#I like making hair flowy and I can���t do that with his banana hair

[purplesurveys]

817

Does it make you nervous when someone does something dangerous showing off? If it’s something supposed to be taken seriously, like an athlete doing a risky ice skating spin, then I’d be nervous in that I don’t want them to fail. But if it’s someone doing something rather foolish like doing a moonsault off a roof or putting out a candle with their bare fingers, the mischievous side of me will silently half-wish something goes wrong haha. Have you ever had to take a pee test? You mean a urinalysis? Yeah. Angela’s doctor mom suspected I had UTI a few weeks ago so she had written up a recommendation for me to take a ‘pee test,’ as you put it. Have you ever had to supply someone with clean pee? I mean, I did for the aforementioned urinalysis lol. And what do you mean by clean pee? How is that different from dirty pee? Lmao Are you a bit of a nerd? Guh, I loved calling myself this is a teenager...because...y’know...I was a teenager and wanted to sound cool and ~not like the other girls~ lol but I was definitely trying too hard at the time. I don’t consider myself a nerd now and I don’t think I ever was. Are you in charge of cleaning anything in your household? Just my own dishes for the most part, but that’s it.

Are you good at HTML? At one point I was, because it was once a common practice on Tumblr to customize your themes, add your own pages, and basically just mix up your blog. I dunno if normal Tumblr still does this haha but if I tried to do this today I’d be rusty for sure. Ever carved/written anything on a park bench? Nope. I always feel like I’d get caught. Most interesting place you've ever visited? I’d say Shanghai was the most interesting mostly because it was SO incredibly first-world and the whole place was just so modern, so technologically forward and the experience was so jarring considering the dumpsite I live in. It was very daunting seeing all the bright lights, people dressing up so well, luxury shops on every corner, and how rich their nightlife was. Have you ever had anything tailored? Yes, my lola knows how to do that so whenever I need my clothes adjusted I’d just ask her to do it. Fan of Walton Ford artwork? Ever even heard of him? Nope, haven’t heard of him. Do you keep your eyebrows more thick or thin? I never get my eyebrows done; I don’t find it necessary. They’re naturally on the thick side, but from years of trichotillomania and plucking my left eyebrows, the hair eventually never 100% came back and the end of that eyebrow has juuuust a bit of a bald patch on it. It’s only noticeable for those who know about my trich, but still. What color is your bedroom door? It’s brown, but the bottom part sports a lot of chipped-off paint due to my dog scratching on it to get in and out of my room for the last twelve years.   Do you value your personal space, or do you hate being alone? I value both since I tend to need either at different points. Have you ever been hunting? Never.  Your take on one-night stands? Are they okay? You do you, and it’s definitely okay. It’s just not my thing. Do you always wear a bra? Not when I’m at home. I for sure haven’t worn one in a while due to the pandemic forcing me to stay home, but I did wear a bra when I went to the hospital a couple of weeks ago. Felt so weird lol. Do you have a wrist watch? No. I always lose them under my watch (hehe) so I just stopped wearing them altogether so that I don’t keep wasting my parents’ money :/ Do you usually jog or go for walks? I’ll sometimes go for walks, but for leisure. I don’t think of them as workouts at all. Could you be happier? Yeah, I think this is how most of us, if not all of us, feel.

Don't you just love aerial views? Like...from airplanes? Yessss, I love them a lot. When my dad books flights for us I always call dibs on a window seat as I never get tired of seeing cities and towns from the sky. Do you own a pair of Dr. Martins? As far as I know it’s Martens, and no I don’t. I’ve always thought they were too chunky for my liking. Do you like wine? Hate it, I never liked its bitter taste. My girlfriend and some of my aunts love wine though so sometimes I’ll have a glass or two and pretend to like it so I can spend time with them haha. Do you scrapbook? Nope. We do have scrapbooks at home, but it was my mom who made all of them for mine and my siblings’ baby photos. Have you ever been told not to do something you desperately wanted to do? Of course. ^ did you listen? Not always. Why are the angry birds so mad at the pigs? ...I don’t care. I never played the game actually. Would you feel bad about breaking up with a kid on his birthday? Kid sounds weird in this sentence lol, and yeah I’d say that’s a pretty shitty thing to do. There are 365 days in a year and unless my significant other has been an abusive shithead, I’d pick a date other than their birthday to break up with them. Have you ever sung anyone the happy birthday song? On their birthday, I guess...? How many followers do you have on Twitter? At the moment, 722. Do you like Hello Kitty? Not really. Have you ever won on one of those grabber machine things? Not that I can recall. My sister has always been the one better at those than me, she wins something every time. Though there was one time I was at the arcade and was just fucking around with the claw machines until I saw a kimono-wearing Hello Kitty left behind in one of them; I figured someone won it but didn’t want it, so I gleefully took it and gave it to my sister who’s super into Hello Kitty AND anything Japanese haha. Is there an actual word for those? I call it the claw machine. Have you seen the movie Remember Me? I never have but I remember wanting to because Robert Pattinson is in it, heh. Do you like thunderstorms? Love them. I can see myself living somewhere where it rains all year round. Have you ever been horseback-riding? I’ve ridden a horse before but I don’t think it counts as horseback-riding? It was part of the itinerary on one of our trips to Tagaytay nearly a decade ago, and a skilled rider was maneuvering the horse for me. I was like 12 and didn’t know any better, but today I absolutely wouldn’t take part in some tourist attraction thing that would use and tire out animals. Have you ever seen your naked back? I’ve had to turn around and look at it in the mirror a few times because I have scoliosis and I had wanted to see the point where my back starts to curve. Are you gonna French kiss your hubby at your wedding? Noooooo. I hate doing PDA myself so I’ll likely be sheepish at my own wedding actually, considering the fact that I wanna invite like 400 people lol. Do you think girls generally look better with their natural hair color? I don’t base attractiveness off of hair color, so I don’t really care. Who is the last person you held hands with? Gabie. Was ages ago though. Would you agree that wedding cake is so much better than any other cake? (: I mean, wedding cake isn’t even a type of cake lol. I think cheesecake is the superior cake, though. Do you feel awkward with strangers in elevators? Not at all. It’s a lot more awkward if I know the person but am not close with them or don’t know them all that well, so then I’d have to spend the next few seconds figuring out if I wanna make small talk or just ignore them altogether. Do you cuss excessively when you're upset? I can cuss excessively regardless of my mood. I don’t do it as much as I did when I was a teenager, but my potty mouth will still slip out every now and then. Would you rather cheat and tell your other about it or be cheated on? Eugh, this is an awful question. Can we just go with no cheating? Do you own a pair of shorts that could be mistaken for underwear? I don’t think so. Have you ever felt free after losing something once important to you? Yeah, I was recently reading my old survey answers from 2015 when my breakup was fresh, and apparently I was a super happy camper who felt free as fuck when Gab and I had broken things off so I guess that’s one example lol. Have you ever been to a rave? Nope, no raves for me. How many bananas have you ever eaten in a row? I’ve only eaten a whole banana once my whole life and that was a few weeks ago when I had a fever. Mom said it’ll be good for my body so I was made to eat one for breakfast. It wasn’t all that bad, but it will still take a whole lot for me to have to eat another banana. Have you ever felt like you can burn the world down? I’ve never been that angry before, no. Can you read/speak in any language(s) other than English? Yuh, Filipino is my first language.

Have you ever had sex outside? I’ve had it outside but we were still hidden, like inside a car lol if that still counts. Have you ever been outside naked? ^ Same situation. Do you like guys with long, brown, shaggy, flippy hair? If it looks majestically taken care of, yep. Do you have a beauty mark? I don’t. Have you ever been in a shrubbery maze? No. I’ve been terrified of them ever since watching The Shining, and I don’t think I’ll ever be up to entering one since I hate getting lost. Do you think you're the best thing that's happened to someone? I dunno. I don’t really need this big of a validation, so it’s genuinely fine if no one thinks of me in this way. Is the best thing that's ever happened to you a person? Yes, but also a dog. What's your boyfriend's style, or what style tends to attract you? I’ve observed that Gab jumps from one style to another. Some days she’ll dress like a sophisticated aunt and wear nice flowy dresses, other days she’ll opt to look a bit tomboyish and wear a graphic or tie-dye t-shirt and jeans. Do you know anyone who works in a cafe? Yeah, my cousin Bia. How many songs do you think you know all of the lyrics do? Hundreds is a safe guess. Do you enjoy jazz or blues music? I enjoy both, but I like jazz a tad bit more.

What's the most emotionally painful thing you've ever been through? Finding out about Nacho. My grandpa’s death hurt as hell too, but back then I had no choice but to harden up and force myself to be ok and focus because I had an insanely important college entrance exam coming up five days after his passing, and I couldn’t afford to get distracted. With the news of Nacho, I was doing nothing that night and I was completely vulnerable when it hit me. How many band t-shirts do you own that are black? I only have one band t-shirt, and it’s black. Can you make a clover shape with your tongue? Nope. Would you agree that Beck is a musical genius? (: Beyoncé lost to him for Album of the Year at the Grammys for her 2013 album which she highkey should’ve won, so he’s kinda on my shitlist for that looooool Do you ever feel like the main people in your life don't know you at all? No. I wear my heart on my sleeve for the most part, so I don’t have to worry about that. Do you like Ben Folds? I’ve never heard of him. Do you watch The Voice? Nope. Do you have a protective father? To an extent. He hates catcallers and always tells me to tell him if there are any around when we’re out so he can beat them up. He’s not crazy protective to the point of being possessive or overly strict though. Have you ever worn a headdress? Just for school productions when we would represent cultures that have headdresses.

Last thing that caused you to get sick? A UTI. What's the biggest misconception about you, personally? It annoys me to no goddamn end when people say or assume that I’m fake. It’s called being polite and civil even around people I don’t like which I’m pretty sure is more mature than fake, dude. Have you ever seriously thought you loved someone without telling them? No. Are you squeamish? About certain things. I hate watching clips of people having their bones break or get dislocated, people passing out, too much blood, among other stuff.

[serahsanguine]

School, Sex and Subterfuge NC-17

ao3

This story is based in 2018/2019.

Mulder is a teacher, Scully is a student. This story is an NC-17 rating. There is no underage sex in my story I researched this before even writing it.

Mulder is known to give extra credit of a sexual kind to Someone special in his class does this person turn out to be Scully? I will let you read and find out.

