#Oral Motor Tool

[speechgearsindia]

Beyond Speech: Oral Motor Tools for Occupational Therapy Success

Beyond traditional speech therapy, oral motor tools have emerged as essential components in the realm of occupational therapy, contributing to holistic developmental success. These specialized tools target oral motor skills, encompassing the coordination and strength of the muscles involved in speech, chewing, and swallowing.

Occupational therapists utilize a diverse range of oral motor tools to address individualized needs, promoting sensory integration and fine motor skill development. These tools can include textured chew toys, vibrating oral massagers, and tongue depressors designed to stimulate specific oral muscles.

In occupational therapy, the integration of oral motor tools goes beyond speech-related challenges. It extends to enhancing overall sensory processing, self-regulation, and even addressing feeding difficulties in both children and adults. The tactile and proprioceptive feedback provided by these tools aids in promoting better awareness and control over oral movements.

The success of oral motor tools in occupational therapy lies in their ability to engage clients in purposeful activities that foster skill development while addressing sensory needs. Whether focusing on improving oral motor skills for communication or aiding in self-regulation, these tools play a pivotal role in creating comprehensive therapeutic interventions that contribute to the overall well-being and functionality of individuals undergoing occupational therapy.

https://www.speechgears.com/products/uni-tip-tool

[moonlightndaydreams]

Body Language

NSFW // minors do not interact

Pairing: Lee Minho x female reader

Genre: strangers to lovers // romance and smut

Word count: 5.2k approx. mostly spicy smut 🌶️

Story: whilst attending a gathering at Felix’s apartment, you meet his new housemate, Minho. You don’t speak Korean, and Minho knows very little English, but somehow he understands exactly what you need.

Warnings: mentions of physical disability (reader has a hand impairment and wears a leg brace), anxiety and body image issues. Smut warnings below.

Note from Sorsha: This is my first piece where I talk about disability and body image issues. A person’s experience of living with disability is unique to them. I’m not implying that all people with disability experience anxiety or self-consciousness around their disability. But I do personally live with a physical disability and can only draw from my own experiences. Unfortunately my experience doesn’t include having hot sex with Minho 😫

Smut Warnings: unprotected piv sex (pull out method 🫣), oral sex (f. Rec), nipple play, aftercare.

I hope that even if you don’t have lived experience of disability that you still read this story as I think the character will still resonate with many of you.

Love you, and enjoy xxx

—————————

You take a deep breath as you approach the door of your friend’s apartment and ring the doorbell. While you wait for an answer, You look down at your chosen outfit. A White floral print on duck egg blue background ensemble of a tight tank top and matching maxi skirt. The skirt has a split up the front of one leg, your “good” leg. You always seem to refer to that leg as your “good” one. It isn’t even all that good, it just works better than the other leg. The one with the leg brace. No heels for you, but you’re sporting you favourite white sneakers. You run your hands over the fabric, satisfied with how you look today. You look great, and this party is going to be fine. You tell yourself.

But as you wait for the door to open, you can hear many voices from the inside of the apartment, and it makes you feel sick.

It isn’t the leg brace that makes you self-conscious, or that your balance isn’t so good. You actually “embrace the brace” because it is a tool to help you do what you want and need to do. It’s your hands that are the problem. No one can really see anything is wrong, not unless they look closely and really pay attention. But they hold you back from interacting with the world the way you want. Your impairment makes fine motor tasks near impossible. You can’t even undo buttons to save your life. And writing, well that went down hill at some point in the last three years, and you can barely fill out a form these days. Not being able to play guitar anymore is pretty shit too.

But your biggest anxiety inducing situation is eating in front of strangers. Cutting up food is awkward, holding finger food is risky for the floor and your clothes, and fucking hell, if chopsticks are involved you’re doomed to starve.

You are anxious. You hadn't anticipated how anxious you were going to feel when you told Felix you’d come to celebrate his promotion. But of course Felix didn’t quite know the full extent of the dread that filled your body whenever you had to be in a “dining” setting. You’d confided in him about your fears and anxiety somewhat, and he’d promised that it would all be okay and you could use anything that would help.

“It’ll be just a small gathering, y/n.” He’d smiled at you, and you couldn’t bring yourself to say no. You didn’t want to say no.

And now here you are, at your friend’s. You have turned up. You haven’t bailed.

But you you want to run away. No. You will stay, even if you don’t get to eat.

“Y/n!!!” Felix beams at you as he opens the door. “Come in, love.” He steps to the side allowing you to enter the apartment. Sure enough there are a dozen or so people already mingling and chatting. Music was playing from a Bluetooth speaker over on the right.

“Are you feeling, okay?” Felix whispers in close to your ear, and you nod and swallow hard. You’re not really okay. You tell yourself that nothing bad is going to happen. That no one is even going to care, and as you find a place to sit and take in your surroundings, you realise no one is even looking at you. See, it’s fine. This isn’t that bad. You are okay. You don’t recognise anyone, they seem to be Felix’s work friends, whereas you are his childhood friend, but after about ten minutes of polite hellos, and introductions, you begin to feel your nerves settle just a little bit.

“Y/n, want a drink?” You look up to see Felix offering you a can of soft drink. You nod and your eyes flicker to the man standing beside him. A man you have never seen before. This must be Felix’s friend from Korea. From what Felix had said previously, he has moved here for a while for work and study. What is his name again?

“This is Minho.” Felix gestures to the man standing nervously beside him. Minho. “Hello, Minho. I’m y/n.” You smile. But Minho simply nods curtly, barely making any eye contact with you.

“He’s nervous. He doesn’t speak much English yet.” he chuckles and opens the can of drink for you before passing it to you. You use every ounce of concentration to grasp the can securely, hoping to god you don’t drop it and spill it everywhere. Satisfied you have got a good hold on the can, you look up to find Minho has disappeared.

“Oh, he’s gone?” You say surprised.

“He’s just gone to start bringing the food out. He loves cook-”

“Lix!” A voice from across the room cuts him off.

“Excuse me for a sec.” Felix pats you on the shoulder as he walks away in the direction of the voice.

Minho returns the room shortly after with trays of what looks to be various finger foods, and begins to place them on the coffee table and dining table that has been set up to the side of the living room. Mini pizzas, fried chicken pieces, some type of vegetarian situation, and several other awkward looking foods that you were not planning to attempt to eat. Although, it all looks absolutely scrumptious. You feel your stomach rumble and you regret not filling up on food beforehand.

You watch the other people pick some food and use flimsy napkins as plates. It looks so easy for them, and you feel a pang of jealousy. Stop that now. You tell yourself. How can you solve this problem? You need an actual plate, and maybe a coffee mug to have another drink in, you think, looking at your tight grip around the now empty can. You look around the room and see Minho standing to the side watching the positive reaction to the food. Everyone is absolutely loving it. You look back at Minho again and catch his gaze on you. He looks at you quizically and then turns to go back into the kitchen. Fuck! You must look like a stuck up bitch.

Okay, let’s go find a plate and a fork, and a cup, or you’re just going to miss out on eating altogether. All you need to do is get up and go to the kitchen. This is always how your internal dialogue goes. You need to plan in your mind how you are going to navigate your surroundings. Are there any obstacles you need to work your way around? Which is your quickest route?

You enter the kitchen surprised to see Minho still working away chopping food, even though there is already plenty of food in the living room. Your eyes drift over his frame, and you’re surprised by the flushed feeling in your cheeks. He is attractive. Felix had mentioned he was a dancer with a passion for cooking. Hmm.. yes he definitely has a dancer’s body. You can tell his thighs are toned from the way his trousers cling to them. You bite your lip as you eyes follow his thighs up to his taught ass and you bite down even harder on your lip. Fuck. Stop looking at him, you tell yourself. You quickly lift your gaze to his upper half, his thin cotton button down draping over his back muscles. And his arm. Fuck! You can’t stop staring at the veins in his forearm as he chops a tomato.

You are suddenly brought out of your not-so-innocent thoughts when the knife in his hand stills. Shit. You quickly remember why you came in to the kitchen in the first place, and open the overhead cupboard to fetch a mug, and opening the fridge to see what beverage options there are.

Your breath catches in your chest when out of nowhere, a veiny hand grabs onto the fridge door, opening it further and reaching in to grab two cans of soft drink. You step out of the way to give the owner of the hand room, only to find Minho standing there with a Sprite in one hand and a Coke in the other, holding them both up to you in a way that could only mean he’s asking you to choose one. But all you do is stare blankly at this gorgeous man in front of you.

Minho nods his head, gesturing for you to take one. Fuck his eyes are captivating. You reach out to choose the coke, but instead of him handing it to you, he takes both cans to the counter and places a second mug down next to yours. You watch him, intrigued, as he opens both cans - one handed - and fills the mugs part way with the drinks. You take a step closer, wrapping your hand around the handle of the mug of coke, and tentatively make eye contact with him again. “Thank you.” You whisper. He nods shyly in return and mumbles a “your welcome.” Then gets back to what he was working on.

You don’t move. You barely breathe. This can’t take your eyes off of him. You are sure he can feel your eyes on him too, because his movements are little stiffer, more hesitant than when you first walked into the kitchen and he didn’t know you were there. You wondered if you were making him nervous.

He takes two plates and begins to arrange much of the same food he’d taken out to the gathering earlier. Mini pizzas, fried chicken, but also a little salad on the side. Then he proceeds to cut up everything up into bite size pieces. On both plates. What is he doing? You are intrigued. To finish off, he gets two forks out of the cutlery drawer and takes both plates over to the little two seater table in the opposite corner of the kitchen. And then he’s brushing past you to take the two mugs of soft drink, setting them down with the two plates of food.

When he is done, he looks at you expectantly. You are unsure what is happening. His gaze alternates between the little table and you. “Eat with me?” He says carefully. Wait. What? You glance at the plates on the table. This is for you? “You want me to eat with you?” You double check, even though you’re not sure how much he understands. He nods with a smile and sits himself down in one of the chairs.

Slowly, you make your way to the other chair and nervously sit down opposite him. You can’t help but chuckle to yourself. The plates of food, all chopped up small, coupled with the cold drinks in what one would normally drink a hot beverage from, looks exactly how you set up your own dinner. At home, you have a special knife to cut your food up and you make a mental note to start keeping it in your handbag. But are you allowed to carry knives around like that?

“You don’t like?” Minho breaks your thoughts again.

“Yes… No… I mean I do like.” You say and stab your fork in a piece of chicken and pop it into your mouth. Your eyes almost bulge out of your head. “Oh my god, Minho!” You say with your mouth full. “This is delicious!” You cry. “Yum!”

Minho smirks, a satisfied look on his beautiful face. “Yummy?” He asks. You nod frantically. “So good. Yummy.” You grin back, before going in for more food.

Minho digs in too, and as you both fall even more silent than you had already been so far, you wonder why Minho hasn’t joined the others in the other room. Maybe he’s shy? Maybe he’s unsure because of the language barrier? But he seems so confident, and you imagined that if he were surrounded by his people he’d be boisterous and maybe even a little obnoxious. He has that look about him. Devious. As you place the last bit of food into your mouth, you realise that you hadn’t even thought about your anxiety for a while. Minho, a complete stranger, has made your dining experience one of the least stressful in a long time. And you hadn’t even had to explain anything to him. Felix must have mentioned something to him, you decide. How else could he have known what you needed?

You look up and give Minho the biggest, most thankful and authentic smile. “Thank you, Minho. That was so fucking good.” His eyes blink rapidly at your use of the word fucking, and he quickly breaks eye contact, and a look of confusion crosses his face. His cheeks turn a shade of pink. Hmm, so he knows that word?

“There you two are!” You both look up startled as Felix enters the kitchen and crouches down beside you both. He scans the empty plates and peeks into your coffee mug curiously.

“Thank you Felix.” You say, but he looks confused. “For what, love?”

“Letting Minho know my challenges…you know, with food.”

“Honey, I never told him anything.” He shrugs. “But I probably should have. Fuck, I’m a shit friend, I didn’t even see if you needed anything.” He scratches his head. “Anyway, I came to tell you that we are all heading into town now. Are you going to come?”

You glance at Minho who seems to be pretending to be interested in how his Sprite looks swirling around his mug, and then you look back at Felix. He shakes his head “Minho already told me he won’t be coming out.”

Oh. You take a moment to consider how your night would pan out if you went out with the group. It would most likely be fun, although your feet would hate you in the morning. A night out is extremely tiring. You cast your eyes around the kitchen. There are plates, pans, rubbish absolutely everywhere, and who knows what state the living room is in? If Minho was left here on his own, you were positive he’ll clean it all up himself.

“No, I think I’ll just stay here. Help tidy up.” You say brightly. Felix raises his eyebrows and looks to Minho and says something to him in Korean. You watch Minho as his eyes widen and when blink rapidly as he shifts uncomfortably in his seat. Eventually he meets your eyes and offers one polite nod. You nod in return, like you have both just agreed on something important, and you feel a nervousness in your stomach. Or is the feeling something else?

“Well,” Felix stands up. “I may or may not be back before dawn. If you want to crash here tonight, y/n, you know you are more than welcome, right?” He gives you a hug and then hugs Minho. They exchange a few more words, and you are sure Felix has just teased Minho, because Minho suddenly raises his voice in a loud “Ya!” making you jump, and play punches Felix in the arm. “Okay, okay. I’m going.” He laughs as he leaves you and Minho alone once more.

———

After the group has left, and after Minho cuts you a second piece of cheesecake, you watch him begin the mammoth task of cleaning up. The place feels so silent, apart from Minho pottering around collecting plates. You retrieve a garbage bag from the third drawer down in the kitchen, because you know where everything lives at Felix’s, and go about the apartment collecting any rubbish. You aren’t really sure how much help you’re going to be, but thankfully most people had only used napkins and canned drinks, so most of the washing up wasn’t the breakable kind. Pots, pans, and cooking utensils mostly, and you find you are managing quite alright with putting those away in their homes.

Once everything was relatively tidy again, you dim the kitchen lights a little, because your eyes are tired, and set to work filling up the kettle. “Minho, would like a coffee?” you gesture to the jar of instant coffee. His eyes light up. “Mmm, coffee. Yes…please.” He smiles. “Okay, great.” You chirp spooning out the coffee and open the fridge for milk. Again, just like before, Minho’s veiny arm grabs the fridge door. But instead of grabbing the milk, like you expect, he closes the door and gently grasps your arm and turns you so your back is against the bench. The gesture is soft and gentle, not aggressive or demanding, and it makes your breath stop. Your hands grip the countertop on either side of you, trying to steady yourself in this unexpected situation. He is standing directly in front of you, close, and there is nowhere for you to avert your eyes. He swallows hard and stares into your eyes questioningly. You open your mouth to speak but you don’t know what to say. It doesn’t matter though, because Minho speaks first.

“Thank you.” He whispers. You aren’t entirely sure what he is thanking you for, but you assume he means helping him tidy up. “For eating with me.”

Your heart absolutely melts. Who is this man? “You’re welcome.” You choke, staring back at him just as intently. His brown, almond eyes convey a myriad of emotions. Nervousness, desperation, hope, desire. His eyes flicker down to your lips, then lower as he takes a really good look at your body, before returning to your lips. Then his eyes drop to one of your hands. He reaches for it, closing the gap between the two of you in the process, and brings your hand to his lips. You are caught off guard at this gesture. You don’t really like bringing attention to your hands, and having Minho deliberately tending to them makes you feel exposed. You try and pull away, but Minho just brings your fingertips back to his lips and proceeds to kiss the backs of each of your digits. Slowly. One by one.

You suck in your lower lip, both frightened and aroused in equal measure. He lowers your arm down to your side, but still holds your hand securely, and he brings his other arm to rest on your hip.

“This? Okay?” he asks, trying to guage your reaction to his touch. You nod. That’s all you can do.

You feel a heat wash over your body, and you know you are blushing. The butterflies in your stomach flutter around and there is an unmistakable ache in your core. You bring your free hand to rest on his bicep, and you bravely pull him closer to you. He reads this gesture as invitation to lean in closer to you. His eyes still linger on your lips, and his warm breath on your skin makes you quiver.

“This? Okay too?” he whispers in a husky voice, sending shock waves straight to your cunt. “Yes” you squeak and Minho chuckles low before turning serious again. The silence in the room suddenly feels excruciatingly loud as Minho pauses, centimetres from your lips, and it feels like you’re frozen in time. His lips brush yours in a featherlight kiss. It is barely even a kiss, but it feels more intense and passionate than any other “first kiss” you’ve had. He pulls away slightly, only to come back in with more intensity. He let’s go of your hand and cups your jaw instead, pulling you in towards him. You part your lips in the hopes he will explore you with his tongue, and he immediately does.

You feel yourself losing your balance slightly and grip onto Minho tighter. He slides his hands around to the back of your thighs and lifts you effortlessly setting you down on the counter. He breaks the kiss, panting and out of breath, and leans his forehead on yours to compose himself. You rest one hand on the back of his head, your fingers threaded through his dark brown locks.

Once he’s composed himself, Minho suddenly drops to his knees in front of you, taking you by surprise. You watch in anticipation as he very slowly, and very intentionally, lifts your skirt and drapes the fabric over your knees. You feel a surge of embarrassment and want to hide, and you berate yourself for how easily all that hard work of “self-acceptance” has come undone in a single moment. You force yourself to look down at Minho to find he has a hand resting on the velcro fastening of your leg brace, and he is looking up at you waiting. “This? Okay?” he repeats the same sentence as before as his fingers undo the strap a fraction. You nod. “Yes, it’s okay.”

You watch Minho’s expression intently, trying to catch any glimmer of disgust, or worse, pity, but you see none of that from the man at your feet. He carefully removes your brace and shoe, placing it carefully on the floor. Then he removes your other shoe and places that neatly beside the first. Next, he peels off your socks.

You have never felt so exposed in your entire life as you do right now. But as Minho starts to kiss and caress your calves as he makes his way back up to standing, you realise he is captivated by you. And as he pushes your knees apart to makes space for him to come in close to you, you feel that he is indeed very aroused by you too. It makes you hungry for him, and you reach up to the buttons on his shirt. There is no way you can undo these yourself, but it’s okay because Minho’s hand is there and he unbuttons his shirt swiftly with one hand while you watch in awe. You help him slide the shirt off his shoulders and it drops to the floor. Minho hurries to peel your top off over your head, discarding it carelessly. He is focused on only one thing now, the clasp of your simple cotton t-shirt bra, and he undoes it like a pro. You raise your eyebrow at him, suspicious as to why he is so skilled at undressing. But he just smirks and let’s your bra fall away.

