#+ i have 2 finals back to back on saturday (?? its the weekend why SATURDAY) and one is a research and presentation

[entropys]

everyone in class asking me for help and no one asking if i need help :(

[cvntluver444]

7 mins in heaven w ellie😇😇😇😇

thank you so much for your request and your support love!! <3

✞ 7 minutes ✞

✿ summary : the request!

✿ warnings : smut minors/men (boys) dni, puss rubbing, dirtyy talk, shy reader, sweet ellie, ellie teaching reader, reader is in closest!!!!!!, mentions of reader in str@ight relationship, almost getting caught!, if i missed any lmk pls!

✿ a/n : thank you for supporting my works as always! this is not my best work bc i used all my creative brain juice on my last fic so i am so sorry! unfortunately, i am headed back to school this weekend so my writing is going to slow down, but i'm not stopping don't worry babies. im hoping to put out 2-3 fics a week still!!!! keep sending in those requests! I have one more to work on, so to the anon who requested it its coming i promise my love!!!!

ALSO i did kind of make this a personal fic im so sorry LMAO basically i just explain how when i finally realized i was gay YAYAYA !!!!!!! but yeah warning again the reader in this is based on me so it is like finding out you're into girls later on kind of thing so if this is something you're not interested in feel free to skip! I hope you like it lucy!!! (idk if that's your real name im just going to call u that teehee) i love you all so much! muah

✿ as always, please remember to keep spreading information on and support Palestine!!

daily click

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

you anxiously played with your fingers as the last of the party guest gathered around the huge circle. your friends and you decided to spend your saturday night at one of your classmates party, resulting in you now dreading your turn in the 'truth or dare' game.

"you okay?" you turn your head to your left as your eyes land on your friend, who clearly could pick up on how nervous you looked.

"yeah i'm fine," you tell her. "just hope i don't have to do anything stupid or embarrassing. she laughs at your comment.

"don't worry, i doubt you'll even get picked. there's a lot of people here and were all drunk so, who cares!'. her shouts fills the room, drawing a couple eyes toward the two of you. you giggle and hide your face, trying to tell her to keep it down. in the midst of shushing her, your eyes graze the room, watching people roll their eyes at her behavior. but your eyes catch someone else's and you freeze.

ellie williams

she sends you a soft smile, a dark look in her eyes. you gulp and look away quickly. god, she was so hot you thought. you hope she couldn't how flustered she made you. you hope no one could. your whole life, you've always had no problems catching boys' attention. you could have a whoever, whenever, but with this luxury came its flaw. you never actually liked the boys you went out with, you just loved being loved, being in a relationship. you never understood why you felt that way, but just continued on normally, not giving yourself a chance to actually explore more about yourself. but when you first met ellie freshmen year, the feelings finally became visible, especially after finding out she was also into girls; however, you were still not sure if she felt the same. This caused you to once again burry your feelings and close yourself up. You were too scared, and way too sober to even try to talk to ellie.

suddenly, a loud voice can be heard yelling throughout the house. "truth or dare starting now in living room," on boy shouted. your palms became sweaty and you prayed that everyone would pick up on your uncomfortableness and just leave you alone. as always though, the world likes to work in funny ways, and you feel a large presence sit next to you and tap you on the shoulder.

"hey," the boy smiles, "cool if i sit here?" you just give me a simple nod of your head and continue your attention elsewhere, your thoughts interrupted once again. "you look good tonight, by the way". you turn back around, and give him a quiet thanks, and before he could respond, everyone around you begins to pick who will go first for the game.

after three or four people went, you began to grow annoyed. the man next to you could not take the hint, and you were the only person here not having a good time.

"alright williams," the room cheers silently, "truth or dare". your attention is now fully on ellie. she stares up at her friend who just picked on her, small smirk on her face as she answers with a confident dare. "hmmm," her friend hums out loud, looking around the room. you swear you see their eyes stop on yours for a second, before they get an idea. "i dare you to do 7 minutes in heaven," they pause and the room is filled with oooo's. your heart drops a bit. "a person of your choosing." now everyone was going crazy. everyone knew ellie was gay, and everyone knew she made every girl gay, so it was a pretty heavy dare.

ellie smiles up at her friend, sage you think their name is, before she slowly starts scanning the room. you quickly look down, hoping that your avoided eye contact would make you more invisible. your only focus now was watching your fidgeting fingers and giving back half asses answers to the man beside you who still will not shut up.

you hear ellie suck in her breathe before she slowly gets up from the ground. all you wanted to do in this moment was sink into the ground, not sure how you were going to handle seeing ellie pick another girl that isn't you and go fuck her in the closet. too deep in your thoughts, you don't hear the air leave your friends lungs as a certain someone stalks towards you. you only know ellie is right in front of you once you see the beat up sneakers sneak right under your vision.

your eyes widen and you cant breathe. there has to be someone behind you right? no, she could not pick you. in fear that you would be disappointed when looking up, you keep your head down, telling yourself that you're just-

your friend next to you quietly says your name, excitement laced in her voice. she was the only one you told, the only one you could trust with something so personal to you, so to say she was absolutely ecstatic to see ellie pick her best friend, well that was an understatement.

after your quick reality check, your line of vision trails from the top of her feet, all the way to her line of vision, where you see hear towering over you, smirk on her face. you felt like you were going to throw up.

"wanna come with me?" she asks you, that little smile never leaving her face. you look around the room, everyone in just as much shock as you. you look back at ellie, and without thinking twice, you nod your head yes.

she grabs her hand out for you to take, and you two make your way into the closet in between the living room and kitchen, but not before ellie yells something along the lines of keep yourselves busy, and don't be pervs. you feel like you're dreaming, you can't believe ellie williams picked you. but suddenly, you're brought back into reality when she closes the closet and turns on her phone flashlight.

"so," she begins, "how's your night been." you now grow extremely insecure at how little you've been talking to her, not knowing exactly what to do next considering you've never been with a girl.

"oh uh," you begin, "it's been okay. what about yours?" stupid stupid stupid.

"pretty good. saw that guy talking to you. you looked uncomfortable so thought i would save you." she gives a light giggle, but your heart drops and you look at her with sad eyes.

"oh uh yeah haha thanks," you attempt to say, sadness clearly laced in your voice. ellie picks up on it.

"are you okay? did he do anything?" she asks you, coming closer, concern reading all over her face. you blush at how much she cares about you.

"no, no, he didn't do anything, just was annoying," you let out a breathy laugh. "i guess i just thought that we were gonna, ya know, since you picked me, um, never mind this is stupid." your cheeks are now red with embarrassment, and ellies face softens at your rambling.

"aw, no sweetie. just because i picked you doesn't mean we have to do anything. i know you're not into girls." she gives you a friendly tap on the shoulder. ouch. your heart has now sank completely, and you slowly go to reach for the closet door handle. ellie looks confused, before she panics and grabs your hand.

"where are you going? it hasnt been 7 minutes yet sweetheart," she asks you.

"i was just gonna go back. kinda boring just doing nothing here." you tell her sadly.

"well, what do you want to do?" she still hasn't caught on? at this point, you feel like you will never get another chance again. with your ego still a little boosted that she chose you, you answer her.

"i wanna kiss you, ellie," you tell her. she freezes in the spot she's in before she slowly relaxes and relief washes over her face.

"i wanna kiss you too." she tells you. you look up at her, hope in your eyes, and she slowly grabs yours chin with her fingers and pulls you towards her. your lips meet and you both slowly start to make out. now you know why it was called 7 minutes in heaven. pleasure rushed through your body, and you instantly melted into the kiss. it was the first time you actually felt something when kissing someone, and in the bliss of this new feeling, you now put your arms around her shoulders.

the kiss deepens and turns more sinful as ellies hands now trail down to your ass and give it a light squeeze. you moan into her mouth and she groans back in response. her hands now start exploring your body, covering every inch of you until they make their way down towards your loose jeans. you quickly pull away, feeling like a complete virgin even though this kind of stuff is nothing new to you.

"woah, hey, you okay? we can stop if you want," ellie tells you, scared that she may have gone too far.

"no ellie its not you, its just," you try to find the right words. "i've never actually been with a girl before." you tell her, shame written all over your features. she lightly grabs your face once more as she gives you another passionate kiss.

"im happy to help you through it, and if you ever want me to stop, you just tell me." she explains, leaving light kisses all over you exposed next and chest. you moan out as you give her your permission to continue. her lips find her way back to yours, taking control of the kiss. in between each breath, she made sure to tell you how beautiful you were, and how much she had been dreaming of this. you return the compliments, gasping when ellie now picks you up and leans you down on the closet floor.

now on top, she puts all her weight on her elbow, as the other one trails down from your chest, then your stomach, to finally the place where you needed her the most. still kissing you, her fingers undo your buttons. once your jeans were shoved down, and your panties moved to the side, ellie breaks the kiss.

you whine from the loss of contact, and she shushes you. "is it ok if i touch you?" she asks you politely.

"yes, ellie. please touch me," you beg her. "want you so bad." her lips suddenly reconnect with yours, and her fingers start rubbing light circles on your clit. you moan as she teases you, never feeling this way with any guy you've ever been with.

"you make the prettiest noises," she tells you, nipping at your lips. "fuck, and you're so wet too." her talking alone brings you even closer to your high, another new feeling.

you feel her fingers now trail down and tease your entrance, making the most sinful sound. she bites her lips, then starts pumping two fingers inside of you.

your eyes now roll to the back of your head and ellie falls to your side, the new position allowing her to finger you even faster. your head leans into her shoulder, and tears brim in your eyes from how good shes making you feel.

"faster, please," you beg, now staring into her eyes. the innocent look on your face causes her pussy the clench.

"yeah baby? you want me to go faster?" she teases you. "ill do anything for you beautiful." that was enough to send you over the edge, and you start to shake and she speeds up her motions.

"els" is all you can get out, but she knows exactly what you're trying to say, telling you to let go and cum all over her fingers.

and you're about to, until you hear yelling outside the closest door, and people are banging on your door, telling you seven minutes has passed.

you and ellie groan, and you're about to scream out of frustration, before ellies low voice cuts you off.

"i want you to get dressed and meet me outside my car, we can finish this at me." she tells you, a loving look on her face. you giggle and give her a quick peck, before jumping up and putting on your clothes.

you two come out of the closet, rushing towards the front door, completely ignoring all your friends and strangers random questions flying your way.

"where are they going?"

"are they holding hands?"

"do you think they did anything?"

"they so fucked."

︵‿︵‿୨♡୧‿︵‿︵

✿ a/n: heh, they came out the closet. anyways, like i said, very personalized im sorry i hit my penjamin and im in my feels but i really hope you guys liked it! my requests are still open! love you all so much and don't forget to follow because i post frequently!! <3

[buckyandgeraltsupremacy]

remus x shy!reader (part 3)

author: sj

warnings: fluff; reader is in hufflepuff; uses she/her pronouns; not edited

my masterplan of slowburn is coming together, but its finals so this will take me while <3

masterlist

part 1 / part 2 / part 4 / part 5

---

the first time he realizes that you aren't officially his

remus and you were extremely close. to point that the boys just assumed you two would get married. it was just an unspoken agreement that you were remus' and remus was yours. remus would always be touching you, and it got even worse over the full moon so why wouldn't you be dating?

however, it all changed when another hufflepuff didn't catch that drift. you were all sitting in potions, you and james at a table and remus and sirius at the one behind you two. you weren't fully paying attention, when jordan, another hufflepuff in your year, came up to talk you.

he was obviously very interested in you. to the point where he was stumbling over his words and making you feel bad for him. you reached out your hand to him to comfort him as he stumbled over trying to ask you a question.

"jordan, slow down, what is it that you were wondering?" you ask, empathetically, giving him a soft smile.

"i- was just wondering if you'd go to hogsmeade with me this weekend." your face instantly heats, you nodded your head and responded with a small sure. "great. meet in the common room at 9:30?" you nodded your head and gave him a small smile.

the boys, watching this whole thing happen, were aghast. what do you mean our y/n is going on a date with a random boy. peter was shocked it took someone so long to ask you out. james was most horrified at what will be remus' reaction. sirius was most impressed that you accepted. remus had no reaction. his first thought was you were taken so it was funny jordan was even trying because they are dating and then he quickly realized his mistake. they weren't dating. they just... were.

once back in the gryffindor common room, it was awkward and the tension was so thick, sirius thought he was going to choke on it. "what the hell y/n"

"huh? what do you mean?" you asked, confused why he was upset with you.

"you have a date! can we come? are you just going to ditch us on a perfectly good saturday to go make out with a guy you don't know. you could barley even speak to us when we first met, how are you supposed to snog a rando?" sirius asked you, you instantly curling in on yourself. you wouldn't lie, you were also wondering some of those questions.

"she's allowed to hang out with other people besides us, sirius. and i'm sure she'll be just fine on a date. she'll snog the best she's ever had." james said, sitting next to you and patting you on the back.

remus was still focused on the snog part of conversation. you wouldn't snog him would you? how was he supposed to just be okay with this happening? he didn't want to make you feel bad or make it seem horrible that you were asked out, he just felt so shitty for not asking you out yet.

"no you can't come! that defeats the whole purpose of a DATE you idiot!" you yelled at sirius, exasperated, cheeks flushing red.

"but we could watch from a distance!" sirius yelled back at you.

"sirius. she's right. we can't go with her, that's the whole point of a date. she gets to go with him by herself. it'd be weird if we were just sitting at the next table over." remus said, putting a reassuring hand on your back, supporting you.

"remus! a word??" sirius aggressively stage whispered to him.

sirius quickly dragged remus to the boys hall around the corner and once stoped, hit remus in the chest.

"what is wrong with you? are you out of your everloving mind? your wife is going on a date with another man and all you have to say is that we can't go with her? you're supposed to pull the broody protective card you idiot."

"i'm sorry my WHAT?" remus sputters.

"your wife, your buns or whatever the fuck you call her. the girl that you are desperately in love with!!!!" sirius whispers yells at him.

"i'm walking away right now." remus replies, walking back into the common room that the rest of the group is in.

after a while of yelling and chaos and a few minutes of work, remus and you were left to yourselves for a few minutes.

"hey rem?" you ask from the other end the couch, back against the arm rest, your toes tucked under the side of his thighs. he looks up in response, pushing his glasses up to see your face clearer. "what does one do on a date? like should i prepare questions just in case or will he have questions prepared?" you ask, cheeks flushing, voice small, knowing you would only be able to ask him without dying from embarrassment.

"love, you don't have to prepare questions." he answered, no hint of condescending tones in his voice. "it should just flow pretty naturally. you just get to know each other. no big deal." he responds, rubbing your shins while he talks. you nod.

"but what if we run out things to talk about? like what if the only thing we have in common is being a hufflepuff? then what? and what if he tries to kiss me? i don't even know him! oh my god i should just stay home." you wilt into your hands.

"bun. you will be great. if he doesn't know how to keep the conversation going then thats his fault. you are the easiest person to get along with so its not your fault at all. and if you don't want to kiss him then don't. you don't have to do anything you don't want to do." he says, bringing your chin up with his thumb and pointer. your eyes met his, and his heart cracked a little with the overwhelming love that surrounds you in his mind.

