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sparrowwritings · 4 years

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Final Fantasy 14 Writing Challenge Day Five: “Luck is believing you’re lucky.” - Tennessee Williams

Day Four -- Masterpost -- Day Six

This one has many OC cameos from my and my friends’ characters. Not all of them get named (and the PoV character can’t “see” more than silhouettes for Reasons) so I’m gonna put the list (and links to pictures) of OCs right here before the fic alongside links to the tumblrs of those who own them so you can go check them out.

Balthasar and Catrene Luvere (also known as Cat) as well as the briefly mentioned Fortunato DeFleur (Ser Not-appearing-in-this-fic) belong to @thedovahcat Roger has also belonged to her from the beginning as a reminder.

The pirate miqo’te lady is R’owahn and she belongs to @scoobydew4u

The polite midlander lady is Helena Bellveil and belongs to @chocolatebunnycake

The elezen lady who (rightly) wants nothing to do with this nonsense is Atalanta Sellecerre and belongs to corvusyn (this is to his twitter)

And last but certainly not least the miqo’te asshole who’s late to the party is A’ndru Lowrey and belongs to @clockworkpriest

Rennis and Bailey Gatlin as well as Lara are all my babies, tho.

Apologies if anyone sounds OOC!

One encounters many things on life’s journey. Particularly when one is not bound to the same rules that most people live by. Sometimes what one encounters is a particularly entertaining--if somewhat mundane--moment in time as one wanders through life.

Balthasar had been sitting quietly at a table to himself. The hood of his short cloak covered all except a few strands of his sandy hair and his staff was set on a wall next to him as he took in the atmosphere of the Drowning Wench. It was just past noon so the usual lunch crowds had died off, leaving some folk behind chit-chatting as the barmaids cleaned the now empty tables. He was people watching, which to an outside observer would seem impossible considering his blindness. That fact had yet to discourage him, though.

The large doors to the tavern swung open and Balthasar turned his head to face the sound. Using a sense beyond sight, his lip curled slightly upwards as he observed (a passable if inaccurate word for what he was doing) the newest two midlander guests. One was tall, armor clad and bearing a shield on his back. His bearing was not nearly as confident as most others similarly outfitted. In fact, he seemed overly cautious of his surroundings though that did not prevent a minor stumble as he almost missed one of the steps leading into the main dining area. His companion was far smaller, though one would be mistaken in thinking she was the same height, for all she was able to keep the armor-clad one from falling on his face. Her outfit was a mix of leather and cloth typical of someone who uses magic in combat regularly. She was the more bold of the two, stepping smoothly around the people relocating themselves and leading her companion in something of a dance to attempt to follow suit.

They barely managed to sit at one of the larger tables without injury, though it wasn’t this display that Balthasar was interested in. The color of ordinary objects escaped his “sight” and so didn’t matter to him nearly so much as the aether that he actually used to “see” his surroundings. These two individuals were like twin suns amongst the twinkling stars of the other patrons. Touched by Hydaelyn herself. The Warriors of Light.

Not for the first time, he was thankful for the cloth covering his eyes. He still couldn’t look at the two of them directly, but Balthasar could keep a metaphorical eye on them at least.

As he was busy contemplating how to potentially approach them, a steadily growing argument brought his attention to the people seated on the other side of the table that the Warriors of Light had sat at. It took a bit of concentration to focus on the speakers instead of the brightness at the edge of his vision, but he managed. Two lalafell--one significantly taller than the other, even while sitting--were talking with a young miqo’te woman who, from the sound of it, was on the verge of outright hissing at them.

“Look I’m not sayin’ it ain’t possible, all I’m sayin’ is that ya can’t just force luck ta work for ya like that.” The shorter of the lalafell, a male from his tone, snorted. “Luck’s just somethin’ that happens, that’s all. No controllin’ nothin’.”

“Oh come on,” The tail of the miqo’te woman swished behind her. “You literally can’t say that when you’ve fucking met the best example of being lucky. It’s the only explanation to why he hasn’t gotten killed yet.”

“Lowrey don’t count, Cat. Especially cuz if that’s the case then it’d get cancelled out by Fortun’s lack of it.”

“It does seem weird that he’d start a business when he’s got the worst every day luck I’ve ever seen in my life…” The taller lalafell, female in tone, observed. It seemed to be mostly for her own sake then to forward any conversation.

“Then how do you explain it, Ren?” The miqo’te woman apparently named Cat demanded.

“I don’t know but it sure as shit ain’t somethin’ as stupid as ‘luck is believin’ yer lucky.’ He’s fed ya more bullshit an’ ya say ya don’t follow anythin’ he says but CLEARLY yer doin’ it.” Ren, the shorter lalafell jabbed a finger into the table in front of him to emphasize his point.

“I dunno, it’s sound logic t’me.” Another patron spoke up. All eyes at the table (including those of the Warriors of Light) turned towards the speaker. She was another miqo’te woman, but compared to Cat her outfit spoke more of pirate than former street urchin. Not that there was any shortage of either in Limsa Lominsa. “Can’t tell you how many times someone I know ought’ve died and claimed to live thanks to a charm they already thought was lucky. If that’s not luck because of believing in luck, I dunno what is.”

Ren let out a frustrated groan. “Yeah but what about all th’ other times that ain’t life-’r-death when th’ charm didn’t work? Like shit breakin’ as they sat or losin’ a job or th’ like? Ya wanna call that havin’ luck cuz ya believe yer lucky?”

“My apologies for intruding, but I must concur with the gentleman here.” While the discussion had been happening, another midlander woman had made her way from her table to where the others were talking. She gave a short, polite nod at the sudden attention before continuing to speak. “Luck cannot be objectively observed, and so there is no reason to conclude that one can control the appearance of it merely by belief.”

“THANK you.” The relief in Ren’s voice was obvious.

“As such, it’s difficult to say that luck even does exist.” The woman pushed at the ridge of her nose which Balthasar took to mean she was pushing a pair of spectacles back into place.

“Luck definitely exists, ma’am.” The pirate miqo’te woman cut in.

“I have certainly observed instances where the confluence of events have led to ultimately positive outcomes. I also do not deny that some people seem to attract more positive outcomes with seemingly no work put into the effort. Objectively speaking, however, it’s impossible to prove such a thing as luck exists. Preparedness for any eventuality is far more reliable.”

“Well duh it’s more reliable but that’s not the fucking point!” Cat stood up from her seat to point at the woman.

More people seemed to be drawn into the conversation like water down a drain, whether or not they were interested in also participating. The door opened again and Balthasar watched as an elezen woman in what appeared to be dancer’s gear strode into the Drowning Wench. She paused, cocked her head and seemed to listen for a few seconds before turning and avoiding the whole discussion by walking along the edge of the crowd towards the desk where the guild leves were issued. Within moments she’d received her assignment and left the building without a second glance behind her. No one else appeared to have noticed.

When he turned his attention back to the conversation, more folk were actively adding their voices to the chaos. The only ones who didn’t seem to be participating were the Warriors of Light. This didn’t last, as the lalafell woman from the start of it all turned towards them like a ship turns for a lighthouse in the dark. “You two’ve been pretty quiet this whole time.” She made a gesture at her companions, who had both gotten up though the lalafell man stood on his chair to attempt to be of the same eye level as everyone else. “Anything you wanna add about luck?”

Balthasar steeled himself to get a more direct look towards the brightness of the twin aethers. He “looked” just in time for the silhouettes of the two to look at each other and shrug. The female Warrior of Light said, “I dunno, I’ve always seen luck ebb and flow like the tides. One minute you’re celebrating a victory over a tough foe, the next a natural disaster happens.”

The male Warrior of Light said, “I mean, sure I’ve made it through a ton of things by a hair, but I’ve never felt lucky while doing it. Does that count?”

Before she could reply, the door opened once more, though this time with a bang. Balthasar, quietly relieved to have something else to focus on, took in the appearance of an older miqo’te man at the same time as the crowd did. He wore nearly all leather, with fur coming out of the collar of his jacket. The man was all swagger as he raised his arms to each side and declared, “Guess who’s the luckiest motherfucker on the planet?”

Dead silence greeted him.

The spell was broken when Cat slammed her hand against the table and growled, “You asshole! The one time you could’ve been fucking useful!” After that, more chaos than even the previous discussion had garnered ensued.

Balthasar smiled and continued sitting in his perch. He’d keep observing until the entertainment died down or the Warriors of Light had finally made their exit. Mundane though this scene was, it was yet another affirmation that life would always keep him guessing in spite of his vast amounts of time spent living.

How quaint.

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weeklyfangirl · 5 years

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Frat Boy Pt. 19

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 (1), part 7 (2), part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13 , part 14, part 15, part 16, part 17, part 18

You’re a gal on a mission in this one. And you’re determined to get answers one way or another ;) Share this with a friend and drag them them along for a roller coaster ride too! xx

“This is a bad idea,” Renny muttered. We were parked a street away from the frat house, waiting for the boy who’d been ignoring me the past week to appear and get in his car. Granted, I’d only reached out once, but still. He’d never replied. Never reached out. It was the radio silence that scared me more than any gang tags. Ignorance might be bliss, but conscious ignorance was hell.

After our dinner, I’d woken up to my car in the driveway. The windshield clean. Spotless, even. He must’ve hardly gotten sleep.

“Why is this necessary again? Do you think he’s cheating on you?” Renny asked.

I shook my head too quickly at the word cheating, because even if he was seeing somebody else it wouldn’t technically be cheating. We’d never even defined this. The only thing I hated more than knowing I was in the dark were gray zones. I shook my head too soon, though. What else could I tell her? I couldn’t exactly tell her the truth - that I think I’m being targeted as a cause of Harry’s random association with a gang and that we need to follow him to confirm my crazy conspiracies so I can affirm that one, I am not crazy, and two, I can reach a decision about whether I should talk to the cops.

That was too complicated.

“Actually, you’re right. I think he’s seeing someone else.” I let the lie slip from my lips.

“Shit. You think he’s seeing Viv?”

I wanted to smile at the edge in her voice. The first evidence she didn’t really like the girl either. “He already told me they slept together,” I said casually, as though I’d mentioned I ate Cheerios for breakfast again.

Renny almost spat. “Ew!! Seriously? I mean, I guess we kind of already thought that. But still…-” she shivered “-GROSS.”

“Yeah. Gross,” I agreed. Something stirred next to the bins, and I clutched her arm. But it wasn’t Harry. The random associate walked on, blissfully unaware of the two girls watching his every move and so completely disappointed by his presence. We both sighed.

“Wait, he’s behind him!” Renny screeched.

Sure enough, Harry emerged, trailing behind the associate. His hair looked damp. He’d probably showered after practice, then. They did some sort of weird bro handshake and parted ways.

A beep of an alarm and Harry slid into his Maserati. Let the chase begin.

“Still can’t believe he drives that thing to school,” Renny muttered. “I mean I would if I had one, too, but … cheating prick.”

I had to hand it to Renny. Even if someone was the most likeable person in the world, if they’d done something to cross her friends, she’d find a way to make them the most detestable. At least in her eyes.

We waited as he revved the engine and pulled out. He drove fast, but thankfully Renny’s VW could keep up. Grandpa would’ve been a different story.

“Where the hell are we going?”

“I don’t know.” I fought the urge to add ‘that’s the problem.’

We travelled towards the coast before he senselessly veered inland again, ending up somewhere I’d never been before. We trailed him slowly, past locked up storefronts, and tagged alleyways, until he turned into a gritty-looking neighborhood. We slowed around the corner, making sure to keep several streets between us.

Around the bend, Harry suddenly slammed on his brakes. Renny lurched forward.

“What the fuck-” Renny ducked lower in her seat. “Do you think he saw us?”

In the split two seconds I had, I wagered our chances of reversing and getting through this unseen. But my split two seconds were up, and I hadn’t moved.

The motor ran as he got out of the car, calmly, not bothering to shut the door. He’d known. He’d known all along. Time slowed when he faced us, arms crossed, squinting as his judgement penetrated through his Ray Bans all the way through the windshield. He stalked towards our car. No one was around in the rundown neighborhood street to yell at us to get our cars moving. No one could save me from this eternal embarrassment slowly mounting with each step of his black Chelsea boots.

The gig was up.

I rolled down my window when he tapped on the glass.

“Go home,” he ordered.

I scoffed. “Really? You haven’t talked to me all week and those are the first words you’re going to say to me?”

He stepped backwards, acknowledging nothing. “Go. Home,” pointing the direction whence we came.

“We weren’t even following you. We were already in the neighborhood asshole!” Renny yelled.

I couldn’t have it end like this. I couldn’t have another week of silence, of questions unanswered. The plan was to follow him and see where he ran off to, not utterly expose my desperation. But now that plan was obliterated. Was this it? Was this seriously how he wanted to end things so… pointlessly?

I opened the car door, running after his sulking frame. The second I placed a hand on his shoulder blade, he whipped around. I cowered.

He hadn’t needed to bare his teeth or shout at me to be intimidating. This oppressive darkness rolled off of him in waves, knocking me down repeatedly just when I saw the shore. Like a tired sailor, I’d return to the ocean, knowing the damage it could cause, but knowing it was worth it. It would be worth it… if I could only see beneath the surface.

He flinched as I pulled the shades off, but he didn’t look at me. My hand went along his jaw, against the slight stubble that’d made its way through. He relented.

His pupils were blasted, almost shadowing the outer ring of green.

“I changed because of you,” I breathed. Something flashed in his eyes. Something beneath the darkened surface. “I’m not the same as I was before. And I don’t know even know how to… express it. I don’t even know if that’s a good thing,” I admitted. He opened his mouth, but I raised a hand. “I need to know what you’re not telling me. The old me could’ve gone without it, but who I am now? I can’t.”

But it was like he only heard half of what I’d said. “I never asked you to be in my life, Y/N.”

“No, that’s right. You just swindled me into it by pretending to be dumb. You’re a little too good of an actor.”

It was his turn to scoff. “No one’s making you run after me.”

“No one’s making you be a complete and utter asshole right now, either. Besides yourself. Can you just-” I pushed his chest- “PLEASE. I’m clearly tired of getting nowhere.”

Harry looked at his watch, and his jaw clicked. “You know for someone so concerned with their life, you certainly don’t seem to have much of one.” His eyes bore into mine.

I swallowed, hard, unmoving though it stung. “I know Viv’s in on it.”

It was a stab in the dark, but it worked. He nearly growled.

I heard Renny open her door behind me.

“She’s involved in a lot of parts of my life, Y/N. But at least she doesn’t ask too many questions. And she sure as shit doesn’t overstep,” he growled.

“We both know I’m not Viv.”

“Yeah,” he chuckled. “You’re right…” His eyes levelled with mine. At least she actually fucks me.”

I felt like he should’ve stayed, watch the awful betrayal fill my eyes. But he walked away as the air was ripped from my lungs. I wanted to scream, I wanted to run up to him, push him to the ground and tell him-!

...tell him what?

It was true.

He paused at the car door, not even trying to face me. “Get yourself home.”

I didn’t see him drive away. I just heard the slam of the car door as he left me, halfway up the hill.

Renny pulled the car up next to me, and I suddenly felt dirty. Like I needed a shower. A very hot, scalding shower, that would burn every inch of him off my body forever.

“What’s the plan?” she asked.

Clearly, our plan to trail the subject in very deep question had turned out very deeply miserable.

In a close encounter, the sailor realizes fairly quickly that the ocean holds all the power to kill them. But the second they acknowledge that, they don’t abandon what they’re looking for.

“Can you drop me off at a friend’s?” I asked.

They just get a bigger ship.

-----------

The just-built senior apartments were the envy of everyone on campus. Modern architecture and sleek interior made it THE choicest option for the upperclassmen - especially the athletes. It was the next best thing for those not living in fraternities or sororities.

