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rodrigo-esc · 27 days

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Cooking with Love Who: Jade and Rodrigo with mentions of others. @jadeclark What: Rodrigo and Jade are having a blast on their honeymoon! Where: NOLA! When: April 9th, 2024 A/N: Jadrigo take a cooking class together, Rodrigo devours all the food, they act all cute and meet two special peeps! It's adorable and I freakin love it.

JADE

Jade had been thoroughly jubilant since the day of the wedding. It was now hers and Rodrigo's second day in New Orleans and she had already fallen in love with the city. From the architecture to the monuments, the food and of course, the music. She absolutely loved New Orleans and already decided that she wanted to return again someday.

Today, she and Rodrigo had taken a bus tour of the city, which included a stop at one of the cemeteries, a park and one of the less populated Café du Monde spots for beignets and some coffee. After a late afternoon nap and freshening up, they were on their way to a cooking class in their rental car. Jade’s eyes were alight, watching the passing city. "I can't wait to visit some of the museums tomorrow. The jazz museum, the World War II museum, the Ogden museum of Southern Art..." Her words trailed off as she pried her gaze from the passing city to look at her husband. "But I'm excited about dinner tonight! I haven't participated in a cooking class in such a long time. I wonder which dish we'll end up making: jambalaya, gumbo... and making the pralines would be fun."

RODRIGO

It was only their second day in New Orleans and Rodrigo couldn't help but call this the best trip he's ever taken. Someday, he hoped to take Jade and their future kids to Mexico and all but for now, this was his favorite. It was a new environment, someplace he could cherish with his wife forever. This was their memory and it was so rich in culture that he couldn't get enough of it.

He was taking everything in throughout their trip, enjoying all the sights and all the food in particular. Rodrigo had to go back for beignets as that was officially one of his favorite spots. He wondered how a place like this existed right under their noses and he had never explored it. Rodrigo followed the GPS on their rental car while listening to his wife and he smiled brightly as she went on. Her thoughts were his thoughts but hearing her vocalizing her excitement just made him fall in love with Jade all over again. It was endearing seeing her so happy. She deserved this and more. While he kept his gaze on the road, he listened intently, smiling and appreciating her awe. "I have never done a cooking class aside from learning things from you and my mom so this is pretty cool." He chuckled as she listed all the potential foods. "Whatever it is, I can't wait to eat it." He smirked, adjusting his Aviators before making a turn. "GPS says five more minutes. Okay, so I know what you're looking forward to but what's your favorite part so far?"

JADE

"This should be really fun then! If it's like other cooking classes I've been in, they'll have some ingredients already measured out for us and we'll mostly be chopping and prepping produce and meats." She gazed out of the windshield and pulled her phone out to take a picture through the window. As she did this, she thought a moment about his question and then said, "I think it was the tour of the city. I liked getting to see a little bit of everything and getting some historical facts along the way. Anne Rice's old house looks like exactly the sort of place she would write about in her novels set here. Even the cemetery visit was fascinating. And the fresh beingets at Café du Monde were so good. I can't believe how much powdered sugar they put in the bags but they were so yummy. We should try to get some each day we're here." Setting her phone back in her lap, she said, "I know it sounds cheesy but what's really made all of it has been doing this with you. What about you, honey? What's been your favorite part so far, and what are you looking forward to the most?"

RODRIGO

"That sounds like a lot of fun and getting to do that with you? Hello? Even better." He grinned, keeping his eyes on the road, smiling when he caught Jade taking a picture from his peripheral. "Oh good choice. The tour was really nice and such a learning experience. We have to come back sometime. I feel like we can celebrate some milestone anniversaries by returning." He liked the idea of that, of creating their own traditions and coming back to the place they were already falling in love with. "And yes, please. I am so here for getting beingets every day with that coffee? ooo that coffee was so good." He smirked, nodding in agreement to her suggestion. His smiled widened as he looked for a spot. "Not cheesy. I feel the same way. You've made the experience even more amazing." He watched the rear end camera and followed the lines to park in front of the location. "Well, definitely the Cafe." As if food would ever not be the best part of everything. "But I did love the tour and I can't wait to see the Jazz museum. I feel like that's going to be a great stop." He opened his door to look out and make sure he was good in the spot, shut the door and then cut the engine. Rodrigo removed his sunglasses and then tucked them into the case in the car. He grabbed the keys and then exited the car, walking over to Jade's side to open her door and help her out. "And of course, I'm looking forward to this class."

JADE

Jade giggled a little at Rodrigo and then turned her phone on him to get a candid photo of him while he drove with his sunglasses on. She looked at the photo on her phone for a moment and then placed the device back in her lap. "I like that idea. We should absolutely plan to come back someday. Maybe instead of staying in a hotel next time, we can look into an air bnb or something in the French Quarter. That would be amazing to be able to look out at the city life from one of those beautiful terraces." She smiled at the way her husband spoke of the coffee with the beignets, "They would be delicious for breakfast or even a nice dessert." While Rodrigo parked the car, Jade placed her phone in her purse and picked it up from between her feet. "I think this might be the most unforgettable trip I've ever taken. We've planned so much for ourselves," she noted with a small chuckle and then unbuckled her seatbelt. When Rodrigo opened the door, she stepped out, accepting his hand with a, "Thank you," and walked in with him. The moment they were inside, they were greeted by the buzz of chatter from the handful of others in the space. One person came up to them to say "Hello," and get them checked in. He then directed them to a tall-standing table where they would be preparing their meals. Ingredients had already been set out, along with measuring cups and spoons, as well as knives, cutting boards, bowls and a pair of dish towels. Jade looked at the different ingredients and a grin appeared on her face as she looked up to Rodrigo and told him, "I think we're making gumbo." After saying so, she looked back at the ingredients and touched and index to her lips, thinking, "Although, they have a lot of similar ingredients so it could be jambalaya. But... I still think we're making gumbo today." She lightly gasped when she saw the sugar, corn syrup and pecans. "And we're making the pralines!"

RODRIGO

Rodrigo chuckled when Jade took another photo. "Hey! Ya little sneak!" He grinned at his wife and cut off his engine. "That's a fantastic idea! We'd probably have more of an authentic experience in an air bnb so I would be down for that. " Rodrigo would make sure they return for coffee and beignets a couple of times before they had to leave New Orleans. "Oh, I agree! We'll take some home too before we leave." He walked with his wife toward the location of the class and Rodrigo smiled politely once they were greeted. Their table had all the ingredients and supplies they needed as Jade had predicted. He listened to his wife with a smile on his face. Gumbo was delicious so that already made him perk up. "Well, you're the expert here! I'm all for Gumbo OR Jambalaya." He chuckled softly when she gasped thinking how endearing she was. "You're adorable. I have never made anything this complex so I'm really excited!"

JADE

Jade giggled freely at Rodrigo's reaction to her taking his picture. "You look so happy and carefree, I couldn't help it!" She then reached in her purse for her new camera Rodrigo gifted her. She snapped another quick candid photo while he was parking and smiled to herself before putting it back in her purse. "I'd love that for us," she beamed when he responded about them staying in the French Quarter next time they came to The Crescent City. And once inside and settled at a table, Jade couldn't stop feeling so buoyant about everything, including her anticipation for the cooking class. "Im excited too, honey, this should be a lot of fun! And it looks like there are some shelves of communal seasonings and things. I hope we'll start soon." She looked around at the others there. A few people were individuals who were paired up at a table and two other tables appeared to be couples like themselves. The one nearest to them was an older couple who was looking over everything on the table in front of them. The man leaned over and seemed to whisper something that made the woman smile and look up at him with so much love. Seeing how sweet they were towards each other made her smile all over again. The instructor stood at the only remaining table and called for everyone's attention, welcoming them and going through some general safety tips. And although Jade had been listening and was ready to get started, she couldn't help occasionally glancing at the elderly couple.

RODRIGO

Rodrigo grinned at Jade's words. *Happy* and *carefree* were adjectives he was glad his wife was using to describe him. He felt both and she had everything to do with it. He glanced over, glad to see Jade using the camera he had gotten her as a wedding gift. He was already coming up with plans for their future visits in his head. He'd never forget this. Hearing how happy and in her element Jade felt, Rodrigo didn't care what they made. He was just glad to see her glow. Rodrigo looked around, taking in the place and how carefully planned everything seemed to be. He hadn't realized that his wife was doing the same until he noticed that her line of sight matched his. He had settled his gaze on an older couple endearingly caught up in one another. It made the corner of his lips twitch into a small smile and he looked away to check out their setting, the smile still there. He saw himself and Jade in them. It almost felt meant to be. When the instructor spoke, he looked up, eager to learn about what they'd be making but also hoping he could make friends with the couple he had been admiring.

JADE

Jade was fully enjoying the time she and Rodrigo were spending together. From their wedding day, onward, she was on such a cloud of bliss she'd never experienced for multiple days before. While inside the location of where they were having their cooking class, Jad tried to take her focus off of the elderly couple and hone in on the person leading the class. They'd finished their introduction to the group and then instructed everyone to wash their hands and begin with the roux and chopping the vegetables and andouille sausage that was at their stations and would be going into the gumbo. While everyone shuffled over to the few sinks around the room, Jade wnt with her husband and found them sharing a sink with the elderly couple. She smiled politely to them and said, 'hello' to them while gathering soap on her hands. The husband elbowed Rodrigo good-naturedly and said, "I think we've got the best-looking classmates here."

RODRIGO

When instructed to wash their hands, Rodrigo went off with Jade to do so. It was a pleasant coincidence that they’d end up sharing a sink with the couple they had both been admiring. He smiled at his wife being friendly and he nodded a ‘hello’ as well. When the husband nudged him, he smiled and glanced over to the two ladies and nodded. “Most definitely. How did we get so lucky?” He handed some paper towels to him and dried his hands. “Have you guys done this before? My wife found this event and we just had to do it. She’s always got the great ideas.”

JADE

Jade grinned through her bit of blushing at the exchange between Rodrigo and the older man. She pulled some paper towels for the wife and then dried her own hands as the man replied to Rodrigo, "I suppose we had the right lotto tickets in one pocket and a rabbit's foot in the other." The man had a bit of a Cajun accent as he spoke and then he smiled, "Sure have. We try to look for something to do together either once a week or every other week. Last time we took a cooking class was an Italian class." He turned to his wife, "'Member that, Bev?" he asked, balling up the paper towel he dried his hands with. Jade smiled to the couple and then the wife asked, "I remember. You two aren't from around here, are ya? You on vacation?" She'd looked from Rodrigo to Jade and then smiled wide, "Wait. No. You're on your honeymoon, aren't ya?"

RODRIGO

“ yeahhh that’s gotta be it. I’m Rodrigo.” After drying his hands and tossing the paper towel into the wastebasket, the school teacher extended his hand to shake the older man’s hand. “ that does sound nice though, taking a class every week. My wife and I like to do different things together. This was right up our alley.” When the wife spoke, Rodrigo was about to respond but then she guessed correctly. “That’s amazing! How’d you figure that out?” He chuckled, taking Jade’s hand as they walked to their tables.

JADE

"Jimmy," the man replied, returning Rodrigo's handshake with a firm grip of his own. "Oh we don't take classes every week. We just like doin' something fun - get outta the house once in a while." Jade smiled at him and waved when Rodrigo mentioned her and referred to her as his wife. It was still new and thrilled her hearing it aloud from him. The older woman introduced herself, "Bev. And y'all two just have that look about ya." Jade chuckled as well and introduced herself to the couple as well. As she held Rodrigo's hand, Bev said, "Congratulation and you enjoy yourselves now," before turning to head back to the table with her husband. Jade was still smiling from the encounter as she whispered to Rodrigo, "They're so sweet!" just as the instructor walked the class through preparing the roux and advising everyone to dice most of the vegetables while the others could be cut slightly larger. Jade looked at the ingredients for the roux and the vegetables and asked Rodrigo, "What do you want to do, the roux or the veggies?"

RODRIGO

“Jimmy. So nice to meet you, Jimmy!” Rodrigo smiled at the man and nodded. “Absolutely ! I think that’s great. We’re the same. We’re always wanting to find something new to do or just go out on little dates.” He smiled at Jade when she waved and Rodrigo smiled at the older woman as well. “Bev. So nice to meet you. And thank you so much!” Rodrigo couldn’t stop smiling and he glanced at the couple a few times, nodding at Jade’s words. “They are! They seem so much like us. I can’t explain it.” Even though he didn’t know them at all, Rodrigo could feel a bit of a connection. “I’ll do the …” he thought about it for a moment and then responded, “ the vegetables. I trust you more with the roux!” He chuckled and placed the chopping board on the table before grabbing the knife. “ I just hope I cut these right .”

JADE

Jimmy leaned conspiratorially toward Rodrigo--who was notably taller than him--and loudly whispered, "I say it's the secret to a long and happy marriage." Bev smiled and gave her husband a good-natured shake of her head before giving the newlyweds well wishes and heading back to their table. And when Jade was back to hers and Rodrigo's table, she looked up to him and widened her eyes a bit, "I feel that way too. It really is just a feeling since we don't really know them but I had that feeling about them as well." Jade waited patiently for Rodrigo to decide what he wanted to do and when he chose the vegetables, she smiled and softly giggled, "Thank you, honey. And you'll be just fine. I have faith in you and your cutting abilities." While Rodrigo readied himself, Jade looked around before eyeing a pair of aprons folded at the far corner of the table. Silently, she criticized the instructor for not advising everyone of them and before she got started in the roux, she went to retrieve them. She first unfolded one with a few quick shakes at one corner, and then she stood behind her husband to wrap it around his waist. As she tied it at his back, she said, "I know your hands are busy." After affectionately touching the middle of his back, she turned on the heat for the saucepan, secured her own apron and combined flour and cooking oil, one after the other and stirring it non-stop with a metal whisk. "The day before we leave, do you want to do some shopping? We can pick out some souvenirs to bring back home for ourselves and our families."

RODRIGO

Rodrigo grinned at the man's advice, nodding and looking towards the wives as he did so. "That's some solid advice, Jimmy. I appreciate it." He waved at Bev as they all went back to their stations but was sure to glance in their direction a few times as they began to dive into the recipe. Rodrigo listened to Jade with a small smile thinking about the interaction they just had with the older couple. They looked so happy and so in love. He knew that would be his future with his wife and having a glimpse of that made him feel happy. "Glad we're in sync about these things." He then chuckled at her comment about his cutting skills. "I hope you're right. Oh!" He raised his arms so that Jade could place the apron on him and he then kissed her cheek in gratitude. "Thanks, honey." He began to cut the vegetables as instructed, placing them into a bowl as he finished each one. "I like that idea. I've gotta get something for my mom and Drew for sure and of course Fletcher. Maybe we can get Phoebe a cute little onesie or something." He continued cutting and then looked up, smiling at the older couple. Bev was adjusting Jimmy's tie in the back and Rodrigo looked over to his wife. "See? They're like us."

JADE

Jade listened to Jimmy and Rodrigo with a gentle smile on her lips. It was nice to converse with two people who seemed to be from the area and yet exude a similar demeanor to them. She brightened up even more from Rodrigo having the same feeling she did about them. And when she put the apron on her husband, Jade grinned at his initial reaction and then leaned into his kiss to her cheek. "You're welcome." She got her apron on and got going on the roux knowing it was going to be a bit time-consuming, due to waiting on the heat. But she listened to Rodrigo respond to her suggestion and beamed as he spoke of his family and something to get for Phoebe. "That would be so cute! And I wonder if Drew might like something simple like a deck of cards? Do you think your mom might like something from the jazz museum?" Jade was stirring with the whisk, occasionally using it to break down any clumps of flour. She looked over to Jimmy and Bev and softly giggled when Jimmy smooched his wife's cheek. "Maybe that *will* be us in forty years." Her eyes were full of adoration as she looked up at Rodrigo, but her gaze soon returned to the roux.

The instructor projected some tips and next steps in the recipe for the group to follow. He walked around the room for a bit to look at everyone's progress up close and answer questions that arose for some. Jade was happy to be splitting the work between Rodrigo along the way. Even when the gumbo sat, seemingly finished and merely cooking away in the pot, they were able to move on to preparing the rice and the pralines together. Jade was smiling and laughing a little again at the stickiness of the pralines when it came time to preparing them to go on the parchment-covered cookie sheet to cool. "We have to be quick but careful," she said, reaching for the ice cream scoop. "Do you wanna scoop it or hold the pot near the cookie sheet?"

RODRIGO

Emma, for as long as Rodrigo has known her, has called him an old man and now that he was finding himself enjoying the conversation with Jimmy and Bev, he could see why. Rodrigo cut up the last of his veggies but kept his focus on his wife and her preparation of the roux. He wanted to learn enough to be able to recreate it for them perhaps for an anniversary dish. Little details like that mattered a lot to him. "Oh! Drew would LOVE That. He's definitely a cards man. He's like a man's man, you know? So that's brilliant. Maybe a spirit or something. And Mom would love something from the museum. See? The brains of this relationship." He grinned at Jade, watching her at work. When Jade spoke of the older couple once more, he met her gaze and smiled right back at her. "I think you're right. We're going to be two lovebirds forever."

"Quick but careful, got it." Rodrigo's brows furrowed as he tried to work with the agonizing sensory issues he was experiencing with the praline's stickiness. "I once made pecan pie with my mom and I got brown sugar literally everywhere. You'd think I was like 7 or 8 or something. Nope. I was 23. Fletcher was laughing the entire time. There's video footage of my dilemma somewhere." He couldn't help but chuckle as he assisted his wife. Since she was the pro here, he was fine with being her second. "Okay, I can scoop it." he bared his teeth, making a face of being grossed out but over-exaggerating enough for his wife to know he was being dumb. "Even with gloves on, I felt that stickiness." He shook his head. "Again, this is why you're the pro." He smiled as the instructor approached them and looked pleased with their work. He silently gestured toward Jade with his head as if saying, *isn't she brilliant?*. This caused Bev to chuckle from their station. "Oh he's got it bad!, " She chuckled again and Rodrigo smiled at the older woman. "Darn straight, Bev."

JADE

"I know what you mean about him. I have no doubt we can find a nice deck for him. And your mom is likely to fuss at us for getting her something in the first place but I feel like we could find her something special to let her know that we were thinking of her." At the mention of them being lovebirds forever, Jade automatically glanced down at her wrist tattoo she and Rodrigo got on Valentine's Day and she smiled.

Jade listened to the story from around 7 years ago and looked up from the pot to Rodrigo, thinking for a moment before asking, "Are you sure you don't want me to scoop?" She wouldn't have minded and could see from the looks her husband was giving that it likely wasn't his desire. She picked up the potholders and started to place them over the handles but paused and held them out for Rodrigo. "Sweetie this is ridiculous, you don't need to scoop. Let me." She gently slapped the potholders to his chest and bumped his hip with hers before holding her hand out for the ice cream scooper. But she laughed a little at Bev and Rodrigo's exchange. "It's a two-way street, I promise you," she chimed in, looking from Bev to Rodrigo.

RODRIGO

"She will definitely fuss at us but now she has two kids to yell at." Rodrigo grinned, thinking about how easy it was for his mother to refer to Jade as her daughter. Rodrigo also looked down at his tattoo and smiled at his wife. "This was a great idea by the way. I'd be down to doing stuff like this back at home too by the way. I'm sure there are tons of events just like this. It'll help with improving my cooking skills but also, I get to do it with you which makes everything better."

"I got this!" He declared as confidently as possible but of course, Jade knew better and when she took over, he took the potholders she had given him and smiled sheepishly. "Thanks." He handed her the ice cream scooper and laughed. Jade knew him so well. "Yeah, she's crazy about me. It's my boyish charm for sure." He watched his wife and also the pot she had been handling, making sure he was some help at least. "What about you and Jimmy? How'd you two crazy kids fall in love? Wait, let me guess!" He bit his lip as he thought about the perfect trope for them. "Childhood best friends turned into lovers?"

JADE

Jade laughed a bit at Rodrigo's comment and then relished the warmth from being included as one of Emiliana's children. She knew her mother-in-law already felt that way but now that she and Rodrigo were married, she felt a little differently about it in a good way. "I can't believe I'm going to say this, but I'm actually okay with being fussed at if it's coming from your mom." She chuckled a bit and then said, "I love that idea. We could make it some of our dates if you'd like?"

While she appreciated Rodrigo's persistence, she was glad that he relented and let her handle the scooping. "Thank *you*," she said, glad that he wouldn't have to deal with the sticky texture beyond looking at it before it cooled. She took hold of the ice cream scooper and giggled some more from him referring to his own charm as 'boyish'. "Yes, that's it, among other things," she assured, grinning softly to herself as she scooped the first of the pralines onto the parchment paper lining the cookie sheet. She listened to Rodrigo, Jimmy and Bev while continuing to scoop the pralines in even portions to set and cool. Bev cut in before Jimmy could fully open his mouth, "Oh, we met in school alright, but it was in high school. He was sweet on some stuck-up little thing."

"It was only a little crush, Bev," Jimmy protested, busying himself by stirring their gumbo. He was sure to be blushing. But Bev went on to say, "I was jealous and kept tryin' to sabotage his advances on her. He was so mad at me! At first," she admitted with a laugh and a bit of a sheepish grin. Jade finished setting out the pralines and then asked, "So how did you two end up together?"

"Well, we had some mutual friends who got us to stop with the silly games and give each other an honest try. And we did, after a little bit of pigheadedness on his side."

"Hey!" Jimmy chided, to which Bev laughed. "That date was the beginning of it all for us. What about you two? What's your story?"

RODRIGO

Rodrigo was glad that his mother loved Jade as much as she did. More than that, he was happy and relieved that his wife would have a second chance at having a proper maternal figure in her life. There was no doubt in his mind that his mother would move mountains for Jade and she deserved that. "Good! Because she does it all with love." He chuckled. "And I do love that too." He knew that getting out and experiencing new things together was good for both of their mental health and seeing the perfect example in Bev and Jimmy, Rodrigo wanted to make sure he and Jade ended up just as happy years down the road.

Rodrigo smirked at Jade's response. "I can list all the reasons why I fell for her but we'd be here all day. Also, she made me WORK!" Rodrigo teased. "What can I do next?" Rodrigo whispered but listened intently to Bev as she readied herself to answer his question. "Oh, let me find out, Jimmy!" Rodrigo chuckled and winked at the older man. As he helped his wife, Rodrigo listened to the story, laughing at Jimmy's protest. "But your persistence paid off, Bev! That's great." He glanced over to Jade when she posed the next question and then shifted his gaze to Bev.

"Jimmy, my man you almost missed out!" He smiled at them both. At their question, Rodrigo nudged Jade with his elbow. "You want to take this one and tell them how you ran away from me?" Thinking back now, it was comical how he literally had to run after Jade in the parking lot of the school and how he had promised himself he'd never smoke another cigarette again.

JADE

"I know. It's who *you* get it from," Jade noted. Rodrigo and his mother had their own personalities but they were both very loving and nurturing people in her experience. Even with Emiliana's very protective and intimidating brothers, she couldn't have asked to have married into a better family.

Jade blushed even harder listening to Rodrigo talk about her to the elderly couple. She smiled and then said, "I think all we have left to do is make the rice, which should be easy enough." They had one clean saucepan left and Jade was looking around for the uncooked rice, but the instructor seemed to pick up that everyone was about at the same place with the class and let them know that he had prepared a large pot of rice for the class to use. Jade relaxed from her search and, as everyone quickly dissolved back into varied conversations, she smiled, listening to Rodrigo easily interact with the couple. She admired him having such an effortlesslness at socializing with strangers as though they were longtime friends. And since they had nothing tondo but wait for the pralines to completely cool and for the instructor to let them all know when they could serve up their gumbo, Jade moved to stand beside her husband, slipping an a arm around his waist. "Sure, honey. Rodrigo's a teacher and was taking the lead on directing the students through the school msuical." She went on to explain about her younger siblings being students and her volunteering to help in lieu of their parents. "The time we were spending together led to feelings growing but I was afraid of my feelings and I mistook his ex for a current interest and literally ran from him, and my feelings." Jade was still a bit embarrassed but she looked up at him and said, "Thank goodness he caught me. And yes, I'm a runner. For exercise purposes," she added with a laugh.

RODRIGO

He couldn't believe how lucky he was finding someone who fit in with his family and who is adoring and just special all around. Jade was made for him. Rodrigo was convinced of this.

"Rice I'm great at. If you don't know how to make rice in a Latino household, they kick you out. True story." Rodrigo chuckled and then sighed when the instructor broke the surprise that he had prepared a large pot of rice. "Of course." He couldn't help but laugh again and turned his attention back to their new friends and his wife. He felt Jade's touch and leaned into her, leaving a soft kiss against her temple. He listened intently as she told their story and his smile wouldn't leave his face. It was nice to hear it and it was even nicer hearing Jade tell it. "As soon as I did catch up which left me out of breath and with spleen pain..." He chuckled. "I told her how I felt and one thing led to another and almost a year later, we're married. She's the love of my life."

JADE

Jade giggled from Rodrigo's comment over rice in Latino households, and then she gave him a consoling rub of his arm when the instructor let the class know that there'd be a communal pot of rice for the gumbo each of them prepared. She warmed all over again when he kissed her temple, always loving his kisses. While sliding an arm low around Rodrigo's back, she listened to him and grinned a bit as he finished off their story. Bev and Jimmy were also amused about the literal running the two of them had done. "And he's mine," Jade added without any doubt that Rodrigo was the love of her life.

The instructor soon encouraged everyone's help with cleaning up. He'd run a large sink of warm dish soap; beside the sink was a stainless steel counter. He let the class know that they could place all the utensils, measuring cups and measuring spoons directly in the soapy water and stack the sauce pans, frying pans and cookie sheets on the counter. "While you do that, I'll come around with paper plates for your pralines and bowls and disposable utensils for your gumbo. I'll include some to-go containers and bags as well," the instructor told them. Jade politely excused herself from the elderly couple while slipping her arm from around her husband to start gathering up the cooking and measuring utensils.

RODRIGO

He smirked when Jade giggled. Rodrigo loved to hear her laugh. Anytime he gave her a sliver of happiness, Rodrigo felt like he was on top of the world like he had achieved the greatest thing. In his mind, his wife deserved that. He also hadn't realized until then how much he enjoyed telling their story or hearing it from Jade as she told others. He knew that their relationship and the way they got together was special but hearing it made him feel warm all over again. Meeting Bev and Jimmy was no accident. Surely, this was a glimpse into their future together. He was certain of it. Rodrigo would strive to make Jade this happy for as long as they both lived and he hoped that was for a very long time.

When the instructor spoke and Jade followed his instruction, Rodrigo helped by also gathering up any utensils and measuring cups that Jade didn't. He also took the saucepan so that he could stack it with the others as instructed. He offered to take Bev and Jimmy's things and then followed Jade to the sink. Once they returned, he was happy to see the paper plates and utensils so they could enjoy the meal they had created. Rodrigo rubbed his hands together with a giant grin, taking in the smells from around the room. "This is going to be amazing, I just know it. Are you having fun?" He glanced over to his wife with a smile.

JADE

Jade smiled yet again when Rodrigo came beside her and helped gather up the utensils and things for cleaning up. By the time they were done moving the used dishes, all that had been left at the table was the pot of gumbo, the parchment of pralines and the new disposable dining items dropped off at their table. Jade checked that the stove top was still on low for their gumbo and then she looked up to Rodrigo while pulling out two stools from under the table for them. "I am, yes! I'm really glad we decided to include this with our trip, and that we'll be able to take the extra gumbo with us back to our hotel room." As the class was finishing with clearing their cooking dishes and utensils to the sink, the instructor invited everyone enjoy their creations and help themselves to the large pot of rice. Jade picked up the two bowls and said, "I can get the rice for us, honey." She tilted her chin up in search for a kiss. After pecking his lips, she went to stand in the short line and then scooped a smaller portion of rice in one bowl for herself, and more in the other for Rodrigo. She carefully walked the two back to their table, the steam wafting up from each bowl. Picking up a ladle, she offered it to her husband, "Would you like to do the honors?"

RODRIGO

Rodrigo dried his hands and sat down beside Jade. He looked around at the other participants and smiled before reaching for his wife’s hand. So far, they had been enjoying their honeymoon and both of them were on cloud nine. “Yess having extras is a huge plus.” He chuckled. Whenever there’s food, Rodrigo would be there.

He kissed Jade when she got up to get the rice and watched her with a smile on his face. When she returned, he took the ladle and nodded. “I’d love to, Madame.” Rodrigo poured them a generous amount of the gumbo, the smell exciting him immediately. “Oh my God this smells like love. I can’t explain it.”

JADE

"It was certainly *made* with love," Jade replied, smiling as she took a seat and accepted her bowl from Rodrigo. "Bon appétit, mon amour," she replied in easy French, giving him a wink before dipping her spoon into the bowl. She mixed the rice a bit and then lifted some of the content to cool it off by blowing slowly before taking a bite. Jade shut her eyes and moaned, the flavors practically dancing in her mouth and down her throat. "This is amazing. I feel like being here has helped it taste that much more authentic. And I really loved getting to cook this with you." She enjoyed just a few more small bites before leaning into Rodrigo's side. "This might be my new favorite thing that we've done so far," she told him, a content smile on her lips. While she hadn't eaten much, eating more than two bites in front of so many others - especially people she didn't know - had been a big step for her. She'd relished every single bite and was looking forward to the leftovers later on with Rodrigo. Picking up one of the pralines, she broke the brittle-like dessert in half and bit into it. The sweetness hit her tongue right away and the crunchy texture with the pecans made her smile a bit again. "Pralines arent one of my favorite desserts but I've never really *made* them before today. This turned out really well." Setting the resr down, Jade ladled the rest of their gumbo into the container they were given. She secured its lid once the pot was empty and slid off her stool to add the pot, lid and ladle with the otherndirty dishes. She'd felt odd leaving so many dishes unwashed but the instructor had been clear. When she returned the table, Jade picked up her spoon to take one more bite for now but prior to eating it, asked Rodrigo, "Do you want to get some more rice to take with our leftovers? I'll bet there's still plenty of it left."

RODRIGO

Rodrigo clinked his bowl against Jade's with a smile. "Bon appetit, " He responded, mixing his ride in with the gumbo using his spoon. His excitement was evident on his face as he brought the spoon to his lips. Rodrigo blew on his food for a bit before taking his first taste and he shut his eyes as a smile formed against his lips. "Oh God...." He gathered more onto his spoon and had some more. "This is so good." He pointed to the gumbo with his spoon and nodded in response to Jade's observation. "I agree. I have never tasted gumbo like this and aw, babe..." He leaned into her side as well and smiled. "This has to be our official anniversary dish." He chuckled, making mental notes of all the things he wanted to do next year and the year after and every year after that for as long as they were alive and well. He was proud of Jade for eating the gumbo with the class there. It showed progress and he knew how hard that was for her. Without saying anything about it, he snaked his arm around her waist and kissed the top of her head before releasing her to continue eating. "I've never had pralines, I think. But I'll save that for when we get back to the hotel." He had a few more spoonfuls of his gumbo, eating all of it pretty quickly. Once finished, he walked over to the sink to drop off with the other dirty dishes. When Jade mentioned getting more rice, he reached for their disposable ware. "Good idea. You don't have to ask me twice." He grinned as he sped off to take some more rice for the hotel and came back, adjusting the lid. "Alright! Look at us! " He glanced over to Jimmy and Bev. "How are you two doing over there?"