"can i tell you something? you have to promise to never tell the other boys. ever." he nodded settling his hand on your legs. "promise." you whispered.

"i promise, bun."

"i've never been on a date. and i've never kissed anyone. hence the panicking." you whispered.

"what? how?" remus asked, shocked.

"no ones ever liked me like that i guess." you shrugged, feeling a little awkward with the way he responded.

"no, bun. i didn't mean to ask it like that. you just are so sweet and lovely the boys have missed out. there is nothing wrong with having done neither of those things. i'm not accusing you of anything, i'm mad at the boys of hogwarts." he scoffed as he reassured you.

your lips tipped up into a smile and you giggled at his dramatics.

"do you think he'll think i'm weird that i've never done those things before?"

"no, bun. if he does, then thats his problem, not yours. he needs to get over himself." remus replied, getting irritated at the idea that someone would have a problem with you.

"i'm so nervous, i already feel like i'm gonna throw up." you said, leaning forward and resting your forehead on his shoulder.

"love, you will be great. and he's the luckiest man alive that he gets to take you out." and while all of this was true, all remus could think about is how he would do ungodly things to be the one taking you out. he might just have to fix this.

[monzabee]

girl crush – dr3

masterlist || part 2 ||

Summary: The one where both you and Daniel meet your celebrity crushes in the course of a weekend, and decide to give it a go. 

Pairing: daniel ricciardo x actress!reader

Word Count: 4522

Warnings: fluff, shy daniel, shy reader, max being a menace (we love you max), awkwardness, 2023 australian gp, oscars (i love you Jamie Lee Curtis, you rock), slight age gap? (the reader is around the same age as Max)

Request: this is a long one besties, but you can read the request here! + “Hello! Can I please request nepo!reader who's an actress and maybe has an oscar or something? Maybe with Lewis or Daniel”

Author’s Note: hi, hey, hello!! this title changed so many times i lost track, but at the end, i went with the song – mainly because harry styles. i don’t know what’s wrong with me but this was very hard to write because i had BIG plans for it, so i’m sorry it took a while for me to finish it. also, i listened to a lot of la la land for some reason, so here you go. i hope i did it justice, and this was definitely very fun to write and i had a great time writing it, so thank you, to the anons, for the request, i hope you guys enjoy! good morning, noon or night wherever you are, xoxobee

Please also note that all of my works are protected under copyright, and not available for reposting on other platforms. 

Growing up with parents who were obsessed with Formula One had finally taken its toll on you, you decide as you walk towards the Red Bull Hospitality. Your father’s sudden retirement from acting, combined with your mother’s stubborn personality is the reason why you suddenly find yourself at the 2023 Australian Grand Prix. You don’t really know why they didn’t wait for the one in Miami, or perhaps Las Vegas, since their primary residence is in the US, but you had no choice but to join them when they pulled out the ‘We’re getting old’ card. So there you are, after 15 hours of flying over the Pacific Ocean, in Melbourne and ready to enjoy the racing weekend. Or so you think – because you spend the entirety of Friday catching up on lost sleep while cursing every single time your parents decide to call you to let you know how much of a great time they’re having. 

In the end, you get ready Saturday morning, to get breakfast with your parents before leaving for Albert Park. Just as you’re about to leave your room, your eyes fall on a familiar hat, adorned with a certain number, and you put it on your head without giving it a second thought. Your parents don’t comment on your choice of merchandise even if they find it odd, which is good, you think, because you don’t particularly want to hear your father tease you over your “teenage crush”.  The whole paddock is buzzing by the time you get there, and you immediately feel guilty because you missed the practice sessions the previous day. You quickly lose your parents to the crowd around you, too busy looking at the action around you, when you hear your name being called from somewhere. You look around trying to find the source of the voice, when you find a familiar face which makes you smile. 

“Oh my god, what are you doing here?” You ask, quickly pulling Samira for a hug, who in return points to the camera. 

“Weekend job, babe.” She laughs. “I’ve interviewed your father just a couple of minutes ago, actually.” 

“Oh no,” You laugh and shake your head. “Did he tell you about his petunias?” “He did, indeed.” Samira nods and hands you one of the microphones in her hand. “Are you up for a quick interview?” She asks you as she gives you an innocent smile. 

You nod while letting out a chuckle. “Well, someone has to save your viewers from my father’s garden talk, so why not?” 

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Samira tells you, her words coming of a bit slurred because of the way she talks too fast. She then turns to the camera after making sure that your mic is working. “Welcome back to the second day of the Australian Grand Prix, I’m here with Y/N Y/LN, whose father we just spoke to; Y/N, is this a family day out, or what?” 

“This is definitely a family day out, Samira.” You laugh, nodding to strengthen your point. “Not a very usual one, we usually prefer to stay a bit more local for the weekend outings, but you never know where we’ll be next, I guess.” 

“By ‘local’, do you mean the Oscars, perhaps? I mean, can we talk about your win for a moment? How does it feel to be the receiver of the award for the Actress in a Supporting Role?” 

You take a deep breath as you feel your smile widen, as you can’t even try to hide your happiness. “It feels amazing, let me tell you. It was an amazing opportunity and I can’t thank enough to the lovely director and everyone who made the movie possible.” Samira nods with a satisfied look on her face as you answer. “Congratulations once again for your win. I have to ask, big Red Bull fan?” She asks you in a teasing voice.

“What?” You asked, confused. Only to realise the hat sitting on your head when she points to it with a silent chuckle. You let out a laugh while instinctively touching the hat on your head. “Oh god, you could say so, I guess; yeah.” 

“I mean, I have to comment on the obvious part here.” She points to the hat while shooting the camera a look. “Number 3? You do realise the changes in the grid, don’t you?” 

You laugh at her teasing voice, shrugging and smiling with an innocent look. “What can I say, I like to avoid the reality and live in my delusions.” After a few more teasing from Samira, you explain with a laugh, “No jokes, though, I honestly hope Daniel Ricciardo returns to Red Bull somehow because I don’t know how I’ll cope without him for another season.” 

“A big Danny Ric fan, then, I presume?” Samira asks, pointedly. 

“Oh yeah, been for a while now.”

After you’re done with your interview and bid adieu to Samira, who thanks you a dozen times more, you find your parents at the Red Bull hospitality, speaking with none other than Christian Horner himself, accompanied by Max. It’s a slightly awkward transition when you join their conversation, but it passes quickly. It doesn’t take long for your parents to be involved with their own conversation with the team principle, and for you and Max to speak amongst yourselves. Although you ask him every single question that comes to your mind about racing, whether it makes sense or not, and he answers each of them without discouraging you. 

He pulls a funny face when he realises your choice of merch, pointing to your hat with a mischievous smile on his face. “Interesting choice, I would have gone with Checo.” 

You roll your eyes and huff, taking your hat in the process. “You’re just jealous because it’s not your number, Max.” 

“You wanna try that again?” Max raises his eyebrows. 

“So what if I’m wearing his number?” You ask, arms crossed over your chest. “He’s a very good driver.”

“Who is not driving this seaso– Ow! Stop it!” Max exclaims as you hit his arm repeatedly in an attempt to stop him talking. “I hope you’re just as charming when you meet him.”

You pull a face while asking, “What do you mean ‘when I meet him’?”

He gives you an unamused look. “You’re either a very good actress, or you are very bad at checking your social media.” His eyes widen when you match his look, which tells him everything he needs to know. “You know he’s around, right? He’s shooting promo stuff, I think.” 

“What do you mean he’s around?” You shriek in an attempt to hide your hat, as if Daniel is actually around to see it. 

“Yeah, wait, let me call him.” He takes out his phone and quickly dials him before you have the opportunity to tell him not to do that, but he quickly shoves his phone back into his pocket when he spots someone familiar over your shoulder and waves them over. 

Your eyes widen as you hiss, “You’re the worst, you know that?” 

He winks at you a playfully in return, “Don’t forget to invite me to your wedding.” Then, he shakes the hand of the driver, who finally makes his way to both of you, and pulls him into what you can only describe as a ‘bro hug’. “Hello, man.” 

“Hello, mate.” Daniel greets him back. His eyes widen in recognition when he catches your eyes over Max’s shoulder, and he side-steps to shake your hand with excitement, which only makes you clutch the hat closer to your chest. “Hello, you’re Y/N Y/LN. Oh my god, I’m a big fan!” 

“M-me too!” You manage to get out, and then quickly add, “A big fan of you, not myself. That would be very egotistical of me.” You inhale a sharp breath as you ignore the look Max gives you, and close your eyes for a moment before opening them again. “Please ignore that, I think the jet lag is finally catching up with my brain.” 

“Sure, we’ll call it the jet lag.” Max mumbles, which earns him a hit with your elbow in his ribs. “Ow!” 

“I’m this close to switching teams and supporting Mercedes instead.” You lift your hand to show the minimal space you’ve left between your thumb and pointer-finger. 

“I think I should take over, here before you drive her away, Max.” He jokingly shakes his hand in a motion to make him go away, and then turns you with a warm smile as Max leaves the two of you to join some of the engineers nearby. “Now, should we get you a Red Bull?”

Talking to Daniel is very easy, you realise quickly. Once you (both) get over your shyness, the conversation just flows in a way you’re not used to. He, too, answers any questions you might have like Max did, but the look in his eyes are different when you show interest in something he’s particularly passionate about. He asks you about receiving your first Oscar, and you ask him about how his wine business is going – which ends up with him promising to send a few bottles over so that you can give it your stamp of approval; you both decide that your review is going be on the back of the bottles. 

“But doesn’t it get into your eyes when you’re spraying it?” You ask him, trying to comprehend how the champagne they spray doesn’t go everywhere. “And doesn’t it burn? It has alcohol, and… bubbles.”

“You might be onto something here.” He mumbles in thought, thinking whether the champagne burned his eyes or not. “Occupational hazard?” He asks in an uncertain voice, hoping it satisfies your question as an answer. 

“Oh, right.” You nod, taking another sip from the can he got you. “It’s crazy, you’ve won like what? 8 races? That’s crazy, you’re crazy.” The way you keep saying whatever comes to your mind makes Daniel smile as the energy you’re feeling taking over your body for the time being. “Wow, I’ve never felt like this, is this what energy drinks do to you?” 

“Probably why you shouldn’t drink too much.” He agrees.

“Sorry.” You smile apologetically, suddenly very aware of the fact that you are, in fact, rattling nonsense in front of your biggest celebrity crush. “You must think I’m crazy, and I shouldn’t be holding you back. I’m sure you have better things to do.”

Daniel is panicking inside when you start to get up, his mind scrambling up words to find a way to make you stay – he feels like a kid who’s asking his parents to let him play for a little longer. It’s not that he is not a social person, he is, but the conversation the two of you share is one of the most meaningful ones to him, even though you’re not actually talking about anything that deep. But he realises there is no pretences with you, no expectations, nothing to hide. He enjoys the way you speak what’s on your mind, whether it might be complimentary or the opposite, but he enjoys how you present your opinion and why you have it. He knows he’s extremely starstruck at that very moment, god knows he’s met enough famous people to know what it feels like, but it’s the kind of starstruck that makes him want to be not shy about it. He wants to keep talking to you for as long as you can tolerate him, because in his mind, he might be the one who is butchering the whole conversation up just by shutting up and succumbing to his shyness. He’s hyperaware of the fact that he has held himself back over the past hour, just because he was thinking about the fact that your hair is looking very shiny under the Australian sun and it is his number on your hat. It’s not something the two of you talked about, yet, but when he realises that it is his number on it, there is this inexplicable pride surging over him.

So, with his entire courage, he says, “Stay.” He clears his throat to buy himself some time to think of something else to say. “I mean, I don’t have anything else I need to do, and it’s very nice to talk to you. So, you know, if you want to, we could maybe, I don’t know, continue to talk?”

“Oh.” You let out a breath, eyes wide with excitement (and a little bit of apprehension), but despite all the nervousness you’re feeling, you find yourself back in your seat, and mumbling. “Of course, it’s very nice to speak with you too.” 

And so you find yourself immersed in another conversation with the Aussie seated across from you. He is open about the past year – which as a fan you’re dying to know what happened, but don’t want to question him because he is only human after all. But for some reason, it comes naturally to talk about his pseudo-retirement with you. He tells you about his plans for the year, and how he hopes to get back to a seat by the start of the next season. In return, you tell him about the time how you almost stopped acting, but the last project you gave a change brought you an Oscar. It’s a much deeper conversation than before, but somehow you find yourself talking without feeling nervous to do so – without any second thoughts. 

“I, uh, I like your hat.” He smiles nervously, pointing to the discarded hat on your lap. 

You laugh nervously as your fingers occupy themselves with the visor of the cap. “Thanks, it’s my favourite.” 

“Yeah?” The question that leaves his mouth is so soft that you think you would miss it if your eyes weren’t so focused on him. 

“Oh, yeah.” You assure him with a little shrug. “Much better than orange, let me tell you, I look hideous in orange.” 

A large smile finds its way onto your lips when he lets out a hearty laugh, shaking his head. “I somehow find it impossible to believe.”

“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re flirting with me, Daniel.” You tease, causing him to smirk back at you. He doesn’t answer you, but instead looks at you with a very particular look which confirms what you’ve just said. Your small stare-down is sadly broken apart by Max, who calls out Daniel’s name to let him know that Christian is looking for him. 

There is a sad look in his eyes when he realises that he has to go for real this time, but you give him a sad smile as you let him know you’ll be watching the screens for him during the quali. As you feel the wind breezing around you, you instinctively wrap your arms around your middle to get rid of the shiver the colder air provides. A look of recognition passes through Daniel’s face as he asks, “Are you cold?”

“A little, but it’s oka–”

“I’ll be right back.” Daniel announces as he leaves you and Max, causing the latter to turn to you with his phone in his hand. Max lets out a deep sigh, mumbling something under his breath in a language you don’t recognise, most likely Dutch. 

“What are you doing?” You ask him, head tilted to the side to try and see what he’s looking at on his phone. He turns it to you after a while, apparently finding what he was looking for. “What’s that?” You ask, pointing to the phone which displays a paused video of Daniel sitting in a chair. 

“He’ll probably kill me once he realises I’ve made you watch this, but the way the two of you looking at each other like lovesick puppies is making me nauseous.” He points to the phone with his head. “Play it.”

You give him a sceptical look, but do as he says and press the little triangle in the middle of the screen. The interview starts to play, and Daniel is talking about racing and the ongoing season. You let the video play for a while before looking up at Max again, more confused. “What am I supposed to see?” 

“For fuck’s sake.” Max groans, taking his phone out of your hand and fast-forwarding the video to find what he’s looking for. “Here.” 

You press play on the video once again, but this time it starts with the interviewer asking Daniel about his celebrity crush. While he’s thinking about his answer in the video, you throw an unamused look at Max, who urges you to direct your attention back to the video. Just as you move your eyes back onto the screen, his answer echoes through the phone speakers which makes your eyes widen. “What?” You ask Max as you scramble to play back the section of the interview. 

“So, any celebrity crushes we should be keeping our eyes out for?” The interviewer asks, out of frame. 

There is a thoughtful look on his face as he thinks about his answer and once he decides, there is a smile breaking on his face. “I mean, probably Y/N Y/LN. I’ve watched everything she’s in, probably multiple times, she’s just so talented.” 

