#I don't mind making little drinks and chipping things just PLEASE LET WORK STAY AT WORK I DON'T WANNA THINK ABOUT THIS SHIT AT HOME

[shaniacsboogara]

About to go back to work... Again... To make some drinks and chop some vegetables... So fun... I'm so Steven Lim core... I'm not at my breaking point...

[ofnightshadeandthornyroses]

Don't Hide Pt 2

Paul x reader

"Look I just really don't know what to do with that, and what he said made it sound like he's a local or at least frequents the place." You sip your drink before flopping down on the bed, still clutching the phone and listening to you sister and her endless knowledge of the dating scene. "With what you said it sounds like he was interested in you. All those girls but still he stopped at you." A pause. "I mean he did say he hadn't seen you around so there's always that 'new shiny toy' factor, but!!" Your mind was racing. New shiny toy? I hadn't even thought about that! I was just to panicked that I actually flirted with someone somewhat successfully and they initiated it! "You could've caught his attention, you said he was pretty cute right?" Sounds of chips crunching on the other end interrupted your response of 'yeah' "So if you see him again, and if you want to, try and flirt with him again. See if he's interested. Anything else happen that wasn't on the carousel?" More crunching. Your finger was now curling and uncurling in the cord as you remember something at the end. "I guess? Maybe? After I left I looked back and he was with his friends but he was already looking at me but I might have done something before that, it's a little embarrassing..." "Go on!" The pleading demand coming out muffled through a mouth that was undoubtedly full of chips. "Before I told him not to hide, I kinda took his lollipop out of his mouth and after I sorta put it in mine in front of him?" The end of your retelling came out sounding more like a question and you could the sound of your sister inhaling and promptly choking on her chips. You didn't mean to kill her really. You grimace, "Sorry-" "Sorry? Why didn't you tell me this! Oh, you bold fucker! You definitely had to have hooked him a bit! If he doesn't come up to you he's fucking numb or shy from what you did. Please God or whomever the fuck let my sibling finally get someone or some action at least." "Oh my frog-" "No child you listen–" "I'm older tha-" "-you need to try to make a small a miniscule effort to talk to this guy. I'm talking at least eye contact, a smile, a wave, head tilt, whatever! Just something. Even a sign to him. You do this and it's a mile stone. You do this and you could do it again and build up to something more. Remember it's the anticipation of what hasn't happened that's scary." "So I do this and I can do anything? That's mighty cheesy" "I didn't say that. But you could build up to more. It certainly gets a little easier once you've done it. It was hard for me at first as well, but I had the advantage of semi-popularity and friends that would cheer me on and and we could laugh about it later. I know it's a little harder for you but remember you got yourself a personal cheerleader a phone call away." Laying on your side playing with the cord, a fond smile grew on your face. "Thanks sis, I really appreciate this. I probably would've been spiraling out of my head without you by now." "That's what I'm here for! I've got to go, but hey! You get ready and go out! FIND THAT MAN! Give a little smile and a wave, maybe a wink~." "Ughaagh!" "I love you, bye!" "Bye, love you." You put the phone back up and laid there for minute just looking at the wall not really seeing it, not even thinking. Then, your brain decided to start working on double time. If I do this would it actually go well? Would it go bad? He stayed looking yesterday. What does that even mean? Did you make a big mistake even looking at him? Did you do the stupidest thing in history by taking his candy? AND PUTTING IT IN YOUR MOUTH!? OH YOU DUMB FROGGER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE! Maybe you should try? Maybe not, "no" or go "away" is NOT the worst he could say. Okay could it be that bad? He probably forgot about you, okay?

But the prospect of maybe having a someone made your heart feel like a ton of moths decided that it was their new home. You had always seen those couples on campus, one leaning on cars or walls wile the other leaned over them, making the other flustered or both laughing. Just thinking about maybe having a chance at that, having someone to fluster you or the other way around. Holding someone's hands because you could, holding them because you could, holding their face because–well.

This gave you a sense of anxious determination. With a hint of spite. You could never have something like that before, even when you tried. People were cruel, they hurt you, bones and shiny things couldn't hurt you. Maybe you would go, and maybe you would, if you saw him, smile and wave. This wasn't the campus or highschool, hell it's definitely not home. If you need to ignore him, you could. Why not? —•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•— So, you're here, and have been for about an hour before the sun finally started going down. This wouldn't be an issue at all except you've had an eye out for that pretty hurricane of blonde hair from the night before, and the anticipation of seeing them again slowly frying your nerves.

You stroll along some small stores, the chains on your boots and hip clinking as you walk. Eyes catching a shop advertising they sell 'Assortments for the damned', immediately interested you walk closer and open the glass door covered with a thick curtain.

Immediately you can see small weapons, jewelry, and crystals on a display case. Walking around there's discovered to be books on witchcraft, Satanism, the supernatural, apothecary, rituals, and beginners manuals. In the back left corner there's a display of sex toys and lingerie which is out numbered by the amount of fetish wear and toys for those obviously into more hard-core stuff that's right by it. There a section of actually weapons; swords, axes, hatchets, maces, flails, etc. Many intricately made or decorated with stones. Along side it was gardening supplies along with gas masks. Sections of fabric took up half a wall along with dried plants, pastes, and animal parts.

It felt like a play ground honestly. Maybe you would need to work on more crafts to sell, because you just might end up broke before you have to go back. But was it really your fault? You hadn't seen most of this stuff anywhere else and it was like putting live prey with a starving animal and asking it to wait a while more– cruel, tempting, and plain fucking stupid.

By the time you made it up to the front desk someone came stumbling out from behind a beaded curtain behind it. "Oh- Hi! Sorry it took a bit. Looking for anything in particular? Find anything you like?" Their short curly hair looked as if it's been through a storm and silver bangles clink on their hands. You find a name tag on their long apron which reads 'Andy–they/them'.

"I practically love everything here, I just might go broke if I can't find clients." They chuckle and push their glasses up their nose looking thoughtful. "Well it's great to hear you're enjoying the shop and as well as the clientele part, depending on what you sell we might be able to help with that. My boss tends to house and sell many locals wears for them here, only taking a small amount, on agreement of course, for the pay of the worker who helped sell it. I can give you a card if you'd like?"

You were struck dumb for a second almost refusing to believe your luck. This store, this store, could possibly house your crafts and you might actually be able to one–extend your stay and continue to hide from your parents and two–by something shiny when you wanted. You were baffled not stupid, also you were quiet and they were still looking at you. "Um, yes, oh frog. I definitely would like one, thank you!" Were you getting to loud, maybe a tad, but they giggled and put their finger up as they crouched down behind the counter.

"Give me just a moment. We don't keep my boss's cards up top for the taking so they tend to get pushed around." You left them to it and looked around the front counter, smaller concelable weapons made to look like other objects and just straight up decorated to look as pretty as they are painful make up a good amount of the displays. Andy popped back up holding a card like it was a prize ribbon as you were checking out what looked to be modified brass nuckles with jagged ends in shapes of animals, one even a Christmas tree.

"Here's her card, it has her number and mailing address, but please do call to set something up first. Oh, do you like those? We just got a new shipment in this morning! If you give me just a minute I can go get them right now!" They scurried through the curtain and back in less than a minute and set a medium box on the counter. After taking out a box cutter, they opened it and started taking out thin foam layers separating the metal peices and laying them out.

"Now these ones are our self defense keychains, they have holes for you to slip your fingers in similar to regular brass knuckles but with a nice sharp, cute twist." You scanned over the items feeling like a little kid all over again. Honestly, you didn't know what to do when she disappeared behind the curtain in search of the shipment, so in a mixed state of confusion and curious, you stated put. Oh are you glad you did. There were so many, moths, presents, birds, cats, hats. One that really caught your eye was the teeth. That not even the right word, right one would be fangs. The finger holes were in the gums and part of the other teeth in between the the sharpened teeth. There were blood marks on them as well, leading to believe what ever they're supposed to belong to fed on something with fresh blood. You had to have it. "Oh now this is extremely beautiful!" You said holding it up. "It is, and it definitely fits your little bat necklace. It's cute." The bat necklace in reference was the one from the night before. "We have other hidden weapons here too if you like to see." A very quick nod. "We have these necklaces over here that look like little hearts with daggers in them, which," Andy takes hold of one and pulls the blade out."They are. Then for wrists we have bands with daggers in intricate sheaths. They could look like decorations until you actual pull them out." Shiny, sharp, and pretty!  Your mind was probably breaking a sound barrier somewhere with how high pitched that came out in your own In the end you walked out with the fang keychain, a pair of arm bands, AND the necklace. Gosh you're asucker for shiny and sharp. You can't even blame Andy for your lack of self control, they were a great help and, really, were just doing their job. You fidget with the card in your hand a bit before finaly putting it in your bag. Passing by a food stand you see a container of bright candy in clear wrapping, lollipops, your brains supplies oh not so very helpfully. Did you decide you were gonna try? Yes, yes you did. Does that mean you're actually going to try and think about him the whole time when he already keeps constantly popping up and you have to constantly keep replaying the stunt you pulled. No, no you're not. And does this mean that because he keeps popping up in your head and making you feel more anxious and stupid by the second that in the end you might end up making a fool, tucking tail, and hauling ass? Uhhh- You were staring. The attendant was speaking. You hadn't even revised you had stopped. "I-I'm sorry, can you repeat that?" "I said," she looks exasperated already "Are you wanting one?" She had a pulled smile, the one you give customers when you want to add something else but you shouldn't. Just by her tone and expression you felt like you could hear the unsaid, "Or are you just going to block up the counter?" Feeling a bit embarrassed now you went went to say"No, sorry" but what came out was "Um, sorry, yes m-ma'am, cherry please. Thank you." This happened most times you were caught off guard, starring at something on a stand or store because you're either just in you're own mind or a memory. The embarrassment catches and usually ends with you buying whatever it was or doing a weird scurry of shame away.

Cherry wasn't even your favorite. Usually not even your top three choices, but you knew why you picked it. After your feet finally started moving again your brain, what was left of the flaming hot mush it had become, registered the flavor of the candy as cherry. It made sense really. You remember going over the memories before having the time to be properly mortified and remembering the way the sticky red residue you could see on his lips when you looked, shiny, pretty.

His teeth had a red sheen to it from the candy, even a little dribble of red dyed saliva could be seen at the corner of his mouth. Pretty. Shiny. He looked good with red. Reminds you of a glam rocker too. Oh frog.

You open the candy, plop it in then lean against a wall a couple feet into an alley to hopefully have a mental freak out in peace and not look like a total freak in public from going so far into your head. Glam rockers are shiny, and he's hot, and this is not helping. Seriously the intrusive thought of him in shiny red eyeshadow, hair all blown out, in shiny outfits with cut out and/or mesh, had you on your knees.

Like, actually, in the alley crouched down, head in your crossed arms, unable to stop the thoughts of a man who already had dressed like a hot punk, like a hot glam rocker, and now the thoughts are transforming saying 'hey you know, he'd look fucking hot if he was in a metal band'. The thought has you sinking lower on the ground, butt now firmly planted with your knees up so you can still successfully fold your arms on told and mock bury yourself a thoughts of glitter and tight outfits are joined by tight shiny leather, belts, spikes, and chains. The blown out hair stayed.