JADE

"An anniversary dish," Jade echoed thoughtfully and smiled at the idea. She loved the thought of her and Rodrigo revisiting this memory each year, be it at their home or elsewhere. After they finished clearing their station and putting their leftovers in containers, Jade perched herself on the stool for a bit, but looked over to their new acquaintances. At Rodrigo's addressing them, Jimmy said, "My woman put her foot in this gumbo, like she does with everything she makes!" And Bev chuckled, giving her husband a harmless swat, "We made this *together*, Jimmy."

The older man winked and leaned towards Rodrigo, "Yeah, meaning she did the important stuff and I got to taste it."

Jade laughed and Bev rolled her eyes. And when the instructor came around to offer plastic bags and thank everyone for participating, Jade accepted the offer for a bag and began placing all the leftovers inside. Bev and Jimmy really were a lot like them, just a different generation apart. Their likeness, coupled with cooking a meal with Rodrigo had her feeling like the day had been so full in the best possible way. She'd still been feeling much like she had been on the day they'd married--like Rodrigo planted the light of the sun in her heart himself. Every moment spent with him let her love for him stay strong, vibrant and beautiful.

With the class concluding, Jade reached to undo her apron and fold it to leave on the table. She stepped close to Rodrigo and kept her voice intimately low for only him. "As much as I hope that I never forget today, I think I would like to head back to the hotel now. Maybe I could have you all to myself for the rest of the day?"

RODRIGO

"Well, we're in the same boat. I would have dominated the rice but noooo." Rodrigo chuckled at Jimmy's words and began wiping down the counter.

He grinned at both Bev and Jimmy, unable to stop smiling as he listened to them. They were so amazing and so much like him and Jade. He loved the glimpse into their future. He already knew that he and his wife would be forever but seeing it here really made him so giddy. Rodrigo moved to sit beside Jade, waiting for the class to wrap up. He considered asking the other couple if they'd want to meet for a drink while they were in New Orleans but he figured it was best to keep the memory this way.

Rodrigo helped Jade gather their food and watched her get everything together for them. He was the luckiest man in the world. He was so in love with his wife and was moved by the fact that she was experiencing so much happiness on their honeymoon. He wanted to bottle this feeling. Rodrigo's goal was to make sure Jade never felt the way she did while with her mother. He wanted her to have the best experiences, to feel like she can do anything and that she was capable of great things. He removed his apron and folded it as well, leaving it on top of Jade's. When she stepped closer, he placed his hands on her waist, leaning in slightly to hear what she had to say. He smirked, pressing a soft kiss against her cheek and moving a strand of hair behind her ear. "I think that's very doable..." He whispered, waving at their new friends who also seemed lost in one another. He took his wife's hand and they walked back to their card. Once they had arrived at the spot, Rodrigo took the plastic bag from her to leave it in the back seat and then walked back to open the door for her to let Jade in. Before she climbed in, he looked around and then gave her ass a tiny smack before squeezing it. "Come on, I'll give you a warmup before we get to the hotel." He eyed her outfit and grinned at the thought of getting her excited during their drive.

JADE

When the class concluded, Jade collected the bag of their leftovers and, on their way out, told Jimmy and Bev, "It was really nice to meet you both today." She shook their hands and walked out of the venue, feeling positively buoyant. And Rodrigo agreeing to them having alone time just added to it. As much as she was enjoying them seeing and experiencing New Orleans, she equally loved intimate moments with her husband. She smiled gratefully to him when he took the bag from her, "Thank you, honey." And as she approached the passenger's door, she gasped and gave a little start when he smacked and squeezed her butt. A huge grin spread across her lips, "Well now I'm even more excited." She took her seat and buckled up, ready for the ride back to their hotel room.

#para #( paras. )#para: Cooking and love #jadrigo

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cleoenfaserum · 6 months

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CHOLOLATE CREAM MURDERESS

There is no mystery here. We know the whodunit. We also know why she did it, and I am going to let the cat out of the bag, she was crazy bananas or bongas. So what the hell, what piqued my interest was how she went about it which is what is being told and where she ended up.

But the following article which I came across by chance was what set me off to write this blog which I hope you enjoy.

Broadmoor archives go online, revealing the story of its most crazed inmate | Daily Mail Online

This is her ... as she was pictured...

About Christiana Edmunds character... (Wikipedia)

youtube

785-1 https://youtu.be/T3u5NRaveIE

READ: The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer: The Poisonous Passion of Christiana Edmunds – Women's History Network (womenshistorynetwork.org)

A BBC Radio adaptation of John Fletcher's play about Christiana Edmunds, the "Chocolate Cream Killer", who carried out a series of poisonings in Brighton in the early 1870's. When people start falling ill all over early 19th century Brighton, everyone thinks it's cholera due to the lack of proper sewers. Little do the police know that it's actually the work of a middle-aged spinster who, thwarted in love, its taking her revenge on all of the citizens of Brighton with very special montelimars and pralines. Obsession, bad drains, royalty, murder and chocolate all play their part ...

youtube

785-2 https://youtu.be/TUvG2dm5eVQ

The Great Chocolate Murders : John Fletcher : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

READ: A historical murder: The Chocolate Box Poisoner - Robin Stevens (robin-stevens.co.uk)

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley Ep 11 - Christiana Edmunds: The Case of the Chocolate Cream Killer Lucy Worsley looks at the crimes of women from the 19th and early 20th centuries from a contemporary, feminist perspective.

Lucy explores the story of Margaret Garner, an enslaved mother in 1850s America, who commits a murder that transforms her into an icon of tragedy and resistance. Her life inspired Tony Morrison’s Pulitzer-winning novel Beloved.

To explore Margaret Garner’s remarkable story and its contemporary resonances Lucy is joined by Nikki M Taylor, Professor of African American History at Howard University in Washington DC and the author of Driven Towards Madness: The Fugitive Slave Margaret Garner and Tragedy on the Ohio.

Margaret Garner and her small four children are owned by a farmer in the slave state of Kentucky, and they live a tantalising 16 miles from Cincinnati in the free state of Ohio. Margaret and her husband Robert, who is enslaved on a nearby farm, decide to risk their lives, and the lives of their children, for a chance of freedom on the other side of the Ohio River. On the night of 27th January 1856, in temperatures close to -20 degrees celsius, the family escapes on a sleigh and, against the odds, they evade capture and make it across the frozen river to what they hope will be freedom and safety. But their owners are hard on their heels, and soon Margaret will have to give a terrible answer to the question ‘is slavery a fate worse than death?’.

Lucy wants to know what life was like for Margaret as an enslaved woman, wife and mother. How can we hear the voices of enslaved women when they left so few records of their lives? What does Margaret’s story tell us about the lives of black women in America today? What effect did her story have on the abolitionist movement, and how can her story inform the fight against slavery and sex trafficking today?

youtube

785-3 https://youtu.be/W4si-Wpu_kc

11. Christiana Edmunds – Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley (australian-podcasts.com)

READ OR LISTEN... Broadmoor revealed: The Victorian asylum | The National Archives

READ: Victorian Broadmoor revealed in free online book - BBC News

Broadmoor is Britain's most notorious hospital prison for the criminally insane, whose infamous inmates have included Ronnie Kray and 'Yorkshire Ripper' Peter Sutcliffe. Currently Broadmoor houses 400 of the most difficult, disturbed and dangerous people in Britain. With material from inside the hospital, this film offers a unique insight into how a civilised society treats those who are both bad and mad. Originally broadcast in 2002.

youtube

785-4 https://youtu.be/-4BaCt5tlgI

#Youtube

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ratsoh-writes · 3 years

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My curiosity got me, so here is my submission for a match up. Sorry it’s so long! I look forward to seeing your reasoning.

PERSONALITY TRAITS:

MOM FRIEND: I’m the friend that is almost over prepared for any situation and is protective, usually keeping others out of too much trouble or danger, but not stopping them from doing that stupid thing. Some people will only learn from doing it and so long as it won’t seriously injure or kill them, go for it. And I mean I am seriously prepared for most situations: I have fluffy throw blankets and pillows in my car for those who get cold, extra towels just in case we somehow get wet, umbrellas/ponchos for those who need one, snacks/water just in case someone gets hungry/thirsty, first aid kit for small injuries, etc. Ironically, I am the only one without a kid so far.

Extension of this would be my habit to act as the friend “nurse.” Willing to spend hours taking care of a friend who isn’t feeling well and give platonic cuddles if needed.

Another extension of this is my need to feed anyone who comes over. I think my love language is acts of service after typing all this.

I’M LISTENING: Always willing to offer an ear, even if I don’t believe I can council you. Plus, for some reason, people just end up splurging life stories or something that is bothering them to me. My life is mostly spent as that Naruto meme: “I have no clue what is going on, but I’ll pretend that I do.” But I’m responsible about it, I won’t offer advice I’m not sure about and will usually refer you to someone else I feel is up to the task.

PATIENT: Earned after years in customer service dealing with toddlers disguised as customers and also with friends who far exceed my energy levels. It takes a good bit to anger me or very specific things to set me off, such as when I have asked you to please stop bringing up that stressful memory of mine again and again.

I am told I am terrifying when I’m actually pissed. Most times I don’t remember much when I actually snap, just that it happened, but details are fuzzy.

CHILL: My counselor once told me if I “Was any more laid back, I’d be on her floor.” And to a point, she is correct. My house was on fire and my reaction wasn’t panic at the time, it was this odd calm that even when I reported the fire to my sister and authorities, they didn’t believe me until I showed them said fire. I am reserved with those I don’t know well or are not comfortable around. Once I trust you or you get me on a topic I love, I’m surprisingly passionate and animated.

I feel this fits under here, but I also tend to do things at my own pace. And not much can change that pace, but I will get what I set out to do done.

WHY ME?: Too many people tell me I’m a natural leader, even got awards for it, but I never volunteer or want to be the leader in anything. Usually, I just end up in that role somehow, some way. Most times because I hate disorganized messes and those times the people I am with have trouble making concrete decisions and need some guidance to work out what they really want to do or the pressure to actually make a decision. I may be an unwilling leader, but I will step up if needed.

WHIMSICAL: Sarcasm, dry and sometimes cheesy humour, and an attitude to boot, but it’s rarely to be mean. Most times it is me being playful and if I’m teasing you, that usually is a sign I like you and enjoy your company. Plus, sometimes people need a little laugh or a spark of different emotion to get them out of a funk.

INTEGRITY: I could absolutely despise someone, but like hell I’m going watch them suffer. In the same sense, if I take a job, I will do it right and not half ass it. And far too many times I’ve had to step in and explain certain concepts in order to disperse negativity or help others see from another perspective to avoid adversity.

CUDDLE BUG: With people I am comfortable with, I am a cuddly person and do not mind a lot of skinship. I am used to friends hanging all over me. Plus, sometimes I just want to curl up someone as well.

STRENGTHS:

Observant

Good communication skills & honest

Responsible & reliable

Full Size Human Heater. I am ridiculously warm and always putting off heat. Friends and coworkers alike use me as a portable heater.

Surprisingly good at being sly and collecting information if needed, like getting a shoe or ring size without tipping the person off it’s for a gift. If they manage to call it, I always fess up and playfully make a fuss they ruined the surprise.

WEAKNESSES:

Terrible at lying, so I tend to simply keep my mouth shut instead

Willfully oblivious to flirting and absolute flustered mess once I am forced to recognize said flirting

Vast open waters terrify me

Tendency to keep my troubles to myself and try to solve problems on my own (don’t want to be a burden)

Can become despondent if I feel useless at times

HOBBIES:

ART: I’ve dabbled in several different medias, but my favorite is just a pencil or pen and any paper I can get my hands on. I love drawing figures in dynamic poses. Second favorite is sculptures built from wire.

COSTUMES: I love Halloween, since it is the perfect excuse to make and wear my homemade costumes. It also lets me challenge myself by making more complicated pieces like hooves, horns, and even chain mail.

BAKING/COOKING/CANDY MAKING: I’m the cook in the house and I love it. Seeing people enjoy my food is my favorite part. Just don’t ask me for a recipe, I literally don’t have any and I won’t remember what I did.

ORGANIZING/CLEANING: I love puzzle games like Tetris and Catherine, and I love a challenge. Combine the two by having me organize and rearrange a space to make it work and I am in heaven.

STORYTELLING: When a story needs to be told, I am the one asked to tell it. Specifically I have such an entertaining way of telling it according to others. Animated and colorful language, plus a few pit stops along the way with some side stories.

PET PEEVES:

CONTRARY: Do not tell me to do something while I am doing it. That will kill any motivation I had to do it.

BACKHANDED COMPLIMENTS: It is possible to compliment someone without insulting them or others at the same time. It just makes the compliment feel empty and negative. And I tend to just hum and not reward that behaviour.

TOO MUCH ATTENTION: I don’t mind attention… from people I trust and are comfortable with. Feel free to cuddle and coddle away. But vast amounts of attention from those I feel are strangers or acquaintances will unnerve me (I have literally left functions immediately where I walked in and was bombarded with shouts and attention aimed at me-sensory overload I guess).

ODD HABITS:

NESTING: No, I don’t think I have enough blankets and pillows. Yes, the giant stuffed animal is needed and his name is Snuffie.

CRUSH ME: I’m serious, some days I need one of my friends or my bf to just lay all their dead weight on top of me. It’s just oddly therapeutic.

NO, I’M NOT PREGNANT: Just cause I ate that jar of olives in one sitting or suddenly was craving jalapeno juice and crushed ramen noodles. There are never enough pickles and yes, I am determined to try every kind–I may have a vinegar addiction.

IRONY: I bake some of the tastiest, sweetest desserts and make pralines and caramels, YET I myself do not favor sweet things.

HANDS: One thing I tended to do with nearly every boyfriend and guy friend I had was play with their hands and put their hands on my face/head. I lived for being pet and having people play with my hair.

NONVERBAL MOMENTS: Sometimes words are just too much, so I instead make sounds. Can be anywhere from a growl to a cat like noise, or the reliable “Nyeh.”

NO NOs:

I think I listed a few as I went through everything else, but ignoring boundaries is the main one. If I tell you I’m not comfortable with something, do not make me repeat myself. And usually that something is given a pass the first few times it is done before I say something and explain why I’m not comfortable with it.

Example: I have thick, curly hair, a product of my mixed heritage. Well, sometimes I like to straighten it and I did just that one day. Well, a coworker decided to make a backhanded compliment, stating I should stick to what works: straight hair over my natural hair. I had gotten on him about it, but I decided to vent to a friend about what happened as well. She proceeded to constantly repeat those hurtful words and while I knew she meant it playfully during those times, I had to stop her and sit her down, explain I don’t find it funny cause the words are linked to a hurtful, possibly racist memory that I didn’t want brought up again and again. Thankfully she understood and stopped. So, I don’t snap immediately and I understand sometimes a sit down needs to be done.

Ok first of all I gotta say that I absolutely loved reading your matchup!!! It’s so well organized, detailed, and the descriptions are pretty creative!!! Do you do any writing yourself, because you should!!! alright, geek out moment over.

i’ve got three guys you’re perfect for, but let’s go for the obvious one. HONEY!!

You’ve checked off everything on honey’s list: caring, organized, laid back, and good for cuddling. Now here’s what he has to offer to the table: he will cuddle you back. This guy is the ultimate cuddle slut. You’ll never feel unloved with him. Honey is also a very thoughtful and appreciative guy. He likes caring for his partners. You may be the mom friend, but he’ll do his best to return that love as well.

Honey is a little awkward, but he’s also sensitive and empathetic to how others feel. If he puts his foot in his mouth, just tell him and he’ll never bring it up again. Plus this guy is just so honest and genuine that backhanded compliments aren't really a thing with him.

Also you like costumes!!! He’s always wanted to try cosplay or theatre. You just might be the person to give him the courage to finally stick to one.

dating honey includes:

cuddles upon heaps of soft things. He has his own collections of ridiculously soft blankets and pillows that he’ll happily add to your collection. Honey is also a master at pillow forts.

honey is a good listener. He’ll be happy to just sit back and enjoy the stories you tell. There is start though, who is also the storyteller of the underswap home. Any funny story you give about your time together will be rewarded by star with a funny story from his and honey’s childhood, much to honey’s embarrassment

if you don't really like sweet things but love baking them, then honey and star will happily finish them for you. People are usually surprised about how just how much skeleton monsters can pack away.

he’s a picky eater and will give you the wtf face when you fufil your weird cravings though lol

Oh! Also if you’re wondering, the other two would’ve been either oak or coffee

#undertale imagines #underswap #matchups #submission

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artificialqueens · 4 years

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Not Nineteen Forever (20) (Branjie/Scyvie/Ninex) - Ortega

a/n: hey hey! thank u so much if u gave a lil note or sent a bit of love my way for ch19. it was really my fav to write so far so i’m so glad it resonated with at least somebody!! there is only one more chapter to this whole fic after this and i’m emosh. after the rollercoaster ride we’ve all been on, i hope u enjoy this fun lil chapter as much as i loved writing it!

please note: this fic contains young adults often behaving in irresponsible/unadvisable ways with regards to alcohol, drugs and sex. if you are someone who feels as if they could be heavily influenced by fic and incorporate what happens in the plot into ur own life, pls steer clear!

summary: Brooke, Yvie and Nina are three flatmates who forged a friendship in their first year of university and picked up some other waifs and strays along the way. Now in their final year, there are feelings that need to be unravelled and confessions to be made whilst navigating drunk nights, hungover mornings, takeaways, group chats, library meetups, cafe gossiping, and the small matter of getting a degree.

last chapter: Brooke, Nina, Silky and Vanjie were locked in the library, and Brooke and Vanessa finally talked things out like adults.

this chapter: exams are over, dissertations are submitted, degree classifications are being allocated and the girls are nervously waiting for adult life to hit them like a freight train. what better way to avoid thinking about responsibilities than to go to the beach?

***

The day had started, as most of Scarlet’s days often do, with a message to the group chat.

Well, no, that was a bit of a lie. Scarlet’s day had started with her making breakfast, talking to her Mums over facetime as she ate it, and reassuring them that no, she hadn’t found out her degree classification yet and when she did they’d be the first to know. It was hard beginning each day with her heart in her mouth, frantically checking her phone to see if the website had been updated and then trying to relax when she found out it hadn’t been. Scarlet tried not to think too much about it, post-Uni life that is, but with each passing day it became an unignorable fact that she had to face. Graduation season was a mere month away and Scarlet didn’t want to face it but she had to, because the reality was that Scarlet didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life. Not a single clue. Gone were the days of six-year-old Scarlet, who spent the mornings being an actress with a short break at lunchtime to develop her career in the veterinary sector and finishing the day off creating new play-dough recipes for her Michelin-star restaurant. High school had been so good at pushing everyone into a university-shaped mold but now that Scarlet had completed her three years there she felt a little like the aquarium fish in Finding Nemo once they had escaped their glass box: stuck in a plastic bag bubble, thrown out into the vast, unexplored ocean, and simply asking herself now what? Really, what could she do with a Philosophy degree? Everyone asked her the same question when she’d been making her UCAS choices and now here she was asking herself the same thing. She wished she could remember what 18-year-old Scarlet had replied. Her Mums had been surprisingly supportive of the whole endeavour, but then again they had probably been happy to have their pouty, whining teenage daughter out of the house. Funny how times change, Scarlet thought to herself as she squeezed a generous dollop of washing-up liquid onto the sponge and dunked her empty plate into the hot water she’d filled the sink with. Her Mums had just been on the phone encouraging Scarlet to move back home while she decided on what to do next. It was tempting, but the prospect of being back in the country all isolated and away from her friends and Yvie and the exciting busy-ness of the city didn’t exactly fill Scarlet with glee.

Hearing her phone buzz against the counter, Scarlet almost smashed her newly-dried plate in her haste to read the notification just in case it was an email about her classification. It wasn’t. It was, however, a message from the girls. Nina, to be precise.

Kim Kardashian-West: GUYS it’s meant to be the SUNNIEST day today and Monet’s flat are all going to the beach!!! we should all go too!

Scarlet frowned, looking at the decidedly grey sky. It didn’t exactly inspire much hope.

Yvie’s bitch: Are you sure you’re reading the forecast for today? It looks a bit grey outside xxxx

Kim Kardashian-West: Scarlet I’m a primary teacher. A basic knowledge of the days of the week are kind of an entry level requirement

cursed SatNav voice: Am I FUCK going to sit freezing my ass off on the sand watching the rain piss down all around me!!

cursed SatNav voice: If i wanted to get soaked I would just call Brooke xoxo

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag for Life: No.

cursed SatNav voice: Ain’t that right @Brooke Lynn Hytes

Maple Syrup: you know it bby xoxo

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag for Life: Hell. I’m in hell.

Scarlet snorted a laugh. Akeria could well have been joking or deadly serious. Looking up and out of the tiny little window that was positioned beside the sink, Scarlet swore she could see a small ray of sunshine fighting through the clouds. She tilted her head, considering Nina’s offer.

Okay Then: yes i am absolutely down to get blackout day drunk today

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag for Life: Bitch it’s 11am who hurt you

Okay Then: listen this is perhaps the only time of our lives where we have literally no responsibilities at all. i’m getting drunk

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag for Life: I sent off nine masters’ applications yesterday.

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag for Life: No responsibilities my ass

Okay Then: well as huge as it is, i’m sure even it could use a little sun xo

large incongruous silkworm spiced praline: WHY ARE YOU HOES ALL SO SENSIBLE AND GLOOMY? I’M WITH PLASTIQUE LET’S GO GET DRUNK

Maple Syrup: Ooooh now you mention it a fruity cider would go down so well right now

Yvie’s bitch: Yeah go on then, I’m down!! Xxxxxxx

Scarlet’s bitch: Scarlet it’s literally 13 degrees outside you’re insane

Scarlet’s bitch: but admittedly you are also my girlfriend who i love very much

large incongruous silkworm spiced praline: EW

Scarlet’s bitch: so if you’re down i’m down

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag for Life: UGH fine i’ll go if all you idiots are too

Kim Kardashian-West: AAAH you guys this makes me so HAPPY!!!

Kim Kardashian-West: We only need Vanjie for a full house

Maple Syrup: Vanjie if you come I’ll let you suck my dick

cursed SatNav voice: How big is it

Maple Syrup: 2.75 inches when fully erect

Maple Syrup: Invisible to the human eye when flaccid

cursed SatNav voice: Hard pass

Scarlet’s bitch: Jesus Harvey Christ

cursed SatNav voice: But you bitches convinced me so i’m in

It turned out that most of the girls were still in their pyjamas, much like Scarlet, so they were given an hour to shower and make their way there. They were lucky that the city sat on the coast, and although much of the coastline was dedicated to harbours and pebble beaches there was one little beautiful strip of sand that lay about a half-hour bus ride out to the suburbs. Yvie and Brooke were getting a lift from Plastique and so they offered the last seat to Scarlet, but Scarlet didn’t want to take the girls out of their way. Besides, the sun was peeking out a little stronger now, and if it was to fully appear then it would be perfect weather for earphones, a summer playlist, and looking out of a bus window pretending she was in a music video.

Stepping outside of her flat, Scarlet was glad she’d ended up choosing dungaree shorts and a plain white t-shirt. It was definitely warmer than it looked, and she had to sweep her hair up into a ponytail to stop her neck getting too hot. She stopped off at the corner shop for a four-pack of cider (Brooke’s message had made her want some) and then walked over to the bus stop, where she managed to get one after not too long of a wait and sat on the top deck, letting the growing rays of sun fry her through the window. Once she was off the bus, she checked her phone for the meetup point. Nina, Monet and her flatmates were sat on the sand “around 10 metres in front of the chippy. But Monet has no concept of measurement so it’s anyone’s guess, really.”. Scarlet didn’t mind a small walk to find them. The promenade was packed with people all dressed in Summer clothes, the pavement giving off that smell of hot gravel which always reminded Scarlet of hot days and happy memories. The platinum-white sun cast its rays over the deep blue of the sea so that little diamonds sparkled against the waves, all tumbling over each other lazily and every so often giving a satisfying crash which mingled with the sounds of dogs barking and children giving happy cries. Scarlet found the chip shop but couldn’t see the girls amongst the mass of bodies laid out on the golden sand, so she shot Nina a text. As she waited for a reply, Scarlet took a deep breath and was hit with the unmistakable smell of the sea and chippy batter combining at once. She was a Winter person- she preferred frosty mornings and dark twinkly nights and getting cosy with a searing hot coffee and her duvet, but she loved how happy Summer seemed to make everyone, the sense of community that came with a hot, sunny day. Once Nina had given the other landmark of “there’s a guy with an inflatable sofa to our immediate right”, Scarlet managed to find the girls with no trouble and she was soon dashing towards them excitedly and letting out an embarrassingly childish squeal as she reached Nina and crashed into her in a hug.

“Scarlet!” she greeted her cheerfully, much of her face obscured by a huge floppy woven sunhat. Breaking out of the hug, she turned to address Monet’s flatmates. “Guys, you remember Scarlet, right?”

There was a chorus of welcoming noises as the other girls greeted her, some more distractedly than others. Cracker was busy rubbing her arm with a thick streak of white sunblock which seemed to have the same consistency as double cream, Bob was laid out against a bright pink beach towel with a set of huge sunglasses over her eyes, and Monique was trying her best to remove the cork from a bottle of cava. Monet was by Nina’s side, her head resting against her girlfriend’s shoulder as she stretched her legs out and buried her feet in the sand.

“Hey, congrats for finishing uni, Miss Scarlet,” Monet smiled at her, Scarlet smiling back despite the fact she was being reminded of adult life hurtling towards her like a bullet train.

“Thanks! Congrats to you both too. How does it feel to have an actual certified genius for a girlfriend?”

“Like I’m horrifically inferior and will never amount to anything.”

“Shut up!” Nina battered her on the arm, outraged as Monet and Scarlet shared a laugh. Nina had received a mark of 95 on her dissertation, a number that the girls had considered impossible to attain at university, but Nina had managed it. It was quite revolutionary as far as undergrad research went; a study into how well-prepared teachers felt to support transgender children in schools, with recommendations as to how to do just that within its conclusion and a call for councils to give further money and resources to the cause. “Your diss was amazing as well.”

“Yeah, what do you mean that more research into ability groupings in maths isn’t groundbreaking?” Monet rolled her eyes, laughing again as Nina protested.

“Who knew so much effort went into a primary teaching degree? I always thought your dissertation would be to…I don’t know, write a children’s book, or make a picture out of pasta spirals and glitter, or create a nursery rhyme or something,” Cracker piped up, Bob giving a snort beside her. Monet looked ready to defend her degree angrily when Nina sat up straight and fixed Cracker with an intrigued look.

“Oh, a nursery rhyme? Like…there was a young girl named Cracker, who was an incredible slacker. Her degree was dumb, so she tried to make fun, of her friends who decided to smack her.”

Scarlet let out a screech, as did Monique and Bob. Cracker could only burst out laughing and throw her hands up in defeat as Monet grabbed Nina’s face and pressed an emphatic kiss to her girlfriend’s cheek.

“Oh my fucking God, babe, I love you so much,” she laughed, wiping away a tear of mirth from her eye.

“Love you too!” Nina smiled happily, just as Monique finally got the cork out of the bottle with a satisfying, hollow pop.

“Aw, you hoes got champagne on arrival? How fancy.”

The girls turned around at the familiar voice to find Silky, Akeria and Vanjie all making their way towards them from the promenade. Excited again, Scarlet ran to hug them, namely Vanjie who she hadn’t seen since their final exam. They hadn’t spent too much time together but it had been enough time for Vanessa to elaborate on the story she’d told the girls in the group chat of how she, Silky, Brooke and Nina had all somehow been locked in the library overnight. Scarlet knew that had had something to do with the fact that she and Brooke were friends again. She didn’t know whether they’d fucked their frustrations out or actually talked like adults, but whatever they’d done Scarlet was glad about it. Whether or not they were reconnecting with a view to getting back together or not, Vanessa and Brooke were back to flirting on the group chat like high schoolers, and all was back to normal.

“Right, who’s wanting some of this? I’m not sure I got enough for everyone, though,” Monique asked loudly. Scarlet didn’t miss the way Vanessa stayed silent as the other girls clamoured for some fizz. She knew Vanjie had broken things off with Monique, whatever “things” were, and Scarlet somehow didn’t think she was enjoying being on the other side of a breakup much either.

“Did you even bring cups?” Bob asked, sitting up and quirking an eyebrow at her flatmate. Monique groaned.

“Ah, fuck, cups.”

“You absolute idiot sandwich,” Cracker rolled her eyes at her. Her eyes darted quickly to Vanessa before she stood up and grabbed her purse from her backpack. “C’mon. I’ll come to the shops with you and we can get some.”

The two girls walked away as Silky, Akeria and Vanessa all laid out what looked to be a duvet cover that they’d brought with them in lieu of a towel or blanket. Scarlet didn’t even think to question it. She knew it had been Silky’s idea without needing to ask.

“I feel like a dick,” Vanessa jerked a thumb towards Monique’s retreating frame.

“Don’t,” Monet and Bob said in unison, Nina letting out a small laugh.

“Y’all are The Shining levels of creepy,” Akeria frowned, digging out three huge bottles of beer from a shopping bag and giving one to each of her flatmates.

“Well, we’re right! You were friends with benefits, everyone knew that. It’s not Monique’s fault she caught feels but it sure as hell ain’t yours either,” Bob shrugged, ever the blunt but honest friend.

“So what is going on with you and Brooke now?” Monet asked, leaning forward and propping herself up on her elbows. Vanessa fixed her with an unimpressed look.

“Gee Monet, whatever happened to so how’ve you guys been, or how was exams, or literally any other small talk?”

“Yeah, and whatever happened to it’s none of our business?” Nina side-eyed her girlfriend disapprovingly.

“Well, girl! We’ve been in dissertation hell for a month and a half. Shit kinda got boring,” Monet shrugged semi-apologetically. “Anyway Vanjie, Monique’s away and Brooke’s not here yet and I doubt you want to talk about it when either of those two are here in front of you? And I’ve been trying to grill Neens about it but she keeps using lame excuses like we shouldn’t be getting involved and shouldn’t you be thinking about your classroom, so c’mon, bitch, spill.”

Vanessa smiled slightly, gesturing as if it was obvious. “Well, she knows I love her. And she loves me.”

