#Fire and Ice Class 10 practice quiz

[solvednotes]

Quiz on Fire and Ice: Ultimate Challenge

Test your knowledge with our interactive Quiz on Fire and Ice! Designed for Class 10 students studying the NCERT English textbook First Flight, this ultimate challenge covers themes, symbolism, imagery, and more from Robert Frost’s iconic poem. Sharpen your exam preparation and ace your tests with this engaging revision tool!

[an-absolute-travesty]

Secret Santa fic!

Heya @all-eternity it was me all along! I hope you enjoy this :) very much looking foward to actually being able to follow you after this without looking sketchy lmao

Also shoutout to my lovely beta reader @keepersandqueens as if I don’t talk about Salas enough here lol

Warnings: underage drinking, drinking in general, hangover, drugs/medication mention (not abused, basic over the counter stuff dw), mentions of vomit (not described)

Pairings: Kam, background marelinh, ex titz

About: Kam coffee shop college au 

Word count: 5,205

Tag list (tell me if you want to be added or removed): @cadence-talle @ruewen-and-rising @lemontarto @a-lonely-tatertot @clearlyvacksen @percabetn @sewersewersewercouch @everyonehasthoughts @imaramennoodle @enbies-and-felonies @blxckh0les42​ @rainbowtay-11 @callas-starkflower-stew @impostertamsong @appalyneinstitute1 @stars-and-splendor @anna-without-an-e @mistythegenderqueermess @we-have-no-bananas-today @we-wont-dissapear @jadenightthewriter

Tam stumbled into his first 8 am class, anxiety making his heart feel like it was pounding out of his chest and stomach doing backflips.

If he could survive bouncing between foster homes, a short stint at juvie, and worst of all high school, he could survive college.

Well he thought he could until he saw a familiar person right next to the only available chair in the room.

God fucking damn it.

"Hey Bangs Boy!" Keefe waved him down, causing a scene. Tam had no option but to sit beside him, both because of the lack of chairs and the fact that everyone was now staring at him.

Not a great start.

"What a coincidence! I notice you still haven't taken my suggestions on your hair, I'm telling ya' you'd get all the girls and or guys and nonbinary pals with a man bun." Keefe looked smug at the fact he'd be able to taunt Tam for another semester, minimum. Tam was already making a mental note to check when he could swap out of classes.

"Keefe, if I knew you were going here I would've just gotten myself back in jail, oh wait, you were the one who got me in there in the first place." Tam shot him a look, praying that he'd suddenly develop superpowers and shoot lasers from his eyes.

"Hey, just because I came up with the idea...and helped with some of the execution, doesn't mean I'm responsible for you trashing your parents house. Besides, you were only in there for like 3 days max before you got out," Keefe said, shrugging as if 3 days in jail was no biggie.

"Most peaceful 3 days of my life," Tam sneered, turning back to the front of the room as the professor walked in.

"Good morning class!" the prof turned to the white board, writing his name. "I am Dr. Harding," he tapped it for emphasis.

The class was silent.

"And you say good mor..."

"Good morning Dr. Harding," The class said in unison, they all sounded tired and bored.

This wasn't going to be fun.

~*~

"Grande ice vanilla latte for...Hen-are-y?"

The man shot Keefe a look as he grabbed his coffee.

"Henry." He dropped a tip in the jar, fifty cents. How generous.

He had come in before, and never left good tips. Keefe made it a game to pronounce the names of anyone who wasn't a college student and left bad tips wrong, no matter how much they came in. It was a wonder he hadn't been fired yet.

As he turned preparing another drink, the bell at the top of the door rang. He ignored it at first until he heard a quiet, "Fuck," come from behind.

"Bangs boy!"

"Why are you here?"

"I work here obviously," Keefe walked up to the counter. "Now, what'll it be?"

Tam sighed. "Iced caramel macchiato with two extra shots of espresso."

"Size?"

"Venti."

Keefe whistled thinking about how much caffeine that was as he wrote down "Bangs Boy" on the cup.

"Alright, that'll be 5.75, may I ask why the insane amount of coffee? I believe I remember you saying caffeine makes you anxious in high school."

"Yes, but it also helps me focus, and I have a quiz tomorrow I haven't studied for."

"Fair enough," Keefe said, going to prepare the drink. "It'll be ready in five."

Tam nodded, walking off to the side and scrolling on his phone. Keefe made the drink, occasionally sneaking looks over at Tam. He didn't seem to notice, thank God.

Soon after, they finished the transaction.

"See you at class," Keefe said, he was trying to be genuine, but it came across more taunting.

Tam grimaced, muttered "Thanks for the coffee," and walked out the door.

~*~

The class fell silent as a disheveled Dr. Harding walked in, a pack of gatorade in one hand and bottle of tylenol in the other. He popped one as he sat down.

"Hello class it seems today I have the worst headache imaginable, just give me about 5 minutes of silence and we will go over your assignments."

Keefe leaned over to Tam's desk.

"Well, we know what he got into last night," he whispered. "Heard the bar on the corner of 5th was giving out two for ones for professors."

"Isn't that place run by the alumni?"

"Exactly. Gotta thank Alvar tomorrow, Fitz said it was his idea."

"Wait Fitz goes here too? Why did I not-"

"Boys!" Dr. Harding practically yelled. "I am tired of the racket." He put his face in his hands where his elbows rested on the desk, bald spot showing to the world.

"We were whispering!" Keefe made a 'what the hell' sort of gesture. Tam glared at him, hoping he could communicate 'I will kill you myself if you say another word' with just his eyes.

"Sencen, do I look like I care?"

Keefe winced a bit at the use of his last name. That was something Tam could understand.

"Look, boys," Dr. Harding stood up and turned to the chalkboard, writing something down. "If you all like talking so much, you'll love this next project."

He walked to the side, revealing the board, that read '10 page essay, due the 25th'

"With the person next to you, you'll be writing a 10 page essay on um...the importance of keeping your oil changed in your car. You'll then present it to the class. It's worth 25 points."

A student raised their hand.

"Luka?"

"Sir, I thought this was a psychology course?"

"It is. You are all excused."

With that, he left the room with his tylenol and gatorade in his arms. The students glared at Keefe and Tam as they all got up, muttering amongst themselves about the pure bullshittery of it all.

"So..." Keefe said, slowly standing. "Does the library tomorrow at 3 work? I have work until then, so it can't be any earlier."

"Yeah, sure." Tam promptly walked out of the classroom as fast as possible, he didn't know why but his anxiety was spiking. He tried to tell himself it was just because he was a useless gay that didn't know jackshit about cars, yeah, surely that was it.

Just a useless gay.

~*~

Tam waited at a table in the library, it was 3:05, Keefe was late.

He didn't know what else he expected from him, he always seemed to do stuff like this. At the same time, Tam didn't have the energy to be particularly mad at him. This was going to be the stupidest essay ever written in the history of man, might as well put it off.

The library door slammed open, and in came Keefe. He balanced a large stack of papers and books along with four drinks. He stumbled over to Tam and practically threw them down on the table.

"Sorry I'm late, I thought it would be nice to, like, get you a coffee, but I didn't know how much caffeine you wanted, so I got one decaf caramel macchiato, one normal, and one with an extra shot, and also hot chocolate for me."

He sat down in the chair by Tam, as if getting three different coffees for someone you were forced to do a project with was totally normal.

"Um...thanks, I-I can pay you back-"

"Don't worry about it." Keefe turned to him and smiled, bright and friendly. Tam was frozen. "Okay, now it's car time." Keefe turned back to the desk.

"Yeah."

They were silent for a while as they researched, Keefe going through his piles of papers and books and Tam on his laptop like any sane person would.

Tam finally worked up the nerve to talk.

"So um...this is out of nowhere, but I think you mentioned Fitz went here?"

"Oh, yeah." Keefe put down the absurdly large textbook that was set up in front of him. "He's my roommate, he uh thought it would be best not to tell you after everything, I guess."

"That's fine," Tam shrugged like he didn't care. "I'm over it."