You watch that particular part of the video back a couple of times before Max takes his phone out of your hands with a look asking if you’re okay. “When was this?” 

“I don’t know,” He shrugs. “A couple of years back, but I don’t think his answer has changed over the years.”

You blink a couple of times, trying to digest the fact that your celebrity crush also named you as his celebrity crush. “Oh, wow.” 

Daniel returns a few moments later with a hoodie in his hands. He smiles at you warmly as he hands it to you. “Here, that should help.” 

“Oh, Daniel, you didn’t have to.” You breath out, taking the hoodie out of his hand and putting it on with his help when he gives you a look that says he won’t accept it back. After you fix the oversized hoodie on you, you turn to him with a smile as you also put on the hat on your head. 

The smile he gives you in return when he sees you in his number and merch fills your stomach with butterflies, and Max must be feeling weird about being a part of the scene because he lets Daniel know that he’ll wait at the garage. As Max leaves, Daniel turns back at you with a sad smile on his face. “I really don’t wanna leave, but–”

“You have a job to do, Daniel.” You smile with an understanding, putting an encouraging hand on his forearm. “Although I would love to keep you to myself, I’m sure there are fans out in the world who would love to see you back as much as I do.” 

He lets out a small groan. “Please tell me you’ll be here tomorrow as well.” 

“Well, I came all this way to watch the race too, so I’ll probably be around.” You tease him. 

“So I’ll see you tomorrow?” He asks you in a hopeful voice.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” You affirm. 

After a final look, both of start walking in different directions. And just as you’re about to leave the hospitality, you hear him call out your name. When you turn to look at him over your shoulder you hear him yell, “My number looks good on you.” 

In retrospect, you wanted to arrive earlier to find a certain driver, but you couldn’t sleep last night because you couldn’t stop thinking about the day’s events. So when you wake up later than your alarm Sunday morning, you rush to get ready to leave your hotel room. By the time you arrive at Albert Park, it’s almost noon. You’re not late to see the race, there is still couple of hours until the big event, but your eyes look around the chaotic hospitality to spot Daniel. You can see a few familiar faces, some engineers you met yesterday and the drivers talking to some crew members near the garage, but there is a small frown on your face as you keep looking for the Australian driver. You’re about to give up when, suddenly, you feel someone grabbing your arm – which makes you jump back with a shriek. 

“You scared me!” You exclaim, looking at the stranger who, thankfully, lets go of your arm after your outburst. “Sorry, can I help you?” 

“Sorry! I thought you were lost and looking for your boyfriend.” They respond, pointing towards the garages. “I saw him enter a few minutes ago.” 

“I don’t have a–” You start the say, but the person is already starting to walk away to the opposite direction. “Boyfriend.” You sigh, deciding to take the advice and see if Daniel might be at the garage after all.

If you thought there was a chaos outside the garage, you’re greatly wrong, because the only word you can use to describe the Red Bull garage is chaotic. There are crew members everywhere, trying to get the cars ready for the upcoming race. So, you do your best to slip through them without disturbing their work. Some of the members you met yesterday greet you, which makes you smile as you greet them back. You catch a familiar set of eyes, which lose the boredom in them and widen with recognition once they meet yours and he starts walking towards you.

He's beaming by the time he reaches you, as he exclaims, “You’re here!” 

“Hi!” You greet him and then pull him for a quick hug.  

“I’m glad you made it, Y/N.” He smiles down at you, without letting you go, and then gestures around the garage. “Have you looked around?” 

You nod, matching his smile as you look up at him, “A little bit when I came in, it’s crazy out there today?” 

He lets out an affirmative voice. “It’s always like that during a race day. Where are you watching the race from?” 

“The Paddock Club, I think?” You answer him with a small frown. “We watched the quali from there yesterday.” 

He pulls away from you slowly, and begrudgingly, holding your hand and starts to pull you away from the entrance. “I have a better idea.” He walks you towards the front of the garage, stopping right in front of the barriers and asking a crew member for a headset. 

There is a playful smile on his face when he turns to you with them in his hands, which makes your eyes widen with concern. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here?” 

He waves his hand, passing the headset to you as he assures, “Of course, it’s the best seat in the house. Plus, it’ll be easier for us to find each other.” 

“You’ve thought this through, haven’t you?” You ask him as you do your best to narrow your eyes. 

“Absolutely, yes.” He nods with excitement. “I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but you’re kind of my celebrity crush.” 

You giggle in response. “Oh, I know. Max made me watch a video.” 

“He– what?”

“It was a lovely compliment.” You assure him, patting his arm with a sympathetic smile. 

“I’m going to kill–” He begins to say, but one of the engineers call out his name, telling him that they need him before the race. He turns to you with a groan, jumping over the barriers instead of going through the door, which makes you chuckle, and points to you while walking backwards. “We have to talk about this.” 

“We will.” You assure him. Just as you watch him walk by, you call out, “Daniel!”

“Yeah?” He calls back at you. 

“You’re my celebrity crush, too.” 

Instead of answering he winks at you over his shoulder, which makes you giggle. You’re sure that you’re also blushing, but decide not to think about it too much and focus on the race which is starting. You’re on the edge of your seat the entire time, from the start to the second restart to the end. The people around you are not much different, everybody holding their breaths every time one of the cars make a sharp turn. You let out an occasional gasp, or wince throughout the entire race, your hands covering your shocked expression. But, at the end, you’re happy to see that Max is P1 and Checo managed to finish the race in P5. Everyone around you seems to be sharing your opinions, since they are celebrating the good results when you take off your headset. 

Daniel finds you eventually, after speaking with some of the engineers and pit crew, and there is a huge smile on his face as he asks, “So, how’d you like it?” 

“Are you kidding me? It was insane!” You exclaim, using your hands to relay your point. “Eight cars, Daniel, eight cars! That’s crazy!” 

“I get you’ve liked it?” He asks, his eyebrows raising. 

You let out a scoff while shaking your head. “Of course I liked it!” 

“I’m glad you liked it, Y/N.” He smiles, “So, I’m your celebrity crush, huh?”

“Oh please, you already knew it!” You roll your eyes at his smug expression. “I’m wearing your number, aren’t I?”

He shrugs, letting his hands occupy themselves with the end of the hoodie you’re wearing. “And it looks good on you.” He tilts his head to get a better look at your eyes as he asks, “You’re wearing it again today? Isn’t it some sort of fashion crime in Hollywood?”

“Well, I’ve never fit in much anyway.” You shrug, letting a smirk break at your lips. “It might just become my favourite item of clothing, just so you know.” 

“Yeah? I’m happy to hear that.” 

“You should be, I’m very particular about my hoodies.”

He smiles at your comment, but his smile doesn’t reach his eyes for some reason. “When is your flight back?”

“Tuesday.” You answer him, suddenly very aware of the fact that you don’t have much time left in Melbourne at all. “But I can be convinced to stay for longer.” 

His eyes widen with surprise, excitement taking over the sad look in record time. “You can? Really?” You nod your head, which makes him pull you closer to him with the hand still holding your hoodie. “Let me take you out on a date.” His eyes seem to beg. 

You nod your head once again, tilting your head backwards to keep your gaze locked to his. “Yeah, I’d like that.” 

“Yes? Are you sure? It’s the point of no return.” There is a playful tone to his voice. 

You roll your eyes, taking off your cap and placing it onto his head. “I’m sure I’ll be fine, ‘honey badger’.” You tease. “Who knows? You might just convince me to say a while longer.” 

“Yeah, I’d like that, too.” He echoes your words from earlier. 

[strangersteddierthings]

Shovel Talk(s) Final Part

Part One 🦇Part Two🦇Part Three🦇Part Four

Steve starts with Dustin. Not for any particular reason. Dustin is just the first person he ends up seeing after an entire weekend spent at Eddie's house. They'd redone their date in Indy on Saturday, getting back into Hawkins late, so Steve stayed the night. He had a morning shift at Family Video but it was Robin's day off so he didn't see her.

Dustin called at 11:00am on Monday to ask for Steve's assistance with his bike's flat tire. He needs a ride to Melvald's for a new tire tube and pump, and since Steve's shift doesn't start until 2:00pm he agrees.

Steve picks him up and listens to him ramble about his weekend and how he the tube got a hole in it. He stays in the car while Dustin runs inside to make his purchases, and then they're back at Dustin's house. Dustin knows how to change out the tube on his bike; he's been raised by a single mother for longer than Steve's known him so he's pretty self-sufficient, but Steve still offers to do it and Dustin lets him.

It's little moments like these that really let Steve feel like Dustin's brother. Which is what makes it easier for Steve to say, as he is peeling the tube from inside the tire out, "hey, do you remember a week or so ago, when you said we were happy for Eddie and me?"

"Yeah," Dustin says as he's ripping open the package the new tube is in.

"You also told me to not hurt him. I- why'd you say that?" Steve halts his progress on peeling the tube out to look up at Dustin.

He watches as Dustin turns sheepish, "I. Well, mostly I said it so that when I talk to Eddie, I might feel less bad about threatening him."

"What? Why did you threaten him?"

Dustin finishes freeing the new tube from its prison before finally looking back at Steve, "I haven't yet. Mike was talking about how Nancy gave you a shovel talk a while ago, as Eddie's 'best friend'," he makes air quotes around the words, "and I'm your best friend, so I have to give Eddie one. But Eddie's also my friend, so I had to say something to you, too."

"That's so-" Steve cuts off, because he was going to say that's so childish but Dustin should be allowed to be childish just a little longer. Part of his childhood was stolen by monsters and Steve can give him a little bit back, "that's a nice thought but please don't shovel talk Eddie. Besides, Erica beat you to it."

"Shit!"

"Language."

"Well, since Erica did it there's really no point in me doing it. She's terrifying when she wants to be."

Steve laughs because Erica can be terrifying. "Give me the tube, or do you want to finish this?"

"No, continue," Dustin thrusts the tube at Steve, who takes it with a grin and gets back to work.

Robin and he are closing on a Wednesday night, so it's been slow all day, and while Steve wants to talk to Robin, he doesn't want to be interrupted. So, they go about their shift like normal and it's only once he's locked the door and flipped the open sign to closed that he seeks out Robin in the back room, where she's counting down the till.

"Can you pause after that? I need to talk," Steve says and feels his stomach churn. He's never.... he and Robin have never had a fight, never really had any issues that required a talk. Not about anything between them anyway. Robin's always just understood him, in the same way he's understood Robin. They've never been the source of each other's pains until now.

"Yeah, of course," Robin finished the coins, marking down the amounts on a piece of paper before shifting to give Steve her full attention. "Are you ready to talk about it?"

"It?"

"Whatever's hurting you," she says. "I don't know what it is, but I knew you'd come to me when you were ready."

"It's been heard to try and talk about," Steve confesses, "because it's never. It was never you that I've been- I still don't know what to say but I know I don't want to be..." he trails off, waving his hands as he grapples for the words he wants.

"Oh," Robin whispers, standing from the desk to approach. "I hurt you. Tell me what I did, so I can properly apologize."

"When you told me to be careful with Eddie," Steve says, "after I told you about our first date. I don't understand why you'd say that me."

Robin looks pained and swallows before she says, "I'm so sorry, Steve. I shouldn't have said that. And I don't- I don't even have a good reason why I did. I know you'd never hurt Eddie. I know you and what I said wasn't even about you. Not the real you, anyway."

"So, why'd you say it, then?"

Robin frowns and looks away from him, shuffling her feet before she says to a point at the wall, "I was friends, or friendly, with a lot of the girls you were with in high school. A lot of one and done dates that I had to hear about, while they cried in the bathroom or on their bedroom floors, wondering what they'd done wrong, why you didn't stay or-" Steve winces as the reminder of who he'd been in high school comes easily out of Robin, but not for the usual reason he winces. It's not because Robin's reminding him he used to be a douche; she's reminding him of all the people he hurt and never cared that he'd done it. He never apologized, and now it's far too late even if all those girls deserve to hear it.

Robin is still speaking, "or whatever. But that doesn't matter now. You aren't that guy anymore; haven't been the entire time I've actually known you and it wasn't fair for me to say what I said. I just- you took Eddie out, and the part of me that spent years of high school consoling friends who felt used by you just spoke. I-I need to work on filtering the words that come out of my mouth, because if I'd waited like, four more seconds to process your words and settle in the fact you went on a date we both thought you'd never be brave enough to ask for, then I never would have said it. I'm so sorry, Steve. I know you and I should have known better."

Steve swallows thickly, because it hurt to hear but he also knows she's sorry and that's enough. He steps forward and sweeps her into a hug, crushing her against him. She squeezes back just as hard.

Steve has never felt really hurt about Wayne's shovel talk. It was the first, and the only one he'd say he deserved. Not because Steve deserved to have a shovel talk given to him, but because Wayne should get to have the honor of giving one. Eddie's never had a boyfriend before, and Wayne had spent so long worried about how this town would treat Eddie if they knew he was gay.

So, when Steve sees Wayne again, he just smiles at the man, and gets a genuine smile back. He and Wayne are ok.

He and Jeff apologize to each other next time they cross paths on a Hellfire night. Steve apologizes for being snappy and rude. Jeff apologizes for automatically assuming the worst of Steve. They agree to a truce and a start over.

Steve's convinced he can win over Eddie's friends eventually.

Steve can't talk to Nancy. There's too much left unsaid between them for him to feel comfortable with telling her she hurt him. But it's okay. He and Nancy aren't close friends, and she's leaving for Boston in a few weeks for college. He's sure that the distance, and not seeing her weekly for Lunch Date Day, will help.

So, he's a bit surprised to answer the knocking on his front door to see Nancy. It's an exact recreation of the day she shovel talked him and immediately Steve tenses.

"Uh, hi," he says.

Nancy takes a deep breath and says, "I'm sorry. I thought I was being funny when I gave you that shovel talk, but I- someone made it clear to me that we aren't friends enough to be able to make jokes like that. That's my fault, too. For everything I've done and never apologized for. So, I want to say that I'm sorry."

Steve's a little stumped, a bit perplexed even, so he speaks on autopilot, "It's fine, Nance. We're good."

Nancy squares her jaw and narrows her eyes and says, "no."

"No?"

"No. Don't forgive me. Not yet. Make me earn it."

Steve don't respond right away. He wants to just forgive Nancy, but when he thinks about it, he just wants to do that so Nancy will quit looking so defensive. He's not sure he does forgive her. "You're right. I- we'll work on that, then. Being friends one day."

"Good. Good," Nancy nods. "I'll see you are Lunch Date day, yeah? Or... or would you like me to stop coming?"

He shakes his head. "No, please keep coming. There's, what, three more before you're off to college? We can work towards friends in that time, yeah?"

"Yeah," Nancy gives him a small smile, "see you then, Steve."

"See you," Steve replies and shuts the door as she heads down the walkway back towards her car.

He wants to know if Eddie or Robin gave her the dressing down that brought her here to say sorry.

(It wasn't Robin or Eddie. It was Mike, learning what Nancy had done and telling her it wasn't her place to do that.)

There is one final shovel talk for the remainder of their relationship.

