#America being pathetic for 10 minutes and 7 seconds!

[ch-go-crazy-yall]

I love my favorites being pathetic pieces of shit btw.

He’s so stupid

[imonthinice]

The Criminal Psychology Majors, Jason Todd x Fem!Reader Part 22/?

Word Count: 1.8k

Author's Note: Y/N - Your name, A/N - Any name (Your best friend's name)

We're back, we're in full swing, we've hit like 50 followers, we've hit 500 notes. We're thriving.

Also! Fun fact but I can't actually watch Young Justice season 3 (and 4) or Titans :/ They're on DC Universe, which is only available in America. (If you can't catch on, I'm not from America lol)

Warnings: Swearing, Description of Injury, Kidnapping, Police/ Justice System, Manipulation attempts, Gaslighting, Violence, No beta bitch we die like Jason Todd.

(Part 1) (Part 2) (Part 3) (Part 4) (Part 5) (Part 6) (Part 7) (Part 8) (Part 9) (Part 10) (Part 11) (Part 12) (Part 13) (Part 14) (Part 15) (Part 16) (Part 17) (Part 18) (Part 19) (Part 20) (Part 21) (Part 22)

The days became longer and kept bothering Y/N. She was losing grip on reality. Aria would come in occasionally and feed her. Give her water. Let her use the bathroom. She was stuck. She wanted to knock off that stupid fucking bird plague doctor mask and, look her pathetic sister in her eyes. And let Aria know that she knew, she knew who it was.

But she was backed into a corner. And the mask was not going to come off anytime. Boy, oh boy, she wanted it to fall. She wanted it to slip so she could boot it into the walls she had become accustomed to. She wanted it to fall and shatter.

Aria came into the room like normal, to be greeted by Y/N not even looking her in the eyes.

"Come here, love," Aria said.

"Go to Hell."

"I need to use you for a "Proof of Life" video. So I can use you for ransom. Come here."

"No."

"Come here. Now," Aria said, voice getting more hoarse and pissed off with Y/N and her actions.

"No."

"Come. Here. Now!" She screeched.

"No!"

She felt Aria's claws grab her wrists and dig in, she could feel the blood seeping through the claws from her wrists. Aria pushed her into the wall, still gripping her wrists and letting the blood flow down Y/N's arms.

"Listen here, you fucking bitch," Aria said, dropping her voice a few octaves, to seem intimidating. "I want that money. If you don't cooperate, I'll kill you."

Y/N whimpered but spat at her sister, "You'll fucking die trying."

Aria wrestled Y/N into her seat and handcuffed her to it. She then set up the video camera.

"And, recording. Talk."

"I fucking hate you."

"You should."

"Go to fucking Hell."

"The date is February 14th. Here," she shoved a newspaper into the view of the camera, Y/N didn't even notice Aria bring it in. She saw the article on the back of her kidnapping. She knew people were still talking.

"Here is the date. On a newspaper. This video will be released today. If I don't get the money within a week, I'll kill her. Along with the Waynes."

Y/N gulped. This just got so much more real than she was expecting.

Aria left the room, with Y/N still handcuffed to the chair. She took in the room she had become used to. She had spent a week in captivity, expecting the vigilantes of Gotham to come and get them, but they didn't. She was confused as to why-

Wait a damn minute, she thought. Are you- Wait- Wait- Wait- Wait. Oh my god? The family is in captivity, the vigilantes haven't come for us yet, are- she paused. Are they the vigilantes? There's no way, they can't be- Can they? They can- Can't they, huh? Fuck. We're- We're not getting out anytime soon. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

This is a God damn pickle we've gotten into. Aria must know what I think, the family- she paused, almost as if she didn't believe what she was thinking. That they're the Gotham vigilantes. She must- Fuck!

I don't care that they didn't tell me- she thought like someone could read her thoughts. She figured that someone might be able to. She knew that Martian Manhunter had those abilities. she figured that Miss Martian, who she didn't see often, likely shared those abilities.

I care that we might be fucked.

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

Before she knew it, that exact day, she figured, February 14th? The door was broken down by Superman. This just put the pieces together more for Y/N. Her assumptions about the Waynes being the Gotham vigilantes were just seeming more likely as time went on.

Superman uncuffed her and she thanked him before running out to where Aria was being arrested by the Gotham police. But she didn't stop, and she knocked off Aria's mask.

"Oh, hi Y/N," Aria said, nonchalantly.

"Oh, hi Y/N," Y/N mocked. "You fucking bitch!" she yelled and pushed Aria, while the police tried to detain her. She struggled and tried to attack Aria further, "Let go! I know her power of attorney is going to be her sister-"

"How do you know that?" Commissioner Gordon asked.

"Because her sister is me!" She yelled when she finally broke away from the police, trying to get closer to Aria, before Commissioner Gordon stopped her, grabbing her arms and squeezing lightly. She stared at him, dead-faced. No emotions were there, other than anger, raw, seething anger.

Aria laughed, "Oops. I guess the jig is up."

Y/N was seething, she didn't even notice the JLA and the rest of the Waynes were behind her. She was still struggling to get towards Aria, yelling and just making noise.

She was making a scene, but she didn't care. She felt betrayed.

"You fucking bitch. You absolutely pathetic piece of shit."

"Keep yelling at me, Y/N. Mom and Dad will be disappointed in you. They always are, aren't they?"

Y/N turned to Commissioner Gordon, who was still holding her in place, "You either get her out of my fucking face in 5 seconds or I'm going to hurt her. That's not a threat," she turned to Aria, "That's a fucking promise."

"We might have to detain you at this rate, Y/N."

"And I would understand that, but I'm going to hurt her."

"Ma'am, calm down." Commissioner Gordon said before waving his hand and the other police took Aria into the back of a police car. "I'm going to have to arrest you," he said, trying to show sympathy for the pain that Y/N was in.

"Then do it already," Y/N mumbled, eyes still locked on the police car her sister was in.

"Gordon?" Jason called, "I swear, I've never seen this much anger in her. I'm sure you can send her home with us."

"You better be right about that, Jason."

"I really think I am right."

Gordon looked at Y/N, which she caught in the corner of her eye. She could tell he was upset about this, he was trying to get to her, to get her to understand her anger was okay, but beating her sister wasn't.

And then Aria waved as they drove her to the station.

But she wasn't even paying attention and before she knew it, she was in Jason's arms. He was holding her while talking to the police about the attack. He had his hands wrapped around her waist while he was behind her, maximizing the ability he had to stop her should she run.

He knew what he was doing, and it was working to calm her slightly, to the point where the police were able to talk to her about her experience with the attacker they knew as Hour, or as Arianna (Last name).

Once they were done with questioning her, they spoke more to Jason, who still had her in his grasp.

She surveyed the area and noticed that Bruce was talking to Superman.

The pieces were all falling into place. She knew he had to be Batman at that moment.

And she wanted in on it.

The hopelessness she felt when Aria had her kidnapped was astronomical. She wanted to make sure no one ever felt that way again, not if she could help it. She wanted in on it all.

She thought back to Jason's stab wound, the scar still fresh. She knew it wasn't a mugging. It had to be him saving the city from peril. She realized how dumb she was for buying into that lie, but she wasn't mad at anyone in her vicinity.

She was mad- pissed- so far beyond angry at Aria.

She didn't know she could be so angry. She didn't know she had it in her to be so angry at Aria. But she was. She was so unbelievably pissed. Any mention of her name sent Y/N into seething anger, and Jason could feel her heart race in her body.

She wasn't paying attention to words anymore. She just wanted to get out of there, to go home. To her home, not Jason's. She didn't feel safe in the Wayne Manor anymore.

No one could blame her when she told the police to drive her to her house, not the Wayne Manor. Jason just hugged her and asked when he could see her next. She told him in the morning. "Or," she added, "At 3 in the morning. I don't care. Just leave me alone right now."

Everyone understood. They didn't have their own sister kidnap them after all.

She got to her house and got inside, A/N immediately trying to flag her down to talk to her, but she just put up a hand and waved her off. Slinking to her room without a second thought and locking the door.

She didn't want to talk about it. The thoughts about her sister racing through her mind. The thoughts about how her boyfriend was a vigilante. How was she going to bring this up? How was she going to tell him that she knew? That she wanted in on the act? That she wanted to fight alongside him- and his family?

Before she knew it, and like clockwork, it was 3 in the morning. And Jason was knocking on her window. She assumed that he had tried to let himself into her room, but to no avail since she hadn't unlocked the door.

She went over to her window and unlocked it. She lifted it and Jason crawled in.

"I have a front door," she said.

"You didn't answer when I tried to knock on your door," he joked. "How are you holding up?"

"As well as anyone can in my situation."

"Well, everyone wishes you came home with us, so we could watch you on your first night away from-"

"From my sister?"

"I was going to say from captivity."

"So, my sister."

"Yeah, that."

"Uh-huh."

"So, anyway," Jason said, trying to get Y/N's mind off of Aria. "Did you sleep when you got here?" he asked.

"No. I was busy."

"Doing what?"

"Lost in thought. There's a lot of thoughts, not enough brain," she joked. "You probably get that part."

"I do-"

"When were you going to tell me?" she but in.

"Tell you what?" he questioned, confused.

"That you're one of the vigilantes," she answered, studying his face. He seemed taken aback by the statement and tried to avert her gaze. Oh yeah, he knows what I'm on about, she thought.

"I-"

"You know what I'm on about, Jay. You know I know so don't lie anymore."

"Y/N-"

"No. You know I know. I know you know. Don't lie anymore. I'm not even ad at the lies, you're trying to keep me safe, obviously."

"Oh."

"The truth is, babe, I want in."

"What!?"

(Oh my god? Are we going to get Red Hood action? (The answer is yes, in due time)

[imjustthemechanic]

The Price of a Soul

Part 1/? - Agent Russel Part 2/? - The Letter Part 3/? - Miss Lake Part 4/? - The Stewardess Part 5/? - An Assassination Part 6/? - Fallout Part 7/? - Face to Face Part 8/? - Deals, Details, and Other Devils Part 9/? - Baggage Part 10/? - Private Funding Part 11/? - Just Passing Through Part 12/? - Party of Four Part 13/? - Resolute Part 14/? - The Wreck Part 15/? - Body Snatchers Part 16/? - Out of the Frying Pan Part 17/? - A Miracle Part 18/? - A Matter of Circumstance Part 19/? - Nome

Somebody probably should have warned Howard.

-

Peggy felt a need to wash her face again before she went back to the infirmary to see how Steve was getting along.  She didn’t doubt he’d be just fine, as he always was, but there was a part of her that really needed to see for herself.  Like Howard wanting to stay at the crash site, it would be a while before she felt sure he wouldn’t simply vanish if she turned her back.

She stood in front of the mirror and tried to fix her hair a little, but in the end decided that was a lost cause.  It had been days since she’d been able to wash up properly, and while the redness and swelling from Kay’s chemical spray had gone down, the windburn of the long, cold helicopter flight was still very visible, as were the effects of her recent bout of tears.  She had no fresh clothes to put on, and no makeup to cover anything. She looked grotesque.

So of course when she sat down by Steve’s bedside, he smiled at her and said, “you look beautiful.”

“I do not!” she snorted, “and I ought to thump you one for such a lie!”

“You can’t thump me, I’m a sick man!” Steve protested, and wiggled down under the covers trying to look pathetic.  It failed, of course.  He’d been sitting up and eating when Peggy entered the room.