Monet let out an “aaw!” at the same time Akeria let out an “ugh”. Vanjie ignored them both and continued.

“But she hurt me, so I ain’t lettin’ her get back in my good books that easy. Of course I wanna be with her, more than anything else in the world, but we need to get that trust back before I even entertain the idea.”

“So have you…y’know…had any kinky, passionate reunion sex yet?” Monet winked at her. Vanessa looked at her flatmates, a humoured smile playing on her lips.

“Akeria’s threatened to kick me out the flat if I even so much as think about it.”

The girls howled with laughter as Akeria tried to suppress a smile. “She thinks I’m joking.”

“I really don’t,” Vanjie raised her eyebrows at her, Akeria playfully shoving her onto the fluffy sand beside her and causing her to get it all up her side. “God fucking damnit, now I don’t even get to look nice when she arrives.”

“Oh, here she comes now, actually,” Silky said, nonplussed. Vanessa scowled at her.

“Quit playin’.”

Scarlet followed Silky’s gaze. “No, Vanj, she actually is.”

As Vanessa muttered a shit, Scarlet waved excitedly at Plastique, Brooke and Yvie, smiling when the latter pulled a goofy face and waved back. Plastique seemed to be carrying something huge and wooden underneath her arm.

“Lord Jesus, what the hell is she doing,” Silky shook her head as the girls came closer into view. Scarlet jumped up happily to hug her girlfriend, Brooke muttered a soft hey as she sat down next to Vanjie and hugged her, and Plastique, after she’d greeted the others, unfolded a multicoloured striped deckchair.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me,” Scarlet let out a laugh, unsure whether to be impressed or exasperated by Plastique’s levels of extra.

“What?! It’s a sunny day, we’re at the beach, this is literally what deckchairs are for! Have fun getting sand in every possible orifice, losers,” she stuck out her tongue at them as she sat back and gave a happy sigh.

“Ariel not joining us today?” Nina asked.

“Nah, she’s gone home to see her parents. Why the hell you’d want to go home now when you could be dragging out your last month of uni life is totally beyond me, but hey.”

Yvie gave a deep laugh. “Plastique, your family have a townhouse in London, a chalet in Chamonix with membership to a private ski resort, and a literal penthouse in Dubai with an outdoor pool on a balcony. Why the fuck are you here?”

The girls all exploded with laughter, even Plastique conceding with a smile and a self-aware shrug that she was a rich bitch.

“Hey, I’m moving back in after graduation and won’t see you guys for ages, let me enjoy your shitty company.”

“You could fly us all out,” Brooke smiled hopefully, cracking the top off her bottle of cider with her keys.

“Yeah, lemme borrow twenty grand off my Mum real quick,” Plastique snorted sardonically.

Bob reached across to Monique’s cava, giving a small sip. “I’m moving home too. Gotta save money.”

“At least you both know what you’re doing,” Scarlet rolled her eyes, trying not to sound too bitter and accidentally just coming out with the verbal equivalent of black coffee. Luckily, Brooke held out her bottle and nodded emphatically.

“We can’t all have Akeria’s serial-killer levels of ambition or just walk into a job like Monet and Nina.”

“Hey! It’s a probationary year that we could literally fail if we screw up, stop thinking we have things easy,” Nina protested.

“How could you possibly fail being a teacher unless you literally boot a child in the face?” Yvie laughed in disbelief. Seeing Monet and Nina gearing themselves up for a verbal sparring match, she gesticulated wildly. “I’m kidding, ladies, I’m kidding! You work very hard and kids are little shits and you don’t get paid enough. Happy?”

“Very,” Monet rolled her eyes, accepting the cava that Bob held out to her and taking a swig before passing it to Nina.

“What’re you guys doing after uni?” Bob asked, then instantly cringed hearing the groans she got in response. “Sorry, sorry, I forgot that question is basically Satan incarnate.”

“Well, I applied to a bunch of newspapers. But the journalism industry is a shitshow anyway, so fuck knows what I’m doing or if they’ll even accept me,” Silky sighed. Her mood was decidedly flat. It was rare for her to be anything other than high-energy, volume turned all the way up to 100.

“Well, your classification might help!” Bob said comfortingly. Scarlet looked at Silky to gauge her reaction. She didn’t know if she’d been given hers yet, but the girl’s embarrassed face soon gave her an answer.

“Well I got a 2:2, so. Probably not,” she shrugged, Bob trying to backtrack apologetically. Scarlet felt bad for Silky. There was nothing wrong with a 2:2 and a degree was still a degree, but she knew how much Silky believed that despite her grades not being great, she’d still pull it out of the bag in the end, maybe manage one essay that pulled her marks up. Even though the girls were all still proud of her, it was another thing for her to let herself down.

“We’re still proud of you, Silky. You worked fucking hard and you got your degree, and that’s something to celebrate,” Nina smiled affirmingly, holding the cava out for Silky to drink. She smiled gratefully at the girls around her before accepting.

“Thanks, ladies,” she said quietly, before taking a swig. The cava seemed to return Silky back to normal, and she cried out after drinking. “An’ besides! 2:1s are boring anyway. Go hard or go home, bitch, and I’m goin’ the fuck home!”

The girls indulged Silky in a laugh. They sat for a while, chatting easily and passing the bottle of cava around, the lack of cups now not so much of a problem as it had seemed previously.

“Hey, anyone want a paddle?” Brooke asked suddenly. Scarlet gave a snort of outrage.

“You’re insane. That water’s got to be minus five.”

“Oh, come on! It’ll be fun! Vanj?” Brooke asked, her voice hopeful. Vanessa shrugged easily, casting the girl a quick smile and then dragging Akeria and Silky to their feet.

“To be fair, I am getting really warm. Getting my feet cold might be nice,” Nina reasoned out loud. Monet jumped up with her cheerfully. “Yvie, you coming?”

“Nah. Think I’ll stay here with my girl,” Yvie squeezed Scarlet’s hand, Scarlet smiling back at her happily.

“Awww, Yvie! You’re too cute,” Plastique cried sarcastically from her deckchair, the other girls laughing. She was too busy sunbathing to paddle, but Bob decided she’d follow Monet’s lead and join the others in the water. Scarlet laughed as she watched her friends tear down to the sea like children, the white spray flying into the air as they all hit the water at once.

“We’re friends with actual kids,” Yvie laughed, Scarlet nodding in agreement.

“God, we really are,” she smiled affectionately, watching Akeria take a step into the sea then jump back as if it was made of molten lava and not freezing cold water. Just as the girls had left, Scarlet became aware of two sets of footsteps approaching behind them. It was Cracker and Monique, back from the shops with a plastic bag twirling around Monique’s hand.

“Hey,” Scarlet greeted them cheerfully, then added, by way of explanation, “They’ve gone into the sea.”

“Oh, fun!” Cracker beamed. Monique picked up the bottle of cava and rolled her eyes. There was a shot-sized dribble at the bottom.

“You sons of bitches are nothing if not predictable,” she laughed, fishing a brand new bottle out of the plastic bag along with a set of cups. Yvie held her hands out apologetically and Monique shook her head, letting her know all was forgiven. Scarlet looked out to the water again. Bob had Monet on her back and Vanessa was leaping on Brooke’s, Brooke unable to catch her from the amount she was laughing. It looked as if they were about to do some sort of race or fight. Vanessa finally got onto Brooke’s back, her arms looping around her shoulders like a bush baby.

“So. That’s that then,” Monique gave a little sigh as she looked out to sea. Scarlet did a double-take as she looked at her. Her expression was mostly hidden behind her huge mirrored sunglasses, but Scarlet could see the small frown on her face. She knew who her gaze had fallen on. Scarlet felt bad for the girl.

“Hey, don’t take it personally. Vanjie thought you were great, she really did. She told me all the time,” Scarlet said reassuringly, Monique giving her a little smile of gratitude. “You know that way when you’re still hung up on someone you love. That’s all it is.”

Monique rubbed her arms, wrapping them around herself in a hug. “My own damn fault for catchin’ feelings.”

“Happens to the best of us, girl,” Yvie piped up. Cracker smiled at the pair of them gratefully, squeezing Monique’s shoulder supportively.

“We’ve been trying to tell her that.”

Monique laughed suddenly as she saw Silky chasing the girls with a huge, slimy-looking clump of seaweed she’d fished out of the water. The smile remained on her face as her laughter died down and she looked at Scarlet and Yvie inquisitively. “Brooke’s gonna treat her nice, right?”

Scarlet thought about Brooke’s helplessness after her and Akeria’s birthday weekend, her heartbroken confession of love in the toilets of the grubby karaoke bar. She watched how tightly Brooke was holding Vanessa on her back, as if to let go of her would be a crime. Scarlet smiled at Monique. “She will. I know she will.”

Seemingly satisfied, Monique kicked her sandals off and turned to Cracker. “You wanna go paddle?”

“Girl, I thought you’d never ask.”

Scarlet was satisfied staying with Yvie on the sand. They turned to Plastique only to find her napping in her deckchair, her skin beginning to take on an ever-so-slightly pink hue. Deciding to avoid Plastique’s potential wrath if they woke her up, Monique and Cracker dashed down to the ocean to join the other girls. Scarlet sat quietly with Yvie for a moment, taking in the scene of their friends all clowning around in the water.

“You still looking for jobs?” Yvie asked her. Scarlet sighed. She didn’t mind talking about post-uni life with Yvie, didn’t mind being honest about how scared and unsure she was with the person who loved her and she loved back.

“Yeah. It’s hard applying without my classification, though. And, I guess, even harder when you’ve got no idea what the hell you want to do with your life.”

Scarlet gave a self-deprecating laugh which Yvie gently joined in with. Yvie laced her fingers around Scarlet’s and gave her hand a squeeze. “You’ll figure it out, babe. There’s no time pressure on these things.”

“I know. It’s just hard when…hell, you’ve got Monet and Nina about to start their entire careers. I mean they’ll be in charge of a whole class of kids. Akeria knows what she wants to do and she’ll get there. Hell, even if Silky’s classification wasn’t as good as she wanted it, journalism is at least something she wants to go into. And Vanjie’s decided on events management. You know you want to at least do something with criminology,” Scarlet sighed, suddenly feeling so small. “It’s so hard trying to figure out what you want to do with your life when everyone around you seems to know. How the hell are you meant to know yourself?”

“Listen,” Yvie brought her thumb up to stroke Scarlet’s knuckle, calming her instantly by about 80%. “The great thing about your life is that…it’s yours. Nobody else’s. Just yours. Say you decide on a job and you hate it. Do you think you have to stay because the pay’s good and it’s something steady? No! You leave, because you can get another job. You don’t like it? You change. You want to go back to uni to doss about for another year? Do it! There is no rule to life that says you need to live it a certain way. And fuck yes, it’s scary! I’m scared! I don’t know if I’ll like any of the jobs I’m applying for, they could be so different in reality to what they are on paper. But you know I’ll support you whatever you decide.”

Scarlet’s voice was quiet as she watched the waves crash around her friends. “I just don’t want to disappoint my parents.”

“Scarlet, your parents love you unconditionally. And I’ll say it again- it’s your life. Yours. Not theirs. You can do whatever the hell you want to.”

Scarlet nodded, Yvie’s words a small comfort to her in the world that now seemed so big and scary. Yvie’s voice was quieter as she spoke again. “So…you’re going to live back home once all this is over?”

“I guess so. I don’t really want to, but I don’t want to live alone either. And it’ll help me save money, although if I don’t have a job I guess there’s not much money to save,” Scarlet snorted a laugh. She didn’t want to think about any of this, but Yvie was asking her so she gave an honest answer. Scarlet didn’t miss the way her girlfriend fell silent, nodding her head, a sad little frown on her face. She didn’t want to move away from Yvie. She didn’t want to return home. Yvie was her home.

Suddenly there came a splash from the water and Scarlet’s gaze was jolted away from her girlfriend and down to the sea. Silky had somehow fallen into the water and the girls were all howling with mirth as she screeched and tried to splash them all. Scarlet couldn’t help but join in with the laughter as she watched Akeria help fish Silky out of the water, the girl sitting in the wet sand and laughing so loudly that Scarlet could hear it even from farther up the beach. As Scarlet composed herself and her laughter died down, she turned to see Yvie looking at her, a dopey little smile on her face.

“What?” Scarlet laughed, touching her hair self-consciously. Yvie looked down at the sand, then back up to meet her eyes.

“Move in with me. After we graduate.”

Scarlet’s eyes grew suddenly wide in shock. Yvie was still holding her hand and Scarlet’s grip on hers had tightened. “Really?”

Yvie’s face was earnest, and Scarlet could see her gulp as she nodded quickly. She took a little gasp of air before explaining herself. “I mean, we both already basically live together. You’re at mine so often anyway, we know what we’re like to live with. We’ve not spent more than a full week apart since…fuck, I don’t know. I would do long distance for you, Scarlet, but I don’t want to. I want to go to IKEA and build flat pack furniture and make slow cooker casseroles and fucking…pay council tax with you. I hope you don’t…think I’m being too intense. Jesus, we’ve not even been together a year, fuck, sorry, this was a shit idea-”

“Well when you know, you know, right?” Scarlet smiled at her girlfriend, squeezing her hand. Yvie smiled back at her, reassured and happy, and Scarlet could hear the seagulls in the air and the crash of the waves and the laughter of their friends. She wouldn’t have had any other soundtrack to accompany the moment. “Yes. I’m in. Let’s get a flat together. Just the two of us. I don’t know what the fuck I want to do with my life, but I know it’s going to be a lot easier if I’m doing it with you.”

Relieved, Yvie leaned in and met Scarlet’s lips, kissing her once, twice, three times before pulling away and squeezing her hand. They met each other’s eyes and smiled, breathlessly giggling a little. Deciding to move in together didn’t seem to be the huge, relationship-changing milestone that society had hyped it up to be. It made sense to Scarlet: they loved each other, enjoyed the other’s company, they’d practically lived together for the past however-many-months. Okay, they hadn’t really hit any real speed bumps in their relationship really, but Scarlet trusted Yvie and she trusted herself. They were a team, two puzzle pieces that fit together. Whatever the crazy, scary, mixed-up adult world had in store for them after graduation, they would face it together.

Just then, Scarlet’s phone vibrated. She picked it up from its place underneath a carefully-folded corner of her towel. Opening it and reading the email, her heart dropped.

“Oh my God,” she said, her heart thudding uncontrollably.

“What’s the matter?”

“My classification’s through.”

Scarlet’s fingers were shaking and her palms were sweating as she frantically logged onto the uni’s intranet.

“Breathe. Just breathe. It’ll be fine,” Yvie reassured her, but Scarlet could feel her blood racing in her veins. She didn’t want to look. She did want to look. As the page loaded, she squeezed her eyes shut. Nothing had ever seemed so catastrophically life-defining before. The page loaded, Scarlet blinked, then she screamed. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Plastique flinch in her deckchair. Yvie’s face was expectant. Scarlet could hardly get the words out.

“A FIRST, I GOT A FUCKING FIRST!” she screeched, Yvie practically tackling her into the sand as she hugged her. Scarlet felt like her heart was about to burst. The three years had all been worth it and she felt like the biggest weight and worry in the world was finally lifted off of her. This was, admittedly, contrasted with the feeling of Plastique piling herself on top of the two girls, screaming excitedly the whole time. Scarlet suddenly batted them off of her, grabbing their hands and tugging them towards the shore.

“I wanna run into the sea! Can we run into the sea and tell the girls?”

Nodding excitedly, the three friends tore towards the coastline screeching like banshees. Scarlet could feel the wind in her hair, the sun beating down on her, and the sand shifting underneath her feet with every step she took.

She had never felt so conscious of her own mortality and yet as if she could live forever all at once.

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b-afterhours · 4 years

Text

Avenue of Sins (part nine)

SUMMARY: a story of two misfit kids from mid-west america making it big in the big apple. and in the true sense of the american dream they find themselves in a life of sex, money, drugs, and a little rock n roll too.

WARNINGS: adult content, mature readers only.

if you’re seeing this for the first time you can read part one here and if you need to catch up on previous chapters go here.

series playlist

AUTHORS NOTE: i can’t thank you all enough for your incredible patience! i hope you enjoy this chapter. things will be concluded in the next coming sooner than later! ____________________

He was in his loft leaned back with his feet propped up on the corner of his desk stress smoking through his pack of Marlboro's. Bill had received Joey Russo’s page just before he went to bed. He was alone the night before which he didn’t like a first but later was grateful Alma had decided to sleep in her own bed while his head stewed with anxiety. Lighting his seventh cigarette, he pinched the phone’s receiver up, the dial tone sounding off as it hovered for only a moment before letting go of it. He was stalling, wasting time as the phone rest atop his desk taunting and mocking him. He knew time was ticking, the Russo’s were waiting for his phone call, they were getting as antsy as he was to get rid of Craig but they had the easy end of that deal.

Taking a deep lung burning puff of his cigarette as he slid his legs off the desk and reluctantly began to dial Joey Russo. It rang and rang, each piercing ring making his nerves shot right after the next.

“Joey?” He said after the line picked up but there was a moment of dead air and then all he could hear was the cacophony of trumpeting jazz, laughing girls, clinking glasses, and fast Italian conversation.

“Hey, hey!” The voice on the other end finally answered. “Give me a minute will ya? I gotta take this call in my office.”

There was no time to respond before he was put on hold. “Jesus fucking Christ…” he breathed as his leg bobbed nervously under his desk while he waited.

The phone finally picked up again. “Is this who I think it is?” Joey finally said his voice clearer than before.

“What? Are your fuckin’ wires tapped or something? Who else could I be?”

Joey chuckled. “Well, you never know? But I’ve been waiting on your call all day. I was getting worried you tucked your tail and left the city.”

“Anyway–”

“Anyway!” Joey said cutting him off. “I kept my part of the deal – a deal I didn’t have to make mind you – I expect you to keep yours.”

“Right… Could I ask, what happened?”

“Does it matter?”

“I’m just curious?”

“We sent her backpacking, how ‘bout we go with that? I think my cousin would like to see the scenery soon? Don’t you think it’s time? Get his backpack ready tonight.” Click.

Bill swallowed what little saliva he had left in his dry mouth and slowly set the receiver down on the telephone. For a moment his heart felt heavy for Blondie realizing what he really asked of his enemy and picturing her cold lifeless body, blue-lipped and alone in a remote area of some undisclosed forest upstate. The fact that she was no longer breathing because of him when all she wanted was to be seen by him and that was all he had to offer her in the end.

He produced a tiny, rainy-day bag of coke stashed in his desk as he thought on to his inevitable murder plot. Taking the switchblade from his back pocket which he bumped a tall pile of cocaine on the sharp tip of his blade four separate times until there was the only residue of white powder left in the little pink bag. Feeling that familiar tingle go up his neck, his heartbeat ramping up, he tore the bag open resting it residue side down on his tongue causing it to go numb instantly. He stood up, spitting out the used up coke bag from his mouth as he made his way to look out the loft windows and down to the strip floor.

Violet was working the stage floor shaking her bare tits in patron’s faces as they tossed a few bills her way. He scanned the room of belligerent, gawking men before landing his eyes toward the bar. Queenie, Raven, and Praline hustling back and forth behind the bar to get the patrons their respective favorite brands of whiskeys and beer. Everything seemed to be running as it always did. His eyes finally landed on Alma who was at the far end of the bar, leaning on her elbows and smoking a cigarette laughing to herself when she saw a gentleman in the club spill a drink in his lap. A pang ached in his heart, scared knowing that if he could do what he did to Blondie, could he do the same to Alma?

As he was watched in the back of his mind he was thinking about how much he wanted everyone out. To get Craig out of his club and finally, gone for good. He flicked his wrist up to check his watch, closing time was in a little over an hour. Bill spotted Craig coming from the stock room with a crate of fresh beer mugs. Before setting them down he whispered something to Alma in passing with a slick smirk on his face. She shrugged her shoulder away as if to shake away the words he had said to her. She backed away keeping a fair distance with a disgusted look on her face before angrily stamping out her cigarette. He watched as she tried busying herself with anything at the bar that could make it seem she was diligently working. Until she turned her head back towards Craig when it seemed he said something else to her. She got into his face then, her face scrunched in revulsion as she exchanged words back to him and then turned back around, her long black hair whipped passed Craig's face as she continued to wipe mugs.

“What... the fuck?” Bill said to himself as he stood there in his loft unable to make of what he saw. The whisper from Craig to the snapback from Alma towards him. Something about it didn’t sit right with him. He pulled another cigarette from his pack to keep his twitching jaw occupied and nodded to himself agreeing with the notion that something was going on. Alma wasn’t telling him something...

…

Alma had been casually smoking at the bar trying to calm her nerves and amuse herself with the clumsy drunken antics with men in the club. However, it was Craig and having to practically avoid him the best she could whilst still being his boss was proving difficult as time went on. Especially when he whispered in her ear while she was non-suspecting of his presence at the moment he did it.

“God if only you could feel on my cock right now,” he said hot breath against her ear and all.

It sent a sickening creeping shiver down her spine. She stamped out her cigarette finding it just as unpleasant and wanting nothing more than to get a reasonable distance away from him that didn’t require a flight out the state of New York. She proceeded to pick up a dish rag wiping down already clean mugs as to not seem affected by his words and turned away from him.

He retorted back feeling he didn’t get the rise he wanted from her and said, “You heard me. I know how wet that pussy gets… I can still smell it on my fingers.”

Alma sighed through flared nostrils and turned her head back to him. She closed the gap between them with just a few steps, meeting that asshole smirk on his face and looked right up at him square in his hazel eyes.

“I swear to god if you don’t shut the fuck up! What the hell is wrong with you? Just, shut the fuck UP!” She said turning her head away from him once again flustered and embarrassed.

She went back to idly wiping a few mugs with her dishrag before throwing it down. She needed a breather and found herself in the graffiti’d women's bathroom with her back against the door. She dug in her lace bra for a pink baggie only to see that she forgot to replace it with a full bag earlier. She looked forward and sighed as she peered at what she could of herself in the mirror marred with various stickers and writing. In the mess of it near the center, was her name, not Alma but Echo, written in thick sharpie with a stylistic halo adorned devil horns on top. She had done it as a joke years ago when things seemed like everything was going up then. It was like nothing was going to settle her nerves until she remembered Craig was a marked dead man. She had been riddled with so much guilt about their encounter she nearly forgot that too.

She rolled her neck back and forth a few times and shook her arms off and decided to suck it up. Soon, Craig wouldn’t be a problem anymore and their secret tryst in the stock room would die with him. In the beginning, she had remembered feeling bad that he was destined for death but now she wished she could kill him herself.

Emerging from the bathroom she bumped right into Bill where the hall ended and meet the stairs to the loft.

“Oh, I just came down to look for you,” he said with an earnest smile.

“Me?”

“Yes, you. Let’s go back up to the loft,” he said sliding his hands into his black trouser pockets.

Alma followed him up, she noticed a weird tense air about him when she shut the door behind them. He sat down on the couch and instead of sitting next to him she sat on the other couch opposite of him. Bill’s eyes flickered to towards her when he did so and she saw his usual pale green eyes were pitch black, he was high as hell, and if that wasn’t a give away the slight sniffle and rubbing of his nose would have.

“So, what’s up?” She asked crossing her knees and smoothing the skirt of her wine-colored halter top dress.

“Well, last night I got a page from Joey before bed.”

“Oh, shit...”

“Yeah, I had a chat with him a little bit ago and Blondie’s gone now-”

“Did, uh, they tell you what they did to her?”

“Not really? You know how Italian mobsters like their metaphors for shit. Joey said, ‘they sent her backpacking’. Whatever the fuck that means,” he scoffed. “Anyway, he wants my part of the deal done tonight.”

“T-tonight!” She said almost too relieved, happy even.

“Yup,” he sighed picking up a half-smoked cigarette from the ashtray sitting on the coffee table between them and lighting it. “Tonight…” he said taking a puff. “It’ll be after the bar closes and you can’t be here.” Alma opened her mouth to object but he quickly interjected before she could. “I swear Alma you can’t be here.”

“Bill, you can’t do it alone. I know you’re more than capable but what if-”

“What if what?”

“What if something happens to you?”

“I have a gun with fucking hollow points-”

“This isn’t a time to be cocky, Bill. You’ve never killed anyone before, shit can go left real fast before you even know it.”

“Christ sake...” he shook his head stamping out his cigarette in the ashtray. “Alma, I have to ask, what the ever-living fuck was that shitty interaction you had with Craig earlier?”

Alma sunk back in her seat, stunned he caught that. “What interaction?”

“I saw, with my own two eyes, him whispering something to you that you didn’t particularly like? Why the hell did he even get that close to you Alma?”

“He’s just being his shitty self. You know how he is!”

“I do. I remember the sick shit Kansas told me what he said to her. I just don’t understand why you even let him get that close. No! Actually how close you got when you were telling him off?”

Alma sat there speechless she couldn’t think of anything quick to say that would suffice as a good cover. But how her face fell and her unwillingness to look him in the eyes, he knew.

“Please,” he pinched the bridge of his nose. “Please, come up with anything if you’re not willing to tell me the truth. Fucking lie to me, please!”

“Fuck you!” She said finally looking at him with glassy eyes.

“What?”

“You’re such a fucking asshole!” She said wiping a fresh tear that had escaped down her cheek. “A hypocritical asshole!”

“Are you serious right now?”

“How dare you even ask that? What do you want to know since you think you know every damn thing? You wanna know if I slept with him? Would you be happy to know that I didn’t but I let him eat me out? You don’t have the right to care anyway!”

“You’re right I don’t! You’re better than that. Craig fuckin’ Russo, Alma are you crazy!? You can have anyone eat your pussy but him?!”

“Well, maybe I don’t want just anyone?” Her voice cracked and she looked away embarrassed.

Bill swallowed, “Alma,” he said softly.

“Don’t ‘Alma’ me.” She looked at him, her eyes were angry as she ignored the tears that slipped down her cheeks. “You go and do everything you want, walk around like you have a big dick, and fuck whoever you want and I never say a single word about it.”

“You don’t say anything? Then what was it with Blondie, huh? I’m surprised you even asked what happened to her?”

“Fuck her and fuck you too!” She seethed.

“This is going nowhere.” He stood up prompting her to follow. “If you think I’m some cocky, hypocritical asshole then just go,” he said pointing at the door in front of them.

“I’m not leaving,” she said crossing her arms and standing her ground.

“You’re leaving, go home. Go back the shitty ol’ Strathburg for all I care.”

“Bill? Jesus Christ, are you listening to yourself, or are you too high to know what you’re saying right now?”

“It seems to me you feel I ruined your life. But you came here all on your own.”

“We promised each other-”

“We were kids Alma. Stupid kids.”

She shook her head. “I know what you’re doing… It’s not going to work. I know what you’re going to have to do but it’s not going to make me think differently of you.”

“That’s nice to know. But I don’t know how I feel about you right now.” Alma’s whole demeanor changed feeling the blow of that statement. “So are you going to leave on your own or should I have Theo show you out?”

“Don’t push me away like that. You wanted me to lie and I didn’t, now it’s your turn damn it! Quit fucking shafting me. Quit thinking you’re some heartless punk. Why don’t you just really say it?”

“Say what?”

“You know what I want you to say! If you say it I’ll leave,” she gestured. “I’ll go back to Strathburg fucking Missouri if you say it. Just don’t lie about it anymore. You’ve said it once already what’s so hard about saying it again?”

“Say what Alma?” He said becoming visibly frustrated.

“Say that you love me! I love you, damn it! Say it back!” He stood there his cheeks flushing as he looked away. “You wouldn’t be telling me to leave if you didn’t. You think you ruined my life, you didn’t. I came here to find you in filthy ass New York City because I love you! I can’t help that… This is it for me.”

“No, it’s NOT!” He screamed causing her to jump. “You have to go,” he said calmly but stern.

“I don’t want to...” she said with a quivering voice.

“Then Theo will have Rashad drive you home.”

He put his hand on her shoulder to lead her out but she shrugged him off before harshly pushing him away. “Don’t.”

She stomped down the stairs and took a left turn around the corner walking quickly down the hallway past the bathrooms and out the back door. When the heavy steel door slammed behind her she doubled over screaming loudly to nothing but a damp cold alleyway. Her life suddenly felt meaningless more so than when she left St. Louis for New York years ago. She had come for a new start but instead found herself digging deeper into a dark hole of self-destruction. All she got herself into was drug dealing in a strip club, a drug addiction, sore kidneys chasing down bad memories with alcohol, and the shittiest case of unrequited high school love in history. The sad part is even though Bill wouldn’t say he loved her. She hung on to the small fact that at least he hadn’t said that he didn’t love her at all...

_____________________________

tags: @dreamtherapy @bskarsgardlove92 @tinygayfungi @skarswhat @nutinanutshell @xskarsgardx @reinamysterio @darling-dearest-desired@erika-beau-berika @fine-i-suppose @corlin90 @codependentcellist @loveforbillskasgard @kikilikes @twosupergayghosts @umbriellethenightfall @tigers-pat @billullabies

(please let me know whether you’d like to be added/removed from tags)

#avenue of sins #aos #bill skarsgard

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pointy-hat-witch · 4 years

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Title: Third Time is a Charm. Or not. Show: Haikyuu Ship: BokuAka Wordcount: 1935 Summary: 3 times Akaashi received chocolate on Valentine's day and one time he gave someone chocolate. Who could it possibly be?

Valentine’s Day gift for @sopaipillasvoladoras !! I hope you like it!! <3 You can also read it on AO3!

The first time Akaashi received a box of chocolate on Valentine’s Day, he was in his first year of high school. It wasn’t from any random girl, either. It was from his teammate. To be fair, Bokuto gave every one of his friends some chocolate because he was a strong believer in everyone deserving love, especially on valentine’s day.

Akaashi blinked down on the box wrapped in an askew ribbon, a small card with his name on it. Not thinking anything about it, he opened it unceremonially and popped one of the small pralines into his mouth. Store-bought, no surprise. Since Bokuto gifted everyone a box or bar or anything of chocolate, Akaashi didn't pay too much attention.

Except for, when he accidentally overheard a confession under the staircase on his way to the bathroom. Akaashi stopped right in his tracks, unsure on how to proceed. Did he wait? Did he just turn around? Did he continue walking? That wasn't something for his ears.

His decision was made, when he heard Bokuto’s voice, hushed, quieter than he had ever heard.

“Ah, I’m so flattered! Thank you so much, but…,” he mumbled something, Akaashi couldn’t hear, “and I only accept chocolate if I really, really like that person.”

For reasons Akaashi didn’t know and wouldn’t know for quite some time, his heart sped up. He swallowed, turned on his heel and jogged back to the classroom.

The second time Akaashi received chocolate, it was again from Bokuto who was standing by the school gate and handing out chocolate to everyone, grinning widely and greeting everyone over-enthusiastically.

Akaashi accepted the box with a nod, noticing the small handwritten note with his name. Did Bokuto write down everyone’s name on their box?