He was, really. They only dated like 2 weeks, sure it ended with a...pretty big fight after Fitz claimed he wouldn't be able to date someone who had gone to jail and Tam reminded him it was his best friend that got him in there in the first place, but he was still over it. There was still something bothering him, nothing to do with Fitz himself but...something. He just couldn't put his finger on what.

"Alright, I'll take your word." Keefe shrugged, setting his giant book back up in front of him.

Tam felt the need to start talking again, but didn't. They were mostly silent for the next 40 minutes or so, just researching and the occasional word exchanged between them.

Keefe checked his phone.

"Shit," He got up. "Work emergency, I gotta go. Same time tomorrow?"

"Yeah that works."

"Chill, see ya' later."

"Bye."

Keefe waved (with a wide grin Tam would've called idiotic in high school) as he went out the door.

Tam found himself with a smile on his own face, he quickly stopped, hoping no one saw.

~*~

Keefe hurried into work, pulling his apron on as he saw the absurdly long line and a panicked Marella frantically making coffees behind the counter. She sighed with relief when she saw him.

"Thank God," She said as he stepped behind the counter with her. "There was a scheduling error, Forkle's useless at that stuff."

Mr. Forkle, their well-meaning but often mistaken manager, was out of town at the moment. The fate of the Starbucks rested on two college kids, what could go wrong.

And so they went, Keefe taking orders and Marella fulfilling them until there were no more to serve.

Marella, quite literally, threw in a towel she had wiped her face with. Promptly going to the back, presumably for her break. Keefe followed her.

"Alright, I think you can probably go back to whatever you were doing before this now if you'd like," said Marella, inspecting the small braids in her hair in the nearest shiny surface.

"Nah I was just doing a project with Tam for Harding's stupid class, he's probably left by now, I might as well rack up some overtime."

Marella turned back at him, clearly caught off guard at the name.

"Tam? As in my-girlfriend's-brother Tam? As in you-had-a-massive-crush-on-in-highschool Tam? As in dated-Fitz Tam? As in you-got-him-in-jail-"

"Yes! Yes! Why does everyone remind me of that, it was one time."

"When you get someone in jail, people tend to remember," Marella went silent for a second, thinking, before looking Keefe in the eye. "Wow, that must be awkward as hell, I mean seriously, if I were you I'd straight up file a restraining order just to avoid him. Maybe move to another country. I hear Estonia is lovely this time of year."

"Eh, it's not as bad as it seems. I mean it was awful at first, mostly because I tried to resume right where we left it on the taunting front, but I think it's ok now."

"Hm. Well good luck with that," Marella turned back to go to the front, but Keefe grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Uh, actually I need your advice on something. It has to do with Tam."

"Shoot."

"Well I was thinking of maybe, I don't know, asking him out or something? Look, yeah, it's an awful idea but is it 'he never wants to talk to me again' awful or 'he attempts to strangle me' awful?"

Marella looked him up and down, eyes uncomfortably cold, as usual.

"I mean, no hetero, but despite your annoying qualities you're a decent looking guy. Plus Tam's, like, super anxious according to Linh, so maybe he'll be too awkward to say no. You can probably squeeze at least one date in there."

"Wow, thanks Mare," Keefe mumbled, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Yes, I try. Also don't call me Mare."

"Alright Ella!" Keefe called as the front door's bell rang, signalling a new customer. Marella went off to take care of it, unable to respond she growled back at him.

~*~

Tap tap tap tap tap.

Tam glared from across the table.

Tap tap tap tap tap tap.

"Why do you keep doing that?"

Keefe looked up, muttered a simple "Fidgety" and went right back to it, tapping his pen against the table. Tam said nothing more.

Keefe had been quiet for this entire meeting, something highly unusual for him.

"Ok, seriously dude, what's up? I haven't seen you this quiet literally ever."

He only seemed to get more fidgety at this question, his bouncing leg shaking the library table.

"I...um..." he looked down, running a hand through his hair "I have a test I need to cram for and no one to study with and keep me accountable. Y'know, ADHD issues."

Tam didn't overthink for once in his life but the moment the sentence was out of his mouth he regretted it.

"I have a test too, maybe we could study together?"

Keefe smiled his annoyingly charming smile.

"Sounds good."

"Good."

Tam quickly looked back down at his computer, trying to look like he was still doing car research when in actuality he was processing he just actively offered to spend more time with Keefe Sencen.

If Linh found out about this he'd never live it down.

He didn't think he cared.

~*~

Dr. Harding walked through the classroom door, clearly much less hungover than his last appearance.

The students waited, would they get an apology? Any sort of remorse?

"Alright, who wants to read first?"

Apparently not.

Keefe raised his hand with too much confidence for what their essay looked like. Tam gave him a confused look. He had his scheming face on, never good.

"Mr. Sencen!" Keefe winced at the use of his last name by the doctor. "What an amazing start, it's only appropriate. One of you boys come up and present."

Tam gave Keefe a look of 'do you want me to do it?' Keefe just smiled and got up from his chair. This would either be really good or really, really bad. Tam was all too familiar with the scheme face.

"Doc, I did depart from the source material a bit here, hope you don't mind. And I use 'I' because Tam had no involvement in this, he deserves full points for his essay."

Keefe cleared his throat, the room was so silent you could hear a pin drop.

"Doctor Harding deserves to get fired: an essay. (And it's only been a week!) Paragraph one, his drinking problem-"

"Sencen! Back to your seat now. I will see you after class, or I will not see you in my next class, understand?"

Keefe gave a thumbs up as he sat back on his chair with a thud.

A few minutes later, in the middle of another student's essay, he passed Tam a note with his loopy handwriting.

"The amount of comebacks I had for 'see me after class' is absurd but if I get kicked out there's no way Elwin is helping me pay tuition a second time."

Tam tried not to smile, certainly failing, as he wrote his response.

"Yeah I think the time you talked back to Miss Cadence she wanted to expel you. Lucky Principal Alina had a thing for pseudo-dad Alden."

"Oh God I haven't talked to him in a whiiiiiile."

"?"

"You haven't heard? Yeah, he sorta found out like ALL his kids were ell gee bee tees and freaked out. Della found herself a new gf though!"

"Sounds like a lovely extra punch in the gut for a queerphobe."

"Yep. Honestly I recommend looking through his Facebook sometime. Just a million rants about how the gays destroy everything, great entertainment."

"Duly noted."

At that point it seemed like the doctor started to take notice of their note passing, and they stopped quickly. Tam wouldn't be surprised if he did the whole high school read in front of the class thing with the way he had been acting so far.

Tam was 100% sure tenure was the only thing keeping this guy's job intact. Apparently being a drunk asshole wasn't near enough to get a person out of their position. He tried to ignore the professor's annoyingly smug face for the rest of the class.

~*~

Keefe sat in his usual spot at the library, Tam sitting across from him, his brown eyes dancing across the textbook page and lips mumbling along the words. He didn't have much to do, often finding himself just staring at Tam, quickly looking away if he seemed to notice.

Eventually he sighed, sitting back.

"Ugh, this test is in a week and I have so much other crap to do, I'll never get this all memorized by Friday."

Keefe silently thanked his brain for managing to get around the having to study thing. Yay, photographic memory!

"Oh, uh, well I'm free to study more tomorrow if that would help? We could do, like, flashcards or something."

Tam seemed to repress a smile. He did that a lot. Keefe always noticed.

"That's okay, I'm sure you have better things to do. The Starbucks is always pretty packed."

"Eh, sometimes you have to get away from Marella. She's mean to me."

"Not just you, once she told me if I ever made fun of Linh's cat's name again she'd make me cut off my own bangs."

Keefe nodded sagely. "The shorter you are the closer to hell. That's why you're worse than her."

"Hey!"

Tam flicked a stray rubber band at Keefe.

"I'm at least 2 inches taller than Marella...we measured."

Keefe thought up about 12 inappropriate jokes he couldn't make before flicking the rubber band back.

