#It blows my mind because I used to have to drive through Hershey for my morning commute for work for a solid few months.

[iero]

hi i know you said you don't go there but i did want to let you know that in 911 hershey pa is canonically where buck and maddie (they're brother and sister) were born and raised! its not a rando town that op chose for their edit lol

Oh, really? I didn't know that at all! I've yet to watch a single, full episode of 911 in my life to be honest. That's pretty cool! It's so crazy that Hershey, PA is somewhere most people do know about for obvious reasons (ie: Chocolatetown), but outside of that and the tourist areas? It's got a very small town, great to raise a family feel to it. I don't live IN Hershey, but I do practically live on it's doorstep. This is my home land and I'm proud of it. :)

[devilatmydoor]

love is fatal I part 6

previous parts; part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5 

a/n this chapter i am starting something new; iMessage conversations! i had fun with it so you will probably see more in the future! i hope you are well mind body and soul and taking care of yourself! feedback is welcome- let me know in my DMs, ask or tags! 

warning; language & smut 

word count; 5.8k

The thick steam surrounded him as he stepped out of the shower and turned off the water. He dried himself off and put on clean boxers, his blue jeans, and his shirt Veronica was wearing less than 12 hours ago. For the first time in months, he finally dreamt about someone other than the boys and his family. His subconscious played their heated first kiss over and over as he tried to sleep. He put on his cologne and deodorant and left the bathroom with the door open as he walked towards the room he’d been more than comfortable in for the past week. 

He’d gotten used to seeing Veronica strut around the house half-naked while Grayson was barely home. He spent more alone time with Veronica than he did with Grayson and he worked with him. He walked into the kitchen and smiled at Hershey who was running up to him with her tail wagging. He bent down to pet her and he looked around for his temporary roommates and shrugged when he realized he was alone. He grabbed a water bottle from the fridge and grabbed a protein bar and grabbed his keys. He locked the front door and walked to his car while he shoved his phone in his pocket. 

While he drove to work he felt his phone vibrate more than he could count, he ignored messages and continued to drive. He pulled into the driveway and got out of his car closing the door behind him as he locked his car. He unlocked the backdoor and walked into the shop and turned on the lights and went into his office to set up the music. He blasted his favorite music as he walked around the shop to make sure everything was cleaned before Ashton and Luke came into work. He finished cleaning up and went into his office. As his day started he heard Ashton and Luke conversing with customers, he tattooed one of his recurring clients and pierced two noses before he got a lunch break. He ate lunch with Ashton as they talked about their upcoming appointments for the weekend. 

Ashton left to tattoo two more clients while Calum talked to customers about their appointments for the weekend, he made sure he had his days planned out so he could get out on time and get through the grueling days ahead. Back to back appointments on Saturday and Sunday, he was looking forward to having Monday and Tuesday off. 

He thanked his last customer for the day and made sure they had everything they needed. He walked up to Luke who was helping a different customer finish their payment, as soon as the customer left the shop Luke turned to look at Calum and he raised his eyebrows, “Why are you wearing that shirt?” 

“Because it’s mine? Why did Veronica even have it?” He answered Luke’s question with another. 

“Because she’s a klutz and always spills on herself, why do you-Calum I swear to god if you two hooked up.” Luke lectured as he narrowed his eyes at him. 

“Don’t assume that’s how I got the shirt Lu.” He started before Luke cut him off. 

“But you are wearing it! Calum, Veronica isn’t a customer that comes in once and goes to a different shop, she’s Grayson and I’s friend. She’s not some girl you can-” Luke attempted to finish his lecture. 

“First of all, she’s her own person. You and Grayson don’t own her or control her. Secondly, she isn’t some girl I’d hook up with and ghost. I know who she is, do you?” He tested as he raised his eyebrows. 

“Your fucking ridiculous, Hood.” Luke scoffed as he got out of his chair and left Calum’s office and slammed the door. He shook his head and took a deep breath before he grabbed his cigarette pack and lighter and left his office to go outside. Once the sun hit his skin and nicotine filled his lungs he was able to relax even if it was temporary. 

He finished his cigarette and went back into the shop and ignored Luke and his immature behavior. He took a deep breath and before he could even get comfortable in his chair he heard a knock at the door. He got up to see who was bothering him on his already stressful day. 

As he opened the door he almost sighed in relief it was her. He hadn’t seen her since last night when he took her shirt from her. She was wearing a sundress that fit her perfectly, the bright fabric contrasted with her black hair. She smiled at him, “Hi Cal, can I come in?” Her new nickname for him rolled off her tongue perfectly. 

“Of course,” He smiled as he moved out of the way and closed his door and she gently pushed him against the wall as his back pressed against it. He rested his hands on her hips as he realized she wasn’t wearing panties under her dress. 

“I couldn’t sleep last night, I kept thinking of you touching me” She breathed as her hands slowly moved under his shirt. Her cold skin brushing his warm body as he bit his lip looking at her. 

“You started it pretty girl, you teased me all week.” He purred as he felt her fingers slowly graze his nipples while she kissed all over his neck. He let out a moan when she easily found his sweet spot. 

She giggled before she softly sucked on his sweet spot, he bit his lip to muffle his moans. Her body pressed against his as she sucked harder on his skin and her hands moved down his chest. His hands gripped her ass while he got hard from what she was doing. She slowly unbuttoned his jeans and pulled the zipper down and kissed his new hickey. 

“Veronica.” He softly whined as his eyes met hers. 

She winked and her hand started slowly palming his cock and he threw his head back, he instantly got harder as she palmed him faster, “You like that don’t you?” She purred as his grip on her ass grew tighter. 

He bit his bottom lip and nodded, “Fuck, I’m close Ronnie.” He moaned as he watched her. 

She kissed his jaw and slowly palmed him and as he felt the knot in his stomach close to releasing she completely stopped palming him. She moved her hand out of his pants and licked her hand and winked at him. She zipped his jeans and buttoned them up before kissing his jaw, “Now you know what happens when you turn me on and leave” She purred as she slowly stepped away from him. 

He couldn’t even stop her as she left his office and closed the door behind her. He groaned as he looked down to see how hard he was. 

He sat down in his chair and waited for his boner to go away before he even attempted to leave work. As he drove back to her house all he could think of was what just happened. He pulled into the driveway and noticed her car wasn’t where it was usually parked. He unlocked the front door and smiled when he saw Hershey run up to him and he pet her before realizing Grayson was playing video games on the couch. 

“Hey! How was work?” Grayson asked as he looked at Calum. 

“Long and exhausting, is it just us tonight?” He asked trying not to act like he missed Veronica. He couldn’t even deny that he did. 

“Yeah Veronica’s with her niece. Her niece’s 17th birthday is this weekend so she’s with her.” Grayson explained as he stretched his arms. 

“Her niece is 17?” He questioned as he set his things down and sat down next to Grayson. 

“Yeah, her eldest sister is in her late 40’s. Her niece is in high school, she missed her sweet 16 so she’s making a big deal of her birthday this year.” Grayson stated as he ran his fingers through his hair. 

“That’s nice of her, have you eaten?” He asked as he ran his fingers through his curls. 

“Not yet, I ordered us some food.” Grayson smiled and he handed Calum the other game console. He played Halo while they waited for dinner. 

* * * * * 

“What time are your friends coming to your house? She asked as she waited for the LED lamp to turn off. 

“6, we’re ordering Chipotle and watching movies.” Penelope smiled as her lamp turned off. 

“Damn, you didn’t tell me you were getting Chipotle!” She giggled as she felt her phone vibrate in her purse. She slowly grabbed it in her purse not messing up her new nails as she walked with her niece to the receptionist. 

“Your phone has been blowing up since last night!” Penelope commented 

“That’s because Luke and I haven’t hung out in a week, he’s getting lonely.” She giggled as she reached for her phone and to her surprise, it wasn’t Luke.

Penelope noticed the smile on her face and shook her head, “Luke didn’t make you smile like that, who are you texting?” Penelope questioned as she waited for Veronica to sign the receipt. 

“None of your business, aren’t your friends coming soon?” She urged while she put her phone in her purse. She opened the door for Penelope and she stepped outside. 

“Not for a little bit, so you can spill the tea.” Penelope implied as she followed Veronica to her car. 

“I’ll spill the tea when I have tea to spill.” She lied as she grabbed her keys and unlocked the car. 

“You always have tea to spill, at least tell me his name.” Penelope insisted as she opened her door and she got in. 

Veronica got in the driver’s seat and looked at her, “His name is Calum, Grayson works with him.”

“Oooouuuh, tell me about him.” Penelope asked with her puppy dog eyes and she couldn’t resist. Veronica told her as much as she could without giving too much away about him. As she drove back to Penelope’s house she pulled into the driveway and parked, “Don’t tell your mom about him, I’m not sure you’ll ever meet him.” 

“I’ll make sure I meet him.” Penelope winked as she unbuckled her seatbelt, “Thank you for this weekend, I had fun.” 

“Of course, you know my door is always open if you need a break from Brentwood. I hope you had a good birthday.” She smiled as she waited for her niece to leave her car and she waved as she waited for her to get in the house. 

She drove home and tried not to think about what was going to happen, or what wouldn’t. Knowing the past 24 hours it was leaning more what was going to happen. She gave Calum a handjob at work and stopped as soon as he was about to cum. She’d never edged before and she wasn’t sure Calum was a huge fan of it. 

She quickly unlocked the front door and closed the door behind her, Grayson was working so she ran into the laundry room and quickly undressed taking off her bra and panties. She knowingly grabbed one of Calum’s shirts that was folded in the basket next to hers. She slipped it on and smelled it as she took in his heavenly scent. 

She tiptoed to her room to open the door to quickly set her bag down and close the door quietly. She walked to Calum’s room and knocked on it, she waited for the door to open as her heart rate sped up knowing he was home. 

He opened the door and looked her up and down as he bit his lip, “Pretty girl if only you knew what you in my shirts does to me.” 

“Oh yeah? I might have an idea.” She winked as she walked closer to him to make the space between them nonexistent as her thumb ran over his bottom lip. 

Lust filled his eyes as he grabbed her hips and pulled her into his room before she closed the door behind him, “I’ve been thinking about you all weekend.” 

“I’ve been thinking about you Calum. I want to finish where we left off.” She breathed as she bit her bottom lip and ran her hands down his exposed chest. 

“You do pretty girl?” He asked as he pulled her closer to the bed. 

She nodded as she toyed with the waistband of his sweats, “Do you want to stand or sit down?” She quickly tugged his sweatpants down and sucked on her bottom lip as she saw his hard cock through his boxers. 

“I just want you, baby.” He breathed as he watched her take off his boxers. 