On his way to his classroom, Akaashi opened his box to try them. Huh, didn’t taste store-bought. How long did Bokuto have to stay in the kitchen to make this many pralines? Akaashi shook his head. Bokuto could be way too reckless. But if he dared to skip practice or underperform, he would kick his ass into gear.

On lunch break, Akaashi went to the bathroom, taking the longer route because around every corner were people either confessing or jumping him to give them their chocolate. And truth be told, Akaashi didn’t like chocolate. Except, Bokuto’s for some reason.

Deep in thought, Akaashi nearly missed Bokuto’s faint voice around the next corner, far away from everyone else. Like struck by lightning, Akaashi froze. His heart sped up as he listened to the girl confessing her undying love to Bokuto. How she came to every match, cheered only for him and so on.

“Thank you so much,” Bokuto answered her politely. “But… I already have someone I like.”

Something in Akaashi froze. He and Bokuto weren’t best friends or anything but they were pretty close. And with Bokuto’s personality, Akaashi figured he would have boasted about having a crush already. And probably would have confessed as well.

Did he? What did they say?

Akaashi walked straight back to the classroom, emptying his chocolate box in one swoop to quench the burning feeling in his chest.

The third time, Akaashi received chocolate on Valentine’s Day, it was from some random girl. She waited for the perfect opportunity when he was alone, not paying attention and jumped into his way. She bowed at a 90-degree angle, holding out her chocolate.

“A-Akaashi-san! I… I like you! Please accept my chocolate!”

“Uh,” Akaashi blinked from the chocolate to the girl. “Who are you?”

“Kanayashi Mina, 3-A. We had math together this year.” She stood back up, still holding out her chocolate.

“Ah.” Akaashi nodded slowly. “I…” his eyes wandered over her shoulder as Bokuto rounded the corner. Their eyes met for a second, Akaashi’s eyes widened as Bokuto’s gaze froze over for a second. But then it was gone and Akaashi thought he had imagined things. Bokuto turned around wordlessly, walking the way back he came from. Akaashi didn’t want Bokuto to think he accepted her chocolate, he needed to make sure there were no misunderstandings.

He bowed at her. “I’m sorry, I can’t accept your chocolate. Thank you very much.”

It was kind of cold-hearted, he knew that but Akaashi just walked away, not looking if she needed to be consoled, if she cried, if she was okay. His head was just thinking about getting back to Bokuto.

Akaashi walked back into their classroom, already seeing Bokuto in a small circle laughing. When he entered the room, Bokuto turned toward him like he had eyes on the back of his head. He grinned at him, waving. Slowly, Akaashi walked over, feeling awkward in his own skin. When he looked around, he saw everyone holding their box of chocolate from Bokuto, some eating theirs, exchanging them, some just putting them away. Almost in anticipation, Akaashi looked over to Bokuto.

“Ah,” Bokuto scratched his cheek, “I, uh, heard you don’t like chocolate. Sorry if I forced you until now. You should have said something!” Grabbing Akaashi into a headlock, Bokuto laughed at him. And Akaashi felt his heart grow heavy in his chest.

Oh.

“Yeah, you’re right.” He mumbled, not knowing if Bokuto even heard him over his own laughter. “You have some time after school?” Akaashi asked a little louder. Bokuto released him from his headlock, tilting his head as he crossed his arms over his chest.

“Sure, what’s up?”

“I’ll tell you later.”

Akaashi saw the same hard look in Bokuto’s eyes again, but it was gone right away. Just nodding, Bokuto tuned back into the other’s conversation. And Akaashi prepared himself for what was to come.

After school, they had about half an hour before practice began and Akaashi reckoned, it wasn’t the best time and it would be awkward as hell, but he already made his decision. They walked behind some of their teammates toward the gym, as Akaashi slightly shoved Bokuto in a small hallway, so they could be alone. Bokuto let it happen without complaint.

“Bokuto, I-“

“Yeah, congratulation.”

Akaashi blinked, mouth still half-open. “What?”

“Congratulation on your girlfriend.” Bokuto grinned widely, but Akaashi knew Bokuto already good enough to see when his smile is forced. Even though Bokuto wore his heart on his sleeve, he frequently acted tougher to make everyone around him feel better.

“Wha-“

“I’m sorry, I know you saw me when she confessed, I didn’t mean to eavesdrop.” Bokuto bowed with his hands pressed together in apology.

“But I’m happy for you. And I’m glad you feel comfortable enough to tell me.”

“Boku-“

“I wish you both all the be-“

“Bokuto Koutarou.”

That made Bokuto shut up right away. He slowly stood back up, eyes slightly widened, blinking. “Yes?”

Akaashi sighed. His chest felt constricted, not knowing how to deal with the fact that Bokuto thought he was in a relationship. That had to wait until later. For now, he pushed his hand into his bag, pulling out a small package, neatly wrapped with a bowstring.

“I know…,” Akaashi cleared his throat, shuffling on his feet, “I know you won’t accept them, but I wanted… I wanted to give you this chocolate. In hope, you would accept them.” Akaashi’s eyes stared into Bokuto’s open, almost vulnerable face. He made his peace with rejection, Bokuto wouldn’t make it awkward between them. He knew that, he knew Bokuto. But standing here, chocolate in hand and Bokuto staring at him in silence … he could only take so much.

“Please. Just…,” Akaashi’s voice broke at the end, so he swallowed the prickling feeling in his eyes down.

“I…,” Bokuto opened and closed his mouth like a fish gasping for air. “I don’t understand. This… you…”

“I overheard you saying in first year, that you only accept chocolate when you like someone back. And in second year, I heard you saying you already liked someone. So,” Akaashi inhaled deeply, “can you please just reject me, so I can move on?”

Akaashi knew his hands were trembling, making him slightly blush in embarrassment.

“Akaashi Keiji.” Bokuto said firmly, a faint blush on his own cheeks. Akaashi nodded. But his heart wasn’t ready, when Bokuto reached out and took the chocolate from his hand with both of his.

“I am honored. Thank you.”

Akaashi stared at Bokuto as if he just told him with conviction the moon was actually made out of cheese.

“Excuse me?” Akaashi rasped, his voice not following instructions. Bokuto grinned at the chocolate in his hands, eyes glistening with joy.

“For someone so smart you sure are stupid, you know?”

“What in …”

“You are the person I like!” Bokuto laughed, his whole body shaking with it. “Do you think, I would make chocolate for everyone? And write everyone’s name on it?”

“Well, yeah.” In hindsight, it wasn’t the smartest thought he had. Bokuto was dedicated, but only when it came to volleyball. He wouldn’t stay in the kitchen for hours on end, maybe even days to make this much chocolate. And as if Bokuto could remember so many names.

Huh. Akaashi probably wasn’t as smart as he thought. Maybe he was as simple as everyone else. Crushing on his best friend. Who liked him back. Akaashi’s eyes widened. His head now finally caught up with what Bokuto had said. His face suddenly felt so much hotter, so much he had to cover it with his hands.

“Give me a second.” He mumbled into his hands.

“Akaashi.” Bokuto’s voice sounded so much closer. Then he felt Bokuto’s hands wrap around his wrists, pulling them gently to the side. Bokuto looked down at him with the fondest expression, Akaashi had ever seen from him.

“Akaa- Keiji. I like you.”

“I-,” Akaashi licked his lips. “I like you too. Ko- Kotarou.”

They both were confident people but they were still teenagers and calling each other by their first name, rendered them both to a blushing mess. Bokuto averted his eyes, puffing out his cheeks while Akaashi furrowed his eyebrows, pouting. Until they both burst out in laughter. Akaashi leaned his forehead against Bokuto’s shoulder, feeling him shake under him. Their laughter echoed in the small hallway, reverberating through them.

“Can I kiss you?”

Akaashi stopped laughing, biting his lower lip. Slowly turning his head, he eyed Bokuto before nodding. With the utmost care, Bokuto cradled his face in his hands, his thumbs caressing the skin right over his cheekbones.

“You’re beautiful,” Bokuto whispered, making Akaashi blush even harder. But before he could think about it, Bokuto’s lips covered his own, stealing his breath away. His heart was on a rampage in his chest, his knees growing week. To not topple over, Akaashi held onto Bokuto’s jacket, clenching it into his fists.

Bokuto’s lips were soft, albeit a little chapped. But so, so warm. It filled Akaashi up, every part of him felt on fire. And then it was already over. Bokuto leaned back, but Akaashi wasn’t finished. He captured Bokuto’s lips again, pressing against him. He rather felt than heard Bokuto hum, his arms letting go if his face and looping around his waist instead. Akaashi’s wrapped his arms around Bokuto’s neck, not wanting any space between them.

After minutes that felt like heaven, they finally separated catching their breath.

“I don’t like chocolate.” Akaashi said in a hushed voice, lips still only inches apart. “But I always loved yours.”

Bokuto’s mouth split into a grin.

“Well, good for you I still have a box of chocolate waiting for you in my bag.”

And maybe they came a little late to practice with blushing cheeks and chocolate-coated fingers.

#Haikyuu #BokuAka #Valentine's Day #Bokuto Kotarou #Akaashi Keiji #3+1 #blushing dorks

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sserpente · 5 years

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A/N: Request from anons and @wingardium-letmefuckyou. I feel like this is so different from what I usually write when it comes to Loki (you’ll see what I mean, I guess) but it just… happened. Hope you’ll like it. Happy Easter, everyone! ♥

Words: 3626 Warnings: smut, quite a bit of angst

Avengers assemble. Rolling your eyes, you shook your head, grinning at your phone screen where Tony’s message had popped up. You were flattered he considered you an Avenger now but then again, he was only a few yards away in the living room, stretching out his feet on the sofa and sipping a glass of whisky. Nothing serious, nothing to write home about… you shrugged. It was flattering nonetheless.

As a, what the people around you would probably call you, witch, it had taken you quite a few weeks to prove them you were no hostile being, mainly because your powers reminded them a lot of those of a certain God of Mischief who had also taken up quarters in the compound, ever since his grand resurrection before Thanos’ demise.

Oh, the abhorrent expressions on their faces when Thor had insisted on bringing him back, on changing the past and save his only brother even though adopted. You were glad he had. Loki was by far the most fascinating being you had ever met and you had to admit, you admired his seidr, his many tricks and magic inspiring you to improve your own skills and you wondered, regularly at night when one of your hands sneakily disappeared between your legs, whether Loki was as talented in bed as he was in creating illusions. Who were you going to blame? You wanted to have sex with him, without a doubt.

You blinked. Focus. Tony’s message. Right. Sighing, to scare the naughty thought away, you made your way into the living room where the majority of the Avengers had already gathered around the huge leather sofa, waiting for Tony to tell them his news.

“Happy Easter, everyone! Thank you all for hiding in your rooms and not come out except for coffee on this ambiguous holiday…”

It was then you sensed a barely noticeable movement in the corner. Inconspicuously, you glanced to your left, spotting Loki leaning mutely against one of the stone pillars with crossed arms, a few feet away from where your new friends had gathered.

Nobody else had discovered him as of yet. They were all busy groaning at Tony’s sarcastic words and truth be told, you couldn’t really blame them. When one fought aliens, monsters and supernatural Nazi organisations on a regular basis, family holidays like Easter, Christmas and even New Year’s Eve became rather insignificant. To you, however, it had caused the exact opposite. Holidays were one of the few occasions of the year where you could at least pretend to have a normal life and celebrate with family and friends, even if that involved silly little traditions.

Tony seemed to be thinking the exact same thing… or maybe it was just young Peter Parker who had convinced him.

“So FRIDAY and I have organised a little Easter egg scavenger hunt.”

“Seriously, Tony?” Rhodey interrupted. Natasha only chuckled and Thor looked as confused as ever. Amused, you studied the various reactions in the room. Pepper’s was by far the most adorable. The hormones, probably. Pregnant women always imagined doing these kinds of things with their husbands and children. The fact that Tony was about to be a father was probably another reason for this childish Easter egg hunt.

“Seriously. Get in pairs of two. There’s chocolate eggs hidden all over the compound and they all contain clues that will lead you straight to a plane ticket to the Bahamas.”

Rhodey’s mouth fell open. “You’re joking.”

“Would I be joking about the Bahamas?”

Startled, you took a step back when Sam rushed right past you to team up with Wanda, hoping that her mind reading skills would get him some sort of advantage. Next thing you knew, the Avengers erupted in a huddle of enthusiastic voices. Steve decided to search with Bucky, Natasha and Bruce were the perfect match anyway, Thor tried his luck with Peter Parker and Rhodey promised he would win this trip for Happy and himself.

Being the newest member, you were the only one left and while you certainly wouldn’t mind searching alone, it was both a wicked and naughty idea forming in your mind that had you turn around and finally react to the blue gaze staring daggers into your back.

“Are you just going to stand there, Loki?” You loved how his name rolled off your tongue. Like a sweet praline melting in your mouth.

“What is this nonsense?” He asked quietly, approaching slightly. “Why would he hide eggs for you to find?”

You shrugged, suppressing a giggle. Loki was not wrong, the way he said it, it actually sounded quite crazy.

“Not real eggs, silly. Chocolate eggs. It’s a common Easter tradition.”

“And what is it? Easter?”

“It’s a Christian holiday. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”

Loki frowned, clearly taken aback. “I see… why eggs?”

You laughed. “Good question. I think they’re meant to symbolise said resurrection and then people made up stories about the Easter bunny hiding them for children to find.”

“Easter bunny…” You had to admit, he looked pretty funny when disturbed. Chuckling, you looked up at him, the Avengers around you scattering around the compound. They had learnt quickly to simply ignore the God of Mischief’s presence, if anything because he usually made himself scarce and refrained from any kind of social interaction except for the occasional chat with his brother. That made it all the harder for you to spend time with him.

“Search with me. I could use a trip to the Bahamas.” Maybe you took pity on him and you couldn’t care less about those plane tickets. An Easter egg scavenger hunt, however, was the perfect opportunity to get closer to Loki. You wanted to kiss Tony for the chance.

And much to your surprise, Loki nodded in joyful anticipation. The prosperity of stealing away a dreamy vacation by the beach was too tempting to be ignored. He briefly considered leaving them to you if he won but to simply rip them into tiny little pieces out of pure spite seemed much more alluring. Loki was very well aware that every single one of them had attempted to persuade Thor to leave him to rot in the depths of Hel, trapped in the afterlife when he had sacrificed his own life in order to put an end to Thanos’ schemes. It would be a small, insignificant triumph—but a triumph nonetheless.

“Let’s start in the kitchen.” While the microwave, the fridge and the coffee machine posed excellent hideouts for small chocolate eggs, your main goal was it to stall him. Summoning things was not your speciality, you had to focus hard to achieve a decent result. Pretty soon, however, you realised that Loki was a natural. The chocolate eggs he found within a matter of mere minutes either came with a letter or a blank. Quickly, you ushered him into the hallway and through the backdoor into the sunny garden behind the compound where he spotted another chocolate egg hidden in a bush next to a vast flowerbed.

You had only found one letter thus far, quite useless when it came to the actual scavenger hunt and still, your heart beat faster and faster the closer you came to the massive apple tree blooming beautifully around the corner, close to where you had hidden your own surprise for the God of Mischief.

“Do you celebrate Easter?” He suddenly asked, genuine interest resonating in his voice.

“More or less… I grew up with it, my parents used to hide chocolate eggs for me to find every year. I’m not… well, I believe I stopped being Christian when I turned to witchcraft.”

“And why is that?” Loki smirked triumphantly when he picked up another chocolate egg. A blank, still, he seemed rather pleased with himself when he threw it in the tiny basket you had conjured to carry them all.

“I took interest in various other beliefs, with paganism leading the way. Rune magic and ancient seidr is what harmonises with my body the most. I was consequently starstruck when I faced you and your brother for the first time—actual Norse gods I had read so much about over years of practise.”

“Most of these stories are twisted truths, some of them utter lies.” Loki claimed. Any moment now, he would find it. Bracing yourself, you smiled your sweetest and most irresistible smile. Becoming a witch had made you confident and you made sure to use that to your advantage.

“Maybe… but they never lied about your abilities, now did they?”

“What—” Loki frowned. He had walked around the tree now, spotting the green and golden egg hiding on the grass next to a few condoms. Truth be told, you could not be certain Loki would defer to your unsubtle invitation. There was, after all, a chance he would rudely reject you. In fact, you had never seen Loki initiate any form of social or body contact. But you were willing to take the risk.

“My… whoever designed this egg must have an exceedingly good taste for colours.”

“I meant to decorate it with green and gold jewels too but you see, materialising objects I imagine in my head never turn out the way I want them to.”

Loki spun around. “It is yours, then?”

“I don’t care about that stupid scavenger hunt, not really. But I’ve wanted to be alone with you for a while. You never leave your room, you know.” Leaning against the tree for some sort of support, you listened to your rapid heartbeat and awaited his reaction. Loki simply narrowed his eyes at you.

“Alone with me?” He repeated, almost mockingly. “Is this a subtle request for me to ravish you… right here under this tree?” Gosh… his voice rushed into your ears like liquid gold, saying such depraved words. You held your breath when he closed the small distance between you, pressing you against the trunk so you could feel the strong muscles dance against your clothed skin. Almost thoughtfully, his left hand came up to caress your face. His demeanour changed. Gone was the dominant and intimidating god you had read about, replaced by a young prince unsure of how to deal with your sudden confession.

“You seem so… surprised.” You whispered.

His honest answer startled you. “It must have been a while since a woman took interest in me instead of my oaf of a brother… especially after all that happened since his first, failed coronation.”

It was a painful sting that went through your heart, guilt washing over your body. Your Easter egg was no more than a stupid metaphor for a cheap Tinder match, a quick fuck you would get over with and then on with your life. You had never honestly considered your feelings for Loki to grow beyond sexual attraction. You admired his skills and you worshipped his powers and wit… oh, you would be all too willing to kneel before him and tend to his Easter eggs before focusing your attention to his surely thick and long shaft, to lick over his length and suck on his tip until he rewarded you with his godly seed… without a doubt, Loki would taste delightful. But romantic interest? Potentially falling in love with the mischievous god? You had never considered yourself to be that kind of woman. Not since you had dedicated your life to witchcraft.

“Trust me, I do not want Thor. I want you. Right now.”

If Loki was suspicious, he did not show, his vulnerability vanishing from his stunning blue eyes. You would not claim he had his emotions under control… not if he let his guard slip so easily upon unexpected affection. But now, his smirk was downright malicious.

“Be careful what you wish for, little witch.” He purred into your ear, sending pleasant shivers up and down your spine. His mouth found your neck, brushing lightly over the sensitive skin until you squirmed in joyful anticipation.

“What are these for?” He tilted his head, eyeing the condoms on the ground.

“The condoms? For protection. I have no desire to get pregnant today.”

Loki hesitated. Then, he chuckled.

“Are you familiar with contraception spells?”

“N-no…”

“I shall take care of it, then.” And with that, he captured your mouth in a wet and passionate kiss, lips devouring yours in such a devastated manner you moaned against him, granting him perfect access to slip his tongue past your lips and start a playful fight with yours, battling for dominance.

This first round would be a quick one, you both knew that. Exhibitionism was not your style, neither was it Loki’s. When he claimed a woman, he wished to do so in private. There were not many things he could call his own—but he certainly would when it came to the pleasure of a beautiful naked maiden underneath his strong body.

He growled when he busied his hands with your skirt, sliding it up your thighs so he could tend to the annoying piece of thin fabric separating him from your delicate quim underneath. Without hesitation, he ripped it off your body and tossed it aside, his long fingers taking only a split second to find your wet folds and fondle them excitedly.

You gasped when he parted them to coax your clit out of its hiding place, getting you all worked up and aroused for him—not that you needed any more stimulation; but Loki of course knew how to please a woman. It was something a man did not forget, even after years of confinement.

Moaning loudly, you let your head fall back, exposing your neck to him. Loki eyed you down greedily, studying each of your reactions so intimately you felt a strange, longing sensation in your belly. Like butterflies, fluttering around nervously.

“This will not do…” He decided nonchalantly. With but a flick of his wrist, your clothes vanished. You felt the all too familiar tingling of seidr dancing over your skin, then the cool spring breeze having goose bumps decorate your limbs, your nipples hardening both from the sudden temperature change and your imminent arousal. “Hmm… much better…” Loki mused. All you managed in response was another, blissful moan.

Oh, happy fucking Easter. You sighed when Loki removed his fingers from your sex to free his aching and pulsing member from his tight leather trousers, barely sliding them down his pale but well-defined thighs. And seeing his erection was no small thing. He truly was a god and you longed to taste that long shaft and please him with your mouth until you gagged because of his sheer length and girth.

You squealed when Loki lifted you up to position himself between your legs, smirking hungrily when you spread them even further in his tight grasp. Clearly, there was no need for him to prepare you any more. With but one eager thrust, he impaled you with his hard cock, sheathing himself so deep inside of you your eyes rolled to the back of your head, your muscles gripping him tightly, unwilling to let him retreat entirely. Loki withdrew almost completely still, torturing you with slow and deep strokes. He took his time, appreciating the warmth of a tight cunt squeezing him so delightfully, greedy for his seed. And he was about to give it to you, about to give you what you had asked for.

Loki’s angle allowed him to hit your hidden pleasure spots with every single stroke, carrying you up towards orgasm on a cloud of pleasure. Moaning relentlessly, you dug your fingernails into his armour, allowing him to bury his face in your neck and inhale your scent, leaving passionate love bites in his wake.

By now, he was rutting into you like a wolf in heat. Loki seemed to forget himself. Tension, desperation, fear and frustration all appeared to seep from his body so suddenly he realised with a start what he had been missing out on. To have a woman desire him, willing to give and receive pleasure…

“L-Loki… I-I’m… I’m going to… ahh…”

“Come for me,” he ordered, looking you dead in the eye, urging you on, fuelling your arousal. “Come. Now.”

It felt like he had pressed a button, his naughty words rippling through you along with the endless waves of pleasure caused by the strongest orgasm you had ever experienced. Screaming his name, your toes curled as Loki fucked you through your climax almost violently, unwilling to stop and let you catch your breath. By the time he was about to reach his own peak, you were ready to cum yet again. And Loki’s shaft pulsing and twitching inside of you as he spurted ropes of his rich cum inside of you, filling you up nicely, was enough to push you over the edge once more. Spasming around him, you milked him for all he was worth, the pleasure unwilling to subside until he slipped out of you satisfactorily, watching with delight and pride how his seed dribbled down your inner thighs, staining your body. He sure did enjoy claiming a woman…

Carefully, the God of Mischief set you back down on your feet, making sure your knees would indeed support you before he let go.

“God… that was… wow.” It was better than you could have ever imagined. You were filled with energy you could not describe. Myths of Loki and his seidr had already given you strength but Loki himself… you felt like a new witch.

“Indeed it was.” He chuckled, tucking away his softening member. He did not look flustered in the least. You, on the other hand, were panting as if you had just run a marathon. Closing your eyes for just a brief second, you magicked some clothes back on your body, feeling Loki’s blue eyes on you with every movement you made. You shivered when his hand came up to caress our face yet again. There was hope sparkling in his eyes.

“Have you ever seen the Northern lights? With your own eyes?” He suddenly asked.

You frowned. “What?”

“I realise that we started this in the wrong order and I shall make sure to remedy that mistake and court you properly, my little witch.” My little witch. You were his little witch now.

“Um… Loki… we are not… going to… are we?” Your heart was aching. This had been about sex and lust… not the beginning of a romantic relationship. Was it not clear? You swallowed thickly, looking up at him hesitantly.

He paused, lifting his chin to feign confidence.

“Ah. I see.” He said eventually. “You merely wished for carnal satisfaction and you received it.”

You had hurt him. When you had thought you had done him a favour by dragging him straight into Stark’s stupid scavenger hunt, you had achieved the exact opposite. And it finally dawned on you. Loki wasn’t craving sexual touch. He was craving emotional touch.

“Loki, I just… I’m not the kind of woman who… I mean, I don’t…” But why, now, did it hurt you so much to have disappointed him? Those feelings tumbling around in your belly, what in the nine realms, were they on about? It was a fuck. A meaningless fuck you would not mind to repeat… or was it? Biting your lower lip, you remembered Loki’s cheeky smirk. Your heart seemed to skip a beat upon the mere imagination of him being playful with you.

“It had to be me, no? The Norse God of Mischief, the one you had read so much about. Tell me, was it exciting?” He asked, scornfully and condescending now.

“It… the best sex of my life.” You admitted ruefully.

“Well. I am pleased to have bestowed this life-changing experience on you. You will be disappointed to hear you were a rather ordinary and nearly boring companion.”

He stroke back immediately, choosing hurtful words to distract from his own pain and inflict the very same on you. It did not matter if they were true or not, you both knew they hit home.

“Loki, I’m sorry… I… I didn’t mean it like that, I just…”

“(Y/N)!” You flinched when you heard Tony yell your name. Jogging towards you, in no rush, really, he came to a halt a few feet before your trembling form.

“There you are. Rhodey won, the scavenger hunt is over. We’re all going to the Bahamas though. You better start packing.”

“Come with me.” You heard yourself mumbling when he had gone but not before shooting Loki a suspicious glance. “I’m not going without you.”

“Whatever for? You have what you wanted.”

Those feelings. Could it be? Were you… falling in love with him?

“No,” Frantically, you shook your head. “No, I don’t. Please, Loki. I’m sorry…”

“There is no need to apologise, my little witch.” My little witch. Oh no… you definitely did not want to let this breath-taking god go. He did not have to explain it. There was no need to apologise because this was what people always did. They used him and then tossed him aside when they had no need of him longer. They claimed they loved him and then revealed their true intentions. By the Norns, what had you done? You had never wanted to hurt him like this.

“I think… I should be the one courting you. Please… let me prove it to you.” You choked out, holding back your tears. You were falling in love with him. If he turned his back on you now and left, never looking back, your heart would shatter. Broken, you tried for a reconciling smile. Your heart almost leaped out of your chest when Loki sighed.

“You should go and pack your things, my little witch.” My little witch. Your smile widened, genuinely.

A/N: If you enjoyed this story, I’d be flattered if you supported me on KoFi! kofi.com/sserpente (or hit the “Support me” button on my blog) ♥

789 notes · View notes

thewritingstar · 4 years

Note

1-200 we're all in quarantine so got nothing to do. Might as well ask pls

oo anon you were gonna ask anyways lol. But I did this hella quick during a zoom.....

1. What is your middle name?

-Rose

2. Do you have any nicknames that aren’t derived from your actual name?

-Star

2. Do you have any allergies?

-Penicillin (not really thou), but no

4. What is the longest your hair has ever been?

-Lower back

5. How well can you write in cursive?

-Its readable

6. Name one item on your bucket list.

-Going to all the Disney parks in the world

7. Have you ever been on a blind date?

-haven’t even been on a real date

8. What is the oldest piece of clothing you still wear and how old is it?

-prob like five years ago and its jeans

9. How often do you eat out at a fancy restaurant?

-nothing like I have to dress up but maybe once a year??

10. How grammatically correct are you when you text?

-rules don’t apply in text

11. Can you drive stick?

-hell no

12. What foreign country would you most like to visit and why?

-japan because I think it would be so cool

13. Nutella or peanut butter?

-NUTELLA

14. At what age did you have your first kiss?

-...............ahahhahahh

15. DC or Marvel?

-DC. Harley Quinn owns my ass

16. Have you ever hosted a wild party?

-my parties consist of drinking capri suns and playing cards against humanity and Mario kart

17. Name/author of the last book you read cover to cover. Do you recommend it?

-...ooof haven’t read a book in a while

18. How many of your Facebook friends do you actually hang with?

-my mom

19. Have you ever donated blood?

-I was apart of a cancer study so I used to donate my blood (and pee) to science

20. From 1-10, how much do you like decorating for holidays?

-8 I love to decorate but I’m not allow near the Christmas trees

21. Coffee or tea?

-vaniila iced lattes or raspberry ice tea own me

22. What is your go-to Starbucks drink?

-Vanilla bean frap with extra vanilla

23. Last show you binge watched?

-currently its assassination classroom

24. Dogs or cats?

-puppy’s

25. Favorite animated Disney character?

-Jessica Rabbit, Dumbo, Rey, Tamatoa and Guedo

26. Have you ever cooked a big family meal by yourself?

-mostly baking for my family

27. Favorite winter activity?

-Staying inside

28. Have you ever butt dialed anyone?

-probably

29. Can you blow a bubble gum bubble?

-yes

30. How early in the year do you start celebrating Christmas?

-my mom plays Xmas music year round

31. What emoji best describes your life right now?

-the wilting rose

32. Are you fluent in more than one language?

-nope

33. What is the longest you’ve ever kept a New Year’s resolution?

-I don’t make them

34. Have you ever successfully been on a diet? Did you gain any of the weight back?

-I’m on a diet to gain weight and its not going well

35. Are any of your grandparents still alive?

-only on my moms side

36. How good are you at communicating through facial expressions?

-hahaha my face gives everything away and I can read people pretty well

37. Have you ever gotten a commercial jingle stuck in your head?

-EDUCATION CONNECTION! Get connected for free

38. Have you ever left a movie theater before the movie was over?

-Nope

39. Do you consider rapping singing?

-rapping is in its own ballpark...its why its called rapping

40. Does your home have a fireplace?

Yep

41. Favorite non-chocolate candy?

-sour gummies worms

42. If you could have only one superpower, what would you want and why?

-oooof ummmmmm maybe teleportation

43. Have you ever locked your keys in your car?

44. Do you listen to any religious music?

-noooooooooo

45. Do you drink soda? If so, which one is your favorite?

-I hate soda

46. What was your ACT score?

-do not do me like this (21)

47. Rice or quinoa?

-rice

48. From 1-10, how good of a driver do you consider yourself?

-like an 8

49. Do you like horror movies?

-nope

50. How easily do you cry?

-uh depends on what it is

51. Do you have any tattoos? If so, of what and where?

-no but I want some

52. You are hanging with your closest friends. What are you most likely doing?

-being dumb and quoting tik toks at target

53. Can you handle spicy foods? What is your spice limit?

-not very well

54. Can you play any musical instruments? If so, which ones?

-no

55. Are you more introverted or extroverted?

-middle of the road

56. Last CD you bought?

-Folklore by Taylor Swift

57. Do you like roller coasters?

-yessss but they cant be extremely tall

58. What day of the week is laundry day for you?

-uhhh depends on when I have time

59. Have you ever played spin the bottle?

-uh maybe once but I was in fourth grade and walked away

60. How long have you known your best friend?

-I’ve known my bestie for 16 years (met when we were 4)

61. Can you eat using chopsticks?

-yes!! I usually eat my Chinese food with them

62. Do you have any stickers on your laptop computer? If so, what are they of?

-no because I need to get a case for my iMac and iPad

63. How often do you say y'all?

-every fucking day. Y’all is my go too

64. Favorite flavor of ice cream?

-cookie dough, pralines and cream, blue raspberry sherbert, vanilla, coffee

65. How long was your longest relationship? Are you still with that person?

-my longest relationship was like three weeks in fourth grade with my friends cousin who I saw twice

66. Star Trek or Star Wars?

-haven’t seen either but prob Star Wars cause r2d2 is cute

67. How good are you at math?

-ehhh I’m okay at stats

68. Have you ever acted in a play or a musical?

-used to do the plays in middle school :)

69. How often do you read/pay attention to your horoscope?

-not much my horoscope but just my sign in general

70. What is the shortest your hair has ever been?

-just above my shoulders

71. Have you ever broken any bones?

-my big toe

72. Do you like to go fishing?

-nooooooo I went fishing once and it pooped on me

73. Do you believe in evolution?

-of course

74. Favorite costume you wore for Hallowen? How old were you?

-I was perry the platypus…. 19

75. Real or fake Christmas trees?

-fake!!! WHO WANTS TO CLEAN THAT UP???

