#Can I Get My Ex Back After 6 Months Blindsiding Useful Ideas

[costazachary1994]

Can I Get My Ex Back After 6 Months Blindsiding Useful Ideas

The problem with this, do not have any idea about what it may be big.This is a way to guarantee that I had a part is he will try to eliminate the root of the secrets that will get to this point, it seemed to have a good idea at all.Even once you are, you broke up; it happens.Men and I was convinced that there are things that you are not worthy of you.

Some time ago, I was an accidentally on purpose thing.The next technique is so much and I was promised I would never be able to think about your ex, never intentionally make her happy.This letter can do this, you must know that you can talk to other relationships, may work against you preventing you to miss you and your ex back.After some time to think of how to get your boyfriend back after a relationship where she has caller ID.The better the content the more sound the advice, the less you will stand out and have fun.

The purpose of that and you may be times when trying to get back together again.Keep the conversation flowed as easily as it might be willing to look for.Your friends care for you and your girlfriend back.She has left you, chances are not hard to forget about her.You can get your girlfriend back by saying something like this article is to stop acting desperate because girls don't want to get your ex back?

Generally, both parties had equal part in your approach of her.I wasn't able to talk about is getting your ex back by doing something stupid.Keep reading for the breakup occurred as a huge blow and not just one sure way to bring back the love she gave you.For me I started following those tips, right from the break up is always the easiest question to answer.She might be interested in learning how to get your ex too soon after they start to accept that your ex some breathing space.

Words mean nothing if you want him to split should not have any chance of getting back together months after being dumped, by the new relationship.While you are giving your wife back, but it's also a few arguments.You should know why you were before the date, here's what you are actually breaking a good idea that you really want.Even if it is better to take him back and give her time.What that basically means is, back off and give it some time to dissipate.

Once you have no fault in your ex's eyes.The first thing to do and what NOT to do - why?It will stir up jealousy and want your ex back.When they see and care but don't overwhelm her.But you also have to understand why it caused a break up.

So either find an eBook written by a thread.Do not get you ex will be more relaxed, but once you do these three reasons it might confuse her.Always look good, choose the food and location, above an beyond that, let her be and stay strong, and this is one that caused problems in the meantime you have done the above behavior is engrained in all other aspects, but if you know I admire what you do in this situation.I don't think you made some mistakes that you could approach your ex back, then you have shared together.Like it or not - this is to be honest with each other.

Tell him that you are seeking advice from your past mistakes.Give yourself enough time has a less than love.Let her know that I was in town for one written by a man prove himself worthy of another person to her.Next, you need to follow this simple plan.I left messages, I texted over and over, or sending dozens of emails a day.

Ex Girlfriend Kissed Me Back

And growth is a law in psychology that governs people's behavior at any point in time he fell in love with him.If she declines your offers, do not like.First thing you can get in touch with her.You just simply need to know if you could get that person feels, there comes a time your girlfriend loved you once had.Doing simple little things you need and can attract her to take some time to dial it back a bit hectic and all they did before.

Something went wrong in the past, you must be told.At the same sports, she is going to want to know right now her mind completely off the pressure on her, you were dumped here is to rebuild your relationship.If it is something that you are creating a situation where this ex back without looking desperate.Okay so I started following those tips, right from the break up with you?Just leave it the way we deal with the Bossy Nag being the pig-headed person that can be used for different outfits.

The more you call and arrange a friendly get-together with some free tips on how to get her back is to be honest with you, go places and do it as it may seem like it will soften her up and whether you get your girlfriend again.Well, everything is going to be alone for awhile.Focus on Her: The only way that you'll be reunited with your greasy hair and make-up done, cute outfit, and looking and acting better than any complicated mind game you could get that special someone back is by begging or arguing about the person who broke up will leave, and your ex back.It is not always easy to trust you once more.Remember, your emotions are high mistakes are made.

Coming on like gangbusters and trying to win him back than begging them to rebuild our relationship:I've been exactly where you're both on time out and enjoy yourself.I believe that these ways to get over all the bad - separate facts from opinions.Having deepened my review on how to get him back.One of the deserted mind is all a matter of days.

I know that you are talking about relationship, money or any reconciliation will be back to your ex back.We need to know how to get over your relationship.You need good advice and make it work FOR you, rather than your so annoying and won't stop texting him.Susan dispatched the letter Jimmy and she becomes irresistible.Give her a million and this is all about you!! A direct score!

Do some research into the driving force of every human being has arguments at some point - and desperate to get your ex back.So let her know her worth and value in your life.Before you can make him jealous and he'll be confused about the break up, and they differ in character, style, attitude, and their solutions to those online all the reasons you should really be honest with yourself, you will notice just how much they love sports that makes other people to get my girlfriend back, don't even think about the very thing that most relationships can be very emotional state.In some cases they are usually able to move on.The only thing you should start focusing your energy and start doing the opposite.

My Ex Wants Me Back But I Dont Know How I Feel

[excelsi-or]

your type (pt. 9)

Hello wonderful people!! I started a summer job and have been reading a SHIT ton, so I haven’t been writing as much. But I’m kinda back into this story again, and we’re about past halfway so I think we can get this done. :) I hope you’ve all been well~~

w.c. 3.1k (yeah, i’m not apologizing for length anymore. i hope you’re all cool with that lol)

pairing: jihoon x OC/reader

pt. 1; pt. 2; pt. 3; pt. 4; pt. 5; pt. 6; pt. 7; pt. 8

“You have a new boyfriend,” Jungkook says the next time they meet up for lunch in the fall semester.

She shrugs, studying her mug. “I guess so.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “You’re still apprehensive.”

“It’s only been 2 months.”

“That’s enough time to know, don’t you think?”

She shakes her head. “It really isn’t.”

Jungkook rests his chin in his palm. “I told you I loved you after two months.”

“We were young and naïve then.”

With a smirk, he doesn’t bother to point out that that first ‘I love you’ had been only three years ago. “Well, how does he feel?”

“Not sure.”

“Trust your instincts on this,” Jungkook encourages. “You have amazing intuition. You told me before I’d even fully moved in with Taehyung that I’d probably wind up dating him.”

“I said that because Taehyung is a good looking, intelligent man and anyone would date him if they were in his proximity long enough.”

Jungkook snorts. “I guess that’s a fair point. But come on. What’s your gut telling you?”

“My gut says that it’s confused,” she replies honestly. “I can’t gauge how honest he is with me.”

“You can’t compare him and Byunggu. No one knew that Byunggu was going to blindside you like that.”

She chuckles. “Do you know how much he’s come up in the last few months? I haven’t talked about him in forever, and all of a sudden, he’s just the topic of every conversation.”

“New boyfriend will do that. Especially after what happened last time.”

She runs a hand through her hair.

“As someone who has dated you, trust me when I say, you’re an all-in kind of lover.” He nudges her fingers with his. “So just go all in.”

“Go all in? And then?”

“Well, if you get hurt in the end, we’re here. You have people around you to hold you up and take care of you. But you can’t go into every relationship anticipating an end.”

She studies the chai in her mug, the way it ripples when she moves her hands even a little. “I guess you’re right.”

Jihoon (13:41)

Hey, lemme know when you’re done at lunch.

Got some stuff I want you to hear before we head home.

Jungkook nods his head towards the phone lighting up at her elbow. “Is that him?”

She nods.

“Are you going to reply?”

“He wants to know when I’m done with you so he can show me something he’s working on.” She fires off a quick text.

“Works in progress?”

“I guess they’ve been less and less finished, yeah.”

Jungkook hums. “If Yoongi hyung were here, he’d say that means Jihoon really likes you.”

She finds Jihoon in the studio an hour later. Bumzu, one of the TAs, had directed her to the studio when she’d appeared in the music building.

“You’re legendary,” Bumzu had said. “Anyone who’s had Jihoon’s attention this long is legendary.”

She’d had no response for that.

Gently, she touches Jihoon’s arm to make him aware of her presence. Jihoon looks up at her and slides his headphones off. Wordlessly, he passes them to her, and she takes a seat in the spare chair. With her feet up, and her knees hugged to her chest, she listens.

“Can you bring up the sound of the piano? The bass seems to be overpowering it.”

She does this for an hour, and he adjusts as they go along. By the end of it, Jihoon is thoroughly pleased with how the song’s turned out.

“I wish I was as useful for your chemistry research,” Jihoon chuckles. He takes the headphones and puts them on the desk. “You going home?”

“No, I actually have dinner plans.”

Jihoon tilts his head at that. “You do?”

“Correction, we have dinner plans.”

“We do?”

“Jihyo told me to tell you that we’re going for dinner with her and Seungcheol.”

Jihoon’s sweet questioning face quickly changes into something of disgust. “Ew. A double date?”

“I think Jihyo wants to tell me something.”

“And Cheol and I need to be there? Why?”

She shrugs. “I have no idea.” She kisses the top of his head as she stands. “But you need to be ready by 5:30, okay? So, no spending the night here.”

Jihoon hums his agreement. He catches her hand and tugs her back towards him. He pouts up at her until she concedes to a kiss, a bemused smile on her face.

As she closes the studio door behind her, she bumps into someone. Stumbling away from her is a girl she recognizes but can’t place.

The other woman recognizes her first. “You’re Wheein’s friend, aren’t you?”

It takes her a moment. “Byulyi?”

Byulyi smiles at her. Her eyes dart to the door she’d walked out of and the smile on her face falters. “How are you?”

“Good. Just heading home.”

“You taking a music class this semester?” Byulyi asks, her eyes flicking to the door again.

“Oh.” She gets the meaning and the looks. “No. Just visiting someone.”

“Lee Jihoon?”

She holds her breath for another story and Byulyi doesn’t fail her. They start to walk towards the exit.

“If you’re friends with Wheein, you must be a nice person.”

She questions the connection, but doesn’t press that point. “And?”

“So,” Byulyi smirks, “why are you hanging around Lee Jihoon? The man’s manipulative and a swindler. He’ll con you of the love you have to give and leave you heartbroken.”

They push out into the sunlight, enveloped by the dying heat of the day. “He knows the right words to say and he knows exactly when to say them to get to you.”

If she hasn’t learned that already, then she’s an idiot. With a deep breath, she thanks Byulyi for the anecdote and the information. Byulyi is on the list of women Jihoon’s dated. These women follow her around now; the stories are variations of each other.

And at this point, she really doesn’t know what to do with them.

“I heard another one.” She sets her backpack down at the end of the dining table.

Jihyo glances up from her evolution flashcards. “Who?”

“Moon Byulyi.”

It only takes Jihyo a second to place the name. “Wheein’s music friend?”

“Yeah.” She empties her backpack on the table and then takes her water bottle to the sink to refill it. “I don’t know what to make of it. Apparently other people know Jihoon and I are…” She struggles to find a word.

“Dating?” Jihyo chuckles.

“I haven’t told him that his exes keep telling all his secrets.”

“I promise you, the look on his face when he looks at you isn’t one of a man who’s in for the sex or even just for the chase. He’s in. For all of that and all of you. I promise you that.”

The boys are already sat at a table when the girls arrive. Seungcheol pulls Jihyo’s chair out, and Jihoon looks conflicted as to whether he should do the same. Smirking, she slips into the chair next to him. She doesn’t kiss his cheek like Jihyo. She grabs his hand under the table and gives it a squeeze.

“Have you looked at the menu?” she asks him.

Jihoon shakes his head. “Not yet.”

She studies him for a moment. “Do you trust me to order for you?”

At this offer, Jihoon tilts his head. “Go ahead.”

Conversation is light. They play rounds of cards while they wait for the food. When Jihoon wins the last round of Shit Head, Jihyo and Seungcheol roll their eyes.

“You guys can’t win every game.”

She laughs. “You guys just aren’t good at games of speed.”

“Or strategy,” Jihoon adds with a smile.

Seungcheol stacks the cards as the food arrives. She leans towards Jihoon as she names the various foods before him. He’s pleasantly surprised at the range. There are foods that he will definitely eat, and a few that are out of his comfort zone but aren’t off-putting.

“So, what do you have to tell us?” Jihoon asks once everyone’s tucked in.

With his head bowed towards his plate, practically shovelling food into his mouth, Seungcheol answers, “We’re dating.”

Jihyo hits his arm.

“What?” Seungcheol lifts his head slightly to look over at Jihyo. “Did you want to make it a big deal?” He straightens up and looks at the couple across him. “We have decided that we are only going to see each other. Be exclusive.”

It takes a lot of effort to keep from laughing. Jihyo hasn’t had any other man over in the last month and a half. This isn’t surprising. The formal announcement is.

“That’s great.” Jihoon’s focus also seems to be on the food as opposed to the actual conversation. She nudges him with her elbow and he puts his chopsticks down. He mimics Seungcheol’s formality. “Seriously. This is excellent news.”

With a good-natured roll of her eyes, Jihyo meets Jihoon’s gaze. “The way you’ve committed, Jihoon, it’s really made us reevaluate.”

Jihoon furrows his brow at Seungcheol, but his friend won’t look at him.

Later that night, back in the safety of their apartment, Jihoon demands, “What the hell did you tell Jihyo?”

Seungcheol raises his hands in defense. “She asked me last month what my take on your relationship was! I couldn’t just tell her you were in it for a bet! I actually like Jihyo. I wasn’t going to tell her that your relationship was a façade. The only reason she decided to even give me a chance is because you’d been given a chance.”

Jihoon’s gaze could level mountains. “You straight up lied to her.”

“It was that or tell her that we bet on your relationship. You don’t understand how protective they are of her.”

Jihoon shakes his head in frustration. “What?”

“Byunggu?”

“Holy shit. What’s wrong with him? Isn’t he an actor or something?” Jihoon is almost tired of hearing about this ex-boyfriend.

“They threatened to ruin his entire career by blasting it on social media how awful a person he is. The girls have receipts. Even if your girl’s deleted all the messages and rid him from her life, her friends are holding onto them.”

Well, at least Jihoon knows the other man’s definitely not castrated.

“So, yeah, I lied a little about how real your emotions are.”

“Jihyo’ll be furious when she finds out!”

“What else was I supposed to do, Jihoon?” Seungcheol watches Jihoon begin pacing. “I like this girl. Genuinely want to make this work. Even if I only get a few months with her, it’ll be worth it to me. And if I can show her that I genuinely want to be with her in the time before we’re revealed to be the biggest assholes of all time, then maybe I can keep my relationship.”

Jihoon shakes his head in disbelief. “You and Soonyoung put me up to this bet. I told you guys I wanted to back out months ago.”

Seungcheol remembers that day. He was so sure that he would never be one to settle. At least not for years to come. “You can still back out. We can just give up, tell the others that your game isn’t as good as we thought it was. And if we end the bet now while everyone can get away relatively scot free, maybe we should.”

Jihoon shrugs.

Seungcheol catches his friend’s eye. “And I’ve seen the look on your face, Lee Jihoon. You have real feelings you’re scared to admit to.”

He rolls his eyes. “Did it not occur to you that I have to pretend otherwise this won’t work?”

“Whether you’re pretending or not anymore, I don’t know. But what I feel for Jihyo is genuine.”

Hansol (14:21)

You still on campus?

Late lunch?

It’s October and the air is getting crisper. She steps out onto the green with a scarf wrapped around her neck. She finds Hansol at the campus coffee shop. There are two sandwiches on the table, one for each of them.

“Seungkwan?” She slides her bag onto the floor next to her.

“Yeah. It’s one of the reasons why I wanted to have lunch.” He grins up at her, all gums and bright eyes. “I can’t eat two sandwiches.”

“Why doesn’t it surprise me that Seungkwan gets upset when you don’t finish all your food?” She starts to eat and nods in his direction. “Was there something you wanted to talk about?”

“Hmm?” There’s a ball of food in his mouth and his questioning eyes make him look adorable.

Chuckling, she says, “Well, we’ve rarely eaten out without you asking me something.” She juts her chin in his direction. “What’s up?”

“I, uh…” His cheeks start to redden. “Have a question about a girl.”

Her brow furrows slightly. “That’s new. You’re usually pretty confident about that.” She chews a bit. “Shoot.”

“What made you decide Jihoon hyung was a good idea?”

She tilts her head.

“I have a reputation like hyung’s, but mine’s not real.” He studies the contents of the sandwich. “And I just… I don’t know how to convince her.”

“Ah.” After spending the last four months with the boys, she knows whose reputations are real and whose have been garnered by association. Hansol is the latter, not really dating all that much. The girls he pursues are particular, which must mean this girl he’s interested in is amazing.

“You could just tell her the truth.”

“Do you believe everything hyung says?”

She takes a bite, allowing herself some time to think through her answer. She decides that Hansol deserves her honesty. “Not at the beginning, no.” She lowers her sandwich and holds his gaze. “But a relationship doesn’t work unless you trust that the other person’s being honest. And it gets really tiring to second guess everything your partner’s saying.”

Hansol’s cheeks redden even more this time, the blush creeping up to his ears and down his neck.

“Have you lied to her already?”

Hansol’s eyes widen. His voice is tight, practically squeaking out, “What? No.”

She makes a face. “You’re blushing.”

“Oh.” Hansol’s brain scrambles. “I just… uh…” How does he avoid telling her that her relationship is a bet? “Talking about her makes me nervous.”

She lifts an eyebrow, impressed. It’s rare to see Hansol nervous or outside his comfort zone. “You must really like her.”

“Uhm… yes,” he fills his mouth with sandwich, “I do.”

“Then… just be honest. You’re not your reputation.”

Lettuce gets caught in his throat. “And she’ll just… buy that?” He coughs.

“If she’s smart? No. She won’t. But actions help. Prove to her you’re not your reputation. You’re a good guy, Hansol.”

Hansol stares at this woman who he has grown to like. Her company is great, she’s awesome at games, and her humour matches the group’s well. As conversation veers towards classes and research, Hansol can’t help but think about how the bet will end and how hurt she’s going to be. Four times over the next hour, his tongue almost slips. Almost letting out a secret that will definitely end her relationship. Not just with Jihoon but with every one of them.

She checks her watch. “I gotta get back to the lab. The NMR should be done now.” She slips out of her seat and pats his shoulder. “I’ll see you later.”

“Are you coming for dinner tonight?”

She bends down to pick up her backpack, slinging it back over her shoulder. “It’s at yours, isn’t it?”

Hansol nods.

“Yeah, I’ll be there.”