"Two inches only counts in roller coasters, none of which you can ride."

Tam stuck his tongue out before returning to his studies. Unlike Tam, Keefe didn't hide his smile.

~*~

Tam strolled into the Starbucks that Friday morning, no longer surprised to see Keefe working the counter. He could barely hold still in line as he thought about the amount of cramming he'd have to do in the next few hours.

When he reached the counter, Keefe said nothing, just busily worked making a drink.

He stuck it right out at Tam.

"One venti iced caramel macchiato with 2 extra shots of espresso because you have a test today in political science and still haven't studied everything and also a muffin because you probably haven't eaten today. On the house. Good luck with the studying."

Tam froze.

"I- um- th-thaks. Y-you too...sport."

Oh, you fucking idiot.

He quickly scurried out of the Starbucks with drink and muffin in hand. Wow, he had screwed that up.

But...

Keefe...

He...

He remembered his order and that he had a test and that he forgot to eat when he was stressed holy shit holy shit holy shit holy shit-

Okay, deep breaths Tam, you got this. You can totally handle a frustratingly cute guy showing care for you this is fine...

Not fine, not fine, gotta tell Linh.

He called Linh with no forewarning. Despite the fact that she was currently across the country at a different university, and it was about 3 am for her, she picked up. He barely let her get out a groggy "Hello?" before explaining everything. She only seemed to think a moment before responding.

"Hm. Well it's good to know that college is going good for you. Do you need advice or comfort?"

"Yes."

"Well, first of all, everything's gonna be okay. And I know that doesn't help much but just try to remember we're eighteen, and it's not the end of the world. Second of all, try to ask him out or something. It doesn't have to be framed as a date, like Marella and I got together on a walk in the park, seriously it can be anything."

"Thanks Linh."

"No problem, also can you hug Marella for me?"

"If she doesn't try to kill me first, yes."

"Nice. Okay go do what you gotta do, also don't wake me up at 3 am again or else I'll sic Purryfins on you, I had just gone to bed."

With that she hung up and Tam continued on his way, still trying to not completely freak out.

~*~

Keefe stared blankly as Tam walked right out of the door. Marella appeared by his arm.

"So, how'd it go?"

"Well, he called me 'sport'."

Marella inhaled through her teeth.

"Yikes. Comfort, advice, or distraction?"

"Distraction, please." Keefe replied, absent-mindedly preparing a cup for the next customer.

"Uh, well I meant to ask you what ended up happening with that ass of a teacher, but I got a bit distracted at your attempt to woo Tam-"

"Hey I said distraction not reminder. But basically I just got a slap on the wrist because, and I quote, 'Your father is Cassius Sencen! He wrote half the books we use in this class, I'm sure he can straighten you out!'"

"There's absolutely nothing papa Sencen could do to make you straight, I'm pretty sure he tried that, and it obviously didn't work."

"He actually tried a few times and it most definitely did not. Lucky he doesn't have my number anymore or else I assure you he'd keep trying."

Marella laughed.

"Well, moving on from grade A assholes, I'm supposed to tell you there's a party tonight. I'll have to send you the address later, I have it on my phone though, I am told there's gonna be booze, so I'm going."

"Eh, I'll probably go. Just to get my mind off everything."

"Thata boy." She lifted her phone. "And my shifts over in three, two, one, and I am out of here! See ya' tonight Hunkyhair."

"That's Lord Hunkyhair to you."

She just rolled her eyes and clocked out, leaving Keefe to deal with both the customers and his own thoughts.

~*~

Tam sat in his dorm room alone, constantly refreshing his grades for the possibility that his 70-year-old professor would post the test results at 1:30 am.

His roommate was gone for the weekend, actually he was gone most of the time. Tam didn't think they'd even had a full conversation before.

He jumped as his phone began to ring, a call from Keefe of all people. He hesitantly picked it up.

"Hello?"

"Tam! Tam Tam Tam Tam Tam" Keefe's slurred speech was too loud for a phone call, Tam held his phone a bit away from his ear. "...fuck wait why did I call you..."

There was a long pause, neither said anything.

"Oh yeah! I needed to tell you something...but uh I uhm I forgot what it was."

"Keefe, where are you?"

"At a paaaaaarty, well, actually just outside a party because it was hot in there, but now it's cold out here so uh yeah."

Tam sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Okay, send me the address, I'm coming to pick you up. Wait right there and don't move."

"Okie dokie."

Tam heard a thud sort of sound and the rustling of grass from the other line before Keefe hung up and soon after got a message of his location.

After 20 minutes of walking in the cold, Tam came up to what seemed to be a frat house with Keefe sitting on the lawn in criss-cross, patiently waiting in short sleeves and basketball shorts, way too little clothing for the weather. His ruddy face smiled as he saw Tam approach.

"Tam! I remembered what I was going to tell you." He stood up, face falling right after. "Oh no wait I forgot again. Ooh! You need a drink."

Keefe grabbed Tam's hand, pulling him towards the house. Tam stayed in place.

"Hey, let's get you home dude."

Keefe pouted.

"I don't wannaaaa."

He slouched down, pulling on Tam's arm like a child having a tantrum.

Tam pulled him back up to his feet.

"C'mon, if you go to your dorm without fuss I'll buy you ice cream tomorrow."

Keefe seemed much more ok with going along with Tam with the ice cream deal. He pulled off his own coat and placed it around the very drunk boy, he didn't complain.

Keefe began humming some annoying song from the early 2000s that was playing from the house earlier as they walked back in the direction of the dorms.

Suddenly, Tam remembered something.

Fitz was Keefe's roommate.

Shit.

"Hey uh do you think Fitz is at your dorm?"

Keefe nodded confidently.

"Yep! Said he was gon' study. Wouldn't come to the party because of his 'reputation' or whatever."

Around reputation he did exaggerated finger quotes, nearly knocking Tam's jacket off his shoulders.

"Hm...in that case let's go to my dorm, ok?"

Keefe shrugged, apparently willing to go along with most things in his current state. Thank goodness Linh had made Tam bring extra pillows and blankets to college, he could sleep on the floor and just hope Keefe didn't get sick on him in the night.

It was ridiculously hard to lead Keefe back to his dorm. He tried to pull down his pants halfway there and Tam almost had to carry him up the stairs but soon enough they got there. He sighed with relief as he led his inebriated friend into the room.

"Okay, you can stay here for the night. I'll sleep on the floor."

Keefe plopped himself down on Tam's bed laying flat for only a moment before sitting up with a snap and a look of realization in his eyes.

"OOH! I remember what I was gonna tell you again!"

"Oh?" Tam said playing along, expecting him to forget again.

He patted the spot next to him on the bed, Tam continued to play along, sitting next to him.

"So Marella said that I should just tell you this, and it worked for her, so I'm gonna. And uh and you have to promise to listen 'cause I'm not sayin' it again."

At this point Keefe grabbed his face with both hands, staring right in Tam's eyes and squishing his cheeks.

"You're listening right?"

Tam nodded, mostly to shake Keefe's hands off his face.

"Okay."

Keefe took in an over dramatic breath as if he was preparing to preform in the Olympics before getting another grin on his face.

"I really like you."

"You really like me?"

He nodded mumbling "mhm".

"What do you mean?"

"I mean I like you. Like, like like you."

"Like...as a friend?"

"I said I wasn't gonna repeat myself. As a booooyfriend." At this point Keefe fell back on the bed, looking at the ceiling. Tam's cheeks were burning.

"How long have you liked me like that?"

"Mmmm..." Keefe seemed to ponder for a moment, "Prolly high school."

"Oh um...good to know. You should get some rest. I'll be down here if you need me."

"Alrighty."

Tam shut off the lights and Keefe started snoring quick. Tam could only stare up in the darkness, unable to sleep.

~*~

Keefe woke up that morning in a room he didn't recognize to a killer headache and dead phone.

He turned to the side, seeing a pile of blankets and pillows with a large gatorade, bottle of tylenol, and a note next to it. Suddenly last nights memories came flooding back.

