#Natalie is on THIN ice right now

[nancydrewwouldnever]

Welp i didn't see this coming

"Natalie Portman and her ballet dancer hubby Benjamin Millepied are battling to save their marriage after she discovered that he had an affair with a 25-year-old woman, sources tell Page Six.

We’re told the pair, who married in 2012, separated last year but managed to work through their relationship woes.

Now their marriage has once again been rocked by revelations that he cheated. New photographs from France suggest that the former New York City Ballet principal dancer has been spending time with glamorous young climate activist Camille Étienne.

And a source close to the couple tells Page Six, “They have not split and are trying to work things out. Ben is doing everything he can to get Natalie to forgive him. He loves her and their family.”

“She is incredibly private,” the source added. “Her biggest focus right now is protecting the kids.”

We hear it was an open secret on the set of Portman’s upcoming movie “May December,” which shot in November over the course of 23 days, that she and Millepied were having problems.

And word at the premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this month was that the couple were still on thin ice. Portman, 41, was in the French Riviera city making the promotional rounds, but Millepied, 45, was nowhere to be seen."

Men are trash 🗑️

[anotherttpfanaccount]

an MLB AU i put way too much time and thought into

.

here are some changes i've already made:

there are only 8 miraculous

the roles will be altered from the canon

the relationships will be altered from the canon

all ages are the same ( 18 and up ), so the setting is college

for right now, i have no images, but expect the costumes to look different, as i hate most of them

disclaimer - i don't watch or support the show, i am merely a viewer from afar ( aka via fandom ) and i like the base concepts, so i decided to give in and indulge myself.

.

Characters . . .

Marinette - Amir ( Sir Ruby ) Adrien - Rupert ( Vesper ) Chloe - Cecily ( Lady Wasp ) Alya - Joan ( Vixenary ) Nino - Percy ( Terraperc, but Rupert said that was a terrible idea, so now it's just Terrapin ) Luka - Darling ( King Serpentine ) Natalie - Chamberlain ( Mr. Plume ) Gabriel - Lavinia ( Queen Admiral )

rest are various other side characters that will serve the main plot and subplots, rather than me making up a bunch of bullshit on the fly.

-

Key Relationships . . .

Amir .

Rupert - strangers to friends to lovers Cecily - one-sided awkwardness to friends to 'lovers' Joan - childhood best friends Percy - cordial acquaintances to... sorta friends? Darling - absolutely hate each other Chamberlain - polite strangers to... Lavinia - polite, but on edge strangers

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Rupert .

Amir - strangers to friends to lovers Cecily - friends to best friends Joan - respectful acquaintances to friends Percy - no one knows why they're friends Darling - awkward exes ( like, bad awkward ) Chamberlain - father // son-like dynamic Lavinia - cordial at best

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Cecily .

Amir - 'we're so friends!' to actual friends to 'lovers' Rupert - early teenhood friends to best friends Joan - unknown to friends to lovers, somehow ( it was Cecily ) Percy - chaotic friends Darling - 'you're on thin ice, mister' Chamberlain - they think the other is funny Lavinia - only met her a few times, very tense

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Joan .

Amir - childhood best friends Rupert - respectful acquaintaces to friends Cecily - unknown to friends to lovers, somehow ( Joan has no idea ) Percy - that one meme of A having B on a leash Darling - they haven't met ( yet ) Chamberlain - respectful and agreeable ( they talk about work ) Lavinia - Joan kinda sorta idolizes her just a little bit ( she has no idea what Lavinia is doing )

-

Percy .

Amir - "rivals" to tense acquaintances Rupert - not even he knows how they're friends, he just rolls with it Cecily - chaotic friends Joan - 'tense' friends Darling - thinks he's pretty, but doesn't know him that well Chamberlain - friendly-ish acquaintances Lavinia - has only seen her once, and it was on a bad day

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Darling .

Amir - they hate each other Rupert - awkward exes ( Darling keeps trying ) Cecily - keeps getting vaguely threatened by her Joan - they haven't met, but only doesn't like her because of her relation to Amir ( yes, he's that petty ) Percy - thinks he's cute, but doesn't him that well either ( way too focused on Rupert ) Chamberlain - used to be friendly, but now also gets vaguely threatened by him Lavinia - hardly cared for his existence, even after the breakup

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Chamberlain .

Amir - polite strangers to... Rupert - father // son-like dynamic Cecily - thinks she's hilarious Joan - respectful and agreeable, almost colleagues Percy - is only nice to him because of Rupert Darling - displeased at best Lavinia - haven't gotten along on personal levels in years

-

Lavinia .

Amir - judgmental, but won't say it ( Rupert knows ) Rupert - loves him very much, wishes he'd understand Cecily - doesn't see her enough to care a whole lot Joan - likes that she feeds her ego Percy - got on her nerves once, hasn't seen him since Darling - does not give a fuck Chamberlain - frustratingly opinionated ( the irony )

.

Extras . . .

Amir and Darling already did not like each other, due to wicked bad vibes, but after Amir is noticeably developing feelings for Rupert, Darling becomes a bitch.

as a society, we simply don't know if Percy and Darling will get together. not even i know. only time will tell.

there are Miraculous swaps, but only if necessary and // or akumatized with that miraculous ( for ex, there's a thing where Darling gets akumatized with the fox miraculous ).

Joan isn't necessarily like Alya in terms of personality, but she is very interested in documentation of abnormal // supernatural events, reporting, etc., and does become a fan of Sir Ruby and Vesper.

the Kwamis are the animals within the podcast or based off other characters ( Rupert's kwami is a cat-version of Fitzroy, Amir's is a ladybug-version of Porridge, etc. ), and it's unknown if the Kwamis can actually choose their holders or not.

there are not many side villains. to be honest.

Rupert isn't very flirty as Vesper at all, that's more in line with Darling // King Serpentine. similar thing with Amir, he's not nearly as awkward ( or creepy ) as Marinette.

.

this AU is very focused on the relationships of the characters rather than the superhero-y stuff, but i do dabble in that every now and then in my train of thoughts.

feel free to ask me any questions.

[familyagrestefanblog]

Shadow Moth forshadowing detail + S4 Theory

I kinda just noticed something about Gabriels design concerning his Miraculous and I'm a bit mind blown right now tbh

I always thought it was odd that the character designers chose to hide the quite small butterfly brooch under a much bigger tie

Of course, as one can see in the transformation sequence, that "problem" gets solved when Nooroo activates the Miraculous. In the active Form the butterfly miraculous would indeed require a bigger hiding place such as a tie but the thing is, when the miraculous IS activated Gabriel doesn't wear the tie. So that "solution" is invalidated.

Its nothing that ever really bothered me much, I just found it ODD because they could have chosen anything for his casual wear but they stuck with something unnecessary big concidering the size of the object they want to hide with it.

But THEN I just remembered Shadow Moth from the upcoming s4 and... dude, the tie covering so much more space underneath than needed for the Butterfly miraculous was totally not a random decision.

The placements of the butterfly and peacock miraculous' actually line up perfectly with the size of the tie.

As I said the butterfly miraculous increases its size quite alot, it would probably cover almost half of the hidden area. But half also indicates that there is still space left and that remaining space is just right for the peacock miraculous

Looking at Natalies design both as her civilian self and as Mayura one can clearly see that the peacock is placed on a lower point as the butterfly.

And I just noticed how brilliantly they included the turtlenecks and "around areas" into her designs. Mayura doesn't need the same "upper space" as Hawkmoth does so she has all of that neck fluff. Whereas with Natalies normal clothing the red shirt area now looks actually "well used" and complete, where formerly it looked quite empty. Not too much to be off putting but seeing the peacock there on her civilian design feels like the missing piece of her design finally was added

But let me come back to this in a second, there is something else I wanna finish up first.

Thinking about the fact that the butterfly miraculous get alot bigger I noticed that it certainly is no coincidence either that Mayuras Miraculous stays the same size

As I showed right at the beginning the activated butterfly would take up so much space that, with taking Gabriels clothing layout into account, the peacock miraculous (as the second one added to his character) wouldn't be allowed to change in size because it wouldn't look visually appealing anymore. So both Natalies and Gabriels civilian designs were modelled from the get - go in a way that the peacock can stay the same size.

But all of this still leaves open some big implications. The way I am showcasing it implies that:

1. Gabriel is going to wear the peacock often and for long enough to justify setting up his character model with it in mind. I was always certain that Shadow Moth is not a combination we will only get to see 1 or 2 times but when I now realize that him wearing the peacock as well is apperently such a crucial aspect of his character arc that they set it up on this scale, I do have to wonder what's the plan here and how it'll correspond to

2. Unlike Gabriels civilian design, Natalies "completed" one including the peacock miraculous straight up implies that she won't be hiding it AT ALL. That's actually the most interesting aspect about this when I think about it. Sure the other miraculous from our heros aren't hidden either but one would think that Natalie would know better than to just wear a peacock pin out in broad daylight at the same spot Mayura does. Especially considering that Gabriel IS going to hide both Miraculous. There needs to be a reason why for it's okay for Natalie when it's so obviously not for Gabriel.

And I might actually have an answer for this

Ever since the Fandom very early caught onto the hints that Emilie was the former peacock miraculous holder a very specific thought came up and kinda stayed with some fans (me included) and I think we actually weren't off with that assumption at all.

The thought im talking about is of course the idea that in "the collector" Adrien didn't reacted to the peacock miraculous because for him it is simply a very dear and special jewelry of his mother. So seeing that his father is keeping it in his safe is not something that should come with much of a surprise. Hence why he didn't.

"But what does this have to do with Natalie?", you might ask and I say it actually could be quite simple at this point.

The show is making no secret out of Gabriel starting to fall in love with Natalie as well. The new york special even had him placing a PINK rose onto Emilies coffin instead of a red one, which as we know from "Weredad" symbolizes a platonic love.

Gabenath is happening (how it'll end is another question tho). With all of the set up and development to this point I actually DO would say that Gabriel will start moving on with Natalie (but will of course stay Hawkmoth and terrorize Paris because his quest has become less and less for his family and more for his own selfish and sadistic ego) which makes her suddenly wearing a peacock pin actually not suspicious at all.

In the eyes of the public and especially ADRIEN it would simply mean that Gabriel has fallen in love again and that Natalie has now reached the level of belonging in the Agreste family that she is now wearing the very special jewelry of Emilie. Bonus points if Adrien gives his blessing for her wearing it as well and ends up being the factor why she wears it from then on all the time because if we are gonna rip his heart out with the reveals, let's at least do it properly

But that still doesn't explain the paradoxical set up of Natalie wearing the miraculous permanently openly and Gabriels model being designed to wear the peacock much more often than we initially thought.

Well this is where I will go once again even deeper into theory land, if your interested in that, read further under the cut:

A possibility here is that Gabriel Miraculous jewelry collection comes into play.

It's an aspect of the show that has hardly been used til now and it would provide a solid solution for the problem. The piece of jewelry Natalie wears draws no suspicion to itself if it's seen at the same time Hawkmoth wears both the butterfly and the peacock.

I definitely don't think Natalie will wear it right from the beginning of the season, it'll most likely come through development and a special dedicated episode. My guess is on the forshadowed Sabine as "Verity Queen" and it'll be a mother's day episode.

Marinette has so much to do because of her duties as Ladybug and guardian that she can't spend the day with her mother because she has to leave constantly, leading Sabine to just want to know what her daughter is doing so important that mothers day isn't important anymore. Cue akumatization. In the same episode I see Adrien (after the Marinette& Sabine reunion scene) really welcoming Natalie as his new mother right up front to her and maybe even taking the peacock pin (his mothers "dear jewelry") out of Gabriels safe to give it to her as a symbol that she's for him his new mother figure.

Prior he would have seen Gabriel with the pin in his hand and thinking which Adrien interprets as "Father is thinking about moving on with Natalie" but as the peacock pin is not just that (and Gabriel refuses (but actually does want to) to move on properly) that interpretation is not quite all of the truth. So Adrien is the one to (ironically) give Natalie the miraculous permanently because even if his father still refuses to move on and take the opportunity to be happy again, that won't stop Adrien from having a new mother. You can have a new mother (figure) without your other parent making the official move first.

This is so sweet and heartbreaking and HORRIBLE at the same time, it’s totally something Miraculous would do! The show never hold back really using the double identities for stark contrast or set up for a brutal pay off (especially with the Agrestes which can only result in a disaster at this point).

Of course this is just one idea, not saying it'll 100% happen like this, it's just a possibility I really really like (Also for Sabine).

"Varity Queen" imo being near the middle of the season Gabriel and Natalie would afterwards definitely need the fake peacock miraculous from Gabriels jewelry line (A fake Peacock IS something said in a tweet a while ago I just can't find it anymore) as a cover up because Natalie will have to/WANT to wear the pin Adrien gave her from then on permanently. So while Gabriel brings chaos as Shadow Moth Natalie wears the fake Miraculous as civilian.

Or... You know...

Since Natalie was the one parent in the forshadow episode "Chat Blanc" who was shown to be genuinely upset and shocked that Adrien turned out to be Chat Noir (whereas Gabriel skyrocketed his cunt level to a new level) and then wasn't to be seen anymore later with Hawkmoth in the fight, maybe after finding out about Adriens identity which is forshadowed like crazy Gabriel thinks he's gonna have to take some... precautions concerning Natalie loyalty since Adrien and her are forming a strong mother/ son bond (while Gabriel himself becomes a more and more horrible father. And Him being the “loving family father who would do anything for his family” is what Natalie loves him for) and he fears Natalie will choose Adrien over him. So a fake Miraculous will definitely come in handy while he can properly hide the real one under his tie (which of course doesn't mean he'll be the one to keep the real Miraculous in the end)

It's a possibility. Something like this is VERY likely to happen in my opinien because I personally can't see how this family tragedy is supposed to end up as anything else than in flames after the reveals (including Adriens and Natalies bond) so this is the way I see their future.

[starlitangels]

Redacted Incorrect Quotes, Pups AU Edition!

Kidnapper, over phone: We have your little sister

Gabriel: Is she glaring at you?

Kidnapper: Yes?

Gabriel: Yeah. You don't have her. She has you *hangs up*

•-•

Micah: That's ridiculous! Gabriel does not have a crush on me!

Natalie: Yes he does

Danny: Yes he does

Gabriel: Yes I do

Micah:

•-•

David, teaching Gabriel to drive: Okay, you're driving and see Natalie and Micah step into the road ahead of you. What do you hit?

Gabriel: Oh, Natalie, definitely. I could never hurt Micah.

David, pinching the bridge of his nose: The *brakes*, Gabriel. You hit the brakes

•-•

*Thud!*

Natalie: What was that?

Gabriel: My shirt fell!

Natalie: It sounded louder than that

Gabriel: I was still in it

•-•

*playing Twister at a sleepover*

Micah: Natalie, right hand red

Natalie: *ends up on top of Danny*

Natalie: You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?

Micah: I stopped spinning 15 turns ago. I'm surprised you didn't notice sooner

•-•

Gabriel: I'm going to be frank with you, here—

Natalie: Can I still be Natalie?

Danny: That's not... what he meant...

Micah: Shhh, let Frank speak

Gabriel: 🙄

•-•

Evelyn: Sometimes I wish I looked more fragile and feminine like a dainty flower but I do enjoy looking like I hate everyone

•-•

Gabriel: How did none of you hear what I just said?

Lily: I’ve been zoned out for the last two and a half hours

Evelyn: I got distracted about halfway through

Natalie: Ignoring you was a conscious decision

•-•

Lily: Jellyfish have existed without brains for 600,000 years

Lily: A ray of hope for Andrew and Justin

•-•

Natalie: Fight me!

Gabriel: What are you gonna do shortstop, kick me in the shin?

*one minute later*

Evelyn, entering the room: Why is Gabriel on the ground holding his leg?

Micah, laughing: Natty kicked him really hard in the shin

•-•

Danny: Did you just refer to a knife as a people-opener?

