#Para:Alex

[parksfabray-blog]

Tell Me No Lies | Fabray Siblings

Parker: was nervous about calling her brother, since it feels like everything was happening so fast that her mood could change from being happy to being sad. She scrolled through her phone as she excused herself as Avery was playing with Dom and shut her bedroom door behind her. She clicked on Alex's name and wanted him to pick up.

[harrystyles-malik-blog]

Harry walked into the house after getting home from Alex’s doctor’s appointment. They had formulated a new plan to help manage all of his issues and he hoped that the combination of things would work this time. He really didn’t want to have to take any further action so all Harry could do was hope that this combination would be the mix of things that helped. He turns back to look at Alex and speaks up, “I’m gonna run and pick up your new pills. Will you behave until I get back?” @alexanderstyles-malik

[wickedninaryback]

The World Beyond || Alex, Zoey, Lauren, Ophelia, Emily, Nora, & Nina

Tagging: Alex, Zoey, Lauren, Ophelia, Emily, Nora, & Nina

Location: RIAP 

Date: July 7, 2017

Notes: The girls are summoned when the pain of losing Nina overbears Alex. They must make a tough decision, and Alex must take a trip to the Spirit World. 

Alex continued to scream violently as the last hunter fell to the ground, tears still were falling from her eyes. Watching as the ghosts around her disappeared now that their job was done, she dropped to her knees. Even though they were dead it didn’t replace her loss, it didn’t bring Nina back. Looking towards the dead body next to and Alex screamed out in pain as she put both hands over her mouth. “I’m so sorry.” Shaking as she pulled Nina’s lifeless body to her. Letting her tears fall onto Nina’s blood stained dress as pulled her closer. There was blood now covering her hands and clothes. “Please, Nina.” Begging the girl she was clothing onto for life, even though she knew there wouldn’t be a response. “I need you. Please come back.” Screaming again as she grabbed at the fabric of Nina’s clothing. Silently praying to whatever deity that may be listening. Offering up various things like her magic, happiness, money, or whatever they needed. All she wanted was Nina back, but her prayers fell on deaf ears. “You promised me that you wouldn’t leave, Ryback. It’s not far. You don’t get to leave me, not like this.” Not bothering to wipe her face that was red from her screaming and crying. Holding onto Nina even tighter as she shook, she couldn’t let go. She wasn’t sure if she could ever let go. “Come back, please! I’m begging you!” Alex asked angrily as she rested her head on top of Nina’s. “Please.”

Zoey felt as though the day couldn’t get any work. This attack was…brutal. She was so thankful for the glasses that she wore that aided in her aim, and pinpointed weak spots. She still had one of the hunter’s guns when she felt the familiar feeling of teleporting except she wasn’t doing it. The feeling made her heart sink because there had to be something bad occurring with one of the girls for this to happen. She didn’t even explain to Ophelia what was happening, instinctively she grabbed her hand. “Oh, God, it’s happening again! Hold on to me,” she instructed. One minute they were in the earth dorms and the next she and Ophelia were outside and all she saw were hunters lying dead, but the screams practically ripped her heart in half. It was Alex and the air witch she knew to be Alex’s friend. She put her hand to her mouth because she was…she was dead. Zoey didn’t know Nina but the sight brought tears to her own eyes. “Alex…” Zoey said, touching her shoulder. She was still holding Ophelia’s hand, forgetting to let go for a second probably afraid to let go especially in the middle of what looked like a war zone and had been.

