#OH! I forgot their microwave oven is on a shelf and not on a counter top. Ah well.

[screwpinecaprice]

Some kids. ´⁠꒳⁠`)

I just love classic Connie's hair. It looks like a veil that ended with a cloud.

[hamsterboos]

The Great Percy and Annabeth Bake Off

🎄Day 1 of 12 Days of PJO Christmas🎄

All Annabeth wants to do is make a gingerbread house. The only problem? She wants to do it completely from scratch, and Percy is well aware of her...weakness when it comes to baking, but he’s also well aware of the fact that she is the most stubborn person he knows, so why not make an competition out of it? 

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                                                     ~~~~~~~

Honestly, he should’ve expected this. He knew how stubborn Annabeth was, and he knew that once she got an idea stuck in her head, there was close to nothing that he could do to try to talk her out of it. 

And yet, here he was, trying to talk her out of it.

“Annabeth, I love you, but do you really think this is the best idea?” Percy hesitantly asked, leaning his back against the kitchen counter. The shelf was digging into his lower back painfully as he gripped the edges of the counter within each hand, but he couldn’t be bothered to move into a more comfortable position, either. He watched as his girlfriend tied her hair up into a ponytail, and she stared him down with a glare, her stormy gray eyes pinning him to his spot.

“Are you seriously doubting my skills right now?” she responded in an extremely calm voice, but Percy knew that she was nowhere near calm, and he winced. Once her hair was set in its place, she put her hands on her waist, and Percy knew he was potentially seconds from getting yelled at.

“No, no. I know you can make a kickass gingerbread house...it’s just the actual making of the cookies that I’m worried about.”

Christmas was in a week, and somehow Piper had gotten it into Annabeth’s head that it would be a great idea to make a gingerbread house, but of course, Annabeth had to take it one step further and make the cookies as well instead of just buying a kit like any other normal person would.

“How hard can it be?” she asked in an exasperated voice, throwing her hands up in the air.

Percy shrugged, trying to look nonchalant, but he really didn’t want to bring up the last time Annabeth made cookies. She was bad enough on her own, but add Estelle into the mix, and bad became worse. All Annabeth had to do was follow a recipe, but somehow, she had switched sugar and salt and forgot to set a timer, so instead of sweet chocolate chip cookies, they had turned into salty pieces of stone.

“I know that look,” Annabeth challenged when Percy never responded. “It was one time! I was having a hard time watching Estelle while you were out with your mom, and it was a one-off thing.”

“Annabeth,” he started with a small smile, trying to appear harmless, “it was more than one time.” He pushed off from the kitchen counter and tried to wrap his arms around her waist, but she took a step back from him, narrowing her eyes at him.

“Baking is literally science. It’s the reaction of the ingredients as you add heat! How hard can it be?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Percy didn’t know how to break it to his girlfriend that it was literally a piece of cake compared to the rest of the shit they had gone through in the last six years, and yet, it was one of the hardest things Annabeth had ever done.

In the end, he decided to send her a sweet smile and grab her hand to tug her closer. He supposed that he had worn her down because she let him pull her, and once she was close enough, he wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping a kiss on her forehead, right where the creases had formed in the center. Annabeth’s hands wrapped around his body to rest on the small of his back, right where his Achilles’ spot used to be.

“I don’t know about how hard baking can be, but it’s definitely not going to be fun if you keep frowning.”

Annabeth rolled her eyes but smiled anyways, the wrinkles on her forehead softening out. 

Percy sent her a beaming smile in response, and she barked out a laugh. “You are so incredibly easy to please.”

“Only for you, babe.”

“You really do have seaweed for a brain, Perce.”

“Nothing new,” he responded, rolling his eyes fondly. 

“But seriously. I am going to bake those cookies.”

Percy tried really hard not to sigh out loud, but one escaped him anyways. “Annabeth, how about I bake the cookies, and you can build the house? Isn’t that a bit better?”

“You’re just going to dye them all blue, and then it’s not going to look good,” she replied in a matter-of-fact voice, and Percy’s jaw dropped open in surprise.

“Hey! Blue cookies are better than normal!”

“Sure,” she relented, patting his cheek softly twice, “whatever helps you sleep at night.”

Annabeth pushed herself away from him only to walk over to her laptop and pull up a recipe for gingerbread cookies. After muttering to herself for a couple of seconds, she walked towards the pantry and started pulling out flour before moving to the cabinets to get the sugar. Percy watched in slight exasperation and slight awe at how comfortable Annabeth had become in his apartment and life. She had always been welcome in his apartment ever since they became best friends, but it was still slightly awkward because of the first Great Prophecy looming over their heads. Ever since they started dating, their lives had become intertwined seamlessly, even more so after suffering through literal hell together.

Despite that, she was still stubborn as ever, and Percy was annoyed that he would have to suffer through watching Annabeth botch the first batch of cookies before she finally relented and let him do it.

As he watched his girlfriend efficiently moving around him to pull out all the ingredients she would need for the cookies, an idea came to him. If he was going to need to make another batch anyways, why not make it the same time as Annabeth?

The things he did for love, honestly. 

“Fine. Let’s make it a competition,” he announced, knowing fully well that he was taking advantage of her hubris, but well, all was fair in love and war. And as he expected, Annabeth stopped in her tracks and slowly turned to look at him with an eyebrow raised.

“You sure about that, Seaweed Brain?” Her tone spoke legions about how she wasn’t backing down from the challenge. 

He raised an eyebrow back at her. “Bring it on, Wise Girl.”

                                                          ~~~

Today was the day that Percy wished he had the power of the Oracle within him because he really should’ve known that a competition with Annabeth wouldn’t end well for him even if he was going to win.

The only thought that ran through his hand as he gaped at the sight of the flour fluttering down from his head onto the ground was oh no, mom is going to kill me because his wonderful, amazing, and absolutely batshit crazy girlfriend had dumped an entire handful of flour on his head.

Their respective trays of cookies had been in the oven for only about eight minutes, and they were just about finished cleaning up the mess they had made while making the cookies when Percy turned on the oven light to take a peek at the cookies. He’d made one comment about how his cookies looked pretty crisp (he hadn’t even dyed them blue), and as soon as he had straightened up, he found it raining flour.

“Annabeth!” he practically screeched. “What the hell?”

Annabeth was also gaping, her hand still up in the air from when she dropped the flour on his head. He had never been so annoyed that she was only a few inches shorter than him. If she had been much shorter, she would’ve never been able to reach his head.

He ducked down to look at his reflection in the microwave door, and as expected, his black hair was now coated completely in white, and he was seriously dreading the shower he was going to have to take to get the flour out.

“I-I’m sorry,” she responded, sounding like she was dazed. Clearly, from her face Percy could tell that she was just frustrated at the fact that her cookies didn’t look as sturdy as his did, and a bit of the annoyance faded. 

Sighing, he took a hold of Annabeth’s flour covered hand and dragged her over to the sink where he helped her wash and dry her hands before he just held them in his own.

“You okay?” he asked, his eyes searching hers for any indication of any worry, but all he could see was how guilty she felt. His lips quirked up in a small smile. 

“Yeah, I’m fine. I didn’t mean to do that,” she whispered, ducking her head down a bit. Percy could tell she was genuine, and he didn’t need any further explanation on how sometimes she acted without thinking because he was the same.

“It’s fine,” he responded, tilting her face back up to kiss her quickly. He watched as a small smile graced her face, and he grinned as he dropped her chin to reach towards the counter as her eyes were still focused on his face. 

Annabeth had apologized, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t take revenge. 

Before she could react, he picked up the still-open bag of flour and dumped a small amount straight onto her blonde curls, and she screeched, jumping away from Percy. 

“Percy!”

“Payback!” he yelled back as suddenly, a full-out flour war had ensued in the apartment. Handfuls of flour were flying across the small kitchen space as the scent of the cookies filled the apartment along with the sound of their laughter.

It wasn’t until the timer had gone off for the cookies that they had stopped, laughing at the mess they’d made.

With a laugh, Percy made his way over to pick up the oven mitts before taking out the two trays of cookies and setting them upon the stove. Moving his head away from the cookies, he shook his head to shake out some of the excess flour.

“Man, my mom is going to kill me,” he whined. 

“And me,” Annabeth responded with a laugh in her voice. Most of her hair and green sweater was covered in the flour as well, and Percy was jealous of the fact that she was wearing blue denim jeans while he had decided to wear black jeans. The flour stood out so much more against the black. “We should clean up and go take a shower before we do anything else.”

“Good plan,” Percy laughed as he picked up a rag and handed it to Annabeth before going on the hunt for the broom. “This is all your fault, you know.” 

“You’re the one who retaliated!”

“You started it,” he responded as he poked her near her rib. She flinched away from him and swatted him with a rag.

“If you hadn’t been such a smug asshole, I wouldn’t have done anything in the first place.”

“I didn’t even say anything about your cookies!”

“It was the way you talked about your cookies that made it clear,” she retorted.

“Yeah, yeah, we’ll know soon enough.”

Thirty minutes later, the kitchen was all cleaned up, and the two of them had taken showers as well. Annabeth stood in front of the two trays of now-cooled cookies and took a small bite from both.

Percy should’ve expected that he would hear his girlfriend grumbling about losing for the next forty minutes as she built the best gingerbread house he’d ever seen. 

And yet, despite that, there was no other way he’d rather be spending Christmas.

                                                          ~~~~~~

I’m posting this with like minutes to spare on day 1 LOL I really hope everyone likes this!! 

[oh-obrien]

Brother’s Best Friend

Relationships: Dylan O’Brien x Original Female Character

Word Count: 7,214

Warnings: Underage Drinking, uhhh making out

Author’s Note: Hey y’all I’m very excited to post this one. Sorry it took longer than expected because mono is currently kicking my ass!

Emerson finished brushing her hair out after she had showered, grateful to have washed off the layer of sweat that had built up on her body after her afternoon run. She set her brush down before turning sideways so she could see herself better in the mirror. She sighed and pulled the legs of her Nike Pros down a little bit more before flattening out the waistband so it sat right under her bellybutton. She huffed before pulling on a long sleeve ‘Texas Softball’ shit and tucking the extra into her shorts. 