Micah: Should I not have?

•-•

Danny: I'm not lying on the floor physically, but I am lying on the floor spiritually

Lily: Mood

•-•

Micah: My heart is telling me yes, but Natalie is telling me no

•-•

Gabriel: *screaming* You IDIOT!

Evelyn: *also screaming* I'm sure you're right but why?!

•-•

Danny: I am at a loss for words

Lily, narrating: Despite being at a loss for words, my baby brother proceeded to lecture me for the next 25 minutes

•-•

Gabriel: WHAT DID YOU DO!?

Natalie: Shockingly, none of this.

•-•

Micah: Is there a word that's a mix between sad and angry?

Danny: Disgruntled, malcontented, miserable, desolated

Natalie, snickering: Smad.

•-•

Gabriel: Stop setting things on fire because you're curious about what will happen

Gabriel: What will happen is *fire*!

Evelyn: But what if... something else happen. Jusg this 1 time

•-•

Natalie: Sometimes it physically pains me to hold back my sarcastic remarks

•-•

Natalie: Fact: I can jump higher than any tree

Gabriel: How is that possible?

Natalie: Trees can't jump

Gabriel: *facepalming* I am going to throw you out the window

•-•

Natalie: I'm gonna watch Doctor Who in chronological order of the time period they travel to

Micah: The worst idea I've ever heard. I love it

•-•

Evelyn: Do you think I can fit 15 marshmallows in my mouth?

Gabriel: You’re a hazard to society

Natalie: And a coward. Do 20

•-•

Natalie: How did you even FIT in that box?

Gabriel: Look, Natty, I don't question your mistakes. Please. Just get me out.

•-•

Micah: Why did the chicken cross the road?

Natalie: IDK, why?

Micah: To get to the idiot's house. Knock knock

Natalie: Who's there?

Micah: The chicken

Natalie: ... I won't punch you on one condition

Micah: Okay

Natalie: Go tell that joke to Gabriel

•-•

Lily: I want to be mysterious so bad but I just cannot shut the f*&^ up

•-•

Danny, trying to figure out how to ask Natalie out: Hey Tank? I think I need relationship advice

Darlin': Just because I married Sam doesn't mean I know how I did it

•-•

Danny: Swear words are illegal now. If you say one you'll be fined

Natalie and Micah, in sync: Heck

Danny: You're on thin f*&^ing ice

Danny: Oh no

•-•

Gabriel: Has anybody seen Ev?

Evelyn, lying facedown on the floor: Present

•-•

Micah: Rules are made to be broken!

Gabriel: Nothing is made to be broken, Micah.

Natalie: Glowsticks

Danny: Piñatas

Evelyn: Karate boards

Lily: Spaghetti when you have a really small pot

Micah: Rules!

Gabriel: -_-

•-•

Gabriel: Never break someone's heart. They only have one.

Evelyn: Yeah! Break their bones! They have 206!

•-•

Gabriel: If you kill a killer, the number of killers in the world remains the same

Danny: Kill two?

Natalie: Kill ten.

Micah: Kill all of them!

•-•

Danny: Is anyone else scared?

Micah: Not really. I've already lived longer than I expected

•-•

Gabriel: This can't get any worse

Evelyn: Sure it can. Just give me a minute

•-•

Natalie: Gabriel, we tried things your way.

Gabriel: No we didn't?

Natalie: I did it in my head. It didn't work.

•-•

Micah: I have an idea. But I'm going to need your permission

Natalie: Why do you need my permission?

Micah: Because if I mess it up, I don't want it to be just my fault

[awanderingdeal]

Hello there, Lucy! I really enjoyed the injury aspect of the O'darwin fic, I thought it felt very maturely handled to me. I was wondering if you'd perhaps write a continuation based on the last sentence where he stays busy healing in Gryffindor by spending time with Finn? I respect that you don't take hurt/comfort prompts so I'm very sorry if this is too much angst for you but I was hoping we could see Finn helping his brother through his recovery, please. Thank you!

Hi! Sorry this took so long to do 🙈 This isn't 100% what you asked for, but I hope it is satisfying!

You can read the prequel to this fic here which will provide context.

CW: healing from an injury

Rating: T

Let me know if you think I missed any content warnings or need to change the rating.

All characters and the sweater weather universe belong to @lumosinlove

Alex watched mournfully as the bright yellow ball soared past him again, the muscles in his thighs twitching with desire to chase it. Not even a year ago, he'd have met Natalie's serve easily. “Alright, that’s me out," he sighed, pride swelling in his chest. It was still difficult to temper his competitiveness like, but he’d learned his lesson the last time he’d over - done it. Besides, the berating he’d received off his physio hadn’t been worth the slight smoothing of the dent of his ego. 

"You good?" Finn spun the racket in his hands, hair plastered with sweat against his forehead. By this point Alex had gotten used to his brother's boring stare searching for any hidden ribbons of pain in his face. 

"You know the doc said I’m good to play again as long as I listen to my body. I’m listening. Do you want me to bring you a signed permission slip?” Alex bit back a comment about how Finn was only so concerned, because overstepping his limits was well within his own remit of personality flaws too. 

“Sorry for caring, dickface.” Finn stuck his tongue out and picked up a slow jog across the court to grab the ball. He tapped the edge of his racket appeasingly against Alex’s shoulder as he passed. “Blizz, Nat. You two play. Winner stays on?”

“Sir,” Kasey drawled, knocking the tips of his fingers on his temple in a lazy salute. 

Alex met Natalie's eyes across the net just briefly before their mouths split with a loud laughter. Next to her, Kasey blinked slowly at the two of them, his expression clearly indicating he thought they’d lost their minds. It only served to make them laugh harder until air forced itself out of Alex’s nose in a snort. He clutched his side, the muscles there beginning to complain about the lack of oxygen they were receiving. “Did Finn just possess you?” Alex finally managed to gasp out. 

“You become more of an amalgamation of your team each day, Sugar,” Natalie said, a smile still settled on her lips as she pressed them to Kasey’s cheek. “Now go -" she pushed him away playfully, "- onto the other side. I have a game to win.” 

“I’m influential," Finn grinned.

“You’re something, but influential isn’t the word I would choose." Kasey raised an eyebrow. The ball was thrown in his direction at speed, but he plucked it from the air with ease, Kasey's expression smug as he curled long fingers around it. "Do you want another attempt at that, Harzy."

"Just watch your back, Winter," Finn laughed lightly, showing Kasey his middle finger. 

Kasey snorted. "Well, alright. While Finn perfects his supervillain act, Nat, are you good to play first to ten points?" 

"Sure thing," Natalie nodded, her ponytail bobbing. She snaked her tongue over her lips to wet them and smirked. "Don't worry, I'll go easy on you, babe."

"No you won't," Kasey deadpanned. 

"You're right, I won't, Natalie laughed. Alex loved that laugh; it was almost childlike, loud and unapologetic but warm and inviting, just like the rest of her personality. It made Alex want to laugh when he heard it.

"I get ripped into when I look at my boys like that," Finn said, nudging Alex’s shoulder as they sat on the bench, metal warm against the back of their legs under the unseasonably warm early afternoon sun. 

“Like what?” 

“Like you’re falling in love all over again.” Finn had flung his towel over his shoulder, head tipped back slightly, gulping water from the bottle pressed to his lips. He looked far too nonchalant for the sentence that had just left them. 

“You really should have been a brooding artist," Alex teased. Brooklyn would welcome you with open arms." Finn wasn’t wrong though. Alex seemed to find a new way to fall for Natalie and Kasey every day. 

“And deny the world the joy that is Finn O’Hara on the ice? I think not.” 

“So modest.” Alex nudged Finn this time, taking the opportunity to swipe Finn’s water bottle from his hands. He had his own, but he’d dumped his backpack on the other side of the court. Finn made a weak protest, huffing as he hauled his bag onto his lap, grumbling something unintelligible whilst he dug through it. After a lifetime of living with Finn, Alex had learned not to try to decipher the conversations his brother had with himself, instead drumming a beat against the bench until eventually Finn pulled out a silver pouch, grinning triumphantly.  It looked like the sort of thing you would take on a long hike. Alex peered closer at it. “Is that tuna? Just plain tuna.”

“I’m gonna put hot sauce in it,” Finn said, setting the pouch carefully to the side. He shoved his hand into the front pocket of his bag, seeking out a fork and the aforementioned hot sauce. Alex watched in horrified silence as Finn tore the top of the pouch open to release a waft of fish and dumped an obscene amount of the sauce in there. 

“I -” Alex had so many questions he wanted to ask, except he knew asking them would probably only result in having more questions. “That is so gross.”

“Don’t knock it until you’ve tried it.” 

“I’ll pass, thanks.”

Finn shovelled a forkful into his mouth, smacking his lips together noisy. “More for me.”

Alex was too distracted to respond. Kasey had just won his first point; Natalie having taken the first, and he took the lull in play as an opportunity to remove the thin headband keeping his hair out of his face. He shook out the brunette strands, neck exposed as he stretched to comb his fingers through it. 

"Didn't he do a shampoo commercial like this once?" 

Alex hummed, glancing briefly at Finn before setting his eyes firmly back on the view in front of him. "A while back...think I'd just left for Florida. I watched that thing more times than I care to admit."

He didn't have to look to feel the eyeball directed at him. Alex expected some teasing quip, but Finn's voice came at him concerned. "How are you-”

“My knee is fine, Finn," Alex sighed, a little irritated. He just wanted to enjoy watching Natalie and Kasey play. "Stop fussing, will you? I'm still the big brother here.”

“You know you can be a real bitch sometimes. I was going to ask how you were feeling about everything." Finn leaned forward, hand outstretched and precariously close to Alex's eye. He laughed as Alex leaned back to avoid the digits. 

"Do not put your tuna fingers near my face.” 

"Stop changing the subject," Finn admonished. "Where's your head at? You said last week you were struggling to find stuff to fill your time?"

Alex scratched at the stubble sprouting along his jawline. "God, when did you get so mature? You were knee high last time I checked."

"Alright, old man. 30's really hitting you hard, huh?" Finn dug his fork back into the foil pouch, pouting when it came out empty. "I've got water balloons in my backpack if that makes you feel better. Not full of water, of course."

"Of course," Alex laughed. "Why do you have water balloons in your bag?"

"Harry is coming over tomorrow afternoon and since the weather is a little nicer now -" Finn paused, halfway through crumpling the pouch into a tight ball. "-Hey, I see what you did there. Stop trying to distract me." He finished compressing the ball, cocking his head slightly to look at Alex properly. "You really don't want to talk about it?"

Alex breathed out heavily, slouching back against the bench. "Not today, Finn. Today I just want to enjoy," he gestured vaguely at the court. "But, I promise we'll go for breakfast sometime next week and we can talk."

"I just don't want," Finn started, the opening and closing of his mouth resembling his nickname. "No, you're right. You're a big boy. If you say you're okay then I'm going to believe you. Just...I'm here if you need me, alright?"

Alex sat up pulling Finn into a hug, his brother's arms wrapping tight around him. "I know. I know. I really am doing better, sometimes I just don't want to have the conversation, y'know? Love you, kiddo."

"Don't call me that," Finn grumbled, squeezing Alex tighter one last time before he pulled away. "Love you too."

[words-for-holland]

Happier (3) | T.H.

Summary: Harrison is looking for answers. More unknown text messages and blackmail. A phone conversation takes place. Wait...who’s the new guy?

A/N: Don’t be shy let me know all your theories! Again, thank you for the support on Happier! The story continues!

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

Puzzle

This whole thing was just a giant puzzle that needed to be solved, but the closer one got to solving it, another complication comes around. The story wasn’t clear for anyone, but for Harrison it was a mess. He had so many questions that needed to be answered, so many clues he wish could have been solved at the snap of a finger.

Tom was too lost in himself to even comprehend the puzzling reality, Y/N while also lost in heartbreak had been awefully quiet since she left London, Kate was lying to Harrison, and Natalie had been too friendly with Tom.

Harrison replayed the conversation with Kate over and over again in his mind, trying to remember every little thing she said that night. He knew Kate was aware of something. Her tone said it all.

“Listen I dont know who you are, but if its the same person that sent my best friend a threatening message that she’s better off breaking up with her boyfriend”

“She received a few messages...from Tom.”

“Oh my god.” Harrison said to himself in realization. How could he have been so dim to not recognize what Kate had said in the first place? He paced around as he continued to think it through. But a threat message? Who would send a threat to Y/N? And what did they threaten her with? Tom and Y/N’s relationship has been secretly hidden from the public for as long as they’d been together. No one knew she even existed...right?

For a moment, Harrison stopped in his tracks, thinking of Natalie. Though he quickly shook the idea off. Natalie may have wanted Tom, but she wouldnt go as far as threatening Y/N. He had been friends with her since they went to primary school, and knew she wouldn’t go that far. “Maybe a stalker fan?” He questioned himself. Though he also quickly ruled it out, but something about it just didnt feel right.

In the kitchen, Harrison took out his laptop and started googling Y/N’s name. If her name didn’t show on the News or one of those Tom Holland fan accounts, it would at least answer one theory. As he scrolled through pages and pages, nothing showed up until...he found on account. He logged into the site and browsed the history, realizing it was all about Y/N and Toms life. Not as a couple but seperately. It all seemed too strange. Only very few accounts followed it and yet no other accounts in the world had mentioned Y/N. Harrison quickly shut his laptop when he saw Natalie enter the room.

“Oh don’t mind me just...grabbing a water.” She giggled, making her way to the fridge.

“Hey mate...uh..I guess everyone got hungry at the same time?” Harry asked, a bit surprised to see Harrison and Natalie in the kitchen.

“Yeah. I guess.” Harrison muttered.

“Well aren’t you a ray of sunshine. If i didn’t know I’d say you were the one more affected by the break up then Tom and Y/N themselves.” Natalie commented.

“No. It’s just that I dont think Y/N broke up with Tom just because of some rumors about you and him.” He explained rubbing his face from exhaustion. Natalie’s smile dropped, when she heard Harrison mention his potential theory.

“Well...did you talk to Y/N about it?” Harry asked him, also intrigued by the theory. “Now that I think about it she —“

“Oh come on. Just leave the poor girl alone. Im sure she knew what was best for the both of them. You’ll only make it worse.” Natalie interrupted, taking a sip from her water. “Well since you boys are all talk, Im gonna go find something more worth my while.”

Out of sight and out of mind, Natalie made a quick call about what she heard. “Harrison’s getting suspicious, and so is Harry.”

“Time to clean up then.” The unknown number spoke out before hanging up on Natalie completely.

Meanwhile, Kate had managed to get Y/N out of the apartment and walk the streets of the city. Her heart and spirits were still low, but she appreciated the efforts. Kate and Y/N went around stuffing their faces with crepes and ice cream. It was the cure to any bad days, but it wouldnt have been a Kate and Y/N date if they didn’t hang around the New York Aquarium. It was also the perfect time to crack out what Y/N really knew about the unknown text message, and who was harrassing the both of them. “Look, I know I promised you a stress free outing, but I saw a text from your phone the night you came back home.” Kate confessed.

Y/N’s face became pale almost as if she’d seen a ghost. She knew, and now there was no point in going back. “So you know then.” She says quietly looking at the fishes.

“I only know they threatened you.” Kate states, leaving out that she, herself, was also threatened. Y/N had enough on her plate to worry about, and it wouldn’t be the best time to being up how her message also threatened their friendship. “How long?” She continues.

“Weeks maybe. They started around the time I was fighting with Tom.” Y/N vents, she takes a deep breath before she continues. “Each message was worse than the last. They threatened that if I didnt leave, Tom would lose career, and I...I couldnt do that to him.” Tears were falling slowly, but Y/N was quick to pick them.

“Why didnt you tell him?”