He immediately takes a nipple in his mouth and cups your other breast. You arch your back into him and hum a “yes, Minho, yes.” He moans in reply and you rake your hands through his hair, panting as he rolls his tongue over your hardened nipple.

“Minho? Your bedroom? Hmmm…” you moan. “Bed?” You throw the words around hoping he understands. He lifts his head to look at you and you nod your head towards the hallway where the bedrooms are.

He wastes no time lifting you off the counter and you automatically wrap your legs around his waist. He devours your lips with his as he carries you to towards his bedroom, stopping on the way to press you against the wall in the hallway. You moan again, and throw your head back while he hisses as he grinds his hardness against your clothed cunt. Your body is craving his, and you would absolutely let him fuck you right then and there against the wall if he wanted to.

He pulls you away from the wall, biting and sucking the skin on your neck as he carries you to his room and carefully lays you on his bed. He continues to kiss you, alternating between your mouth and breasts, like he can’t decide what to settle on.

His kisses slowly move lower down your body, peppering your stomach until he reaches the waistband of your skirt. He lifts his gaze to check in with you yet again, and you nod your head, giving him permission to remove your skirt, leaving you only in your pale lavender cotton briefs. Minho’s face hovers incredibly close to where you’re aching to be touched. He hums in approval as he traces a finger over the wet patch of your underwear and brushes it over your clit, watching the fabric cling to your lips as he does so. You suck in a breath at the sensation. He smirks, satisfied with your response, then rubs his finger over your clit again. “Fuck!” you cry out. He locks eyes on you while he rubs a little harder. You furrow your brows and beg him with your eyes to remove your panties.

He peels your underwear off and you let your legs fall open for him, offering yourself to him completely. He doesn’t go straight for your cunt, but tenderly kisses your inner thighs and slowly makes his way to your centre. He knows, he has to know, what this is doing you. How wet, how soaked you are. How much you need him inside of you. “Minho, please.” You sob his name. He replies by licking a stripe from your entrance to you clit. Your hands fling to his hair, holding him against you, and he stops his teasing. He’s on a mission to take you to the stars.

His tongue slips inside you while his fingers finds your clit again. You are barely holding on by a thread as he expertly tongue-fucks you. And then he swaps, bringing his fingers to your entrance and tongue to your clit. He crooks his fingers, somehow knowing exactly where that spot is. You whimper, cry out, moan, almost choke on air, as he digs into that spot over and over, and his tongue laps at your clit in some kind of synchronised dance. It’s relentless, and you can feel the tightness inside you about to - “Oh…Ohh…I’m…I’m coming.” You cry as your orgasm surprises you. It is fast and intense, and you feel your walls clenching and releasing rhythmically.

Minho lifts his head, his eyes glimmering with satisfaction and his lips and chin glistening with your arousal. He takes a good look at your pussy, before quickly discarding his trousers. Your eyes widen when they land on his hard cock. Mouthwatering. Veiny like his arms. Fucking perfect. You don’t take your eyes off of it, and you lick your lips when you see pre-cum leaking from the pinkish tip. Minho kneels between your legs, and you prop yourself up on your elbows to watch him rub the tip along your lips. Your vagina clenches in desperation to be stretched and filled. You swallow and look up at Minho. His gaze is fixated on the tip of his cock as it pushes against you and threatens to slip inside. His eyes are hooded and full of desire, his lips are parted, perhaps in awe. Then he looks up, catching your gaze, asking for permission. He needs to be inside you. You can tell because he looks like he is absolutely going to die if he doesn’t fuck you soon. But there is also hesitation in his eyes. You know he doesn’t want to hurt you or take advantage of you.

Your reach up and cup his cheek and nod your head. Then you reach down and grasp his length, relishing in how hard he feels in your hand, and you feel like a fucking goddess when his body shudders in some sort of primal way. You let go of his cock and return to leaning on both your elbows. He crashes down on top of you kissing you, transferring your juices from his mouth to yours. And then you feel it, his thick, hard cock stretching you open. He holds your face close to his, keeping eye contact as he slowly stretches you, sinking deeper and deeper inside of your body. He mutters something in Korean, and it turns you on beyond belief. You know he notices your body’s response to the way he’s speaking, because he continues to say things, watching your reaction. Even though he you can’t understand him, his tone is gorgeous, and your body doesn’t care what he is saying. It’s just responding.

Your bodies are sweaty, your cunt wet and noisy, and with each thrust a loud slapping sound resonates in the room. Minho’s noises become a mixture of Korean words, grunts, hisses, and even growls, as he builds the pace, and it only turns you on more. You respond with your own moans and whimpers, crying out every time his cock kisses your cervix.

Sweat drips off his nose, and lands on you as he repositions himself slightly so he can watch his cock fuck in and out of you, all whilst still moving his hips expertly, finding that spot again.

Watching Minho watch himself fucking you is the most stunning thing you’ve ever seen. He is concentrating so hard on chasing both his and your pleasure. He’s so precise in his movements. Careful. Controlled. Measured. But you want him to lose himself to the moment. You want him to forget himself.

Without thinking, you reach up and tap him on the shoulder. He stops immediately and his eyes widen with worry as he tries to work out what is wrong. You pat your hand on the mattress beside you, indicating you want him to lay down. He does as you ask and you throw your leg over to straddle him. He grins up at you and you can’t help but grin back. He holds your hip with one hand, helping you lift up enough for him to guide his cock back to your entrance with his other hand. You both exhale in relief when he is snuggly back inside.

Minho waits for you to take the lead, and you experimentally grind your hips. The angle feels incredible. He is so deep inside you, your bodies flush with each other. Minho helps you set a steady rhythm and pace by guiding your hips back and forth along his length, and you are on the brink of your second orgasm. You sob at how good he feels inside of you and lean down onto Minho’s chest where he holds you close. He digs his heels into the mattress and begins to brutally snap his hips up into you. The force of each thrust takes your breath away and you come hard around his cock, crying out his name. You finally feel Minho snap and he somehow has you on your back again. You hold onto his shoulders as he knocks the breath out of you with each forceful thrust. And then he pulls out of you moaning as he paints hot ropes of cum all over your stomach. He collapses on top of you panting trying to catch his breath, neither of you caring in the slightest about the stickiness between your bodies.

Eventually your breath returns to normal, and Minho slips off the bed and pulls on a pair of sweatpants. He disappears out of the room only to return with a warm cloth, a mug of water and the items of clothing you had left in the kitchen. Somehow he is able to hold everything at once. You watch him clean you up and offer you the drink. You gulp it down, not realising how thirsty you are while he goes to his chest of drawers to retrieve an oversized t-shirt for you to wear.

He leans in to kiss you. “This… this was okay?” he asks softly. You nod. “Yes.” And he grins sheepishly, pulling you down beside him and curling up behind you whispering words in Korean as you fall asleep.

—————

A/n: I had someone ask me since writing this how LK knew what reader needed. I suppose I wanted to tap into Minho being rather observant of other people’s needs (and I didn’t convey that well), or maybe Felix did say something to him afterall? I will leave it up to you to decide how you want Minho to know her needs.

Xxx. Sorsha

@channieandhisgoonsquad @chansmanda @antoniorhinothethird @queen-in-the-shadows @queenmea604 @lyramundana @2chopsticks2eyes @noellllslut @its-hannjisung @thatonenoona @ddyskz @bethanysnow @weareapackofstrays

[ssa-montgomery]

we're slaves to any semblance of touch

Part 2

Word Count: 8891

Summary: Y/N and Daryl have been pining after each other for weeks and when Maggie finally urges Y/N to make her move, she and Daryl end up alone for the first time. Daryl is more than happy to help Y/N lose her virginity.

Characters: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader, Maggie Rhee

Warnings: Swearing, mutual pining, loss of virginity, smut, oral sex, blow jobs, fingering, dirty talk, praise kink, slight innocence kink, unprotected sex

A/N: This fic was requested here on Tumblr by @azanoni using my prompt list and I had so much fun working on this one! I'm a sucker for prison-era Daryl so I knew the prison had to be the setting for this one and I just loved this request! Please feel free to send me any requests you might have for Daryl fics :)

Prompt(s): "Show me how you like to be touched." "Is this your first time?" "I don't know what to do." "Let me teach you."

Feedback is what motivates me to work so please let me know what you think! Reblogs are also greatly appreciated.

Taglist is open!

Masterlist

By now you were really starting to question what exactly you'd done for the Georgian sun to this level of a personal grievance against you. You used the bottom of your top to twist the cap off your second water bottle of the hour, your hands too soaked with sweat to get a proper grip on it. It had finally reached that point in the middle of summer when everything was unbearable, even the metal railing of the watch tower was burning against your skin as you leaned forward on it. You thought maybe on the ground below it wouldn't be half as bad but you and Maggie and the unfortunate luck of drawing the first watch duty today. You stuck to the walkway surrounding the tower, trying as much as possible to avoid the tiny concrete sauna that was the watch tower's main room. Even out there it didn't seem to help with the humidity in the air.

Though you did have to admit, even if the heat was choking you there was always one positive to taking the watch shift - the view. The view from the tower covered most of the prison and for miles into the forest that surrounded it beyond the fence, giving you the perfect view of everyone going about their own jobs below you. 

Carol, ever the worrying mother figure to the group was making her rounds with water and food, making sure to get drinks to the people that would otherwise forget and collapse of dehydration in this heat. Further across the prison, you could see Rick tending to the fields that had been established for a more steady source of food with Carl doing his best to help. Beth sat near them, Judith playing in her lap as she watched her dad and brother work with a curious expression. As you scanned across the prison finally, your eyes fell on him.

Daryl as per usual was tucked away in his own corner of the prison, hiding away from the chatter and noise of everyone else. He was on his knees, shifting to sit back on his heels as he examined something on the old motorbike in front of him. One of the old prison toolboxes sat next to him as he searched around inside the now open side of the engine. Even from here, you could see the black streaks of greasy motor oil coating his fingers as he work them over the mechanics of the inside of the engine, holding one of the tools in his teeth while both of his hands were busy.

You couldn't pull your eyes away from the way he worked with his hands, the sweat shining on his skin where it clung to his arms and the back of his neck. There was something about the way his muscles moved under his skin while he loosened the parts with the wrench that made your skin flush with heat in an entirely different way to the harsh rays of the sun, your cheeks now burning warmer than before.

"You're starin'." The sing-song tone of Maggie's teasing voice rang out as she leaned in over your shoulder to follow your line of sight. You spun around, ripping your eyes away from Daryl no matter how much you wished you could keep watching, practically falling over yourself as you did. The rifle over your shoulder clattered against the railing as you finally steadied yourself only to be met with Maggie's grin. 

Maggie was one of your closest friends at the prison and your days on duty together like this often turned into gossip sessions for the pair of you. She was the one person you told everything to, including when you'd started to develop a crush on the tracker she'd just caught you trying to undress with your eyes.

"I'm not starin', I'm just- admirin' from a distance." Your weak excuse of a defence crumbled under one knowing look from Maggie as she tilted her head to one side, raising an eyebrow at you. Okay so maybe you were staring, maybe you did stare at him at any chance you got. Maybe you did stare at just how skilled his hands were working with his crossbow, easily manipulating it in his hands while he cleaned it or the rare, soft, loving look he got on his face whenever he was around Judith.  It didn't matter to you, as long as you were looking at him in some way nothing mattered to you. It was like everything else fell away around you. "Well, maybe I'm starin' a little."

"So you still ain't found the nerve to talk to him 'bout your feelings yet then?" Maggie asked looking at you curiously as she leaned against the wall opposite you. You could see the way she kept the perimeter of the prison in her line of sight at all times, even while you talked.

"Who says I haven't?" You brought your hand up over your heart, a fake offended gasp falling from your lips as you laughed at how obvious it was that you were still very much hiding your crush.

"You mean besides the quite frankly sad puppy dog pining?" You could always rely on Maggie to call you out on your bullshit when you needed her to. You scoffed at her blunt way of phrasing it as she laughed at you but she was right, you knew that. The pining truly had reached a whole new level. "I mean come on, everyone can see it. And with someone as observant as Daryl? He's an idiot if he hasn't already figured out your feelings for him."

At this point, you were certain Daryl already knew about your feelings for him. What was going on between the two of you was - complicated, to say the least. Maybe even more complicated than you'd let on to Maggie. You were confident it wasn't one-sided, Daryl having nearly straight out told you as much when you joked about the possibility of you having a crush on him. You could feel his eyes on you around the prison almost as much as you stared at him but things at the prison had been chaotic. Trying to establish a new community here had its own challenges and adding a relationship to the mix would have just complicated things for both of you. 

Now though, things were starting to settle, day-to-day life becoming smoother and maybe it was finally time to see if your gut feeling that Daryl wanted this just as much as you was right.

"I just - I'm nervous is all. You know I don't have much experience in certain areas Maggie, or well any experience and I don't know how to bring that up with him. It's not a conversation I've had to have with someone I really care about before." You sighed, shifting your hands nervously as you thought about it. You were willing to admit that your thoughts about Daryl more often than not turned inappropriate and you wanted nothing more than to act on them with him. Unfortunately, your experience with anything in that area stopped at a sad excuse for a messy make-out session with an asshole of an ex-boyfriend in your teen years. You didn't want to scare Daryl off if he thought your lack of practice would ruin the experience.

"I've seen the way he looks at you Y/N, given the chance that man would fall to his knees and worship the very ground you walk on. He ain't gonna care about your experience level as long as you're learnin' with him." Maggie said then, her tone serious as she gave you a reassuring look, her hand resting on your arm. Maybe she was right, you'd waited so long now that maybe it was time to stop worrying and just do something about your feelings.

"I guess the thing now is finding the time to talk to him alone with how busy we've all been lately." In the past few weeks, everyone's focus had been on turning the prison into a livable space for the group which had proved to be a challenge. When you weren't helping to clear the cell blocks you were on watch and on the rare few times you did have a day to yourself Daryl was away on runs. The most one-on-one time you'd managed to have with Daryl was during watch duty like this.

"Now correct me if I'm wrong but, he seems pretty alone down there right now." Maggie seemingly caught the nervous look on your face as you looked down at him again, torn between wanting to run straight to him and your duty to your job. Who knew when you might get another chance like this. "Just go for it, don't worry 'bout keepin' watch. I'll call Glenn, and tell Rick we wanted the time alone if he asks 'bout it. Don't waste any more time thinkin' 'bout it." 