Jake, Emerson’s older brother, had insisted that Dylan said it tonight would just be a casual get together, she should be fine. She looked over her outfit once more before pulling on her fuzzy socks and grabbing her phone before she flicked off the guest bathroom light. She picked her water bottle up off the dresser in the guest bathroom as she passed before making her way downstairs. She heard music coming from the speakers in the kitchen and knew that’s where she would find her brother and his best friend.

She rounded the corner into the large kitchen and saw Jake slipping something into the oven while Dylan dug in the fridge for something. She watched the muscles in his shoulders ripple as he reached up to the top shelf to grab a glass bottle of minced garlic. His hair still slightly damp from his own post-run shower. Oh fuck here we go, she thought to herself. “What can I help with?” Emerson asked leaning on the counter. 

Dylan turned around and Emerson had to force herself to not look down at his abs before he pulled his bottom lip between his teeth, obviously thinking. “Umm, Jake is finishing the mac and cheese bites, he needs to bake them and I just need to finish the mini garlic knots, if you wanted to help with that.” He set the glass bottle down on the counter before grabbing the melted butter out of the microwave. 

“Sounds good,” Emerson nodded, looking at the center counter that had already been filled with plates of finger foods. “You two didn’t want to just cater this?” She asked the two boys. 

Jake stood up after slipping the mac and cheese bites into the oven. “We don’t usually cater this kind of thing, whoever is hosting usually cooks. Everyone brings drinks over and we just kind of vibe.” He shrugged. 

“Sounds fun,” Emerson watched as Dylan mixed the garlic butter and handed her a brush that looked almost like a paint brush. 

“Just brush the garlic butter over them while I pull some stuff out of the oven and we should be just about done after that,” he stretched his back out. Emerson tried to focus on the mini dough balls in front of her so she wouldn’t have to look at Dylan. “Jake said you were fine being around the alcohol, but I just wanted to make sure you didn’t care?” He asked her.

Emerson mentally rolled her eyes before nodding. Sometimes she forgot she was still four years younger than Jake and most of his friends, and she also forgot that she wasn’t of legal drinking age yet. “Yeah it’s fine with me, as long as you don’t care if I snag a couple drinks,” she tried to sound casual about it. 

She didn’t want to be the ‘best friend's little sister’ anymore. She had turned eighteen, which was still four years younger than Jake and Dylan, but she wasn’t a little kid anymore. “Damn Jake,” Dylan looked to his roommate, “didn’t tell me she drank, and she’s not even twenty-one.” He fake gasped and covered his mouth with his hand, his mouth forming an ‘o’. 

“And I bet I can hold my alcohol better than you can O’Brien,” Emerson rolled her eyes while she picked up the tray of mini garlic knots. “Can one of you idiots open the oven for me?” Dylan nodded and grabbed the oven handle, slowly pulling it open and stepping back so Emerson could slide the pan in. 

After she slid the pan in she turned away from Dylan, who bent over to close the oven. She found him attractive, she wouldn’t be a creep who would stare at him and oogle him the six entire six weeks she would be staying with him and her brother in Los Angeles. Emerson had just graduated high school and had wanted to spend her summer before college, and her last summer when she wouldn’t be completely tied down by D1 athletics, somewhere other than her hometown.

Jake had offered for Emerson to fly out to California to stay with Dylan and himself for the six weeks before she needed to move into her dorm. Jake had moved to California four summers earlier to play college baseball at UCLA and upon graduating he signed with the Los Angeles Dodgers. With Dylan no longer living with his co-stars from Teen Wolf, and with Jake also needing to get more of a permanent place out in Los Angeles, the childhood friends decided that they could share a large Bachelor Pad in the city. 

Emerson had grown up with the boys and knew their energy had often been unhinged and hard to control, so when she pulled up to the boy’s home and walked in to see it nearly spotless, except for a few pairs of shoes strewn about the entrance way, she had been shocked to say the least. She had also forgotten the crush she had on Dylan years ago, and with never having had a relationship, she would be pining after him again, much to her misfortune. 

Dylan had greeted her in the living room with bed-head and a pair of gray sweats hung low on his hips. He had a five o’clock shadow and had clearly just woken up when he offered her a warm hug. He mumbled something about how much she had grown up since he’d last seen her before wandering into the kitchen to make his morning coffee. Emerson had also noticed how much more Dylan had grown up, he now had a six pack, accompanied by a dark happy trail and was now clearly able to actually grow facial hair, something he complained about not being able to do when he had been younger. 

Sighing, Emerson pushed herself up on to the kitchen counter and watched as her brother took inventory of what alcohol they had in the fridge and cabinets. “Tyler said he would bring other stuff right?” Jake asked closing the bottom drawer of the fridge after pulling out two beers. “You still drink hard lemonade right?” He turned to Emerson.

“Yeah T-Pose is bringing a bunch of shit. Holland is bringing wine I think,” Dylan fake gagged. “Also hard lemonade?” He asked Emerson. She shrugged as her brother handed her a can, opening the pop tab on top and taking a sip before speaking.

“I’m a craft beer snob, as all my high school friends called it,” she set her can next to her on the counter. “We have the summer house out on the east end, Long Island is basically the craft beer capital.” Emerson had gotten used to drinking all the expensive craft beers her junior and senior year when her parents would let her and her friends use the east end house. Now she wasn’t able to drink any of the big brand names because they tasted absolutely disgusting in her opinion.  

Dylan leaned back on the counter and crossed his arms over his chest, defining the muscles in his arms more and his abs peeing out from underneath. “That summer house was always a blast man,” he looked over to Jake. “I miss that kind of shit.”

“I miss it too man, trust me,” Jake took a long sip of his drink. “We’re out here now though, it’s still pretty fun, it’s like high school again but this time we can buy the drinks ourselves.” Jake laughed, pulling the last of the food out of the oven and setting it on the counter.

“That part I can drink to,” Dylan tilted his beer towards Jake before taking a long sip of it. Emerson let herself watch as the golden liquid drained from the bottle and also noticed how  Dylan’s adam's apple bobbed when he swallowed. He pulled his phone out of the pockets of his sweats and set his bottle down, quickly replying to a message before slipping it into his pocket again. “I’m going to throw on real pants and a shirt, Tyler will be here in a few minutes so if there’s a knock it’s him.”

Emerson watched as Dylan walked out of the room, his feet dragging on the tiled floor while he rounded the corner to exit the kitchen and his footsteps being heard while he made his way up the stairs. “You’re back on this trend?” Jake asked when his little sister looked back over to him. 

“I guess so,” she lifted up her glasses to run a hand over her face. “Fucking sucks,” she mumbled. Of course Emerson had tried to date in high school, she had been one of the top ranked softball players in the state, there had been a period of time where guys were basically tripping over their own feet to have a chance with her. 

“That football player you went to prom with didn’t work out?” He asked his little sister, leaning on the counter opposite her. Emerson forgot she hadn’t really been able to update her older brother on her life much since she had seen him at his graduation nearly a month earlier. Sure, they texted and called each other from time to time, but Jake had been extremely busy now that he had officially signed into the major leagues. 

Emerson took a sip of her hard lemonade to distract herself before drumming on the can with her fingers. “No,” she shrugged, “he got back with his ex that night actually.” She watched as Jake’s gaze softened. Emerson had really liked Alex, she had a crush on him since sophomore year, and when he had asked her to prom at her senior night game, it had been a dream come true. However, the night of prom Alex decided to go to the prom house his ex had been invited too instead of the house on the shore Emerson and her other friends had rented. Looking back Emerson now felt more than happy she didn’t remember a majority of that night, as awful as that sounds.

“Well,” Jake let out a long breath, “can’t believe I’m about to say this. Dylan’s a good guy, he’s single too,” Jake laughed at himself, not believing that he just told his little sister he felt perfectly fine with her being interested in his best friend and roommate. “He’s been looking around but nothing’s worked out. I can’t say I’d be unhappy if you two happened.” Giving her brother a confused glance Emerson didn’t respond for a couple minutes. Trying to think of an answer that would be okay to give her older brother. 

She slid her glasses back on and pointed to Jake, “so you're telling me,” she pointed to herself, “that you would be perfectly okay with me getting with your childhood best friend and roommate? Sounds kind of convoluted if you want my opinion.” She paused when she heard a knock on the door. “But I’m not complaining!” She called after her brother.

“Not complaining about what?”Dylan asked, as he walked back into the kitchen. He had changed into a pair of dark jeans and a Mets t-shirt. Emerson quickly whipped her head around before trying to think of a witty response.

“About how bad you smell,” she shrugged before watching her brother walk into the kitchen, another guy around his and Dylan’s age trailing in behind him, both boys carrying a twelve pack of beer. “More shit beer? Jesus Jake, did you learn nothing living at home for the first eighteen years of your life?” She saw the other guy, Tyler, look at her with slight shock. “Sorry if that offended you, just want to offend my brother.”

Tyler set his case down on the counter, laughing. “She’s cool, she can stay,” he told Jake and Dylan. “I’m Tyler,” he held his hand out for Emerson to shake. 

“Emerson,” she shook his hand from her place on the counter. After their short introduction, Tyler walked over to the fridge to grab a cold beer and helped put the other two cases away to chill. Emerson watched the three boys move around each other while they pulled out plates, shot glasses and kitchen utensils from different drawers and cabinets, clearly having done it before. 

Dylan paused to steal a mozzarella stick off the plate on the counter, “did you know when the other hooligans are coming?” He asked around his mouthful of food. 

“Uhh, the girls said in the group chat they were coming together around six and I’m sure Hoechlin will be here a little earlier,” Tyler replied. “Sprayberry and Cody will probably be a little late, like they usually are. You fill her in?” Tyler nodded to Emerson.

Dylan looked at Emerson who just shrugged before he nodded, “she knew my castmates were coming over.” He leaned on to the counter next to where Emerson sat and picked up her lemonade, taking a sip before she could grab it from him. “That’s actually not bad. When Jake picked them up the other day I had been kind of confused at first.”