“You’re as well as you’ve ever been in your life, Steve Rogers,” said Peggy, “and I believe the doctors will take my side on that!”

One of said doctors – sporting a picturesque black eye from the earlier fight – looked up from a clipboard.  “I wouldn’t say that,” he said, “but he’s well on his way to recovery. Amazing.”  He shook his head.  “Never seen anything like it.”

“I hear that a lot,” said Steve, but his smile was gone now. “It’s really been three years?” he asked Peggy.

She nodded.  “Yes, darling.  We didn’t realize you’d gone so far north.”

“Huh.”  He looked away.  “I can’t believe you kept looking for me that long.”

Peggy’s insides twisted.  “Well… we didn’t, honestly.  Schmidt was dead and Hitler shot himself just a few days later, but there was still the Pacific theatre, and…”  She swallowed.  “Howard found the cube and we locked that away, but after that the army wouldn’t fund the search anymore.”

“Oh,” said Steve.

She grabbed his hand.  “If we’d known you were alive, we would never have let it go that long,” she promised… though that probably didn’t reassure him.  He must be thinking what she had, wondering if he might have had to wait centuries or millennia.  At least he hadn’t heard Kay tell Peggy that seventy years would have been more than long enough.  “I’m so sorry, Steve, but… well, we thought you were dead.  After a few weeks in the arctic…”  They’d been certain that even Steve must have perished, if he hadn’t been killed instantly in the crash.

“Right, right.”  He nodded, and brought a hand up to her cheek.  “Don’t apologize, Peggy, it’s… you were right, I should have given you my position.  I saw the ground coming and I… at the last minute there…”  He swallowed hard.

Peggy shut her eyes as tears threatened to overflow again, and wrapped both her hands around his to squeeze it tight.  Nobody could have foreseen this.  Nobody but a woman to whom it was already the long-ago past.

“Did you ever find him?” Steve asked.  “I mean… Bucky?  Or…”

She knew if she opened her eyes she’d find him looking right into them… and she also knew they’d be full of desperate hope even as he already knew what the answer would be.  “I’m afraid not.  The valleys there are impassable most of the year…”

“The Russians found him,” said Kay.

Peggy hadn’t even realized she’d entered the room, but when she looked up, she found Kay standing at the end of Steve’s bed.  Her blonde hair was askew and flattened by her hat, and her face, too, was pink and puffy from crying, but she still looked better than Peggy did.

“They were in the area at the time,” she added. “They knew HYDRA had a route through there and they were looking for anything that might have fallen from the trains.  They didn’t know who he was, but they found him and took him back with them.  The dead HYDRA men, too.”

Steve nodded.  “That’s good… I’m glad somebody took care of him.”

“It’s not quite as simple as that,” said Kay, “but I’ll tell you more when you’re feeling better.”  She turned around, and walked out of the room.

Steve sat up a little, as if he planned to get up and follow her, but Peggy and the doctor both took hold of him and gently pushed him back down onto the bed.

“Steve, don’t, she won’t tell you anything until she’s ready,” Peggy said.

“Captain Rogers,” the doctor said at the same time, “you need to recover your strength.”

“I feel fine!” Steve protested, but he must have been tired, because he lay back down and rested his head on the pillow.  “Who is she?” he asked Peggy.

“I… I’m not entirely sure,” Peggy replied.  “I know she’s Russian.  She’s told me a story about her past but I don’t know whether to believe it.  She did know where to find you, though.”  Kay didn’t seem to be an enemy, but Peggy still wasn’t sure she really counted as an ally, either.  She definitely wasn’t a friend, though, there was no question about that.

Steve nodded.  “If she can tell us where his grave is…”

“I don’t know if that will be possible,” Peggy warned. “The relationship between the US and the USSR has deteriorated a bit.”

She wondered if she should have phrased it that way. Would Steve wonder if other relationships might have deteriorated?  He now knew how long he’d been gone…

His thoughts must have been tending in that general direction, because the next thing he said was, “I know I’m late… but is there any chance we could still make that dance?”

Peggy ducked her head as if to hide a blush – but really to hide the tears that were welling up again.  “I’ll see what I can do,” she promised.  But even that was a lie, wasn’t it?  How could she have that long-delayed dance with Steve when she’d found somebody else?  Daniel wouldn’t begrudge her one dance, but would he believe her if she promised it would only be one dance?

She couldn’t tell Steve about Daniel yet.  Not when he’d only just awakened and had so many other things to catch up on, but the longer she waited the harder it would be.

- 

The Valiant had to return to its normal route patrolling the arctic ocean, so a couple of days later, when the doctors were satisfied that Steve wasn’t about to suddenly collapse, he, Masters, Peggy, and Kay were loaded into a small plane to take them to Nome, Alaska.  The crew of the carrier turned out in their dress uniforms with a band playing to send them off, and somebody had made a Welcome Back Captain America banner to hang from the ship’s superstructure.  Steve smiled awkwardly and waved to them as he climbed into the plane.

“Get used to it,” Peggy murmured to him.  “I imagine there’ll be a very similar reception waiting for you when we reach the mainland.”

“Oh, several of them,” Kay agreed.  “You’re going to have to make a cross-country tour.”

“Great, something to look forward to,” said Steve sarcastically.

“You’ve never liked being fussed over,” she observed.

“When I was little it usually meant they thought I was going to die,” Steve told her.

The plane took off into a clear blue arctic sky, heading southwest over Alaska to get to the town of Nome.  Steve sat looking out the window, but he kept his hand in hers, and she couldn’t help looking at him.  The cuts and bruises she’d helped him with after the train were healing quickly, as they always did.  In a couple more days they’d be gone.  There was already no trace to show he’d spent three years frozen in the sea ice. Physically as well as mentally, he hadn’t aged a day.

Peggy had been a year younger than him when he’d left. She wondered if she would now be considered two years older.

He glanced back and noticed her staring, and she quickly turned her head.  “Sorry,” Peggy said.  “I just… can’t quite believe you’re real.”

One of the things they hadn’t been sure of, one of the things Erskine had never been able to test, was the question of whether somebody who’d had the serum would age normally.  Not enough time had passed to see whether Steve was getting older, but the fact that he’d survived this latest ordeal made it seem unlikely that time could touch him.  What would happen if in twenty years, Peggy had gotten older and Steve had not?

During the war they’d both been ready to deal with that as it came.  Steve probably still was.  Peggy wasn’t so sure.

“What about you?” she asked, trying to distract herself from that uncomfortable thought and the problems surrounding it.  “What are you looking at out there?”

“Nothing, exactly,” he said.  “I’m just… thinking.”

“About what?” Peggy asked.

“About what Buck would have said if he were here. He, uh… he would have told me I’m an idiot,” Steve said with an embarrassed smile.  “He would have told me that if I’d given it a few more days I would have realized I didn’t want to die, and he’d be right.  In the last few seconds when I knew the water was coming in, I tried to get out.  But I couldn’t.  He wouldn’t have wanted me to die.”

“I could have told you that,” said Peggy.

“I’m surprised you haven’t yet,” said Kay from the seat behind them.

“I was saving it for when the initial joy wore off,” Peggy replied.  “Then I was going to give him a real earful.”

Kay giggled, but Peggy had to suppress a shudder.  His last thought being that he didn’t want to die after all, only for him to wake up and find he was alive but three years had gone by without him… that had to be enough of a shock.  Three years, however, was merely a hiatus – seventy was a lifetime.  She rearranged her fingers, lacing them through his, and wished Kay hadn’t painted quite so vivid a picture of it.

- 

There was no fanfare waiting for them in Nome, to Steve’s obvious relief.  When they landed on the little airstrip, there was nobody there to meet them but a few more military men, and Howard and Jason.  The ramp came down, and Kay was the first off the plane, followed by Peggy and Steve.  Howard was so happy to see any of them that he ran up to give Kay a hug.

“What do they feed you Russian girls to make you indestructible?” he asked.

“Various experimental versions of the super-soldier serum,” Kay replied.

Howard blinked and then held her out at arm’s length again to examine her facial expression.  She remained entirely deadpan, but after a moment he decided she was joking, and laughed awkwardly before turning to hug Peggy.

“I think you’re just too stubborn to die,” he said.

“Damned right,” Peggy agreed.  “I have far too much to do.”

He responded with a more genuine laugh and hugged her again, while Jason happily greeted Kay.  Steve had stood back for this, but then came up to take his turn saying hello to Howard, on the assumption that his friend was expecting him.

Peggy had assumed this as well.  She hadn’t told Jason that Steve was alive, but Captain Lewis must have radioed ahead to have somebody there to meet them, and would have surely told that person.  And since Peggy had told Lewis that Howard and Jason would be there as well, it seemed reasonable to her that one of the military men would have spoken to them.

Evidently this was not true.  Steve stepped forward with a smile on his face, clearly expecting a hug of his own, and said, “Howard!  Good to see you!”  But instead of returning the greeting, Howard stopped cold.  The colour drained from his face, and then his legs simply folded up underneath him.  If Peggy hadn’t caught him, he would have fallen face-first onto the asphalt.

“Is he okay?” one of the soldiers asked.

Peggy lay him down gently and took his pulse. “He’s out cold,” she said.  “I think he’ll be fine.  Does anyone have any smelling salts?”

One of the soldiers went to fetch some from the first aid kit on the airplane, while Steve and Peggy carried Howard’s unconscious body into a car so they could lie him down comfortably.  Once that was done, Steve stepped back and looked at Jason, somewhat worried about what his reaction might be.

“Captain,” said Jason.  “Dr. Jason Wilkes.  I work for Stark Industries.  I saw you once or twice during the war, but we never actually met.”

“Nice to meet you, Dr. Wilkes,” said Steve.  They shook hands.

The smelling salts brought Howard around, gagging. “What happened?” he groaned. “Peg?  I thought I saw…”

“You did,” Peggy told him.  “Steve’s alive.  He’s here.”

Howard sat up a bit to see Steve looking over Peggy’s shoulder, and after a moment in which he could only sit there with his mouth hanging open, he began to grin.  “Well, son of a gun!”

[nxfelibatae]

pose || jimin x reader [pt.2]

When the opportunity presented itself there was no way you were going to let it go, only 10 days to make a boy fall in love, It must have been easy, but you let yourself be carried away by your feelings, and nobody should risk their heart to the ones who are addicted to play with it. Love disguises itself in many ways and it hurts when you find out it was all a lie.

pairing: fuckboy! jimin x reader!

word count: 8K

genre: Fluff, slight angst, light smut, how to loose a guy in 10 days AU

warnings: Alcohol use, sex references, slow burn, swearing. Everybody it's kinda lying. That's pretty much it.

A / N: inspired by the movie How to loose a guy in 10 days. First work here so please be nice guys :(. It's a two people work.

PART 1  | PART 2  | PART 3

PART 2

Day 11

'Hey, are you okay?' Asked Nayeon

'Yeah, why?' You answered while packing up your stuff.

'The professor called for you 3 times and you didn't answer, you were here but… not exactly.' Nayeon answered with a mocking tone.

Actually, what was going on in your head was the question you were asking yourself since last night, where would you find a guy who would date you? You knew you were pretty and smart, but that wasn't enough for the boys at college, they were looking for something easy, something for one night, and you were not down for that kind of relationship.

You thought that if you were ever going to date someone again, it was going to be for a long term. But you knew you had to let that idea fly away for the sake of the article or at least until you get the job.

'Where do I find a guy who agrees to go out with me for more than a one night stand?' You finally let out with a snort. Nayeon looks at you like as if you were joking.

