#I bet that freaky little puppet would help me

[myrtle-thai]

If someone asked to come tour my haunted house (allegedly) I would hid little sounds and things to spook them but I would buy all my tricks at the dollar store and the ghost hunters would have to decide if they’re being haunted, if im an eccentric and forgetful old lady, or if im genuinely fucking with them

[creativeskullcreations]

Outside chapter 22: United and Split

There maybe three to four chapters to go after this one. Which is good cause I'm running out of chapter titles lol. It's harder than you'd think trying to come up with a unique one for each chapter.

Also I based the way Daisy looks off of some old fanart that showed her using a lot of Host arms and hands for legs. I just added the empty eye sockets, which she did herself to scare the Mason and Lisa. I wrote that bit before this came out.

Anyways next chapter should be out in about two weeks, as usual. The Show's about to begin, and you don't want to miss it.

"So where do you think Scout would be in here, anyways?" Lisa asked as they wandered around a room full of creepy mannequins.

"You know, I'll bet she's not in-fucking-here!" Mason answered as he did his best to keep away from the half made puppets. "Lisa seriously why are we even in here it's so creepy! Even the Puppets agree!" And it was true, as he held both Puppets in his arms, both of which had remained silent and almost fearful as the humans explored.

"Supplies!" She announced cheerfully from where she was shoving different colored fabrics into her pockets. "We may need some of this down the line."

"... I don't think the fabric in here is any different from the fabric at Walmart." He pointed out, and she just rolled her eyes as she gathered some more up. She picked up a pair of shiny sewing scissors, turning to show him.

"Look at these! They look so sharp." She held them up and he got closer to examine them. "Looks like they could put someones eye out."

"Yeah, great. Now put them back, and let's go!" His voice dropped to an intense whisper, and she rolled her eyes, shoving them into her pocket with the fabric.

"Fine." She groaned out, taking the little yellow and orange Puppet back. "Let's go see if we can find the others."

They walked out of the room, pausing when something tipped over behind them. Turning back to look, they saw a mannequin had been knocked over. They quickly turned back around and hurried away from the door.

"Lisa."

"Yeah?"

"Please tell me you did that."

Lisa let out a quiet, humorless laugh. "That would be lying, Mason. You know I don't do that."

"Okay." He swallowed to get his voice pitch back in place. "Run!"

They sprinted down the hall, listening as something skittered behind them, steadily getting closer. Mason spotted the crossroads up ahead. "We gotta split up!"

"What?! I am not leaving you to face whatever that thing is alone!" Lisa shrieked, pulling him down the right hand corridor.

"It can't chase both of us!" He stumbled, glancing to catch sight of a spider-like Puppet. "Oh SHIT!" He pulled ahead, spotting Lisa looking back and going pale from the corner of his eye. She pulled ahead of him, grabbing his arm and dragging him down the hall as she tried to gain some distance.

A few seconds after they passed a door it was thrown open, with gunshots following. Mason took the chance to yank out of Lisa's grip and turn, delivering a sharp kick to the thing's face.

Blonde hair and a torn, red dress stumbled back on many flesh and wooden hands. Her head snapped back into place, staring at him with empty eye sockets. With a wordless cry she launched herself at Mason but was stopped by Stacy catching her with the axe.

She smacked against the wall, sliding to the floor as Will finally finished reloading. He fired off four more shots into the Puppet's head, and they watched her sag against the wall. Sammy snatched the axe from Stacy's hands and used it to fully chop her head off, just in case.

For a long moment, nobody moved. And then Bonzai let out a cheer while Stacy stumbled over to a corner and vomited.

"That was totally awesome!" He yelled, and was quickly muffled by Mason.

"For this, Mortimer will kill every Host." Stitch muttered in horror. "And then he'll blame us all the most."

"I can't believe you fucking killed Daisy..." Bit whispered, and Sammy turned towards her in horror.

"That was Daisy?!" Now that she'd said it, he could see the resemblance. Her apron and jewelry were gone and her hair was chipped, but she was still recognizable in the dim light now that he knew.

Will grabbed a loose sheet from nearby and spread it out over the ground, then loaded up the two pieces of Puppet into it while Lisa moved to check on Stacy. "You okay Stacy? You look really pale."

"'M fine." She muttered, wiping her mouth. "Just... didn't really..." She gagged again, and Lisa rubbed her back sympathetically.

"It's okay, hon. You still did great." 'She should've stayed back in the car. Why didn't she follow the plan?' "What the hell are you doing, Will?"

"I am not leaving this thing here to come up behind us later. Besides, we should probably make sure to burn any corpses we make." He held up his makeshift bag. "Scout told me this one is what was making them." He indicated the Handpuppets. "So her, and the other wooden Puppets, we absolutely can't leave behind."

"He's right." Stacy agreed hoarsely. "We leave any of them with a chance of being alive and they'll just do it again, after hunting us all down."

A long, silent pause as they all took that in. "We're burning this fucking place to the ground." Mason muttered. "I am not spending the rest of life looking over my shoulder for stupid freaky Puppets."

"We will. After we get Scout and knock out the rest of these guys." Will indicated the bag again. "So, which one of you knows how to get to her?" He glared at the Handpuppets held by his friends, eyes lingering on Stacy for just a moment.

More silence, as Hosts and Puppets glanced between each other. Will sighed, debating whether to try and choose someone to intimidate for the information. There weren't a lot of options, but luckily the little orange and green one with the bad hair cut spoke up.

"Canon knows." Bonzai started, quietly. He shrunk back when everyone turned to look at him, but continued. "She was helping Mortimer with something to do with Scout. But, I followed her when she went to spy on him. I know where he did his... practices. And where he put Scout."

"Can you take us there?" Stacy asked, almost timidly.

"Yeah, but we should probably hurry. He was planning something... really bad."

Mason led the way, guided by Bonzai's directions and the group followed, Will bringing up the rear with the bag, which would move by itself every now and then. A quick shake and a few discreet kicks kept the monster inside down, however, with no one else the wiser.

-----

"Hmmm, you've truly gotten yourself in a pickle now, haven't you? Would be a shame if someone brought Mortimer's attention to this too." Nick muttered smugly, fitting Riley's yanked off arm back together. The other one had been sawed off near the shoulder, and would require more extensive care. If Mortimer allowed him to perform it, of course.

"Quiet you blithering idiot!" Riley snapped, Host shaking from her anger. "Or shall I tell him what happened to his favorite Sock Puppet!"

"No need to go that far sister dear. We both have things hidden here." A pause as he finally popped the joint back together. "What should we do about those strays? There's no way they can be allowed to stay."

"Obviously not!" She agreed hotly, testing out her repaired limb. "But we can't just drive them out. They're here for that little traitor Scout."

"What makes you so sure? Could just be another group here for treasure." He crossed his arms, watching as her Host hobbled about the room. 'Looks like it's leg is broken. She'll need a new one.'

"That male with the brown hair is what kept me from her Host. He shot at me, so in the end he's worth the most." She explained, collecting some knives from a nearby table.

"Ah, that makes sense." He looked around the room. "Is he the one who made thi-"

"Yes!" She hissed, digging a dog whistle out from her pocket. She blew into it, sound the couldn't hear echoing through the halls. A howl answered her, not too far away based on the volume of it. "And I'll fucking kill him myself!"

"Good luck with that." If Riley was going to break rhyme, then so would he, at least for a moment. "Shall we go get Daisy for this little hunting party?"

"No, leave her to her stitching." Riley watched as Rosco came out of the shadows and into her dimly lit lab. "We'll be needing those Puppets by the morning."

-----

"Are you sure this is the right way?" Bit complained, hanging over Sammy's shoulder. Her, Bonzai's, and Stitch's flashlights were on, as the lights in the building had gone out. More likely, they had been turned off, but given the age and state of the building it could've just been a blown fuse. Either way, it was too dark to see and the Hosts hadn't brought any lights themselves.

"Yes, I'm sure." The male Puppet ground out. "The Sound Stage is down here now."

"How the hell do you even know? You went there through the vents!"

"At least I actually went there!" Bonzai turned to yell, blinding Sammy. "You just stayed in our room like a coward!"

"Okay! Everybody chill for a sec!" Lisa cut in, stepping between them. Let's focus on the goal, and then have a fight when we get out of here."

"No, we're doing this now!" Bit announced, launching herself over the blonde's head and onto Bonzai, who gave a high pitched scream.

Mason sighed, grabbing the two by the backs of their shirts and pulling them apart. "Would you two stop! You're going to get us all killed!" He hissed. He handed Bit off to Stacy, missing the glint in her eyes as she stared down at the red and blue Puppet.

"She started it." Bonzai grumbled, crossing his arms. He didn't relax his tensed shoulders until he was held properly again.