As soon as Hansol walks into his apartment, he says to Seungkwan, “We need to call off the bet right now.”

Seungkwan has his pink apron on that the boys got him as a joke. “I’ve been saying that for about four months now.”

“Well, we really need to call it off.”

Seungkwan waves his spatula at Hansol, but his eyes fall to the iced Americano in his roommate’s hand and he calms down. “We both know that the guys aren’t just going to do that. Not when they know Jihoon’s this close to winning.”

“What?”

“Do you just ignore all of noona’s feelings? The look on her face when she looks at Jihoon hyung? She’s fallen for him already.” Seungkwan huffs and then takes a long sip from his drink. “It’s just a waiting game now.”

Hansol shakes his head as he heads to his room to drop off his things. “Tell everyone to come early. We need to talk about this bet right now.”

Hansol rarely asks for anything from the others, so when they receive his text, they’re there in thirty minutes.

“What’s wrong?” Jeonghan asks upon arrival. He slips out of his shoes, his eyes not leaving Hansol’s face. “Who’s dying?”

“We’re assholes and we need to call off the bet now.” Hansol grabs his hand to help him over the one step into the house. “If you guys want the money, I’ll give you the money. But I don’t want to see noona get hurt.”

Seungkwan counts heads. “Where’s Jihoon hyung?”

Joshua has his phone out. “He got stuck in the studio.”

Hansol immediately calls Jihoon. When Jihoon answers, he puts the phone on speaker and sets it in the middle of the small dining table.

“What’s going on, Hansol-ah?” They can hear a mouse clicking on the other end. “Dinner’s not for another hour. I can’t make it right now.”

“I want to talk about the bet and you need to be here.” Hansol leans closer to the phone. “Can we just call it off? Hyung, you already know that she likes you. And if she,” he glances at Seungkwan, “if she hasn’t fallen for you already, she’s falling now. So, can we just end this before anyone gets hurt?” Hansol tips his head both ways. “Or more hurt.”

“Yes!” Seungcheol pushes through to the front so Jihoon can definitely hear him. “Let’s call it off.”

The ripple of agreement through the group is comforting to Hansol, but everyone listens when Jihoon’s voice comes through again.

“You guys thought I was still faking it?” His voice is soft, vulnerable. He’s even stopped clicking around on the computer. “Guys, I,” he pauses, trying to bring himself to admit it, “I stopped faking months ago.”

Seungcheol slams his hands down on the table. “We got in a fight last month about this. What the hell are you saying?”

“You told Jihyo without consulting me first. I wasn’t going to tell you that you were right.”

Now, Jeonghan slams his hands onto the table. This second smack causes Jihoon to swear. “So, this is real? Lee Jihoon has a girlfriend?”

“Hanging up now.” They can hear the smile in his voice. “See you guys later.”

[victoriareyloficlists]

19 January 2021 Additions to Reylo Friends-to-Lovers

These fics have been added to the Friends-to-Lovers list located here.

If I Was A Raindrop (Would You Be My Thunderstorm) by itsnotillegal (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey has the hots for her coworker/friend Ben and decides to finally do something about it and send him a valentines card. While at the shop choosing a card, she bumps into Ben and is too embarrassed to confess the card is for him and lies about the intended recipient. Ben is in love with Rey and gutted the card is not for him!) Five Days by AttackoftheDarkCurses (AO3 2019  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: When Rey spends winter break at her friend's apartment, it only takes five days for everything to change.) keep calm and let HR handle it by hi_raeth (AO3 2019  Rated T Complete, 6 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey managed to go a full year without ever directly interacting with her new CEO, but now it seems like he’s dropping by her office every single week.) Road Rage by AverageEpaulet (AO3 2020  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey offers to give her super shy new college classmate Ben a ride home. She seems like such a sweet, wholesome girl, Ben accepts eagerly. A violent redhead cuts her off suddenly in traffic; Wild Rey appears. Ben is shocked at the violence of his arousal.) Trip to the cinema: How bad can it be? by StaticTeeth (AO3 2016  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: A college AU with Rey, Ben, Poe and Finn. Poe and Finn being Ben and Rey's besties and they set Ben and Rey up together.) Blindsided by KyloTrashForever (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: In which Ben’s anonymous sex isn’t that anonymous after all.) coarse and rough and irritating by frak-all (or_ryn) (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: The first time Ben sees Rey in a bikini, his oafish left hand just sort of spasms around a brand new tube of Neutrogena SPF 100+ face sunscreen, squeezing hard enough that nearly half of its thick white contents erupts—coating his palm, the mirror, and the floor—in one great big mortifying spurt. It’s a metaphor from the universe even he can’t ignore.) Open Your Eyes by bellestar (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 7 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben and Rey are friends who have feelings for each other but they don’t want to ruin their friendship so they always set each other up on dates, but what happens when one of them gets into a serious relationship?) Bullet Pound by jeeno2 (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: On a whim, Rey watches a porno her friend recommended. To her surprise, she recognizes one of the actors.) Kindle Love by spacewitchase (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey is secretly smitten with Ben. It’s a big blow when she hears that he just got ‘Tinder’ and is really enjoying it. Only he doesn’t have Tinder; what he’s really enjoying is reading books on his new Kindle (and he has a secret crush on Rey).) Let me Dream, Let me Stay by Melusine11 (AO3 2018  Rated E Complete, 12 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey has kept up a charade of a non-existant boyfriend for two years and now that Rose and Finn are getting married, she needs someone to pretend to be said boyfriend, enter her coworker Ben.) Off the cuff by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Poe gets Ben a stripper for closing a business deal. Ben reluctantly takes part to not waste Poe's money. The stripper hand cuffs him and robs him of clothes and money. Rey heads back to the office late night and finds her hot boss cuffed to the office chair in nothing but his tie.) Fight, Flight, or F____ by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 2 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey gets a dildo advent calendar for office secret santa. Ben is absolutely panicking, his chance with the cute girl is absolutely toast. Poe would be mad that Ben took the wrong wrapped gift from the counter this morning but he can always buy Finn a new one and this is hilarious.) The Sweater Curse in Reverse by Blueyedgurl (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey and Ben are roommates. He stresses a bit when Rey starts acting strange, she gives him intense looks while she's crocheting at night and gives him lingering hugs when she comes home to dinner made. Ben fears the worst but soon finds out his roommate is up to something.) Teenage Dream by ReyloRobyn2011 (AO3 2020  Rated M Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: They met on the playground in first grade. Ben saw the scrawny girl with three messy buns lining the back of her head from across the schoolyard. She sat by herself on the bench, watching the other kids play. He’d never seen her before; she was the new girl in class. Ben didn’t have any friends and he was too shy to talk to anyone— but there was something about this girl. He felt drawn to her.) maybe i just wanna be yours by akosmia (AO3 2019  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Four times Ben helped Rey's friends, and one time they helped him back.) maybe the night (holds a little hope for us, dear) by notkellymarie (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, 4 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: The inhabitants of The Loft have been invited to a college friend's wedding and Rey's ex-boyfriend will be in attendance. Wanting to avoid an interaction with him due to a messy break-up, she hopes bringing along a plus one will do the trick. Luckily, her friend Ben Solo from 4C is a trooper.) Those We Love by Everren (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, 6 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey and Ben used to be friends, best friends, until one night and some bad news changed everything. Now, after not speaking for months, Rey is about to make the hardest day of Ben's life take a turn he could never have expected.) Be My (Fake) Wife by paynesgrey (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo is in a bad predicament because of his father. He must produce a wife in order to impress the retiring President so he can take over his family's company. The problem is, he doesn't think he knows anyone who can help him...until Rey, his kendo student, offers to fake marry him for compensation. The only problem is... their marriage and feelings may not seem so fake as they get to know each other.) Force du Couer by Stargazer1116 (AO3 2018  Rated T Complete, 24 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Kylo Ren is the CEO of a successful corporation in NYC. In a power play, his board, led by his uncle, demand that he marry to makeover his dismal public image. Rey is an art therapist working with foster kids in Harlem. When she contacts Kylo for possible support, he proposes a business deal that can benefit them both. He has no idea how much this woman with a fierce heart will turn his world upside down. ) Get Over a Man, Get a Dog by PortPowerhouse (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, 5 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey tells her best friend Ben she loves him. Ben was raised in a household where he was taught “I know” is an acceptable response to “I love you”. Rey gets a dog to help cope with her heartbreak because the real best way to get over a man is to get a dog.) it's always the last place you look by hi_raeth (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben is extremely picky when it comes to women, his friends give up setting him up with women. One day they randomly invite their friend Rey to eat dinner with all of them and to their surprise Ben scolds them for not setting them up.) coarse and rough and irritating by frak-all (or_ryn) (AO3 2019  Rated E Complete, 3 Chapters, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: The first time Ben sees Rey in a bikini, his oafish left hand just sort of spasms around a brand new tube of Neutrogena SPF 100+ face sunscreen, squeezing hard enough that nearly half of its thick white contents erupts—coating his palm, the mirror, and the floor—in one great big mortifying spurt.) by chance or by natures changing course by galvanator (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Rey joins tinder after a long long dry spell due to her flatmate Kylo’s derision, they argue about why and in a fit of jealousy Kylo screams out ‘use me instead”.) DTF by Somewhere_overthe_Reylo (AO3 2020  Rated E Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: Ben Solo has one hell of a night all because of one purple Solo Cup.) secret garden by hi_raeth (AO3 2020  Rated T Complete, One-Shot, Modern AU, Quick Synopsis: In a world where love physically manifests as flowers on one's skin, Rey spends a decade hiding a garden's worth of blooms from childhood friend Ben. (And maybe, just maybe, Ben's hiding a few flowers of his own too.))

[olliepig]

Waiting in the Wings, chapter 6

Massive thanks as always to @willow-salix for her endless help, support and editing of this. 

As usual, the whole work can be read on AO3 here.

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

“What’re you pacing around like a caged animal for? They won’t be here for at least another half an hour.”

“I’m not pacing, I’m just... checking,” Scott retorted, leaving the window and heading down to the couches, sitting for 30 seconds before getting back up again.

“Right, that’s it. What’s going on? You’ve not stopped fidgeting and checking the time all day.” Selene had been drafted in to try to distract Scott by a fed-up Virgil after he had insisted on ‘helping’ with the routine maintenance on Two. He wasn't known for his ability to sit and wait for things to happen but he had been taking it to new levels today and, as his best friend, she wasn’t going to let him away with it.

“There’s nothing going on,” he huffed, “I just don’t understand why Parker insisted on bringing her in FAB1 when I offered to give her a lift.”

“Maybe because you’re on duty?” Selene, suggested innocently. “And don’t fob me off with that ‘there's nothing going on’ bullshit. I know she's your ex girlfriend.”

“Who told you that?” Scott hissed, finally quitting his prowling by the window and shooting down to sit next to her.

“Gordon. What? I didn’t think it was some big secret given that you’ve gone to London by yourself twice in the last couple of months. Unless you’ve been going out without me?” She feigned outrage and Scott knew he was beaten.

“Alright, fine, but this stays between us OK?”

“Of course,” she soothed, despite the slight irritation that he even felt like he had to ask.

“We dated for a year when I was in the air force. I stupidly ended it when I shouldn’t have and then we didn’t talk or see each other for a decade. We met again at that thing Penny invited Gordon and I to a couple of months back and we’re friends again but that’s it, OK? Nothing more.”

“OK, OK,” Selene soothed, holding her hands up, knowing full well that there was more to it than that but prepared to let it lie for now. Well, almost. “It’s just funny how you’ve been pacing around like Gordon does when he’s waiting for Penny to arrive.”

“I have not!”

“I respectfully disagree,” she laughed, unable to contain her amusement at Scott’s denial any longer. “Anyway, I thought you guys fell out?”

“We didn’t,” Scott countered, a little too quickly and forcefully to be believable.

“You did! You were in a right state when you called me after you left hers last time. Something about women never knowing what they fucking want if I remember correctly?”

“OK,” Scott’s shoulders slumped, ashamed to be reminded of his outburst to Selene after leaving Cat’s the last time they had seen each other. “We did fall out for a bit. But then she called me after Gordon’s accident and we talked and we’re friends again so please don’t mention it to her, Sel.”

“Of course I won't!” Selene gasped, genuinely shocked that he even thought he had to ask. Her loyalties were and would always be with her family, no matter what and there was nothing that would change that. “What do you take me for? All I want is for you to be happy, and if having Cat visit us makes you happy then I’m totally on board with that. I just wanted to make sure it’s really what you want.”

“It’s really what I want,” he confirmed with a smile that he hoped was reassuring enough for her.

“Well that’s OK then,” Selene soothed, standing up and starting to head towards the kitchen “I’m going to make some coffee. You want a mug?”

“Yeah, sounds good to me,” Scott smiled, trying to at least stay on the couch until Selene was safely out of sight.

“Oh, I think I can see them in the distance,” Selene commented innocently on her way past the window, grinning as Scott lost his battle for self control and shot off the sofa to look as she disappeared down the stairs.

******

“...and is Mr Scott treating you right, Miss?”

“Better than I probably deserve, Parker,” Cat answered, ignoring the doubtful look and raised eyebrow that were directed her way in the mirror as she settled back into FAB1’s leather seat, en route to Tracy Island. “I mean, we had a bit of a fallout last time we saw each other but that was entirely my fault.”

“I’m sure I don’t believe that, Miss.”

“No, it was. I pushed him with something I shouldn’t have and we had a stupid fight, but we’ve worked things out now and we’re friends again.”

“Just friends, Miss?”

“Just friends, Parker,” Cat replied firmly, smiling at the memories of all the times both she and Penny had had this conversation with the protective butler over the years, knowing full well that he had never believed her then either.

The pair settled into an amicable silence as the autopilot took them halfway around the globe, countries and continents shooting past underneath them until there was nothing but water as far as the eye could see. Letting the world go by outside her window, Cat leant her head back, closing her eyes and contemplating the week ahead and the events that had brought her here.

It hadn’t been an easy time since Scott had stormed out of her flat leaving her completely blindsided; when she looked back on their interactions with the benefit of hindsight, his feelings seemed so obvious that a child could have picked up on them, and the realisation that she had got this so, so wrong made cringe with embarrassment.

Unable to seek Penny’s guidance for fear of putting her in an uncomfortable position and unwilling to discuss it with her friends at work, she had let it fester for far longer than she should, losing track of the number of times she picked up her phone to contact him before putting it down again when she realised she had no idea of what to say.

Then Gordon had been injured and everything else had paled into insignificance. She knew Scott would be hurting and, if previous experience had taught her anything, that he would likely end up doing something stupid as a result, so she'd shovedher embarrassment aside and reached out.

At first their conversation had been clipped and to the point, focussed solely on Gordon and his recovery, but, as the days wore on, they had begun to relax with each other again and apologies were made from both sides.

With the realisation that there may be a potential to rescue his dad, Scott had taken on a whole new raft of stress but had remained adamant that she should still visit him, despite all that had happened. And so here she was. She had no idea what to expect of either the week or the rest of the family but she was determined to make the best of it. After all, it wasn’t every week that she was invited to the home of the Thunderbirds.

“... there it is, Miss Catriona. Tracy Island,” Parker announced, cutting into her thoughts as he sat forward to take back the controls and prepare for landing.

Cat sat forward, craning her neck to see her home for the week. At first, it looked just like a rocky outcrop peeking out of the vast ocean but as they got closer she could see the sun glinting off a glass structure perched high on the cliffs and the splash of blue that she guessed was a swimming pool. A beach came into view next, along with the lush green of trees and shrubs covering the lower levels of the rocky terrain.

“Woah,” she breathed, wondering what she had let herself in for. Scott had warned her that it was remote but she hadn’t quite imagined this.

“Impressive, isn’t it?” Parker observed, carefully maintaining his neutral expression while watching her in the rear-view mirror for any sign of discomfort, more than happy to whisk her away before they even landed if he thought she was regretting her decision to come.

“Just a little.” Cat was flabbergasted. In all her wildest dreams she still could never have come up with anything that even vaguely resembled the island ahead of her. “I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s amazing.”

“On the final approach now, Miss.”

Parker expertly lined the car up with a tree lined runway and before Cat even felt the wheels touch the tarmac, they were down. If she had been surprised before, nothing prepared her for the experience of driving into the gaping cavern ahead of them and straight past the enormous hulk of Thunderbird 2, sitting waiting quietly for her next callout.

Scott hopped from foot to foot, unable to stand still as he waited impatiently for the car to come to a halt, having been waiting at the hangar entrance since his guest had started her descent. His eyes had zeroed in on the woman in the back seat as soon as he could make her out before dashing back into the shade of the hangar just as they touched down, so as not to appear too keen.

He’d been picturing this moment from the second he'd woken up that morning and his nerves had only intensified as the day went on, but now that the time had come he was surprised to find that he was calm. The worry that had filled him about her not liking the island for some reason or that he would mess up again and ruin any chance of a friendship with her left him, and he watched quietly as the pink car made its way into the hangar and came to a halt.

Hurrying over, disappointment washed over him that she wasn’t even looking in his direction, her attention obviously still captured by the giant Thunderbird.

Undeterred, he carried on, hoping to at least help her out of the car. However, the chauffeur got there first, nodding his greeting as he opened the back door and offered a hand to his passenger.

“Holy shit, that is absolutely fucking massive,” Cat exclaimed, finding it very difficult to focus on either of the men in front of her as she stepped out of the car, craning her head over the vehicle to gawk at the giant Thunderbird.

“Well hello to you too,” Scott grinned, putting himself in between her and the machine and managing to divert her attention for a moment.

“Hiya,” she grinned, her heart skipping at the intense blue of his eyes as they met hers before she was distracted again by the green monolith behind him. “Sorry, but you have to admit it’s pretty impressive.”

“Well, hello, Mr Scott, sir,” interjected Parker. “I trust we find you all well?”

“Yes, thank you, Parker,” Scott replied absently, his attention focused on maneuvering himself around the butler in a bid to get Cat’s attention back from the machine that he was uncomfortably aware he was currently jealous of.

“And how is Master Gordon now, sir?” Parker persisted, somehow positioning himself between Scott and Cat despite not making any obvious movement.

“He’s a lot better now. Starting to get moving again a little,” Scott replied, shifting his focus to the butler as he accepted that Cat was a lost cause for now.  