It's the final day in Steve's room at his parents house. He's moving in with Eddie and Wayne, at least until the kid's all graduate. Then he and Eddie might go off somewhere on their own.

He's finished packing up his things from the bathroom, and looks up in the mirror. He sees himself, and almost doesn't recognize the reflection staring back. He looks happy. Actually, really happy.

Eddie appears behind him in the mirror, leaning himself against the doorjam, smiling softly at Steve through the mirror.

"All done, sweetheart?"

"Yeah, babe," Steve says. "Just one more thing."

"Oh?"

Steve slides his eyes away from Eddie in the mirror, back to himself. He lifts a finger and points one accusingly finger at himself and says, "if you fuck this up, Harrington, I'll kick your ass myself."

Eddie's full belly laughter rings loudly in the bathroom and Steve just smiles.

[dj-bynum3718]

Of Fire and Ice - chapter 2

Melissa Schemmenti X reader X Larissa Weemes   

Summary: The dinner and questioning 

Words: 2367    

Notes: so this is going better than I thought I'm kinda living for it!  Thank you all for the love and support its really making me want to just get this out as fast as I can!! 

Wanings: slight talk of discrimination.  

----

3:45 the last kiddo from your class finally leaves you take that as a sign to get the heck out of there you don’t want to be cornered before the dinner. You gather your belongings and rush out of the school to your vehicle leaving to go pick up some ingredients for dinner.   

You can feel them watching you pull out of the parking lot you see Melissa and Barbara standing on the steps to the school. You don’t acknowledge them.  

Dinner tonight was supposed to just be leftovers from this weekend but now you actually have to put in effort since people will be coming over. It was lunch when you decided on penne arrabbiata. Your unintentional need to impress Melissa coming to head. So, you go out and buy some fresh parmesan, the rest you have at home, always going to the famers market on Saturdays. You have since picked up some new wines for your collection, so you won't need to get any more and for dessert well you did make some mini cheesecakes yesterday so those will have to do.  

Its 5:00 by the time you get home you immediately set to work on getting yourself ready just because you see these people every day doesn’t mean you don’t want to look nice when they come to your house.

6:30 you have finished touching up your make up and have changed into something comfortable letting your hair out of its messy bun and fixing the loose curls you had this morning. “meh good enough” you say to your reflection. 

6:35 you are starting on dinner it only takes about 20 minuets to finish the meal. When the bell rings you flick your wrist and suddenly the dining room table is set. You open the door and see all your friends waiting. “hey, come on in everything is ready” you motion with your hand to let them come in. 

“mmmh smells good hun what did you make? I can smell the fresh basil from here.” Melissa looks at you, she looks beautiful, she has changed into comfortable clothes herself and it should be illegal to look that good. You swallow your throat suddenly dry. “oh um penne arrabbiata.” she smirks at you oh god why does she do that. “a woman after my own heart I can’t wait to try it.” she winks at you walking into the house with the others.  

You close the door heading to the dining room. “come on in I don’t bite. Well unless you want me too” you joke looking back at them. “Guys I'm kidding” They all sit down at the table and you pull out 3 bottles of nice wine  

This peaks Barbaras interest as she hands you, her glass. You pour everyone some wine and serve the food. You hear the collective sigh as everyone takes a bite, Melissas hand lands on your free one as she nods in approval. Your brain short circuits as you take a big gulp of your wine.  

“so, how do you want to go about the questions” Jacob askes from his place at the table besides Janine. You let out a sigh and lean back against your chair. “Why don’t y’all take turns, we can start with Melissa and work our way around the table. Sound good?” they all nod as you turn your way to Melissa. “Okay beautiful we will start with you.” you don’t know where the bout of confidence came from, but her smile made it worth it. 

“So what kind of outcast are you? We know there are many different kinds so?” wow starting strong “I'm a witch I come from a long line. Don’t worry, the stories make us seem worse than we really are. She nods taking in your answer. 

Barbara takes her turn next “So you can do magic like the movies?” “Well yes kinda but it’s a bit more than that its connected to emotions yes but with practice I can use it for most things.  

“So, this school you went to it’s like a boarding school?” Gregory asks. “Yes, it’s been around since 1791.” you respond. 

“Is it only for outcast or can anyone go?” Janine askes “we have a few normies every so often, but they are rare and far between it is open to anyone but not many people feel comfortable with us.” 

Jacob looks at you now “what is the curriculum like?” “well we have the normal stuff but then some more specialized stuff too.” you respond 

“Who is this lady?” Ava holds out her phone to show the official nevermore page. Showing you a picture of Larissa. Your breath hitch's she is just a beautiful as you remember her. Those blue eyes piercing your soul all over again. You swallow hard before answering. “That is Larissa Weems the headmistress of Nevermore Acadamy” 

Melissa noticed the change in you immediately. “Who was she to you?” “My ex-girlfriend” you let out a sigh and look at her making eye contact calmed you immediately. 

Barbara takes her next turn “is that why you were upset this morning? Is she going to be there?” you simply nod your head in response.  

Melissa skips the others to ask her next question “when was the last time you saw her? And how long did you date?” You look to her confused as you can hear her voice waver. You grab Ava’s phone “we dated for 4 years, and I haven’t seen her in about 6. It looks like time has been good to her” you turn the phone to her “oh she is beautiful” you can hear the emotion in her voice, but you can't place it. “I was going to propose to her but then things started getting hard and I didn’t fight for her.” you shrug. 

Gregory raises his hand. “Yes?” you respond. “Can I go now Melissa Skipped me” you nod to him “cool so like you can do magic can you show us some?”  

You grin flicking your wrist and suddenly the table is cleared, and desert is on the table in front of them. You hear a collective gasp and Jacob claps. “Oh, that would come in handy.” Barbara responds.  

You nod “I use it more than I care to admit” you respond sheepishly thinking back on all the times you have used it in secret at school. The rest of the night goes on like this them asking you responding.

——

“Well, I do believe we all have to teach tomorrow. “ Barbara says standing “I'm going to take my leave thank you for an amazing dinner and enlightening evening.” the others nod and stand walking with her to the door. All leaving except Melissa who stayed on the couch as you walked them out. 

“You, okay?” you ask her from the doorway. She looks up at you and nods clearly there is something on her mind. You take her hand in yours and sit across from her. “Mel?”  

“What if I go with you?” she asked now you are confused. “What?” you respond not getting what she is referring to. 

“What if I went as your date to your reunion? I could be your fake girlfriend and you can show her that you are better now.” 

“I-I um Mel I can’t ask that of you it's a lot.” you are looking into her eyes now. “But you aren't askin I'm offering... so what do you say?” 

“lets do it” you nod grinning. 

10:45 Mel has already gone home, and you are filling out your RSVP and plus one paperwork. So maybe today wasn’t the worst day but now you have a whole other thing to worry about but till then that can be a problem for future you.  

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

The forecast indicates an opening well over $100m for INSIDE OUT 2, which is really no surprise to me. Animated movies, even sequels to beloved favorites, tend to be underestimated before opening. They don't make huge bucks right out of the gate like frontloaded fan-driven things like MCU movies and the like. Their business is more in the walk-ups at the theaters, and make those big totals on Saturdays and Sundays. Hence why projections can be quite low. MARIO is a good example, some analysts had that at $70-90m for its opening.

That looks to be the case with INSIDE OUT 2, a sequel to a movie that made $90m on its opening weekend unadjusted... 9 years ago. Of course it was gonna stay flat at the very least, but some projections are suggesting it could cruise past $120m.

The all-timer opening weekends for animated movies:

$191m - THE LION KING (2019)

$182m - INCREDIBLES 2 (2018)

$146m - THE SUPER MARIO BROS. MOVIE (2023)

$135m - FINDING DORY (2016)

$130m - FROZEN II (2019)

$121m - SHREK THE THIRD (2007)

$120m - TOY STORY 4 (2019)

$120m - SPIDER-MAN: ACROSS THE SPIDER-VERSE (2023)

$115m - MINIONS (2015)

$110m - TOY STORY 3 (2010)

$108m - SHREK 2 (2004)

$107m - MINIONS: THE RISE OF GRU (2022)

$104m - THE SECRET LIFE OF PETS (2016)

$103m - THE JUNGLE BOOK (2016)

So, it'll be with the big leagues either way, but I'll be curious to see how high it goes.

Of course, some of the trades are seemingly celebrating this win for all the wrong reasons... And I'm sure Disney execs will use it as some sort of justification for something regarding their original movies. Don't be surprised if another sequel gets slotted before D23 this year, or some time thereafter. But the good news is, people get to keep their jobs once more.

I think $300-400m domestic is also pretty much a lock, could even challenge $1 billion worldwide. For Disney, this is their biggest animated release since FROZEN II, nearly five years ago. In terms of animated movies in general released after March 2020, this may share the top spots with Mario and the Minions.

On the one hand, I'm happy to see Disney finally get some BIG animation box office cake after years of movies either having to release elsewhere for the safety of audiences (SOUL, LUCA, TURNING RED) or outright flopping (LIGHTYEAR, STRANGE WORLD, WISH), and they're sure to get some more with MOANA 2, and possibly MUFASA at the end of the year... But, at the same time, there's all the corporate nonsense. I keep thinking, what are they going to say if ELIO and such perform more like ELEMENTAL?: "Uhhh, uhhh? I guess trying to do this 'general appeal' thing didn't work either??"

INSIDE OUT 2, coupled with MOANA 2, ZOOTOPIA 2, TOY STORY 5, FROZEN III & IV, etc. should make back what was "lost" on the other movies. I'm not against sequels funding the originals, that's the way it has been with many studios since the 2000s, I'm just more concerned about how Disney will go about the originals being made at both studios. If INSIDE OUT 2 holds on at the box office in the coming weeks, it'll just tell me that audiences liked the new story, and that there doesn't need to be any of this needless meddling of Pixar's filmmaking processes. INSIDE OUT 2 was approached the same way ELEMENTAL, TURNING RED, etc. were - so if it has great legs after an expectedly big opening, then that just proves my point. And vindicates those so-called audience-unfriendly movies.

But yeah, I expect a big sequel drop from Pixar by the end of the year. Something that'll come out probably 2-3 years after TOY STORY 5.

SUNDAY UPDATE: Estimates have it at $155m. Could go higher when tomorrow rolls around... Big doins'.

MONDAY UPDATE: $154m. Great CinemaScore grade. This thing's smashing $400m domestic, maybe even makes a play for $500m. $1 billion worldwide locked, too?

[squashwurmz]

ent. 2

today is saturday, aug 31, 2024.

i am home alone right now. i havent been keeping track on here much since i attempted to collect my thoughts writing actual pencil on paper, but today i found out my mom went through my room and found them! so.. we're back to tumblr <3

i think she went through my room cause she suspected i was smoking, and she might've found my stash, lol. i just wish she'd stay out of my business. i don't get why it's so hard to understand. 2 more years until i can get as far away as possible.

we had a fight a night or two ago and ive been kinda giving her the cold shoulder since. she tried to talk to me about it yesterday picking me up from school, but i reallyyy don't want to talk to her. i dont want to talk to any actual people about it. i dont like being home very much. i know im very priviledged, especially with having both parents. those were my private thoughts.

i miss my friends. the weekends are getting harder and harder to deal with. i honestly dont have much going on at school right now anyways. to me, its just time to spend with people who i can actually get along with.

i finally wrote my inquiry for my portfolio! it still needs some touching up, so i wont share it here yet :P fun news is that we're gonna start actually working on stuff soon so yay!!!

i also decided i dont really want to go to homecoming, so i might just spend the night with one of my other friends. we'll see, since tickets are sooooo expensive!! $120!! i hate here lollolooll

anyways, thats it for now. bye bye!!

[acrux-jr]

Replete-P.2

Summary: Mike and you finally go on a date.

Word count: 990

Tags: fluff, chubby! Reader !, age gap (slight)

♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡

♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡•♡

Mike stared at the phone, almost burning a hole through it. All of Friday and no text, and now it's Saturday the mid afternoon and still no text.

‘Was I not her type?’ Mike's mood fell a bit but he shook it off. ‘It's also the weekend, I'm sure she worked all week and is probably relaxing.’ 

He was not wrong, you were laying in bed doing a facemask and reading a book. Your phone buzzed.

‘Have you texted Mr. Sexy???’

You rolled your eyebrows at your friends words.

‘No not yet.’

‘:( why not!?’

‘Bc 1 im still thinking it over okay? Hes a big brother of one of the student im sure that like taboo or wtv

2 im nervous okay jeez.’

:| stop being a pussy y/n so what hes a BROTHER, yes the guardian but its not as bad at a parent or a married one at that.

DO IT Y/N!’

The paper was right in front of you, acting as a bookmark. You bit your bottom lip. ‘I mean she has a point, he's not a parent, and not married.’

It still weighed on your mind though. The numbers were burned into the back of your head now from how often you were staring at them.

You huffed a breath out, ‘FUCK IT!’

‘Mike?’

There was an immediate reply. ‘Ms.L/N?’

‘Yes, but y/n is fine :)’

Mike's heart fluttered the tiniest bit at the smiley face.

‘Cool :) y/n it is.’

You giggled and kicked your feet. 

‘So Mike, what do you like to do?’

‘Relax mostly, nothing beats just resting’

‘Are you sure you're not actually over 40?’

‘I am waiting for that age to come so I can just spend it at home and blame it on my age.’

Hours and hours passed by as you learned more about Mike and he learned more about you. A thought popped into your mind as he told you his favorite cartoon.

‘Do you have any plans for tomorrow?’

Mike stared at the text. ‘Holy fuck,’ was what he thought. 

He typed and erased over 3 different messages before landing on something that was fine.

‘No, not much I was gonna run some errands while Abby was with a babysitter since she want to buy like everything.

Why?’

‘Um well if you weren't too busy, I was wondering if you wanted to go to the diner to hang out for a bit.’

Seconds passed, they felt like hours to you though.

‘Yeah that sounds good. 1 sound good?’

‘Yeah perfect :).’

The conversation died down a bit as it was nearing 10 pm, and both of you were busy with cleaning up. You said your goodnights to each other and both slept soundly, dreaming of tomorrow.

The next day rolled around, bright and semi early. It was 10 a.m. you sent Mike a goodmorning, and started for the day. No one was home, so you made a quick breakfast, an omelet, toast, and some fruits for right now before eating lunch with Mike.  

You put a face mask on as you listened to your cassette. You lounged around til 12 to get ready.

You did a brushed out fox eye, with mascara and a little foundation. You had a cashmere crop top and a dark brown folded skirt. You put on a leather jacket and your mary janes. You left hair down, put a soft brown lip liner and red with gloss. You opted for minimal jewelry, just a gold chain.

It was 12: 40, your stomach growled a bit. On your way down you grabbed a snack pack and headed out. You ran back in for your purse and keys, then headed out.

You got there at 12:50, as you looked to your ight you saw Mike already sitting at a both. He smiled and gave an awkward wave, which you found a bit endearing.

You walked to him, he stood up and offered to take your jacket off. You accepted and the two of you sat. 

The silence was a bit awkward. 

Mike tried to break it. “So how long have you been an after-school teacher?”

“Hmm I just started but I did do the summer program for the last years.”

“Oh do you like?”