It was also the most expensive on-campus housing available. You could live there if you were rich enough, but more importantly, if you were lucky enough. There was one other way you could live here, though. Chapman held a raffle to “make our housing opportunity equal for everyone.” Which, was bullshit, considering the apartment only reserved four out of sixty rooms for those “raffle winners.” Four raffle winners, out of four THOUSAND upperclassmen.

Felix and Zayn had some pretty insane luck.

I knocked on their door, antsy as I thought of their probable reaction: “Why is Y/N standing beyond our door on a Thursday night without Renny?” She was my strongest link to them. I’d begged her to come up with me, but she wasn’t budging. Though she wouldn’t admit it, she was a little annoyed at spending the whole day only to have found no other woman and to have been told off by Harry - who she now deems worse than Lying Panty Tossing Baby.

A tall athletic-built woman eyed me as she carried their trash down the hall.

Felix opened the door.

“Oh, hey.” It was the awkward I remember you but we aren’t friends dance. “S’been a while. Come in.”

I noticed he was at least 6’ 2” as I moved past him into the foyer where Zayn and Andre paused the video game. They had a whole tech center set up around the T.V. and dull EDC music came from their speaker system.

Andre waved and Zayn’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Hey! What’re you doing here?” He moved a pizza box out of his way to head to the open kitchen. Before I could answer, he returned with a cracked beer, handing it to me.

“Thanks,” I said, taking a sip out of politeness. Old Da Vinci maps hung on their walls along with tasteful sketches of nude women, and a framed vintage Star Wars poster was in the hallway.

“Where’s Renny?” Felix asked, arms crossed as he sat on the arm of the couch. He’d meant it to be casual, but it wasn’t quite casual enough.

I didn’t want to be the one to break his heart and tell him about Niall if he didn’t already know. And something told me Renny wasn’t cruel enough to rub it in his face. “Uh, not sure. She had to buzz off somewhere though.” To Niall’s bed. I looked between the three of them. “All of you got so. Lucky. With this place. I almost didn’t believe it when Renny told me.”

“Not me!” Andre lifted his beer and dramatically pounded it, slamming it down on the table next to the other four beers.

“Woah-ugh! Pa! That’s mahogany!” Felix spluttered.

“You found it at a garage sale!”

“It’s still mahogany!” he squeaked. His gangly arms flailed before adjusting his collar. “Either I’m never donating furniture to this apartment again - or you’re not allowed back in this apartment again. Or both.”

Andre didn’t answer, just fell flat on the couch. Something was off with him. The energy shifted in the room as the guys eyed Andre. I’d clearly come at a wrong time.

“I can swing by later, I know you guys were in the middle of a... game…”

Zayn swatted his hand. “No, you’re fine. He’s just…”

Andre perked up, awaiting Zayn’s next words.

“You want to tell her?” Zayn finished.

Andre let out an awkward moan. “You know how date night is coming up?”

My brows stitched.

“No??” He cleared his throat, surprised he had to explain. “So Sig Chi’s date night is coming up and basically we just bring a date, and… party. There’s a theme and everything. You really haven’t heard about this?”

I shook my head.

“Huh. It’s kind of a big deal that’s why I’m kind of... huh.”

“When is it?” I asked.

“Tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow?!” I paused, thoroughly confused. Had Niall told Renny about this? And if it was Sigma Chi then… Harry must already have a date. For tomorrow. My blood boiled thinking that could be part of the reason why he’d dropped off the face of the Earth this week. So he wouldn’t have to take me as his date.

“Mine cancelled on me,” Andre said, running a hand over defined black coils.

“Dude, for the hundredth time, it’s not that big of a deal.”

“You’re not the one in a frat, Felix!” He laughed humorlessly before landing in a pile on the couch again. In a rare moment, I laughed with him. It was slightly ridiculous how important parties were.

“Oh-kay,” Felix muttered. His blonde hair flopped on the couch next to Andre. He looked up to me, shrugging. “He’s helpless. Without the distraction of video games. Absolutely helpless.”

Zayn gave me a once-over. “You’re in the sorority with Renny, aren’t you?”

“Uh, yeah. Kind of. Not officially official yet. Kind of in the process of everything right now. Uh, but” -his eyes narrowed from my rambling- “Yeah. Yeah, I’m in it,” I settled on.

Andre came to life again. “Would you go with me?”

“Oh! Uh…”

“You don’t have to,” Zayn offered.

“I can do it. I wasn’t doing anything anyways.” The Netflix I was betraying threw a tantrum in the back of my mind. This weekend I’d been wanting to do nothing but lay low, and preferably, in bed.

But if today taught me anything, it’s that my plans clearly never work out too well.

“Seriously?! It’ll only be a couple hours, I won’t make you stay the whole time. Actually, you can leave whenever you want. Just walk in with me.”

“Excuse me?” I asked, half-smiling.

“Okay, that sounded bad.” He let out a breathless laugh. “What I meant to say was, thank you. You’ll have a great time.” He threw up the finger guns.

Zayn nudged my shoulder with his beer. “Want to go on the balcony?” His eyes bore into mine, and I knew that he knew this wasn’t just a friendly visit. A slight chill ran through me at his perception. It was unnerving how he always seemed to… know. But I guess I shouldn’t judge him for having a keen sixth sense.

I let him lead me to the sliding glass door.

“Oh, the theme’s James Bond, too! So dress like a Bond girl!” Andre called after us.

“Like heels?” I asked. But Zayn slid the door shut behind us. It was dark out, but inside I could see Andre give me a thumbs up before resuming the video game with Felix.

“Saved his life. Mate wouldn’t stop gabbin’ ‘bout how gutted he was.” Zayn muttered. The flick of a lighter grabbed my attention. The slight orange illuminated dark features and hollowed cheeks as he took a drag. There was no denying he was handsome, especially in this mood lighting. He probably could’ve been recruited for any fraternity off looks alone, but something told me he wouldn’t step near the place. His vibe was too… anti-organization. He blew the smoke over his shoulder.

“Very tortured artist of you,” I noted.

His head tilted at tortured as if throwing the title back to me. “Artist, maybe. Tortured, no.”

“What’s a yes for you, then?”

“Yes to whateva you’ve been plannin’ on asking me,” he smirked. “Must’ve been important if you didn’t find me in the studio.”

I looked down, then out at the city. Thousands of little people scattered everywhere. Students crawling from late-night classes on the fringes of campus looked like ants. I held my thumb up for scale. Verified ants. Maybe smaller.

“I came here to find a different perspective.” My hand fell. I faced him square. “Your perspective.”

He took another drag, letting the smoke fill the space between us. “On?”

I was a little surprised he didn’t know.

“Harry.”

If he didn’t know, he also didn’t seem too surprised. He leaned against the railing, hazel eyes undressing desperate thoughts. “What do you want to know?” he asked, voice barely above a whisper.

The ash from his cigarette floated down to his feet, but an unseen wind carried it up again, rolling over and down like dirty snowflakes to the street below.

“I know he doesn’t like you.”

Zayn’s laugh was light, soft, but carried the same fullness as Renny’s. “Perceptive girl, ya? S’not what you want to know though is it.”

“Why is he so scared of you?” His brow arched, and I could tell I was losing him. “What do you know?” I clarified.

Another drag and his shoulders straightened. “Thought you were flatterin’ me there for a second.” Something glimmered in his eyes, something just beyond the surface, and I looked away before I could see anything more than friendly. “Can I ask you somethin’ in return?”

I nodded.

“Why do you want to know?” he murmured.

“I just want to understand.”

“Mm,” he hummed, the treble of his voice like slow-spilling silk. “Curiosity killed the cat.”

I swallowed a little too loudly, but his words hit a little too closely.

“S’all right,” he continued. “S’human nature t’want to understand.” He cocked his head a little. “I actually met Harry before school started during the summer. I was working at Hilltop Resort.”

“Really?”

“I was his server.” He let out a short breath as if he couldn’t believe it happened. “Tipped well, actually.”

“I remember you working there!” Faint summer memories of Renny whisking us away for lunch on our treat yourself day came back, stirring faint feelings of happiness. It seemed so long ago. I felt like I’d aged five years in three months. “So let me get this straight. He doesn’t like you because you’re in the service industry?” I spat.

He winced. “No, s’more like…” He took a breath. “There was a coworker of mine. He wasn’t mean, but he wasn’t exactly nice either. Kept to himself on breaks, never really chatted with any of us except to flirt with the bartender. Anyway, I used to see Harry a lot there, but when Jack got promoted Harry’d only sit in Jack’s section.”

I crossed my arms, the night time air finally sinking in.

“I didn’t think too much of it at first,” he admitted. The cigarette moved in his mouth, hand fiddling with the lighter. “But one night I was running out to give a guest the card they’d left behind, but I saw them together instead.”

Before I could picture Harry and Zayn’s coworker making out against the wall, he continued - “He was giving Harry stacks of cash.”

Flashbacks of Viv trying to pass Harry money in the Catalina Island bar played out like a movie in my mind.

“What’d you do?” I pressed.

He shrugged. “I saw Harry slip something else in his pocket. It looked like a little bag. Must’ve been a bonus.” He muttered the last words.

“A bonus for what?”

“I didn’t know then. I just thought he’d somehow found a way to steal from the manager’s safe and was splitting the profits.”

“Why give it to Harry though?”

“That’s what I couldn’t figure out.” He leaned in. “I saw them together a few more times. The second was an accident. Third, not so much. Harry saw me that time. Then before I left for the night, I searched his locker. Took me a while, but I found some pills. Little bag of coke, too. He came in right when I was putting it back.”

“No.”

“Yeah. He didn’t say anything. Just stared at me like he was going to kill me. I got my shit and got the hell out of there. Next day, the boss said they received a tip to check my locker and they found the drugs in mine. You know the fucked up bit? I was fired.”

“But it wasn’t yours!”

“Doesn’t matter. Still found it there.” Zayn stamped out his cigarette, blowing away the last smoke. I guess pity was etched in my face, because he suddenly turned defensive. “Don’t look at me like that. I work at Javier’s now. I’m fine.”

Javier’s was the fancy Mexican restaurant overlooking the Pacific. He was doing more than fine.

“That’s still not fair to you,” I muttered.

“I didn’t want to be involved, anyway. S’better I left one way or another.”

“What was his name again? Your coworker’s?”

“Jack.”

Jack. Why did that sound so familiar?

“He’s not sound, you know,” Zayn added.

“Well clearly if he gave you murder eyes.”

“No, not Jack. Harry. He’s not…”

“Sound,” I repeated. The word felt heavy on my tongue.

Zayn nodded, tucking a cigarette behind his ear.

“I can’t believe Harry got you fired.”

“Well, I don’t exactly know. Jack must’ve been the one to move the drugs into my locker.”

“Yeah, but who told him to?”

Zayn didn’t answer. The facts had been there this entire time, but I didn’t want to see it. I still didn’t want to see it. But Zayn was here, undeniably linking them together for me. Harry and drugs and money were three things that’d been circulating in the same place much longer than I could know. For some reason beyond me, Harry was a dealer. Or ran as head of them. Which meant his association with the men who’d assaulted me was… what? A business deal gone wrong?

“England’s a small country, you see the same faces everywhere. Like here, if you’re perceptive enough. And in each, he’s jus’... involved in something bigger, while at the same time trying to hide. S’like he’s a magnet for infamy to his own detriment.”

“Are you referring to his adoption?”

He twisted the cigarette behind his ear, realizing I didn’t really need an answer to this question and that now I was just testing him for what he knew. “Contrary to what he may believe, I don’t know everything.”

But I couldn’t fight the feeling that he was talking about me. Smooth artist’s fingers fiddled with the lighter again, but he didn’t light the second cigarette. He knew more than what he was telling me.

But even the new me didn’t want to hear much else tonight.

“You don’t want to stay?” he asked.

I didn’t realize I was walking towards the door ‘til his words stopped me in my tracks. Disappointment tinged his words. I felt a little guilty, heading out the door as soon as I’d gotten what I’d needed.

But I was tired. And sadly, unless there was a sketch pad in front of him, I didn’t know what else we could talk about. I didn’t know what else he’d see.

I shook my head, and he lit the cigarette, not bothering to walk me out.

------

Racing down the spindly halls, my heart pounded out of my chest. I heard the cries above the whispers of the Watchers, and they grew louder with a sickening urgency. A gutteral wailing meant for me.

I looked down the hall, awaiting the dark shadow to appear from the walls, when he’d creep closer, suffocatingly closer.

The door wouldn’t open, not past an inch.

But he called for me, this time. My name fell from unseen lips.

“Y/N,” he called. It was hoarse. He was scared. I’d never heard that cry before. This time it wasn’t solid air the door was against - it was pills. Tiny pills, hundreds of them, thousands of them, multiplying on top of each other until they filled what I could see of the room. Until they were spilling out the crack.

“Y/N!!!” His voice was panicked, but muffled. It was muffled now. Why wasn’t he opening the door?? Why couldn’t he reach me?? The shadow drew closer. It surrounded me, outside, every inch of the hall covered by darkness.

My heartbeat was the only sound.

A waterfall of pills. The glint of a knife.

I couldn’t reach him in time.

I couldn’t save Harry.

I couldn’t even save myself.

part 20

267 notes · View notes

rwbyvein · 4 years

Text

Sunlit Knight: Kiss and Made Up: Part II/III

Jaune: *walks along, holding Yang's hand with his left and Ruby's with his right*

Ruby (struggling to keep up): You've got really long legs!

Weiss: Did we forget just how tall he is? It was understandable at Beacon, as he was always slouching. But now he's finally learned to stand tall.

Ruby (looking up at Jaune): He's just so tall.

Ruby (looking at Weiss): I was also hoping to grow a bit more.

Jaune: *picks up Ruby*

Ruby: *giggles*

Yang: *looks down*

Jaune: *yanks her, pulling up beside him again*

Jaune: *craddles Ruby in his right arm while wrapping his left around Yang*

Jaune: *brings both arms back together, still holding Ruby*

Jaune and Yang: *awkwardly stop*

Jaune: Okay, maybe not the best idea.

Ruby: *eyes wide as her head was in Yang's cleavage*

Jaune: *pulls Ruby back and hangs her on his back*

Jaune: Let's try this.

Jaune: *picks up Yang in his arms, awkwardly walking*

Blake: I think we need a rule.

Weiss: Hm?

Blake: He can only carry one sister at a time.

Jaune: *awkwardly balances Yang in his arms*

Jaune: I... got... this...

Weiss: That is not the issue.

Blake: Seriously, we've got a lot of distance to travel.

Jaune: Alright, alright, rock paper scissors.

Ruby and Yang: *shake their fists in unison*

Yang: *paper*

Ruby: *rock*

Ruby: *sighs and let's go of Jaune*

Yang: Eat it, little sis.

Jaune: Let's not be fighting.

Blake: We can't exactly stop every 5 minutes to let you guys makeout.

Nora: On one hand, I'm jealous, but on the other hand I've got Renny, and two sisters seems like it might... be trouble...

Yang: Who are you calling trouble?

Nora: Little princess that has to be carried.

Yang: Oh, that's it.

Yang: *struggles to get let down*

Jaune: *struggles to keep her in his arms*

Jaune: *slaps her ass*

Yang: I'm just playing.

Jaune: Right now I want to carry you. You can play later.

Yang: Promise?

Jaune: *nods*

Yang: You heard that, lightning girl. We are so on, later.

Nora: Name the time and place!

Ruby: *changes into rose petals and flies up next to Weiss*

Weiss: Hello.

Ruby: Figured I would walk with someone with the same size legs.

Weiss: You are my dear partner, afterall.

Ruby: I am?

Weiss: Of course you are. We could not have come as far as we did without you. I could not have come as far as I did without you. It seems I needed to learn humility and spontaneity... So, tell me, partner to partner, how is your relationship with your beau?

Ruby: Oh my good god, it's amazing.

Weiss: You are not fighting with your sister at all?

Ruby: Oh, we fight all the time.

Weiss: And what does Jaune do?

Ruby: Makes us kiss and make up.