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

Notes:

The first Chapter is kind of Scully Pov but most of the chapters thereafter will be both pov and or third person. Also, the characters I am portraying may seem out of charter well one of them at least but as the story goes on this will sort itself out it had to be done this way for the story to work.

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

First Day, First Meeting

Scully was now in her second year at Stanford University getting her bachelor's degree in Medicine.

She was a sophomore, thank God, because she had hated being a freshman. At least now she was kind of settled. She knew where she had to be on campus and knew the best places to get away from everyone, when she needed time alone. She has mostly the same classes that she had last year, just more advanced versions of those classes. She wasn't much for parties or social gatherings, as she preferred to study and get straight A’s instead of headaches and awkward conversation with strangers. Anything less would not please Ahab, especially with Missy roaming the world. She knew her roommate Serah and a couple of her close friends well and even knew most of the people in her classes. Serah was in most of the same subjects she was, bar a few, like art and music for example.

Scully woke up in her room, the sun was just starting to peek through the musty brown curtains. She groaned to herself and forced herself to roll over, looking over at her clock which sat on her bedside table, moaning again when she read the time - 5 am.

She hated when her body did this to her when it didn't want to sleep or she couldn't get to sleep. She swung her legs off the bed, it wasn't like she was going to go back to sleep anyway and put on some comfortable yoga pants, with a tank top and some bright red Nike Air running trainers. She could probably fit in an hour or two at the gym before the rest of the campus even wakes up. Plus the benefits of being at the gym this early is that no one would be there; meaning no guys wolf whistling or giving her dirty remarks under their breath while exercising.

She exited her room quietly shutting and locking the door behind her trying not to wake Serah, as she definitely was not a morning person. Scully made quick work of getting to the main entrance and across the quad to the west wing of the campus which held the gym and entered the building saying a quick "Hello" to Jim the security guard, before heading straight for the treadmill machine area. She placed her eco-friendly water bottle in the holder, and then put her wireless headphones on before scanning her iPhone and hitting play on Fleetwood Mac and stepped onto the treadmill starting at a light jog then a full sprint. She was so focused on running and what she was listening to that she didn't notice a man enter the room and start running, three treadmills down from her, himself.

An hour passed and Scully had run the sleep deprivation out of her system, and her legs were starting to burn so she slowed her pace and started her cool down. That's when she looked over to see a man in his late 20’s, maybe early 30’s, running hard with sweat dripping off of his face. Scully covertly checked him out - he was about 6ft 1 with chestnut brown hair and tanned skin.

She had never seen this man before but as she studied his physique, she could tell he was athletic, he had brilliant legs and calf muscles. She worked her way up staring at his butt which was nicely shaped and stood out in the very short black workout shorts that he was wearing, continuing up further to his arms she watched his toned biceps and triceps flex and tense as he was really giving this run his all.

The man suddenly turned towards her, looking directly at her and she realised she had clearly been caught checking him out. She started blushing and then he smiled at her and she wanted to look away but she couldn't help but stare back at the man looking appreciatively at her. His eyes are what drew her in, they weren't green but neither were they brown, in fact, they were a lovely shade of hazel; so bright and deep at the same time, they were mesmerizing. She watched sweat drip from his hairline and run down his cheekbones and nose which she did admit was too big for his face but it suited him all the same and didn't diminish how cute he was.

Scully worked her way down his face to look at his gorgeous pouty lips so pink and full - Wow! What she would give to have that bottom lip in-between her teeth sucking and nibbling it. Wow, where did that come from? She smiled back at him and he took off his drenched mesh and cotton tank top, her eyes drifted down of the own accord she could not help but notice the muscles of his chest and the very well defined six-pack on his stomach.

Looking at this beautiful man sent her into a full body flush - her heart racing, her breath was ragged and uneven, a pool of desire building in her stomach. Why was she thinking like this? She had to stop thinking like this immediately but damn she just wanted to shove him up against a wall and have him fuck her senseless!

She had to escape quickly, hopping off the treadmill she walked fast towards the ladies locker room but he was still staring at her as she opened the door and only then did he turn away. She could not help but glance at this man once more before heading for a very cold shower (which desperately needed now), trying not to think of the man she had just encountered and spent no actual time talking to.

After Scully had showered and changed into some light grey jeans and a flowy peach coloured tank top blouse with spaghetti straps, she grabbed herself a coffee and grabbed Serah one while she was at the on-campus coffee shop before walking back to her dorm room.

She arrived at her room and unlocked the door; Serah was already awake and dressed in black stretchy jeans, a black tank top and cropped burgundy hoodie, her long blonde hair was in a messy ponytail and away from her face, making her blue eyes stand out more than they already did.

"Hey Dana’ Serah said cheerfully.

"Wow, look who's up early!" Scully replied sarcastically, with a curiously raised eyebrow.

"Oh, shush you. Is that coffee for me?"

"Well, I don't see anyone else here to give it to, so you might as well have it," Scully said, handing Serah the coffee cup.

"Well, it looks like someone is in a sassy mood on the first day back. Anyone, I know?"

Scully was still surprised at how easily Serah could read her sometimes.

"No. Just some guy I saw at the gym this morning... I didn't even speak to him."

"You may not have spoken to him, Dana, but he has you all hot under the collar I can tell," Serah smirked, then took a sip of her coffee.

Scully could feel a slight redness in her cheeks and a small smile creep across her face.

"Maybe... but you know me and you know that I have no time for men."

"Well, my dear friend. All work and no play makes life very dull indeed. And sometimes you need to play hard and be free... and let go every now and then."

"Maybe I will, sometime"

"Yes but the sometime may never come, Dana"

"What classes do you have today anyway?"

"Mostly same as you Biology and Chemistry but when you have your free period I have Art class then lunch we can meet back up at say two for psychology?"

"Sure, that sounds about right."

"Oh, have you heard the rumours about our lecturer?"

"You know I don't listen to rumour and speculation."

"Well, I know THAT! But they are pretty good and sound rather juicy so do you want to know or not?" Scully nodded, and so without hesitation Serah carried on with her story "Well as I hear it our teacher Mr F. W. Mulder takes one girl under his wing a year and gives her ‘extra credit’" Serah raised her eyebrows as if willing Scully to get the hint but Scully just looked at her friend standing across from her and gave her a sceptical eyebrow. "Anyway, it so happens he purposely fails them so he can take them back to his office and have his way with them. And nobody minds because apparently from what I have heard from the older girls, he is very good looking and fantastic in bed"

"As I said I don't believe in rumour or speculation, and if what you say is true surely he would have been found out and got fired by now."

"You would think so, wouldn't you? But apparently he is from a wealthy family that donates a lot of money to the school... so they look the other way."

"Hmm… we really should get going or we’re going to miss out the first lecture."

"Changing the subject are we?"

"Why yes, I am." They both started laughing.

They casually wandered to their first class sipping their coffees on the way.

Several hours and a number of boring "Welcome back" lectures later. Scully was sitting in her favourite little, off-campus, cafe eating a small Caesar salad with a strawberry and banana smoothie just enjoying the scenery. The weather was warm for Autumn, a good 78 F but there was a light breeze flowing through the trees and flowers offsetting the unusual heat.

What Scully liked most about sitting here was being alone and the peace and serenity of it all - that was until the guy she saw earlier at the gym started walking in her direction. She watched him walk across the small cafe, his hair caught the sun coming through the large windows and his eyes glimmered in the sunlight, he was wearing dark blue jeans that rode low on his hips and a white shirt rolled up on his arms.

"Excuse me, is this seat taken?" He looked at her directly in the eyes now, and she could feel him burrowing his way into her soul, gesturing towards the empty seat next to her.

"No, it is not." Scully smiled sheepishly at him and watched him sit down across from her.

"It’s nice here. Very open... and yet rustic"

"Yes, it is" Scully felt herself going shy, and was unable to form long sentences.

"I'm sorry to be so forward. I'm not normally like this," he took a short pause before completing his train of thought "You just looked lonely. My name is William, by the way."

"Hello William, I'm Dana" she took his hand and shook it, she felt unable to breathe because of this man sitting in front of her.

"I was wondering if you attended the University?" Scully simply nodded, William took the chance to express what he really wanted to say "Look, I really came over to say that you are a very beautiful woman."

"Thank you," Scully was covered in crimson blush now and she didn't know what to say, she could feel her heart beating hard in her chest, could hear the blood pumping and thrumming in her ears.

"I really must be going, sorry to interrupt your day. It's been nice to meet you, Dana."

"It was nice meeting you, too," Scully answered managing to stumble out the words.

She watched him walk away (eyes distracted by his firm butt). No man had made her lost for words before, no man had really taken an interest in her or at least been so forward about it. She was shocked, to say the least, but very flattered by his attention.

She finished her salad (and smoothie) and made her way back to campus to meet Serah by the water fountain.

"Dana!"

"Hey Serah, are you ready to head to class?"

"Yeah"

Serah picked up her bag and bottled water, said bye to her group of friends and walked alongside Scully. It took about ten minutes to walk to the lecture hall, when they arrived it was already half full. Scully thought two things at that moment It is either a popular subject or he was a very popular man! Serah looked at her as if she knew what she was thinking and grinned.

"It could possibly be both, there a couple of seats over there"

They shuffled through the row of seats to find their spot.

"So, what did you get up to at lunch? You came back a bit flushed."

"I'm fine! Nothing happened." Scully stated, staring off into space and trying not to look at her friend.

"Yeah, right. I heard some more details that should interest you... details about what kind of women he picks for his little game"

"Is that so?"

"Apparently he goes for long haired brunettes and quite tall... or so I have heard."

"Oh, well thank you for the reassurance. Since I'm nothing like that he wouldn't even look at me twice." Scully mumbled while getting her notebook out of her bag.

"Anytime!"

Suddenly the whole lecture hall went quite as Professor F. W. Mulder himself stepped onto the stage at the front of the room. Scully looked up and recognized the man that was about to teach their class, it was William in his blue jeans and white shirt. Their eyes locked onto each other... Shit, she thought.

This was going to be one very long academic year.