"Thank you, Maggie, I really do appreciate this." You felt more excited than you had in a very long time as the possibilities ran through your mind. You gave Maggie a bright smile as you pulled her into a quick, tight hug before rushing to disappear down the ladder of the watch tower. You weren't going to wait for a second more.

~~~

"Whatcha doin' out here?" You asked peeking over Daryl's shoulder at the engine as you walked up behind him, your shadow towering over him as for once you were the one standing taller in your exchange. His eyes snapped up to you standing over him where he still knelt on the ground, dropping the wrench he'd been holding between his teeth. You could see the surprise on his face at your sudden presence behind him, not expecting to see you all day when he knew you were on watch duty. You let out a slight giggle at his reaction, not used to seeing him actually surprised. "Just me didn't mean to spook you."

"Nah. Ya didn't spook me." He said with an almost embarrassed shake of his head, his hair falling into his face to hide his piercing eyes. Your hand twitched at your side as you fought back the urge to reach out and brush his hair back out of his face. "Just ain't expecting anyone out 'ere is all. Pretty sure I burned out the brake pads on the last run. See that? Ain't supposed to be like that." 

You dropped your rifle down next to Daryl's crossbow and took a seat on the ground next to him, the concrete warming the skin of your legs. You leaned in as close as you could, your shoulders touching as your gaze followed his finger to where he was pointing at some exposed part of the bike. You let out a hum and nodded your head as he leaned in and started to work on pulling the piece loose. You pretended you knew what was happening just to continue watching him work with his hands, seeing each delicate touch this close up when in reality none of his bike talk made any sense to you.

"Gonna have to take her apart and replace the belt most likely." Daryl sighed, wiping his hands on his already filthy jeans as he sat back, propping one arm up on his knee. His arm brushed against yours as he moved and you sucked in a harsh breath at the contact. "A project for another day. Ain't gonna be able to do it without some scavenged parts so I gotta wait till the next run now."

There was a beat of silence as you both enjoyed the company. Daryl sat down fully on the ground, resting on his elbows as he stretched out, his legs spanning out in front of him until he was practically lying down. You watched the way his head tipped back, his eyes closing as he took in the heat of the sun on his face. His body was already covered in a thin layer of sweat, his hair sticking to the nape of his neck while his hands were coated in motor oil practically up to the wrists. 

There was something about him like this, messy and so involved in something he was passionate about that made him so attractive to you. Even when you had no idea what he was talking about you could listen to him talk all day, that deep southern accent commanding every ounce of your attention. It was rare for him to hold a conversation he was truly interested in so you savoured every single one.

"Have you been out here all day? Why don't we head inside for a bit? It would do us both some good to get out of the sun for a while and wash up before you end up with heatstroke."  You sunk your teeth into your bottom lip as you realised what you'd just said, the suggestion slipping out before you could even think. Part of you was still nervous you'd the read whole situation wrong as you waited for an answer, Daryl watching you curiously. What if he really wasn't interested in you like this and you scared him off for good?

"Sure, yeah. Good idea." He nodded much to your relief and pushed himself up from the ground, rolling out his neck muscles that had grown stiff from being bent over the engine all morning he did. The movement gave you the perfect view of his muscles tensing all the way down to his shoulders and back, your eyes following them until he turned around to face you again. You tried to look away but it was too late, Daryl catching you staring directly at you. You could have sworn you saw the slight tug of a smirk at the corner of his mouth as he reached a hand out to you, grabbing your wrist to pull you up from the ground. He glanced down at your wrist and winced at the ring of oil he'd left on your skin where his fingers had been wrapped around you. "Shit sorry. Guess I really should get washed up." 

"Don't worry 'bout it." You reassured him, your fingers absentmindedly tracing where he touched you. In reality, it felt like the oil would burst into flames at any second with how your skin burned from even the simplest of touches for him. It really was time to admit you were down bad for this man. "C'mon then."

There was a look of confusion on Daryl's face as he watched you grab your gun and walk away from the entrance to the central cell block that everyone used as living quarters. Your nerves were growing, almost stripping you of your confidence as you tried to figure out a way to explain your choice without entirely clueing Daryl into your plan. 

"On a hot day like this everyone's gonna want to wash up, the queues for the washroom in there are gonna be long, the other cell block is still mostly unused and the water system works just as well." You shrugged as casually as you could, gesturing towards the other building. 

There was a flash in Daryl's eyes as you turned away from him, your hips swaying more than usual as you made your way towards the door. It was as if he realised your plan at the mention of an empty building to yourselves on the one day you skipped out on your work to give you the time alone you needed. He didn't say anything, instead nodding at you as he grabbed his crossbow and moved to catch up to you.

You could feel your heart beating against your ribs almost hard enough to break free as you walked, Daryl's low strides quickly catching him until his steps fell in time with yours. Neither of you said anything as you walked, both of your minds racing with the idea of what could possibly happen when you were finally alone together. 

You were the first to push open the door to the cell block to find you were right, it was entirely empty, your footsteps echoing off the high ceiling. Unlike the other cell block, this one had only recently been cleared for use and people who were already settled in the other building hadn't bothered to move their stuff out there yet leaving the two of you completely alone.

"See? Told you we could skip the lines." You laughed, hoping your playful tone masked the nerves bubbling just below the surface. Your plan was more spur of the moment and as a result, was far from well thought out. Sure you finally had Daryl alone but you had no idea how to go about outright asking him for what you wanted or how to get him to make the first move on you.

"Clever girl." His eyes seemed to trace a path down your body as he spoke, no longer trying to hide the way he let his gaze linger on certain parts of your body a little longer. The sound of the praise coming from him had that blush threatening to creep back up on your cheeks. Something in the air had changed, it was no longer heavy with humidity but instead with a tension between you that could have been sliced with a knife.

You slipped your gun back off your shoulder and left it on the table in the main entrance hall along with the belt holster you'd become so fond of and it was shortly followed by the sound of Daryl's crossbow clattering down next to them. You turned to head down the hall towards the washroom, genuinely looking forward to cleaning the heat of the day off your skin even if this was all part of your plan. You had expected Daryl to wait in the hall until you were done so he could take his turn but instead to your surprise, he followed you down the hall and into the washroom. 

There wasn't a word exchanged between the two of you as you cleaned yourselves up, a tension filling the air that you both seemed unwilling to break just yet. You slowly cleaned the oil from your wrist, the action more of a second thought as your focus stayed on the mirror in front of you. In its reflection, you could see Daryl running his hands under the water, carefully rubbing away the oil on his skin. He dipped his head down and splashed his face with the running water, washing away the oil he'd managed to smear over his brow. You copied his movements, the cold water admittedly feeling amazing against your face.

The final part of your plan clicked in your mind at that moment, this was your chance if you were ever going to get one. If you were being honest the front of your tank top was admittedly filthy. Your morning started with helping Carol collect the ingredients for breakfast from the fields in the front of the prison and the dirt was still caked into the material of your top. In a split-second decision, you were sliding the top off over your head before you could back out, leaving you standing in only your grey sports bra.

Your hands practically shook as you dipped the top under the running water and tried to rub away the dirt. You weren't sure that Daryl was even looking, his back still towards you as you took one final look in the mirror before turning your attention to cleaning your top. You thought you might actually forget how to breathe if you let yourself think about what you were doing too much but it didn't take long to get your answer.

Daryl's fingertips were still cold from the water as they met your back, the feeling a strong contrast against your warm skin. He was standing directly behind you now, his movements nervous, as if he was still afraid of reading the situation wrong but he was playing into exactly what you wanted. His fingers traced a path down your spine, starting at the bottom of your neck and coming to a stop just above the waistband of your shorts.

"Is this alrigh'?" He asked, his voice rough and uneven, already becoming laced with lust but needing your reassurance before he went any further. He needed to hear you say this was what you wanted. You turned around to face him, his hands falling to the rim of the sink as he trapped you between it and his chest. Your breathing was becoming laboured already, your cheeks turning red with the heat that was now burning through your veins. At that moment you had never been more certain of anything in your life.

"Daryl, I didn't invite you out to the only empty building around for no reason." You laughed, the sound light and sweet to his ears as you basked in the feeling of this finally happening. Sure you'd know for a while this wasn't one-sided but to have Daryl confirm it felt surreal, part of you thought you were dreaming this entire thing. You reached out a hand and let it gently rest on his chest right over his heart, feeling it beat against your palm as it picked up speed. This wasn't a dream, this was very real. "I've been thinking about this for a long time. I want this."

That was all the invitation Daryl needed as he brought one hand up to cover yours, lacing your fingers together as he leaned in, his lips finally, finally meeting yours. The kiss was softer than you'd expected, slower. His lips moved carefully over yours as he took his time, learning how your body melted against his, the way you moved as your lips started to match his movements. It had been a long time since you'd kissed anyone and you were admittedly out of practice but there was something about Daryl, about the way his hands fit so perfectly around your waist that calmed your nerves and made everything flow more naturally.

"You were really plannin' this the whole time?" Daryl smirked against your lips, tilting your face up to meet his gaze. You squirmed under his stare, feeling overwhelmed by just how much power he had over you already. "You didn't give a damn 'bout my bike, did ya?"

"Daryl you are so incredibly sweet when you talk about what you're passionate about. I could listen to you all day." You sighed finally giving into the urge and reaching up to brush his hair out of his eyes as you smiled sweetly at him. "But I have no fucking clue what you're talking about when it comes to that bike."

Daryl let out a laugh at that, a genuine, loud laugh that you'd never heard from him before. The sound made your heart skip a beat, it was like music to your ears, your smile lighting up your whole face as you watched him. There was something about seeing him like this, the side of him that no one else got to see, the side that was for you and you only that made you curious about what else he had to show you. That needy feeling was starting to take over again as you took both his hands in yours and slowly started to walk towards the washroom door, leading him behind you.

"You think these cells are still as intact as ours?" You asked, your voice still managing to hold that hint of innocence despite the intentions that question so obviously held. Daryl happily followed you out into the main cell block before taking the lead, pulling you into a small cell further down the first row. The cell was cleaner than you expected, the bed was still made with a soft blanket and there was a gas-light lamp sitting on the desk giving the room a surprisingly cosy feeling. You looked around the room and slowly started to recognise the clothes scattered around as Daryl's

"Sometimes I need space to myself." He shrugged as he caught the look of recognition on your face. He dropped down onto the bed and spread his legs apart, pulling you in by the waist until you were standing between them. "You ain't the only one with yer eye on this cell block. Been wantin' to take ya up here for a while."

Daryl slid his fingers into the belt loops of your shorts and pulled you even closer until you were pressed against him, chest to chest. You made the move this time, leaning in to kiss him slowly as you melted into his touch. His hands found your hips and gently squeezed before starting to slide downwards, exploring every curve of your body. You couldn't believe you weren't the only one who'd been thinking about this. You grew needier the more you thought about Daryl fantasising about bringing you out here and who knows what else he'd thought about doing with you.

He pulled away from the kiss and took in the sight of you standing in front of him in nothing but your bra, his hands running up your bare sides as he did. His touch was gentle against your skin, almost curious, exploring as he took note of every reaction and sound he drew from you. You let out a soft sigh as his hands trailed down to grab at the back of your thighs and he took the opportunity to pull you into another kiss, sliding his tongue into your open mouth. 

His hands were so close to where you needed them now and all you could think about was how much you wanted him to touch you properly, to relieve some of the pressure between your legs that was now becoming unbearable. Instead, he took his hands off you earning a disappointed whine as he leaned back on his hands on the bed, tilting his head to the side as he watched you closely.

"Show me how ya like to be touched. Wanna treat ya right." He said then, his voice holding that commanding tone that made you weak at the knees. You could feel the flush settling over your chest, creeping up into your face and betraying your false confidence as he placed all the focus on you. It wasn't that you were completely inexperienced with pleasure. You'd touched yourself before, admittedly mostly to the thought of Daryl but that was different. Those times you were focused on the end goal, there was none of the teasing or neediness you wanted from Daryl. You wanted him to touch you like you were the only thing he cared about in the world. 

"I uh -" You stuttered over your words, trying to find the best way to voice your thoughts to Daryl but the words seemed to die in your throat. You could feel the embarrassment you'd feared clawing its way up into your chest as you watched the expression on Daryl's face change. He seemed to have pieced it together but his look was more curious than it was judgemental.

"Is this yer first time?" He asked, his voice soft and quiet as he wrapped his arms around your waist. His thumb traced across your side trying to ease your anxiety as he waited for an answer.

"I hope that's not a turn-off." You chuckled nervously, turning your face away from his gaze as you admitted the truth. Admittedly it did make you feel better to finally have it out in the open and Daryl didn't seem as affected by the news as you'd expected. 

"There ain't nuthin' you could do or say that's gonna be a turn-off. Been wantin' ya too damn bad for anythin' to change that." Daryl reassured you, pressing a kiss to the centre of your chest. You could feel your anxiety melting away at his words and the way his lips felt against your skin. The scruff of his beard tickled your skin as he tilted his face up to meet your gaze, the surprising softness in his steel eyes almost taking your breath away. His lips moved over your collarbone pressing gentle kisses there. "I'll take care of ya, be gentle with ya, I promise."

 "I trust you." You nodded knowing he meant every word of it.  You'd never trusted anyone in the way you trusted Daryl. Your hands fell to the back of his neck, running through the hair there before lightly pulling. You loved the new shaggy look he had as he grew his hair out longer, it suited him nicely you thought. Daryl tugged on your waist, pulling you down to straddle his lap before his hands glided up your back, meeting the edge of your sports bra. You got the hint as he snapped the elastic against your skin and leaned back, giving him the space to pull the material up over your head.

You could practically feel the path his eyes burned across your skin as he took in the slight of your now entirely bare chest. His touch returned to your chest, his calloused hands gently kneading at your breasts. You whined out at the feeling of finally having Daryl touching you like this as his palms rolled over your sensitive nipples. His own eyes were heavy with lust as he stared at the way your breasts looked under his hands, enjoying the feeling of your warm skin under his touch.

"You look fuckin' incredible like this Doll," Daryl mumbled against your skin as his lips found their way to your neck, moving across the front of your throat. The words seemed to tumble from his mouth before he even really thought about them and the rare praise from him had you rolling your hips against him, your body searching for any friction it could get. Your reaction spurred him on as he realised how much you loved the praise. "Best tits I've ever seen."

"Daryl." You tried to hold onto enough of your decency to still at least sound embarrassed by the way he was talking but his name sounded more like a moan on your lips. You didn't want to admit how much his words affected you but the way your hips started to grind against your control showed it. His lips left a trail of red blotches across your skin in their wake as his blunt nails dragged down your back, marking you as his.

"I mean it. Every word. Could spend all day worshippin' this perfect fuckin' body. Got an ass to die for too." His hands roamed lower down your back until he grabbed at your ass, using his grip to pull you closer to him. You collapsed into his chest, your arms winding around his neck as you pulled him into a needy kiss. He squeezed at your ass, making your hips roll forward again and with this new position you could feel his erection straining against his pants underneath you.

His need was growing with each kiss, his lips growing rougher, messier against yours with each kiss becoming all teeth and tongue. You needed more, needed everything you'd been daydreaming about with him. You had a hundred fantasies running through your head and even if you were unsure what you were doing you wanted to learn, with him.

The kiss broke as you shifted further back in his lap, his mouth chasing yours as you pulled away with a teasing look on your face. You glanced down at his lap as your hands finally found his belt. Daryl let out a soft groan as you played with the leather material before you started to thread it through the buckle, sinking off his lap and onto the ground between his thighs. As he pieced together what you were trying to do he caught your wrist then, urging you back up.

"You don't gotta do that, not yer first time."  You smiled up at Daryl through your lashes, giving him the sweetest look. It truly was heartwarming how willing he was to put the full attention of this moment on you but you'd been dreaming about what it would be like to go down on him for weeks now. 

"I know but I wanna." You reassured him, kissing the inside of his wrist where he was still holding yours in his hand. You let the kiss linger for a moment longer, feeling his pulse under your lips. "I just- I don't know what to do really is all."

"Let me teach ya then." He said, his voice raspy with the thought of just how much you wanted to please him. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't thought about you on your knees like this for him before. He quickly undid his own belt before kicking his boots and tattered, well-worn jeans off to one side leaving him in just his boxers. You could feel the heat pooling between your legs at the sight of the outline of his erection straining against the fabric of his boxers. You hadn't even touched him and yet your head was swimming, making you feel drunker than any alcohol ever had. "Just go slow, take ya time." 

You reached out and lightly dragged your fingers across his cock over his boxers, feeling the way he twitched as your touch pulled a strangled moan from his lips. The sound awoke something in you, making you forget about your own nervousness for a moment as you went for it, finally tugging off his boxers to throw them down with the rest of his clothes. You wrapped your hand around the base of his cock and slowly stroked him up and down, watching for even the smallest reactions on his face. You could see the rise and fall of his chest as he fought to keep his eyes open, watching you as you let your tongue peek out, leaving kitten licks just under the head on every downward stroke.

"That's it Darlin' j'st like that." His southern drawl deepened as the lust he was feeling took over, building higher and higher. There was something about your innocence and how willing you were to learn, to let him be the one to ruin you that turned him on beyond belief. You kissed your way up his length all the way from the bottom until your tongue ran across the tip, licking up the precum that was starting to build up there. You leaned in then and took the tip between your lips, looking up at him as you slowly pushed your head forward. Your tongue ran along the underside as you took the first inch or two. "C'mon ya can take a lil' more, atta girl." 

You couldn't say no to the praise coming from Daryl as you pressed forward again, stopping just before his cock moved far enough back in your throat to make you gag. You moaned lightly around him at the feeling of finally having your mouth on him, the sound vibrating in your throat sending a spark of pleasure through Daryl,  You let your tongue do the work as you held him in your mouth, letting your body adjust to breathing through your nose as you traced along the vein that ran up the length before lapping over the rip.