"I don't care who started it!" Will piped up from the back. "If we don't get moving, I'm gonna go up there and finish it!"

There was some more grumbling, but the two Puppets settled down into silence. A while passed as Stitch looked between the two Hosts holding her siblings. 'What an odd way to handle things.' She mused. 'I wonder if this is how they handle Scout. Seems easier than the usual way, at least.

They continued to walk, until Bonzai finally stopped them. "We're here." He said, quietly. "The Sound Stage is just up ahead, through those doors."

"Mortimer's definitely gonna be in there." Bit added.

"So we need a plan, then." Lisa piped up, and everyone turned to look at Will, who was kicking the bag again. He stopped as he felt their eyes on him.

"What?" He shrugged. "I don't know shit about that guy. Ask her." He pointed at Stacy, who looked a bit taken aback.

"Uuuuh go in there and shoot him?" She suggested, after a long moment of thinking. Sammy and Will facepalmed, with her cousin mumbling something.

"Okay." Will sighed, rubbing his eyes. "Good start I guess. But we need a little bit more than that."

"You have that axe." Mason pointed out. "Maybe do something with that."

"No, okay, here's the plan. You three stay out here with the other Puppets. Me and her will go in there and get St-Scout. Then we all run for the exit, and go from there." Will laid out. "Quick, in-and-out, grab-and-go."

"Oh, yeah, nothing can go wrong with that." Bit mumbled, and was shushed.

"Sounds like a decent Plan A. What if something goes wrong?" Sammy asked, even as he accepted Bit from Stacy.

"Then we wing it. Improvise." A pause. "You guys should probably grab some weapons just in case."

With those three distracted, Will started pulling Stacy towards the door, leaning in the whisper dangerously. "We get out of here and you swap back immediately." He hissed. "And never do something like that during a time like this ever again."

"Yeah okay you fuck." Scout hissed back as they crept towards the door. With a quiet count to three, Will reached out, and turned the handle, opening it just enough for them to sneak in.

[sauntered-vaguely-downward]

Irrational Fears. Sam Winchester x Reader

There was a reason the Winchesters kept you around. You were badass, trustworthy, intelligent beyond belief and fearless… well, they thought you were fearless but you knew otherwise.

You rounded the corner of the library, heaving the noise of the small telly. Dean was watching one of the old westerns he loved, but by the time you took a seat in between the boys, the film was drawing to a close.

“My turn to pick the next film,” Sam smiled, moving from the sofa to choose one of the videotapes in front of him. It has been a long time since you’d had a movie days with the boys so were more than happy to watch the action-filled films they were likely to pick. Sam, as usual, was taking forever to pick a film so you decided to go and get snacks from the kitchen.

When you came back Sam was placing the video in the VHS player. You settled back down in your space between the boys, snacks in your lap. Dean instantly grabbed for the bag of chips, making you chuckle. As Sam sat back down beside you, opening his arms out so you could do your usual of snuggling close to him, the film began to play. The familiar opening tune made you sit upright, a slight shudder running through you.

Now much like your boyfriend and his brother, you were a hunter. There was a reason the boys kept you around and it wasn’t just because you were a pretty face. You were fierce, smart, and hella badass. You’d gone face to face with most monsters people thought only came from their nightmares. Demons, werewolves, vampires, and even the Devil himself, just a handful of the dangerous beings you had gone face to face with and yet as the owl swooped across the screen, you couldn’t help the slight irrational fear that coursed through you.

You knew it was silly, this was technically a children's film, but you decided that your best bet was to simply snuggle into Sam, close your eyes and just listen to the film when it got to the bit you dreaded the most.

Sam felt the way you tensed as the film started. While usually yes you would snuggle close to him when you watched films, today you seemed to get considerably closer than usual, hiding your face in his chest as though you were hiding.

“I haven’t seen this film in ages,” Dean smiled. “It's such a good film. The Labyrinth is a classic.” You would disagree, mostly because this film was filled with the one thing you hated. Puppets. You hated them, everything about them freaked you out. The fake voices, the way they looked lifelike yet lacked the ability to express more than one facial expression, their beady little eyes. Puppets freaked you out since you were a child so this film was essentially a nightmare for you. However, even if the little soulless demons scared you more than they should have, you couldn’t tell Sam.

Since you had gotten together around six months ago, Sam hadn’t really seen you express any vulnerabilities. You were a badass hunter in his eyes. Sure, behind closed doors you were sweet and caring but he hadn’t ever seen you be vulnerable before. Plus, if you told Sam to turn off the film now, you wouldn’t just be telling him about your irrational fear, but also Dean, who would never let you hear the end of it, just like he did with Sams fear of clowns. So rather than bring it up you decided to just suck it up and shut your eyes for the majority of the film, starting when the creepy little goblin fucks came on to the screen.

The film played on, you enjoyed just listening but any time you opened your eyes you were met with the face of a puppet, causing you to flinch and shut your eyes again, cuddling more into Sams side. Sam, of course, noticed, Dean would have noticed too had he not fallen asleep. Sam couldn’t help but worry a little bit but when he asked if you were okay you just nodded, keeping your eyes closed.

When the film had finished you were relieved. Looking at the clock you saw it was late, so you and Sam decided to go to bed, leaving Dean snoozing softly on the sofa.

You’d put the film behind you, grateful you could just close your eyes and pretend there weren’t puppets on the screen.

Sam could still sense the slight tension as you slipped into the bed beside him, cuddling into him again. He knew you well enough to know something was wrong.

“Y/N, babe,” he sat up, pulling you with him so he could look at your face. “Why did you have your eyes shut during the film? Did you not enjoy it?”

“Oh no, it's not that,” you mumbled. Clearly, you hadn’t been as discreet about blocking out the film as you thought.

“Was it David Bowie’s bulge? I can understand why you wouldn’t wanna look at that,” he chuckled a deep chesty chuckle. You couldn’t help but giggle. Sam had a way of making you smile even when you didn’t want too. You sighed, taking a deep breath before muttering out,

“Ihaveafearofpuppets.” You said it so quickly Sam didn’t quite catch it.

“What did you say, babe?”

“I have a fear of puppets,” you mumbled again, just a little louder this time so he could hear it. Sam was honestly a little stunned by this. Sam hadn’t ever seen you show fear, not even the toughest cases you worked, so for you to tell him you had a fear of something like this was very surprising to hear.

You couldn’t help but feel a little bit embarrassed by this, especially seeing the look of shock on his face.

“Why didn’t you say, baby?” Sam could see the embarrassment along your cheeks so pulled you in for a hug. “We could have picked something else.” “Dean was there, and come on, he's a bit of a dick when it comes to other peoples weaknesses,” Sam laughed, his chest jumping making your head bounce.

“That’s true. Why didn’t you tell me this before babe, had I known I would have never put the film on.”

“Because I’m a hunter. We’re not meant to have silly little fears like that.”

“I’m scared of clowns.” “Yeah, but a clown could actually kill you.”

“Thanks babe, lovely reminder of why I fear them,” he chuckled.

“Sorry,” you giggled back, “but you know what I mean. Clowns are alive, all things alive have the potential to be dangerous. Puppets on the other hand, well they can’t do anything to me so it’s kind of stupid to fear them.” Sam placed a gentle kiss on your lips, pulling you closer.

“Babe, sometimes fears aren’t rational, but that doesn’t mean you can’t fear them,” he smiled, pulling back and taking your cheeks in his hands. “Thank you for telling me this, because now I can protect you from the puppets.”

“And I'll protect you from the clowns,” you pulled him back in for a kiss, gently tugging him down to lay with you in the bed. Even if at that moment when you told him you had felt more vulnerable than ever, you had to admit it was nice opening up to him, especially knowing that he would protect you if you ever did come head to head with one of the fuzzy bastards.

So this fic is one that I thought of not long ago. 

I have a fear of puppets so I thought I’d make a fluffy fic about it. (Please don’t judge me, also the muppets and sesame street are fine its just every other puppet that freaks me out, in particular, Bagpuss). I have plenty of irrational fears (this being the worst one) but here are a couple other silly fears I have alongside the puppets. 

Rats/Mice in any form of animation (the mice in Coraline or the rat king in Hilda are perfect examples of this irrational fear of mine. THE WORST ARE THE SINGING MICE IN BAGPUSS BECAUSE THEY FREAKY FUCKS AND PUPPETS)

Stop motion animation films, particularly if they involve clay (I can't watch Coraline or nightmare before Christmas because they literally fill me with so much dread I feel like I need to die) 

Last weird one I will share with you is my fear of windows at night... this came from a scary story I read online one where someone said they saw a face behind them in the window... now I'm scared of dark windows. Also mirrors at night. 

ANYWAY BACK TO BEING A NORMAL PERSON I HOPE YOU LIKED MY FIC AND WON’T JUDGE ME TO HARD FOR BEING SCARED OF SO MANY THINGS!!!!