“Yeah, Kate let me just tell him the truth of why I left him because the messages weren’t offensive nor threatening enough. And let’s just assume that the person texting wouldn’t blackmail either of us if they knew I said something. Anyways, maybe it was for the best...I could never fit in his world and those past few months just proved that.” Y/N’s words continue to spill out every fear and thought she had bottled up within her. It felt good..for a moment, but nothing can really erase a heartbreak of losing the one you loved.

As the pair walked through the shark tunnel, Y/N bumped into a tall figure. “Oh my god, Im so sorry...Matt?” she asked in confusion. The moment Y/N looked up into those familiar brown eyes hidden behind the thin glasses, she knew. How could she forget? 

“Y/N? Wow, it’s been so long how are you?” Matt greeted as he wrapped her into a hug. “Kate, it’s good to see you again too.” 

“Yeah, we’re great, just you know...navigating life.” Kate responded to him. “We haven’t seen you since what?  High school?”

Matt smiled and nodded at Kate’s response, his focus remaining on Y/N. He didn’t remember much with Kate back in high school, but Y/N was a different story. They were good friends at the time, always competing in classes, but as junior year rolled by things got awkward. Y/N was falling for Matt while he didn’t return the favor at the time. Though he’d be lying if he didn’t say he may have felt the same at one point, but just never committed. Now all grown up, he didn’t realize how pretty she turned out, but her personality wasn't there. He must have figured something was wrong. After all, a girl with that kind of spunk back in the day, didn't seem like the one to lose hers so easily. “Yeah, look. I know it’s kind of a spur in the moment, but maybe we can all hang out sometime? I’d love to catch up.” 

Kate was all for it, but Y/N felt a tension she wasn’t sure if she wanted to act upon. After all, breaking up with your boyfriend after 2 weeks, because of threatening messages and still loving him deeply, it wasn’t an easy thing to move on from. Then again it’s not like Matt was asking for a date, it was just to catch up after not seeing each other for 6 years. “Uh, maybe. I have to check my schedule, and see when Im free, but I can let you know” Y/N answers him. 

“Great, well..here’s my number, and hopefully I hear from you guys. I gotta get back to my brother, so hope to see you around.” he quickly says as he walks away. 

“Wow. Matt Brynne, who would have guessed?” Kate says, breaking the silence. 

“I know...Funny I used to be so head over heels with him at the time, and now I barely feel a thing.” 

“Well yeah, cause you still love...you-know-who.” she teases, though it probably wasn't the best time to be making that type of joke with everything going on.

“And I don't think I’ll ever stop.” Y/N mutters to herself. As Y/N and Kate make their way forward, Kate’s phone began to vibrate. 

Unknown

Set up a date and take a picture of Y/N and that boy you posted on your insta story. Or Y/N finds out the truth about what you did. XOXO

Kate looked up as she cursed herself, realizing she forgot to keep her story private. It was supposed to be a harmless post of old friends reuniting and now the unknown number has used it as blackmail. It would have been easy to find the culprit, but her view count was up in the thousands with unfamiliar faces. It’s what she gets after gaining a decent following on TikTok. Kate couldn’t let Y/N know what she did, and she’d make sure she would hide that truth from her for as long as she can. “Hey, Y/N...I think we should hit up Matt.” she says, running after her best friend. 

At the same time, another texted popped from Y/N’s phone. She picked up thinking it might have been a group chat with her close friends, but it was from the only person who could make her heart flutter and break simultaneously. 

Tom

I can’t stop thinking about you. About us. I still love you. 

Y/N almost called him..almost, but she knew better. She couldn’t...not unless she wanted to continue to hurt each other. 

Meanwhile, back in London, Harrison was ready to come clean to Tom about what he’d found out. He watched as Tom finished typing on his phone, and throwing it on the side of the bed, rubbing his face. This was the new normal. Tom being alone in the dark, reflecting on his sadness and exhaustion. Only stepping out when needed and keeping up smiles for appearances. 

It was then Harrison was ready to knock on the door, when his phone received a notification.

Unknown

Don’t even think about it. Or I’ll make sure you and your lads careers are over for good.

Harrison sighed deeply, as he put his phone down, and walked away. Until he came to a most probable conclusion. “Natalie.” he says anger. “I should have fucking known.” At this point he no longer cared, about who she was before and how they were friends. The timing of it all seemed too perfect. Her arrival, the eavesdropping, the flirting. It had to be her but with what proof other than unknown numbers and good timing? Another part of him feared...what if it wasn't her?

Meanwhile, Tom was still unaware of what was really happening behind his door, but he did know, he had to take a chance now and try to contact her instead of sending these useless messages. In the moment, he showed no signs of regret, only praying Y/N would pick up so he could hear her voice. 

“Tom?” Y/N answers hesitantly.

Tom closes his eyes, as he takes in her soft and gently voice. “Y/N.” he speaks softly into the phone. 

Taglist:

@hollanddolanfangirl​ @ifilosemyselfagain @hevjadams @averyfosterthoughts​ @fangirl-with-a-mission @drishtisikarwar @eridanuswave​ @ifntelyinspirit​ @trumpettay @astridcommings

[choquejuergas]

sally rooney, beautiful world where are you

“reading the book again now gives me such a strange sensation. was i really like that once? a person capable of dropping down into the most fleeting of impressions, and dilating them somehow, dwelling inside them, and finding riches and beauty there. apparently i was — ‘for a couple of hours, but i am not that person’. i wonder whether the book itself, the process of writing the book, caused me to live that way, or whether i wrote because o wanted to record that kind of experience as it was happening. i’ve tried to remember what was going on in my life at the time, in case that might help me to understand. i know i was twenty-three, i had just started working at the magazine, you and i were living together in that horrible flat in the liberties, and kate was still in dublin, and tom, and aoife. we went out to parties together, we had people over for dinner, we drank too much wine, we got into arguments. sometimes simon would call me on the phone from paris so we could complain to each other about work, and while we were laughing, i would hear natalie in the background putting away plates in the kitchen. all my feelings and experiences were in one sense extremely intense, and in another sense completely trivial, because none of my decisions seemed to have any consequences, and nothing about my life —the job, the apartment, the desires, the love affairs — struck me as permanent. i felt anything was possible, that there were no doors shut behind me, and that out there somewhere, as yet unknown, there were people who would love me and admire me and want to make me happy”

“and at the same time i was thinking of simon, the mystery of him, and somehow as i looked out the taxi window i started to think about his physical presence in the city, that somewhere inside the city’s structure, standing or sitting, holding his arms one way or another, dressed or undressed, he was present, and dublin was like an advent calendar concealing him behind one of its million windows"

“but do you ever experience a sort of diluted, personalised version of that feeling, as if your own life, your own world, has slowly but perceptibly become an uglier place? or even a sense that while you used to be in step with the cultural discourse, you’re not anymore, and you feel yourself adrift from the world of ideas, alienated, with no intellectual home? maybe it is about our specific historical moment, or maybe it’s just about getting older and disillusioned, and it happens to everyone”

“it makes me feel that rather than worrying and theorising about the state of the world, which helps no one, i should put my energy into living and being happy. when i try to picture for myself what a happy life might look like, the picture hasn’t changed very much since i was a child — a house with flowers and trees around it, and a river nearby, and a room full of books, and someone there to love me, that’s all. just to make a home there, and to care for my parents when they grow older. never to move, never to board a plane again, just to live quietly and then be buried in the earth. what else is life for?”

“this i suppose is what the enlightenment philosophers meant by aesthetic judgement, and it corresponds rightly enough to the kind of experience i’ve had with certain works of visual art, passages of music, scenic vistas, and so on. i find them beautiful, and their beauty moves me and gives me a pleasurable feeling. i agree that the spectacle of mass consumerism marketed to us as ‘beauty’ is in reality hideous and gives me none of the aesthetic pleasure i get from, e.g., sunlight  falling through leaves, or the ‘demoiselles d’avignon’, or ‘kind of blue’. but i’m inclined to ask: who cares? even if we suppose that the beauty of ‘kind of blue’ is in some sense objectively superior to the beauty of a chanel handbag, which philosophically speaking is a lot of ground to give, why does it matter? you seem to think that aesthetic experience is, rather than merely pleasurable, somehow important. and what i want to know is: important in what way?”

“for you and me it’s harder, because we can’t seem to shake the conviction that nothing matters, life is random, our sincerest feelings are reducible to chemical reactions, and no objective moral law structures the universe. it’s possible to live with those convictions, of course, but not really possible, i don’t think, to believe the things that you and i say we believe. that some experiences of beauty are serious and others trivial. or that some things are right and others wrong. to what standard are we appealing? before what judge do we argue our case? i’m not trying to tear you down, by the way — i occupy what i suspect is exactly your position. i can’t believe that the difference between right and wrong is simply a matter of taste or preference; but i also can’t bring myself to believe in absolute morality, which is to say, in god. this leaves me in a philosophical nowhere place, lacking the courage of my convictions on both sides. i can’t have the satisfaction of feeling that i serve god by doing right, and yet the idea of doing wrong disgusts me”

“outside, the air stirred the trees, sifted its cool breath over their faces. they climbed into the car together. lola pressed her nose to the window and left a tiny circle of powder on the glass. the church was squat and grey with long thin stained-glass windows, rose-coloured and blue and amber. as they entered, the electric organ played, the scent of incense touched them, damp and fragrant, and the rustle of cloth, the creaking of pews, as everyone stood and watched them processing together up the polished aisle”

“they looked at one another for a long moment without moving, without speaking, and in the soil of that look many years were buried”

“it’s making me think about what you wrote in your email about beauty, and how difficult it is to believe that beauty could be important or meaningful when it’s just random. but it brings some pleasure into life, doesn’t it? you don’t need to be religious to appreciate that, i believe”

“and the house around them quiet and solid with its nailed-down floorboards, with its bright burnished tiles in the candlelight. and the gardens dim and silent. the sea breathing peacefully outside, breathing its salt air through the windows. to think of alice living here. alone, or not alone. she was standing at the countertop then, serving the crumble out into bowls with a spoon. everything in one place. all of life knotted into this house for the night, like a necklace knotted at the bottom of a drawer”

“slowly the breath of the sea drew the tie out away from the shore, leaving the sand flat and glimmering under the stars. the seaweed wet, bedraggled, crawling with insects. the dunes massed and quiet, dune grass smoothed by the cool wind. the paved walkway up from the beach in silence now under a film of white sand, the curved roofs of the caravans glowing dimly, parked cars huddled dark on the grass. then the amusements, the ice cream kiosk with its shutter pulled down, and up the street and into town, the post office, the hotel, the restaurant. the sailor’s friend with its doors closed, stickers on the windows illegible. the sweeping headlights of a single car passing. rear lights red like coals. further up the street, a row of houses, windows reflecting the streetlights blankly, bins lined up outside, and then the cost road out of town, silent, empty, trees rising through the darkness. the sea to the west, a length of dark cloth. and to the east, up through the gates, the old rectory, blue as milk. inside, four bodies sleeping, walking, sleeping again. on their sides, or lying on their backs, with the quilts kicked down, through dreams they passed in silence. and already now behind the house the sun was rising. on the back walls of the house and through the branches of the trees, through the coloured leaves of the trees and through the damp green grasses, the light of dawn was sifting. summer morning. cold clear water cupped in the palm of a hand”

[random-writes-blog]

Finding Natalie chapter 1: For the record I’m working on self improvement.

Judith sighed and rubbed her temples. She'd just finished reading the 16 questions left over from her last conversation with Jace. Every word had been so heart achingly familiar, a wave of emotions had crashed through her skull the minute she'd seen the email at the top of her inbox, which she was pretty certain was why she now had this godforsaken headache.

She wanted that to be it. For those final 16 questions to make them both feel content enough to finally give them both satisfaction and let them truely move on. But something still didn't feel right, there was still a piece missing in the puzzle of their relationship. She put her head on her desk and groaned, why couldn't life be just a little simpler? For once? Please?

She turned her head and spotted it in the corner of her eye, alongside the rest of the things she'd forgotten to put away or throw out was a spiral notebook. Her eyes widened and she skittered over to it and quickly picked it up. The cover said 'The Record Volume 1' and her stomach did a series of terrifying trapeze acts. This was what she'd used after leaving her iphone wuth Jace. It was primitive but functional, covered with miscilanious stains. Which was an inevitable when you carry around something that can't be cleaned with you everywhere.

She gripped the page in her hand, thin and slightly damp with condensation. The ink on the pages was only legible enough for her to read. But that would be enough for now. It was time to look back.

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

For the record it's 3 am. I bought a bottle of wine and ice cream and am sitting in the same hotel that Jace ran from me from a few hours ago. Hence the wine. It's been 4 hours since I decided to start working on myself. I feel good about this, it's not like I'm a total failure and all. I have a job waiting for me back home. I should get a cat or something lean into the idea that I might have just left my only chance at real happiness and might be alone forever.

Great.

For the record I'm out of wine. I'm going for a drive, maybe I'll get caught for drunk driving. That would be a fitting end to the day.

For the record I didn't get arrested. I think the fresh air really helped to clear my mind. I don't need Jace. I'm not some damsel who bases her self worth completely on her husband, how pathetic would that be? I'm a strong women, I drove halfway around the country multiple times by myself. I don't need someone else to define me and I'm better off without someone who doesn't want me.

Granted no one's ever wanted me.

What's there to want?

I am not sober enough right now or maybe I need to sleep and that's why I'm so all over the place. I'll continue my thoughts in the morning, or maybe whenever I have time.

[puckngrind]

Roommates: Chapter 3

Warning: poly-ish relationship, swearing

This is written slightly different than Chapter 1 and Chapter 2.  Hope you all like it.

Time frame All-Star Break

Josh tried to wrap you up in his strong arms but nothing was easing your mind about the phone that he kicked off the bed. You are pretty sure he tried to break it to not deal with the situation.

"Josh, could you please let me go and tell me what the hell is going on?" You try to pull away from his chest to look at his face. You could enough to notice the full range of emotions he was trying to hide but you knew him and he couldn't hide it from you.

"I need to figure out what to do. I need to make a call. Can you just jump in the shower and meet me on the couch okay?" Josh kissed your forehead and you nodded in agreement. Josh slid out of bed, picked up your phone quickly. His eyes shifted to the iPad on the dresser. "Yeah, I'll be taking that too Babe." His smirk appeared for a second and you threw your body down on the bed in defeat.

_____JOSH_____

"How the fuck did she get tagged Murr?" His voice was low but tense while pacing the kitchen checking to see if (y/n) was following his direction.

"I don't know Andy, but she was and we need to untag her now!" Ryan was remarkably calm sounding. Josh picks up (y/n)’s phone and types in the code.  “What are you doing?  You need to talk.”

“I’m untagging her.  And I’m gonna need you to restrict your tags NOW.”  Josh rubbed the back of his neck remembering when a crazed fan made him do the same a few years prior.

The post he was staring at painful to see.  (Y/n)’s bracelet in clear view as someone snapped a picture of him at Forno then with Ryan from a tagged pic in North Market, and sitting with some of the Lady Jackets at a game this season.  In her typical position of legs up and arms folded across her knees.   The caption: Is @ (y/n username) just a friend, a roommate, or more?  Who has the deets?

The ballsy instagram account was known to stir the pot with all NHL players.  Josh was thankful Columbus was a small enough market and that he kept under radar.  Here and there they would try to link a girl to him but without proof it died.  This.  The connection of (y/n)’s bracelet was damning.  “Fuck!”  Josh finally broke the silence.

“Andy, we are fine.  This isn’t going to effect anything.  I’ll be back in a day and we can talk about it before the team party.”

“And what the fuck do you want me to tell her, huh?”  Josh barked.

“Just tell me please.”  (y/n)’s voice was small sounding compared to the yelling in Josh’s head saying his world was about to come crashing down.

“I’m facetiming you.”  Ryan stated and there he was on the screen.  “(Y/n), I’m not sure why this happened....”  he started.  