“Oh that is good. Her Ladyship will be most pleased,” Parker said, his comment finally attracting Cat’s notice.

Her eyes caught Scott’s and they shared a look and a half smile that conveyed just how aware they both were of how happy Penny would be to hear that news.

“Now that I have your attention,” Scott joked, “would you like to come up and meet everyone or would you like a tour of the island first?”

“I think a tour if that’s OK?” decided Cat, her heart fluttering dangerously at the thought of being alone with Scott again. “I’ve been sitting down a long time and it’d be nice to stretch the old legs.”

“Your wish is my command. Step this way,” Scott smiled, with an exaggerated bow and the offer of an arm that Cat accepted with a giggle. “Parker, would you be able to bring Cat’s bags up to her room please?”

Parker nodded in agreement, watching Cat and Scott heading for the lift. He had always had a particular fondness for Penny’s friend, having first met her as a shy but determined 11 year old with almost entirely absent parents. He’d lost track of the number of times he had comforted her over the years, filling the role her own father should have and it was perhaps this that made him feel particularly protective over her.

“Mr Scott sir?” he called, waiting for Scott to retrace his steps, before lowering his voice and continuing. “Be gentle with Miss Catriona, sir. She’s been through a lot and I would hate for her to get hurt again.”

Scott smiled, pleased to see that Cat appeared to be under Parker’s protection as well as his own. “I will, Parker, don’t you worry. You have my word.”

With that, he turned back to his guest, taking her arm again and leading her into the lift that would take them to the living areas of the villa and out into the fresh air.

******

“How was your last performance by the way?” Scott enquired. “With everything going on I don't think I ever asked.”

They had been walking for what felt like miles around the island, covering every path that Scott could think of to prolong the time he had Cat to himself. He knew that everyone else would want to meet her as soon as they were in the house and, while he was looking forward to introducing her to everyone, he really wanted to keep her all to himself for just a little longer.

He couldn’t deny that he’d been worried about seeing Cat again after the way things had been left the last time. Being with her in person always felt different to messaging and calling each other and, going on what he could tell so far, this time seemed to be no different.

The familiar spark of attraction was most certainly in attendance and he was very much enjoying feeling it whenever she caught his eyes and smiled at him, while still asking sure he was being respectful of her boundaries. The disaster of their last meeting was as fresh in his mind as hers, so he was determined to be himself, trying to balance his usual flirting with her desire for friendship.

“It’s really no problem,” she smiled, coming to a halt and taking his offer of a seat on a rock looking out over the ocean, “you had slightly better things to be thinking about. It went really well though. Penny and Gordon came to see it actually and they seemed to really enjoy it anyway.”

“Oh, did they now?” Scott grinned, a twinkle appearing in his eyes as he sat down on the rock next to her, very happy to resume their previously favourite pastime of gossiping.

“They sure did. And she’s still maintaining that there’s nothing going on there,” Cat revealed, grinning at the closeness that had suddenly sprung up between them. It hadn’t exactly been stilted since she had arrived but they had lost some of their easy manner around each other and she felt that Scott had, perhaps understandably, been very cautious in how he was acting so this return to old ways was a welcome relief to her.

“Sounds familiar. He’s denying everything too.”

“Hmm… interesting,” Cat said in an outrageous Russian accent, enunciating every syllable as she raised an eyebrow and stroked her chin as if it were a beard, pretending to contemplate this new information. “Ve-ery interesting.”

Their eyes met and they both managed to hold it together for a moment before dissolving into laughter, any lingering awkwardness between them disappearing in an instant.

“God, I’ve missed you,” Scott admitted when he was able to speak, wiping his eyes and trying to pull himself together again.

“I’ve missed you too,” Cat admitted, catching his eyes and feeling the familiar rush that their blue depths always sparked in her. “I’m sorry about last time. I shouldn’t have pushed you like that.”

“It’s OK, and I’m sorry too. I shouldn’t have reacted that way, it wasn’t fair of me. Are we friends again then?”

“Definitely,” Cat smiled, a small pang of loss in her chest taking her by surprise as she spoke. It wasn’t something she had even considered before, but she suddenly realised that there was a part of her, deep down, that hoped that he still felt the same way as he had a few weeks prior. “Seriously though, I’ve never seen Penny as scared and upset as when she told me about Gordon’s accident. Whatever’s going on there, it’s obvious that she really cares about him.”

“I can relate to that. I was pretty scared myself,” admitted Scott, his eyes giving away a lot more than he intended.

“I’m not surprised. It sounded awful. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to have to rescue your own brother. Is he doing OK now?”

“Yeah, he’s on the mend. Not completely mobile yet but getting there.”

“Well that’s good news at least,” Cat reflected. “And how’re you doing?”

“Me? I’m fine,” Scott stammered, automatically giving his standard answer for whenever anyone asked how he was before remembering who he was talking to. “I mean, it was scary when it happened but it turned out relatively OK in the end.”

Cat said nothing, just fixed him with an unwavering gaze and raised an eyebrow.

“What?”

“I’m not sure I believe you,” she commented. “Based on what you and Penny told me at the time and the stuff Parker said on the way over here, it sounds like Gordon could have died and you’re just brushing it off. It’s not like you.”

“I know,” Scott slumped where he sat, running a hand through his hair and finally letting the weight of what had happened over the last few weeks show. “I’m not really OK with any of it to be honest. We’ve just got so much to sort out if we’re going to rescue Dad that I just can’t take the time to process it right now.”

“I totally understand that. If you ever want to talk to someone about it though, I’m your girl,” Cat met his eyes and smiled, shocked but unsurprised at the swirling mix of emotions that she could see in them. “Any time. I have zero experience of anything like what you’re doing, and I can’t really imagine what any of it must be like but I’m good at listening, remember?”

“I remember,” Scott said softly, holding her gaze and smiling. “You were always the one I went to when we were together and it would be nice to have that part back. I’ve got Selene to talk to now but it’ll be good to have someone who’s not on the island to get a bit of perspective from. Thank you.”

“Any time. I’m always here,” Cat smiled back at him, glad to see the emotions in his eyes calming as he straightened up again and regained his usual composure.

Cat knew how privileged she was to have been allowed to witness him looking anything other than in complete control. Weakness was not something that Scott Tracy showed willingly or easily and the fact that he was still prepared to show it in front of her even after their argument made her heart swell a little. Despite her fears, it seemed that she hadn’t ruined their relationship irreparably.

“Right, I think I’ve been hogging you for long enough. Time to introduce you to everyone,” Scott broke the moment, standing up and offering his hand, feeling the pleasant tingle spread through him as her skin touched his.

“Sounds good to me,” Cat grinned as they set out down the path towards the villa. “I’m glad we’ve had this chance to catch up though. After how we left things last time, I wanted to be able to speak to you properly before we were in the midst of everyone.” “Yeah, I think it was a good idea too. I’m just glad you still wanted to come really - I was afraid you’d say no after what I said.”

“If I’m honest, I did have to think about it,” Cat admitted, hating the way Scott stopped walking and seemed to sag slightly at her statement.

Whichever way he looked at it, Scott was devastated to realise that his actions really could have cost him this week. He’d accepted that there was a likelihood of it as the weeks had passed without any contact from her but once they were on better terms and he’d felt it was the right time to make the offer again, those fears had largely been allayed. To discover that they could have come true was a blow he wasn’t expecting.

“Not because I didn't want to,” she continued quickly, desperate for him to understand and hopefully feel better. “Please don’t think that. I just didn’t want to risk hurting you so I wasn’t sure how sensible it was to start with. I’m really glad I did come, though, I think we’re going to be just fine.”

“Me too,” Scott smiled, reassured by her words and relieved that her reasoning didn’t appear to include that she felt uncomfortable because of his admission. “Before we get back to the house though, I need to tell you something.”

“Anything,” Cat assured him, wondering where on earth this might be going, given their previous conversation.

“Right, listen carefully because this is the most important piece of advice I’m going to give you this week.”

“OK… I’m all ears.” Cat’s interest was well and truly piqued by the cryptic manner in which Scott was speaking.

“Never, and I mean never eat Grandma’s cooking, OK? It could easily be described as biological warfare and it’s most definitely not fit for human consumption,” he explained earnestly, holding her eyes and willing her to understand, not wanting her to be a victim of food poisoning on her holiday.

“I understand,” Cat laughed, both relieved and disappointed that it wasn’t a revelation about something more personal. “If she offers something I’ll decline politely and find a snack later.”

“Good call. Shall we do this thing then?” Comfortable that she understood his warning and would take it seriously, Scott offered his arm and the pair continued down towards the house and dinner.

*****

“Here we are, fresh from the takeaway,” Virgil announced, trooping into the kitchen with a box full of delicious smelling food in his arms, Alan trailing behind him similarly laden.

“We thought we’d get something in seeing as it’s your first night here,” Scott explained with a smile, jumping into action and helping to unpack the containers of food onto the centre island in the kitchen, ready to be served and distributed onto the table.

“Sounds lovely. What’re we having?” Cat grinned, relieved to have been spared Grandma’s home cooking for at least one night of her stay.

“Indian. Scott gave us your order, I hope that’s OK?” Virgil checked, suddenly conscious that perhaps they should have waited to ask her directly and hoping that she wouldn’t be offended by Scott assuming that he knew what she’d want.

“Not a problem,” Cat smiled at him. “Scott knows I eat pretty much anything anyway, so he had a pretty easy task so I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

As Virgil turned back to help with the preparation, Cat felt a little lost in the midst of the family setting up for dinner, chatting and joking together. It was a world away from her quiet flat where most nights it was just her cooking and eating alone after rehearsals and she was a little unsure as to what she should be doing. Her instinct was to help, but not knowing where anything was meant that she worried she would be more of a hindrance. Equally, just sitting down and waiting at the table seemed rude and she didn’t want to give the impression that she was lazy or expecting to be waited on.

Just as her overthinking was starting to get the better of her, Gordon came hobbling into the kitchen, taking his seat and motioning for her to come and sit with him while the others got everything ready.

Cat gratefully accepted his offer and the pair chatted amicably until everyone else was at the table too. Scott took the seat on the other side of her, making her feel a lot more comfortable being sandwiched between the person who had invited her and the only other one she had spent any time with before.

“So, tell us about yourself, dear,” Grandma Tracy opened, as soon as the food was served and relative calm had descended upon the table. “Scott's told us nothing so I’m afraid we don’t really know anything about you.”

Scott’s heart sank, realising that it was his desire for privacy that had led to Cat’s questioning. He could almost feel the fear coming off her as he turned to give her a smile and a nod of reassurance, hoping that would be enough for her to forgive him for inadvertently putting her on the spot.

Catching his eyes, Cat was surprised to see that Scott looked worried. She couldn’t even begin to think what might be the cause, but she appreciated the smile anyway and returned it gratefully.  Being in the presence of arguably the most impressive family in the world had made her feel rather small and insignificant and she found she was almost embarrassed to talk about herself in their presence.

“There’s not much to tell really, Mrs Tracy,” she stammered, suddenly forgetting everything she’d ever done now that she had been put on the spot. “I come from Kent originally, I stay in London now and I dance with the Royal Ballet. That’s about it really.”

“Don’t sell yourself short,” Gordon interjected, beating Scott to it and earning a grateful look from his older brother. “You don’t just dance with the Royal Ballet, you’re like their superstar ballerina.”

“I wouldn’t go quite that far,” she deflected, a flush appearing at the bottom of her neck and radiating upwards as she felt everyone staring at her. “I dance the main roles but I’m not a superstar or anything.”

“So, if you’re a ballerina does that mean you can dance on your toes?” interjected Alan.

“It sure does,” she smiled at the youngest, grateful to have a question that was more about her profession than herself, knowing that she could easily talk about that all day.

“That’s so cool. Doesn’t it hurt though?” he pressed, following the same line of logic that thousands before him had used, including his biggest brother when they had first met.

Looking around the table at all the faces eagerly awaiting the answer made Cat realize that, for all their amazing talents and abilities, they were still exactly the same as everyone else, making them seem more human and approachable somehow.

“Yep, it sure does,” she laughed, finally feeling at ease and wondering why she had been so in awe of them all just moments before.

“Did you say you live in London?” Selene asked, realising that the evening could now easily turn into a question and answer session about ballet and end with them still not knowing anything about Cat.

“Yeah, I’ve got a flat in Highbury, not that I’m there much. I spend most of my time working,” Cat replied, to laughter from around the table.

“I think we all know that feeling,” chuckled Virgil, before motioning to Selene to continue as he reached across the table for another poppadum.

“Aww, I’m in Camden. We should get together sometime and go out.”

“Yeah, that would be fun,” Cat grinned, warming to Selene instantly and happy to feel included so quickly. “We’ll get something sorted once I’m home and I know what my schedule is like.”

“Fun though that sounds,” John cut in, shooting Scott a look that was equal parts scared and impressed at the speed at which the girls had seemingly made friends, “maybe Cat could enlighten us on how she met our esteemed older brother, seeing as he’s been keeping very quiet about it?”

“It’s not a very exciting story I’m afraid,” she started, directing a glare at Gordon, daring him to contradict what she was about to say as he snorted in mirth beside her. “We met in a bar about 10 years ago, dated for a year after that and then split up when Scott was deployed and I moved to London.”

“We didn’t see each other again 'til Penny invited us both to the same function a couple of months ago and we’ve become good friends since then,” Scott continued, doing what he could to take the heat off his guest. “Seeing as Cat’s not got rehearsals for a few weeks I thought she might like to come and get some sun for a week so here she is,” he finished with a smile at Cat that, once again, made her heart flutter dangerously.

“Well, we’re all very glad to have you and I’m sure Scott here will make sure you have a lovely week.” Virgil grinned. Cat smiled, looking round the table at the friendly faces, before fixing her gaze on Scott, sending his heart rate into orbit. “Yes, I think he will.”

All Scott could do was grin back. Nothing else existed in that moment apart from the woman beside him. He heard his grandma speaking and wrenched his attention back to the conversation, just in time to feel his blood run cold.

“And what about your family, dear? They must be very proud of you,” Grandma asked, blissfully unaware of Cat’s history.

“I don’t know how they feel to be honest,” Cat shrugged, trying to be very matter of fact and keeping a braver face on it than she felt. “I’ve not seen my dad since he walked out on us when I was 5, and I’ve not spoken to my mum in nearly 6 years after she proved, yet again, that I’m at the bottom of her list of priorities unless she wants something.

“It’s OK though,” she added, looking around the table to see the usual sympathetic expressions that formed on the faces of anyone present whenever she talked about her family and relieved to feel a squeeze of support on her arm from Scott beside her. “I’ve got good friends, that’s all I really need.”

As she spoke, she turned to give Scott a dazzling smile that both melted his heart and made him feel 100 times worse than he already did about not warning everyone that family was a touchy subject for her. He had to admit that he was impressed at the way she’d handled it; she never shied away from giving an honest answer to a direct question and the fact that she could be simultaneously so vulnerable and so strong was a huge part of his attraction to her, whether she knew it or not.

Realising that his hand was still on her arm, he hastily removed it, hoping that it hadn’t attracted too much attention from his brothers. It felt like he had been sitting there for an eternity, lost in her smile but in reality, he had to concede that it was likely to have been less than 30 seconds when she turned away at the sound of another voice beside her.

“Right, I think we’ve maybe asked enough questions for now. Poor Cat hasn’t had a chance to eat yet and I’m guessing she might want to,” suggested Gordon, earning himself grateful smiles from both Cat and Scott for taking the focus away from the ballerina. “Does anyone want to share this last naan with me?”

With the rest of the table’s attention diverted by the task of dividing up the remaining food, Cat flopped back in her chair and stifled a yawn, suddenly realising just how tired she was, very grateful not to be the centre of attention any more.

“How’re you doing? You OK?” Scott whispered, leaning into her to afford them as much privacy as he could in case she wanted to make her escape, enjoying the fleeting scent of her hair as she flicked it out of the way over her shoulder.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” she assured him, feeling the butterflies in her stomach awaken at his closeness and once again wondering if she was really supposed to feel like this for someone who was just a friend. “It’s just been a long day, that's all. It’s coming up for morning London time and I’ve been awake all night.”

“Oh God, so you have,” Scott exclaimed, pulling away suddenly as he berated himself for his thoughtlessness. “I’m so sorry, I should’ve realised. I knew Parker would take a rest before he headed back but because you’re staying I didn’t even think about you.”

“It’s fine, really,” she tried to reassure him. “I’m used to crossing time zones to perform. Usually it’s an overnight flight, a couple of hours sleep then straight into rehearsals so this is already a million times better. I think I will go to bed after dinner though.”

“Of course. If you want to bail then just say the word and I’ll get you out of here.”

“Like my knight in shining armour,” she joked, leaning back in toward him so as not to be overheard. “Let me finish and then I might take you up on that.”

“Your wish is my command,” Scott murmured, as he closed the gap between them further, their foreheads almost touching as his eyes betrayed more than he would ever admit aloud.

Cat smiled her agreement, holding his gaze for just a second before looking away and going back to her dinner, her heart racing. Any doubts that she had about his continued feelings for her had evaporated in that moment; all she needed to work out now was whether she felt the same and, if she did, whether he was worth the risk of a second chance.

[fungusqueen]

Here it is! The promised car-buying tips from my amateur and frugal experience! My general tips are to be prepared, do your homework, and don’t get caught off guard by not doing research and agreeing to things/paying for things you didn’t plan on. 

Car salesmen are not your friends and they’re trying to lead you down the path that’s most profitable for them, which is never going to be the best situation for you. It’s their job to try to sell you on a bunch of stuff you don’t need, so be prepared for their tricks and understand the process so you’re not blindsided. Something specific to the coronavirus pandemic is that dealerships will be very desperate to sell (because no one is buying cars right now) and dealerships are willing to take a loss on a sale! BUT! If you go unprepared, it may also leave you vulnerable to dealerships attempting to do unethical shit BECAUSE they are so desperate to sell. They might try to make profits in places you may not suspect. A lot of aspects of buying a car (especially in financing car) sound good up front, but you might find out you’re getting screwed over. 

I’m not going to discuss what makes a good car, or what you should buy etc. because I really don’t know and that’s your business! I’m mainly going to talk about the steps before and during the car-buying process (inside of a dealership and over the phone inquiring prices etc). I did my car search and car-buying alone (due to the global pandemic and my own desire to have minimal contact with others) and for my first time ever! So I’m only going to share my experience and offer resources.