Her eyes widened as she took in how large he was, she started palming him before kneeling down, “Fuck Calum. You’re so hard ” 

“I’ve been aching ever since you were in my office” He purred as he caressed her jaw with his thumb. 

She breathed before her lips left open mouth kisses along his cock while his whines filled the room. She found the prominent vein on along the bottom as she ran the tip of her tongue over it back and forth as he took a sharp breath. She licked his tip tasting the precum on her tongue. 

“Veronica.” He breathed as her tongue swirled around the tip of his cock while she slowly palmed him. 

“What do you want Cal?” She purred as she continued to palm him as she spoke. 

“Your mouth pretty girl, please.” He begged as he looked at her. She took as much as she could of him. 

He threw his head back and moaned her name which was something she could get used to hearing. Her cheeks hollowed and he groaned even louder. “Fucking hell. I’m gonna cum” 

She swirled her tongue around his cock while she palmed him faster while she bobbed her head. He whined and his eyes closed as she kept bobbing her head, his fingers softly holding her hair as he began to come. “That’s it pretty girl, Fuck.” 

She took everything he released in her mouth as she swallowed; she winked at him. He whined as she licked all over his cock to clean up the mess he made. She sat up on her knees and bit her lip. He looked at her and motioned her to stand up, as she stood in front of him his thumb ran over her bottom lip, “That mouth of yours. Fuck pretty girl.” He panted before kissing her lips softly. 

“I would say I’m sorry for making you wait..” She teased as she winked at him. 

“I know you’re not sorry. I think the entire shop would hear me if you did this in my office.” He blushed as he motioned her to the bed, “It’s your turn pretty girl.” 

“My turn?” She questioned as she looked in his eyes. 

“Lay down Ronnie. It’s your turn.” He rested his hand on the small of her back, “Your muscles are tense baby, you need this more than I do.” 

She laid down on the bed and she felt his tee-shirt ride up her thighs and he hovered over her and hiked up his shirt, “Fuck. No panties babygirl?”

She nodded as she looked at him, his strong hands rubbing her hips as he slowly spread her legs for him, “Calum.” 

He looked up at her as his thumbs circled her inner thighs, “Yes?” 

She bit her lip as his eyes met hers, “You don’t have if you don’t want to.” 

His eyes widened as he raised his eyebrows, “Why wouldn’t I? Do you not want me to, pretty girl?

She pursed her lips and avoided eye contact, “I’d be crazy not to, those lips of yours? Oof.” She sighed, “I don’t want you to feel like you have to.”

He softly grabbed her jaw so she’d look at him, “I’d be doing this even if you didn’t just go down on me.” His plump lips kissed hers before he kissed her jaw before kissing her neck. 

He breathed as he moved closer to her heat. He held her hips as he slowly licked her wetness, “Mhm. You taste so scrumptious  pretty girl.”

He slowly inserted his ring clad finger in her core as her back arched at the cool sensation, he slowly pumped his finger before adding another. She gripped the sheets while his lips attached to her clit. His other hand gripping her hips as her head fell backwards on the pillow, “Oh fuck. Cal!” She moaned as his pace quickened and he sucked on her clit. 

He curled his fingers inside of her as she moaned his name loudly, he pumped his fingers faster while he kitten licked her clit matching the rhythm of his fingers. Her fingers laced through his curls as he moaned the vibrations going to her core. “I-I’m close baby.” She breathed as she softly tugged on his curls while his firm grip on her hips soon to leave bruises. She felt her stomach tighten as she became close to her high, her moans uncontrollable as his tongue flicking over her clit as she came undone. “Calum, fuck!” 

Her fingers tugged on his curls once more while his moans vibrated against her as he licked her through her orgasm. He softly kissed her clit before looking up at her, she moaned loudly and looked at him, “Holy fuck.” 

He kissed her inner thighs before fixing his shirt, “Yes?” He winked as he loosened his grip on her hips. He hovered over her and looked in her eyes. 

“Baby boy those lips will be the death of me.” She breathed as she held his face in her hands. 

“You need to make it through our date before you do that.” He winked before kissing her nose while slowly getting off of her, “I’m gonna get a towel to clean you up.” He smiled as she laid in his bed. 

Did Calum just willingly go down on her, insinuated them having their first date, AND went to get a towel so he could clean her up?

Him returning from the bathroom brought her back into the room as he hovered over her and used a warm damp cloth to clean her up as he smiled at her, “I can tell you're not used to this.” He finished cleaning her off and kissed her forehead helping her sit up as he sat next to her on the bed. 

“Cal..I’m not used to coming.” She divulged as she bit her bottom lip and put her hair up in a messy bun. 

“Oh pretty girl.” He sighed as he grabbed her hand and kissed it softly, “Did you not come with Caleb?” 

She nodded no and she intertwined her fingers with his, “No..” 

He sat next to her as he held her hand as they talked about their first date on Monday, he completely took over and said he’d plan it. He’d pick her up and have everything planned. He walked her back to her room as she went to bed. 

_____

“Luke, are you sure this outfit looks okay?” She asked nervously as she flattened her the fabric of her top.

“Ronnie, it doesn’t matter what you wear. It will end up on the floor of his room no matter what.” Luke insisted. 

“Oh my god, I’ll keep what I have on then.” She giggled feeling her cheeks turning pink, she looked in the mirror as she finished curling her hair. She sprayed the last section with hairspray and looked at the clock, 15 minutes until Calum was supposed to arrive for their first date. 

“I don’t know why you are so nervous, you two flirted notoriously last week I didn’t even see you.” Luke sighed. 

“I promise we’ll hang out this week. Calum should be here soon. I should hang up soon.” She said pressing the button turning off the speaker feature on her phone as she held up the phone to her ear. 

“Mhmm. Maybe I’ll see you before your wedding night.” He teased and she shook her head. 

“Luke, I may not see you but I know your eyes are green.” She smiled as she unplugged her curler and turned off the bathroom light. 

“Is it a crime to miss you? I was alone all week with Duke who's grumpy as hell. Plus I had to deal with Eleanor nagging me about Calum.” He sighed as she walked down the hallway. 

“It’s not a crime, Thank god she’s gone.” She felt her phone vibrate and she heard the doorbell ring, “Cal’s here, I’ll text you my schedule for the week so we can hang out.” 

“Okay, have fun.” He said before hanging up. 

 She had no idea what they were doing since he was being incredibly secretive as a result she wore her favorite tank top and shorts. Since her piercings were still sensitive she went without a bra using the advantage of her long hair. 

She grabbed her clutch before she walked out of her room and closed the door behind her. She checked her watch to see that he was 5 minutes early and she smiled. Her heels clicked on the hardwood floor as she walked towards the front door as her chest was tightening. She grabbed the handle and opened the door slowly to see Calum standing on her doorstep in a white button-down with black stripes, black pants and a black leather jacket. His jaw slowly dropped as he looked her up and down and he smiled at her, “You look absolutely stunning Veronica.” He complimented with a smile .

“Thank you Calum, you look so handsome.” She smiled as she could smell his cologne. 

“I won’t tell you how many outfits I tried on for tonight,” He blushed as he grabbed her hand, “Shall we?”

She giggled as she locked the front door as his fingers intertwined with hers, he led her to his car as he opened the door for her. 

“Thank you.” She cooed as he helped her in the car and she closed the door. He got in the car and she put her seatbelt on and he started the car. She put her hand on his thigh and he smiled at her in the process of him driving. He smiled at her while they sat in silence as he drove, it wasn’t awkward silence like she’s experienced before. He’d rest his warm hand on top of hers when he’d get to a stoplight and smile at her. She smiled at him and watched the sunset as she felt his hand over hers, “Are we going to Griffith Park?”

“Maybe, maybe not.” He cooed as he grabbed her hand and kissed it before setting it back on his thigh. 

“We’re almost to Griffith Park, you might as well tell me where we’re going.” She giggled as she leaned over to kiss his cheek. 

“You really don’t like surprises do you?” He asked as he looked at her and smiled. 

“I don’t hate them but an idea would’ve been nice, I didn’t want to overdress. I was sending pics to Luke.” She giggled. His eyes focused on the road as he pulled into the parking lot, “Oh I am severely under-dressed. We are right by the Warner Brothers Studios. Calum!” She yelped as she gripped his thigh. 

“Why am I not surprised you sent pics to Luke? He misses you, he’s told me twice that you haven’t hung out in a week.” He chuckled as he parked his car, “You are not under-dressed or overdressed, you look perfect.” He smiled before kissing her forehead softly. 

“So do you” She leaned into his kiss as she looked at him. 

“Shall we eat angel?” He cooed before unbuckling his seat belt and she followed suit. He opened the door for her as she got out of her seat and they walked hand in hand to the Italian restaurant that he made reservations for. The last time she was on a date even remotely close to this it was with her ex and he was nothing like Calum. 

As she sat across from him finishing her desert she couldn’t believe how well the date was going including the moments she’d catch him staring at her when she was looking around the restaurant or at her menu. She held his hand every time he reached for hers and her eyes met his, “I have something else planned for us whenever you're ready.” 

“Let me guess, you won’t tell me what it is.” She cooed as she put her fork down. 

“Not a chance.” He winked as he grabbed the bill at the same time he pulled out his wallet. 

“Can we split it?” She asked as she softly caressed his hand. 

“Next time.” He smiled as he got out his wallet and paid for their meal. He walked with her to his car while his arm around her waist. He unlocked the car as they got closer and he kissed her forehead once again. 

While he drove to the next part of their date his hand rested on her thigh as he drove, his warmth radiating off of him as she watched him drive. Skyscrapers lit the sky as he continued to drive, “Calum, where are you taking me?” She giggled as she put her hand over his. 

“Somewhere secret.” He began as his speed slowed before he parked. “Give me 10 minutes tops, I promise it will be worth it.” He smiled as he cut the engine before softly squeezing her thigh.

“Okay.” She smiled as she unbuckled her seat belt and watched him take his off before getting out of the truck. 

He closed the door and opened the back seat, “No peeking pretty girl.” He giggled as she faced the front of the car listening to his request. She tried her best to ignore the rustling in the back seat and cargo bed. The car shook as she felt Calum jump on the cargo bed. She looked at her phone and saw that she had texts from Penelope, Grayson and Luke. As she put her phone back in her clutch Calum opened the passenger door and smiled. “Okay angel, I’m ready.”

He helped her out of the truck as the ocean air surrounded them. He led her to the back of the truck as her eyes widened at the blankets and pillows in the trunk. “Calum.” She purred as she looked at him. 