[shewantedtobeasecretgirl]

4. Like a virgin a.k.a. zodiac signs, phone calls and the ways of assholeness

„Jeff, what do you think about this chord change?” I strum a few chords on my acoustic guitar. I’m working on a new idea but I feel somehow stuck, the parts won’t fit each other although I can already hear in my head that they belong together. I really appreciate Jeff’s songwriting skills; we basically crafted the musical part of Ten together so I often rely on his advice.

“Sounds cool…”

He looks distracted; his thoughts must be somewhere else.

“What do you think about Judy?” he asks out of the blue. Bingo…

“She’s a very nice girl.” Mike glances around from the magazine he’s reading.

“Yeah, she’s cute.” Dave agrees dropping a chewing gum into his mouth.

We’re sitting around the table of the tour bus. The drivers needed a break so we have an hour before setting off again. I feel in my legs that I should take a walk but this new maybe-song doesn’t leave me alone tickling my hands to finish it.

“So I thought I could connect the bridge with the last chorus somehow this way…” I play the same chords again.

“I like this version better” Jeff remarks still staring with glazed eyes.

“Because it was exactly the same as the previous one!” I roll my eyes impatiently.

“We should do something together with her to help her get integrated into the team.” I could have thought; he didn’t even hear what I played…

“Since when has that chick been our only topic?” I start drumming with my fingers on the guitar.

“Stone, what’s wrong with you? She’s already in the crew, even if you’re not willing to communicate with her.” Mike frowns at me.

“Should I perform a dance of joy? You know my opinion; I won’t pretend to be happy about her. But I don’t want to be a real jerk with her either so I rather avoid communication…”

“Speaking of dance, I would be interested in that performance, I’ve never seen you dancing unless we consider your awkward choreography in Stockholm a dance!” Mike grins.

“And you never will, not in this lifetime, ‘Cready. As for Stockholm, it was an emergency situation, my guitar got fucked up, should I have stand there like a puppet?” I hiss between my teeth.

“Maybe it would have been better for mankind… Seriously Stone, what’s you problem with her? Okay, maybe she’s too shy but she seems lovely and if we got to know each other better…”

“On one hand, she hasn’t shown anything from her professional skills. If she screwed something up while we’re playing a gig, her loveliness would be a screen door on a submarine. One the other hand, she’s no big deal. Karrie talked about a smart, funny girl so I expected someone cooler, not someone who dresses like a nun, behaves like a nun and can’t form complete sentences. If she was a babe at least…”

“Hey, she can form sentences!” Jeff defends her not noticing how ridiculously his objection sounds.

“Seriously, I’d bet she’s still a virgin!” I announce the verdict. And in this moment a short figure appears from the hallway of the bus.

“Hi guys!” Speak of the devil…

“Hi Judy!” my bandmates greet her in unison.

“Good morning, Judith!” I add with the most plastic smile I can flash. She raises an eyebrow but her usual expression – a special mixture of indifference and boredom – doesn’t change.

“Karrie sent me…” she starts. Does she really think that she needs an explanation to enter our bus? Unbelievable… “She needs bandage on her knee but she can’t find her own one in her bag, Jeff, could you lend yours?”

“Sure! I have to look for it at first but I’ll take it to her, just a few minutes, okay?” Jeff immediately becomes more animated. That’s interesting…  

“What’s that smell? Is someone hiding a bar here?” she sniffles grimacing. I glance at Mike for a second who stares at her and then at me as if he had seen a ghost. I try to hold back a grin and look back at him with a deadpan.

“Songwriting in progress?” her eyes wander curiously at my guitar. I should rather finish the song instead of having this chit-chat…

“No, I’m just stroking my guitar, it gets jealous if I don’t touch it regularly. Actually, we were talking right about you!” I glance around and enjoy the frightened faces of the others. Let the show begin! “We were wondering if you were a vir…”

“A Virgo!” Mike cuts in unnecessarily loudly.

“Ehhe, ehhe, eeeeehhhhe!” Dave begins to cough intensively at the same time; maybe he swallowed his chewing gum…

“Ouch!” Jeff exclaims joining the cacophony.

“Or Pisces?” Mike asks innocently.

“I choked on my own drool.” Dave shrugs smiling.

“I banged my elbow against the table.” Jeff rubs his elbow with an exaggeratedly painful hiss.

“I don’t believe in astrology…“ she glares us suspiciously. At least she’s not a freaky new age chick… “But I’d better go back to Karrie before my bad karma leads to more disasters…” she adds ironically and turns on her heels. Jeff leans back and follows her with his eyes and in the second she’s left the bus he attacks me.

“Are you a fuckin’ idiot? How could you ask such…”

“Calm down Jeffrey, just for the record, I only wanted to ask her if she was a virtuous girl!” I beam at him flashing all my teeth.

“Oh fuck, Stone, I almost got a heart attack!” Mike presses his hands onto his chest. “We should make her somehow forget this scene before she thinks that we’re psychos who happen to be taking part in a music therapy… I mean, not that we aren’t… but just for show…”

“Mike, my child, I can’t follow you. You want me to communicate with her and when I do it, everybody treats me like a public enemy…”

“We talked about throwing a room party on Sunday since we have a day-off right on Mike’s birthday. What if we extended it to a Mike’s Birthday and Welcome Judy Party? Maybe we could finally have a normal conversation with her… Of course if you don’t mind, Mikey…” Jeff ignores my reaction.

“You mean, you could have a conversation with her… Jeff, are you kidding? Mike, do you want to celebrate your birthday with an afternoon tea? Because that’s all you can expect from Miss Innocence…”

“Afternoon tea in the evening? Stone, don’t confuse me, please! Oh, sorry, sarcasm is your cup of tea…” Very funny, Mike… “I like the idea, anyway, I’m not selfish; I share my party gladly with her. And you can’t complain, because it’s my birthday. Yass, watching your annoyed face will be my best birthday present ever!”

“Stone, that seems settled to me. But you can skip it and stay pouting in your room, no one will miss you! I’m out!” Jeff shrugs and walks back to his bunk.

So here we are. An evening rosary with Sister Judith on Mike’s birthday. Excellent.

***

I’m heading to the payphone in the café of the gas station and I’m still pondering about the last conversation in the bus. The guys acted very weird; somehow things always get very weird when Stone and I engage in any form of communication. Actually, we haven’t even talked yet; he hasn’t even shown the faintest signs of interest when I tried to get to know him. And this first, quite odd attempt of his got interrupted by the not less odd reactions of the guys…

I have two calls to make; at first I dial our number in Seattle. After a few rings I hear the beeping of the answering machine, Effie probably hasn’t got home yet.

“Hi Mom, hi Ef… it’s me, Judy, and I only wanted to let you know that… ooooh, ooooh, I’m still alive…”

I must have sung too loudly since as I glance around, I see a few customers staring at me suspiciously.

“…aaaand, thank you for accepting my application for “Sing the Billboard” contest, I really appreciate your kindness!” I tweet and I hang up the phone quickly. After changing meaningful looks the customers finally turn back to their beverages so I earn back my privacy by the time I start to dial the other number.

“Curtis Management.” I immediately recognize Krisha’s friendly voice although she sounds very official on the phone.

“Hi Krisha, it’s Judy. You know, you made me promise to call you as I can…”

“Hi girl, how are you doin’?”

“I’m okay, thanks. I’m not used to night shifts so I’m a little bit tired but otherwise I’m fine.”

“Aaand, how was the gig? Did you like it?” she asks excited as if she was asking me about the newest gossips.

“It was… dynamic. I mean, how can they play with the same intensity every night despite having been on the road for months? I see the signs of stress and exhaust on them but as they step on the stage, they turn into human tornados… But hey, you didn’t warn me about Eddie’s suicide actions...”

“Well, hehe… that’s a thing we don’t like to talk about… I mean… in the beginning he was very shy but not much later he started to channel his energies into his performances… and you saw the result. Every single member of the team is worrying about his crazy, random ideas and we’ve tried to talk him out of them but he doesn’t listen to us, not even to Beth…”

“That’s weird…” And selfish, but as the newest member of the staff I keep my opinion for myself.

“And can you get along with your roadie tasks?”

“I’ve already learned how to dismount the gear, you know, destruction is always easier than construction… and Karrie showed me a few things, but she doesn’t want to spill everything on me in one day…”

“Yeah, step by step is always a good strategy. I hope… No, nothing… ”

“What? What did you want to ask?”