“And we already untagged all of us and moved you to private.”  Josh chimed in and wraps his arm around (y/n) while holding the phone so Ryan could see her face.

“Wait?  What?”  (y/n)’s voice squeaked out.  “I’m in photos with the two of you...and we were tagged?”  The color in her cheeks fully gone and Josh wanted to take it all away with a kiss but he just squeezed.

The boys spent the next few moments letting her look at the pictures, the comments, and then (y/n) retreated to the couch to create a blanket cocoon.

“I’m sorry doesn’t even cut it, Baby.”  Josh sits close enough but intentionally giving space.  (Y/n) leans into him and the sigh of relief that she wasn’t super mad at him was audible.

“You didn’t do anything J.  I just...I mean...I don’t.”  Tears formed and fell without warning but in a sense of knowing, Josh leaned down to kiss at them away.

“Let’s just order breakfast in and watch movies all day okay?”  Her head hardly moved but he took it as yes.

_____RYAN_____

“You okay man?”  Alex looked up at Ryan in the living space of their beach rental.

“No, something at home came up.  I’m going to catch a flight today.  I’m gonna pack but I’ll see you at the team party this week.”  Ryan didn’t even look up from his flight itinerary.

“Home home or Columbus home?”  Alex’s voice sounded concerned.

“Columbus.”  And with that Ryan retreated to his room to grab his things.

The flight seemed like eternity and he flipped through every group photo with (y/n) in it to see if anyone could see more than a bunch of friends hanging out.  He scrolled through (y/n)’s instagram looking for anymore pictures of her bracelet that she never took off.  It was in almost every picture where you could see her wrist.  Ryan rubbed the bridge of his nose and willed the plane to fly faster.

He opened the door and dropped his bag.

“Holy shit!”  Josh’s voice was groggy and Ryan’s attention shot to the couch.  He could see (y/n) under her favorite blanket nestled into Josh’s chest.  

“Sorry.  I thought you would be in bed.  She okay?”  Ryan made his way to the couch and sat next to them.  

“I don’t know actually.  She seems fine then a tear will appear out of thin air.  She hasn’t even asked to see her phone.  I got a text from her mom asking if she was home or if I’d seen her.  I told her she wasn’t feeling well and hadn’t picked up her phone.  Hopefully that didn’t send up too many red flags.”  Josh looked down at (y/n) and then back to Ryan.

“Let’s get her to bed, kay?”  Ryan popped up and scooped (y/n) up then headed to her room.  He took in her facial features while walking.  Her face seemed slightly blouchy but nothing saying she cried all day.  She whimpered a bit when he sat her down.  Josh was right behind him.  “I’m going to change but I’ll be back.”

_____JOSH_____

“We don’t have to go (y/n).  Right, Ryan?”  Not going would looks super suspicious.  

“Maybe you two should go and I’ll just stay home and order in.”  (Y/N) raised her head from the couch cushion.  “I’m not a WAG or a teammate...not sure WHY I should go to the team party anyway?”  Josh’s look at Ryan was one that needed no words.  (Y/n)’s mood about the post went from random tears to everything is fine to well I’m not a girlfriend in anyone’s eyes so who fucking cares in the course of two days.  

“We are going and I’m not taking no for an answer.”  Ryan was firm and didn’t even address her self-deprecating statement.  “We are ALL going.  We are ALL taking a Lyft together.  We are ALL going to do this thing just like we always do.”

“Yeah, what he said.”  Josh half chuckled which made (y/n) slightly smile.  “Now will you get your ass up and change into something besides my sweats please?  We need to get going.”

The ride over was silent for the most part expect Ryan’s small talk with the driver from the front seat.  Cam and Natalie’s house wasn’t far from downtown thankfully.  The trio slipped in and almost immediately separated.  (y/n) found the drinks and a chair to sit in that was awkward enough that no one would approach her really.  Josh mumbled to himself watching her actions wishing he could sweep her up and kiss that mood away.  

“We need to fucking talk friend.”  Seth leaned into Josh.  Without turning around he nodded and headed towards the front steps.  Both men sat down.  Seth looked around before looking at Josh.

“How was the Bahamas?” Josh started.

“Fine and we missed you but that’s not what I want to talk about.”  Seth had his going to be captain one day voice on and Josh knew exactly what was coming next.  “Look, I’ve known there has been something going on with you and (y/n) for some time now beyond roommates but I also see the way Murr looks at her.”  Seth grabbed Josh’s knee.  “I’m just worried about you Andy.”

“Thanks but I’m fine.”  Josh left it at that hoping Seth would make his opinions known and leave it be.

“No you aren’t.  You aren’t fine and I can see it.  You forget how well I know you.  How much time we spend together on and off the ice.”  Seth took a deep breath.  “Just tell me this, do you love her?”  Josh nods in agreement and puts his face in his hands.  “Does she know you love her?”  

“Yes.”  His voice sounded foreign with the simple word.

“Do you like sharing her?” Seth’s words stung and Josh felt it.

“What are you idiots doing out here?” Luc comes around the corner.

“Just catching up from break.”  You would never know by the way Seth said it that he dropped a bomb as big as Hiroshima on Josh’s heart seconds before.

_____RYAN_____

“(Y/n), come play Kan Jam with me?”  He reached out his hand.

“No, I’m good.  Natalie is frosting cookies with the kids so I’m going to help with that in a sec.  Go play with Wenny.”  (y/n) pointed out the window to where Felicia and Alex were setting up the cans to play.  Ryan brushed his knuckles across her’s before retreating to the back yard.

“Muuuuurrrrr!  You going to play with us?”  Felicia squealed.  

“Sure.”  Ryan shrugged and flashed a smile that was missing something and Felicia seemed to catch it.  

“Give us a minute Babe.”  She held up a finger and pulled Ryan towards the back of the yard.

“What was that for?”  Ryan acted like he was clueless on why she just over powered him to talk where no one could hear.

“Talk. Now!”  She crossed her arms and tapped her foot.  Eyebrow raised looking dead into Ryan’s eyes.  He just stood there.  “Okay.  I’ll talk.  I follow (y/n) and you AND JOSH on Instagram.  I’m not stupid.  She was tagged in a very interesting post.  What the Fuck Ry?”  Felicia wasn’t holding anything back.  “I know Alex didn’t see it but I’m not guaranteeing anyone else on the team didn’t.”

“Okay?  Roommates cannot hang out?”  Ryan quickly replied.

“Tjurskit!”  She shouted.

“Canadian here Felicia!”  Ryan pointed at this face.

“Ok, well I call bull shit.”  The corner of her mouth turned up.  “And here is why...” holding up her fingers to count.  “You never agree to the dates I try to set you up on.  You come to couple events with our friends alone.  You lead her out by the small of her back.  You don’t look at her like a roommate but someone you are sleeping with.”

“It’s more than that.”  Ryan whispered kicking at the grass.

“WHAT?”  Felicia pulls his face up with the fingers she was just counting with.

“I love her.  I’m in love with her.  She’s the one and I’m stuck.”  Ryan cannot believe the words that came out of his own mouth.  He’s kept that under lock and key for the good part of a year without even telling his sister who assumed there was more to the relationship besides friendship.

“Stuck Ry?  How?  Is that post true?  What is going on?  If she’s your girlfriend just come out and say it. “

“It’s just complicated...okay?” Ryan exhaled.

[seerofmike]

Incompatible

pairing: bubblysparks / wattson x rampart 

word count: 2,371

rating: t

tags: beach day, a continuation of yesterday’s soulmate au prompt, background/implied relationships 

summary: Everyone else is enjoying themselves at the beach except for Natalie, who is still reeling from finding out who her soulmate is

i ended up splitting it into parts instead of 1 whole fic! day 3 of rarepair week, part 2 of the bubblysparks saga! 

reblogs> likes

read on ao3

OR

below

Natalie adjusted her sun hat, trying to block the bright rays from shining directly in her eyes. She heard a distant whoop of ‘cannonball!’ followed by a shout of ‘SILVA!’ When she looked over, she saw that Octavio had leapt from the very cliff he’d been told not to jump from, and now he was pulled onto Makoa’s surfboard, missing one leg.

“It should float back up,” the man was saying. “I wore the waterproof ones today.”

The leg never appeared, and Octavio had to be taken back to shore where he sat, arms crossed and pouting.

Natalie approached him, stepping carefully onto the towels and blankets laid over the sand, as she hated the feeling of it beneath her feet, before crouching next to him with a smile.

“Would you like to build a sandcastle?” She asked kindly.

“No way, José,” he complained. “I wanted to dive.”

Natalie frowned down at his swimming vest. “But...would this not make you float?”

“Yeah,” Octavio said. “I can’t swim.”

Natalie was very confused, but she was used to feeling that way around him. She sat back on her haunches and looked at everyone else enjoying themselves.

Elliott was sunbathing on a yellow towel, arms folded behind his head and hair wrapped up to protect it from the sun's harsh rays. Crypto was reading a book beneath the shade of an umbrella, the hood of his sleeveless hoodie drawn up as he fiddled with his puzzle cube in his free hand.

Ajay, Anita, Wraith, and Pathfinder were all tossing a ball around in the water while Loba floated on her back, somehow managing to stay above the waves without seeming bothered. This place wasn’t very good for surfing, but Makoa seemed content all the same to swim out into the sea on his board, little more than a speck in the distance.

She twisted her head around, looking for the remaining few Legends, but suddenly Octavio started crawling away from her, heading in Elliott and Crypto’s direction.

“Where are you going?” She asked, curious.

“I’m gonna convince Crypto to let me bury him in the sand. Later, chica.”

Realizing that she had been left alone, Natalie looked over at the others again and considered joining in their game—Wraith looked like she was having fun for once, and she wanted to be a part of that experience!

But then a pile of clothes landed beside her, causing her to startle, and she heard a familiar voice drawl,

“Alright, mates, the real star of today’s beach episode is here.”

Sighing, Natalie glanced behind her to see Ramya approaching, ponytail fluttering in the window. She was somewhat surprised to see what she still had her nose and bellybutton piercings in—wouldn’t those get irritated in the water?—but she chose not to voice this out loud.

The girl made a beeline for the water, but she came to a full halt when she was submerged up to her calves, before turning around and looking directly at Natalie.

“C’mon, Miss Paquette,” Ramya said, and she wasn’t so sure as to why she kept calling her that when she had a crude nickname for everyone else. “Fancy a swim?”

Natalie scowled, rubbing at her inner wrist as she watched Ramya cackle before purposefully kicking water in Elliott’s direction, earning a shriek. Those words seemed especially mocking right now, as she was sure that Ramya had figured out that that was what was written on her skin.

Natalie had wanted to join in their game before, but as soon as she realized that Ramya was too, she resigned herself to sitting alone on the beach. Drawing her knees up to her chest, she watched the others have fun, and felt rather left out—which was ridiculous, she knew, because she had chosen to be by herself. But still...

Loba soon got out of the water, wrapping a towel around herself and winking at Natalie on her way to the beach house; a reward they'd been given been given for reaching the end of yet another Apex season.

Anita soon followed after her, saying that she had important things to do, and she watched Ajay and Ramya exchange knowing smirks at these words. She didn’t really get why, though.

“Oi, Nat,” Ajay called, and she waved her hand in response. “Come and join us, now. Have some fun!”

“We’re at a bit of a disadvantage with these two,” Ramya said, pointing at Pathfinder and Wraith. “Cheaters, is what they are.”

“I am simply tall!” Pathfinder said cheerfully.

“Doesn’t change the fact that Wraith somehow always knows where the ball’s going to go!”

The older woman didn’t even say anything—just smiled.

Natalie sighed, considering her options for a moment. Crypto was still reading his book, though he was now lying flat on his back as Octavio covered his legs in sand. Elliott was still sunbathing but he was now laying on his stomach, and...

A shadow loomed over her, and when Natalie looked up, she saw Dr. Caustic approaching the group with several vials in hand. Natalie stood up quickly and backed away from him, and without even looking at her, he gruffed, “I’m taking water samples.”

Wanting to get as far away from him as possible, she glanced between the beach house and the water nervously, before turning on her heel and heading up the sandy slope.

“Oh, I wouldn’t go inside, if I were you!” Ajay called, and Natalie gave a frustrated huff, whirling around.

“Why not?”

“Just trust me.”

Natalie bit on her tongue, considering all of her other options—even the ones she didn't particularly care for—before letting out a sigh of defeat and marching herself over to the water, still making sure to not step on the hot sand directly. Ramya let out a whoop as she waded in, and Wraith greeted her with a smile.

“Alright, ladies,” Ramya said, holding the ball up high. Aside from Pathfinder, she was the tallest person playing. “Let’s give ‘em a game to remember.”

Natalie frowned, feeling like this was a dig at their opponents’ personal issues—but then Ramya tossed the ball up and hit it towards Wraith, who had backed up before it had even gone into the air. She returned it swiftly, and it barreled right between Natalie and Ajay.

The only reason Natalie did not immediately try to intercept it was because she wasn’t so sure about the rules of the game—was she supposed to keep hitting it, or could she catch the ball and then pass it like Ramya had?—and decided that she would observe the others playing before trying to do much.

The ball went back and forth between their two teams, and by the time Pathfinder had bopped it towards her, she felt confident enough to reach high into the air and try to it hit back—but Ramya leaned over, effortless due to her height, and smacked it out of the way.

Natalie looked over at her, slightly offended that she had not been given the chance to get the ball, but Ramya simply winked and clicked her tongue at her, the sun glinting off of her nose ring.

This happened twice more—if the ball came in her direction and Ramya was near enough, she would reach over and intercept it before Natalie could even raise her arms, and soon enough she was frustrated.

The wind blew towards them and nearly swept her sun hat away, but Ramya reached over and caught it, pressing it down on her head to keep it steady with a “Whoops, don’t need to pollute the sea more than we already have.”

“Do not touch me,” Natalie snapped at her, and then immediately felt bad for being rude when the other girl threw her hands up in defense.

They continued their game, and Wraith sent the ball soaring over her head. She tried to jump and catch it, but it splashed into the water behind her, and some of it got into her eyes.

Feeling close to crying because of the burning sensation, Natalie waded out of the water, trying to resist the urge to rub furiously at her face to get it to stop. Because she couldn’t quite see where she was going, she ended up stepping directly onto the hot sand, and let out a frustrated sob as she felt it between her toes—rough and burning and unpleasant. 

She heard the others calling after her, but she needed some time alone, needed a moment to cool off—so she stepped carefully onto the towels again as she made her way up to the beach house, hoping that nobody would follow after her.

She heard the shower running, so she did her best to flush the sea water out of her eyes using the sink after placing her hat on the counter. Natalie braced her hands against the cool edge of the sink, taking deep breaths as she tried to calm herself down.

There’s no need to act like a child, she told herself, brushing a stray tear out of the corner of her eye. The spider-webbing scar on the left side of her face seemed to burn after so much time in the sun, so she turned to the fridge to pull out some ice, hoping that it would cool her off.

When she turned around, she yelped and nearly dropped the frozen water bottle she’d grabbed—Ramya stood there, wearing her sunhat, which couldn’t sit right on her head due to her ponytail, but she didn’t seem to mind.

“Just checkin’ up on you, Miss Paquette,” Ramya said, and procured a thin box from seemingly nowhere. “Want a chew?”

“No,” Natalie said stiffly, and fought back the urge to demand for her hat back. “...Why do you keep calling me that?”

Ramya raised an eyebrow—the slit one—unimpressed. “Is that not your name?”

“Yes, but.” Natalie took a deep breath, trying to gather all of her thoughts into one cohesive narrative, before saying, “You call everyone else by nicknames. Rude nicknames. You’ve even called me Watty—so why the sudden change towards Miss Paquette?”

“It’s cuz it’s easy,” Ramya retorted with a grin. “Sounds a bit like my name, so that way I always remember it.”

Natalie squinted at her, trying to figure out if this was another one of her jokes, before asking, "And why did you keep stealing the ball from me?"