Weiss: *sighs*

Weiss: I supposed I should not have asked... That said, you seem to have adapted to this... punishment rather quickly...

Ruby: I don't know what to say. I really didn't think about this at all. To be honest, I really don't think about it now.

Weiss: It doesn't bother you?

Ruby: You think it would?, but, yeah. It's always just been me and Yang... this feels... kind of natural... like it was meant to be.

Weiss (with a smirk): Truly a fairytale romance.

Ruby: Why do you have to be like that?

Weiss: I am not laughing at you, or making fun of you at all. I just never expected it to work so well.

Ruby: Me, neither.

Weiss: I hardly think me and my sister would make such a wonderful... couple... however it is to be phrased.

Ruby: The world is not the same without us. The world is not the same without Jaune.

Ruby: *shrugs*

Weiss: Perhaps I need to find myself a beau and a belle.

Ruby: You aren't serious?, are you?

Weiss: I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around it, but it certainly seems to work for you.

Ruby: I've loved Jaune since the first day at Beacon, when he saved me from... well...

Weiss: *sighs*

Weiss: I have apologized for my ascerbic nature...

Ruby: Actually, you didn't.

Weiss: I did not? I DID NOT?! I am so terribly sorry...

Ruby: *giggling*

* * *

Blake: So, comfy up there?

Yang: You have no idea.

Blake: I just never imagined you being carried around like a princess.

Yang: What can I say? I just needed the right guy to do it for me. And that guy turned out to be Jaune.

Jaune: Hi.

Blake: *awkward look*

Jaune: Don't mind me.

Yang: *swats at Blake's ears*

Blake: Stop it.

Yang: *swats at Blake's ears*

Blake: I said...

Yang: Make me.

Blake: *slows down, letting Jaune get in front of her*

Blake: *climbs up Jaune's back until she's sitting on his shoulders*

Jaune: *carefully tries to balance as the girls playfight*

Jaune: I can't do this.

Jaune (jokingly): Oh - no. I don't - know - what - to - do...

Weiss, Blake, Ren, and Nora: *watch as Jaune tips over, with all three of them falling into a pile*

Blake: *finds herself pinned by Jaune*

Yang: *crawls up and swats Blake's ears*

Yang: Team Dragonslayer one, team Bellabooty zero. Just admit you're jealous of my awesome boyfriend and we'll let you up.

Blake: . . .

Blake: *wicked smile*

Blake: Even if it not this day, vengeance will be mine! It will rain down horribly upon you!

Yang: Tough talk for a trapped kitten with ticklish ears.

Blake: You wouldn't?

Yang: *reaches towards Blake's ears*

Jaune: *catches her hands*

Jaune: I think she's learned her lesson.

Yang: It looks like she ready to attack me at any time.

Jaune: I know.

Yang: *wicked smile*

Jaune: *looks Blake starkly in the eyes*

Jaune: Truce?

Blake: For at least an hour.

Jaune (wide smile): *let's Blake up*

#rwby #sunlit knight #jaune arc #ruby rose #yang xiao long #lancaster #dragonslayer #sunshine

78 notes · View notes

roses-amet · 5 years

Text

History

I stroll down the brick road while whistling an upbeat tune. The sound of laughter coming from the groups of people around me, and the children playing, by chasing one after another fills me with glee. The town is so lively, due to the festival that will begin soon, but, I am not here for that.

With a bow in one hand, and and a bag filled with bags in the other, I only pass through this town to get a horse for hunting. I am traveling from place to place, for no real reason aside enjoying my life, and, I am running out of food to bring with me. Buying is simple and easy, but, to me that isn't as satisfying as actually going out there and get my own food.

After some time of walking, I reached to the stables on the outskirts of the town. When I approached the workers, I called out, "Hello! How are you this fine morning?!" The woman who seems to be tending the horses looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "What's a foreigner doing here?" She asked, which made me laugh. "Just doing a bit of traveling, Miss. Name is, Alejandra Garcia, and I am looking for a horse to hunt with." "Oh?" The woman approached me and slowly walked around me. Her eyes glared at my body from head to toe, until she stopped in front of me. "Hm... So, Miss Garcia, you want to go hunting... All right, I shall let you, if you have the right amount of money for it." I gently placed my bow down on the ground, then pulled out a bag of money. When I gave it to her, she was surprised by the weight, then smiled at me. "All right, you got your horse." She said, then walked back to one of the brown horses in the stable. "Just give me some time to get her ready." I picked up my bow again and waited. She came back with a saddled horse, and gave me the reigns. "Now, I should warn you about something." She said. "Well, not to be rude, but, I know what I am doing." I chuckled, "I hunted since I was just a child. Father taught me." "That's good to know, but, I am not talking about that." She pointed towards the forest in the south, "Be careful when you are hunting there. I heard of stories of people who lived in the town going through those woods, only to never return. Some say that they were taken away by vicious creatures, or something that shouldn't exist in this world. I am not sure though, but, can't hurt to warn anyone." I stared at the forest in silence in amusement. "Sounds interesting... Thanks for the warning." I grabbed the reigns, then climbed up the saddle. "Well then, thank you, Miss. Farewell." I then steered the horse to begin my hunt. *** At the end of the day, I secured the bag of the last rabbit I was able to kill, on the horse's saddle, between all the other bags of meat from other animals. Once I made sure it was on right, and won't fall off, I climbed onto the horse to head back to town. Though, the game for today wasn't as fulfilling as the others in the past, I was pretty happy I got something at least, and will help me for at least a month. As I was about to gallop away, I heard the sound of a roar from deep within the woods, causing my horse to whine and stumbled back in fright. I calmed her down quickly, then stare at the trees. I don't know what was deep inside, but, I do feel something from within. Something dark. I do have a few arrows left, but do I dare to go in? Some part of me really wants to, and to be honest, it's getting me quite excited. I don't have much time anyway, so, why not? I can handle myself against creatures. I tried to steer the horse towards that direction, but, it simply whined and backed away. Obviously, she doesn't want to get anywhere close to it, so, I had to jump off. I tied her up to the nearest tree so I won't lose her, and grabbed a few clean knives from the saddle. I adjusted my clothes then my bow, then took a deep breath and tread on. The deeper I went in, the more uneasy I felt. I could see that someone, or something, went through these trees many times, due to the crunched leaves and markings on the trees. I examined one of them closer to see that it had claw marks across from it. Wolves? It's rather wide and deep for it be that, but if it isn't, then what else could had made it? I heard another roar which froze me up in fear. I slowly turned around to see a wolf, but, it was bigger than a normal one. I stared at their amber eyes, mostly to try and avoid looking at their huge sharp fangs, and pulled out my bow. My hands couldn't stop shaking, but, I don't plan on dying here. With the arrow pulled back and aimed at it's forehead, I took another deep breath. Once I exhaled, I released the arrow. It pierced the ground next to the wolf. I cursed, then clenched onto my shirt. My fate was sealed as it leaped forward. I shut my eyes as I smirked. It took me a second to realize I was still breathing and not in immense pain. I opened my eyes to see that the wolf was laying on the ground, with an arrow that was thicker than the ones I have. I was about to reach to it, until I heard footsteps and voices. I quietly hid behind one of the trees and crouched from being seen. I couldn't tell who they were, but, the voices belonged to a man and a woman. "Look, Grimmie!" The woman laughed, "I got it! I got another rare creature!" The man let out a sigh as he lifted up the wolf over his shoulder. I tried to take a look at them, but both of their faces were obscured by the wolf's body. They were also rather tall, and dressed up quite strange. "Yes, Alice, well done, as always. Now lets get this to Master Scarlet and Renny." The woman giggled. "All right." Before they left, she paused, "Hey... What's this?" She took out something from the wolf, "Oh my... This is a really pretty necklace... Amethyst, I believe." I panicked then looked under my shirt. That wolf nearly taken my life, but, though I am very thankful that I still live, I was pissed that it stolen my necklace instead. I nearly jumped out from the tree to take back the necklace, but, as I took another look at the man and woman, I was too intimated by their height to move. The man is built like a tower. The woman was shorter than him by a few inches, and is slimmer, but quite muscular. The man seems to be wearing pieces of armor over his clothes, while the woman wears a leather coat that is strapped over her torso, and a skirt underneath that exposes her legs at the front. They seem to be ready for battle, but, this is just hunting. I mean, yeah, sure, there are dangerous animals, but, you don't have to go overboard for it. There will be blood that will stain your clothes. But that doesn't matter. "It's a pity..." The woman spoke up, "That the owner had been devoured by the wolf... May had been someone young as well... Well, if their family comes searching, the Lord and Lady will take care of them, or something, right, Grim?" "That is if no one else greets them first." With that said, the two left. I followed close behind them to find where they were heading. Once they found themselves at the edge of the forest, I saw a huge castle across a wide garden of rose bushes. I never saw anything like this up close before, and boy, I feel jealous. The residents live the high life while I have to work for it. The maids tending to every part my home, warming up the tub of water, cooking all kinds of foods, and more. I could just lay back on my bed, or bask in the sun on a perfect day, without shedding any blood or sweat. But, then again, it seems rather boring to just sit back. Sure, rest and relaxation is good, but, what's the point of it if you can do it everyday of your life all the time? I guess it's something like a reward to me to rest after a long day of hard work. After all, I have been tending to my own home, cooking my own food, and warming up my own tub of water, since I was a child. My parents taught me a lot since I was a kid. It's mostly because they want me to be ready, just in case something ever happens to them, or something like that. But, again, that doesn't matter. That sort of thing isn't relevant. I have to get back my necklace. It's important to me. I kept my eyes on the man and woman, as they brought the wolf towards a woman in a long green dress. Her long red hair frames her flawless pale face, and wears glasses. She seems so elegant and straight forward, and I am afraid of what will happen if she sees me hiding behind this rose bush. I can't help myself by feel nervous. I am not sure what to really do to get my necklace back. Approach them and ask for it? The woman thinks I am dead. And what would happen to me if I just pop out from the bush? They would think I am a thief or a murderer with this bow. I should go back to town now, and try to come back tomorrow. I looked up at the sky to see that it was getting darker. I don't think it's a good idea to run back through the forest at this time. Maybe, I should just pull myself to together and approach them. They could be nice people, but, I don't know what they would think of me. This is worrisome. I let out another sigh, then sat there quietly for a minute. I held the bow tightly and brought it close to my face. I don't know what to do. But, looks like I don't really have much of a choice. Time to be a thief, for just one night. I placed the bow down, then took off every weapon on me. I adjusted my clothes again, messed with my short hair, then rubbed my face. All right, ready! I waited until the group went inside the castle. I quietly followed by going the far right side of the garden, then slipped underneath a window. When I peaked inside, the two tall people followed the woman into a door. Once I made sure that no one was around, I opened up the window, then climbed on inside. I closed it back up, then crawled my way until I reached the door. I peaked between them, to see that they entered a room that lead to several other places. The woman with red hair looked at the couple. "Grimm, take the wolf to the kitchen, and we will figure out what to make of it. You can do as you wish, Alice." The man let out a affirmative response, then left the room. The woman decided to follow him, but before she did, she placed the necklace on a table with a lamp. The red haired woman stared at the necklace, then picked it up. "Another victim to the dire wolf..." She whispered as she touched it, "An unfortunate fate... I will keep this somewhere safe for the family to retrieve it, if they ever notice." "I don't think that's ever going to happen." I replied in my head. I didn't really want to think about it, so, I forced myself to focus on my current objective. Once the lady left as well, I stalked her by crouch walking, then saw that she stopped in front of another door. As soon as she knocked on it, I waited to see what she will do next. I looked around the area again to see if anyone is heading this way. Fortunately, no body is, but, I did notice how well decorated this place is. Lively plants, paintings, and the wall paper is quite nice on the eyes. The plush dark green velvet curtains are nice to the touch, and compliments the color of the beige wallpaper. I noticed that underneath the paintings have names inscribed on golden plates, and one of them has the image of the lady with the red hair, standing next to a man. "Scarlet Bones" is her name, and the man is named "Renny Bones". They don't look alike, so, most likely they are married. They seem like a lovely couple. On the other images, I see someone that looks like the man "Renny", but looks somewhat different. The name, for some reason, is faded, so I couldn't read it. Maybe his twin? Interesting. There is another woman in a different frame, but isn't the tall woman. Her name seems to be "Jenny Bones". I couldn't find any image of the tall woman or man yet, but there seems to be a couple of paintings missing. Well, whatever reason there is for that, it's non of my business to know. Besides, I won't be coming back once I get my necklace, so, there is no point. Thing is, it's quite late, and I left my bow, arrows, and knives back at that garden. If they find it, I am screwed, so, might as well take the risk. Which is a really dumb one, but, whatever. I just want my necklace back. The lady, Scarlet, knocked the door several more times, hitting it harder each time, until she began to kick the door. "Renny!" She yelled, "Get your arse out of your work! You're needed!" The door opened up somewhat, releasing a huge puff of strange smoke from within and into the air. It's rather strange because it wasn't just one color, but, multiple colors. Red, blue, yellow, and more. It's like a rainbow, but, I don't why I think of this, it shouldn't even exist in this world, even though it's just smoke. Maybe it isn't? Well, I don't know. "Sorry, dear." The man opened the door further while wearing a really weird and unfamiliar looking mask, "What do you need me for?" "Grimm and Alice came back from their hunt, and have the wolf in the kitchen. What do you think we should do?" The man adjusted his glasses as he thought about it. It took him a minute to say his answer. "Well, it's perfect for experimenting, as well as researching... Bring it." He then noticed the necklace in her palm, "Let me guess... Another victim?" Scarlet let out a sigh as she gave it to him. "Do what you wish..." She said then turned towards this direction. I panicked then slowly hid behind the curtain. She didn't seem to notice as she left the area, and closed the door behind her. I turned towards the man who returned back into the smoke filled room, so I quickly ran to it, and hoped he didn't lock the door. It wasn't. I opened the door while trying to not make any sounds, then entered. The air was really heavy that I couldn't breath, so I lifted up my shirt over my mouth to block it out. This meant that I have to be quick. Unfortunately, it's hard to clearly, however, I did see where he passes through when he moves. I just have to follow it to get back what I want. And luckily for me, he placed the necklace on the table next to him. It's covered in so many strange tools, that, I wonder if I accidentally take anything, will he notice? Well, if I can't see, then possibly, he can't either, so, I pushed myself forward to grab ahold of the necklace, by still sticking close the shadows, even though I can hardly breathe. As I got to the table, I peered over it to see that the man was focused in a book. I slowly reached towards the necklace, and once I grabbed the chain, I pulled it. Only to get stopped half way. When I looked at the man, we both locked eyes. And my body was seized up in fear, however, I didn't want to go down without the necklace. I didn't want to draw attention so I spoke in an almost whisper, "Please let go... this is mine..." The man didn't respond and stared at me. I felt my body growing weaker and a headache coming on due the smoke. "I don't..." I clenched onto my mouth and nose tightly, "I don't want to lose the last gift my parents gave me... Please... give it back." The man stared at me then released his grip from the necklace. He turned his head towards the huge pot on the table before him, which is where some of the the smoke is originating from. Then he pointed towards the door. I looked at him, then at the door, then whispered, "Thank you." And ran out of there with the only bit of breath I could hold onto. I hurriedly climbed out the window across the door, then dropped down behind a bush. Fortunately, it wasn't another rose bush. I couldn't my body very much while my vision blurred and all I could see is stars. The only thing I could do is stay hidden until I was well enough to move. In little time, I passed out, but, I still held onto the necklace tightly in my hand. Memories of my family flashed as my dream. I could remember the laughter we all shared, the days my father and I hunted, and the times my mother taught me how to sew. We always sat around a table at the end of the day, and ate, while talking about what happened. I loved them so much. I just wish they had survived the wild fire that started from the forest. We were caught in the middle of it, along with many others, and though, we could had just abandoned the place, my mother and father wanted to help out the foolish ones who didn't. They helped them to try put out the fire, but at some point, they couldn't handle it anymore, since it didn't seem to die out, and so, they burned into ashes. I was just one of the many survivors of the town, and since there wasn't anything left after the fire, I decided to travel on my own, with the last gift my parents got for me. It's an important memory, so I do not plan on losing this, not even to a thief. I opened my eyes abruptly to a wooden ceiling. I sat up on my bed and looked around. There are several other beds all around, which means that I am in an inn. I opened my hand to see that my necklace is still there, which made me so happy. Suddenly, I felt nauseous as the room spun before my eyes. My body felt so heavy that I couldn't get on my feet, so I laid back and stared the ceiling again. I tied the necklace back on again, then rested. I am not sure how I got here, but whatever. In fact, I begin to wonder if I really did break into a castle to take my necklace back. I mean, if it was real, then hey, good thing that I wasn't sent to jail. I appreciate it. But, who wouldn't send a person to jail for breaking into their home? Well, whatever. Last night doesn't matter now. I have to go and check if I have any meat for me to eat during my travels. Nothing else matters except the present, and I got a fiancee to meet soon. Best to savor my freedom of being alone before I settle down. --- It was pretty early as I prepare my horse to go travelling again outside of the town. It was quite fortunate that I still have her, despite what happened last night. Which I am not too sure about actually. My mind feels foggy, and my body still feels quite heavy. Maybe I was so tired from hunting the whole day, or got into an accident somehow. The woman who gave me the horse was the one who found her, and apparently me as well. I was sleeping pretty heavily next to her. I do get exhausted from time to time when I hunt, but, it's rare and usually only happens during the summer. Maybe, what happened last night wasn't a dream? Which makes sense since I am still missing my bow, arrows, and knives. I wonder then, who took me back to the horse? Did I sleep walk? Shouldn't I be sent to prison for getting caught? I mean that man did let me go, but, if anyone else had found me, why didn't they punish me? Well, I shouldn't argue. I am here after all. And if I wasn't, then my fiancee would had to wait for me a bit longer. I do miss my love so much. Despite the fact that I was the one who wanted to put the marriage on hold. To be honest, I was nervous. I couldn't handle settling down yet, since I was so used to being on my own for a long time. But, they understood and decided to let me travel to get it out of my system. I did send letters to him whenever I could, and the last one I've written was told that I am ready to go back home. I don't know if he found another, and to be honest, that does scare me. But, I only have myself to blame if that is the case. Ah well, more fishes in the sea, as they say. Once I finished making sure everything was secure on my horse, I looked at the woods. Despite the fact I still feel dizzy and heavy, I sort of want to see the castle again. I find it too beautiful to just leave alone, and I also want my equipment back. I did spent a lot of time and money on them. I took my horse to the woman who sold me it. "Excuse me." I spoke up, which caught her attention. "Hello, again. How may I help you this time?" "I plan on going into the woods, Miss." I replied as I gave her the reigns, "And I want my horse to be watched." The woman's eyes widen in shock. "Woah, wait, what?! That's mad!" "I know, but, I thought I saw a castle or something there, and I want to see it again. Please, watch over my horse? If I don't come back during the night, just sell her and keep whatever I have on her. It's just meat anyway." She stared at me in disbelief. "I don't think words alone will change your mind..." "Nor action." I chuckled, then passed her the reigns. Once I made sure I had my necklace on right, I head towards the woods once again. The deeper I went in, the stronger the heavy feeling I felt the other night returned. I don't know if it's because of how unwell I am, but this time, it's much stronger. Don't plan on turning back though, so I forced my way forward. As soon as the castle was in my sights, I took a deep breath, examine the area, then exhaled and hid behind the bush that I placed my things next to. It's not there anymore, which does not surprise me. I wonder if they broke into pieces or something. Well, guess there is nothing I can do about it. Might as well break into the house again, just to see it one last time. I examined the area around me, then the windows. I didn't see anyone or anything, so I carefully crouch walked to the same window as last night. I entered with ease, then closed it again, and scanned the place once more. Since it's not as dark as the other night, I could see the beautiful detail in the blue wallpaper in this room. As well as the huge shelves of books. I tried to read their spines, but they were written in words that I don't understand. How strange. I continue to look around the castle. I made sure that no one was behind the door I was about to enter. After passing through the dining room, kitchen, three hall ways, and so many doors, I realized that this place is empty. Like, completetly empty. Not even rats are around. How is it possible for a place like this be so empty? Then, I saw something from the shadows zoom by me. I blinked and saw a little boy standing in front of me. He is dressed entirely in black, and his face was the strangest thing I ever saw. A pair of glowing red ovals that may be his eyes, and a smile that stretches from ear to ear, exposing sharp teeth, or at least that is what it might be. To be honest, the longer I look at him, the heavier my mind and body get, to the point where I feel like I am suffocating. I forced myself to look away, but, for some reason, I started to hear something in my head. A weird sharp stinging noise that is starting to make me dizzy. I couldn't stay on my feet for long, so I collapsed. "Smiley!" I heard a voice shout from one end of the hallway, which interrupted the noise in my head. "There you are- Huh?" Footsteps approached me closely, and I was suddenly forced up on my feet again. I wasn't sure who I was looking at, but the voice was really familiar. Renny it was, though he still wears a mask around his mouth. The man who let me leave without punishment. "How come another person broke into my house?! Wait, were you the one from last night? Why did you come back? Do you want to be killed?! Wait, are you really the person from last night?" Then another voice shouted from down the hallway. "Renny?! Did you get Smiley yet?!" The man, Renny, shifted his vision towards the boy behind me, then back at me. He then quickly opened a door to force me inside and shut it. I could hear him sigh heavily, then reply with, "He escaped from me again, dear!" The sound of footsteps was heard again and stopped in front of the door. "Then what are you doing standing around then?! Hurry up and capture him! I swear, that thing is a little monster." "Well, he is just a child, Scarlet." The man chuckled somewhat sheepishly, "He is still young and have a lot to learn about the world. Don't worry and be patient, we will get him." She paused, then sighed as well. "Fine... Just, don't let him break anything important... Or else..." "I can't promise you that... But, you know, let's go take a walk around the garden. He will show up again soon." The conversation ended with a positive response from Scarlet, then they left. I am not sure what room I was forced into, but there was something that caught my attention. The boy with the wide smile. I jumped in surprise, but then quickly calmed down since the boy doesn't seem to pose any threat. I mean, sure, kids tend to be quite friendly, but for some reason, something about this one doesn't seem right. Not human, I guess is the right description. But, no matter how strange he looks, it's not right to call a child not a monster, nor anyone else, unless they are judged by personality. And this one is just an innocent kid. Right? I slowly crawled towards him while extending my hand out. My body and mind gets heavier the closer I approach, but, I just sort of want to know, is he okay? Maybe, he is hiding away from his parents, which may be Renny and Scarlet? Is there any reason why he is running around? "Hey..." I whispered, "My name is Alejandra Garcia. You must be called Smiley, because of your smile." The boy doesn't seem to fear me. Instead, he seems curious. He looked at my hand, and slowly leaned forward to examine it. I let out a short laugh. "I won't hurt you, kid. I promise." As I was about to pet his head, I was suddenly stopped abruptly, and pulled away forcefully. It was by that same man again, Renny. "Come now, before my wife finds you." He said as he pulled me out of the room. I yelped in pain in response, which made him stop and sighed. "Get out before you are found." He ordered as he let go, "If anyone sees you, well, I won't say what may happen... Anyway, whatever you do, if you see that little 'boy' again," He turned towards me with narrowed eyes, "Ignore him... Pretend you have never seen him..." "But, I don't feel well..." I replied. The man stared at me silently, and adjusted his hat. The sound of a rooster crowing could be heard from within it. Or maybe I am just way too ill that it seems like it came from within it. Either way, that doesn't matter. I have to get out. "Well, don't worry about me anyway." I forced out a chuckle, which doesn't seem to convince him, "I just need to go past the woods, into the town... I came from the garden, so, I just need to head through there, right?" The man's eyes widen. "That is a terrible idea! My wife is there at the moment! Do you know how difficult it is to lose her? She knows her ways around the house through passages I don't even know of!" He then let out another heavy sigh, "Grimm could escort you out, but if Alice knows, she may tell Scarlet." He then tapped his chin in thought, "And if that happens..." He began to mumble to himself about things I am sure I don't want to hear. I couldn't focus anymore, nor keep my body up, so I fell onto my knees. "I... feel... sleepy..." I said, which caught the man's attention. "Ah, for heaven's sake..." He groaned, "I am not surprised that you are already this tired, especially since you have just met Smiley... Humans tend to be quite fragile..." I looked at him. "Why call me a human, if you're human yourself?" We both stared at each other for a bit in silence. "Ah... doesn't matter." I continued as I raised my hand to my head, "I have to go past the woods... my horse... my... fiancee..." Suddenly, I passed out. Renny kept his eye on the young woman, even though she clearly fell asleep. He then leaned forward and examined her. Her breathing is somewhat stable, but, she must not be here any longer. He then pulled out a tarp from his hat, then wrapped it around her body. "Grimm!" He shouted. He felt the floor rumble as a tall man stomped on the wooden floor. When he stopped before him, he bowed. "Yes, Master Renny?" The man asked. "This body is no longer of use to me... Please, assist me on taking it outside the woods, so we can bury them." "All right, sir." Grimm took Alejandra, then walked out of the castle. Renny spotted something from the corner of his eye. "Smiley, come out now..." The young body appeared before him. "I know you're curious about the world, but, please, if another person comes inside this home, don't think about playing with them either, okay?" The boy just tilted his head without a word. After a bit of silence, the man whispered to himself, "I am surprised that woman didn't scream... That tends to happen a lot when people see you..." He then shrugged and walked past Smiley. Once the arrived to the edge of the forest, Grimm placed down Alejandra. Renny pulled out a shovel from his hat, then ordered, "Grimm, go back to the castle, and tend to Scarlet. I will do my job here." The tall man nodded then retreated into the woods. After Renny made sure he left, he pulled the tarp away from the woman, then dragged her closer to the town, and ran back into the woods. He looked back at her one last time, then turned towards the direction where the castle is. As soon as he heard a woman shouting, "Hey, she's back!", he placed the shovel over his shoulder then strolled back home. "Time to continue my work without interruptions. I hope."