You stayed there for a while, tasting cherry and thinking, not relising that the very last light of sunset had finally passed, tuning out the foot traffic of the boardwalk, ignoring the way your butt and become numb and how your body tugged.

You tuned out this as well as the melodic sound of chains, boots, and rubbing leather. You didn't hear someone come into the alley or when they first said 'hey, sugar'.

Your brain only slightly registered the sound of chains hitting the ground. It completely registered the touch to your knee that your fairy skirt had had left bare, shocking your head up and into the chin of the unknown man who stumbled back from his crouch and landed on his rear.

You both groan, as you hold the top of your head and him his chin. "Damn sugar, didn't mean to scare you like that."

You look up finally noticing that this man isn't unknown at all, it's the man from before. Blown out blonde hair and blue eyes that were subjects of fantasies just moments before were in front of you, looking at you. You look down, not now, why now? "I'm sorry I didn't mean to hit you, didn't scare just, startled."

Trying to look everywhere but his face wasn't working. Today he was in his jacket from before and a band shirt, cut off and cut up, the jagged 'M' and 'A' being the only tell it used to say Matellica. The mesh shirt underneath it was pull tight by his position he was still in, legs spread and bent in criminally tight ripped jeans with chains and a fucking bondage belt.

Seriously why me, why you, why now!?  He's holding himself up with one hand behind him and the other rubbing at his chin though seeming distracted –and what is that look? Oh frog I've been staring-ogling! He saw that! Saw me! Of course he saw you you're faces are maybe three feet away maximum. But does that mean he was looking at me? Well you just hit his chin dingus. But why is he here? Um, He lives here? Maybe? I don't know? But why is he here, with me.

"Hey sweetness, you alive?"  You were staring, still. And he had that lazy smug grin on his face. Oh FROG. "Yeah, I'm alive." You say with absolute genius. Though in your defense you were also using about 90% of your brain power to be alive.

Flirting, interaction, crushes in general were never your strong suit. You always get flustered so easily, by the moment or your own thoughts. And being flustered leads to being embarrassed which leads to you fleeing or just silently standing there, awkwardly.

"Well that's great news sweetheart, hadn't been able to tell until you spoke up, those cute eyes of your staring my way. Would've thought you were a statue." He grins that grin and starts pushing himself more up.

What he says hits uou "sweetheart" "cute" "staring". You were staring. Oh f r o g. That feeling hits again, the one of embarrassment, your cheeks burning. "Im sorry, very sorry for your chin and staring." You start to turn the corner. Fleeing. You were fleeing.

Or was until you felt a hand tugged in your sleeve. You turn back and the he is with big blue eyes pand a slight confused look"No need to be sorry babe, where you going?" You look up at him "Away?" Not quite sure what's happening yourself. He pulls your sleeve, as well as you closer. "Well why that? Why don't we walk around see where to night takes us?" You didn't want to, not because of him, but you. Being by him made you anxious, his pretty face made you fidget nervously.

What if I mess it up, and he thinks I'm weird or disgusting? What if something goes wrong, there's so many people here? What if it goes great? Where do I go from there? Your sister voice filter through you brain. You won't know unless you try, something she's always saying, take a chance make a risk. If you never want to see him again you won't have to, live a little.

You get yourself together and look up at his waiting expression, "Yeah, I'd like too"

If you'd like to support a writer in desperate need of some tea and snack or you're interested in commissions from me dm me! Won't do smut.

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[aficwhore]

Truth Is

Chapter 1: A Night Many Months Ago

Frankie "Catfish" Morales x F!reader

Summary: When reuniting for the mission in Colombia, Frankie and the reader (nicknamed "Chipmunk"), bicker due to their rocky past. After some angry exchanges, a few truths come out, changing both of their perspectives. Will the relationship be mended? Or once this is over, will they go back to the way things were before?

Word Count: 3K

Warnings: explicit language, blood, violence, guns/weapons, lots of angst and emotions, infidelity, talk of sex and sexual encounters, drinking, mentions of drugs, talk of death, and talk of mental health(PTSD, depression).

A/N: This was inspired by the song "Truth Is" by Sabrina Claudio. I want to make this a series (my first series ever), but it's still being decided, so please let me know if you want this to be continued! And I am still taking requests and prompts! Thanks Lovelies <3

"Cmon, please Chip, we can't do this without you." Santiago begged, his hands clasped together in front of him to show his desperation as he stood before me in my small apartment kitchen. I sighed, glancing around our surroundings. He had come to ask about joining one last escapade, one last job and we'd all be set for the rest of our lives.

Finally breaking the silence and meeting his weary gaze, "Who all have you rounded up? If Will or Benny said no, there's no way I'm doing it without them." I took another deep breath, turning to continue the dishes I had been doing when Pope showed up.

Santi's face began to light up, his stance growing slightly as he grinned, "Great! They both wanted in, so did Tom." Seeming relieved he leaned against the counter next to the sink and crossed his arms.

"And F-Fish?" I hesitated, pausing the scrubbing on the porcelain dish in my hand. It felt like the air in my lungs no longer existed. My heart began to pound it's way up my throat and into my ears.

His head dipped down, feeling the concern laced in my voice. Clearing his voice, he quietly explained "Haven't asked him yet, he was last on my list."

I silently placed the last dish onto the rack near the sink and wiped my wet hands on my jeans, looking down and watching the wet marks gradually making themselves known. No longer forcing myself to make eye contact, I nodded at the ground.

"Look, querida, if you two just talked I'm sure it would work out." He pushed himself off the counter and stepped towards me, reaching a hand out and gently rubbing my shoulder to console me. "But don't let this change your mind, we really do need you."

"When are you going to mention it to him?" I breathed out, wanting to keep any and all emotions at bay. His hand on my arm squeezed, as if he was trying to give me some courage.

"Tonight, at Benny's fight, I thought his spirits would be up enough to persuade him." He chuckled lightly, knowing his plan was to take a little bit of advantage of Frankie's mood.

I laughed softly, "Definitely sounds like a Santi move if you ask me."

He smirked and shook his head "I know, shame on me." As he dropped his hand back to his side he quirked, "You should come tonight, we can go out for drinks after the fight, relax a little before we leave tomorrow."

It took me a second to register what he said, but when I did I burst out "wait what?! Tomorrow? Santi, why didn't you tell me that? You forgot the biggest detail!"

He cowered down slightly, rubbing the back of his neck "Because I knew you'd yell at me, it was worth a shot putting off the anger a little longer." He smiled coyly.

Rolling my eyes I couldn't help but forgive his dumb smile. "Well it starts soon, why don't I get my things real quick and we can head to the arena together?"

His smile widened, "Of course!" I grabbed my purse and keys, making sure to turn off the lights and lock the door behind me. As we made our way down the elevator and out to his car, Santi told me a few details about the missions and the plan. But once we got into his rinky dink ford truck, I turned to him.

"About Frankie, I'm sure one of the boys told you, but just in case; his license was revoked." Santi's face contorted with confusion.

"What? How? Did he crash or hurt somebody?" He questioned quickly.

After taking a breath of courage I spoke, "No Pope. He-He was caught with coke."

Santi stayed quiet, turning the engine on. "I don't get it" A sad expression plastered on his face.

With a furrow in my brow I spoke again, "What don't you get? He was doing drugs, hardcore ones at that". I began to ramble more, "For what reason, I'm not sure, maybe the PTSD and depression. Maybe he felt he had no one to go to-"

"Stop. I know." He cut me off while finally shifting the gear into drive and moving up forward. "You can't blame anyone for this. All we can do is move on and help him. He's our friend, okay? But I know he's still the same Fish, just a little turned around."

"I know, okay. I can't help it. From what the boys told me, he seems to be a lot better." I added, stirring in my seat. "Anyways, it's been awhile since all of us have been back together. It's exciting."

Santi snickered, "But didn't you all hang out while I've been out of the U.S.?"

Seeing that we're close to the arena's parking garage I explained, "I mean, yea, but only me, Ironhead, Benny and Fish. I haven't talked to Redfly in months, we all had a fallout with him. Especially me."

"Tom didn't say anything when I talked to him, Do you wanna fill me in?" He asked with a quirked eyebrow.

Huffing, I turn to face him, telling him the events of that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The four of us, the Millers, Frankie and I sat on my couch, watching TV and talking, when we hear a bang at the door. I got up to open it and find Tom slumped on the doorway. He looked rough and smelled like he had been drinking the past several days. "Woah, Tom, you're really drunk, and you drove here?"

He snapped, beginning to yell, "Who are you to judge me? Huh? My wife left me, this is how I cope." He angrily pushed his way past me and tumbled into the living room. He was greeted with the boys standing around him with concerned faces.

"What the hell were you thinking? You know how dangerous that is? You know you could've called and we would've been there for you!" I raised my voice back, causing Tom to swing around to face me.

He laughed darkly, "Oh shut up 'Miss Perfect,' just like you did for Fish? When he was nose deep in coke? Or are you too self obsessed? Or do you just have favorites!"

"Hey man, that's not cool." Will interrupted and tried to get a handle on Tom. Frankie lowered his head in embarrassment. Will reached forward and placed a hand on his back, but things escalated more.

"Oh okay, yea protect the whore, we all know she's there for you guys more than just talking. I wouldn't doubt it if you all fucked her too. But me? Nah, you leave me out of everything." Tom howled, yanking away from Will and slurring his words and no longer making sense.

Anger becoming more prominent, I spoke, "Seriously?! Whore?! How is it my fault that you push us away and don't let us help? We include you in everything, but you have your head so far stuck up your ass you never show up!" I've come face to face with him, my hot breath and voice blowing into his face above me. "And another thing, I'm not a whore, you asshole, I'm with Frankie!"

He leaned closer to me, his breath reeking of alcohol, "Just him? Does he know where you're at everyday Monday and Wednesday at 1?! I doubt it!"

Frankie speaks up, "What? What is he talking about?" A devilish smirk makes its way to Tom's face.

"Nothing, I swear it's nothing." I try to explain, making eye contact with my partially hurt lover.

"Tell him, tell him you've been seeing a 'Dr. Philips.' Go on, do it." He rubs it in.

Looking behind Tom, I saw Frankie looking like his world had just shattered. "You've been seeing someone?!"

Panicking, I speak, "Yes, but it's not what you think, I promise!"

"Then what is it?" Tom adds, stumbling back a foot and crossing his arms contently at the damage he just caused.

Benny spoke up, knowing the truth about who I was "seeing." "You need to leave man, you have no right to say shit like that. You don't know the real situation"

Tom burst, yelling "I want her to admit it! I want her to admit that she isn't the perfect bitch she makes herself out to be!"

"Fuck you! Get the hell out of my house!" I scream, tears slightly welling in my eyes. "Frankie-" I turn to him, but to find him grabbing his things. "Baby please, let me explain."

"Explain what? You've been cheating on me?" his voice is loud, and cracks slightly.

A tear breaks its way down my cheek, "I haven't, Frankie, please believe me." I grab his hand, trying to stall his movements, but he pulls away.

"You just admitted it!" He frowns and yanks his hand away and heads for the door.

"That's right Fishie boy! Leave her, she's no good anyway!" Tom squawks as Benny grabs a hold of him and shoves him to the door, Will right behind to help.

"You bastard!" I lunged forward and swung my hand, landing right on the side of his face with a loud crack. Frankie spun around, startled at my actions.