Emerson pulled her sleeve down to wipe at the lip of the can before she took another drink. “Confused as to why he was getting hard lemonade or confused as to why he was getting me hard lemonade?” She asked with a slight quirk in her lips. “Because it is my go to if I’m being honest.”

Dylan grabbed the can out of her hand and took another sip, letting the alcoholic lemonade sit in his mouth a little longer this time, “I could actually really get behind this.” He held it up to his lips again and Emerson hit his shoulder trying to get him to give it back. “You’re not legal, it’s mine now,” he held it closer. 

“Jake!” Emerson yelled her brother’s name, pulling him out of the conversation he had been in the middle of with Tyler. “Make him give it back!” Jake looked down to where Dylan had her drink in his hand and waved his little sister off. 

Tyler laughed watching Emerson glare between her brother and Dylan, “they always like this?” He asked eyeing the two who were arguing over the can still. “Because you know what I’m about to say right?”

“Yeah, yeah I do,” Jake took a long sip of his beer. “They’ve always been like this with each other, and she’s into him which makes it even worse.” He watched as Emerson gave up and pushed herself off the counter, walking over to the counter island to grab a mac and cheese bite.

Tyler watched Dyaln’s eyes follow Emerson as she moved around the kitchen, refilling her water bottle instead of grabbing a drink. “I mean, I know him pretty well too man,” Tyler grabbed one of the mini garlic knots and dunked it into the bowl of marinara sauce. “He seems at least a little bit interested in her himself. Might just be the age thing he has to get over.”

Emerson had just finished filling up her water bottle when she heard another knock on the door, knowing more of Dylan and Tyler’s friends had arrived. “I got it!” Dylan set the empty hard lemonade can down on the counter while he went to answer the door. 

“Wanna help move some if this?” Jake asked Emerson who watched as he and Tyler picked up plates of food. She nodded and grabbed two plates of the finger foods and followed the two boys outside on to the covered patio. “We’ll usually chill out here,” he added. 

Trailing behind the pair as she walked back inside, she saw Dylan in the kitchen laughing with three other girls and felt her heart sink a little bit. His eyes crinkled at the corners while he spoke and the girls around him were also laughing as they set wine and desserts down on the counter. “Emmy!” Dylan called out to Emerson.

“I- fuck,” she sighed walking over ot him, “I hate that I let you call me that,” she glared at him before looking at the three girls. “Hi, I’m Emerson. He’s called me Emmy since I’ve been like twom don’t mind him,” she gave them a smile.

The redhead stepped forward and pulled her into a hug, “I’m Holland and this is Shelly and Arden. You’re Jake’s younger sister right?” She double checked. Emerson nodded as she hugged the other two. 

“And you’ve known Dylan for how long?” Arden asked. 

Emerson laughed in the back of her throat, “since before I was born. Him and my brother have been friends since they were three. Dylan actually came to the baby shower my mom had for me and him and my brother dropped the cake,” she smirked at Dylan who had started to turn red. 

“Wait, I didn’t know that one,” Tyler interrupted as he also greeted the three girls. “Is that true?” He asked Dylan who just nodded in reaction, letting out a breath he didn’t know he had been holding in when he heard another knock on the door. 

He walked past Emerson and bumped into her shoulder when he passed, “brat,” he mumbled so only she could hear it. 

“Asshole,” she replied at the same volume and snorted when she saw Dylan flip her off behind his back while he walked to the entryway. She suddenly realized how many people were staring to fill up the kitchen and swallowed the spit that had been sitting in her mouth for far too long. “I’m going to go outside for a few minutes,” she told Jake who asked if she felt okay by just raising his eyebrows. “You know how I get,” she grabbed her water bottle before slipping out into the backyard. 

She felt lucky to be in the position she currently found herself in, but sometimes too many new people too fast got her overwhelmed. She’d always been that way though. She sat down on one of the patio chairs and watched the water in the pool ripple from the filter running, picking at her cuticles that were already torn up. A few minutes later the door opened and she felt someone sit on the chair next to her. 

“You still get like this sometimes?” Dylan asked her, moving his chair a little closer to her now that she knew it had been him who came outside. 

Emerson shrugged, “it happens, happened at all my college visits, happened at states, it’s normal.” She spoke the truth, her anxiety got to be a bit much sometimes and she knew when she needed to pull away for a few minutes. 

“Yeah it happens,” Dylan pulled her right hand away from where she had been picking at the cuticles on her left, “doesn’t mean someone shouldn’t check on you.” Emerson went to speak but he cut her off, “and yes Jake told me you went out for a minute but I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” 

Emerson bumped her shoulder into Dylan’s before she nodded, “all good now,” she stood up and nodded towards the house. “You have some more people to introduce me to.” Dylan smiled as he stood up, running  a hand through his messy hair.

“The rest just got here,” he followed Emerson into the house and she felt her brother and Tyler’s eyes on them. So much for telling Jake she still had a crush on Dylan, he wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut. 

Another hard lemonade that Dylan had stolen half of later, Emerson found herself outside sitting in a circle next to the fire pit in between Dylan and Shelly, who she had quickly gravitated towards. Most of the food Dylan and Jake made had been eaten and only a few desserts were left on the large glass table, but what had been left out would probably be gone within a couple of hours anyway. 

She had listened as Dylan and his castmates shared stories about set and filming and her brother seemed to fit right into the group. When asked about herself and her relationship with Dylan and her brother, Emerson had a few funny stories of her own to share that had Jake and Dylan groaning and red cheeked. “So,” Tyler Posey sat up a little straighter after the conversation had started to fade. “Anyone up for a little game, straight face, thumper?”

“Never have I ever?” Cody suggested and it had been met with a few hums and nods in agreement. “See I have good ideas sometimes,” Cody laughed, setting his beer down in front of himself.  Emerson shifted uncomfortably once she knew they would be playing never have I ever. It’s the one drinking game she hated playing. If she knew it would  be played at a party in high school she would often excuse herself for the game to go get fresh air or another drink. 

Emerson stood up and Dylan gave her a confused look, setting his bottle of beer down. “I’m just going to grab my water bottle and some Motrin, still a little jet lagged.” She told him. “Everyone can start without me.” She addressed the whole group.

“You’re good?” Jake just wanted to make sure his sister felt okay, but he had been flirting with one of Dylan’s castmates all night and she didn’t want to stomp on any chances he had, unsure if it h.ad been an ongoing thing or not. Emerson nodded and waved him off while she wandered inside, flicking on the kitchen light while she tried to find her water bottle. 

She unscrewed the top and filled it with ice before opening the fridge and grabbing the pitcher of filtered water, pouring it into her bottle. She left it open on the counter while she went to find the motrin in her backpack, opening up the orange bag she found the bottle and dumped two pills into her hand. She hoped to push off the migrange she felt coming on until the morning so she could at least sleep.

Walking back down stairs, shaking the two pills in her hand, she noticed Dylan dumping leftover food into the garbage can and filling up a recycling bag with bottles and cans. “Need help?” She asked before slipping the pills into her mouth and taking a sip of her water before closing it. 

“I actually just came to see what was up with you, figured I could clean up while I waited,” he shrugged, putting a few plates in the sink. “You got out of there pretty quick.” He crossed his arms, leaning against the counter while Emerson slid up into the spot she had been sitting on earlier. “Your dad used to yell at you for that when you were younger.” Dylan pointed out.

Emerson reached up to run her fingers across the scar that sat on the bridge of her nose. “Then I fell off and cracked my face up,” she dropped her hand, “I think he just assumed I had learned my lesson after that.”

Dylan grimaced at the memory of her falling off the counter, he had been over for a superbowl party when that happened. “Clearly didn’t,” he laughed a little bit, “why’d you need to come inside though? Ran off a little fast just to grab a drink and motrin, and thought you said earlier you were amazing at drinking games.” 

“Okay, first off you know I get migraines,” she reminded him. “Second I like drinking games,” she emphasized the word game. “Never have I ever isn’t much of a drinking game, not really a fan.” She shrugged wishing she could curl up in a ball and disappear. She wasn’t about to spew her lack of experience in life out to Dylan, of all people. 

Dylan uncrossed his arms and braced them on the counter behind him, “okay but it’s still fun to learn about all the embarrassing and sometimes slightly illegal things your friends have done,” he knew he was currently pushing the issue. He knew how to push the issue to hear what he wanted to from Emerson, he’d been doing it for years now.

“You see, this is where it gets hard to follow Dylan,” she pointed at him motioning for him not to speak for a few minutes. “It’s not fun when you haven’t done anything normal let alone embarrassing or slightly illegal. So you just sit there twiddling your thumbs the entire time because you lack zero life experience except being related to an MLB player and you’re really good at softball,” she let out a long breath before looking down at the water bottle that sat between her legs. “So no it’s not fun,” she mumbled before looking up.

She watched as Dylan chewed on his bottom lip, probably deciding what to say while he watched her nervously fiddle with her water bottle. “Is it that you just haven’t found anyone to do that kind of thing with?” He asked her. Emerson let her legs uncross and swung them in front of herself, making a thumping noise each time they hit into the cabinet under her. 

“Umm,” she hesitated for a minute. What would he be expecting her to tell him? She currently had feelings for him? The one guy she had actually been interested in during high school got back with his ex the night he took Emerson to prom? “I mean, there had been one guy I was interested in, but he wound up getting back with his ex the night of prom.” She tried to shrug it off. 

“And there’s no one else you’re interested in?” Why did he keep pushing so hard? What would be the outcome if he eventually coaxed it out of her? 

Emerson took a moment to run through all the possible answers to the question in her head. She could just tell him, she was interested in someone, but then he would definitely continue to push the issue. “I mean, yeah there’s people I’d be interested in, but it’s unrealistic to pursue if I’m being honest.” She cleared her throat after and watched as Dylan pushed himself off the counter, moving closer to Emerson. He stopped when he stood in front of her, his knees almost brushing hers. 