[mishellejones]

To Build a Home ch. 6

AO3

Start from the beginning

Four months earlier…

There was something so interesting, Clarke had found, about the fragility of human life. Not just in terms of death, though that was a large part of it,… but in the instability of a mind. In the way that if enough pressure was put onto it, it would splinter like an old rotted tree branch. Sometimes it didn’t even take a buildup. It only required one seemingly innocuous moment in time to fracture in disarray and then suddenly… suddenly it was all over. The human consciousness couldn’t handle it. And it would collapse into itself and lay, festering in the wounds made from the shards of the once perfectly proficient mind.

The fragility didn’t only expand to human consciousness… Oh no, the universe wouldn’t allow life to be so “easy”. Sometimes the foundation of a family a person once believed to be so solid would crumble beneath them – leaving them in the desolate loneliness of their own brittle mind.

Clarke had become all too familiar with these facts. Ones she would not wish upon even her worst enemy… But it happened to her. And she had to find a way to live with it.

If her state could even be considered “living” at all.

She sat in the plush chair of her therapist’s office, looking down silently upon her motionless hands in her lap. Her hair was thrown carelessly into a ponytail and the bags under her eyes gave way to the knowledge of the many nights she spent tossing and turning, incapable of finding sleep. It had been the same look she donned for many months now, but she couldn’t find it in herself to care.

The door clicked open, signifying the arrival of her therapist Emily. Clarke made no move to acknowledge her.

The middle-aged woman moved across to sit in front of her and greeted her the same way she did every time they had a meeting, “Hello Clarke, how are we feeling this afternoon?”

Clarke was sure that Emily was a nice woman, really. But given that she had to endure a full hour of small talk with her every week, she learned that the cheeriness in her voice was quite false. It made her think that maybe it was the therapists that needed therapy after all.

“The same,” Clarke replied quietly, continuing to gaze down at her hands.

Emily cleared her throat and scribbled on her paper. Clarke hated that goddamned paper.

“It was your birthday a few days ago right? Did you do anything special?”

Indeed, it had been her birthday. Her seventeenth to be exact. But considering she could hardly find it in herself to smile anymore, she didn’t celebrate it.  Unless the hastily thrown together cake her mother had made from a box counted.

“No.”

“That’s alright, celebrating isn’t for everybody.”

Clarke’s heart seemed to seize in her chest. Her dad loved celebrating birthdays. Had loved celebrating birthdays. She bit her cheek to keep from revealing any emotion, drawing blood. The metallic taste brought her back to reality.

It had been three months. Shouldn’t she be okay by now?

“It’s okay Clarke. It’s okay to not be okay…” Emily’s voice was soft. Sympathetic.

Clarke squeezed her eyes shut. She didn’t want her sympathy.

There was more scribbling, and then, “How has your sleep been? Are you still having nightmares?”

She swallowed thickly, “Yes.” Too many.

“And the panic attacks… Have you had one since we last met?”

Besides school, she hadn’t really been out of the house. Less opportunity to run into things that would trigger her anxiety.

“No.”

“Good,” Emily sighed, “I know that you don’t want to be here Clarke. Believe me, I do. But you need to know that it’s for your own health. And that in order for you to get better… You have to want to.”

Clarke made no move to answer, just continued to stare blankly down at her lap. As cliché as it was, she wasn’t entirely sure that there was a reason to get better. Her life just seemed so… desolate… now. Even when she was surrounded by people she still felt utterly alone.

“Clarke. Do you want to get better?”

She did look up then, into the inquisitive eyes of her therapist. She wanted to give Emily the answer that she knew she wanted, but her mind pulled her back to that night. The terror. The helplessness. The vision of her father collapsing lifeless right in front of her… She flinched and looked away from Emily, fighting to display the devastation she felt.

But when Clarke replied, her voice cracked. “I don’t know.”

+++

Present Day…

Clarke was never particularly one for dressing up. Whether it be formal wear or costumes for parties, she had always found it to be a bit trivial. There didn’t seem to be a point in parading around in a fancy get-up when she knew that she would really rather be in her normal clothes. She never wanted to portray herself as something she knew she wasn’t. Not to mention the fact that she was always much too busy anyway. School work had the better portion of her attention.

Yet, looking into the mirror hanging on the back of Raven’s bathroom door, Clarke had to admit that it was fascinating… To look upon herself and not see what she normally saw.

It was about an hour or so before the party, and the two girls were getting ready together. Raven had done an amazing job of twisting Clarke’s blonde curls into an intricate updo of loose braids. Though her makeup was still natural, it was a bit more than she was used to. Golden eyeshadow covered her lids, making her look regal and elegant. She donned a draped, flowy white dress synched at the waist by a golden rope belt, and metal ringlets circled her biceps.

The normal teenage Clarke didn’t stand before her… but a regal Greek goddess. One who certainly held more beauty than she thought she had the ability to.

There was a knock on the door then, startling Clarke from her thoughts.

“You can come in,” she called to the person on the other side – whom of which she was certain was just Raven checking on her.

As the door began to swing open, Raven was saying, “Did the dress fit you -,” upon seeing Clarke, her eye’s widened, “Chica! Daaaamn, that looks amazing on you!”

Clarke flushed slightly, “Thanks.”

The door pushed open further as Raven entered the bathroom. She was dressed as a 1920’s flapper. Complete with the short chin length wig, bedazzled headband, and tasseled dress.  

“You don’t look too bad yourself,” Clarke commented as Raven spun in a little circle to show off her costume.

“Girl, we look hot. I know you don’t want to draw too much attention but no way that’ll be happening. Not with the way your boobs and legs are shown off in that dress.”

Clarke glanced again at herself in the mirror. It was true, the slit in the dress went up mid-thigh, showing off quite a bit of leg. And the neck line… well, it was a bit lower than she would normally wear.

Clarke shrugged at her friend, “I guess it’s time for me to live a little and have fun.”

Raven snorted, “You? Have fun?”

She crossed her arms, “I can have fun.”

Raven laughed as she took Clarke’s arm in her hand and began pulling her out of the bathroom. “We’ll see about that,” she said.

+++

Even from where they had parked, the music could be heard. The field was crowded with cars and random costumed people heading in the direction of the barn. Clarke hadn’t even been aware that there were a large enough number of people in Ark to allow for there to be so many people attending the party.

“Drinking game idea,” Raven said to her as they made their way towards the flashing lights and the bumping music, “Take a shot every time you see a girl dressed as Harley Quinn.”

Clarke laughed, “We’d be dead by the end of the night.”

When they entered through the doors of the barn, Clarke was surprised to see the number of teenagers that had managed to cram themselves into it. Though it was a spacious structure, it was teeming with more life than it probably had ever seen before. The music was three times as loud as it had been by the car, a DJ set up in the corner. Halloween decorations were strewn haphazardly on the walls and ceiling, and there were orange spot lights dancing all over the room. The crowds of people were dancing on each other to the music, paying no attention to anybody around them.

Clarke found it funny how similar it seemed to a club. Whoever put this party on, must have a lot of money to waste.

“Jasper and Monty are supposed to meet us here,” Raven yelled over the music. Again, she took her arm and tugged her into one of the more secluded corners where one of the garbage cans stood. Along the same wall was a table full of Halloween themed snacks and a punch bowl that had a high probability of being spiked. A keg sat on the opposite end of the table.

Raven jerked her head toward the keg, “I’m gonna get us a drink really quick. Be right back.” And before Clarke could protest, she sauntered off.

Clarke took in her surroundings. Many of the guys didn’t have costumes on, but the girls were in ‘sexy’ versions of every sort. Sexy nurse, sexy cop, even sexy Freddy Kruger. There were at least ten different Harley Quinns from the small portion of people that she could actually make out in the dimmed light. The boys who did dress up, well, they sported costumes of tw

o different sorts. They were either horror movie characters or dressed as absurdly large food. She saw a hotdog, a banana, a taco… the list went on.

It was after a moment that she spotted Bellamy. He was in the opposite corner of the room, wearing (unsurprisingly) no costume and talking to a slutty nurse version of Roma. Clarke rolled her eyes as she saw that Roma’s hand rest on Bellamy’s chest and her other tugged at the hem of his white t-shirt. The girl hadn’t an ounce of decency.  Bellamy leaned in and whispered something into Roma’s ear, who Clarke saw giggle in return.

Momentarily, her mind took her back to school when she had witnessed the altercation between Bellamy and the mysterious man. Any remnants of his anger were no longer visible, the only emotion shown on his face being his cocky and flirtatious demeanor. How was it that a single boy could hold so much depth? To Clarke, Bellamy only grew more curious.

She shook her head as if to clear her thoughts and turned her gaze back toward the dancing teens in the center. It was best to leave the mystery that was Bellamy Blake unpondered.

Raven returned a second later with two plastic cups of beer, “Here ya go, chica.”

Clarke hesitated, fully aware that she had never been drunk before. She had never had the time or energy to attend any of the snobby parties that her fellow classmates from her private school had ever put on.

Raven cocked an eyebrow, “You can have ‘fun’, huh?” she teased.

Clarke scrunched her eyebrows together determinedly. Though it was a daunting prospect to her, she felt she needed prove to herself that she was not the same prudish and innocent young girl that her mother was so set on believing she was. The girl that she was taught to be.

“Gimme.” She grabbed the cup from Raven’s hand and then threw her head back and downed the contents. She made a face, allowing the bitter taste to sizzle down her throat. When she glanced at her friend, there was an astonished look on her face.

Raven laughed, “Well damn, consider me proven wrong.” She took a swig from her cup and made a disgusted expression, “Never was a fan of beer.”

Clarke was about to reply when she noticed two very familiar figures advancing toward them. “Jasper and Monty!” she said, grabbing hold of Raven’s wrist and tugging her along with her as she made her way to meet her friends.

“What are you even supposed to be?” she questioned an obviously high Jasper. He wore a onesie with the American flag printed on it and a sleeping mask pushed up into his disheveled hair.

He pulled the sleeping mask over his eyes, “I’m the American Dream. Get it?” A bubble of laughter escaped Clarke as she leaned in to give him a hug.

“And you?” she said after doing the same to Monty. He wore an old revolutionary style outfit with a white wig. “George Washington?”

Monty gave her a sheepish look, “Jasper wanted us to match.”

There was a moment of sudden inexplicable giddiness that built in her throat and she couldn’t tamp down on the giggle that burst from her. She wasn’t sure if it was the cup of beer she had just downed catching up to her or if she was just happy to see her friends, but she decided she liked it. Tonight was the night that she was going to let herself forget her past. And she wasn’t going to let anything stand in her way.