'There are millions of boys in the world, surely you will find someone perfect to write the article about.' She says.

'You always know what to say Nayeon.' You say while resting one side of your head on her shoulder.

With spring coming soon, you could already feel the warm weather in the air predicting it was going to be a nice one. Spring was your favorite season, mostly because of the cherry blossoms and the fact that you could sit under your favorite tree for hours writing ideas for future projects you hoped you could achieve and all this without the risk of freezing your butt like in winter.

'We should eat outside, it looks like it's not that cold.' You say walking towards the exit that led to the main courtyard.

'Okay, go look for a place to seat and I'll go get us something to eat.' Nayeon left after you nod in agreement.

As you walk down the courtyard looking for a place to seat, you let the wind hit your face confirming your assumptions about the weather. There was a table in the middle next to the fountain, while you settle in, you leave your things on the table and breathe deeply letting in the smell of wet soil, courtesy of the sprinklers that had watered the grass a few minutes before.

Now that you were alone maybe you could think clearly about the article. It was nice outside and maybe ideas would flow better. You open up your bag to search for your journal, only to realize that it's not there.

'Where did I left it?' The panic in your voice was evident, that journal was your life, all your ideas were inside it, all your tasks to be done, your appointments, the ideas for the article… You turned your bag upside down taking out everything that was inside of it just to make sure it was't in there, you needed to find that journal as soon as possible.

'What are you looking for?' Nayeon says with a concerned look in her face while placing the food trays on the table.

'My journal, have you seen it? I can't find it and everything I need is in there. '

Why is this happening to me, what kind of teenager novel is this?

'The one you where using in class?'

'Yeah the one with the… Oh my god! I left it back in the classroom! I have to go back to get it, wait here. ' Nayeon is left looking really confused with a carrot in her mouth as you walk away.

You let your mind cool down a bit before remembering your last class, with so many things on your mind you should have forgotten it in your seat compartment. When you where about to open the door, it opens suddenly, revealing Hyunjae with your journal in hand.

'Oh! There you are, I was about to look for you to give you your little diary. ' Says Hyunjae with a smile that you knew was not sincere.

'Did you read it?' You asked while snatching it away from her.

'A thank you would have been enough,' she notices the suspicion in your face 'I didn't read your pathetic thing.' She rolls her eyes.

'You better not.' You stick the journal to your chest protecting its content 'Thank you… I'll better get going'.

'No problem, that's what co-workers are for, right?' She was wearing that fake smile again, 'I need to go as well, I need to work on my article, have you started yours?'

'Something like that.' You put a weird gesture, more like a pout, letting her know you haven't even started it.

Hyunjae turns her face to the side laughing a little 'I haven't started mine either, I don't even have the topic yet.'

'I have a topic, but I don't really know where to start.'

'You do look kinda stress… do you know what you need?' Asks with a smirk 'A party!'

'What?' You let out in confusion.

'Mark Tuan, do you know him ?,' you look at her still confused, trying to analyze what she's saying, 'He's kinda my friend. Tall guy, handsome, he's from America… he just moved to a new house with some other friends and you know open house party… it's today. ' Hyunjae finish with a hurray movement with her hand.

'Why are you being nice?' You say softly, looking at her like she was a total stranger.

'What do you mean?' She says frowning.

A silence reigns between the two of you for a couple of seconds before Hyunjae talks again.

'Look, it's just a stupid party. If you wanna eat, fine. If you don't, fine too. I was just inviting you because you look like you need a break and it's not like you know the right people to party with… 'Finishes raising one of her eyebrows.

'I don't do parties actually.' You interrupt her. 'And this is really… weird. You've never invited me to something in your life, I think I'll pass. ' You turn your back at her walking back to the courtyard where you left Nayeon. 'See you at the office' you say without turning your head back at her.

Hyunjae doesn't even bother to reply to you before she continues with her path with a smile in her face, heels making noise as she takes every step.

'What the fuck was that?' You think out loud as you continue walking.

When Nayeon sees you with journal in hand she lets out a relief sigh.

'Great! You found it! I thought we would have to deal with all your secrets being exposed with copies pasted all over the halls just like in the movies. Can you imagine? '

You nod as you let yourself fall on the seat next to hers.

'The weirdest thing just happened…' You say looking at her.

'Uh? The journal being there or… '

'No I mean. Hyunjae was there and she handed me my journal and she was… kinda nice? I don't know. She tried talking to me about the article, and then she went “You know you look tired, why don't you come to Mark Tuan's party?” '

'What? What did you said? '

'I sad no, of course. I'm not stupid, she must have an ulterior motive. '

'Are you dumb ?!' Nayeon screams back at you. You jump a little in your seat 'That's the perfect opportunity to fish. We are going. You need to text her and ask her for the address. Mark is pretty popular and his friends are really cute, we could find you a guy in 5 minutes there. '

'What are you talking about? Nayeon, I know no one in that party besides Hyunjae and I don't even trust her to call her a friend. Maybe I can find a guy somewhere else. '

'It'll be fine. I'll come with you, so you'll know me too, okay? I'll even dress you up with cute clothes and all. Besides, I need parting too, I need to get my mind out of that dude. '

'You can't be serious right now, Nayeon. You dated the guy for 7 days. 7 god damn days! ' You let out with frustration.

'Only?!' She says with an offended tone in her voice. 'I already told you it was special while it lasted. It's always about the connection, not the time. ' She takes another carrot and bites it, while taking her phone with her other hand meaning she was mad. You just roll your eyes, you didn't feel like going into that topic again.

'Okay, I'm sorry…' You take the fork that was on the tray and start pinching the food with no appetite.

Was it really a good idea to go to the party? What where the odds of finding a guy in one night? One that actually wants to date and not just to fuck around? You were running out of time, If you wanted to write this article, you would need to find a boy as fast as you could, Nayeon had a point when she said it was the perfect opportunity to fish.

But then there was Hyunjae and her weird way of being nice to you outside the office. You guessed it was a tactic to let your guard down so she could take advantage of you on the whole job competition thing.

You thought about the perks of going and see how well you cope in a place so unknown to you, Nayeon will be there helping you which is good since the article was going to be based in her personality, perhaps it wasn't that far and most of the guys from those parties where completely strangers. If you didn't have luck that night, you could call it off, find another topic and move on with your life and take this as a funny story to talk and laugh about later.

The more you think about it, the more you convince yourself about going, even though it's not really your element or one of your favorite places to be at. You were not going to give up so easily and without fighting,

'Fine.' You say snorting. 'We'll go to this stupid party.'

'Oh, you were still considering not going? I'm already asking my friends for the address, there's no way we're not going 'she smiles back at you with a mischievous look in her eyes.

Am I really here?

Your mind couldn't stop thinking about how easily you convinced yourself about this being a good idea, and how Nayeon convinced you that wearing a top that didn't leave much to imagination was a good idea too. Nayeon was nowhere to be seen and you were standing alone, with a red cup, in a room full of strangers. You could recognize a few of your classmates but you hadn't had big conversations with them, just a little wave here and there in the hallway. Discomfort made its big entrance when two drunk dudes were pushing each other about to start a fight near you.

You ran out of there before the chaos started, heading to the pool looking for Nayeon, calling her was not an option anymore, her phone would go directly to voicemail every time you called her.

You turned to see the crowded house from the outside hopping Nayeon was okay, and just when you were about to go in again, someone grabbed your hand and pulled you out of the little crowd.

You recognized Hyunjae's face seconds later. It was a little dark, but you could still see her pink lipstick and her very short purple dress. She was also holding a red cup in her hand and a tall, dark haired guy was standing next to her.

'Hey! Not passing after all, huh? I'm glad you made it! ' Hyunjae shouted over the music 'This is Mark, the host of the party,' she puts her hand on his chest with a little pat 'Mark this is the friend I've told you about.' extends the same hand towards you finishing the introduction.

'Hi !, I've seen you around school, I heard you are from America as well' he smiles in a way his eyes disappear and lets his teeth show.

'Yeah, I moved here freshman year.' You try not to be rude by avoiding his gauze, but the only thing you could pay attention to was the crowd behind them hoping to see Nayeon in the middle of it.

'Are you looking for someone?' He seems to accomplish something is troubling you.

'I'm actually looking for my friend, I lost her like an hour ago and she's not answering my calls or texts.'

Hyunjae is about to talk, but something, or more like a someone, caught her attention.

Park Jimin.

She saw him standing inside the house with his entourage of two dumb friends, laughing and talking about something. This was her opportunity to talk to him after a very long time. He looked really hot. With that leather jacket and all black outfit, but she wasn't even surprised, because he looks good without even trying.

'Why don't you help her find her friend Mark? I need to talk to someone, I'll catch you later 'said Hyunjae winking at him before leaving.

Hyunjae didn't let either of you say something, she was already heading inside the house to catch her favorite toy.

They were friends with benefits since early junior year when they met at a party hosted by Jimin himself. Ever since, every time one of them felt like having sex they will call each other or at least they used to. Lately the one who made those calls was Hyunjae, usually texting Jimin several times to have a good time but now he was throwing really bad excuses and she was determined to find out why she was being ignored this way.

After she finally passed through the people that was surrounding Jimin, she got to where her prize was.

'Hey Chim Chim!' Screamed with a high pitch voice putting her arms around Jimin's neck while he tried to catch her due the surprise of the girl throwing herself at him. 'Me and my bed have missed you.' Says while making a pout trying to look cute, he just took her arms off of him, making a disgust face. Jimin's response surprised Hyunjae making her angry and making his friends laugh at each other, avoiding meeting her gauze.

'What's your problem Park?' Hyunjae dropped the high pitched tone as she crossed her arms in front of her and posing in a way that showed how angry she was, Jimin nodded to his companions to leave.

'What do you want Hyunjae?' Asked the guy with an irritated voice.

'What do I want? You've been ignoring me for a whole month, what's up with you? '

He looks at her with a smile, ignoring her displeased face. 'I thought that I was delivering the correct message when I ignored your calls and your texts.'

The girl looked at him offended, lifting an eyebrow, still crossed arms and an angry vibe.

'Look I don't want to be rude but you are not giving me another option' Jimin's says as he pulls away from the wall where he was leaning on 'I'm not longer interested in your… sex services. If you don't mind, I'll go find my friends now. ' He smiles for a second and turns trying to leave but Hyunjae stops him by graving his wrist.

'What are you saying? What has gotten in to you? Do you have a girlfriend now or something? ' Jimin turns back facing Hyunjae who has a sarcastic smile in her face.

'Possibly… or maybe I just got bored of you, that's it' Jimin answers.holding her chin.

'Like if you were the type of guy who would sleep with one girl for the rest of his life and respecting the whole fidelity thing' she snaps his hand away from her face. Hyunjae was pissed. This had never happened, she was used to being begged, not the other way around. Jimin was hurting her ego really bad, but she wasn't gonna let him know that, she wouldn't give him that satisfaction.

'What do you know about me? The only thing that you know the best about me is my dick, 'he looks down' and my name, and it sounded great when you screamed it. ' His face gets close to hers while he grabs her wrist and pulls her closer to him. He's teasing her, Hyunjae knows this is the way he fools around, trying to make her ask for more.

Hyunjae could only roll her eyes, she was really irritated by the attitude Jimin was taking.