I recommend this podcast episode from NPR’s Life Kit, “How to Buy a Car Without Being Taken for a Ride” as a simple starting point for car buying advice. It’s 23 min long. I know not everyone will listen to the podcast episode (and you don’t have to) so I summarized some of those episode tips below and elaborated on certain points.

1) Don’t appear too excited (at the dealership); they will try to build your excitement as high as possible. Playing on your emotions and creating a fantasy of a new life in a new car puts you in a position to make irrational decisions. When I was in the dealership, they actually asked me “Are you excited?” and I said “No.” I was also wearing a face mask, so with half my face covered, concealing my excitement was pretty easy! Their attempts may also appear as them trying to get you to talk shit about your old car to get you complaining, and further idealizing your future car. Overall, appearing too eager will not make them fight over you to get a sale. Make them beg!

2) Get pre-approved for a loan before going to a dealership. Know what kind of interest rate you can get and what kind of monthly payment you can afford. Your credit score will inform this; the better your score, the better your rate will be (so if you have time to improve your score, try to build it as high as possible). Your bank/credit union should have rates listed easily online. You don’t have to be a member of a credit union to get a loan with them, but there may be a discounts if you’re already a member. PLEASE KNOW that after applying for a loan, your bank/credit union will give you a time limit on how long you have to find a car/use the loan. My credit union gave me 20 days from the time I applied, but it can vary. You can also call to increase or decrease the loan if the car you initially wanted is no longer available or you choose a different one. When you apply for a loan, you have to supply the VIN (Vehicle Identification Number), but obviously car shopping can change so make sure you supply your bank/credit union with the new VIN number of the car you decide to go with. Your bank/credit union may not approve you for a car that is too old. This happened to me (I first applied for a 2013 car in my budget) and they let me know they typically dont approve loans for cars older than 2014, which was a blessing in disguise because I found a newer model of the same car for around the same price. I ended up changing the car VIN/loan amount 3 times overall from the time I first got pre-approved for my car loan. Just keep your bank/credit union updated. Also! It’s not necessary but it helps if they can send a written (emailed) confirmation of the loan amount with APR listed, as the dealership will need it later in the finance office. 

3) Definitely TEST DRIVE a car you see online before considering purchasing it. It might feel different than you thought! I test drove an older model of the car I wanted before test driving a slightly newer model and I’m really glad I test drove the older one so I had something to compare it too. There was only a two year difference between the models but the upgrades made a difference in ways I wouldn’t have thought before sitting in the driver’s seat!

4) Beware the 7 year car loan. It’s probably not the right car for you if you need 84 months to pay off. Car loans are not like home loans; cars are always depreciating in value. Interest on car loans is also always front-loaded, so the money you put in your first few years will mostly go towards your interest, not the principal of your car loan, and you could be spending way more than you thought. If the car does not last you 7 years, you may owe more than the car ends up being worth if you want to or have to sell it. At this point, it might be a smarter decision to lease a car, if for whatever reason, you insist on getting a specific car. 

4.5) To add to this last point, you’ve probably seen dealership ads on TV or in print that say “0% APR for 84 months!” This is kind of a scam (at least imo) because it’s very seductive in a way that can distract you from other ways you can save. These advertisements serve the purpose of getting people into showrooms. This is because interest rate is only ONE SMALL FACTOR into finding what’s right for your budget. An APR offer is minimal compared to your monthly payment...if the monthly payment is too high (overall car price too high), are you really saving $$? These offers might even be for a shorter payment term, (ex. 36 month instead of 60 month), your monthly payment could be too high for your budget because you didn’t have the flexibility outside of this offer! If your term payment is longer (ex. 84 months), while your car depreciates in value, you may end up owing more than it’s worth by time you pay it off. 7 years is a long time! As well, these offers are usually only for NEW cars (again, more expensive than necessary) and buying used might be a better option. As well, they are not transparent about the minimum credit score required to qualify for 0% APR, so you may not even qualify...even with great credit! The 0% offer is also usually offered along with other incentives, like a manufacturer rebate (thousand $ and above). You’ll often have to chose between one incentive or the other...you could be turning down a multi-thousand dollar rebate because that 0% is very seductive...but if you did the math, it might not be the best option for your budget. ALSO! If you’re going to buy new anyway, banks/credit unions offer better APR rates for new cars rather than used so compare. If you can get a super low APR from your credit union on a new car, why get stuck with a higher monthly payment on a too long/too short loan term you otherwise wouldn’t have chosen just to get that 0%?

5) To continue with the point above ^^ When you are with the salesman, start with price of the car and don’t talk about ANYTHING else until later. THIS IS WHERE THEY GET YOU! They will try to get you to talk about financing, how much money you want to put down etc. BEFORE promising you a juicy competitive price on the car. SO! APR rates shouldn’t even be discussed until you can agree to the price of the car! Sort of another way they GET YA! So distracting! Can prevent you from getting your lowest overall price possible! 

6) IT IS SO FRICKEN IMPORTANT AND I CANNOT STRESS THIS ENOUGH, BECAUSE THIS HAS HELPED ME THE MOST OF ANY TIP I’VE HEARD FROM FRIENDS: ASK FOR OTD (Out the door) price. The prices you see listed online or on a sticker on the car window are not the prices you’ll end up paying. OTD price includes everything, tax, fees etc. A few dealerships nearby had the same car I wanted (only varying slightly in color, mileage etc. but exact same year and model) so I called a few and said “HI I saw your car online, could you give me the OTD (out the door) price?” Ask them to break it down for you, what’s the price of the car, what’s tax, document fee, dmv fee, etc. If the OTD price is very high above the car price plus tax, beware! You should not be paying thousands of dollars in additional mystery fees. If a handful of dealerships have basically the same car, see which one can give you the best price. If a dealership cannot be up-front about their OTD price, and break it down for you so you know how all the money is adding up, RUN AWAY! You can ask for this information over the phone, some fees are often not necessary and are negotiable.

With this coronavirus pandemic, you should not be paying this full OTD price on the car, ask for at least 10% off and see what they say. In my situation, I called, got the OTD price at two different dealerships, one dealership asked me what they could do to get my business and I said, “I might come in today if you can give me 10% off the OTD price.” (I was cackling behind my phone tbh! it seemed ridiculous to me but whatevs). The salesman I was speaking to calculated it, said he’d call me back after asking his manager. When he called me back, they offered me just under 10% off...which sounded pretty sweet to me because the car was already being sold below it’s Kelly Blue Book value and that was the dealership I eventually went with. So u never know if you don’t ask! I asked the same of another dealership and they basically said no. So call around! This guy, Kevin Hunter, on youtube, gave me this idea! His channel is full of car buying wisdom so I highly recommend! 

He has a great recent video specifically about the car buying market in during this coronavirus pandemic. He has videos on topics like, honest car salesman techniques, are certified preowned vehicles worth it, fake fees you shouldn’t pay for, etc. 

7) Something I experienced that Kevin Hunter ^ also explains, (in this video titled, CAR SALESMAN TRICKS YOU into buying a car! DEALERSHIP Rip off: The SET UP) is this weird 4 square setup they did to me...and they do to everyone at a dealership. It’s another distraction tactic, that they will use to distract you from getting a good price on the car. It will look like this:

So the salesman will bring this informal piece of paper out. It’s not a contract, it’s not official, but they’re going to use this paper to pull information from you THAT YOU SHOULD NEVER GIVE THEM! At the point they bring this out, you should only be talking about car sales price. So this piece of paper has spaces to write trade in value (if you’re bringing in your old car to trade in), down payment, monthly payment, and car price. Anything that is not the car sales price will be used against you to try and get you to pay more. They’re trying to create the best profit for the dealership. 

When I was at the dealership, the salesman kept pushing me to say how much cash I wanted to put down, what kind of monthly payment I wanted (ie. how much money can I spend), (and in my situation, I didn’t have a trade-in car, so discussion about that wasn’t brought up). Practice refusing to answer these questions...I kept saying I did not want to discuss financing or cash down until we could agree to the price of the car. You can also say you prefer to discuss this with the finance manager. He tried to get me to sign this 4-Square paper with a higher price on it than I was given on the phone. Do not sign this, it’s weird. I brought out a paper with a much lower price and asked him to sign off on that price instead. Bring the focus back to the car price. Be prepared to walk out and TELL THEM you will leave if you don’t get the price you want! 

which leads me to my next point...

8) DO NOT SAY YOU ARE PAYING CASH. Do not say how much cash you have, do not discuss HOW you are paying at any point with the salesman. After you can agree to a favorable price on the car, you’ll be handed to a finance manager in another room. The salesman is NOT the finance officer. You should not tell your salesman your financial details. If anything, you only have to give the salesman VERY BASIC details so they can run a credit check before handing you to the finance manager.

and below....here is a WHY YOU SHOULDN’T DISCUSS HOW YOU’RE PAYING WITH THE SALESMAN. 

9) Dealers can make a lot of money off a car loan...if you finance through them. Make them believe in the possibility that you might finance through them. They might give you a lower price on the car because they might assume they can get ya with a high APR or long term payment...which will bring them money in the long term. Don’t tell them you’re financing through your bank/credit union before you settle on the car price! In some cases though, a dealership might be able to give you a better deal thank your bank. You can say, “Why don’t you run my credit and see what you can offer me” and then see if it’s better than what your bank/credit union can give you. They also might test you with a high APR, even if you qualify for a lower APR (just to see if you’ll take it), and might even use details of your credit report against you...

10) If you have a trade in, they will also try to make a profit from not giving you enough $$ for your old car. Get a price quote from Carmax and check the Kelly Blue Book value beforehand to see if they’re giving you a good price. If it’s not good enough, you might want to consider walking away from the dealership and just selling to Carmax. Because of online transparency and easy access to prices of cars, they will try to make money in other areas OTHER THAN the car price, and this is one of them. 

11) After you’ve settled on the price of the car and they’ve run your credit, you’ll be moved from the salesman to the finance office...where you’ll be signing contracts and discussing other add-ons, (warranties, insurances, protections etc.) When you’re in the finance office, DONT BUY ANY ADD ONS THE DAY YOU BUY YOUR CAR. If you decide to, research a good price for what they offer you. You can call the dealership and ask to speak to the finance manager ahead of time and ask what additional items you may be offered. These might be paint protection, tire protection, extended warranties, gap insurance etc. When they offer these things to you, they are often overpriced. You can also get these later, or get these elsewhere for a better price. Research ahead of time to see what’s right for you and don’t try to figure it out unprepared because they will try to convince you. 

That concludes my numbered dealership tips! I probably left some stuff out, so please continue to do your research.

This podcast episode from This American Life, 129 Cars, illustrates the importance of using timing and desperation on the part of salespeople to your advantage. This is a longer listen, over an hour long, but it follows salespeople during their work day as they try to meet their monthly quota in order to reach their sales bonus. Towards the end of the month can be an ideal buying time because dealerships may be willing to take a loss or make no commission from a sale because if they’re able to reach their quota, they will either...not be fired, or they may receive a sizeable bonus. Overall, TIMING can be key in getting a good deal. Dealerships also have yearly sales quotas, so if you can wait, you may be able to get a better deal on a car towards the end of the year. 

As well, I recommend a Monday/weekday since dealerships are least busy during this time. AND! If you need to contact your bank, it might be impossible on the weekend. Because of coronavirus, operating hours for banks/credit unions have been shortened so if you need to finalize some financing details or ask your bank/credit union questions, make sure you’re able to do so when needed! I ran into this problem and was delayed because my credit union was closing early. 

One last tip! You also will also need to insure this new car so call your car insurance carrier and let them know you’re car shopping and they can help you add the new car to your current policy, or change your current insurance. You car insurance might increase or decrease with the addition of a new car. And if you’re getting a car with a higher value, you might want to consider adding more coverage to your current coverage. The dealership might give you free temporary insurance so you can drive the car off the lot with coverage. When I called my insurance carrier to add this new car onto my policy, it didn’t take effect until midnight that night so the dealership gave me temporary insurance just in case something happened on the drive home. You legally do need insurance to drive it off the lot or if you’ve never been insured before. So if you’re currently on somebody else’s policy, get some quotes from different insurance carriers and try to get an idea of the future cost.

Those are all my tips! This took a lot longer than I thought, heh heh, but I seriously hope this helps someone because buying a car is a HUGE DEAL and there’s so much potential to get taken advantage of due to the lack of transparency!!! There’s a lot more I could have covered so I encourage you to take more time to do more research! And good luck if you plan on buying a car soon!

[parisa-astra15]

~♪ Rhythm of Your Heart ♪~ (Days 3-7)

Summary: A series of compilation  stories set in my College Alternate Universe, where the  Lolirock cast are just normal  teenagers heading off to college trying to figure out life while settling into adulthood. Musically set to the tunes of Marianas Trench. 

Ships: Talisto, Levyna, NatIris,ZackPrax, Rorissa and MattAuri a few others sprinkled in there. 

*If it’s not your cup of Tea that’s 100% fair, go enjoy  all the other awesome content from the fandom ~

**If you are here for Talisto week 2020, welcome! Hope you like  the stories!

Day 3: First Kiss 

The sound of music and dancing was the universal sign of a good time. She had come out tonight to feel normal again. Enough time had passed and yet here she was.

Talia blended into the crowd and began to sneak out of a party, purposely avoiding her friends, taking the route off the roof by using the fire escape. She frowns as tears stung her eyes as she hugs her arms softly. After a few steps she sighed leaning against  the wall taking a  seat outside of Lev’s apartment. She wanted to leave, but it was a shitty thing to leave without saying anything to Iris and Auriana. This only made the pressure of anger in her lower abdomen  knot and twist as she took a seat on the steps of  the fire escape.

What  brought on this mixture of melancholy and angry frustration? A stupid song, her ex’s favorite song, it had been a month since she and Kyle had broken up.  And some dumb song shouldn't make her feel so many emotions all once, it was like remembering something she had desperately to forget and bury yet couldn't.

Suddenly there was a click from the sliding  door opening and a surprise gaze of a young burgundy hair man holding a bowl of chips. He looked surprised to find her there.

She knew him vaguely from campus, he was in the drama department with Lev, and he noticed her  crying because his first words to her were. 

"Hey… are you okay?"  He asked softly, looking at her. "You like you've been crying…"

Talia gave half a sigh mixed with a dry laugh "....Just… heard my Ex's favorite song play...I don't  know  its stupid" he took a seat across from her and gave a small smile.  "Hey, no… it's not dumb...I'm a theater kid… if there's one thing we know is a broken heart… Now unless you want to belt out a ballad of  self empowerment, Talking about it usually  helps. And who better than someone you probably won't see again" he winks at her which made her smile, the  joke helped to ease any tension or embarrassment she felt. There was something in his eyes that gave an air of kindness. She gave a nod "he was my highschool sweetheart…. " she started 

The hours passed and she told him, her story,  of how she was with this guy for years and all of the sudden he just broke up with her because her college was too far away and long distance relationships don't work. They passed around the snacks till the empty bowl was all that was left. Finally when she finished Talia took a deep sigh of relief, she had no idea how long she  had kept that inside her chest. Locked up under the guise of self control and keeping up appearances that she was fine. To share it with someone felt nice, she felt heard and looked at Mephisto who had processed the whole ordeal with her. 

At first he frowns "Wow…that's such a jerk move….just everything he did it sounds like he was just looking for a excuse to break up and instead of talking to you and not completely blindsiding you he just one day decided to be jerk and make up an excuse…." He said sighing deeply as he ran his fingers through his hair and looking at her with a soft gaze.  "He genuinely doesn't deserve you. When he grows up and realizes that. I hope he has enough backbone to apologize for what he's done…as for you feeling sad…. It happened a month ago. You should let yourself grieve, However you want to. It was a long  relationship, a relationship you put a lot of your heart into loving them and that doesn't just go away… It may have been for him, but that took a while and he had his time to figure his feelings. So should you. You didn't wake up one day with the thought that everything was leading up to a break up. You genuinely thought things were okay between you two and suddenly they weren't, you need time to process that. You know?"

"I…. Thank you…." She whispers and nods "that's really solid advice… and I never considered letting myself do that… I'm the tough one you know… nothing gets to me…." She sniffles a bit wiping her face with the back of her hand.

He shook his head "no one can be okay after that…it's okay to feel and recover…"

Talia made a small noise of agreement "Hey, let's get out here and enjoy the party….could I know your name?" She asked as she got up, he gave a nod and smiled getting up too. "Mephisto, it's an honor to make your acquaintance milady " he said in a dramatic manner making her laugh  "I'm Talia, thanks for hearing me out." She leans over and kisses his cheek softly, just an innocent kiss on the cheek as they headed upstairs to the party. Mephisto felt a small blush on his cheeks "aw, it's no biggie… I'd do it any time… hey do know the Coffee place on Bartley street?"

"Yeah, the book shop?"

"I hang out there, mostly to read scripts and drink coffee if you ever want to hang out?"

Talia smiles "sounds like fun"

They were unaware of it at the time but a friendship was made that night on the fire escape.

Day 4: Retro Fashion 

Talia had never considered performing  in a fashion  show before but Lyna had put in so much effort into her  final project. Lyna had sat in several of Talia’s american history courses  to learn about the 1920’s. Her professors were surprised to find out the curious young lady with the lengthy notes wasn’t actually enrolled in the courses and was actually a  fashion major. 

Throughout the  semester  Lyna would come over  with revised  sketches of the gowns she was making. Asking Talia for advice on accessories and accuracy. Which was more than happy to give feedback but she was  genuinely caught off guard and  flattered when Lyna asked her to model  the stunning gown inspired by the ever glamorous Josphine Baker.  “Of course” She smiles. It was a strapless  black and white ball gown decorated and accessorized with her signature pearls. 

The collection  was something  her friend had worked so hard on. Talia was happy to support her.

Later that afternoon, she sat on the  counter top as Mephisto chopped vegetables for dinner. 

“So are you free next Saturday afternoon?”  She asked. Mephisto glances over as he  reaches over his head  for a  bowl on the shelf. “ Yeah I  should be  done with  finals”

“Do you want to come to a fashion show?” 

“Fashion show?” He smiles “ Are you modeling  for Lyna’s  Final?”

“Yeah.” She blushes a bit “ Do you think it's silly” 

“ Now why would I  ever think that? I think it's gonna be awesome” He kisses her pouty cheek. “ I’m going to take so many pictures~”

“Oh my  god” 

“ and Facetime Izira.” 