For too long she had allowed her self to wallow in her own self-pity. It wasn’t going to be the case any longer.

After grabbing a snack from the table and a cup of punch (it was, indeed, spiked), Raven pulled her into the crowd of dancing bodies. She allowed herself to get lost to the beat of the music, dancing with Raven and the boys in ways she had never danced before. Her bones sung with the drunken bliss that was beginning to sweep its way through her body.

When her skin was sticky with sweat, and her hair had fallen a bit, loose strands hanging in her face, she felt a tap on her shoulder. Turning she was met with the familiar face of Octavia, dressed as a cat nonetheless. Clarke launched herself at the girl with a hug, a giggle escaping her. She wasn’t sure what caused her to do it, but she was sure that it was right.

Octavia stumbled slightly, caught off guard by the sudden bombardment. But she laughed, “Hey Clarke, I see you’ve had yourself a drink.”

A giggle escaped Clarke once more as she pulled back, “Is it that obvious already?”

Raven leaned in then, yelling over the music. “She’s never been drunk before. She’s a liiiight weight.” Clarke elbowed her at that, though she knew it was quite obviously true.

“Just wait until I get her to smoke,” chimed in Jasper, pausing in his weird jig. Clarke rolled her eyes and shooed him away. She wasn’t too drunk already not to know where a line was drawn.

The girls walked out of the crowd of dancing teens so that they could talk without being in the way of everybody.

“This is Raven by the way,” Clarke said loud enough to be heard over the music.

“I know,” Octavia replied, “I’ve seen her around.” Then she looked at Raven who offered her a smile.

“Why don’t you come dance with us!” Raven offered.

“Absolutely.”

“You guys go ahead,” said Clarke, “I’m gonna run to the bathroom.” She had been ignoring the urge ever since they had been dancing, remembering the myth of “breaking the seal”. But there was no possible way for her to hold it any longer… even if that meant she might have had to go to the out-house located just outside of the barn.

Raven shrugged and pulled Octavia with her toward the dance floor.

Outside of the barn there were still people milling about, drinking and laughing. She even passed a couple that was all but actually having sex with each other against the wooden wall of the barn. She laughed at them as she continued to make her way toward the latrine in the dark. It had to be around 10:30 already, the only light source being the flashing lights from inside the barn and the faint flicker of the lightbulb lit above the outhouse.

As she waited for the girl to finish and exit, she felt a new presence behind her.

“What’s a girl like you doing in a place like this?” She knew that deep voice. Loathed the owner of that deep voice. She turned around and crossed her arms as she faced Bellamy, a smirk settled on his face.

“Having fun,” she stated simply. In the faint light he looked almost like a fallen angel, the shadows playing tricks with his handsome features.

She felt her face redden as his gaze swept over her body. Her loosened updo, the low plunge of her neckline, the golden rings that circled her arms, the exposed skin of her leg. She shifted her weight and crossed her arms self-consciously.

“A goddess,” he observed, “Athena maybe? Goddess of wisdom and war? Though it would be an inaccurate depiction…”

Clarke harrumphed, she wasn’t drunk enough to be dealing with him yet. “And what are you?” She said, eyeing his none-costume. “An asshole?”

He snorted, “Cute.”

She gave him an innocent smile. “I try.”

He stepped forward then, leaning his head next to her ear. “Play nice with my sister. I know she invited you here. Do anything to hurt her and we’ll have a problem.”

Anger flashed through her. She placed her hands on his chest and pushed him away. “That’s what you came up to me for? To threaten me? You know I witnessed you and your gang, right? Threaten me and there is nothing that’ll stop me from going to the police. I promise you that, Blake.”

Instead of his eye’s flickering with the anger that she thought they would have, he laughed. “Gang? Is that what you think I’m a part of?”

Her fists clenched at her sides, “I don’t know what you’re a part of. But I know it’s not legal.”

Bellamy scoffed, “You have no idea what you’re talking about.”

“I know enough.”

He examined her for a silent moment, seemingly unaware of what to make of her. Clarke stopped herself from fidgeting under the scrutiny of his gaze.

He cocked his head slightly. “You’re an interesting girl, Clarke Griffin.” And then he slowly backed up, keeping eye contact until he finally turned around and retreated into the crowded barn.

There had been far too many moments, in Clarke’s opinion, where she was left watching him leave.

+++

Half an hour and another beer or two later, Clarke was good and truly drunk. Laughing senselessly and gossiping with her friends and Octavia. Dancing and dancing until her feet felt like they would fall off. She felt more alive than she had ever had before. Gone was the fragile girl she had been only a few short months ago. Gone were the thoughts of her father. Of that one horrific night where everything went wrong. Gone was her constant overbearing mind, filling her with every possible thing that could ever go awry. All that was left was the weightless drunken bliss that sung through her bones and caused her to laugh at every little thing no matter if it was funny or not.

And she loved it.

Clarke, Raven, and Octavia had been attempting a game of darts when she decided that she should probably take a break. The logical part of her knew that she would be feeling her decision to drink in the morning and that she should probably drink as much water as she could. So she grabbed a water bottle and pushed her way through the crowded space toward the crisp fall night, bumping into a few people as she did so.

When she was relaxing in the grass gazing at the unlit forest that surrounded the barn, swaying happily to the beat of the music with a drunken smile plastered across her face, an unfamiliar boy approached her. His disheveled blonde hair glimmered in the moonlight as he paused before her, looking down with a soft smile. Something about him seemed out of place. Like he was a bit too old to be at a high school party. Too gruff around the edges. But in her state, Clarke only cocked her head at him and smiled.

“Hey,” he said casually, sitting down beside her in the grass.

She giggled at his lack of costume, though she wasn’t sure why it was so funny to her. “You know this is a costume party, right?” she slurred giddily, “Boys are so silly not wearing costumes to a costume party. You know Bellamy wasn’t wearing a costume? He’s silly too. Wait… You probably don’t know who Bellamy is. Who are you by the way?” The words tumbled out despite Clarke not giving any consent. She would have been more concerned that she was blabbering mindlessly to a stranger had she not been in her current state. Though she did find herself slightly confused at why she mentioned Bellamy.

The boy laughed. “I’m Dax,” he said, and then looked down at his hands sheepishly, “I’ve, uh, been kinda working up the courage to talk to you all night.” He looked up at her then, a half smile on his face.

She bit her lip to stop herself from giggling again. “Me?” She was almost positive she had never seen this boy before, but she couldn’t help but feel a little flattered.

He smiled crookedly, “Yeah you. I saw you dancing with your friends and I thought you looked really pretty in your costume.”

She screwed her face up comically, “But you don’t even know me.”

“I’d like to,” Dax said with a shrug.

Clarke pursed her lips in feigned thought. He was relatively attractive… and if tonight was the night of letting loose, then she might as well allow herself to give the guy a chance.

“I’m Clarke,” she said. And when she smiled, it felt genuine.

Dax leaned in slightly, “Hi Clarke. Nice to meet you.”

She swayed toward him drunkenly, “Nice to meet you too.”

After twenty minutes of chatting and unabashed flirting, he offered to grab her another drink. Stuffing down the part of her that protested, she accepted – the entire time reminding herself that it was her night to have fun. She had never felt so relaxed as she did with alcohol in her system then… So why should she deny the feeling of freedom that another drink would allow her to have? She would just deal with the repercussions in the morning.

When he returned, he offered one of the two plastic cups he was holding to her. He laughed when she threw her head back and gulped half of it down, accepting the burn. Looking up at him, her face split into a smile.

He offered his hand to her, chuckling to himself, “Let’s go somewhere else,” he said quietly, “somewhere private.”

Private. Clarke wasn’t too drunk to not know what offer he was laying down. She was seventeen after all, and even though she had never been involved in a hook-up, she wasn’t a virgin. Maybe he thought she was a naïve young girl, maybe this whole thing was a ruse to get into her pants, but quite frankly, Clarke couldn’t find it in herself to care. He had been charming and sweet enough. He made her laugh – though it wasn’t hard to as she found she was the giggly drunk – and asked her sincere questions.  

A night of fun was what she came here for. So a night of fun was what she was going to get.

Maybe it was her intoxicated state, or maybe it was her helpless yearn for a release from the hell she had wrapped herself up in from the beginning of that night eight months ago, but she placed her hand in his. She’d be back before Raven or Octavia even noticed her absence.

When Dax waggled his eyebrows and pulled her up, she laughed, stumbling against him.

As she followed behind him into the brush of the surrounding woods, something within her began to feel… different. Not right. It was as if a veil had settled itself over her mind and she was viewing her actions as a separate being. Her mind began to go a little hazy and her legs tripped up over nothing. Dax caught her and swung her up into his arms as if she weighed nothing. She rubbed a hand up his muscled arm, smiling softly. He was stronger than he looked. It made her laugh.

She enjoyed the feeling of the night air blowing against her feet, so she swung them back and forth feeling the air sweep against the bottoms. Where had her shoes gone? She didn’t remember taking them off. She must have gotten rid of them because of the blisters they had been giving her while she was dancing with her friends.

She couldn’t quite make out Dax’s face, her vision going fuzzy around the corners. Giggling, she blinked a few times and reached up and poked him to be sure that he was actually there. His only reply was a grunt. She was momentarily confused.

“Where are we going?” she asked, continuing to sway her feet. His lack of reply concerned her. The friendly nature seemed to be gone from him, and he only looked straight ahead continuing to move through the trees. The light of the party grew faint in the distance.

She squirmed in his arms, nervously. “I can walk Dax. You can put me down now,” she said. Or at least tried to - her words weren’t quite coming out the proper way anymore. And her vision was growing even more blurry. Fear began to creep its way up her throat, and she stopped kicking her legs.

“Shut up,” he hissed at her. The giddy happiness was fading from her now, replaced by a solid lump of dread in the pit of her stomach. She couldn’t see much anymore, and her whole body felt tired – as if she had just run a marathon. She tried to thrash in his arms but she couldn’t move, it was as if all the energy that she had previously had drained from her completely.

“Dax…” she attempted, but it was barely audible. She lolled her head to the side in an attempt to gather her baring’s.

Suddenly they entered a clearing and she could make out a new man’s voice. Dax tossed her onto the ground where she landed on her knees. She made a weak attempt at lifting herself to stand, but her body ached and she collapsed back down.