'Come on baby, don't be mad. It was good while it lasted. What where you expecting? That we will become boyfriend and girlfriend? '

She let a sarcastic laugh after hearing that. 'As if. I know you and your dick like the back of my hand Park Jimin. You're not capable of having a relationship. Hell you're not able to feel love for someone other than yourself. ' She pushed him away a little, almost spitting the words at him, trying to hurt his ego the way he did with hers. He was not going clean after this conversation. Jimin just lets out a giggle.

'Do you even know the concept of romanticism, Jimin?' Hyunjae strikes back with a mischievous smile. 'I mean do you even know what love is ?, and I'm talking about love in all its letters.'

He tenses his jaw after her words and she smiles widely, she was getting to his nerves.

'You know nothing about that…'

'Come on' she interrupts him, putting her arms out of her sides in a mock of boredom at the argument. She places a finger on his chest and comes close to his face, almost brushing her lips against his 'You get tired after the first fuck, what can you possibly know about feeling something other than pleasure?'

Now he's the angry one. Hyunjae can tell by the way he looks at her frowning. She knows giving him the sense of not being capable of getting something it's hurting his ego. Hyunjae feels like she won the battle, so she takes a step back, ready to leave. But then he talks again.

'Fine, I'm gonna prove to you I can be romantic.' His tone is as tense as his jaw. 'Pick a girl. Right here, right now, and I'll date her and I'll make her really fall in love with me, easy. '

Hyunjae is the one that giggles this time. 'Are you sure of what you are getting yourself into, Park?'

'I'm doing this to shut your pretty mouth. Pick one, anyone. It's not gonna be that hard. ' She knew that already, they were talking about Park Jimin, she knows for a fact that half of the girls in college where already in love with him. If this was a bet, she was going to lose easily.

'And what do I get from this? If this is going to be a bet, what is in for me? ' She's trying to make him doubt, make him back off out if it.

'You name it.' He says smiling, giving her a lusty look. As if she was going to let him sleep with her one more time. Not a chance. She thinks

'Fine, I want money. If you lose, you're giving me 1M won. '

‘What the fuck? Do you think I’m a millionaire or something?’ She knows it was a lot money, but it’s her new strategy, maybe with a high amount, he would back up. Why was she digging in more? She was paving the way to a place where she was going to lose for a fact. She was supposed to make him step back, not encourage him to do it. How was she going to let herself out of this? There’s not a single girl in campus that wanted to get rid of a guy like Park Jimin.

She turns her head, trying to find an excuse to leave but before she can think of something, she spots you standing next to Mark and your friend. Something lights up in her head. A memory. Your article, she remembered. You were supposed to find a guy and scare him off in less than 10 days, you were the perfect girl for this bet and as a plus she was going to ruin your article and get the job for herself. Life was just so great sometimes.

'Well, you're so sure about yourself, you don't have to worry about that right?' She is teasing now, tickling him like a sleeping lion to get into it. 'Are you still in, Park?' She smiles.

He doubts and Hyunjae thinks for a moment that Jimin would withdraw from the bet. What a fool she was. 'I'm down, it'll be easy' Jimin finally gives in and reaches out to seal the deal, just as she called it.

'Not too soon honey, there's rules to be set' Hyunjae reaches for a napkin close to them and pulls out a lipstick out of her handbag.

'Do we have a deal, Park?' Hyunjae places her hand in front of Jimin to close the deal.

'Of course we do, the easiest money I will ever win in my life' Jimin doesn't think twice, not even after he reads the short period of time he has to complete the task. So he reaches Hyunjae's hand and closes the deal.

'Great, now.' Hyunjae clapped her hands before putting them against her lips 'Who will be the lucky one?' She begins to see everywhere playing fool of not knowing who she is going to pick from the crowd.

'What about her?' Jimin pointed a tall girl, nice body and pretty face.

'You think I would go easy on you?' Hyunjae asks raising her eyebrow in disbelief. 'You probably know her and she is hot, so… no.'

Jimin laughs and shakes his head in. Maybe now he remembers why he kept going back at her whenever she called, she was funny.

'Uuuhh, what about that girl' she pointed at a girl dancing unconventionally in the middle of the dance floor.

'Are you kidding?' He laughs sarcastically 'I fucked her already and she's literally crazy, I'm not going back at her, no way'

'Though crowd, I see.' She hesitates a moment before returning her gauze to where you are 'Okay, what about her.' Jimin follows her gauze until he sees Mark talking with two girls 'The one with the back cleavage blouse.'

He looks at you, scanning your face. She's pretty and nice body Jimin thinks. You looked naive, this was going to be more easy than he thought. 'Done' Jimin let out big smile which turned into a smirk really quick, he was confident. 'You better prepare that money right now, this would be too easy.'

'Sure it will' Hyunjae said with an evil smile.  

In the other side of the house, you where coping up with the new guy and Nayeon.

Mark was easy to talk to and funny. At some point you about making him the victim for your article, but he was way too nice, you didn't want to make him feel uncomfortable, you actually liked him.

While he helped you looking for Nayeon, who was in line to get into the bathroom with her phone in Do Not Disturb mode at a party full of people for whatever stupid reason, you got to know few things about him. He was from LA and moved to Korea when he was 16 with his family, they lived in Gwangju, but he wanted to go to college in Seoul so he moved and met the guys he's living with at college.

Now you were in the middle of the house, talking to each other with ease. You don't even remember the moment you got rid of your cup, with all the walking you did around the house to find Nayeon, you guessed maybe you left it somewhere around.

'I'm really sorry for scaring you, I truly am' said Nayeon for the 50th time since you've found her.

'It's fine, just, let me know where you're going next time' you dedicate her a smile to let her know you are not mad at her anymore. You placed your hands in the back pockets of your jeans as you talk again. 'Maybe we should get going now, Nay. I'm kinda tired. '

'But we haven't found a guy' she says whispering under her breath so she cannot be heard.

You were not that excited about that topic anymore, she can see it in your face by the way your lips became a thin line.

'Hey, Mark!' A black haired guy approaches from the back of both of you to greet your new friend who was standing next to you. He stretches hands with the stranger and brings Mark close to give him in a semi hug.

'Park Jimin!' Says Mark with a big smile in his face 'Long time no see…'

'Same goes to you, dude. Last time I saw you, you hosted parties back at the dorms. ' He continues talking. You can tell he is handsome, marked jawline, pretty smile and now you could appreciate better the softness of his hair. He also had trouble written all over his good guy attitude. 'And you weren't so good with your social skills, who are your pretty friends?' He says looking at you and Nayeon with a smirk in his face. You don't pay attention to the comment, but Nayeon blushes at the mention of you being pretty.

Mark introduces you, but it doesn't seem to be enough for the guy, so he takes a step in, invading a little too much your personal space. 'I'm Park Jimin' he says. 'Nice yo meet you…' He checks you out without shame, head to toes, scanning every inch of your body right in front of your eyes.

You take a step back, uncomfortable to his sight. 'Nice to meet you too…' you grab Nayeon's arm and you pull her next to you 'We should get going.' You say in urge.

'Oh, are you leaving already?' Asks Jimin, was it ?, with a pout staring back at you.

'Yes.' You answer quickly, but so does Nayeon, contradicting you with a hard 'No'. The guy looks confused now, and you feel the awkwardness flowing in the room.

'Can I talk with you for a second?' Nayeon grabs your arm, dragging you a few meters away from the guys. 'What are you doing?' She says frowning.

'What do you mean?' You are playing fool at her question. You knew where this was heading. She lifts an eyebrow at you, reminding you that she can read you and you're not fooling her. You sigh. 'I want to go home, Nayeon. This whole idea is stupid, I don't even know how to talk to a guy in a no friendly way. Let's just go home, I'll find another topic 'you were not feeling good about this anymore. You felt ridiculous.

'No, we are not going anywhere.' Nayeon grabs both of your shoulders. 'Listen, you haven't even talked to a guy in this party apart from Mark and now this cute guy comes and try to talk to you but you act in a way it would make him run, which is the point of the article, but not this way and not this fast. Give it a try at least. '

'Are you crazy?' Now you were pissed. 'Nayeon, he looks like a total ass, he just wants to get in my pants. I'm not going to pick a guy that just wants sex from me. I was willing to sacrifice my first real kiss with someone for the sake of this article, but not to a fuckboy which I'm sure he is, he smells like it. Do you even know him? ' You throwed one of your arms back at where you left the boys talking.

'Are you kidding? Everyone at college knows him. The fact that you live under a rock doesn't make him less of a good match. Sure he doesn't have the best reputation but… '

'I wonder why.' You crossed your arms while looking at her rolling your eyes.

'Look, just give it a shot. If he doesn't meet your expectations, we can find another guy. Mark has many friends. If we can't find someone else by the time the clock strikes 2:00 AM, then we bail and you can tell me “I told you so” for the rest of my life, okay? '

The idea was tempting, but your mood wasn't the best anymore. You hadn't given anyone a chance, not even the Park Jimin guy who came to you a few minutes ago, and yes, he was handsome, but this wasn't really your element, you didn't know how to flirt with a boy with such experience as him, but again, you haven't even tried. You remembered all the things you did when you let yourself go and gave the unknown a chance, thinking that this might be the exception.

What were you so afraid of? You thought that maybe the idea of ​​finding a new you, that was flirty and sassy perhaps scared you or maybe you were scared by the idea of ​​playing on a field that you had never played in before. But as anything in life, you had to learn, after all, practice makes the master doesn't it?

'Fine, but If I don't find a fucker before that time we are leaving. For good. You're not gonna throw a tantrum at me. AND… 'you raised your voice a little. 'You have to do the dishes the hole week'

'No way, I'm here because of you.' She said smiling.

You smiled back as Nayeon dragged you back with the two boys that where now warmly talking to each other. Jimin was still standing there waiting for you like a good boy, with a commercial smile.

'So, are you guys leaving?' Asked Mark with his hands in his pockets.

'No, I managed to convince miss boring here to stay a little longer.' Nayeon says pointing at you with her thumb.

'Oh that's great!' Now Jimin was the one talking as he looked at you, turning his body a little towards you too. 'Are you thirsty? Do you want a drink? ' He looked thrilled at the idea for some reason.

Something about this guy didn't seem right to you. What is he trying to do? You were not really used to guys talking to you, but you were sure they weren't this smiley and attentive.

'No thank you.' You sinked your hands in the back pockets of your jeans one more time. Nayeon and Mark were talking animatedly, you laughed a little when you see her flip her hair in a flirting way. She will never learn.

'Perhaps you wanna dance?' Asked Jimin one more time.

'Noup.' You maintained your look straight to the floor, avoiding the cold gauze of Jimin's eyes.

Playing though girl? Thought Jimin rolling his eyes. Girls resisting to him were his favorite ones. First they say they won't sleep with him, but end up falling for his charms days later. He just had to act like the “perfect boyfriend” and be careful with his words if he wanted to get in their pants. This one was a new challenge. And Jimin loved challenges almost as much as bets.

The rest of the night follows up like that, you being most of the time quiet and following Mark and Nayeon wherever they went. He seemed like a good guy and despite of him trying to make a move in Nayeon, he kept including you in all his conversations and introducing you to new people all the time, but among all those people he introduced you, nobody captured your attention enough to make a move and get a boy to write on your article about.

What was weird to you is that Jimin didn't leave your side and followed you around through the house like a dog. He was trying really hard to make a conversation and you didn't want to be rude so you answered all the questions he threw at you. How old are you? Which semester are you in? Do we go to the same college? Do we have the same classes? No I'm sure not because I would never miss a beauty like you in one of my classrooms.