The action only fueled Tom's anger because he ripped away from Benny's grip and grabbed me. I didn't back down and started to shove him and swing my arms, hitting him in the face and chest as he fought back.

But just as quickly as the fight started, it ended. Frankie tore me off of Tom, pinning me to his chest and stopping my brutal hits. Will and Benny wrested Tom into submission and dragged him out of the front door as he yelled slurs at me, and dumped him outside with a battered face.

While the brothers were dealing with a drunk Redfly, Frankie scolded and verbally fought with me.

"Just tell me! Who is Dr. Philips!" He questioned, slightly shaking me by the shoulders.

With many emotions running through my head, I couldn't process what was going on. "I-I can't, Frankie, I can't even admit it to myself." Tears streaming down my face I brought my hands up to the sides of his face. "But you have to believe me, por favor (please)."

Francisco looked like he was fighting an emotional battle in his mind. He finally spoke, "Either you tell me, or I leave, I can't do this, not if you keep things from me."

Feeling my heart break, I whispered "Please, mi amor (my love), don't make me. I'm not strong enough." My eyes now running like an open faucet and my hands tightly pressed to his cheeks.

He blinks away tears, reaching his hands up to grab mine and pull them away from his face, "Then I have to go." He drops my hands and turns to leave.

"Por favor no me dejes! (Please don't leave me)" I call after him, watching as he heads out of the door and into the night, leaving me alone. I drop to the floor, tears blurring my vision and all that can be heard are my sobs.

After what feels like hours, Will and Benny return, picking me up off the floor and taking me to my bed. They lay me down, attempting to help my emotional breakdown. They pick up whatever mess that was left after the event of that night.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~end flashback~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"And after that night, Tom was no longer invited anywhere with us. Frankie distanced himself and refused to talk to me. But Will and Benny did their best to be there for me in any way they could. They did the same for Frankie. But as for Tom, they casted him out, because he changed, badly." I finished covering the story of that night, fighting the tears that threatened to spill. "And the Dr. Philips I was seeing, was my therapist. I didn't want anyone to know I wasn't okay mentally. I was embarrassed and part of me didn't want to admit I needed help. The lives we chose aren't easy."

Santi parked, and seemed shocked, "I'm sorry love, I knew you split with Fish, but didn't know any details or about Tom." He reached over and patted my thigh sympathetically. "I really am sorry that you went through all of that because Tom was an asshole. You really don't have to do this-"

"No I want to, I'm in a better place, so is everyone else." I smiled shyly, wanting to lift the spirits. "So what do you say? Let's go wrangle up our boys and get rich?"

Pope smiled brightly, "Hell yes!" We both got out of the car, and headed to the back of the arena and knocked, hoping Will was there to open it like he told Santi he would. Much to our luck, the door swung open to reveal a tall, smiling, blonde Miller brother.

"Brother!" Santi chuckled as he pulled the eldest Miller into a hug, clapping each other on the back. They pulled away as Pope headed inside to find the others.

"Hey pretty girl, long time no see." Will joked, hugging me tightly.

I scoffed, "Will, you were just at my house last night." We both laughed and he led me into a rank smelling locker room, which I assumed was for Benny to get ready. As we rounded the corner, I saw Benny and Tom chatting on one of the benches between the lockers.

"Chipmunk!" Benny roared as he ran over, picked me up and spun me around. "I missed you! I'm so glad you could make it!" He sat me back down and stepped back to sit on the bench again.

"Of course, I wouldn't miss you getting your ass beat for the world!" I giggled as I winked at him, showing the younger of us a bit of love.

He shook his head with a grin. As my eyes left him, they met with the eyes of Tom. He seemed to have a look of regret, trying to give me a sad smile.

I walked over to him, reaching my hand in a fist forward, lightly tapping his shoulder, "Hey fly, how you been?"

A small wave of relief washed over him as he responded "I'm good Chip, how are you? And look I'm really sorry, I wasn't in a good place and I regret-"

"Its okay Tom, really, it is. I'm just glad you're better. It's water under the bridge." I sit next to him and pat his back, showing that all, or at least most, is forgiven.

He nods slowly, "Thank you, it means a lot that you're here."

"Oh cmon you have to admit it, you couldn't do it without me, the best there is." I pretend to act over confident and burst into laughter. And Tom joins in.

As Tom and I begin to catch up, talking about what we've missed these past several months, I overhear a conversation.

"Hermano (brother)! How are you?" Santi greets Frankie, I assume, he was the last of us, who wasn't already here. When I realize that it is him, my heart begins to race. My skin starts to burn and get hot, my palms becoming sweaty.

"Pope! Benny! Ironhead! What is this, a reunion?" Frankie's voice echoes as they come closer. As the three round the corner, "All we need is Redfly and Chip-" Frankie stops as we become revealed to him. Tom gets up immediately and struts over to give Fish a hug. Frankie's face lights up with glee and hugs him back. When they step away from each other, I wearily stand up and all he does is give an awkward smile and nods in my direction.

Benny attempts to whisper to Santi, "Ouch, that's cold." And Santi jabs him in the stomach with his elbow, causing him to double over and make a "hmf" sound.

Being slightly hurt, I break the uneasy tension by opening an invitation, "Alright well I'm gonna go get a beer and find us some good seats, it's close to showtime!" Faking a smile I continue, "Who's coming?"

"Me, I can't be in here with this doofus anymore." Will chuckle as he ruffles Ben's hair and follows right behind me.

When we make it to the concession stand and order beers, Will taps my arm, "How are you feeling?"

With a sigh, "Honestly I expected that, but it hurt more when it actually happened. But what can I say." I grab out drinks from the concession worker and thank her and turn on my heels to find a seat. "I love him, and if that means waiting to mend things, it worth it, even if it means waiting forever."

Will offers a sympathetic grin. "It'll work, just watch. Oh! Over there! Perfect seats!" He points as his attention was caught by an opening near the rink. He pursues it as I follow behind.

While we sit, we joke around, waiting for the rest of the gang to come sit and watch Benny get thrown around. Finally the last three show up and sit with us, Tom sat on Will's right side, me on his other side, Santi on my left, but when Frankie walks up, he bends down and whispers to Santi, causing him to scoot further away from me and leaving room for Frankie to slot himself between us. Which took me by surprise. Once he was seated, he glanced over to me and gave me a genuine smile.

We don't say a word as the lights begin to dim and the announcer's voice breaks through the speaks, introducing our dear Benny and his opponent.

Our small group starts to cheer and scream Benny's name, to show him support. As he enters the rink, he searches for us, and when he finds us, he smiles big.

In the midst of all the commotion, Frankie leans over and whispers to me, "I missed you, cariño (sweetheart)."

My face whips around to meet a very close Fish, who is smiling. "I missed you too." I give a small smile and lean to my side to shoulder bump him, as he places a hand on my knee.

[abovethesmokestacks]

Hidden Love

Title: Hidden Love

Pairing: Bucky x reader

Word count: 2.2k

Rating: All audiences

Warnings: None. Or me, probably butchering the Victorian era. Also, you know, slight angst, because I can’t help myself

This story sparked from a moodboard I made a while back, of Victorian King!Bucky and maid!reader, and it kinda got away from me, as everything tends to do these days. And listen... I know. The term Victorian really only relates to the history of the United Kingdom during Queen Victoria’s reign, but please bear with me on this and suspend belief and step into a world where during this era, Bucky is king, and enjoy the stay.

The sounds of crystal clinking together should be like silver bells carrying over the din of hushed conversation, but to his ears, it's like nails on a chalkboard. The food before him is rich and each bite seems to swell in his mouth, forced down in thick swallows and gulps of wine. His cheeks hurt from smiling, and his feet itch to leave, to stand up and walk out. He could.

"More wine, your highness?"

He could, he is king.

The server's voice is low, bowed down appropriately to only be heard by him. He shouldn't have another glass, for the sake of his mental faculties. He should, to keep up appearances. He can already sense his mother's eyes on him, the calculating gaze he has known his entire life. The dowager queen, a mother only as it serves her image in the kingdom than anything else.

"Everything all right, James?" she asks, and oh, that tone is deceptive. Kind on the surface, but weighed just so with the barest hint of concern to draw the attention of the other guests.

He wants to grimace, his name sounding contrived and wrong in his ears, granted with the weight of legacy, set aside for a few blessed years of childhood and then thrust back upon him when illness took his father and forced him back into a mold he would much rather escape. The coronation had his stomach in knots, a chill persisting in his bones and a simmering dread as he was crowned - anointed by God, what god would place their faith in someone so flawed as man? - His Majesty James, by the Grace of God, King of the Nation, Defender of the Faith.

"Nothing, mother. Pondering my choice of drink."

He tries for amicable, jovial. It is the annual Christmas feast, why shouldn't he be happy? His mother quirks an eyebrow, holding his gaze just long enough for the hairs on the back of his head to stand on end before her eyes glide from him to take up the conversation she left.

Some defender of the faith he is, he doesn't even have faith in himself.

An eternity seems to pass as dishes pass before him, plate after plate until he feels nauseous. Around him, the atmosphere has relaxed, emboldened by wine and spirits, and even his mother is no longer sparing him a glance to keep track of him. Somehow, he would have thought being king would have meant finally being free of her shadow, but she is still there. No longer a shadow, but a presence right behind him, a metaphorical foot on his robe to remind him of his place, and hers. He wonders if anyone has noticed that his glass of wine has not been refilled in a long time, that he has been nursing it steadily and that his boisterous laughs have all been hollow.

He could leave, but not without drawing attention. Just a little while longer. He glances at the opulent grandfather clock, feels its ticking like a heartbeat. Not yet. Not yet. Not yet.

Each tick of the clock is an endless journey. Through rigid traditions, glasses of brandy, sweet sugarplums and fragrant pines, all he can feel is the passing of time, one second after another without an end in sight. Gifts are exchanged, crackers pulled with cloying glee and he feels more like a fool than a king when one of the footmen is coaxed into slipping the thin paper crown on his head. His mother bows out with effortless grace, sparking hope that maybe, just maybe, he can make his escape.

"Let me accompany you, mother," he asks, begs, voice low as he stands up to offer his arm for her.

Take it. Please, for the love of all things good and holy, take it.

Her smile is not exactly smug, but it hides a kind of joy that he thinks must be sour.

"Nonsense, my dear. Don't leave on my account, stay, be merry."

It's loud enough to be heard, for plenty of people to hear her deny him his exit under the guise of a mother not wanting to spoil her son's fun. He tries not to let his gaze harden or his forced smile to weaken, instead kissing his mother's hand and bidding her good night. Propriety will keep him here another hour at least. The clock ticks, chipping away at the span of time before he can have his freedom.

He thinks he might finally be going out of his mind when the clock strikes midnight. His other guests are either half-asleep, lulled by brandy and the late hour, or eagerly playing cards for the trinkets they received in their crackers. Enough. He takes his leave, wanting to roll his eyes at the hasty displays of respect and deference. No matter. He is free. A quick trip to fill up a plate from the abandoned dinner table, something for the road, as he jests with his escort. The palace is quiet when they traverse the corridors to his private chambers, their footsteps echoing ominously with nothing but a candelabra to light their way.

"I think I'll manage myself tonight," he tells his escort when they're outside his door. "Go sleep, I won't tell on you."