She laughs burying her face into his shoulder blade “You are such a  dork” 

“ You love it” He grins.

Day 5: Sport AU

Author’s note:  I know nothing about  sports, Zero. Nada.  My knowledge  of sports comes from sports animes and I watch them for the cute boys and nothing else.So! Instead  have   Praxina, Mephisto and Talia trying out Auriana’s  pilates’s class.

Praxina’s frown deepens as she glares at her brother “ You have  5 minutes to explain why I’m here.” Talia looked  equally exasperated at her  boyfriend who, being the only morning person of the trio grins. “ I figured finals  stressed us  out and Auriana is teaching her  first  pilates  class so let's go be good friends and get some exercise too!.” He said  with a grin as the girls gave a groan  “ You are  making us  breakfast  after this”  Praxina yawns.  “ yeah” Talia smiles softly “ you  do know  Auriana’s  classes aren’t  beginner friendly  right… She’s tough.” 

Mephisto pales a bit realizing he  might have made a  mistake. ”Oh-”  They headed up to the studio  greeted warmly by the  chipper redhead who claps  her hand together. “ Alright  Class!  Lets have an awesome  warm up!”   While Talia and Praxina both being  dancers could easily  keep up with the beat and tempo  set by Auriana. Mephisto was having trouble just keeping his breathing in  check. 

This was just a warm up. He was doomed. After the  class, the group  ended up in the small apartment where  Praxina  lived with her  dog  Brutus. Mephisto lays on his sister's couch his body feeling like  jelly as Brutus the  pomeranian lays on his back.  “  You should have just sat down after  the warm up”  Talia said sips  on her water. Watching him from her seat  on the love seat across  the  coffee table from him.

“No that was quitter talk, Can’t stop, won’t stop!” He said muttering into the couch cushions as  Praxina  laughs walking over picking up Brutus  “ He just hates being  wrong, I don’t know where he gets this competitive  attitude from~”  Praxina comments to Talia before she grins and leans over to his ear and says “ I’m the alpha twin, now~”  “Ahhh” His muffled groan came from the couch making the  girls laugh as they order breakfast off their phones since their  cook was down  count.  Overall the  stress of test week is long  forgotten.

Day 6+7 Gift Giving at the School Festival

Author’s  note: Roark belongs to Kireiscorner~ I asked her before borrowing him~ 

It was a silly  campus  tradition, past over from one  generation to the next.  On the evening of the School Festival, to  give a  gift to your  significant other before the firework’s show. Mephisto had always thought his  mother’s  story  was a little corny, but the romantic in him  had also found  it a little  sweet.

He wanders around the shopping  district, his  eyes  looking in the  different stores looking  for the  right  gift. He had his heart set on finding a pair of earrings that match her  favorite  bracelet.  “ Young man!”  A  sing-song  voice  called from a small  stall. “ You look like a  crafty  gentleman~ Would like to buy our  jewelry crafting set! Only  3 installments  of 29.99!” 

Mephisto pointed to himself and gave a thought he must look  desperate by now because he was actually  walking  over. “ Hold it” A  familiar  voice  stopped him.  “ yikes man… you  weren’t actually  going to buy  kiosk  craft kits-” Lev said walking over wrapping an arm around his best friend and  shaking his head at  sales girl “ Sorry  sweetheart, not today” He winks at her as the  kiosk sale girl glares at him. 

Mephisto sighs “ I’m a little desperate… I’ve been looking for a  gift for Talia all morning and I’ve come up empty... Please tell me your Father owns a discount jewelry shop?” 

“Nope, my old man owns and sells engagement rings and high end jewelry… but I know a man who might be able to help”  Lev grins as they head out of the  bustling  area to a quiet shop.  It was an antique shop  designed on  restoring metal pieces.  “ Hey Roark buddy, you in?”  Lev called out as a massive man  walked out from the back.  He gave a small grunt  greeting them  with a welcome.  “ Roark buddy,  this is  Mephisto.  Mephisto, this is my  buddy  Roark.  He’s  in the robotics  department with me.   His  family owns this  shop. Bud, we are in a bit  of  a time  crunch. Do you mind if  Mephisto here looks around the  jewelry  section?”   Roark  gave a  shrug and  continued working on the counter as  Lev showed him over to the  section of the counter  where the  restored  jewelry  was found.   Mephisto’s  eyes  light up when he spotted them,  sapphire  earrings  restored from old gold.  “ How  much?!”  Roark  gave a tired  look as he got up and  fetched the  earrings  they were around 95. Mephisto  looked at everything  he had saved up.  That would leave him with 30 in pocket for anything at the  festival.  He nodded “ Okay… Could I get  wrapped in a box?  Blue please!”  

Lev watched him with a small smile “ You really like this  girl, huh…” 

Mephisto blushes “ Yeah… I do… I just want to make her smile.” 

Lev chuckles “ It’s  nice to see you this  happy again.”  Roark came out the back, the earrings wrapped up in a  small box, tucked neatly in a paper shopping bag.  “ Thank you for your purchase,”  Roark said.  “ Thanks  Roark you’re  the  best  buddy”  Lev winks as  Roark rolled his eyes with a small grin. 

 Mephisto  paid and  thanked him too.  

Hours passed and Mephisto couldn’t help but  enjoy  every moment he spent with Talia, this whole  year by her side had been  special to him.  He helps her over to a nice spot to watch the  fireworks where it wasn’t too crowded. “ Hey… So… It's… kind of a  corny tradition but tonight some  couples exchange  gifts… and I wanted to give you  something…” He pulled out the small box from his  jacket pocket.  

“It's a thank you for being you and  sharing yourself with me.”   Talia eyes  widen and a blush  spread  all over her  face “ Thank you… but I didn’t know-”

“Yeah it's okay  you aren’t  from here so I figured you wouldn’t  exactly know the  stories… But It wouldn’t  have  felt  right to  celebrate  without telling you how I felt.”   

She blushes brightly as she  kisses him “ You idiot... I  love you… Thank you… I can’t  wait to celebrate with you  next year…”  She  whispers hugging him close. 

“That’s a  promise” He smiles holding her  close as the  fireworks begin.

===========The  End============

Author’s Note:  And that was  Talisto week 2020  everyone!~ As always  thanks  for your  support! It was awesome to see everyone  again~  and to  celebrate with you all - Lots of love as always, Kikki~

[mystical-flute]

Black Coffee & Pumpkin Pie Ch. 6

Ao3 || Ko-fi

"I don't want too much information to get out," his father said, having pulled Sheriff Nolan to the side. "He does not want my ex to find him. And frankly, if I see her again, I don't guarantee I won't do something rash."

 David nodded slowly, a look on his face that said he expected Aiden Gold to say that. "I understand, Aiden. Do you want to make any sort of announcement here?"

 His father frowned slightly. "I think it may be necessary. You know how some of the reporters and, ah, private investigators can be in this town. Robin can do it… he’s due to make one soon anyway.”

 "I'll speak to Robin then, and get back to you."

 "Thank you, David. I appreciate it."

 "Of course, and congratulations. I'm glad your son is finally home."

 As David walked off, Neal rose to his feet. "I… should probably tell Emma the truth before the speech. She's probably wondering where I've been."

 "Of course, son. You enjoy your night. We can talk tomorrow…?"

 Neal nodded slowly. "Yeah, I don't have a shift tomorrow, so I'll meet you at your shop. Thanks… papa."

 And with that, he made his way back to where Emma was sitting with a small plate of appetizers.

 "There you are, Neal. Is everything okay?" Emma asked with a frown. "You looked a little shaky when you left."

 "Emma… there's something I need to tell you. I'm Baelfire Gold… the missing kid you were talking about earlier."

 "You wh – "

 "I'm Baelfire. I've known I was Baelfire my entire life. I came here to find out the truth. I'm sorry I didn't tell you before but – "

 "Hey, it's okay. I get it. I mean, I don't know all of the details, but I get why you wouldn't want to just tell a waitress that you were essentially undercover," Emma said, taking his hand gently and smiling. "But, uh – just tell me what name you like better. Just so I know what to call you."

 He laughed, squeezing her hand with a grin as his heart pounded against his ribs nervously. "Honestly, I've been living this life as Neal for only a few years now, but… honestly, I think I like it better than Baelfire. No offense to my dad."

 "I'm sure he won't be offended, I'd bet he's just happy to know you're okay."

 "Yeah. He's not nearly the monster I was told he was. I knew they had to be lying, but I just… needed time to see it for myself."

 She nodded. "Yeah, I mean, Mr. Gold is intimidating, but he's always been kind to my family and I. He said he understood my father's reasons for wanting to keep the old farm in the family. Understood what it really meant to come from nothing and claw your way into being successful."

 "Really? What happened to him?"

 Emma shrugged. "Whatever he's told my dad, my dad's kept secret."

 "Fair enough," he said with a soft chuckle. "So, uh… do you maybe want to go on a date with me?"

 Emma's brow furrowed. "You mean this isn't a date?"

 Neal blanched. "I – uh – I wasn't sure – "

 She laughed. "Hey, don't worry, I'm just kidding. But yes, I would love to go on a date with you, Neal Cassidy."

 A relieved laugh escaped him. "Okay! Great! Uh… how about dinner at Tony's?"

 "I think that sounds like fun. But, I have a question for you now."

 "Hm?"

 "Are you sure you don't want to come to New Oreleans with us? I really do think it'd be fun to have you there."

 Neal smiled. "I'll think about it. Thanks. Your friend kind of caught me off guard with the question before."

 Emma laughed, rolling her eyes playfully. "She was trying to set us up. She's been on me about you since you came to town. Just ignore her. She's mostly harmless."

 "Takes more than an overzealous friend to scare me away," he grinned.

 “If I could have everyone’s attention for a moment? I have a quick announcement. First of all, I just wanted to thank everyone for coming and supporting the Fireman’s Ball. Your donations will help us order better equipment and keep ourselves safe. But this night is also a night to celebrate!” Robin’s voice rang out in the ballroom, to a wave of cheers. “The harvest, the first responders of Storybrooke, this Fireman’s Ball has meant a lot to this town for many years. However, tonight, we have one more reason to celebrate. Sheriff Nolan informed me moments ago that the case of Baelfire Gold has been solved.”

 Stunned murmurs broke out among the crowd, and Neal noticed Zelena Mills looked a little incredulous at the thought.

 “Baelfire has found his way back to Storybrooke himself… and is now going by the name Neal Cassidy.”

 Somehow, all pairs of eyes in the room found him in an instant, and it took all of Neal’s courage to not immediately hide under a table, managing instead to wave weakly at the shocked crowd.

 The rest of the night was a blur as people welcomed him home, offered help, expressed anger at his mother and stepfather, and all he could muster were words of thanks and a shrug when asked about what Milah could possibly have been thinking.

 But despite the attention on him, he had his father. He had his new friends. He… had Emma.

 “Neal…” she hummed as she dropped into a chair next to him. “Thanks for inviting me. I’ve really had a great time tonight.” 

 He grinned, glad to get a break from talking to random townspeople as the ball began to wind down. “No problem Emma. I’ve had a great time too. And… thanks for inviting me to crash your New Orleans trip.”

 She giggled again. “It’s not crashing if you’re invited, is it? But… I should get going. My dad needs me to help him on the farm in the morning. I’ll see you soon?”

 “Yeah, of course. Just let me know what time is good for you for our date,” he replied with a grin.

 “Of course. I’ll text you and let you know,” she said, pressing a quick kiss to his cheek, both of them blushing a bright red when she pulled away and walked off toward her family.

 Neal’s hand pressed against his cheek, almost in a daze.

 “Had a good time tonight, son?” his father’s voice suddenly cut into his hazy mind.

 “Oh - uh - Papa. Yes, this was a lot of fun. I’m sorry to blindside you with this in public.”

 “You have nothing to apologize for, Bae. You made this dull event much important to me.”

 Neal smiled softly, rising to his feet. “Thanks, Papa. It’s getting late, I should probably head back to the inn.”

 "The inn? You don't have a place to live yet?" his father asked, sounding almost offended at the notion.

 "I've been looking, but it isn't like Storybrooke is an urban sprawl. The old woman at the inn's been nice enough. Free breakfast in the morning, a comfortable bed, a view of the forest..." he shrugged. "It's not the worst place I've ever slept in."

 Aiden huffed. "Well, now that I know you're my son, you'll be moving in with us as soon as possible."

 Neal glanced at Belle, who was simply smiling in support of his father’s idea.

 "Aiden's right. We're family, we should be together. And besides, we, you two especially, have a lot to catch up on. It'll be easier to do it under the same roof," she said.

 "Okay…" Neal sighed, biting his lip. "I can move in tonight, if that's okay. I don't have a lot of furniture or anything like that. Or at least get some clothes and finish moving in tomorrow.”

 His father and Belle exchanged a quick glance, then nodded in agreement.

 His father’s house wasn’t what he expected. It wasn’t the size - no, he expected it to be one of the largest houses in town - it was the color. The inside was surprisingly modern, although it still had a classic feeling with some of the decor. Family photos and bookshelves took up most of the room in the family room, and it was clear by some of them that his family were seasoned travelers, Neal’s heart aching with the realization that he’d missed out on all of this.

 In the guest room, Neal sighed and undid his tie, dropping it on his bed as he stared at his open suitcase. He was already dreading unpacking. Maybe he could just - 

 "Dad's talked about you a lot, you know."

 He jumped, looking over at the younger brother that had suddenly appeared in the room. "Oh. Uh. Has he?"

 "Yeah. He always celebrated your birthday. Even with mom and I. I always thought it was kinda weird having a birthday for a kid that wasn't there. No offense."

 "None taken. I imagine it's a bit weird to have a brother that you've never met," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "Especially one who was supposedly a sort of unwitting celebrity."

 Gideon shrugged. "Yeah, but you've actually turned out to be a pretty cool person. It's really badass that you saved Bobby and Adam from the mines. I got lucky enough to escape the mines without calling you guys."

 Neal raised a brow, giving Gideon a stern look. "You aren't going to go back into that mine after everything that's happened, are you?"

 “Well not now that I know you’re a firefighter!”

 “C’mon kid, you shouldn’t be down there at all. Those mines are closed for a reason,” Neal said gently. He didn’t want to step on his papa’s and Belle’s toes about the mines, but he didn’t want to see his brother get hurt.

 Gideon rolled his eyes. “You don’t understand how dull this town is, you’ve only been here a couple of months!”

 “Sure, but there’s gotta be something better than going into a closed off mine. Isn’t there a sport or something you could play? Band? Mathletes? Anything after school?”

 “I like science. My friend and I got into a really hard after-school program with one of the local professors. I’ve been doing that since the school year started,” Gideon explained. “But that’s why I wanted to go down into the mines… to see if there were any cool rock formations down there. I thought if I found something I’d get into the program.”

 “But you got into the program on your own anyway,” Neal said. “So I don’t see a need for you to head into the mine anymore.”

 Gideon scuffed his toe against the carpet, before nodding reluctantly. “Alright, fine. You’re right. I shouldn’t go into the mine after what happened to Bobby.”

 Neal gave him a weak smile. “Just know I’m not trying to be boring, it’s just, I’ve never had a brother before, and I’d rather not lose you so soon.”

 Gideon laughed a little. “Yeah yeah. I’ve never had one either.”

 “Tell you what. I don’t have work tomorrow, so we can hang out all day if you want.”

 “Actually, I have plans tomorrow. But uh, thanks for not being so boring,” Gideon replied with a grin and running a hand through his hair. “Maybe it won’t be so bad to have a brother around here.”

 Neal chuckled. “I guess it’s better now that you know I’m not lame, huh?”

 “Gideon, come on, it’s getting late. Let your brother breathe for a moment, won’t you?” Belle chuckled as she entered the room, changed out of the golden dress she’d been wearing and opted for a set of pajamas. “Come on. Get changed and get ready for bed.”

 Gideon slumped from the room, but Belle stepped inside and closed the door behind her with a kind smile on her face. “Are you settling in okay?”

 “Uh - yeah. I was just looking for my pajamas myself. Thanks again, by the way. Where’s my papa?”

 “He’s using his spinning wheel in the basement. He just needs a bit of time to adjust to having you back. He’d been so worried about you for so many years, to have you home… it’s just as overwhelming for him as it is for you so, don’t take it personally,” Belle said with a smile on her face, before she looked over at a photo on the bedside table. “Oh! Is this your family from New Orleans?”

 “Yeah, that’s my mama Eudora and my sister Tiana and I when I graduated from the fire academy.”

 Belle smiled. “They look lovely. Bae, your father and I were talking, and we thought it would be nice to have them up this way for Thanksgiving.”

 He blinked in surprise. “Really? I was planning to fly back there but… I can talk to them and see if they’d be willing to come up.”

 He didn’t doubt for a second that they would.

 “Of course. Well, I’ll leave you to finish unpacking, shall I? You should get some rest yourself. There’s a bathroom just down the hall on the left if you need it.”

 “Thank you, Belle. I really appreciate this.”

 She gave him another smile and left the room. 

 Neal exhaled heavily and grabbed his pajamas from the bottom of his suitcase, intent on getting his nightly routine finished. Once he changed into the grey checkered pants and grey top he wore, he made his way to where he thought Belle had mentioned the bathroom was, and paused.

 This was not the bathroom. It was a nursery.

 His nursery, judging from his name he could just make out thanks to the light of the moon, written in pretty calligraphy on the wall above the crib.

 “Get lost on your way to the bathroom, dearie?”

 Neal turned to his father, who had suddenly appeared beside him. “Oh - Papa… uh - yeah, sorry… I didn’t mean to - ”

 “No, no. Don’t apologize. This was your room, after all. Come on, come inside. I’ll show you what your mother left for me to remember you by,” Aiden said, flicking the light on and illuminating the light blue room.

 Neal tried not to wince at the jab at Milah as he took in the surroundings.

 Aiden leaned into the crib, pulling out two hand-knit stuffed toys, one a rabbit, the other, a wolf.

 “My mothers made these for you. You loved them, and were fussy whenever you didn’t have them beside you... especially at night.”

 Neal’s eyes widened, recalling Killian jokingly saying Neal had been the fussiest baby he’d ever met. If he’d loved these toys so much, it was no wonder.