“I know how much you love the stars and the moon so I thought we could gaze at the stars and moon, while drinking champagne and chocolate covered strawberries.” He explained as he muttered the last part. 

“Did you say champagne and chocolate covered strawberries?” She gasped as he pulled her closer.  

“Maybe.” He winked as he helped her get on in the back of the truck and he followed. He moved the snacks out of the way so they could sit down and he brought them closer to them. He poured champagne while she watched him intently, she grabbed a chocolate covered strawberry and giggled at his face when she started without him. 

“I can’t believe you did all of this.” She smiled as she licked the chocolate off of her lips before he handed her the glass of champagne. 

“I was nervous and when I’m nervous I go over the top.” He blushed as he sipped his drink. 

She blushed as she sipped her drink, “I can’t see you being nervous Calum, you’re so chill and quiet. I was so nervous before you picked me up.” 

“The most I’ve ever been around you was when you came in for your piercings. I’ve never been so nervous to do nipple piercings until you came in.” He mused as he grabbed a strawberry and ate one. 

“You looked so calm!” She giggled as she kissed his cheek, “Then again you did say my nipples were perfect.” She winked and he turned bright red. 

“You were not supposed to hear me say that.” His eyes widened as he drank his champagne. 

“Well I did.” She laughed as she looked at the moon feeling his arm wrap around her shoulder as he held her close, “Isn’t she beautiful?” 

“Yeah you are.” He winked as he laughed at his comment. 

She giggled as she looked in his brown eyes illuminated in the moonlight, “That was the most cliche thing you could say.”

“And? What are you gonna do about it?” He teased as he raised his eyebrows and they laughed and slowly finished their cups of champagne. They snacked on chocolate covered strawberries as he drove. She realized they weren’t headed back to her house as he drove into his neighborhood. 

He blushed as he took off his seatbelt, “Did you want me to take you home angel or is this okay?”

She took hers off as she looked in his eyes, “This is perfect” She purred as her fingertips traced his jawline. 

“Let’s go inside hmm?” He smiled as he got out of the car and she followed meeting him in front of the car, “Have I mentioned how gorgeous you look tonight?” 

She blushed as she grabbed his hand, “Just tonight?” She smiled as she walked with him to his front door. 

“Always” He winked as he grabbed his keys and opened the front door before he led her inside. He quickly closed the door. He took off his shoes and she took off her heels. “C’mere angel.” He breathed before picking her up and wrapping her legs around his waist, she wrapped her arms around his neck before kissing his plump lips. He picked her up and wrapped her legs around his waist as he pushed her against several walls to kiss her harder in the process, his kisses becoming more lustful with each moment passing by. 

He brought her to his room and slowly set her down on his bed while he threw off his leather jacket and hovered over her. 

Their lips connected in a heated kiss as his warm body pressed against hers, his semi- hard cock pressed against her thigh as she ran her hands up his chest. His grip on her hips tightened as she sucked on his bottom lip before she softly nibbled on it as she looked in his eyes. 

He played with the hem of her tank top while he softly nibbled on her bottom lip, “God you’re so sexy.” 

She softly giggled as she started to unbutton his shirt and kissed his exposed chest, “I could say the same thing about you.” 

She finished unbuttoning his shirt as he finished taking it off and throwing it to the side as his hands roamed up her tank top. 

 “This needs to be off, now.” He demanded as he swiftly took it off and bit his lip before groaning. “Fucking hell.” He purred as his hands cupped her breasts. 

She moaned as the pads of his thumbs grazed over her nipples causing them to harden at his touch. Her back arched as he softly tugged on her piercings while she softly gasped at the feeling. His eyes scanning her chest as she watched him, “Admiring your work?” 

“Just admiring your body.” He breathed as he slowly kissed her neck before kissing down to her breasts, his lips leaving wet kisses down the valley between her breasts. He slowly kissed her nipple, her moans were uncontrollable as his warm tongue circled her nipple while he softly tweaked her other. He softly sucked on her nipple while his thumb rubbed the other as her back arched to his touch. 

“C-Calum.” She moaned as she felt her panties dampen as he continued. 

He let go of her nipple with a pop, “Yes?” He softly kissed her nipple before giving the same treatment to the other. 

Her panties completely soaked through as she felt her torso tighten,  “F-Fuck. I’m gonna cum.” She breathed as she looked at him. 

He let go of her nipple before kissing it softly, “Fuck baby girl.” He moaned as he swiftly took off her shorts and ran his finger over her soaked panties, “Who did this to you angel?” He expressed as he quickly slid her panties down her legs. 

“Y-You did Calum.” She breathed as she watched him bring her panties to her feet and set them on the floor. 

He winked before his fingers teased her soaked folds, feeling her wetness on his fingers, “So wet for me.” 

Her eyes widened as he licked his fingers, “Calum.” She whined

“Tastes like candy.” He winked as he grabbed his wallet and took off his pants with his boxers. She watched him as he grabbed a condom and slipped it on his hard cock. He wrapped his arm around her waist before he slowly pushed himself in as a breathy groan fell from his lips as she gasped, “Oh my god. Calum.” 

She gripped his arms as she felt her walls clenching around him moaning with each thrust. He pulled all the way out before pushing back in, his thrusts hard and fast, “Baby just like that.” She breathed as she scratched his back. 

He groaned loudly gripping her hips tight, “Cum for me baby.” His breath labored as he thrusted roughly, her high rushed through her as he continued to thrust. He rode out her orgasm as he reached his orgasm. His thrusts became sloppy as they came down from their high as he pressed his body against her and kissed her neck, “You're insatiable baby.” He breathed. 

“Holy fuck Calum.” She breathed as she ran her fingers through his curls. 

He propped himself up on his elbows as he smiled at her, “You should go to the bathroom angel.” 

She nodded in agreement and he slowly moved away from her and laid down on his back, she slowly left the bed and looked for a tee shirt of Calums and quickly put it on. “I’ll be right back.” She winked as she left his room and walked to the bathroom, she realized the irony of just wearing his shirt remembering bumping into Josslyn. 

She went to the bathroom and cleaned up and checked her watch to see it was past midnight. She stepped in his doorway and saw Calum leaning against the bed frame, he noticed her walking in his room. He smiled at her as she motioned her closer to him, “C'mere angel.”

She looked for her clutch and looked at him, “I should get an uber home..” She trailed off avoiding eye contact. 

“You aren’t going anywhere pretty girl. We’re gonna order food and cuddle.” He assured as he patted the mattress. 

She giggled as she crawled back into bed and laid next to Calum before he pulled her closer to him, softly kissing her forehead, “How you go from fucking me like that to demanding cuddles.”

“It’s a special talent of mine.” He chuckled as she hugged his waist, she looked in his eyes and couldn’t help but smile. 

t a g l i s t ; @pxrxmoore​​ ​ @sublimehood​​ @talkfastromance4​​ @ghostoflrh​​ @calumscalm​​ @mellifluoushood​​ @calumthomcs​​ @twilightmomentswithyou​​ @boytoynamedcalum​​ @ohhmuke​​ @calswildflower​​ @highscal​​ @sanrioluke​​ @softlrh​​ @flowers-on-the-graves​​ @currentlyupcalsass​​ @clemmings​​ @tirednotflirting​​ @highfivecalum​​ @idivedeeperforyou​​ @wastelandcth​​ 

[moonlightdreamzz]

My First And Last — Huang Renjun

Renjun has a confession to make.

Request: Hiiii =3. How are you, i was wondering if i could get a renjun x woc fluff fic when he confesses to y/n at highschool in front of the dreamies. tsym i love your writing!.☆*: .｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

“Renjun, what’s the answer to number five?”

He always hated this class, but today especially was he extremely irritated with it. This weekend had been quite eventful—him spending the whole duration with his boys, and while everything was perfect at first, Sunday night was quite interesting.

It was no secret that Huang Renjun was in love with you. Well, at least to Mark, Chenle, Jisung, Haechan, Jeno, and Jaemin. If a stranger asked he would quickly deny the accusation, claiming the two of you as close friends only, but even they saw through it. The little red tint that would appear on his ears was a telling to the cap he expressed.

Last night, there was an intense game of truth or dare taking place. They all would admit that it was quite childish to be playing such a game as seniors in high school, but they also rarely cared about what others thought. They were bored and waiting on their pizza—what was a better choice?

“Truth or dare, Renjun?”

Chenle was eyeing him closely as his eyes lowered like the evil boy he could be towards his older friend.

“Nah, he doesn’t get a choice. He’s been forcing us to pick dare this whole time.” Mark interrupts, putting the truth cards behind his back. The boys and your girls had made these cards awhile back, wanting to make sure you always had something to do if you got trapped in Renjun’s home during a stormy night or something of that nature. Your hand writing was prominent on the index cards, and he really just wanted to hold a card in his hand. It sounded extremely creepy, but he had missed you. It had been a while since you were able to hang out with him.

“Fine. Dare.” Renjun sighs, covering his eyes. He doesn’t even want to think about the crazy shit one of them was going to ask him to do. Prank call one of his ex’s—politely of course, make him run down the street in a little too much skin showing especially in the freezing cold weather that covered this side of the world this season.

“Hm.” Jeno sighed, his mangled black hair giving him a boyish look as his hand fell on his chin. “Are you guys thinking what I’m thinking?”

No. Why didn’t he predict this? Maybe because he didn’t want to believe his brothers would betray him in such a way.

“Please...” he trails, but the grins on their faces showed there was no going back. It had already been determined.

“You have to tell Y/N you like her.” They all say in unison, laughing loudly as this was all too funny for them.

“I will literally do anything else. Anything.”

Renjun is picturing it now. Him telling you, and your face going from a concerned eye from him saying he needed to talk to you, to a disgruntled look after his confession. Your plump lips that he wanted to kiss so badly would go into your pearly whites, but not in a good way, even though it would look good regardless. You’d feel bad for him—taking a step back and removing your hands off of his shoulder.

“I don’t feel the same, Renjun.”

He didn’t need to actually go through with the plan because he had tried it so many times in his head. Girls like you didn’t fall for guys like him, and honestly he had accepted that a long time ago.

“Do you guys just want me to get curved? I mean seriously what the hell.” He cries out as a pout shoots from his lips.

“Look, we’ll be there.” Jisung assures.

“And if she curves you, you can always say you’re just joking. That’s what I did with Brianna.” Haechan smirks.

“She knows me. She knows I wouldn’t joke her like that.”

“Then you better hope she says yes.” Mark giggles—the doorbell ringing at the same time. The pizza was here, which meant Renjun really couldn’t get out of this now.

That’s why as he sits in his last class of the day, he feels his hands shaking. Truthfully, he thought maybe the boys had forgot about it, or would let him slide, but they made sure to blow up the groupchat with words of encouragement.