Oh, shit.

He scrambled out of bed, headache and nausea hitting him harder as he stood up.

Despite the fact his head was spinning, he picked up the note from the ground and read it.

Hey, meet me at the reservoir around 6, we need to talk -Tam

F. U. C. K.

Had he really said all that stuff last night? Surely it was a dream, right?

Oh God.

He gathered his few belongings, plus the things to help the hangover, and left the dorms as fast as possible. Only having to stop once along the way to throw up in one of the campus trash cans, hopefully no one would notice.

Keefe didn't have anything to do and he really didn't want to face Fitz so he went about his day in last nights clothing. Then again, it was a college campus. Someone walking around with rumpled clothes carrying a gatorade probably wasn't that big of a deal for most people. By 5:30 he sat impatiently in the empty park where the reservoir was located, it was colder closer to the water.

Just as promised, at 6 o'clock he saw Tam approaching on the horizon.

~*~

Tam was damn near a panic attack as he walked around the park attempting to find Keefe. Eventually he found him, sitting on a bench still in his clothes from last night, face once again ruddy from the cold. He sat next to him wordlessly.

"So," Keefe started.

"So," Tam replied, looking down at his lap.

"Tam I-" Keefe turned to face him. "I'm sorry about everything last night, I probably just made everything super awkward. Not to mention it's a giant violation of the friend code to even have a crush on your best friend's ex-"

"Yeah, about that."

"What?"

"You're gonna maybe kill me for this but uh," Tam pulled on his bangs. "I sorta talked to Fitz about it, I figured you wouldn't and apparently I was right. He said he was okay with it as long as we were ok with it."

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

Tam sighed, "Perhaps."

Keefe once again wore that shit-eating grin of his.

"Can I hear you say it?"

"Why don't you have to say it?"

"Already said it last night! Your turn now. Why did you take care of me while I was drunk?"

Keefe stared at Tam excitedly waiting for the answer. Tam sighed.

"Because I love you, little shit."

"Ooh you said it-"

Tam smashed his lips against Keefe's, both quickly melting into it. After only a moment they pulled away.

"Agh, you taste like gatorade and vomit."

"Well you taste like salt so really what's worse."

"Definitely the vomit."

Despite this, Tam leaned back in. This kiss was a moment longer than the last, and when Tam pulled away Keefe chased it.

"Ok, look I'm sorry but you look like shit Keefe you have to go change." Tam removed his jacket, throwing it around Keefe once again and helping him up from the bench. Keefe laughed.

"Yeah, you're right. Ooh now that we're a thing you need a new nickname!"

"I do?"

"You do, how about 'Bangs Boyf' ooh or maybe you can be my 'provoked partner' or my 'snappy spouse' my 'agitated accomplice' perhaps."

"Do you just have these ready and prepared for any situation?"

"A magician never reveals his secrets."

"You aren't Houdini, you're an 18-year-old boy that currently reeks of frat party."

"Eh that's basically the same thing. I've seen some 18-year-olds at frat parties preform tricks Houdini could never dream of."

Tam sighed dramatically. "It's a good thing you're pretty, you know."

"Hey!" Keefe jokingly shoved him.

For the first time Tam's smile wasn't repressed.

[spideytommyy-blog]

Unforgettable | Peter Parker X Reader (Part One)

Pairing: Peter Parker X Reader

Word Count: 3,098

Warnings: Fluff, swearing

Summary: you kinda blush a lot

A/N: Thank you so much for reading if you’d like to be tagged at the end for the next part just let me know

Peter sighed as he slipped into the booth seat across from you, caramel ice coffee in on hand, and his camera in another. He runs his fingers through his curls, frustration clear on his facial features. Dropping the camera on the table, he removes his hands from his hair and rests his face into his palms with a whiny groan. You look around the small coffee shop that is occupied with the usual crowd, some business men, a group of middle aged women that you perceived to be a book club, they meet every Thursday, and a handful of old ladies making over the male barista behind the counter. It was your usual, five p.m. coffee buzz.

You look back at Peter, his eyes now locked on his fingers that were grazing the condensation that collected on the outside of his cup. You look at him, trying to make eye contact. You soon break your stare and grab his backpack that was laying under the table. Peter watches you with lazy eyes, not caring if you invade his privacy.

You reach into his bag and pull out three pictures, all of the red and blue masked figure. One picture of him swinging in between buildings, one shooting a web at a high speed chase on 39th street, and in the last one, hes climbing up a building, windows in the reflection of his eye pieces.

"Wow" you say eyeing the last photo. You flip the picture over to see '$150' in Peter's handwriting.

"He told me that they are junk and his four year old niece could take a better ones." Peter said taking the three photographs and crumpling them up.

"I thought they were pretty kick ass if you ask me." You said giving him a sad smile as you watched Peter shove the crumpled balls into his backpack.

"Thanks, but unless you're willing to give me $150 for each, that doesn't really help."

Peter has been selling these pictures of Spider Man to the Daily Bugle for about four months now, that seems to be all that anyone can talk about.

"Hey are you going to the dance tomorrow?" You asked, desperately trying to change the subject so his mood wouldn't worsen.

"I thought about it," laying the side of his head on his hand, he looks into your eyes "what about you? Are you going?"

"Yeah Ned, Mj, and I are gonna meet at my house. We've been asking you all week, what's stopping you?" You already knew the answer to that question, but you wanted to hear it from him.

"Well I have the internship for starters—"

"And?"

"And..Liz will, uh, will be there. You know she volunteers there." Peter said, a slight blush running across his cheeks.

"You know she's on the homecoming committee right? Plus you told me she was at the complete opposite side of the building." You scoffed  "I'm pretty sure she won't ditch on her own dance."

"Yeah, but what if I run into her?"

You reach across the table and grab Peters hands, yours growing sweaty. Peters heart raced at the sudden contact, but he wasn't sure why.

"Please come Pete. You can meet with us at my house, it will be fun!" You stick your bottom lip out, giving him your never-failing puppy dog look.

Peter tried to resist, but soon gave in. "Fine", he rolled his eyes, "I'll go."

"Yes!" You exclaimed, almost jumping out of your seat. Releasing your hands, you quickly miss the soft, but rough texture of his.

You both looked down, red in the cheeks at your now empty hands, when your phone buzzed showing a message from Rose flash on the screen.

"Oh shit sorry Pete, I gotta go. I'll see you tomorrow." Giving him a warm smile, you got up and left the coffee shop, still feeling the lingering sensation of Peters hands in yours.

As you leave, Peter watches  you through the window before getting up, and leaving the same way you did. He made sure to keep an eye on you as he followed you from the tops of buildings. As you walked inside the lobby of your building, Peter let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding. He worries about you a lot, definitely more than is healthy. You're special to him.

Your light in your room flickers on signaling that you've gotten home safely. Peter tugs his cloths off revealing his suit underneath, and looking around, he made sure no one would see him stuffing his hoodie and jeans into his backpack . Pete took one last glance at your window and there you were,  sitting in bed writing. He’s always wondered what you write about in the black leather journal you always carry around, he wouldn't dare look though.  Personal space is something that is very important to you, and you've always hated answering questions, so as guessed, Peter had a million unanswered ones.

With a flick of his wrist, Peter shoots a web in the opposite direction of your building, swinging off into the night.

-------------------------------------------------——————

You and Liz weren't necessarily friends, but you could never hate her. You hated how you couldn't hate her, she made Peter happy. And for some reason, you were the one person she always confided in when she needed advice, and being you, you were there for her.

You woke up to your phone buzzing, groaning in pain from the sudden harsh light that burned into your corneas. '6 new messages from Liz'  your phone read. You sighed as you read the pleas for help.

(Y/n) are you awake? I'm sorry to bother you :/

I really need some advice please answer

Before you ask, yes its about the dance tomorrow

And I was wondering if you knew if peter was going or not?