You were getting tired of his lame pick up lines. And even tho 'you were trying not to be rude, it was impossible for you to respond to his compliments. Frankly, you were actually flattered and if it weren't for the dim lights in the house, you could tell Jimin would make fun of your red cheeks every time he called you pretty or beautiful which makes you believe he forgot your name because he doesn 't call you by it all night.

You encountered Hyunjae a few times at the party. The last time you saw her, she winked at you while she had her hands around some guy's neck before turning back to kiss him. Little did you know she was actually winking at Jimin, he giggled after seeing her already with some other guy.

The four of you were talking by the pool, everyone holding a red cup except for you even though Jimin offered you a drink more than 20 times that night. Nayeon and Mark were laughing at Jimin's silly jokes. You managed to smile several times, but not really laugh like them, maybe it was the alcohol in their veins or you just didn't understand the jokes. You checked your phone for the millionth time, waiting for it to mark the time to go and also as an excuse to avoid the accusatory look Nayeon was giving to you that screamed “you're not even trying”. There were still a few minutes left to the time both of you set for your luck.

'Are you okay?' Mark asked you noticing your lack of excitement.

'Yeah, you seem like you're not having fun at all…' said Jimin. Of course he was going to talk.

You shook your head before you talked 'I'm just tired. Plus, I don't really like parties' you said shyly.

'Why didn't you say so?' Jimin saw a chance in taking you out of there and he was going to take it. You had closed many doors to him that nigh and he was not wiling to give up on you, he couldn't give up on you, that would mean he was willing to lose a lot of money. 'Do you want to get out of here? We can go grab a bite, if you like? ' He said smiling widely.

You were about to reject him, but Nayeon spoke first. 'Yeah, why don't you go? You said you were hungry before anyways'. You looked at Nayeon, almost screaming “what are you doing?” At her. Jimin was really nice to you the whole time, even though you were not too talktive, but that might be because there wasn't a moment when the two of you were left all alone.  

Dinner couldn't harm, could it? It was just something easy, two grown ups talking and getting to know each other, what could go wrong? And if in any moment you see Jimin wanting to be smart and take advantage of you, you could call it a night, go back home and think of a better idea to write your article on. And if you like it and it works, he could be the perfect victim, you could torture a playboy and teach him a lesson at the end, just to make sure he doesn't play with girls anymore. This could be fun.

It would only take 10 days to write a good article and get a good job, stay in Korea, live better, pay the bills. Suddenly, it doesn't sounds that bad anymore. You take a look at him one more time.

'Fine, sounds nice. Let's go. ' You got up from the bench and waited for Jimin to follow your action.

‘I’m sorry, what?’ Said Nayeon, clueless of what has gotten into you. Perhaps the smell of pot made you a little high.

Jimin on the other hand, was not surprised by your response, he was waiting for a yes in the moment he drooped the question, believing that you tough girl facade wasn't gonna last long since he knew how to talk to girls. He thinks he has you in his hand, it was just a matter of time before you begged for him to love you back. He smiled widely and you catch yourself liking the way he looks when he does.

‘I said fine, let's go. Are you okay by heading back home alone?' You asked her in a rush.

Jimin it's getting up now, standing next to you to you, waiting to get the answer you are looking from Nayeon, who looks too stunned to give you a correct answer, eyes popped up and mouth semi open. Mark answers for her, letting you know that he will make sure she gets home safely. You smile at him and say thank you.

After that, Jimin offers you his hand and you take it, feeling a tickle in your hand when he secures the grip. Jimin guides you off the house, passing through the people who were dancing and the ones far too drunk to even stand still.

When he is heading out, he makes sure Hyunjae sees him holding your hand as you walk pass the door. She looks at him with a smirk and he winks back at her. In his language, he's telling her that he already won, but Hyunjae is far more pleased, she knows what Jimin is getting himself into and she knows that the girl he just walked out with, it's going to be the death of him.

After walking for a couple of minutes he takes out a key. You wait patiently for him to find his car, big was your surprise when you see him get on a motorcycle, you don't know what to say, you've never been on a motorcycle, this whole situation was new to you.

'Are you getting on or not?' Jimin says showing a big smile while passing you a helmet.

'I've never been on a motorcycle before ...' you keep walking slowly.

'At the?' he says with fake surprise in his voice. 'It will be fun. Don't worry, I won't let you fall. I can protect you '

You think about it for a moment and you take the helmet from his hand, what am I doing? Your body begins to feel an adrenaline that has never felt before. Once you put on your helmet, you get on the back of the motorcycle.

'You will have to hold on to me so you don't fall.' You listen to him and put your hands on his shoulders, you hear him laugh. 'You are going to fall that way sweetheart, that's not secure enough. Put them… right here. ' He says while putting your hands around his waist and connecting them in the front just like a hug, you are glad that he can't see you from the front with your bright red cheeks. 'Are you ready?' He looks at you from his shoulder, you nod, afraid that if you talk, your voice would sound like a murmur due to the nervousness that runs in your body

Jimin starts the engine and the sound scares you a little so you stick closer to him, the cold wind touches your face as he drives away. Little by little and street after street, you gain enough confidence to lift your face and close your eyes for a second. Jimin sees you smile from the rearview mirrors making him smile as well.

It doesn't take you long to get to a cafeteria with a 90s style, you were fascinated with the place, it was really pretty, with classic benches, tables and music according to the time.  

'This is my favorite restaurant, it really captures the 90s, their milkshakes are the best.' Jimin says as he helps you get off the motorcycle.

'I will have to check that for myself.' Jimin opens the front door for you like a gentleman, you didn't expect him to do it.

You can see posters of classic artists on the walls when you go through the door that remembered you of the music you heard when you were little. You can recognize a few of them, Britney Spears, The spice girls, Nirvana, Radio Head. Was that Cristina Aguilera?

You were surprised of how many western artists where pasted on the walls. You never imagined a place like this would be so close to you and you never find out about it. It reminded you of America, your home and your life before you moved to Seoul.

He tells you to choose a table and after you take a seat, a waitress quickly arrives at your table with the menus, she's really pretty. You lay your eyes on Jimin while she goes away, for your surprise he was more interested on the menu.

'What do you usually order?' You ask turning the menu pages.

'This would sound too cliché, but a cheese burger with fries and a strawberry milkshake.' He laughs a little and you realize that when he smiles his eyes disappear, it looked very cute.

'Then I'll have the same as you.' you close the menu leaving it aside, Jimin waves to the waitress and orders for both.

Now that you're out of the party, it's easier for you to talk to Jimin, he doesn't seem too bad, maybe you judged him too quickly, he tells you about many of his adventures, and you tell him about your internship , omitting the article you were going to write to get the job.

He takes every chance he has to call you cute names in between. You have to admit that gorgeous, beautiful, baby, or pretty girl were pet names only a guy with very much experience and no sense of good memory would use, but you catch yourself liking it and after he calls you many of them you get used to it and stop blushing every time he calls you by them. Jimin almost regrets you being used to it, he liked the way your cheeks light up in a very cute way.  

He just keeps playing it cool, marching his plan slow and fancy as he always does with girls like you. He asks for your phone politely and smirks after you exchange numbers, Jimin keeps teasing you a little and he makes some comments here and there that are not really appropriate, but to his surprise you play fool to them. Is that or maybe you just don't get them.

In the course of the night, you get to know him better. You know his major, his age, and that he is not from Seoul but that he has the same group of friends since he was a kid back in his hometown. It surprises you how interesting Jimin actually was and with all the talk and silly jokes you lose track of time. You learn that he is actually really funny and he seems to be very interested in you, but you don't let you guard down.

'Oh wow, is it really late, or early?' You ask laughing, the clock shows 4:00 AM, how did that happened? You were surprised due to the fact that the cafeteria was still open at such hours.

'Time flies when you have fun.' He says while leaning back on his seat. 'Let me get the bill and I'll take you home.' Jimin waves to the waitress one more time to ask for the bill.

'Oh please, let me give you money for what I had.' You say searching in your pockets for the money you took before you went to the party.

'Come on, don't play that card on me. Besides, this was a date and it was my idea, so I'll cover it. '

You ignore the fact that he called your little run out of the party a date. Before you can complain he gives back the payed bill to the waitress, he opens the door for you once again as you walk out.

The way to your house was fun thanks to Jimin's jokes that you now understood, during the trip you could also analyze the evening and it was not what you expected, Jimin behaved the best with you, maybe he wasn't as bad as you thought , even so you would have to be attentive to what he did.

Jimin walked you to the door of your apartment even when you told him it wasn't necessary that it was literally 6 feet away from where you were, but he didn't care.

'So, here it is.' You say looking at the white door 'Thank you so much for the food, I'll pay for it next time.' Jimin smiles thinking that he already has you where he wants.

'So, there's going to be a next time huh?' He asks leaning to you.

You start to feel overwhelmed by his proximity making you take a step back.

'Maybe, that depends on you.' You flirt back, this is weird, it's the first time you act like this and you were liking it even more after his eyes sparkle a little with your response, he's been waiting all night for that kind of answers.

'It does?' He leans again 'I can text you later and we'll se about that ...' He gets closer to your lips with every word.

'Maybe I won't answer ...' Jimin curses mentally to the fact that you decide to follow his game just when he leaves you at the door of your house. This is his game, this is what he likes, being contradicted and tested around.

'Won't you really?' Jimin is so close to you lips now that you can almost breath the same air as him. He is inches away from kissing you but when he takes the chance and leans forward to do it, you turn your face, making his lips fall in a cute kiss on the cheek.

You can't really read his expression, you don't know if he is angry, mad or just simply confused because he was about to kiss you and you didn't let him do it. Were you playing with his head?

'We should take things slow, don't you think?' you say as you take his face with one of your hands. He blinks a little and smiles after he nods. A kiss lands on his nose before you open the door to get inside as quick as possible. 'Drive carefully. I'll get you later. ' You disappear inside and slam the door without letting him say goodbye.

You see through the peephole, curious about if he will knock your door again and claim that kiss that he was about to get, and he almost wants to. But you just see the way he smiles funnily and scratches the back of his neck before he heads back to his motorcycle.

Jimin thanks Hyunjae in his way back home because from all the girls at the party she had to pick you, an innocent girl who would be easy to make fall at his feet. Even if she called the bet off, hanging and fooling around with you was going to be one of his favorite activities. He was going to get you, even if it costed him the whole 10 days to do it.

<- PART 1  | PART 3 ->

[slobberchops]

Day 274 - The first British vaccinations

Today the British, who in general have might a rights pigs ear of the whole thing, administered their first vaccinations. This comes on the heel of the US learning that its government failed to order enough vaccine dosages to cover its people and it seems unlikely that the second wave of vaccines won’t be available until July.

I guess us not getting those means someone else does. But it does demonstrate that “America First” was never really a thing. I am of two minds. Because I was outraged when I learned that the Trump administration was trying to lock out other countries from treatments and vaccines. I suppose explicitly excluding other countries from US vaccines was way too ugly. And yet the failure of the US to order more vaccines (even if to a lesser degree at the expense of other countries) seemed a little pathetic. It seems to be a tightrope, between wanting to see the US vaccinated and wanting to see everyone share it equally.

Pearl Harbor

Yesterday was the 79th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. To commemorate it, those devils at Time Ghost put out a five hour minute by minute documentary on the subject starting at 7:10 am California time. I made an effort to watch it but could only follow an hour and a quarter in real time before needing to fall asleep again. So far I have seen half of the series.