Lauren had one thought replaying in her head as she watched the scene unfold: What the hell. All in the matter of what felt like a few seconds Nina had fallen, Alex had screamed, the hunters all died because of it, and now she felt like she was having déjà vu. It was only a couple of months ago she’d held a bloodied rag to someone’s wound and watched them slip away, leaving their crying best friend and Lauren in their wake. Why did it have to be happening again? She couldn’t wrap her mind around Nina being dead. The two of them were supposed to get through these together. They always found each other. And what the hell was she going to tell Isaac and Zach? Her knuckles were turning white from how tightly she gripped her bloodied sweater that she’d held to Nina’s wound as she looked down at the girl's body. She didn’t even react as Alex grabbed onto Nina and held her. Lauren couldn’t process what was happening, because Nina couldn’t be dead. She was Nina Ryback—this didn’t happen to her. Alex’s screams sounded like they were miles away, and she barely even noticed as the other girls from the circle started to appear. “Alex,” she said, her voice monotone as she reached out to place a hand on the older girl’s shoulder. “Alex, please…” She shook her head as tears formed in her eyes. “Alex.” Her voice cracked. She didn’t know what else she could say. She just watched like she had last time, only now she felt no need or desire to get up from where they sat or to get somewhere safe.

Ophelia had been exhausted from fending off hunters, but her, Zoey and Isaac had succeeded. No injuries had occurred and she was thankful for that. Looking towards Zoey, she didn't even realize the girl had grabbed her hand. "What? What's happening again? Are you okay?" Before she even knew what was happening, she was in a completely different place. All she heard was screams and, when she turned her head to see who it was, she saw that it was Alex. And, in her arms, she saw Nina laying limp. "Nina." Ophelia held tighter to Zoey's hand and then looked back and forth between both girls. "Isaac. You should've brought Isaac." That was all she could think of. If they had known what was happening, she was sure that would have been her first option. Ophelia would've preferred if Zoey took Isaac instead of her. But here they were. And now she worried for Isaac. "What just happened?"

Nora couldn't believe this was happening again and so soon. However, there was part of her that was glad. Ever since she heard the hunters killed her parents, she had been looking for her opportunity to get them back. Part of her worried if Declan had noticed the extra power Nora had been using against the hunters, but she also didn't care. They were getting exactly what they deserved and she would kill as many as she had to in order to get the message through. In what felt like a small moment of silence, Nora suddenly felt like she was starting to teleport somewhere. She had only experienced it a small number of times, so the feeling was odd and she didn't know what was happening, because she surly wasn't in control. Finally she ended up somewhere outside and looked around to figure out where she was. "Shit!" She called out as her thoughts went back to Declan. He had been left in the middle of a hunter attack, but she didn't know why or how. As she heard screams, her body turned to see Alex and the other girls sitting around someone's dead body. Quickly she moved towards the group only to notice Alex clutching the somewhat familiar looking witch in her arms. It made her heart stop for a second and she felt like tears were starting to form, but she took a deep breath and focused on the girls in front of her. "What happened?" She asked softly.

Emily had just wanted a family dinner. A FAMILY DINNER. Why was that so hard? They'd managed to hold the staff dorms but she'd failed to protect Mason. Once again the hunters were hurting the people she loved. She sighed, rubbing her temples, and all of the sudden she was being pulled away again like she had with Nora. First she wondered how she would explain this to her family. Then she was worried. Who was hurt? What was wrong? Suddenly she was surrounded by dead hunters. Alex was crying over- Emily's heart nearly stopped. Nina. This couldn't be happening. Tears started to fall, and she ran over, dropping to the ground near the other girls, surrounding Nina. She couldn't even put words together. The hunters had gone too far.

Alex feeling people touching her made Alex jerk, she moved closer to Nina so she was away from their hands. “Don’t touch me!” Screaming to the two girls next to her as she clutched onto Nina tighter, her tears slid down her face as they fell onto the limp body she was holding. Feeling her lungs tighten as she cried harder, it felt like the air was being sucked away as time passed. All she wanted was for everyone to just leave, for them to all go back to their lives and leave her here with Nina. “Just go away, please.” Begging the girls as she finally looked at them. “Just get out of here please.” Giving another scream as the pain inside of her built up once more, this felt like the only way she could actually release it. Digging her nails into Nina’s skin as shook more violently, she felt like if she let go it was going to kill her. “Nina, please. Come on please. You can comeback, I know you can.” Whispering in Nina’s ear as she ran her hand over Nina’s dark hair, she just prayed that Nina would wake up. That Nina was wrong than this and she could pull herself back. Resting her head on Nina’s shoulder as she sobbed, she just thought back to the memories she’d made with Nina.