Sorry I know its late I just need someone to talk to

Ill just see you tomorrow at school I guess

" Why don't you ask him yourself? I'm sure he would be happy to hear from you." You rolled your eyes and turned off your phone. No you didn't hate Liz, but the feeling was pretty close. You envied her. You wanted Peter to look at you the way he looked at her. You wanted him to take a different and completely-out-of-the-way rout to class for you like he did for her. You wanted to be the one he couldn't stop thinking about, but you wouldn't be. You never would be. You were the new friend in the friend group, you two only knowing each other for a year. Peter and Liz have been friends since Peter was a freshman, how could you compete?

The feeling made you angry. You were so deep into your thoughts that you didn't even realize the smoke coming from under your sheets, or the heat that formed in the palm of your hands. Quickly realizing the small fire starting on one of the corners of your comforter, you patted the small area down frantically with your hand, putting out the flame.

Slowly but surely these random anger outbursts were getting stronger and even more dangerous. No one knew you had these powers, and you didn't know where they came from. You've had them since you were 10, at least that's when you first noticed them. You watched the power develop over the years, mostly because you had server anger issues.

You always figured you inherited them from your parents, but there was no way of ever knowing. You had no other blood family, and when you were adopted, there were no files on them. It was like they never even existed.

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

The next day went pretty slow, just your regular Friday, except the homecoming committee members were running around doing last minute preparations for later tonight. Making your way to your last period of the day, you see Peter and Liz talking by the library, and luckily, your locker was a few feet away so you could hear them.

"H-hey Liz" Peter said with a slight stutter. He only stuttered around her, and you'd always wish he had better confidence.

"Oh hey Peter! Its good to catch you, you've missed a few decathlon practices, are you ok?" Liz rested her palm on Peters shoulder, and you noticed him stiffen.

"Oh y-yeah I'm-I'm fine yeah um, just been, busy."

You were glad someone else was aware of Peters disappearances, even if it was her.

"Well I'm glad I caught you, I wanted to ask you something." Liz said shyly as she put a piece of hair behind her ear. You turned to face into your locker trying to not make it obvious that you were eavesdropping.

 "I've just been so busy with homecoming and the decathlon that I haven't had a chance to find a date, so I was wondering if maybe, you'd want to go with me?"

Your palms slowly started growning warmer and warmer as the conversation was going on, and being so engulfed in it, you hadn't noticed the smell of heating metal coming from your right hand. You slowly closed the door afraid that anyone saw, especially Pete. If he knew you had these powers, he would probably think you were some freak.

You grabbed your bag and plugged in your headphones walking passed them, hoping they wouldn't notice you, and they didn't.

You decided to skip the last period of the day considering you were doing nothing in that class anyways. Walking out the side exit, you found a small bank of snow sitting within freshly cut bushes. You bent down onto your knees, shoving your hands into the freezing snow. They sizzled and returned to normal in a matter of seconds.

"(Y/n), what are you doing?"

Jumping, you stood up, turning around to see Ned in the door of where you just exited. You grab you chest and exhale a small laugh.

"Ned you scared the shit out of me." You slung your bookbag back over your left shoulder as Ned gave you a suspicious look.

"Why are you out here its freezing? And we have a Spanish quiz this period!" Ned exclaimed holding his Spanish notes in front of him. You sighed and kicked at the now halfway melted snow bank. "I'm going home, I'm not feeling good I'll probably just make it up on Monday."

"Is it about Peter going to the dance with Liz?" You snapped your head up and Ned just let out a loud giggle.

"How do you-"

"Oh please everyone pretty much knows except Peter. Hes always been oblivious." Ned rolled his eyes and shrugged. "I think you should just tell him (y/n)."

"Yeah that's NEVER going to happen." You said sending a sharp glare in Ned's direction. He sent you a sad smile and your glare went soft. "Don't do that. Don't pity me I'll be fine." You said quietly looking down at your wet shoes.

Ned walked closer and gave you a warm hug. "If you ever need to talk about anything you know you'll always have Mj and I." You were grateful for the friendship you had developed with Ned and Mj over the past few months, they were both hilarious and always there for you when Pete wasn't. "Thanks Ned, I know. Ill see you tonight." You smiled at him one more time before turning and walking to the direction of your apartment, leaving school grounds.

Ned took his seat next to Peter in class, yours was empty in front of them.

"Ned where is (y/n)? I saw her in the hallway like five minutes ago."

Ned wouldn't make eye contact with him, so he knew something was up. "She-she uh, wasn't feeling good so she went home."

Before Peter could call him out for lying, the teacher announced that the quiz was going to begin. He decided to shoot you a quick text.

"Hey Ned said you weren't feeling well? Text me ok?"

You rolled you eyes at the message and sent a 'Just tired  :)' back so he wouldn't think anything was up, but Peter knew better.

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

Later that night Ned and Mj brought two pizzas over before you got ready. You had just went to go sit down as you heard three soft knocks on your door. Mj smirked at you as you darted to answer. Behind it was Peter in a tux, with a small red rose corsage in hand. How much you wished he looked like that for you. Your eyes went wide at the sight of him and your cheeks a slight shade of pink.

"Wow Parker knows how to tie a tie." Mj said sarcastically as she stood behind you smirking at the sight of you practically swooning.

Peter let out a small giggle, "Well uh actually, May had to find a video on YouTube." he said rubbing the back of his neck.

You took a step to the side giving him space to walk in.

"Mj and Ned b-brought pizza i-if you want any." You sounded like a stuttering fool.

Peter gave you a weird look and asked if you were feeling alright. "Y-yeah. I'll be right back." You turned on your heel and sped walked to your bathroom.

You looked in the mirror and noticed how red your face was, mostly from embarrassment. "What are you doing!" You whisper-yelled looking at your flushed reflection. Letting out a deep sigh you grabbed the door handle, but before the door fully opened, you heard a familiar laugh coming from the kitchen.

Making your way out of the bathroom and down the hallway, you hear the voice of Liz Allen. Her and Peter were dishing up pizza while Ned and Mj sat at the bar, Mj reading a book, and Ned noticing you, eyes going wide in a 'I had no idea' fashion. Peter noticed Ned's direction of stare and turned to see you stunned in the entrance way of the small kitchen.

Liz turned as well and greeted you with a loose hug. "(Y/n)! Thank you so much for inviting me over, how cute will it be when we all show up together!" You plastered the fakest smile that you ever had to make on your face, "Yeah I just thought it would be sooo cute."

Mj snorted with her face hidden in her book, and Ned jabbed her with his elbow, causing peter to look back over at the both of them and, Ned giving him a toothy grin.

"Well I gotta go get ready so I'll be back."

"Hey wait I'm coming too." Mj said closing her book and sliding off the bar stool. "Can I come?" Ned begged with pleading eyes. "No Ned." Mj said without turning around.

"Are you sure (y/n) is ok? She's acting...strange." Peter said leaning over and whispering to Ned. "Yeah she's completely fine."

Mj took a seat on your bed watching you apply a small amount of makeup on your face. You didn't wear much makeup in general, but you figured you would actually try to look presentable. "You didn't invite her did you?" Mj asked, her features sad as she looked at you through the mirror.

"Nope. But its whatever." You grabbed your pink-nude lip gloss and applied it, rubbing your lips together. "I'm going to have fun tonight."

"You should make him jealous. Flash is going to be there ya know."

You ran the idea through your head and all the scenarios that could possibly play out as the result of hanging with him. You didn't want to hurt Peter, its not like he knows you have feelings for him, but you don't want to be moping all night. "You know what Mj? You are a genius."

She laughed and stood up from the bed. "Lets go, we don't want to be too fashionably late."

You all left to the school in different cars. Peter and Liz in one, You, Mj, and Ned in the other. "He's so obnoxious when shes around." Ned pouted while looking through the rear view mirror.

Peter did act different around Liz, almost like he was trying to be 'cool' to impress her, you three however suffered secondhand embarrassment. He acted completely opposite of himself, except for the shameless stuttering.