76. How many pillows do you sleep with?

-usually 1-2 but like 5 in the winter

77. Do you live in an apartment or a house?

-House rn

78. How many of your friends are of the opposite gender?

-in my close circle, one but I do have many boy homies

79. Have you ever had a near-death experience?

-many times

80. How long have you been at your current job?

-four weeks

81. What kind of car do you drive (year, brand, model, color)?

-white car

82. How flexible are you?

-not super but mama can bend

83. Have you ever ended a romantic relationship?

-haven’t even started one

84. Phrase you say the most?

-“I’m uncomfortable” “Y’all” “I would let J.D from heathers…..”

85. Have you ever kissed anyone of the same gender? If so, did you like it?

-no but I wish

86. Do you own any homemade clothing?

-not that I know of

87. Do you like fast food?

-yessss

88. Have you ever given anyone CPR?

-nope

89. Have you ever learned to do anything from a how-to video on YouTube?

-I fixed my moms glasses yesterday with a video so she wouldn’t have to spend a shit ton of money

90. Describe your sense of humor.

-if Always Sunny in Philadelphia and “vine comp that butters my eggroll” had a baby

92. Favorite cereal?

-no

93. Have you ever auditioned for a reality competition show?

-no

94. Have you ever gotten a TV theme song stuck in your head?

-Sugar, spice and everything nice, these were the ingredients…….

95. Do you believe in ghosts?

-indifferent

96. Do you think there is life on other planets?

-hell yeah

97. Have you ever given money to a street performer?

-yep

98. Your deepest fear?

-lets not go there

99. Pancakes or waffles?

-waffles but I don’t even like them that much

100. Are you still friends with anyone from high school?

-yep, my friend circle dates back to elementary

101. From 1-10, how good of a dancer do you consider yourself?

-7

102. How much of a patient person are you?

-I can be extremely patient. Once waited three hours in a dressing room with my friend and I didn’t have a phone

103. Do you know your IQ?

-no but its prob god level

104. Do you eat meat at all?

-mama loves meat

105. Do you own any clothes from a garage sale or a thrift store?

-I think so

106. Have you ever bought anything from a flea market?

-yess my mom used to take me to flea markets all the time

107. Have you ever quit a job?

-early this year

108. Have you ever gotten a song you dislike stuck in your head?

-many times

109. Any movie(s) you can watch over and over and over again and enjoy just as much each time?

-robots to ratatouille

110. Do you or have you ever worn glasses?

-just sun glasses

111. Have you ever skinny dipped?

-when I was like 6

112. Are your birth parents still together?

-yep

113. Have you ever been in the audience for the taping of a TV show?

-not that I know of

114. Favorite type of cookie?

-chocolate chip or the sugar cookies with the pink frosting on them (I’m a whore for them)

115. Have you ever been broken up with?

-nope

116. How often do you smile when getting your picture taken?

-most of the time

117. Have you ever accidentally dialed 911?

-yes I have and I was 6 and bullied for it for years by my uncle even though my cousins tricked me into doing it

118. Oldest memory?

-throwing a chair at a kid in preschool for stealing my cookie

119. Have you ever been the victim of a nasty prank?

-nope

120. How often do you snort when you laugh?

-uhhhh a lot

121. From 1-10, how good of a singer do you consider yourself?

-5

122. Favorite Disney song?

-uuuuuuhhh Shiny, See the Light, Why Don’t you Do Right, Show Yourself

123. Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

-hopefully in la

124. What is your Myers-Briggs personality type?

-I’m an advocate

125. Have you ever had a fortune cookie fortune come true?

-I think so

126. Name one thing you wish people would stop posting on social media.

-fascist, racist, homophobia stuff

127. Last musical artist you saw live?

-Jonas brothers

128. Credit cards or cash?

-cash cause I feel like I didn’t spend anything

129. Favorite fandom?

-the powderpuff girls or fairy tail

130. What is your astrological sign?

-Aries

131. Have you ever been fired from a job?

-nope I’m a good noodle

132. Any hidden talents?

-I can do the cinnamon challenge

133. Can you surf?

-nope

134. What motivates you to do well in life?

-the fear of failure

135. Your worst physical feature?

-my acne

136. From 1-10, how much are you like your father?

-mehhhhhhhh like a 4

137. How lucky do you consider yourself?

-I’m a pretty lucky person ngl

138. Name a moment in your life when you were pleasently surprised.

-when I won a coffee maker at my senior grad night raffle

139. Have you ever been summoned for jury duty?

-nope

140. What type of shoes do you wear the most?

-my converse

141. Favorite summer activity?

-getting coffee

142. Favorite song to sing in the shower?

-any Taylor swift song

143. Have you ever lived with a roommate you did not get along with?

-my parents sometimes

144. Have you ever lived on a farm?

-my grandparents owned a cherry farm when I was little

145. Have you ever kept a diary or a journal?

-tumblr is my diary

146. TV show or movie you quote/reference the most?

-Always Sunny, The Office, Gotham

147. How often do you get mad at yourself?

-constantly

148. Have you ever gotten any stitches?

-only in animal crossing (he’s so cute)

149. Have you ever been hunting?

-no

150. Favorite YouTube channel?

-Jenna marbles, try guys, mukbang edit channel, drama channels

151. Have you ever had a pet besides a dog or a cat?

-I had a mouse once

152. From 1-10, how well do you work with others?

-9

153. Are you friends with any of your exes?

-I don’t got exes

154. Apple or PC?

-I have an Apple Mac rn but I think I loved my pc so much so I’m getting used to the format

155. Do you collect anything?

-what don’t I collect? Funko, pins, so much stuff

156. Have you ever seen any Broadway plays or musicals?

-I saw Newsies and A Music chorus

157. Any missed opporunites you wish you had taken?

-I’m not too sure

158. Have you ever uttered a spoken hashtag?

-yes

159. Do you have a pool at your house?

-nope

160. What is the longest you’ve gone without sleep?

-like 24 hours and it was hell

161. Last thing that made you laugh?

-a meme 20 sec ago

162. Disney or Nickelodeon?

-Disney

163. Name one celebrity you wish was still alive.

-Billy Mays (Oxyclean dude)

164. From 1-10, how much are you like your mother?

-maybe a 6

165. Your best physical feature?

-my hair

166. Earbud or earmuff headphones?

-earbud

167. Have you ever wished you were born the opposite gender?

-..hmmmm sometimes I think it would be cool but I’m pretty content with being a girl...

168. Do you have any piercings anywhere besides your ear lobes?

-my nose

169. How often do you wash your hair?

-every other day usually

170. Showers or baths?

-I love a good bath but I take showers more

171. Have you ever been a bridesmaid or a groomsman?

-noooo but I wanna be

172. Bottled or tap water?

-bottle

173. What was your favorite TV show when you were a kid?

POWERPUFF GIRLS

174. Any guilty pleasures you’re willing to discuss?

-watching glee

175. Favorite video game?

-Mario kart

176. Have you ever gotten a New Year’s kiss exactly at midnight?

-nooooo why are there so many questions about kissing

177. How many of the United States have you visited?

-four, ive passed over a few more in a plane

178. Have you ever given money to a homeless person?

-yes

179. Have you ever gotten a surgery?

-no

180. Your least favorite food?

-cheese

181. From 1-10, how competitive are you?

-depends. I’m like a 6 but I can be pushed to a 10 when motivated

182. Do you like wearing hats?

-only a snap back occasionally

183. How much of a jealous peron are you?

-ehh not really

184. What was your SAT score?

-900-1100 (stop nationwide testing doesn’t work and I didn’t learn eveything)

185. Have you ever voted for a reality competition show?

-no

186. Does anyone in your family currently serve in your country’s military?

-my cousin

187. Snowboarding or skiing?

-I don’t do snow

188. What celebrity would you most want to play you in a movie about your life?

-jack black

189. Have you ever been a Boy or Girl Scout?

-hell no

190. Have you ever dyed your hair?

-many times

191. From 1-10, how good of a cook do you consider yourself?

-7

192. You have just opened up a web browser. What is the first site you visit?

-this cursed site

193. How many things can you do with your weaker hand?

-a lot

194. Were you involved in any academic clubs in high school?

-honors i guess

195. Have you ever played hooky from school?

-like twice

196. Are you comfortable with watching rated R movies?

—-not with my parents

197. Do you root for any sports teams?

-bold of you to assume i do sport

198. First thing you do when you wake up in the morning?

-pee

199. If you could take home any one animal from the zoo, which one would you choose?

-a lizard

200. Tell something about yourself most people don’t know.

-uhhh ummmm (I have a tik tok with 7.5k followers)

2 notes · View notes

vgckwb · 4 years

Text

Miraculous Valentine’s Prompts 13: Sweethearts

It was the day before Valentine’s day, and couples from all over Paris were excited. To help, many couples were going to see Andre’s to get some Sweethearts ice cream before the big night. “Ah, Alya and Nino,” he said. “How did that party go? I’m sure it was true, because it was planned by you two.”

The couple smiled. “It went well. Thanks for asking Andre” Alya said.

Nino blushed. Yeah” he said. “Um, our usual please?”

“Certainly” said Andre. “Coconut, banana, and a touch of passion fruit! If eaten together, it’ll give bad luck the boot!”

The couple smiled, taking the ice cream. “Thanks Andre” Alya said. They walked off, splitting the ice cream.

Andre spotted Kim and Ondine. “Ah, Kim, Ondine. It’s always wonderful to see you two!”

“Likewise” Kim said.

“You know, Kim saved me the other day” Ondine said.

“I would expect any less from a true gentleman such as Kim” Andre answered.

“I know, but I figured you’d like the story” Ondine said.

“True true” Andre said. “Now, how about some ice cream?”

“Yes please” Kim said.

Andre began scooping. “A blackberry ocean, then some raspberry and strawberry swirl! Like the two of you doing laps! Give it a whirl!”

“Thanks Andre” Kim said. They walked off.

He then saw Marinette and Adrien. “Hi Andre” Adrein said.

“Ah, you two! I recognize you. So it seems like you’ve found love in each other. Has it been true?” Andre said.

Marinette nodded. She blushed and said “Sorry I doubted you earlier.”

“Huh?” Adrien said.

“Water under the bridge” Andre said. “I understand. You weren’t happy, and it got out of hand. Now, let’s make some magic for you two. Mint and blueberries, like each other’s eyes! So you’ll have a love that soars to the skies!”

Marinette grabbed it. “Thanks Andre!”

Adrien took a bite. “Mmmmmmmmmmm. Good as always.”

“Thank you, young sir” Andre said. The two walked off. Nathaniel and Marc came by. “Ah, two young gentlemen. How is your love treating you?”

“Wait, you know?” Marc said.

Nathaniel smiled. “He’s Andre. He can always tell.”

“Exactly, my boy! And I can tell you two are wonderful together.”

Marc blushed “Thank you.”

Nathaniel smiled “We also make comic books together.”

“I see. Well then.” Andre smiled and readied his scoop. “Like words on a page, have some cookies and cream! Add sherbet for color, and you have yourself a dream!”

Nathaniel took it. “Thank you Andre.”

“Yeah. Thanks” Marc said. They walked off.

Mylene and Ivan walked up. “Ah Mylene! Ivan! How are you doing as Paris’s number one couple?!”

Mylene smiled. “We’re doing great! But, I don’t think we’re Paris’s number ONE couple…”

“Yeah. As much as we love each other, I don’t think we deserve that title” Ivan said.

Andre shrugged. “Alright, I’ll stop. But it’s been a while since I’ve seen a couple such as you two.”

The couple smiled. “The usual” Mylene said.

“Coming right up,” Andre said. “Chocolate, praline, and white nougat for you! A special concoction to keep your love true!”

Ivan grabbed it. “Thanks Andre.”

“It really means a lot to us” Mylene said. They walked off.

Rose and Juleka walked up to Andre. “Ah, a new set of lovebirds I see!”

Juleka blushed. “It’s it exciting?” Rose said.

“It always is” Andre said. “I’ve got just the thing for you.” He scooped up some ice cream. “A cotton candy mix! Part dark, part light! Both sweet, like the two of you! May your future be bright!”

Rose grabbed it. “Thanks Andre!” She fed some to Juleka. “How is it?”

“It’s delicious!” Juleka said.

Andre smiled. “I hope you two come again!” They walked off. Soon after, Luka and Kagami came walking up. “Oh. I sense you two have been through something recently.”

Kagami looked at Luka.. She turned back to Andre. “You could say that,” she said.

“But it’s better now,” Luka said.

“We kind of found each other” Kagami said, leaning on him. Luka smiled.

“What a glorious ending!” Andre said. “Let’s celebrate! Fiery cinnamon and calm blue moon! An unusual combination, but a balance that will make you swoon!”

Kagami grabbed it. “Thank you Andre!” Kagami said. They walked off.

Chloe and Sabrina walked up. “Ah. Some more new lovebirds! Andre is having a very good evening.”

“Yeah, whatever” Chloe said.

“Chloe. Don’t be rude” Sabrina said.

“Sorry” Chloe said. She smiled. “I’m glad you’re having a good night.”

Andre chuckled. “You two are just precious. Lemon and orange, simple I know! But love shouldn't be complex wherever you go!”

Chloe grabbed it and took a bite. “Mmmmmmm!”

“Thank you Andre” Sabrina said. The two walked off.

Jagged and Penny walked up. “Jagged Stone? At MY stand? What an honor!” Andre said.

Jagged smiled. “I heard you had some magic ice cream that helps amplify love.”

Andre looked at the two. “Oh of COURSE! You two are together! What a wondrous occasion! Peach raspberry for the thunderousness of Jagged Stone! Ad Cherry for Miss Penny, who's no longer alone!”

Penny grabbed it. “Thank you Andre,” she said.

“Can I?” Jagged said.

“Hold on,” Penny said. She gave him a bite.

“Mmmmm” Jagged said. “I feel like writing a song about this.”

“Why don’t we finish it first?” Penny said. The two walked off.

Tom and Sabine walked up to Andre. “Ah. Tom. Sabine. It’s been a while.

“Well, we’ve been busy with the bakery, and raising our daughter” Sabine said.

“But she’s going out with someone now, and it kind of inspired us to make it out to you” Tom said.

“I know. She and her boyfriend stopped by earlier” Andre said. Tom and Sabine looked at each other lovingly. Andre smiled. “Since it’s been so long, I’ll give you a treat. Vanilla with filling, one chocolate, one strawberry! Perfect for you two! Your love is so merry!”

The couple smiled. “Our proposal ice cream” Sabine said. She took a bite. “It’s just as good as I remember!”

“I disagree,” Tom said. “I think it’s even better now.”

Sabine rolled her eyes. “See you Andre. And thanks again!” They walked off.

A limo pulled up. Out walked Gabriel Agreste. “Mr. Agreste!” Andre said.

“Hello Andre” he said. “It’s been a while.”

“Yes. It most certainly has” said Andre, awkwardly. After an uncomfortable silence, he asked “How are you doing?”

“Hm” said Gabriel. He sighed. “It still hurts.”

“I can’t imagine” Andre said.

“But…” Gabriel said. “My son recently started seeing someone. Seeing him happy has made me feel...both better and worse somehow. Still, I feel more determined than ever to find her now.”

Andre smiled at him. “That’s the spirit!”

“However, I came here for some ice cream,” Gabriel said.

“Of course. Mint, almond, and banana! Just as a start! Even Andre knows he can’t completely fix this heart!”

Gabriel took it and smiled. “It’s OK Andre” he said. “This little bit helps.” He sat down on a nearby bench and started eating it. “Andre. If I did something bad, would you forgive me?”

“Pardon?” Andre asked.

Gabriel smiled. “Never mind Andre.” He finished his ice cream. “Good as always. Thank you Andre.”

“You’re welcome” Andre said. Gabriel got back in his limo and drove off.

11 notes · View notes

theprinceandagcd · 5 years

Text

I like my coffee the way I like you

I actually did a long fic and not a random blurb? trust me im just as shocked as you are!!

Summary: basically 8000 words of tooth rotting fluff in a “falling in love at a coffee shop” AU. Words: 8078 also on ao3

“Can I have another one of those pumpkin scones?”

Bellamy glances up at Octavia from his place behind the counter, narrowing his eyes. “I’ll be off soon, and we can get actual dinner, if you want.”

His sister huffs. “That’s another half hour. I’ll never make it.”

She’s being dramatic, and usually, Bellamy would ignore her. But, seeing as how it’s a later afternoon and her soccer practice was cancelled, he knows she’s pretty much stranded here with him and has been for two hours already. Plus, it’s been a slow afternoon. So, rolling his eyes, he slips another pumpkin pastry from the case to his left and puts it on a plate before handing it to her.

“Last one. I can’t just keep taking food, O.” She smiles at him, immediately breaking off a piece of the sweet and plopping into her mouth.

“Mmm,” she hums appreciatively. “I really don’t understand why pumpkin stuff isn’t a thing year-round. It’s a crime against humanity, honestly.”

Bellamy rolls his eyes, but before he can respond, the door opens and a blonde woman enters, head low. She drops off a bookbag with the Arcadia Southern logo sewn onto it into one of their booths in a corner while Octavia turns to him, grinning. “Bet she gets a…” She glances back for a moment and then meets his eyes again. “Medium, iced, nonfat, pumpkin spice latte.”

Bellamy really shouldn’t encourage her. “Whip?”

Octavia considers. “Light whip, extra sprinkles.”

“Very stereotypical, O.”

She shrugs, propping her elbows up on the counter as the girl approaches the register. While she’s looking at the menu, Bellamy takes a moment to look at her. She’s definitely pretty—blue eyes, just past her shoulders wavy blonde hair, short, nice figure. He smiles at her when her eyes meet his, and he recognizes the face of someone who isn’t sure what to get.

“Need help deciding?” he asks, and she purses her lips, glancing back at the menu.

“Maybe,” she murmurs, glancing at him with an eyebrow raised.

“Hot or iced?”

She smiles. “Iced.”

‘You like your coffee extra strong or sweet?”

“On the sweeter side today, I think.”

“Salty sweet your thing?”

Her eyes widen. “Yes, definitely.”

“Sounds like you should do chestnut praline. It’s seasonal, so you should definitely try it while we have it. It’s salty and sweet, and if you get it in a latte it’s really good.”

“You’re good,” she tells him, nodding. “Okay, I’ll get a large of that, please.”

“Want whipped cream?”

Her eyes widen on a grin, and it’s fucking adorable. “Yes, please.”

“What’s the name?”

“Clarke.”

He rings her up and she leans against the counter next to Octavia while he makes the drink.

“I really like your necklace.”

He senses Octavia’s hesitation without being able to see her, but when he glances over his shoulder, Octavia has let Clarke reach out and touch the pendant resting between her collarbones.

“Thank you.” Octavia’s voice is quiet. “It was my mom’s. She, uh, died two years ago.”

“Well, it’s beautiful. It really looks like it was meant to be worn by you.” Clarke’s own tone is soft, and when Bellamy turns back toward the counter, Octavia is smiling widely.

“That’s really sweet of you to say.”

Bellamy finishes up the drink with some whipped cream and the appropriate sprinkles, still trying to decipher the look on Octavia’s face.

When he hands Clarke her drink, she bites down on her lip for just a moment. It’s stupid adorable and kind of hot, somehow at the same time. “Could I see your pen?”

Confused, but curious, he hands it to her. Grinning, she writes an “e” at the end of where he’s written “Clark”, her neat penmanship standing out next to his scrawl. She hands the pen back to him, and his face is suddenly warmer than it really should be.

“Sorry about that,” he mumbles, taking his pen. He hopes his face isn’t as red as it feels.

“It’s no big deal, Bellamy. Now you know for next time.”

“Do you come here a lot?” Octavia pipes up, her eyes bright. He can see the meddling in her expression and mentally wills her not to say anything too crazy.

Clarke glances between them, and he can see the recognition in her eyes of their similarity. She takes a long sip of her drink, humming appreciatively. When she answers, though, she’s looking at him, a small smirk twitching up the corners of her lips. “No, but I might start.”

------

“That girl was cute.” Octavia tosses her bookbag into the back seat of their car, falling almost aggressively into the passenger seat before propping her knees up on the dashboard. Seventeen has been a particularly sassy and aggressive year for her, he thinks. “Plus, she’s your age. I asked before she left.”

“O.” His voice is a warning, but the girl was cute.

“She was cute!” Octavia’s giggle echoes, and he can’t help but smile.

He gives. “She was. Did you manage any other information?”

“Other than the fact that she was staring really hard at a sketchbook the entire time she was there, nope.” She shrugs, already losing interest in the conversation as she pulls out her phone. “Maybe she’ll come back, though. She seemed to like you.”

Now, Bellamy shrugs as he pulls out of the parking lot. “Maybe, but that was probably just because I was giving her caffeine.”

Octavia grins, patting him on the shoulder. “Everyone’s favorite drug dealer.”

------

The next time he sees Clarke, she’s already settled at a table when he clocks in. Her coffee is hot today, probably because there’s still snow on the ground outside from a storm two days ago. She smiles when she sees him, a polite greeting from afar, but then her attention returns to her laptop.

A person in line leaves as soon as they have their order, and within fifteen minutes of him coming in, the couple of girls at a table by the door have left, too.

His coworker, Maya, leaves twenty minutes later.

And then it’s just them.

He shoots a quick text to Octavia, making sure she made it home okay, switches out the coffees, wipes down the countertops, and then glances up at Clarke, who is furrowing her brow at her computer screen. She doesn’t seem to notice him watching her, so he glances around for something else to do.

“That girl was cute” keeps replaying over in his head, and she is, but he really shouldn’t care this much, right?

There’s a nervous pit in his stomach, and it starts to drive him crazy enough that he starts wiping off tables just to have something to do. He keeps looking at the door, almost praying that someone will come in and end his stupid misery, but no one does. Wiping down already clean tables isn’t nearly distracting enough, and he’s hyperaware of her presence just a few feet away.

Get it together, sheesh, he tries to reprimand himself. She’s just a girl, sitting in a coffee shop, probably just working on a school assignment.

It’s not nearly distracting enough, but then he’s cleaning off a table two over from hers when she finally breaks the silence.

“Can I get your opinion on something?”

He’s so grateful that her voice has dispelled some of the tension in his body that he’s probably a bit too chipper when he replies. “Sure, what’s up?”

She turns her computer just enough that he can see the screen, and he squats down beside her to get a better look at it. On the screen, there’s a gorgeous graphic design of a forest, complete with trees and shrubbery, plus a single deer. Somehow, it looks like a watercolor painting, or like a picture of one, but he can still tell that it’s animation.

“That looks awesome,” he says honestly, and when she doesn’t respond, he turns his head to look at her. He regrets it when he sees she’s chewing on her bottom lip with her eyebrows furrowed, staring intently at this graphic like it’s going to spontaneously burst into flames. It’s an adorable expression, and he kind of wants to kiss it off of her, too.

“It just feels like it’s missing something,” she finally murmurs, tilting her head as if that’s all she needs to discover the answer she’s looking for. Her brow furrows even deeper, however.

He turns his head back to it to focus on something else, because the stirring in his chest is scaring him. Still, he wants to help, so he considers the lush forest, the bright leaves, the stark colors of the entire piece. “Maybe… Maybe not everything should be alive. Forests aren’t usually so… perfect?”

“So, it’s not quite realistic enough.”

“Maybe?” He shrugs. “I’m not an art person, though, so I’m not sure if I would listen to me.”

She turns her head to smirk at him. “Yeah? What kind of person are you?”

It takes him a little by surprise, her interest in him completely unexpected.

“I like history,” he replies, and he really expects her to scrunch up her nose at it like most girls do, but she raises an eyebrow.

“That’s pretty broad, Bellamy. What history in particular gets you all excited?”

“Uh.” He rubs the back of his neck. “Like… ancient Rome, Greece. Classics.”

“Nice. So have you ever been to Rome or Greece?”

“Uh, no. I want to, someday, for sure. Both are on my bucket list.”

She nods, considering. “I hope you get to, someday. I do mostly graphic design, by the way, but I like to draw, too.”

His knees are starting to get stiff, so he stands and moves to sit in the chair on the other side of the table. “I saw your sketchpad the other day when you came in. Do you usually turn your drawings into graphics, or are they different?”

“It depends.” She considers her computer for a moment, and then turns back to him, lips pursed. “Do you wanna see my sketchpad?”

He nods, and she gets it out, handing it too him with her eyes downcast. It takes him a moment to flip through it, seeing mostly nature scenes, forests and various bodies of water. Eventually, he comes across some of people.

There’s one of a boy with a big smile and dark hair. “Boyfriend?” he asks, trying to sound casual.

Clarke laughs. “No, that’s Wells. He’s like… my best friend, I guess. We’re basically siblings. There is a few of my exes on the next page, though.”

He flips to the next drawing, seeing a girl with long hair. On the opposite page, there’s a boy with long dark hair, smirking.

“Who are they?”

She glances down at the pictures. “Finn, my first boyfriend from high school. Absolutely a terrible boyfriend, but he wasn’t so bad overall, I guess. And then Lexa, my first girlfriend, who I dated my first semester in college. She was… somehow one of the best things and worst things that ever happened to me.”

He nods, handing the sketchpad back to her. She slides it into her bookbag.

“Where is your sister today?”

“Octavia?” he asks, immediately feeling stupid. Duh, Octavia. “She’s home. She’s seventeen, so she’s old enough to be home by herself. Sometimes she just chooses to come here when I’m working if she doesn’t have anything else to do.”

“Just the two of you, then?”

He knows the question underlying this one, but with her, it doesn’t make him want to grimace. Instead, he smiles. “Yeah, just us against the world.”

“It’s sweet, she clearly loves you a lot.” Clarke focuses her eyes back on her computer, as if she knows that the statement makes Bellamy’s throat close up just a bit, his eyes stinging for a moment. He blinks quickly, taking a slow breath.

“When our mom first died and I decided that I’d take on the responsibility for Octavia, it felt like a punishment. But… I don’t think I would have done anything differently, if I had the chance.” He shrugs, unsure of why he’s even saying so much. “It’s how we were meant to be, I think.”

“Does it still feel like a punishment?” she asks, her eyes finding his again.

He considers, but only briefly. “No, not anymore.”

Clarke smiles, her expression soft. “I don’t have any siblings. I think Wells is the closest I’ve ever had, but I’ve always thought having one would be nice.”

Bellamy gives her a half shrug. “Even with my lack of regrets for the last few years, O can be pretty annoying sometimes. You can borrow her any time you want.”

He isn’t sure what possesses him to say something like that, but then Clarke laughs, her eyes bright and the sound echoing in his head, and he doesn’t really care.

“I’ll keep that in mind, thanks,” she says when she’s composed herself, glancing again at her computer. She clicks a few things, then turns it back toward him. “Is this better?”

She’s added a single dead tree, lying flat on the ground in front of the original image. While he’s looking, she clicks a few more buttons and the colors seem to adjust slightly.

“I think add a few more touches like that, and you’ll have a winner.” He smirks at her, and she grins back. “Is this for a project?”

“Yes. I draw a lot of nature scenes, so you think I would be good at it. I still second guess myself a lot though and I can always get better, so I appreciate your help.”

“Couldn’t you just… walk outside and draw what you see?” he asks, and she pauses, considering.

“I guess I could. It just… wouldn’t feel as authentic?” She shrugs. “I like coming up with my own images.”

“It looks like you’re doing a great job,” he tells her honestly, watching as she continues to add changes. She smiles, still focused on her computer for the moment.

“Thank you, Bellamy.” Her brow suddenly furrows, and she looks around the coffee shop. “I’m sorry, I don’t mean to keep you from you work.”

He doesn’t tell her that she’s the best distraction from work he’s ever had, that she’s the first girl that’s made him feel like this in more than six months and he would spend hours talking to her if he could. He doesn’t tell her that talking to her is as easy as breathing, and that it amazes him as much as it scares him. Instead, he just smiles. “There isn’t anything to do, trust me. So, what other changes are we making?”

And that’s what they do, until the sun has long gone down. A few people filter in for coffee, but none of them stay, so he always puts himself right back in front of her, asking for what changes she’s made and letting her bounce ideas off of him. It isn’t until thirty minutes before closing that he finally stands and stretches, shooting her an apologetic smile. “I have to start closing up, but you’re still welcome to stay until I’m done. I don’t want to interrupt your genius.”

She shoots him a playful glare, but her smile breaks it after only a moment. “I’ll find a stopping point soon and be out of your hair.”

He’s just throwing out the last of the brewed coffee when she walks up to the counter, bag slung over her shoulder. “Thanks for your help, again. Is it usually this slow on Mondays?”

“After about four? Yeah. It’s the slowest night of the week, usually.”

She nods, tilting her head at him. “Cool. Maybe I’ll have to make this a weekly thing, then. I got a lot of work done.”

He returns her grin, walking around the counter to start putting chairs on top of tables. Suddenly, a thought occurs to him. “Did you drive here? It’s pretty dark, and I’m not sure how far away you live. I could… uh, take you home, if you want.”

Her grip on her bag tightens just a bit. “I… I took the bus this morning, to campus.”

Sensing her hesitation, he puts up his hands for a moment, moving to put up the last two chairs. “I don’t want to intrude or do any of the terrible things you’re probably thinking about. I just figured I could make sure you get home safe.”

She meets his eyes and seems to scrutinize him for a long moment. He waits until she sighs, nodding. A little bit of color touches her cheeks. “It’s not that I think you’ll do anything. I just… I just live at home still and… my mom can be… I’m not sure if I want to go home.”

His chest squeezes when tears start pooling in her eyes. He takes a step toward her almost automatically, pausing only when he remembers that he doesn’t really know her at all. But right now, she’s a girl crying in his coffee shop about merely the idea of going home, and ultimately, he can’t help himself. His heart reaches out to her regardless. He closes the distance between them, slow enough that she could stop him if she wanted to. Wrapping his arms around her, he gently pulls her into his chest.