Zoey turned to Ophelia when she mentioned Isaac. “It happened so fast I would have grabbed him too.” She just hoped he was okay because the news that his girlfriend was dead wasn’t going to be pretty. She knew how much this would hurt. As the other girls started filtering in, she wished there was more that they could do. Suddenly her hand went to the second charm on her bracelet. The book. She and Alex had talked about her other magic, but since it hadn’t manifested that was all they could do - talk. There was something there about resurrection, but she didn’t think Alex would like the costs. “Alex, what if…what if you could resurrect her?” It wasn’t a guarantee because it depended on her pulling from the strength of all four girls, and it also depended on how ready the dead was to come back, along with the price that the spirit child had to pay. A life for a life. Just the thought made her shiver. She didn’t even want to say it out loud. Didn’t even want the other girls to know Alex’s price if she truly wanted this and the consequences didn’t even stop there.

Lauren pulled her hand away when Alex jerked back from her touch. “I’m sorry,” she muttered. “I’m sorry." She looked down at her hands and while she’d become numb to the sight of blood after the first bonding circle, knowing that the blood on her hands was Nina’s made her feel nauseous and light-headed. She wanted to beg her to come back too., but she bit her lip and kept her hands balled into fists as Alex continued to beg Nina to come back. Her head whipped around when she heard what Zoey said, finally acknowledging the fact that the other girls were there but not enough to register or question why Ophelia was there too. “Resurrect?” she questioned. Would there ever be a day where all of this magic stopped surprising her? Probably not. “She can do that?” She looked between Zoey and Alex then to Nina’s body and knowing that if she and the others needed to help in any way, Lauren would do it without a doubt. She looked back up at Zoey. “How? How does that work?”

Ophelia: When a bunch of people started showing up, Ophelia started looking around. She shouldn't have been here. But Zoey had brought her. And Alex was here. And so was Nina. Nina, who was... Then she heard Alex screaming again and all she saw was Lauren backing up. Once Zoey started talking, she let go of her hand and knelt down in front of Alex. She didn't care if the girl had just told everyone else not to touch her. This was her best friend. No matter how mad she was at her, she was not letting her go through this alone. Placing her hands on Alex's face, she lifted it to look at her. "Breathe. Do not lose control. You are capable of a lot more than you give yourself credit for. And, if you can bring her back, you can do that, too. Hey," she paused and looked right into Alex's eyes. "I love you, okay? You can do anything. Isn't that what Nina would want you to do? Anything?"

Nora was looking from one person to the next as she was still taking in the situation. Alex clearly didn't want anyone to be here, but Nora didn't blame her. Even now she still wasn't up to seeing people. Her eyes moved over to Lauren and she noticed the blood on her hands, so she took a small step towards the other girl and placed a hand on her shoulder before giving a small reassuring smile. Her eyes moved once more when Zoey spoke and she paused. Since when could they resurrect people? It wasn't something she felt like needed to be asked right now, but more about how it could happen and they could bring their friend back from the dead. "What needs to be done?" Nora spoke, knowing that she needed to help her fellow circle member in any way she could.

Emily was overwhelmed. Alex's screams tore right into her heart, breaking it into more pieces. She didn't know how to help. She didn't know anything any more. How did they get Nina? She was so strong. Emily gave Alex space, her body shaking as she cried. Then Zoey started talking, and Emily turned to look at her, not daring to be hopeful. Resurrection? She sniffled, wiping at her face and for the first time since being teleported there she tried to talk. "How. How can we do it, how can I help." She turned back to face Nina, lifeless on the ground. "I will do whatever it takes to help." Also, Ophelia was here. Emily didn't even have time to really question how or why she had come along with Zoey, and was honestly just glad to have someone else here.