Emerson looked up and noticed his five-o’clock shadow that she wanted to reach out and brush her fingers over. She wanted to know what it would feel like if she cupped his cheek in her and. What it would feel like if she kissed him. She also wanted to know what his lips would feel like on hers, if they would be soft or slightly chapped. She had kissed boys before, but none of the kisses she had turned out to be ‘good’. Dylan was older than her, more experienced, he would most likely know what to do, he’d easily be able to guide her. 

“Well,” his eyes flickered down to her lips and then back up to her eyes. His warm eyes searching hers for any sign of discomfort or uneasiness, “I also know there’s people I’m interested in, but I wasn’t sure what the consequences would be if I pursued said feelings.” He moved even closer to Emerson, her legs moving so he could stand between them. 

Her breath hitched in her throat when she noticed that she could feel Dylan’s body heat radiating off of him, he felt very warm, and very close. “At- at least it’s not unrealistic,” she told him, never breaking eye contact. 

He lifted a hand to rest under her chin and his thumb ran across her bottom lip. Emerson sat stunned, she felt paralyzed, Dylan felt too close to her and he was touching her in what she classified as a very intimate way. “You tell me if this is unrealistic,” he lifted Emerson’s mouth even closer to his and she felt his breath fan across her lips, she could smell the alcohol on his breath but the sweetness of the lemonade element overpowered it. He was sober. She was sober. It was fine to kiss him. 

“I don’t think it is,” she quietly replied. 

Dylan swiped his tongue over his lips and they pulled into a slight smile. “Can I- can I kiss you?” He asked before swallowing thickly. Emerson responded by pushing up and slotting her lips against his, a long breath releasing from her nose as she finally felt slightly relaxed for the first time that night. Their lips seemed to move together much smoother than any kiss she had before, and it didn’t feel messy or rushed. 

After a few seconds Emerson pulled away to breath and Dylan rested his forehead against hers, a breathy laugh falling past his lips while they both smiled. “I cannot believe I just did that,” Emerson mumbled before laughing herself, her forehead falling to Dylan’s shoulder as they both tried to laugh any awkwardness out. 

“It wasn’t bad though right?” Dylan asked and Emerson could feel him smiling against her shoulder. “Because there’s no pressure but I’d really like to take you upstairs for a little while and try that again.”

Emerson’s eyes widened at Dylan’s words and she picked her head up, waiting for him to do the same before she spoke. “You’re serious?” She asked with slight unbelief in her voice, “because the answer is that felt fucking amazing and the answer is yes,” she had to be dreaming right now, she really had to be. Dylan pushed away from the counter and held a hand out for Emerson to take. “Thank you,” she gripped it as she slid off the counter and her feet planted on the tile floor of the kitchen. 

“My pleasure,” Dylan gave her a purposely terrible wink as he dragged her towards the staircase by her hand. Emerson followed him up the stairs, trying not to trip while they both laughed like little kids  who were trying not to get caught doing something they weren’t supposed to. Once reaching Dylan’s room he pulled Emerson inside and closed the door before pressing her against it, chest to chest, his hands on either side of her head. 

The pair caught their breath and just watched each other for a few moments, taking the situation in before Dylan dipped down and pressed his lips to Emerson’s. His hands came up to rest on his shoulders, one of his slipping down to grip her waist and pull her tighter against him. “Wait,” Emerson pulled away, “everyone’s gonna wonder where we went,” she breathed out.

“So,” Dylan pulled her away from the door and pushed her onto his bed, her letting out an ‘oof’ when her back hit the mattress. “Let them wonder,” he shrugged, crawling above her. Emerson reached up to wind her arms around his neck, her fingers running through the hair at the base of his neck. “Because I am very happy right here,” with that he leaned down to kiss Emerson again.

Emerson closed her eyes and tried to melt into the feeling of kissing Dylan. She felt as if she was on cloud nine, kissing the boy she had a crush on for well over half her life, and she didn’t want to let it slip away too fast. She took a breath through her nose when she felt Dylan’s teeth pull on her bottom lip and she pulled away from the kiss way too fast, his teeth catching on her lip as she jerked away. “I’m sorry!” She wanted to crawl under the bed and hide. “I just didn’t - I wasn’t,” bhe she couldn’t find the words she wanted to say. 

“You haven’t gone that far before and you weren’t sure what to expect?” Dylan asked her as they both sat up, her legs swinging over the side of his bed. Emerson nodded and bit down on her bottom lip, not wanting to actually admit she had as little experience as she actually did. “And that is perfectly fine,” Dylan rested a hand on her thigh and started to rub circles into her skin. “I don’t see that as a problem,”

Emerson turned to face him, “and it’s fine and dandy you don’t see it as a problem, but I do! It’s embarrassing Dylan! I’m starting college and don’t even know how to properly kiss a boy when all my friends were having sex their sophmore or junior year!” She felt herself wanting to crawl under the bed more and more with every word she spoke but Dylan sat back against his head bored and pulled her with his so she straddled his lap. 

“I mean, we’re here now right?” He slipped his hands under her shirt and ran his thumbs along her hip bone sending goosebumps around her entire body. “And if you trust me enough to take the lead I can show you how this whole kissing thing works,” he pinched her side making her laugh and grab his hand, “it can be quite nice when you actually relax.” He gave her a sideways smirk.

“I-” Emerson paused, “okay, yeah. I trust you.” She nodded her head and relaxed in Dylan’s hold, waiting for him to make the first move.

He reached down to pull off her glasses and folded them closed, placing them on his nightstand. “Well first off, it’ll be a lot more comfortable without these in the way,” he smiled and leaned forward to peck her lips before he got a firmer grip on her hips and flipped her over so she again found herself underneath him.

He braced himself on his forearms above her, his stomach pressed against hers, “now just let your lips follow mine, ‘kay?” He leaned down to attach his lips to Emerson’s. 

She closed her eyes and found her left hand gripping the front of Dylan’s shirt, the right reaching around to settle in the soft hair at the back of his head. She felt his lips moving against her’s and tried to copy his movements unsure of what else to do. Dylan smiled against her lips when he picked up what she had been trying to do and decided to run his tongue against her bottom lip and gauge her reaction for where to go next. When Emerson didn’t pull away Dylan decided he could probably go a little further and allowed himself to pull away to take a breath.

“I’m sure you’ve at least heard about using tongue to kiss,” he laughed lightly when Emerson scrunched up her nose. “Yeah, yeah. You’ve heard about high school boys who don’t know how to do it right,” he told her. “I told you I’m showing you how real guys kiss, not high school scum.”

Emerson took a deep breath before she leaned forward to reconnect their lips, her teeth pulling lightly on Dylan’s bottom lip this time. “Then stop talking and show me.” She mumbled. Dylan felt a groan bubbling in the back of his throat and swallowed it, instead opting to lean forward and run his tongue over her bottom lip before he even attached their lips. 

Emerson’s mouth had opened slightly against his and took it as his opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth, he felt her tense slightly but then she quickly relaxed. He wrapped his tongue around hers and pulled it slightly into his own mouth before pulling away, dragging her bottom lip between his teeth as he did. He kissed the corner of her slightly swollen lips, and rested his forehead against hers. He felt himself start to grow uncomfortable in his jeans but pushed the feeling away, this needed to be about him making Emerson comfortable, not about him getting off. 

“Damn,” Emerson laughed as she felt Dylan’s slightly heavier breathing fan across her lips. “You’re pretty good at this.” She let her hand that had been gripping the front of his shirt slip underneath it, running up and down his abs. 

Dylan shivered before offering her a smile back, “not too bad yourself,” he threw her another terrible wink. “Gets even better though,” he added, “could show you that too if you were still up for it.” Emerson nodded when she heard everyone outside still laughing and talking slighter louder than they needed too, their voices drifting through Dylan’s cracked window. 

“I mean, sounds pretty good to me,” she hummed, “I just feel bad, I’m not like doing anything for you.” She watched as Dylan’s gaze softened. 

He reached up to cup her jaw with his left hand, just his right hand holding him up now. “Trust me,” he leaned down to peck her lips, “this is more than enough for me.” Dylan moved his hand down so it gripped her chin and turned her head slightly to the right, exposing the left side of her neck to him. Emerson swallowed thickly when she felt his lips attach to the left corner of her lips, he started trailing kisses up to where her jaw met her neck and let his teeth scrape gently across the area, his tongue running across it after. 

He continued the trail of kisses down her neck again until his lips reached her pulse point. He felt Emerson stiffen in his arms and knew he found exactly what he has been looking for. He started sucking on the spot lightly and felt Emerson’s grip on his hair tightern slightly. After a few seconds he bit down lightly on the skin and he heard a small noise slip past her lips that sent her pulling away from him. 

“I’m so-” but he cut her off.

“That’s natural don’t be sorry and let me finish what I started, and don’t make yourself stay quiet. I find it quite hot when I know I’m making a girl feel good,” he mumbled and attached his lips to the same spot again, intending to leave a very nice hickey there. 

Emerson laid plaint in Dylan’s hold and tried to let herself fully enjoy the feeling of his lips against her neck. She hoped he wasn't lying when he said he liked hearing that he made girls feel good because she let a quiet moan slip past her lips when he bit down on the area again. He continued to suck a little harder on the area and soothed it with his tongue every few seconds. 

Dylan continued his actions until he knew there would be a bruise forming on the area and pulled away to admire his work. A dark bruise was in fact starting to form exactly where he wanted it to and he leaned down to run his tongue across it a final time before he kissed his way back up to Emerson’s lips. 

She felt more comfortable this time and decided maybe she could try and take more of a lead, not wanting to leave Dylan high and dry. She pulled on the hem of Dylan’s shirt while they kissed and he pulled away to pull the fabric over his head, dropping it on the floor next to his bed. Emerson let herself admire his body for a moment before she spoke, “can I try?” she asked quietly.

Dylan let himself let out a quiet groan at her question before nodding. He gripped her hips again and flipped them over so she straddled his lap, her ass resting right above his growing ‘problem’. Emerson leaned forward to kiss his lips before she ran her tongue under his bottom lip, slowly and slightly unsure. Dylan parted his lips and allowed her to move her tongue into his mouth, tangling with his for a moment before she pulled away.