“No.” Clarke whispered. She wasn’t entirely sure what she was saying no to, but she repeated it. Again and again, quietly to herself.

“Good job Dax,” she heard the new voice say, “the bitch deserves this.”

She could taste bile in her mouth. What had she even done? She was new to Ark… What had she done to deserve this? She trembled as she curled in on herself, pulling her knees to her chest and resting her head on them. Her body felt as though it was draining itself of its own energy. Her senses waning. Darkness creeping into her mind, pulling her toward it. She squeezed her eyes shut, willing for the men to leave. For the nightmare to end.

A hand ripped at her hair and her head was yanked back, forcing her to look in the face of the new man. She was only able to make out a vaguely familiar face – though she was unsure where she knew him from. The haze over her mind caused her head to loll against the man’s hand. She was losing her bearings and she had to fight to keep her eyes open.

“She’s a pretty one, you have to admit,” she could hear the deep voice rumble, “Too bad we have to teach her the consequences of involving herself in things she doesn’t understand.”

A cluck, “Maybe we can have our fun with her when she’s passed out,” she heard Dax reply with a dry laugh. Her stomach lurched, but nothing came up.

“You slipped her the sedative?” came the rumbling reply.

“Yes.”

She was thrown to her side suddenly, her aching body unable to catch herself as she collapsed against the dirt. She whimpered as she felt a pressure on her back, a body pressed flush against her.

“No!” she managed weakly.

How could this be happening again?

She was trapped, the body on top of her feeling like a million tons. The skirts of her dress twisted and ripped around her legs tying her down, unable to move. She couldn’t think straight. She couldn’t see. She could hardly feel. Her breath began to slow, and she knew she was fading. Being swallowed by the darkness. Every part of her willed her to give in and fall under. Deep under. Her mind was pulling her down, down, down.

And just as she felt herself give in… there was a shout. The release of the body weight from her back. The sound of flesh hitting flesh. And then there was nothing.

+++

She awoke briefly, vaguely aware of her presence in the back seat of a truck that she was unfamiliar with. She was leaned against the car door, wrapped in something warm. In the window across from her, she could see the night sky zooming past. There was the faint sound of music, and two voices whispering to each other quietly.

“It’s all my fault,” a familiar female voice said miserably.

“Don’t say that. It is not,” a deep male voice replied, “If anybody’s, it’s mine.”

Clarke attempted to lift herself up, but failed, too weak to even move.

“We can’t take her to her house, Bell,” said the female voice.

“Then where are we supposed to take her?”

“She has to come back with us.”

“She can’t,” The male voice growled.

“Yes,” the female voice hissed back, “she can.”

“But Jaqueline –“

“Jackie doesn’t give a shit what we do and you know it.”

A sigh, “Fine! Fine.”

There’s a rustling and Clarke feels the warmth adjust around her. Her consciousness flickered, threatening to pull her back into to sleep.

“I can’t believe he’d would do something like this.”

“He’s desperate, O.”

“I’m just glad I saw Dax head towards the woods with her.”

There was a long pause, and then, “Me too.”

It quieted between them, the soft music tinkling through the car. Clarke’s lids grew heavy again, and the world around her faded once more.

[victakestaipei]

WEEK 4 RECAP: “Power, Chase Bank Complaints, and TYPHOON SEASON”

As I stated in my previous posts, I’m really really really sorry for the delay here on my WEEK 4 RECAP. Granted, my weeks have started to become pretty routine; But I still like to keep my word with you guys and blog every weekend, despite the topic being my humdrum weekdays.

Anyway, let’s get to it:

Monday: 

My monday was one for the books, honestly. I stayed in bed all day long blogging and doing homework and just being a bum. It felt awesome. We got in from the Philippines early this morning, and I didn’t actually get in the bed until about 4am, so I took the liberty of playing hooky, and NO RAGRETS! 

I only left the house to get breakfast with Bunny... We went to this breakfast joint by our house and I splurged on an egg scallion pancake, a breakfast sandwich, orange juice, and a hash brown patty. It was bomb, but who am I kidding, it’s always bomb. I didn’t end up doing my homework until later in the evening, which ended up backfiring because I had SO MUCH HOMEWORK TO CATCH UP ON. It was actually pretty insane, but I still got it all done. For dinner Bunny and I picked up some potstickers from the place right outside our dorms that you all have already heard SO much about because we literally go there multiple times a week. Like I said in my intro... HUM. DRUM. 

Tuesday:

Today we went to the bakery before class, I had my daily tea, and barely survived the 3 hour period. After class we went to the gym, and I did leg day today. My legs were shaking so much, it was like they had turned to jelly over the weekend. I think this is due to the fact I took 4 days off🙄 but I managed to get my mile down to 8:30 today!!! Y’ALL!!! BASK IN THE GLORY!!! Progress!!! Slowly but surely!!!  

After the gym we went to a restaurant on the Shi Da market for lunch, and ordered fried chicken curry with rice and veggies. It was super good, and only 100 NT! (About $3.35 US).  

Afterwards, we went home and I took the longest shower ever, and then a nap (I really really needed it). I got up just to do homework, and then crawled back into the bed. I found a website that lets me watch Power online so that I can FINALLY catch up to the new season. BLESS UP!!! I started watching this show over the summer, but then I got caught up with other stuff so I never caught all the way up. I last left off on Season 2 Episode 7, but I heard the new season 4 is BATSHIT CRAZY so I need to catch up PRONTO. (Also, can I just take a minute and say I freakin’ hate Angela??? Ugh. Tasha is a ride or DIE and Angela comes waltzing in and I’m just mad as hell. Ghost is such a punkass. I literally cannot deal. Let me shut up while I’m ahead before ya’ll comment and spoil something for me.)

...He still fine as hell though... :-’)

For dinner we went to the Gong guan night market to get Gua Bao (remember those pork hamburger things from my “WEEK 2 RECAP” post? “Gua Bao? Gua BOMB!”) and egg scallion pancakes. We didn't leave the house until after 11pm, so alot of our options were closed at that point. 

Wednesday: 

I actually got up on time to head to the bus, and I was WELL RESTED!! Wow, such a rare occurance. In class I got a 95% on my dialogue quiz today. I’m getting used to pulling these A’s, but our lessons have gotten significantly harder so I find myself reviewing the characters twice as much as usual. Ew.

At the gym I did chest/shoulders/abs. I wore the wrong leggings to the gym today... I wore my normal black leggings instead of my work out leggings, so I didn't do cardio because I didn't want to be all sweaty in my normal cloth leggings... I don’t know I'm weird I guess?? But my ass was looking PHAT at the gym since I had normal leggings on hehe

After the gym Bunny and I tried this Italian spot by our school. They have a lunch menu where you can get a dish AND a side for 99 NT!!! (3-4$ US). What a deal!! I ordered pesto penne pasta and pumpkin soup as my side. Pretty plain, but still super yummy!

After lunch I went home to shower and do my homework and relax. Bunny and I got dinner around 9 because we were STARVING more than usual. I guess the soup and pasta didn’t do it for me. We hopped on the bus to head to Gong guan, but we missed our exit so we ended up taking the bus all the way to our school to go to the Shi Da night market there. MIND YOU I LOOK LIKE A CRAZY CAT LADY. I twisted my hair up and put on two bandanas after taking a shower and putting product in... and I had on a long flowy printed dress I got from the Philippines. Needless to say I looked crazy, in my shower flip flops. We got the soy sauce noodles to-go, with green beans, udon, cabbage, broccoli, and tofu. I also got to chat with my mom on skype tonight which was nice, after struggling to get her speakers to work (for like 20min) so she could actually hear me. I stuffed my face while on the phone with her, and she cheekily said “how come whenever I get you on skype you ALWAYS EATIN??” Then proceeds to laugh hysterically and say “you gonna regret it!! It’s gonna go straight to your hips!!!” ......So charming *eyeroll*, gotta love her lol.... 

I went to bed super late because I had the migraine of a lifetime. I think it might have been because I didn’t get a tea this morning... Caffeine headaches will be the death of me.

Thursday: 

I woke up with the same migraine, and was moving slow because I was so tired and my head was banging!! It was like the drummer guy from Whiplash was putting in WERK on my forehead. I was about 10 minutes late to class... I tried to rush because I knew we had a test in class, but I just couldn’t bring myself to get out of the bed on time. Kokoro (the Japanese student in my class) and I rode on the same bus to class, he was late too because he had gone clubbing last night! On a Wednesday??... Turns out, it doesn’t matter what day of the week it is here, it’s lit at the club every night. 

Class was good today. It didn't feel like it dragged as much. But, I was starving the whole time because I didn’t have time to grab some food before strolling into the class. Our teacher referenced the upcoming typhoon today! Meaning, it will be pouring, dumping rain all next week, starting this weekend. There will also be fierce winds. She told us how many people stay home and grocery shop a lot beforehand because transportation and a lot of businesses are closed. For those of you who don’t know, a typhoon is basically a hurricane. I'm not mentally prepared. Our teacher said that typhoon season lasts three months, starting in August. I’m nervous about the food aspect because we don't have a fridge in the dorm so I'm about to be eating perishables all week... canned beans and rice? God, I’m not excited. But maybe class will be cancelled a few days this week? A girl can dream!!!

In the gym it was leg day yet again! My legs weren’t half as shaky as tuesday so that’s good. I ran a 8:45 mile, after almost DYING on the first treadmill I hopped on. I was adjusting the speed and the treadmill skipped and I almost flew the fuck off. My arms were flailing and I let out this loud/awkward noise and everyone was looking at me. I caught my balance and didn't die, but I definitely quietly turned off the machine and moved to another treadmill shortly after. I think that messed up my mojo because while I was running I was constantly paranoid of the same thing happening on the machine next door. 

After the gym the three of us went to Shi Da market. I pulled out cash from the ATM but was pretty bitter about it because I looked at my bank statement and my bank (Chase Bank) charges a $5 FEE WITH EVERY NON-CHASE ATM WITHDRAWAL that I make... THAT ADDS UP?!!! Are u kidding me??! I’M BROKE AS IT IS CHASE, CUT ME SOME SLACK!!! I'm so salted. I hate Chase Bank. They suck ass. Do you know how many WITHDRAWALS I’VE HAD TO MAKE WHILE HERE??? I need a Charles Schwab account because it seems like they’re the only bank not trying to PLAY US.