They put up the token protest, but still leave, hastening down the dark hallway while he lets himself in. The world feels more manageable inside. It's still a constant reminder of his privilege, of the opulence of his station, but it's his. No one can enter without his permission, no one can disturb him without just cause. Sometimes he wishes this was his entire kingdom.

Setting down the plate on his bed, he loosens the ascot, glad to be rid of the strangle-like hold around his neck. Off with the tailcoat, unbutton the waistcoat. Breathe.

Thunk.

He whips around, gaze falling on the large armoire in the corner. The silence that follows is deafening, but he knows what he heard. With a smile curling his lips, he swipes a treat off the plate, hiding it behind his back while he closes the distance, pulling the doors open in a rush, only for his ears to ring with a piercing shriek.

"Hush! Good god, you'll wake the entire wing, calm down! It's just me!"

The girl cowering into the corner of the armoire claps her hands over her mouth, eyes that had only moments ago been wide with fear now glaring at him as she breathes  through her nose to calm down. It’s strange, how his heart beats quicker, how the heaviness of his mind lightens under her fierce gaze. Years ago, they met by accident, he was still prince, young and cocksure, and she was, as she is now, a maid in the vast household that served his father the king. It wasn’t prudent, but he enjoyed giving her his attention, little flirtatious exchanges that somehow grew into a tender love with stolen kisses in hidden nooks. She has never asked for anything, much as he has offered to help her. She has declined promotions, slapped him for trying to sneak a small pouch of coins into her apron, made him promise not to do anything that would change her status in or outside the court.

He extends his hand to her, helping her up and out, twirling her around the room, making the skirt of her black dress flare around her, and his soul soars at the way her face settles into a sweet smile. With an exaggerated bow, he holds out his hand with the hidden treat, a sugar plum. She plucks it from her hand, delight colouring her features as she takes a small bite. 

“I thought you were…” she begins, swallowing before dropping her gaze, slipping the rest of the sugarplum into her apron pocket. “I wasn’t sure you were alone. I wasn’t… I wasn’t sure if you would come.”

They come to a halt by the window of his room, and instinctively, he positions his back to the window, protecting her presence with the frame of his body. This may be his private quarters, but the palace has eager eyes and ears.

“My mother.” 

It’s answer enough. Their love lives in the shadows, in the small kingdom of his room, in the hidden passages of the palace and with notes tucked into cracks only they know about. His heart aches, because she deserves so much more, wishes the world knew about this generous soul that holds his heart in her palms, whose smile lights up his presence even during his darkest days, who will take nothing but the reassurances of his affections and the kisses he bestows freely.

“I came as quickly as I could,” he adds, bringing up her hands to kiss her knuckles. They’re cold, worn from hard work, but he loves them as dearly as the rest of her.

“She knows.”

It’s simple. A statement, not a question, and her hands slide from his grip as she takes a step back.

“We don’t know that. She enjoys tormenting me, we’ve known that for quite some time. And even if she knows…” He closes the space between them again, wraps her up in his embrace, and nudges her chin to make her look at him. “Even if she knows, she won’t do anything overt. She can’t.”

“She’s the-” his love starts, eyebrows knit together, mouth set in a way that he knows she won’t let this go.

“She thinks she owns me. She thinks she controls me. In her eyes, I am as much a servant to her as anyone on staff. And I’m happy to let her keep her delusion, if it means I get to be with you, if it gives me time to…”

“To what?” she asks, tilting her head. “If it gives you time to do what, Bucky?”

To fight for that, he wants to say. His nickname, falling sweet from her lips and making him feel like a person. It’s a treasure from those happy childhood years, when he’d only hear it from his string of governesses and teachers, a concession to play pretend at a normal life. It felt like stepping out of a pleasant dream when he had to leave it behind, had to step into the heavy legacy of James, into the title of king. He looks at her, the only one to call him Bucky these days, and feels courage rise with the beating of his heart.

“To figure out a way for us to be together,” he tells her resolutely, continuing on his next breath. “We’ll go away, I’ll make sure we’ll have means to live until we can settle down. We’ll go far away, we’ll cross the sea if we have to.”

He twirls them around in a dance, away from the window, away from vulnerability of unseen eyes. Away. Gone. Together.

“Bucky…”

“We’ll live in a cottage, you and I. I’ll… I’ll learn a trade. I can tend horses. I can hunt. We’ll have a life that’s… that’s ours.”

“Buc- Your highness!”

The title cuts him down, poleaxes him and pulls him out of the dreams like someone has poured a vat of cold water on him. She’s no longer in his arms, once again removed, three solid paces between them, and she looks so small, so despairing, hands folded in front of her. This time, she finds her voice before he can find his.

“I can’t ask you to do that. You’re king. You… You have responsibilities. You have a realm that depends on you for guidance and rule. You can’t just… I’m no one. I’m not important. I’m- You are king, and kings marry queens and live happily ever after. I don’t fit into that story, your highness.”

He takes a step forward, she takes another step backwards. Even so, it hurts more to hear the way she talks about herself, makes herself small while he grows to something fabled and grand, when truth be told, he feels like all this time, he’s been walking on stilts and wearing a costume to hide the person he really is.

“Neither do I,” he starts, winces inwardly at how trite it sounds. “I didn’t want this. To be king, I mean. It’s not for me. I don’t care for politics and mind games, I don’t care for frivolousness and rigid customs. This is a prison to me. It’s beautiful, and grand, but it’s a gilded cage nonetheless. Outside this room, away from you, I am not myself. I am weak. I am a pawn in a game. My desires don't matter. You…” He takes a careful step forward, hope springing when she stays where she stands, “are everything I want. Everything I need.” Another step. “And I will do anything to be with you, anything to make this my story. I’ll bide my time, I’ll weigh my options, I’ll make every preparation, but one day…”

Another step. He’s back in front of her, and though she avoids his eyes, she’s not running, not putting distance back between them.

"Your highness…"

“My love,” he interrupts, offering her the depth and width of his affection, his voice low and ardent as he kneels before her, prostrating before the only person worthy of him. “My sweet, my… my everything. One day, I’ll find a way for us to be together.”

[acantha-j-roberts]

Poorly Pearl (Part 2)

"Anything for you, sweetheart." You say, smiling.

"Aren't you going to eat anything?" Henry asks, "I don't want to eat if you've got nothing."

You smile, seeing that even while he's sick, he's still selfless. You stand up and walk back into the kitchen, you grab the wheat bread and make a ham sandwich, which you pair with a bag of chips. You place the sandwich and the chips of a plate, balance the plate on your hand and head back to the guest room. As you thought, Henry hadn't eaten anything. He was waiting, to be sure you had something as well. You again sit on the edge of the bed, biting into a chip.

"Come on, eat up." You say, "You don't want it to get cold."

Henry finally picked up the spoon and began sipping the soup. You eat your sandwich and chips, while keeping a watchful eye on Pearl. Henry fell asleep immediately after he finished eating. You carefully grab the tray and head back towards the kitchen.

Chapter Seven

You spent the rest of the day in the guest bedroom. Sitting on the floor, leaning against the bedframe and reading a book. You wanted to be close to Henry, in case he needed anything and because he didn't like to be on his own while he's sick. It was about 7pm, when Henry awoke.

"Evening, sleepyhead." You say, looking up from your book.

"What time is it?" Henry ask, yawning.

"Around 7 pm." You answer.

You see Henry's expression change to worry.

"Is something wrong, sweetheart?" You ask.

"It's just that I promised Arthur that I'd help him repair a car." Henry explains.

"Well, there is no way you can work in this condition." You say, "I can drive over and tell Arthur you can't make it."

"Can I come with you?" Henry asks, "I...I don't want to be on my own."

You smile, "Yes, you can come. But you'll have to stay in the car."

You help Henry to stand up and lead him towards the front door, you grab a blanket from the living room as you go. You open the front door and guide Henry out to your car, you open the passenger side of your car and help him to sit down.

You then wrap the blanket around him, "The last thing we need is you getting worse, so keep the blanket on."

"Thanks, Y/N." Henry says, smiling.

You walk around to the other side of your car and enter the driver's seat. You start the car and then drive towards the Gas Station. You park your car beside one of the gas pumps.

You turn to Henry, "Stay here, I'll be back in a minute."

You exit you car, being sure to lock it. You then walk into the gas station, finding Arthur fixing a car.

"Hello, Y/N." Arthur greets, "I didn't expect to see you here. Is everything ok?"

"Everything is fine." You answer, "I just came here to tell you that Henry can't work tonight."

"Why not? Is everything alright with him?" Arthur asks, concerned.

"He's not feeling well," You answer, "He has probably got the flu."

"The poor boy." Arthur says, "Is there anything I can do to help?"

You shake you head, "I've got everything under control, don't worry."

"You're a saint, Y/N." Arthur says, "I don't know why you're not a nurse."

You smile, "You flatter me, Arthur. Now I better get back, Henry's waiting for me."

"Is he in your car?" Arthur asks.

You nod, "Do you want to say hello? I'm sure it would cheer him up."

"Of course." Arthur says, following you as you exit the gas station.

Chapter Eight

You walk around to the passenger side of your car. Henry is once again half asleep, leaning his head on the open windowsill.

"Henry." You whisper, waking the sleepy boy. "Someone is here to speak with you."

Henry looks up, revealing his bright red cheeks and hazy eyes.

Arthur walls to your side, "Evening, Henry."

"Hello, Arthur." Henry says, "Sorry I couldn't come to work tonight."

"Oh, don't apologise, Henry." Arthur assures, "You're clearly not well. Even if you came to work, I would let you work in this condition."

Henry smiles weakly, before turning away and sneezing into his elbow.

"I better get going." You say, turning to Arthur. "I'm planning on getting something from the diner before I go home."

"Well, hope you feel better soon, Henry." Arthur says, walking back towards the gas station, "See you around, Y/N."

You wave goodbye to Arthur, before entering the driver's seat. You turn on the engine and drive towards the diner.

"Are we going to the diner?" Henry asks.

You nod, "I'm going to grab some dinner, do you want you want your usual meal?"

"Yes, please." Henry answers, "Wait, I don't have any money."

"No, I'm paying." You say, "Don't worry."

"Are you sure?" Henry asks.

"Of course I'm sure." You answer, "Don't worry about it."

You park your car outside the diner, you exit your car and walk into the diner.

"Evening Y/N." Melinda's cheery voice calls.

"Evening Melinda," You answer, grabbing your purse from your pocket.

"What do ya want, hun?" Melinda asks, standing in front of you.

"Can I have a grilled cheese sandwich," you answer, "Two eggs, sunny side up and a side of pancakes. An orange juice and a pure black coffee. All to go, please."

"Right away, hun." Melinda says, heading into the back kitchen.

You take a seat on one of the stool that line the counter.

Melinda appears a few minutes later, "It should be ready soon, hun."

You smile, glancing out at your car.

"You ordering for someone else, hun?" Melinda asks, "That order seemed familiar."

"I'm ordering for Henry as well." You answer, "He's out in my car, waiting for me."

"Well, why don't you invite him in?" Melinda suggests, "Henry's always welcome in here."

You shake your head, "He's not very well. And I don't think he'd want to be around people, fearing he might get you sick too."

"Oh, that doesn't matter." Melinda assures, "Look, there is no one else here, let him in."

You think for a moment, before standing up and heading out to your car. It might be better to Henry to be inside, not outside in his own. Henry was again half asleep, his cheeks still a bright red.