“Just like this?” She asked as she grabbed his chin and turned his head to the side. Dylan gave a hum in approval and closed his eyes when he felt Emerson attach her lips to his neck. Her left hand splayed out over his abs while her right shakily held his chin still. 

She remembered one of her friends saying something about her boyfriend loving it when she pulled on his earlobe with her teeth while they were making out and decided it was worth a shot if it could possibly impress Dylan. She allowed her lips to trail up his neck until they were right under Dylan’s lips and felt him shiver when she planted a kiss there. Closing her eyes and hoping for thr best she pulled on his earloble lightly with her teeth and heard Dylan let out a breathy ‘fuck’. 

Happy with herself Emerson trailed her lips down his neck again until they met his adams apple. She bit down lightly on the skin before she began sucking on it, trying to mimic the actions he had done on her neck a few minutes earlier. She soothed her tongue over the skin after a little while and felt Dylan’s grip on her hips tighten as he let out a louder groan this time. “Damn you learn fast,” he mumbled as Emerson sucked on his skin again before pulling lightly on it with her teeth. She left a gentle kiss on the area before sitting up, admiring the dark mar forming on his skin. 

“Thanks,” she smiled leaning down to peck his lips. “I had a great teacher,” it was her turn to offer Dylan a wink. She laid her head down on his chest and his arms came to wrap around her, hugging her against him. “We should probably go downstairs and see what everyone’s doing,” she said after noticing it had fallen quiet outside now.

Dylan laughed and it shook her entire body, “yeah sporting matching hickeys and swollen lips,” he replied. “But I think you’re right.” He unwrapped his arms from Emerson and pulled her down into one final, lingering kiss before she sat up fully. She grabbed her glasses off the nightstand and slid them on straight.

“Here,” she bent down to hand him his shirt, “might want to put that back on,” she shrugged as she wandered out of his room and to the staircase. 

Dylan rushed to pull the shirt over his head as he followed Emerson down the stairs, “hope you know you’re staying in my room tonight!” He told her while she grabbed her water bottle.

“Yeah,” Emerson took a sip, “and you might want to put your shirt on right side out before you go outside,” she patted his chest while she walked past, pulling the sliding glass door open and stepping outside. Leaving Dylan in the middle of the kitchen, red faced while he turned his shirt right side out.

[lokisgame]

Ill Communication

[part 1]

"Where do you put it all?" Maggie wondered as Mulder wiped the last of the sauce of his plate with a piece of bread crust. "I run?" He never really thought about it. Sport helped him calm down and burn off the emotions that came with the job; no matter how much he ate, he burned it off sooner or later. "You don't do this often either," Maggie smiled her gentle smile, "home cuisine I mean." Mulder shook his head sheepishly and glanced at Scully, who looked lost in her own happy thoughts. He sure could get used to this. "You should come to dinner some time, with Dana." "I don't want to intrude on your family time," he said, heart aching. He wanted to, but only if Scully wanted him too. "You did so much for her, for us," Maggie's words made him lower his gaze and study the wine glass, "you are family, Fox." Scully recognized her mother's smile, one that made even her feel too small to handle all the love, and broke the tension getting up and gathering plates. "Why are you trying to make him uncomfortable?" she said with humor. "I am not." Maggie laughed, shaking her head and took the notepad Scully kept close at hand. 'Do you need anything from me tonight?’ Scully read the note, a little surprised, "you're leaving?" 'I can see you're in good hands, I'll stop by on Sunday.' Maggie kissed her cheek then turned to Mulder. "Can you call me a cab, please." "I can drive you," he offered, getting up as well. She rounded the table and hugged him warmly, "no need, but thank you, and remember that my invitation stands." "I will," he said, hugging her back.

Once the door closed after Maggie, Scully tugged at his sleeve. “What was that all about?” Mulder shrugged and went back to the phone, tapping the machine with one finger. Scully noticed the blinking red light "Oh, can you write down the messages for me?” Hand over his heart, he pretended to be shocked, Scully was starting to get used to his pantomime. “Yes, I trust you that much, you want desert?” He nodded eagerly and she went to the kitchen. They met back on the couch, two bowls of ice cream on the coffee table, Mulder’s unfinished wine, the coffee machine gurgling in the background. "Telemarketing, mom, mom,” Scully looked through his notes, "another one from mom, she really got scared." Mulder sighed and stopped picking chunks of chocolate from his ice cream. He took the notes and replaced them with her own bowl; there was nothing urgent in the messages anyway. "Where were you all day?" she asked, poking the ice cream to melt faster. "Did the mechanic take that long to check the oil and breaks?" Shaking his head, he pointed to the notes, then the top of his head. "You talked to mom, okay, but you don't look like you had a haircut." That made him laugh and he ran his fingers through his hair, this time smoothing them flat. "Skinner!" she exclaimed and chuckled. Mulder grinned and showed her 3 fingers, then folded his palms under one cheek, spoon in his mouth, miming sleep. "You got me 3 days off." She stated, not so amused anymore. He nodded solemnly, digging in his bowl, avoiding her eyes. "With or without the weekend." He showed her 5 fingers and she sighed. "Fine, and what will you do, while I'm gone?" One arm around her, he pulled her into his side, kissing her cheek softly; his lips ice cream chilled. Scully looked at him, blushing surprise. "What was that for?" Mulder nodded in the direction of the kitchen. "Dinner? You're welcome." He let go and got back to his ice cream. "You took the time off as well, didn't you." He didn't look up and it was all the confirmation she needed. She expected it actually. There was no point in arguing, it was Friday night anyway. So, curling her feet under herself, she leaned against his side, enjoying her desert and his relieved sigh. When Mulder moved to get up after a while, the tv remote dug into her thigh. He took the bowl from her and went to the kitchen; one glance and she figured he must have heard that the coffee was done. He knew where she kept the mugs, took the milk from the fridge, though he liked his black. Coming back, he offered her her favorite mug and she offered him the remote as he sat down in the exact same spot, so their shoulders touched again. He found the game, Scully didn't mind. She watched the green field, the scores, the players dance and swing and run; it looked kind of funny without the sound.

When Mulder came back with the coffee and Scully again leaned against his side, something in him cracked. Not in a dramatic way, he didn't weep with joy or anything, but the warmth that flooded him, made the thought of going back to his apartment, take-out food and impersonal porn feel like a punishment. He felt home around her. By the 6th inning, Scully's head fell on his shoulder, her breathing measured, one-two of deep sleep. Pulling the blanket of the back of the couch he draped it over her, and then closed his eyes as well, just for a second... Until she wakes up... Was carb coma a proper medical term? He had to ask... And by the green light of the tv, they slept.

The clock on the VCR blinked 3am when he woke up, Scully cuddled into his side, her head on his shoulder in the narrow space of the couch. Nature called, so as gently as possible, he untangled himself from her arms, resting her head on the pillow, she was a little warmer than usual, but it could be sleep. He tucked her in. Why did he try to stay quiet was a mystery. The glaring white light of the bathroom chased away sleep. He downed a glass of water and looked at himself in the mirror. Leaving was the last thing he wanted to do, but it was the right thing. By the light of the tv, he scribbled a note and weighed it down with a glass of water on the coffee table, where she would find it. Allowing himself one last long glance, he left, locking the doors on his way out.

Scully woke up, startled, disoriented and alone. She kicked away the blanket, sitting up, head swimming with the abrupt motion. The tv was off, no light under the bathroom door. "Mulder?" She called into the darkness. Nothing, no movement, just silence. She went to check the bedroom, if by some slim chance he was hiding from her. Turning on the lights in the kitchen, everything was the way she left it, the few dishes, two mugs in the sink. Forcing herself to calm down, she figured, he must have left. She shouldn't feel surprised, and yet she was. Undressing as she went, she found her pj's and climbed into the cool bed, watching the lights dance on the ceiling, as sleep evaded her. She could use a warm Mulder right now, the man was a walking furnace, but smelled better. She drifted in and out of sleep, waking up startled after what felt like hours but was in fact minutes, hating it, aware that she would be useless in the morning. Only when the sky started to turn pink, she managed to fall asleep, her last thought being of Mulder, and his cute ears. He could be her ears.

[sosmark]

twice in a lifetime | 01

pairing: Jinyoung x Reader

genre: fluff with a bit of drama

word count: 2.3k

a/n: ok so this is the first chapter of series I have been working on for awhile! Big thanks to @wenotes and @hobijoon for helping me out with this! I hope you guys enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

“I don’t know how you do it, babe.”

You sighed looking at the mess on the desk. Sheets of paper, everything from reading assignments to flyers for a frat party were cluttered across the surface, accompanied by the remnants of old water bottles and some ramen cups.

“I don’t either,” he said with a breathy laugh.

You looked at him. A beautiful smile graced his face as he sat at the cluttered desk. There was that famous Jinyoung grin, the same one on an old campaign poster that hung on the wall above you.

“Jinyoung Park, GOT president,” you read aloud.

He moved to stand next to you, staring up at the poster with a proud smile on his face. You wrapped your arms around his waist giving him the warmest smile you could muster.

“I believe in you.”

He smiled down at you, pushing a strand of hair off your forehead, replacing it with his lips. You laid your head on his chest, melting into his embrace.

“Thank you,” he sighed, resting his head on top of yours.

You hummed in acknowledgment before letting the silence overtake you both. Jinyoung held you in his arms, swaying and humming some calm, silent melody.

“Okay, enough. You need to get back to work on your essay. I’m gonna go grab us some food. What do you want?” You asked, walking over to your purse to grab your keys.

Jinyoung shook his head, “Just grab some ramen.”

With a smile on your face, you nodded, sprinting down the stairs and out the front door. The convenience store was only a few blocks away, a short distance to walk considering any other food establishment would require a longer commute. Plus, you had been coming here for as long as you had been dating Jinyoung, so it was kind of like a tradition. With a ding of the bell, you stepped inside.

“Hey, Mark,” you smiled, walking past the quiet brunette who stood behind the counter.