The attack on Pearl Harbor in those two and a half hours was truly devastating. It is a very intense and short period of time between the launch of the first wave from the decks of the Japanese air craft carriers to the destruction of the Arizona.

Here’s what. That was only the first wave. We already know that there is a second wave coming.

When presented in this chronological fashion it really brings home just how quickly it all really happened. I guess I still wish I saw it in real time, but it’s ok.

As always, racism cuts both ways

It is probably a small thing in relation to the US’ larger failures to prepare for the attack on Pearl Harbor but I could not stop from rolling my eyes when ever I heard about it in the course of the documentary.

The US was more preoccupied with sabotage being committed by the Japanese descendent inhabitants of Hawaii than they were with a full out attack by the Japanese Navy against them. As a consequence, they had taken precautions against the local population, by among other things, locking down most of the munitions on the military facilities. The Japanese descendent population never turned out to be a problem for them, but when the under fire many crews found that they could not get enough ammunition to fight back because of these precautions. Other precautions left aircraft more vulnerable to attack.

Not to overstate the impact of these measures. It is unlikely that a different policy would have made a significant impact on the overall course of the battle. But all the same, these miscalculations, worrying about the wrong things, led to more loss of material and probably even men.

For sure, anti-Japanese racism hurt Japanese Americans more than it hurt white Americans. But there is always a cost and everyone always loses over all.

[knightofbalance-13]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZzVHlhsEeA

Wow, just wow.

It’s like FMF heard how I said that I found a WORSE RWBY reviewer than him...

Then proceeded to go “BUT this isn’t even my FINAL FORM!”

0:54 No, your group RWDE is terrible because you have no morals. You’re only limit is not what is right or what you stand for, but what you can get away with. RWDE only reposnded well because they had literally no other options without outing themselves as uncaring. You however can use the combined echo chamber to ignore reality and pretend like your lies are truth so you won’t realize what you’re eating is shit.

1:04 Well if he did that Lord Fatass, you’d call him a Nazi and then say he fucks his dog because you said so. I mean, that’s what you do to your own critics, which just kind of proves you know what you are doing is wrong and you don’t want to face it.

1:32 Bullshit Slick, I’ve seen you in RWDE. You get involved ALL the god damn time.

1:37 Wow, how knew friendly fire was enabled?

1:44 Now does Jess have any opinions aside form yours? Or does she just spoonfeed you what you already think? Because considering YOUR interactions with anyone who doesn’t think exactly like you: I don’t trust you.

1:52 By talking to them. About this topic. Which is exactly what you tried denying a few seconds ago. So you’re lying before we even get to RWBY. Great.

3:01 No, they are willing to talk. It’s just they can’t or else the assholes you people created and encouraged will rise up like zombies and tear them limb from limb. I’ve seen it happen so you can’t deny it.

3:12 “The idea of a homosexual character being a villain-it’s just thrown in there”

... This is the people who RWDE praises as the height of intelligence: Dumbasses who think that gay people cannot be bad, as though they are somehow any different that straight people.

3:29 Ah huh, so literally ALL THE OTHER SCENES WITH ILLA never happened. Because that proved she had depth already. And Illa had rather explicitly romantic interactions towards Blake with favoritism towards Blake. It wasn’t tacked on, you just tacked THAT on to pander to your RWBY hating audience.

3:37 Hi Lord Fatass. I see your IQ has dropped since we last met. No fucking wonder, all the energy needed to generate that hot air must leave your brain lacking.

Seeing as she was SENDING BLAKE TO ADAM: it wouldn’t affect her motivations at all. If she loved Adam then yes but she doesn’t, so no. But let’s see what snake oil you’re gonna try to sell us.

3:41 https://youtu.be/56Z6po1woq0?t=12m19s

“Literally” huh? Seems like that came well past the Adam section. Almost like it had NOTHING to do with it.

4:00 SO you people didn’t even fucking KNOW what you were talking about. FOur minutes in and you’ve proven yourself unreliable.

4;13 Problem is, you assholes abuse Death Of The Author so much that it has lost all menaing, You gusy don’t get to have interpretations due to your immense bias and untrustworthy behavior as well as a tendency to lie your asses off.

You guys get to show facts and make statements about them SOLELY. I’m pretty sure it’s illegal for you to do so otherwise with RWBY.

4:17 No articulation: No credit.

4:27 And we should trust you...why? You just got done saying that she was doing stuff to get Adam to notice her by your shock that the looking comment was about Blake, showing that you don’t know what you are talking about. So your “feeling”could be you misreading the scene or lying about it.

5:03 So did you not watch the Blake CHaracter short or a good chunk of Volume 5/ Because saying Illa’s motivation is to fuck Blake shows you are spewing shit.

5:13 Yeah, it is...so you being a RWBY fan and ignoring the actual motivation don’t fit. SO which is it? Are you lying or do you hate the show so you make up shit?

5:27 Minus the sociopathy. And the selfishness. And the edginess. And the self serving motives. And the personal investiment in the White Fang. And the dick. And the sword. And the anima traits. And the backstory. And the result...

What do they have in common again aside from being White Fang members?

5:35 I see. SO this isn’t four people talking, this is one person talking and three meat puppets. Well, at least I’m only tormenting one person then.

6:01 Fifty bucks says he bites himself in the ass.

6:07 Do I get extra money if he bites himself not even ten seconds later?

6:31 And nothing changed with Illa. She still hates humans. She still cares for Blake. She still doesn’t know what to do. She still doubts herself. She still fights for the Fanaus. And she still has her morals. That’s a hundred bucks now.

6:32 Which is why the character short in which we had her motivation said nothing about Blake and was about her parents.

7:43 Considering SlickSlick is Tumblr and you’re massive following here: You are. In fact, you’re the root of tumblr’s bullshit in RWBY. I should get to tearing them out sometime...

7:54 Here’s more proof you are indeed Tumblr. You can only see in race, gender and ethnicity. Not diversity of thought but rather superficial diversity. Just like Tumblr. Also: All four of you are straight, white and male. You have no room to talk.

8:11 And the shovel official has more IQ than you Fatass since Adam clearly wants to kill humans for Fanaus supremecy, not to fuck. Just like Tumblr, you cannot separate WHAT a person is from WHO a person is.

8:27 Doesn't matter if Illa is gay. Her viewpoint has NOTHING to do with her sexuality

8:33 “all on the unrequiented love”

Was relevant for 43 seconds. I counted. Check for yourself. I do have a link to the moment: Just count the seconds until it changes topic.

Proof you have no idea what you are talking about.

9:11 Precisely what they did. But that can’t be bitched at so here you are, denying reality. Pathetic.

9:36 A. Wasn’t relevant until now (do yo0u wlak around saying “I WANNA FUCK WOMEN!” all the damn time?)

B. Catmen never came out. Incompatible. You just wanna draw a connection to Cartmen to pass off his infamy to Illa while being a clown. Well you fialed both Lord Fatass.

10:05 He can’t eb Edgy lord Extreme.

Fatass is there.

10:11 Considering the actual commentateries don’t rely on echo chambers and edited footage and ignorance to make points, you people need a red pill.

10:17 The fact we are the same species sickens me. It reminds me I can never escape your shit because it’s in me. And it’s disgusting.

10:29 Yeah, people who call others beta are usually omegas themselves. Alphas don’t nee dto assert their dominance or prove themselves, that all comes naturally and they naturally get it. You guys won’t even speak out anywhere that doesn’t give you the advantage or shows weakness. MurderOfBirds cries on screen and is humble enough to thank his fans and acknowledge his flaws: You people put ona  façade, act like your hot shit and never own up. You’re all weaklings.

10:43 Illa never abused Blake in a relationship. Illa never killed out of spite (in fact, she saved out of love). Oh wiat, not your narrative. Sorry, I forgot you’re all delusional.

11:14 I think you meant to see “We’re all equal shit”. Considering yoru just Fatass’ drones: Yes you are.

12:16 And the fact that you are gonna act like that is any different than America having all white casts proves you ain’t peak Tumblr...how?

12:23 When you assholes became Tumblr.

12:49 Not like that’s exclusive to RACE asshole. An Asian growing up in America is not gonna have Chinese values. And a white person leaving in China will not have the same culture as a white person in America.

13:14 Thing is: They ain’t all the same thing. Blake is a Fanaus, Weiss is from Atlas-You have three differnet sides there. And even then, again: Not bound by race. 

13:59 Not if they hate each other “because.” Just like getting along for no reason is boring too. You don’t understand how writing works. Then again, you never did so you’re still going shit!

15:19 NO, THERE ISN’T. Race, Gender and Sexuality mean NOTHING to WHO a person is unless they let it and even then, that a part of PERSONALITY. Only people who argue that those do have an affect are the bigots or idiots. Oh wait, you’re the second one...

15:53 Oh so NOW different culture sdon’t matter huh? Never occurred to you that THEIR society doesn’t work EXACTLY THE SAME as ours? That maybe, they don’t care about that?

How are you all not Tumblr again?

16:45 Not all shows wanna do that and certainly not all people want to watch it. Only people who do are, surprise, hyper Tumblrs!

16:53 Actually you do: Illa. She says nothing about it, she doesn't mention it, she doesn’t act like it, she has no trouble aside form the usual and being gay itself isn’t shocking. SO there you go.

17:19 Easy: Care about something else. The society doesn’t care and you shouldn’t.

18:35 FOr all of you actually since you show no variety in opinion and are notorious for echo chambers.

You just keep saying “We should judge people based on sex, sexuality and race! Taht’s how thinsg work!” without thinking about how so many people want to IGNORE all that.

And taht’s all. Final Thoughts: As expected, they make up bullshit and actm like it’s reality. It’sm RWDE in pure, concentrated video form and surprisingly, they don’t wanna admit it.

Basically: worthless opinions by untrustworthy and stupid people. So laugh at them, make him flip out and dig themselves a hole to be stuck in and leave.

[thestoryweneededtowrite]

Javid Titanic AU - Part 12

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

Part 4

Part 5

Part 6

Part 7

Part 8

Part 9

Part 10

Part 11

Sarah nudged Davey back into the gym and shut the door behind them. Whatever this was, he definitely didn’t need an audience of rich people judging him.

“Hey, hey, what happened?” she asked, guiding Davey into a chair as he tried to get himself under control. “Do I need to go kill that boy of yours for making you cry?”

She forced a laugh, trying to lighten the situation, but she couldn’t help but be concerned. Not even after what happened with Albert had she seen her brother quite this low.

Davey winced. Jack wasn’t his; Jack was never going to be his.

“Don’t. Please. Don’t talk about him,” he mumbled, squeezing words out past the lump in his throat.

“You seemed plenty happy to talk about him before…” Sarah blinked, confused. Where was the blushing boy who smiled whenever Jack’s name was mentioned, and why had he left so suddenly?

Pulling his feet up onto the chair so he could hug his knees, not caring about how childish he looked, Davey hid his face. The tears had mostly stopped but he felt like he could fall apart again at any second. He was physically holding himself together because doing it mentally was just too hard. It wasn’t only Jack he’d given up, it was being happy. “Just… Never mention him again. Ever. Please,” he begged, his words muffled by the fabric of his trousers. He’d decided not to give in to his temptation, but that didn’t mean it was ever going to go away. It would be so much easier if he wasn’t reminded of it day after day. That boy I could have kissed. That boy who held me whilst we danced. That boy with the smile.