Alex could feel the ache in her chest from the pain she was feeling, she felt like she was going die at any moment. Tears still fell down Alex’s face as she listened to the chaos around her and she could only make out a few words. At the word resurrect Alex turned her head towards Zoey as she gripped onto Nina’s lifeless body. She tried to make out the other words around it to hear exactly what Zoey was saying, but it all sounded like another language. At Ophelia touching her Alex jumped slightly from the contact, but she allowed it. Letting her blue eyes meet Ophelia’s hazel eyes as she cried, she did her best to try and stay focused. Taking in a deep breath as she tried to control the now five elements coursing through her veins, but she could feel the magic itching to escape. Each element wanted to come to light and to have it’s moment, but right now she needed to save them. More pressing matters were at hang than her element problems. Listening to Ophelia, she nodded softly, she had the chance to bring Nina back. The change to bring back Nina, she knew it wasn’t even a question. She needed Nina back. “I love you too.” Lifting one hand off Nina’s body and she placed it against Ophelia’s hand. Turning her head towards Zoey as she looked at and nodded. “How do we bring her back? I’ll do whatever it takes it doesn’t matter the cost. Just tell me how we do this.”

Zoey waited for Alex to say she wanted to bring back her friend before she whispered the incantation for the book on her bracelet to return to life size. She turned straight to the page that spoke of spirit magic and resurrection. “You and Nina will be in the middle of the circle. Each of us will hold hands as we channel our strength and chant: Viața și moartea sunt împletite, cu dragoste și încredere în fiecare inimă care se va lega pentru a se reînvia.” Life and death are intertwined, with love and trust each heart will bind in order to revive. While we are chanting this, you will chant: Intrând în lumea spiritelor vin să găsesc spiritul celui în care se definește iubirea și încrederea mea. Cu această magie, spiritele noastre se leagă.” Entering the world of spirits I come to find the spirit of the one in who my love and trust are defined. With this magic let our spirits bind. “You’re going to pass out, Alex. You have to enter the spirit world and you have to bring her back, but only if she agrees. You can only bring her back if you truly love and trust her. Our chanting keeps the portal open, but you can’t stay long because it will drain us. If one girl,” she paused to look at each girl, “stops or breaks the chant for some reason, we could lose the both,” Zoey warned. “Ophelia, could you make sure that none of us break the chant?” She knew in her heart that ths would put a heavy burden on Alex, but it might be worth the risk. “Alex, do you want to know the consequences now or later?”

Lauren felt more tears prick her eyes when she felt someone place their hand on her shoulder and she turned to see that it was Nora. She gave her a small smile as she met her gaze. “Thank you.” She couldn’t articulate how grateful she was to Nora in that moment, especially because of everything she was sure Nora was still dealing with after the death of her parents. She turned to Alex and felt relieved when she pulled herself together enough to say she’d bring Nina back. That was all Lauren needed to pull her own self together and take a deep breath; there was still hope. She listened to Zoey carefully, suddenly worried about having to speak that mysterious language again but willing to become fluent in it if it was going to help bring Nina back. She nodded along to Zoey’s instructions, wiping her hands on her pants so none of the other girls were forced to feel Nina’s blood on their hands. She sat back more so Nora could be beside her, then turned to Ophelia when Zoey asked her to watch them. “You have full permission to slap me if it’s necessary,” she told her. Yet she knew that if it was keeping Alex and Nina safe, she was not about to let herself pass out or mess up. She finally looked at Emily too and tried to give her a reassuring smile. She knew Emily would do anything for her family and Nina was close to all the Bryants. She wanted her to know there was hope and that no one in that circle was going to let Nina stay dead. Lauren then ran the saying over and over again in her mind to make sure she knew what to do.

Ophelia stayed quiet as Zoey spoke about how to bring Nina back. This was something she couldn’t really help with, but she was going to be here through it all. After all, she had no choice in the matter since there were probably hunters still lingering about on campus. Nevertheless, she was still ready to help. When she heard her name, she looked up. "I'll try my best," she said in response to Zoey. As she turned her head to look at Alex again, she let out a sigh. “Should I move out of the circle or...?” The question was more directed at Zoey than anyone else since she seemed to know most of the information.