“Um yeah mostly. There's some bad days of course but that could be said about any job.”

“Yeah that makes sense.”

“What about you, how long have you been a stockman?”

“2 months.” 

“Oh cool. How long have you been working in general?”

“Since I was 16, so about 11 years.”

Silence hung in the air.

“Wait. You're 27?”

Mike nodded his head. “Yeah… why?”

He huffed and laughed, “What are you like 18?”

His smile dropped and eyes widened as you gave a slight nod. “Wait, are you serious?”

Again another nod. “I thought you said you worked the summer program?”

“Yeah, as a volunteer the first year and then from there as a group leader.”

“Wow. Okay.”

You bit your lip. “I'm sorry, I didn't think our age gap was that um wide. I thought you were max 23.”

“I thought you were at least 22.”

The two of you were silent again. 

You're french toast was served as was his sandwich. 

Plates and forks were clinking, as the two of you ate. “So…” Mike trailed off.

“So… if you still want this to continue… I would  as well…”

“Are you sure? It's a whole 9 year difference y/n.” Mike said softly.

You shyly nodded, “Yeah I mean we're both adults, albeit I am newer to it. We can take it slower than usual, so we both feel comfortable.”

Mike looked at you, at your full face as you smiled and how your eyes turned into half moons. You warmed as you noticed his stare. He admired how beautiful you look. 

“Yeah. I'd like that. But slow like really slow y/n.”

You giggled and he smiled at you. 

*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*

Taglist: @kxllanxtdoor @mintyymao @slut4pascal

Hey yall just came out the hospital 🤪 finished up part in the er

[continuing-studies]

Go to Asia with your family: Toddlers hiding things

One thing about being away with small kids for an extended period is that there is a lot of development happening while you're gone. By the time we get back to Germany in the springtime, our son will have lived more of his life to that point traveling around Asia (3 months) than in his so-called home (2).

But their development doesn't just go on pause. Just as I would like to think that somewhere deep inside their little minds these kids are being influenced positively by the experiences they're having right now, all of the different phases that would come anyway for them are coming here and now, while we're on the go.

As one might expect, we see this in particular with our older daughter. Toddlers are already such complex little creatures, like a tadpole that is almost big enough to be a frog but hasn't quite grown its full frog legs. There's something new happening inside their brains literally all the time. At the same time, being in a totally different environment inevitably shapes the context in which every new phase takes place.

When we were in Pakistan last month Maya began hiding things for the first time (that we're aware of). To any parents reading this: maybe you know this one? It's cute, and funny, but sometimes there are also things that maybe you left out which you didn't want to be hidden, and this might lead to some stressful situations or, in our case, an unfortunate misunderstanding.

Keep reading for the details!

Saturday 21 January 2023

Karachi

Lately Maya has developed a habit of mysteriously hiding things in strange places.  We first noticed last week when all of a sudden half of the pieces to her baby and grown-up animal puzzles went missing.  Zara kept asking me where they all were, to the point that I got a bit defensive thinking that she thought I was simply being careless and lost them.  In reality I was as confused as she was.  When Maya and I were playing with the puzzles in the drawing room last Saturday morning, just one piece was missing - the baby rhino, the same one that has been missing since we left Berlin.  A few hours later at least 4 baby and grown-up animal sets were completely missing, along with a few more random individual pieces.

We puzzled over the missing puzzle pieces for the rest of the weekend.  I looked in sofa crevices, under carpets, and every other tight space I could think of where Maya wouldn’t possibly cram one or several puzzle pieces.  Zara at one point announced that she had figured it out - Maya probably put the pieces in the trash bin.  This sounded plausible, but I convinced myself it wasn’t true because the trash had been taken out the same day we were playing and that would mean the pieces had entered the Karachi waste stream already, never to be seen again.  They’ll turn up, I insisted.

The next day Zara finally shared some good news - she knew where the pieces were.  She’d asked Maya, who the whole time had been saying they were upstairs but declined to give any further specifics.  Eventually Zara asked again when they were in the bedroom together and Maya pointed to the bottom of the bed, where there is the slightest of gaps between the solid wood bedframe and the floor.  I’d already dismissed this as a possibility myself, thinking the gap was too small.  But sure enough, upon checking further I could see the edge of one of the baby animals poking out close to the opening.  One-by-one apparently because I can’t imagine it working out any other way, Maya had taken the time to slide at least 8 individual puzzle pieces underneath a massive wood bedframe in the only place where they would fit, because why not.

I got the missing pieces later in the week after I had my strength back.  It was a physical task.  Before sliding the heavy bedframe across the floor to reveal the pieces, the large double mattress also had to be lifted off the frame and propped against a wall.  And in order to move the bedframe, multiple other pieces of furniture also had to be temporarily adjusted.  The sight of the pieces after straining to push the heavy, unwieldy frame across a marble floor was a bit like finding buried treasure.  Moving the physical manifestations of heaven and earth to recover toys that my child has hidden in the most impossible places - these are clearly the things that bring me joy as a toddler papa.

Later in the week things got a bit more real when Zara’s pink fanny pack all of a sudden also disappeared.  She realized that she couldn’t find it as she was getting ready to leave to bring Camino to get his vaccines on Thursday afternoon.  I asked if there was anything important in it - no passports or important documents, fortunately, but there was a fair amount of cash.  Zara looked everywhere, as we did with the puzzle pieces, driving herself mad in the process as each new obscure location failed to yield the pink bag.  We ran through all the scenarios.  Hadn’t Maya been wearing it that morning?  Did she bring it to Nani’s school?  Zara didn’t think so.  Where was she playing with it last?  I had seen her with it in her bedroom that morning.  Was it there?  No.  Zara asked Maya where she put it, her frustration with the situation (and with Maya) becoming increasingly clear.  Maya kept repeating that “Maya put it somewhere”, but wasn’t able to elaborate.

Finally Zara left with Camino and Maya went down for a nap, which gave me some time to look around again.  I honestly didn’t even know where to start.  It felt like Zara had already frantically searched everywhere, but maybe with a clear head and not being in a rush I would be able to figure out where somewhere could be.  I scanned the main upstairs common area as well as our bedroom, and then wondered if Zara had checked the two leather side tables next to our bed.  I opened the top drawer on my side - sure enough, there was the pink bag, sitting there in the drawer next to our two journals.

Later on when Zara came back I walked downstairs with the pink bag, eager to show her that the mystery was again solved.  While she was out Zara had already called Rita, the house cleaner who has been coming over every day to the house where we're staying, to ask if she’d seen the bag while she was over that morning.  Rita made a special trip back and was looking around for the bag, just as I walked into the living room with it.  Although Zara and Rita were both obviously happy that we had found the bag, things disappearing in homes can be a touchy subject in Pakistan, and we saw that in Rita’s reaction.  The vast inequalities in class and material ownership here make petty theft from domestic helpers a not-infrequent occurrence, and Rita was obviously sensitive to any suspicion that we may have had that she may have taken the pink bag.  In reality that was the furthest thing from our minds — we knew all along that the culprit was our mischievous 2 1/2 year-old.  But Zara had to clear this up and reassure Rita, who was fighting back tears.  She has been wonderful to us this whole time and particularly cute with Maya, who she even looked after on one of our last days for a few hours.  So Zara, naturally, felt terrible that this pink bag mystery had made Rita feel in any way insecure about what we might have thought of her.

That afternoon we all sat on the terrace as the sun went down, Camino on his back in his usual spot taking in the Karachi street sounds, Maya playing with playdough, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan serenading us all through our BlueTooth speaker.  Zara attempted to explain to Maya that the situation with the bag had made Rita feel really bad before trailing off.  How do you articulate the human complexities of post-colonialism, inequality, feudalistic social hierarchies, and material wealth itself to a toddler who just likes hiding things?  

We left it there, for now, as a chilly evening breeze eventually blew us back inside the house - a conversation for another day. 

On Friday as I was getting something in Maya’s room, I noticed just in time out of the corner of my eye as she attempted to slide one of her Spanish dinosaur books into that same opening as the puzzle pieces, the one between the bedframe and the floor. 

[hattywatch]

J. Vesey - July For the Whole Year Ch. 1

A/n: Hello all! It's been a while, but I'm still lurking about. I heard that Jimmy was back on the table for the Rangers a few months ago and started this, with endgame in mind that he'd be back and NOW HE IS. I decided to do chapters so it's easier to consume. We're clocking about 35 pages currently. It's about 90% completed, so the subsequent chapters should be up fairly quickly. This is 100% self-serving. I wanted a disgustingly long will-they-won't-they, friends to lovers, so I had to do it my damned self. Stop by, say hi, stay awhile; I read all comments, tags, messages etc- so don't be shyyyy!) Please check out my Masterlist (I finally made one!) if you want some more content :)

_______________________________

August 2017

“PIVOT!” a decidedly male voice shouts from down the hall. You almost laugh, but it’s 8am on a Saturday and you don’t really want to commit to being fully awake quite yet. 

“Dude, that was not funny 2 floors down, and it’s even less funny now-” still male, but another voice answers back. 

It seems like Stella, the building manager, has finally found someone to let the large three-bedroom at the end of the hall. It’s been vacant for the whole summer, which was nice. The floor only has 2 other 1 bedroom apartments, so it’s been you and Mr.Callahan for the better part of 3 months. He’s a septuagenarian and hardly makes any noise, so it's been akin to having the entire 4th floor to yourself and it's been too short-lived for your taste. To say you were delighted when the last tenants moved out is an understatement. You haven’t had to vie for the elevator, wake up to any loud music, or have a sneezing fit- which aroused your suspicion of a contraband feline residing nearby. You’re sad to have it come to an end, but maybe they’ll quiet down once they move in. 

Rolling over, you wedge your face in between your pillows, successfully blocking the sound and falling back into a gentle doze. 

______

Two weeks later, you’re sitting on the rooftop deck, lounging like a dog in the sun, sipping an iced-coffee from the cafe down the street and reading a magazine when the rooftop door opens to a boisterous duo, mid-conversation. 

“Brady will do it again this year. You watch. No way he retires, he’s got too much left in him. Guy’s an animal-” they’re both tall, but the sandy haired one is loud, clearly from Boston- his R’s dropping at the end of his words, making “Year,” sound wrong to your ears, attuned for New York City. 

“I’m not doubting him, man. He’s just getting up there,” they sit at the table next to you, clad in swim-suits, clearly about to use the pool- the paint is chipped and worn, but the water is crystal blue and chlorinated enough that even the unwashed masses of the city can’t sully it. The small pool is your favorite perk of the aged building.

Hiding your eyes behind your sunglasses, you size them up. They're young, likely in their twenties and they're both fit as hell, thick and muscled. Not a bad sight, but you'd hate to leer, so you go back to your magazine, only half paying attention to the chatter next to you as it moves from sport to sport before they finally walk towards the water.

It's cold, you know it's freezing, which is why you’ve chosen to tan and not float around in the water. One of the kids in the building had an accident in it last weekend; it had to be drained and cleaned and it hasn't had the time to warm up yet. It seemed almost silly to refill it now, since there's barely two weeks left of summer, but who are you to complain?

“Jesus Christ!” You can’t really hold back the laughter even though you try, so a choked snort makes its way out despite your best efforts. The sandy haired one is only in the water up to his knees and the darker haired one hasn’t even started his descent down the pool steps yet, and you don’t want to be the creep eavesdropping and gawking, so you pull your magazine up a little higher over your face to hide. 

“You could have warned us! It’s fuckin’ ice cold,” he retreats up the steps and sits back in his chair on the deck. “I’m Kevin, I just moved here. This is Brady.” Kevin sticks his hand out to shake, and you drop Cosmopolitan onto the wire table in front of you to meet his grip. 

His handshake is strong and warm. “Here, New York, or here, this building?” you ask after giving him your name. Brady leans in after Kevin, hand outstretched, so you shake his too. 

“This building. I’ve been in New York a couple-a years now. But we just moved to this building a few weeks ago. We’re down on 4; us and our buddy Jimmy.” You nod and tell him you’re on 4 too, but then his phone rings and it’s Jimmy and he has pizza. They invite you down to eat, but you decline, wanting to soak up as much summer as possible before the weather turns biting and fall’s crisp air rolls into the city. 

“Nice to meet you! We’ll see you around. Don’t be a stranger!” They wave jovially as they continue through the rooftop door. They seem nice enough. Saving your magazine from the condensation sweating down your coffee cup, you pick up where you left off - “How to Find a Normal Dude on a Dating App,” and wonder how they can possibly pass the same garbage off as something new each month.

______

It’s 2 o’ clock in the morning, according to the glance you give at your way-too-bright phone, and you hear the scraping of a key in your lock. It’s scary because your building is generally safe, and you can count on one hand the number of people who have a copy of your key- Stella the building manager, your elderly neighbor Mr. Callahan, and one ex who you ended it with over 6 months ago. The latter is the only one that makes sense since you know Stella leaves by 8pm each evening and Mr. Callahan is in bed shortly after his early-bird dinner at 4pm. 

If it is someone with malicious intent, they’re certainly not trying to sneak in, they’re cursing loudly and wrenching the knob that refuses to turn. The console table next to your front door houses your keyring, equipped with a small can of mace, so you grab it before checking the peephole. 

“Kevin are you fucking kidding me?” You unlock the door and yank it open to Kevin’s sleepy face on the other side. His eyes are droopy and his smile is lopsided. 

“Heyyyy, what are you doing at our house?!” You’ve seen Kevin around often since meeting him and Brady at the pool a few weeks ago. He’s always coming to or from the gym, or grabbing take-out, or the bar- which is probably the case right now. Kevin is good people, so you can’t find yourself getting too mad at the disturbance. 

Pocketing your keys in your robe, you join him in the hallway. “This isn’t your house, you dweeb. It’s mine,” he looks slightly confused before spinning around in the hall at his surroundings. 

“I see the problem now,” you’re not sure that he actually sees much of anything, since he looks a little worse for the wear right now, but he looks down to the floor before smiling back up at you, “your doormat should have tipped me off… we definitely never bought a doormat.”

He’s wobbly at best, so you grab him by the elbow and steer him towards his door. “Your boys home? Who’s going to tuck you in, bud? Make sure you have some water and get to bed okay?” Kevin is having a hard time with his keys, so you take the tangled ring and try a few before giving up and knocking loudly. 

“Hey!! I have something that belongs to you!” Kevin giggles and rests his forehead against the wall next to the door. 

The locks on the other side make a metallic jerking noise before the door is yanked open. You assume it’s the elusive 3rd roommate, Jimmy, since it’s certainly not Brady. Kevin has mentioned him in passing, but your paths haven’t crossed yet in the few weeks since they’ve moved in. 

He sighs and steps out into the hallway to get a look at Kevin. “You’re kidding me. How did you even make it home?”

“He didn’t,” you interject, “well… he made it to the building and then he tried to get into my apartment. Damn near maced him. He scared the crap out of me.” Jimmy seems to notice you for the first time. 

He looks a little sheepish when he responds, “I’m so sorry, he’s harmless really. Just drank a bit too much, I’m sorry he woke you up. We’re still pretty new to the building, he must have been confused.”

You smile, “It’s okay. I live down the hall and we met a few weeks ago. Good for him actually… it’s bear mace, so...” Kevin is still leaning heavy against the wall when you look over at him. 