"Henry." You say, placing your hand on his shoulder, "Melinda has invited you inside, come on."

Henry looks up, "But is don't want to get Melinda sick."

"She has insisted, Henry." You say, "Come on, it'll be better for you to be with me, then put her on your own."

Chapter Nine

You help Henry out of the car and guide him towards the diner. Melinda appears at the entrance and opens the door your you and Henry.

"Come on in, sickie." Melinda says, jokingly.

Henry smiles, "Evening, Melinda."

"Take a seat, hun." Melinda says, "You're food should be ready soon."

Henry sits on his usual place, you taking a seat next to him. The blanket that is wrapped around him is beginning to slip down. You grab the rim of the blanket and gently drape it over Henry's shoulders.

"You're very lucky to be cared for by Y/N." Melinda says, "Everyone knows she's the best caretaker in Battecreek."

"People keep saying that." You say.

"That's because it's true." Henry says, glancing over at you.

You smile, feeling your cheeks blush. Although everyone else has been telling you that you're a great caretaker, hearing it from Henry means more to you. Melinda appears in front of you and Henry, holding two polystyrene containers, as well as two take away cups.

"Here are your meals." Melinda says, "And drinks."

"Thanks, Melinda." You say, taking out the money from your purse.

"You don't need to pay." Melinda says, "See the meals as a thank you gift to you, and a get well soon present for Henry."

"Are you sure, Melinda?" You ask, "I don't mind paying."

"Yes, I'm certain." Melinda answers, smiling kindly.

You look back at Henry, who had his head in his hands.

"Henry, what's wrong?" You ask, placing your hand on his shoulder.

"I think I'm getting a headache." Henry answers, rubbing his forehead.

"Come on, then." You say, standing up, "Let's get you home."

You help Henry to his feet, having to use both hands to prop him up.

"Y/N..." Henry mutters, "I...I feel dizzy."

Henry begins to lose balance, he starts falling into you.

"Melinda!" You call, "A little help here, please!"

Melinda rushed to your side, and the two of you guide Henry to the nearest chair.

"I'll grab you some water, hun." Melinda says, rushing off.

You kneel in front of Henry, "You alright, sweetheart?"

"I'm fine now." Henry answers, "I just felt a little bit dizzy."

Melinda returns with a glass of water. She hands it to Henry, who gladly takes it and sips the icy contents. You reach up and place you hand on Henry's forehead, checking his fever.

"You're fever has risen." You say, "We need to get you home."

"I'll put your meals into your car." Melinda says, "So you can focus on Henry."

"You're a saint, Melinda." You say, "Thank you."

It took a little bit of work, but you eventually got Henry back into your car. You wrapped the blanket tightly around him, before entering the drivers seat. Melinda hands you a plastic bag, which contained you and Henry's meals.

"Hope you feel better soon, hun." Melinda says, looking over at Henry.

Henry smiles at Melinda, before she walks back into the diner. You turn on the engine and start the drive back to your house. By the time you arrived home, Henry had fallen asleep. You feel bad waking him, but you know you can't let him sleep in the car. You exit the car and walk around to the passenger side. You open the door, before kneeling down and wrapping Henry's arm around your shoulder. You place your hand on the side of his stomach, before slowing lifting him into a standing position. You see Henry's eyes open, but he wasn't fully awake.

"What's happening?" Henry mumbled, sleepily.

"I'm taking you to bed sweetheart." You say, "You fell asleep in the car and I felt bad waking you, so I decided to try and guide you into the house, while you were still sleeping."

"You sh...should have j...just woken me." Henry slurs, clearly drained.

You continue guiding Henry back into your house. You open your front door, being careful not to let Henry fall. You leave the light off, as you lead Henry towards the guest bedroom. Once you enter the guest bedroom, you suddenly feel Henry's entire weight fall onto you. Your knees almost gave way under the sudden weight.

"Henry?" You ask, "What's wrong?"

"Sorry." Henry mutters, "I...I'm struggling to stay standing."

You quickly move Henry over to the bed, helping him lie down into the tower of pillows. You kneel down and grab the medical bag from under the bed. You unpackage another fever patch, before gently placing it on Henry's forehead.

"You're an angel, Y/N." Henry mutters, "Thank you for taking care of me."

"As I've told you, I'll do anything to help you." You say, "Now get some sleep, sweetheart. Hopefully you'll feel better in the morning."

Henry was fast asleep almost instantly. You decide you're going to sleep in the guest room as well, just to keep an eye on Henry. You exit the room and quickly grab a large blanket and several pillows. You arrange the pillows beside the guest bed, before lying down and falling asleep. You sleep for a long while, being surprisingly comfortable on the floor.

Chapter Ten

You're suddenly awoken by something hitting your face. You sit up, yawing and rubbing your eyes.

"Oh, I'm so sorry." Henry says, looking down at you, "I didn't mean to wake you."

You grab whatever hit you and when your tired eyes focus, you see that is is a paintbrush. You then look up at Henry, who had specks of paint all over his cheeks.

"You look like you're feeling better." You say, sitting up.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better." Henry answers, "Thanks for everything, Y/N."

You suddenly notice a polystyrene container on the bed, it was open and completely empty.

"I see you enjoyed your meal." You say, pointing to the container.

Henry turns away for a quick second, and when he turned back to face you, he was holding the other polystyrene container.

"Here's yours, Y/N," Henry says, opening the container and handing it to you.

You gladly take the container and begin eating your cold grilled cheese sandwich.

[addictofsupernatural]

The Southsider (pt. 12)

Sweet Pea x reader

Chapter Summary: As y/n notices that there's someone after her, more people seem to want to make an end to her.

Word Count: 2288

Chapter 1 • Chapter 11 • Chapter 13

You were starting to become nervous when you practiced for the Carrie musical. Things were happening, and they seem to be gravitating towards you and Cheryl. Accidents were made, and they were unexplainable. What you didn't know of was that there was a serial note given to Kevin that said to take you out of the play.

"What are we going to do?" Jughead asked, holding his camera up as he filmed the conversation between him and Kevin.

"This is a minor setback, but I don't think anything bad could really happen. There's too much work that y/n and Cheryl have put into this. As they say, the show must go on."

Hal Cooper knew your father. They were friends, and they both saw eye to eye on things. Sinners, for instance. Hal was perfectly okay with what his friend was doing to his family. According to your dad, your mother was sinning in the Serpents.

Hal was disappointed when he was taken to prison. He beliefs were the same as his, and he had nobody else to share his passion with. Other than Penelope Blossom, but they shared that later in life.

When he went to visit his friend, your father told him of what happened, and how your sin was that you didn't lift a finger to help your mother. You were only protecting yourself.

So he kept a close eye on you. He saw through the happy facade you put on. Every day he saw you walk home, lonely and head down. He knew that you were haunted by your parents. You were punishing yourself. He didn't have to do anything, you were doing all the work for him. He stopped watching you and let you live your miserable life.

Until you stopped punishing yourself. You joined the Serpents, he had heard Betty talking to someone else about it. He started to watch you again, and this time he saw that you were genuinely happy. You even had a boyfriend. He would attack your boyfriend for now though; it wasn't his fault that he was dating a sinner. For all Hal knew, you could be deceiving that poor boy.

After rehearsal you went to Pop's where you began to work. But something was different. This time the Ghoulies came in and sat down at a booth. You and FP stared at each other. "Don't worry kid," he said. "I got it."

But they started to come almost everyday. Specifically on your shift times. FP called Jughead, who called Sweet Pea, when the Ghoulies came in for the third time. They rushed over to the diner, making a pit stop to get Fangs.

You grabbed your notepad and pen and huffed, feeling extremely uncomfortable in the presence of the drug dealing gang. The three serpent boys rushed through the door as you were walking towards the booth, and you stopped in your tracks and smiled, turning around to greet them.

The Ghoulies watched this. You hugged each of them. "Hey guys. I'm so glad that you're all here." You said perkily but also quietly. "I'll take your order after I'm done with them."

You then walked back to other table, a smile still on your face from the sight of your amazing boys. "You done talking with that wannabe gang sweetheart?"

You sighed, your mood going back to being ruined. "What can I get for you guys?"

"A sweet piece of that ass, for starters." The rest of the gang laughed at that one's comment.

"Drinks?" You asked, annoyance laced deep in your voice.

"You sure we can't have you babe?" Another asked. "If only you knew what my tongue could do."

"Milkshake or soda?" You asked a little louder. They finally gave there drinks. "It'll be ready as soon as possible." You said, monotone. You then walked over to a nearby booth with the three Serpents sitting there, making your mood change to happy and your voice to sweet. "Are what would you guys like?"

"I'm pretty sure my dad's already on my order right now." Jughead said.

"He started making it before you even walked in." You said.

"Chocolate chip milkshake." Fangs said.

"Banana milkshake." Sweet Pea said. You looked at him questioningly. "Please?" He smiled.

You let out a short laugh. "That's different."

"Are you making it?"

"Yeah."

"Then it'll be good." He said with a smug expression.

"Swoon." Fangs mockingly said.

"More like barf." Jughead replied.

"Calm down Jug." you said. "I've never said anything when you and Betty get all flirty with other over homicides." And with that you left a speechless Jughead and two weirded out boys across from him.

When you came from the kitchen the Ghoulies all stared at you, taking in your looks. They all found you attractive, not that you noticed or cared about what they thought since they all looked at you like you were a piece of meat.

That's why they were all so disappointed when you had a tray of milkshakes in your hand and a big smile on while walking towards them, only to keep walking and head to the table with your boyfriend and friends. They then turned their attention to FP, who was holding a tray for their milkshakes. "Here you are."

"We want the hotty." One of them blurted out. The others nodded.

"Sorry, but she's dealing with another table right now." They then all heard your giggle, looking back and seeing you happy as can be with the serpents. "Don't worry boys, I made them myself, and I put a little something extra for you all." He then winked and walked back to the kitchen. He didn't put anything.

You then took their orders for food, ignoring the inappropriate jokes about you. When you were done you headed to the counter, but stopped when you heard Fangs call out, "Aren't you gonna take our order?" With a smile on his face.

You turned around and smiled. "You already know I got you guys." You said with a dramatic shrug.

The three of them cheered as you laughed. "That's my girl." Sweet Pea proudly said.

This got the Ghoulies pissed. When Penny said to keep an eye on this cute girl, she never mentioned that she had a Serpent boyfriend. You blew a kiss to Sweet Pea and headed to behind the counter.

You served both booths their foods. When the Ghoulies were done with their food you went to grab the plates, only for one of them to grip your left wrist. "Look at what we have here boys." He showed your hand. "A snake."

You ripped your hand away from his grasp. "That's a shame." Another said. "And such a nice ass too."

Sweet Pea stood up, followed by the other two, but you motioned for them to sit back down. You saw a man in the back hold up their coffee cup to signal that they wanted a refill, and you nodded to him, thinking of an amazing idea.

You carried a tray of two coffee cups and rectangular solid ice pack over, 'accidentally' spilling a cup on the guy who grabbed your wrist's groin area, igniting a yelp from him. "Oh no, sir I am so sorry." You said in a dramatic way. "Here, you should cool that off." You then forcefully tossed the ice pack to the area of the spill, causing him to bang his fist on the table in pain.

On your way to the back table, you brushed your hand against Sweet Pea's as it was on the table. They all smiled at you. "Here you are sir."