Nora smiled at Lauren and gave a small nod of her head before turning back to Zoey. She listened to the instructions quietly, trying to remember the words they needed to say. This was going to be a lot more than she needed for the day, but she knew everyone was probably in the same boat right now. Her eyes moved to the other members of the circle and the other girl who was here, Ophelia. "Whatever it takes to bring your friend back, Alex." She spoke, knowing that if she had been in the same situation, she would do whatever it took. Her eyes moved back to Zoey and the circle girls before standing up again. "Let's get this going, shall we?"

Emily listened very carefully to Zoey telling them what to say. Unlike the last time they had been doing rituals like this, she wouldn't have time to practice, and this was not a situation she was willing to mess up. She didn't like that Zoey was mentioning a price, but she wanted Nina back. She just wished that it wasn't all on Alex like this. Not because she was worried it would be too hard, if there was someone who could drag Nina back from literally being dead, it was definitely Alex. She just felt helpless in a way. She could keep the portal open for Alex, but that was all she was going to be able to do to help, and it wasn't enough. She looked over at Lauren, determination settling in on her face and nodded. She didn't know that she was going to end up so close and tied to all of these people when she agreed to do the circle, but she was glad she had. She threw her hair into a ponytail, ready to start. "Nothing like a good old chanting circle to really set the mood, am I right ladies?"

Zoey nodded to Ophelia at her question. “Yes, I don’t know if it’d take everyone inside the circle, or not so to be safe, stand outside of it. Okay, ladies, form a circle around Alex and hold hands.” Zoey sat the book down in front of her. With the amount of magic this was going to take, she couldn’t cast an illusion to keep them safe from anyone should they happen upon them. “Alex, start chanting when we all do, okay?” Zoey repeated the words that Alex would say one more time: Intrând în lumea spiritelor vin să găsesc spiritul celui în care se definește iubirea și încrederea mea. Cu această magie, spiritele noastre se leagă. “Okay girls. I’ll say it once and then we start ours.  Viața și moartea sunt împletite, cu dragoste și încredere în fiecare inimă care se va lega pentru a se reînvia,” she began to chant then.

Alex stayed in her position as she held tightly onto Nina and she knew that she needed to let go. At least for a few moments, she laid Nina easily back against the warm ground. Putting her hands on Nina's face as she looked down at her dead friend. Keeping Nina's hand in hers as she listened to What Zoey was telling her. Nodding at Zoey's words as she looked around to each girl, she gave each of them a weak smile. Mostly to thank them for all they were doing for her right now. None of them had to do this, they could have simply said no, but here they all sat around her. Letting her eyes rest on Ophelia as she looked at the brunette girl, she just stared for a long moment. "I'll be back. I love you." With that she turned away and started to chant her words to the group around her. As she said it a final time she felt everything go black, she passed out on top of Nina.

Michael had been here for only God knew how long. Time was different here, or rather time was absent here. There were old friends here, people roaming through this world, this place. Everyone seemed to have their own little corner, their own world just behind each door. His was a world where he could watch out for Zoey and his parents. It was a room of televisions and his favorite beer and chair, and cupcakes it wasn’t the best life and something felt as though it was missing, always and it was always cold here, reminding him that he was dead. That life got boring living in your own room alone, so spirits often visited one another. He was lingering in the hall, really with no destination planned just planned to chat up whoever else seemed to be bored of their own personal world when he saw a familiar face that shouldn’t have been here. “Alex?” he asked. “What are you…are you?” Funny he was dead but couldn’t say the word.

Alex didn’t know exactly what she expected in the spirit world, but this wasn’t it. Walking down the dark hallway as she wrapped her arm around herself. She just kept walking as she passed numerous rooms all with the door shut, she didn’t dare to open them, mostly because of the fear of what lurked behind them. Some doors were meant to stay shut. Looking down at her shoes as she walked faster, she didn’t know how she was going to find Nina especially with all of these doors. Checking every door in this place would take years. Hearing the familiar voice made Alex stop as she tenses up, she looked up to see Michael a few feet away. Instantly her heart started to ache, she felt the loss not for herself, but for Zoey. She knew that Zoey would have given anything to be here with Michael for a moment longer, to at least have a goodbye with him. “No– I’m alive still. I’m just looking for Nina.” Admitting sadly as she looked down. She couldn’t help but wonder if just maybe she could bring back Michael too, this way Zoey could have her happy ending.