#the ancestor alejandra #old story

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dndfuckhouse · 6 years

Text

session 10 - old and new twisted faces

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> 🎵 Darkening Developments / Kevin Macleod

Picking up right again after a harrowing scream echoes throughout the alleys of the withered bone, Psalm and Rokka look to one another to decide their next course of action.

Psalm: it's not really our problem, is what i'd like to say but i get the feeling that you want to go help them anyways Rokka: you are correct my dear roommate. lets go! Psalm: wait wait wait

Psalm advises Rokka to go wake the others to go check it out, him staying and watching over ‘greenie’ in the meantime. Rokka runs over to the room with Keva, Han, Ezra and Plum inside and kicks up a big fuss that Plum and Ezra aggressively sleep through as the others each rouse tired and groggy. Keva throws a pillow at Ezra to rouse him out of nowhere and the four make their way over to the room where Psalm is to ask him why the hell he woke them up.

Han: psalm, why can we not sleep in peace :) Psalm: why are you asking me? you think i'm responsible for this? Han: i do not consider rokka responsible yes, i do consider u responsible Psalm: seems a bit unfair, we're both on watch here..... not really appreciating the bias

He explains the flash of light and the scream he heard to he group, everyone but Rokka decide they definitely are not getting involved even if a dude is dying but will accompany him to check it out on his insistence. The four heard downstairs while Psalm keeps watch over ‘greenie’ like a hawk.

Psalm: AN OCELOT NEVER LETS HIS PREY ESCAPE Plum: psalm meow like ocelot or no balls psalm by himself with greenie: MEWOOOOOWW ghester:

The four make their way outside the bar’s sturdy front door and listen about and hear sounds of someone moving a body, Rokka tries to pinpoint it but cant tell where its coming from. Han and Keva manage to figure it out while pulling on his ears, they creep around a corner and see a cloaked figure laying on the ground, someone standing over them.

Psalm: Ghester im thinking of a number between 1 and 2 decimals are allowed Ghester: 1.6 Psalm: Oh u got me...

The three recognise the figure over the body to be that of Vorde’s bodyguard from the ball. However Keva recognises him as her old friend Orin, seemingly appearing here from out of nowhere.

Psalm: and can you believe she thinks it's my fault ghester? after all i try to do to keep these idiots alive and she thinks it's my fault i was doing my job on watch duty properly Ghester: honestly it can be a little frustrating at times but you must make with what you have Psalm: i'm not about this bonds shit big boss has me doing but who am i to disobey

Orin looks to be staring intently at something in his hand, in his other he holds a bloodied sword, Keva stands frozen stock still watching him. Han makes to leave waving it off but Rokka shouts out into the quiet a YOU THERE immediately alerting him to their presence down the alley. Han quickly moves around the other side of the building in an attempt to flank him while Rokka continues to yell at him. Keva soon broken out of her shock pulls down her facemask and calls Orin’s name out. In the meantime Plum finally wakes and makes their way over to where Psalm is on guard, asking where everyone suddenly went.

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> 🎵 What We Could Have Become / Vampyr OST

Keva: “don't hurt him" i say like out of breath Ezra: ezra looks at you out of the corner of his eye as you say that keva

Keva: i take down my hood and take a step towards him "orin...?" Rokka: orin? you know them? Keva: i don't respond to rokka and tap another step towards orin

His eyes seem to scan you for a moment before he seems to relax slightly. He mumbles something under his breath before throwing up a quick mock salute with a lazy smile and turning, running off down the opposite end of the alley flicking something onto the corpse

Han in her attempt to sneak around ends up walking into a wall in the dark and licking a wet cave wall for a moment. Keva and Ezra give chase after Orin but seem to lose him quickly in the dark and twisting turns of the alleys. Han eventually finds her way back to the group where they stand about frustrated and empty handed. Plum upon hearing the commotion outside decides to head outside to check it out while Psalm continues watching.

Rokka: i follow behind keva and check up on her "what just happened--are you crying? oh my go-are you ok?" Keva: when i hear someone coming i try to force my breathing to calm and pull my hood up, @ rokka i just mumble "shut up" Rokka: < : (

Han: did all 3 of u lose him. i tried to go around and cut him off but u guys did a bang up job of that Ezra: you sure cut him off alright coming in about a minute later

Plum make their way outside to where the rest of the group is and ask about whats happened, the group then decide to go check the body that has been left in the alley in Orin’s wake. Keva is informed by the rest of the party that they saw Orin earlier during the ball and says he looked like Vorde’s servant, she seems utterly confused.

Plum: wow this is such a small fuckin town Han: you tellin me!!!! Plum: he seemed like a complete wimp when i saw him at the party, no offense Han: he did look like a wimp

The body appears to have been stabbed twice through the chest, blood staining he front of what looks to be somewhat fancy clothing. His pockets appear picked clean aside from a knife in its sheath Han pockets, the only other thing on him being the symbol Orin flipped onto his front, the group recognise it as the same one greenie had, a symbol of the Red Letterheads.

Han: ... why would the servant of a man who owns land be here Plum: ...owns land? Han: doesnt he? he said he owned a village Psalm: yknow ghester i feel like that vorde guy is definitely responsible for all that shit that happened at the ball Ghester: jumping to conclusions can make you blind to other things Han: SHUT UP GHESTER ME AND PSALM WE GOT THIS BITCH

Rokka: im just behind everyone watching them loot a dead body

Ezra inquires into how Keva knows Orin, she says she does but she didnt know he was still alive. She explains that Orin stole something back for a paladin that helped him before, but he got chased and hurt in the process. He gave the sword to her and told her to run and so she did and now she is here and so is he “i guess!”.