"I didn't steal anything. You kept avoidin' it, so I figured you just didn't want to hit it 'nd did you a favor." Ramya crossed her arms, cocking one hip out as she continued, "I can add it to ya tab if you're so ungrateful."

More annoyance flared up insider her and she clenched her fists, trying to find the politest way to tell the girl to leave her alone, when Ramya suddenly sighed, deflating before her very eyes.

“'M sorry if I’m going about this all wrong,” she said, and for the first time Natalie detected an undercurrent of...something in her voice that wasn’t sarcasm.

"And I..." Natalie mumbled, averting her gaze. "Am sorry if I have been rude."

“It's just...I never thought I’d meet my soulmate so early, ya know? Thought I’d be six feet under and meet them in whatever afterlife the universe gives me—never expected ya to be here.”

Natalie rubbed at the skin on her inner wrist, trying not to feel guilty for the way she’d been reacting to the other girl, but she couldn’t help it. She was just...loud. And rude.

But not to everyone else, apparently. They all thought she was funny, and seemed to love her. What was Natalie missing out on? What could the others see that she was unable to? Had she not given her enough of a chance?

“But I get that you don’t care for me,” Ramya sighed, turning her back on her. “It’s whatever. No use cryin' over spilled beer, or however the dumb saying goes.”

Natalie watched her leave, and felt, for the first time, the urge to follow after her and talk to her. But she hesitated, and by the time she made up her mind, the other girl was long gone, probably returning to their game.

Sighing, Natalie went to sit on the couch, but froze when she saw Loba standing outside the bathroom, toweling her hair and looking amused.

���Trouble in paradise?” She cooed, and Natalie’s face flushed. “Understandable, dear. Anita and I had lots of tension to work through before we—”

“Leave the kid alone, Loba,” Anita cut her off, exiting the bathroom as well, before giving Natalie a look much more gentle than the one she was accustomed to receiving in the Ring. “Don’t force yourself into it if you’re not ready, Nat. Parekh’s a good girl, I can tell you that, but I get that she’s not your...”

“Type?” Loba supplied.

“You’re not very compatible is what I’m saying,” Anita finished, giving Loba another look.

“Merci,” Natalie mumbled quietly, holding the cold water bottle up to her burning face as she seated herself on the couch. “I...have a lot to think about.”

The older women went to go sit on the patio, and Natalie watched them through the windows, the sun starting to set over the sea and painting the sky blood orange. It reminded her a lot of Ramya's suit that she wore in game, and she let out yet another sigh, carding her fingers through her hair.

Perhaps...Natalie had judged her too soon.

[loveylangdon]

What’s Clickbait again? pt. 2

Shawn Mendes x David Dobrik x Reader

Story Summary: You’re dating Shawn Mendes but was in a long term relationship with David Dobrik and met Shawn through a collab David was supposed to have with him. David is now collabing with Shawn finally and finds out you’re dating the pop sensation.

Thank you guys for requesting a part 2 and for the nice dms and comments it means a lot. Xx I wrote this in between my lectures, so its a little bit shorter than the first one, just leading up to what everyone wants haha. Sorry for leaving it continuously on cliff hangers it's just fun that way. This has been floating around in my head so thank you for letting my ideas float around here. 

*NOT MY GIF credit to owner*

_____________ 

Leaving Natalie and trying to get away from the stupid laugh that seems to be haunting you, You find Shawn in a room with Andrew and a camera crew. Shawn spots you immediately and blows a kiss in your direction, and turns back to the camera. Apparently, today wasn’t a video shooting day it was just getting promo done for the potential videos Shawn will be filming. 

Shawn’s currently standing in front of a neon Youtube logo being dorky and they’re just eating away at his cuteness. If there was one time his dorkyness comes in handy it will be now. Leaning against the doorway Andrew comes up to you.

“Hey y/n is everything okay? Shawn told me you saw Natalie in the hallway? He also wanted me to give you this” Andrew hands you a paper and your eyebrows furrow 

“What is this?,” you take the paper looking over it with names “Yah I'm fine just confused if Shawn’s not shooting today why are their PA’s running around, I was just surprised” I sighed looking up at Andrew. He's always been a dad figure and he helped Shawn and me through a lot always keeping our best interests at heart. 

He gives you a half smile “That paper is the potential collaborations they want Shawn to do” now it's his turn to sigh, “I told them we’re not working with any of Jacks clients but...” My eyes immediately go to the paper. 

David Dobrik is at the top of the list with a star along with, Jeff Wittek and Josh Peck, Cody Ko is also on here with Kian & JC and a couple of other people Jack Reed manages. 

“I mean it makes sense Jack is the biggest youtube manager in the game, you can't be mad at his talent” I sigh again. 

Before Andrew can say anything I cut him off. 

“Does he get to pick?” I look up at Andrew there is already a couple of names with stars by their names and by the writing, I know Shawn picked a couple and crossed out more. I snorted noticing James Charles name is crossed out along with the Paul brothers. 

“He didn’t pick officially he wanted you to help him pick some, He wants to do a video with Josh Peck for sure, Steveo, even though I don't know how that would work he can’t break anything so I'm willing to compromise and have the Dolan Twins, He requested us to get in contact with Crawford Collins, Kian & Jc are a go and he also said, Zac Efron but he needs 8 collaborations to fulfill the contract he needs 3 more is Steveo doesn’t work out” 

“Let me talk to him” I look back at the paper “I know who you want, a collaboration with David” I look at Andrew and he looks guilty 

“It just makes sense the king of youtube and the prince of pop? The fans would go crazy”

“Let me talk to him okay before you go and ask him, Also put a star by Jeff Wittek’s name for me please” I smile and hand Andrew back the paper, making my way to my dork of a boyfriend who is screaming at the camera. 

As soon as Shawn sees me get closer he asks to take a break. The filming crew complies and they announce a lunch break. 

“Hey Princess, how are you feeling?” Shawn asks as he walks up to me and reached for a hug, his cheek resting on my head my face in his chest, his heart beating quickly.

“Ew you’re sweaty, what were they having you do” I pull back and take both of his hands instead 

“I’m hurt how dare you reflect my affections” He puts his hand over his heart and mocks a shocked face 

“Oh prince I am so sorry I didn’t know what I was thinking” I look up into his eyes and notice his pink tinted cheeks. He’s wearing a white tank top and black Calvin jeans with boots, His arms look amazing and he has a thin layer of sweat making him literally glow. How did I get so lucky? 

He laughs turns me around so my back is resting on his front, so he’s back to leaning his cheek on my head while scrolling through his phone with his arms wrapped around me, the room has cleared out mostly now and It's just us looking at his Instagram feed. 

When the last person leaves I turn around quickly and put my hand on the back of his neck making him lean down to give me a kiss. He puts his phone in my back pocket. one of his hands resting on my butt and the other on my waist. He breaks from the kiss first.

Leaning his forehead against mine he’s smiling from ear to ear “I thought I was sweaty?”

“Shut it rockstar and kiss me” 

He smirks “Happily” 

We’re lazily making out when Brian walks in 

“Guys really? We leave you alone for the first time and only for 10 minutes and you're already eating each other,” This time it's your turn to pull away and Shawn groans.

 “let's go Andrew’s looking for you idiots its lunchtime” Brian eyes you two “ I mean unless you guys would rather eat each other and I can just tell Andrew-”

“Bro shut up we’re coming,” Shawn says while groaning into your neck. Quickly pecking your pulse he grabs your hand and leads you out of the room.

“Did they get catering? I was walking around earlier and didn’t see any food actually set up” You look towards Brian 

“Oh, I don’t know about earlier but one of the talents had catered Chipotle for everyone” He speaks leading you and Shawn to an open area of the sound stage. You stop walking and look at Shawn. 

“Why what's wrong?” Shawn stops and looks at you searching your eyes for the answer 

Who else would order chipotle for an army of people besides David Dobrik himself? You and Shawn are just starring into each other's eyes at this point while you bite the inside of your cheek. 

“Did you guys want me to grab you some” Brian asked confused watching you guys stare at each other

You break Shawn’s gaze and turn to Brian “No, it's fine I just felt dizzy, sorry” you speak up and Shawn looks at you confused But grabs your hand never the less and you guys finally make it into catering.

Brian snorts “Oh did Shawnie boy take your breath away” 

Shawn reaches over and punches his arm and he screams in an overdramatic fashion, next thing you know the entire catering area is starring at you guys 

“Brian stop being so loud” Shawn hisses and starts blushing looking around at everyone staring “Sorry guys” Shawn lifts his hand as an apology to everyone 

“Stop trying to punch me into next week then” Brian whimpers and rubs his arm 

“Oh stop being a big baby Brian he barely tapped you” you giggle and wrap your hand around Shawn’s arm leaning on him.

Shawn looks down at you tilting his head furrowing his eyebrows “but I'm baby” he says seriously.

Brian bursts into laughter, once again getting the attention of everyone in the room. Leaving you and Shawn blushing and giving everyone an apologetic smile. This time you notice David, Natalie, and his manager Jack sitting on a couch next to a set up of a couple of tables food in front of them. 

You glance around and notice Andrew sitting down at the table right next to David, Brian already made his way over and Shawn was about to walk over to Andrew when you stopped and looked up at him 

he stopped, leaned down “honey what’s wrong” placing a soft kiss on your temple

“I’m just not feeling chipotle if I’m going to be completely honest” I smiled at him sweetly hoping we can escape this suffocating room. I can feel Davids eyes on us, while everyone went back to eating he seemed to be the only one interested in our little bubble

“Oh yeah um, I think I saw a cafe down the street do you want to try our luck there?”  

you nodded at him and bit your lip “okay let me go tell Brian”

Shawn took the last few steps to get to Andrew and Brian and explained you guys were going somewhere else for lunch. Andrew pointed discreetly towards David and Shawn’s eyes widened. You glance at David and realize he’s already starring at you, you give him a small smile when Natalie smacks the back of his head. He breaks his gaze to yell at her. 

Shawn comes back with a smile on his face, getting down on one knee holding his elbow out in front of him bowing his head “My lady would you do me the honor of going on a lunch date with me” he looks up with a goofy smile on his face with his curls falling onto his forehead. 

giggling you curtsied “Why yes my prince I would love to join you on a lunch date, how very considerate of you” Shawn got up laughing pulling you into his chest

You go to wave bye to Brian and Andrew and you noticed you two had an audience. David's eyes were on both of you intently and a couple of crew workers were cooing at how cute you and Shawn were.

David’s gaze was broken when Andrew turned and yelled “get out of here you idiots you only have 30 minutes” Chuckling he turns back to his burrito 

“yah get your royal asses out of here health freaks “ Brian snorted 

“only 30 minutes?!” Shawns eyes widen “Ok Andrew we’ll be back in 45 and I’ll bring you coffee” Shawn put on his sunglasses from his front pocket and grabs your hand while Andrew sat there protesting. 

“30 minutes I mean it” he was staring at you now 

“Okay got it Gerty see you in 45 minutes with a large ice coffee, be back soon” Shawn shouted pulling you out the door and away from Andrew yelling. 

Both of you guys laughing as you both finally get out of the sound stage. The cafe wasn’t too far away from the studio so you guys decided to walk. 

“You saw him yah?” Shawn asks without looking down at you.  

“Yah I did” I squeeze his hand and I feel his shoulders loosen. “I love you rockstar” I place a kiss on his bare arm. Knowing his mind is going a mile a minute and he needs time to process everything. 

Finally, making it to the cafe you guys sit outside under a canopy, orders placed and Shawn opened his mouth to speak. 

With the sun hitting his face perfectly, he’s literally glowing “Hold that thought and don’t move” You say quickly digging for your phone, glancing up at Shawn to see him frozen and smirking. 

Pulling your phone out and opening the camera you take a quick picture of him and now he's posing, holding up a peace sign, looking away faking candids and leaving you a giggling mess. Locking your phone you see him leaned across the table lips puckered. Meeting him halfway capturing his lips in a kiss, he goes to pull away and sit down, before he can you grab his head and litter kisses all over his face.

“Okay women stop stop stop” He's in a fit of laughter pushing your face so you sit in your seat again

Finally settled down you guys are just smiling at each other like idiots “I love you” you look at him longingly 

He softens and reaches for your hand across the table, “I love you more princess” He takes your hand and kisses it.

“Not possible rockstar” your smirk at him and his shocked expression 

“Are you doubting my love for you?” Hand over his heart feigning hurt, He goes to speak but is cut off by the engine of a red Ferarri parking at the curb in front of you guys. 

Shawn groans and glares at the car for ruining your guys’ little moment, you look at Shawn already knowing who the car belongs too, as David steps out you see Shawns jaw clench and he tightens his grip on your hand.

_____ 

Pt. 3 

this part was a little short but I have so many ideas for the lead-up. Thank you guys for reading it means a lot Xxx Part 3?  

[findingtheperfectcharacter]

Finding Natalie

Chapter 1: For the Record: I’m working on self-improvement

A/n: This takes place between Answer 36 and Listen Back. Warning now that this fic will involve talk of child abuse (physical and emotional), unhealthy coping mechanisms, drug use and therapy. If these are bad topics for you this may not be the fic for you. Even if they’re not, make sure to take care of yourself.

Judith sighed and rubbed her temples. She'd just finished reading the 16 questions left over from her last conversation with Jace. Every word had been so heart achingly familiar, a wave of emotions had crashed through her skull the minute she'd seen the email at the top of her inbox, which she was pretty certain was why she now had this godforsaken headache. 

She wanted that to be it. For those final 16 questions to make them both feel content enough to finally give them both satisfaction and let them truely move on. But something still didn't feel right, there was still a piece missing in the puzzle of their relationship. She put her head on her desk and groaned, why couldn't life be just a little simpler? For once? Please? 

She turned her head and spotted it in the corner of her eye, alongside the rest of the things she'd forgotten to put away or throw out was a spiral notebook. Her eyes widened and she skittered over to it and quickly picked it up. The cover said 'The Record Volume 1' and her stomach did a series of terrifying trapeze acts. This was what she'd used after leaving her iphone wuth Jace. It was primitive but functional, covered with miscilanious stains. Which was an inevitable when you carry around something that can't be cleaned with you everywhere. 

She gripped the page in her hand, thin and slightly damp with condensation. The ink on the pages was only legible enough for her to read. But that would be enough for now. It was time to look back.

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

For the record it's 3 am. I bought a bottle of wine and ice cream and am sitting in the same hotel that Jace ran from me from a few hours ago. Hence the wine. It's been 4 hours since I decided to start working on myself. I feel good about this, it's not like I'm a total failure and all. I have a job waiting for me back home. I should get a cat or something lean into the idea that I might have just left my only chance at real happiness and might be alone forever. 

Great.

For the record I'm out of wine. I'm going for a drive, maybe I'll get caught for drunk driving. That would be a fitting end to the day.

For the record I didn't get arrested. I think the fresh air really helped to clear my mind. I don't need Jace. I'm not some damsel who bases her self worth completely on her husband, how pathetic would that be? I'm a strong women, I drove halfway around the country multiple times by myself. I don't need someone else to define me and I'm better off without someone who doesn't want me.

Granted no one's ever wanted me. 

What's there to want? 

I am not sober enough right now or maybe I need to sleep and that's why I'm so all over the place. I'll continue my thoughts in the morning, or maybe whenever I have time. 

[dobriking]

Bend Into A Break (4)

Summary: Not one, but two vlog-squads came with the death of Vine. And the rumored beef between you two is absolutely true! So, you and David (begrudgingly) set up a month long-retreat among your groups to film team challenges and go against each other. Y’know. For views. Pairing: David Dobrik x Readers, Enemies to Lovers, living together. Warnings: Profanity, mentions of drinking.  A/n: A bit of a filler chapter for a transition. Next part though... :) 

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 

The drinks got the better of them so you and David stand alone in front of the Houdini Mansion waiting for the bus to catch back to the route after God knows how many pitstops it took for extended bathroom breaks.