"I saw that, y'know." You began to panic a bit, considering that this job is what kept you eating. "Don't worry, I saw everything else. He deserved it."

You put a hand to your heart and offered him a smile. "My regulars get me." He nodded his head and smiled, and you went back to your job.

After a while the Ghoulies didn't leave, so neither did the Serpents. You offered free chocolate cake to the three of them for staying with you while the others were there. "What's this?" Fangs asked.

"It's your guys' birthdays, remember?" You said, smiling. "Well, that's the only way I can get you free dessert."

Jughead immediately took his slice. "Thanks. We're fraternal triplets."

You gave him a smile. "I knew it." You kissed Sweet Pea's cheek. "Enjoy." You and Sweet Pea shared a look as you walked away.

After your shift was over you came outside and slid beside Jughead in the booth, exhausted. Just then FP came out with a to go box of a big hotdog and fries. "I figured you didn't eat." Sweet Pea excitedly said, proud of the surprised look on your face.

"Thanks babe." You gave him a cheeky smile, quickly eating it and the four of you stepping out of the diner, the Ghoulies following you out.

"We're gonna go to the Whyte Wrym." Jughead said lowly. "Wanna come?"

"Yeah. I don't like the way those Ghoulies are looking at me."

"Neither do I." Sweet Pea said, eyeing them.

"See you guys there then." And with that the other two took off.

Sweet Pea saw how those four guys kept looking at you. He heard all the comments they made, both to you and while you weren't there. He hated the way they were looking at you now. "Sweets, what's wrong-"

He pulled you in for a mind blowing kiss. He knew they were watching, he was counting on it. He needed them to know who's girl you were. He needed to protect you from those disgusting guys. You were the love of his life after all.

When he pulled back he shimmied off his jacket and draped it over your shoulders. "Put it on. It's cold."

You smiled and put on the oversized jacket. You cocked your head to the side. "Where's all this coming from?"

"Just want to make sure my girl's feeling safe and appreciated." He smiled down at your adorable form.

You hung your arms loosely over his shoulders. "You're too good for this world Sweets."

He gave you the biggest smile, bringing you closer to him and telling you in a very quiet and low tone, "That's why I'm your world."

A serge of happiness came through you and you jumped up on him, him holding you by your thighs as you wrapped your arms and legs around him. "Ohmigodsweetsthatwasthecutestthingeveriloveyousomuch!" You said while assaulting his face with kisses.

He knew you would act this way to that comment. When it was low enough for only you to hear it, making it more meaningful. Not that he wanted anyone else to hear that, but still. "I love you too." He laughed out, forgetting about the audience watching.

You leaned your forehead to his. "But I love you more."

His hands dipped down to your ass, squeezing. "Prove it."

You hummed in his ear. "If only I could." You said lowly.

Sweet Pea was then getting excited. "What's stopping you?"

"We said we'd be at the Whyte Wrym."

"We'll make a quick stop by."

"We could say that I'm too tired."

Sweet Pea kissed your neck. "I like the way you think." And with that he put you down and you both excitedly took off, leaving those four Ghoulies to angrily watch as you two Serpents was busy being madly in love with each other.

The next day you both woke up late, rushing to school together. You didn't even notice that you were wearing his shirt and jacket. He did notice the jacket, but the shirt was a pleasant surprise. You got teased by all of your friends for it, especially when you both went to the Whyte Wrym after school.

Toni then proceeded to grab a hair tie and tie the shirt into a crop top, causing Sweet Pea to be in an even better mood. Whenever you tried to take it off, the two of them wouldn't allow it.

It game all fun and games until Penny Peabody entered the bar. The whole place became silent. She smiled and sat on a bar stool. "Don't mind me, I'm just getting a drink. Whiskey Toni, if you could."

Toni gave her a dirty look as she poured whiskey into a glass. "What do you want Penny?" Jughead asked.

"Jeez Jug, where's the hospitality? I just came to see how you all were doing." She then looked at you, Sweet Pea immediately putting his arms around you and tugging you closer to him. "And is that y/n? Wow, you've certainly whored up, haven't you?"

She got no response from you, only a glare. She downed her drink, causing Jughead to speak up again. "There, you've had your drink. Now leave."

"I was hoping for a welcoming crowd, but I guess I was wrong." She tossed some money onto the counter. "Bye guys. I'll be seeing some of you sooner rather than later." She then left.

You didn't put much thought into what she said, assuming that if was meant for Jughead, but you were wrong. Sweet Pea took you back to your house and kissed you goodnight, leaving you by yourself in your house while your aunt was gone again.

All lights in your house were turned off as you got ready to sleep. And that's when you saw the bright lights peering out of your window on the second floor. You carefully looked out of the window, only to see a few trucks parked outside, accompanied by multiple Ghoulies.

-------

Author Note: I'm so sorry guys😭😭 I haven't posted anything for two weeks. I'll try my best to go back to posting AT LEAST once a week.

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Taglist:

@madaboutlili @sireennotsiren @elsie2018 @greyfairie @iamaunicorn4704 @wanna-plan-world-domination @whenallsaidanddone @t-a-i-l-o-r-m-a-d-e @live-love-bailar @thecraziestcrayon @cvvlxx @grim-adventures58 @official--fangirl @jesus-jagiya @skeletalwolfcat @theunofficialduke @punkrock-cinnamonroll @rhi-an-onn @amongthewildthingss @apocalypticriot @anahgiedd

[sky-girls]

Chasing Colors

I don’t even know dude I was bored I wanted to distract myself and this was born, it’s pribs a mess and it was written on under an hour so welp enjoy I guess lol 

⭐

She doesn’t look up when he comes in but she still knows who it is, it’s a little embarrassing but it’s not just the rhythm of his steps or the art supplies hanging over his shoulders and much less the sound of his voice humming a song, always a different one that she can’t really place, it’s just that he comes around the coffee shop every weekday around the same hour.

He always asks exactly for the same thing too, one black coffee, sometimes when he hands her the cash his hands are full of smudged black ink or something, sometimes they are totally clean, and then he just goes to sit on corner sipping his coffee and looking at everyone with boredom and disinterest.

And he always stays about the same amount of time, just looking at people and doodling something on his notebook, until 4 p.m comes around and he he gathers his things and goes away to what she assumes is class. The coffee shop is close to campus anyway, every customer and almost every employee are college kids.

She smiles at him when he comes to the counter as always and he smirks back, she wonder what she has to do to get an actual smile out of him, but she guesses he is just one of those guys who doesn’t go around giving free smiles much less to their baristas.

“Good afternoon,Luna.” He says, with a polite yet almost teasing tone and every time he speaks to her she has to fight the urge to blush or giggle, because she is hopeless apparently. She doesn’t dwell on the fact that he knows her name, he has been coming here for almost the whole semester it would be weirder if he didn’t. She knows his too and it means completely nothing.

“One black coffee?” She asks with a gron and his smirk grows bigger.

“You haven’t forgotten about me, I see.” He winks at her and she does blush just a little bit but she manages to hide it looking for his change.

“I don’t think it’s possible to forget about you.” She tells him carefully avoiding his eyes, today his hands are stained with what seems like charcoal.

“No one has managed yet at least.” He says smugly and she rolls her eyes at him.

“There’s always a first time for everything though.” She says as she is making his coffee.

“But I am sure it won’t be you.” He says as she passes him his coffee and this time she can’t hide the blush from him.

After that as usual he walks away and goes to his table takes out his notebook and starts drawing. She gets distracted pretty easily, the constant rush of clients keeping her busy and and Matteo just as a thought on the back of her mind, it’s a pretty busy day, the cold has finally arrived to buenos aires and people are acting accordingly and getting much more hot drinks, she has more important things to do than focus on what Matteo is doing or not.

In fact her shift ends and she hasn’t glanced at him more than once or twice so she is surprised to find him still on his table focused on his notebook. She looks at her phone is just a little after four, maybe he got too distracted and hasn’t noticed the time or maybe she is a psycho for noticing the hour he always leaves, whatever it is she still gets closer and softly pokes him on the shoulder. She sneaks a look at his notebook as he is surprised, he is drawing the couple on the other side of room, it’s all in black and white and that’s not something she usually appreciates but it’s still so incredibly pretty Luna can’t help but stare, it looks almost like a picture and she is totally in awe of it.

“You needed something?” He asks and just then she remembers she wanted to talk to him and not just stare at his drawings.

“Ah, yes, yes, sorry.” She says quickly looking back to Matteo, who is staring at her with a raised eyebrow. “It’s just that it's a little bit over four and I wanted to make sure you didn't forget you have somewhere else to be or something, not that i know you schedule by heart or something but you do always stay until this time so it’s kinda weird that you are still here so in case you got distracted or something I just wanted to remind you.”

He keeps just staring at her as she rambles with this annoying little smirk on his face and next she is definitely not going to be as considered, he can miss whatever he has to do.

“My class got cancelled.” He explains amused. “Thanks for noticing though, I didn’t know that you cared so much about me.”

“I don’t.” She says to quickly and the little chuckle he lets out makes her roll her eyes. “You are just always here I am bound to notice you.”

“Yeah, I am pretty hard to to ignore.” He says leaning back on his sit and she just sighs annoyed.

“But well now that I know you won’t miss anything important I can go without problem.” She says turning around and walking a few steps until he calls her and she turns back to him.

“Or you could stay with me and help me kill time.” He says and she raises an eyebrow. “ I am supposed to meet with a friend after class but now that I have no classes and he does I am just getting bored.”

“You seem pretty entertained for me.” She says pointing at his notebook but still takes a seat in front of him.

“This is what I do every day.” He says passing the pages of the notebook too fast for her to see anything, she does notice some of his drawings seem to have color. “In class, in my free time, to prepare for test and I love it but it’s not like I couldn’t use a break.”

“Is that for a test or assigment or something?” She asks softly and he shakes his head.

“Nah, this is mostly just practice and relaxing.” He tells her. “I just like to come here and draw people.”

“What kinda people?”

“I don’t know.” Matteo shrugs. “Everyone.”

“Everyone.” She repeats slowly and he nods with a knowing look in his face. “Even me?”

“Wouldn’t you like to know?” He teases and Luna pouts.

“Well yes, that's why I am asking you.” She says and he just stares back at her. “Or what is what you draw a secret.”

“Nope.” He says and Luna’s eyes get distracted with his lips for a second, but just for a second. “But art is something especial you know? I don’t know how I feel just showing it to you with nothing for it.”

“What?” She asks and Matteo leans in closer to her resting his elbows on the table.

“I am gonna show my soul to you, Luna.” He tells her almost laughing. “What do you have to offer for that?”

“Isn’t art supposed to be a gift for humanity or something?” She asks and he laughs, it’s a nice laugh, she had never heard it before.

“That’s what people who won’t live off art say.” He tells her and she sighs. “So how much do you want to see the drawings of you that might or might not be here.”

“First, I want to know if there are really any drawings of me there.” She tells him. “I need to make sure you have something to offer and are not just tricking me to get free coffee or something.”

“That never crossed my mind.” He gasps dramatically. “Let me tell you something, what if we do something else? What if I show one of the drawings I have of you and then I tell you what I think would be a fair price to see them all?”

“What if I don't’ like your price?” She asks crossing her arms over her chest.