Han: well, congrats i guess, u didnt check the corpse well enough Rokka: so you........ran with a sword some dying dude gave you? Keva: he’s, an old friend

Plum: plums head working a mile a minute they are so confused

She explains she doesn't know what happened after she ran but swears he’d never do or hurt anyone like this for no reason. Rokka questions this but she doubles down on her statement. The group begin questioning if Vorde has some stake in this or is planning some kind of coup as they decide to head back upstairs, upstairs Psalm notices ‘greenie’ finally waking up again. Keva asks the group to try and not hurt Orin the next they see him and Han singles herself out as the only one who doesn't go ‘eh sure i guess’ but shrugs eventually. She also states she has a plan and picks up the body from the alley to take upstairs.

Han: smiles at keva with a corpse dripping all over me Ezra: renny is gonna be pissed if you track blood inside Han: ;asdflkwefd

Psalm and greenie have a impromptu staring contest while Han rips off her fancy shirt to wrap around the body and a bedroll to keep it from dripping all oer the floorboards. As they shuffle their way back upstairs Psalm hears them come and Cimmorro finally seems to hear them and wake up. He moves to check on Vinny before heading out to see what the group is up too.

Cimmorro: aight i go scout with everyone else and be like wuss poppin cimmorro shuffles through the door and sees han holding a dead guy in a bedroll and everyone standing around the small room Rokka: i point at dead body "thats poppin" Cimmorro: jesus, what did you guys do

Han attempts to interrogate greenie using the corpse by dropping it on the ground next to her which causes her to twitch slightly. She asks her if she knows a man named Vorde to confused response. While this goes on Ezra moves over and explains the current situation in Cimmorro’s ear to catch him up.

Rokka:

Cimmorro moves to say a prayer over the corpse while the rest of the group feel like they're getting nowhere with the questioning, leading to Psalm to get fed up and cast a suggestion spell on her.

you ask her what her connection is to a man named vorde, her face shifts back to that of a neutral one "i dont know anyone by this name"

Han: what is the goal of the red letterheads Greenie: kill the prideful, to kill the deceitful, to topple those in power, for him Han: and who might him be? Greenie: our leader, his grace Theyord Han: what does your grace look like? Greenie: he is holy, wise and aged, unmatched in his serenity and his anger, he wears it all upon himself for us to see Han: more physical features this time, greenie? Greenie: grey, old, standing tall

Psalm: kinda vampirish? red eyes? pointy ears Han: maybe a dilf? Rokka: hes got a nephew about ye high

Han: where might your boss be, greenie? you got a hideout? Greenie: he only shows up when he summons us for communion, i dont see him otherwise it is against the rules. I only meet where he asks me too Han: where does he ask you to meet? Greenie: across the city, all manner of places, but its rarely, he merely speaks to me at times, it is lonely Han: how does he communicate with you? Greenie: he speaks to me in my mind

Han: cool cool cool cool cool cool cool cool Psalm: what's that like? ^__^?

Han: whats the talking like greenie? Greenie: its soothing, angelic, he tells me what to do Han: what were your plans after you murdered your target? any meet up spot? Greenie: we were supposed to run and then he'd tell us what do do, but i haven't heard anything, maybe because we messed up, he must be angry at us

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> 🎵 Controlled Chaos / Kevin Macleod

Partway through their questioning as he says his prayers over the corpse off to the side Cimmorro sees one of its fingers twitch slightly underneath the fabrics. As he inspects it further he feels an air of unease begin to radiate from it as the rest of the body begins to twitch slightly. He informs the group of whats happening and they all watch as the body begins moving unatelry on the floor of the room.

Cimmorro: i hate this bc i was abt to like bother the whole interrogation by making a prayer dialogue going like "can i sing for you 😏 " at the corpse but ok Han: hey now is ur partner supposed to come back from the dead? 😬 Rokka: is this............a zombie attack

The group debate on whether they should just stab it again or tie it up or what as the body continues shifting until its moved to fully standing in the room, its head shaking at a inhuman erratic pace, arms twitching. Rokka moves to bodyslam the body soon after it stands, attempting to pin it to the ground but the corpse seems to push him off slamming him against an opposite wall. Han soon moves after to grab it into some kinda chokehold as it stands on twitching legs.

Keva: oh fuck yall what of the red letterheads symbol Orin left wasn’t a calling card or smth but smth that turns people into zombies Han: PLEASE KILL ME NOW

Han: greenie WHAT is happening to your friend holy fuck Greenie: he’s returning, he's coming back, he's been chosen

Ghester: hmm....kind of unpleasant Psalm: what is? if you know what's happening i'd love some insight Ghester: the corpse, i thought that was obvious that who sees Psalm: i hate you so much Ghester: appreciate it Psalm: anytime

Han & Keva: how does someone get chosen? Greenie: its blissfull, he decides who to choose himself Keva: WAIT IF VINNY WAS STABBED WAS HE ALSO CHOSEN Han: OH goD PLEASE DONT SAY THAT Psalm: oh, hmmm. we've been keeping an eye on him though right?

As they speak Han holds the twitching body down and asks the others to tie it up, Ezra suggests sitting on it as well to keep it down which Han does. The body starts making groaning noises out of its mouth that sounds like a weird guttural gurgling. Han continues frantically questioning greenie as the group are all utterly creeped out and on edge.

Han: what are you chosen for? Greenie: for a great purpose, to stand by him and do his work Han: what does that BLOODY mean!!!!!!! Rokka: i cover my ears "make it stop make it stop make it stop make it sto"

Cimmorro moves to inspect the body as Han sits on it to discern what in the hell is going on. He figures something is binding the soul to this corpse in some unnatural way, the twitching being especially unnerving. Psalm begins asking the group if they should chop its head off to stop the sounds.

Han: was the man you stabbed at the party also chosen?? Greenie: i dont know i can only hope if i am killed i will come back, at least then i can stand with him, i dont know what it takes only that it happens, Frello....i am glad he was given this purpose

Plum: i'm really hoping we don't trap this guy in some kind of painful existence by doing that Psalm: why would you say that now i'm faltering

Han: what is this purpose?? is your lord gonna pop up and talk thru him? why was vinny stabbed at the party Greenie: i told you already, "kill the prideful, to kill the deceitful, to topple those in power, for him. Sometimes he speaks through others, he is a symbol of pride, he was chosen for that reason

Han asks what would happen if they hacked this dudes head off and greenie responds that her grace would become very angry. Han birefly asks if greenie recognises the name ‘Ullr’ but gets confusion back similar to when she asked Vorde’s name. Cimmorro moves to inspect the body closer and the unnatural rolling of the eyes and gurgling almost make the body look conscious, through the back of the shirt though he spots something. a faint orange light shining through. The group move to quickly rip off part of the shirt and see an old brand on his back of the red letterheads symbol, glowing a faint orange. As they do this head’s next almost twists a full 180 to watch them.

Psalm: heres what i think. that vorde motherfucker is reviving people and had his little servant, keva's friend, revive this guy for that purpose. Whether or not he's affiliated with greenie is unknown to her but it seems incredibly likely, and we should probably kill this guy before he becomes more of an issue

While the group debate Cimmorro notices that the corpses gurgling is beginning to form small words and actual sounds as if he were learning how to speak.

Psalm: WOW GOOD THING I HAVEN'T CUT HIS HEAD OFF

Cimmorro makes out the words “hello” “you” and “see” he moves to tell the group that the corpse seems like its trying to communicate with them, han keeps it pinned by its forehead on the floor. Cimmorro says hello back and gets the words ‘greetings” ‘thank you” and “accomplice”.

Cimmorro: oh okay, you're welcome i guess.. who's the accomplice ??: cimmy you hear a "yourselves" and a garbled sounding noise as the corpse lifts up the edges of his cheeks in a smile

Plum attempts to identify the symbol while they speak and understands that an animate dead spell is affecting it, as they do this the eyes of the corpse swivel over in their direction. Han asks if this is Theyord and gets a ‘your grace is i’ back from the body, she asks what the fuck hes planning to do and gets "much work" and a "will see" and a "take yourselves" and a "watching". After that final communication the body seems to twitch erratically and convulse in upon itself. the glow of the mark fading leaving the corpse unmoving and silent once again.

The group debate with one another on whether or not he knows if they're here or not or if they're being kept alive for some purpose or not. Cimmorro getting somewhat paranoid from the experience leaves the room to check on Vinny and Cole, seeing them fine and asleep in their beds. He waits in their room as they others continue to discuss the state of things, watching over them for the time being. The group decide the plan hasn't changed, gather information and move afterwards, find the letterheads first and if they cant find anything they decide they’ll head to Vargonia.

Psalm: who is orin anyways? friend? family? Keva: i'm quiet for a bit "what i have left of a family" Psalm: i see

The group minus Cimmorro think on what to do with greenie now and come to the decision its better if they kill her and burn her body along with the other corpses so they dont come back again somehow. They try and figure out how to off her in the most painless way possible, Plum giving Han the petals of a plant to feed her after she knocks her unconscious. Keva goes to join Cimmorro in the room watching Vinny and Cole as the rest take the two downstairs and burn them, the smell its pretty putrid.

Han: i was doing so good on my no killing streak until this job came up Psalm: yknow i'm realising kind of belatedly we could also just bring her to the authorities Han: ............

Cimmorro: this is gonna be a long day huh kev... what are they doign out there Keva: i'm like face down on the extra bed and i say, muffled "fuck if i know"

The two discuss if Vinny will be okay to which Cimmorro says he seems to be getting better but he defintely wants to keep a close eye on him.

Keva: i turn my face to the side "...can you teach me some time? to idk, help fix people i guess, since it looks like we're stuck together" Cimmorro: oh??? well, i could. since i'm also learning and looks like that will be the case huh" i shrug "you're gonna owe me though >:) Keva: i shrug "i already owe you for the time in the basement so whatever i guess" Cimmorro: i lift my brow and start doing a thinking for a while before i go "ohhhhhhhhh yeah wow you remembered that? i didn't even think about it, it's sort of just habit to me so...it's fine but i'll be keepin tabs now hakhak" Keva: i do that like kinda laugh where you just expel some air out your nose before turning back to facedown in my pillow Cimmorro: i sigh and say "you're not so bad kevster. get some rest... you're gonna need a lot lol" Han: t poses into the room

The rest of the group make their way back up to the room post burning and rouse cole from her slumber bleary eyed telling Cimmorro what they did. Han goes to shake Vinny awake to Cimmorro’s huffing over rousing his patient as he slaps her arm away. Vinny grumbles awake and upon seeing Cimmorro sits up ramrod straight in bed grabbing him with a shout.

Vinny: YOU!! Cimmorro: HELLO? SIR? Vinny: his hair is also a mess, he grabs your shoulders for a moment before moving a little closer "...I THINK..." Cimmorro: whoahhh personal space

Plum: plum is going to go have a stress ulcer in the corner of this room Cimmorro: pet rokka to feel better Plum: why must we remove rokka's humanity Rokka: he would not mind tbh pls rokka needs comfort too

The group catch him up on the events post him getting stabbed up till now along with Cole as the two get ready to head out with the rest of them. The group decide on different groups again since they no longer need a group to stay and watch ‘greenie”. A group to go above ground and sneak into Vinny’s store and another to ask around down in the cove. Vinny decides to join the above ground group listing the laundry list of things left unattended up there, Cim follows wherever Vinny is going for the time being. While they discuss this Rokka briefly asks Vinny if he recognises the Theyord to which he thinks on and says maybe.

The group split becomes -> Han / Keva / Cole / Vinny / Cimmorro to head aboveground -> Psalm / Rokka / Plum / Ezra to stay belowground

The aboveground group tell Plum they will also retrieve some of their items for them if they can. They begin discussing and managing their disguises, as they do Cole hands Vinny her hat to replace the one he lost when he was stabbed.

The group decide to meet back at this point in 24 hours. If they dont see anyone by the meeting time then escape as you are now. Ezra notes if his group wont make it he may have a way to contact them if so but not vice versa. the group also decide to use a special code with one another to make sure they dont get duped by any future clones.

Rokka: i vote for obama take the wheel Ezra: who is obama Rokka: my great great great grandfather

Psalm: A code is a good idea Ezra: im gonna have to agree with psalms suggestion on this one

Psalm: How about Q: "where were you up to the night of the ball" "A: "i was having a grand old time"

As the group break to head their separate ways Cole moves to give the downstairs team a hug before she leaves but it soon evolves into giving everyone a hug as they leave. The hugging is spread all around.

Psalm: Ill give you a hug han (: Han: glares at psalm but opens her arms Psalm: ..........it was a joke Cimmorro: shakes my head towards psalm

They group splits off for the time being after the hug parade pulls into town, they head out to attend to their tasks, mission and goal on the mind. Theories are swarming in their heads and questions left unanswered, starting their day by pushing through the darkness ahead.

---

Notes

🔮 Psalm rolled a 25 on their disguise check

🏹 Han takes the ring and disguises herself as - a half-orcish man as short as she can manage, she also obtains a 「 Poison Dagger✨」 from the 🔪Assassin

🍺 Plum asks for - their large pot of pink potion / the rest of their ingredients in their small bags

🐺 Rokka tears his shirt off when everyone began talking about clothes ( #freethenipple ) and covers himself in a cloak

🗡 Keva and 💎 Cimmorro wear their cloaks over their outfits and 💎 Cimmorro removes most of his jewellery and rolls a 14 on disguise

#recaps #181227 #YEET!

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huangels · 6 years

Text

➧ 85 questions

tagged by: @jencto ty my love! ♡

rules: answer these 85 statements about yourself, then tag 20 people @ohdaddy-nct @dcyoungs @rxnjuns @reunjun @angelita-gordita @taeybear @taezhu @lycheechann and all who wants to do!! (only if u want too bbs)

↳ Last…?

1. drink ─ hot burning coffee that i almost spilled while driving to class bc it’s pouring outside

2. phone call ─ laura (my friend who just graduated high school !!)

3. text message ─ my mom (telling me to drive safe in the rain uwu)

4. song you listened to ─ jump by shinee (the album = a whole ass bop)

5. time you cried ─ oof i cry for the lamest and dumbest reasons but last night i was looking at nct fanart and i saw a cute ass noren one where jeno was dressed in a big moomin costume and wished renjun a good day w/ a ballon and it was all hella cute and shit lemme find it i rb on my personal (THIS ONE) it was,, so cute,, i actually cried,,

↳ Ever…?

6. dated someone twice ─ oof i rarely date let alone the same person twice lmao yikes

7. kissed someone and regretted it ─ i kissed this huge asshole in high school for a dare and he wouldn’t stop saying we had sex for a whole ass week,, this is why i dont date

8. been cheated on ─ nope

9. lost someone special ─ yeah but that’s the circle of life i guess :(

10. been depressed ─ oof did you mean: my four years of high school

11. gotten drunk and thrown up ─ uhh psh no i don’t drink underaged,,, mhm

12. fave colors ─ WARM TONES!! nudes (skin colors), maroon/burgendy (just like a dark bloody red), rose gold/dusty pink (the light shade of pink but not pastel), black (just bc), royal blue (the only cool toned color i like idhhdh)

↳ In the last year have you…

15. made new friends ─ yO making new friends is my middle name (i love making new friends !!)

16. fallen out of love ─ i’ve never BEEN in love...