“Uhm… no… nothing… or… I just wanted to say that I hoped the guys treated you well… You know, being in a company that consists almost only of men is not easy for a young woman… of course they aren’t sexist jerks but they always tease each other with pranks, dirty jokes and so on… Karrie has already got used to it, but you…”

“No, they are very kind and helpful…”with certain exceptions…“… and Eric is very protective of me, he’s like the goofy dad of the team. And I’m not a nun either…”

“Yeah, Eric is great at keeping everything under control without making you feel being controlled. You can turn with literally anything to him so if you need something just let him know… Or call me, I offer my services as a secret ally…” it’s like I can see her winking at me.

“Thanks, I like secret alliances… I’m going to find out a secret handshake for us.”

“And I’m going to send you nonsense fake encoded messages when talking with the guys only to make them believe that we’re members of a powerful secret society. As curious they are, they’d spend hours decoding them…”

“I’m in, I like that! But, uhm, I have one another call to make, so…”

“Okay, okay, just one more question! How… how is Stone?” she asks very cautiously. Pff…  okay, she was right with that supernatural skill thing… why is she asking right me? Of course they are friends, but why can’t she ask him? “Judy, can you hear me?”

“Something is wrong with the line… What did you ask?”

“I asked you about Stone. How is he doing?”

“Uhm… he’s… he’s okay… I guess… the thing is that we haven’t talked much yet but as far as I can see, he’s fine…”

“Great! If he’s fine, that’s fine... uhm… I leave you alone, make that another call and take care of yourself! Bye Judy!”

“Bye Krish!”

I dial again our number and this time I have more luck.

“Camden.”

“Hi Sis, it’s me!”

“Judy!!! It’s so good to hear you! What the hell was that weird message you left a few minutes ago?” she jabbers without taking a breath.

“Nevermind… how are you? Any good news from the hospital?”

“No, nothing special, only the usual visits three times a week. But let’s not talk about me; I want to know everything from the moment you set foot in Cleveland!”

“Well, being in a rock band’s staff is not as exciting as you think…” I know that she’s dying for the details, especially about the reception of her little present but I want to tease her a bit.

“JUDITH EMILIA CAMDEN, SERIOUSLY, DON’T PISS ME OFF!!!” she screams with such volume that I almost drop the receiver.

“Okay… let’s start with the gig. It was a-ma-zing. I can’t wait being really a part of it, you know, at least as a support member of the team. They play with so much energy! I’ve never seen anything like this before. You have to see them once too, you would lose your mind!”

“Finally! I haven’t heard you being so excited about anything for months, I’m glad you started leaving the spinster lifestyle behind…”

“Spinster??? Excuse me? Well thanks, if you go on like this, I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything more…” I threaten her. “Anyway, I don’t have time for telling you all the details, we set off soon… all in all, everybody is kind, the team is full of nice people, with certain exceptions, though…”

“Certain exceptions? Is there someone there who’s not a nice person?”

“No, no… I mean… everybody is very tired, some of them might be in a bad mood but that’s totally understandable… But I haven’t even asked yet how Mom and Granny are?”

“Mom is tired, as always… the old terrorists who she calls her clients keep finding out more and more ways to drive her crazy. And Granny calls every day pestering us with uncomfortable questions, very surprisingly about your nutrition habits.”

“Haha, please reassure her that I’m going to eat a half pork for lunch. Only a half because the other half of it could escape. And tell her that between gigs I collect berries and roots with Karrie and Beth, Eddie’s girlfriend, while the boys are hunting. Okay, Mike and Stone are only decoys, their body structure makes them suitable only for that role… or rather unsuitable for any other role. But I rather shut my mouth, I should go…”

"No, you can't hang up! We haven't even talked about the most interesting things yet!" she cuts me off quickly.

"Like...?"

"Like for example whether you've used your tape recorder yet!"

"Nope... working on my ideas is sooo problematic regarding the circumstances... I miss my piano, it would be quite difficult to use only my tuning fork and ears since I don't own a guitar either so..." I whine.

"Judy!!! You're touring with a goddamn rock band, and you're only excuse is not having a guitar? Then borrow one from the guys!" I have to hold the receiver away from my ears due to her vehement reaction.

"Hm... Maybe... After all, they carry their acoustic guitars everywhere with themselves, maybe I could ask Jeff or Mike..." I hesitate.

"Or Stone..." she adds.

"Pff... Stone...'course..." I snort ironically.

"Why not? What's wrong with him? Krisha told he was a nice guy!"

"Well, nice is a relative attribute. He's a nice guy in comparison to Ivan the Terrible or Jack the Ripper."

"But you said a few seconds ago that they were kind people!"

"Kind people with certain exceptions. He's the exception. He's an asshole with me. In the beginning I wasn't sure if he even noticed my existence but now I'm convinced that he ignores me intentionally. Or when not, he acts so strangely, it's difficult to describe it... He's not openly hostile but he isn't friendly either. I can't solve him, all I know is that I don't like him. I hate him. Actually... he's an asshole with everyone, so..." While I’m spitting out my impressions about him the fingers of my right hand start playing with the phone cord.

"Then being ignored by him might be better than not..."

"I don't know. He targets everyone with his caustic remarks but he's not offensive at the same time, he doesn't really hurt them. It's like a very annoying way of care. And, what’s more, he’s insane. He talks to himself while playing the riffs during the gigs and rehearsals."

“Maybe you’re wrong, maybe he’s just…”

“I saw it with my own two eyes! Trust me, he has a screw loose.” I declare irrevocably.

"First an asshole, then insane… I'm not sure I can follow you... Let's sum it up: there's this guy..."

"Don't call him "this guy"!"

"Why? He's a guy, isn't he?" she asks back impatiently.

"Yes but you emphasized his gender as if it had been relevant but I'm not interested in him..."

"Okay, then there's this young, male specimen of..."

"Don't use the..." I cluck in.

"Shut up, Judy! So there's this young, male specimen of homo sapiens who's an asshole with you, therefore you don't like him." she explains me in the style of a kindergarten teacher.

"Exactly." I nod totally unnecessarily seeing as she can’t see me.

"But he's an asshole with everyone, only in a different way."

"Yep."

"And you want him to be an asshole with you in that different way."

"Kinda."

"And if he was an asshole with you in the desired way, then you would like him."

"Desired? What... No!!!" I protest.

"Then what?"

"I would still hate him but I wouldn't feel being discriminated at least."

"Judy?"

"Yes?"

"You should have your brain checked."

"Thank you so much! I've always known that I can count on you at solving my problems."

"I don't think that this Stone guy would cause a big problem for you. You're smart, fire back with a few witty remarks and he will realize you're not the person he wants to fuck with. Or do you want him to be the person who he wants to fuck with?" I can hear her grinning. I'm going to kill you, Ef, I swear. I feel my index finger numbing and as I glance at it, I notice that I rolled the phone cord so tightly around it that its color has turned into something between purple and dark blue.

"Could we drop this fuck topic?" I try to untangle my finger nervously.

"Sure. Did you found the condoms?" she chuckles.

"Hahaha, I knew you couldn't help asking it!" I laugh. "Yes, thanks, I found the condoms” I scream the last word in Granny’s voice “but I doubt I would need them..."

"Do you think Granny's concerns aren't realistic?"

"Hehe, not at all... and you know my famous luck, if I met a guy, I probably should rather use the Golden Rule." I confess resigned.

"I almost forgot Granny's Golden Rule! And it's so much funnier to hear it from you! Your Granny impersonation is the best of all times... Please, Granny, tell me the Golden Rule!"

"I can't, I'm in the diner of a gas station!" I hiss glancing around and counting the customers who could possibly hear me.

"Please!" she begs.

"No way!"

"Please!!!"

"Okay... but only because you asked me so nicely." I clear my throat. "Effie, my darling, if you see a man showing his organ, scream as loud as you can, run away and call the police!" I imitate Granny's voice.

"Ahahahah... that was hilarious! I miss you, you idiot!"

"I miss you too, other idiot! But now I really have to go, I send hugs and kisses for the whole family!"

"Take care of yourself, be good… or not, be bad! Verry bad. And hugs for Karrie!"

"I’ll see what I can do. Bye, Ef!”

“By, Sis.”

As I hang back the receiver I stay standing at the phone for a moment and let out a deep sigh. As I turn back I almost bump against the chest of someone tall who has probably been standing behind my back for a while, waiting for the phone.

“Sorry!” I jump back with a startled short scream. Wait… I know that sweater… As I crane my neck to see the head belonging to the person, I recognize Stone in front of me. He stares me with his usual, nonchalant facial expression dipping both hands deeply in his pockets. So the guy’s got green eyes… greener than I could ever get used to… Jesus, how long might he have stood behind me? My brain desperately analyzes the possible scenarios in a fragment of a second. Could he hear the asshole part? Or only the insane part? The fuck… the condoms… Granny… FUCK!!!

“So… I guess, Virgo, huh?” he utters slowly raising his eyebrows questioningly. Or rather quizzically? Shit, he must have definitely heard the Granny part.