"Suck." He said then, his voice breaking on the word as he tapped your full cheek. His hand found its way to your hair, tangling his fingers there as he slowly started to pull your head back before urging you forward again, setting your pace. He needed more, needed movement before he lost his mind. "Ya gotta suck and move yer head." 

You followed his instructions, hollowing out your cheeks as you matched the pace he set for you, bobbing your head over his cock. His hand tightened in your hair as you sucked and he let out a low groan of your name, his head falling back towards the ceiling. You pressed your thighs together in hopes of getting some relief as you ached between your legs at the noises he made. You got a little too eager at how good you were making him feel and took him deeper than you could, tears pricking at the corner of your eyes as he hit the back of your throat and you gagged around him.

"Shit-" He moaned out at the feeling of sliding further into your throat, getting him even closer to the edge but he held himself back, resisting the urge to thrust his hips knowing it was too much for you. "Just breath, 'ts alrigh'. Easy sweetheart."

It sounded like he needed to listen to his own advice as his breathing grew heavy, his ragged breaths turning to groans as each movement brought him closer to the edge. You could feel your panties being ruined between your legs, growing wetter with each gasp and breathy moan of your name that fell from his lips. You started to gain more confidence and brought your hand up to join the mix, stroking what you couldn't take into your mouth

"Fuck!" Daryl practically growled low in his throat as he used his grip on your hair to pull you off him rougher than he'd intended as you started to move your hand harder along his cock. You looked up at him, wide-eyed with fear that you'd done something wrong but that quickly faded when you saw the look on his face. He collapsed backwards on the small bed, his eyes screwed shut as his hand tightened around the base of his cock, trying to regain control over himself. His chest was rising rapidly, a string of curses falling from his mouth. "Fuck- I almost fuckin' came. Christ woman how the hell was that your first time? That mouth is sinful." 

"You could have you know," The mix of knowing just how good you'd made Daryl feel and your slight nervousness at matching his dirty talk made you giggle. You rested your chin on his thigh and looked up at him through your lashes, sinking your teeth into your already swollen and saliva-coated bottom lip. "Come in my mouth. Kind of hoped you would."

"Next time Darlin' next time." You could feel your heart racing at the thought of a next time with Daryl already. You never wanted anyone else after this, Daryl was all you needed. He leaned down and helped you up from the rough cell floor, his hands smoothing over the harsh red marks showing on your knees. You kind of hoped they'd last, as a reminder. "C'mere to me."

You crawled onto the bed next to Daryl as he sat up and finally shrugged off his leather bike vest and short-sleeved flannel, giving you a full view of his chest. His body was perfect, every mark and scar just adding to how attractive he was to you. You ran your hands over his skin, feeling the way his stomach muscles tensed under your touch the lower you reached. Every touch and every moment of this was better than you could have ever imagined. You could never have imagined how hard his muscles would feel under your hands as they moved to his forearms, tracing over the tattoos there. 

Daryl's hands found their way back to your waist and he easily manhandled you, moving you however he wanted until you were lying down on the bed underneath him. He kneeled over you, grabbing your jaw in both hands as he crushed his lips against yours in a bruising kiss that knocked the air from your lungs. He was already strung out, his entire body on edge from how close he'd been earlier but still, his hands were gentle with you as they slid over your stomach, his kiss the only thing betraying how desperate he was.

He made quick work of your shorts, flicking the button open with one hand before pulling them down your legs. Within seconds of your shorts hitting the ground, Daryl sipped his hand into the front of your panties, slowly dragging his fingers across your folds as he felt how wet you were.

"This all for me? Did ya get this wet just from suckin' my dick?" He asked his voice dripping with that teasing tone that drove you wild, stopping his movements until you answered him.

"Yes. All for you Daryl." You gasped as he drew his fingers around your clit in painstakingly light circles as a reward for your answer. It was enough contact to send fire burning through your nerves but nowhere near enough to give you any kind of release. You bucked your hips up into his hand, hoping to get any kind of pressure but instead, he pulled his hand back out of your underwear moving to pull the already ruined material down your legs. He threw your panties to the side and returned his thumb to its previous position, brushing over your clit while he slowly pushed his middle finger inside you.

"Fuck ya really are tight aren't ya?"Daryl groaned out feeling the way you clenched around his finger as he imagined what it would feel like around his cock. He slowly pumped his finger in and out of you as he started to stretch you out. You were admittedly worried about being able to take Daryl when you felt the slight burn from his finger alone and he was bigger than you'd expected. "Don't worry sweetheart, I'll make sure yer ready." 

The feeling of Daryl fingering you was unlike anything you could have ever had with your own hands. His fingers were thicker than yours, stretching you out as he a second one to the mix and they were skilled. Years of working with his crossbow gave him the precision he needed to find your g-spot as he hooked his fingers inside of you. You never knew it could feel this good when it was someone else bringing you pleasure. He leaned down and caught the sounds of your moans with his mouth in a messy kiss.

He trailed hot, open-mouthed kisses across your jaw and down your throat towards your chest, you already knew they'd leave a mark as he sucked at your skin. His teeth nipped at your collarbone as you lost yourself in the pleasure that was starting to build higher and higher in the pit of your stomach. His tongue licked across your skin, soothing where he'd just bitten before slowly moving down to lap across the curve of your breasts. He focused his attention on you, trying to ignore how painful hard he was as he felt you buck up against his hand at another curve of his fingers. His lips latched around your nipple as his fingers never let up their pace, slowly stretching you out until Daryl could easily slide a third finger in.

Daryl grew restless with each minute that passed, changing his focus to your other breast as he sucked and lapped his tongue across the hardened nipple. The feeling of you clenching around his fingers as your hips thrust up to meet his movements drove him crazy. He couldn't take it anymore.

"Think ya can take me now sweetheart?" He asked, his voice dropping an octave as he leaned in close to whisper in your ear, his hot, uneven breath fanning across your skin. Your hands found his shoulders before sliding up to lock around his neck, pulling him into a kiss as you nodded. You were more than ready to feel Daryl inside of you, your body practically screaming at you with how badly you needed to come.

"Y-yeah Daryl please, please fuck me." You whined out at the feeling of Daryl pulling his fingers out of you, suddenly clenching around nothing. He brought his hand up admiring the slick coat of your arousal that coated his fingers before slipping them into his mouth. He let his eyes fall shut as he sucked, his tongue licking the taste of you from his fingers. 

"Fucking hell woman, I'm eatin' that pussy first chance I get. Taste so damn sweet." He groaned out, that low gravelly sound pooling between your legs as you pictured Daryl's head between your thighs. "But right now I might just fuckin' explode if I don't fuck ya."

Daryl shifted you both into a more comfortable position as he settled between your legs, his hands pushing your thighs further apart. He took a minute to admire the sight of you spread open in front of him before he lifted one leg to wrap around his waist. You got the hint, digging your heel into the small of his back to pull him even closer. You could feel his cock pressing against your folds when he adjusted himself as close as he could get to you.

"Ya ready for this?" He asked looking down between your bodies as he took his cock in his hand and teased the head over your clit. You threw your head back at the feeling, your leg tightening around his waist.

"I want you, Daryl." You gasped out, nodding your consent as he move his cock lower to gather some of the wetness around your entrance. Lube hadn't exactly been a top priority on your last few runs but Daryl still wanted to make sure this was as comfortable as possible for you as he stroked himself, spreading your arousal over his cock. 

With your final nod of approval, he pushed forward, the first few inches sliding inside you. You cried out at the feeling, your back arching off the bed as your hands grasped his arms, dragging your nails across his skin. Even with how much Daryl had tried to prepare you it still burned as your body fought to adjust to his size. Your chest heaved with your harsh breaths as you whimpered.

"Shh hush sweetheart yer alrigh'. Just breathe, it'll get better I promise. I'll go slow." You could feel your body relaxing from the simple words of praise from him as his hand cupped your jaw, swiping his thumb across your cheek. He moved at your pace, waiting until he felt your muscles relax, releasing their tight grip on him before he thrust forward again. This time he sunk into you fully, holding himself close to your body as he fought every instinct that was telling him to thrust, to just move. He buried his face in your chest, placing kisses between your breasts as he waited for you to adjust again.

"Daryl - move, please." The pleading tone in your voice sounded foreign even to your own ears but you couldn't help it. You had never felt this full, so completely surrounded as Daryl's body caged you into the bed. He stretched you out in all the best ways and even the pain it caused got you higher and higher. It felt like time slowed around you as Daryl stayed still inside of you and it was driving you crazy, you needed more, needed to feel him move.

Daryl wasted no time in giving you what you wanted, he pulled out almost entirely before thrusting back in. The rhyme he set was slow but deep, each thrust reaching a place inside you that had you moaning out at the contact. You gave into the feeling more and more as you adjusted, the pain giving way to pure pleasure. There was something freeing about being in the building alone, you didn't have to worry about who would hear you or what kind of attention you'd attract as your moans grew louder which each thrust until you were damn near screaming Daryl's name.

This feeling was far beyond anything you'd experienced before, beyond anything you could have imagined. Your senses were entirely overwhelmed by him, the feeling of each thrust building you towards the best orgasm of your life. The sound of his pants were growing heavier in your ear with each thrust and you were breathing in the rich, heady scent that was so unmistakably Daryl that made your head spin whenever you were around him.

You dragged your nails down his back, feeling the raised skin of his scars under your touch as you went, leaving new red marks after you. His thrusts were starting to grow sloppy, losing their rhyme as they came faster than before as he chased his own release while trying to keep his focus on you. His hands pinned your hips down to the bed as you tried to arch into the feeling, completely losing control of your body as your brain melted with how close you were.

All it took to break the pressure that was building inside of you was one swift drag of his thumb across your clit and you were spasming around him, your entire body freezing as you came hard. You grasped at him, needing something, anything to ground you as broken moans fell from your lips.

"Daryl! Oh god - I - shit - please. Please." You weren't sure what exactly you were begging him for anymore, all you knew was everything was too much and yet somehow not enough at all. Your control over your body entirely shut down as you turned to putty in his hands, letting him use you in whatever way he needed as he chased his own orgasm.

"Fuck ya feel fuckin' perfect, that pussy squeezin' me like that. Look so fuckin' sexy when ya cum like that for me. I coulda watched that forever." Daryl's words were becoming slurred as he spoke, barely making any sense anymore as his entire focus was on the feeling you were bringing him. His hips snapped roughly against you to the point of almost being painful before finally he rutted against you, moaning loudly into your neck as he came. You could feel him twitching inside you as he collapsed against you, his arms giving out underneath him. He didn't bother pulling out of you yet. "Doll ya have ruined me forever, I ain't ever gonna get as good a fuck with anybody else. Don't wanna either." 

"Daryl that was - that was- holy shit." You laughed but it came out more breathy as you collapsed back against the pillows, trying to steady your breathing. Daryl slowly pulled out of you, the feeling making you groan out at the slight discomfort but you were almost glad of the ache that you knew would remind you of what you'd done for days.

"Hope that was as good as ya were expectin' for yer first time," Daryl said nuzzling his nose under your jaw as he lay down beside you on the small bed, turning you on your side so he could pull you back against his chest.

"It was more than perfect, thank you, Daryl." You reassured him as you tangled your arms with his that had settled around your waist. You lost track of how long you lay like that, simply enjoying each other's company as Daryl pressed light kisses across your skin. You could have easily fallen asleep like that and any other time and you would have but you were still technically on duty. "We should get back before the others start askin' questions." 

Daryl hummed his agreement as he watched you sit up on the bed, running his hand up your back before you put your bra back on. He stood up from the bed as you started to dress yourself again and quickly threw back on his pants, walking over to grab a clean washcloth from the desk. Without saying a word he knelt down in front of you and gently wiped away the mess between your legs, leaving a light kiss against the outside of your thigh once you were clean. You could feel your heart flutter at the gesture, just the simple act of him taking the time to take care of you.

With your tank top still damp and abandoned in the sink of the washroom you slipped Daryl's oversized shirt on over your head before reaching to grab your panties from the pile of clothes. You glanced around in confusion when you noticed they weren't next to your shorts anymore.

"Daryl did you see my -" You looked up to see the cheeky grin on his face as he slipped his hand into his back pocket and dangled your panties from the tip of his finger in front of your face.

"Lookin' for these?" You rolled your eyes and reached to grab them from him but he quickly dodged your movement tucking them back into his pocket. "Consider it a keepsake. Until next time."

"Well in that case," You stood up slipping back on your shorts with nothing underneath, even after everything you'd just done it felt like the naughtiest thing you'd done all day. The denim rubbed against you in all the places you were still sensitive. You pushed up on your toes to kiss his cheek before whispering the next words in his ear. "I'll find a cuter pair for you to keep next time."

Taglist: @azanoni @ineedmorefanfics2

[jcmarchi]

Interactive mouthpiece opens new opportunities for health data, assistive technology, and hands-free interactions

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/interactive-mouthpiece-opens-new-opportunities-for-health-data-assistive-technology-and-hands-free-interactions/

Interactive mouthpiece opens new opportunities for health data, assistive technology, and hands-free interactions

When you think about hands-free devices, you might picture Alexa and other voice-activated in-home assistants, Bluetooth earpieces, or asking Siri to make a phone call in your car. You might not imagine using your mouth to communicate with other devices like a computer or a phone remotely. 

Thinking outside the box, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Aarhus University researchers have now engineered “MouthIO,” a dental brace that can be fabricated with sensors and feedback components to capture in-mouth interactions and data. This interactive wearable could eventually assist dentists and other doctors with collecting health data and help motor-impaired individuals interact with a phone, computer, or fitness tracker using their mouths.

Resembling an electronic retainer, MouthIO is a see-through brace that fits the specifications of your upper or lower set of teeth from a scan. The researchers created a plugin for the modeling software Blender to help users tailor the device to fit a dental scan, where you can then 3D print your design in dental resin. This computer-aided design tool allows users to digitally customize a panel (called PCB housing) on the side to integrate electronic components like batteries, sensors (including detectors for temperature and acceleration, as well as tongue-touch sensors), and actuators (like vibration motors and LEDs for feedback). You can also place small electronics outside of the PCB housing on individual teeth.

Play video

MouthIO: Fabricating Customizable Oral User Interfaces with Integrated Sensing and Actuation Video: MIT CSAIL

The active mouth

“The mouth is a really interesting place for an interactive wearable and can open up many opportunities, but has remained largely unexplored due to its complexity,” says senior author Michael Wessely, a former CSAIL postdoc and senior author on a paper about MouthIO who is now an assistant professor at Aarhus University. “This compact, humid environment has elaborate geometries, making it hard to build a wearable interface to place inside. With MouthIO, though, we’ve developed a new kind of device that’s comfortable, safe, and almost invisible to others. Dentists and other doctors are eager about MouthIO for its potential to provide new health insights, tracking things like teeth grinding and potentially bacteria in your saliva.”

The excitement for MouthIO’s potential in health monitoring stems from initial experiments. The team found that their device could track bruxism (the habit of grinding teeth) by embedding an accelerometer within the brace to track jaw movements. When attached to the lower set of teeth, MouthIO detected when users grind and bite, with the data charted to show how often users did each.

Wessely and his colleagues’ customizable brace could one day help users with motor impairments, too. The team connected small touchpads to MouthIO, helping detect when a user’s tongue taps their teeth. These interactions could be sent via Bluetooth to scroll across a webpage, for example, allowing the tongue to act as a “third hand” to open up a new avenue for hands-free interaction.

“MouthIO is a great example how miniature electronics now allow us to integrate sensing into a broad range of everyday interactions,” says study co-author Stefanie Mueller, the TIBCO Career Development Associate Professor in the MIT departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering and leader of the HCI Engineering Group at CSAIL. “I’m especially excited about the potential to help improve accessibility and track potential health issues among users.”

Molding and making MouthIO

To get a 3D model of your teeth, you can first create a physical impression and fill it with plaster. You can then scan your mold with a mobile app like Polycam and upload that to Blender. Using the researchers’ plugin within this program, you can clean up your dental scan to outline a precise brace design. Finally, you 3D print your digital creation in clear dental resin, where the electronic components can then be soldered on. Users can create a standard brace that covers their teeth, or opt for an “open-bite” design within their Blender plugin. The latter fits more like open-finger gloves, exposing the tips of your teeth, which helps users avoid lisping and talk naturally.

This “do it yourself” method costs roughly $15 to produce and takes two hours to be 3D-printed. MouthIO can also be fabricated with a more expensive, professional-level teeth scanner similar to what dentists and orthodontists use, which is faster and less labor-intensive.

Compared to its closed counterpart, which fully covers your teeth, the researchers view the open-bite design as a more comfortable option. The team preferred to use it for beverage monitoring experiments, where they fabricated a brace capable of alerting users when a drink was too hot. This iteration of MouthIO had a temperature sensor and a monitor embedded within the PCB housing that vibrated when a drink exceeded 65 degrees Celsius (or 149 degrees Fahrenheit). This could help individuals with mouth numbness better understand what they’re consuming.

In a user study, participants also preferred the open-bite version of MouthIO. “We found that our device could be suitable for everyday use in the future,” says study lead author and Aarhus University PhD student Yijing Jiang. “Since the tongue can touch the front teeth in our open-bite design, users don’t have a lisp. This made users feel more comfortable wearing the device during extended periods with breaks, similar to how people use retainers.”

The team’s initial findings indicate that MouthIO is a cost-effective, accessible, and customizable interface, and the team is working on a more long-term study to evaluate its viability further. They’re looking to improve its design, including experimenting with more flexible materials, and placing it in other parts of the mouth, like the cheek and the palate. Among these ideas, the researchers have already prototyped two new designs for MouthIO: a single-sided brace for even higher comfort when wearing MouthIO while also being fully invisible to others, and another fully capable of wireless charging and communication.

Jiang, Mueller, and Wessely’s co-authors include PhD student Julia Kleinau, master’s student Till Max Eckroth, and associate professor Eve Hoggan, all of Aarhus University. Their work was supported by a Novo Nordisk Foundation grant and was presented at ACM’s Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology.

[rxgueone]

DRIFT

Pairing: Austin Butler x OC

Word count: 11,887

Summary: Just a group of friends spending their free time together at the town fair.

Warnings: angst, drugs, violence, smoking, cursing, fluff (?), smut is implied (oral), toxic relationships, bout all I can think of.

Tags: none.