It’s cold this high up. With that and the strange-car ride you had with David, you’re anxious to get inside.

Suddenly you realize this is all very real, happening in real time and no longer just an idea.

You’re proud to say so but worried at the same time.

David has to work the doorknob, pushing with all his weight (a little too much) to get the door open. You step in after him, hugging yourself (slyly) and keeping behind him as you step into the entrance room. Just as advertised. Beautiful, dusted, slick, pristine, but dark indeed.

“Geez.” He chuckles, setting down his suitcase. “You really outdid yourself Y/n.”

You take a breath. “Tell me about it.”

“This place is insane.” He picks up a flower pot placed on a thin side-table by the door and under a thin window. You catch him sniff it and his eyes go wide (for whatever reason) before he sets it down immediately and hurries into the next room — the kitchen.

He lets out that high-pitched, giddy little laugh of his and you jump but choose to ignore it for his own good. He’s messing with things on the counter and you head up the stairs, gripping the railing and letting your palm slide along the shining wood as you test the creakiness of the steps.

They’re all good, fortunately.

But at the top of the stairs is one continuous hallway going in both directions, left and right. A good handful of the rooms promised are in this one hallway, with a bathroom at the end of each hall. Every light in the place gives its room a warm yellow tint and its actually quite flattering, especially with the heaps of glass decorations you’re sure will be added to fees in damages. And each bedroom has two twin beds, and two of each other accommodation.

You look over all the little knick-knacks.

Maybe the bus getting here a little late is working out better than you thought.

You jog downstairs to see David having trouble with the curtain by the front door. And you hold your fingers to the bridge of your nose as you try to gain your composure — why on Earth did he decide to mess with the thing in the first place? He yelps as the pole falls from its confines…

He senses your presence and turns slowly, a crooked smile on his face.

You take a deep breath, waving him off. “David, get the bags.”

“Got it.” He hurries with his head down.

You pick up the pole and stand on your tiptoes to raise it back where it can be hooked in place. David comes in, his backpack over one shoulder, your backpack over the other, and both suitcases in hand. “Uh, where should I—?”

“Just leave them there.” You finish with putting them in place and do what you can only hope he intended to do with the curtains, pulling them back and tying them away from the window. “And then uh,” you swipe your hands down your chest, brushing off any dust, “follow me.”

He drops everything though is a little late to follow as he works on keeping the bags upright. He skips after you, watching you observe the downstairs hallway just past the double-set of staircases.

Quite claustrophobic indeed.

You open some doors, first finding an office area, another bathroom, a closet, a door leading to a basement which you promptly close and yelp at, then you find a master bedroom with a door attached directly to the aforementioned bathroom. And that isn’t even all of it.

David hums, impressed.

“Okay,” you clap, “we’ve got two master bedrooms. One down here, one up there, and…” you backtrack, going down the opposite side of the hallway, “four regulars down here, four regulars upstairs. So, pick one — up or down.”

Even without a specified time limit, David’s jittery with the pressure. “Uh, ah-ah UH, DOWN?!”

You pat him on the back before passing. “Okay, you get that room.” You point to the master room at the end of the hall. “I’ll take the other master, and the others can room together.”

“What about Scott, Natalie? Amanda, Toddy?”

“What about them?”

He holds still, his only hint being a slight raise of his brows.

You roll your eyes. “Well, they’re adults? They can do whatever the hell they want.” But then you stop to think about their partners and the hatred on top of the potential discomfort with sharing a room with someone of the opposite whatever. “Uh, fine.” You pinch your nose. “Scott and Todd can share a room, Amanda and Natalie can share a room. Which kinda works in one way I guess — anyway, uh, can you check the pool and see if it needs to be filled up?”

And yes, it does.

You see for yourself when looking out the window. David’s jog slows as he approaches and he turns, finds you in the window, and throws his arms to his sides as he shrugs. The only thing in it is leaves, thankfully, and you suppose not too much dust that’ll flake off when filling it up.

He hops in and plucks them out, and that’s when you stop looking, afraid of what stupidity he may subject himself to in an empty pool.

You suppose that could be the subject of a vlog or something.

But still, you pout realizing just one more thing to do. On top of the empty pool there’s no food (as expected) so surely you’ll be arguing among 18 others on what to order, this is likely the last moment of bliss you’ll have before they start pouring in, and you have no idea how this room situation is going to blow up in your face. What scares you the most is how vicious everybody might be over dibs and who gets to use the bathroom first…

And on top of all that, the glass sculptures irk you dearly. You go around collecting them, cradling them in your arms, and transporting them to where you’ll be staying. You store them in the closest provided alongside some extra blankets and pillows.

Frankly, you doubt the owner would care if you broke them (they’re only getting twenty-two thousand from you alone with this little trip) but you really don’t want to add anything on that from plain-old negligence. You don’t worry about ‘improper’ placement of the knick-knacks because only a person who buys with intent to consistently rent a place like this lives outside of it.

While you’re at it you rearrange and hide other decorations too, brittle or not. Despite the size of the mansion, it’s still too cozy for 18 people to sit in comfortably. At least in the case of everybody in one room at once. While knowing it won’t be like that all the time, you know it will be at one point or another

You slip off your jacket and set it on a chair in the living room, the heat of running around getting to you.

And to also help with the heat you step outside into the chill and catch David chewing gum with a limp hose in one hand and his phone in the other.

“What are you doing?” You ask, keeping your distance.

He nods at you, then the pool. “Filling it up. Says it’ll take like, a day, so.”

You bite your tongue but just say it. “Y’know, I was thinking we could leave it empty? For now at least?”

With as volatile as the overall group is, he doesn’t think it wise to leave a concrete pool empty and free to fall into. Quite a morbid thought but a genuine one.

You cross your arms. “For like, extra vlog footage. We could do a balloon-fight test run…? Or I dunno, turn the hose on everybody? Isn’t that like the shenanigans you put in yours?”

He looks at the pool, “Uh, yeah,” and kicks some dirt into the pool.

“And before you think it, I’m not letting you put dry ice in the pool.”

“Dammit,” he hisses.

You roll your eyes though not out of malice. “Look, I’m trying not to get anybody seriously hurt here. I’m sure you have enough of that to fulfill your followers’ needs, so.” You shrug.

Another talking point about this project was the month of July being somewhat of a true vacation. To get everything as crisp and pristine as can be, to give your mercy time to brew, and to not waste any pre-existing footage, you’ll both be keeping your mouths shut about this for the time being, editing ‘regular’ vlogs for June alongside this project’s vlogs for July. You’ll actually get some time to exist without pointing a camera at everything after this.

“If you need some dry ice and if that’s really what you had in this month’s roster, then you can put it in any pool that isn’t the one we’re separately,” you emphasize, “paying twenty-thousand to use this month.”

He hates how right you are.

The others did get evicted that one time.

“Save all your crazy content for your usual stream, alright?” ‘Crazy’ isn’t quite objective and you know that but you don’t correct yourself. Instead, you leave, hoping he won’t grasp onto that.

David grunts, stomping at the ground and flailing the hose around a bit before tossing it down in the pool and heading inside.

“What, am I just not supposed to get any ‘crazy’ content from this, then?”

“No, you can.” You sit on the chair with your jacket over it. “Just nothing that gets us paying fucking 5k extra in damages! Actually, you know what? You can do whatever you want with the pool and anything else in this house but if it gets added, I’m not paying.”

“Fine! Deal.”

You roll your eyes. “Geez David. It’s just some stupid dry ice. Can you try and respect where you are for once?” Your voice is sincere, far from condescending. But still, David jumps, offended. You lean on the armrest and hold your head up with your hand, closing your eyes as you try to deal with your own irritation. The stress of knowing damn well you won’t be able to bring yourself to let him pay for whatever damages by himself is just adding onto the incoming doom that is your drunk friends. And thinking back on the car ride (which began quite scandalously before ending productively with a slew of new challenge ideas), you don’t like David’s silence.

You don’t want to sour the day completely, so you continue, “Just, whatever ‘crazy’ students you have in mind, can you tone them down?” You look at him, pleading. “Please? You don’t need to throw Zane out a fucking stained glass window for your audience to be entertained. I don’t want anybody getting hurt here.”

HIs fingers go to lips, a small, very sarcastic gasp escaping as he thinks ‘Man that would have been cool.’

But he laughs at himself, which shocks you. The sarcasm in his gasp wasn’t exactly clear.

He shrugs, “I mean, sure,” and plops down on the couch across from you. You squint, looking him up and down and waiting for a sign that what he’s agreed to isn’t true. But he’s focused on the couch, bouncing on it and pressing his palms in to question the cushions. His lips go tight, impressed, and you take a strained breath before hopping up.

He watches you leave and gets up after.

His hands slip into his back pockets. “Hey, do you think we should go back to some of the ideas we had?”

You’re already kneeling by your backpack in the entrance room with the same idea but say “Yeah, sure,” and promptly pull out your laptop. He stands in the doorway like a goof (focus a bit wonky) and he recalls himself as such after you awkwardly squeeze past him. He thinks to collect his own things but sees no use. He sits on the couch again, this time leaning forward to try and peak at your screen, his elbows on his knees.

You get up and sit by him to avoid straining his neck so early into this thing.

“Number one—“ you start, he holds up a finger, “—lip syncing contest.” You type into a word document as you speak. “Number two—“ another finger goes up, “—either a scavenger hunt or a treasure hunt. Number three is a cooking challenge right around the time Heath goes crazy. Four is Assassin, five is…?” You’re stuck.

“That like — us pretending to be stranded on an island, right?”

You chuckle. “Yup.” Quite the strange idea indeed but you can see it working. “We’ve got a murder mystery, going to an escape room for another, the quiet game—“ David hisses, knowing without a doubt his team will lose that one. But he still lives to see everybody’s reaction upon realizing they’re out of the game. “We’re gonna see who can stay up the latest so I guess the…24 hour challenge?”

“Yeah yeah.”

“Then there’s Youtube challenge day…” You shiver at the thought. Being subjected to some of the most infamous challenges in youtube history all in one day…the only thing keeping you up for it is the exclusion of things like the cinnamon challenge. Again — you’re not aiming to get anybody killed.

“Uh,” David pinches his nose then snaps at your screen, “That one we talked about.” You blink. “The horror movie one.”

You look out the window. There is indeed a forest surrounding the house — specifically the pool. The group didn’t even let you explain how the place isn’t haunted. The challenge you had in mind (and David thankfully added to) was to try and get each other to think it was haunted. To ‘tag out’ anybody who went to lengths to ease their fears. But with everybody thinking it’s haunted with Zane’s outburst, David suggested you tell campfire stories, set up some rules, and whoever needs to comfort themselves when they find themselves scared is out of the game. A bit of the same but the alternative would be to stay in the house which could have been enough of a threat on its own.

“Yup, yup.” You squint, typing it in. “Got it. Okay, and there’s also the Newly Wed game thingie, right?”

“Mhm. Make sure to have Scott and Natalie as hosts cause like—“

“Got it.” Can’t have those two knowing too much about each other when the rest of you are against your destined enemy.

“Okay, what else?” David asks as he comes to sit on his knees. But at that moment he looks over the back of the couch and through the window, hearing the low rumble of an oncoming vehicle. You look at each other for a moment before David jumps up and hurries outside.

You close your laptop and tuck it under your arm, then take your bags upstairs to your room. You put David’s too so nobody’s drunk ass trips over them.

You get to the middle of the stairs but stop when you see David welcoming people in, thankfully assisted by more than you both expected. Cody, for one, gives David a flat-lipped smile as he assists him and Chloe in helping Carly into the house. Erin’s behind them. She’s not exactly stumbling but rather lip-syncing to a song playing in her head that you can only assume she played on repeat during the drive.

You wince, realizing the repercussions of a bunch of hungover people who also happen to hate each other in the same house. But you’ll deal with that when the time comes.

You pinch your nose seeing the chaos steadily rise, and David is close to doing the same. He decides to stop helping (they’ve got it on their own) and watch people come in instead.

Once Carly is dealt with (sat down in the living room), Chloe comes to Emily’s side. Their bags are at their side and they have impressed grins as they look around the room.

“Nice.” Emily looks up at you, hair whipping over her shoulder. “Sure you want to get puke on all this mahogany?” You roll your eyes. Always been a bit snippy with you, huh? She forces a smile as she and Chloe stomp up the stairs opposite you.

David nudges you with his elbow. You squint at him, then he nods up the stairs where the two are headed with their bags.

You groan and run after them, skidding in the hallway and creating a squeeeaaaak with the soles of your shoes in an effort to approach them. You’re successful and get between them without retaliation. You grab their shoulders and mutter, “Let’s just wait to get set up, shall we?”

They’re curious and irritated but don’t do anything about it.

They follow David into the living room. He looks at you past their shoulders, and you give him a reassuring smile. He returns it, but neither of your efforts makes it seem like you think it’s going to be okay. You run out and help the bus driver take everybody’s luggage from the bus. You tip him again and give that familiar, solemn look. One that says ‘I’m sorry for everything you’ve been through.’ And he nods as though to say ‘Don’t worry about me.’

He steps back onto the bus to do a sweet-through, makes sure nobody left anything.

In your solitude, you put our palm to the bus and lean against it. You close your eyes and put the back of your hand to your forehead, thinking this all over.

“Good door,” Cody says, breaking your silence. He’s suddenly in front of you and pulling at the handle of his suitcase. “I mean it. IT was disgusting being on a bus with a bunch of drunks but better than it would have been if we were in our right minds.” Despite the sentiment, it’s hard to tell when Cody’s serious or sarcastic.

“But,” he presses his lips tight, looking at the ground before squinting at. you, trying to ignore the wind in his eyes, “never do this again.”

You deflate. “Wasn’t planning on it.”

He pats your shoulder and heads inside. He grimaces at his surroundings.

You give the area as thorough a look as you can from your single spot. You suppose this is the closest you could get to a cabin in the woods type get-up around here. There’s a good amount of tees (not too dense to get lost in but not too spread apart to see creepy things in the distance) and a pretty significant path from here to the next wherever. You turn in a circle to survey everything. And you scratch the back of your head, staying in this position as the wind blows. Some strands of hair flow around.

You drop your hands; figure its best to head inside now, lest leaving David too overwhelmed.

Tags

@wefracturedmotivation @blackhood5sos @i-heart-movies @sinfulmango @edalalalalalala @mostlydobrik @latelycrazy @zavidzobrik @thetrickster67

[consulting-celiac-in-the-tardis]

47 Gluten Free Sweet and Savory Recipes for Cooking with Kids

New blog post! If you're like a lot of families right now, you're spending more time together than you have in a while...which means now is the perfect time for cooking with kids and finding kid friendly recipes!

Personally, some of my favorite memories from childhood involve cooking and baking with my parents. When I was young, it was a tradition for Dad and me to bake my cake together, and while we had a few less-than-ideal results, the memories are definitely very sweet. And if you want to start the same tradition in your own house, these 47 kid friendly recipes are the perfect place to start. In particular, this round up includes 18 savory and 29 sweet recipes that kids will enjoy cooking and/or eating with you. Whether you're looking for recipes that are keto, paleo, low carb, low sugar or vegan, there are also plenty of options. So let's dive right in to these cooking with kids recipes!

Gluten Free and Savory Cooking with Kids Recipes

1. Chickpea Squash Fritters (Vegan) - Piping Pot Curry

If you need kid friendly recipes that are also loaded with hidden veggies, these vegan fritters are a tasty place to start.

2. Egg & Potato Breakfast Muffins (Grain Free, Dairy Free, Whole 30) - Raia's Recipes

These are easy to make and even easier to eat on busy mornings.

3. Rainbow Vegetable Tortilla Wrap (Vegan) - Recipes From a Pantry

Your kids will have a blast cutting up the veggies of their choice to make this colorful and easy gluten free wrap.