17. laughed until you cried ─ if it’s after midnight, anything will make me laugh and cry (also i laugh at everything so yes)

18. found out someone was talking about you ─ lmao hell yeah high school drama everyone was out for me bc i look like a bitch and people are so quick to judge ://

19. met someone who changed you ─ umm not really everyone’s pretty chill. my roommate, who’s also like my best friend, is a huge party addict so she brings me to many parties, so i guess i’m more out there ? idk moving on

20. found out who your friends are ─ literally once i graduated high school and went to college, all of the snakes just left and now i’m surrounded by my real friends uwu :^] why tf is everything related to high school i don't wanna remember that

21. kissed someone on your facebook friends list ─ bruh i only have facebook so i can get extra rewards on iphone games ksjkdj

↳ General

22. how many of your facebook friends do you know irl ─ refer to #21

23. do you have any pets ─ i, myself, don’t have one bc i live in a dorm, but back at home, i have a doggo. she’s a thai ridgeback and her name is 巧克力 (qiao ke li = chocolate) and i miss her vv much :’))

24. do you want to change your name ─ for the most part no, i like my name, but when people call me ‘ran-you’ or something of the sort, i question why i live in america

25. what did you do for your last birthday ─ i traveled around china alone (well with my two friends back in china) without my parents for the first time bc i was an Adult™ now

26. what time did you wake up today ─ i was supposed to wake up at 8am but i didn't roll out of bed until 8:30am but hey, i made it to my 9am class 10 minutes early somehow

27. what were you doing at midnight last night ─ looking at nct fanart on tumblr and wishing that i coud draw/paint like that :’))

28. what is something you can’t wait for ─ my trip to spain!! i’m traveling to spain for 2 weeks with my friend at the end of june to july and i’m so excited bc i haven’t hung out w/ him in forever

30. what are you listening to right now ─ i’m in my accounting 2 class rn,,, so my professor lecturing about debits and credits (yes i know i should be paying attention but i’m an independent learner so i prefer reading the textbook and taking notes,, i’m just here bc attendance is graded)

31. have you ever talked to a person named tom ─ my old high school teacher whose first lecture was about corn and how it’s in EVERYTHING that is mass- produced today,,, well his full name is actually thomas

32. something that’s getting on your nerves ─ it was raining as i was walking to class and even though i had an umbrella, somehow my pants are still all drenched and this lecture room is SO DAMN COLD and i’m shivering someone save ME

33. most visited website ─ my school website lol

34. hair colour ─ jet black but in the sun it turns reddish brown ?

35. long or short hair ─ super long, it reaches my waist lol

36. do you have a crush on someone ─ does renjun count? jk kinda ?? but not really bc,, idk dating doesn’t really act as a major objective for me right now

37. what do you like about yourself ─ friendliness and outgoingness ?

38. want any piercings? ─ oof i already have a lot but i want more yes (i have 3 on both my lobes, 1 on my both cartilages, and on my right ear i have a snug ? is that what it’s called idk) lowkey highkey i wanna pierce my nose but we’ll see

39. blood type ─ o

40. nicknames ─ all nicknames i’ve ever gotten: ren, renu (my baby cousin calls me that bc she can barely pronounce words), fish..., nyu, rennie, r, human fish, + many puns on my name

41. relationship status ─ single and tired

42. zodiac ─ scorpio

43. pronouns ─ she/her

44. fave tv shows ─ the office, black mirror, we bare bears, law and order, futurama, stranger things, bob’s burgers, bate’s motel, american horror story (i love the duality between cartoons and fucked up shows dsdkjh)

45. tattoos ─ i want ones !! (prob small in hidden places) but um maybe once i graduate undergrad at least

46. right or left handed ─ right handed

47. ever had surgery ─ no - kinda? i have a scar on my eyelid bc when i was like 3-4 y/o, i was playing hide and seek w/ my uncle and cousin in china and i was running around and i turned quickly around a counter the same height as me and the corner of the counter cut open my eyelid,, this is kinda tmi but i was so stunned bc blood was running literally out of my eye so i didn’t even cry, i just stood there like ‘oh...that’s a lot of blood...’ i went to the ER to get it stitched up but idk if that counts as surgery :p

48. piercings ─ refer to #38

49. sport ─ currently i play volleyball and basketball for club, but played a lot in high school too

50. vacation ─ anywhere i love traveling !! also east asian,, mostly just china i miss my friends and family :’))

51. trainers ─ ?? uhh as in shoes? or the gym? idk,,

↳ More general

52. eating ─ as in what i ate today? if so, a bagel and a boiled egg for breakfast

53. drinking ─ coffee that’s now cold rip

54. i’m about to watch ─ uhh my professor continue talking about accounting and economics

55. waiting for ─ this class to end so i can eat lunch

56. want ─ a change of pants bc i’M WET AND COLD

57. get married ─ i sure hope so

58. career ─ i want to start and own a fashion brand/company/line (i’m double majoring in international business and trade + leadership management right now)

↳ Which is better

59. hugs or kisses ─ both i just want affection ;((

60. lips or eyes ─ these are hard to pick but eyes !

61. shorter or taller ─ taller even though i’m pretty tall as it is

62. older or younger ─ older or the same age ? (rip sorry renjun)

63. nice arms or stomach ─ arms? i need you to be able to put me in a chokehold and KO me (not in a kinky way,,, maybe,,,)

64. hookup or relationship ─ relationship duh ?

65. troublemaker or hesitant ─ team too-lazy-to-be-either

↳ Have you ever

66. kissed a stranger ─ uhh prob not

67. drank hard liquor ─ no officer i don’t drink underaged mhm

68. lost glasses ─ i literally have like 6 pairs of glasses that i keep thinking i’ve lost but then find it again

69. turned someone down ─ oof yeah sorry

70. sex on first date ─ no i have standards

71. broken someone’s heart ─ i hope not ! at least not intentionally

72. had your heart broken ─ prob once or twice

73. been arrested ─ in my good christian household?! (i’m not even christian tf)

74. cried when someone died ─ well of course i have a heart

75. fallen for a friend ─ all my friends are hot as fuck no lie

↳ Do you believe in…?

76. yourself ─ always :D !!

77. miracles ─ eh,,

78. love at first sight ─ maybe not LOVE but something similar

79. santa claus ─ i-is he not real... (i’m kidding dbksj)

80. kiss on a first date ─ sure why not

81. angels ─ renjun is a walking angel on earth

↳ Other

82. best friend’s name ─ vincent, alyssa (my two fave people)

83. eye colour ─ dark poop brown

84. fave movie ─ i watch too many to have 1 favorite but for the sake of this tag, i’ll say coraline

85. fave actor ─ i have a big gay crush on dilraba dilmurat also tom holland

el fin

#tags #personal #this is such a long post sorry mobile users ifhdihs #uhh ignore typos i'm in class #honestly this is so much info about me wow #i'm not very interesting or funny tho so #yall prov just gonna scroll pass its OK lol #YALL DILRABA IS SO FUCKING HOT AND CUTE I LOVE HER #google her if yall don't know smh

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glitch-h · 6 years

Text

i’m thinking about my OCs now so i’m just gonna talk about the main four of my book aaaaahh

first there’s Sadie Belle Jones. She’s tall, like 5′7 (that’s tall to me i’m a shorty!) and very femme. And very much a lesbian. She wears dresses and cardigans and sweaters and she loves soft pinks and pastels. She has long curly brown hair, and freckles. She’s half puerto rican btw. She runs on coffee and has a bad habit of not sleeping. She has like a million projects going at once at all times and who needs sleep when she could add another line of code to her thing? Oh yeah, she’s a programmer. Not as a job, she’s in high school lol, she just does it for fun. Her best friend is Renny, and he’s the only person who can drag her away from her projects and rest. Well, then Sadie meets Harper, falls in love, and Harper becomes the other only person who can drag her away from her projects.

Harper! Harper Faye Macklin! A black fat punk demigirl lesbian. She is very punk, and is always seen in a leather jacket no matter what the rest of the outfit is. The rest of the outfit is usually ripped jeans and a t shirt or tank top. She’s an artist. She likes either do traditional canvas paintings, make weird sculptures out of random shit, or graffiti. Graffiti is absolutely a legit art form fight me. She likes red bulls and rock stars, sometimes mixed together. She’s not shy at all, and tends to be vocal about her opinions (or as vocal as she can bc the world she lives in is terrible ahahahahahahaha) and wow. She’s tiny, like 5′0, but she likes being the big spoon. She likes holding Sadie and knowing her gf is safe in her arms.

Renny Ian Mendel is a good gay boy. He’s trans and jewish and 5′5. He wears brown sweaters, and sweater vests, and corduroy pants because he’s a GIANT NERD. A math nerd. That’s right, the boy loves math. And don’t forget his unruly mass of curls, damn renny them curls are everywhere. Just a big ol’ brown cloud of curls. He also loves theatre and sometimes works backstage as a techie for the school play if his schedule will allow it. He likes to design the lighting and such. Oh, his wardrobe eventually expands to include jerseys and letterman jackets after he starts dating his bf, but paired with his corduroy and argyle, he still looks like a lil nerd.

Yeah, because Teddy Brooks is a jock. He’s captain of the swim team, but he also plays basketball and pickleball. He’s 6′5, a big boy, and filipino and genderfluid. Sometimes he’s a boy, sometimes he’s agender, and sometimes he’s closer to being a girl, though he’s never one completely. He has ~family issues~ so he tries to have the mask of being the good sport boy, good heterosexual sport player, but it’s a lie. He’s been crushing on Renny for years and when the boy finds out about his secret musical obsession, they become friends that watch bootlegs together. And then more than friends. And it’s awesome.

I’m not gonna say anything about the plot of my book though. That’s a surprise >:D

#my ocs #renny mendel #teddy brooks #harper faye #sadie belle #long post #ramblings

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qualiteabullshit-blog · 8 years

Text

5 pints and a packet of Rennys

“This is all the sun’s fault.”

“Barry, you can’t say that for everything.”

“Why not? If it weren’t for the sun we wouldn’t have any plants or food, we would fail to exist.”

“And by extension, it’s the reason there is a figurative mountain of vomit in the sink and 14 Harp cans beside it, yes?”

“Precisely.”

“By that logic it’s also the reason we have crippling student debt, but you can’t exactly tell the bank that can you?”

“I dunno, I think I could make a great case for it.”

“You are a right twat you know that?”

“A hungover twat” He corrected.

“I’m surprised you’re even alive, or have insides for that matter.”

Simon inspected the ant hill of (he hoped) human digestive juices putrefying in the sink.

“Has the Uni got in contact with you yet?”

“What, about the noise complaint?” Barry peeled himself off the sofa, shielding his eyes from the previous night’s escapades and

“No not that, just thinking they might want to use you in some biological studies. ‘A study on the escape velocity of 4 kebabs and a case of beer’ might be a good title. “ He said, in his best Brian Cox impression.

“3 kebabs. Maybe a burrito, not sure, it was all just a blur of cholesterol and bad decisions.”

“Well whatever it is, clean it up, we’re going out in 30 minutes.”

“Oh for fuck’s sake, what time is it?”

“5:30. PM, before you ask.”

“Oh Christ. I’m not going to make it. Leave me to die here in peace.

“You’re going. You already promised Kate you would be there.”

“Shit I did. Right, time to do what I do best. Cleaning up after things I could have easily prevented. “

While Barry wrestled with a bottle of Domestos and a rather sorry looking mop, Simon went upstairs to get ready. Kate said she would be bringing a friend, and he had been single for long enough, even if it was a rough break up. But that was months ago, and apparently, this new girl was cute. Sometimes when a friend who is a girl says their friend is cute, it doesn’t normally end well. However, he had seen a few photos of her, and his judgement was the same. While Barry cleaned up with the efficiency of a pigeon escaping a bottle bank, Simon prepared as best he could for meeting someone new.

6pm rolled on, and Simon and Barry had managed to get to the bar in time. Once in a blue moon there was a bouncer on, and today it seemed to be a lovely shade of navy. He stood the same height as he was wide, similar to a barrel of whiskey with plenty more punch.

“Evening fellas, in for the night?”

“We’ll see, depends how the match goes.”

Barry kept his head low, desperate not to catch the bouncer’s attention.

“Why do you look so shifty all of a sudden?” Simon asked.

“Look, I may or may not have asked him last night if he was an extra in the hobbit, I’m not sure.”

“Jesus Christ Barry, you can’t just ask people that.”

They went to the bar, ordered two pints of whatever was cheapest, and looked around for friendly company. “There’s Kate, in one of the booths. She’s got us decent seats for once. “

They wandered over past eager fans and armchair pundits, to their sanctuary for the night. The two women sat on one side, the two men on the other.

“You’re finally here, I thought you wouldn’t make it.”

“Yeah well this prick didn’t exactly help.” Simon replied.

“I’m sure he didn’t. Where are my manners? Simon, this is Chloe. Chloe this is Simon.”

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you Simon.” Chloe said, in an accent so Northern English it could be considered fake. It was charming, he thought.

“The pleasure is all mine Chloe. “He smirked.

As the drinks flowed, so did the goals. The crowd ‘ooed’ and ‘ahhed’ and booed and cheered. Barry was enthralled with the match, so to keep himself busy, Simon tried his best to entertain Kate and her charming companion.

Chloe stood 5 foot nothing tall, with long, curly locks of brown hair, seemingly untameable by even the best hairdresser, but she seemed to have a decent grasp on it. Her smoky eye shadow accentuated her piercingly green eyes. A small button nose and thin lips helped complete her cute aesthetic. While he was certainly enjoyed her physical appearance, he relished in her wit and humour.

“What’s the difference between Jesus and a picture of Jesus?” She asked him.

“I’m not sure. What?”

“It only takes one nail to hang a picture.” She could barely get it out of her mouth before she burst into a fit of laughter, her eyes becoming little lines from her squinting, yet were open enough to let that mischievous sparkle in her eye shine.

They shared more laughs and drinks, quickly becoming engrossed in each other’s company. There was something in her that he wasn’t sure about however. At times, she seemed withdrawn, not wanting to participate in conversation, keeping her cards close to her chest. Then other times you could hardly get a word in. She had a vague sense of mysteriousness about her. He liked mysteries.

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weeklyfangirl · 5 years

Text

Frat Boy Pt. 16

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7 (1), part 7 (2), part 8, part 9, part 10, part 11, part 12, part 13 , part 14, part 15

*adele voice* hello, it’s meeeee i was wondering if after all this time you’d like to reeeaaad. AHEM, in other words, thank you for reading, you lot mean a lot to me :’)

“I saw the cops on campus this morning.” Strands of hair escaped her haphazard ponytail, and she blew it out of her face. “You should really do this once a week so it doesn’t get so nasty,” she muttered, tone completely changing. She missed my shrug as she bent on her knees, foraging under the sink.

All signs of Harry had been removed since the night before, besides the faint clean scent lingering on the pillow. But even that was fading from my mom’s trigger happy Febreezing. Harry had snuck out earlier than me, just sending a text saying he had an early before-game practice.

“Mom, you really don’t have to clean this up.”

She ignored me for the upteenth time, pulling out Clorox wipes and focusing all her strength on the built-up gunk on the counter. “At least take turns or something. You do one week, Renny does the other.”

Tap Ramen must have been made by people who knew most college kids couldn’t afford more than a coffee and dehydrated noodles - on a good day. I slurped up the artificial chicken flavor and winced as the scalding water dribbled on my chin, some falling on the carpet. We cleaned whenever we could. But recently I’d been swamped and had zero motivation for any extra obligations, much less for cleaning. Renny just… didn’t. I think Renny saw a broom once, and hid it further out of reach.

More Clorox wipes were drawn and she moved to the sink.

“What were you going to say about the cops?” I asked.

“Oh, right.” She pushed back her hair with the back of her hand. “It was kind of weird. Do you know if anything’s happened?”

I offered her a bite of my ramen. She shook her head, sweat beads lining her forehead.

“Okay” - I tried to explain between chunks of noodle what was happening, but she made me swallow and start over. “Supposedly there’s some kind of gang that’s been tagging the walls around school. We woke up to an e-mail today and I guess they tagged the courtyard last night. There’s a game later though.”

“That’s frightening...”

“I think that’s why the cops are here. Extra security to make sure everyone feels safe.”

“Freaky.” She waited for me to say I agreed with her, that this was random and unexpected, but I didn’t. Fear lingered in her eyes, and I knew a couple of cops didn’t make her feel any better. In a second, she pulled me into a hug, holding me tight. “I just want my angel to be safe.”

My eyes closed, wishing it could be as simple as it was when I was a kid. When she could hold me tight, and tell me good guys always won - and I believed her. “Thanks momma.”