Note: It is currently 3:33 AM as I am writing this, I have been listening to Rebel Radio in GTA 5 on loop since 11PM, I have a doctors appointment in a few hours due to the fact I need surgery for something, my inspiration actually sucks dick, spare me. The part with the Vette is based off of something I’ve been through. I’m over 6’3” and I sat in the back of a C7 Corvette with 4 other people, and it sucked balls I won’t even lie. I hated it. And sorry for how long this chapter is, couldn’t stop writing ig.

MASTERLIST — WEST COAST

—

Lana slid her hands in her pockets, she had been wearing the flannel that Austin gave her about a week ago since the drug deal. It smelled like fruit loops so she often wore it since it smelt nice. She hadn’t seen him at school either for the whole week, for some reason. Although from what she was told, he wasn’t missing any school, so he was probably just hiding. For what? God knows, and God only cared. Not like she was going to ask.

She was heading towards Tori’s place, she had been at home, got bored, and left so she could go hang out with one of her friends. She figured Tori would entertain her a good deal, so she dropped by her place. Plus, the town fair was tonight, maybe they could’ve went together. When she had headed to the driveway, she could see the black 1985 C4 Corvette parked by the sidewalk. Which told her that Austin was with Tori. In the driveway, was Tori’s firebird, and her father’s work truck. Which a Ford F150 crew cab. The garage door was left open, and she could see that there was a tool box with some motor oil on the top of it. With a pan beside it, meaning that one of the vehicles were having an oil change. Considering how Austin told Lana that he would often come to Tori’s place to fix the work truck, she assumed that Austin was changing the oil of the Ford.

She raised her brows curiously, and when she approached the front door. She gave three hard knocks, then stepped back, her hands behind her back. She could hear shouting from the inside. “Could you please get that?!” It sounded like Tori.

“Yeah no problem, Sanchez.” A hoarse voice answered, then she heard the door unlock, and with the twist. The door as pulled back, her suspicion was confirmed. There was Austin, wearing a white tank top that was stained with grease, the tank top was tucked in with the denim jeans he was wearing.

“Austin-“ Lana blinked.

“Hey,” he tilted his head as if he were a Labrador, confused as to why Lana was there. Lana could see Tori walk to Austin, and her brows raised when she saw Lana. Austin stepped to the side for Tori so she could stand beside him. Lana’s eyes were as big as eggs. She was taking in the image of both of them. Tori stood to Austin’s elbow, she was tiny.

Tori was wearing heavy makeup, but she looked beautiful. Her wings were sharp, and on point as always. And they were purple, which was her favorite color. She was wearing a purple crop top that looked like a sports bra, with purple sweatpants that were slightly sagged on the right side. It showed her panty line, which appeared to be purple laced panties.

They both had messy hair though. Austin was sweating, and Tori looked like she was sweating a bit too. What wasn’t helping was the fact that Lana could see Tori’s panties with ease. Not to mention, Austin’s lips looked red and raw, as if he had been just making out with someone.

Honestly, if Lana didn’t know any better. She would’ve assumed that Tori and Austin were hooking up. But she knew this wasn’t the case. Tori was dating Ashton, too dedicated and too loyal, for some reason. Austin, well- she didn’t know, he was just the mechanic.

“Hey Lana,” Tori smiled, “what’re you doing here?”

“Oh- I was just, bored at home y’know? Wanted to go out and hang.” She shrugged, her hands still in her pockets. “Am I interrupting something?”

“Hm?” Austin tilted his head. Lana pointed her index finger towards the Ford F150 that was out in the driveway. “Mr. Sanchez wanted an oil change, Tori called me over to help out with it.” He explained.

“We can hang out after Austin has changed the oil though.” Tori said excitedly.

“Are you gonna bring Ashton?” Lana asked.

“Nah, we got into a fight again.” Tori shook her head, waving it off.

“Shocker, huh.” Austin shrugged before wiping his lips, leaving a bit of grease on his face. Tori elbowed Austin before inviting Lana to come in, and she smiled, walking in the house. Austin shut the door, then left to go to the garage without saying a word to them.

Lana watched him enter the garage, looked over at Tori. “He comes here often right?” She asked, recalling how Austin told her he’d come by pretty much every day.

“Oh yeah, every day.” Tori laughed as the two of them walked over to the couch to sit down. “Sometimes sleeps here too.”

“Really? Doesn’t your mother or father mind?”

“No, they both like him.” She looked down at her hands, fiddling with her nails that looked like talons. Lana always wondered how women could always have those long fake nails. She was curious how they could do anything. They couldn’t even close their hand into a fist, or pick out their cards in those card readers at the gas station.

When Tori would take Lana with her to the gas station to obviously get gas for the Firebird. Lana would sit on the passengers side and watch Tori struggling to get the card out of the card reader due to her long nails, so Lana would have to get out of the car and get the card for Tori. Then Tori would do the rest while Lana would sit and watched, intrigued.

Lana was curious about Tori’s parents relationship with Ashton. “Do they like Ashton?”

“Obviously not.” Tori answered without any hesitation, but there was a smile on her face. A friendly smile, and Lana nodded her head. “They think Aus is a better man. My dad says he’s the best, but then again, I don’t listen to my dad since he never does shit around the house.”

Lana shrugged, leaning back on the couch. She half turned to look at Tori fully. “Tori, I ain’t gonna lie to you.” She began. “But Austin looked like he just made out with you, when he opened the door.”

“He was playing with my lipstick.” She said on the dime. “See,” reaching into the pocket of her sweatpants, she held out some lipstick. Took the cap off and the wax on the lipstick looked completely fucked, like someone had just eaten it for the shits and giggles. Her face distorted into a face of amusement, as if she was recalling the events, “Austin put it on, then ate it, for shits and giggles.”

“That doesn’t sound like him.” Lana murmured. Austin was always so serious. At the drug deal, he barely even said a word. When Alice was doing heroin beside him, he didn’t even protest, simply looked up, trying to ignore it. Austin just never fucked around, it seemed completely out of character for him to randomly eat lipstick for shits and giggles. But then again, he also slammed a bottle of vodka against Ashton’s head randomly. And also ate ice cream and drank milk and milkshakes even though he was lactose intolerant. So, maybe it wasn’t.

“Anyways, I was wondering.” Tori put the lipstick back in her pocket. “We should go to Jade and Jules house.” She suggested.

Jade and Jules were twins. Jules’ full name was actually Juliette, and Lana knew Jade well, but not Jules all that well in comparison. Lana would talk to Jules occasionally in the girls bathroom at school, whenever Lana would walk in on her smoking a cigarette. Usually Jules would be in the bathroom for a good five minutes, then throw the cigarette away and go back to class.

Jules was dating a football player named Randy, who was good friends with Ashton. He owned a Honda Civic, a 2022 Honda Civic to be exact. His mother or father bought it for him or something, Lana didn’t care much to find out. But what Lana did know, was that Randy’s car smelled nice as hell. Then again, the smell of a new car was heavenly, at least to Lana it was.

Jules and Randy were sex craved as well from what Lana knew. She caught the pair doing the old devil’s tango at a party, didn’t even say a word. Just opened the door to the bathroom, saw them both doing the deed, then shut the door and went to go pee in a bush. Why? Cause she was not going to pee with those two doing the deed, nor was she going to wait outside the bathroom for the both of them. Plus, Lana was high out of her mind when she walked in on the pair.

Jade, was the opposite. Lana had known Jade since she was a child actually. Lana wouldn’t call Jade her best friend, but they were close friends. Lana and Jade would roller-skate together for fun a lot, and would always go to each other’s birthdays. When Jade had found out about Lana’s overdose, she had cried for two days, Jules cried too, but not as much as Jade did.

Jade worried over Lana a lot, like- a lot a lot. But that was fine with Lana. Jade would often nag Lana as well about if she was doing any drugs or whatever, and Lana didn’t mind that as well. She knew Jade was doing it because she cared.

Jade was a quiet girl, real quiet, she was more of an observer. The way she handled things was different than Jules. Jules, in spite of her way, was never single, she felt lonely, craved love and attention. Jade however, would prefer to be alone, loved the feeling of not being loved, and loved not having attention on her, made her feel free.

Jade, due to her clean ways, would also make fun of the group quite a bit when she had the chance. Lana, Tori, Beth, and Alex didn’t mind. They all thought she had a point, she made a good point to make fun of them for taking drugs. Lana could remember full well when Jade had stood there eating ice cream while Lana was rolling around on the ground at a park, yelling about how she was a unicorn, then proceeded to eat shit by running straight into a pole and falling over. So yeah, Jade had the right to make fun of them.

Lana figured, she missed both of them. “Yeah, sure, we could go see them after Austin fixes the truck.”

“Cool! I heard there’s a theme park, Ashton’s gonna be there so…”

Lana thinned her lips into a bitter a line. She knew what Tori was hinting at. Hated the idea, but in spite of that, she had been wanting to go to the city fair, so she agreed. “Yeah sure, I’ll go.” She got off the couch after, wanting to go see what Austin was doing to the truck. Tori got up after her.

When Lana had walked in the garage, she was greeted with the image of Austin laying underneath the F150. There as a torque wrench laying beside him with an oil pan, and then she saw him grab the filter wrench. She watched as he screwed the oil filter off, groaned in annoyance when some of the oil go onto his face. But got the torque wrench again, grabbed the pan, then screwed off the oil screw.

She watched him adjust the oil pan underneath quickly. He crawled out from underneath the truck, looking up to see Tori and Lana both staring down at him with curious eyes. His eyes fluttered obliviously, before he sat up to put the old oil filter of the truck away. “What the hell are you guys doing here.” He asked, grabbing a rag from the ground to wipe the oil off his face.

“Watching you,” Tori answered with a kindhearted smile on her face, “you’re interesting.” Austin got up as she spoke those words, and stood in front of Tori. He leaned down, his face a few inches away from hers. Lana stood in the middle of them, looking back and forth between them.

Austin smirked. “You are too.” He pulled his face away from hers, walking back in the garage to get the new oil filter. Lana stood there, brows furrowed, eyes narrowed while Tori kept a mischievous smile on her face when she watched Austin get the box for the new oil filter, ripping it open.

Was that just me or was that awkward…? Lana asked herself, before shaking her head. “Well, anyways,” she changed the subject, not wanting to focus or think about what just happened, “Tori says she wants to go to Jade and Jules’ house when you’re done with everything.”

“Who’s Jade and Jules?” Austin asked when he got the filter out, walking back to them.

Right, Austin was still new to town. He hadn’t made many friends. In spite of his looks, being a heartthrob and everything, the dude still didn’t know jack shit. “Right- you don’t know them. They’re our good friends, twins actually.” Tori explained. “Jules’ real name is Juliette… y’know Jade Stravinsky and Juliette Stravinsky.” Tori figured she had to tell Austin their last names, since he usually called people by their last names. She wondered how that would work for twins.

Lana already knew that Austin wouldn’t call Jade or Jules by their last names since they were twins. Since Dal and Tray were twins, he didn’t call them by their last names either. Austin perked up a brow, leaning on the F150 as he looked at the pair. “What’s their middle names. I can’t go by last since they’re twins.” He grabbed the rag off the ground to wipe his hands again, which seemed to get greasier the more he rubbed.

Tori looked over at Lana. “Jade’s is Wulfheim.” Then Lana paused, bringing her hand up to her jawline to think to herself. She had tilted her head to the side, thinking about Jules. “Juliette’s is… Spencer, I believe. Jade Wulfheim Stravinsky, Juliette Spencer Stravinsky.”

“Those are some fancy names.” Austin answered without missing a beat.

“Austin Butler sounds even fancier.” Tori commented, and Austin shot her a glare before laying back down on the ground. “I’m just sayin’ it sounds pretty fancy.”

“Butler is just a fancy word, I think.” Lana said, siding with Tori.

“Oh yeah, for sure.” She agreed, nodding her head with Lana. Austin smirked, rolling his eyes before half of his body was hidden underneath the truck. Tori and Lana both watched him and all they could see was his body moving as he reached for the torque wrench, screwing something in.

“Yeah well, say that to my parents.” He said to the both of them.

“What happened to them anyways? There’s no way that your mom kicked you out for arguing with her boyfriend.” Tori sounded unconvinced. Practically everyone in town knew that Austin got kicked out of his mom’s house for that petty reason. He never hid it from anyone, didn’t bother to.

“Ever since my mom divorced my dad, she got petty as hell.” He started. “My mom is a notorious sleeper, y’know.” Lana and Tori could hear him laugh. His laugh was high pitched and giddy, which was odd considering how he sounded like a 50 year old man half the time. The other half he sounded like a man who smoked 3 packs of cigarettes a day.

“How so?” Lana crouched down and hugged her knees close to her chest. Austin always told interesting stories, since he was such an honest guy. Never hid anything, never filtered his words. Tori did the same, intrigued now.

They watched as he put the torque wrench down, grabbing the oil pan. “My mom has always brought guys over to the house, whenever my father was out at work.” He explained for her, crawling out from the truck, then leaned down to grab the oil pan to drag out. “I never told my dad, because I thought he’d never believe me. But, my mother brought guys over, so often that my siblings and I would always bet the days she would bring a guy over to the guest house.” Huffing, he sat in front of the duo with a pan in front of him.

Lana and Tori were silent now, completely invested in the story of his life.

“Alan, my older brother would always guess correctly.” He chuckled to himself, looking down at his hands. He was quiet for a few moments, his eyes narrowed towards his hands, as if he was frustrated. “My dad was absent most of my life, never had a good relationship with him… my mother was never really a mother. If anything the maid was more of a mother to me than my actual biological mother.”

“Oh?” Lana tilted her head.

“Yeah,” Austin smirked, “so if you ever meet Ms. Randle, and you lot are mean to her, I’ll beat your ass.” He warned, walking past them to open the hood of the truck. They both watched him get the oil.

“So, she raised you?” Tori asked.

“My siblings and I yeah.” He unscrewed the bottle, standing in front of the hood as Lana and Tori remained sitting. “She was there at my brothers funeral.” Leaning forward to pour the oil in the truck. “She and my sister are all I got.”

“Your mom slept with a lot of people before the divorce right? So, why did the divorce happen?” Lana asked.

“The yoga instructor was hot.” He shrugged, grabbing the other bottle of oil to pour it into the truck. “Bout it.”

Both Lana and Tori were silent for a few heartbeats, trying to process what they had just heard. They rarely ever heard of a woman leaving their really rich husband for a yoga instructor. For a lawyer or whatever, sure, but for a yoga instructor? For Lana that was cringe worthy. “Your mom’s boyfriend… is her yoga instructor?” Lana asked him, invested into the plot now.

“Yeah, he’s twenty-one or whatever.”

“And your mom is…”

“Forty-six.”

“Oh shit.” Tori blinked, and Lana felt herself cringe even more when she realized the age difference.

“He proposed to her and I argued with him about it, thought it was stupid, and yeah, got kicked out.” He chuckled when he finished pouring the oil in. “Ever since the divorce, my mom got a new boob job, got a new nose, new lips, new everything y’know? My dad gave her most of his money, and I hate it cause she doesn’t deserve it.”

“I can tell.” Lana murmured. “Her rack is fake?” She asked, focusing on the irrelevant stuff.

“Please,” Austin scoffed, “her rack is faker than a stripper telling you that you’re their best customer.”

“That’s oddly specific.” Lana couldn’t help but smile at how specific it was. She was trying her best to hold back her laughter, but even Tori let out a little giggle from how specific Austin was being.

Austin had finished giving the F150 an oil change, and took it out for a quick test drive to make sure he hadn’t fucked anything up. When he was finished, he was paid 400 bucks by Tori’s dad. Who had been sitting on the recliner the entire time drinking his days away. Lana hadn’t even noticed him the until Austin was paid.

Lana and Tori were waiting for Austin by the front door of the house. Tori was leaning on Lana’s shoulder as Austin was standing in front of the recliner. “You’re gonna be taking my daughter out boy?” Tori’s father spoke.

“Yes sir, I am.” He nodded his head, keeping his arms clasped in front of him. He stood stiff, in a manner that made him look like a bouncer.

“Well I trust you boy, but you better not do anythin’ to her, you hear?”



“Yes sir, I hear.” He nodded once more.

“Alright, get.” With a wave of his hand, Austin was dismissed. He walked back over to the pair, opening the door for them. Tori was the first to walk out, then Lana.

Lana was sitting in the back of the Corvette, she was completely squished. Tori wanted to sit in the front and Lana didn’t bother to put up an argument. The problem was, was that Lana was 5’10” or 5’11” one of those two heights, she didn’t know. While Tori was small as shits, she was 5’3” for fucks sakes. Lana could barely fit in the back of the Corvette.

Austin was 6’1” and the dude already looked squished as is in the drivers seat, let alone a chic who was almost his height in the back seat of a C4 1980s Corvette. But, even though she was squished in the back of the Corvette. Austin’s taste in music was questionable. Not that it was bad or anything, but it was just odd that he was listening to the music he was listening to.

The guy was blaring country songs from the 90s and below. Lana recognized some of the songs too. The song that was currently playing was Johnny Paycheck - I’ll Be Hating You, which talked about a man who dedicated his whole entire life to his girl, started hating himself, and knew it wouldn’t be long till he started hating her either. Lana had to admit, it was a damn good song even in spite of it being country.

When Austin had stopped by a red light, a white Integra had pulled up beside Austin. Tori immediately recognized who it was, and panicked. “Oh my god that’s Ashton- fuck if he sees me with you Austin, I’m dead.”

“I don’t think he’ll see you, Sanchez.” He muttered, looking over at her as she unbuckled her seatbelt. “What- what are you doing-“ his eyes widened when he saw her get up. “Aye- Sanchez!”

“Switch, switch with me Lana, c’mon!” She ordered as she stepped on the car seat.

“Don’t put your damn shoes on the car seats, Sanchez! You’ll ruin the leather!” He exclaimed in annoyance.

Lana leaned away from Tori, “Tori- I’m too big-“ Tori grabbed Lana’s shoulders to shove her over the glovebox of the car. “Aye god dammit Tori, I’m too fuckin’ big!” Lana felt her head slam into the seat of the Corvette.

While all of this was happening, the radio was blasting Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus, which seemed ironic. Since Tori was trying to hide so she wouldn’t break Ashton’s heart in case they were spotted.

“What the fuck are you doing, Sanchez?!” Austin watched her.

“Oh my god Lana just switch.” Tori whined, shoving Lana out of the way again so she could sit in the back of the Corvette.

“Okay okay, fuck dude-“ Lana quickly unbuckled her seatbelt then the two of them switched places. Lana yelped when her head hit the window of the car, and she felt the car lurch forward when Austin shifted into first gear and slammed on the gas. She had rolled over and her head hit the bottom of the car, her shoes in Austin’s face now.

“Move your shoes, god dammit!” He pushed her legs away from his face.

“Shit Austin, I’d love to but as you can see, I’m upside down!” Lana said in an overly enthusiastic tone. Tori watched the chaos that she had created with a small smile on her face, amused. She could see Austin look out the window, exchanging a quick glance with Ashton who was sitting in the Integra. Tori could see Austin downshift into second gear, then suddenly slammed on the gas which caused the car to shoot forward.

The car was filled with the sound of the exhaust screaming for its life, and Tori poked her head out a bit. She could see the white Integra falling behind Austin’s car, gapping Ashton’s Integra. Lana was still struggling to even sit up right. A cop car which had been resting inside an empty parking lot had been spotted, causing Austin to slam on the breaks. As a result, Lana who still wasn’t upright had lurched out of her seat, her head once again hitting the ground. “God dammit, Austin!”

—

Tori hopped out of the Corvette, and Austin closed the door for her. Lana had crawled out of the Corvette, she had managed to sit upright after a good solid ten minutes of struggling. The whole struggle made her hair become a mess, but that was fine cause it was usually a mess.

Austin said nothing as Lana and Tori both walked to the front door of Jade and Jules place, knocking on the door. The trio waited in silence, with Austin standing behind Tori, she was leaning back against his chest, comfortable with his presence. While he kept his hands in his pockets, and Lana was zoning out while staring at the door.

At least 30 seconds later, the door opened up, and Lana was greeted with Jade. “It’s Tori and Lana!” Jade yelled, and she smiled at the both of them. “Hey,” she looked at Austin, her eyes widening.

“Tori wants to hang out. Go to the town fair.” Lana said calmly.

“Yeah sure, Jules and I were just about to go.” Jade responded, “just come in, let me get changed.” She flicked her head inside, opening the door wider so the three of them could walk in. Austin flashed a charming smile across his face before following Tori to the living room.

“Lana!” Lana could hear a familiar voice call her name, it was Juliette. When she had turned around, she saw Jules jump up and hug her tightly. Lana embraced her, patting her back awkwardly before Jules pulled away, then looked at Tori excitedly, hugging her as well. “Hey Tori!”