— Our boy is finally going to get his girl.

— And if she doesn’t we’ll be here bro.

— We told Y/N and them to meet us at the ice cream spot after school.

Renjun couldn’t help but to laugh sadly at that. You don’t even like ice cream. You were much more of a frozen yogurt person but of course they wouldn’t know that. Not only was he going to get curved by you, but it was going to happen in a place you despise.

“24.” Renjun finally answers the question his math teacher wanted the answer for.

“Good. Make sure you do all of your homework, and no excuses. A for effort so show your work.” That was always the closing statement of his math class, but it also meant that he could pack up his stuff and sneak out. He zips his book bag up—throwing it over his shoulder before walking out of the room. Lucky for him, the door that lead to the parking lot wasnt too far.

As he approaches his cherry red vehicle, he sees that Jisung and Chenle have made themselves comfortable on the hood of his car. They couldn’t drive, so he was frequently giving them rides home, not that he minded. They didn’t live that far away and plus they practically did everything together anyways.

“Are you ready, bro?”

“Are you seriously making me do this?” He sighs, unlocking the door. He gets inside the drivers side while Chenle takes the passenger and Jisung gets in the back.

“Absolutely.” They both say together. The engine is starting, and Renjun is putting the car in drive. “Woah woah.” Chenle interrupts. “Don’t you want to wait for your girl? School ends in five minutes baby.”

“If I see her, I’ll end up driving home instead of to the ice cream place. Just trust me.” He can’t even care about cold weather on his engine with no warm up time. He has to go, and he’s pulling off. He feels his phone vibrating, and he expects it to be Mark or Jeno making sure he’s actually going to show up, but it’s you.

“What’s with the smile?” Chenle interrogates, trying to look over, but Renjun locks his phone before he can see.

“Oh we know what that is!” Jisung screeches from the back, dapping Chenle up at once.

“Yessirrrrrrrrr.” Chenle screams loudly. It’s at this point that Renjun wishes he could somehow cancel out all of this noise. He loved his friends, but he also hated them very much.

“You’re getting excited for nothing.”

“Yeah whatever.” Jisung responds. His eyes are now locked onto the trees they’re driving past as the light turns green.

It didn’t take them that much longer to get to the ice cream parlor. Surpisingly, Jeno, Mark, Haechan, and Jaemin are already here—music blasting unnecessarily. It was very clear that Mark had the aux as YBN Cordae was preaching for the whole shopping center.

Just as he’s about to park, he sees you. I mean, it was quite easy to recognize that frame, and he doesn’t mean that in a perverted way. You were just so perfect and he couldn’t resist to praise you. You’re approaching the window of Jeno’s car and he can hear you now calling their current set-up ghetto and telling them to turn the music off. All jokes of course, and everyone knew only you were allowed to make them. God, he loved you so much.

“You got this.” Chenle encourages, slapping his knee before getting out of the car. Everyone else follows, and Renjun notices that your friends weren’t hiding in your car.

“Did you come here alone?” Is that first thing he asks you as he embraces you into a quick hug. You smell like perfection, but it fitted you. I mean, you were.

“I tried to get the girls to tag-a-long, but they said it was too cold to be outside and definitely too cold to get ice cream.” The wind blows as soon as you finish your sentence, and he sees the way you shut your eyes tight as if that would make it better.

“Oh no we gotta get you inside.” He says, pushing you towards the door. “Fathead.” He adds, causing you to turn around and punch him in the arm. The other boys are not too far behind.

The parlor is chilly, but it’s much better than the outside. There are pretty lights that glow inspirational quotes such as—“follow your dreams“ “seek what sets your soul on fire”. Quite ironic and bad timing, but knowing you, you find it to be very cute. He would too if it wasn’t mocking him so badly.

“What are you gonna get?” Renjun questions, allowing you to get in front of him to see the board better. Since it’s a Monday, and school just ended, there’s nobody in here but you guys. A habit you formed when you’re thinking heavily, you’re twirling about five braids around your pointer finger. He knows that you’ve made a decision when you take those pieces of hair and throw them behind you.

“Nothing.” You say with confidence. “I can’t do this to myself.”

“Well I know, but maybe you should try something. You might like it a little. I’ll pay?”

“Or how about I just eat some of yours.” You smile brightly at him, your hershey colored skin looking flourecent under the bright lights of the building.

He knows there’s no changing your mind. Once you say something, you mean it. It was all about compromise with you.

“Deal.” He chuckles lightly, moving forward to order.

While he’s at the counter, you speak to the other boys for a little before going to find a seat for you all. Renjun really wants to know what you guys were talking about, as it seemed to be a very hush conversation. Or maybe he didn’t want to know.

He gets his ice cream before the others, and he sits right beside you. When the other members get theirs, they sit at the table beside you guys even though there was plenty of room. They really were gonna do this to him.

Renjun is quite surprised that you don’t question their actions. I mean, it did look very odd that they weren’t even acknowledging what they just did, and instead decided on talking about the All-Star game that just happened this past weekend.

“How was your day, Rennie.”

This was the nickname you had gave him freshman year, and although some tried to call him that as well, it just didn’t feel right unless it was coming from your mouth. You seem to be a little tired—probably from staying up last night to study for a test.

“Not too bad. I’m a lot happier now than I was like 30 minutes ago.”

“And why is that?”

“Can’t tell you.” He smiles sadly, fiddling with his cup full of dairy.

“Oh no, we’re not doing that.” You kick him lightly under the table. “What’s wrong?”

“It’s embarrassing.”

“Come on, they’re not even listening.” You whisper, eyeing the boys who were still going on about how Aaron Gordan got robbed on Saturday. “Talk to me.”

“How do I get this out.” He trembles, fiddling with his fingers as he has to look everywhere but your eyes. “Do you remember when we first met?” He questions.

“Of course. Biology, 1st period. I hated every second of it other than you.”

“I felt the same way.” He chuckles. “But I also felt something else. As time went by.”

You’re not clueless. You know exactly what he’s trying to convey to you. The gentleness in his tone, his refusal of eye contact, it was all leading up to a confession, right? He can see it in the way your body haults. It honestly felt like everything stopped; time, the music, his breathing. Neither of you noticed this, but the boys stopped their yapping too.

“Renjun—

“Let me just get this out, okay? I know you’re going to want to walk away but please.” His voice is hushed now as he grabs your hand. It was something you both did to eachother whenever you were embarrassed, or nervous, or extremely joyful. It was obviously different this time and he could also feel that you know that. Even so you don’t let go.

“Y/N M/N L/N.” He shakes. “Since the day I met you, I knew that you were extremely funny, the sweetest girl I’ve ever met, the most beautiful soul that I had ever come across. But even so I thought I could run away from all of your good attributes. We can stay just friends, right? There just wasn’t a universe where you shared my feelings, so it was better to ignore it. I tried so hard to talk to other girls and give them the attention I wanted to give you to distract myself. It’s stupid I know, but it’s what I tried to do.”

“As the months went by, I realized that it wasn’t going to happen. I couldn’t get over you, but I also couldn’t have you, so I decided that I would be one of the boys in your life that you could always rely on.” He rubs your knuckles softly. There’s a braid hanging infront of your face, and he knows that it’s killing you, so he lets go of your hands for mere seconds to tuck it in another braid. Your features are unreadable right now and he wants to stop, but he can feel Marks hand on his back—patting it in encouragement.

“But I’m in love with you, Y/N. I honestly don’t think I’ll ever not be in love with you. And I don’t want you hearing that to make you feel like I’m forcing you to feel something, or to try to feel something. I just want you to know that you are so loved by so many people. Me especially. I know I’m not the coolest guy in the world, but..but...”

He’s said too much. It felt so good to get his confession out, but now that he was almost done, his breathing was out of control. He had only felt like this when he was in fear of something dramatic—he recognizes this to be because he’s so terrified to hear the rejection he’s going to get, so he runs out. He runs out of the parlor and he takes his ice cream with him. He didn’t even want it anymore.

Of course he’s not going to pull off. He wouldn’t leave Chenle and Jisung here. But he just didn’t want to look at anybody. The minute he sits down in his car and turns it on—an attempt to cool down, he looks into the sky. Was he seriously about to cry?

He’s just going to wait for the boys to finish their icecream. He knows they’re going to come when they’re ready. When he feels a knock on the passenger window, he immediately unlocks the door without looking. He has he hands on the wheel ready to pull off but he also has one question. “Is Y/N in her car yet? We can’t leave her without seeing her pull off.”

“She’s in a car.” Your voice echoes throughout the vehicle. “And she’s very safe. I promise.”

In dramatic fashion, he’s turning his head towards you. When the two of you lock eyes, he can’t believe it. Even when you didn’t have to be, you were so sweet. You were going to politely reject him to his face instead of laughing. An angel.

“I’m sorry—

“It’s my turn now.” You whisper, placing a sole finger on his lip. Except, you don’t speak. You instead take the icecream that was sitting in his cup holder and you’re taking a bite. After you set the spoon down, you’re leaning in. It’s a very slow, but beautiful kiss. First, your foreheads connect, then your nose—your perfect nose. He already loves the feeling. But the best part is when your lips connect. The way your lips completely cover his own and swallow him whole is something he couldn’t have imagined with the clearest mind. The way your lips mold together—it’s romantic—perfect, and he doesn’t understand. He doesn’t stop though. He has fingers in your hair, and he’s bring you two closer than you had ever been. There’s no space for breathing between you two.

It’s him who pulls away.

“I—I

“I love you too.” You breathe out. “I love you so much. And whether you believe it or not, everything you said to me in there is something I’ve felt 1000x more. I swear.”

His eyes are too pure as you look at him right now. He really had no idea. All of your little texts telling him you missed him. How the only reason you were coming to school was to see him. He never caught on. He had spent four years believing he wasn’t good enough for you when in reality he was everything you wanted.

“Are you serious?” He coughs.

“So serious.” You say with pride. “I just ate icecream for you. Believe me.”

He wanted to ask you to be his right then and there. But he didn’t want to do anything to mess this up. Suddenly he hears screaming coming from a cellphone, and it’s yours. It’s the boys.

“What did we say!” You both hear Mark shout. They’re outside now, and they’re running to the car.

“We told you it would work out.” Haechan simpers fron Renjun’s side. He rolls down the window, very confused although he’s putting the pieces together.

“Wait, did you guys know about this?” He’s looking at you now, and you’re so shy. You grab his hand, and it feels so good to hold it back. He’s caressing you’re thumb softly as he can’t hold in his smile anymore.

“Why do you think we dared you to do it?” Jeno laughs.