She gripped both my arms when she pulled back. “You don’t have any plans for next weekend right?”

I knew that tone. Some mandatory event was coming up and the thought of another something to do hurt my head. Midterms were over, but with sorority meetings, soccer games, and Zayn’s art project, I still needed to get caught up grading papers for Dr. Rhinecuff and write my own. There were only so many descriptions of the Krebs cycle I could read before the red pen sounded more appealing lodged in my eye. I rubbed my temple. “Mooooom.”

“What?” Her hand cradled my own that gripped my head, scared something was wrong.

How could I tell her I didn’t want to do whatever she was going to tell me? “I feel like I’m always doing something.” Another scalding bite of soup burned my mouth and I cringed.

“I know, but-”

“I just haven’t been given a second to myself to breathe!”

She flinched, retracting her hands. “Your brother’s coming into town.”

I faltered as she handed me her phone, bypassing her screensaver of Harry and I at the gala to pull up the text.

She wasn’t joking.

“Did he say why…?” I managed to mumble, half-fanning my mouth, trying to salvage whatever taste buds had survived my voluntary attack.

“He has a conference in Irvine. But he’s also family. He doesn’t always need a reason to come and visit us.”

I almost snorted but covered it with a cough for her sake. “Doesn’t he though?”

“Y/N!” she scolded.

“Sorry, sorry, you’re right.”

A sort of sadness filled her voice. “I know we barely see him, but he’s still my son.”

The words hung in the air. The fact that she needed to state something like that startled me more than I thought it would. She had two children, but one of them was more a stranger. We saw him maybe once or twice a year for a conference, Christmas if we were lucky. While her son was a stranger, her daughter was turning more unrecognizable every day. I softened. It wasn’t her fault she pushed out a numbers-chasing robot of a human.

“So you’re coming to dinner,” she said. The slight sheen in her eyes disappeared as she bat her lashes, a determined gleam taking its place.

I guess sometimes you couldn’t choose your family.

------

You also couldn’t replace the comfort of mom with a chai almond milk latte, but a girl could try.

My phone buzzed and I tried to ignore the way I deflated when it was Renny.

Can you bring me a lowfat latte I’m dyyyyinnnggg

Somehow, using her ridiculous charms and guiles, Renny had gotten the professor to allow her to turn in her essay a week late after spewing some story about how she was so overwhelmed from the stress of school and tonsillitis.

My phone buzzed again and I couldn’t help but snort at the dark moon emoji Renny added. The tall basketball player in front of me turned around, and I ducked my head down, clearing my throat. Shady moon emoji = the funniest emoji EVER, as verified by Renny and yours truly. Also worked as our code for beyond the world of the living. Running off two hours of sleep? Shady moon emoji. Just ran into your ex? Shady moon emoji. Well, I didn’t have any exes. But Renny definitely got some use out of that scenario.

I picked up our lattes, heading out the door. Renny was probably sitting with her head on her laptop cursing the extended deadline which only meant extended procrastination.

“Excuse me, miss!”

I stalled at the sound of authority. I could turn around, or keep walking. Unfortunately, I chose the former.

Rogue Cop from the frat house walked towards me, stalling a few feet away. “Do you have a moment.”

But it wasn’t a question. I nodded, and he pulled me aside to the grassy courtyard where kids rushed from one class to another. From the Starbucks patio, I felt eyes peering over laptops watching as he crossed his arms, his eyes unreadable behind black sunglasses. This was very… public.

“I was just on my way to your room, actually, so I’m glad I caught you. I have a few more questions.”

His name badge reflected in the sun, blinding me for a moment. Officer Ramirez. I’d shoved his card deep in my dresser drawer, but I hadn’t thrown it away.

“How do you know the Styles family?”

I shrugged. “I have a class with Harry. We were studying for our midterm together the other day.”

“Did you attend their family’s charity gala?”

Something told me he already knew the answer. I nodded.

“What happened that night?”

“I don’t know the full details of it, but when everyone was inside the auction room, the- I guess… I saw their family portrait was stolen.”

“How did you come to see that?”

“Mrs. Styles screamed. Everyone saw it, I just rushed to the sound like everyone else.”

“Did you see the image that was on the wall.”

Obviously.

“Yes?” I swallowed, hating how nerves warped it into a question as the conversation twisted.

“Can you remember anything else about the time you saw the symbol at Kean’s? Where was it, when was it…? Anything you can remember could help us in a big way.”

My eyes flitted to passerbys, each one turning to look at us once. Some had their phones out, probably zooming in for Snapchat or to message concerned parents. I hid further behind Officer Ramirez’s frame.

“It was a tattoo. On the back of the wrist.” My voice wavered, unwanted adrenaline making my body tremble from the inside-out. “Sometime in September.”

“Would you be able to recognize this person if we showed you him?”

“No. It was dark, and they were wearing a hoodie. I couldn’t see their face.”

“How many were there?”

“Excuse me?”

“You said they. How many did you see with the tattoo?”

“Only one. Outside the shop. But he was with a friend. He was shorter.” A shaky hand raised to tuck some hair behind my ear. He noticed.

“Did you speak to them?”

“They didn’t hurt me!”

My outburst caught him off-guard. He inhaled slowly, exhaled slowly. Even his breath was calculated. “I see.” He rubbed the stubble beneath his chin, looking at the two drinks in my hand. “If there was anything that happened, it’s okay to tell me. It would only help us.”

“I just saw one tattoo.”

But even I could tell my voice was weak. He nodded, unconvinced, but I knew that he knew he wasn’t going to be able to prove his suspicion right.

“Thank you for your time.”

I nodded, taking this as an opportunity to walk away.

“As you know,” he called out, waiting for me to stop before continuing. “The gang tagged the school grounds this morning. Their tags are moving towards the coast, outside of their normal range, so just be aware of your surroundings. Notice the people around you.” He spoke like a father, but beyond the sunglasses was still a cop, and I knew he was dissecting my poker face for any sign of a flinch.

“Always.” And even I was impressed with how confident how I sounded.

I turned around, closing my eyes, and pretended for a second I was sinking into the earth, the cool dirt covering my body and hiding me from the world instead of my alternative. That when I opened my eyes, the world would be too close, looking at me, gossiping about me, wondering about me.

The random girl who talks to Harry now turned into the random girl who talks to the cops. That had a spicy ring to it, but I wondered how much the two went hand in hand.

I tossed the cooled lattes in the nearest trash can, shooting Renny a text.

Sorry. Line was too long.

------

I wasn’t sure what I was feeling. But I think I was used to that now. Later in the art studio, Zayn put down his brushes. He cleared his throat, and I stirred on the chair, ripped from my reverie.

“Something wrong?” he asked.

I shook my head.

“It’s all over your face. So it’s all over the canvas.”

“Oh, I’m sorry,” I said, cringing at how the words flew out of my mouth so easily. I shouldn’t apologize so much.

He mulled something over in his mind until the annoyingly familiar look of pity appeared. I looked away from his soft eyes, out towards the window, trying to escape the sadness he reflected back to me.

Harry was right.

I didn’t like the way he saw things.

--------

“Well you never, ever, EVER have to do that again.”

I looked to Renny, one brow arched as she shoved a fry in my mouth. “One, because it was your last session. But TWO, and most important… because I will model for Zayn next time.” She made a silly face and raised her eyebrows. From the field, the band started to play at that exact moment and she burst out laughing. I smiled, glad she was enjoying herself.

We stood by the locker rooms, waiting for the boys to get a spare moment to give us their extra jerseys.

“Would you ever think that we’d both be dating guys on the soccer team?” she mused.

I gave her a look.

“Or whatever it is you and Harry are doing. It’s crazy, right?”

If you told me two months ago that the guy who’d walked into class with a black eye would be the guy I was waiting on now, I’d laugh. If you then proceeded to tell me this man was Harry Styles, I’d stop laughing and say you should never be a comedian because your jokes were too far from reality.

“Crazy,” I agreed, eyes bulging out of my head for emphasis.

“W’as so crazy girls?” Niall strolled out, arms spread open with the jersey tossed over his shoulder. Renny jumped on him, legs wrapping around his waist as if there was some kind of magnetic pull attached to their hips. Harry wasn’t too far behind and gave me a head nod. I felt my own pull.

I came up to him, suddenly feeling a little dumb for having asked for this in the first place. This was normal, though, right? Totally normal? He beckoned me a little further away around the corner from Niall and Renny who were already pressed up against the wall. Neither of us wanted to see the wordless pep talk she was giving him.

“Right. Arms up,” he ordered.

I scoffed at his smug smile, but didn’t argue, putting up my arms. I looked him dead in the eye as he aligned the jersey with my hands. The places his skin brushed mine made my hair stand on end, aware of each goosebump that was now so delicately close to him.

“Aren’t you going to ask me to take off what I’m wearing first?” I mocked.

He paused, looking at me as he tugged the jersey down a little more aggressively than necessary.

With the jersey on, he watched while I fixed my hair. “M’not into public showings.”

“I was kidding,” I mumbled.

“I don’t think you were.”

“I was!”

Scrutinous eyes appraised my flustered state, and he fought a smirk. His voice was velvet, suddenly Mr. Seduction. “You don’t have to deny yourself with me.” His fingers looped through my jeans’ belt loops, tugging me closer. Our hips touched, but when I thought he was going in for a kiss, he bit the tip of my nose instead.

“Who are you???” I flinched, but before I could say anything more he gently pushed me back so he could get a good look at me. The whiplash from being close to him had me reeling. I hesitated before doing a spin.

His lips pursed before breaking into a smile. “Waited a while to see this.”

“Worth the wait?” My confidence faltered as he scanned over my body, up the curve in my legs and the rise of my chest, until he searched my face, finding some hidden meaning in my words again.

“I’d bet on it.”

I couldn’t meet the intensity of his gaze, so I looked to his own jersey. “We’re matching.”

“I’m a little offended.”

“Why?”

“I think you wear it better than me.”

He winced as I hit him on the shoulder. “Who turned you so cheesy.”

“Oi! Offense!”

From around the corner, Niall peaked his head around. “We got two minutes, mate.”

I hid my frown from Harry as he turned to Niall, the sharp edge of his jawline made more prominent from the fluorescent lights above us. Parts of him were shadowed, and when he yelled fuck off to Niall (big smile, just banter), I noticed even his neck was attractive.

I laughed, absolutely ridiculous, and he turned to me.

“W’as so funny?”

I didn’t say anything as his hands snuck around my waist to pull me in again. But I don’t think I needed to say anything. Slowly, I leant up to his perfectly tousled curls instead, resting my forehead against his, hoping to keep this feeling locked in forever. The softest sigh escaped him.

“Did you hear about what happened last night?” he asked, softly.

“Yeah.” I opened my eyes, but his were still closed.

He hummed, tugging gently on my jersey. “You don’t have to wear this if you don’t want to.”

“Heyyy, you said you wanted to make me happy.” I nudged my nose against his, and he smiled. There it was. That’s what I wanted.

“I want you to be safe.” His brows stitched and the smile fell again. Just like that.

I pulled back, but his hands stayed firm, keeping me tight against him. The gang had been on campus. Kean’s wasn’t too far away, but a marking here was a clear breach of territory. If I was worried, that was one thing. But if Harry was worried, I was terrified.

“Stop that.” He saw my spiralling thoughts and snapped me back to the present, gently lifting my chin. “Nothing’s going to happen.”

“I just don’t know what they want. You can’t promise me that it’s going to be okay.”

“Fair... but I’m a strong boy, Y/N.”

“Yeah well I don’t necessarily have as many muscles as you.”

There were dark circles under his eyes and a sleepy smile on his lips. Somehow, he was going to be strong enough to go out on the field and give it his all. It took all the energy in the world for me to get out of bed this morning, let alone run a field fifty times over. “I’m going to make sure you don’t have to use any of them,” he promised, looking over his shoulder. He backed me up against the wall, back blocking us to any invasive eyes.

“How do you do it?” I asked.

“Do what?”

“How can you be so confident… and just ready, all the time?”

The roar of the crowd picked up as the announcer spoke. He’d have to leave soon. He’d go out there with the strength and infallibility he proved each game. He’d use all of the world’s bullshit as fuel to win.

But right now, he was outside the public eye.

Right now, his stubble tickled my jaw as he ran his mouth to my ear.

“Cos I’m a damn good liar.” He dipped his mouth lower, placing a kiss on that sensitive spot that made my breath hitch. His lips were light, but a hard knick of his teeth tugged on the smooth skin. The softest breath escaped me, but he heard it. I knew he did. He’d started gentle, but as soon as the breath was out he pulled harder on my skin, nibbling, sucking, the stubble scratching deliciously against my neck, desperate to hear the sound again. And again. My back arched from the pressure, pressing my body closer as he turned me to a panting mess. He was enjoying this as much as I was, I could feel him grow against my thigh, and I wanted nothing more than to drag him into the locker room and see every inch of him.

He pulled away too soon, hair disheveled, and a satisfied smirk on his face.

“I thought you weren’t into public displays?” I asked, breathlessly.

“That wasn't a display.” His fingers traced my bottom lip, mesmerizing himself with how his thumb slid down, my lip running with it until it slid back up. “That was a warning.” He smirked, turning on his cleats, looking back just as my hand covered the tingling patch on my neck.

“If they fuck with you, they fuck with me.” He shrugged, walking backwards, naughty schoolboy grin lasting but a moment before he disappeared around the corner.

I scoffed, wanting to pound my fists against the wall for having been left by him again!! Being sucked and dumped… again!!!

At least Renny was high on cloud 10000. All she could talk about was how good Niall was at kissing, and in the sheets, and UGH she just wanted to rip off his jersey and DO HIM RIGHT NOW. She shook me vigorously to get her point across. At least that was one frustration we could agree on.

Once in the soccer stadium, we struggled to find a free space in the stands. The Panthers had basically secured their rankings, and now the stands were full twice a week to see how long this winning streak could go. We looked like deer in the headlights scanning the sea of faces until we saw a platinum bob bouncing up and down. “Y/N!!” Gemma shouted, but we could only read her lips.

We pushed our way through the crowd, almost impossible to get down the aisle as everyone stood up in a cheer. I tossed a look back - the team had rushed onto the field. Harry was in the front, repeatedly lifting up his hands to the crowd. Scream louder. And they did.

Renny nudged me further up the stands, and I followed her gaze to the DGS - Viv, Karli, Shelby and others faces of their clan. I couldn’t see Lynn. I squinted harder. She was probably there somewhereeeee- WELP. Viv caught me staring. I ducked lower behind the stranger I was trying to pass. She shouldn’t be able to see me, but I could still feel her eyes burning a hole in the back of my jersey with Harry’s giant #13 impossible to miss.

Frickity. Frickity. Frack.

“Should we sit with them?” Renny asked, barely dodging the slosh of beer from someone raising their arm a little too vigorously.

“HA! I’m good. You can though.”

I finally smooshed my way past everyone, practically falling in Gemma’s lap with Renny not too far behind.

Gemma looked at the hickey briefly, but was polite enough to not mention anything. I didn’t have a mirror with me, but if how it was stinging was any judge of size, it was way bigger than a quarter. When the halftime show was on and the band was playing, Renny left for the DGs. She squeezed my hand. “I’m only going to say hi. I’ll come back.” I smiled, nodded, but I knew she wouldn’t.

The thing was, I didn’t mind Gemma’s company. At all actually. If we hadn’t seen her, I would’ve been forced to mingle, and I didn’t want to think about forcing conversation right now. I didn’t want to think about much of anything. Compared to Harry’s dark enigma, Gemma was a breath of cool light. A little reserved, sure, but not shy. And she wouldn’t press me into talking when I didn’t want to.

“Where’s Charlie?” I asked.

“Left. He had work in England. Life across the pond,” she mused. “His was a roundtrip, mine was a one-way, but I’ll be back by Christmas hopefully.”