“Hey.” Tori smiled, looking back Austin who had been standing in front of Jade and Jules’ mother, introducing himself. Jade and Jules’ mother was a woman who was kind, very kind, in fact too kind in Lana’s mind. Jade and Jules’ mother had always been intimidated by others, she had a weak personality, could be pushed around easily, which Jules or Jade didn’t like. And quite often, their mother would break down crying. But at the same time their mother was unpredictable as hell.

This was also due to the fact that she was a drunk, would always be drinking a can of beer. She had maybe 18 DUIs or something. What didn’t help was that their father was also an addict, a heroin addict. Lana never knew what happened to their father, neither did Jade or Jules, but, it was whatever.

“Jack wrote to me. He wanted to tell you girls hi.” Jules started, seeming to not notice Austin.

Jack, or Jackal, was Jade and Jules’ older brother who was currently in the Marines. Lana could always remember his full name because to her it always seemed so cool and unique, which was Jackal Leonard Stravinsky. Which to others sounded weird as well, cause who named their child after a dog? But aye, to Lana it sounded dope as hell.

Jules, unlike Jade, already looked dressed to go out. Jules was wearing a baby blue hoodie with some gray shorts, she had her makeup done, which was very little. Her blonde hair was curled up a bit to make it look slightly wavy, and her mascara complimented her doe eyes. Lana couldn’t deny that Jules was indeed a beautiful girl.

“I haven’t seen you around here, you must be new.” Lana heard their mother say.

“Ah, yes Ms. Stravinsky, I’m new.” Austin smiled, before shaking her hand.

“Oh well, don’t do anything inappropriate to them.”

“No ma’am, of course not.” He assured Ms. Stravinsky, before looking back at Tori, Jules, and Lana. His eyes fell towards Jules, and he was silent, seeming enthralled with her. And honestly, if he was enthralled with her, Lana couldn’t blame him. If Lana was gay, she would for sure go after Jules, no doubt. But, Jules was too busy talking with Tori. The both of them were holding each others hands, talking to each other excitedly.

Which made sense to Lana, they were both apart of the cheerleading team or whatever. From what Lana remembered, Tori was the captain, and Jules was… well… whatever she was.

Jade came walking down the stairs during the commotion. She dressed similarly to Jules, but in spite of them being twins, they didn’t share the same beauty. No doubt Jade was also a pretty girl, however she was never noticed much. Usually brushed to the side, while Jules got most of the attention.

Jade had dark orange hair, it actually kind of looked crimson at times. But it was dark orange no doubt, and she had brown doe eyes, while Jules had blue doe eyes. Jade’s hair was tied back in a bun, she wore a baggy unzipped jacket with some joggers, finished with a pair of Converse. But, she also wore no makeup, unlike Jules.

“Yeah! Jade and I were just about to go to the fair with Randy!” Lana diverted her attention towards Austin to see how he’d react once he heard Randy. She expected him to look away, and he did. His eyes went to the ground, and his expression which showed curiosity was now blank, unreadable. “He’s on his way to pick us up right now.” Jules finished, her hands behind her back as she was standing in front of Tori, who had an excited look upon her face.

“Oh? No way, you can probably ride with us if you like! We’re taking Austin’s car.” Tori offered.

Austin shook his head in disagreement, knowing full well that the Corvette didn’t have any space. Lana did a motion of sweeping her hand around her throat, shaking her head to tell Jules not to agree.

Jules let out a kind hearted laugh, waving her hand. “No thank you, I’m gonna take a ride with Randy.” She smiled at Tori. “I mean, maybe Jade wants to take a ride with you guys?” She looked over at Jade, who had remained quiet while watching them banter.

Jade stood there quietly for a few moments before looking at Austin. Who had a blank expression, his hands in his pockets, waiting for the girls to make up their minds. “Sure.” Jade came to the conclusion. She didn’t want to be with Jules and Randy, she knew that the couple would be all over each other, and she was not willing to deal with that.

Jules reached into her back pocket and held out her phone. “Oh, Randy’s here.” She read the notification that she got, then looked at all of them. “I gotta go, cya.” She opened the door quickly, and just as she was about to leave, Ms. Stravinsky got up to walk after Jules.

A crowd formed behind Ms. Stravinsky, where Austin stood all the way in the back. Leaning against the door, while Jade stood beside Lana, and Tori was to Lana’s left. As they watched Jules approach Randy’s Honda, they saw the windows roll down. “Randy!!” Ms. Stravinsky called to the jock, and his attention which was on Jules was now on Ms. Stravinsky.

“Yes Helen?” He replied.

“You better not do anything inappropriate with her!” Ms. Stravinsky warned, and the moment she said that. Tori, Jade, and Lana all started to make gestures from behind Ms. Stravinsky. With Lana putting two fingers towards her mouth, sticking her tongue out. Tori being the bold one and making the gesture of Jules deep throating by stroking the air, and Jade aggressively pointing her index finger towards the circle that she made with her other hand. All three of them mouthing the words, ‘USE PROTECTION!’

Jules saw all of that and couldn’t help but scoff at how immature the three girls were being before entering Randy’s car. Randy, who kept staring at Ms. Stravinsky was trying his best to hold his tongue. He didn’t want to randomly bust a lung while talking to her. “I won’t do anything to her Helen! I promise!” He crossed his heart before rolling the window up.

“And if you do, please wear protection.” Ms. Stravinsky murmured underneath her breath, turning around to look at the group who had fallen completely still. Then she turned back around to watch Randy drive off with Jules in the car. Ms. Stravinsky looked at her driveway, noticing the black 1985 C4 Corvette that was parked beside her car, which was an Acura. “Is that your car blonde?” She asked, looking back at Austin.

“Yes ma’am.”

“Do you guys have anyone else to pick up or is Jade the last one?” She asked.

“Beth and Alex.” Tori answered for Austin, who blinked in confusion. Not like he would protest though, whatever Tori wanted, he’d do.

Ms. Stravinsky scoffed as she looked back at the blacked out Corvette. Without any hesitation, she came up with a sly remark. “Good luck fitting in that, Jade.”

Good luck fitting in that, Jade. Definitely the best words. By this time, Lana had been completely squished up against the Corvette. The girl was struggling to breathe, with Jade sitting by her side, and Beth sitting on the far left. Alex was able to squeeze herself between Beth and Jade, but this caused Lana to be squished against the small sliver of a window that the Corvette had.

Lana who was struggling to breathe, knew damn well that Jade was most likely wishing she had taken the Civic. Enduring Jules cheesy banter with Randy was far better than this, at least to Lana it was. “Jesus Christ, this Corvette is cramped as hell.” Beth gasped for air, and Alex, who was squished was breathing heavily as well.

“Bradley, why don’t you just sit on someones lap?” Austin asked, glancing back Alex who kept gasping for air.

“There’s no fuckin’ space, god dammit!” Alex snapped at Austin. “If I sit on Jade’s lap, my head will hit the ceiling and then I’ll be in an awkward position.” She explained.

“Alright, fine.” When Austin saw the light turn green, he shifted into first gear, merged into the right lane, then slowly pulled over. Shifting in neutral, and he looked back at all four of them. “Sanchez, you’re five three, right?”

“Yeah.”



“Clark, you’re five ten?”

“Somethin’ like that.” Lana murmured against the glass.

“Okay, here’s the plan then, all of you get out.” He opened the door of the Corvette, then pulled his seat back. As if it was an opening for freedom, Alex desperately crawled out, pushing Lana’s face against the glass again, then Lana followed behind, Jade, then Beth. Tori as well got out from the passengers side, and all five of them stared up at Austin, who was glaring at them.

“As God is my witness, I hate your Corvette.” Alex complained, wiping sweat off her brow. It became hot as hell in the Vette because of how cramped it was in the back seats. Beth was sitting on the side walk, with Jade standing beside her arms crossed, Tori had her hands on her hips, Lana had hers in her pockets.

“Yeah, cause Corvette’s aren’t meant for six people.” Austin remarked as he stared at all of them blankly. “Listen, Sanchez, you’re the shortest so you’re gonna be sitting on my lap.”

“What?!” She exclaimed.

Before she could protest, Austin continued. “You don’t have a choice, you’re short, you can fit on my lap plus your head won’t hit the ceiling. Clark, you’ll get the passenger seat since you’re the second tallest. Wulfheim, Bradley, and Williams, you’ll sit in the back. You three are about the same height, so you three should be fine.”

“Bet you’d wish you took that offer with Jules huh, Jade?” Lana looked over at her friend.

“No,” Jade shook her head confidently, “I like Austin, the way he does things is entertaining. Everything is chaotic as hell, more entertaining than Jules and Randy being lovey dovey.” She smiled.

“Oh,” Lana blinked, “I stand corrected then…” She looked away before looking back at Austin who opened the doors.

Lana was the first to enter the car, sitting on the passengers side, then shut the door. Austin kept the seat of the Corvette rolled forward, Alex, Beth, and Jade all dove into the car. After maybe two minutes, they were able to get comfortable. Alex was 5’5” the shortest, so she sat in the middle. Even in spite of her height, she was hugging her knees close to her chest. Jade and Beth were both 5’7”-5’8” so they sat on the sides for more leg room.

When Austin finally made the seat roll backwards, he hopped in on his seat, then looked up at Tori who stood in the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest. “I’m not sitting on your lap, Austin.”

“That’s fine.” He shrugged. “Do you want to sit on Clark’s?”

“No.”

“Cool. So shut the fuck up and get on my lap.” He ordered, glaring up at her. Alex, Beth, and Jade all poked their heads out from behind the seats, watching.

“I-“

“Come here, Tori!” Grabbing her by the waist, he pulled her down onto his thigh, then close to his chest. Slammed the door shut, and leaned back against the seat to make some room for her. “See? It’s not that hard. Why can’t you just be listen to me.” He growled in annoyance, shifting the car back into first gear, then flicked the turn signal to show he was going to merge back into traffic.

Alex, Beth, Jade, and Lana all sat in silence, amazed by Austin. “Woah.” Lana thought outloud as she watched them. “Tori, you’re a difficult lady.”

“Oh shut up, Lana!”

By the time they had arrived to the town fair, it was already 8PM. All of them had to get home by 11PM, except for Austin, who didn’t have a curfew because he lived with Dal and Tray.

Dal and Tray were at the fair as well, they were in a food truck selling crepes, and inside the crepes had baggies of cocaine or some sort of acid, just some hardcore drug. Dal would be the one who was out in the park, handing out these photo cards that had a smiley face on it. If someone had gotten one of those photo cards, that meant that they talked with Dal, and could get one of those said drugs that they were selling.

However, to get those photo cards, they’d have to pay Dal maybe 5 or 10 bucks, it depended on the drug that the person wanted. But, if someone didn’t have said photo card, then they’d just get a regular crepe with no drugs, no nothing.

Austin knew the whole plan and told the girls about it in case they wanted to get high, he also knew that if they did get high, he’d have to drive them home. In fact, he’d probably have to drive all of them home, which was something he was dreading the most.

The group had split up, Tori was with Alex and Beth. Jade was with Austin and Lana. They had planned to meet up at the time of 10:30PM in the parking lot so he could drive them back home on time.

Austin had parked in an area where the drift cars parked, why? Because apparently he knew how to drift, and had bought tickets to go out and drift in the track at the fair. But before parking there, he had to kick everyone out of Corvette first so it could be inspected. Which led to the group splitting up in the first place since they didn’t want to wait for Austin to get back, and just go on the rides, have fun, and do whatever.

Lana and Jade were willing to wait though. While walking from the parking lot to the fair, Beth had asked Tori how it felt to sit on Austin’s lap. Her answer? She simply said that he was comfortable, which led to all the other girls being curious.

Tori didn’t even sit on Ashton’s lap because she found him to be uncomfortable. If Tori wasn’t willing to sit on her own boyfriends lap because it was uncomfortable, but said her friends lap was comfortable, that must’ve meant something. At least- that’s what Beth said.

Lana and Jade had been sitting on the bleachers at the track, watching down below to see if Austin was going to appear in his Corvette. But, he didn’t. He did appear, but his Corvette wasn’t with him. Lana noticed that he wasn’t wearing his white grease stained tank top, he seemed to have changed into a black button up. He was ruffling up his messy blonde hair, leaned down towards someone to say something to them. To which they pointed to another car that was out in the track.

The car was a black and pink BRZ, and the person handed Austin the keys to the car plus the steering wheel. Austin gave a nod, then pointed to the bleachers towards Lana and Jade, saying something to the person while leaned down. He looked at the person for an answer, and they nodded their head. “Aye Clark! Wulfheim! C’mere!” He called to them. Lana and Jade both gave each other a bemused look.

Tori could see Ashton in the crowd, he was buying cotton candy, and he looked to be alone. She looked at Alex and Beth, then at Ashton, finally glancing at Alex and Beth once more. “Hey, I’m gonna go get cotton candy.” She said eagerly, they gave her a nod, telling her they’d wait before she left the duo.

When she went to go get the cotton candy, of course Ashton had noticed her, he walked to her side. “What the hell are you doing here?” Was the first thing he said as she gave two tickets to get a bag of cotton candy.

“What’s it look like, Ash? I’m getting cotton candy.” She smiled up at him, carefully opening the bag.

He stood still, staring down at her. His eyes checked her out, looking at the outfit she wore. “You look like a slut.” He said, glaring at her. “Looked like you just got fucked senseless by someone else.” His head flicked towards her laced panties.

“Maybe I did.” She kept that same snarky smile on her face.

“Why you-“ and without any hesitation he grabbed her wrist, dragging her away from the crowd.

Alex and Beth had been watching from a distance before seeing Tori and Ashton both disappeared into the crowd of people. “Cool, she ditched us for Ashton.” Alex grumbled in annoyance.

“Does that mean he’s taking her home?” Beth asked, looking at Alex.

Jade and Lana had walked down the bleachers towards Austin, who had a smile on his face. He grabbed another full face helmet and held it out to them. “Which one of you wants to go drift with me first?” He asked, and Lana looked at Jade. Who snatched the helmet without any hesitation. There was a gleeful smile on her face, showing her excitement for what was to come. Austin looked at Lana. “Your turn is next Clark, don’t worry.”

“Oh, I’m not. Jade can be a test subject.” She shrugged, brushing it off as she went back to the first row of the bleachers to watch. She could see Jade and Austin walk side by side. When they both reached the BRZ, Austin was leaning down to help Jade put the helmet on, the steering wheel on the roof of the car. He gently pressed his hand against the bottom of her chin to lift her face up so he could help her with the D strap that came with the helmet. When he helped her with that, he put his hand on top of her head, aggressively shaking it to make sure the helmet was secure. Nodded his head, handed her a pair of 100% gloves, which she gladly took.

Jade looked up at Austin. “Y’know, you’re actually way nicer than I anticipated.” She complimented, watching him slide his Icon Variant on with ease. “I thought you’d be some sort of dickhead like Randy or Ashton, but you’re actually super nice.”

“Oh?” Austin chuckled when he did the D strap to his own helmet. “Thanks, Wulfheim.” Sliding his gloves on, he leaned down to grab the door of the BRZ, opening it for Jade. “The BRZ has a roll cage, so lift up your leg, and duck your head when getting in, alright darling?” His voice was gentle, as if he was talking to a small child.

“Yessir.” She nodded her head, doing as she was told, Ducking her head, then lifting up her leg, she was able to get into the BRZ. She looked up, seeing Austin shut the door for her. She looked at the interior of the BRZ. It was pretty much empty, but the car had a hand break, something to adjust the nitro, a microphone, a fire extinguisher, a net window, no steering wheel, but it also had race seats. That tucked the person in to make sure when they crashed, the person wouldn’t go flying. She also noticed how the car still had cup holders, which she found cute.

Even in spite of the cars color schemes, which was black and pink, the inside wasn’t that pinkish. She heard the drivers side door open, and saw Austin holding the steering wheel. She watched as he was able to easily get into the car, grabbed the steering wheel off the roof, and with ease, clipped it onto the holder. There was a pink line in the middle of the wheel to show if it was in center. “You ready darling?” He asked in a gentle voice, slipping the key inside the ignition.

“Yep!” Her smile was audible.

Lana kept watching curiously, then she heard the car roar to life. The car was loud, and she could hear it quickly shift into first gear. It shot forward onto the track, its wheels spinning from underneath as if the car was trying to adjust to its own torque and speed. Lana watched the black and pink BRZ that was covered in sponsorships race down the track.

The exhaust roaring loudly, Lana saw the tires lock up, which caused car to go crooked. The car tires spun against the asphalt, smoke flying behind it, with the squeals of tires filling her ears. Lana could faintly hear a, “HOLY SHIT!” From the inside of the car due to the fact that it had net windows.

Lana was impressed, she thought Austin was bluffing when he said he knew how to drift, but he wasn’t. The dude knew how, and he was completely legit.

Ashton dragged Tori around until he finally reached the end of the fair, where the portapotties were. He grabbed her throat, tightly squeezing it to prevent her from breathing as he turned his body. Throwing her to the side of the portapotty. He slammed her so hard against the portapotty that it had moved a bit when she hit it.

“You really wanna be a bitch to me, right now?” He asked, glaring down at her. “Randy told me, about your little adventure with Butler.” He murmured, his nose was pressed against hers. Her hand weakly clawed at his, but he kept the same firm grip. “We got into a fight and you’re already out with another guy?!” He slapped the right side of her face, and she yelped from fear.

“Ashton, I didn’t hook up with him.” She mewled out weakly, her eyes stinging with tears.

“Oh? Then what the hell were you doing hanging out with him? Randy told me he drove you here. You weren’t hooking up with them then what? What?!” He demanded.

“My dad likes him, and asked him to change the trucks oil, that’s all.” She cried out, sobbing now. Ashton gently let go of her neck, stepping away from her. His hands were balled up into fists, and his brown eyes were glaring down at her, focused.

“Is that the truth?”



“Yes, it is. You can even ask my dad, Ashton.” She sucked in some air to calm herself down, her hands were trembling already. She was use to this type of treatment but for some reason she always had the same reaction to it.

Ashton kept staring at her, frowning when he realized how badly he hurt her. He walked towards the bench that was sat right next to the portapotty, turned to her with his hand held out. “Come here Tori, come here.” His voice was gentle, and she was quiet for a few moments. Hesitant, but she accepted his hand. She felt him gently pull him towards her, embracing her, he had wrapped his arms around her hips. Digging his head into her chest, her cupped his head, fingers fiddling with his hair. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you, Tori. I love you.”

“I love you too.” She leaned down to kiss his head softly. “Just don’t hurt me again, please.”

“I won’t, I promise.” He murmured against her chest. But like every promise, Ashton would break this one as well.

Alex and Beth had met Veronica at the fair. She was telling them about Dal, while the pair was telling Veronica about how they were cramped in Austin’s C4 Corvette. Veronica found the situation hysterical and laughed about it with them, then she had told them where to find Dal and Tray. Although, Alex and Beth didn’t want to leave Veronica alone, they had known that she was high. Alex decided to stay with Veronica, and Beth would go off to go get some drugs from Dal and Tray. At least, that was what they agreed upon.

But, before they could even go get the drugs. Veronica had revealed to them that she was already with a group, but she got lost in the mirror maze, because of that she was alone. Which was fine, so the duo decided to just forget about the drugs and hang out with Veronica. They knew about Austin having to most likely take them home even if they weren’t high, and didn’t want him to deal with them being high.

Veronica told the duo that she had given some 20 year old head in the mirror maze. Alex found that to be weird, the image of a girl giving some college kid head in the middle of maze was just downright weird to her. Veronica begged to differ, she said that it was amazing seeing herself give this random guy that she had just met 15 seconds ago head in 50 different angles. Veronica had been able to see how deep his dick could go in her throat, due to this, she was able to confirm that she could indeed deep throat.

“You gave some dude head in a mirror maze to see if you could deep throat?” Alex asked, her jaw dropped.

“Well yeah,” Veronica giggled, “I’ve always been told I give good head, and with a mirror? I can finally see why.” She said with an excited smile on her face.

“You seem proud of it, and y’know what, if you are. Good for you, dude.” Alex smiled at Veronica.

“Yeah honestly good for you.” Beth agreed, and Veronica squealed in happiness, she was happy that the pair wasn’t judgmental over it.

“I think he ate cotton candy, his cum tasted like it-“

“Okay, that we don’t need to know, Onica.” Alex held up her hand, not wanting to know anymore of the details.