4. Paleo Chicken Tenders (Low Carb, Keto) - Allergy Free Alaska

These chicken tenders are much healthier than their traditional counterpart but still addictively delicious.

5. Loaded Potato Wedge Nachos (Paleo and Vegan Options) - Casey the College Celiac

If you bake these potato wedges ahead of time, your kids can have a blast covering their wedges with whatever nacho toppings they want!

6. 3-Ingredient Tuna Salad - High Chair Chronicles

Tuna, mayo and a surprising third ingredient combine for a delicious and simple gluten free sandwich filling everyone will love.

7. Creamy Baked Mac And Cheese (Nut Free, Vegan) - Wow Its Veggie

Mac and cheese GOALS...whether you have kids or not!

8. Crustless Pizza (Low Carb, Keto) - Low Carb Yum

No crust, no problem. This ham and cheese combo is just as delicious without it.

9. Cornbread Muffins (Dairy Free) - Hot Pan Kitchen

These gluten free muffins are soft, slightly sweet, moist and very kid friendly!

10. Simple Homemade Salsa - Simply Full of Delight

I know one toddle who eats salsa on its own with a spoon...but even if yours doesn't love salsa quite that much, this is delicious with gluten free chips.

11. Vegan Potato Cakes with Carrot and Rice - Little Sunny Kitchen

Leftover mashed potatoes, rice, carrots, onions, and parsley combine into a "cake" that kids and adults will love.

12. Broccoli Cheese Nuggets - Joy Filled Eats

Because what kid doesn't love nuggets of some sort?!?

13. Socca Flatbread (Grain Free, Vegan) - Emma Eats and Explores

This gluten free flatbread only calls for four simple ingredients, and you can stuff or top them however your family likes!

14. Avocado Deviled Eggs (Keto, Low Carb, Vegetarian) - Tasty Galaxy

Serve these with ham so your kids can enjoy green eggs and ham, no food coloring required.

15. Pizza Eggs (Keto, Low Carb) - Peace, Love and Low Carb

Eggs are transformed into an easy and delicious pizza with some creative toppings and seasoning.

16. Healthy Bell Pepper Nachos - Momables

These are "nacho" your traditional nachos, but they're still super tasty!

17. Oven-Baked Healthy Chicken Nuggets - Goodnesst

Rice flour, corn flakes and an egg combine to give these healthy chicken nuggets an addictive crunch.

18. Sausage Balls with Cream Cheese (Keto) - Wholesome Yum

These keto sausage balls are as easy to make as they are to get addicted to, so consider yourself warned!

Gluten Free Sweet Cooking with Kids Recipes

19. Secretly Healthy Sweet n' Salty Trail Mix (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac

Get your kids involved in the kitchen by having them help you pick out what ingredients to add to their special trail mix.

20. Easy Flourless Peanut Butter and Jelly Thumbprint Cookies - Mash Up Mom

Kids will love how hands-on this four-ingredient recipe really is!

21. Sweet Potato Muffins (Vegan) - Cass Clay Cooking

Gluten free oats, sweet potato and spices combine into a kid-friendly recipe that's especially delicious with nut butter and chocolate.

22. The Fluffiest Waffles (Dairy Free) - Eating on a Dime

These gluten free waffles are crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and one of the best kid cooking recipes you could pick for a lazy Sunday morning.

23. Banana Donuts with Chocolate Coconut Walnuts - Fearless Dining

These gluten free donuts actually have pretty healthy ingredients, but your family won't be able to tell!

24. Maple Walnut Cookies (Paleo, Vegan) - A Sweet Alternative

These cookies are actually super nutrient-dense and the recipe is simple enough for little hands to help.

25. Taste the Rainbow Bliss Balls (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac

Kids will have a blast playing around with the superfoods that give this gluten free snack so many fun colors.

26. Healthy Snickers Ice Cream Bites (Vegan) - Rhian's Recipes

Because who can resist ice cream flavors and getting to play around with melted chocolate?

27. Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies - Ripped Jeans and Bifocals

Because what's a better recipe for cooking with kids than a classic chocolate chip cookie?!?

28. No Bake Chocolate Covered Coconut Balls (Vegan) - The Simple Cooking

No baking needed, easy ingredients and a super tasty result.

29. 3-Ingredient Blueberry Cheesecake Bagel (Egg Free) - Casey the College Celiac

This gluten free bagel recipe only calls for three simple recipes, and your kids can have a blast shaping the bagels before they're baked!

30. Peanut Butter Protein Balls (Vegan Options) - Texanerin 

This gluten free snack recipe is so simple, your kids can make them on their own!

31. Frozen Chocobananos - Bacon is Magic

Your kids will need help melting the chocolate, but after that, they can go wild with their choice of toppings.

32. Easy Coconut Oil Chocolate (Dairy Free, Vegan Option) - Eats Amazing

Watching this healthy chocolate form will feel like magic for young bakers.

33. Chocolate Chip Pancakes - Fab Food 4 All

The gooey chocolate center ensures that your kids will gobble these pancakes right up.

34. Thin Mint Cookies - Well If She Can Do It

If your little one is bummed that Thin Mint Girl Scout Cookies aren't gluten free, these are the perfect family baking activity.

35. Mini Apple Pizzas (Vegan) - Veggie Desserts

Kids will have such a fun time decorating their own fruit pizzas.

36. Super Easy Raspberry and White Chocolate Muffins (Dairy Free) - Super Golden Bakes

A dairy free muffin recipe for kids who really want to get busy in the kitchen...

37. Dye-Free Coconut Rainbow Cookies (Vegan) - Casey the College Celiac

These gluten free cookies only call for simple ingredients and are colored naturally with superfood powders and spices. What kid doesn't want to taste the rainbow?

38. Super Fudgy Brownie Cupcakes (Vegan) - My Pure Plants

You measure the ingredients and your little one can pour and mix. As always, just make sure you use gluten free oats.

39. Soft-Baked Almond Flour Chocolate Chip Cookies - Kitchen Treaty

Kids will definitely give these soft gluten free cookies two thumbs up.

40. The Best Healthy Gummies - Marathons and Motivation

You only need three ingredients to whip up these healthy gummies with your kids.

41. Lemon Coconut Energy Balls (Refined Sugar Free, Vegan) - Natalie's Health 

Your kids will love how hands-on this recipe is as they roll their own energy balls.

42. Chocolate Pecan Cookies (Keto) - All Nutritious

These cookies only have 3 net carbs per serving, and are the perfect treat for a family following a low carb diet.

43. Strawberry Fruit Roll-Ups (No Added Sugar) - Served From Scratch

Your kids will have as much fun making these fruit roll-ups as they do eating them.

44. Cookie Dough Pumpkin Pops - My Joy-Filled Life

Because what kid (or adult?) doesn't love a tasty treat they can eat off a stick!

45. Easy Keto Blueberry Muffins (Paleo Option) - Here to Cook

You can make these keto muffins in just one bowl if you need to, and the crumbly texture will win all eaters over.

46. Apple Slice Donuts - Crafts 4 Toddlers

Apple slices get an upgrade from a homemade frosting!

47.  Best Chocolate Fudge Recipe (Vegan) - Happy Kitchen Rocks

This fudge recipe doesn't call for any condensed milk or sugar, and is easy enough to make that your kids can join in.

The Bottom Line of Cooking with Kids and Kid Friendly Recipes

Now that you may be enjoying more time with your family than ever before, I hope that this list of recipes gives you some ideas of how to spend your evenings in...once you figure out which kid-friendly recipe you want to try first, anyway. ;) And if you do end up trying any of these recipes, be sure to tag me in your photos on Instagram (at @collegeceliackc) so I can see and share! What's your go-to recipe when cooking with kids or for kids? I'd love to hear in the comments!

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[cupidmarwani-archive]

The Rehabilitation of Ava Bekker (2/12)

Roads in the middle of nowhere aren’t as nice as those paved in Chicago. The pickup truck Ava bought, old and growling, clatters along the dirt road with a cloud behind her and the radio picking up little other than static. It’s quiet out here. Just her and endless fields, no other cars and no other people. She doesn’t have much with her, either. The things she brought from home, a burner, and a fresh suitcase of new clothes for working on the farm. Wellies and overalls, soft shirts that are lightweight and comfortable. She even got sunscreen. She’s prepared, but it doesn’t feel that way with the sun slowly bleaching the picture on the dashboard until she notices and drops it in the cupholder.

She was right when she thought no one would find her here. Hell, there isn’t anyone else here to see her. The truck’s motor is her only friend, and it makes a valiant coughing noise when her tire sinks into a divot, but at least it keeps going. She just has to keep going. Her phone burns through the prepaid data as a GPS, so she turns it off for a while because it’ll apparently be a few more hours on this single road before reaching the farm she’s found herself a job. The woman who owns it, Robin, was polite in her emails and promised companionship and a shortcut into town on the weekends. She pictures Robin now, for lack of a better thing to do.

In her mind, Robin is an old woman with thinning silver hair whose husband has passed and kids have moved away. She’s left with her crops and her roosters, as well as a big farmhouse that seems empty without a family. She’s matronly and makes breakfast in the mornings once Ava gets the eggs from the hens. On hot days, she makes lemonade and swats flies, tells stories with the windows all open, since the old farmhouse doesn’t have air conditioning. Her hand sewn dresses will flap in the wind and she’ll admit, she doesn’t have the same way about the crops as her husband did, God rest his soul. She probably has a bible too, one she reads in the morning light and evening dusk, pages edged in gold leaf, her kitten heels tucked up next to her armchair.

That’s what she imagines, but if it’s real, Ava thinks she’d hate Robin and the farm house, and wind up running away somewhere else where no one will find her and she’ll be saddled with boredom and exhaustion and frustration. Being a surgeon was one of the only things that ever kept her attention. 

She slams her hands on the truck’s steering wheel, prompting it to sputter and slow, even though she’s fine on gas. It’s giving up on her too, apparently. Just like Connor gave up on her. So Ava hits it again, but this time with her forehead, and it hurts but at least seems to appease the truck. She hates this car. It has terrible mileage and it’s cramped and the air conditioning is broken so she’s sweating down her back. But it was what they had that wouldn’t attract too much attention.

For as long as she’s been driving today, she’s surprised she hasn’t had some sort of mental break. She has a history of doing poorly when left alone with her thoughts for extended periods of time. Maybe the thing that’s different is knowing this will never end. This loneliness is permanent because of her panic, because of what she did. No one will hold her again. No one will love her. She lifts one hand to her lips, feels them, still soft with the chapstick she applied religiously in hopes of making every kiss better for Connor. He’s dead and gone, and still, she can’t let go of Connor. She’s still thinking about him.

What did he do to her, she wonders, that she is so beyond captivated by him even now that he’s gone? She can’t think of a single thing he’s done that differentiates him from those in times’ past who she’s fooled around with. By all accounts, there was nothing different about him. Nothing special. Maybe it was how ordinary he was that made everything special, including the way he held her at night with his lips to her neck. She reaches one hand up to glance against the column of her throat where he used to touch her. It doesn’t feel the same.

Hot sun glares through the windshield at her, as scorching as the way he had felt when he was with her. Now, in spite of her body overheating, she is cold. Her lungs are full of ice. Her veins are near frozen. She can barely breathe. Her hands are clammy on the wheel, gripping it too tightly while she goes down the same straight and narrow road. 

Everything is green, on all sides of her. The tops are a bit yellow on some fields, proof of the corn season beginning to draw near an end in the early fall heat. Dry husks will soon litter the ground like at the harvest festival Natalie took her son to last year. It had felt cozy and real. Ava would love to have a child and husband to bring to things like that. Pumpkin carving and candy apples and peaceful love between intertwined individuals.

She goes and goes, until she reaches a fork in the road and pulls off to the side to reactivate her GPS. Left. And then it’s only about forty minutes until she reaches Robin’s Farm. That’s its name. Robin, she thinks again, will make life a little easier. She’ll settle in and have a nice dinner, get plenty of rest and start in the morning. There will be peace here. 

The rest of the ride, Ava leases her mind to mull over every memory she has of Connor, except for the one where his eyes glazed over and his skin became bloody. If she thinks of it, she can still feel it. She can still inhale copper and his cologne.

The drive-in has a wooden sign whose paint has faded along the edges, reading “Robin’s Farm” in white over a soft blue background. And up the way comes the first surprise.

Robin’s farm house is not old fashioned or falling apart. It’s modern-looking, with the exterior painted pale green and the trim dark brown. Sticking out a couple windows are AC units humming only a little softer than her engine, and a couple of goats milling about the property come to greet her. 

Once she cuts her truck and slips out, a woman comes meandering out from behind the house. She’s not a little old woman who needs help running the farm now that her family is all gone. In fact, Robin is about Ava’s age, with smooth brown skin and her hair braided down her back, tied in a ribbon. Maroon and yellow- a strange color combination- plaid stick out of her worn overalls, sleeves rolled up to her elbows. And her overalls are tucked into muddy boots up to her knees. She doesn’t look anything like Ava imagined, but her smile is still kind and bright when she sticks out a hand. 

“Robin Charles. You must be Avery.”

Ava doesn’t know why, but as she shakes Robin’s calloused palm, she says, “You can call me Ava.”

“Ava,” Robin repeats, and rolls her shoulders. “You can go get changed in the house, and I’ll show you the ropes.”

It’s quick. Ava nods, though, and grabs her suitcase from the truck bed. She has something like what Robin’s wearing in there, and drags her case through the house until she finds a bathroom to change in. Her hair’s in a ponytail, which she hopes is good enough, as she pulls on a tee shirt and high rise jeans with her own pristine wellies. For a split second, she feels guilty about messing them up. But that’s what they’re for. 

She packs back up and returns outside, where the sun immediately assaults her face and Robin is stroking the head of one of the goats. She looks up with a smile when Ava returns and straightens up. 

“I’ll show you the coop, follow me.”

[munofsilver]

One Night Chapter 4

You can read it on Ao3. Summary: Chloe surprises Nathaniel day spending the day together.  

Nathaniel takes Chloe into his bedroom this time sober, and he brings out his only suit. It is brown in color with a cream color shirt and tie. Chloe takes it from Nathaniel’s hand and holds it up to him. “Nope. Color all wrong. You need something that matches you. Brown so not for you,” she tosses the suit on the floor.

Nathaniel goes to pick it up while Chloe walks right into his closet. “Do you have shoes to go with that thing? I think I found them. How about a belt? Would a belt look go with that thing?”

“It’s a suit and was my father’s,” Nathaniel carefully places the suit on his bed.

Chloe drops her hand that was reaching for the belt. She remembers Nathaniel telling her about his father the night she met his family. “Sorry,” she speaks softly. “Nothing wrong with the suit. Just brown, not your color.”

“I understand. Suits are expensive when I was eighteen. My mother gave me the last suit he bought for work.”

Chloe steps out of the closet, placing the shoes she was holding on the floor at the foot of the bed. Looking at the suit, she can tell it’s not that old. Like it was made when Nathaniel was a teen. His father passed away when Nathaniel and Chloe were fifteen. Nathaniel’s father could have bought that suit shortly before he died. Chloe falls onto the bed next to the suit as Nathaniel puts it back in the closet.

Noticing Chloe’s tears brought him to her side. “I’m sorry about what happened. I know it was years ago, but it seems like you still think about your father. Even though my mother was never around, I’m lucky because she’s still alive and I can call or text her whenever I want, granted she may not respond right away. You can’t talk to your father. I’m sure you two were close,” Chloe sniffs.

Nathaniel takes a seat next to Chloe and wraps his arm around her shoulders. “Yes, we were. Father was close to my sister and me. If anything, you should feel bad for Natalie. She was only five at the time,”

Chloe’s eyes widen. Chloe didn’t think Natalie was that much younger than Nathaniel. “I want to know more about your father. Not now we need to get you a new suit,” Chloe grabs the brown suit. “Plus get this one dry cleaned,” she walks out the room.