Sarah still didn’t get it. “David, what’s the problem?” she asked, needing him to be clear. She couldn’t fix it if she didn’t know what was wrong. “I want him,” Davey said, in a voice awfully close to a wail. He was acknowledging it – that was a good thing, right? Unfortunately that didn’t just make it go away. “I think he’s made it perfectly clear that that isn’t a problem,” Sarah teased, ruffling her younger brother’s hair.

Davey batted her hand away and scowled. “It’s wrong, Sarah. I shouldn’t… It’s a sin and I have to stop,” he recited. At this rate he was going to have to sit there night after night and repeat the words to himself until he started to believe them, really believe them, instead of just knowing he should.

Taking a shocked step back, Sarah stared. There was something in Davey’s voice that made her realise he was serious this time. The part of him that had been thrilled to be spending time with Jack had been locked away somewhere.

‘What did Mama say to you?” she asked, horrified. She’d been hoping he would be stronger, more able to resist the nonsense their parents were trying to fill his head with.

“She was right,” Davey sighed. “No,” Sarah insisted. “Not if it makes you feel like this.”

Davey shuffled awkwardly, aware that he looked pathetic. He was curled up like a child with tear tracks down his face and shaking hands.

“I need to move on,” he said, in spite of it all. Even if he was certain Jack would be able to still his hands, tease his limbs to un-tense and uncurl, and kiss away the tear stains, that didn’t mean he was allowed to let him.

Sarah rolled her eyes. Davey had not thought this through. She dragged over another chair and sat opposite him, facing him on his level. If nothing else was going to work, reason usually got through to him.

“Okay, so you move on from Jack – who has made you smile like I’ve never seen before, by the way,” she added, ignoring the scowl she got for her troubles, “but what then? You’re going to marry a woman?” “Yes,” Davey agreed, swallowing back a grimace. He’d never love a woman, he knew that, but he could still marry one if he had to. And he did have to. “I’d believe you far more easily if you weren’t gritting your teeth,” Sarah smiled, leaning back and folding her arms. “I could marry a woman,” Davey argued. “I should. You know I have to if I become a rabbi.” He was supposed to set an example, go forth and multiply and all. He shuddered. Sex was going to come into it as well, wasn’t it? He didn’t want that. Girls were fine, nice even, but the last thing he wanted to do was sleep with one.

“And be miserable?” Sarah asked, catching the horror in Davey’s eyes when he realised exactly what life he was resigning himself to. “I won’t be miserable,” he lied. Sarah just scoffed. “You’re miserable now. That’s not going to change.”

The truth hurt. Davey couldn’t listen to it anymore. Climbing shakily to his feet, he took a step towards the door. He was already fighting his desire to go and find Jack and just kiss him already, he didn’t need his sister to help try to convince him. “Sarah, I can’t do this. This whole thing never happened, okay?” he pleaded, before heading out the door. He just needed to be somewhere else.

***

Davey couldn’t face a room of smoke and testosterone and talking about how much money everyone had, so he endured the jibes from his father about staying with the women and refused to move from his seat after dinner that evening. He’d take Sarah giving him sympathetic glances every two minutes over cigars in the smoking room.

It wasn’t easy to endure his mother making pointed comments about how much progress Davey has made just on the journey and how religion has really saved him. It only got worse when she started talking about starting to find him a good Jewish wife once they were settled in America. She was saying it like a good thing, as opposed to a waking nightmare that was going to last the rest of his life. He glanced around the room in an attempt to find somewhere to direct his attention so he could better zone out as Esther planned his future. His gaze settled on a couple, sat over by the window. He’d never been introduced to them before so they probably weren’t insane levels of rich, but they looked happy. She was smiling and leaning in like she wanted to hear more of whatever story he was telling her, and he was holding her hand, twining their fingers together. They seemed to glow, like they were actually in love, and Davey wanted that. When the man leaned in and kissed the woman’s cheek, he smiled sadly.

“You could have that,” Sarah whispered, having noticed where Davey had been looking. He knew she didn’t mean with a woman.

Davey was trying not to sob. His leg was bouncing up and down fast, a tic he’d never had before, and he was desperate to leave. Suddenly nothing mattered anymore – not his mother, not his religion. He wanted to be as happy as the couple across the room and the only person who had ever made him feel like he could glow like that was on the ship, just a few decks away. He couldn’t stay put anymore.

“Excuse me,” he said abruptly, climbing to his feet and interrupting whatever conversation had been going on.

“David?” Esther asked, shocked at his audacity.

Every woman around the table was blinking in surprise, except two. Medda and Sarah shared a smile. He got a wink from Medda and an encouraging smile from his sister, and that was all the support he needed.

“I have to go,” he said, giving no further explanation.

***

Getting out of the dining room had been the biggest task as far as emotional strength went, but finding Jack in the biggest ship even built rated higher for statistical impossibility. The only time he’d been out of the first class levels had been when Jack was holding his hand and showing him the right way round every corner. It was far more convoluted when he was trying to retrace the steps alone, and he’d been too distracted by the whole hand holding thing the first time around to remember the route well. There were hardly signs saying steerage this way from the upper decks.

It took him about an hour to wind his way through the ship until he was in the right place. When he walked into the dining room he’d danced in only the night before, he’d been hoping to find Jack sat there ready to take him to that somewhere quieter that had been offered. His heart felt like it was in his throat and his stomach and his fingertips all at the same time, the pulses echoing round his head in a nervous, exhilarated mess.

Only Jack wasn’t there.

“You lost?” a voice asked, and Davey turned to find the Irish man he recognised from the party. “I… I’m looking for-” Davey stammered, not realising how discombobulated he was until he had to try and connect his tongue to his brain. Thankfully the man clicked his fingers in recognition as soon as he realised who the smartly dressed man from first class was.

“You’re Jack’s friend, right? From last night,” he asked.

“Yes,” Davey said, relieved. “Can you tell me where I can find him?”

The Irish man narrowed his eyes. “Are you going to hurt him again?”

Davey froze. Evidently realising where they’d met before also linked Davey to some things Jack had said about him. Averting the man’s eyes, Davey shook his head. He didn’t want to hurt Jack ever again.

After appraising him for a couple of seconds, Davey seemed to have passed some kind of test. “He’s moping up on the front deck,” the man allowed. “And how do I-?” Davey began.

Rolling his eyes, the man started pointing out the directions and pitying the poor little rich boy who knew nothing about the real world. Davey pitied himself a little too.

***

Jack’s Irish friend had been telling the truth. Davey walked out onto the deck and found Jack staring out into the sunset, resting his forearms on the railings. He was alone. Davey wanted to be at a stage where he could walk up and wrap his arms around him, but that wasn’t how it worked. Not yet, anyway.

“Jack?” he said, tentatively, unsure if he was welcome. When Jack turned around with wide eyes, he just shrugged awkwardly. “They told me I’d find you here.”

“What do you want?” Jack asked. He had no idea what he was meant to be feeling. He was hurt but he knew Davey wasn’t exactly without his own demons, mother-shaped demons, so he was torn between ignoring him and pulling him into a hug. “I changed my mind,” Davey explained, but he knew that wasn’t enough. “I’m sorry. For what I said.” Once he started talking, he found he couldn’t stop. Soon he was pacing the deck and talking aimlessly. “I’m… This is new for me and I’m rejecting everything I’ve ever known. I reacted badly. It’s difficult to want you but… I want to want you. I want to be comfortable wanting you. Can we… Do you want to try? I know it’s asking a lot because I’m a mess really and maybe that’s not fair on you, exactly, but I really, really want to kiss you right now. I want to kiss you a lot and I don’t care what my family has to say about it – well maybe Sarah but she likes you so that’s fine – and I don’t care what god says about it because I can’t imagine spending the rest of my life doing anything else, so I just really need-”

Jack had heard enough.

“Dave?” he said, a grin on his face.

“Yes?” Davey asked, hopeful. The new nickname was a good sign, right? It had to be.

“Shut up,” Jack requested kindly.

He crossed the deck and took both of Davey’s hands, squeezing them gently.

“Close your eyes,” he whispered, grinning.

Davey did as he was asked, trying to stop his heart from beating out of its chest. It felt like too long until he’d been kissed, and he desperately wanted it. But the last time he’d been kissed it hadn’t exactly gone well. This was going to be different, he could tell. This time he was going to be happy.

Except Jack didn’t kiss him. Instead Davey found himself being led across the deck. Confused but intrigued, he kept his eyes closed and carefully moved his feet forward. Then Jack stopped and moved behind him, bringing their hands up to rest them on the railing. It was like being in Jack’s arms again and Davey relaxed. It wasn’t quite dancing, but in a way it was better. This was touching for the sake of touching, just because they both wanted it.

“Climb up on the railing,” Jack mumbled in his ear. When Davey paused for a moment, he chuckled. “Do you trust me?”

“Yeah,” Davey breathed, because he really did. So he did as Jack had asked and slowly climbed up, thankful when Jack’s hands went to his waist to keep him steady.

“Okay, one more step,” Jack encouraged, and Davey climbed up even higher. Then he took Davey’s hands again and guided them until his arms were outstretched. “Now open your eyes.”

Davey did and he couldn’t help a gasp. All that was in front of him was ocean and it was easy to forget that he was grounded on a ship. The wind was rushing over his face and Jack’s hands were back at his waist, holding him tight and keeping him safe.

“Jack,” Davey whispered. “I’m flying, Jack.”

“You’re free,” he smiled.

He slowly let go of Davey’s waist, making sure he was okay with it, and traced down his arms to take Davey’s hands. He couldn’t help but play with Davey’s fingers and from the soft smile on his face, Davey didn’t mind. He brushed his fingertips over Davey’s palm and drew random shapes against over the back of his hand.  Eventually Jack just wanted to hold him again, bringing both of their hands down to wrap them around Davey’s waist and finally tracing the tailoring of his suit there. He wanted to follow the seams down, but this wasn’t the place.

Davey couldn’t not kiss him anymore. He turned his head, finding Jack’s lips with his and not caring that they were technically in a public place and anyone could see them. It was worth it. Jack kissed him back, smiling through it all and brushing the back of his knuckles against Davey’s jaw. Davey wanted to reciprocate but they really weren’t at the best angle for kissing. Compromising with himself, he buried his fingers in Jack’s hair and pulled him even closer. And he never wanted to let him go.

Part 13 Part 14

[mullersturtleneck]

Sticking With the Schuylers (18A)

Hello again! I had to split this into 2 parts because I couldn’t even handle how long it got, and I figured I’d leave the actual dramatics for “Part B”. I feel like it’s...it’s hard to describe my feelings about B, I’ll just say that.

Also thank you for putting up with my drawn-out chapters (I always feel like ‘the side of Ham that wrote the other 51′ when it takes me chapters and chapters to get from point A to point B. But I also love character studies and what makes people tick so that’s my lame reasoning behind it. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

In this part, the pre-brunch ritual is thrown off and it makes Angelica uneasy...

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Loud disco music blares through the closed door. The third door from the staircase; twenty-six steps from the stairs, straight across the hall from the bathroom. It’s the second-largest bedroom in the Schuyler mansion only to their parents’ master bedroom, and lately it’s become more of a dressing room. Peggy is the beneficiary of it all, a senior in high school with her sister’s bedrooms empty while they’re away. She doesn’t use them, per say, but the youngest Schuyler liked to think she’d be crazy to deny herself the opportunity of two ‘walk-in closets.’