I tried a new place for lunch where they had these small fried dumplings. I would show a picture but I inhaled it so fast that I didn't get to. So here's a picture of the box...hehe

I also got some more dragonfruit today    V   so so good.

After the gym I came home, showered, and relaxed. I ended up napping around 8 and woke up at like 10:30pm... I did my homework in class so I'm probably just going to eat something small and crawl back into the bed. I got a banana at the Family Mart convenience store and some apple juice and a pack of yan yans. Yan Yans are those pretzel stick things that come with the chocolate dip and they’re super good?? I’m sure you know what I’m talking about. I talked to Karis on the phone, and then Paris shortly after that. It was SO GOOD to see Paris’s face and hear his voice after so long. :-’) I miss you roomie!! I knocked out again after hanging up with him.

Friday: 

This morning I woke up to a power outage on our Gong guan campus. If this is any tell of how the rest of the weekend/next week is going to be with the upcoming typhoon, I am not ready.

I got a 99 on my quiz today... I. AM. HURT. It was so so close I could taste the perfect score!!

Today I brought my umbrella to class because the typhoon starts this afternoon/evening. Class breeezed by because there was only 7 of us today. It was back day at the gym, and it was great! I’m definitely going to be sore. And I did some booty workouts on the floor afterward. After the gym we went to Gong guan market (the one by our house, not the Shi Da one by campus) to get some food and look for a SIM card for Bunny’s phone (so that she can have a local phone number and consistent data). We stopped and got pork buns and mango before heading home. 

When I got home I finally was able to decompress from the long week. I relaxed for a few hours before leaving the house at 10pm to go to the grocery store with Bunny. When we got to the grocery store, it was about an hour or so before closing, and it looked like the apocalypse hit. All the shelves were sweeped, but we got some food to get us through the weekend.... Like wine and rice and potatoes and eggs and snacks. After the grocery store we headed home to relax and shelter away from the upcoming typhoon.

Saturday: 

I made breakfast this morning after finally leaving the bed at 1:30 pm. I made eggs and papas!! - An old fave. (Jaylene I miss you). I also cut up some apples too to eat with peanut butter. It was good, but the papas weren't up to par because I only had two seasonings... Sad day. 

The rest of the day was spent in bed, watching Power and being a couch potato. At 8:30pm our power went out again, but only for a few minutes. It was getting pretty crazy outside at this point. You could hear the wind howling and tree branches swinging and water pushing its way through the cracks in the closed windows of the bathroom/bedroom. 

At 9pm is when I spilled my Pink Moscato on my laptop. HOW COULD SOMETHING SO SWEET BETRAY ME SO HARSHLY?? My computer immediately died after letting out this depressing noise and became completely non-responsive...and so did I. I was on the brink of a meltdown. To keep from succumbing to panic, I put my phone on DND and went to sleep at 9:30pm. I literally knocked the hell out. That’s the best way to avoid problems/conflict right? Take ya ass to sleep.

Sunday:

I woke up by 4:45/5am, and reality set in. I spoke to my mom on the phone, and she helped calm me down and rationalize the situation. I was a mess. I still am a mess. I cannot afford a new computer right now, and I'm nervous about going to get it fixed because I don't want to be taken advantage of, and I wouldn't know the difference either way... I'm clearly foreign. But I have 8 years of memories and information stored on this laptop, so I'm not letting it go without a fight. I called a few places that claim to fix Apple products on Google, but none of them turned up with any real answers. So after 12pm, I ended up going to the Apple Store at Taipei 101. I took a quick shower and brought a bunch of stuff I figured I might need: my laptop, external hard drive, a flannel, umbrella, towels, a hat, and snacks. I've never been outside when there was a typhoon brewing so it's better safe than sorry right? As soon as I walked outside I could tell something was off. There weren't a lot of people bustling about, and there were countless fallen branches and leaves covering the sidewalks and roads.

I hopped on the bus, and then the MRT, to head to Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper in Taiwan. I had this lingering thought in the back of my mind... let me illustrate... “Is it a good idea to go to the tallest sky scraper in Taiwan when there’s a hurricane with strong winds/ pouring rain just waiting to happen?”... All i could picture is the structure toppling over with all of us inside and causing this huge disaster, similar to something straight out of an Apocalyptic movie like 2012.... Anyway, I arrived just before 1pm, and come to find out, the Apple Store is CLOSED. I’m salty. All the lights are on and the store would otherwise look open, it's just that there's no one inside. It's completely empty. Even all the devices on display are powered on. It was kinda errie... Like those paper towns the military sets up, where it looks like a normal town and everything, just no one lived there...  I looked online (again) and went to their actual website where it says today (and only today) they open at 2pm instead of 11am. So I just waited around the mall for an hour until they opened. I found a bench and an outlet so I was just sitting here chilling....Glad I brought my snacks. ;)

When the time finally came to go back to the Apple Store, that overwhelming feeling came rushing over me again. I ended up crying like a PUNK to the customer service lady. So annoying!!! Ugh. I was a fragile mess. I spoke to two different managers who both spoke perfect English, and they helped to reassure me that they would try their best to help me. I have to come back tomorrow for a walk-in appointment with the Genius Bar. Fingers crossed they can help me, or at least retrieve/save my information. 

I left Taipei 101 feeling pretty defeated, so I got some McDonalds on the way home... I know it sounds silly but I needed comfort food and something that felt like home. I ordered the filet o fish (which I crave daily), with fries and a coke. This was not my best moment, but the whole meal only cost 95 NT!! (Less than $3.20). CRAZY! 

I came home and that’s when I started reading my book that I keep mentioning, “You Are A Badass” By Jen Sincero. It helped me to feel better and get into a better frame of mind. 

I took a break from reading to help Bunny make curry for tonight’s dinner. It was BOMB and came out fairly well if I may say so myself. I’ll definitely be making curry more often when I come back to the States.

I finished reading my book just before calling it a night. SUCH a good read I cannot stress this enough!!! I learned so much from Jen’s words and she adds funny stories/anecdotes and the way she describes things is just so relatable. If you have a chance to read it I definitely recommend!!!

I went to sleep pretty late, I was laying in bed catching up with Jay (via text) and other friends from back home. Before closing my eyes, I decided to practice meditation, which is one of the key concepts in the book. I wasn’t very successful the first time, because it was hard to clear my mind and just be still. I know it takes practice, so I’m going to try to dedicate time every day to meditate for at least 5 minutes! Feel free to join me on this challenge, it’s supposed to reap unprecidented benefits!

Also, please pray that when I take my laptop in tomorrow to the Apple Store they can fix whatever’s wrong!!! I need all the prayers I can get. I’m speaking it into existence now: MY COMPUTER WILL LIVE. IT WILL RISE AGAIN. IT WILL POWER ON.

Until next time,

xoxo

[rdmfavcpls]

Happy Relationship

Title: Happy Relationship

Pairing: NaruxMaixYasuhara

Rating:  T

Category: Ghost Hunt

Summary: Seven years since Naru and Lin left Japan. When they come back in order to reopen SPR, Mai has other plans and often a series of events, the whole group is reunited within SPR’s office. So Mai sets her conditions, but what are they?

Disclaimer: I do not own Ghost Hunt. Please enjoy! ~~Story Begins~~ A man with black hair, just resting against the nape of his neck was unconscious, his glasses dangling in front of his face hanging on by one ear. He was dressed in a white shirt with black pants. He was hoisted up onto a cold metal table, shackles locked around his wrists and ankles. A glint in the light showed a rusty, dull blade with dried blood caked on. It aimed right above the chest of the unconscious man and the blade started coming down - Ring Ring Ring 

Brown eyes fluttered open as a cell phone vibrated and rang with a simple ringtone. The owner rolled over, a slender hand with painted white and red fingernails grabbed the smartphone, sliding over the screen to answer it. 

As the phone reached the person’s ear, the lady slowly sat up from the queen size bed, her brown hair knotted in spots as it floated down her back, a pink nightgown with white lace covered her body in place of the blue satin sheets. “Hello?” the lady asked, her right hand instantly going to the other side of the bed like someone was supposed to be there, for her to run her fingers through someone’s hair, only for it to sit on the cold side of the sheets. “Oh, kami! Mai, I have a story for you!” the voice - obviously belonging to another female. “It’s located out in the countryside in this big house. Males go missing and -” “No,” Mai interrupted. “You should know better Rei. You know you are the first and so far only one that knows I’m pregnant.” “I know, I know, but it’s rumored that the, THE, Doctor Oliver Davis is to be there,” Rei spoke over the phone causing Mai to narrow her eyes as she moved her phone over to her other ear, a silver wedding brand, a small emerald and following clockwise, rosequartz, ruby, red jasper, and a chrysoberyl all surrounding a slightly bigger diamond resting on her ring finger. “You could get in on the biggest interview of all times.” “No, thank you,” Mai spoke trying not to grit her teeth. “Besides, why do I need to interview the famous Doctor Oliver Davis?” Mai got out of bed and moved her way towards the window seat in her bedroom,  “Are you forgetting I am also a doctor?” “No, but two doctors having a conversation over the paranormal, you could be starting a new series!” Rei exclaimed. “No, and that’s final,” Mai answered looking out of the window and down towards her flower garden. Seven years ago, Mai never thought she would be where she is at now. A doctor over the japanese language, working on her second doctrine of the paranormal, a wife, a mother of two soon to be three children, and living in a mansion. She was a successful fiction writer in two genres, horror and erotia. “Did you ever look at the case file all the way through?” “No, I got distracted by the name,” Rei responded. “It sounds and seems exactly like my first book, Wishing for a Ghost,” Mai responded. “When the events take place lines up exactly what I was written. Remember. I loosely base my horror stories on my experiences. This one fits with what happened in the book to the T.” “So...it’s a hoax?” Rei asked. “Most likely, however, if you wish to go than you may.” 