Pulling into the parking lot you watch as Peter and Liz walked into the doors, hand in hand. Mj noticed your disappointed face and gave your shoulder a quick squeeze accompanied with a small smile. "Remember the plan, it will get to him trust me." She ensures as she hops out of the car, Ned following her lead.

You decided to shake off the small tang of sadness that choked the back of your throat. You, Ned, and Mj walked in, arms linked. The loud music boomed through the doors and through the windows you saw the different colored lights shining on the dancing bodies.  The three of you made your way in, Mj heading straight to the food booth, and Ned going to find you all a table.

Looking around you noticed Peter by the punch bowl, not wanting him to see you, you rip your head into the opposite direction, but of course, he did notice you. "(Y/n)! (Y/n)!" You turned to see Peters hands cupped around his mouth. He smiled and signaled for you to join him. "Oh hey Pete, I didn't see you there." Peter looked you up and down, taking in your appearance for the first time. He wasn't able to at before because he was too busy drooling over Liz to even notice you. "Y-you look, wow" He said at a loss for words.

"I guess we know how to clean up huh?" You stifled a small giggle, trying make the situation less awkward.

"(Y/n)," Flash greeted you with a flirtatious voice, "Hey Penis Parker."

"Flash what do you-" Peter tried to say before being cut off.

Flash turned to face you, "Mj said you wanted to dance?" He held out a hand for you to take. You took a quick glance at Peter, his expression plastered with various emotions of confusion, shock, and even a little hurt. You smiled back up to Flash and took his hand. "Yes, yes I do." Your cheeks turning a light shade of pink, knowing what you planed was beginning to work. You both turned to leave when Peter grabbed your free arm.

"(Y/n), what are you doing?" You slowly pulled your arm away, "Have fun Pete." You and Flash walk into the crowd, leaving behind a hurt Peter.

[opepin]

june: week five

26: kevin woke up earlier than i did today o__o i rolled around bed and i was just so tired. i did wake up at like 6 am to pee and drink water because my mouth was so dry. kevin left to go to work and then realized he left his laptop and id at home LOLOLOL. so he had to train back and get them. i ate cereal for breakfast and then went to work and caught up on all the stuff that happened over the weekend. i also caught up with my financials and i’m so thankful that july is here so i can properly sort out my moneys lol. then i went back to work and started recording videos. i recorded and edited for the rest of the day. then i did ab exercises and snuck in a low-impact cardio workout...which i don’t think i should have done. ugh. :/ then i put chicken in the oven and made rice. i showered and got out just as the chicken finished baking. kevin got back from climbing and then showered while i chopped garlic and cilantro.

i ate dinner while he cooked. i got hungry so i finished leftovers and a chicken thigh by the time he was done. i asked kevin to take a quiz for me and he got real judgey about it -__-” like c’mon, it’s just a quiz. so then i just left him be and watched ‘crossroads’ in the bedroom. lol it was a good way to spend my evening <3 kevin apologized and then actually tried to take the quiz and them steamed soup dumplings for us. my mom called me and asked me about my foot and yelled at me out of love and asked me to move home LOL (that’s not happening). then i finished watching the movie, jammed out to britney’s old school music, and then brushed and went to sleep.

27: merp. i don’t feel like myself. i feel like something is wrong but i’m not sure? i woke up and went straight to work while eating breakfast. we had all-hands today so i took that time to do some internet errands. phil also said i didn’t need to work on monday so woot. i might work though. i was very productive and made one pagers for all the videos as well as exercises if necessary and i also pinpointed the next videos i could record and practiced using the new tools and ui. then i went straight into my arms and back workout. i talked to my mom for a bit and then baked chicken and showered. kevin got back and then showered and i ended up eating a chicken thigh and then we just went straight into making spring rolls and eating dinner. i told kevin how i’ve been feeling like we haven’t been spending quality time together as in time without reading fanfic or doing something else when we’re with each other. so we planned on doing more of that in the upcoming days. i watched some youtube videos and snuck in a 15 minute low impact workout to get my heart pumping a bit. i felt pretty bloated and sluggish today. i did my pt stretches and iced my feet as well. then i got into bed at 11:30 pm and started re-taking personality quizzes because why not? i got INFJ again for two quizzes and then a very confused one on the last one. apparently, i was on the cusp of extra/intro and intuitive/perceiving. i took it again and it said i was an ISFJ. hmmm. i got on the phone with hillary for a bit and then ended up sleeping right after. zzzz.

28: lol at this day... kevin and i slept in a bit and then i recorded a video before heading out to my doctor’s appointment. my appointment was super short because she saw my foot and ordered an x-ray for both my feet (just in case). then kevin picked me up and when we got back, i spent a good amount of time just finding imaging and radiology places to get my x-ray. the list using mycigna was crap because more than 3/4 of them were closed or did not do x-rays -__- why the eff were they on the results page when i looked up “foot x-ray - 3 sides”?! omg. i ended up just googling and finding a place close by and calling cigna to double check if they are in my network, which they were! i got on stand up and then made us spring rolls with the tonkatsu kevin cooked during my hunt and stand up. kevin went to get his hair cut when i was on my stand up and brought back bubble tea :3 then we ate together, i recorded another video, and then called cigna to make sure this location was in-network as well (i found two close by and i chose the closer one that i didn’t call about previously) and then i called the facility to make an appointment. 

the receptionist told me i had to have a pcp at the location so she sent me to the registry and i got my information put into the database and called again to make an appointment. note that i was put on hold every time i called to make an appointment. the lady (didn’t know it was the same one) asked me if i was registered and i said yes and then proceeded to ask me who my pcp was... i told her i don’t have one with them and that i have an x-ray order >_O” she told me i needed to choose a pcp in order to make an appointment and sent me back to registry...wtf. i told registry what was going on and the lady was so nice and tried figuring it out. the thing is, that it was almost 5 pm so they were all about to leave but she took my call anyway. she tried getting in touch with the receptionist but rq’d and told me that they’ve been hard to get in contact with anyway and asked if i wanted to talk to the other location and patched me through. omggggg, that receptionist though. anyway, the radiologist actually picked up and told me that i didn’t need an appointment and i just needed to come in and it’d only take like 10 minutes LOL. omg gg me. she was really nice so i didn’t mind but it took me 30 minutes just to not make an appointment...

i went straight to work after and managed to edit my videos and spot another one i could record tomorrow. i feel partially productive but still... ugh. kevin also wasn’t that productive either. hmm i’ve also been noticing a rise in my resting heart rate again so there’s that. -__-” ugh, i’m feeling really negative because i can’t do my regular exercise routine. i’m gonna find a way around it though! kevin chilled on the couch while i did some low-impact cardio with my sneakers inside the apartment. i think they helped but it feels so weird not being barefoot :( then i did oblique videos and i got super tired. after my workout, i did my pt stretches. kevin and i made spring rolls with the leftovers and then we relaxed for the rest of the night. i watched the latest episode of world of dance while kevin cleaned up. then i showered and put ice on my feet while watching youtube videos and etc before falling asleep.

29: i’ve been having weird action-packed dreams ahha. well, i got up and then kevin and i ate breakfast. kevin drove me over to the medical center to get my foot x-ray after. it’s located inside this nice shopping center / mall thingy in the middle of quincy! :O there is also a five guys, jimmy john’s, and barnes and noble in there. we found out that quincy college is right there as well. anyway, it was a breeze checking in and kevin joined me after he found parking. the x-ray was much like getting them at the dentist. the lady helping me was super nice and told me i should get my results by tomorrow. kevin drove me back, i went straight into the tech time call (wasn’t necessary). i did drop out at some point because of the audio. i worked after i dropped and kevin went to work at fitbit after that as well. i managed to record two videos and edit them before the day was over. then i chopped up some kale and garlic while watching the newest episode of masterchef and then i did a low-impact and leg workout. my feet are feeling better! they feel safer in gym shoes now when i work out. then i showered and kevin made fried rice and saucy pork belly with lotus root. we ate dinner while watching gordon ramsay videos.

then i went into the room and did some online shopping at american eagle. after debating on which tops to get, i checked out and found out that 3 of the tops i wanted were sold out T_T so i rq’d and blech. i spent my whole night doing that... then i did my pt stretches, iced my feet, and then stayed up reading stuff on snapchat news...ahaha. kevin got into bed while reading fanfic and i wanted him to just go to sleep so i tried distracting him and bothering him until he was tired but it didn’t work and i just ended up sleeping ahah...