He nodded in your direction, an unspoken hello, one you had grown quite accustomed to. You heard the familiar bell of the front door chime and a stranger strolled through the doors. You watched as he walked past you, giving Mark a curt nod. Dark sunglasses shaded the stranger’s face, along with an old baseball cap. You barely noticed the inky black hair peeking out beneath the back of the cap while desperately trying to focus on scanning the shelf before you to choose your ramen.

Finally grabbing something suitable for both Jinyoung and yourself, you approached the checkout. You had a hard time keeping the cups in your hand while you rummaged through your jacket pocket looking for your wallet, just to realize that you undoubtedly left it at Jinyoung’s.

“Shit!” You cursed silently, catching Mark’s attention.

Mark furrowed his brows, looking up from his phone. He watched in amusement as you hastily grabbed at yourself, hoping that for once you didn’t forget something of necessity.

“Again, Y/N?”

You felt your face flush red, digging through your pockets to find your phone and text your boyfriend. Sighing, you realized you left that at home as well.

“I’m sorry…” you said sheepishly.

Mark let out a chuckle, “Who doesn’t have 2 dollars to spend on ramen?”

You sighed, “Apparently, me. I’ll be right back.”

You turned to leave but you felt a hand on your wrist keeping you in place.  Looking up you noticed the guy from before, a smile resting on his lips.

“Let me,” he spoke, nodding towards the ramen.

You looked towards Mark who just shrugged. He was probably just happy that he didn’t have to bail you out this time.

“No, it’s fine, I can run home and grab my wallet.” You laughed nervously.

“It’s 2 dollars, it’s fine,” he chuckled, letting go of your hand. “And no, you don’t have to pay me back. Like this guy said, who doesn’t have two dollars for ramen?”

You smiled, a tinge of blush creeping to your cheeks, “Ok.”

He nodded, cracking a smile as he pulled out his wallet to pay.

“Thanks..” you murmured, a timid smile on your face.

He nodded and you turned towards the door with your ramen in hand, rushing out before anything could get more awkward. Like some mysterious guy just paid for your dinner because you seemed to forget everything. A sigh escaped you as you made your way up to the apartment. The house was quiet when you finally stepped inside.

“I’m home!” You called, locking the door behind you.

You walked into the kitchen to set the bag down only to find Jinyoung sitting at the kitchen table with a stern look on his face.

“You forgot your wallet,” he stated.

“I know…”

“And your phone.”

“Yep…”

“Do you have anything to say for yourself?” He asked, his hands crossed firmly over his chest.

“I’m sorry…?” It came out as more of a question than a statement. Jinyoung rolled his eyes.

He scoffed, “You always are.”

“I really am sorry, geez,” you admitted, pulling the ramen cups from the bag which only made Jinyoung quirk a brow at you in question.

“How is it that even when you forget your wallet, you still manage to bring home food?”

“Magic,” you giggled, pouring the water into the ramen cups.

Jinyoung rolled his eyes, taking a seat at the table. You quickly placed the cups in the microwave, both at once since you were hungry and too impatient to microwave them individually like normal people would.

“Did you make any progress on your essay?” You asked, turning towards Jinyoung. He shook his head.

“Too busy worrying about me,” you mumbled, watching the cups revolve slowly in the microwave.

Jinyoung’s breathy laugh captured your attention, pulling your focus away from the oh-so-fascinating noodles.

“Do you have something to say?” You quipped. He shook his head, a big grin plastered on his face.

“Mmmm,” you pursed your lips, narrowing your eyes.

The ding from the microwave caught you off guard, making you jump. Jinyoung laughed as you carefully grabbed the cup of hot noodles with an oven mitt.

“I hate you, Park Jinyoung,” you mumbled, setting the cups down on the table.

“No you don’t,” he chuckled, a large grin on his face as he pulled you onto his lap, leaving a soft kiss on your temple.

“Whatever…”

-

beep!…beep!…beep!…

You groaned, slamming your hand down on the snooze button of your alarm. Rolling over, you were faced with an empty bed and a slight twinge in your heart. Jinyoung was normally always there when you woke up, which made it your favorite reason to get up so early in the morning.

You grabbed your phone in search of an answer and much to your surprise there weren’t any text messages or missed calls, just a blank screen that displayed a selfie of you and Jinyoung. You smiled as you looked down at the picture before unlocking your phone and typing a quick text to your boyfriend. A loud ringing sound played in the silent air of your bedroom before Youngjae’s face filled up your screen, effectively halting your fingers from typing out anymore words. With a sigh, you answered the phone.

“Gooooood morning!” His voice was always too overly cheery for early mornings.

You winced pulling the phone slightly away from your ear. “Youngjae.”

“Good, you’re awake,” he cheered and you could imagine the smile that was on his face, even over the phone.

“Barely,” you mumbled, rubbing the back of your neck as you slowly got out of bed.

“Are you still giving me a ride to campus?” He asked as you began to rummage through your closet for something to wear.

You stopped for a moment let Youngjae’s word sink in. Then gasped, “Oh crap that’s today?”

“Yeah. Didn’t Jinyoung tell you he had some work to do at the GOT house…?” he asked with a slight chuckle.

“He forgot to mention it…” you muttered, slipping your shirt over your head while still trying to hold the phone to your as you talked with Youngjae.

You heard some muffled voices in the background, obviously belonging the other GOT boys. You heard someone whisper something like, “He’s screwed,” and an uproar of laughter followed soon after. Shaking your head, you sighed, “I’ll see you in a bit, Jae”

After hanging up, you finished getting ready for the day as quickly as you could. Shoving your feet into your shoes, you made your way to the door, double checking that you had everything.

The morning air was crisp and you were glad you had a jacket. You snuggled into Jinyoung’s hoodie as you walked the short distance down to your car.

The sun was rising, painting the sky a beautiful shade of orange that you admired from the comfort of the driver’s seat. You smiled to yourself as you started the car; if only Jinyoung was here to share this with you. Shaking your head, you pulled out onto the road, slowly making your way towards the GOT house.

The fraternity wasn’t that far from campus, yet Youngjae was always asking you to give him a ride. It didn’t bother you much, he was your best friend and you would do anything for him, but sometimes you wish he would carpool with someone else or maybe drive himself. Although the thought of Youngjae behind the wheel was slightly scary, it also made you chuckle as you pulled into his driveway.

To Sunshine: I’m here… and I gotta get coffee so hurry up.

From Sunshine: omw!

Youngjae came bounding down the driveway, backpack bouncing against his back and a goofy grin plastered across his face. Taking his backpack off with a swing and clutching it to his chest, Youngjae opened the door and plopped right next to you in the passenger’s seat.

“So, coffee?” You asked with raised brows.

Youngjae buckled his seatbelt and grinned at you. “Let’s go.”

You nodded turning up the radio, putting your car in reverse. An uneventful silence fell over the both of you as you drove towards the coffee shop.

“How was your weekend?” You asked in an attempt to break it.

“Quite boring. No good parties,” he shrugged. “You?”

“About the same. Jinyoung scolded me last night, so that was fun,” you said with a chuckle.

“You forgot something?” He asked.

“Obviously,” you said as you drove into the drive thru.

“Wallet? Or was it your phone? Maybe your keys, like that one time you forgot your keys were inside your locker and then locked them in there,” he jeered. You slapped his chest earning a whine from him.

“I forgot my wallet at the house when I ran to the convenience store to grab ramen. I came back with some anyway, so he wasn’t that mad,” you shrugged, pulling up to the menu.

You ordered your drinks, a small iced coffee for yourself and Youngjae’s favorite, a caramel macchiato before pulling up to the window.

“So how did you come back with ramen if you forgot your wallet?”

“Oh, some guy paid for it. Seemed rather happy to, actually.” you shrugged.

“Huh, maybe he thought you were cute.” Youngjae grinned, wiggling his eyebrows.

You groaned as the girl opened the window. “$7.85,” she said with a smile before you handed her your card.

“Oh look, you remembered,” Youngjae teased. You rolled your eyes at his smart remark, turning towards the window where the girl handed you back your card along with a receipt.

“Why are you my best friend?”  You asked pulling up to the next window.

Youngjae shrugged, “Why are you so forgetful?”

You glared at him. A smug grin rested on his lips and you held back the urge to smack it off. The window opened revealing the barista who held your drinks. Quickly grabbing them from his hands, you thanked him, giving the beverages to Youngjae. You pulled out of the drive-thru and back into the street where you continued on towards campus. The parking lot was practically full and you reminded yourself why coffee was a bad idea.

“Maybe coffee wasn’t such a good idea,” Youngjae said, voicing your exact thoughts.

You finally found a spot in the back much to your disappointment. After turning off the car, rotating the key and pulling it out from behind the steering wheel, a sigh fell from your lips.

“Just have to get through this year.”

You turned to Youngjae with a weak smile and exited the car. Youngjae followed closely behind, slinging his bag over his shoulder as he waited for you to retrieve yours from the backseat.

“Ready?” He asked moving in front of your car, drink in hand.

You nodded after locking your car and linked arms with him as you walked towards campus. There was a steady hum that floated through the air, snippets of conversations and laughter fill your ears as you neared the courtyard.

“You ok?” Youngjae asked shaking you from your daze.

You hummed a positive, to which he gave you a soft smile.

“You miss JYP?”

You rolled your eyes, letting out a scoff. “Just because you’re ‘brothers’ does not mean you can give him a ridiculous nickname.”

“You’re bitter this morning,” Youngjae scoffed in return, adjusting the straps of his backpack as he did.

You noticed a familiar black baseball cap lined with inky black hair bobbing through the hallway. You stopped then, accidentally stepping on Youngjae’s toe.

“Dude,” Youngjae groaned, squinting over towards you.

“Are you ok?” He asked while shaking your shoulder, pulling you from your thoughts.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just thought I saw someone,” you mumbled continuing onto your class as if nothing had happened.

“Well, this is a college campus and there are a lot of people here.” Youngjae chuckled.

You rolled your eyes, “Let’s just get to our lecture before we’re late.”

[littleblackdomicile]

Can We Live With Smaller Appliances?

Continuing the reveal of our new kitchen, today we share our decision to use smaller, euro sized appliances.  For us, using smaller appliances has been more pro than con!