Disappointment washed over me. I hadn’t realized I’d gotten attached to the friendly man. How funny the one person who reminded me of my brother leaves the same week my ghost of a brother returns. Could I trade them?

“He didn’t want me to come,” Gemma sighed suddenly. Her hair was drawn back in a fishtail braid, and she picked at the ends.

“Charlie?”

“No. Harry.”

She sat straighter, tossing the braid over her shoulder. “But I think a part of him would’ve been sad if I didn’t. He does that sometimes. Says things he doesn’t mean.” Her eyes were glued to the field.

“Why wouldn’t he want you to come?” My tone was sympathetic. At our sleepover, Harry had said they’d fought, but he hadn’t wanted to discuss it. There wasn’t any way I was going to drag the truth out of him, but maybe Gemma...

She rolled her eyes, irritated. ““Well…” she sighed, clearly not quite sure where to start. Or if she should start at all.

“I won’t tell Harry,” I said, “If that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Oh, pfft.” She waved her hand, dismissing my comment. “I know it’d come out sooner or later.”

It wasn’t a diss towards me though. I thought of Harry’s invasive eyes and my fiery tongue… and she was right. It probably would have come out. At least the thought had been there.

“I’m just a little worried about him,” she confessed. “I mentioned it’d be nice to have our mother come down and stay a while. There’s plenty of room in that house of theirs, but he’s-”

The roar of the crowd drowned out her words. Harry had scored. I clapped instantly, but it was brief, distracted by Gemma’s words.

“Are his parents cool with...your mom?” It was weird phrasing, and knowing absolutely zero history about their relationship didn’t exactly help. Gemma seemed forgiving, unphased at least.

“Lionel’s...open to it. And Mary-” Gemma looked away, not sure how to describe her. “She’s been gone recently.” She did a sweeping motion above her head. She clearly didn’t mean physical absence. “They’ve been generous to let me and Charlie stay, so I can’t imagine they’d rob Harry of that right to decide for himself.”

“Why doesn’t he want to see her?” I ask, avoiding the Mary topic for now. The flash in her eyes says I’ve asked a little too much. I should feel embarrassed, but she shrugs, hiding it well.

“He hasn’t seen her since he was a child… it’s been a long time.” I remembered Viv telling me Harry was adopted when he was seven the same time Gemma moves a strand of hair from my face like a mother would. She glanced at the exposed hickey. “How’s he been though? S’he seem fine? You probably see him more than me.”

I wasn’t sure if it was a deflection away from revealing anything more about her brother, or blatant curiosity. Perhaps it was a bit of both. I shied away from her touch, not sure how much she knew about Harry and I. Did he tell her anything about me I wonder? Or was I still the “friend” from English class? No matter what kind of tacit understanding we’d shared ever since the cops arrived at the frat house, I didn’t know how far that understanding went in public.

“I see him sometimes,” I admitted. “Between school and the sorority, and Harry having soccer practice all day every day, we study sometimes… I guess-” I shrugged “-I guess I see him enough.” But it wasn’t enough. Not really. Because every minute without him, he lingered stubbornly in the recesses of my mind, and the smallest unrelated thing could remind me of him. Sometimes that reminder was enough. Other times, the giant black t-shirt-wearing sass god that he was in my mind refused to be tucked away and sat on top of everything else - which made it exceedingly hard to concentrate on homework, work, sleep, and anyone that didn’t have curly brown hair and shadowed green eyes. I was already three episodes into the Housewives, and had only seen about two short clips of him.

It didn’t help that I now had photographical evidence he existed.

After seeing my mom’s lockscreen, I studied my favorited photo a little longer. We stood side by side, opulent and regal in my red-wine ball gown and Harry in his black-and-white elegance. I frowned at how I seemed to lean into him a little more than he did into me, but his hand still claimed my waist, fingers dipping lower onto my hip. Our masks hid different truths (or were some the same?). Each time I’d look at it again, I pretended not to have seen the image a dozen times before, opening and closing my eyes as though it’d help me look at it differently… each time, I thought the same.

We looked like we belonged together, the woman in the dress and the man in the tux. We fit.

If you took away the costumes, would it still be true?

“He is a little on-edge,” I continued cautiously. Harry ran across the field, a little slower than usual, and I remembered his reddened eyes. “I think he’s having trouble sleeping.”

She nodded as if this wasn’t a surprise to her. “He didn’t used to.” But it sounded like a question. “Sometimes I think it’d be better if I hadn’t come,” she said it under her breath, but I’d heard it just before the stands collectively groaned. The other team had stolen the ball from Harry and scored.

“Don’t say that, I know he’s happy you’re here.” Though I didn’t, not really. I gave her a gentle squeeze, not sure how else to comfort a friendly acquaintance.

She wiped her hands down her face and when they fell in her lap, she’d shaken whatever it was that was bothering her. “You’re right. Maybe.” Then, a quizzical look took over. “Has Harry told you anything?”

I shook my head. “He just said you got in a fight. Didn’t tell me about what though.”

She took out popcorn she’d hid in her purse, sly smile saying something she wouldn’t. “He must really like you.” She still had that knowing smile when she erupted in a cheer, standing to clap with the rest of the stadium.

We’d won. Everyone’s phones lifted high in the air, recording the mania they’d all been expecting. Flashes, little bulbs of light, captured pictures of happy college students and their victorious team. The videos would be one of many posted to Instagram stories, along with those from the after parties.

A crawling feeling drew up my spine. I looked around, expecting to be the subject of somebody’s photograph. Ridiculous, because I didn’t find anybody zooming into my face. No one was watching me, I reminded myself. But still, the feeling lingered.

In the crowd, Matt stood taller than the rest. He flashed his all-American smile, jumping up and down with his other basketball friends. When he saw me staring, he waved big, but his smile faltered. He pointed to my neck before shaking his head, busting up with a laugh I realized I couldn’t hear. A laugh I didn’t know how much I’d been wanting to hear until now. Until I couldn’t. But even though I couldn’t hear him, his look said it all. His teasing voice sprang in my head - had a good night, huh? - and then my own chest bubbled with laughter. But his eyes dropped lower to my jersey and his smile fell. He looked away without meeting my gaze again, and I couldn’t help but feel the tiniest bit of rejection.

-----------

The dangling string lights above Karli’s bed swayed into each other until they became one blurry glow. Or maybe it was me… okay yes, it was me. I was the one swaying. From the carpet, I gripped her lavender bedspread to steady myself.

“I’m not surprised we won honestly,” she said, Cartier bracelets tinkering down her arm as if her cheering from the stands was the sole thing that made the Panthers win. In my impaired state, I fought a snicker. If the gang had seen her walking last night, one mugging would’ve given them all the money they needed.

Horrible thought.

Awful thought.

Tremendously awful horrible passing thought I wouldn’t wish on anyone-

But alas, it was still a thought.

“That makes two of us,” Viv chimed.

It was sometime past midnight, and Renny and I had already taken full advantage of the mini shots we’d packed in our purses. We broke them out as soon as the official meeting had ended.

Tonight had been “get to know what we’re really all about night.” So we’d learned more their charity Service for Sight. Apparently, sometime quite soon we’d be paired with a vision impaired student on campus as a sort of “introduction” for the bigger service work to be done later at the Blind Children’s Center in Los Angeles. For the first time since joining, I’d felt an excited flutter in my chest. The only reason I was studying Biology was to eventually become a doctor, to contribute to the world in some positive way. And now the opportunity was falling in my lap to do something that felt...good. Maybe I did need to thank Renny and - oh, God - my mother for pushing me into this.

Most of the girls dispersed to post-game parties after that - including Harry’s frat’s. I tried not to think about Harry getting drunk and beautiful girls dressed in zilch getting to see his drunk flushed cheeks and taking advantage of his flirtatious nature… pressing him up against a wall, him dipping his head low to brush his lips against their ear…

I stop my imaginative self-pity and laughed at myself. Harry? Taken advantage of by pretty girls?

For what it’s worth, I also tried not to think about how my phone had remained completely silent since the game. I’d sent him a “CONGRATULATIONS!! So proud. I have to go the DGS tonight but wish I could celebrate with you” just in case he’d been planning on seeing me. It was the nice thing to do after all. I was getting antsy for him to see the message and when we piled out of the stadium, I caught him just before he entered the field tunnel.

“Harry!!” I’d shouted. He faltered, before he matched the voice with the face. I pantomimed texting and waved my phone like a madwoman. “CHECK IT!!”

But Gemma was right behind me, and his face fell, turning on his heel just as he’d left me last. Except this time the bruise he’d given me wasn’t visible. And there were helluva lot less butterflies.

Shelby turned the first floor of the DG house to an after party of her own, but as soon as friends of friends started showing up, Karli began leading a small group of VIPS upstairs as I planned my escape. Renny hadn’t noticed, already giggling halfway up the banister with Kiki while Lynn followed, arm slung around Donna.

My hand had just opened the front door when Viv called out to me.

“Stay,” she’d said, long blonde hair tossed over a delicate shoulder. It was hard to find something malicious in her tone, especially through my buzz - but I knew another intention was hiding, somewhere, even if I couldn’t see the end game. “Come onnn,” she drawled, her voice the sweet nectar of a venus fly trap. I could hear my mom’s voice now, telling me that I was being too harsh, judging too soon…

But even if I couldn’t prove it, energy couldn’t lie. Was I smarter than a fly?

I followed her anyhow.

Sat between Donna and Renny, I was starting to think that the last Jack Daniel’s shot was a mistake when Karli slammed her hands against the carpet. It was a dull thud, but it could’ve shook the whole room the way we all went rod-still.

“You guys might actually turn out to be cool,” she confided. She burst up in a fit of giggles, but quieted herself, barely. “No, really, you’ve done a great job so far.”

“Aww.” Renny placed a hand to her chest and I wanted to smack it down. I quickly glanced at Lynn, but instead of getting a can you believe this? stare, she seemed unbothered.

“It’s easier than how we had it,” Viv said.

“Really?” I always thought they’d just strolled in, flashed a nice smile, bonded over how they had the same hairdresser and BAM. They were in.

Apparently not.

Viv looked past me to the door, and in the hushed way she spoke, made me think this wasn’t exactly what they wanted everyone to hear. Or anyone, besides the six of us. Karli and Viv looked at each other in sly excitement. With a swish of her autumn bob, Karli leant forward, hands splayed on the carpet.

“We have an assignment for each of you,”

“Uh, pass, I don’t need another one,” Lynn chortled.

Karli held out her finger, scanning us in the the most dramatic pause. “This isn’t an ordinary assignment. The first phase involves you getting a DG Pretty Please.”

Donna tried to stifle her laugh. Renny hid a smirk, but she sat silent, completely transfixed.

“The DG Pretty Please is a task, anonymously assigned to you by one of our members. Think Secret Santa, but different,” she continued.

“And some of these tasks will take longer than you think, so Kiki and I are giving you plenty of time to prepare,” Viv smiled, as though it was the most charitable thing she could have done.

“Is everyone getting a task like this?” Renny asked.

Karli scratched her eyebrow, slightly annoyed. “It doesn’t really work like that. It’s something you do if you’re asked.”

But I heard the edge to her tone. This was something you did if you were told. With the way they’d watched the door for any unsuspecting party goer, it sunk in that this wasn’t technically official. It was the part everyone knew that came with sororities and fraternities, but the part no one put on paper. If getting a secret mission was as bad as DG hazing could get, I’d consider myself lucky.

“Does Shelby know about this?” I asked, boldly. Renny shot me a glare, wordlessly asking if I was really that dumb to ask that question, to have just now decided to expose the unspoken agreement carried out wordlessly and infamously since the organization’s conception.

Karli snorted. “Shelby was the one who invented this.”

“In December, we’ll have a final pledge meeting. Prove completion of your DG Pretty Please and if you do, then that same night your big will be revealed to you.” It was the only time Viv’s smile didn’t feel too forced. She enjoyed this madness.

Renny didn’t hesitate- “I’m in!”

“But!” Viv interjected. “If you aren’t successful, you forfeit a spot in the sorority. I know you all get super busy with clubs, and parties-”

“And homework,” I mentioned.

“Oh, right. School,” Karli said, partially joking. “I know everyone likes you guys right now, but this is a serious assignment that affects your ability to be a part of this sisterhood. And you can’t tell anyone what your task is. It’s completely anonymous. If anyone else finds out, we’ll know you talked. Your challenge is void. You fail. We question your loyalty, bla, bla, bla, details. Any questions?”

“Can I get my money back?” I laughed, and the girls snickered - but I wasn’t really joking.

“Ha! No.” Viv was as much of a comic as I was. “You’ll get your tasks in a couple days.”

A chime went off, and we all looked at our phones. It was Lynn’s.

“We made the paper again!!” She did a little party dance in her lap and Donna peered at the screen. “Just got the notification,” Lynn explained.

The only college student left alive that got updates of the local paper, Lynn’s parents were published newspaper columnists. After graduating Yale and having a stint of employment in the Middle East, the couple traveled to New York and continued writing for the Times before they moved west coast and settled for the San Francisco Chronicle. ‘Major literary nerds’ was Donna’s affectionate term.

“Is it about the game? Did they include any pictures of cheer?” Viv was suddenly interested. She looked at the article, lips pinching in disappointment. There were snapshots of the different players from tonight, and I struggled to focus on the screen that was lain on the floor for all to see. But there he was, mouth open as if bellowing to his teammates, legs parted in a run. My blood ran hot. Was it stuffy in this room? Was it just this photo of Harry? Or was it just good ‘ol Jack Daniel?

I drew my hair up in a haphazard ponytail, smiling as Lynn scrolled to a picture of Louis scoring and pulling some ridiculous face in concentration. “There’s my boy!!” I hollered, pointing at the screen. “He’s just so dang good.”

Kiki’s brow rose. “Wrong jersey, love.”

Lynn suddenly snapped, snatching her phone back to recapture our attention. “Dude, I saw Louis go in the locker room with Candice yesterday after Journalism. But I don’t think…”

Karli’s auburn bob swished as she shook her head. “Oh, hell no. My mom sees Candice at church every Sunday, she probably just took his dirty laundry to take home.”

“Doesn’t that mean he’d have to strip down first,” Lynn smiled.

“Again, doubt it,” Kiki dismissed.

Viv heaved a sigh of relief. “Well thank God, I would’ve been out.”

“Out of what?” I asked. This time Renny didn’t stab me with her eyes for asking a question. This time, she was just as curious.

“You didn’t hear about the money pool?” Lynn asked.

“Uhhh… no.”

“I’m with you...” Donna said, eyes narrowing.

Lynn held up her hands. “What?! Babe, don’t look at me like that.”

“It’s a game everyone in the house is in on,” Kiki said. “Whoever’s the first to fuck in the locker room wins the money. Do you want in?”

My body temperature rose another 500 degrees just remembering being outside the locker room, whereby I continued to be consensually ruined for any future makeout that didn’t involve Harry.

Viv looked completely cool, composed. “Y/N must’ve missed one of those meetings.”

“I don’t know, I think Y/N might win if she plays. Did he give you that massive thing?” Donna’s voice was low, but not low enough.

Everyone’s eyes went to my neck. I swallowed, hard. Viv’s eyes glazed over and I didn’t miss the click of her jaw.

Can the gods come down right now and blast me away??! Why did I put my hair up!! Why!! I’d been so careful hiding it this entire night!!

If I wasn’t drunk I’d be trembling. I didn’t trust Viv, but that didn’t mean I wanted her to hate me. Seeing her eyes glaze over I almost felt guilty. Almost. Until I remembered all the snide comments, the way she belittled me in front of Harry, the way she took pride in being one step ahead...

Not this time.

I channeled my inner I don’t give a damn like the perfect mask it was, and flipped my hair over both shoulders, giving them my best ridiculous smize face that made Renny snort aloud.

“Eh, I’ll think about it. But I’ll let you win for now.”

Kiki watched the scene unfold before her with a delirious smile, respect riddling her voice. “I think you’ve just given us inspiration for your challenge.”

chappie 17

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