“I have to go.” I mutter sidestepping and storm out of the building.

***

“Curtis Management.”

“Hi Krisha!”

“Stoney, hi, how are you?”

“Thanks, everything’s fine, I’m just calling to ask you to send me that fax with the details of our SNL appearance. I lost my copy but I don’t feel like confessing to Eric that something’s missing again.” I explain unwillingly.

“Okay, I’ll send you but you’re unbelievable, you know? If you keep being so absent-minded, one day you’ll lose your own head… Of course only if you don’t lose it at one of the gigs as an unwanted side-effect of head bobbing!” she chuckles.

“…said my so-called friend.”

“Ah, so in your interpretation friendship means to swallow my critical remarks about you and bearing your teasing the shit out of me without a word?”

“No, you see that completely wrong, ‘course you can use words! You just have to laugh at my jokes and reassure me regularly how funny I am!” I grin.

“Not that you need self-esteem boost… Anyway, you said everything’s fine so does that mean that Judy was a good choice?” I can’t believe that, this Judy mania follows me everywhere.

“I don’t know, you should ask the others.”

“Because…?”

“Because… all I know about her is that eighty percent of her vocabulary consists of saying “sorry”. Or maybe more but I would need a hearing aid to understand the remaining twenty percent.”

“Or maybe you should spare your poor Marshall. Interesting, I had meaningful conversations with her, I mean, when she came to the interview…”

“She’s… small and… annoying. She follows Karrie everywhere like a duckling and moves so quietly as if she were spying, I can’t stand that…”

“And what about her famous, excellent ears?” she keeps torturing me.

“Dunno… her hair cover them all the time.” Maybe nonsense answers make her change the topic of the conversation.

“You’re impossible. And how’s Ed voice doing? Eric mentioned he struggled more and more with it.”

Yass. I succeeded.

“I don’t know… we should figure out something… Obviously he shouldn’t sing for weeks at least but that’s not an option right now. You know, he doesn’t listen to anyone…”

“I know.” she sighs but I know her, she keeps being concerned without talking about it. “Oh, and Mike’s birthday? You won’t forget it, will you?”

“Of course we won’t, Mom.” I answer slackly. “Eric is to order a cake and we’re organizing also a birthday party for him. Although it’s probably just a question of semantics, we’re probably going to have only a few beers, maybe smoke some pot, and that’s all…”

“You don’t sound enthusiastic. Hey, it’s about Mike, your friend or what…”

“I know… it’s just…” No, I’m not gonna whining like a five-year-old again. “Nothing, I’m just tired but you’re right. Mike deserves to have a cool birthday. But, uhm, if you don’t mind, I should call Amber too…”

“Amber, of course… But I almost forgot that I have a message for Judy, could you deliver it?”

“For Judith? Okay… Let me hear it.” Since when have they been confidantes?

“Okay, but repeat it her word for word, okay? It’s very important.”

“Mkay…” I mumble although I’m not convinced about the importance of anything that relates to that chick.

“Okay, so… the Russians are already in the pantry.” she utters pausing for a second between the words.

“What?” I must have misheard it.

“The Russians are already in the pantry.”

No, I don’t have problems with my ears, but she has definitely serious problems with her brain.

“Krisha… carefully with acid, okay? If bad trips keep repeating, you should look for a new dealer…” I joke to cover how uncomfortable I feel. It is usually me who tells insider jokes all the time; I’m not used to the role of the dumb listener.

“Haha, thanks, I’m absolutely straight!” That’s I’m afraid of too. “Now go and call your sweetheart. Bye, Stoney!”

“Bye!”

I’m still trying to make out the message while I’m dialing Amber’s number.

“Amber Foster.” she answers right after the first ring.

“Hi babe, it’s me.”

“Baby! I didn’t think you’d call me today!” her voice sounds huskier than usual.

“You sound like you have a sore throat, are you okay?”

“That depends… the nastiest kind of hangover.” she giggles. “Last night we went partying with the girls and some guys invited us for a cocktail. And other guys to other cocktails… Hanging out with single girls always pays off.” she laughs.

I’m not really surprised, she’s a gutsy girl, that’s why she impressed me when we met for the first time. I mean, when a tall, long blond-haired girl with a spectacular chest structure comes over to you and declares that you want to buy a drink for her, you won’t start searching for counter-arguments… I like it better when I have to work for the targeted person, though, I have a thing for stubborn girls but I wasn’t a complete idiot either to miss such an opportunity. And partying without me is her constitutional right; I’m okay with that, I’ve done basically the same for months since we started touring.

“I had a rough day at the firm, Elaine is still trying to get a rise out of me, I needed a night out.” Elaine, again. Her Cruella de Vil-like - or at least that’s how I always imagine her -, despotic boss at the fashion company she works at. “We’re working on the spring campaign and she’s like a slave driver, every time I finish a task she finds something she doesn’t like and makes me start it again from the very beginning, it’s awful…”

I can’t help but I give up following her monologue after a few words, her voice sounds as if I was listening to a tape played at double speed, being unable to grasp any information of it. I’m not proud of that but that happens to me quite often as for our conversations… not that I’m not interested in her. I stare out through the window, when I glimpse a small figure wearing that ugly, brown potato bag dress. She sits down on the curb at the parking lot and lays something, maybe a thick notebook on her knees. She pulls something out of the leg of her right doc… I crane my neck to get a better sight but I still can’t find out what she’s holding in her hand. I can see the sunlight glinting on it; it must be something made of metal. What the hell, did she steal the cutlery?

“What do you think about that?”

Oh shit, I have no idea what she’s talking about… and how long she has been talking about that who knows what… the last thing I can remember was Elaine so it must be something about her work, maybe her new ideas… maybe the colors of this season…

“Purple?” I falter finally.

“Purple? Baby, I was telling that Mark and Jessica made up again and I asked if you thought they could finally make things clear.”

Jesus, even if I had listened to the question, I wouldn’t be able answer it. I met her friends only two or three times and I don’t really feel like an insider as for the drama events of her clique.

“Who knows, maybe.” I try to play a cliché from my collection of verbal robot pilot elements.

“I don’t know, Jessica should finally realize that she won’t find a perfect match and Mark is relatively the best for her.”

Dear Jesus, I thought it was over. In the meantime Jeff takes place next to her and they get into conversation.

“Uhm, yeah, definitely. Sorry for not being a good listener, I got distracted by two homeless people who are fighting over the content of a dustbin. And somehow I have Smoke on the Water stuck in my head so I said the first word that came to mind.”

Gosh, this is so pathetic; Jeff throws himself on the first, possibly single female person he’s met in the last months apart from the backstage oriented bar pixies.

“It’s okay, baby. I’d like to talk to you longer but all I can think of right now is sleeping, I need a nap to make this splitting headache more bearable.”

“Okay, I’ll call you later Sleeping Beauty, good night!”

“Bye, my prince!”

She could have asked me at least how I was doing.

[majorxmaggiexboy]

i recently remembered a film my brother and i watched several times as children, and that got me thinking about the other stuff we would watch. most of which seems kind of weird on reflection. we don’t actually have any of these anymore, so just for funsicles i’m trying to think of the films and see if i can remember any of the details before actually googling them.

     Live Action

Two Brothers - a couple of tiger cubs are captured by poachers or something and separated from each other. one is trained to perform in the circus and is also fed candy by some guy, the circusmaster is an absolute [censored]. the tiger learns to jump through fire which is important later. the other cub is given to a little boy (TERRIBLE IDEA) and is a pet for a while until he’s sold to someone else. the tigers are eventually reunited but then they’re chased by people with guns who try to trap them by setting things on fire BUT because the first tiger learned not to be scared of fire he shows his brother how to jump through it and they escape and are reunited with this other tiger that has a hole in her ear from a really close call with poachers. i think she’s their mom.

Gunther and the Paper Brigade - idk if it was knock-off Newsies or what but like there’s this kid named Gunther whose brother keeps an ant farm and said the line “did you know that all the ants in the world would weigh as much as all the people in the world?” and i think they’d just moved to a new house but Gunther joins some kind of newspaper group and at first he is AWFUL at delivering papers like he just slings em any ol’ place but then he gets into a sort of war with a bully and i think somebody orally siphoned some gasoline at one point and the brother’s ants definitely came into play and in the end Gunther was really good at delivering papers. He rode a bike. at one point he’s hanging out at the mall pretty often for some reason and his brother teases him about it.