A choked sob escapes her throat, and then she’s holding him back, palms resting on his shoulder blades. He waits, lets her take comfort from his embrace, moving his thumb back and forth on the small of her back. He has the sudden urge to tell her that she can stay with him, that he’ll take her wherever she wants, do whatever she needs to ease the pain he can sense radiating off of her.

“You wanna tell me about it?” he whispers after a moment, giving her a little smile when she looks up at him.

“I feel like you’ll judge me if I do. My mom is Abigail Griffin.”

There’s a brief and immediate reaction to the name of their city’s biggest politician, if he’s being honest. He wonders, for a moment, what her daughter would be doing hanging out at a cheap coffee shop when she could probably go anywhere she wanted to. He also has enough time to kick himself for not realizing that sooner, considering he knew Senator Griffin had a daughter named Clarke.

But the girl crying in his arms seems so far removed from anything he would expect from that type of family.

She speaks again before his thoughts can go any further. “For what it’s worth, though, I never see her, and when I do, she’s usually judging me for pursuing an art degree and threatening to not pay for my school anymore.”

He nods, still rubbing small circles into her back, beginning to wonder if he should let her go. She takes care of that for him, taking a step back so that she can look at him better. His arms fall uselessly to his sides, and he tucks his hands into his pockets. She wipes at her eyes, clearing the tears there and looking at him.

She isn’t wrong. It would be easy to write her off as a spoiled rich kid complaining about how her home is the worst, but his heart is tugging almost painfully in his chest for this girl he hardly knows. Her eyes are still shining a bit with unshed tears. “My offer still stands, Clarke, regardless of who your family is. I can take you to a friend’s or something.”

It takes her a moment, but she eventually nods her head. “Okay.”

Once they’re in his car, she puts her hands in her lap, fiddling with her fingers. She gives him an address in a quiet voice, which he puts into his phone and then sets in his lap. He focuses behind him as he backs out, glancing over at her once they’re on the road.

“The radio doesn’t really work most of the time, so if you want to talk or rant, I’m pretty good at listening.”

She nods once, taking a shaky breath.

And she does. She tells him about her dad, who died a when she was ten, in a car accident. She tells him how her mom has been somehow overbearing and absent at the same time ever since. She tells him about how her dad always encouraged her to draw and create things, but her mom never understood why she loved it so much. She tells him how she’s pretty sure her mom is waiting for her to give up the art pathway and pursue something more “worthy”. She tells him that she’s afraid if she doesn’t change paths soon, her mom will stop paying for her to go to school.

She talks until he pulls up beside a small house, and he immediately knows it isn’t hers. He wants to ask, but she answers without him having to.

“This is Wells’ place.” He thinks she’s looking right through him. “I have a key.”

He gets out when she does, walking around to the passenger side of the car and standing in front of her. She glances at the dark windows of the house in front of them, lips pursed, before turning back to him.

“Thanks for the ride, Bellamy. For everything else, too.” She sounds so sad, so defeated, and before he even realizes it, he’s hugging her again, wrapping his arms around her and holding tight. She clings to him almost immediately, her face pressed into his chest.

“I don’t know much about you, but… “ He hesitates, knowing how crazy he probably sounds. “You don’t deserve to be ridiculed for pursuing what you’re passionate about, and I’m sorry you have to deal with that. Anyway, I work every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night. You’re welcome any time, if you need someone to talk to, or rant to, or critique your work, whatever you need.”

She leans back just enough to look up at him, her eyes a little brighter as she smirks. Relief settles in his stomach at the sight, undoing the knots that had taken residence there. “It’s a public place, I’m pretty sure I’m welcome without your permission.”

He chuckles, reaching up to wipe away a stray tear from her jaw before he can stop himself. “You know what I mean, princess.”

Her eyes narrow, but she’s smiling for the first time in a while, so he takes it as a win. “I resent that nickname.”

“I think for that reason alone, I have to keep using it,” he tells her, suddenly aware that his hands are still wrapped around her back, hers still on his chest. She’s so close, so warm, he suddenly finds himself unable to say anything, too caught up in how she feels pressed into him. She seems to sense his shift, her eyes boring into his own with an understanding that scares him.

A smile tugs up one corner of her mouth, but she steps back, releasing him. “Thank you again, for everything. I’ll, uh, see you soon?”

He smiles. “I hope so, princess.”

She rolls her eyes, turning to walk toward the house. He watches from in front of his car as she unlocks the door, waits until she’s given him one more smile and is safely inside before getting back in his car and starting the drive home.

When he gets there, he sits in his car for a moment, trying to calm his racing heart. Even so, Octavia raises her eyebrows at him as soon as he walks in the door.

“Did you get laid?”

Bellamy rolls his eyes. “Inappropriate, O.”

“Answer the question, B.” She sits up, expectant.

“No,” he answers simply, shooting her a glare. He feels a little bad when that makes her frown.

“You just… seem really happy. I haven’t seen you look like this in a while.” She shrugs, sulking into the couch cushions. “It’s nice,” she adds quietly, almost as an afterthought.

Guilt rushes through him, and he sits down beside her. She stays silent, her hands in her lap. “I don’t want you to… overthink this, got it?”

When he looks over, a little bit of light has returned to her eyes as she nods. “Okay.”

“The girl from the coffee shop last week, Clarke? She spent all night at the coffee shop, we talked a lot, and I drove her… home.” He pauses, considering his words. “I think I like her, a lot.”

Octavia puts her hand over her mouth, but it does little to hide her grin. Bellamy rolls his eyes, shoving lightly at her shoulder. “I said don’t make a big deal about it.”

“I’m not,” she says, her voice muffled by her hand. Taking a deep breath, she moves it from her face. “I think that’s great. Liking someone again is a very important step in moving on from an ex.”

His stomach twists at the thought of Gina, but he knows Octavia is right. This is a good thing, no matter what happens. Pushing any negative ideations aside, he smirks at his sister. “I told her she could borrow you if she wanted an annoying sibling.”

Octavia’s mouth pops open in mock insult, but he can still tell she’s thrilled. She gives up the façade quickly, grinning. “I wouldn’t mind that, she seemed nice.”

He smiles, pressing his lips together in an attempt to contain it. “She is.”

------

Bellamy spends the next two days thinking of her, wanting desperately to see her again. Still, he’s almost surprised when she comes in on Wednesday afternoon, smiling widely at him. He can’t help grinning back, watching as she saunters up to the counter, her eyes on the menu.

“You seem chipper today,” he observes, and her smile widens.

“I had a good day,” she tells him. “Let me get a cold brew today, light on the cream.”

“Got a big project due?” he asks as he rings her up and starts pouring her drink.

“Kind of. I need to do some animation stuff. I know how, but it can be tedious, so I definitely need the caffeine.”

He smiles, handing her drink to her. She doesn’t immediately take it and go back to her seat, so he leans against the counter. “I’m glad to see you in a good mood, Clarke.”

A little bit of color touches her cheeks as she picks up her cup, but the corners of her mouth tug up regardless. “I might have been looking forward to seeing you again.”

Bellamy pulls his bottom lip between his teeth, but he knows it does little to hide his grin. “I’ll come over when I get chances, in case you need company or someone to run ideas by.”

She nods. “I think I’d really like that, thanks.”

He does go sit with her every once in a while, sitting down right beside her and trying not to feel like a high school kid every time their knees brush under the table.

“So what do you want to do with art, once you’re done with school?” he asks around 7:30, when the crowd has tapered off to nothing. Everything is as clean as he can get it before closing, so he has the time to talk to her.

She purses her lips as she clicks a button and watches her few frames of animation play out. Then, she glances at him. “Last summer, I helped paint the walls of a library. The library had seen some rough times, and no one ever visited it really. The owners were friends of my dad’s before he died, and they asked if I’d help them, so of course I agreed. They let me attend the grand reveal, and I got to see all these little kids faces light up at the images I’d created and…”

“That’s amazing,” he tells her, purposefully moving his leg to bump against hers. “So is that kind of what you want to do?”

“If I can, yeah.” Clarke smiles, the expression a little shy. “It was just so rewarding, doing something like that. The library has more traffic now, too. I don’t want to be some famous artist, I don’t think. I just want to create art that makes people happy. And still make a living, I guess.”

“I think you’re already doing a pretty good job of the first part,” he says after a moment, shifting just a little closer to look at the cartoon characters that she’s animated and brought to life within the last hour and a half. “I think passion for things like that is half the battle.”

She smiles. “So what about you?”

“I always wanted to teach, probably history, like I mentioned before. But… our mom died at the end of my sophomore year, so I dropped out. I figured I’d at least get Octavia through high school first, and then maybe go back and finish things up.”

“I can definitely see you being a teacher,” Clarke tells him, steadily clicking away on her laptop.

“Is that a good thing?”

She looks at him, nodding, though a little color touches her cheeks. “Yeah, just your… I don’t know. Your gentleness and charisma would make a good teacher.”

They’re sitting shoulder to shoulder now, the shop quiet other than the soft music playing from the speakers. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

That night, he takes her to Wells’ place again, and she smiles widely at him before she gets out of the car, thanking him for his help.

He just smiles, unable to tell her, in the moment, that maybe she’s helping him, too.

------

When she comes in on Friday, she sits at the booth that is quickly becoming hers, orders an iced tea, and waits until the five o’clock rush has died down before gesturing at him to come to her.

He glances at the two customers in the corner, who have empty drinks but also seem well invested in whatever they’re talking about. So, he strolls over and sits on the edge of the seat next to her. “What’s up, princess?”

She smiles a little shyly, reaching into her bookbag for a large piece of paper, slightly bigger than computer paper. She holds it to herself for a moment, where he can’t see the image on the other side. “I, uh, I did something for you.”

He raises his eyebrows. “Yeah?”

When she pulls her bottom lip between her teeth, he almost gets too distracted to notice when she starts to turn the paper around. But then he’s staring at a sketch with minimal coloring, that clearly depicts himself standing in front of the Colosseum, in Rome. His jaw drops as he reaches forward to take the paper from her, amazed at the details that she’s included.

“It’s my way of saying thanks, I guess. For listening to me, and for all of your help.” She shrugs a little. “I figured you could keep this one, until you can get a real one, at least.”

“I…” He struggles for a moment to find words, eyes flying back and forth between the page and her eyes. “Thank you, I love it.”

Holding the paper with one hand, he wraps the other around her shoulder to pull her against him. “You’re welcome,” she murmurs into his neck, her own arm winding around his waist. It takes him a minute to let her go, still shocked that she would do something so sweet for him.

They spend the rest of his free time for the night talking about the places in Rome he would want to see, with her sitting sideways in the booth, her back against the wall and her feet pressed against his thigh. She listens the entire time, never once seeming bored or exasperated.

And then he takes her to Wells again once he’s closed, and she reaches across the center console of the car to press a chaste kiss to his cheek. It takes him by surprise, warmth filling him immediately, but by the time he’s recovered, she’s already out of the car, waving at him from the porch before slipping inside. He has his hand against his cheek the entire drive home, trying to remember what that all too brief contact felt like. Octavia grins at him when he walks in, but otherwise, she doesn’t react to what he’s sure is a dumbfounded look on his face.

That’s good, though. He isn’t even sure what he would say if she asked.

------

Bellamy spends the next week wishing he had gotten Clarke’s phone number, because that’s how long it is before the bell above the door dings and it’s her walking in. She smiles when she sees him, and he can’t help grinning, too.

He almost forgets about Octavia sitting across the counter from him, but then she slaps at his shoulder unnecessarily, her grin too big for her face. He shoots her a look that begs her to behave, but she just smiles, twining her fingers together on the countertop.

Clarke plops her bag down in her booth, and then strides up to the counter, smiling at Octavia before pursing her lips at the menu. He waits, watching as her eyes travel over it and different expressions color her features. It shouldn’t be this fascinating, watching someone decide what to order, but he can’t look away.

Even when she catches him, raising her eyebrows when her gaze meets his, a stroke of bravery hits him and he continues to stare back, giving her a smirk. She certainly doesn’t seem to mind, if the smile and blush creeping up her neck is any indication.

“Anything look good?” he asks after another moment, and she skims her eyes over him, slow enough that he knows he was meant to notice.

“Maybe,” she muses, glancing back at the menu one more time. Octavia makes a noise that almost sounds like a scoff, but she covers it up by pretending she accidentally inhaled some of her hot chocolate. Clarke doesn’t seem to notice. “But for now, I’ll just do a hot coffee, maybe with some of your pumpkin flavor in it?”

“If you’re getting the pumpkin,” he says, already grabbing a cup to write on for her. “You have to get some cinnamon, too. It’s an unspoken rule.”

“I wouldn’t want to break any rules.” Clarke rolls her eyes, but she’s grinning at him. Besides, when she takes the first sip of the drink, her eyes widen. “Wow.”

“What did I tell you?”

“I’m just going to start letting you pick all of my drinks,” she tells him, but she narrows her eyes at the cup where he’s written her name. “Princess” is written on the cup in big block letters. She meets his gaze, purposefully rolling her eyes. She turns her attention to Octavia, her smile softening. “I was told I could possibly borrow you?”

Octavia lights up, nodding. “Sure, I need a break from Bell sometimes, too.”

“Thanks, O.”

Clarke looks between them, smiling. “In that case, you wanna come sit with me? I might could use your opinion on some of my art projects.”

Octavia winds up sitting next to Clarke in the booth for the rest of the evening. He isn’t sure how much his sister is actually helping, but Clarke seems to enjoy her company. He joins them when he can, sitting across from Clarke at the table and realizing with aching clarity how much affection he already feels for her.

She’s being so incredibly patient with his sister while she asks a million questions about college, life, Clarke’s art, without ever brushing her off. She simply bumps her foot against his playfully once as he sits across from her, and it makes him grin like an idiot for a solid thirty minutes. And still, for whatever reason, he finds himself drawn to her, listening intently while they trade stories—her about her dad and them about their mom. It’s therapeutic, almost, and he’s sure Octavia feels the same way. He finds it endearing, to hear her talk about how her dad was her hero, to understand that his loss must have been tragic for her, as losing their mom was for them. Yet, she still has such a passion, which he can see any time Octavia asks her questions about her designs. The difficulties she’s faced have fueled her instead of discouraging her.

The more the three of them sit there together, the more it feels like it’s where she’s meant to be.

At about 8:45, fifteen minutes before the shop closes, Octavia curls up on the bench opposite of Clarke, using a jacket as a pillow, and falls asleep. Bellamy cleans everything except one last pot of coffee, and then sits down next to Clarke. There is a full, rolling landscape on the screen, and she’s working on the details of a cow with a picture on her phone as a reference when he sits down.

“How’s it coming?”

“Good.” She smiles at him, clicking save and closing the laptop.

“Thanks for putting up with my sister.”

She bumps her knee against his, and he mentally curses his traitorous heart, that nearly jumps out of his chest at the touch. “She’s great, Bellamy. Her enthusiasm is endearing, and she’s extremely smart.”

“Still.” He isn’t sure why he can suddenly feel heat in his neck. “It’s nice for her to have someone… older to talk to, I guess. Someone that isn’t me.”

“I hope you stick around” is what he doesn’t say, what gets stuck in his throat. He wants that, so much that it scares him, both for himself and Octavia. Still, Clarke tilts her head at him, and he feels like she can see right through him.

“Has she not had anyone?”

He sighs, staring at Octavia’s hand where it dangles off the edge of the bench in front of them. “She had Gina, for a little while.”

In the pause, he expects Clarke to say something, ask something. Yet, she stays silent. When he turns to look at her, she’s regarding him carefully, but her expression is open, ready to listen.

“We dated for over a year. At first, she was great. She really felt like everything that O and I needed at the time. I had even…” He hesitates, looking back at Octavia’s hand. “I had even started looking at rings.”

“What happened?” Clarke’s voice is quiet.

“She wasn’t happy, in the end. We broke up six months ago.”

He can feel Clarke contemplating, and in the end, she moves just enough to rest her head on his shoulder, turning toward him just a little and reaching across her body to put her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry.”

At the same time that tears sting his eyes, her touch is like a lifeline. The pain doesn’t spiral, or wreck him like it normally would. So, he reaches over, puts his hand over hers on his arm and leans his head against hers.

“It’s okay,” he says, brushing his thumb across her knuckles.

“My first boyfriend cheated with me. He had a girlfriend.”

A flash of anger rises in his chest. “What a dick.”

She giggles. “Definitely. I only keep his picture because I really don’t want to tear out pages of my sketchbook and, to be fair, that’s one of my best portraits.”

Bellamy smiles, still stroking her hand. “You need me to take you somewhere? Home? Or Wells’ place?”

“Home is okay, today. Thank you.”

He needs to dump that last pot of coffee, wash the dishes, and put chairs on tables, but still, they sit there for another long moment before he’s able to pull himself away. “I gotta finish closing up, you think you can handle her?” He points at Octavia.

“I think I got it,” she says, shooting him a grin.

While he closes up, she puts the rest of her stuff up. They’re able to get Octavia up long enough to go to the car, but she quickly falls back asleep in the back seat. When they pull up outside of Clarke’s house, Clarke hesitates. After a moment, she reaches into her backpack and pulls out a small folded piece of paper, handing it to him.

“This… Um, it’s for both of you. Octavia, if she ever needs someone to talk to that isn’t you, and for you… just… if you want it.”

He glances down at the piece of paper, smiling when he realizes it’s her phone number. Surprised at her uncertainty, he makes a show of pulling out his phone to save her number immediately. “I definitely wanted this,” he says, hitting save and then tucking the piece of paper in his pocket. “And I’m sure O will appreciate it, too. I know I do.”

She grins, the cutest amount of color touching her cheeks. “Good, I, uh, I wanted you to have it.”

After another moment of consideration, she slides a little closer, stretching across the console to put her hand around his neck and press a kiss to his cheek. He moves before he’s even processed what’s happened, reaching up to wrap his hand around her wrist. She makes no moves to pull away, and when she turns her head to look at him, he can’t really help it.

He kisses her, the briefest press of his lips against hers. And Clarke smiles, the biggest grin he thinks he’s ever seen on her features. “I guess I should have given you my number a while ago.”

“Maybe,” he murmurs, capturing her mouth again, more firmly this time. She kisses him back, tugging lightly at his hair. It’s only when he remembers that Octavia is in the back seat that he lets her go, pressing his forehead to hers for a moment.

“What are you doing to me?” he asks in a whisper, eyes still closed. She brushes her thumb against his jaw, and even that simple touch has his heart beating even faster.

“I don’t know,” she answers, and when he opens his eyes, she’s pursing her lips at him. “Is it okay?”

“Definitely,” he answers easily, giving her lips one more quick peck. “Definitely okay.”

“Okay.” She smiles, and as soon as she’s pulled away, he misses her touch. She grabs her bag, looking back at him with her hand on the door handle. “I’ll see you Monday?”

“Wouldn’t miss it, princess.”

She narrows her eyes, but her grin gives her away as she gets out and heads up the sidewalk to her front door. Once she’s safely inside, he pulls away from the curb, glancing in his rearview mirror to see Octavia sitting up. Her eyes meet his, and she smiles.

“I didn’t hear anything.”

He knows she’s lying, but he can’t find it in himself to be even slightly upset. “Whatever, O. Here.” He pulls Clarke’s number out of his pocket and hands it to her.

She works on entering the number into her phone, and then she crawls up into the front seat while Bellamy stops at the end of the street. “So she’s sticking around, I guess?”

He swallows, glancing both ways for something else to focus on other than Octavia’s gaze. “I really hope so.”

Octavia doesn’t respond for a moment, probably still half asleep. “Good, I really like her. She seems good for you.”

Her words surprise him a little, and by the time he’s thought of something to say in return, Octavia has laid back down, her eyes closed. Tears prick his vision for reasons he can’t explain, and he takes a deep breath to try to reign them in.

“Yeah,” he muses, swallowing. “I think so, too.”

------

It’s a week later when Clarke comes in looking extremely pensive, and he can tell she’s got something on her mind. She’s distracted when she orders, goes to her booth without saying much else. The lines of her face go back and forth between sad and angry, and she winds up taking it out on a sketchpad for the majority of the evening.

So, when he’s closing up, he finishes up quickly and then goes to sit in front of her. She starts a little, glancing around. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention. I’ll go.”

“Hey.” She stops, meeting his eyes. On an impulse, he reaches over to put his hand on top of hers, squeezing gently. “What’s up?”

Tears shine in her eyes, and her mouth opens as if she’ll respond a few times, but she never does. It aches deep in his chest, and he wants to know what’s wrong so he can fix it. Still, he can sense that she’s panicking, so he stands, reaching out a hand. “Come here, dance with me.”

The shock of his request seems to dry her eyes for the moment, and she takes his hand so that he can pull her to the middle of the coffee shop and press their bodies close. The music over the speakers is quiet, and more elevator music than anything, but it works. They sway back and forth, and after a moment, she relaxes, pressing her face against his chest. Her grip on his hand is tight, and he waits, holding her close and resting his head on top of hers.

“My mom kicked me out.”

“Ah,” he says, understanding immediately. His next question is easy. “Do you need somewhere to stay?”

She hesitates. “I could stay with Wells. I mean, my mom can find me there pretty easy and his place is kind of small, but it’s an option.”

He smiles, knowing the question that she doesn’t want to ask, that she’s afraid to ask. “Or you could come stay with me and O.”

She lifts her head to look at him. “Yeah?”

How can she not know how deep he already is?

“Clarke.” He reaches up with the hand that was holding hers, cupping her cheek in his palm. “Look, I spent more than six months alone because I couldn’t get over my ex. Then, you happened. Honestly, it scares me a little how easy it was to fall for you, but I’m not going to question it. You’re just… good. For me, for Octavia. She’s just as smitten with you as I am, trust me. Whatever you need, we’re here for you.”

A few tears slip down her cheeks as she reaches up to kiss him, pressing close. He can taste the saltiness of her tears on her lips, and he just holds tighter, tangling his fingers in her hair and willing the broken pieces of her back together.

She’s already done it for him, after all.

“Thank you,” she whispers against his mouth, and he smiles, pressing his forehead against hers.

“Anything for you, princess,” he says, and he means it with everything inside him. With a sudden, aching clarity, he feels as if he’s holding his entire world, like this girl standing in front of him is it for him. Overwhelmed, he just kisses her again, until his smile breaks it.

She grins up at him, fingers still playing with his hair. “I love this coffee shop.”

He can’t help himself—he laughs, sure that he looks and sounds foolish, but he doesn’t really care. Not when she’s looking at him like that. “I think it loves you, too.”

------

It’s a week later, curled up next to her in his bed on a Saturday morning, that he tells her he loves her, pressing the words into her hair. He doesn’t freak out about how it’s too soon, or worry that she’ll run at the words.

She doesn’t. She just smiles, shifting even closer to him so that she can kiss him, whisper the words back to him as easily as if she were saying her own name.

“I love you, too.”

That afternoon, she picks up the sketch of him in front of the Colosseum and spends an hour penciling herself beside him. When she presents it to him, she shrugs a little. “I figure we could maybe go together.”

And he grins, reaching forward to kiss her until his body begs for air. Pulling away, he whispers against her lips, “As if I’d ever go without you, princess.”

#the 100 #bellarke #bellarke ff #bellarke fanfiction #my writing #ao3 #fanfiction

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judithsupportsteamchampery · 5 years

Text

Interview with Deniss Vasiljevs September 2019

Summer’s over - No reason to be sad for a real skating fan as it’s time for the new season to kick in!

For me personally it had been a quite exciting and eventful summer where I didn’t even miss skating that much to be honest. I was rather a bit afraid that it had maybe lost a bit of it’s spark for me… but after that last weekend in Bratislava I can tell for sure, the fire is definitely back and burning as strong as ever. It was an amazing weekend full of emotions - mostly super positive -, lack of sleep, fun times with amazing friends and of course amazing skating and new programs.

Right after the Short Program, when the rest of the competition was still running, my friends and I had the spontaneous chance to have a little chat with Deniss and Stéphane about the Two Men in Love program, the unusual decision to have two Short Programs and about their off season.

Please note before reading that this was a very spontaneous, quite unprepared interview / chat. All of us are no native English speakers. Once again I tried to write everything down word by word as it was said. Towards the end it turned more into a normal conversation, so you see quite short phrases and some interruptions. I hope it’s still possible to understand everything.

You can also watch the interview on youtube right here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G0ZbHV2FH2M

D: Deniss, S: Stéphane, M: Marina, R: Reut, J: Judith

The first question is paraphrased as it was cut from the video.

J: First of all thank you so much for your great performance and your great program today. We were all hoping for it and now you really chose Two Men in Love as your Short Program. What led you to this decision and when did you decide that?

D: It’s more like I am planing to change… depending on where I will perform, I am planing to change between Two Men in Love and Bloodstream. And I decided to… since here I will be first time showing my free program, I think that Two Men in Love is a little bit.. like gives a bigger contrast between the two programs, so I was really willing to make it a bit special.

J: Yea, definitely, it is!

M: So what is like your story behind this program?

D: This program… to me… I really really enjoy the melody, this music is really powerful… it’s… if I would describe a wine… it’s really „full body“… so I enjoy a lot skating to this dynamics that go throughout the whole piece. And it’s a very powerful, powerful piece and I enjoy to interpret it and to skate it the best I can.

M: Whose idea was it in the first place? This music?

D: I had a choice of certain musics and I - out of all that where available - I actually liked this one stand out for me and I really felt that this dynamics could be very well interpreted for my movement and for my skating. It’s really like a challenge in a sense because… well… I think it has a (…) under rhythm which is very hard to exploit and I am looking forward to really manage it and master it to open up a full (…) a full palette of this music piece.

M: But you have actually two short programs, right?

D: Yes, I do have…

M: Why such an unusual decision? You couldn’t decide?

D: One of the ideas initially was because I love to perform in shows and being a competitor and skating in the shows is kind of difficult to have another program that would be like very different. So in order to practice was made a decision to have actually a program that would in a sense mirror the elements of the initial Short Program and that way I would always work towards benefiting Short Program even more than just learning how to express myself for the crowd during a show performances. So it was in a sense a little challenge for me that I am really looking forward to overcome.

S: So if I can add, the initial idea actually was to - everything was correct - and I think there was also this idea of… like a company or a theatre has a seasonal program and in that seasonal program they have different ballets… like in one season you have Giselle and then during Christmas you have the Nutcracker and then at the end you have something contemporary.. so it was more like to be able to show a seasonal program with different pieces. Why to stick with one Short and one Free when you can actually… and he….

M: Wait, wait, do you have two Free Programs too?

S: We are thinking about that… because.. why you have to stick to one Short and one Free…

J: Yea, if you have the possibility…

M: Yea, but isn’t it more difficult to remember all the programs?

S: He has a good memory, an elephant memory.

D: I hope… I think I can manage. And to me skating, performing, working on the steps and overall… I love more the artistic part of figure skating and I really wish and I have a strong desire to actually.. maybe improve figure skating in general towards that direction through my work and my performance… together with Stéph… create a little bit more than usual. And having more programs I don’t think it’s such a big difference .

S: It’s a bigger palette.

D: Yea, the more you can do, the better you are and the technical elements I mean they stay kind of the same for everything, so finding a right pattern means patterns that’s kind of what a right master should be able to do, making jumps through all kind of patterns. And program is in a sense changing only in that way, so it’s also a very good practice for me.

R: So during the practice every day you run through three programs now?

D: I am now running actually far more than I used to and I feel I can get actually much stronger physically during such…

S: He runs all three programs yea…

M: Every time?

S: Not every time… but he runs through every program

D: Two programs…

M: Two?

D: It overall benefits me I think.

M: Do you already also have an exhibition program?

D: Well my other Short is exhibition. It’s kind of… what ever I feel, I skate…

M: That’s nice.

R: You wanted to have another costume? With big stones?

D: I honestly…

S: The first costume fitting was two days ago.

D: I honestly had no idea like how to interpret the Two Men in Love program and I just trusted the designer and he made I think a wonderful job with this costume. It’s super practical, I love it. It’s probably the lightest matrix I ever skated in and about the design of how it looks I find it very beautiful actually.

J towards Stéph: I guess you like this one too…

S: Yes, I really love it.. when I saw it, I was like wow . I am jealous!

R: So it’s not Japanese…

D: That was in Japan actually…

R: So it’s the same costume maker.. from Japan?

D: It’s the one that was making my previous costumes since I am skating with Stéphane… not the first year free program…

S: They made… they did…

D: The last four programs…

S: They did Sway, they did Recondita, they did Samurai, they did the Short Program Papa was a rolling stone…

R: Also exhibition?

S: And they did also exhibition, yes, they did Iron and they did also Nocturne…

J: So… like basically everything.

D: Almost…

S: No, they didn’t do Vivaldi, and they didn’t do Voodoo Child…

J: And Lion King… but that was your costume… (towards Stéph)

D: Lion King, yea…

J: As you talked a lot about the programs… we have a long off-season behind us, long waiting for us fans, so what was the highlight of your off-season for you, either skating wise or personally..?

D: It’s actually a very hard question for me because I had a really memorable… like a lot of amazing moments during this summer. I had been really enjoying it. I had a trip kind of first one on my own in Japan when I went for practicing there when Stéph was also there…

J: Yea, with the Japanese team.

S: Yea but he was on his own.

D: I have skated… I was on my own.

S: First time!

D: I had really good Camps in Champéry with coaches coming from Toronto…

J: Oh yea, the one in the summer Camp…

D: And it was like.. I really found it… I clarified very well my off - ice work which is like a very bright moment. I had enjoyed a lot… first time I actually went mountain climbing.

J: Oh yea, with Chris and Koshiro…

M: Oh, it was the first time..

D: In Champéry yea. Before I would just hike and enjoy the beautiful landscapes but this time I managed actually hanging out from cliffs.. it was really…

M: It wasn’t scary?

J: The view was probably amazing….

D: No, it wasn’t scary, it was… filling up with emotions.

I had a wonderful time at home during my birthday and I enjoyed a lot the company of my parents. And at the same time I had before that as well a very good moment in Champéry when we were doing the camp and it was a really really hard time but it was such a good work that now I am.. although through all these difficulties and hard work actually now I really want to smile because it was a really wonderful moment for me.

J: Yea to finally come through…

D: I learned a lot of the company of my friend Satoko Miyahara, she’s now also competing actually…

J: Oh, in the US, right?

D: Yea, so we had a great camp.. and now we’re…

S: It was really rich actually. We had a very rich off-season.

D: Everyone who is at Japan Open has been in Champéry.

M: But Javi wasn’t…

S: No but the Japanese Team… Yea, Javi was not, but he is Team Europe…

D: During the summer I also for the first time tried to make chocolate. And I really really enjoyed this confiserie…

S: Yea, confiserie…

D: I really enjoyed it

M: Like from the beans?

R: The whole process?

D: Yea from the cacao beans…

S: He makes pralines… but… wow! I mean, get ready, one day he will open his confiserie for sure. He is a master.