“Well you just don’t get to see the drawings, what else could happen?” He asks with a small chuckle and she pouts pretending that she is thinking of it but honestly she is too curious of course she will say yes.

When she nods he grins at her and starts searching his notebook quickly, she sees many, many black and white pages pass, drawings of people and things and landscapes all in black and white and then he stops on one page full of color and turns the notebook towards her.

It’s her, of course it’s her that’s what he was supposed to show her, but it’s her full of color, the only thing full of color in the drawing everything else, her co workers, the background, is black and white, but she is not.

She is laughing at something Jim said, she even remembers what it was because this is not from many days ago and as she pulls the notebook closer to her she can see the slight blush on her cheeks from the laughter, and the crinkles around her eyes, which she doesn’t think are as green as he has made them be actually. She can also see her messy hair trying to escape the ponytail she uses for work  and all the colors of her chipped nail polish, everything on the picture has just as much detail if not even more but somehow she feels like the most important part of it, probably because of the color but she is the part that is supposed to be catching the attention and she doesn’t know what to do with that.

“So do you like it?” He asks softly, tapping his finger on the table and for the first time she notices he is anxious about this.

“It’s beautiful.” She whispers clearing her throat softly. “Why did you draw me in color here, though?”

“You are  very colorful person.” He says simply and Luna looks down to herself, this is not the first time someone has told this to her but she doesn’t think Matteo has ever seen her out of the uniform so she has no idea what he actually means.

“I am not talking about your clothes.” He tells her with a soft laugh.

“Then what are you talking about?”

“So do you want to see the others?” He asks changing the topic completely.  He is smiling, just a little,an actual sincere smile, he seems pleased of himself, proud actually, not in the annoying way he seems to carry himself around always but ina softer, more honest, more excited way. It’s pretty cute if she is being honest.

“That depends.” She tells him. “On what your price is.”

“It’s very simple thing.” He says nonchalantly but she can see the way the way the corner of his lips are fighting to turn into an even bigger smile. “Just go out with me some day.”

“Go out with you?” She asks surprised.

“Yes, yes, whenever you want , wherever you want.” He informs her bringing the notebook back to his side of the table and closing it.

“If I  do will you tell me what you meant with colorful?” She and and he hums tapping his pencil against his chin.

“Probably.” He settles on. “It depends on how it goes.”

“But I will get to see the rest of the drawings you have made of me, right?” She makes sure.

“That was the deal, yes.”  He tells her and Luan bites her lower lip, there are definitely worse things to do than going out with him, it’s not like she is losing anything here and besides she really really wants to see the other drawings now.

“Okay then, I would love to go out with you.” She says with a smile and extends her hand so he can shake it, he chuckles at this but takes shaking it softly and not letting it go when he lets his hand fall softly on the table.

“Fantastic.” He says with a smile and eyes bright with somethings she can’t quite place but makes her feel warm inside and like butterflies are coming alive inside of her. “I can’t wait.”

[dukereviewsmovies]

Duke Reviews: Fast Five

Hi Everyone, I'm Andrew Leduc And Welcome To Duke Reviews Where We Continue Our Look At The Fast And Furious Series By Looking At The 5th Installment, Fast Five...

In This Movie, We Find Dom, Brian And Mia On The Run From DDS Agent Luke Hobbs (Played By Dwayne "You're Welcome" Johnson)...

And Police Officer Elena Neves (Played By Elsa "Wife Of Thor" Pataky) While Also Planning Another Heist This Time Against Corrupt Buisnessman, Hernan Reyes (Played By Joaquim De Almeida) But In Order To Pull This Off They're Going To Need The Help Of Some Old Friends...

So, Let's Talk About Fast Five To See If It's As Good As The Last Movie...

The Movie Starts Where The Last One Left Off With Brian (Played By Paul Walker) Mia (Played By Jordana Brewster) And Leo And Rico Driving Off To Rescue Dom (Played By Vin Diesel) From The Prison Bus To Lompoc...

After The Title Card We Get Some News Reports On Brian, Dom And Mia (Including One From Kent Shockneck And If You're Reading This We Love Ya, Kent) Before We Go To Rio...

No Offense But Why Do Movie Characters Always Go To Rio? They're Hiding Out There, The Incredible Hulk Hid Here, Bella And Edward Had Their Honeymoon, Max Bialystock And Leo Bloom Wanted To Hide Out Here..

(Start At 0:46, End At 1:20)

Rio Looks Like A Beautiful City But Please Movie Writers Send Your Characters Somewhere Else I'm Tired Of Seeing Rio In Movies I Half Expect These Characters To Run Into One Another!...

Anyway, With Dom On The Run, Brian And Mia Go To Rio To See...

Vince...

Yep, Vince Is Still Alive After Nearly Dying At The Hands Of That Truck Driver In The Original Movie And He's Not Half Of The Pain In The Butt He Was In The First Movie Either, He Settled Down In Rio, Started A Family, He Has A Son...

They Ask If Dom's Arrived But Unfortunately He Hasn't And The Last Time Vince Heard From Him He Was In Ecuador A Few Weeks Ago. Having Dinner That Night, Vince Talks About How He Ended Up In Rio, Saying That After Brian Screwed Everything Up He Ended Up Drinking His Way Across South America And It Would Have Continued If Not For His Wife, Rosa...

Meanwhile, Mia Spends Her Time With Vince's Wife, Rosa Who Discovers That Mia Is Pregnant And That Neither Dom Nor Brian Know...

Talking With Both Brian And Mia, Vince Talks About A Job Coming Up That Despite Dom Not Being Here They Can Do Themselves Coulple High End Cars, Easy Targets And Someone Vince Knows Is Putting Together A Team To Swipe Them All They're Going To Need Is A Few More Willing Participants...

But Brian Isn't Sure But Vince Tells Him That With The Way The Car Scene Works In Rio They Can Unload Them Quick And Get Good Money And From His Point Of View Brian And Mia Could Use A Little Cash..

The Next Morning, Brian And Mia Are On-Board A Train Where Mia Is Looking At A Travel Guide Until They Get The Signal To Which They Digitally Copy The Conductor's Pass So They Can Create A Card To Open The Doors, Finding The Right Area, They Get The Covers Off As People Outside Weld Their Way In...

(End At 5:24)

Once They Come Up For Air, Dom And Brian Are Taken By The Other Guys Who Work For Hernan Reyes Who Is Probably The Worst Bad Guy These Films Have Ever Had And That Includes Verone...

Look At Him, This Guy Doesn't Even Match Up To What Braga Was In The Last Movie!

Anyway, Reyes That If He Tells Them Where The Car Is He'll Let Them Go But Brian Saying That Reyes Is Full Of Crap Leads Reyes To Threaten To Come After Mia...

(Acting Like Liam Neeson) And I Will Kill Her...

Dom Gets Outs Out Of His Bonds Once Reyes Is Gone So He Can Continue Beating The Crap Out Of His Men While Brian...Kicks Them...Yay...Don't Quit Your Day Job, Brian...

Reuniting With Mia, She Wonders Where Vince Is Which Brian Says Is A Good Question But If That's Not All, Mia Has More Bad News, Everyone Is Blaming Them For The Death Of Some DEA Agents That Were On The Train, Which Means They're Now America's Most Wanted And They Got To Get Out Of There But Dom's Not Going Anywhere Yet Because Reyes Wanted This Car And He Wants To Find Out Why...

That Night, DDS Luke Hobbs Arrives In Rio And How Do I Describe Hobbs In This Movie? Well, To Put It In Musical Terms Consider Him The Javert To Dom's Valjean...

Talking With The Chief Of Police, Hobbs Tells Him That He Wants 2 Things ,1. He Needs A Translator For Which He Chooses Elena Neves And The Other Thing Is To Stay The Hell Out Of His Way...

Back At The Garage, Vince Returns With Both Brian And Dom Asking Where He's Been Turns Out There Are Guys Around The Favelas Asking About Them And He Couldn't Get Out Of There Without Leading Them Straight To Them However Brian's Not Buying It...

But That Night, Dom Sees Vince Going To Get A Microchip Out Of The Car Confirming Brian's Suspicions Of Vince's Involvement With Reyes...

(Start At 0:19, End At 1:39)

Meanwhile, Hobbs Looks At The Train As Officer Elena Neves Arrives On The Scene, And How Do I Explain Her? Well, Consider Her Dom's Love Interest For This Movie And The Next Movie Anyway, Wondering Why Hobbs Wanted Her Turns Out The Reason Is Because He Thinks That She's Motivated And That She's The Only Officer That Can't Be Bought...

One Of Hobbs Men Comes To Him With Some Good News And Bad News, Good News Is They Found The Spots Where They Unloaded The Cars And The Bad News Is The Ground Rolls Into A Hard Pack And They Lost The Track But Reyes Points Out That Road Heads Toward The Favelas...

The Next Morning, They Look At The Chip And Discover That It's A Delivery Schedule And What's Better Each Shipment Is Worth $10 Million Dollars And What's Even Better Is 100 Million In Cash Houses..

Discovering That This Is Reyes Entire Network On A Chip, They Got Bigger Problems As Reyes Boys Come In For An Attack And What's Worse, Hobbs Isn't Too Far Behind...

(End At 2:56)

Reuniting With Mia And Brian, Dom Thinks It's Best If They All Split Up, But Mia Doesn't Want That Telling Them The Truth That She's Pregnant...

With Brian Happy At The News, Dom Agrees From Now On They Stick Together...

Searching Where Dom Was, Reyes Thinks That Something Doesn't Add Up But Hobbs Just Sees Them As Names On A List That Need To Be Taken Down Asking If His Men Have Anything, One Of Them Mentions That The Vehicle Belongs To Reyes. To Neves Says That If Anything Illegal Is Happening In Rio Then Reyes Is Involved Which Gets Hobbs Interested In Him...

Hiding At Someplace, Brian Talks To Dom While Mia Is Sleeping About Their Father...

With Dom Asking About Brian's Father He Tells Him That He Doesn't Remember Anything About Him Because He Was Never There. Telling Dom They Need To Get Out, Dom Says He Has A Plan On How They're Going To Do It And It Involves Reyes Chip, They're Going To Use It To Steal All Of Reyes Money And Then Disappear But Brian Points Out That In Order To Do This They're Going To Need A Team...

To Start First, They're Going To Need A Chameleon, Someone To Blend In Anywhere And For That They Choose Han, Second, They're Going To Need A Fast Talker Someone Who Can Talk Their Way Out Of Anything And For That They Get Brian's Old Friend, Roman Pierce, 3rd, They're Also Going To Need Someone Good At Circuits, So, Brian Brings In Tej Who Lost His Horrible Afro!

4, They're Going To Need Guys That Can Punch Through Walls For Which They Bring In Leo And Rico For Some Reason? 5, They're Going To Need Someone Good At Utilities And Weapons, Basically Someone Who's Not Afraid To Get Into A Fight For Which They Bring In Giselle And Lastly They Need 2 Precision Drivers Guys That Never Lose For Which They Choose Themselves...

No Offense, Guys We Know You're Going To Be On The Team No Matter What But You Couldn't Pick 2 Other Precision Drivers To Back You Up Maybe Leon Or Suki, Perhaps?

With Tej And Roman Being The First Ones To Arrive, It's Funny As Hell These Guys Are So Good Together To The Point I Wouldn't Mind Seeing Them Get Their Own Spin-Off Movie...