Ben Wagner - Uhhh family moves to new town, kid has an older sister and a younger sister, there’s a freaky adult at the school who said the line “Wagner. Waaaagner. I’ve got it. The name is now set. in my. brain....,,..”  Benny’s miserable for some reason but he meets a kind of mysterious girl who takes him to visit her elderly relative but to get there they have to walk across a log that’s across a river/waterfall type of situation. the elderly relative says something to the effect that if they all stand on one side of the house it’ll tip over. Ben regularly visits these people. His dad gives him some chores but he half-arses all of them and the dad walks him around to each thing (like the car that was supposed to be washed, the garage that was supposed to be tidied, w/e) and goes “you did a lousy job”. The older sister wants money for something but hasn’t saved up her allowance so she demands money from Ben and says the line “I bet you have tons of money squirreled away”. He goes to visit the mysterious girl and her relative but his little sister follows him and falls off the log bridge so he jumps in the water to save her and he manages it but then they’re both in the hospital.

No More Baths - Guy runs a club for kids and has some rules in place specifically to keep the kids safe but one kid breaks the rules and winds up getting himself hurt so the guy who just wanted to do nice things for the community kids gets straight up ARRESTED and his dog is put in the pound and the whole thing was some racially-motivated bull and the kids aren’t having it so they protest by refusing to bathe and i think they get to testify at the guy’s hearing too and anyway he wins so then the kids go play in some water bc they haven’t washed in weeks.

Goosebumps: Night in Terror Tower: Some dude is a little too enthusiastic about explaining to two children how the Rack works “It stretched, annnd streeettched, unTIL HIS BOOOOOOOOONES, WERE PUUULLLLLLLLED...poP. Right Out Of Their Sockets. :) “ and then those kids get chased around by some dude who wants to kill them or something. they try to buy a bus pass but they have medieval currency and the girl’s like “Our parents wouldn’t give us play money” but then they wind up in like actual medieval England. I think the girl’s name was Sidney.

Bunch of Assorted Wildlife Documentaries: idk there was a thing about an elephant painting and a lot to do with dolphins idk i think there was a bit of Steve Irwin in there too

     Cartoons

The Gallivants - like Divergent but with very Orange ants who are assigned a career? or pick out a career? but when they reach adulthood they’re all supposed to develop something called a “kabump” which is like an extra segment for their creepy insect bodies. They wear shoes and their limbs can have either pink stripes or blue stripes. they might wear gloves? anyway the protagonist is named something like “Shando” and he doesn’t develop his “kabump” on time so it’s scandalous. His friends desert him or something.  I think he wanted to be a musician and so makes himself a fake kabump but he plays the saxophone a little too vigorously or something and makes it come off, at which point he’s shamed and rejected by literally everyone but at some point he also tries to work in construction but accidentally breaks stuff and is told “You’re not a Con-struct. You’re a DE-STRUCT.” then he wanders around in a labyrinthine cave fighting a two-headed creature called something like, The VanterViper that wants to kill all the baby ants or something at i think in the end he’s appointed like official Mom of all the babies or something of that nature

The Ugly Duckling - Standard retelling of the classic tale, this one was created almost exclusively to sell Crayola products i’m pretty sure. This version has a baby swan just trying to live his best life but then a bunch of [redacted] sing at his adoptive mom about how “one bad apple spoils the batch” and he either runs away or gets kicked out. then he runs into a mouse who wears boots and has red hair and she proceeds to call him “Ugly” as if that’s his name, for the entire rest of the movie. He winds up inside a house at one point and two freaky looking cats sing at him about the importance of having “a high IQ” i think a church burns down and he saves the mouse? over the course of the film he gets more and more swan-like in appearance and maybe works for a theater for a little while and then everyone loves him.

Scamper - a bunch of penguins are trying to hatch their eggs but then they’re attacked by...something....and one penguin feels bad about losing some eggs so he takes someone else’s but then admits what he did and returns the egg to its real parents and everyone mourns the loss of their children while being grateful for the survivors. when the eggs hatch there’s like a little pink penguin and a little bluish penguin and they’re friends, they’re learning to slide during Penguin School but then they get captured and wind up on a boat and there’s a dog. They eat really tasty-looking crackers out of bags and are terrorized by the ship’s crew until they manage to escape and find their way back home to their grieving parents.

Willy the Sparrow - a sick (literally and figuratively) young boy has fun bullying a cat and being a [redacted] to birds but then an elderly woman turns him into a sparrow to teach him a lesson. He meets other birds, all of whom have decidedly human heads of hair, including an old man sparrow who teaches him to fly. he winds up challenging the former child-leader-of-the-sparrows for power using his human smarts to amaze them all and eventually leads an attack on the cat who rightfully holds a massive grudge against him. idk he like helps them find food or something and then gets turned back into a human maybe

The Seventh Brother - a young child is moving to a new place and brings her puppy, but somehow his carrier is knocked out of the car??? or something?? and he winds up lost in the forest but is rescued by a large family of rabbits who teach him how to act like a rabbit. He saves one of them from being carried off by a bird but then begins to die of malnutrition as dogs can’t live on the same diet as rabbits for any length of time. also, he rescues a former tormentor from a creepy-as-hell predator and is badly wounded in the process, prompting the rabbits to band together to get him home to his owner. they succeed and he’s pretty much cured by one (1) bowl of puppy food.

Some Blue’s Clues Special: idk whatever’s the one with the treble-clef and the treasure hunt where the ‘treasure’ turned out to be Steve’s grandma’s cookies that you can tell the exact taste and smell of just by looking at them and also the grandma made an appearance too

That Weird Puppet Cat in the Hat Thing with the grouchy bird who had to be taught how to play pretend but then was pushed into a panic attack when the group was playing pirates and he imagined it too vividly so then they explained that he could change the story at any time and also at one point they played a game called “pass the yawn” and the bird just went OFF more than once

Some cartoon, i think it was Anastasia, where at one point someone’s taking some stuff away and the girl says what on reflection i think might have been “My luggage!” but at the time i thought was “my lungs!” and i spent the whole movie thinking they done straight up confiscated the girl’s lungs.

The Swan Princess - and i remember nothing except the way Odette would say “Darren!” and the fact that she spent a lot of time as a bird and there was a puffin. also Darren was one of my early crushes purely because i liked his name.

The Secrets of NIHM 2: main character’s name was Timothy and was one of the first characters i mentally fanfic’d about. there was some song that was like “Just! say! Yes!” where i think he was being pressured to do drugs or be experimented on or something but mostly i remember him singing “I am my father’s son” and me being so confused thinking “well yeah?? Who else’s son could you be???”

idk some Thumbalina thing all i remember is “Deary! Marry the Mole!”

Friggin’ Barbie Rapunzel there was a purple(?) dragon and Rapunzel liked to paint and that movie was where i learned the word “adequate” and i’m still mad at that woman for being so rude like lady. who raised you. where are your manners. i think the dad dragon wanted the purple dragon to hate humans or something idk

some other film where there was a very definitely purple dragon but i can’t remember any details so it’s just going to haunt me forever but it was like a small-ish purple dragon.

[eternlmisery]

Immortal- Salve frater (Chapter 1/?)

Summary: For over a century, I have lived in secret; hiding in the shadows, almost always alone in the world. Until now. I am a vampire. And this is my story.

It's our story, Lenny, don't forget me.Yeah yeah, and this is our story.

Rating: T (for now)

Read also on ao3

For over a century, I have lived in secret; hiding in the shadows, almost always alone in the world. Until now. I am a vampire. And this is my story.

It's our story, Lenny, don't forget me.

Yeah yeah, and this is our story.

 May 23, 2009

He was lying in the middle of the empty road, a technique his brother usually evoked to find a new meal, but he chose to use it to clear his head once in a while.

That’s when he heard her, the voice that had remained printed on his mind and heart from all these years ago…

“Yeah, I know Amaya… You and Laurel are both right. I just can’t bring myself to tell him, at least not tonight. Sure, I’ll call you later.” Her eyes darted towards the stranger that had begun approaching her; her fingers going to the buttons of her phone’s keyboard immediately.

He was stunning; most handsome man she had ever encountered by far. His bright blue/green eyes studied her as he took in every single feature on her face and body with a captivating gaze.

“Alexa.” He breathed out and the amount of pain and relief in his voice was overwhelming for a moment.

Her eyebrows furrowed as she looked around, trying to see if there was another girl and perhaps that was the woman that this stranger was talking to. But no, just him and her.

“Uhm no… I’m Sara.” And gone was the relief.

“You just look… Pardon me, you just really remind me of someone. I’m Leonard.” He said and the smirk that followed had her heart fluttering in ways she never knew it could before.

“Not to be rude, Leonard, but it is kind of creepy that you’re out here in the middle of nowhere.” He lifted an amused eyebrow and crossed his hands in front of his chest.

“You’re one to talk; out here all by yourself. Isn’t a girl like you scared?” She snorts before answering and she can’t decide if he looks amused or confused.

“It’s Central, nothing bad ever happens here and besides, I can very well take care of myself.” She pointed out with a glare full of promise. “Just call me ‘girl’ one more time and you’ll find out first hand.”