Her life now was never what she thought it would be. She rested her against the cool window as she hung up on her best friend and editor. Keiko and Michiru couldn’t hang out with her anymore, nor did they want too, their eyes green with envy of Mai being a latent psychic, being able to astral project, and that she worked with the handsome Katsuya Shibuya. She was alone in high school, so her studies improved quite a bit, since she truly had nothing else to do. She than got a full-time at the library where she met Rei which helped her grades improved, plus her at the time boyfriend. She closed her eyes, the vague memories that she has of her father before he passed went through her mind, than the memories she had with her mother, learning how to cook, how to make a delicious tea, reading, writing, math, before she died on Mai too. The teacher who took her in and than got transferred, they all hurt when they left. Mai had formed an emotional attachment to them, to her two former best friends, only for her heart to break into pieces for her to feel abandonment. Mai opened her eyes and proceeded to get dress, the worst feeling of abandonment was with most of the SPR leaving her behind. It started with Lin and Naru going back to England with Gene’s body, three people who she formed an emotional connection with, especially with the brothers, gone. Most people would tell her that she was stupid for getting involved with a set of twins but she couldn’t help it, it’s not like she asked to work for that self-centered boss or that his brother invade her dreams and act like her boss!

Than, Masako went her way with her TV show which was good for these seven years, but according to Rei, her ratings have gone down recently. Mai did try to offer Masako help, but was kindly rejected. Mai chuckled, she’s pretty much sure, Masako didn’t answer her but someone else. The language was too kind, to impersonal. Father John Brown had to go back to Australia to be a temporarily leader for a parish, he came back since Mai sees him and talks briefly with him anymore. Ayako focused a lot more on being a doctor to her parents hospitals even going so far as taking the overnight shifts, and Monk- Mai shook her head as she walked to the kitchen to start preparing breakfast.  Takigawa’s band made it big overseas doing tours. All that left was Osamu Yasuhara, Mai smiled. He stayed by her side, stayed with her when no one else would, even through her nightmares. He’s now a professor of law at Japan’s most prestigious law school Keio University, he even writes law books of his own, describing the differences in between countries cultures and how they affect their judicial system. His job sometimes sends him to another country for weeks on end so he experiences much of the culture as possible.

Beep Beep Beep

Mai jumped not expecting the loud noise to scare her. It was loud and annoying. Beep Beep Beep

“Shut up,” Mai grumbled reaching for her phone in her skirt pocket. “It better not be Rei sending me text messages.”

Though we may be far apart,  I can hear the voice of your heart Mai quickly answered the call, a nervous look in her eyes. If she wasn’t scared than she would have laughed at her husband’s terrible singing voice being as her ringtone for him. “Amu?” “Mai!” the voice responded cheerily. “Did you get the message?” “I was getting ready to read it before you called Osamu.” Mai spoke cradling the phone in between her neck and shoulder as she took three bananas away from the bunch of bananas that were now two, peeling them as well. “So, why are you calling?” “I miss my lovely wife’s voice, isn’t that reason enough?” Osamu spoke a chuckle within his voice. “I was supposed to give you a wake up call around this time. What happened?” “You can blame Rei, she woke me up wanting to take a case to meet Doctor Oliver Davis,” Mai spoke as she cut two of the bananas into small bite sizes. There was silence on the other side. “Amu?” “Big boss is coming back to Japan,” Osamu spoke slowly thinking about his words. “They want to meet with everyone.” “You agreed to come back?” Mai spoke sitting the knife down carefully. Her knees were wobbly, the dream she had coming back to her, that man looked a lot like her husband. “It’s only for a meeting,” he responded. “Mai -” “I have to go,” Mai spoke softly grabbing her phone. “I need to start making ozoni.” “Mai,” Osamu spoke quickly. “Mai wait!” Mai hung up, taking a deep breath. She looked through the text messages. Egotastic Ex-Boss: Coming back to Japan, meeting held at the SPR office tomorrow. Mai, bring tea and don’t be late. 9 AM sharp.

Sexah Hubby: I’ll be there Big Boss. I was actually thinking about the gang, especially since I miss my Monk! Mai grumbled about never letting her husband touch her phone for changing her name for him...again. Bou San: How can I ever get you back when you text faster than me Yasuhara? Mai: I’m afraid you’ll have to bring your own tea. I have prior engagements which I cannot cancel. Mai held the phone up to her ear, “Ayami, would it be okay for you to babysit later today?” she looked at her wedding ring and seeing that none of the gems were glowing told her that her dream was a nightmare and not a vision. “If not it’s fine. Tomorrow will be fine, think you can make it all day?”

She ignored the messages of surprise and shock and the other text messages from her husband, she did respond back to Rei’s message of disappointment. She looked out the window in her kitchen. There was a time, when she was still alone that she wished for SPR to come back, to have what felt like a family, to have that sense of adrenaline and a sense of her life being in danger. Now, she doesn’t want her children to go through the sense of being an orphaned like she did.

 Mai honestly didn’t know what to do right now. She wanted to join SPR again, but with being a mother, wife, doctoral student for the second time, and a well-known writer but with what time? Then there was the matter that she didn’t want any spirits following her home and tormenting her children. The next morning, Mai was wearing a flowy blue dress that stopped at her knees, the long sleeves made up for the lack of fabric on her bare shoulders. She walked past the SPR building no longer staring at it like it was her home. She was holding onto a cup of coffee as she listened to Rei talk about her latest break-up.

 Red had short black hair in the style of Masako Hara, short in the back and longer in the front, her green eyes suddenly turned towards Mai, a smile on her red painted lips. Her red shirt was an off the shoulder style much like Mai’s dress but there was a black belt wrapped around the waist, she was wearing a black skirt.

 “So?” Rei said focusing her attention. “What did your husband say when he found out?” “I couldn’t tell you since he never came home,” Mai shrugged not even listening as the door to SPR office opened. “He’s sleeping on the couch however.” “Mai!” a voice shouted from behind causing the two girls to turn behind them to look. “It is you!” Mai soon found herself engulfed within a tight hug. Mai tried very hard not to smile, but it was hard not to, the man currently hugging her, so afraid that she’ll never come back, did nothing wrong. “Hello Monk.” Monk, or Hosho Takigawa, had his long golden brown hair up in his usual pony tail, his olive green eyes were closed in bliss upon having this girl in his arms, he was wearing one of his own band’s world tour T-shirts with cargo pants. “Mai, look at you! You’ve grown up so much! Soon you’ll be able to find a husband.” He let go of Mai thinking as the others appeared. “He will need to be considered worthy in my opinion.” Rei tried hard not to chuckle causing Mai to elbow her in the side, “Be good,” Mai said. “Oh my,” Masako spoke behind her green and yellow butterfly kimono sleeve, her black hair rested in between her shoulder blades while her violet eyes looked Mai over in a glare. “Why am I not surprised at the tact you use? How much did you pay to rent that dress?” “Nothing,” Mai responded with a simple shrug. “I own it. It was a birthday present from the designer himself. A friend of mine from college. It’s nice to see you too Masako.”

The famous medium just bristled and looked away causing Mai to sigh. She could most definitely do without the drama, especially since she wants to help Masako. “We don’t have time for this,” Rei spoke rolling her eyes. “Mm, right,” Mai responded. “It was nice to see you three, tell everyone I said hi.” “Where exactly are you going?” Ayako asked stepping to stand in front of Mai, her red hair cut short due to a troublesome child in the emergency room one night that had their hands covered in bubblegum touching her hair. She was wearing a red tank top and black skirt. She than hugged Mai, “Without giving me a hug.” Mai smiled again, she missed everyone. She quickly dashed her hopes, she doesn’t want to feel abandoned again. Her heart couldn’t take it. “I’m on my way to watch Rei give a lecture. Her first lecture. If you are still here, after the lecture, than I’ll be back.” “We’ll still be here,” Monk spoke. “Naru, Lin, Yasu, and John still haven’t shown up.” Mai and Rei looked at each other before looking at the three. “We’ll be back,” Rei spoke as they walked away. Once they were out of earshot Rei looked at Mai, “Yasuhara is never late.” “Neither is Naru or Lin,” Mai grabbed her phone from Rei’s red purse. She called her husband’s number and let it ring as they reached the local school. The ringing stopped and Mai was instantly greeted, “I love you, you know that right? But right now, I really love you! As soon as I see you, I don’t care who's watching unless it our beautiful children, you are going to find your back pressed against the wall as I kiss you senseless, who knows maybe your legs will be -” “Osamu,” Mai spoke mouthing to Rei that he’s fine. “Where are you?” “Airport,” he responded. “Stuck with Lin, Boss, and maybe thousands of others angry people.” “What happened?” “So, the airports electronic system is down,” Osamu responded. “So, their filing us out one by one after checking off of baggage and checking our tickets. That’s not the worse of it, they gave me my baggage and checked me off their list, but Lin and Big Boss are still waiting for theirs.” “So you are being generous and keeping them comfortable?” “Rei has her lecture, right?”

“Yes, why?” Mai questioned motioning for Rei to start her lecture.

“If we aren’t at the old office of SPR by the time she gets done, can you please bring me some coffee?” Yasuhara asked almost pleading like. “I could really use three of them but -”

“If you are still there, Rei and I will bring you some coffee,” Mai spoke. “Until then, just be good.” “How can I be good without you here?” Yasuhara chuckled before hanging up causing Mai to roll her eyes. ~~Time Skip~~ Katsuya Shibuya was getting frustrated and so wasn’t Lin. Katsuya’s black hair was cut short to reveal his strong face with the ice cold blue eyes that apparently couldn’t scare the airport staff to move faster, his black shirt was tucked into black pants. Lin stood next to the man, his black hair covering one of his eyes, the other eye just not showing any emotion within in or his frustrations. He wore a black tie around his neck, resting against a white shirt that was also tucked into black pants.

Katsuya caught something out of his eye and saw a female with black hair, red shirt, and a black skirt holding onto two cups. He turned his attention towards the female who stopped in front of them.

“An earl grey tea for Shibuya and a black coffee for Lin,” she said holding the cups out. “I don’t know who is who nor do I quite care.” Lin took the cup that had his name on it, “Who are you?” “Hara Rei. No relation to Hara Masako,” she responded as the younger man grabbed his cup. “Someone figured the two of you could use a pick me up.”

“Who would this someone be?” Lin asked skeptical about it.

“Rei!” another voice yelled out causing the three plus some other patrons to look at the lady in the blue dress. She walked through the crowd getting up to her friend, “Hello Shibuya, Lin. I see you still got your tea after all, Shibuya.”

“It’s late,” Shibuya spoke taking a sip.

“So aren’t you apparently,” Mai responded looking towards the check in desk for the airport. “They are working as fast as they can to get everyone checked in with their luggage plus getting their serves up and running. Be patient.”