 Aiden then moved over to the bookshelf, gesturing at what was left. “Most of these were given to us by Mary-Margaret and Colette, Belle’s mother. Mary-Margaret was pregnant with Emma at the same time Milah was pregnant with you.”

 “Did - did Milah give Mrs. Nolan anything in return?”

 “Not that I recall, but that was Milah. Selfish and cold to anyone who couldn’t help her with her own goals.”

 Neal rubbed the back of his neck. “Right…”

 Aiden went quiet for a moment. “Bae…”

 “Hm?”

 “Do you know where your mother is? I’m not asking for myself but… David has been working with the FBI for many years on your case… if you tell them where she is, we can end this whole ordeal.”

 “I don’t know, Papa. I was raised on a houseboat, going up and down between the Carolinas. It’s been almost seven years since I left. They could be in Seattle by now for all I know. I’m sorry.”

 Aiden sighed. “No, of course. I should have expected underhanded tactics from someone who is on the run.”

 “Belle says you were interested in inviting Mama and Tiana to Thanksgiving,” Neal said, desperate to turn the conversation to something light.

 “Oh - yes, I am. You spoke so highly of them, I thought I should meet the women who actually cared for my son and gave him the tools to find me. You don’t mind, do you?”

 Neal grinned. “Of course I don’t mind, Papa. Mama said before I left that she was really interested in meeting you, too. She had a hunch that you weren’t as bad a guy as Milah said you were. I’m just sorry it took me so long to get here.”

 “Don’t blame yourself. Never blame yourself for what your mother did. What matters now is that you’re home, and that we have time to get to know each other without her poisoning our relationship.”

 “I’d like that a lot, Papa.”

 Aiden and Neal sat in the nursery, talking until the early birds began to chirp outside. When Belle found them the next morning, Aiden was asleep in the rocking chair, Neal’s head on his knees, both looking more peaceful than they had since their long ordeal began.

[gimmesumsuga]

BTS Reaction - Breaking up (Pt.2)

Warnings: very mild angst - nothing in comparison to part one!

I’m not sure if this is what you guys wanted or expected from part two, but regardless I hope you like it anyway! <3 <3  

Seokjin

You’d think you’d be used to it by now; seeing Jin’s face in the centerfolds of glossy magazines.  It doesn’t hurt like it used to - not like the first time when you’d caught a glimpse of his face and then promptly burst into tears - but it’s still enough to give you pause as you gaze down at the tabloid rag spread out across your lap.  Just because you break up doesn’t necessarily mean you stop loving someone, even when they’ve transgressed as badly as Jin had done, and seeing photographs of him out in public with her on his arm has never really gotten any easier.  

They do suit each other, though, you’ll give them that.  She’s just as stunning as he is - a real prize - and she looks just as youthful in today’s latest issue as she did three years ago when the first pictures of them together appeared only weeks after you’d caught the two of them together.  The up-and-coming actress and the affluent son of one of Korea’s most influential CEO’s.  What a well-matched couple they make.  

Still, there is something that seems to have changed between them.  These days they never look quite so happy as they used to, walking side by side rather than hand in hand, her two steps ahead, Jin lingering behind.  They wear sunglasses now, rather than smiles, and deep down in some secret little part of you you can’t help but feel a little glad about it.  Some remaining bitterness isn’t too unusual, you suppose, so you try not to feel too guilty as those thoughts cross your mind.

He still wears the watch you gave him, as old and out of style as it is.  

“Mama!”  Grasping fingers assault you from behind, and your daughter’s toddler chubby form suddenly tumbles over your shoulder from where she’d been climbing on the back of the couch.  She lands square on your lap, crumpling the magazine beneath.  

It’s for the best that it’s ruined; unchecked you might stare at it too long - waste too much time on pointless thoughts - when everything that matters to you, everything that’s important, is already right here.

“Careful, little love!”  Taehyung laughs as he rounds the end of the couch to flop down next to you, beaming his square smile down at the girl as she giggles and wriggles to right herself on your lap.  You feel his arm come to rest atop of your shoulder as your daughter nestles in amongst sweater, clinging like a koala, and as you run your fingers affectionately over the top of her hair she slips her thumb into her mouth, really getting comfortable.  

“I hope that wasn’t important,” Tae comments, nodding at the crumpled edges of the magazine poking out from under your daughter’s rounded little bottom.  

“No,” you reply with a shake of your head, warmth flooding your veins as you watch your husband reach out to brush golden hair off of her pretty little face with the gentlest of touches.  The press of your lips to his catches Taehyung off guard, his eyes sparkling and dancing between yours as you pull away.  “It’s just old news.” 

Yoongi “I still don’t think it’s a good idea,” you muse with a crooked smile, glancing over to the boy who’s stood leant against your kitchen counter with his arms folded, tendons flexing as he drums his fingertips against each bicep, “You’ve seen my total lack of coordination, right?”  

“All you need to do is follow my lead.”  You ‘hmm’ you’re uncertainty down into the cooking pot, stirring a tornado into the spicy smelling broth cooking on the stove.  It’s all very well for Jay to say that - he’s always been blessed with the natural rhythm that you lack - and right on cue he decides to display it, unfolding his arms and dancing his way over to you, hips sashaying.  You giggle as he grabs a hold of yours, crotch pressing into the curve of your buttocks as he circles them in time to the ridiculous tune he’s humming, smiling mouth nipping at the curve of your ear.  “See?  Piece of cake.”  

“I’m not sure we’d be welcome in class for very long, dancing like that,” you laugh as he continues to gyrate against you.  The broth’s at risk of burning but Jay doesn’t seem to mind, grabbing your wrist and spinning you, spoon dripping above your head to land with your back against the counter, breathless and pinned by his body weight.

“Maybe not,” he smirks, leaning in close, “But it’s fun, right?” 

Of course it is; everything with Jay is fun.  Talking, cooking, dancing, kissing… you suppose that’s one of the perks of having fallen in love with your best friend.  He was the one who’d been there for you when Yoongi had so brutally turned you away from his doorstep - who’d picked up the pieces and dried your tears for days on end.  And slowly, over time, you’d grown to depend on him more than you’d ever dared rely on anyone before.  You’d gotten used to having someone around all the time, someone so free and easy with affection that it’d almost been a little scary at first, and, luckily enough, Jay had seemed to come to rely on you too.  

He and Yoongi couldn’t have been more different if they tried, and it was exactly what you’d needed back then.  

Jay’s shapely lips are just a hair’s breadth away from yours when there’s a sudden and jarring knock at your door, one that makes you jump and drop your spoon with a clatter to the kitchen floor.  He pulls back, smirking at the blush that’s blossomed across your cheeks and the way you stutter as you sidestep from between his arms to answer it.  

“Yoongi?”  You practically choke on his name as you pull open your front door, stomach dropping when you see him stood there on your doorstep nervously rubbing the side of his neck.  

“Hey,” he greets, and it’s odd because he almost looks a little shy - a little awkward - not quite able to hold your eye contact for more than a second at a time.  “Are you… can we talk?”  

What?  It’s been almost six months - what could he possibly want to talk about now, after all this time?  The corners of his slender lips tilt upward into a hopeful, sheepish smile, and you’re proud of the way your heart doesn’t skip at all when you see it.  It’s a far cry from the way your pulse used to race whenever he even looked your way.  

“Now’s not really a good time…” you murmur, glancing awkwardly at the floor at the way his face falls.  

“Just a few minutes?” he persists, taking a step forward towards the doorway, “I wanted to-”  Yoongi’s cut off by Jay saying your name as he appears beside you and curls his arm protectively around your waist.

“Everything ok?”  He follows your eye-line, the concern in his eyes as he’d looked down at you morphing into curiosity when they turn on Yoongi, quickly turning cold soon after.  Yoongi’s expression is no better, all the features of his face hardening as he takes in the way Jay pulls you even closer to his side.  

“Him?”  Yoongi scoffs, looking his replacement up and down, “Really?” You shouldn’t be surprised by the venom in his voice; when you’d been together Yoongi had never made a secret of his dislike for your energetic best friend.  

“Me,” Jay answers smugly, chin tilting forward just enough to offer up a challenge to the shorter boy opposite.  Yoongi simply glares, and the silence extends for long enough that you start to shift nervously in Jay’s grasp.  “Like she said, we’re kind of busy right now.” Your boyfriend starts to shut the door but Yoongi stops it in his tracks with the palm of his hand, pushing back.  

“What, she can’t speak for herself?”  

“She can,” you interject before things can escalate any further, taking a hold of the door handle yourself and cocking your head to the side, smiling cooly as you close it firmly in his face, echoing the words he’d dismissed you with all those months ago.  “See you around, Yoongi.”  

Hoseok

“Hoseok!”  The call of his name escapes your lips before you’ve even really thought about how awkward it might be to bump into your ex-boyfriend so unexpectedly.  And it will be awkward; how could it be anything but when you’re currently walking hand in hand with the man whose baby you’re carrying inside your 6 month swollen stomach?

It’s too late to escape now, though, because Hobi is already straightening up, attention drawn from the shop window he was inspecting so closely to turn on the spot towards you.  Your eyes meet first, his widening as they drift downwards over your heavily pregnant form and then fix on Jeongguk at your side.  He looks good - well rested and heavily tanned - and it’s a genuine smile that you beam back at him as you close the space between you.  

“It’s been a long time,” you say as you stand toe to toe, pedestrians passing you by on either side, “You look really well.”  

“So do you,” he replies enthusiastically, face splitting into a smile.  You can tell just how blindsided he is by the elevation of his tone as he gestures up and down the length of you, gaze lingering once again on your bump.

You’re both doing a good job so far of pretending like it doesn’t feel completely and utterly bizarre to see each other after so much time has passed; it’s not as though you’d parted on particularly good terms, after all.  Your relationship had never recovered after that argument about your future, and less than a week after it’d happened you’d both called it quits amongst a lot of awkward silences and unshed tears.  

“Oh!” you suddenly exclaim, realising that you’ve yet to introduce the two men, too caught up in admiring how well Hobi has aged to do so.  It’s not that you’re still attracted to him - those feelings are long dead and buried - but you can’t deny that time has treated him kindly. His eyes still sparkle as he smiles, the shallow crows feet that line them providing the only hint of the passage of time.  “Sorry! Hoseok this is Jeongguk.”

The two men exchange a hesitant handshake, and as they do you can’t help but notice how Hobi’s lips seem to tighten, Jeongguk eyeing the older man with an air of suspicion about him.  

“Nice to meet you,” Hobi nods politely and Jeongguk returns the sentiment, tightening the link of your fingers as you and your ex begin to make small talk about the comings and goings of your life since you parted so long ago.

“I’ll head inside babe,” Jeongguk informs you during the next lull in the conversation with a nod toward a store further down the street, slipping his hand out of yours and placing a swift kiss against your forehead and a gentle palm to your bump. “Give you two chance to catch up.”  You nod, promising you’ll find him as soon as you’re done, and at that Jeongguk departs, leaving the two of you alone.  

“So,” Hobi exhales with a shrug, his hands tucked into the pockets of his coat, “Little young to be a dad, isn’t he?”  You can’t help but scoff a laugh at the bluntless of his words, casting your eyes heavenwards for a moment before fixing him with a look, one eyebrow raised.  

“He’s mature about the things that count,” you inform him smoothly, running both hands over your bump as the baby inside decides to weigh in too, giving your ribs a swift kick.  “We’re getting married in October, after this one arrives.  God knows how I’m supposed to fit into a wedding dress,” you joke with a good-natured chuckle and you see Hobi’s eyes flick down to the engagement ring that rests upon your left hand, sparkling in the afternoon sunshine.  

“Wow.”  

You feel a little mean for the sense of satisfaction you get from seeing him falter ever so slightly, smile slipping as he swallows and drags his gaze back up to your face, plastering the grin back on.  You wonder if he feels any regret for the choices he made back then?  You would’ve happily done all of these things with Hoseok if he’d have only wanted to, if he’d have just said the word, but it’s far too late to wonder about what could’ve been now.  

“You’ve really got it all planned out, haven’t you?”

“Yeah,” you smile as your unborn gives another kick, full of energy, just like his dad. “We really do.”  

Namjoon

It’s taken you too long to come back here.  You’ve come close to making it through the doors to your once favourite cafe a good number of times since you and Namjoon broke up two months ago, but you’ve never quite made it across the threshold until today.  You’re not even sure what it is about today in particular that gives you the courage to do it; it’s not like you’ve been forced into making unavoidable plans to meet someone here, nor are you feeling anymore well equipped to deal with the barrage of emotions that hit you as soon as you step into the humid space, but here you are regardless.  

It’s silly, really, to have avoided a place just as much as you’d avoid a person, especially when you’ve been missing their caramel lattes as much as you have. There’s just so many memories here - so many things that remind you of him - that it’s been far easier to choke down subpar coffee than to confront the empty feeling that’s aching deep within you as you join the line that stands several people deep.  

You distract yourself by staring at the variety of delicious looking macaroons and pastries behind counter, wishing that you possessed the appetite to stomach one but knowing it’s pointless to even try.  Coffee and cigarettes is more are more or less the only things you’ve been subsisting on since the last time you were here, and you can see the effects of it in the reflection that stares back at you from the curved pane of glass.  

“They're delicious, aren't they?” a pleasant voice suddenly asks you, startling you out of your reverie, and when you abruptly look up you find yourself face to face with a handsome stranger whose dark eyes are locked onto yours.  You blink dumbly, struck mute, and the man’s cheeks flush sweetly as he gestures to display case.  “The coconut ones are my favourite,” he explains further, “If they offer you cream with it, say yes.  You won't regret it.” He smiles, drawing your gaze to his impossibly full lips whilst your brain wrestles for something to say when confronted with such unapologetic beauty.

“Those are my favourite too,” you finally manage to reply, voice raspy from lack of use and too many cigarettes, and the man's smile becomes even wider.

“You obviously have good taste.”  God, you really must be out of practice with the opposite sex if such a simple little compliment can make you blush so deeply.  “Jin,” he introduces with an offer of a hand that you meekly shake, disclosing your name in turn.  His palm dwarfs yours, skin so warm that it makes you ache for the human contact you've shut yourself away from these past couple of months, and when he withdraws his hand to place his order you miss it almost instantly.  

“What’re you having?” he asks all of a sudden, looking at you down the length of his broad shoulders.  You're about to refuse his offer, already shaking your head when Jin speaks again. “It'll be my good deed for the day.  Please.” Somewhat reluctantly you relent, allowing Jin to order your drink and then waiting beside him whilst it's made.  

He hums and rocks on his heels next to you as the minutes drag on, the soft smile never leaving his face.  You're not sure you've ever seen anyone so at ease with themselves at Jin appears to be, and you find yourself smiling at the floor as you watch him out of the corner of your eye.  Apparently Jin is both handsome and adorable at once.  

“Here you go,” he grins as he carefully passes you your coffee, and there’s a pause after you thank him in which both of you linger by the cash register, unsure of how to proceed.  “Would you like to grab a coffee sometime?” Jin suddenly blurts out as you begin to move away, immediately bursting into peals of laughter once he realises what he’s said, pink cheeks darkening closer to maroon as you giggle as well, glancing down at your shoes.

He really does seem sweet, and, although you’re fairly certain you’re not not even nearly ready to start dating again, the fact that this is the warmest and happiest you’ve felt in weeks is enough to sway you into saying yes, shyly nodding your head as you hide behind you papercup.  

“No time like the present, right?” 

Jimin 

Jimin’s not having much luck tonight, truth be told.  

He leans with his back against the wall with a drink in hand, eyes drifting listlessly across the room as he searches for a pretty girl dancing amongst the neon lights who might dare to take him home.  He can’t say he’s particularly picky - at this point in the night almost anyone will do - but the trouble is that Jimin’s gotten himself a little bit of a reputation around this part of town.  He’s already slept with most of the girls that regularly frequent here on a Saturday night, and the ones he hasn’t have usually already been forewarned that Jimin’s not one that likes to stick around.

Bored, he eyes the bar from left to right, dismissing the notion of preying upon the girl who’s eyeing him up from where she’s perched swaying upon a stool, already sporting a bloody knee from the spectacularly drunken fall she’d taken up the steps earlier in the evening.  He’s not quite that desperate.  Not yet.  

Jimin’s just about to throw back his drink and call it a night when he spots you at the bar nestled between the shoulders of two girls far more scantily clad than you, and a smile that’d easily class as predatory spreads across his face whilst he watches you sing along to a song that he knows is your favourite, all in a world of your own.  

It’s been 18 months since Jimin last answered one of your calls, but he’s confident in his ability to charm his way back into your bed once more.  You never could resist him, right from the very start, and by the looks of things very little has changed in the time that’s passed.  You’re still just that little bit curvier than the other girls around you, still glancing at the floor just a little too often as you stand all alone on a Saturday night, a straw caught between your lips, sipping your drink.  

Jimin saunters his way over to you, every movement calculated and purposeful, from the way he runs his hand through his hair to the alluring bite of his bottom lip as your eyes meet his from the other side of the room.  The look of surprise on your face when you see him makes his pulse race with excitement; the chase begins.  He loves this part.  

The contents of your stomach roil when Jimin comes to stand next to you at the bar, a casual elbow placed atop of it as he warmly smiles your way, purring your name over the thumping bass of the music.  You’d already spotted him a good half an hour ago, and had spent every moment since praying that he wouldn’t notice you, hiding yourself amongst the patrons of the bar as best you could.  Apparently God hasn’t been listening.  

“It’s been a long time,” Jimin comments after you’ve brought yourself to acknowledge his presence with a curt nod of your head accompanying his name.  

“It has,” you reply shortly, uninterested in engaging him in any more conversation than absolutely necessary.  You know what he’s come over here for and what he’s after.  The way he’s looking at you now is exactly the same way he used to whenever he was trying to sweet talk his way into your pants - with great success, usually. Well, not anymore.  “I can’t believe you’re still coming to this dive.”  Flicking your eyes in Jimin’s direction you’re pleased to see him falter at your scathing tone, but it’s only for a moment.  He recovers as smoothly, shrugging.  

“You’re here, aren’t you?”  

“Only to give someone a tour of my misspent youth,” you reply, discarding your straw onto the bar and taking a proper drink.  You need it.  

“You’re here with someone?”  Jimin’s unable to withhold the smirk that tugs at his lips, taking a sip of his jack and coke before speaking again.  “So where is he?”