“They saw me on Friday. Getting some wings.” You put your head into his shoulder. “And they interrogated me.

“Politely, of course.” Jisung smiles.

“We had suspicions.”

“But we didn’t tell her you liked her until she confessed. We were just teasing before she confessed her love for you.”

“Shut up, Mark.” You cry out.

There’s a peaceful silence, before Renjun speaks up.

“Thank you guys. From the bottom of my heart.”

“Of course. You deserve it better than anyone.” Chenle says, tapping the window. They all walk away and now it’s the two of you again.

“I promise I won’t hurt you, Y/N.” Renjun whispers, kissing your forehead.

“I know.” Are your final words. “And it’s the best feeling ever.”

A/N: I hope you enjoyed this! :(

[sunsetcurve]

to find a light in the darkness

Summary: Henry’s voice came in. “Ray,” he said, voice low and dangerously quiet. “He released the virus already.”

“What?”

“We-we’re too late.”

Word Count: 3,386

Rating: High T for violence, lots of swearing, blood, injury, and an overall dark theme. Trigger warning for a very brief, non-explicit but still present suicide mention.

A/N: here it is, finally, the zombie apocalypse au i’ve been rambling about way too much. i want to start by saying that i’m sorry, because i didn’t actually finish the fic. i was going to make this a short one shot, maybe a couple thousand words max, but now i’m sitting here with over 3k and it’s sunday night and i have school tomorrow and still a long way to go with this fic so i decided to post what i have, because otherwise i don’t know when i’ll finish. and i was really excited to get this out there. so i’m sorry about the cliffhanger, but if all goes well this will just be part 1 and i’ll update as soon as i have time–which might not be for a while, but i’ll do my best. this isn’t quite as angsty as i hoped it would come out but it’s still fairly dark, and hopefully the next chapter will be a little more of the emotional turmoil. anyway, i really really hope you guys enjoy this, and i’ll stop talking now so you can get to the fic.

sidenote: i had to watch a video about how to change a tire for this fic

Dedications: please please please don’t feel any pressure to read this if you don’t have time or just don’t want to! i just want to dedicate this to some amazing people: @up-the-tube @um-ramen @xanderdewitt @bijerbear @cactus-con @ciara-knightly @jelenarulestheworld @gwendastacy @ginger–binger @greenrules95

“Jackpot.” There’s a soft click of the lock and then Henry is grinning, brushing dusty-gold strands of hair out of his eyes and handing her a bottle from the gently humming fridge.

Beads of condensation run like sweat down the side of it. There’s a small, rational part of Charlotte’s brain that tells her to savor the Coke, ration it like they’d been doing with everything else, but she tells that part of her brain to fuck itself and chugs down half the bottle. It’s the first cold drink she’s had in ages, sweet and fizzy, and it almost pulls her back to movie nights in the Man Cave and barbecues with the Hart family. She stops drinking for a moment to shove those memories to the back of her mind.

“Check this out,” Jasper says, and pulls another bottle from the fridge, showing them the label. “Share a Coke with Henry,” he reads, and gives a short sort of laugh as he unscrews the top and bumps the drink gently against Henry’s, then hers. His smile doesn’t quite reach his eyes, but then again, it’s been a long time since it has.

Charlotte tries to push past the layer of grime on the floor and the dust particles caught in the beams of sunlight that spill through the cracked windows to enjoy the moment. Cold sodas in an empty gas station with her best friends beside her, with Ray and Schwoz filling up the gas tank outside and Piper rummaging around in the back of the store. It’s quiet, except for the sound of the faint turning of the engine outside, and Charlotte finds herself thinking about how before all of this started, the three of them would’ve been laughing at some stupid joke, or Henry and Piper would’ve been bickering, or they would’ve been taking turns annoying Ray. She knows there’s not a lot of use in dwelling on the before, but it’s hard not to.

“C'mon, losers,” Piper comes around the aisle, halfway through a king-sized Hershey’s bar. “Let’s ditch this place.”

Henry, Jasper, and Charlotte shove as many cold drinks as they can into their tiny cooler and start filling grocery bags with toilet paper and energy bars and Frittles cans and packages of gummy worms.

“Man, this place is a gold mine,” Henry says as he shoves a few Starburst into his pocket. It’s kind of funny that their definition of gold has boiled down to gas station junk food. It’s kind of fucked up, actually.

They start to load the back of the van with all the food they have room for, because this is the first unraided store they’ve come across for miles and they don’t know when they’ll find another.

“We should just stay here,” Jasper says, squinting in the sunlight as he closes the door. “A ton of food, supplies, and they even have power inside. Air conditioning.”

Ray gives a heavy sort of sigh. “Sorry, kiddo, no dice. We gotta keep moving.”

And Jasper’s face falls, but they know he’s right. If they stop moving, they’re sitting ducks for the Infected and for raiders and whoever else might be prowling around the Arizona deserts.

So they get in the car, and Schwoz and Ray tousle over the wheel for a moment and Piper elbows Henry for getting in her space, and then they drive.

They just drive.

* * *

It started seventeen months ago. Seventeen months, twelve days, and nine hours to the dot, but Charlotte pretends she isn’t counting.

The villain wasn’t like the others they had faced. He didn’t wear sparkly pants or give himself a ridiculous monicker, he was just insane. And a genius. And that made him dangerous–after all, the only time that combination had ever worked out well was on Schwoz.

She remembers the feeling in her chest before Henry and Ray left to take him on. She remembers knowing that something was going to happen, knowing, somehow, that this was all going to go south. Henry had told her not to worry. She did, anyway.

She heard the whole thing go down over the comm sets. The villain went on and on about humanity being a plague on the planet, about how he was just trying to get rid of the disease. He raved like a madman, and then she heard the thwack of Ray’s fist and the sound of the man dropping like a stone and she thought it was over.

Until Henry’s voice came in. “Ray,” he said, voice low and dangerously quiet. “He released the virus already.”

“What?”

“We-we’re too late.”

And seventeen months, twelve days, and four hours ago, the reports started coming in. People started getting sick; not sick like fevers and headaches but sick like throwing up black goo and screaming themselves hoarse from the pain and tearing their skin open with their own nails. Sick like dying within a matter of days–and those were the lucky ones.

The ones who weren’t? They started sprouting fangs and claws. Started losing their hair, losing the whites of their eyes, losing their minds. The disease turned humans into monsters that tore other people to shreds, multiplied with bites, and seemed to have come straight off of the screen of a horror movie.

It only took about a month for over half the population to become infected.

That became the name for them–the Infected. It’s shallow, Charlotte thinks, and does absolutely no justice to the terror she felt when she first saw those things roaming the streets of Swellview. Infected is what you call someone who gets the flu or Yellow fever. These were people turned into monsters.

They stayed in Swellview for the first few months. Schwoz holed himself up in his lab, mixing chemicals and testing blood samples and trying to find a cure. Then Charlotte’s parents had disappeared. Then Jasper’s had up and left, with only a note to suggest they’d ever been there to begin with. Then Henry–then Henry had watched his mom turn into one of those monsters and watched his dad shoot himself in the head to keep from doing the same.

The city was overrun, and so they packed the Man Van and they left.

They just drove.

* * *

They’re still driving now.

The van is hot, enough that Charlotte’s shirt is sticky with sweat and the rolled-down windows only succeed in providing more noise than cool air. They don’t turn the AC on for the sake of preserving as much fuel as they can, but she’s starting to wonder if it’s worth it.

As he drives, Ray regales them with tales from his early days as Captain Man. They’ve heard this one before, and it’s obvious he’s tacking on as much dramatic flair as possible–Schwoz’s interjections of “that’s not what happened!” are a dead giveaway–but it gets them to start ribbing him, even Piper, who still sees him as her hero. Pretty soon they’re all laughing, passing around a pack of Lifesaver gummies, and it’s one of those rare golden moments that Charlotte lives for.

And then there’s a bang like a gunshot, and the van jerks and screeches as it spins off the road.

Everyone’s screaming. Ray yells and swears, gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles go white and slamming the brakes right before they jerk to a stop.

“What just happened?” Henry says shakily.

Ray grits his teeth. “I think a tire blew out.”

“What? How–” Charlotte doesn’t get a chance to finish her question. There’s a rumbling of engines and a clamor of voices outside, and she looks out the windows to see several men pulling up dirt bikes in a circle around them. Raiders.

One of them steps off his bike, dust puffing up from his heels as he struts to the window, a gun raised in his hands. Charlotte sees Henry tense and grab Piper’s hand beside her, and for once, the younger girl doesn’t pull away.

“Hey, big man,” the man says to Ray, voice cold and even. “Step outta the car. Hand over your supplies.”

Ray turns and gives them all a reassuring look before he opens the door and raises his hands. Almost instantly, there are four guns trained on him. “Alright, okay, take it easy,” he says, and his tone is light enough to make it clear that he’s not worried at all. Really, if anyone should be worried, it’s the Raiders, but they haven’t figured that out yet. “You know, you guys really didn’t have to blow out our tire. I mean, I would’ve offered you some Frittles if you’d asked but,” he gives a short laugh, “that was just rude.”

“You think this is a fucking game?” The one closest to Ray cocks his gun.

“I don’t, actually. ‘Cause playtime’s over.” Ray’s fist collides with his head, and he crumples like paper. Gunshots ring through the air as the others open fire on him, but the bullets just pepper holes in his shirt and ricochet off his chest.

“Oh my god–holy shit, he’s invincible…it-it’s Captain Man!”

Ray snorts. “Used to be, yeah,” he says before knocking one of them clear off his feet.

The remaining men turn tail and scatter like a pack of rats, leaving nothing but dust clouds in their wake as they jump on their motorbikes and drive away. Ray stands there for a moment, chest heaving as he wipes the sweat from his brow, and then he turns around to look at them. “Everyone okay?”

They nod. “Nice line,” Henry tells him, and Ray looks smug.

“Alright, get out here and help me put on the spare.”

They stand in the sweltering heat for a while, watching as Ray shows them the proper way to change a tire and Schwoz points out everything he’s doing wrong. He lets them take turns trying to loosen the lug nuts, and Piper manages to unscrew hers the farthest, reminding Charlotte yet again of why she’s terrified of her.

“Done,” Ray says with finality as he screws the hubcap back on and huffs. He lowers the car jack and pulls it out from underneath, standing up and leaning against the van. “The spare isn’t gonna get us very far on these roads, though. We’re gonna have to find an auto shop.”

“Where the fuck are we going to find an auto shop out here?” Piper furrows her brow, and Henry nudges her with his elbow.

“Language,” he says, sounding eerily like his mother.

