from vacation in bulgaria with my family. used to watch the sunset with this song pretending i’m the main character. one time we went to a supermarket on the outskirts of town with this blasting in the car
anxiety - blackbear - almost the same as the previous one, october 2019 when i got led lights under my bed and i was just calming down from 4 months of paranoia and sleepless nights
one for the road - arctic monkeys - weird mood in december when all i would listen to was arctic monkeys and the nbhd, spent most nights on the dining room table blasting these just quiet enough to not wake my parents upstairs, my neighbours probably wished murder was legal
miroh - skz - miroh came out about a month after i found skz so i was still new to their music and the day it came out i was kinda sick and staying home from school so i got to enjoy the full thing in peace, i spent the next few days watching finding skz and then i blasted this throughout april which was a weird and rough month oh and also i started that other writing blog
often - the weeknd - i used to blast this in the 8th grade while i played that one paper airplane flash game before i discovered the magic of headphones fkgslkjgn
sweater weather - so many memories attached to this pretty bitch, finding it first through a sam and colby vine, walking home in the 6th grade from the dentist at night, standing on my balcony and watching super strong winds bring in very dark storm clouds almost completely covering the light from the sky above, except for one small window of light, last december
fantasy - dye - i found this i think last summer but it reminds me of my childhood and watching samurai jack for some reason
rumors - neffex - i accidentally clicked on a lyric video for this while i was staring at the moon one evening and the sky in the background picture of the video was exactly the same as the sky i was looking at and it just reminded me of a mid 2000′s teenagers room in my town, like older boys i used to have baby crushes on as a kid would have a room like that, gray walls, wooden desk with a computer and a bed with gray sheets with a window right above it and moonlight shining in, a red electrig guitar mounted on the wall and a skateboard leaned against the wall
arabella - arctic monkeys - i listened to an hour loop of this for a week straight non stop in december, i specifically remember dec 21st and wrote a lot on here
do i wanna know - arctic monkeys - there’s a few with this one, firsty it’s finding this song in the 9th grade when i was going to a youth club and i started listening to it because a girl from france that was there that i had a crush on liked it, secondly, finding bts in 2018 and listening to this while staring at the stars in a black tshirt, flannel and jeans with converse(yes i was that kid) and feeling the very moist air hit the back of my neck after we just got back from someone’s house that was selling clothes from home.
i miss the old u - blackbear - a lot of these are on my balcony because i love the sky lol but this one is too and just standing on my balcony in autumn 2019 after i got back from school just to watch the sky melt into a coral pink and orange
how you like that - blackpink - summer 2020, all i did was learn to play the ukulele and struggle with an issue i don’t wanna mention, the entire summer, with this playing in the background, i got my new laptop so i blasted this on there instead of my phone like most of the others on this list, also worked out to this song a lot
fly away - thefatrat - playing transformice in 2017 for HOURS and talking to dodgy people on there
dirty laundry - blackbear - you guessed it, getting ready for school in 2019, same as most other blackbear songs
god’s menu - skz - this came out the day after i got my laptop and the day that i got my ukulele, i remember watching the online concert while i waited for my mum to come home and bring me the uke, i watched it in my room in the dark and i literally had way more fun that i probably should have but they were so hyped up it was lovely
chateau - blackbear - autumn 2019 on my balcony watching the sunset
wonderland - caravan palace - similar to how you like that, listened to this all of summer 2020 while i was struggling with that issue, i used to pace around the second floor of my apartment with this song on and strut to the beat
feel special - twice - just when school started in 2019, i watched every studio ghibli movie that summer so i associate this song with those, i used to get ready for school with this blasting, and i remember dreaming about sana sitting in the rain a few times
pumped up kicks - going home from bulgaria in 2017 and getting stuck with no gas or cash in a little border town, we got there super late and most money exchanges were already closed so we had to get money from someone’s basement:) also summer 2020 when i learned to play this on the uke and it’s super easy and still my favourite one to play
why’d you only call me when you’re high - march 2018, i was making sugar cookies with leftover frozen dough from the last time i had made them, and while they were in the oven i went out on the balcony just to stare at the stars on the west
wow - danceracha - january, gameshow, that’s all i’m gonna say, i’ve been skipping through the songs once i wrote what i had to say but i’m gonna have to let this absolute bop play through, it’s the gay in me, why is this song so good what the FUCK
faggot - msi - reminds me of my childhood for some reason i think it was played a lot in some places, reminds me specifically of when i would walk home with my mum and see people sitting in an internet cafe we passed everynight that had neon signs inside
chronosaurus - april 2019, lee know saying tick tock tick tock getting closer was stuck in my head, almost got youtube premium just to be able to download that music video, may 2019, went on a school trip and listened to this on the days leading up to it, currently waiting for lee knows tick tock tick tock getting closer to play omfg why does he say it so well sjflkfj
505 - arctic monkeys - autumn - winter 2020, just sat in my dining room playing this and staring off into space
victory song - skz - LISTEN TO THIS 승전가, jisung and chan lifting their shirts lived rent free in my mind for a few months after this came out
cherry - itzy - summer 2020, issues and dancing a lot
get cool - skz - just got into them, feb 2019, used to listen to this when i was trying to learn their names🥺
hayloft - mother mother - oooohh a recent one, late january 2021, fell in love with a tiktok girl and decided to get my life together, played geoguessr with this on loop
love scenario - ikon - may 2018 when i was just really starting to get into kpop, this was one of the first non bts songs that i loved, i used to listen to it while reading wattpad lol
snap out of it - jan 2021, gameshow, reminds me of felix for some reason
hot girl bummer - late summer 2019, crying at night because of anxiety and pretending i was okie dokey during the day
daddy issues - the nbhd - may 7th 2018, super stormy outside, it was my younger cousins birthday, i spent the day in this one oversized shirt with donald duck printed all over it pretending i was talking to my crush at the time and staring at the rain clouds
be with you - cadmium - summer 2020, pacing around my apartment and those issues and finding this song through a video about those issues, i can’t find the channel anymore:(
reckless healy - january 2020, i was doing eyeliner all the time and just vibing, i had my doggie and all i did was scroll through tiktok and listen to music
ghost - confetti - november 2020, pretending i was the main character while singing this through my entire apartment
knee socks - arctic monkeys - same exact thing as arabella
goodnight i’ve been writing for so long and i’m finally tired
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