He doesn’t answer, just looks at her again… trying to figure out whether she was really not her. She looked just like her, a total copy of the woman that he once loved; pale skin, blonde silky hair, blue/grey eyes that still send shivers down his spine. But something was so different between Sara and her. Alexa was overflowing with confidence; she knew that she had power and beauty and no one could take that away and she took pride in it… she painted her lips with the blood of her enemies and captivated everyone with her smile.

But Sara didn’t hold that power and that cruelty that was hidden behind that gorgeous smile; she looked young and almost naïve. And that was really unsettling.

“Got in a fight with my boyfriend.” She finally confessed and Leonard smirked seeing that the woman was opening up to him.

“About what? If I’m not being invasive.”

Sara paused for a short moment; took a deep breath and answered.

“Uhm… everything. He just seems to be sure of everything, from our relationship to where we are going to be buried.”

“And I take that you don’t like that very much?

“I don’t know what I want or what I like. But it sure isn’t a life in a one-bedroom apartment and a job that I will hate.”

“Well, that’s not entirely true. You want what everybody wants.” It was her turn to lift her eyebrows as she walked closer to the man with a teasing smile.

“What, hot and mysterious stranger who has all the answers?”

“Let’s just say that I have been around a long time and I have picked up a few things along the way.”

“So, Leonard, tell me. What is it that I want?” He leans closer to her; lips brushing against her ear.

He feels her pulse; strong and steady under her alabaster skin but he doesn’t let it distract him.

“You want love… and you want a love that will keep you together with that person forever. You want to be free and you even want a little trouble.”

She took a step back from the man, trying to hide the shiver that had gone down her spine.

“So what do you want?” She asked with a smirk that matched his own and saw the man’s face darken. Before the stranger had the chance to answer or walk away, a honk was heard and Sara quickly turned to see a car approaching them.

“It’s my parents.” Sara explained and when she turned around to look at Leonard he was a breath away from her. His eyes were pulling her like strings and she was the puppet that was under his control.

“I want you to get everything that you are looking for, but right now I need you to forget that you met me. I can’t have people knowing that I’m in town just yet.

Good night, Sara.”

 September 7, 2009- Central City, U.S.A

The man and the woman sat on the rooftop; looking over at the sun rising above Central City.

“We shouldn’t have come back. You know the risk. We both do.” She said with a sad voice; the memories that were coming back to her every night from the moment they returned, being an unbearable weight on her shoulders.

“We had no choice. We have to find him.” He said and his voice was flat and distant; wasn’t it always? “We have to stop him before he hurts anyone else.”

“You heard about that couple last night, didn’t you?”

“He’s getting sloppy. There are only so many times that they can report them missing or killed by animal attacks.”

“So… we stop him. Put him down once and for all.”

She jumped off of the roof and the man soon joined her. They had a big day ahead of them.

 “Dear Diary,

This is pointless. I still don’t understand how keeping a diary can actually help me. The psychologist Laurel made me see told me that keeping all my emotions and experiences written down would help me cope. So here I go:

I can feel it that everything will change today. I will smile and it will be believable. I will not be the sad little girl who lost her parents. I’m not her anymore. I’ve changed and it’s time everyone sees that.”

“Morning! Toast or cereal?” Laurel said and waved the cereal box towards her younger sister. Sara looked at her and then the box with furrowed eyebrows.

“Tempting but I’ll go with some pure caffeine.” Sara poured herself a cup of coffee and moved to sit on top of the kitchen island.

“Want some lunch money?” She asked and immediately realized that her baby sister wasn’t in elementary school anymore.

“Not twelve, Laurel.” Sara pointed out and jumped off of the island; ignoring her sister’s look at the fact that she drank a full cup of coffee in mere minutes. “Didn’t you have early morning classes today?”

She rinsed the mug with water and placed it on the dishwater before grabbing her backpack.

“Yeah.” Laurel glanced at her watch and let out a low growl. “Ugh, I have to go. Have a good first day and try not to punch or beat another jock up, please.”

“I make no promises, sister.”

Sara grabbed a juice from the fridge; ignoring that above her, on the TV, it showed a missing person alert for a young couple.

 “I am telling you, something very freaky is going on. Grams kept going on and on about how I am psychic and that our ancestors are witches.” Amaya explained as she drove down the main road of Central City.

Sara was leaning against the window; gazing at the people that walked down the streets to go to their jobs and the parents who were taking their kids to school.

“Hello, Earth to Sara?” The other girl questioned and caused her best friend to turn her attention back to her. “You still with me?”

“Sorry, must have zoned out; what were you saying?” Amaya flashed her a smile and looked back on the road.

“About how my grandma is starting to lose it and I’m apparently a psych-.” Before either one of the girls had a chance to realize what was going on, the car was spinning out of control and Amaya barely managed to stop it before it hit a post box that was on the pavement. “Oh my god, Sara, are you okay?” The blonde took a deep breath; passing her hand through her hair.

“I’m fine and me wincing every time I’m in a car isn’t gonna do any good.” She responded and Amaya lifted a challenging eyebrow. “Seriously, I’m okay. Now what the hell was that thing that bumped on the hood?”

“It looked like a hawk or something. And it just flew right towards us like…”

Sara’s mouth twisted in an amused smirk.

“Yeah, bet that hawk wanted to get us killed. Whatever you say, Sabrina.” Amaya wheezed and Sara just laughed, even though the incident had her blood running cold for a moment there.

 “He looks hurt… And I feel really bad out it…” Sara muttered as she leaned against her locker and observed Ray Palmer, who glanced at her from his own locker; eyes like a hurt little puppy’s. She waved her hand towards him, but the man immediately turned away; closing his locker and practically running off towards the other side of the hallway and inside the chemistry lab. “He can’t even look at me!”

“Relax, knowing Ray, he is just being a gentleman and doesn’t want to bother you. He probably feels like he will be somehow intruding if he talks to you since you are the one who broke up with him.” Amaya pointed out as she saw Nate walking down the hallway, giving both girls a salute before going in the chemistry lab too; knowing that his best friend was hiding there.

“Ugh can you even believe that Laurel actually had a thing with him. God I get chills even thinking about it.” Sara stated with an utterly disgusted voice.

“Hey, Nate is a decent guy. He just wasn’t the guy for Laurel.” The blonde leaned against her locker; thinking about the path Nate put her sister in during the summer. Sure, he was a nice guy and a model student but the man had a real weakness for partying and good booze. And soon enough, the mourning Laurel joined him and tried to drink away her pain. But when Sheriff West caught them drunk driving and kept them under custody for the night… Laurel knew it was time to start fresh.

“Yeah, I know. And I hear that he is doing much better.” Sara finally said with a small shrug of her shoulders. “Ray has been a great help for him these months and he actually got him a spot on the team.” Amaya looked at her amused. “Hey, we both know that his grandfather being the mayor got him the spot but let’s just pretend that Nate is actually capable of playing football.”

“It will be nice seeing him on the field and I’m praying that if he scores a point he might even take his jersey off. But then again this is Nate and I doubt if he even knows what the ball looks like.” The other girl said and Sara smacked her in the arm, trying to contain her own laughter.

But suddenly Amaya stopped and she looked at the pair that was walking down the hallway in front of them. Both of them were unfamiliar to them and it seemed like everyone else was staring too. The man was tall and his hair was buzzed-cut short and by his side walked a tall woman, with her own hair falling in perfect brown curls up to her mid-back.

They could not see their faces and Sara just followed Amaya until she dragged her to the secretary’s office where the pair had gone. Of course they were too far to hear them but both girls were far too curious to see their faces to leave.

“Please, please be hot!” Amaya said under her breath and Sara elbowed her in response. Then she spotted Ray who had finally exited his hideout and was currently walking to the men’s bathroom.

“Ray!” She called out and sprinted towards him; ignoring that both Amaya and the new girl had turned to look at her. Sara walked inside the bathroom where the tall man was currently splashing cold water on his face. “Hey, I just want to talk; no need to jump out of the window or inside the toilet.”

Ray looked at her puzzled before a giant smile crossed his face. All the hurt and sadness was gone from his eyes and he pulled her in from an air-depriving hug. Sara’s eyes widened but hugged the man back eagerly.

“Oh my gosh, I was so scared that you wouldn’t want to talk to me after everything that went down!” He exclaimed with that goofy smile of his.

“Ray, I waved at you back there; didn’t you see that?” Sara questioned with her hands crossed in front of her chest, even though she wasn’t accusing Ray of anything.

“I thought you were waving at Fred!” The man stated with a laugh and placed a hand on Sara’s shoulder. “Look I know that things between us are over and that we’ve both changed, but you are still my friend Sara and you have been for all these years. And I realized that having you as a friend is much better than having you as a girlfriend.”