“Thank you,” Lin spoke knowing that the younger man wouldn’t thank the former assistant.

“We should get going, don’t you think?” Rei asked turning around.

“Maybe I’ll see you two later,” Mai spoke following Rei out of the airport laughing at something that Rei must of whispered. “Noll,” Lin looked at the young man, “You’re staring at Taniyama.” He looked at Lin with a glare, “So wasn’t you!” Lin shrugged, “She grew up quite nicely. I was only trying to find some similarities between her now and then.”

They finally got the servers up and proceeded to get everything checked in so once Lin and Shibuya walked out, they saw Yasuhara there waiting for them They walked outside and Yasuhara joined up to them, “Hey, glad you could escape!” “No thanks to you,” Noll snapped. “Hey, I informed Mai. Why else do you think you got the drinks?” Yasuhara chuckled. “I also have everything packed into the cab!” ~~Time Skip~~ “Hey everyone!” John greeted as the three late men finally arrived in the office. His blonde hair was cut short and his blue eyes shined brightly. He was wearing a teal shirt and blue jeans. “Where’s Mai?” Shibuya asked.

Ayako shrugged. “She might not even join again.” Shibuya growled mentally. He was going to get her to join, he wanted another chance of getting her to be his girlfriend. He missed hearing her laugh and she was the only one who could get him so angry, who could make him feel inferior by her comments. It took the past seven years to convince his parents to let him go back to Japan. He tried dating other girls but they could never rile him up or voice their opinions as strongly as Mai did. “I might,” Mai spoke coming into the office with a smile, “If I have a couple of conditions.”

She walked past the two men and leaned against what was once her desk, “Hey, where’s that friend of yours?” Monk asked “Oh? Rei?” Mai asked. “She’s not joined at my hip. She’s my best friend, someone who didn’t think I was showing off, or bragging when she found out about my adventures with all of you. However, she is currently picking up people up.” Shibuya smirked, yes, everything was going as he dreamed, Mai will return to SPR thus returning to him. “What are your conditions?” “One and the most important one, I do not go out into the field with any of you,” Mai said. “I will stay here and answer the phone and clients. Even when all of you are away.” “What?” Monk asked. “But without your dreams and instincts, we won’t have it Mai-certified.” Shibuya seemed stunned by that condition as well, she loved being on the scene, meeting the clients. “Second condition, once I get all of your reports, typed up and filed - don’t look like at me like that Lin, I can take some of your work load off of you so can just focus on going through the footage and audio - I can work on my own assignments.” “What assignments are we referring about?” Shibuya asked. “Working on my doctrine or writing one of my books,” Mai responded. “You’re getting a doctrine?” Lin asked. “I’m surprised you are even that smart of an idiot,” Shibuya commented with a smirk. “My SECOND doctrine,” Mai said emphasizing her the second causing her possibly boss’s smirk to fall off her face. Masako narrowed her eyes at Mai, what does she have to do to get Naru’s attention away from her. First Mai shows up wearing that beautiful dress with her woman figure being shown, now she’s getting her second doctorne. “Backup, backup,” Monk spoke, “You don’t want to go out to the field with us! Why?”

“Out of curiosity,” John spoke. “Do you all live under a rock?” Mai raised an eyebrow at that question but Ayako got into it, “Excuse me? What do you mean by that?” “Mai is a famous writer, her books keep selling out in the bookshops,” he looked at Mai. “I do own all of your horror stories they are really good. I can barely put them down, however Father Lucas keeps taking away your books of more sexual nature. I did for a while, but since they keep coming back, I just kind of turn a blind eye.” “Thank you, I think,” Mai spoke. “Sorry, got distracted,” John spoke. “Anyway, Mai has a small biography on the book sleeves of her books. She has a husband and two children.” It was so quiet, a pen could drop and it would be like glass shattering The only ones who didn’t seem shock was Mai, John, Lin, and Yasuhara. Mai smiled moving her left hand to hide her mouth, her wedding ring showing, her eyes were shining with laughter, “John, if you were such a fan, why didn’t you say so?” “I thought you would be receiving a lot of letters of how this person went to school or was a client,” John spoke. “I figured mine would never make it to you. I just considered myself lucky to have those brief chats at the sidewalks.” “Oh John,” Mai spoke before hugging the priest. “Only three people are within my writing system. You would have been written back to by me.” “Since apparently, we weren’t important enough to to receive invitations -” Ayako spoke. “I sent an email to Naru and Lin. Lin responded back stating congratulation and explained as they why he can’t make it, Naru never responded. I tried to call Monk but his agent told me that he has no time to perform for fan’s wedding, which I didn’t even ask for him to perform. I sent an email to Masako which I kindly got a kind rejected letter which I know didn’t come from Masako, much like how the email I sent asking if she would like to play the lead in the upcoming movie based off my horror book, again another email not written by Masako.” “You knew she was married,” Noll said harshly to the Chinese man. “I even told you about it,” Lin responded. “You just waved it aside.” “My agent will have a stern talking to,” Monk said fuming that he wasn’t there to see his little sister figure down the aisle or to make sure her husband was worthy of Mai. “I-I never received anything from you,” Masako said softly, her eyes softening. Mai leaned back against her desk, “John, you was still dealing with the parish back in Australia but then your mother was submitted into the hospital so I didn’t want to feel like I was rubbing good tidings in your face when you was having family troubles. Ayako, I tried talking to you at the hospital, but you was so swamped and stress that you snapped at me, you didn’t even know who I was.” “No,” Ayako said gasping her mortified as she remembered. “Oh kami, Mai I’m-” “Forgiven,” Mai said smiling. “All of you are forgiven, expect for you John since you did nothing wrong and you Osamu, you are most definitely not forgiven.” “Mai, I appreciate you thinking of me,” John spoke, “But I still would have liked to have congratulated you.” “Why? What did I do?” Yasuhara asked. Than realization dawned on him, “It’s not my fault!” “How so?” Mai asked glaring.

“I thought the servers were going to be down for fifteen minutes tops! Not for overnight and half of the day,” he argued. Mai just humphed at him and walked back to the desk, “Those are my conditions, Naru. Think about them.” “Hey, did Yasuhara get a wedding invitation?” Monk asked. “I mean from the two of you bickering here, it seems like you to are close.”

“No, he didn’t,” Mai responded. Yasuhara chuckled at Monk’s rejected face as Mai went towards the office door. “I won’t be able to meet her husband,” Monk whined. “Will I get to meet him one day Mai?” “Of course,” Mai spoke. “In fact, my husband is currently in trouble,” she put her hands up to her mouth, thinking. “However, it wasn’t all his fault so I could give him a choice of staying here tonight or sleep on the couch.”

“Oh? What did he do wrong?” Masako asked.

“Your husband doesn’t deserve a choice,” Ayako spoke. “Especially since this husband needs to be introduced.”

“Oh, you’ll meet him all right,” Mai spoke. “However, my children stayed up all night until they fell asleep, staring at the front door, waiting for their father to come home, so I can’t deny them of their father for another day.” “Than perhaps,” Monk said thinking. “The next night. Will that be okay Naru?” “This place isn’t a cafe,” Shibuya said crossing his arms, “However, he can dust and get this place cleaned up for us.” Mai proceeded to move towards the door, “Well, I better get going. Oh and Osamu,” she turned her head to look at the lawyer, an innocent smile on her face. “You should know by now not to make your pregnant wife worry while you go on your trips, so have fun sleeping on the couch.”

She opened the door just as a five year old daughter with brown straight hair and brown eyes wearing a pink princess dress ran in and tackled Yasuhara, “Daddy!” “Oh, Mitsuki!” Yasuhara spoke hugging his daughter, he rubbed his cheek against her’s, “Daddy missed you so much!” “Papa!” another voice spoke as a young boy, a splitting image of his father minus the glasses, ran as fast as his little legs could carry him before Yasuhara picked the boy up in his other arm, the boy wearing a blue shirt and pants.

“Here’s my little man,” Yasuhara spoke repeating the actions he did with his daughter to his son. “Daddy missed you the two of you so much.”

“You married Yasuhara,” Monk spoke slowly, “You are pregnant with your third child.” Tears formed in his eyes, “I missed my Jou-chan growing up.” Mai rolled her eyes and smiled, “Now you know why I have the conditions that I do with your own eyes. If you do not wish to give me those conditions, then it will be no skin off of my back.” Yasuhara carried his two children towards Mai and handed her Mitsuki, “I’m afraid I can’t stay any longer, however, I do miss my children and my beautiful wife, plus I really don’t want to spend my first night back in my home on the cold couch so I do need to try and convince Mommy that I’ve been good. I’ll see you guys later.” Yasuhara looked at his son, “Can you say bye-bye Daiki?” “Bye-bye,” Daiki spoke moving his fingers up and down on his palm. Mitsuki flapped her arm in a more energetic wave, “Bye-bye!”

Mai and Osamu both left the office carrying their children as Osamu told his children stories about his adventures in the magical land of France and how he met a unicorn and a dragon. Rei rolled her eyes upon seeing the family and Yasuhara’s antics.

“I did not see that one coming,” Ayako spoke ten minutes later, after everyone got over their shock.

“Her children are so cute,” Masako spoke behind her sleeve, a smile upon her face, not because she no longer has competition over Shibuya, but that Mai was able to find and make her own happiness, which was obvious that she treasured so much.

“I feel so old!” Monk screamed dropping down to his knees.

“That’s because you are old,” Ayako spoke.

“Shut up, you old hag!” Monk responded back causing the two to get into their infamous bickering matches.

“For the last time,” Shibuya said, “This is not a cafe.” “It’s a daycare,” Lin spoke softly earning himself a glare from the young boss. “It’s true and you know it. You have a soft spot for kids, the Yasuhara children will be no different.”

Shibuya hated to admit it, but Lin was right. It will take some time, but he will get over Mai. He may have a soft spot for children, but he never wanted to start a family,  what with this line of work being dangerous and all.

Here is why I included the gems on Mai’s wedding ring. The ones in the parenthesis is what the gem protects her from. Mai - silver, emerald (spirits) rosequartz (pregnancy/childbirth) ruby (home) red jasper (Astral) chrysoberyl (possession)

http://meanings.crystalsandjewelry.com/protection-stones/

 Why has no one tapped into the MaixYasuhara couple? There is so much potential in there!