Beth blinked in confusion, tilting her head. “Wait, what you eat, your cum tastes like?” And Alex shot her a glare, wanting her to shut up.

“Yeah!” Veronica answered excitedly. “That’s why people say when you eat pineapple, your cum tastes better. If you eat cotton candy your cum tastes like cotton candy. If you eat strawberries your cum will taste like that.” She answered, nodding her head as she was thinking to herself. “I’ve given enough head to know.” She proclaimed.

“How much head?” Beth asked, eating the caramel apple that Alex bought for her.

“Ten… twenty… thirty, I dunno, I lost count!” Veronica laughed, clapping her hands.

“Cool.” Alex bobbed her head.

Lana had put her full face helmet on, and was sitting in the same spot that Jade had just been sitting in. She could hear the snap of the wheel against the holder, looking at Austin. “You ready?” He asked her.

“For sure.”

“Make sure to record!” Jade reminded Lana.

“Oh yeah.” Pulling out her phone from her pocket, she held it out in landscape mode, leaned back in her chair, then gave Austin a thumbs up. She could see him turn the car on, and the BRZ roared loudly. Austin shifted into first gear, launching forward. The wheels spun from underneath as the BRZ was accelerating quickly.

Austin slammed on the foot break, pulled back on the hand break quickly. He kept a foot on the gas pedal, a cloud of smoke surrounded both of them and Lana couldn’t help but scream from the adrenaline rush that hit her like a rocket. Her body lunged to the side with the car, then Austin made the car straighten out again.

Jade sat in the bleachers wide eyed, holding her phone out to record the whole situation. Knowing how Lana was, in spite of the girl recording, it was probably filmed in the messiest way possible. As Jade watched, she could see the BRZ spinning in a circle with a cloud of smoke enveloping the car. Lana’s voice, which was usually deep, was now sounding that of a 2 year.

Austin kept the steering wheel pointed to the left, making the car spin and spin. Lana had kept her eyes opened the whole time, tucked against the race seat. She couldn’t stop laughing like a child who had just seen the greatest movie of all time, she was genuinely excited. Never in her life had she been in a car with such an erratic driver. All she could see was smoke surrounding her, the smell of burning tires filled her head. The car then straightened out again, growling loudly as it rolled out of the smoke, dropping down a gear, only for it to slowly start zig zagging across the track, the tires screeching from underneath, before it was launched forward again.

Lana’s head slammed against the head seat of the car. She wasn’t ready for the sudden torque to kick in as hard as it did. Austin was laughing like a school boy, then slammed on the break, which made Lana’s head hit the dash of the car. She shook her head before looking at Austin, who lifted up the visor of his helmet. He looked over at her, one hand on the wheel, a smile visible on his face. “How was that, Clark?” His tone was filled with adrenaline and excitement.

“Fuckin’ crazy.” Lana laughed, looking at Austin with a wide grin plastered on her face. “Where the hell did you even learn how to do that?” She asked, leaning back in the seat.

“Oh y’know,” he shrugged, “I lived in the West Coast.”

Dal was leaning on the wall, a cigarette popped into his mouth. He inhaled deeply, exhaling from his nostrils and mouth. He looked up from the ground, seeing Jules in front of him. He raised a brow, confused as to what she was doing. He assumed she came to the fair with Randy, but he wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Jules had gotten into an argument with Randy. Something about how she considered flirting with another girl to be cheating. While Randy disagreed and said that it wasn’t cheating. The topic only came up because when Jules left Randy alone, she had saw him flirting with some other girl, and had heard a bit of their conversation. Randy had left her alone after that, deciding that arguing with her was a waste of time.

Dal frowned when he listened to Jules complaining to him. But he knew why she was there, she was seeking drugs. He had given her a ticket then a photo card, telling her it was alright and that Tray will treat her fair when she asks for the drugs. She was happy when she got the photo card, thanked Dal for being understanding, then dipped. Dal too, would get high whenever he felt down, but then again- Dal never took hardcore drugs. He’d usually just smoke some pot when he felt down. But, everyone had different ways of coping.

When Jules had left, about a good ten minutes later, Lana, Jade, and Austin had appeared. They didn’t want to get any drugs, but in fact had gotten Dal some cotton candy. Actually, Austin was the one who got Dal the cotton candy. When they met, Dal could smell the scent of burning tires. “Were you by the track causing all that ruckus?” Dal asked, taking a deep drag from his cigarette, his eyes focused on Austin who handed him the cotton candy bag.

“Yeah, why?” Austin asked when Dal dropped the cigarette on the ground. Squeezing it underneath his Vans, he looked up at Austin lazily.

Blinking his dazed eyes, he smiled fondly as his friend. “Nothin’ it was just some damn good driving.”

Tray had leaned over the counter when he saw Jules outside, handing him the photo card Dal had given her. Tray noticed that Jules’ face was puffy, swollen, and red, as if she had just been crying her eyes out. Even her mascara was all ruined, and Tray felt a wad of sympathy for her. So, he gave her three crepes in total, but only one bag of acid. The bag had two pills inside, that were stamped with smiley faces.

Tray knew she was alone, and when a pretty girl like Jules was out alone, high? A man could take advantage of her. So Tray had given her the weakest drug he could, it would affect her no doubt, but not so much where she could be taken advantage of- or, so Tray hoped. “Thanks Tray!” Jules grinned up at him.

“No problem twig.” He shook his head. Twig was Jules’ nickname that Tray had given her. He called her twig because she was thin. Real thin. “You gonna go anywhere?” He asked her gently.

“Yeah, maybe to the mirror maze. Wanna see how it feels when you’re tripping balls.” She said in a giddy tone, excited for what was to come.

Tray frowned sadly. “You ought to be careful.” He said in a brotherly like tone.

“I know, I know.” She stepped away from him, glancing back. “Oh yeah- Jack says hi!” And with that, she had left Tray alone.

Dal was looking at the trio. “Why isn’t Jules with you?” He asked, looking at Jade.

“What? She’s with Randy.” Jade answered in a puzzled tone, she was confused as to why Dal was concerned about Jules.

“She didn’t tell you?” Dal blinked. “Randy and her got into a fight and he left her alone.” His eyes glanced over all three of them, Jade was wide eyed, Austin looked worried, while Lana was enjoying the cotton candy that was being shared. Worry had washed over Jade like those waves at the beaches that take those little kids from beneath.

Jade gulped her worry down, “Do- do you know where she went?” She stammered, not doing a good job at hiding her worry.

“If she went to see you, she’s with Tray right?” Lana piped up, finished the cotton candy.

“Yeah, he’s at the food truck.”

“Thanks.” Jade gave him two bucks for tips, and when she was about to leave, Austin had already been ahead of them. He was heading for the food truck.

When they went to the food truck, Tray told them that Jules was at the mirror maze, she wanted to go there and trip balls. Thought it would help her, and they thanked him. While they were walking towards the maze, Austin had began talking. “Listen,” he started, “I should probably get her.” He looked over at Jade.

“You barely even know her!” Jade protested, disagreeing with the idea. Lana agreed though, the fact that Austin barely knew Jules was actually a huge benefit. This was due to the fact that Jules had a habit of retaliating with her family members every time they tried to help her, or so… Jade told Lana.

“Yeah but she knows that I’m the reason you’re here right? Plus, she has no ride.” Austin countered, half turning to Jade.

“Actually, considering how Jules is. I think it’d be great if Austin went in.” Lana piped up from behind Austin. Jade glared at Lana, who had simply shrugged then grabbed some cotton candy from the bag Austin was holding to eat.

“You better not hurt her.” Jade threatened, and Austin smirked in response. He saluted to Jade jokingly, before handing in 4 tickets to go into the mirror maze.

“You don’t gotta worry, Jade.” Lana began, leaning down when she saw a can of Orange Fanta that was spilled on the ground. She picked it up, and took a sip out of it. “Austin wouldn’t hurt a fly if his life depended on it.” And Jade groaned, slightly annoyed with Lana. “Want some? It’ll cheer you up.” She held out the Fanta to Jade.

“Dude.” She sneered in disgust. “I am not going to drink that off the floor.”

“Aye man, as long as it has flavor, I think it’s still good.” Lana shrugged it off, taking another sip from the Fanta.

Jade squinted her eyes at Lana. She’s not even high and she’s acting like this. She thought to herself, looking back in the maze.

Austin had been staring down at the ground, which was also made of mirrors. But the difference was that he knew where he was stepping, and that there were lines and shoe prints the mirrors, which had basically showed him a trail so he wouldn’t get confused.

He could hear crying echoing throughout the maze as he kept walking, and he figured it was Jules. He kept his calm, listening to her sobbing in the maze. He couldn’t lie to himself, he was slightly excited to meet Jules. He didn’t say much to her, but she was rather beautiful. She looked sweet and cute. “Randy’s one lucky dude.” He whispered to himself, as he continued to carefully walk on the mirrors.

Before he had known that he even reached the center, he could finally hear the cries die down. Which caused him to look up, and he saw her. Juliette. She was standing in the middle of the maze of mirrors. Her face was covered in smudged mascara, face red, eyes swollen from crying too much. She noticed Austin walking in the maze, he had been staring at the ground the whole time, clearly having no trouble walking towards her.

Austin stood still, staring at her. He looked entranced, and for some reason this made Jules giggle at him since he looked a bit clueless. He looked like he had just seen the most beautiful woman, he looked starstruck, like his heart was stolen. He was in awe. Trying to process what he was looking at.

Jules could see that his arms looked dirty, as if he had been messing with yet another car. Tori had told her about how he would fix cars often, which was why he always looked so dirty. “What’re are you doing here?” She asked, breaking the silence.

“Your sister wanted me to come get you.” He said, walking towards her. He had his hands in his pockets when he stopped in front of her. Leaning down close to her face to examine her, without thinking he gently grabbed her chin. Took out a napkin from the depths of his pockets to wipe the mascara that was smudged all over her face. It was awkward, at least to Jules. But Austin seemed to focus on wiping her face clean to even notice. When he was finished, he put the napkin away, then walked passed her cooly. “C’mon, we gotta get outta here.”

“But—“ She began, whining already. He stopped walking to look back at her, then took her hand in his. Their fingers intertwining, without even saying a word to her, he led her towards the exit.

“Is Randy going to take you home?” He asked without looking at her.

“Nuh uh,” she replied like a toddler.

“Then I will.”

—

The ride back home was cramped, a little Corvette with 7 people was not at all ideal. In fact, Austin had gotten into a bickering session with Tori. Who had inherently refused to sit on his lap, more or less look at him, which made him grow frustrated.

“Listen Sanchez, I gotta take you, Bradley, Williams, Wulfheim, Spencer, Clark, and my ass back home! I understand that the driving conditions aren’t really ideal but we don’t really have a god damn choice now do we?!” He snapped in a tone that showed his annoyance. “Unless you wanna get Ash-“


“No!” She shouted at him, almost looking up at Austin but then looked down at his boots.

He sighed, then leaned down. His voice was as gentle as the morning dew. “Can you please just work with me here? Please?” He murmured, pleading with her. She looked at him now, their eyes locked. “If you’re not gonna come, I will leave you here. I have to take Clark home.” He flicked his head towards Lana, who had been staring up at a light pole, watching the moths fly towards the light.

Jade and Jules were standing side by side, watching Lana with a sneer on their faces. They were genuinely confused with what Lana was even doing. She looked high, truly, and utterly high. “That girl has one short attention span…” Jules murmured as they both watched.

“You said it…” Jade agreed, nodding her head slowly.

Alex slowly approached Lana, poking her on the shoulder. “Huh?” She turned around to face Alex.

“Get in the car, Austin and Tori have came to an agreement.” She ordered, and Lana gave a nod. She opened the passenger side, sat down and kept the door open in case someone would need to sit on her lap. With Austin pushing the seat down, Beth was the first to come in, then Jade, and lastly Jules. Just like Lana had predicted, someone would have to sit on her lap, and that someone was Alex. When Austin sat down in the drivers side, Tori had sat on his lap.

“It’s really cramped in this car…” Beth murmured with her head pressed against the glass.

“Yeah, no kidding.” Alex agreed, her head was tilted to the side because of how big she was. Her cheek was practically pressing against the ceiling of the Corvette.

“I’m gonna sell this god damn car and get a motorcycle if I keep hearing you guys complain.” Austin growled from underneath his breath. He was annoyed, mainly because there was 7 people in a car that was basically meant for only 2 people. Not only that but everyone was staining the seats as well.

Austin had dropped almost everyone off, except for Tori. The reason was because she asked him if he could stay over at her place, which he gladly agreed to. He hadn’t noticed the bruise that formed on her neck when Ashton had choked her at the fair. It was too dark in the Corvette and outside to even notice.

When Tori got home with Austin behind her, she had told him to change into a tank top and shorts after he got out of the shower. He obliged, nodding his head along to her words before he disappeared in the bathroom. Once she heard the shower head turn on, she looked in the mirror, staring at herself.

The bruise was of a crimson color, the handprint that belonged to Ashton. Austin was sure to see it, and she knew he’d freak out when he did. She didn’t know how Austin felt for her exactly, but she knew he felt somewhat protective over her. When Austin was finished with the shower, Tori braced herself in case he freaked out, but he didn’t.

Austin approached Tori quietly, looming over her. He had his hands in his pockets, staring at her figure in the mirror, before his eyes went to her neck. Tori noticed how his face slowly distorted into a glare. “Ashton?” He asked, grabbing her shoulders to turn her around so Tori could face him.

“Yeah,” she looked up at him, seeing him lean down to bring his hand to her neck. His finger traced the outline of Ashton’s hand.

“Damn him.” He said in a hushed tone underneath his breath. “I could kill him you know.” Looking at her eyes, he pulled away.

“No, don’t, I don’t want you to hurt him. I love him.” Like usual, Tori was defending Ashton for his behavior. Austin gave a her a solemn nod, telling her that he wouldn’t hurt Ashton, or even snitch him out. Turning his back on her, he walked over to her bed, laying down underneath the blankets. Tori was quietly for a few moments, noticing how he hadn’t said anything to her. “You won’t hurt him right Aus?” She asked, crawling into bed with him.

“No, I ain’t gonna hurt him, you don’t want me to right?”

“Yes, I don’t. I don’t want you saying a word either.” She murmured, seeing his arm stretch out for her to use as a pillow.

“Then I won’t.” His voice was soft, reassuring her that he would listen to her, and she laid her head on his chest, her arm around his chest. With his arm lazily wrapped around her torso, he let out an annoyed sigh. “I won’t do shit.”

[speechgears-india]

Essential Speech Tools for Effective Therapy | SpeechGears

Discover the ultimate collection of speech tools at SpeechGears, specially designed to support speech therapy and oral-motor development. From tools that aid articulation to resources for enhancing communication skills, our range addresses diverse therapy needs. Trusted by professionals and parents alike, these tools ensure effective and engaging therapy sessions. Explore innovative solutions crafted for all ages and developmental stages. Visit SpeechGears Speech Tools to empower every step of your speech therapy journey today!

[1specialplace]

Understanding Lisp and How Therapy Can Help

A lisp is one of the most recognizable speech impediments, often characterized by difficulty pronouncing certain sounds, particularly the "s" and "z" sounds. While it is common in young children as they develop their speech skills, a persistent lisp in older children or adults may require professional intervention to correct. Speech therapy plays a crucial role in addressing this condition, helping individuals achieve clear and confident communication.

What is a Lisp?

A lisp is a type of speech sound disorder that affects the articulation of certain sounds. It occurs when the tongue is positioned incorrectly during speech, leading to a sound distortion.

There are four main types of lisps:

Interdental Lisp: The tongue protrudes between the front teeth during the production of "s" and "z" sounds, making them sound like "th." For example, "sun" may sound like "thun."

Dentalized Lisp: The tongue pushes against the front teeth, causing a muffled or distorted "s" or "z" sound.

Lateral Lisp: Air escapes along the sides of the tongue instead of through the center, giving the sound a "slushy" quality.

Palatal Lisp: The tongue touches the soft palate (roof of the mouth) while producing "s" or "z" sounds, leading to an unclear sound.

Causes of Lisping

Lisping can occur due to various reasons, including:

Developmental factors: Young children often lisp as they learn to pronounce sounds, but this typically resolves as they grow older.

Tongue thrust: An oral habit where the tongue pushes against or between the teeth while speaking or swallowing.

Oral structure issues: Problems such as a high palate, tongue tie, or dental misalignment.

Neurological conditions: Such as apraxia of speech or other motor coordination difficulties.

Behavioral habits: Prolonged pacifier use, thumb-sucking, or bottle feeding can contribute to oral muscle patterns associated with lisping.

Why Address a Lisp?

While some lisps are endearing in young children, they can become problematic if they persist into adulthood. A lisp may impact:

Speech clarity: Making it harder for others to understand.

Self-confidence: Especially in social or professional settings.

Communication skills: Affecting academic, social, or workplace interactions.

How Speech Therapy Helps Correct a Lisp

Speech therapy offers a systematic approach to identifying and correcting a lisp. A speech-language pathologist (SLP) tailors therapy to the individual’s specific needs.

Assessment: The SLP begins with a detailed evaluation to determine the type of lisp, its severity, and any contributing factors, such as tongue placement or oral habits.

Therapeutic Techniques:

Tongue positioning exercises: Teaching correct tongue placement during speech.

Auditory discrimination: Helping individuals recognize the difference between correct and incorrect sound production.

Repetition and practice: Gradual practice starting with sounds in isolation, then moving to syllables, words, and sentences.

Articulation games: Making therapy engaging with fun activities like tongue twisters and storytelling.

Oral-motor therapy: For individuals with weak tongue muscles or tongue thrust, targeted exercises may strengthen oral-motor control.

Parental involvement: For children, parents are guided on how to practice correct sounds at home to reinforce progress.

Technology and tools: Modern therapy incorporates interactive apps, mirrors, and recordings to make sessions more engaging and effective.

How Long Does Therapy Take?

The duration of therapy varies based on the individual’s age, the type and severity of the lisp, and the consistency of practice. With regular sessions and diligent practice, significant improvement is often seen within a few months.

Benefits of Online Speech Therapy for Lisp Correction

Online speech therapy platforms like 1SpecialPlace provide accessible, expert-led sessions for individuals of all ages. With the flexibility to attend sessions from home, personalized therapy plans, and interactive tools, overcoming a lisp has never been more convenient.

Conclusion

A lisp doesn’t have to be a lifelong challenge. With the right support and consistent practice, anyone can improve their articulation and communicate with confidence.

If you or your child is struggling with a lisp, reach out to the expert speech therapists at 1SpecialPlace to begin your journey toward clear and confident speech. Let us help you say goodbye to the lisp and hello to clear communication!

[drchristophedelongsblog]

Speech therapy in geriatrics: essential support for maintaining communication

Speech therapy plays a crucial role in maintaining the quality of life of the elderly. By working on communication, swallowing and cognitive disorders, it helps to maintain independence, combat isolation and improve safety.

What disorders does a geriatric speech therapist treat?

Speech and language therapists work on a wide range of disorders associated with ageing:

- Oral language disorders: difficulties in finding words, understanding and repeating.

- Speech disorders: articulation difficulties, weak voice, stammering.

- Comprehension problems: difficulty grasping the meaning of words and sentences.

- Memory problems: difficulty remembering names, facts and events.

- Swallowing problems: risk of choking when swallowing (dysphagia).

- Reading and writing difficulties: difficulty reading, writing and understanding texts.

What are the aims of speech therapy in geriatric medicine?

- Preserve independence: facilitate social interaction and activities of daily living.

- Combat isolation: maintain social links and encourage participation in social life.

- Improving safety: preventing the risk of choking due to swallowing problems.

- Slowing cognitive decline: stimulating cognitive functions and maintaining mental capacity.

- Improving quality of life: promoting the well-being and comfort of the elderly.

What rehabilitation methods are used?

Speech therapy is personalised and adapted to each patient. It may include :

- Specific exercises: to stimulate cognitive functions, memory, language and oral motor skills.

- Compensatory techniques: to help the person overcome their difficulties (gestures, augmentative communication tools).