A Smaller, 24″ Wide Refrigerator and Freezer

Yes, that is correct.  Our new method of keeping things cold, or frosty, is a Liebherr Bio Fresh refrigerator and freezer.  The immediate pro for us, as mentioned in the previous post, is the added space in the traffic area and countertop.  I admit to being a little nervous about our departure from a full size 36″ wide model, while we waited for the trip across the sea for the unit to arrive.  After a week of stocking this little gem, we are converted.  The difference in food freshness is noticeable.  Having refrigerator items higher is a plus.  Now the cons, which we have easily overcome.  If you are a huge in the door condiment user, the limited door space could be a problem.  A pizza box is not going to fit either.  We have always used smaller, glass containers for food storage and found truffle ketchup in a jar at Trader Joe’s that looks charming on the shelf instead of in the door.  We reserve the door for beverages.  A gal has to always have that perfect bottle of wine for her best buds!

The ice maker in the freezer, in the reduced width unit, made me gasp.  Mr. LBD seldom uses ice.  I use it most waking hours and at first thought…oh, no I have made a huge mistake.  The first week, I bagged ice and kept it on hand in the 2nd top drawer.  We’ve never used the extra ice, even when we had 9 people over for a proper social distancing quick dinner.  The two lower drawers are deep and hold everything we need easily.   For the cons, if you are a cook way ahead and freeze lots of things person, you may have to explore containers that accomodate the space.  If you have a slew of bourbon on the rocks guests, you may have to tell them you will supply the booze if they bring the ice!

What’s Better Than One Dishwasher….?

TWO!  In previous homes, we have had the Fisher& Paykel drawer dishwasher units.  Even when we had a house full of kids, these drawers worked well for us.  The drawers can run at the same time, for loads equal to any standard one cavity dishwasher, or independently.  Generally, we use the top drawer daily.  There is less bending to load/unload, and on the eco cycle, this is very efficient.  The racks move to accommodate multi-size dish needs.  Our unit has a deeper section on top for taller items…like those wine glasses from the bottle chilled in the refrigerator!   Besides now never having dirty dishes for more than a day, we also have the cabinets set up so that putting dishes away requires almost no steps.  Perhaps a post on that coming up!?  For the con about using dishwasher drawers, it will take some a mindset change and a few trials on how to load that best suits your needs.  Note: We chose to have cabinet panels on our unit so no messy stainless to haunt us!

Our Beloved Induction Cooktop Returns!

Readers, and friends alike, accept that I am going to push for them to become members in the induction cooking cult.  Going over a year with a standard electric cooking surface only made our desire to go back to induction stronger.  The dilemna…to get the workspace inches we wanted to gain, we needed to reduce the existing 36″ width of the cooktop by at least 6″.   With tape measure in hand, we researched and found that many smaller cooktops simply placed the controls on the front (vs the side) and the cooking surface was nearly the same on the units.  Fisher & Paykel’s 24″ unit’s cooking space was exactly the same as the Kitchenaid cooktop we had.  With 4 individual burners, that bridge to two larger, this compact cooktop meets all our needs.  Instead of gaining 6″, we gained 12″ and in a small 8′ x 11′ footprint this is game-changing!  Cons?  ZIP-ZERO-NONE!  Told you it’s a cult.

Before we move on, let’s talk about the range hood exhaust.  Because we are in a condo, this hood has to be ventless.  The old one, an impressive-look alike for professional chefs, was crap.  The light was like a Christmas bulb and it very nosily blew grease up onto the ceiling.   We chose a Zephyr Tornado Mini and our cabinet company had a box made out of laminate. (yes, laminate that mimics the concrete quartz on the island entirely by accident) Perhaps you can tell by the name how powerful this little puppy is.  The unit is perfectly sized for all the steam coming off the induction cooktop, runs rather quietly, and has two lights with several dim powers.  All for $279.  Is it possible to love a range hood?  For the cons, no different than any other more expensive hood, operator has to remember to turn it on!

Wait…Where Is The Microwave?

Remember that big old microwave in the wall stack of the old kitchen?  We don’t miss it at all.  Again, Mr. LBD and I earnestly discussed how we use each appliance when designing the kitchen.  The microwave is probably the least used in our daily routine and cooking.  Instead of having it on the counter, we chose to have a space reserved in the right, tall cabinet for a small, $99 unit from William’s Sonoma.   98% of the time this set up is working just fine for us.  Once I forgot to leave the door open and baked a pair of potatoes for 11 min.  The heat from the microwave condensed the interior of the cabinets and made a puddle on the floor!  Additionally, the veggie steamer we owned was too large for the smaller unit.  Amazon to the rescue.  For the cons of this microwave set up, this may be inconvenient for high power and mega use.

A Full-Size Oven

Oh we went back and forth on the oven size.  Could we move to a 24″ oven?  Remembering how many 1970 wall ovens we have removed in renovations, I kept saying no.  However, after looking at newer 24″ ovens, we were impressed with the cavity size.   Like the induction cooktop, there really was very little a smaller oven would not accomodate.  Because I am not a baker, I was ready to convert to the 24″ wide under-counter oven.  Again we looked at Fisher & Paykel. In the end, our design allowed for the standard 30″ unit.  The only con to this amazing oven is I have started baking and eating the goodies.

Time To Wash Up

With my aversion to stainless maintenance, our choice of sink was a given.  We’ve used the Blanco Silgrant sinks in several homes.  Maintenance joys with all the cooking we do.  However, to gain the space we wanted for a trash can to the right of the sink, we needed a smaller sink.  Again, 26″ vs 36″ really has not been a problem with the single bowl design.   Next, for the first time, we used the most powerful disposal available on the market.  The con…it’s huge and in a smaller sink base like ours (30″w) it’s a little tight under the sink.  The weight for the faucet sprayer keeps getting caught up and we are working on a solution.  Again, an operator training session needed!  Didn’t our contractor do a nice job with all the connections and electric needs?  There is even a water cop in case we get too wild!

How To Use E-Design While Kitchen Planning

Choosing appliances is an important part of kitchen design.  We always suggest our clients do some research early on to determine what appliances will meet their needs and be within the budget.  Our virtual, E-Design services can help navigate the many appliance choices.  Contact us to learn more!

The Pros & Cons Of Smaller Appliances Can We Live With Smaller Appliances? Continuing the reveal of our new kitchen, today we share our decision to use smaller, euro sized appliances.  

[devinmjgp070-blog]

Easy Frying Pan Seared Sea Scallops: Best Dinner For A Couple Of.

Food preparation on your own your family or holding a dinner party can be a blast.

However to clean up later on not a lot, with the cuisine are stainless-steel splatter display those sprinkling active ingredients as well as boiling oils.

Do not need to belong to your food preparation experience.

Simply cover the pan with the screen and also inspect on your food with all the benefit of an exposed pan.And with this smart design the thick finely woven mesh makes sure that no splatters appear of the pan the splatter display features relaxing feet.

To stop the greasy screen from touching the surface of your counter tops, the display is additionally terrific for steaming veggies.

Merely boil water as well as place your veggies in addition to the stream, to cook them the big 13 inch mesh screen accommodates most dimensions of pots and pans.

And also comfortably doubles as a filter it additionally functions as a cooling rack for cookies cakes muffins as well as even more whether it's stopping splatters steaming vegetables or cooling cookies the cuizeen are splatter screen could help you with frying pan grease cover limitless kitchen area tasks.

I am reviewing the actually wonderful splatter display her.

And also as you could see I'm making some potatoes for mr. Noah here.

Yeah is he how it's standing out well make use of the screen on the leading there as well as it will not pop on you.

To make sure that was standing out on me earlier which is my be. so currently we're going to truly rapidly have some experienced salt to it.

So see it also protects your countertop here from splatters like say like you're making poultry with I do not know some ragu sauc.

Or something you know just how it's mosting likely to splatter when it obtains too warm.

It's going to get all right here is mosting likely to bubble out.

Well this is not mosting likely to let that happen you put this over top here.

And it's not mosting likely to appear as well as get all unclean almost everywhere.

So this is good for that it additionally has the draws a little deal with below.

It's mosting likely to come this component is mosting likely to can be found in like that.

And also you're going to should squeeze well no in fact probably these two apart it's really straightforward.

Just pry it like open it like that and afterwards it will certainly click open here.

It comes with two of these silicone manages you obtain the black one below and you obtain this red one below.

Which is extremely good offers you a great hold very good grasp on this so you guys intend to buy one of these.

I forgot to point out one of things that this is 13 in so it's very very large.

If you have a large skillet this is going to fit it fits many great people thanks for read my post as well as be sure to order one.

This is the alcohol claim deep frying pan with a splatter screen.

Look per se is really an enameled cast iron.

The enameled cast iron is naturally stick immune as well as provides you outstanding browning.

So today i'm mosting likely to pan fry a poultry for you.

And also complete it in the stove you'll see.

I'm cooking on an induction cooktop, i'll search for state cast iron is induction suitable.

Yet it additionally deals with a regular gas or electrical cooktop also.

You just need a reduced to medium warm with licorice an actors iron.

So i'm just increasing to regarding tool for frying.

I'm going to allow it get hot prior to adding my oil to the pan.

So my pans warm so i'm gon na add some olive oil.

I'm just doing a shallow fry and also i'm going to include a generous quantity of oil to the base of the frying pan.

Due to the fact that i desire the entire point to brownish equally, then i in fact desire the olive oil ahead up with sides a little as well.

I'll leave you with crunchy chicken around there.

We go now because i'm making use of so much oil for this.

I intend to see to it it obtains truly hot once again.

Prior to i put my poultry in my oil is warm.

So currently i'm going to add my chicken to the frying pan and also i took the foundation a foundation from the hen.

Yet i've left the rest of the bones in actually possibly put the entire thing in like this now.

I'm going to place the splatter screen on the top so you don't have to worry about the oil spilling out on your cooktop.

So my tv's been browning for possibly 6 or 7 mins as well as i really felt ready to turn it over.

I like this splatter guard though because you can see all the oil that's coming near the top.

As well as it's nowhere else to be found give it a fast flip.