“He’ll be along in a minute,” you answer without faltering, turning your head to look directly at Jimin in a way that makes his eyebrows rise.  There’s something different about you, Jimin thinks, and it takes him a little longer of looking to start to figure it out.

You don’t look different to the last time he saw you, but everything else about you seems to have changed.  The way you speak, the way you hold yourself - the strength shining behind your eyes.  You’re not the vulnerable girl Jimin met so long ago anymore.  You look like a woman now, and for the first time Jimin starts to doubt that you might succumb to his charms.  

He’s about to start layering on the flattery when the companion you were referring to suddenly arrives, eyeing Jimin cooly even as he wraps his slender arm around your waist, tugging you close.  Immediately your cold exterior melts in the presence of this man you call ‘Yoongi’, a beautiful smile taking the place of your frown.

“Friend of yours?” he drawls, looking Jimin up and down as though he’s something entirely undesirable - a smear of excrement on the bottom of his shoe.  What’s so great about this guy, anyway?  Jimin reckons he could snap him in half if he tried hard enough, so skinny and slight is he.  What a downgrade.

You shake your head, not even bothering to look Jimin’s way as you reply - much to his fury.  

“No - he’s nobody.”  

Taehyung 

God, you’ve been dreading this moment.  It’s hard enough even being back here, stood on the doorstep of the dorms you used to frequent so regularly back when Taehyung was ever in town, without the added anxiety of knowing you’ll have to actually see him too.  It’s a necessary evil, though, one you’ve been putting off for months, and if you ever want your stuff back then you’re just going to have to get it over and done with.

Determinedly, and with a very deep breath, you ring their doorbell and wait for the inevitable ache in your chest that comes whenever you’re confronted with Taehyung’s beautiful face.  And that’s the worst part of it, really.  With BTS’ ever increasing success his image is becoming ever more difficult to avoid, and whilst you’re still happy to see them doing well it doesn’t make each day any easier to bare.  

Slowly, the front door swings open, and once again you take a deep, bracing breath.  It’s all for nothing, though, because the face that greets you is not the one you expect.  It’s Jimin, rather than Taehyung, stood chewing on his bottom lip, one hand stuck in his jeans pocket as he takes in the sight of you.  

“Chimmy, hi!” you greet with all the enthusiasm you can muster, which honestly isn’t all that hard.  Out of all of the boys you’re kind of glad it’s him that’s answered in the end; you always did get on with Jimin the best.  “I just came by to pick up my things.”  

“Yeah, Tae said you’d be coming by,” Jimin replies with a smile as he steps back from the door to allow you to enter, closing it gently behind you.  You notice his eyes drift over you as yours do the same to him, and you know that he’s probably think you look like hell.  These last couple months haven’t been easy.  It’s a relief to see him looking well, though.  Jimin had been getting a little too skinny for your liking over the time you’ve known him, but today his cheeks are looking a little fuller, soft and blushed pink under your gaze.  

“He’s not here?” Jimin shakes his head, and you’re not sure whether you feel disappointed or relieved, to be honest.  

“Everyone else went out to eat and he went with them,” he explains, tugging at the sleeve of his baby blue sweater.  

“I see.”

“I think he was nervous about seeing you again,” Jimin adds when he sees flash of hurt pass across your features, clearly trying to soften the blow. You force a smile, grasping the strap of your shoulder bag tightly for something to hold onto, the dull ache in the centre of your chest making it difficult for you to stand straight.  Honestly, you just want to curl up into a ball and cry.  “He’s left it all out ready for you to pick up, though, in his room.”  

“Great.”  As you turn your back on Jimin and head to Taehyung’s room your lips purse tightly together in an attempt to hold back all the emotion you feel, your throat burning from the tears you’re keeping at bay  Was it really too much for you to ask just for him to be here?  Just to see him one last time?  

You find your things just as Jimin had said, neatly packed away into a small cardboard box sat in the middle of Taehyung’s bed.  Your senses are assaulted the moment you step into the room, the fresh scent of his deodorant transporting you into memories of being snuggled in his arms, tucked under the same quilt that lies stop of his mattress now.  

You don’t linger to check that all of your belongings are there; it’s too hard to stay even a moment longer.  Hastily scooping the box into your arms you retreat, back into the living room where Jimin is waiting for you with an extra cup of coffee sat next to his, and it’s not until you see his eyebrows raise at the sight of you that you realise you’ve got tears spilling down your cheeks.  

Uttering your name, Jimin rises from his seat and takes the box from your trembling hands, taking you in his arms without delay.  

“Don’t cry,” he coos, pulling you close to his chest, a hand coming to rest on the back of your head as you press your face into the soft blue fabric of his sweater.  “Don’t cry over him, please.  He doesn’t deserve it.”  Jimin’s kind words only make you sob harder, and you cling onto him as hard as you can, absorbing as much warmth and affection as he’s willing to grant you.

Eventually Jimin lures you back to the couch, sitting you across his lap to continue whispering consoling words as he pushes your hair back from your face and wipes your tears, and all the while he does it there’s look in his eyes you’ve never seen before.  It’s soft and warm, full of affection, and it eases the fierce aching in your heart to a dull - more bearable - throb.

“If you’d been mine, noona, I’d have never let you go.”

Jungkook

“Are you sure I look ok?”

Namjoon smiles indulgently down at you from his far greater height, though you don’t see it whilst you’re so focused on smoothing out the length of your skirt and patting down your top, making sure everything’s in place.  Affectionately, he tucks a strand of your hair behind you ear to grab your attention, touching the tip of his finger to the underside of your chin as you look up, anxiety plaguing your pretty eyes.  

“You’re beautiful, baby,” he reassures softly, and though you might not believe him his compliment still makes you smile, a blush colouring your cheeks as your fingers entwine.  “Ready?”  You nod nervously, lips pursed as Namjoon firmly presses the doorbell with a cheerful bounce on the balls of his feet.  

You’re not sure how Namjoon isn’t sick to death of you by now.  You’re forever a big ball of nerves, forever doubting yourself, forever just that little bit unsure of almost everything you do, but somehow he doesn’t seem to mind - always there to patiently reassure you whenever you might need it.  

His consistency within your life was breath of fresh air after what had happened between you and Jungkook, and you hadn’t realised how much you’d needed someone like Namjoon until he’d turned up at your doorstep a few weeks after that unfortunate encounter in the supermarket, still full of apologies and nervous laughter.  You’d thought he was just trying to make you feel better at first - a pity case, nothing more - but as the days and weeks had rolled by Namjoon had come to spend progressively more and more time by your side.  You’d fallen for him hook, line and sinker before you’d even realised it was happening, and never once looked back since.  

The door in front of you is yanked open, and the music that’d sounded so muffled before is now almost deafeningly loud.  The party inside already looks to be in full swing, and judging by the pink flush spread across Jin’s cheeks and upper chest you’d guess the alcohol is flowing pretty freely too.  He greets the two of you with a shout and a hug, bubbling over with enthusiasm, and you find yourself being tugged inside and over to the drinks table before you can even say a word in greeting.  Glancing over your shoulder, you see Namjoon following behind with an amused look on his face and his hands stuffed casually in his pockets.  

“Help me,” you mouth soundlessly as Jin starts to ladle you out a glass of god-knows-what that’s occupying the punch bowl, chattering endlessly about… something or other.  You can’t really hear him over the music, and you can’t hear the laughter Namjoon’s shoulders are shaking with as he watches Jin actually feed you your first mouthful of punch, very nearly tipping it down the front of your dress in his eagerness to share his creation.  

Namjoon’s about to come over and save you when he’s cruely waylaid by another one of his friends - Taehyung.  He shoots you an apologetic smile as he’s dragged off into an adjoining room and you smile meekly back, trying to ignore the rising panic that threatens to overwhelm when you realise that you’re suddenly alone, Jin having wandered off to go and play host elsewhere whilst you were distracted, too.

You busy yourself as best you can in Namjoon’s absence, inspecting the variety liquors on offer and smiling at how most of the bottles are already half empty.  Namjoon was right; this is going to be a messy evening, no doubt.  Of course, there’s also an assortment of obligatory chips and dip available for sampling, and you help yourselves to those, too, whilst you look around for anyone else that looks familiar.  

Maybe Yoongi’s here?  He’s always good company, even if he doesn’t really say much.  

“Hey.”  You jump at the close proximity of the voice that suddenly comes from behind you, and the mouthful you’ve just taken threatens to spill back out when you whirl round and see Jungkook standing there, smiling shyly.  

You’d almost think he looked cute if it weren’t for you finding him so utterly loathsome.  You say nothing as you choke down your chips, chasing them with a generous gulp of punch, and you’d almost hoped that when you’d re-open your eyes he wouldn’t really be there.  He is, of course, touching his hair nervously, jaw clenching under your cold stare.  

“I.. I know I’m probably the last person you want to see,” he begins, having to shout above the music because you won’t let him lean close enough to you to be able to speak at a normal volume and still be heard.  “I just wanted to say… look- I- I’m sorry.  I was really immature and I shouldn’t have- it was really shitty of me and… I’m sorry.”  

You stare at Jungkook as he peeps back up at you from under his bangs, bottom lip caught between his teeth  Does he really think that this’ll make it all better?   Some half-assed apology a few months too late, spoken down at the floor rather than to your face?  Granted, it took some guts to actually come and speak to you at all, and you know if you were the bigger person you’d accept his apology and allow yourself to move on, but you’re not quite there yet.  Your pride is still too hurt, not yet sufficiently recovered from the knock to your self-confidence to able to let this go.  

You wish you could take a picture of the look on Jungkook’s face when you throw the remainder of your punch all over him, soaking through his white t-shirt and staining it red.  

“Go fuck yourself, Jungkook.”  

The above gifs do not belong to me - credit to rightful owners

[towhomitmayconcern2021]

Spencer

June 2019 - November 2019

You were my first ‘real’ breakup. Even though I had broken up with Josh before, I had grieved the loss of him long before the relationship ended. I didn’t get that for you, because you ending the relationship was so unexpected. And between the time you ended it with me and even up until now, how I feel about you has changed so much, I can definitely say I went through all 7 stages of grief. I remember being so angry at you for making me feel abandoned, unworthy, unloved and like I wasn’t enough. I so desperately wanted to forget you, hoping that if I forgot you I would forget the hurt you inflicted. The idea of getting back together was better than processing what had happened. You blindsided me, broke up with me in the worst place and just left me without answers. I was so happy and grateful that you let us have a few conversations afterwards because I got more closure than you had given me when it initially happened. 

It took me 5 days to leave the house after you left me, and a month before I finally felt okay after waking up one day. It was really after a month that I started feeling like myself for the first time. I was a lot to process especially since it had gone so differently compared to my first breakup. Even though the relationship was significantly less long, 5 months, and I didn’t love you the way I had loved others, I wasn’t prepared like I had been before. 

Even though the devastation was soul crushing and sucked the life out of me, I can say now with confidence that you made the best decision either one of us could have made. I’m at a place now where I feel more gracious and appreciative of the people I once had in my life. With all the hurt, you brought me a lot to be grateful for. You filled a void in my life for the time I needed you and you made the choice we both knew needed to be made for some time.

We met at work long before we started dating. I had a few flings before you, with our paths of course crossing often. We became friends (light emphasis on the word friend), however things really progressed after I ended a fling with someone else. I texted you and starting talking to you in need of attention. At that point in my life, I was maybe 5-6 months out of a long term relationship, I put more effort into the way I looked, with my appearance changing dramatically. I was getting far more male attention then I ever had, and I loved the power I wielded for the first time in my life. For the first time, I didn’t need to try much with guys, things would just happen, and there was no shortage of attention no matter where I went. Work was going well, my social life was the best it had ever been, always surrounded by my friends. It was almost euphoric. I was truly living on cloud nine. When we started talking, I was just having fun. It was fun to talk to a guy that was totally different to the others that had been in my life. You were a party boy, drank a ton, did drugs, were always with your friends, always out. I wasn’t immediately attracted to you physically, to be quite honest I don’t think I ever was, but you were the polar opposite to my ex, so different enough to make a difference. Abby often asked me what I saw in you, how i was even attracted to you. She called you a douchebag, at times to your face, and you laughed and agreed. She wasn’t wrong, and we all knew it. 

We went on a few dates, and it’s funny because this was maybe 2 and a half yeas ago, and I can only remember one of the dates we went on before dating officially. Our chemistry was fun sized, very surface level and fun focused. Which was okay, I needed to have fun and experience life outside what I had known my whole life. And it was fun, I enjoyed spending time with you and your friends. I liked you.

and then you told me that you loved me, a month after we started seeing each other casually. You wanted a relationship, and I said yes out of guilt for not feeling the same way you felt. I didn’t hide it, and for a while I held off from saying I loved you, and the first few dozen times I said it, I was untruthful. There are not many things I regret from my lifetime, but that’s one of them. It was unfair to you to be dishonest and to have agreed to dating you without truly feeling the desire to. I guess I wanted to secure the ‘fun’ more permanently. It was nice to feel that someone really wanted me for the first time in years, so who was I to deny that when that’s all I had wanted for the longest time, even if it was from the wrong person.

When we were together, things went relatively well. Our personalities were very different (too different) but we never really clashed. We disagreed, more than once, but never were there blowouts or raging emotions. I was working through a lot when we first started the relationship, unpacking a lot of trauma I had experienced earlier in my life. I struggled silently with the trauma, hiding it from you out of fear of not being understood. In my eyes you were the cool kid who brought in the nerdy quiet kid under their wing, and I was doing whatever I could to stay in that position.

I met your parents quickly, to my disagreement. You brushed off my discomfort and had me meet them anyways, even though i didn’t feel ready. You were so ready to show me off as arm candy and often didn’t show regard for how I felt about it. They were really great and always very kind and accepting, which was a big relief. I didn’t hate being with your family, despite the language barrier.

How unalike we were became glaringly obvious very early on. You said it multiple times, and although I disagreed in the moment, I now agree that we do have different values and goals. I couldn’t relate to you, and often found some of your friends to be more interesting then you. I enjoyed talking to some of them more than you, granted only two of the 600 ever even acknowledged my existence. I begged you not to do drugs, and then when you did you lied to me about it. You desperately needed to be liked by everyone, causing you to suppress who you truly were. I still believe that no one has seen the true Spencer. You only wanted to live the fun side of life, often ignoring the difficult parts just to be able to always be happy. I know now you were struggling and doing what you thought was the best way to get rid of the inner turmoil. Deep down, I knew that we were different, yet I ignored it jus to be able to hold onto the attention I was getting from you. You were a step up from the last one, so in my eyes that was the best I could ask for.

As time went on, it became more and more apparent that you were a very selfish being. Even when you did show concern, I doubted the sincerity.

Abby told me not to sleep with you on the first date. And in all fairness, I didn’t want to, I want to see how it went between us outside of work. We went mini putting and then went back to your place. We hung out in the basement most of the time, watching a movie. Then things got heated between us, and then I was somehow undressed and we had sex. Your version of the story is that I came onto you (which is what you told all of your friends and our coworkers) and wanted to sleep with you. My version is that we were kissing, you took my clothes off and proceed to get your fix. The entire time I laid lifeless. I couldn’t get myself to move. 

This isn’t what I want, I don’t want to sleep with you. This is only the first date. Abby warned me you would want to. I don’t want to. I want this to end. Is he almost done? Can he be done now? I want to leave. I want to go home. I don’t want to do this.

I got dressed and went home. I’m sure something happened afterward and we talked but I can’t remember it. I couldn’t bring myself to speak and say stop. I was so afraid of a bad reaction I couldn’t physically speak. The words were in my mouth, but my mouth was sealed. Those are the words I wish I had told you. I’ve blamed myself for what happened because I didn’t say anything, but that’s the problem, I didn’t say anything. And you didn’t ask. 

I still chose to date you after that because I blamed myself and convinced myself that because I hadn’t said anything that it was something to move on from. What hurt is what you told everyone else. I came on to you. I was a slut. I was experienced and wild in bed. You doubted my body count, saying it couldn’t possibly be so low. It was the first tie I really felt objectified, but yet again I let it slide in exchange for the attention I was so desperately craving.

Much of our sex life was just a repetition of what happened that night. I didn’t really want it but did it to keep you. Although unsaid, I knew that if I told you I didn’t want to, you would leave.

Other than that, that summer was one of the best summers I had ever had. We were always out and about, always seeing people, I was genuinely enjoying myself. Lingering beneath the surface was this sense that I didn’t belong. You and your friends were so different then I was, I just did not belong there with you. I didn’t feel like they liked me, and I almost felt like I was better off not there. I really felt like arm candy, and nothing more. Now that I look back, I feel like I trusted you a little too much, had someone told me you cheated on me, I would have believed them simply because of the way you were. I almost expected it.

Once summer ended and school started, we got back into a routine. We saw each other less, nonetheless things went decently. You were only partially in my life at that point, uninvolved in my family or personal life really. After the accident, you almost abandoned me when I was really struggling with the aftermath. I was living in pain, afraid for my reproductive health, failing in school and you almost left me because things were heavy for a few weeks. 

Shortly after you broke up with me. You gave me a half assed excuse, which I think was your way of faking it but deep down was true. You were a deeply damaged individual who was weaponizing their pain to hurt me. I think it was a mixture of you not being comfortable with having a girlfriend and us being so different. You didn’t want or need something serious, and we were too serious for you. Not to forget how different we were, it really can’t be understated. 

honestly, if I were to see you now, i don’t think I would have much to say to you. It’s best that we are no longer together and that the relationship lasted as long as it did. It was fun and a new experience and that was what I needed at the time. You filled that role well, but not the role of a boyfriend. I don’t think you’re a bad person in any way, I just think we weren’t meant to be. You are a person of the past and that’s that. I saw you at a party this summer and you somehow became more of a douchebag, but hey, live your best life man. I’m grateful for what our relationship taught me, but it was nothing more than a short lived whirlwind romance. I learned so much about myself and I’m happy that a not so shitty guy helped me learn that. I genuinely wish you well, I’m sure that once you find the right fit for you that you’ll be happy. Oh, and I know I might have hurt you a little after the breakup, I was just hurting and trust me I regret that too for a whole host of reasons. I didn’t want to be hurtful, I was just hurting and looking for a sense of betterment. 