She swats at him. “What are you, Captain America?” She sticks her tongue out, and he grins and ruffles her hair despite her protests.

“I guess we’ll just drive until we find one,” Ray shrugs a little. “We should probably get going. It’ll be dark soon.”

Charlotte looks out to where the sun is sinking in the sky, turning the hills of sand and rock golden beneath it. It’s the kind of picture you’d see on a postcard from Arizona, and even with the threat of death and worse looming constantly overhead, she can still find it in herself to admire the beauty of it. Maybe even more than she would’ve before.

Henry catches her staring. His hair is made a brighter gold by the rays of the sunset, and he gives her a half-smile with the same kind of warmth as he laces his fingers through hers. “C'mon, Char,” he says, and she follows him back into the van, her eyes still watching the sun as they drive away.

* * *

It’s long past nightfall by the time they stop. The air is much cooler now, the sky speckled with stars, and Henry is asleep on Jasper’s shoulder, his hand still intertwined with hers. Piper is snoring quietly with her head propped against the window, and in sleep the two Hart siblings look peaceful, more alike than usual. Jasper seems to be thinking the same thing, and he gives her a small smile over Henry’s blonde head.

The van jerks as they approach a run down sign with peeling letters, the spare tire just about ready to give out. Luckily, the garage door of the auto shop is already open, and they manage to pull inside.

“Thank god,” Charlotte mutters quietly. She doesn’t want to think about what might’ve happened if they’d broken down in the middle of the road at night, with hardly anything to shelter themselves against the Infected.

“Okay, everyone out,” Ray says, shutting off the ignition and pocketing the keys. He bumps Schwoz, who wakes up with a start, and Henry’s eyes flutter open while Charlotte gently shakes Piper’s shoulder. They pile out of the car as Ray goes to get the tools from the trunk.

“Schwoz, fix the van.” He shoves the toolbox into Schwoz’s hand with a yawn.

Schwoz looks affronted. “Why should I have to do it?”

“Because I’m tired, alright? I just drove for like ten hours.”

“I told you I could drive–”

“You drive like a blind person.”

“That is just rude. And you know I cannot loosen the lug nuts–”

As they bicker, Henry blinks the sleep from his eyes and stares out of the open garage door. Shock cuts across his features, and as Charlotte turns to see what he’s looking at, her heart crawls into her throat.

“Guys,” Henry says, voice rising as he slaps his hand against Ray’s arm. “Guys, we have a bit of a situation.”

“Not now, kid, the adults are talking.”

“Ray!”

“What, Henry–” Ray looks out the door and stops. In the distance, the shadows seem to be moving towards them. Hulking black figures, not quite human, just silhouettes in the dim light of the moon. But Charlotte doesn’t have to see them to know what they look like. The image of them is burned into the back of her mind, engraved behind her eyelids and the subject of her nightmares. She feels her blood run cold.

Her eyes dart around. They land on a pair of buttons by the entrance, and she points a shaky hand at them. “The door,” she says hastily. “Close the door.”

Ray runs over to them. He presses the button once, twice, three times, and nothing happens. He slams it over and over, and the door creaks and groans softly but doesn’t shut.

“Shit,” she hears Henry swear under his breath.

The monsters are moving faster now. They’re close enough that Charlotte can see the reflection of the moonlight in their void-black eyes, can see the glistening of their teeth in the dark. There’s a whole pack of them, outnumbering their group, and they’re wicked fast and stronger than should be possible.

“Get in the office,” Ray says, pointing them to the tiny side room with the peeling blue door. “Hide. I’ll hold them off.”

“By yourself? No way–” Henry starts to say, but Ray gives him a tiny shove towards the office.

“This isn’t up for debate, Kid. Go. I’ll be fine, I’m indestructible, remember?” There’s a soft sort of twinkle in his eyes and he nudges Henry again, casting a glance at the shadows that are almost at the door. “Just go!”

Charlotte can see the struggle behind Henry’s eyes. She can feel it, too, that same struggle in her chest, but she’s less of a self-sacrificing idiot than he is so she grabs his hand and pulls him into the office behind her and shuts the door.

Her heart is pounding. She can hear the soft chittering and hissing of the Infected; they’re already here, and she stands there with her back pressed against the door for a moment before Schwoz motions for her and Henry to join him, Piper, and Jasper behind the desk.

Charlotte sits down on the dust-covered floor and listens.

There’s a sound of scuffling outside. The hissing gets louder, then, Ray’s yell, like a battle cry. Screeching. More yelling.

She shouldn’t look. She knows she shouldn’t look; they’re supposed to be hiding, but Piper pokes her head up to stare out the cracked glass of the window and she can’t stop herself. Ray is attacking the monsters with nothing but his bare hands and a hammer from his toolbox, and for the first few minutes, it seems like he’s winning. Their claws rake harmlessly off of him, their fangs not breaking his skin, and though his shirt is in tatters he takes them out one by one without a single scratch on him.

But then they just keep coming. Charlotte was wrong about them being a pack–they’re more like a mass, and they swarm him, knocking the hammer out of his hands, leaping onto his back and tugging at his arms and legs. There’s too many of them.

Henry stands up. He opens the desk drawers, rummaging through them, and grabs a wrench from one. As he starts towards the door, Jasper grabs his arm. “Hen,” he says. “You can’t go out there.”

Henry’s jaw is set. “I have to. There’s way too many of them out there, Ray can’t take them all alone.”

“Ray’s indestructible. You aren’t.”

“I know that,” Henry says sharply, and bites his lip. “Look, if I don’t go out there, they–they’re gonna drag him off, or they’ll overwhelm him, and then they’ll break the windows or bust through the door and they’ll kill us anyway. I’m going.” He pauses, his eyes blazing. “I may not be Kid Danger anymore, but I’m not leaving Ray to fight alone.”

And slowly, Jasper gives the tiniest of nods and lets go of his arm. When Henry gets like this, fire behind his gaze and voice hard and stubborn, there’s no stopping him. They know that.

He tries to close the door behind him. But Charlotte grabs it before he can, a stapler in her other hand and the blood pounding in her ears. “I’m coming too,” she says, with no room for protest. There’s no stopping her, either. And he knows that.

The two of them leave the office, armed with a wrench and a stapler, ready to face the monsters from their nightmares together.

* * *

The fight is unlike anything Charlotte could’ve imagined. Ray is surprised to see them, if his yell when Henry knocks the Infected clean off his back is anything to go by, but there’s no time for him to lecture them as the monsters swarm the trio. Charlotte and Henry stand back to back, hacking their way through the fray.

Black blood sprays her face and clothing. All she can see is white fangs, soulless eyes, grotesque skin pulled over veins and bones. Claws swipe at her and she pushes them back, the sound of screeching and hissing and yelling filling her ears. At some point, Jasper and Piper and Schwoz join them, and there are no words exchanged between them, just blows towards the Infected. They fight and fight and fight, and more keep coming, and they just keep fighting.

When the world is ending, every day could be your last. Charlotte has prepared herself to fight for her life, has prepared herself to go down swinging. But in that moment she finds that preparing for something and doing it are very, very different things. She’s not ready to die yet.

“Char, look out!” Then Henry shoves her, and she stumbles, and before she register his yell that sounds like pain one of the Infected is lunging at her. She slams her stapler into its skull and it shrieks, dropping to the ground.

And then everything stops. Charlotte stands there for a moment, chest heaving, waiting for more to come at her. They don’t. She looks around. The six of them stand in the carnage, black bodies lying on the floor around them, and it’s over. It’s finally over.

Henry gives a breathy sort of laugh. “I-Is everyone okay?” he says, and Charlotte looks at him. He’s splattered with black blood, and there’s a shallow scrape on his cheek, but he smiles in relief.

Then–“Kid…” Ray’s voice is choked and tight, anguished, and Charlotte follows his eyes. Her heart drops like a stone.

“What–” Henry blinks, confused, and lifts a hand to touch his side. His fingers come away soaked in black blood.

His eyes widen. “Fuck,” he breathes quietly, and then his knees buckle beneath him.

[junhuiste]

[ wonwoo - table for one ]

⌦ fluff, valentine’s day au bc i’m a slut for corporate america milking us dry for a heteronormative holiday, sweater + wholesome + soft feelings for wonwoo, cynical st8ments from reader about being a single pringle 

⌦ lover birds are overrated

⌦ words: 2131

Heaving what was intended to be a sigh of waves of relief, had come out to be a somewhat tornado of mild shame, as you bid a measly attempt at holding your head high, jaunting through the massive doors of the restaurant.

Struck by an endless playlist of the same songs that belted out “you are my only one”, pairs of lovers scattered throughout, and the never ending, pricking sight of dozens upon dozens of hands tucked into one another for comfort or for show that were just enough to throw you over the brink and cause disgusting discomfort in your stomach, nothing but a faltering mumble fell out, “Y/N, and party of one.”

Instead of thrusting pity upon yourself after catching sight of the waiter’s parabolic smile flatten out to what resembled a woeful wince, you chuckled to yourself and reassured the waiter that it was truly okay that no one bothered to ask you out even though you kinda looked “hella cute” yesterday but that’s okay because not everyone can win at love!

Singles empowerment, you thought to bolster your slowly sinking mood. What had you in such a melancholy mood, you internally slapped yourself for, because goddammit this was supposed to be a “treat yourself” night but alas, you wallowed only to drown in self-pity. Okay, so maybe a hot date could’ve made the night better, but Christ, you were about to have a plate of steaming hot food instead, which was indeed ten times better than having to make eye contact in order to revive a conversation towards a partner across the table.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart!” chirped an overly bubbly woman to her husband, who both had just entered the restaurant. 

Sigh.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, sweetheart.” you mocked her to yourself, an ugly, ugly green snake of envy slithered closer to your brain.

It wasn’t that you were an extremely resentful person, just so filled to the brim with an abysmal hate for every single goddamn person on earth, actually you were completely the opposite, but as you were on every February 14th, nothing could milk you dry of cynical statements and the putrid odor of annoyance. Of course, corporations would take advantage of this day, proposing billion dollar campaigns to dump buckets and buckets of pink and red everywhere but your heart.

As your turn to be called neared, any coveted thoughts induced by this godforsaken holiday started to leave you. You had better plans in mind than being sent over the edge for some overrated mind blowing orgasms, like the ones your roommate said she’d be receiving tonight, blegh, but instead losing your mind over a damn good drink and one hell of a good hot meal for yourself and you only. 

The thought of that big ass plate being delivered to you surely did turn your frown upside down, because sharing, like orgasms, was overrated.