               And although she often claims Eliza’s style is too preppy, and Angelica’s too business, there’s often an Instagram photo or a moment on Skype that brings the two older sisters barreling to her door. Eliza will ask for her clothing back. Angelica will demand. But the best part of having her older sister’s bedrooms out of use for the better portion of the year is when they do come…Angelica’s room, because it is the largest, has been transformed more into a ‘ready room.’ It’s the latest addition to the ritual of Sunday brunch, the girls arriving at the first signs of morning with coffee and duffle bags stuffed full of supplies.

               First they’d sit around the breakfast nook, Laurie the chef having prepared an array of pastries the night before, knowing of the serious light which Sunday morning brunch was painted in this family. The girls would chat, catching up in a more filtered light. Laurie was a gossip; they’d discovered that truth when she’d told both Paul, the driver and Elena, the housekeeper, about Angelica’s first time. (Luckily the story hadn’t gotten back to their father, but oh boy did Angelica ream her out for that one).

Peggy also often used this ritual as a regular addition to her continually-updated Instagram story; clothing strewn over every surface, the three huddled close and leaning over Angelica’s vanity, the occasional 3-part harmony to a Beyoncé classic…it was a ritual that had become loved by America nearly as much as it was by the sisters.  

Today is no different. Peggy Schuyler rolls out of bed (7 am is unreasonably early for a Sunday, she always argued) to a barrage of social media notifications; people getting ready for the weekly update on the sisters they looked forward to with such anticipation. She runs a hand though her unruly, sleep-mussed hair and yawns, jumping in the shower. By the time she finally gets out she can already hear Angelica’s voice. The oldest Schuyler is the continually eager and early to Peggy’s regularly late, so when she barrels down the stairs in her usual leggings and large sweater combo Angelica rolls her eyes, teasing. The only difference to the day is that Eliza hasn’t arrived yet.

The oldest and youngest Schuylers set out their clothing for the day, draping dress choices over Angelica’s queen-sized bed and helping each other choose which might be the best look. Angelica’s gaze flips back to the clock. She watches as the time ticks away. It’s 8:30. Eliza still hasn’t arrived.

Peggy notices the change in the air of the room and turns from her place at Angelica’s closet. Her sister’s rapidly dialing numbers on her phone, pressing it to her ear as she paces around the room. One ring, two rings….Eliza finally picks up on the third ring, her voice soft and guarded. She immediately puts her on speaker phone, gesturing to the youngest Schuyler.

Betsey’s using her ‘phone voice.’

There’s something to be said about conversations had through the phone; for one, Angelica finds that it is almost easier to discern somebody’s honesty through the phone, if she knows them. When John uses his phone voice with her it’s lower, slower...calculating. Typically, it’s when he’s waiting to bring up a difficult conversation. Peggy’s loud, voice turning higher pitched and sweeter than her typical sarcastic tone. She uses her ‘phone voice’ to sweet talk her way into things, or to pretend she hasn’t done something they both know she has. But Eliza…

Eliza is honest; always honest. Angelica has heard her subdued, stoic timbre only twice in her entire life. Once, when she was eighteen and Eliza fourteen, she’d called her little sister in early September to catch up on their new lives apart. She’d just gone off to college, leaving Eliza fending for herself in her first year of high school. Of course, Angelica worried. And of course, her little sister didn’t want her to be worried. So when she called for their nightly chat that second week of school, she immediately noticed the change in her sister’s voice-which caused her to break down crying on the phone. Some kids she didn’t know had been teasing her about being adopted into wealth.

Angelica skipped her afternoon class the next day to dismiss her middle sister from school, linking arms with her and marching straight toward the gaggle of awkward, stone-faced freshman. All it took was one look from the oldest Schuyler to set Elizabeth’s year right. Nobody messed with a Schuyler sister without hearing it from her.

The second time…the second time is more difficult for Angelica to remember, only because she wishes it would be wiped from her memory. She’d called on a Thursday morning, when she was twenty-two and Eliza was eighteen, nearly nineteen. Her sister had just moved in with her boyfriend-much to Angelica’s dismay. She’d only given a slight nod of approval at the forward direction of the relationship, feeling a bit uneased about the man who was her age and not her dear Betsey’s. He was mature, sure, and yes that’s what Elizabeth needed. Angelica wasn’t sure that he was completely right for her. But this was her kind, sweet, trusting middle sister. She needed approval. She needed her older sister’s support.

When Eliza picked up the phone she practically whispered her greeting…her breathing was obvious and slightly ragged, as if she’d been crying. Angelica fed her small-talk questions to analyze her voice, wondering why she seemed so off. It wasn’t until she heard James on the other line that she’d began to put the pieces together. It wasn’t until Eliza rushed her off of the phone until it hit her.

Maybe, if she’d realized things sooner, Angelica could have done something more.

So now, on this Sunday morning where she’s twenty-four and Eliza’s twenty, her breath hitches in her throat when her middle sister’s greeting rings through the now silent ‘ready room’ of the Schuyler mansion.

Betsey’s using her ‘phone voice.’

And although Peggy doesn’t quite understand how Angelica can hear the slight differences of voice, they’re there. They’re there in the muted volume; in the slower method of speech. She can hear the rushing of cars in the background, competing with the volume of Eliza’s voice.

…

“Sorry I’m running late, it’s been a crazy morning.”  Eliza holds the phone close to her ear, burrowing her head further in her scarf as the November wind blows breezily around her. A shiver runs through her body. She frowns, unsure of whether it’s from the brisk weather or the half-a-lie that spills immediately from her lips.

By any other standard of the word it hasn’t been a crazy morning at all; she’d rolled out of bed only ten minutes before, running a comb through her hair before throwing on a pair of sweatpants and toting her bag to the place their driver was supposed to be picking her up. She’d already had to call him, apologetic for making him wait for so long. But it hadn’t been a crazy morning. Not by any other standard.

She would, however, admit that the night had been rough. She hadn’t slept again-had seen every hour on her clock. Elizabeth had tossed and turned, twisting in her blankets until she’d given up on sleeping in her bed completely. She’d tried the armchair, then the sofa in the living room…finally, she ended up on the carpet in the kitchen. No matter where she was, though, the nightmares followed her.

They would start differently; a random scenario her brain would suddenly recall, in vivid and horrifying detail. Sometimes, they were first person dreams. Others, it was like she was a bug on the ceiling, watching a horror movie tailor made to her own personal terrors. And everything felt so real, so shockingly real, that she’d wake up to run her hands up and down her arms, her legs, checking to see if any damage had really been done.

Stop crying. Don’t be so pathetic. You’re stronger than this.

But she wasn’t-she isn’t. Elizabeth Schuyler, waking up in a cold sweat and running a hand over the scar in the center of her chin. She hadn’t been strong then and certainly, she supposes as she attempts to shake the nightmares away once more, she’s still the same person she had been; Weak. Frail. Mentally and physically afflicted by the personal tornado that had been her relationship with James Reynolds.

And then, the kicker; in the early morning hours, when she’d finally felt like exhaustion would carry her into a dreamless sleep, her phone began to rang. 6:30 a.m-Alexander. She’s let it go to voicemail. He actually leaves her a voicemail. She rolls back over without listening to it.

6:45 a.m. Voicemail. 7:20 a.m. Voicemail. The call at 7:56 wakes her from a particularly bad nightmare, and she wipes beads of sweat from her face as she pushes her hair back, fighting to keep her eyes open and the lump in her throat at bay. This one, she considers answering. But then there are flashes-moments from her dreaming hours that come flying back through her conscious mind. She denies the call from even coming through.

Sorry, Alexander. Late for brunch-Calling back later. x.

It’s the best response her mind can formulate right now, through shaking hands and thumbs just barely grazing the keyboard on her phone. She feels awful.

She feels even worse when she finally gets to the Schuyler mansion, apologizing profusely to Paul for making him wait so long while she stumbles through the front door, kicking her shoes off before thundering up the stairs. It doesn’t take long for the raucous disco music to subside; actually, it’s stopped the second the walks through Angelica’s door. Her older sister sits on one of the bar stools in front of her vanity, legs and arms both crossed in a show of…Elizabeth can’t quite read the expression on Angelica’s face. It’s shifting, continually changing as she throws her own duffle bag of clothing and makeup near the bed and pulls her things out to get ready.

For once Angelica’s speechless-part of her isn’t sure there’s a conversation to be had within the slight change of voice she’d heard over the phone. But she also doesn’t want to take the risk of leaving her middle sister alone to her thoughts-she’d made that mistake before. Eliza was too concerned about everybody else to actually ask for help when she needed it. Angelica had made it her job a long time ago to do the talking-and the nurturing. It was her job to shelter the person who took care of everybody else. It was her job to speak up.

She lets the awkward silence hang in the air as Eliza pulls her makeup bag out, finding her seat next to Angelica at the vanity. Peggy turns the music back on, and they fall into a hesitant rendition of their usual routine. Peggy cracks a few jokes. The laughter is forced. The atmosphere is forced. Something feels different about the day, and it sets Angelica to the edge of her seat until finally, as they’re zipping up each other’s dresses, the oldest Schuyler cracks.

“Okay, talk. Tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing’s wrong.”

“That’s bullshit and you know it, Bets.” It’s Peggy who speaks up, throwing the curse word her way before throwing her hands onto her hips. “We know you’re still upset about the James thing,”

“And you have every right to be.”

“I’m tired, alright?” Eliza’s voice comes out somewhere between a shout and a low whisper, cracking on the last syllable as she plops back onto Angelica’s bed. Her dress a mess of aqua colored tight-fitting lace with a flare-out bottom that bunches underneath her laying form. “I’m tired of pretending that everything is alright when it’s not. Alex called me ten times this morning. And here I am ignoring his calls because I can’t bear to pick up the phone in between vivid, horrifying nightmares to hear him tell me how happy he is with me. Because eventually I’m going to tell him and it’s all going to end and then what?”

“And then none of that is going to happen.” Peggy’s quiet, placing an arm gently on her sister’s knee before she and Angelica flank her on either side. The sisters lay on their backs, heads touching as they grasp for each other’s hands. For a moment they let their middle sister just lay with them, basking in the familiarity and comfort of each other. And then,

“Girls, the car is waiting for us.” Phillip Schuyler yells up the stairs to his daughters. All three take in a collective sigh before rising from the bed. Angelica threads her arm through Eliza’s. Peggy does the same. They show up to brunch like this, managing a bright-eyed public profile as they’re escorted to the rooftop of the Waldorf Astoria. But then there’s a moment-a photographer Angelica recognizes. She gives Peggy a silent alert.

The published photo shows the Schuyler sisters, New York darlings, dressed up for their weekly brunch. Elizabeth Schuyler does not look at the camera but her sisters do-in fact, they look directly into it. And it’s a familiar, alarming look-Angelica’s eyes are narrowed and darkened. Peggy’s grip is tighter. It’s a solidarity, and they’re directing it right at someone they know will publish it.

And for once, Angelica can’t wait to see this one on the news stands-for him to see it.

[mcdouglecompany-blog]

Young Americas Foundation Playlist “OnlyatYAF” Part 1

Young Americas Foundation Playlist “OnlyatYAF” Part 1

  Young Americas Foundation Playlist #onlyatYAF Part 1.

Watch the entire playlist at-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f66gLxD1zws&list=PLGC1Vd9mQlVNqyoYKScry44JJg6X4zEXq

  Watch more #onlyatYAF videos every day! Click now to connect with us on Facebook: http://facebook.com/youngamericasfoun...

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NICE TRY: Matt Walsh deftly DESTROYS liberal myths about abortion & adoption

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