30: ...we woke up to the sound of the fire alarms blaringgggggg everywhereeee -__-” so we went outside and i was half blind lol. today was the fire alarm drills in deco and we thought it would only affect a few floors, but nope! so we went back, tried to go back to sleep but then the alarms went off again so we went back down and then we went back again and i brushed up and everything so i didn’t go outside blind again. the alarm went off so we decided to get into the car and get breakfast or something except that kevin didn’t brush his teeth yet so he went back up after the alarms stopped and then we drove to the townshend where we found out that brunch is only on sundays... so we told the waiter we thought we could get breakfast here and he was super nice and understood. we left to go to craig’s cafe down the street. i got tea and the last order of eggs benedict ;D kevin got two breakfast sandwiches. mmm the food there was good and so cheap! our meal was only around $20 haha.

we drove back and all the drills were done so i went straight to work. i had a food coma so i did some internet errands before returning to do work. kevin went climbing and i got the work i wanted to get done, done. then i prepped food for dinner and exercised until kevin got back. i continued exercising while kevin realized that we didn’t have coconut milk to make the kale coconut fried rice so then we just ate leftovers from yesterday. i showered and then i plopped myself down on the sofa and played some bravely default... i’m trying to get all of the genomes i can for the vampire class before heading into the ending, which is superrrr long apparently -_-” haha. it was like 1 am when kevin joined me and he tried playing ff-x but switched over to hollow knight. omg, kevin started playing ff-x on steam and it is beautisss! i have so many memories <3 then we both got really tired and went to sleep at like 2:30 am.

july01: we woke up at like 11 am and stayed in bed until 12 pm. we ate breakfast and then drove to get tickets to see wonder woman and then we went shopping at the mall! we were planning on going to faneuil hall and shopping at uniqlo but kevin was lazy and just wanted to drive over to the mall. we went to j crew first and got nothing there. then we stopped by auntie anne’s to get pretzels <3 i was very disappointed in the garlic parmesan one because it was literally just all powder :( we got cinnamon sugar nuggets so that kind of made up for it. we stopped by gap where kevin got two pairs of pants and then we stopped by the food court to eat the pretzels. then we went to american eagle and aerie. i got kevin to try on these joggers he was looking at and he fell in love with them LOL. i tried finding the shirts that were sold out online but i couldn’t find them so i rq’d. i walked into aerie and told kevin he could wait outside if he was bored and didn’t want to follow me. i managed to find the sports bra i wanted and got it :) i got one sports bra without needing to pay for shipping / buy more stuff for free shipping -- yay! then we stopped by express on the way back and i did my best looking for things to buy but everything had the cross over lacing trend and/or drop shoulders and i’m not about that life right now. i tried on a pair of scalloped shorts and i fit a xs at express o_o’ i didn’t get them because the scallops were too big. kevin managed to find 3 tees and a collared shirt that he liked :O he had a good shopping trip.

we went to target after and got some cherries, noosa, and i got some insoles. then we drove back, kevin changed into his new clothes, cleaned out his t-shirt drawer, and i tried on my sports bra and chilled until we needed to leave for the movie. oh, we snacked on some mantou and chicken strips and stuff before heading to the movie. wonder woman was awesome -- it was so action-packed and i was never bored. kevin kept laughing at the awkward scenes LOL. whenever i watch a movie with kevin in theaters and he laughs, i realize that i am with one of those people who obnoxiously laugh at the movies. i’ve gotten used to it now and it’s actually endearing to hear someone laugh that hard in the movies. anyway, after that, we drove home, i snacked some more and then got in a 45 minute dance cardio workout. my feet are healinggg but i’m still avoiding hard jumps and stuff like that. i’m so happy <3333 i showered after and then remembered i had to do pt stretches and then ice my feet so i did that and then quickly got ready for bed and ko’d at like 1 or 2 am...zzz. oh, kevin got hungry before we went to bed so he made himself a breakfast sandwich and i asked if he could toast english muffins for me so i could put jam on it. he did that and put jam on it for me. lololol, he put a lot of jam on it so it became so sweet and i couldn’t take another bite after taking my first. lolololol. so that’s how kevin gets through jam so quickly...

july02: we got up at 11 am or 12 pm again. then we ate breakfast. kevin was still doing his morning thangs so i went into the bedroom and called to make a reservation at the envoy hotel for his birthday (: i got us a room and then i put our bedsheets into the washer and took some surveys until it was time to leave for our monthly massage. actually, i made us leave later than we were supposed to because the washer wasn’t done and i didn’t want to leave our sheets in there, but i looked it up and stuff doesn’t grow mildew until 24 hours later so we were good to go. we actually got there at 1:31 pm, which was on time :OO it felt soooo good. my masseuse, who is also the boss lady, worked on my back and shoulders today and it felt great. she cracked my back twice and my right foot (injured foot) and was worried she was breaking me but all was well! kevin and i were so relaxed and tired after that. we drove home and then kevin gamed until i asked him when we were going to go grocery shopping. i was super tired and had low energy. i just wanted to sleep. it was a struggle getting out of the apartment again.

we went to kam man and i tried looking for tiger balm but they didn’t have any. kevin got most of the groceries and we picked up ingredients to make che thai because kevin was craving it. then we went to bj’s and looked through two coupon books while picking up paper towels and juice. we drove back home and then i made che thai while he put away groceries. we put chia seeds in there and made it with coconut milk and then set them in the fridge. kevin and i cleaned the apartment right after that. i did a deep cleaning of the kitchen and the bathroom. oh, i also started washing our laundry. just as i finished cleaning, kevin started cooking. i managed to find the zodiac dog crystal for my mom’s birthday. i hope it gets here in time before we fly out to chicago on the weekend. nancy invited me, mindy, and hillary to help celebrate ryan’s birthday so i’m excited (: i hope hillary comes~ it’ll be fun. i started stressing about what to wear though. i’m pretty sure i’m going to stick to wearing my adidas because i don’t want to wear shoes that my feet aren’t comfy in. it was a pretty productive sunday. i still felt tired and grody though.

we ate dinner and then i folded the laundry and helped kevin wash some of the dishes. then we cleaned up and showered and i spent my night watching cutscenes from ff-x while doing my pt stretches and icing my feet. kevin came to the sofa to play hollow knight and i ktfo on his shoulder. i woke up and then brushed my teeth and made part of the bed while kevin brushed his teeth. then he put he covers on the blanket and we went to sleep at like 2 am. @_@; lolol my sleep schedule.

[rtirman-blog]

25.

That awkward moment in the upstairs hallway at the Holy Cross Central School of Nursing may appear to others as part of my experience with girls.  However, it was clearly an embarrassing work moment caused, and witnessed by, a nun! However, that X-rated comedy does bring to mind two persistent challenges in my life other than work and school i.e., making friends, and living with my Harriet, Wally, and my cousins.

 One of the first person’s I met was Bob Ernst. I can’t say that Bob and I ever did anything together, but I will never forget the day I met him. After getting a cup of coffee-to-go at the Huddle, I walked over to the La Fortune Student Center to relax.  I found a comfortable chair in the large ballroom as you enter the building.  It simply was a very comfortable, quiet, place with lots of comfortable chairs of the kind in which I was sitting.  I placed my books down on the coffee table, then picked up my newly purchased copy of Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales.  This was not a textbook, nor was it assigned reading.  I spotted this paperback copy at the Notre Dame Bookstore, and it reminded me of a night at Daddy’s when my brothers and I were visiting Phyllis and him in Brooklyn

 It was quite late, and we were discussing the Canterbury Tales.  Really, I ought to be saying that they were discussing the Canterbury Tales while I was on the couch trying so hard to stay awake.  I’d hear a bit of conversation or laughter and doze off, that would repeat and repeat itself for what seemed like all night.  But all of a sudden the laughter got real loud.  I awoke to see Daddy laughing so hard he was crying and giggling. I began to laugh. He took off his glasses, and tears were pouring down his cheeks. Why, in God’s earth was he laughing so uncontrollably? What was so funny?  The answer - one of the Canterbury Tales. To be precise it was The Miller’s Tale.  No one told me anything else, except that I should read it.  