“And you are more of like a big brother to me after all.” Sara said with a smile; relieved that Ray had gotten her point. He pulled her in for another quick hug before checking his watch.

“I gotta run, Mrs. Bertinelli wants to talk to me about my summer chemistry course. But it was good chatting with you!” said Ray and moved towards the door. He opened it for Sara who walked outside… only to fall on a stranger.

“Shit, I’m sorry!” She exclaimed as she realized that the man was already gone before she even had a chance to see his face.

“Okay, that was ‘dark and mysterious’, am I right?” Ray asked and Sara just smirked before walking towards her first class.

She noticed that in the desk across hers sat the new girl who was currently watching her intently; blue ice-cold eyes scanning her face. She was so confused by the girl who was observing her, that she didn’t even hear Mr. Deveau calling her name.

“Mrs. Lance, are you with us?” He asked; sarcasm evident on his voice like it always was. She gave him a quick nod and straightened in her chair. “You obviously weren’t paying attention but I asked you how many were the casualties in the Central City Hospital fire in 1863?”

“I will have to go with… a bunch?” Sara said and practically heard her teacher’s blood boil.

“Mrs. Lance I was more than lenient towards you last May but if you won’t adjust to your new reality and start studying, your marks won’t stay where they are.”Mr. Deveau explained and Sara felt herself grow agitated at her teacher’s behavior. “Now is there anyone else who would like to give me the answer? And for those of you who are wondering, I mean in an actual number.”

“247 if you are not counting the civilians who tried to help.” Said a voice and the whole class turned and saw that it was actually the new girl who was leaning back on her chair with a sense of casualness and confidence rarely seen in a teenager.

“That is correct!” Said Mr. Deveau, pleasantly surprised that even one student in his class had the basic knowledge of their town’s history. “Mrs..?”

“Snart.” The girl responded and the way she said it, meant that she knew the power within the last name she had.

“Snart; any connection to the original settlers at our very own town?”

The girl immediately tensed.

“Very distant.”

“Well you do seem to have your fair share of historic knowledge… even though there were no civilians that helped that night in the fire.”

“They came afterwards and tried to put down the fire by bringing water from the Falls. But once they arrived they fire had spread too much and they…uhm, I believe that you can find the files about the incident on the library if you would like to refresh your cognition, Mr Deveau.”

 “Hey, you!” Amaya called as she practically sprinted towards the girl who was walking casually down the hallway. The young woman stopped walking and turned to look at the two humans who approached her. The one who looked way too cheerful to be possibly liked by her and… her. Well, she wasn’t Alexa, but it sure as hell looked a lot like her. That bitch who destroyed her family and her whole life. That slut whose fault it was that she was back in Central after 145 years to stop the monster that she helped create.

“Yeah, what’s up?” She asked; voice cool despite her burning need to rip the petite blonde’s neck.

“Nothing, we just wanted to introduce ourselves; I’m Amaya and this is Sara.” Said Amaya and stretched out her hand, which the tall brunette hesitantly shook. And then Sara offered her hand for her to shake.

“Hey, I’m Alexa.” A firm handshaking and a small smile.

“Hello, it is nice to meet you.” She had answered; admiring the woman who was as pretty and as confident as she wished to become one day.

“Nice to meet you. I’m Lisa.” She answered; voice now more relaxed.

“Welcome to Central High!” Amaya stated excitedly and pulled out a flyer from her backpack. “Being new must suck and we would really love to show you around. There’s a bonfire, school party thing happening tonight and you are very welcome to join us, if you want to of course.” Lisa took the flyer and inspected it; a party full of hormonal and drunk teens wasn’t really her cup of tea anymore, but if it meant finding him…

“I’ll see you tonight.” She responded and exited the school; ready for some answers.

 “Did you know?” She called out as she walked inside the house and threw her backpack on the floor. “Leonard!”

“What is it sister? I was actually trying to sleep up there and your yelling isn’t helping me.” Said the man as he walked down the mahogany stairs of the house; coming face to face with his furious sister. Of course he was prepared for that; he knew that Lisa and Sara would eventually meet and that she would not be that thrilled to find a woman who looked exactly like Alexa in the same high school as her.

“Did you know that there is a walking copy of Alexa wandering in the town?” Lisa demanded as her brother walked to the living room and went straight to the liquor cabinet.

“I might have seen her once or twice in the grocery store…” He lifted his glass of whiskey and downed the warm liquid with a smirk on his face. “But other than that no. Didn’t I tell you? It must have slipped my mind.”

“Are you actually joking right now, Leonard?” Lisa hissed and grabbed the glass out of his hand as he was about to pour himself another glass; throwing it on the wall and smashing it into bits and pieces. “Is it a coincidence that there is another Alexa and somehow that’s when our brother decided to come back in town?”

“Yes, because if you can’t already tell, the girl is sixteen years old. Which means that she has been alive for sixteen whole years. And he has only been in town for a while now.”

“She looks sixteen Lenny! There is no guarantee that she isn’t that crazy bitch! She looked exactly the same; every freckle and even her eyes were exactly the same. She can just be pretending.” Leonard placed his hands on his sister’s shoulders.

“Calm down, Lisa. That psycho is gone and Sara is most definitely not her. I did my own research and you can see it for yourself, she is actually a leaving breathing human and not an immortal slut.” He looked at the flyer she was holding and took it from her hand to read it. “In the party tonight. And you will be certain that she isn’t Alexa.”

 “You made it!” Amaya exclaimed and pulled Lisa in for a hug which kind of startled the woman. The whole party really was crazy; teenagers either ready to pass out from drinking or making out until they actually did pass out from the alcohol. Sara was by the beers stack talking with a tall and broad shouldered man who was smiling and laughing just as she did. Her smile was genuine and it was something that she had truly never seen on Alexa.

She soon approached them along with the man; both holding two beers. She smiled at Lisa before handing Amaya a beer and placing her hand on Ray’s shoulder.

“Lisa, Ray. Ray, Lisa.” She introduced and Ray gave Lisa a beer with a bright smile on his pretty face. He then shook her hand and the woman found herself smiling back.

“Hello Ray.” Lisa remarked with a small smile as she sipped her beer and she was surprised that it didn’t taste as bad as she thought it would. It was pretty bad but this was a party thrown by teenagers of course, so no high expectations were set to begin with.

Before Ray even had the chance to answer he heard Nate yelling for him. He looked at the direction of his best friend’s voice and saw Nate trying to do a keg stand.

“Sorry, I have to run! Catch you later!” He said and Lisa smirked and waved at him as he walked away.

“Well he was really hot.” Lisa stated with a laugh and Amaya almost choked on her beer. “What, is he your or your boyfriend?”

“Ex-boyfriend, but definitely on-limits!” Sara interrupted and Amaya dropped her half-finished beer on the trash.

“Okay this tastes like actually piss, so I’m gonna go ask and see if they have some real stuff around here and bring some for you too!” Amaya called out as she ran and went to find Nate who probably had brought something better than these cheep beers.

“So, Lisa, did you come back to Central or is this your first time here?” Sara asked as she began climbing up a relatively short tree with ease; causing Lisa to make a mental note of that for later.

“No, I used to live here... a long time ago, but my family left. I’m actually back and me and my brother are living in the old Snart boarding house.” Lisa stated; knowing exactly what she was doing by telling Sara where she and Leonard were. Alexa wouldn’t let the opportunity to see Leonard again pass; not now that Lisa gave her their exact location.

“I think I’ve seen the house; it really is huge.” Sara pointed out and took another sip of her beer.

Then someone screamed.

“Oh my god, It’s Anna!” Someone cried out as Ray emerged from the woods; neat shirt covered in blood and the petite Anna Loring limp on his arms.

“Someone call 911!” Ray yelled and Sara swiftly jumped off of the branch; landing on her feet and rushing to her friend’s side. Sara knew that Anna had had a crush on Ray since forever and even though the man had been with her for a short period, he always cared deeply for Anna and wanted her to find someone to be happy with.  And now she was bleeding out in his arms.

A few minutes later an ambulance and a police car arrived and Ray was being questioned by a police officer on whether he saw someone with Anna on the woods. Just as they told him that they didn’t need anything else, he saw Lisa Snart talking to the tall man who was with her at the school that same morning. He nodded and walked away; disappearing in the woods as she approached Sara and Amaya and sat next to them.

He suppressed that uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach and walked over to car; wanting nothing more than to make sure that Anna was going to be okay.

 Leonard returned to the boarding house and walked straight to his room; needing a good drink and the only thing that would do the trick was his oldest bottle of whiskey that he had stacked on his bedside table.

Then a hawk flew inside the room settling on top of his closet; just as he realized that he wasn’t alone anymore. He turned and there… standing in the middle of the balcony in the flesh after all these years…

“Mick.”

He smirked in response.

“Hello brother.”