“Oh, yeah- Brady mentioned you, I think. (y/n)?” Jimmy leans against the door jamb, arms crossed, and smiles- warm, like it’s not an inconvenience for you to be knocking on his door dragging an inebriated friend home to be taken care of. 

“That’s me…” you pause, not really wanting to get into a conversation at this time of night, the siren song of your soft bed and warm covers calling you back, “Do you think you can give him some water? Maybe some aspirin and make sure he gets to bed?”

Jimmy nods slowly as you talk, before the words seem to land and he nods more vigorously. “Oh, yeah of course… I am sorry, though- again. Thanks for getting him home, I got him from here,” he pulls Kevin over the threshold of the apartment, but doesn’t follow him down the hallway yet. 

“I’m Jimmy, by the way- nice to meet you and thanks again for not pepper spraying Kev.” You step one foot backwards, still looking in Jimmy’s direction. 

“Anytime, Jim. Make sure he survives the night.”

Jimmy smiles and salutes, “You got it. See you around, (y/n)” with one last wave, he closes the door and you finally head back to bed, knocking out as soon as you hit the pillow. 

______

Sunday morning you sleep in until 10, you feel like you’ve earned it after your night was interrupted however, Sundays are also for cleaning, so while your coffee is brewing, you pick a playlist on your phone and turn it on, loud enough that you can hear it throughout your apartment, but low enough to not bother Mr.Callahan through the thin walls. 

You’re halfway through cleaning out your fridge, dumping expired items into the garbage pail and making a grocery list for things to replenish, when there’s a sharp knock on your door. It’s not like you’re expecting company, so you glance at the mirror in the bathroom to make sure you’re decent before checking the peephole and opening the door to Jimmy. 

“Good morning,” you’re cheery, invigorated by the 2 cups of coffee you’ve downed so far and the adrenaline from being productive pumping through your veins.  

He has a brown paper bag in his hand, and he smiles, a small blush high on his cheekbones, and you can tell he’s much more reserved than Kevin, who is gregarious, loud, and boisterous each and every time you’ve bumped him since the very first day you met. 

“Uh, hey. Good morning. Hope I’m not bothering you-” he pauses and looks for permission to continue. You didn’t notice last night, half asleep and bleary, but he has the same accent as Kevin and you peg him as a Bostonian as well. 

Shaking your head you assure him, “Not at all. It’s daytime, that’s typically when visitors are expected. Let Kevin know, I don’t think he’s heard.” You smile and he huffs out a small chuckle.

He hands the paper bag over to you. “Just wanted to thank you again for being so cool about last night. Kev had a rough week and he felt like shit this morning when he realized what happened. He’s still sleeping it off, but just a little peace offering.”

The bag has the logo of the cafe down the street, where you frequently grab coffees and breakfast when you’re running late for work. “I just grabbed some bagels and a bacon, egg, and cheese. Heard that’s the way to a New Yorker’s heart…” he stops awkwardly as you unroll the top of the bag, and peer inside, “You’re not a vegan or anything are you… I didn’t even think about that. Hope it’s oka-”

“It’s great, Jimmy. Did you want to come in? There’s a ton of food here and I just made a fresh pot of coffee.” You step to the side and hold the door open, giving him a clear path into the house. 

He smiles again, it lifts up higher on one side of his mouth. “One cup can’t hurt I guess,” he steps in past you, nose leading him to the coffee pot on the counter. 

______

Jimmy stays for a few hours, he’s easy to talk to, quieter than Kevin, but you can immediately tell he’s got a sharp wit and it comes out the longer he sits in your kitchen, hat backwards and refilling his cup whenever it gets low. You start off talking about Kevin over your bagels and coffee, before devolving into how they know each other (distant cousins who grew up in Boston- you were right about the accent), and then he’s happy to talk about back home, opening up a little and telling you all the best spots in town, “I’m a local, so you know they’re good. You can’t go off google, that’s not authentic,” and defending ‘Dunks’ against all other coffee in the known world. 

“An extra extra? What the hell is that?” You’re topping off his coffee, grabbing the sugar canister off the counter and putting it on the table in front of him. 

“Extra cream, extra sugar. Why, what do you call it here?” 

“Fucking disgusting?” You laugh at your own joke, adding milk to your coffee, “Light and sweet I guess? Tell me something else in Boston.” His posture is relaxed as he leans back in his chair and starts talking about the Harvard Library, of all things. 

You’re happy with how Jimmy opens up sitting in your kitchen on a Sunday morning- chore list forgotten with both of your dishes sitting in the sink. You haven’t felt self conscious for one second even though you’re in your pajamas, hair in a sloppy bun on your head as you compare childhoods in the largest cities on the eastern seaboard. 

The conversation has turned to Game of Thrones, and he’s putting up a pretty good argument for you to start binging it, “I swear it’s like a movie every week. The production value is incredible,” when there’s a knock on your door. 

“More people have knocked on this damned door in the last 12 hours than have in the last 3 years. Sorry Jim, one sec- let me see who that is.” It’s equal parts surprising and unsurprising when you see Kevin on the other side of the peephole. The easy choice is to let him in, turn back around, and walk him to the kitchen as he stammers out his apologies, trailing behind you. 

“Jimmy apologizes better. He brought food,” You take your seat across from Jimmy at your small kitchen table again, as Kevin looks visibly shocked to see Jimmy there, one eyebrow making its way up in question. Jimmy immediately turns bright red when he meets Kevin’s eye. 

He makes himself at home, leaning against your counter and opening up the paper bag before selecting a bagel. “Butter in the fridge?” you nod and he helps himself. “I was wondering where you went, bro. I’ve been up for hours and you haven’t answered one text. I was about to head to the gym to look for you.”

Picking his phone up, Jimmy grits his teeth, “Ah, sorry. Time got away from me. I was supposed to be training, but I stopped by to apologize- for your dumb ass by the way- and we got to talking, I didn’t check my phone.”

“I’m sure you didn’t,” Kevin tells him it’s no big around the bitten off hunk of bagel wedged in his cheek. “You got plans today, (y/n)?” He chews heartily before you shake your head no, and Kevin lists off about five things that he wants to do, clearly no longer plagued by a hangover. Jimmy meets your eye and you shrug. 

“Sure, let me get ready.” You haven’t had a friend in the building before, but it feels a lot like you just made a few.

[twilightinanotherlife]

It’s Complicated

[Ch 1] [Ch 2] [Ch 3]

Fandom: The Twilight Saga x Life and Death Twilight Reimagined

Pairing: Bella Swan/Edythe Cullen

Rating: Teen

Summary: Edythe drives Bella to the auto shop so that the later can pick up her truck. Bella goes on her first hunting trip since arriving in Forks.

Word count: 2,948

(Bella’s P.O.V)

Saturday rolled around and it brought with it a truck bedload of anticipation. I slept in today finally crawling out of bed just before noon. As I threw together a ham and egg sandwich for brunch, I noticed that my senses were getting weak. It always started with my senses. First it was my eyes. Usually, I could see the air particles dancing around and everything was in pristine clarity. But bit by bit the air particles faded away and the colors began to dim. Then it was my sense of smell. Normally I could smell raindrops in the clouds before they fell from the sky. So, imagine my surprise when I heard the sound of rain hitting my roof and I had not anticipated it. In hindsight I should have. I do currently live in a rainforest.

It wasn’t a hindrance really. My senses were just fine, by human standards, it only meant that I would need to hunt soon. The cattle blood in my refrigerator wasn’t cutting it anymore. After I ate, I found my phone in my room and saw that I had a missed call from Edythe. My ringer had been turned off and I had not heard the vibrations I normally would have. Add that to the list of reasons why I need to go hunting this weekend. I called Edythe back. Once the small talk was done, Edythe asked when it would be a good time to pick me up. I told her whenever was fine and she said she’d see me soon. I hopped in the shower for a quick wash and threw on some clothes.

I had just pulled on my raincoat when I heard a car pull into my driveway. I should have been able to hear Edythe’s car from miles away. Yep, definitely going hunting this weekend. There was a rhythmic knock on my door. Even though I knew who would be behind it, it still brightened my day to see her. But it was also bittersweet in a way. I was determined that today was the last day I would spend with Edythe. I was not sure what I could do about Biology class, but I could avoid her outside of school. I cared too much about Edythe to continue putting her in danger.

I locked my front door and Edythe led me to the passenger door which she held open for me. Edythe took the scenic route to the auto shop. At the end of Nottingham Way, she turned away from the beaten path and took an unpaved dirt road. The road cut through the trees creating its own path. Some time ago, before the streets were paved, this could have been a regularly used road. Now it was a forgotten piece of the town’s history; a treasure for me and Edythe to enjoy together. The drive had shown off some of the beauty that this small corner of the world had to offer. Even in the middle of winter, the trees were a bright green. The color stood out against the brown trunks of the towering western hemlock trees and Douglas-firs. I wondered if Edythe was enjoying the scenery as much as I am.

“I’m glad you picked this road,” I broke the comfortable silence we’d been riding in. “The view is beautiful.”

“It is not the view that I am admiring.” Edythe turned her head slightly so that I could see her lopsided grin and twinkling eyes.

My cheeks painted themselves a bright pink and the smell of freesias and crisp apples saturated the air. Edythe’s fingers briefly gripped the steering wheel before her whole body relaxed. Hybrid blood had a strange effect on vampires. Unlike the scent of human blood, which flamed the fire of a vampire’s throat, a hybrid’s blood was more soothing. Just a whiff of a hybrid’s scent could ease the thirst of a starving vampire better than the taste of the sweetest human blood. Though it would quench a vampire’s thirst they lacked the instinct to drink from us. Some part of their subconscious told them that hybrids weren’t met to be a food source for them, but that didn’t stop some vampires from trying.

“Tell me about yourself,” I suddenly changed the course of the conversation. I had to stop this flirtation with Edythe before we both became too attached. The last thing I wanted to do was lead her on in any way. “You’re adopted, right?”

Confusion twisted Edythe’s perfect features. She clearly was not expecting such a sudden change in our topic of conversation. Plus, I imagine her inability to read my mind made it even more unexpected.

“I’m sorry,” I continued. “Is that too personal a question? I don’t mean to pry.”

Edythe’s face smoothed out. “No, it’s alright. You just caught me by surprise is all.” She probably wasn’t surprised often.

“Yes. I was adopted by Carlisle a long time ago. He was my godfather, a good friend of my parents. After they died, Carlisle and Earnest took me in.”

“Earnest adopted you too then?”  

“No, it was just Carlisle. There are cases of same-sex second parent adoption, but it involves petitioning and lawyers and courtrooms. Carlisle and Earnest thought it might traumatize me further to put me through all that. They’ve always done their best to do right by me.”

“You care about them very much.” It wasn’t a question. Merely a statement of the obvious.

“I do.”

“And the others? They were adopted by Carlisle, as well?”

“Not all of them. Just Alice and Emmett. Rosalie and Jessamine are Earnest’s nieces. He took them in not too long after I was adopted.”

“Wait,” I said recalling what Jessica had told me on my first day at Forks High. “I thought Emmett and Alice were foster kids. At least that’s what I’ve heard at school.”

Edythe shrugged. “It doesn’t surprise me that you were misinformed. A lot of people don’t know the difference between ‘fostering’ and ‘adoption.’ They were foster kids, siblings actually, when they came to live with us. It was just Emmett at first, but when Carlisle found out about Alice, he took her in too.”

“That was really kind of him. Earnest too.”

Edythe nodded her head in agreement. “They’re two of the best people I’ve ever known. Carlisle and Earnest have done so much for me.”

I understood that the story was a fabrication; a lie to tell the humans, but that last part was the truth. I could hear the truth of it in Edythe’s voice. She loved her fathers and no matter what the cover story was the Cullens were a family.

When we inevitably reached our destination, I couldn’t fight the heavy feeling in my heart. I was determined that this would be the end of our budding relationship. It was simply far too dangerous to get involved with anyone and it was best I ended things now. How do you break up with someone whom you’d only started falling for, whom you’ve never even been on a date with?

Edythe walked with me as I followed the mechanic to my truck. When I had bought it from the car dealership in Seattle it had been fully restored. The dealership had bought the red pick-up truck from a local who had done a lot of work and maintenance on it. I had been impressed by how new the truck looked, but as the mechanic led us to the truck, I was not as impressed. The truck clearly had several dents in the cargo bed and the paint was badly chipped. Edythe noticed the flaws too and frowned.

“They certainly did a job well done,” she remarked sarcastically after the mechanic had left. Her fingers ran over the dents and chipped paint. “Perhaps I should ask Rose to give it a makeover.”

“No need to bother her,” I said. “The exterior’s appearance doesn’t matter so long as I can drive it from point A to point B.”

I climbed into the cab and placed the key in the ignition. With a turn of the key the beast roared to life.

“That’ll do,” I spoke loudly over the sound of the engine. I turned the key back to the ‘Off’ position and climbed down from the cab. “Thank you again, Edythe for driving me here today. And for being my chauffeur these past few days.”

“Your companionship was thanks enough. I was happy to assist.” Her dark gold eyes twinkled and at the sight of the smile that accompanied it, my slow heart raced.

It was now or never. “Well, I’m sure you have better things to do with the rest of your day than hang around with me.” I climbed back into my truck, shutting the door firmly behind me.

Edythe stood on the outside, her petite frame just reaching high enough to look through my window. The corners of her mouth turned downward. Her frown showed her confusion over my unexpected effort to leave. Her eyes narrowed and I could feel her scrutinizing gaze on my face through the glass.

“I’ll see you on Monday then.”

“Good-bye, Edythe.”

I started the engine and pretended the roaring sound of it drowned out the sound of my heart breaking.

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

The weather the following morning was truly a reflection of my somber mood. A heavy fog blocked out the sky and clouded up my windows. I dragged myself out of bed before the sun was up and threw on some clothes. A simple flannel and jeans combination will make a perfectly suitable hunting outfit. I couldn’t put off a hunting trip much longer. If I didn’t go soon, I would start to lose my strength and speed. Hunting anything without supernatural strength is not easy.

I turned onto the highway and drove south past the town limits. I continued heading south, past the conifer forests, towards the Hoh rainforest. Driving my truck again felt wonderful and succeeded in lightening my dreary mood. I hadn’t had the old girl for long, but I loved her. It was exactly the kind of truck that Charlie would’ve liked. The morning mist was dense and shrouded everything in a sense of mystery and misery, but as the sun rose above the trees its rays broke through the haze. The skies became clearer leaving only a thin cloud cover between the sun and the earth.

After driving for a while, I finally reached my destination. I turned onto an abandoned dirt road and left my truck hidden among the red cedar trees. Once I was satisfied that the truck was hidden well enough, I took off at top speed towards the east, headed towards the Olympic National Park. I ran deep into the forest beyond the hiking trails and past the campsites. The trees moved past me in a blur of browns and greens. Because my sense of sight was weak at the moment, I put my trust in my sixth sense. That instinct which every vampire possessed that warned them that danger was near. With my instincts still intact I dodged the trees, my feet lighter than air against the forest floor.