Nathaniel follows her after he puts the shoes away. At the front door, Chloe is waiting. With her hands full, she’s unable to open the door. Nathaniel puts on his shoes and a jacket. Grabbing his wallet and keys, he then opens the door for Chloe. “Do you have a drivers licenses?” She asked.

“Yes, I’m trying to save for a car right now,” Nathaniel answers, locking up his apartment.

“Then you can drive,” Chloe opens the back door and places the suit very carefully on the back seat.

Then she tosses Nathaniel the keys. Good thing he was able to catch them. Chloe now waits for him to enter the car. Once he does, she doesn’t put on a seat belt or anything. “Why am I driving? I don’t know where we’re going,”

“I’ll tell you where we’re going. You’re driving cause I don’t want to right now.”

Nathaniel belts his seatbelt and starts the engine. True to her words, Chloe told him where to go when to turn and everything. Nathaniel has no idea what Chloe is up too. “Why did I need to skip class for you today?”

Chloe rolls down the window for some air. “First I wanted to see your suit. Now that I have we are going to get it clean. I know all the best dry cleaners in Paris. Some are fast. Get in the other lane you need to turn right soon.”

“The suit is clean. It has only been worn once. That was when I got it,” Nathaniel switches lanes and wait for Chloe to tell him when to turn.

“That means that is was trapped in the closet for five years untouched. It needs to be cleaned. Besides, it will make it look nice and less faded. Turn right at the lights and find a place to park.”

Nathaniel was able to park right in front of a building. As soon as they get out of the car, Nathaniel feels unsure about this. He doesn’t have much money until he picks up his paycheck. Chloe with the suit enter the building, and Nathaniel rushes in after them. He comes in just in time to hear the ending of the conversation between Chloe and the man behind the counter.

“I want you to be very careful with this suit. If anything out of place on it, you will pay,” Chloe glares at the man.

His fearing is showing as he yelp, “Yes, ma’am.” He gave her a ticket and took the suit.

Chloe looks at the ticket and places it in her wallet and the wallet back in her purse. Turning to face Nathaniel, she starts to walk towards the door. “We’re done here. The suit will be done by three.”

Chloe enters the car, and Nathaniel takes over the driver’s seat again. “Next is getting you a new suit. Once you pull out to take a right and go straight until I say so,” Chloe informs Nathaniel.

Like last time she told him the way. “There is an underground parking entrance towards the back of the parking area. I have my own spot. You’ll see it,” Chloe smiles.

Nathaniel wonders how Chloe got her own spot here. Then again, this looks like a high-end boutique. She probably comes here all the time. Right away past the three accessible parking spots is one parking area for a limbo with a sign reading, “Parking for Chloe Bourgeois Only. Others will be towed.” Nathaniel parks in the spot wondering if he really should. “Don’t worry. I know it’s meant for limbo, but today my driver is sick so normal car it is. You can still park here.”

Nathaniel looks over at the spot and car. This car was clearly custom made. White leather seats, yellow paint job, black seatbelts, and steering wheel cover. Is that gold lining on the petals? Is that even a thing with a car? It doesn’t help that the license plate is her name.

As soon as they enter the boutique, they were greeted by the owner. “Chloe darling,” they kiss each other’s cheeks. “Always good to have you here with us.”

The owner, a tall very thin woman, dressed in a bright yellow dress, has a smile so big that creeps, Nathaniel. All the makeup she’s wearing isn’t helping. “Who is this cute gentlemen?”

Chloe smiles and wraps her arm around Nathaniel. “This is my boyfriend, Nathaniel. He needs a new suit before seven tonight.”

Nathaniel was about to say something but was grabbed by the shop’s owner. “I’ll get Phillipe here right away. What kind of suit would you like, sir?”

The shocked and confused art student was about to speak when once again, Chloe talked for him. “A suit that will match his color, no stripes. Tie that a lighter color than the suit but not the same color as the shirt. The best shoes you have.”

Somehow the owner’s smile got bigger. “I’ll let Phillipe know,” Nathaniel was dragged away.

A few minutes later, the owner returns without Nathaniel. “Phillipe is taking measurements now. Would you like anything while we wait?”

Chloe, who is reading a magazine, looks up for a moment. “Some ice tea would be nice, Lucinda.” she goes back to the magazine.

“Coming up,” Lucinda chirps as she goes into the back room.

A few minutes later she returns with Chloe’s drink. “Thank you.”

Lucinda was one of the few people, Chloe was always kind too. She smiles and heads back towards Nathaniel and Phillipe. With the measurements done, Nathaniel was able to put on his regular clothes again. He wasn’t naked but felt like it. The store had him put on something he didn’t know what it was called and didn’t really care. Looked like a skin-tight sheet. Nathaniel did have to take off all but his boxers to put that on. Never again does he want to go through that. He’ll be lucky if he can get that out of his mind.

Now dressed he sees Lucinda with Phillie. “What color should start with, Lucinda?”

“We could find a color to match his red hair or turquoise eyes,” she suggested.

The two are looking through a color sample palette with some fabrics. Nathaniel walks up towards them to see what they are doing.

“Maybe a lighter red would work best if we go with his hair.” “But don’t you think this shade would really bring out his eyes?” “You may have a point there, Philipe.” “Then again, we need to make sure the color also goes with his skin tone.” “Another good point you have there.”

It seems they didn’t notice Nathaniel was there, wondering if he should say something. Before he could, they face him. “Take a seat young man,” Philipe and Lucinda step to each side.

There is a large chair that’s raised higher like the kind you see at a hair salon. Nathaniel sits down and right away Philipe and Lucinda are closing in on him. They keep holding thin pieces of fabric to his face. After each one was yes or no. Yes, ones were placed on a pile next to Philipe while the no ones were put away.

Nathaniel is too scared to move and just sits still trying to relax but finding it very difficult to do. After a few minutes, they’re done. With the pile next to Philipe, they do the same thing. Each piece was held up to Nathaniel’s face longer. Each one was either yes or no. If there was maybe, they just held it closer to his hair or eyes. Then it would be yes or no.

Once they go through that pile, they only had three left. For the first time, Nathaniel got to see the color side. “These three are the best colors for you. Out of these three, what, ones do you like?” They both asked at once.

Nathaniel looks at all three and sees color he never thought of for a suit. Misty teal, orange-red, and silver charm. He’s not sure which color would look best on him. He can tell you what color he likes. “Make a suit for each color. Have the teal one done first. That’s the one you will wear tonight,” Chloe comes out from nowhere.

“With the teal, we were thinking of shirt color. We could go with a typical white. What about a darker color, like black?” Lucinda ask.

“Something light, like silver or cream. The tie could be black,” Chloe says, looking at the colored fabrics.

“Or a silver shirt and white tie,” Philipe offers a suggestion.

“I like that idea. You work on that suit, and we’ll talk about the other two later,” Chloe grabs Nathaniel’s arm, and they both leave.

“Next is lunch,” Chloe says, checking the time.

It’s now ten til noon. Lunch does sound good. Before Nathaniel could ask where Chloe once again beat him to it. “Where would you like to have lunch?”

Nathaniel was surprised, so far all day she was giving orders like always. She is asking him what he wants. ‘Has Chloe ever done that before?’ he asked himself. “I know a good quiet place that has delicious food. Perfect place to a lovely lunch,” Nathaniel tells Chloe.

“Sounds like a place to go when you’re on a date,” Chloe answered honestly.

Nathaniel blushes, “I did take somewhere there once on a date. It might be best to go somewhere else,” Nathaniel hopes his long hair hides his face.

Chloe doesn’t see the blush, but she does notice his tone of voice. “Let’s go there. I want to check it out.”

Nathaniel starts the car, and they drive off. They arrive at a restaurant that Chloe would never think of stepping foot into, even if to ask for directions. It looks like a place for ordinary people, according to Chloe. This restaurant as tall tinted windows, a glass door. Chloe is okay with that. She not okay with the signs on the windows and doors. They have flyers of things as well as today’s specials and business hours. They even have an advertisement to carry out and delivery.

Chloe, never in her life, ate in a place that did delivery. She did get food delivered, only at locations that it’s the only way to get there food is either delivery or take out, that’s only with sushi. The walls are a dull color and brick looking. The inside doesn’t seem better to her. The lighting not bright enough for her. No fancy artwork on the walls. There are tables and booths together in the same area. There is no private sitting or VIP area. There is balcony seating that Chloe does like in restaurants. Maybe they can have lunch out there.

Chloe looks for a host to talk with. None to be found, only a sign telling them to please seat themselves. Chloe is unsure about this place. She can see how this is a quiet place because no one would want to eat here. Chloe will just have to deal with this for now. “Do you want to eat on the balcony? This place might be crowded soon,” Nathaniel turns around to face her.

“I would like that,” Chloe starts to head towards the balcony with Nathaniel right behind. They take the first table they see, and Chloe sits with her back towards the window so she can’t see the restaurant and can see the view of the area around the outside. Less than a minute later, a waitress came out and handed them each a menu. “Would you two like something to drink?”

“I would like some ice tea,” Chloe checks the menu first to make sure they have it. “Peach ice tea.”

The waitress writes it down. “I would like a root beer,” Nathaniel now just opens the menu.

“What next after lunch?” Nathaniel laughs.

“You said you needed to do something before five. That will be next,” Chloe rubs her belly.

“Everything okay?” Nathaniel noticed she’s been doing that a lot since they left the dry cleaners.

Chloe looks down while she stops rubbing, “Nothing to worry about. Sometimes I feel a little iffy, rubbing my stomach area does help.”

Thinking it’s another pregnancy thing and it is Nathaniel moves closer to her. “Do you need to use the bathroom?”

“It doesn’t feel like I’m going to puke, I did twice this morning. It feels more like I don’t know. I probably will feel better after I eat,” Chloe is a bit hungry.

Nathaniel moves back, and they both look at the menu for lunch. It wasn’t long until the waitress arrives with there drinks. “Are you ready to order?”

She doesn’t bring out her pen and pad until Chloe said she was, and Nathaniel nodded saying he was also. Chloe went first, “I would like to have the stuff clams and garlic shrimp. With an archiduc salad.”

The waitress write everything down, “Would you like to try the soup of the day? We have tomato with either crackers or small grilled cheese sandwiches. We also have chicken dumpling.”

“Tomato with crackers will be fine,” Chloe closes the menu and places it in front of the waitress.

The waitress nods as she writes that down.

“I will also have tomato soup with crackers. Caesar salad with anchovies on the side and extra cheese. Roast beef pot roast with garlic mash potatoes, please.”

“Will, that be all?” The waitress asked while she finishes writing Nathaniel’s order.

“Yes,” they both said.

The waitress left. Chloe takes a sip of her ice tea. She will never tell anyone, but the tea tasted better than the one she got at the other place. Nathaniel decides to start a conversation. “At the store, why did you tell Lucinda I’m your boyfriend?”

Without looking at him, Chloe answers, “In case you’re mom or sister talk with her or Phillipe.”

“Neither of them will walk in a store like that?” “You never know.” “None of them can afford to shop there.” “Come on Perfect For You isn’t an expensive store.” “Not for someone like you.” “They could bump into each other outside of the store, you know.” “True, I still don’t think they would talk.” “You never know.”

Nathaniel gives up with a sigh. He should never have said they were dating. After a bit of nothing, Chloe steps up. “Can you tell me more about your father?”

Nathaniel was surprised. He didn’t think Chloe meant it when she said she wanted to know more about his father. It seems Chloe is trying to care more about others, not just herself lately. Nathaniel starts his story.

“My father was an architect. He designed many buildings in Paris. Including the flower shop Rose’s parents own, the house I grew up in, and your father’s hotel. That was his first project out of university.”

Chloe didn’t know that. She needs to ask her father when she sees him next. Nathaniel continues.

“He met mom when he designed an office building for the company she works for. I remember times he brought his work home often, and one time, I added my own ideas to it. He didn’t get mad, just patted me on the head and said, “Good thinking, son.” I don’t think I have ever seen him mad.”

Nathaniel takes a sip of his drink, and Chloe does the same.

“He loved art. Drawing, painting, and even writing. I guess that’s where I got my love for art from,” Nathaniel laughs. “Every year, he would make birthday cards for mom, Natalie, and me. I still have them all. In fact, I always carry this with me.”

Nathaniel takes out his wallet and shows Chloe a little piece of notebook paper. On it was a drawing of a mother fox with two kits. “My father drew this when my mother was pregnant with Natalie. He made one for mom also. She has it framed in her office,” he puts the drawing away.

Chloe wonders if her mother stayed in Paris, would they be as close as Nathaniel is with his father? She’s not sure of anything at the moment. The food has arrived, and Chloe ate quietly, keep thinking of what kind of father would Nathaniel be. Many ideas came to her. After the meal, Nathaniel wanted to pay, but Chloe beat him to it. Then they leave to pick up his check. It was two in the afternoon when they arrived at Nathaniel’s place of work.

Chloe went inside with him, She needs to know the place he works at. It looks like a movie studio but smaller without any backgrounds. There is a green screen. “What is this place?” Chloe asked, looking around.

“These are a group of people that make videos online. Some are cosplay, music videos, short films of all kinds, tutorials, and my favorite dance off videos,” Nathaniel is scanning the area looking for someone.

“What is it that you do here?” Then Chloe’s eyes widen. “Are you in some of these videos?”

Nathaniel finally faces her. “Only one. What I do is animated the animated music videos they do and backgrounds. The green screen is only used for digital effects. I also do those.”

Now Chloe noticed that there is a door that they didn’t enter in on the left side of the room. Chloe now knows where all that stuff is. “Hey Nathaniel, what are you doing here?”

Chloe steps behind Nathaniel when she sees Nino running up to them. “Hi, Nino just here to pick up my check.”

“Dude is that Chloe behind you?” Nino points at her. “Why is she with you?”

“Long story with no time to tell. Just need my check so I can cash it,” Nathaniel tone is odd to Chloe. It seemed like Nathaniel was trying to sound more street like. Nino handed Nathaniel his check. “Before you go, Nathdude. I know today is your day off, but could you check the edit I did on this animation video. You can do it at home.”

Nathaniel agrees, and Nino gave him a flash drive. Now they can leave and do so. Then they go to the bank Nathaniel uses then cash his check. Now it’s the perfect time to pick up the dry cleaning. When they got there, Chloe got a texted. “The suit is done and want you over for a fitting. We’ll do that now and pick up the suit later. Less time of it in the car.”

While Nathaniel is trying on the suit, Chloe and the other two talk about the other two suits.

“For the silver suit, a white shirt with a light grey tie will work,” Phillipe stated.

Chloe and Lucinda agree with him.

“For the other suit. I was thinking a black shirt with a red tie,” Lucinda stated.

“Bold, I like it,” Chloe smiles.

Nathaniel’s new suit fits him like a glove. He steps out so Chloe could see. Right away, he was surrounded by all three. “Perfect work, you two. As always,” Chloe cheers.

Nathaniel changes back while Chloe pays for everything. Then they pick up the dry cleaning. They head back to Nathaniel’s place to drop off the suits. “Thank you, Chloe. Today was kind of fun. You didn’t have to pay for everything,” Nathaniel for once isn’t driving.

“Nathaniel I was thinking. Maybe you can move in this weekend. I can have daddy fine us a good apartment, so we don’t have to stay at the hotel,” Chloe is now thinking it’s time for her to move out as Nathaniel did.

“I thought we were going to talk about this after we tell your father tonight. If you want I can look for a place for us that we can afford.”

Chloe sighs, “Don’t worry about money. I just want to make sure we’ll have all the space we need for the baby.”

“Chloe, I’ve seen where you live. There is more than enough room for us and the baby. Right now I’ll move in with you at the hotel. Then we should talk about finding our own place.”

Again Chloe sighs, “Can you move in this weekend?”

Nathaniel laughs, “If you want.”