 So, when I spotted the book in the book store, I snatched it up quickly; and then, in the quiet and friendly confines of the La Fortune Student Center, I read the Miller’s Tale.  Chaucer does not waste a single word!  Everything written is essential to the tale.  Once I reached the end of the story, I couldn’t believe how masterfully, and cleverly, every written word mattered.  Sitting there alone, I laughed and laughed. But I was not alone as I thought. A student, whom I did not know, sitting on the other side of the room, was laughing with me.  He made his way over to me, and wanted to know what I was reading that made me laugh so hard. He was laughing because I was laughing!  Just as everyone did for me, I told him what I read that made me laugh so hard, but I would not tell him anything more, so as to not spoil it for him. He and I became school friends through all my years at Notre Dame.  I don’t recall doing anything with him outside the University.  Actually, I had three other friends my freshman year, and I can’t remember doing anything outside the school. With any of them.  As I think back, all that makes a whole lot of sense.  Classes, labs, studying, and work at the hospital consumed most of my time….and energy!  But Alas! I still have not talked about life with my Aunt and Uncle and my cousins.

 My cousins were terrific. Whenever I had time to be around them, it was fun. But honestly, those times were few too many.  My Uncle Wally, who I loved dearly, somehow felt that I should show my appreciation by doing well in school and by doing chores, such as, trimming the ten-foot-high hedges, mowing and raking the lawn, shoveling snow, etc.  Occasionally, I watched the kids.  Another dimension to my stay with them was that Wally turned into a hovering parent. I grew up with practically no adult supervision, yet, I adjusted. Even though Wally had always had a great sense of humor, I found him to be a pretty stern person. However, I felt like I needed to do things his way.  He made a much better uncle than a parent.

I was hard to participate in anything at the University, and hard to develop friendships.  I hope it makes sense when I say I made three friends, and I have no idea how I met two of them – Tony Ciambelli and Ray Sayers. Ray was studying at Notre Dame with his eye on the Priesthood. I believe he was headed for the Congregation of Holy Cross (CSC) because most of the priests there were from that Order. In fact, Father Edward Sorin, the founder of the University, was a Holy Cross priest.

 (As an unimportant note of interest, up until this moment, I never put together Father Sorin and St. Edward’s Hall, in which I had the good fortune to live for a couple of semesters. I also just discovered that Father Sorin founded St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas.    One more aside -   It was pointed out to me, in a calculus class, how to remember the CSC after the names of Holy Cross priests.  As you may know, in a right triangle, the sine and cosecant are reciprocals. Therefore, csc=1/sin, or csc equals one over sin. Clever!)

 Tony was to become my roommate during my sophomore year. Besides wanting to live on my own, my Uncle thought it best that I leave.  He felt, I was a bad influence on my cousins.  Frankly, he either felt he put more on his plate than he could chew, or more likely, he feared that I might mess with Sari, who was mature beyond her 10 years. Just meeting that beautiful girl, you would swear she was eleven or twelve years old.  The only female that was ever in their house whom I would have liked the nerve to “attack” was Mary Lou Dillon. 

 Mary Lou was almost two years older than me.  She had to be the prettiest and nicest gal in the entire Midwest.  Mary Lou worked in my Uncles offices, and was the regular sitter for my cousins.  Just trying to talk with her was difficult.  I needed to gulp, but I didn’t want her to see me gulp, revealing my unrequited nerves. She was very friendly, and shared a huge secret with me. As most people didn’t know, on radio and aired to only Notre Dame students, there was a nighttime program called “Letters from Home” Since I was not on campus, I never heard Notre Dame’s rendition of “Tokyo Rose”.  Nonetheless, the boys (and that’s all there were at Notre Dame, boys!) would listen to the voice of a girl named Elaine.  At least, that’s what I think was her name. Mary Lou’s revelation to me was that she was Elaine!   All those guys drooling while listening to Elaine with her girl-from-home voice, read those breath-taking letters, and I was the Notre Dame student who knew her best- Mary Lou and I had a “secret”, or from my point of view a “secret relationship”.

 (I realize I jump from topic to topic. When I am writing about one thing, another thing comes into my mind. So I start writing about it.  Some people would advise me to simply jot down the new thought on another piece of paper. But I am not very organized, and I’ll lose that paper, for sure. Also, when and if I find that paper, I can’t be sure it would conjure up the thoughts I presently have in my mind. Sometimes, I think I have ADHD!)

 Back to Tony. Near the end of my freshman year, Tony said, for next year, he was going to rent an upstairs suite in a private home on the west side of South Bend.  He asked me to be his roommate.  After visiting with the Mr. and Mrs. Komp, the owners of the home, and after viewing the upstairs rooms, I agreed to rent the suite with Tony. We became roommates during my sophomore year.  However, I can’t recall actually doing anything with Tony or Ray during that freshman year.  I know we had lots of conversations, but I don’t remember whether we were on campus or off campus.  I’m certain, they would say I was their friend.  During finals in May, Tony, Ray, and I were finally getting together to go to the movies.  Due to a familiar circumstance, that get-together never happened.

 I need to back up to Father Lane and my first semester chemistry performance.  You might recall that I started off that class with a bang.  I was teaching other students the Periodic Table.  But just like many other things that I start off with a bang, my energy and interest waned, and I lost whatever enthusiasm I had for chemistry.  I really think I had too much time between classes, and my penchant for not showing up to my chemistry class went into high gear. My chemistry grades declined rapidly, while my pool skills improved slightly.  The end result?  I failed Chemistry with a 65 average, and that isn’t a final exam score!   So that meant I had to retake Chemistry.  The only course available during the Spring semester was being taught by Mr. McCusker, in the Engineering School. Obsessed with the same thoughts I had about taking Trigonometry twice in high school, I was over anxious to not do lousy the second time around. So I used my Uncle’s sure fire method of study.  Before a lecture, I read the chapter as if I was reading a novel. I did not to worry about remembering a thing that I read. I then would attend the chemistry class and took notes during the lecture. As immediately after the lecture as was possible, I corrected my notes using my chemistry book.  My notes were always in pencil for easy correction. Then, before the next chemistry class, I memorized those notes. Then, each day I went back to the first day of notes and reviewed all of them, from that first day to through the last entry.  In essence, that is a continuous recall of the notes from day one. I kept that up the entire semester.  I got a 100 % on every exam and every quiz, except the last quiz before the final.  I missed a question about an ice-salt mixture falling below 0 degrees Centigrade. Since I had the highest average in the class, and since I missed that question, I was right to expect that same question to show up on the final…it did!

 I was seen as a real bright student.  I tried to see myself in the same way, but my vision was tarnish by having failed the course before.  Anyway, the night before the final, I had told Wally that I had to study for the Chemistry final.  He, Harriett and the kids were off to an outdoor movie.  After they left, I got cleaned up, and went out the front door to be on my way to see Tony and Ray. However, just as I was walking away from the door, pulling up into the driveway was Wally, with wife and children. He had forgotten something, and came back to the house to get it. Today, I think he came back to get me. He asked me what I was doing. I told him I was going to go downtown to go to the movies with Tony and Ray.  He said, no! If you are not going to study for that chemistry final, then you will go to the movies with us.

 That’s exactly what occurred. I did not study for the final.  I did not go out with Tony and Ray. I went to an outdoor movie with the family. Wally was certain I would learn my lesson.  Well, I got a 100% on the final and a 97% for the course.  The student closest to me got a course grade of 91%���I guess I learned my lesson well!