Running has always been my favorite part of being a hybrid. The feeling of adrenaline and freedom coursed through my veins. My heartbeat harder as I picked up speed, the sound of it thrummed against my eardrums. The thick cover of the trees thinned out as I reached the base of the mountains. I stopped in my tracks to let my lungs fill with air. With every deep breath the particles in the atmosphere danced across my tastebuds. Using this sense, I tracked down a heard of elk. I hid among the trees as I watched the heard graze. I watched and waited for the opportunity to pounce. That chance came when a cow elk wandered away from the others. I silently followed the female deer. If I concentrated, I could smell the blood rushing through its veins. My mouth watered with venom. My lips curled back to reveal white and sharpened teeth. With a quick leap my arms were around the elk’s neck and by teeth sunk into its jugular. The venom I injected into its bloodstream paralyzed the creature, ceasing its struggling.

I pulled the fresh blood from its veins; the warm liquid coated my tongue. To vampires the taste of animal blood was satisfactory at best, but to me the flavor was sweet and complemented by a rich undertone of earthy flavors. I swallowed the blood and as it coated my throat, I felt my senses returning. The remaining heard, sensing a predator, took off into the forest. I could hear the pounding of their hooves against the dirt. The beast I was feasting on became limp in my arms as a drained the last of its life-giving blood. I dropped the animal onto the floor and inspected my clothes. Other than fur and dirt my clothes were unmarred. As a child I had been an extremely messy eater, often returning from a hunting trip with my shirt caked in drying blood. Now that I am older, I have perfected the etiquette of hunting.

After burying the elk carcass under a large tree, I continued on with the hunt. The act was much simpler now that my senses were stronger than they had been the last few days. I headed up into the mountains, smelling the rich aroma of a bobcat. I easily found the feline and took my fill before disposing of the body. I made my way back down the mountain and ran west to where I had hidden my truck. I stepped up into the cab of the truck and started the engine. It was noon as I began the drive back to town.

My skin was buzzing with renewed energy, the effect of a recent hunt, and my mind was clearer and sharper. Gone was the fog of thirst that had clouded my mind. As I drove, I took in the bright emerald greens that passed me by. Moss clung to the trunks of the trees and hung from the branches like draperies. I rolled the window down and the smell of the forest wafted in. The sensual scent of musk and amber swirled in the air of the cab. I breathed it in, grounding myself with the earthy scent. I always felt better after a good hunt. In fact, I felt so good I almost forgot the sorrows that plagued my heart. I almost forgot.

While I enjoyed hunting the act of it filled me with grief. Charlie and been on an extended hunting and camping trip when James and Victoria had emerged from the trees. I had been daring dad to eat a roasted marshmallow when the wind changed, carrying our scent into the trees. That’s when the two nomads found us. Dad and I heard their footsteps as they changed course. We stood and waited for them to break through the edge of the trees…

I shook myself out of my saddened stupor, refusing to let my mind drift to such a terrible memory and tried to focus on something else. But if I wasn’t struggling against a wave of grief then I was fighting against the blossoming feelings for Edythe in my heart. It felt like my soul was crying out for its missing piece. My eyes stung with tears. I gripped the steering wheel tightly with my hands. The metal frame bent and curved under my fingers. Immediately, I loosened my grip. No need to take out my sorrows on the old girl. Instead of dwelling on the troubles that plagued me I focused instead on the road ahead of me.

I had reached the town limits and drove past the Forks Timber Museum and north up Forks Ave. I took a left turn off the main road and wove my way through the streets until I reached my house. After a quick shower and changing into clean clothes I checked my phone, which I had left at home, for messages. Why I bothered I didn’t know. Edythe Cullen was the only contact on my phone. There was my answer. I checked my phone in the hopes that Edythe had tried to get in touch. Which indeed she had. The vampire had called and left a voicemail. I pressed play on the message and let Edythe’s melodic voice fill the room. The message was a simple one, it was her asking me how my truck was holding up and how was I doing today. Edythe ended her message with well wishes and a promise to see me tomorrow. My heart dropped to my stomach at the sound of that promise. Tomorrow was Monday, which meant it was back to school and the true start of cutting Edythe out of my life. It would not be any easy task to achieve, especially in Biology class, but then I thought of a feasible solution. I could switch lab partners. Angela Weber was in the same class, I decided to give her a call to see if she would be my new lab partner. I found the Webers home number in the phone book and was lucky that it was Angela who answered.

I was glad that she didn’t ask questions about being my new lab partner and was thankful to she agreed to switch. Knowing that I would have a new partner made returning to school tomorrow just a little bit easier. Until then my greatest task was to avoid any thought of Edythe Cullen. Easier said than done.

[neptoons1998]

Rolling Dough

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

A/N: This one isn't as long as the other's sorry.

Chapter 4: Chocolate glaze donuts

Okoye shouldn’t be surprised that it took that long with the bank. If anything she should have left earlier in the day because the bank decided to be at its busiest. Okoye needed to drop off the extra money the shop made this week. Finally, it was over Okoye couldn’t wait to get back to her shop so she could close early. She deserves it, primarily after dealing with the bank today. 

Maybe she’ll take a bubble bath or maybe put on a cozy show to start off her small staycation weekend. Okoye was going to leave work alone until Monday, she silently hope Shuri and Aneka wouldn’t burn her precious shop down. Once she was back in her store, it was eerily quiet, normally Aenka would have some music playing to pass the time at the shop. Aneka stood up straight from leaning on the counter when she heard the bell ring. 

“Oh you’re back,” Aneka greeted her, “Someone was waiting for  you.”

Okoye gave her a confused face before her eyes followed Aneka’s to see Attuma’s frame, who was sitting in a too-small booth for a man of his size, in the corner. Okoye had many questions but decided she wanted an easy Friday today, so she left questions for Monday. Okoye walked in the back to wash her hands before she create the dozen for Attuma, she came back to the front Attuma was waiting patiently at the register. 

“You know you didn’t have to wait for me,” Okoye said while  placing donuts that she had a feeling Attuma would like, “You could’ve ordered with Aneka.”

“But it wouldn’t be the same,” Attuma said to her. Okoye wasn’t sure how to deal with that type of comment.

“Oh,” Aneka exclaimed couldn’t wait to tell the group chat what was happening now. Okoye rolled her eyes at her sister’s comment,  as she took Attuma’s cash, “I guess I can understand, well  have a nice day, Attuma.”

“Okoye,” Attuma said to her. It made the woman look at the giant of a man, “Are you free this Saturday?”

“Yes, why?” Okoye’s voice trailed off. Not completely certain what’s happening. It was like anytime she talks to Attuma, her heart beats a little faster than she would have liked. Her palms get all sweaty as if she was a teenager all over again. 

She continued staring into Attuma's alluring eyes, “Because I want to take you out that day.”

Okoye will give Attuma this, he was very direct. There was no way you could twist his words. His words have meaning to them and right now he wants to go with Okoye. Could she handle that? It was time to move on, right? It wasn’t fair that W’kabi could move on like their love didn’t mean anything, certainly not the wedding. She too should get back to the world of dating. Worst case if it happens to be the most horrible date in the universe at least only a few people in her family would know about it this time, her thoughts rambled. But the quiet part in Okoye is that was she comfortable in her bubble. She didn’t want to adventure out. She never wanted to be that vulnerable to someone like that again.  

“I-” Okoye’s voice once again failed her in her time of need. 

“She would love to!” Aneka pierced through Okoye’s messy mind. Okoye could only look at her sister. 

“Aneka,”Okoye started 

Aneka rolled her eyes at her, “You weren’t going to do anything except watch tv and worry about this shop.”

“No,” Okoye started trying and failing to keep the conversation professional since Attuma watch the sisters discuss her going on a date with him. 

“So you were actually going to do something fun? Who are you? What have done to my sister?” Aneka joked. Aneka turned her head to Attuma, “Pick her at six and her favorite flowers are Jasmine, you got that lover boy?”

Attuma, always taking things in stride nodded, “Pick her up at six and Jasmine.”

“You got it,” Aneka beamed as she smile at him. And with that Attuma left the small donut shop with his box of dozen. 

“I can’t believe you did that?” Okoye croaked out as switched the sign to close. Aneka feeling proud of herself, “I did what needed to be done. ‘Sides it’s going to be fun.”

[that-ineffable-devil]

Rainbow in the Dark | Chapter 4

Follow on AO3

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

Author's Note: This is a glimpse into Steve's home life with his parents--I don't expect we'll see much of them after this, but we need to lay the groundwork for his relationship with them as well as the dynamic between himself and Tommy. While he won't see Tommy for what he is, yet, this is the seed that blooms by the end of S1 of the show's canon. I promise he won't always suffer so much!

CONTENT WARNING: Most of this chapter has a humming undercurrent of Steve's anxiety with Tommy and his father. It also ends with an intense confrontation with his father. There's no physical abuse, but he does yell at and heavily insult Steve. As with Chapter 3, I've placed the confrontation under the Read More cut so it can be avoided, if necessary.

Chapter 4: An Only Child in an Only Room

Steve bumped harshly into Tommy as he rounded the corner on the way to his next class, sending the other boy crashing to the floor.

“T-Tommy! Oh, man, I’m sorry—let me…” he rushed out, reaching down to help Tommy up.

The grimace on the boy’s face made Steve’s heart drop into his stomach. Was Tommy hurt? Did he hurt him? Anxiety welled up in him like a tidal wave as his eyes darted all over the other boy, searching for injuries.

Tommy’s grimace twisted into something like rage as he slapped Steve’s hand away and stood up.

“I’m fine, but you should pay more attention, Harrington,” he spat out, the words laced with venom.

Tommy had never spoken to him like this, and as the anxiety boiled over into fear, he searched the boy’s freckled face for a reason.

His friend continued to glare coldly at him as he shifted his backpack to his other shoulder.

“So. Have a good time with your mystery girl today?”

Steve though Tommy sounded hurt—or jealous? But why? Tommy had never seemed to mind him hanging out with girls before—not that it happened often. Tommy didn’t know he’d been working on his essay with Jonathan, right? And why would that make him jealous? Steve decided he must be misreading things again—emotions were tricky, and he wasn’t the best at reading them. Attempting to defuse the situation, he adopted a sheepish smile and looked away from Tommy, rubbing the back of his neck with one hand.

“Oh…y-yeah, it was great. Lotta fun.”

“I bet,” Tommy replied, voice still chilly and edged.

Steve shuffled his feet—maybe Tommy was feeling neglected? He hadn’t spent as much time with his best friend this week, so maybe Tommy thought he was abandoning him for some girl. Steve swallowed the panic that rose in his throat as he thought of losing his best friend. He couldn’t panic—now was the time for action.

“So, uh, I know we haven’t had as much time to hang out this week so I thought, maybe, if you want, you could come over to my place this weekend? My dad’s headed out of town Saturday morning, so we could pretty much have full reign of the place and stuff…” Steve stammered out, counting the scuffs on the floor because he couldn’t stand the sight of Tommy’s anger.

The silence stretched on, thicker and more cloying than it had in the library—like it would drown them if they didn’t break its surface. If Steve had looked up, he may have caught Tommy’s expression shift from cold rage to cruel calculation. When he finally met the other boy’s gaze, Tommy had schooled his face into a friendly, but devious expression—nothing out of the ordinary.

“Yeah, that’d be cool. Can I come over tonight though and stay the weekend? My dad has some ‘business friends’ coming over this weekend and I have zero interest in being their beer gopher.”

Steve smiled brightly.

“Absolutely! That’d be awesome!”

The rest of the school day passed in a blur. Though he’d been happy to agree to Tommy’s request—anything to quell the impending Hagan Wrath—he was a bit worried that he hadn’t gotten permission first. He soothed the anxiety by reminding himself that Harringtons were nothing if not impeccable hosts, and to refuse to let Tommy stay after the invitation was offered would be a grave offense to the Hagans.

He just hoped that his father would forget about it before he returned from his business trip. That his mother wouldn’t remind him.

As Steve and Tommy climbed into the back seat of his mother’s Beemer, he decided to rip the metaphorical Band-Aid off.

“Hey Mom! Tommy’s staying over this weekend—that okay?” His voice is bright and high, as if in excitement—but it was really nerves.

“My parents are entertaining business clients this weekend, Mrs. Harrington, and they’d really appreciate not having to worry about me while they’re hosting,” Tommy added in a sickly-sweet voice as he closed the car door. “I’m sure they’d gladly repay the favor.”

“Of course, dears, that’ll be just fine,” Steve’s mother replied, not turning to face them.

To anyone else, she may have sounded a little resigned but cheerful. Steve knew that something else simmered below her words, and he felt his stomach tighten as he thought of his father. If he’d already had a bad day…Steve swallowed thickly, trying to focus on anything but his thoughts. But Tommy was unusually quiet, leaving him to stew in his apprehension.

Steve just hoped his father wouldn’t do anything in front of Tommy—he felt he was already on thin ice there, though he couldn’t understand why.

As the three of them filed quietly into the Harringtons’ foyer, Steve noted his father’s luggage was already packed and ready near the entryway, their black leather and scarlet zippers a stark contrast against the neutral wall. While Richard Harrington firmly believed in being prepared for any situation, Steve thought it looked like an awful lot more luggage than normal for one of his short business trips. His mother walked past the luggage without a second glance and without a word to either boy, both of whom had stopped to hang up their backpacks.

“Richard, we have a guest!” she called out to the house, her voice loud but neutral.

Steve’s stomach twisted into knots as he heard the door to his father’s study open with the slightest click and squeak. His chest grew tighter as his father’s Oxfords clacked heavily against the floor as he approached. He wanted to bolt—to run to his room with Tommy and hide there until his father had left on his trip. But his legs were frozen, his sneakers glued to the floor. There’d be no running.

His father approached the boys as his mother finished hanging her hat and coat—she exited toward the kitchen without sparing any of them another glance, but her shoulders were as stiff as the click of her heels on the hard floor. Steve wanted to look down, look away—look anywhere his father wasn’t. But Harringtons always look men in the eye, his father had said. If a man couldn’t meet your eyes, then he was lying or a coward—both unacceptable traits for a Harrington. So, he met his father’s eyes as he approached.

“Ah, the young Hagan, I see,” his father said as he sized up Tommy, his voice deep and booming, no expression on his face.

“Yes, sir,” Tommy replied with his most winning smile.

Steve could practically hear the dimples in his voice, the ghost of a smile flickering across his face before his father fixed him with a cold glare.

“I don’t recall you asking permission to invite a friend over this weekend, Steven.”

“W-well, I…um..”

“Oh my, did you forget darling?” Steve’s mother said, having returned to the doorway. “He asked me a few days ago and I told him it would be fine, knowing you’d be on your trip anyway. I’m certain I reminded you last night,” her eyes alight with something undefinable as she stared at the back of her husband’s head.

Shock ran through Steve’s entire body as he chanced a look at his mother. She caught his eye and gave the briefest breath of a smile and nod before her neutral expression returned.

Richard stared down his nose at Steve—he did not believe his boy had asked permission, but he couldn’t contradict his wife so openly—not in front of company, at least. He took a deep breath, eyes still fixed on his son.

“Ah, yes, now I remember,” he replied, tilting his head in her direction. “Well then, Mr. Hagan, it appears you are our most welcome guest.”