Wow it's stunning much like i like that in this item - this is lovely so.

If i could be patient i'm going to allow it sit for probably another six to 7 minutes.

In contact with the splatter guard on once again as well as complete it in the oven.

And also now let's take a look, oh it's excellent.

I'm going to reduce the power right here order a number of us hell's biggest things about the skillet.

It's got this helper manage so i could conveniently carry my hen to the oven.

We like resolving pet dog peeves.

And there are a lot of family pet peeves around cooking as well as cleansing.

When you're using warm oil the splatter screen will help keep your stove.

As well as countertops tidy also when food preparation with oil that can bubble and also splatter constructed from sturdy perforated stainless steel.

The screen maintains oil contained.

When you fry bacon sausages potatoes and also more the screen is generous sufficient.

To fit fry pans as much as 13 inches vast as well as features grooved rings to relax the screen on various sized pans.

The soft comfortable take care of angles up to make sure that it can fit securely on pots and pans.

Handles it secures securely in the open placement.

However just press the button and also it folds down for small storage space below's a great idea the splatter screen.

Additionally functions as a ducted cover when food preparation stovetop snacks or will certainly take leafy eco-friendlies.

Keep your microwave tidy as well as splatter free with hover cover.

Do not utilize with ovens convention, microwave, toaster oven, stoves, stovetops, top plates, browning recipes or a heating element.

Simply take down on the hover cover microwave splatter cover to cover any kind of microwave risk-free container.

Or place given that you're cooking or defrosting time.

Do not utilize the microwave for longer than 10 minutes while food preparation.

Or defrosting merely raise the hover cover as well as permit the magnets abide by the top of your microwave.

Make sure the hover cover is well adhered prior to removing your hands from the cover.

When needed laundry my hands with soapy water as well as sponge or your hover cover can be washed.

In the leading shelf of the dish washer dry completely and also lift the hover cover till the magnet stay with the ceiling of the microwave for evening and out of the waste storage space cook heavy steam and also heat up your food without the splatter mess.

[barakobean]

Precilla's Torture Box - Meudon

“I can’t see anything. I remember leaving the night lamp before I sleep, but now, my room is pitch black. I woke up to a strange melody from the piano in the living room, but now, I couldn’t hear a thing. What was that song again? I can’t remember, maybe it’s just a dream.” In her head, she muttered. She tries to move to her head to the side but her eyes can only see as far as the edge of the ceiling. She moves her right arm to turn on the night lamp but she can only feel the cold wind from the window brushing the bare skin of her arms, shoulder and face. Her head started to sink into the pillows, deeper as the soft feathers tried to cover her face. She screams… “Ishmael! Ishmael!” And she opens her eyes, gasping for air. Breathing heavily, she looked at a dark figure at the foot of her bed. Her hands were illuminated by the street lamps piercing the thin sheets of curtain hanging from her window, but the figure just stood there, silent, unmoving, faceless. It seems to stare at her for a moment when a thud from a fallen item caught her attention. “Chiho, you scared me. Come baby.” And the cat purred as it slyly jumped into the bed with Precilla.

“Andrea, don’t forget to lock the door when you get in tonight. I am going ahead to the store. There’s coffee and some toast on the table.” “Yes your highness.” And the house music played on as water rushed from the shower.

Precilla opens the door and is greated by the cold wet wind of February. It is already 10 AM, but it seems that the sun has no intention of showing up. She started to walk at the corner of Cyril Magnin, through 6th Street going to Mission. The bricked side streets are wet from the rain last night. It must have been difficult for the homeless. “Hey lady, I heard you had a nice and wet sleep last night. I bet you paid a whole lot for that handsome Latino.” A tall black homeless woman dragging a trolley shouted at Precilla as she nears Mission alongside Nordstrom. She stopped for a bit, and looked for her cigarette. “Oh shit! Here you are my long and thin darlings. Come to mama and make me feel better.” She enters the store with a plush pink wall paint and an indiscreet sign saying Good Vibrations. It is just a 5-minute walk from the Lofts, but it took her 10 minutes to get to the store since she smoked. At exactly 10:15, she was late, but it doesn’t matter. She owns the store anyways. It’s warm inside, and the smell of silicone and sweet lotions flowered the store. There were magazines near the fire exit and several posters hang on the right side of the shelf. Some feathers, coiled straws and candies adorn the left side of the fire exit. In the middle, there is stand for lotions of different scents and consistencies. On the left side of the entrance door, just in front of the cashier, there are displays of pretend penile shafts and heads, some include the balls of different sizes and colors. There are also some small mechanical trinkets the size of the thumb with free batteries. Tubes are displayed towards the corner with different flavors of condom. Rebecca stood by the door greeting the customers, giving them flyers of the February promotions and occasionally informing them that we don’t allow bags in the establishment. Then redirecting them to the side of the cashier where their bags are taken and given wooden clips with numbers.

It was 11 when a thin olive skinned boy came in. He took his beanie off revealing a dark brown, shoulder length, wavy hair. He doesn’t seem to be from the area with an awkward smile and a mercurial accent. “Hi. I came back with my passport.” They boy smiled and examined the tubes. “Is there anything in particular you are looking for?” Rebecca smiled trying to assist the little man. “I am getting two of these.” Nervously grabbing the Apollo Max penis sleeve. He stared for a moment at the lubes and grabbed a 50 ml bottle of Gun Oil. “I think that one isn’t compatible with the Apollo Max. You need a water-based lube for that so that the sleeve wouldn’t disintegrate.” Rebecca handed a bottle of Please and placed the Gun Oil back into the shelf as the foreign boy approached the cashier.

“That would be $51.25. May I have your ID please?” Precilla demanded. The boy scrambled through his blue messenger bag and handed his passport. “April 25, 1980. Is this really yours? You don’t look like the picture.” “Yes, that’s me Precilla.” He looked straight into her eyes, and she blushed. Those dark brown eyes pierced through her and gave her a slight tingling between her legs. Besides the fact that she knows what he will do with the stuff he bought when he gets home, he knows her name. “Sorry, I am not sure if it is polite to call you by your name, but that’s the only thing on your pin aside from the tongue drawing.” Precilla laughed and the boy dropped his gaze. “Do you need a bag for these? Sorry I forgot to ask you.” And she handed his passport. “No, I am just going to put these in my bag. By the way, don’t call the black man by his name. It would be difficult to have him leave once he thinks you wanted him.” “Say again.” “Oh sorry, I was just singing this song. See? Skullcandy?” The boy left leaving Precilla dumfounded.

She stared at the mirror as Silicone Lube played in her Iphone. Precilla, naked, is half black, half Guatemalan. Her eyes are green, and she has freckles on her nose, forehead, cheeks and neck. She’s not that tall at 5’7” with shoulder length curly hair. She puts her hand to her waist and examined her belly. It is soft but without any revolute convexity. From her navel up to her breasts, her hand moved gently as it massaged her breasts up to her neck. She pulled her hair up and tied it. Her breasts looked glorious with her arms raised, she thought. She dropped them and gently moved between her legs. She ran her fingers through her thin pubes rubbing the button-like structure above her slit. It feels good for a while that she started to moan silently. Another touch to this area, and she felt a slight wetness in her middle finger. She looked at the mirror, mouth parted, but to her shock a figure in black leather mask and suit is behind her. Screaming, she woke up pillows and blanket on the floor with breast fully exposed to the chilly air from the, again, open window… “Precilla wake up. Wake up girl. There’s a fire drill in the building. The management asked all tenants to participate.” “Andrea, it’s a Saturday. And what on earth are you wearing?” Her hip jingles as coins and beads hit each other in her hip scarf. Andrea sports a flowing fish skirt above her bare ankle and feet. A choli top just above her navel wraps her cup D breasts with a knot just below the inferior angles of her scapula. “Dance lessons? Uhmmm, Precilla, your breasts are so firm.” “Will you stop that. I am already awake. See they are both standing now” pointing at her nipples. “I am not going to that fire drill. Am going to get some coffee,” and she walked towards the kitchen topless. “Fine then. I am gonna go down and head straight to the lesson after the drill. There’s a package for you at the table. I checked the mailbox this morning and saw that addressed to our unit. It doesn’t say it’s for you. I just assumed. We both know how much trouble I’ll be in if “They” find out my address.” Andrea slammed the door without hearing what Precilla has to say. The coffee is bitter. They ran out of sugar packets from Carls Jr. Precilla made another sip as she waited for the soup in the microwave. “In the vaults of our hearts and brains, danger waits. All the chambers are not lovely, light and high. There are holes in the floor of the mind, like those in a medieval dungeon floor – the stinking oubliettes, named for forgetting, bottle-shaped cells in solid rock with the trapdoor in the top. Nothing escapes from them quietly to ease us. A quake, some betrayal by our safeguards, and sparks of memory fire noxious gases – things trapped for years fly free, ready to explode in pain and drive us to dangerous behavior…” The television droned the lines of Hannibal Lecter as Precilla watched closely at the inside of the oven. The bowl keeps on turning as her mind wandered to the idea of it exploding to her face. She has always been afraid of the microwave. The eerie hum as the thing is turned on and the flopping of the lid as the contents boil make her uneasy. Finally, her lunch is ready, so she opened the microwave door, and bare hands, she took the bowl and placed it on the coffee table. “Owww! Fuck! Too hot!” She cursed as the bowl touched the magazines, dripping with creamy mushroom and potato soup. Four champagne red satin lace, each 2 feet long, a piece of black leather the size of dice, and a note with numbers 809 8846 and the word meudon were the contents of the package. Precilla placed her cup on the kitchen counter and examined the piece of leather. It is soft, smooth and fine grained. It smelled of oak and fir. It brushed her nose, her cheeks and lips. It nauseated her like some surfaced old memory. It excited her, made her heart beat faster and louder as it pumped hot blood to her neck, her lips and eyelids. She started to rub her pubis to the handle of the dishwasher. Slowly, she bent her knee and moved up and down to hit her front upon the handle. She stopped and opened her eyes, lips folded inside her mouth to keep the leather from falling, and the cold tiles at her feet woke her delirious senses.