- Practical advice: to facilitate day-to-day communication (adapting the environment, food choices).

- Support for carers: to help them better understand the difficulties faced by the elderly person and help them on a day-to-day basis.

The benefits of speech therapy

- Improved quality of life: more fluid communication promotes social relationships and well-being.

- Greater independence: by regaining lost abilities, older people can do more things for themselves.

- Reduced risks: swallowing problems can be improved, reducing the risk of choking and other complications.

- Psychological support: re-education allows the elderly person to feel more confident and to live better with their illness.

When should you consult a speech therapist?

If you notice communication difficulties in an elderly person, don't hesitate to consult a doctor, who will be able to refer you to a speech therapist.

Speech therapy in geriatric medicine is an essential discipline for preserving the independence and quality of life of the elderly. Through personalised care, speech therapists can help the elderly to communicate better and overcome the difficulties associated with ageing.

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[savichildcare222]

Oral Placement Therapy (OPT) in Pune | Savi ChildCare

What is Oral Placement Therapy (OPT)?

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Oral Placement Therapy (OPT) is a therapeutic approach that targets the specific oral motor skills necessary for clear speech production. Unlike traditional speech therapy, which primarily focuses on auditory and visual cues, OPT emphasizes tactile stimulation and targeted exercises that work directly with the muscles involved in speech. This hands-on technique helps children develop the strength and coordination needed to improve their speech clarity and overall oral motor function.

OPT is particularly beneficial for children who struggle with issues such as weak muscle tone, difficulty in coordinating oral movements, or challenges with sensory processing. It serves as an essential bridge for children who may not respond well to conventional speech therapy alone.

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Benefits of Oral Placement Therapy

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At SaviChildCare, we have witnessed the transformative impact of OPT on children with various speech and oral motor challenges. Some of the key benefits include:

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Improved Speech Clarity: OPT helps in refining the articulation of sounds, leading to clearer and more understandable speech.

Enhanced Oral Motor Skills: By targeting the muscles used in speech, OPT strengthens and coordinates movements, making it easier for children to produce sounds and words.

Boosted Confidence: As children experience improvements in their speech, their self-esteem and confidence naturally grow, leading to more positive social interactions.

Personalized Progress: OPT is highly individualized, allowing therapists to tailor the exercises to meet the specific needs of each child, ensuring the best possible outcomes.

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Scientific research and numerous case studies support the effectiveness of OPT in improving speech and oral motor skills in children with special needs. Parents often report significant progress in their child's communication abilities, leading to better engagement in everyday activities.

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How OPT Works?

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Oral Placement Therapy involves a series of structured exercises and techniques designed to target specific oral motor movements. The therapy combines tactile, auditory, and visual components to create a multisensory learning experience for the child. These techniques may include:

Tactile Stimulation: Using tools like straws, bite blocks, or oral massage, therapists stimulate the muscles involved in speech production.

Auditory Cues: Incorporating sound cues to help children associate specific movements with particular sounds.

Visual Feedback: Utilizing mirrors or video recordings to help children observe their mouth movements and understand the correct positioning. 

OPT sessions are typically conducted on a weekly basis, with the frequency and duration tailored to the child's needs. The therapy is interactive, engaging, and designed to be fun, ensuring that children remain motivated and enthusiastic about their progress.

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Who Can Benefit from OPT?

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Oral Placement Therapy is suitable for a wide range of children, particularly those who face challenges such as:

Speech Delays: Children who are delayed in their speech development and struggle with articulation.

Oral Motor Dysfunction: Children with difficulty coordinating oral movements, often associated with conditions like Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, or autism.

Feeding Issues: OPT can also benefit children with feeding difficulties, as it addresses the same muscles used in eating and drinking.

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Children of various age groups can benefit from OPT, from toddlers to older children who continue to face speech and oral motor challenges.

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Why Choose Savi ChildCare for OPT in Pune?

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SaviChildCare stands out as a premier choice for Oral Placement Therapy in Pune due to our commitment to excellence and personalized care. Our center is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities and staffed by highly trained and experienced therapists who specialize in working with children with special needs. We offer a nurturing and supportive environment where each child's progress is closely monitored and celebrated.

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Choosing SaviChildCare means choosing a center that prioritizes your child's unique needs and works collaboratively with families to achieve the best possible outcomes. Our holistic approach integrates OPT with other therapies like Special Education, ADL Training, and Occupational Therapy, ensuring comprehensive care that addresses all aspects of your child's development.

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Additional Services at Savi Child Care

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In addition to Oral Placement Therapy, SaviChildCare offers a range of other services designed to support children with special needs, including:

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Speech Therapy: Targeted interventions to improve communication skills.

Occupational Therapy: Helping children develop the skills needed for daily activities.

ABA Therapy: Applied Behavior Analysis for behavior modification and learning enhancement.

Special Education: Tailored educational programs that meet the unique learning needs of each child.

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These services complement OPT, providing a well-rounded approach to child development that maximizes the potential for progress.

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How to Get Started?

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Booking a consultation at SaviChildCare is the first step towards helping your child achieve their full potential. During your initial visit, our team will conduct a thorough assessment to understand your child's specific needs and develop a customized therapy plan. You can expect a welcoming environment where your concerns and questions are addressed with care and professionalism.

To book a consultation or learn more about our services, please contact us at [Contact Information]. Our center is conveniently located in Pune, making it accessible for families across the region.

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Conclusion

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Oral Placement Therapy offers a unique and effective approach to improving speech and oral motor skills in children with special needs. At SaviChildCare, we are dedicated to providing the highest quality care and support for your child's development. We invite you to book a consultation and discover how our specialized therapies can make a difference in your child's life.

For more information or to stay updated with our latest offerings, sign up for our newsletter or reach out to us directly. Let SaviChildCare be your partner in your child's journey towards growth and success.

[sunaleisocial]

Interactive mouthpiece opens new opportunities for health data, assistive technology, and hands-free interactions

New Post has been published on https://sunalei.org/news/interactive-mouthpiece-opens-new-opportunities-for-health-data-assistive-technology-and-hands-free-interactions/

Interactive mouthpiece opens new opportunities for health data, assistive technology, and hands-free interactions

When you think about hands-free devices, you might picture Alexa and other voice-activated in-home assistants, Bluetooth earpieces, or asking Siri to make a phone call in your car. You might not imagine using your mouth to communicate with other devices like a computer or a phone remotely. 

Thinking outside the box, MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and Aarhus University researchers have now engineered “MouthIO,” a dental brace that can be fabricated with sensors and feedback components to capture in-mouth interactions and data. This interactive wearable could eventually assist dentists and other doctors with collecting health data and help motor-impaired individuals interact with a phone, computer, or fitness tracker using their mouths.

Resembling an electronic retainer, MouthIO is a see-through brace that fits the specifications of your upper or lower set of teeth from a scan. The researchers created a plugin for the modeling software Blender to help users tailor the device to fit a dental scan, where you can then 3D print your design in dental resin. This computer-aided design tool allows users to digitally customize a panel (called PCB housing) on the side to integrate electronic components like batteries, sensors (including detectors for temperature and acceleration, as well as tongue-touch sensors), and actuators (like vibration motors and LEDs for feedback). You can also place small electronics outside of the PCB housing on individual teeth.

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MouthIO: Fabricating Customizable Oral User Interfaces with Integrated Sensing and Actuation Video: MIT CSAIL

The active mouth

“The mouth is a really interesting place for an interactive wearable and can open up many opportunities, but has remained largely unexplored due to its complexity,” says senior author Michael Wessely, a former CSAIL postdoc and senior author on a paper about MouthIO who is now an assistant professor at Aarhus University. “This compact, humid environment has elaborate geometries, making it hard to build a wearable interface to place inside. With MouthIO, though, we’ve developed a new kind of device that’s comfortable, safe, and almost invisible to others. Dentists and other doctors are eager about MouthIO for its potential to provide new health insights, tracking things like teeth grinding and potentially bacteria in your saliva.”

The excitement for MouthIO’s potential in health monitoring stems from initial experiments. The team found that their device could track bruxism (the habit of grinding teeth) by embedding an accelerometer within the brace to track jaw movements. When attached to the lower set of teeth, MouthIO detected when users grind and bite, with the data charted to show how often users did each.

Wessely and his colleagues’ customizable brace could one day help users with motor impairments, too. The team connected small touchpads to MouthIO, helping detect when a user’s tongue taps their teeth. These interactions could be sent via Bluetooth to scroll across a webpage, for example, allowing the tongue to act as a “third hand” to open up a new avenue for hands-free interaction.

“MouthIO is a great example how miniature electronics now allow us to integrate sensing into a broad range of everyday interactions,” says study co-author Stefanie Mueller, the TIBCO Career Development Associate Professor in the MIT departments of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Mechanical Engineering and leader of the HCI Engineering Group at CSAIL. “I’m especially excited about the potential to help improve accessibility and track potential health issues among users.”

Molding and making MouthIO

To get a 3D model of your teeth, you can first create a physical impression and fill it with plaster. You can then scan your mold with a mobile app like Polycam and upload that to Blender. Using the researchers’ plugin within this program, you can clean up your dental scan to outline a precise brace design. Finally, you 3D print your digital creation in clear dental resin, where the electronic components can then be soldered on. Users can create a standard brace that covers their teeth, or opt for an “open-bite” design within their Blender plugin. The latter fits more like open-finger gloves, exposing the tips of your teeth, which helps users avoid lisping and talk naturally.

This “do it yourself” method costs roughly $15 to produce and takes two hours to be 3D-printed. MouthIO can also be fabricated with a more expensive, professional-level teeth scanner similar to what dentists and orthodontists use, which is faster and less labor-intensive.

Compared to its closed counterpart, which fully covers your teeth, the researchers view the open-bite design as a more comfortable option. The team preferred to use it for beverage monitoring experiments, where they fabricated a brace capable of alerting users when a drink was too hot. This iteration of MouthIO had a temperature sensor and a monitor embedded within the PCB housing that vibrated when a drink exceeded 65 degrees Celsius (or 149 degrees Fahrenheit). This could help individuals with mouth numbness better understand what they’re consuming.

In a user study, participants also preferred the open-bite version of MouthIO. “We found that our device could be suitable for everyday use in the future,” says study lead author and Aarhus University PhD student Yijing Jiang. “Since the tongue can touch the front teeth in our open-bite design, users don’t have a lisp. This made users feel more comfortable wearing the device during extended periods with breaks, similar to how people use retainers.”

The team’s initial findings indicate that MouthIO is a cost-effective, accessible, and customizable interface, and the team is working on a more long-term study to evaluate its viability further. They’re looking to improve its design, including experimenting with more flexible materials, and placing it in other parts of the mouth, like the cheek and the palate. Among these ideas, the researchers have already prototyped two new designs for MouthIO: a single-sided brace for even higher comfort when wearing MouthIO while also being fully invisible to others, and another fully capable of wireless charging and communication.

Jiang, Mueller, and Wessely’s co-authors include PhD student Julia Kleinau, master’s student Till Max Eckroth, and associate professor Eve Hoggan, all of Aarhus University. Their work was supported by a Novo Nordisk Foundation grant and was presented at ACM’s Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology.

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Pros and cons of using an Electric toothbrush

Good oral hygiene is key to overall health, and using the right tools can greatly enhance your dental care routine. Electric toothbrushes have become increasingly popular, offering both pros and cons. Additionally, understanding your toothpaste by breaking down its common ingredients can further boost your oral care efforts.

This blog covers the pros and cons of electric toothbrushes for better oral care decisions.

Pros of Using an Electric Toothbrush

1. Superior Cleaning Power

One of the main advantages of an electric toothbrush is its superior cleaning power. Electric toothbrushes are designed to provide a more thorough clean than manual brushes. The oscillating, rotating, or vibrating brush heads can reach areas difficult to access with a manual toothbrush. Studies show that electric toothbrushes can remove more plaque and reduce the risk of gingivitis more effectively than their manual counterparts.

2. Ease of Use

Electric toothbrushes handle most of the effort for you. All you need to do is guide the brush head to the right areas, and the motorized movement takes care of the cleaning. This makes them particularly helpful for people with limited mobility, such as older adults, those with arthritis, or individuals with conditions like carpal tunnel syndrome. The convenience of not having to apply pressure or make manual brushing motions can lead to a more consistent brushing routine.

3. Built-In Timers

Many electric toothbrushes come with built-in timers that ensure you brush for the dentist-recommended two minutes. Some even have pacers that signal when it’s time to move on to a different quadrants of your mouth, ensuring that every section gets equal attention. This feature helps prevent rushed brushing sessions and promotes better oral hygiene.

4. Fun and Engaging for Children

Getting children to brush their teeth can be a challenge, but electric toothbrushes often come in fun designs and colors that can make brushing more exciting for them. Some even have features like musical cues or apps that guide children through proper brushing techniques, turning it into an enjoyable activity. This can help instill good oral hygiene habits from an early age.

5. Gentler on Gums

Many electric toothbrushes have pressure sensors that alert you when brushing too hard, a common mistake that can lead to gum irritation or recession. The controlled movements of the brush head also make it easier to apply gentle pressure, reducing the risk of damaging sensitive gums.

Cons of Using an Electric Toothbrush

1. Cost

One of the biggest disadvantages of electric toothbrushes is their cost. They are significantly more expensive than manual toothbrushes. While you can find budget-friendly electric toothbrushes, high-end models with advanced features can be pricey. Additionally, replacing brush heads adds up over time, making it a more expensive option in the long run.

2. Maintenance and Durability

Unlike manual toothbrushes, electric toothbrushes require charging or battery replacement, which can be inconvenient. You will need to ensure the toothbrush is adequately powered before each use, and if it runs out of charge during a brushing session, you may need to switch back to a manual brush temporarily. Additionally, while electric toothbrushes are generally durable, they are prone to malfunction if dropped or exposed to water, and replacing a broken electric toothbrush is far costlier than replacing a manual one.

3. Portability

Traveling with an electric toothbrush can be cumbersome compared to a simple manual toothbrush. They are bulkier and often come with a charging dock or spare batteries that need to be packed. Additionally, if you forget your charger, you may find yourself unable to use the toothbrush for an extended trip, making it less convenient than a manual toothbrush.

4. Learning Curve

Although electric toothbrushes are designed to be easy to use, there can be a learning curve, especially if you have been using a manual brush your entire life. Some users may find it uncomfortable or ticklish at first, and it may take some time to get used to the sensation of the brush’s vibrations or oscillations in your mouth.

Little do users know that the electrical toothbrush doesn’t need a manual movement. As opposed to a manual tooth brush the electric toothbrush has to be held lightly in order to do its job. If the electric toothbrush is used like a manual one, it could lead to gum recession and abrasion of the tooth enamel.

5. Over-Reliance on Technology

While electric toothbrushes are effective, they should not be seen as a substitute for proper brushing techniques. There is a risk that users may become overly reliant on the electric toothbrush to do all the work and neglect proper brushing habits. It’s still important to guide the brush head across all surfaces of the teeth and ensure thorough cleaning, even with an electric toothbrush.

Should you invest in an Electric brush? Yes or No?

Ultimately, whether an electric toothbrush is right for you depends on your personal preferences, lifestyle, and budget. If you are looking for a way to enhance your oral hygiene routine and don’t mind the additional cost, an electric toothbrush can be a worthwhile investment. On the other hand, if you are comfortable with a manual toothbrush and consistently practice good oral care habits, you may find that a manual brush is perfectly sufficient for your needs. Whichever you choose, maintaining a regular brushing and flossing routine is the key to a healthy smile.

Electric toothbrushes are popular for their effective cleaning and ease of use, especially for those with mobility challenges or young children. While their cost, maintenance, and portability may be concerns, gentle and caring dentistry ensures that your oral health remains well-managed, no matter the tool.

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Choosing the Right Orthodontic Specialists Your Perfect Smile

Orthodontic treatment is a large step in the direction of attaining a beautiful, healthy smile. Whether you want braces, aligners, or different orthodontic answers, choosing the proper experts to manual you thru the procedure is essential. At Motor City Smiles, we are proud to provide superb orthodontic care in Ferndale, helping patients of all ages gain the smile of their desires. If you're attempting to find Ferndale Orthodontics services, right here's why our Ferndale Orthodontic Specialists are the right desire for you.

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Orthodontic remedy is about more than just aesthetics. Correcting problems such as misaligned tooth, overbites, and underbites can enhance your oral fitness, preventing destiny problems like tooth decay, gum ailment, and jaw ache. A instantly smile also can increase your confidence, improving your exceptional of existence both personally and professionally.

At Motor City Smiles, our crew of Ferndale Orthodontic Specialists works with you to decide the pleasant treatment options based on your unique dental needs. We offer personalized care to make certain you get the satisfactory effects within the shortest time possible.

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Orthodontic Treatment for All Ages

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Schedule Your Consultation Today

At Motor City Smiles, we consider that everyone deserves a assured, wholesome smile. Our Ferndale Orthodontic Specialists are dedicated to imparting top-notch care tailored on your individual needs. From your first session to the finishing touch of your treatment, we are with you every step of the manner.

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