As his father turned to return to his study, Steve smiled at his mother in the distance. She nodded again, her dark brown eyes warm, but sad. When Steve turned to Tommy, relief washing over him, he noticed the other boy did not seem relieved—or even happy. He looked…annoyed? Frustrated? Disappointed? Before Steve could make sense of it, Tommy turned to him and smiled widely, dispelling his concern.

“Great!” Tommy said brightly. “Let’s go up to your room, we can hang out for a while before dinner, right?”

“Yeah, of course!” Steve replied cheerfully, and they raced each other up the stairs to his room.

Dinner at the Harrington house was always a quiet affair. Although they all sat around the solid oak dining table, there was rarely any talk. Steve’s parents would sit at opposite ends of the table—his father reading the Wall Street Journal, his mother keeping her eyes on her meal. Steve had hoped he and Tommy could eat quickly and then escape, but Tommy seemed determined to engage his father in conversation. It was maddening. Steve had even tried kicking the other boy under the table, but Tommy had turned so that Steve’s feet couldn’t reach him. What was he doing?

“So, Mr. Harrington, did you see Steve’s last game? He was totally the MVP,” Tommy remarked with a grin.

Steve’s father huffed a bit, eyes still on his paper.

“Ah, yes, I heard about that. I was, unfortunately, away on business for that game.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll get another chance, especially now that Steve knows he’s passing English lit, isn’t that right Steve?”

Steve squeaked.

“What? I mean, yeah, I am…but…”

“Steve, man, you have got to tell me how you finished that ridiculous essay so quickly!” Tommy interrupted.

“Well, I…I told you; I went to the library during lunchtime all week.” Steve stuttered out, giving Tommy a confused expression.

“Right, right, the library. Good place to write about Hemingway.”

“Yeah, I thought…”

“And, of course, you got help from that weird Byers kid, right?”

The deafening silence pressed so strongly around their ears that Steve could only hear the rush of his own blood.

“W-what?” Steve stammered, his heart speeding as heat flushed into his cheeks. What was Tommy on about?

“You know—Byers. Everyone saw you with him—you even stayed late to work with him, right?”

“I…I don’t,” Steve was panicking, his eyes flicking between his father and Tommy.

“Byers?” his father asked, his voice quiet but commanding.

Steve gulped, his throat suddenly dry and raw.

“You, a Harrington, have been spending time with a mangy Byers?”

His father was staring at his meal as he spoke, his voice calm and deep, though Steve could swear he heard the waver that preceded imminent rage.

“I…I was just…the paper…”

Steve’s voice was pleading as he looked toward his mother, who kept her head down and expression neutral, but he thought her eyes were closed as if resigned. The color drained out of Steve as he realized he would face this alone, so he channeled all his effort to stopping the oncoming tremors. Any sign of nervousness or fear showed weakness and unworthiness to Richard Harrington’s eyes.

“Mr. Hagan, I’m afraid you will need to excuse us a moment, I need to have a word with my son,” his father said pointedly, looking at Tommy.

Tommy nodded, and as Steve stood from the table to follow his father into his study, he could have sworn that Tommy looked pleased—triumphant, even. It was bewildering and surreal.

Steve flinched as the door clicked shut behind him, his father walking behind his rich mahogany desk to face him. He gestured to the uncomfortable wooden chair placed under the ceiling light in front of the desk.

“Sit, Steven,” he said calmly, his fingers resting on the desktop.

Steve obeyed, his entire body a coiled spring waiting to pop. His father did not sit, opting instead to tower over his son, his face half-hidden by shadows.

“Is Mr. Hagan correct? Did you skip your lunches—perhaps even some classes—to spend time with that…Byers boy?”

His father’s voice was quiet and collected, but Steve knew it was merely the calm before the storm. If he chose his words carefully, he could minimize the damage.

“I had an English literature paper due today and had struggled to find a copy of any of Hemingway’s works. I went to the library on Monday and Jonathan and I fou…” Steve started to explain.

“Jonathan?” his father spat, as though the name were cheap wine to his refined palate.

“Y…um…the B-Byers boy,” Steve corrected himself.

His father’s eyes grew darker as he seemed to grow impossibly taller. Steve cleared his throat.

“Um, we—B-Byers and I—we both found the last Hemingway b-book at the same t-time, so we thought, since we b-both hadn’t f-finished the essay…” Steve’s voice failed as his father crossed his arms before him.

“Let me make sure I understand this. You, a Harrington, waited until the last minute to prepare for and write your essay. Rather than ask your parents to simply purchase you one of Hemingway’s novels, you sought the last one available in the library, and once finding it, agreed to share it with a Byers so that you could both write your procrastinated essays—am I correct?”

Steve’s eyes prickled with tears, but he held them back, refusing to break eye contact with his father.

“Y-yes, sir.”

“You then spent your lunch every day this week with said Byers writing your individual essays—all in close quarters, in public. Correct?”

“Yes, sir.”

“And am I to believe you also skipped classes to spend time with this boy?”

“N-no!” Steve shouted, fear seeping through. “We were just sharing the book so we could write our papers, nothing else! It…it wasn’t even fun. H-he was…he was weird.”

“Could you not have passed the book back and forth, each taking it for one night each week before Friday?”

“W-well…I guess we d-didn’t think about that…” Steve admitted, deflating like a punctured balloon.

“Of course, you didn’t,” his father sighed in frustration. “You both clearly have the brain power of an uneducated slug. I expect more from you Steven—you’re a Harrington and that comes with conditions. You do not fraternize with people like the Byers’.”

Steve was silent for a moment.

“Why, though?”

“Excuse me?”

“Why can’t I f-fraternize with the Byers’?”

“Those ‘people’ are trash, you embarrassment. If you associate with trash, you become it, and I’ll be damned before I let any son of mine become one of them.”

“But...w-what do you mean? J…the Byers boy seemed n-nice…”

“Stop stuttering, you idiot! Speak with confidence or do not speak at all!”

Steve curled in on himself, unable to stop the involuntary reaction to his father’s raised voice.

“Listen to me, you will learn that some people are simply worthless—beneath you and undeserving of your attention. While you may be a father’s biggest disappointment, you are still a Harrington, and I’ll not see our good name sullied by your association with a Byers.”

Steve blinked rapidly, fighting back the torrent of tears that threatened to spill over. His father leaned in over his desk suddenly, his facial features suddenly distorted and made grotesque from the light of his desk lamp. Steve flinched again.

“Now, because we have esteemed company tonight, you will not be sent to confinement. But if I hear even a whisper of a rumor that you are spending any more time with this Byers bastard, you won’t see the light of day unless you’re headed to or from school. Am I clear?”

His father’s voice was like ice—cold, calculating, and utterly merciless.

Steve, still in shock, took too long to answer.

“DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!” his father shouted in his face.

“Y-yes, sir!” Steve squeaked out, holding back the sob in his chest.

“Good. Get out of my sight, you’re done with dinner. I’ll send Tommy up to your room later.”

Steve nodded, leaving his chair and trying to make a quick exit.

“Boy!” his father said curtly behind him. “Look at me.”

Steve turned his face toward his father, hoping the tears weren’t as visible as they felt.

“I expect silence from your room tonight—I have an early flight and will not tolerate being kept awake. Do you understand?”

“Yes, sir,” Steve said with as much confidence as possible.

“Dismissed,” his father replied.

Steve calmly exited the study, walked back down the hallway, then took the stairs two at a time, afraid he could no longer hold the tears at bay. Why had Tommy talked about his paper? How did he know he’d been working with Jonathan? He said everyone had seen him, but they can’t have—they’d usually worked at a table tucked behind rows and rows of shelves and books. And Tommy knew Richard Harrington’s views—didn’t he know how his father would react? He’d seen how Steve’s father treated him before, so why would he even risk inciting his rage? Was Tommy mad at him? Had he done something wrong?

Steve flung himself onto his bed after silently closing his bedroom door. He tried unsuccessfully to avoid thinking of Jonathan, waiting for him in the library on Monday, not knowing that Steve would never show. He tried to ignore the ache in his heart as the grief of losing something so good so quickly. As the sobs threatened to erupt from his chest, he hoped he could keep them quiet enough to not reach his father, and prayed that he’d be able to push the rest down so Tommy would never see him like this.

He couldn't bear to lose Tommy, too.

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7

Post Notes: "Baby" Steve is breaking my heart, y'all, and I'm ready to throw hands at Richard--and even Tommy. That little jerk knows exactly what he's doing--whatever his reasons, he shouldn't do Steve like that.

Chapter 5 Preview: Jonathan Byers can't believe that Steve Harrington, friend of Hawkins' resident bully Tommy Hagan, is actually a kind and decent person--and even stranger, Steve seems to want to be his friend. After a restless weekend trying to make sense of the last week, Jonathan is excited to see his friend Steve in the library again on Monday. But he doesn't know that Steve's weekend had been an entirely different experience, and everything was about to change. Forever.

Thank you to all readers who have made it this far! Likes, comments, and shares are deeply appreciated! I, like Steve, am heavily motivated by praise.

Credits

Bat dividers courtesy of StrayWords.

Fic title courtesy of Rainbow in the Dark by Dio.

Chapter title courtesy of Suffer the Children by Tears for Fears.

[forehead451]

crazy to me... it was always about control.

it was the day before my dads birthday. my parents were out on saturday like they always are and they often come home late in the evening. my sisters room was closed with curtains drawn so thats always the signal to leave her alone bc she works irregular hours often going to bed in the early morning or even midday. im not going to disturb her. its understood to assume she's sleeping unless she leaves her room.

its the mid afternoon, i head out to run errands and get my dads birthday gifts and card, flowers, etc. i eventually end up at Walmart bc it closes late. its after sunset atp but still nothing unusual. my mom called me while i was shopping earlier. she knows im at walmart doing birthday things for my dad.

now its almost 10pm. ive been relaxing in solitude in the car in parking lots in between stops. just enjoying my time away from the house bc i so rarely LEAVE.

i get a message from my sister.

now me being the frenzied shopper/low self-esteem sister who was feeling shitty bc had spoken too much about not liking my job at a dinner party a few nights before, immediately read her initial message as "*stop* telling people where you're headed as an adult. so nobody has to ask [further questions about why im unhappy/ungrateful]. it's rude and inconsiderate. because you're part of a household [meaning we're supporting you while you sit there complaining about your life and you reflect badly on us]".

im like "damn. you right, im not gonna fight you for the millionth time this month. i am ungrateful and immature."

then she follows with "act right dad is sad". dad.. is sad?? why? hes not usually one to take that kind of thing seriously or to heart... have i really let him down so badly???

then my working brain finally kicks in to read what she's actually saying. START telling people where im going. like an adult. okay, going where? why? to WHO?? the empty house?? am i to send a message in the groupchat to people who are 1) often asleep and unconcerned and 2) not home and won't read it til they get home plus usually id be back before theyd notice anyway? why would i do that.

so turns out its just my dad thinking I'm being murdered bc im out past sundown but just wants to whine about it and enjoy being dramatic instead of just asking. bc i am a call away. bc he's not actually worried, he just wishes i was hanging out with him.

so i tell her mom knows where i am and she says oh feeling dumb then comes back again to hammer home her righteous point:

here's the real issue she has with this situation:

shes pissed bc she thinks im out in the city with my friends and gone for the night or the weekend or whatever and not at home working with her when what's ACTUALLY happening is me doing mundane errands at the plaza less than ten minutes away as i ALWAYS AM and thinking about our dads birthday the next day. she's pissed that she thought i was having fun without her permission and the lack of control over me made her livid.

you cannot tell from these texts but i know how she types and what she'd think was even worthy to waste time talking or messaging about. and to be made wrong or having me stand by my actions, she is PISSED.

it really seems so banal but im telling you. its such a perfect example of how much she hated not having a say in what i did and how long and when after half a year of it. it really sent chills down my spine while also making my blood boil right back.

it scares me how much a switch was flipped the moment she realized she was losing control over me. she couldn't scream or scare or shame me into fucking anything.

[slowtravelingcat]

The laptop's evil grip and balancing rocks

Monday, November 16th, 2020

CAL - Well, another week has passed in beautiful, southern Arizona. Each day I sit near the window at the back of the house and watch as the sun passes over us. I’ve noticed the days becoming shorter, though, confusingly, the heat remains the same. 

Meanwhile, near the front of the house, on the other side of the front door, foreign beasts continue to roam dangerously close to our abode. This week I detected 2 regular cats in addition to the oversized, graceless one from last week. The 2 regular cats dart back and forth throughout the night, yet remain mostly absent during the day. This is a strange place and I continue to hold out hope that we will move again soon. 

I think the incessant heat may be getting to the large, bald one as well. She spent most of her week unremittingly speaking into her laptop during the day and then listening to the laptop speak back to her at night. She is starting to pay more attention to that device than me and I cannot understand why. It’s almost as if it has some kind of strange hold on her. I try to get in between her and the laptop as often as I can. I must break the spell. 

Just yesterday she left the house for almost an entire day, leaving the laptop behind. I was hopeful that I had finally freed her from its evil grips, but as I type these words she is back to staring into its screen. I must continue my noble efforts.

MICHELE - While I have mostly stayed off of Netflix for the past 2 months, this week I finally took a peek at what’s new and I was immediately hooked. It was like I had never even taken a break… it felt so comfortable, like slipping on a pair of warm socks in wintertime. I had forgotten how addictive Netflix can be and ended up losing sleep on multiple nights because I could not tear myself away from the screen. 

On Saturday morning I was finally able to pull myself away long enough to visit Chiricahua National Monument, which is about an hour and a half’s drive from Bisbee. I left early and even had time to swing through the Bisbee Farmers Market on the way out. 

Driving into Chiricahua is an experience in itself. The scenery is a vast desert, bordered by low mountains for as far as you can see, right up until you make the final turn into the park when suddenly you are surrounded by trees that seemingly come out of nowhere. I made a quick stop at the visitor’s center and asked the ranger what I should do. She suggested driving to the lookout point at the end of the scenic drive and then hiking the Echo Canyon Loop trail. This turned out to be great advice. 

The park is filled with strange rock formations, called hoodoos and balancing rocks. These are essentially rock spires that form in strange shapes, sometimes with the widest portion at the top, in the case of a “balancing rock”. My first stop, Maasai Lookout Point did not disappoint. There, you can view an entire valley of the strange rocks and the area was barely crowded at all. My next stop was the Echo Park Loop, which is about 3.5 miles long. The trail weaves in and out of the rock formations and even takes you underneath one of the balancing rocks. Parts of the trail were kind of rough, so hiking boots are necessary, but all in all the beauty-to-effort ratio is extremely favorable for this hike. 

On my way back to Bisbee I stopped at Sandy’s Restaurant, a tiny diner that appears to be in the middle of nowhere. Even though it was nearly 3 p.m., a few customers were scattered around the dining room and I was quickly served a western omelet that absolutely made my day. The place was adorable, complete with trinkets for sale at the cash register and piles of business cards from all sorts of local entrepreneurs. 

I have to admit that I had almost forgotten about my new favorite TV show, but as soon as I returned home I was right back into my Netflix marathon. Next weekend I plan to visit Saguaro National Park, I just hope that I can pull myself away.