D: I definitely really enjoy working precise and with the right tools it works… And I enjoyed a lot this new experience. I also had fun using the Pasta machine this summer quite a bit and…

S: Please land your tripple Axel, you know how to do it…

J: It worked perfectly fine in the warm up…

S: I knooooow… just… just like he says he is a very precise person and to have to be precise… it takes something to let go and once he lets go it’s fine and once he starts thinking then the timing goes a bit… hmmmmm…

D: It’s just a simple problem, if you go, do it perfect, in everything… in cakes it works amazing…

M: In skating not so much…

D: In skating it doesn’t work.

J: Yea, stupid body…

D: When I have a problem in skating my cooking works better so I should make a problem in cooking and skating should work…

S: You get stuck at some point…

J: You have some positive energy…

D: Yes!

J: …and I hope it helps you to achieve your goals in skating…

D: I also in summer had made quite a bit of drawings, like I tried different techniques to draw and enjoyed organizing my flat much more.

J: Oh, wow!

D: And overall this summer… I traveled a lot, I had a lot of good work, and I think what is good, I matured a lot so overall I find that this summer was very constructive and I laid down a good foundation for the upcoming season.

J: So the success will come at some point, I am sure!

S: The success is always there, always there!

After that Stéph got up and gave us very surprisingly two Swiss Chocolate bars as a gift and I also gave Deniss the present from the Fans: Every Day motivational messages. He said that it was a very special present for him and that recently he learned to appreciate these kinds of presents much more.

It was a super nice talk, of course it could have gone on forever, there were much more things to discuss… I would have loved to know and hear more about his new drawings and his travels in Japan… but the next time will come… Of course in both performances, Short - and Free program there was room to improve but this first competitions gives at least me a really positive feeling towards the rest of the season. Deniss was so full of positive energy and proud of the things he has achieved in the off season that I am sure it will show of this season. Can’t wait to follow you on this journey, Deniss!!!

#denissvasiljevs #Stephane Lambiel #teamchampéry #interview #figureskater #figure skating

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dolphin-bouillabaisse · 5 years

Text

GO-ctober Prompt, 25

Inktober except without the ink, and with drabbles instead.

Prompt #25 - Tasty

(previous | next | beginning)

(find it all on Ao3)

(Note: listen, I just wanted to write about Aziraphale enjoying some delicious cakes, and then Crowley had to come in and make it all sexy. I don’t know. Consider this rated M, I guess.)

“Are you sure you don't want a bite? It's truly delicious.” Aziraphale scooped around the broken bits of puff pastry and icing leftover from the mille-feuille on his usual plate selection of desserts.

“I'm good.” It had almost become a part of their dinner routine, Aziraphale offering up bits and pieces of his dishes. He wasn't quite sure what he'd do if Crowley ever actually agreed to take some. Luckily for the greedy angel, it had never come to pass. Quite the other way around – on the rare occasion that Crowley did in fact order something for himself, it was usually Aziraphale's turn to eat a little bit more than 'just a bite' of it. Neither of them had ever complained about this little arrangement.

Crowley downed his espresso as Aziraphale moved on to the Opéra cake, carefully slicing through the layers of sponge, ganache and coffee buttercream.

“You know we can always go somewhere else if you don't find anything on the menu, right?”

That was a new turn for the conversation. He watched one eyebrow rise above Crowley's sunglasses.

“Angel, I think by this point of our relationship you could've realised I don't really care for eating. As long as you find something, I'm good.”

“I know.” Of course he knew, he'd watched him pass on almost every delicious morsel humans had come up with since they'd discovered that meat plus fire made yummy. “I was just wondering if maybe you did have some vague preferences and were simply too polite to mention it.” What a ridiculous idea – the demon being polite. Not saying what he wanted to say, that was more likely.

“Not really.” Crowley shrugged. “It all tastes pretty much the same anyway.”

“Oh you can't mean that!” Aziraphale looked up from the thick chocolatey Sachertorte on his fork, almost in shock. “Surely there is some variety in the, literally, thousands of dishes we've had a chance to try!”

Another shrug as he leaned back, slumping one arm over the back of the chair. “Yeah, I guess. But it all tastes a bit like ash in the end.”

“It does no- oh.” Aziraphale's flustered feathers (metaphorically and, on a different plane, literally) settled just a bit as he realised. “Does it? To you?”

“Mhm.” Crowley's fingers played around the tiny espresso cup, regretting he'd drunk it all already so there was no slow sipping to hide behind. “Earthly delights aren't meant for demons, and such. Probably from the whole apple thing. You remember your Bible, don't you?”

“Upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.” Aziraphale quoted, and sounded perhaps a little bit too heavenly reciting, considering the short flinch the demon gave. He quickly covered the hand on the cup with his own. “Oh, Crowley-”

“Now don't go being all saintly and pitifully kind like you usually do.” He almost hissed. “S'been six thousand years, s'not like I'm not used to it. Like I said, I don't care.”

Aziraphale moved on to the Bienenstich on his plate in silence, but he couldn't really bring himself to enjoy the decadent mixture of almonds, custard cream and honey as much as he usually did. The thought of ash lingering in his throat was a bit too much.

“There's really nothing that tastes good to you? I mean, at least a little bit?” His voice was quiet and hopeful, as if this whole revelation was actually a dramatic problem – which it was, probably, only to someone with as distinguished a taste as Aziraphale. Crowley shrugged again.

“Well, spicy things are alright. Masks the taste. Anything that burns, really.”

Aziraphale suddenly understood the demon's interest in strong liqueurs, and the Indian takeaway he had on 'speed dial' every time they decided to stay in for the evening. He resolved to stock up on good whiskeys in his drinks cabinet, maybe add a chili plant to his little windowsill herb garden in the flat upstairs.

Crowley interrupted his contemplation with a voice that, had Aziraphale been at all listening properly, he would've quickly recognised as flirting.

“There's one other thing that always tastes good, actually.”

“Oh really?” The message flew so far past his head, it almost clipped the chandelier. Aziraphale leant forward with an excited smile instead, preparing to lock away the information that followed as his greatest secret, planning to surprise Crowley with whatever dish he'd mention now at every chance. “What is it?”

Crowley leant forward as well, elbow on table (any other occasion, and Aziraphale would've chided him for his table manners), chin on hand, and smirked. “You.”

Aziraphale almost choked on a cherry in his Black Forest cake. “Crowley!”

“It's true, though.” He was clearly savouring the blush that crept up his angel's cheeks. “You always taste delicious to me. Guess even a heavenly curse can't mask an angel's taste.” The smirk turned into a grin as Aziraphale tried to cover his cough behind a handkerchief. “Or maybe demons are just supposed to enjoy that one Earthly delight a bit more. Tempting and all that.”

“That's – not a very polite dinner topic, dearest.”

“Well, you asked.”

Crowley leant back again as Aziraphale stared at the Paris-Brest left on his plate, but mostly looked through it. He remembered the love bites and hickeys hidden under his bowtie and waistcoat at all times, and seemed to finally understand the demon's special interest in certain... activities.

Another thought crossed his mind.

“Are you sure you don't want a bite?”

Crowley had turned his attention away for only a second, looking past their table at the waiter standing at attention near the doors, wondering if it was time to ask for the bill and continue the (very successful, if he might pat his back for once) flirting on the way home.

“Angel, didn't we just-” He stilled as he looked back at Aziraphale – holding his hand towards him, a dollop of praline cream on his finger, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

The utter bastard.

Crowley stared back at him for a while, noting the smirk on his face that was so much softer than his own had been minutes before, before grabbing his wrist and pulling his hand closer. Lips wrapped around his finger, far further than was absolutely necessary for the small bit of cream, and slowly pulled up again, making sure to drag the forked tip of his tongue along the sides.

“I'm sure sticking your fingers in the cake is not very good table manners, angel.”

“Neither is that.”

Now Crowley couldn't help but grin again, the blush on Aziraphale's cheek a steady pink.

“That was pretty good, I admit. I think I'd prefer the tiramisu there, though.” He blinked down at the last cake left on Aziraphale's plate, who barely waited to drag only his little finger through the mascarpone, making sure to get as much of the sharp Madeira-soaked sponge into it as possible.

The utter bastard, again.

Crowley likewise made sure to leave just the tiniest nip of teeth at the end of the offered-up finger this time., and watched Aziraphale's Adam's apple bob up and down.

“I think it's time for the bill.” the angel almost whispered, as Crowley already waved to the waiter. “I'm sure we can get the rest of this to go.”

“You do know what the best part of leftovers like that is, though, right?” Crowley whispered back as Aziraphale batted his eyelashes and barely shook his head. “It's sneaking a taste on the way back home.”

#good omens #ineffable husbands #crowley #aziraphale #my writing #prompts #october prompts #Mature rating #nothing really happens but there's... flirting and... subtext #food #cakes #I got hungry writing this for different reasons

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artificialqueens · 4 years

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Not Nineteen Forever (16) (Branjie/Scyvie/Ninex)- Ortega

a/n: it’s been almost FOUR MONTHS what the fucking fuck?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! i’m so so sorry for my absence, i really have no excuse apart from work and life getting in the way. this chapter was a fucker to write but i hope it doesn’t disappoint! as always i would love for u to tell me if u enjoyed either on aq or on my blog. p.s. i am so excited i get to write chapter 17 now. GET EXCITED for that one xoxoxox

last chapter: the least romantic of Valentine’s Days ever saw Brooke regretting cutting ties with Vanessa and Nina misguidedly breaking up with Monet. Scyvie stayed cute and unproblematic xoxo

this chapter: for Scarlet’s birthday she is gifted: a lie in, Yvie acting incredibly suspiciously, and a girlfriend-serenading plan worthy of a rom-com.

***

Scarlet woke up with an excited tingle in her tummy, a rush of adrenaline forcing her eyes open. She blinked one, twice, had the ever-familiar confusion (Am I waking up in my flat or Yvie’s?…Mine.) and then chastised herself for still feeling like a child on Christmas Eve on the 26th of February each year. Laughing to herself as she rubbed her eyes, she supposed she couldn’t help it. Scarlet loved her birthday- as vain as it sounded, it was a day all about her, and as someone with the friendship anxiety she had it was always nice to see how much her friends cared for her. Sitting up and stretching, she remembered all the birthdays that had come before- being little and tearing down the stairs at home, her feet skiting over the Mr Sheen-ed floorboards and running into the kitchen to see all her presents piled up on the table and her Mums there ready to greet her with a cuddle and a ridiculously big birthday badge. With a twinge of pain, Scarlet remembered the birthday she’d celebrated in her first year of uni- no night out, she hadn’t had enough friends to assemble for that, just her and another girl she’d befriended who later dropped out of uni altogether watching films in her room. That was all behind her now, though. She had the girls, her second family, and they’d made every birthday since as special as the ones she’d had when she was a kid.

Grabbing her phone, she smiled to see that it was already blowing up with messages. She supposed she wasn’t surprised- it was already 11 o’clock in the morning, and most of the world had woken up. Scarlet had been lucky enough to have her birthday fall on a Sunday, and that meant no uni, no obligations, and no alarms. She read over the two texts she’d got from her Mums, both of them crying over how they couldn’t believe she was 21 already. Scarlet supposed it was easy to lose perspective at uni- she was the last in their group to hit that big milestone, save Yvie of course, and it had seemed like she’d been waiting for ages. But to her Mum and her Mam, she was their little baby that had somehow grown into an adult without much time seeming to pass at all. Pausing, Scarlet texted them both back with a similar number of crying face emojis and kisses. She would go visit them next weekend.

On the group chat, celebrations had already kicked off. The group dynamics were weird these days, Scarlet supposed. Nina was unusually quiet, not her jokey and upbeat self. Still, Scarlet could understand that given what had happened with her and Monet. She was one of the rare few that had actually been able to hear both sides of the story- Vanessa explaining the situation to her after lectures one day having heard it all from Monique and Yvie telling her everything that Nina had told her- but Scarlet still couldn’t seem to get her head around it. How could it be, she wondered, that two people could have been less on the same page? Monet ready to make things official with Nina and Nina, scared and paranoid and convinced of Monet’s infidelity, ending things to protect her own feelings. Except nobody’s feelings had been protected at all, Scarlet had sighed to Yvie one day, as both girls were heartbroken and pining for each other but neither were sure as to how to go about mending things. With a pang of sympathy, Scarlet realised it had been two weeks to the day since they had ended things. She knew it would have made the poor girl feel worse if she’d revealed what she knew- that Monet had been about to ask her to be her girlfriend- so Scarlet had kept quiet, figuring that Nina was probably heartbroken enough for now.

Vanessa, on the other hand, couldn’t have been in a more different position to Nina. Every time Scarlet saw her she would be ready with a new story about something hilarious Monique had done, or something funny she’d messaged her, or something she’d done that had made Vanessa “go all heart eyes” (to quote her directly). Scarlet was happy for Vanessa- she knew that the two girls were spending time together and getting to know each other (and, thanks to what Vanessa told her in completely unnecessary detail, knew they were at it like rabbits), and it was exactly what Vanessa needed after all the drama with Brooke.

Before Scarlet could think about Brooke’s situation though, another message came through on the group chat that distracted her enough to scroll up and read all the others.

large incongruous silkworm spiced praline: IT’S INTERNATIONAL SCARLET ENVY DAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HAPPY BDAY HOE!!!!!!

Akeria Sainsburys Bag for Life: Woooooo!!!!! Happy Birthday Scarlet we love you!!!

cursed satnav voice: BITCH HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!!!!!! Hope you have the best day, love you so much xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

okay then: aaaaaaaaah happy birthday Scarlet!!! 21 at last!!!!!

cursed satnav voice: Why is she not ANSWERING??????

Akeria Sainsburys Bag for Life: Yvie’s offline too……

large incongruous silkworm spiced praline: ENJOY THE SEX BITCHES

Maple Syrup: Can confirm they’re not fucking

Maple Syrup: Yvie has an essay due she’s not started so Scarlet never stayed over

okay then: thank u to our reporter in the field, Ms Brooke Lynn Hytes

Maple Syrup: I’m here to help

Maple Syrup: also Happy Birthday Scarlet!! Hope Yvie spoils you rotten xxxxx

Scarlet’s Bitch: ur all filthy animals i was getting a coffee

Scarlet’s Bitch: ready for crying breakdown number 2 of the day

Scarlet’s Bitch: i would absolutely not rather be with my incredibly fit, funny, gorgeous girlfriend

okay then: keep that gay shit off the chat

cursed satnav voice: Yvie!!!!!!!!!!! You guys are so cute i s2g

okay then: vanj don’t encourage them

cursed satnav voice: Allow it hoe!! I got dumped, I’m allowed to be mushy

Scarlet’s Bitch: oh, did Monique end things?

large incongruous silkworm spiced praline: ASDFGHJKL YVIE I LOVE U

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag for Life: AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH

okay then: omg

cursed satnav voice: On God I will leave this chat again!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scarlet allowed the crazy replies from her friends to pour in, Brooke notable by her absence in the melee. Despite everything, Scarlet had to feel sorry for her. Yvie had told her in complete pain-of-death secrecy that it sort of, maybe, might have been the case that Brooke regretted breaking up with Vanessa. Brooke hadn’t exactly said that to Yvie, but she knew it was heavily implied, and even if Brooke didn’t know herself then Yvie sure as hell did. Scarlet had rolled her eyes at first and complained about how idiotic Brooke was being but when she actually really thought about it, she could see Brooke for what she really was- scared, unsure and full of doubt, unaware of what her feelings even were. In all the time Scarlet had known Brooke, she’d never been in a relationship, which made Scarlet wonder if she’d ever had one in her life. It was strange how people could be so different. Back in High School Scarlet always thought relationships were as simple as two people liking each other, kissing and then deciding to be together. But nothing was ever as simple as that. Sometimes they started out as friends and had to jump that platonic hurdle, like her and Yvie. Maybe everything started out great but ended up getting messy even though the two people probably loved each other, a la Monet and Nina. Sometimes the two people just never put a label on it (Plastique and Ariel). And other times it was a complete clusterfuck. Like Brooke and Vanjie.

Watching as the girls all teased Vanjie and Brooke’s silence became louder and louder, Scarlet decided that now was probably the time for her to break the ice.

Yvie’s Bitch: AAH sorry i just woke up!!!!! Thank you guys, I love you all sososo much!! Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

cursed satnav voice: xxxxxxxxxxx i wish we were all going out tonight :(

Yvie’s Bitch: I know, downside of a Sunday birthday!! We could do something else if anyone’s free during the day though?? Snacks and movie?

cursed satnav voice: Sorry bae I’m gonna be in the lib :(

large incongruous silkworm spiced praline: SORRY ANGEL MY FAMILY’S DOWN TO VISIT

Akeria Sainsbury’s Bag for Life: Sorry baby I’ve got dance class

Scarlet frowned, trying her best not to be disappointed. Yvie was still making her a nice dinner at her flat tonight, and they were going to go and see a film even though they hadn’t decided which one yet. It would still be a good day. Even if Yvie had been acting a little weird recently- shielding her phone, closing her laptop quickly if Scarlet came into her room, seeming secretive. It was probably nothing. Scarlet was probably being paranoid as a result of everything that had happened to their friends recently. Yvie still told her how much she loved her every day, and made her laugh, and smiled at her in a way that made Scarlet feel like she was the most beautiful creature on earth.

As if on cue, her phone lit up as the selfie she and Yvie had taken on top of the big wheel at Christmas filled the screen. Smiling as she swiped across the screen, Scarlet held the phone to her ear. “Hey, you.”

Yvie’s voice had a hint of playfulness to it as she answered. “Hey. Y’know, I feel like there was something important today that I totally forgot, can you help me out?”

Scarlet laughed, leaning back in bed and keeping up the charade. “Oh shit, is it not that essay you have due in about 40 minutes?”

“No, that’s pretty much all I’ve been able to think about all day. And it’s definitely going to be handed in late.”

“Meh. Better late than never. Is it, uh…some sort of Saint’s Day? There’s fucking hundreds of those.”

“No, see I don’t think this has anything at all to do with Saints.”

Scarlet laughed, giving a gasp on mock-irritation. “The fuck’s that meant to mean, you bitch?”

“Well for one, I don’t think Saints squirt when they-”

“Jesus fucking Christ, Yvie!” Scarlet screamed, giggling as she cut her girlfriend off. “Where the hell are you?!”

Scarlet could practically hear the nonchalant shrug Yvie gave. “Library cafe.”

“You’re such a tit.”

“Mh. Prefer yours. Happy Birthday, by the way.”

Scarlet caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror, smiling like an idiot at nothing. “Thanks, baby. I love you.”

“I love you too. So what’s your plan for your big day?”

“Shit all, to be honest, although I’ve been stressed out my mind all week about that group project I had on Friday so that’s probably for the best,” Scarlet blew air through her cheeks, trying to keep the disappointment out of her voice.

“Sounds good,” Yvie replied, Scarlet only the slightest bit let down by the fact her girlfriend didn’t pick up on her mood at all. “Hey, I’ve got a plan for you if you want it?”

Scarlet’s ears pricked up as she absent-mindedly fiddled with the studs she had in her ears. “Okay?”

“Well, I’ll probably be back at the flat around…one-ish? So you can come see me then. But can you do me a favour, girl? Phone Nina?”

Scarlet crinkled her nose up in confusion. “Uh, sure, I can do that. How, uh. How come?”

“Because I’m getting more and more worried about her with every passing day and if she kills herself in the flat we won’t get our deposit back. That’s a joke of course, but in all seriousness I am worried about her.” Yvie reeled off in her own deadpan way, then lowered her voice. “I just got the weirdest look from this boy that just walked by me.”

“He probably thinks you’re fit.”

“He probably thinks I’m criminally insane after that sentence. Does that sound okay, though?”

Scarlet was a little confused by the whole request. “So you want me to just phone Nina? What do I say it’s about?”

“I don’t know, say you want to do something for your birthday and ask if she’s free. Just something to get her out of the flat for something that isn’t a lecture.”

Scarlet shrugged. “Okay, I can do that.”

“Thanks, baby. I’ll see you later, okay? Come by about one. I love you.”

“Love you too. See you later,” Scarlet replied, Yvie hanging up the phone first. Scarlet frowned, blinking. There was something entirely weird about the whole conversation, and she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She rubbed her forehead. She didn’t want to entertain any thoughts of Yvie acting suspiciously, not after the breakdown of two relationships now in the friendship group, so without stopping to let the dam break in her head and for all those thoughts to flood in, she dialled Nina’s number. It rang twice before she picked up.

“Hello?”

Scarlet raised her eyebrows in surprise. Nina’s voice was a lot chirpier than she’d expected. “Uh, hey Nina. It’s just me.”

“Hey, Scarlet! Happy Birthday!” the girl’s voice came down the line again, Scarlet starting to wonder if it actually was Nina or not. “Just the girl, actually. I was wondering if you wanted to help me with something today?”

Scarlet stretched out in bed. This was an odd day. “Sure, sure. I was actually phoning to ask if you wanted to hang out, so that works. What do you need?”

“So basically I’ve decided that I’m going to cut my losses and go and stand outside Monet’s flat on the street with a speaker blasting a romantic song in a bid to win her back.”

Scarlet felt like going back to sleep. She couldn’t believe any of this was happening. “You’re…you’re what, sorry?”

“Yeah, I know, I know. It’s absolutely batshit crazy and probably won’t even work. But that’s two weeks I’ve been feeling like utter shit about the entire thing, and last night I just had this shock of motivation and clarity and I kind of told myself that if I really wanted her back that much I would have to just eat a concrete mixer of humble pie and just go and tell her what she means to me.”

In the list of things Scarlet never imagined Nina doing, publically putting herself out there in what could be an incredibly humiliating apology was probably at the top spot. Scarlet supposed it had to be seen to be believed. “Well, I’d love to come and be your moral support. You’re brave as shit, girl.”

“Ugh, you’re an angel. Can we meet halfway and then walk up to her flat together? Maybe outside the Sainsbury’s near me? In like, half an hour?”

Scarlet looked at the clock, then looked again in the mirror. “Forty-five minutes?”

“Perfect. See ya then. Bye, Scarlet!”

“Bye,” Scarlet replied, bemused beyond belief. Giving herself a kick up the bum, she launched herself out of bed, grabbed a towel, and made her way to the shower. Forty-five minutes was a challenge, but she would make it work.

She was only ten minutes late when she met Nina outside the shop, which for the always-running-late-Scarlet was quite good. She saw with a pleasant surprise that Nina had changed out of the grotty black Primark leggings and huge oversized pyjama top she’d been wearing like a heartbroken uniform around the flat for the past two weeks, and had put on a pair of clean jeans and a red jumper. The two greasy plaits that Brooke had put her hair into last Friday were gone too, and she’d washed her hair and straightened it so it was all sleek and glossy. There wasn’t any makeup on her face, but Scarlet would allow it. This was already more than she’d expected.

“Hey, girl,” Scarlet greeted her, Nina bouncing a little in surprise as Scarlet appeared beside her. “You look so good!”

“Aw, thanks! Jesus Christ I’m so nervous it’s like I can’t even think. Oh, shit, happy birthday!” Nina said, almost in one breath as she hugged Scarlet tightly, clinging to her like an anchor and in turn illustrating how nervous she was. “How’s it going so far?”

“Yeah, okay. Well, no. A bit weird actually,” Scarlet furrowed her brow, sweeping a hand through her hair as she thought about the phone call from Yvie. “Has Yvie seemed off to you at all?”

Nina shrugged, shaking her head. “No.”

“Right. It’s just…ugh, she phoned me this morning. Everything was fine, it was just….I don’t know. Something seemed off. She said she was in the Library cafe but…I could actually hear her, you know?”

“That place has all the decibels of a rave combined with the noise level of my placement class,” Nina agreed. Then, frowning, she shook her head. “She was probably just on the way out of it.”

“Yeah…” Scarlet muttered, still puzzled. “She told me to phone you, you know.”

Nina laughed, kicking the bluetooth speakers she’d set down on the pavement, presumably too heavy for her to hold. “Oh, fuck. Checking up on the latest casualty of love, then?”

Scarlet was suddenly embarrassed, unsure as to whether or not she should’ve told Nina that. “Do you not think that’s a bit…odd?”

“Nah. Not in the least. Hey, speaking of, can we get this show on the road before I completely shit myself and/or back out?” Nina asked quickly, taking a deep exhale and bouncing on the balls of her feet. Scarlet nodded quickly, apologizing and offering to help Nina with her speakers.

“No, you’re fine. This is my cross to bear,” Nina insisted, puffing a little as she picked them up and started walking in the direction of Monet’s flat. Scarlet knew it was only a few minutes’ walk away.

“So, uh. I have a lot of questions,” Scarlet laughed a little, pleased to see Nina up and about. Every time she’d been round at Yvie’s the girl had looked an absolute sight, and had only changed her clothes once- one day where she tried to go into uni but came back sobbing as she’d seen Monet and the girl had completely blanked her. “The first one is…do the others know that you’re doing this?”

“No. Only decided last night, and I’ve been psyching myself up ever since. I’m tired of feeling like shit, I’m tired of not knowing what could happen if I just swallowed my pride and told her the truth. I was so happy with Monet, I…” Nina sighed, stopping and hitching the speakers back up. “I want to feel that happy again.”

Scarlet nodded understandingly, and they walked in silence for a moment. Nina spoke after a short pause.

“What’re the others?”

“Huh?”

“The other questions? You said you had a lot.”

“Oh, right. Well, they all kind of combine into one, really, I mean…where did you get this idea from?” Scarlet laughed, her stomach tensing as they turned into Monet’s street. She didn’t know why she was nervous. It’s not as if she was trying to get her girlfriend back.

“Well, one of Monet’s favourite films is Ten Things I Hate About You, and I’m kind of trying to recreate that. She’s a romantic, and…well, I’m shy. I need to at least try putting myself out there, even if it’s only to win her back. It’s been over a week and I’ve been torturing myself with the whole thing day after day after day. I’m grabbing life by the balls, I’m womaning up. I’m making my own happy ending,“ Nina said determinedly, heaving the speakers a final step and planting them outside Monet’s stairwell.

"No I know! It’s very inspiring. Just…I mean, you could’ve texted her first?” Scarlet chewed her lip, watching Nina flick through her phone. “I mean, she might be out.”

“Much more romantic this way, Scarlet, and romance is the order of the day. I mean how many Disney princesses get wooed by a text? None. Monet’s a princess and she deserves a princess attempt at begging her to take me back,” Nina said matter-of-factly. Scarlet watched as Nina looked up at Monet’s window, the confidence she’d possessed earlier now seeming to melt away. Scarlet took a little step forward and squeezed her shoulder.

“Hey. This will work. I know it. Monet still likes you,” Scarlet gave her friend a comforting smile. “I know she does.”

Taking a deep breath and smiling a smile of gratitude, Nina suddenly pressed play on her phone and a loud intro boomed out through the speakers. It was louder than Scarlet had been expecting. Deafening, even. Never mind Monet’s flat, half the street could probably hear it. The first faces were already starting to appear at windows, but Nina began undeterred, staring up at the window that meant the most to her hopefully.

“You’re just too good to be true…can’t take my eyes off of you…”

Scarlet jumped as the window above Monet’s suddenly flew open and an outraged bald man yelled an obscenity out of it. Nina continued.

“I wanna hold you so much…at long last love has arrived…and I thank God I’m-”

“Turn that fucking racket off!” came a yell from a flat across the road. Annoyed, Scarlet threw them the middle finger. Nina kept going, her face almost pained as her eyes flicked between the three windows at the front of Monet’s flat. She completed another verse and then casually hummed along with the start of the instrumental, and all at once Scarlet saw her face light up as Monet’s curtain was pulled back and Monet, Bob and Monique appeared at the window. Scarlet watched as Monet’s face rapidly displayed confusion, annoyance, and finally affection as she realised where the noise was coming from. As Monet threw her window open, Nina flung her arms out and beamed up at her, in the face of now several angry tenants from both sides of the street who were doing everything from wishing Nina an untimely death to phoning the police.

“I love you baby, and if it’s quite alright I need you baby, to warm the lonely nights, I love you baby, trust in me when I say-”

Monet was attempting to inject some form of disapproval into her tone as she shouted down, but her huge smile gave too much away. “Nina, what the hell-”

“Oh pretty baby, don’t bring me down I pray, oh pretty baby, now that I found you stay and let me love you, baby, let me love you!” Nina continued, cutting Monet off mid-sentence. Bob had raised an unconvinced eyebrow at the singing Nina but Monique seemed to be loving it, and had her phone out filming it all.

“You’re just too good to be true, can’t take my eyes off-” Nina started again, but stopped abruptly as the music suddenly died. Confused and frowning, Nina ran to the speaker. Dismayed, she looked up at Scarlet. “Shit! It’s out of battery!”

There was a moment where the two girls on the street level looked at each other with panic. For a moment, Scarlet thought about carrying on regardless, and it seemed as if the thought crossed Nina’s mind too. However, seemingly sensing it was over, Monique applauded enthusiastically from the window, cheering for Nina. Unimpressed, Bob turned and left. Monet didn’t go anywhere. She was still rooted to the spot looking at Nina, her face beetroot red. Taking her chance, Nina yelled up at her.

“Monet, I’m so so fucking sorry!” she began, and Scarlet’s heart instantly broke. “This has been the hardest week for me in a long, long time and…fuck, I only broke up with you because I thought you were going to break up with me but I just instantly regretted it because you’re pretty much the best thing to happen to me and…God, I’m just an idiot.”

“Shit, Nina,” Monet replied, her voice a little faint at speaking pitch. She said something that neither Nina or Scarlet could make out.

“What?”

Monet rolled her eyes, amused. Yelling down, she clarified. “I said I was going to ask you to be my girlfriend! You tit!”

Nina’s face dropped in surprise, revealing what Scarlet had managed to keep secret this whole time. She was so glad she’d got to find out from Monet herself and not her or Vanjie or anyone else in their friend group. Just her and Monet. How it should be. How it should have been.

“Oh my God! Monet! I’m a fucking dick!”

“Yeah, you are,” Monet laughed, pausing and leaning her head on her hands as she continued. “So uh…you love me, is that what this is?”

Nina’s eyes awkwardly flickered to Monique. She shrugged. “Don’t stop on my account, this shit’s cute! It’s like Eastenders.”

“Piss off, Monique!” Monet snapped, shoving her out of view. Scarlet shifted from one foot to the next.

“Do you want me to go?” she offered Nina. Nina’s face instantly turned concerned.

“Oh, God no! She’s not forgiven me yet,” she whispered to her, Scarlet nodding understandingly and stepping back. Turning back to the window, Nina shrugged a little and smiled. “Fuck it, I do love you, Monet. At least, I think I do, I’ve never been in love before to figure it out. But if you give me a chance, I’ll try my best to figure it all out with you. I’m so fucking sorry, I…there’s no excuse for it. Maybe people do stupid shit when they’re in love.”

Scarlet watched as Monet’s face broke out into a smile. Nina gazed up at her hopefully. “Can you, uh. Can you forgive me?”