If there were one person, though, an intruding, spontaneous thought pervaded its way upon your train, that you’d want to take you out, what was the best answer out of A.) the cute boy that always scrunched his nose in the most adorable manner when he laughed B.) Jeon Wonwoo, C.) someone that could hold a powerful gaze and was shy and delightful (did you mention cute in an option yet?), or D.) the boy who just walked through the restaurant door with the gently yet menacing look and whipped his head around when a somewhat younger-ish looking version of him called “Wonwoo, come on.”

Wait–

The younger boy, who you assumed was Wonwoo’s younger brother, walked to the waiter to leave his name and party number, as the older stayed behind, hands in pockets, seemingly miserable and not wanting to be whacked by the knuckle of the Valentine’s day atmosphere.

Curiosity sprung upon you, wondering why Wonwoo took his brother to this restaurant, but you concluded that yes, he was just as quiet and sweet as that tiny Hershey’s Kiss your roommate threw at you like he seemed in your biochemistry class. He treated his younger sibling out to a nice dinner, and hat you really appreciated, though having only assumed, because he embraced the family part of love, and did not fall into capitalism’s dirty tricks of romance and didn’t bring a date, which sort of caused a stir within you, which really shouldn’t have because you weren’t a jealous person, but only for tonight–“Y/N, party of one!”

The part where corporations spent billions of dollars on splashing every nook and cranny with pink and red? Yeah, your cheeks were included, as you were seized up in utter humiliation in front of the rest of the customers patiently waiting, though all they wanted was good food and a good orgasm for later, but nonetheless, the world now knew how fucking lonely you were.

Before taking even one step, you spun your head out of worriedness to see if Wonwoo had heard that you were Single McFucking Pringle, and much to your dismay, what normally would’ve caused orange-winged monarchs to quiver around in your stomach instead provoked bees (as much as you wanted to save them) that left tiny little pricks of pure embarrassment.

You met a warm pair of dark brown eyes that held a certain tranquility, but you quickly turned back around to cover your flustered self.

“Come with me,” the waiter cordially lead you to a table and you could’ve tripped on air in response to the lack of dignity you had in this moment, but by the grace of the universe, which you barely trusted at this point, managed to get to the table without toppling over your sad self.

As soon as you were seated, eyes scoured the environment to search for those same pair of brown eyes that had met yours for a short second in time before you descended into disgrace. They were nowhere to be found for now, as Wonwoo and his brother were still in the waited seating area of the restaurant.

Maybe a tall glass of a little something special could’ve helped you get over your blunder and loneliness, which brought you here in the first place, but sure, a glass of water, I’m driving home tonight, no ice please worked just as fine.

Pouting a taut pair of pillows, you breathed in a pathetic pocket of air and sipped as the sight of the waiter leading only Wonwoo’s brother to a table. Perhaps Wonwoo had gone to wash his hands free of sin, but what sin did this boy commit, who you deemed a shy angel in your eyes, or maybe he’d gone and only dropped his brother off as a you owe me bro solid in exchange for a punch on the shoulder.

Maybe Wonwoo had a date of his own tonight, but the bare thought of that sent tiny bubbles into your straw, because you were getting caught up in the mere thought of this certain Jeon Wonwoo, who you’d just noticed was clad in an attire opposite his brother, who wore a button up rolled up to his elbows and slacks--a navy blue sweater paired with jeans and sneakers.

Who you’d just noticed…

Push, push these thoughts out! Goddammit this was your treat yourself night on the night of singles over doubles, celebrating you for some capitalistic reason, where that big plate would show up to your table anytime soon, but a faux smile from the waiter who wrongfully deceived you in the greatest act of treachery brought two plates to the table next to you.

Well shit, at least you’d get a look at Wonwoo again, who was seated with a ghost across the table, fiddling with his thumbs, to which you found extremely endearing because Jeon Wonwoo was an incredibly wholesome boy that you just really wanted to laugh at, with his nose scrunch, at your excruciatingly corny jokes.

Wonwoo’s eyes behind his specs found yours once again, as you continued to stare off into the realm of nothing while reevaluating your current life choices, but immediately deterred to this hands, thus you found yourself in sheer chagrin for the nth time tonight.

It’d be a few minutes before your food would arrive, so you left your trench coat on the back of the chair and trod to the restroom.

An eagle soaring over the vast region, eyeing its prey, your frenzied overlook at the restaurant was maybe more for the fact that your food was just being delivered to your table, or that Wonwoo kid.

Your heel felt entirely uncomfy but it was nothing that a minor tug on your shoe could fix, and while running a hand over your head trying to regain stability, you wobbled slightly but stood up straight after. Oddly enough, your mind was fixated on those two aforementioned things, ahem, someone, hence your dumbass to sort of stumble but not fall to the point of oh my fucking god you idiot into a dark-fabric covered shoulder.

Right before smoothing out you outfit, “I’m so sorry, I wasn’t paying attention, Y/N,” rang in your ears for quite some time.

“No, no, don’t worry about it, um...Wonwoo! It’s my fault, I was just too excited that my food came,” you tried to play it cool and brush it off your shoulder, but all there was was dust, mixed with your confusion and distress.

Wonwoo’s hand reached up to tousle his side swept, charcoal colored hair and he chuckled, emitting an unmitigated radiance you’d only ever found to shine for him.

The stiff tension wasn’t fraught, somehow you found it to be quite natural, and the genial tone between both you and Wonwoo was very evident. He took a small breath in, “Um, no offense, really...I  don’t want this to sound rude, so please don’t take this the wrong way because I don’t intend for this to come off the way it sounds but,” Wonwoo shifted his glasses a little.

It was Valentine’s Day, and it felt like being punched in the guts February 13th when someone cackled in your face at the thought of them taking you out, so you didn’t really know what to regard as rude anymore. For all you cared, Wonwoo could sock you in the face for being a stumbling idiot and you would fall to your knees and thank him.

A pause invaded the scene once more, and you clung onto Wonwoo’s words, wanting to know in what possible way he could be rude to you.

“Why are you sitting alone? I’m not judging by all means, but it’s the most barf-inducing yet “romantic” day of the year, and you managed to brace this face of not caring about this ludicrous holiday.”

You didn’t know what to expect with Wonwoo, no one ever did, as he was in a corner one day, to clapping his hands in laughter the next. If this was his definition of rude, anything you’ve ever done would be sinister.

Wonwoo was nothing but wholesome. And you reveled at the mere thought, well, you had the embodiment of precious in the flesh at your sight.

“Wonwoo, don’t apologize for that,” you said, “and evidently I don’t have a valentine, so I decided to treat myself out to dinner tonight. I mean, who cares about lover birds when you could be a lonely bird?”

A simper played out on lips, and thankfully it didn’t convey pity.

The thought came up in you, similar to what Wonwoo had just asked you and deemed “rude”.

“Wait, but Wonwoo, now I have a right to ask why you’re here by yourself?”

He almost looked like he was caught off guard, but shook his head assertively, “My younger brother has a date tonight and asked if I’d drop him off, then uh, I got hungry so I just had to stay and eat–”

It wasn’t a date after all, and you hated that you went out on a limb. But shit, your food had been sitting there for a good 2 minutes whilst you were getting caught up in your mutual loneliness with Jeon Wonwoo.

Wonwoo gaped his mouth a tad bit open to recollect his thoughts, but you were almost impatient because you had a fine ass boy in front of you, wanting to tell you everything, yet you felt like you were interrupting him with your gestures, and you had a plate back at the table.

“And then I saw you here, which compelled me to stay more than their Valentine’s Day dinner discount,” had left his mouth, come again?

There were no feelings of complex emotion coursing raw through your veins, you were simply dumbfounded and delighted.

“Y/N, can I join you at your table?”

bruh so my school’s broadcast/news televisor/tv did a segment on being by urself on valentine’s day yesterday so i rushed to the fucking library to write it asap and usually it takes me a week to plan out the plot but i wrote the plot for this in half a lunch period and wrote it last night and today

imma cry it usually takes me months to write a fic and i have one sitting in my drafts that i started in september and it ain’t even halfway done but i managed to whip this one up JUST FOR THE SAKE OF PUBLISHING ON VALENTINE’S DAY BYE

[the314anoman]

2018 sucked

it was probably the shittiest year of my life, and that’s not an easy title to claim. let’s recap:

it all started way back in early january, when our subway came under new ownership and we got a new manager, who had worked there for a shorter period than i had (yeah, i was part-time working during college, she was full-time, but w/e) and it all went downhill fast. our manager wasn’t bad, she just was just trying to deal with all the new regulations we were facing and the fact that we were Massively Understaffed™ for being located in a fucking mall. like, for contrast, our old managers let us get away with not turning the line coolers off at night if we were really busy, but under the new owners, we had to clean the legs of tables to get the salt of them. i decided to quit in march after having minors stay and help me close even though they were off the clock since they were required to punch out at 9:30 and still getting yelled at for staying too long and not making everything Perfect. it was so stressful trying to work both faster and harder, so i quit. then, college got out in april and i was looking for internships all over and applying everywhere, but i never got even so much as an interview request. so, june came and i just said “fuck it” and applied to other subways closer to home. ended up getting an interview the next day at a different subway, 2 miles from the old one. i got the job and starting working to find out the subway was also Massively Understaffed™ but the manager was more chill, so it seemed fine. turns out the reason the manager was chill is that he was high. like, all the time. this resulted in him having the memory of a goldfish. like, i specifically told him and his assistant manager that i couldn’t work one day and yet he still called asking where i was when i very plainly explained it twice. and he also scheduled a meeting on the day i request off for my niece’s baptism. at 8am. on a sunday. at the same time, i managed to get an interview at a local factory. it wasn’t really an internship nor in my field, but it was a job and it paid $12/hr so i was like, hell yeah, why not. i managed to get the job and started july 1st, which was great, buuuuuut... the job was super boring; it was pretty much doing the same repetitive tasks over and over again for 7.5 hours a day while ~~listening~~ being subjected to country music. BUT, we got 3 breaks a day and it was nice having a chill job. i came up with a lot of really good writing ideas for a novel that’s been a super long wip because my mind was mostly free during work since it was so repetitive. at this time, i’m still working at subway, mostly weekends and some 5-close shifts. i’m not getting a whole lot of sleep and so that probably explains what happens on july 25th, probably the single shittiest day of my life. i get into the factory and the normal manager is gone on vacation and one of my coworkers is taking over. she tells me that i’ve been missing the least important step in the process of making some parts that i’ve been doing for days now. so naturally, i mess it up a couple more times, but only when she’s watching, because ofc. this happens 3 times and the third time i kind of chuckle to myself because i’m literally only doing it when she’s watching. she takes this to mean i’m laughing at her and yells at me about how i think it’s a joke and blah blah blah, like that’s not what i meant at all but she won’t let me explain. THEN, i get out of work and i’m already on the verge of tears because i have a migraine from lack of sleep and i hate getting yelled at, and i see a text i got while at work (we’re not allowed phones on our person at all at the factory. national security stuff apparently) that my grandma is in the hospital and not going to make it. i just... lose it. i go home and just sit outside on a chair, cuddling my cat and gross sobbing for the first time i can recall. i’m supposed to work a 5-9 shift at subway tonight, but i am not in any state to work. i call them through tears saying i can’t work tonight, i’m visiting my grandma in the hospital in muskegon, an hour away. she’s unconscious when i get there. she dies an hour later, while me and my family are eating dinner downstairs in the basement where there’s no signal. eventually tomorrow comes. it’s now july 26th, which if you know me, is my birthday. my 21st birthday, in fact. you know how for most people, their 21st is the best day of your life? yeah, it was one of the worst for me. i still had to get up at 6am for the factory work, then run home, get changed, and work 5-9 at subway. the only bright spot were two helpful coworkers. one from the factory gave me a butterscotch shot, saying you should still try and enjoy your birthday and my subway coworker bought a hershey pie for me and gave me a hug and some helpful advice. (she had been through a similar experience with her mom passing, so she knew a lot about grief.) i took her advice on letting yourself be happy and decided to go to my friends’ meetup that weekend, which i had requested off from subway previously. it’s a while away, but this was planned a long time ago and i don’t get to see my college friends in the summer other than this, so i’m not missing this. but, when i’m almost there i get a call from subway insisting that i work this weekend to make up for missing my 4 hour shift yesterday. i’m furious because i missed it for legitimate reasons and i was already over 2 hours away and i was NOT driving back. (the reason they’re insisting is because they don’t want to pay my coworker overtime, despite the fact she’s living in a trailer park only off her subway income, too.) they say they might have to fire me and i’m like, sure, i have another job and i already put in my 2 weeks lol. so i go there and try to forget this whole week ever happened. the funeral is on monday, the factory gives me it off so i can attend. there’s lots of tears. lots and lots. my grandma touched a lot of people’s lives; she’s one of the kindest people i’ve ever known. she probably would have supported my sexuality if i ever told her, i regret not doing so earlier. i come back to my factory job on tuesday, and as if the universe is answering some unanswered “could things get any worse?” the hiring manager informs me i’m fired, as if it had to be july 31st, to add to the shithole that july 2018 was. this was a temp position to begin with, and i was leaving in a couple weeks anyway, but this is just another blow to an already grieving 21-year-old. i may have just lost both my jobs and my grandmother in the span of 7 days. i leave the factory and get in my car and just. scream. time passes. the pain of july slowly fades from a roaring inferno all over my body to a dull pulsing. good things start to happen again. i move into an apartment with 3 friends, get a job at the theatre after a lot of paperwork issues, i make the cut for an a capella group and find new friends, develop a crush on someone (something i haven’t really had since high school - but that’s a story for another time), and actually start getting my shit together. things are definitely looking up, despite the fact i had the worst month of life a couple months ago. ...and then comes december, as if it’s trying to challenge july to a battle for shittiest month ever. final exams are coming up, i spend a lot of the previous week leading up to exams rehearsing for performances (i had 4 performances in a week’s span), not much studying could be done. not that studying would help that much, as we would see, but w/e. i ended up forgetting my book with all the important formulas and relationships in it that are too complex to memorize, so i completely bombed that final, and therefore failed the whole class. i’m already having to take an extra semester, failing this class does NOT help. i barely stayed above a 3.0 gpa, a requirement for most internships. on the same day we got final grades back, my mom got a call saying my grandpa had died, only a week before christmas. my whole family went back up to do the whole funeral thing again. we are getting awfully familiar with this nursing home (my mom lost both her parents and an uncle in 5 months). finally, on new year’s eve i decide it’s either now or never to admit my feelings, so i ask my crush out. i get rejected, which is mostly what i expected, but it still knocks the wind out of me. so yeah, 2018 was super extra shitty for me. but at the same time, i feel like i’ve grown a lot as a person. i’ve made a bunch of new friends, gained a niece, learned a lot about pain, and done a lot of things i never thought i’d do. hell, i had the balls to ask a guy out, which was something that frightened me to my core. i went on a trip to dc and learned more about the injustices happening here, i went camping/hiking with friends, and went tubing behind a boat. so, i’m not gonna pretend it’s all bad.

[tatooedlaura-blog]

Fifth Christmas

the series is as follows so far:

First … Second … Third … Fourth … Fifth … Fifth Christmas, Part 2 … Sixth … Seventh … Eighth … Ninth … Tenth … Eleventh … Twelfth … Thirteenth … Fourteenth … Fifteenth … Sixteenth … Seventeenth … Eighteenth … Nineteenth … Twentieth … Twenty-first … Twenty-second … Twenty-third

———————–

She was quietly submerged in a self-protective bubble of sanity. Outside her bubble, shoppers, children, angry males and even crazier women circled and flowed like liquid around her. Why she did this to herself was beyond comprehension. Christmas shopping on Christmas Eve.

What the hell was wrong with her?

She would have been better off just giving everybody a note saying they’d get stuff mid-January and stick a Hershey’s kiss on it with the last roll of tape she had in the house.

Instead, she was here, wondering if God was laughing at them all while he lounged with a cup of hot chocolate, dishing with Santa about the naughty list and made fun of this year’s clothing trends.

That made her smile a little bit and gave her the boost she needed for three final stores and the fight to leave the hellishly packed parking lot. Congratulating herself for not using her gun, she began her drive home.

And the phone rang.

&&&&&&&&&

After racing away from that ‘haunted house’ as Mulder called it, she drove home, exhausted, annoyed by the prospect of having to wrap gifts, in all manner of shapes and sizes, before getting a mediocre nap and returning to the road for her mother’s.

And thinking about it, she hadn’t really ‘raced’ away from the house … it was more like driving leisurely with the pedal just a bit closer to the floor … there was no reason to ‘race’ away from anything, except maybe the next hair-brained idea that Mulder was probably concocting even as they headed for their cars.

She stopped her thinking right there, given if she dwelled too long, she could probably convince herself that there were actually ghosts.

That is the last present Mulder needed.

Finishing wrapping her gifts nearly an hour later, then stacking everything back by the door, she then noticed the item she’d bought two days earlier and had forgotten to wrap, the item falling into the Christmas detritus strewn across the floor.

She’d found the perfect gift for Mulder.

A fitting, unique, totally him gift.

Pulling it towards her, she studied it again, let the smile creep across her face, then pulled the wrapping paper towards her and proceeded to tape the hell out of every seam and possible pulling point.

After, against every atom in her body screaming to go to bed, she pulled her shoes back on and headed into the 3am darkness.

&&&&&&&&

He was truly delighted by his gift, an ornament, one she’d found on complete accident while shopping with her mother. A large red fox being hugged by a little dark-haired girl, the fox with glittering green eyes and the girl with a smile and a crown of flowers, kneeling beside the animal, arms tight around his neck.

She’d gotten a little nervous when he began shaking the box but knowing she’d packed it well, it survived his wild, paper-ripping opening to stun him into silence. She’d had to nudge him lightly with her elbow to get him to move again, to take the breath he needed to turn to her, crush her and her still unopened gift against him in a tight hug.

When he finally let her go, muttering to himself, “78 seconds, we’re getting better at this”, he took the bauble from the box, dangling it in front of his shining eyes, studying it with intense scrutiny, then shifting to catch her eye, “can we go put this on your tree?”

“Right now?”

“Yeah … well, right after you open your gift, I mean.”

Honest-to-Jesus, she couldn’t deny him while he wore such hopeful excitement on his face, “you don’t want to keep it here?”

“Nope. I want it on your tree.” Such matter-of-fact declarations from him were not surprising anymore but they still made her spine tingle.

“Then I better get to opening this, shouldn’t I?”

It turned out that Mulder’s round, cylindrical gift, was neither round nor cylindrical but a small set of windchimes packed carefully and securely into a thick cardboard tube. Holding them up, they made a deeper sound when she tapped them, lower notes that didn’t pierce her eardrums but soothed with their grandfather clock resonant gong. She realized instantly that they weren’t by any means a cheap gift and looking at him, “you shouldn’t have spent this much, Mulder.”

“It’s Christmas so shut up.” Grinning at her, “I was thinking you could hang them in front of one of your living room windows then in the summer with the windows open, they’d sound but they won’t get ruined in the rain and stuff.”

He looked so eager for her to like them, so happy that she did, so enthusiastic that she set them carefully down and pulled him against her this time, blowing the 78 seconds out of the water. Finally, just as she made up her mind to not let him go, she pulled back, “I think you should go change and we can go to my place to hang up your gift and then we can head over to mom’s and you can have Christmas with us.”

His smile faultered, “I can’t intrude like that. Not on Christmas.”

“You already told me your mom was with your aunt and I’m not letting you stay here by yourself. Besides, I need somebody to keep me from killing my brother. I vote you.”

Reaching desperately for lame-ass excuses he couldn’t really say with any conviction, given he actually would like to spend Christmas with her, “I don’t have any presents for anybody.”

Bless her Irish, ‘you’re full of crap’ internal sensor honed specifically for Mulder bullshit, she gave him a grin, then stood up, “you are a terrible liar sometimes. Go put on some clean pants and a shirt that won’t clash with a Christmas tree because you’re going to end up in photos and …” trailing off, she took his hand, “I better come help you pick something out.”

“Photos?”

“Yes, those celluloid things that mark occasions and cement memories of Great Aunt Matilda getting drunk and wearing a lamp shade for a hat at family Christmas, 1982.”

As he was pulled along to the bedroom, “why would I be in pictures?”

“My mother will say ‘get in the picture’ and you won’t have the will to argue with her because she’s just stuffed you full of two pounds of ham and ambrosia salad. Compliance through food tonnage is her specialty.”

Finally, he gave in, standing patiently as she began pulling shirts from his closet and holding them to his chest, “I love Maggie.”

Once they’d gotten back to her place, he went right to the tree, waiting as she found him a hook, then he hung it up beside the ornament he’d given her when they’d decorated the tree almost a week earlier. This year’s was a filigree snowman, hair-thin white wire, affixed buttons and top hat, smiling coal face, small sign in his hand declaring the year. Standing side-by-side, Mulder slid his hand into hers, fingers warm and solid, perfect fit, perfect match, lit by tree lights and silent in the still dark night.

[sorayahigashikata]

Chapter 20: "The Booty of Gyro Zeppeli"