With Giselle Being The Next To Arrive, She's Less Than Nice...

Don't Make Me Kill You Like I Did Maxwell Lord!

Leo And Rico Are The Next To Arrive And They Talk In Spanish...

And With Han Being The Last Looks Like The Gang's All Here As Dom, Brian And Mia Enter To Fill Them In...

With All Of Them In, Han Makes A Point In Saying That One Cash House Is Robbed The Rest Will Be Moved Into One Area...

So, What Do They Do? They Attack One Of The Houses Where They Tie Everyone Up, Take Off Their Masks And Burn The Cash This Time As...

Meanwhile Hobbs Boys Fix The Car And Discover That They Took The Microchip For It While Also Hearing About An Armed Robbery On Reyes Corporations To Which Neves Knows Immediately That It Was Dom...

Telling Reyes That Dom And His Crew Burned The Money, Reyes Wants All Of His Money Under Lock And Key Within The Hour...

With Each Member At A Location They Follow It To One Location, Police Headquarters...

With The Mission Getting A Lot Harder, Dom Believes That This It Doesn't Change A Thing And They Should Stick To The Plan...

Meanwhile Hobbs Looks At Traffic Cams At The Time Of The Robbery And Zooms Into A 1970 Charger To See 2 People Wearing Ski Masks But Running It Through FRS To See That It's Dom...

That Night, Reyes Visits The Police Who Have His Money Under Lock And Key In A Safe, Asking About Dom And Brian They Say That They're Looking For Them But That's Not Apparently Enough As Reyes Decides To Place A Price On Their Heads So High That Every Eye In The City Will Be Looking For Them...

Back At Dom's HQ, Mia Shows Some Blueprints Of The Police Station She Got From Police HQ, But Unfortunately It Doesn't Say What Type Of Safe They're Using So, They Decide To Run A Stealth Mission To Find Out, Using Roman To Get Their Eyes In There...

With Tej Getting An RC Car With A Camera On It Out Of The Box That Roman Gave To The Police Officer That Kicked Him Out...

Seeing The Safe, Tej Knows Immediately That This One Is Going To Be Hard To Crack...

Then Leo And Rico Go In And Place An Explosive In The Toilet Pipes, EW! So, They Can Go In And Drill Into The Wall So They Can Set Up Connections To The Cameras At Police HQ To Their Laptop...

The Cameras Apparently Have Marker Optics With 100 Degree Field Of View That Oscilates Every 10 Seconds Which Means They're Going To Need Really Fast Cars To Do This...

With Everyone Building A Track, Dom And Brian Go Out To Grab Some Cars By Checking Out The Street Racing Scene By Talking To A Racer Who Thinks That Dom's Car Is A Worthy Trophy For Anyone To Have In His Garage Which Leads Him To Challenge Dom For Pink Slips And That's The Last Mistake That S.O.B. Will Ever Make...

With Brian Running The Car On The Track, The Camera's They Have Set Up Unfortunately Spots Him, So, They Decide To Get Different Cars With Different Drivers...

But All Of Them Are Seen!

Of Course They're Seen! No Car Can Truly Be Invisible Unless That Car Is Being Driven By James Bond!

Anyway, Han Gets A Copy Of The Exact Same Safe That Is In Police Headquarters Which Tej Is Going To Work On Cracking However, They're Forgetting About One Thing, The Handprint Scanner, Yep They're Going To Need Reyes Handprint In Order To Get This To Work, So, They Use Giselle And Han To Get It...

While Monitoring Reyes, Han Asks Giselle About Her Military History While She Bring Up How He Used To Be A Smoker...

Yeah, Guys This Is Great And All But Now's Not A Good Time To Be Playing The Dating Game, You Guys Should Be Monitoring Rey.....es.....

Returning With The Print, Tej Only Has One Question....

Please Answer It!

Thank You, Cher I Needed That...

While My Interest In Gal Gadot Blinded Me, The Entire Team Has Just Become Wanted Criminals By Hobbs As Brian Explains That He's The Guy The FBI Gets Whenever They Want Somebody...

With Han Asking Dom To Move Up Their Timeline, Dom Has An Idea Where They're All Confronted By Hobbs At A Street Race Where He Attempts To Arrest Them...

(Start At 0:14, End At 2:01)

With Hobbs Walking Off, Dom Gains A Win As Tej Plants A Tracker On Their Van....

With Neves Going Home For The Night, She Finds Dom In Her House Just To Get Letty's Necklace Back

Yeah, I Agree With Mrs. Hemsworth Here, Why Bother Coming Back For A Lousy Necklace?

It's Worth It? No Offense But That's BULL! Nothing Is Worth Getting Arrested Not Even Getting Back A Necklace That Belonged To Someone You Lost!

Telling Dom That He Should Run Because Hobbs Will Eventually Find Him However She's More Interested On Why He Stays When He Should Run Which Leads Him To Ask Her The Same Question Which Leads Neves To Talk About Her Dead Husband...

Realizing Dom Didn't Kill The Men On The Train, She Asks If Letty Was Special To Him? Which Leads Him To Say That He Never Thought That Anyone Could Understand How Much...

Back At Dom's HQ, Everyone Continues Testing Cars That Just Keep On Failing Because (As Han Points Out) The Window Of Time Is Just Too Small And The Only Way They'll Ever Do It Is If Their Cars Are Invisible Which Is (As I Pointed Out Earlier) Impossible...

However, Dom Says He Knows Just Where To Get The Cars...

All Right, I'll Bite, Where, Dom?

They Drive To Police Headquarters To Swipe A Few Police Cars...

So, With Dom, Brian, Roman And Han In Police Cars They Decide To Do A Small Race With The Winner Getting An Extra Million...

With Roman In The Lead, Dom Eventually Takes Over That Lead With The Race Being Anyone's Game But It's Brian That Wins The Race, However It's Implied By Roman And Han That Dom Let Him Win...

The Next Morning, Mia Goes To The Market Only To Be Grabbed By Vince Who Says That Reyes Men Are Tracking Her...

Telling Brian And Dom About This, All Is Forgiven And Vince Becomes A Member Of The Team Again...

Preparing Dinner, The Other Members Talk About What They're Going To Do With Their Share Of Reyes Money, And They Also Find Out About Mia's Pregnancy...

Ok, Tej That Joke Was Good Enough For Giselle But Don't Push It On Mia...

Which Leads Dom To Make A Toast...

The Next Day, The Plan Is Set To Go Underway, With Everyone Taking Off Except For Dom, Brian, Mia And Vince Who Will Join Them In A Few However, Hobbs And His Team Arrive At Their HQ To Try To Arrest Them Which Leads To A Fight Between Hobbs And Dom...

And How Do I Describe This Scene? Well, Imagine If The Confrontation From Les Miserables Was A Fist Fight...

Sparring Hobb's Life, He Arrests Dom, Brian, Mia And Vince...

(Watch Whole Video)

While Saving Hobbs And Neves, Vince Gets Badly Injured And Dies From His Wounds Making Him The Eponine Of This Movie, But Before He Does He Tells Dom That He Named His Son After Him...

With The Mission Still On, Everyone Thinks It's A Bad Idea And That The Best Option Is Running As It's Now A Suicide Mission And That They Tripled Their Detail At The Police Station But One Way Or Another, Dom Has No Intention Of Letting Reyes Get Away With This.

With Hobbs Siding By Dom, Because He Wants Revenge For The Death Of His Men Everyone Follows After That As They Ask What The Plan Is...

With The Cars Arriving At The Police Station, They Decide To Use The Element Of Surprise To Ram Their Way In...

With Hobbs And Neves Dealing With The Guards, Dom And Brian Grab The Safe Using Tow Cables To Pull It Right Out Of The Wall..

With Police Following Them, It's A Chase Through The City With The Safe Bouncing All Over The Place, I'm Surprised No One's Getting Flattened Like Wile E Coyote...

But I Will Say That They Do Do Some Interesting Driving Techniques While Hauling The Safe Like Using It To Crash 2 Police Cars, Dragging It Down An Alley With One Car Going Forward And The Other Driving Backwards

But Just As They're Surrounded By Cops Who Are Shooting At Them, Roman And Han Come To The Rescue In The Cop Cars They Stole...

With Them Reaching A Bridge, They Have Too Many Cops Behind Them, Dom Decides To Cut Brian Loose Stating That He's Going To Be A Father And That He Needs To Think About Mia And The Baby...

With Dom Pulling The Safe With All Of His Nos He Manages To Hit Car By Car With The Safe, Ejecting Out Of The Car When The Safe Hits One Of Reyes' Cars So That His Car Can Hit The Car With Reyes Inside.,.

But Surprisingly They're Still Alive, That Is Until Brian Shoots Reyes Main Man And Hobbs Kills Reyes...

Saying That They Can't Take The Safe With Them, Hobbs Is Willing To Let Them Have 24 Hours Before Their Car And Mouse Chase Continues...

Oh, Wait I Think I Know What Happens Next...

Hobbs Realizes That Dom's A Good Man, Which Forces Him To Question His Ideals To The Point Of Suicide, Right?

Well, There Are So Many Les Mis-isms In This Movie That I Wouldn't Be Surprised...

No, Hobbs Sadly Does Not Die (Otherwise How Would We Have A Spinoff In Theaters Now) No, Instead Turns Out The Safe Is Empty And They Have The Cash...

Well, Turns Out That When They Had A 10 Second Window They Had Giselle, Leo And Rico Switch The Safe With The Money With The Empty Safe They Had...

And So, With The Money In They're Hands (Once Tej Opens The Safe) They All Go Their Separate Ways, With Dom Giving Vince's Wife, Rosa A Cut Of The Money Along With A Note Saying See You Soon, Uncle Dom..

As For Everyone, Leo And Rico Play It Up In Monaco Where We Never See Them Again, Tej Opens Up A Legitimate Garage Buisness With Him And Roman Hanging Out Every Once In A While, Han Didn't Get Just The Money But Giselle As Well...

Eat Your Heart Out, Steve Trevor!

Yep, They're Dating And They're Headed Off To Berlin Until We See Them In The Next Movie But As For Dom, Brian And Mia They're Somewhere On A Beach (And Don't Ask Where Because Even I Don't Know) All I Can Say Is That Mia Is Glowing With Her Pregnancy, Dom Is Dating Neves To Which He Should Watch Out For Falling Thunder Gods With Hammers That Shoot Lightning And Brian Wants Another Shot At Beating Dom...

I Would Say This Ends Our Film But We Get A Mid Credit Scene Where Monica Fuentes (Played Again By Eva Mendes) Drops By Hobbs Office In Washington, As A Team Of Drivers Hijacked A Military Convoy But Hobbs Isn't Interested Unless It's Dom But With Fuentes Saying To Look Deeper, Hobbs Makes A Discovery...

(Start At 1:00, End At 1:04)

And That's Fast Five And It's Okay...

While Not As Good As The Last Film, This One Has It's Moments The Story While Boring At The Beginning Catches Up Around The Middle Of It, The Characters Except For The Bad Guy Are Good, The Cars Weren't Very Impressive But At This Point They Were Changing Their Status Quo From Being A Series Of Street Racing Films To A Series Of Heist Films, Sort Of Like Oceans 11 With Cars But Still, It's A Film Worth A Watch And I Say See It...

Till Next Time, This Is Duke, Signing Off...