“Well, I don’t know if I’m ready yet. But I guess if you come up here…” a smirk slowly spread across Monet’s face, all at once seeming much more like the fun, flirty girl Scarlet knew her as. “…I might let you persuade me."

Nina’s face immediately turned completely pink as if someone had flipped a switch, and Scarlet looked up with surprise as muffled cheering came from the window adjacent to Monet’s. Looking up she found Monique watching the entire exchange from her own bedroom window completely unashamedly. Scarlet was distracted, though, by Nina suddenly wrapping her in a hug. Pulling away, she was beaming from ear to ear.

“Thanks so much, Scarlet. I don’t think I could have done any of this without you.”

Heart warmed, Scarlet batted a hand at her. “Hey, any of us would’ve come with you!”

“No, I needed you. Yvie would’ve told me the whole thing was a stupid idea, Brooke would’ve just moped around like she’s been doing for days on end. You’re the next reasonable choice,” Nina smiled gratefully, then took a quick look up at Monet’s window and bit her lip. “Fuck, do you think she’ll actually forgive me or-”

“Oh, Jesus Christ, Nina, she’s so obviously about to bang your brains out!!” Scarlet cried exasperatedly, laughing at Nina’s instant blush.

“No, of course. You’re right. Fuck, shit, I should’ve worn nicer underwear. Am I even wearing a bra?”

“Just go-” Scarlet gently pushed Nina into the stairwell. “- and get your damn girlfriend back!”

“Right. Yes. Okay,” Nina babbled, turning and walking up the stairwell. Scarlet waited a second before she shouted at her.

“Speakers!”

“Speakers, yes, right,” Nina’s voice came from inside the building, the girl re-emerging from the stairwell, taking the speakers that she’d forgotten off the ground and scuttling inside again. Laughing, Scarlet grinned. She couldn’t wait to tell the girls about it all. Opening the group chat, she paused. Perhaps this was one Nina could do on her own.

Checking the time, Scarlet saw it was half twelve. She had said she’d head round to Yvie’s at one, but she was sure she wouldn’t mind if Scarlet was a bit early. Deciding to start walking, Scarlet began making her way to what was essentially her second home in the city now. It wasn’t a long walk, and Scarlet liked a wander at this time of year anyway. It was beginning to properly look like Springtime now, all the little bulbs poking out of the grass in the park and the air even smelling that little bit more sunshiney. Scarlet knew that didn’t make sense to anyone but her, but it made her happier knowing that better weather was on its way.

Within ten minutes she was at Yvie’s door and pressing the buzzer. Scarlet stood for a moment and waited, which wasn’t usual. Brooke had once described Yvie reacting to the buzzer as racing to the door like an excited puppy, clamouring to let Scarlet in. Remembering the weird phone call, Scarlet felt a knot appear in her stomach. She buzzed again, waited again. Then there came a crackle.

“Hello?”

Scarlet recognised Yvie’s voice instantly. “Hey, it’s me! I’m a little bit early-”

“No, no, it’s fine- come up.”

The buzzer went, and Scarlet clicked open the door. She felt a little uneasy as she took the steps two at a time up to Yvie’s top floor flat. As she walked in through the door, Yvie was there to greet her.

“Hey, baby,” she smiled brightly, Scarlet not missing the way her eyes darted back inside just before she kissed her. “Happy birthday! How are you?”

“Uh, good, yeah. I’m good. Had a pretty weird day,” Scarlet admitted, watching as Yvie’s eyes darted back inside. This time, Scarlet followed her gaze.

“Is, uh. Is Nina not with you?” Yvie frowned, seeming worried as Scarlet entered the hallway.

“Nina? No, why would Nina be with me?” Scarlet frowned, taking off her jacket, folding it in half and crossing her arms. Yvie ran a hand through her hair.

“I just thought you two were hanging out- you said you’d phone her-”

Suddenly, there came what sounded like a giggle from the kitchen. Scarlet put two and two together and got a thousand.

“Yvie,” she began, her tone dark and her stomach churning. “Who’s in the kitchen?”

“What? Nobody. Nobody’s in,” Yvie frowned, her eyes darting to the kitchen door once more.

Scarlet paused for a moment. This was all wrong. Her mind was going too fast for her to catch up with. She squeezed her eyes shut. “Are you cheating on me?”

At once, she regretted the question as Yvie’s face dropped. “What?!”

“Are you cheating on me? Hiding your screen, shutting your laptop, being weird with me…it all adds up, fuck, Yvie, is she here? Is she here now?” Scarlet reeled off, feeling herself grow more and more frustrated. In a minute she would start with the angry tears but fuck, she couldn’t give Yvie the satisfaction of crying in front of her. How the fuck could she do this?

Yvie actually started laughing. “Is that what you think? Oh my God, Scarlet, I’m so fucking sorry.”

Confused, Scarlet fought the urge to push her girlfriend away as Yvie stepped forward and wrapped her in a tight cuddle. “I would never, ever, ever do something like that to you, okay? Let’s get that right from the start. You will never have to worry about that with me. Okay? Jesus Christ, I love you so much. You’re so dumb.”

“So you’ve not cheated?” Scarlet muttered quietly against Yvie’s chest. Her blood was still racing in her veins despite Yvie’s words calming her mind down. She felt Yvie pulling away and stepping back.

“Scarlet,” Yvie said simply, walking to the door. “What day is it today?”

“…my birthday?” Scarlet said blankly, watching as her girlfriend put her hand on the door handle.

“Exactly. So when it’s your girlfriend’s birthday, her twenty-first birthday, I should add, what do you do?”

Scarlet felt as if she was watching a murder mystery and couldn’t tie everything together. “You make dinner for them and spend time with them?”

“No…” Yvie laughed a little, turning the handle and cracking the door open a tiny bit. “You make sure she’s out of the house for the day and-”

As Yvie threw the door open, Scarlet almost got the fright of her life as the room was filled with screaming, confetti and party poppers. Blinking and trying to get over her shock, she could see Vanjie, Akeria, Silky, Brooke and Plastique, and they were all running to hug her. Finally, it sank in what was going on.

“Oh my God…you guys…this is a surprise birthday party?!” she squealed, the rollercoaster of emotions she’d been put through in the past five minutes causing tears to spring to her eyes. Akeria, who had found herself in the middle of the hug, laughed and gave her a shake.

“Not just any surprise birthday party! Your fuckin’ surprise twenty-first birthday party!!” she all but yelled into Scarlet’s ear, giving her an extra tight squeeze. As the girls pulled away from her, Scarlet frantically took in her surroundings. There was confetti all over the floor and pink balloons hanging from every possible place they could hang from. Across the wall above the kitchen cupboards, there was a very obviously homemade banner that said “HAPPY 21ST SCARLET WE LOVE U”, and on the kitchen table there were cakes, a selection of all the best beige-coloured party food, and a massive bowl of punch which, if Silky had had any hand in creating, would be absolutely lethal.

“What…but I still don’t get all of this!” Scarlet laughed in delight, feeling Yvie wrap her in a hug from behind. Doubling over laughing, she pointed to her girlfriend. “I just asked her if she was cheating on me!!”

The room exploded with laughter. Three of the girls started speaking at the same time, then one voice began to dominate.

“You seriously believed we weren’t gonna do stuff for your birthday just because it’s a Sunday?!” Vanjie screeched in disbelief. “Fuck outta here! It’s your 21st, bitch, of course we had to do somethin’!!”

“Yvie messaged us all about two weeks ago making sure we were all free,” Plastique explained, smiling. “And we’ve been planning what to do ever since. If we’d known she’d be that bad at not acting suspicious we’d have organised it all without her.”

“So wait…did you even have an essay to hand in this morning?” Scarlet wondered, turning to her girlfriend. Yvie laughed.

“Nope. It was all LIES, Scarlet, lies! I was to make sure you didn’t stay over so we could make things and set stuff up all morning. And Nina was supposed to hang out with you and bring you back to the flat when we were ready. Which, by the way, where is Nina?”

“She’s, uh. It’s a long story,” Scarlet rubbed her forehead, too exhausted to even get into it. “I’ll let her tell you when she gets here. At least, I’m assuming she’ll be coming.”

“She better had, bitch, it’s your twenty-first!” Silky yelled indignantly. Scarlet wanted to say that the girl would’ve had a pretty good excuse to miss things, but she held her tongue. Still intrigued, she cast her eyes around the room again.

“So, wait, what’s the actual plan for today?”

“Movie afternoon here with all the food. Drinking Silk’s punch and getting day drunk,” Brooke explained with a smile before being cut off by Vanessa.

“Hey, I helped make that punch, gimme credit, bitch!” she flipped her hair, a little twinkle of something in her eye that intrigued Scarlet. Brooke seemed nonplussed and just smirked.

“Fuck, well. That’s even more reason to stay away from it, it’s probably just vodka and food colouring.”

As the other girls laughed, Vanessa leaned over and gave Brooke a small shove in the ribs. Scarlet exchanged quick eye contact with Yvie, and the look her girlfriend gave her seemed to say that there was more she’d be told later.

“Once we finish the movie then we’re gonna do MarioKart or Mario Party, then get ready and go out. Fuck a degree if we can’t have a life,” Akeria explained further. Scarlet felt like crying again. This was the feeling of running downstairs at 9 years old, of her presents in the kitchen and the people she loved happy and excited for her. These girls were truly her second family.

“Fuck, thank you guys. I love you so much,” Scarlet whispered, not trusting herself to speak unless her voice cracked. The girls all fussed over her and went in for a second hug, only pulling away when Silky cried out that it was punch time.

“What’re we watching, babe?” Yvie called over from the punch bowl, as Scarlet sat herself on her and Yvie’s favourite chair and the other girls began getting themselves comfy. Scarlet quickly forgot about what Yvie had asked, however, as she noticed something- Vanessa, Akeria and Silky all sitting on the sofa, but Vanessa positioning herself at the edge next to the other armchair. Brooke was sitting in it, and the two girls were actually talking. Not just talking. Smiling. Bickering playfully about fuck-knows-what.

“Scarlet!” Plastique suddenly shouted, causing her to yell in surprise. The other girls laughed. “Yvie said what’re we watching?”

“Uh, Princess Diaries, duh,” Scarlet rolled her eyes. As Yvie came back and grabbed the remote, she wordlessly tapped Scarlet’s phone. Picking up on the signal, Scarlet grabbed it and unlocked it.

Y: they’ve been like this all day btw

Y: arguing like an old married couple and flirting and shit

Y: wtf is going on

Scarlet’s brow furrowed as she read the messages. That was weird. Weird, weird, weird, and Scarlet didn’t know what to think. She was suddenly distracted by a notification from the group chat before she could speculate any further.

Kim Kardashian-West: I’m out of the doghouse and my depressive slump. Me and MY GIRLFRIEND will be with u all in an hour xoxoxoxoxoxo

As the news gradually reached the others in the room, it became filled with shouts and cries of excitement, disbelief and joy at Nina finally having fixed things with Monet.

“Wait, wait, wait a minute,” Plastique said urgently, turning round so quickly to look at Scarlet she was sure it would give her whiplash. “You were with her. What happened?”

Scarlet let out a laugh as she realised all the girls had their eyes on her like trained snipers. Who needed a movie when she could recount the great stairwell serenade she’d witnessed earlier?

“Buckle up, children,” Scarlet began, leaning on her knees. “It’s storytime.”

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douchebagbrainwaves · 4 years

Text

YOU START BY WRITING A STRIPPED-DOWN KERNEL HOW HARD CAN IT BE

Both of which are false. You must resist this. The main value of the succinctness test is as a guide in designing languages. They'll be fine.1 A typical angel round these days might be $150,000 raised from 5 people. If a hacker were a mere implementor, turning a spec into code, then he could just work his way through it from one end to the other like someone digging a ditch.2 I never read the books we were assigned. So please, get on with it. No one has to commit explicitly to what the central point is. But due to a series of historical accidents the teaching of writing has gotten mixed together with the study of ancient texts was the essence of what scholars did.

If you expressed the same ideas in prose as mathematicians had to do without. But actually being good is an expensive way to seem good. Because the fact is, if you believe as I do that the main reason we take the trouble to write two versions, a flame for Reddit and a more subdued version for HN. In a real essay you're writing for yourself. The reason they like it when you don't need them is not simply that they like what they do. The Internet is changing that. That's why I'm so optimistic about HN. And unless you already have if you can't raise the full amount. And so once university English departments were established in the late 19th century the study of literature. I'm not proposing this as a new idea. Bill Gates would probably have something to read.3 There's always a temptation to do that completely.

They raise their first round fairly easily because the founders seem smart and the idea sounds plausible. So the ability to ferret out the unexpected. Even if you only have one meeting a day with investors, somehow that one meeting will burn up your whole day. And anything you come across that surprises you, who've thought about the topic a lot, will probably surprise most readers.4 For a painter, a museum is a reference library of techniques.5 I can't. It means that a programming language is obviously doesn't know what a programming language should, above all, be malleable. The true test of the length of the delay inversely proportional to some prediction of its quality. Almost everything is interesting if you get deeply enough into it. It hadn't occurred to me till then that those horrible things we had to rely mostly on examples in books. And once you start to doubt yourself.

So no matter how many good startups approach him.6 But I know the house would probably have ended up pretty rich even if IBM hadn't happened to drop the PC standard in his lap. Why is it conventional to pretend to like what you do or what I do is somewhere between a river and a roman road-builder. And open and good.7 A couple hundred thousand would let them get office space and hire some smart people they know from school. And yet a lot is at stake. Browsers then IE 6 was still 3 years in the future, and the power of the more unscrupulous do it deliberately. Hacker News is an experiment, and an experiment in a very young field. So when a language isn't succinct, it will feel restrictive. The paperwork for convertible debt is simpler.

Their search also turned up parse. The study of rhetoric, the art of arguing persuasively, was a kind of final pass where you caught typos and oversights. Colleges had long taught English composition. The existence of aggregators has already affected what they aggregate.8 Study lots of different things, so you can learn faster what various kinds of work. I think he really wishes he'd listened. The advantage of the two-job route is less common than the organic route. There is nothing investors like more than a plan A. Long but mistaken arguments are actually quite rare. Scientists don't learn science by doing it.9 Even the concept of me turns out to explain nearly all the characteristics of VCs that founders hate. Relentlessness wins because, in the Gmail sense everything I've told you so far.

Hacker News is an experiment, and an essai is an effort. Users have worried about that since the site was a few months old.10 So a plan that promises freedom at the expense of knowing what to do, so here is another place where startups have an advantage. It sounds obvious to say that the answer is a simple yes, but no one can predict them—not even the protagonists: we're just the latest model vehicle our genes have constructed to travel around in. There are lots of other potential names that are as carefully designed and, if possible. Another easy test is the number of both increases we'll get something more like an efficient market. For example, in a recent essay I pointed out that because you can start as soon as the first one is ready to buy. Why is it conventional to pretend to like what you do? Twenty years ago, fascinating and urgently needed work. Fundamentally an essay is a train of thought, as dialogue is cleaned-up train of thought—but a cleaned-up train of thought—but social and economic history, not political history. It will always be true that most great programmers are born outside the US.11 The whole room gasped.

I've met a few VCs I like. There's nothing intrinsically great about your current name would seem repellent. Since we hosted all the stores, which together were getting just over 10 million page views per month in June 1998 I took a snapshot of Viaweb's site.12 The advantage of the two-job route, if you have $5 million in investable assets, it would seem an inspired metaphor.13 The advice of parents will tend to feel bleak and abandoned, and accumulate cruft.14 The good things in a community site come from people more than technology; it's mainly in the prevention of bad things that technology comes into play. Investors like it when they can help a startup, but they did have to go to school, which was a dilute version of work meant to prepare us for the real thing.15 Or at least, a thesis was a position one took and the dissertation was the argument by which one defended it. I didn't realize this when I was about 9 or 10, my father told me I could be 100% sure that's not a description of HN. Indeed, you can start as soon as the first one is ready to buy. It's kind of surprising that it even exists. And there was the mystery of why the perennial favorite Pralines 'n' Cream was so appealing.

Notes

Html. If early abstract paintings seem more powerful sororities at your school sucks, where many of the War on Drugs. Most unusual ambitions fail, no matter how large.

The quality of investor behavior. 03%. Bullshit, Princeton University Press, 1981. Source: Nielsen Media Research.

There is no different from deciding to move from London to Silicon Valley. Sites that habitually linkjack get banned. Xenophon Mem.

Hypothesis: A company will be big successes but who are good presenters, but we do the right thing to do some research online. Here's a recipe that might work is in the general manager of the products I grew up with elaborate rationalizations.

Sometimes a competitor will deliberately threaten you with a cap. It's a bit more complicated, because you have to keep them from the DMV.

A single point of a powerful syndicate, you now get to go deeper into the work of selection. The Sub-Zero 690, one could aspire to the hour Google was founded, wouldn't offer to invest the next investor.

At first I didn't care about, like languages and safe combinations, and one VC. Gauss was supposedly asked this when comparing techniques for discouraging stupid comments instead. Proceedings of 2003 Spam Conference.

In part because Steve Jobs doesn't use.

So as a rule, if an employer, I have no decision-making power. Your user model almost couldn't be perfectly accurate, and that most people will pay people millions of dollars a year for a patent is now. Obvious is an understatement.

It wouldn't cut their overall returns tenfold, because when people make the people working for me was the ads they show first. It's hard to say they prefer great markets to great people to claim retroactively I said yes.

Candidates for masters' degrees went on to study the quadrivium of arithmetic, geometry, music, and that modern corporate executives would work better, and b I'm pathologically optimistic about people's ability to solve a lot of legal business. One of the iPhone SDK.

Cost, again. And they are building, they were. If a company growing at 5% a week for 19 years, it means a big company. However bad your classes because you spent all your time working on is a convertible note with no deadline, you should push back on the parental dole, and journalists—have the perfect life, and stir.

This is not an efficient market in this essay talks about the distinction between money and disputes.

That name got assigned to it because the ordering system was small. In fact, we should make the argument a little about how to deal with them. Auto-retrieving filters will be big successes but who are weak in other ways to do more with less? By your mid-game.

No big deal. This is isomorphic to the frightening lies told by older siblings. It was revoltingly familiar to slip back into it. But should you even working on that.

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ecofinisher · 4 years

Text

Abominable 2.0 - Chap 25

Chapter 25

https://archiveofourown.org/works/22006036/chapters/54795490

fanfiction.net/s/13463708/25/Abominable-2-The-Fanfic-Sequel

https://www.wattpad.com/843487845-abominable-2-0-chapter-25

In the afternoon after Lunch Yi sat together with Peng on the outside of the hotel on the stairs. Yi was on the phone talking with her mother, while Peng had a comic book in his hands.

“I miss you too, mom, we’re really looking forward in coming back the next few days,” Yi said.

“Alright Yi. Be careful out there and make sure Peng is okay. I know Jin’s mom already said this, but you know he’s a child”

“Peng is maturer than we think he is……. Jin and I don’t really need to have our eyes to 100% on him all the time,”

“That sounds good. Please call me, whenever you need something,”

“Sure mother, thank you,” Yi said turning the call off, then she gazed at Peng, which was reading a comic book. “Where did Jin go?”

“I don’t know” Responded Peng. “He said something with going to visit a medical school in the near”

“Okay,” Yi answered. “A little strange, what’s so special at a med school in another country?”

“I don’t know” Peng replied. “Jin told me to say that”

“So…...he’s not really going there isn’t he?” Yi asked changing her neutral facial expression into a self-assured smirk.

“I don’t know, what you’re talking about. He simply told me I should say that. If he has specifically said this to keep something secret from us, I have no clue about it”

“Okay, I won’t bother you anymore with this,” Yi stated crossing her arms and look down at the streets watching the vehicles pass by the street. “I still can’t believe we’re going to the Himalayas,”

“Me neither” Peng agreed. “Do you think we will see Everest there?”

“You know, how great that would be” Yi confessed. “It’s strange but I miss the days we passed all together with him,”

“I enjoyed the times we played together with Everest on the trip. He was like the friend I couldn’t find during summer vacation” The child mentioned earning a nod from the teenage girl.

“When we’re up there and meet Everest we can all play together with him. Who knows maybe he’s a grown yeti now and has his own litter”

“That would be cute, but wasn’t he supposed to be a child?” Peng questioned the girl, which shrugged her shoulders.

“We humans age different from the animals. Some animals turn adults in a few months only, some in a few years, some even in days like the insects”

“Oh right. You’ve got a good point”

“Just think about it how happy Everest would be if he recognizes us again,” Yi said making Peng smile angelic at the thought.

From behind the two raven-haired Asians Jin appeared leaving the entrance of the hotel and stopped to look at his younger cousin sitting on the stairs next to Yi. Jin approached them and sat down next to Peng.

“Hey, what are you two doing down here?” Jin asked looking at the two friends.

“We’re just waiting here for Dave to come” Yi answered. “Peng also got me wondering, why you went out to see a medical school”

“Yeah well, it’s a funny story. I ran through the street market on the other side, then I went to the airport again to buy something and I couldn’t find anything I wished and….I’ve bought something else”

“Okay?” Yi answered a little confused. Jin noticed Peng’s comic and moved the front page to the side and sighed in relief as he checked on the cover the serial number of it.

“Is there something wrong?” Peng asked seeing Jin shake his head.

“You know I saw at the airport the next edition of this comic and I thought I had bought you the same one”

“You bought the next edition?” Peng asked surprise. “Awesome!”

“But I left it up in the room, thinking you two would be out of the hotel,” Jin said. “Sorry”

“Can I go and get it?” Peng asked. “Please?” Peng added rolling his eyes up at Jin, making him roll his eyes in amusement.

“Of course and make sure you make it to the right room” Jin warned watching Peng head back to the hotel leaving Jin back with Yi.

“Why were you at the airport?” Yi questioned the raven-haired boy, which slide on the stair closer to the girl.

“I wanted to thank you, that you came on your free will with me on this trip…..I also want to apologize for the times we got in trouble or I got in trouble and you had to help me out,”

“It’s no big deal Jin. You have done the same to me and it was great, that we were in this together or alone both of us would end up dead somewhere,”

“Yeah, that’s crazy to think about it” Jin admitted, then gazed up at the hotel and looked back at Yi.

“You can give your thank you gift later to me. It doesn’t have to be now”

“Yeah I know, I kind of just feel empty right now without it” Jin stated. “Otherwise uhm I’d like to talk with you about something”

“Sure go on”

“Well….oh boy that’s a little hard..erm...look already before the trip I…..even longer I felt like this,”

“Uh how did you feel?” Yi asked a little bewildered at the sentencing of the boy.

“Sorry, I don’t know, how I should say this, but…..I like you” Jin finished the sentence looking at Yi processing his words to understand, what he meant.

“How much do you like me?” Yi asked watching Jin roll his eyes thinking about how to continue the talk.

“Yeah look we have been friends for so long and I actually just noticed on myself, when I exactly started to get to…...like you that much”

“Uh yeah?”

“I’m making it complicated am I?” Jin asked before Yi raised her hand to answer his question Jin did a facepalm groaning annoyed. “Of course! I’m not even capable to tell you, how I feel correctly”

“You’ve got other ways to say it” Yi proposed. “You can write them down, draw them. You don’t need to do them verbally” The girl cajoled the boy, which gazed down at the ground in disappointment. Yi sank her head a little sad with the friend’s confidence and glances down at the stairs.

“I want to be able to say it right into the face” Jin explained. “Without so much hesitation”

“Just try it again, Jin,” Yi suggested. “You can do that” Yi said placing her hand on Jin’s hands, which he had placed over his lap.

Jin kept a sad facade, then Yi leaned her head on his shoulder sighing at his spirit of trying to confess.

“I think the maid likes me,” A voice said and Yi looked back along with Jin a little confused to see Dave standing there with a small heart-shaped praline box, which was open and had a few pralines missing from it. “These pralines are delicious” Dave mumbled as he picked out another praline to eat. Jin widened his eyes in irritated and stood up looking at Dave pissed.

“Why did you just open my chocolate box?” Jin asked. “I was supposed to give them to Yi,”

“You were?” Dave muttered finishing the chocolate praline he had. Jin growled, then turned around his back.

“Never mind, I’ll get her another one” Jin mentioned walking the stairs down. “I’ll be back later”

Yi looked at Dave, which had closed the box a little ashamed of his mistake.

“I should probably have asked you two first about the box or…...just leave it, where it was” Dave stated making Yi shrug a little, afterward she nodded, that it had probably been the better deed.

Later in the same afternoon, Yi walked on the sidewalk up beside the Bagmati river looking around the surroundings of the road, she was on.

“He couldn’t have gone so far to my knowledge,” Yi told herself while walking on the sidewalk passing behind a parking spot file in front of the small buildings behind it. “At least I know, where to go if I needed to print out a book” Yi mumbled to herself from seeing the advertising of a printer shop, then noticed on the other side of the road far away near on the road, that crossed another road, which goes over a bridge Jin talking with a person around his age showing him the map, followed by Jin shrugging his shoulders making the other man look tragic. Yi smiled and ran on the sidewalk the road up, afterward as she was getting close to the crossroad, she ran over the street, watching Jin turn his back to her to look down at the river. “Jin!” Yi called out for the boy, which looked back to see Yi arrive.

“Hey Yi” Jin greeted neutrally, then Yi ran into his arms shrieking him. “For what’s the hug?”

“What went into your head to walk around Kathmandu like this?” Yi asked taking her hand off the boy.

“Hoping I could clear my mind like that” Responded the raven-haired teen. “I felt good for this space of time…..you know by cleaning up my head I mean, not being away from you all”

“Of course I know, what you mean” Assured the girl.

“And I have to get to see Dave and apologize,” Jin added. “I sort of was a jerk. I should have put a note on the chocolate or so, that it was supposed to be given to you or just say it’s for me and that they shouldn’t open it,”

“And…….were you going to….give the chocolates as you were…..you know, talking like that to me?” Yi asked a little abashed about, how she’s suddenly taking the more confident role at the moment. Jin nodded, then looked down at the river and back at Yi.

“Yi…..you’re an amazing girl. You’re…..unique, you’re not like any other girl. You’re unique…..uh…..” Jin started to get a little tensed about the situation, while Yi rolled her eyes amused, then gazed back at Jin.

“Go ahead” She whispered, then Jin nodded and overthought the continuation.

“You’re unique, cause……you don’t need to wear any dresses or put on a lot of makeup, just to look stunning. Cause you know you already were. Many just don’t see that….And I’m one of those candidates, that didn’t see it. You’re a very talented violinist and you’re very caring towards those you care. You’re one of the bravest girls I know. You…..you have been one of the greatest friends in my entire school time…..I would really love it if…..” Jin's confession started to be more understandable by the short girl. Jin widened his eyes as he had managed to open his heart up to the childhood friend and smiled excitedly about it followed by Yi.

“I love you, Yi” Jin ultimately admitted his feelings to the girl, which hugged the tall friend sinking her head on his chest, making him wide his eyes in surprise while heating up on the cheeks. “Do…..you reciprocate?” Jin asked followed by Yi pulling Jin on the shirt down to give him a kiss on the cheek.

“Is this the answer you wanted to hear?” Yi asked gazing up at the tall boy, whose blush was still notable on his face. Jin grinned a little embarrassed at the kiss he received on his cheek, then he answered her question.

“Yes, besides I wasn’t expecting to get kissed...at least not on my face” Jin mentioned earning a smirk from the girl.

“I’m not going to make it that easy for you,” Yi mentioned crossing her arms with a smug smile.

“I’m going to swipe you that first kiss away, don’t worry” Jin promised furrowing his eyebrows up, then someone applauded and both looked around to see a familiar redhead standing in front of them making both teens wide their eyes in shock as they recognized the woman’s face.

“Aww this is one of the sweetest thing I saw today” The woman begun sarcastically, making Jin and Yi frown their faces about her comment.

“What are you doing here?” Yi questioned crossing her arms along with Jin.

“Yeah, we assumed you had died on that avalanche” Jin added making the woman chuckle.

“We were lucky to survive” Zara stated. “The transporter has around the whole driver cabin enough airbags to protect us after it got hit on the mountain and soon our vehicle was found upside down by a few mountaineers, which called the rescuers and brought us to the hospital to take care and all that”

“And how did you know about us?” Yi asked glaring at the redhead woman, which snickered short at their question.

“I didn’t expect you two would show up here. The only thing I was looking for was Dave and that young friend of yours” Zara explained making Jin angry.

“Don’t you dare to put any of your fingers on Peng,” Jin warned getting closer to Zara, but Yi stopped him from approaching the woman.

“Don’t do anything” Yi ordered Jin, which sighed annoyed at the command. “What do you want from Dave and Peng?” Yi asked.

“I just need them as a bait to lure out of the mountains one of the yetis, whether they like it or not,”

“We won’t let you put your hands on him!” Jin hissed stepping forward, but Yi pushed Jin away from Zara to avoid them get into a fight.

“This is not going to happen Jin”

“And why do you say that?” Zara asked looking at Yi, which gazed back at the woman annoyed.

“Why would you use them as a bait, if yetis mostly Everest wouldn’t harm them?”

“Because the plan is to get one of the yeti’s attention on them and when they’re close, they’ll be darted down,” Zara instructed putting her hand inside the cotton coat to take out a tranquilizer gun, holding it up in front of the two teens.

“How do you want to convince them to obey you?” Jin asked crossing his arms thinking about the idea of the woman.

“Do you really think I’m the only person here to be going behind you, hein?” The redhead asked making Jin frown his face in confusion, then he widened his eyes and grabbed Yi pulling her aside while turning with his back away from Zara. From above Jin’s shoulder Yi widened her eyes as she felt Jin’s body twitch as he sensed something sting on his back. Yi looked down at Jin’s back to see a blue dart jabbed on his back, shrieking her at the realization of what had just happen.

“Jin?” Yi asked looking at Jin’s head fall on her shoulder, then Yi embraced the boy tight to avoid him to fall down. “Why did you just do that?” Yi hissed at the man, that had shoot at Jin.

“I didn’t aim him first” The man answered then Yi looked at Jin’s face, seeing his eyes half-open, noticing him trying to fight against the neutralization serum and Yi clapped with both of her hands on Jin’s cheeks to wake him up, but he ended up closing his eyes and is held by Yi as he fell towards the ground with his back, but his landing is soft thanks to Yi.

“Jin, please don’t leave me alone” Yi pleaded holding the hands of the boy, then she heard the man reload his tranquilizer gun and held it down at Yi’s shoulder.

“Shall I?” The man asked, then heard someone call for Yi and he looked at the other side of the road to see Peng show up along with Dave, which was a few centimeters away from the child. Zara nodded and she ran towards Peng, which stopped and made his way back to escape the woman while the man stood back with Yi seeing her lie her forehead on Jin’s slowly starting to have tears in her eyes. The man sighed and released a dart at the girl’s shoulder to strike her out.

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