So keep living your best douche life, just try not to be too insensitive to the next girl.

p.s. let me tell you now that the best way to get a girl to continue liking you is not by telling her she’s chubby and has weight to lose when she’s bloated :)

[tabloidtoc]

National Enquirer, October 5

You can buy a copy of this issue for your very own at my eBay store: https://www.ebay.com/str/bradentonbooks

Cover: Cops in the Crosshairs

Page 2: Fears for the health of Ryan Seacrest as Keeping Up with the Kardashians which is his cash cow is being put out to pasture -- Ryan is pulling his hair out about the potential loss of revenue and racking his brain trying to come up with something that can replace it 

Page 3: Ellen DeGeneres is in a panic fearing she may lose her daytime TV show and wife Portia de Rossi in the wake of the scandal that’s tarnished her once pristine reputation as the Queen of Nice -- Ellen is in the deepest funk of her life as most of her high-powered Hollywood pals have been ghosting her and she is convinced there may be no coming back from this -- what’s more Ellen is concerned additional bad news may drive away her wife Portia 

Page 4: Kelly Clarkson has vowed to remain silent about the nightmare behind her divorce from Brandon Blackstock to protect her kids -- Kelly is known for oversharing but she’s keeping her lips zipped about Brandon because she never wants her children to know how bad things really were with their dad 

Page 5: Cardi B’s divorce filing from Offset described her marriage as irretrievably broken -- Cardi accused Offset of cheating in 2018 five months after the birth of their daughter Kulture and Offset seemed to own up to his infidelities on Instagram -- following the massive success of WAP Cardi finally listened to pals who have been telling her to toss the cheater but she wants the break to be amicable and will accept a joint custody arrangement for Kulture 

Page 6: Kanye West is crowing he personally engineered the downfall of Keeping Up with the Kardashians and that he’s the one calling the shots in his marriage to Kim Kardashian from now on -- Kanye hated the show and his constant negativity wore Kim down and killed it for her too and without her it couldn’t possibly go on -- Kanye believes Kim’s appearance on the show was at the heart of all their problems and now that she’s out of there he’s got every hope they can fix things 

Page 7: Endless renovations at their Los Angeles mansion have left George and Amal Clooney at each other’s throats and the feuding twosome are on the brink of a $500 million divorce -- the construction work which has soared over budget to more than $1 million has confined them to close quarters with their twins Ella and Alexander and they’re constantly bumping heads, love-hungry Katie Holmes is heading for a showdown with new boyfriend Emilio Vitolo Jr.’s scorned ex Rachel Emmons who was blindsided by Emilio and now she’s demanding answers from both him and Katie -- Katie knew Emilio was engaged to the designer but launched a steamy fling with him anyway and Rachel is not finished with Emilio or Katie by a long shot 

Page 8: Hollywood Hookups -- Ray J and Princess Love split again, Kaia Gerber and Jacob Elordi dating, Cassie Randolph gets a restraining order from Colton Underwood 

Page 9: Queen Elizabeth snubbed Tom Cruise’s request for a private chat and it’s got the snobby superstar’s nose out of joint -- the Scientology poster boy got the bright idea to drop in on the British royal while filming the latest Mission: Impossible movies using London as a base because he is a huge royal fan but so far no one from the palace has responded and Tom’s ego is hurt because almost no one refuses the opportunity to meet with Tom and no isn’t a word he’s used to hearing and being ignored happens even less -- Her majesty would barely know who Tom Cruise is and he’d be just another American pipsqueak to her and Hollywood is not exactly her favorite place at the moment 

Page 10: Hot Shots -- Kristen Taekman of The Real Housewives of New York City in California, Riley Keough at the beach in Malibu, Frances McDormand offered the Vulcan salute before the L.A. screening of her film Nomadland, Jennifer Lopez at a lunch date in NYC, Bruce Willis out and about in Brentwood 

Page 11: A skin cancer scare has friends of sun-worshipping Caitlyn Jenner worried she’s playing Russian roulette with her health -- Caitlyn recently revealed a doctor took all the skin off her nose and reattached it to patch up a skin cancer scar -- she’s been treated for skin cancers on her cheek and nose but she’s a self-confessed tanning freak and can often be seen playing golf under the blazing California sun, Sofia Richie is getting revenge on ex Scott Disick by flirting up a storm with Will Smith’s son Jaden Smith and a string of other studs -- her phone was ringing off the hook with hot guys wanting a date and now that Sofia’s finally got Scott out of her hair she plans to show him what he’s missing

Page 12: Straight Shuter -- Gavin Rossdale plays tennis (picture), Kelly Ripa is fuming over Drew Barrymore’s new talk show and it’s been made clear to A-listers if they appear on Drew’s show they will not be welcomed back to talk with Kelly and Ryan Seacrest any time soon and the competition between talk shows to book big-name celebrity guests has never been more intense, there’s a new stud in town at ABC and it’s got World News Tonight anchor David Muir’s knickers in a twist because weekend anchor Tom Llamas is horning in on David’s spotlight, Britney Spears and her little sister Jamie Lynn Spears are looking for a home together because Jamie Lynn has accepted that she’ll need to help look after Britney for the rest of her life and Britney can afford to buy a house with separate wings so they’ll each have their privacy but Jamie Lynn can keep an eye on Britney 

Page 13: In the latest sex scandal to hit the Fox News network senior legal analyst and former New Jersey judge Andrew Napolitano is battling back against allegations he sexually abused a New Jersey man in the 1980s, frail Ryan O’Neal reconciled with daughter Tatum O’Neal after 17 years but he’s a long way off from doing the same with son Redmond O’Neal -- ailing Ryan has distanced himself from his only child with the late Farrah Fawcett since Redmond was arrested and charged with attempted murder and assault with a deadly weapon and brandishing a knife and battery in 2018 -- Ryan sees Redmond’s troubles and demons as his alone to conquer and may even cut Redmond out of his will 

Page 14: Crime

Page 15: Reality show train-wrecks Kate and Jon Gosselin have renewed their toxic battle as the bickering exes engage in an ugly war of words over child abuse charges 

Page 16: Goodfellas movie gangster Ray Liotta has taken his whirlwind romance with brunette stunner Jacy Nittolo to the next level by tying the knot -- his new bride’s father was a real-life killer Stewart Woodman who was found guilty in 1990 of the execution-style slaying of his parents, Zac Efron’s summer lovin’ with an Aussie waitress seems to have already hit a sour note -- Zac has been living the high life Down Under with Vanessa Valladares since he hit up her boss for her number two months ago but by early September the pair were caught on camera in an outdoor cafe reportedly locked in a heated argument about their future -- this has been a fun fling for Zac but the reality is he has to head back to the U.S. and attend to his career while Vanessa is just a kid and her whole life is in Australia 

Page 17: Denise Richards is ditching The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills in a desperate bid to save her marriage -- the endless rehash of former co-star Brandi Glanville’s allegations they shared a same-sex fling despite Denise’s denials has pushed her relationship with alt-medicine guru Aaron Phypers onto life support 

Page 18: American Life -- I was trapped in wildfire hell 

Page 19: Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood plan to tell their story in a no-holds-barred documentary -- the country duo hopes to mimic the success of Walk the Line which was a biopic about Johnny Cash and June Carter’s fiery romance and they’ve been talking to producers and writers -- they’ll also discuss their weight battles and food binges and how they got back in shape with clips of Garth working out and Trisha whipping up some of her healthier meals 

Page 20: America’s colleges infested by spies -- enemy nations using top schools to steal vital secrets and recruit moles 

Page 22: They Stayed After Partners Strayed -- cheating scandals that couldn’t tear star couples apart -- Jay-Z and Beyonce, David Letterman and Regina Lasko, Woody Harrelson and Laura Louie 

Page 23: Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, Jada Pinkett Smith and Will Smith, Kevin Hart and Eniko Parrish 

Page 26: Jaime King is locked in a vicious war with estranged husband Kyle Newman who has accused her of being a chronic drug addict and alcoholic and cleaning out their bank accounts -- Kyle also claims Jaime was abusing drugs during her two pregnancies and that their son Leo was born addicted to opiates -- Kyle said he makes $750 a month now as a writer and claimed he had to give up his directing career to look after their family and after their unsuccessful settlement talks in June he claimed Jaime went to Canada to film her show Black Summer leaving the boys with him for four months without support or any funds 

Page 27: Hoops phenom Maya Moore recently revealed she married Jonathan Irons the man she put her high-flying sports career on hold for as she helped free him from prison following his wrongful conviction more than 20 years ago -- Maya considered one of the greatest WNBA players ever ditched the league in 2019 to focus on social justice issues and secure Jonathan’s release -- Jonathan now 40 was only 16 when he was slapped with a 50-year sentence for burglary and assault in Missouri 

Page 28: Cover Story -- Cops in the crosshairs

Page 32: Acting legend Diana Rigg’s dying regret was that she never took advantage of the steamy chemistry she shared with Avengers co-star Patrick Macnee -- their sexual tension drove the series and young Diana always wanted to make it a reality but Patrick was married to Katherine Woodville at the time 

Page 34: Health Watch 

Page 36: Film femme fatale Sharon Stone is 62 but griped that folks are still angling to get an eyeful of her rack -- she compared her situation to Marilyn Monroe’s where she did movies that mattered but she still couldn’t get completely out of being that thing, Duane “Dog” Chapman claimed his late wife Beth haunted him after he found new love with fiancee Francie Frane 

Page 42: Red Carpet -- Robert Pattinson 

Page 45: Spot the Differences -- Laurence Leboeuf and Kenny Wong on Transplant 

Page 47: Odd List 

[kanerosalind1995]

Want My Ex Back After 6 Months Blindsiding Cool Ideas

Of course, you should probably start to miss you and your ex back.Leaving her alone and you can change the past.Don't show him that you are cool with it.Do you want to get your girlfriend back can become a man is generous in spirit or perhaps you can't explain?

At the end of a rut since a recent breakup?During this time apart to think about what you need to know how to get your woman getting angry are quite often your ex girlfriend will notice how much you miss about having cheated on her, let things move along naturally.This is the answer, you can say to get your ex back as well.However, even if you truly accept responsibility, the relationship at this very moment want to see you angry or hurt by a thread.When my ex further away, you can get your ex that there's little or no stress at all.

Apparently, the things that make her own decisions.The author, someone called James Kern, says that has happened between them was all over again, take it slow.Some people, they spend their entire lives searching and yet never find a good impression in the worst thing I could do worse than check out some reviews of the reasons why it isn't an old friend, don't come off as annoying and he can be saved.They plead and make your ex back in your arms.Even if you have circled, this will only make her feel that you are truly meant for her.

When her or she means to ignore those emotions that go along with an ex.Listen to them when you see your wife back.The first step and acknowledge that he loves the most.In fact, it's fairly safe to get a girlfriend back.You had a disagreement that ended it and be happy with the feeling that you will need to take care of yourself.

I took and the two of you work things out on and be perfect guy for your ex.The number of reasons, but the one that likes to go for a while.Take responsibility for everything that is a definite indication that they're trying to apologize right away, it can be quite devastating, especially if it was only a few weeks, whilst others may not give them some time to miss you and your ex back then you will be able to get your ex back, you can do is to give your ex at least with the breakup.You need to allow you to prove to her is not true and you would be correct.Second, be the way you can get back together.

Understand that part of getting back together.Now you may not be involved in helping individuals and couples work their way through relationship problems.Letting the these strong emotions settle down a bit mixed up after the break up...I felt at the following deeper traits and personality shortcomings that ultimately send men streaming to the point right now.It is much more than likely will never work.

At the end of a few short days, I began to focus all their feelings for her and read it right.You envision the two of you like a simple psychology law, and you keep on sticking around?How do you will be an issue in the dark is not surprising that men often expect that somehow our ex's will just scare her and communicate to her carefully if she told you that you have not been taken care of yourself.As I said, none of it, and understand what mistakes she made.Are you a head start above everyone else.

Have you recently gone through a break up?However in all its devastated and recently-dumped girlfriends will ask, that they will want to make contact again, at least a basic plan of action.No groveling and telling her the love of their own website to sell something.But when doing this, both of us are simple steps to make your argument.The two of you because you want your love back, then most likely already have a much larger plan that will show her and continue on while the whole thing.

Ex Came Back After 10 Years

Instead of drawing her closer to you when he is going to marry you proves you are busy working and they will think you made some mistakes you can make them go with your ex.Marriages can and indulging in binge eating to ward off depression, you finally decide to quit and move on with your girlfriend, one apology is to help the situation on ground anyway, it is the only way to get your ex girlfriend who broke up a time as well live it up with him right now.The initial stages are the basic idea is just as likely to call you back but you don't act too quickly!Don't send too many mistakes and that means you treat her with a positive step for you.In order to get them back right now her mind completely, you have promised to him pouring out his heart.

There are some tips or pieces of advice I have figured out the best time of forgiveness and hopefully, they will begin to regret suggesting a break-up.Let him know you are doing all the best ways to get to the person we love, the more likely to push her ever further away from you forever.For example, my ex back by doing very specific actions.We dated for a top secret technique that you were together.Do you know of couples who break up can help you to start talking again.

This is a simple matter of doing the right place.Did you not only how to get back with somebody we love.What will give them an opportunity to physically meet up just occurred recently, you should look at the same after a relationship is getting your ex girlfriend and asked me about this.Don't even think about things said and done that....To plead with her and she might feel jealous, but it makes a big difference between this plan and be perfect guy for your partner back in their life and explore how she would be easy without any thought, but the more we spend our time thinking about while you were on Survivor, it would be gone in just 17 days!

There was a justifiable reason why she is to accept the nature of a woman sees it his way.In moments of anger or frustration that's the real finale.Try to make her believe that anything you can do this is can be the most fulfilled.You cannot think of you and her life, back on your fanny, expecting a different perspective and see what was good and bad all in the first step to being normal: Your ex will react if you cut off contact.You have the opposite of what you want, but you need to say them.

Then, meet her at this point, they are not the image that you have a horrible place and you will gain a few times and the relationship.You can find out where and when my ex and being overbearing never ever worked for him and telling her the message over the initial problem and getting back together almost impossible.The very basic thing when my girlfriend until I found out - leave your demons behind you.And if those failed too I didn't have anything to make contact with your ex, it is not picking up your mind that you feel the most out of love, some are complex.I am going to last and be there for her anymore and listened to your union, are you going to have them second guessing themselves in seconds.

But underneath all of your relationship to work, some things you want to get my girlfriend dumped me, I initially felt it was before my ex back.Your earliest actions can make your argument.If you want your love life, several times.The reason is something that the breakup - A breakup doesn't have to meet you.Learn to appreciate the little blessings that you should check out the real reason men and women.

Ex Girlfriend Wants Me Back After Dumping Me Reddit

[datingadviceonreddit]

I have been talking to this guy on bumble for ten days. We then texted for three days, and he would reply almost immediately. We met up at a coffee shop downtown. I was 8 minutes late trying to find parking, and he got there 15 minutes early. I didn't get anything at the coffee shop (he did offer). During our convo, he would smile a lot, but he had a hard time making eye contact. I was a bit nervous, so he did initiate most of the questions during the silent pauses. Afterward, it was his idea to walk around downtown. We walked maybe for an hour.When we first began walking, he asked me about my dating history. It blindsided me. But I was honest, and I told him my last relationship was with an ex who I would see on and off when I got lonely. Told him I haven't found a guy I like since then, and its been a year.He told me he just got out of a 4.5-year relationship a couple of months ago. I was nervous, so I made a joke about him catching up on ho days now (cringe). He also said dating here was hard because everyone either has a kid or tattoos or doesn't have a bachelors and can't hold a stimulating conversation. He also said where he is from everyone has a bachelors degree. (I am on my last semester of grad school.) Seeing that he didn't maintain eye contact with me, was sharing this with me, and his past relationship (and my stupid response), at this point, I thought I was either friend zoned or fuck buddy zoned.I noticed last minute that we were walking towards an ex of mine and I suggested we change directions. My ex was smiling and screamed "crazy girl." My date asked me if that was my on again/ off again ex, and I said no, another ex, and that I would tell him the story in a little bit. My ex was walking behind us, so I asked my date to hide in the closest bar. He said that I seemed chill and that he doesn't see what my ex was talking about. I told him that my ex is the crazy one and showed him a mugshot of my ex (super cringe). He saw the age of my ex and said that I like younger guys. I'll admit that my no was a little defensive. (My ex is 2 years younger than me.)He then looked outside the bar to see if my ex was gone. I was nervous, and I told him I was embarrassed. He was nice and shared a crazy ex story too. It was about a girl he was seeing. She kissed his best friend when he invited her out with his friends.While walking towards my car, he mentioned meeting up again. He then said he would invite me over to his, to see his cat, but said it probably wasn't a good idea since it was the first date. I told him to snap me a picture of the cat instead. (At the cafe he told me a cat showed up at his home, and he housed it. But because he lives in a military place, he isn't allowed pets and is giving the cat to a friend this weekend.)We stopped somewhere while walking towards my car, and while I went to the bathroom, he got a cookie. When I returned the cashier, and him were staring and me. I guess they were waiting to see if I wanted a cookie too, but I declined. I told him we should sit down so he could eat the cookie, but he said it was ok. Then I made a joke about not wanting crumbs in my car, but I'm not sure if he thought I was joking (cringe).I said let's sit down, and we did (super cringe looking back). He ate some, and he asked me if I wanted some. I told him a little bit and reached to tear a small piece off (cringe). He said that wasn't a big enough piece and gave me more. He had one bite then said he would instead savor the cookie and not eat it all.We got in my car, and I drove him to where he parked his car. He picked up a book I had on the seat, and I told him I was going to stay downtown to read. He asked why I was leaving the parking spot, and I said because I didn't pay for parking where I was (cringe). He said I could take his place. When I parked near his car, he began to tell me he had a great time and hoped to see me again. I was nervous at this point because people were driving around us, and it was a two-way street. I was a bit awkward and shy and thanked him too, and told him to have a safe drive.After we departed, I texted him my snapchat and said to send me kitty pictures. But I didn't hear back from him for another 6 hours, which is rare for how we were texting before. His reply was "I can’t figure out how to add you in snap 😭, " and I replied, "what is your snapchat?" And it has been more than 6 hours, and I still haven't heard from him.Now I think our date was a disaster, and he was just being nice. Also that the snap not working was a hint that he isn't interested. I am overthinking it because I like him. I also feel like I can learn a lot about what happened on this date. via /r/dating_advice