Michael nodded then. He breathed a sigh of relief, not wanting Zoey to have lost him and Alex in what he thought was a short time, but he didn’t know anymore. “Oh…oh Nina’s…hunters I presume,” he asked, but figured that was the only way he could see his former student going. “She’d be with the Rybacks. Just above each door is a letter, first of our last names. New doors pop up all the time the halls extend and twist and turn, it’s never ending,” he informed then. Michael almost didn’t want to ask, but he figured why not. “If you have the time could you tell her something for me?” he asked Alex. He knew she knew which her he was referring to.

Alex had to admit she was just as relieved as Michael was that she wasn’t dead. “Yeah, she died just a bit ago and I’m trying to bring her back.” Biting her lip as she nervously rubbed her arms. “So many people’s last names start with R so this is going to take a hot second.” Giving him a small smile, but she was truly thankful for the help he’d just provided her. “Yeah, I’ll tell her anything Michael. Just tell me whatever you want her to know.” She figured it was the least she could do after how horrible she’d been to Zoey over the past few months. This was also a way to help give Zoey the closure to her former relationship that she hadn’t got.

Michael nodded. “I wish you luck. I don’t wish this, on anyone not that early in life. There are but she’s Nina I’m sure you’ll find her easily, and Ryback is probably near the end of the Rs.” He tried to be as helpful as he could. For a moment, Michael opened his door. So that Alex could see the tvs in his room. “I’ve got three tvs in here, one of my parents one channel is all Zoey, and one is the Food Network, but she’s never far, and I see her struggling. I just…I need you to let her know that I love her. That I’ve always loved her and I never stopped. It was stupid of me to end things but I was scared of how much I loved her, of how full of love I was with her and how I’d never felt this way before. She’s always been my heart, and don’t tell her this part but I am waiting and it can be a long wait for the day I see her again. But I just want her to know that she’s a Kingsley, and I wouldn’t change our story. I want her to be happy, I’m watching over her and I just want her to find happiness. It’s okay to let me go because I’m never far. Tell her to stop living in those illusions and pick up her camera again. So she knows it’s really me, tell her that I love her more than cupcakes.” If he could feel pain, he would but pain was earthy and he was just empty, but he still held onto his love for his parents and his fiancé. “Also tell her thank you for looking after my parents. Thank you, Alex for doing this and I hope you find Nina.”

Alex just simply nodded to him as he mentioned wishing her luck. She truly needed it right now. How in. The world was she going to find Nina in all of this mess. As Michael started talking Alex looked into the room, she could see Zoey sitting there as still as possible, she could see his parents. Feeling the tears already starting to fall as he talked, she didn’t bother to wipe them away. Instead she focused on listening to him while he talked, she wanted to remember as much of this as she could for Zoey. “I’ll tell her everything I promise.” Wiping the tears that were streaming down her face away as she just looked at him. “Michael wait–” Reaching out to him, but her hand went right through his arm. Realizing that she couldn’t touch him broke her heart, she knew that there was no real way she could bring him back for Zoey as much as she wanted to. Instead all she could actually bring Zoey were his words. “I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to bring you back to her. She loves you so much, Michael. I’m sorry that you’re apart, if I could I…” Trailing off as she wiped her nose and some of the other tears that were falling. “Rest easy Michael.” Waving goodbye to him as she just stood there for a long moment crying.

Michael knew she wouldn’t be able to touch him, but if only he’d have hugged her at least so she could take that back to Zoey. He nodded at her words. “Hey, Alex, tell her to listen to In Case You Didn’t Know, by Brett Young, sums things up perfectly…it was going to be our first dance at the reception,” he said simply before disappearing into his room once more.

Jack Mooney was sitting in the room he shared with his wife, listening as she messed with the roses. It had been hard being down here, even though it was just the beginning of it all. The hardest part was coping with the idea that they were away from their daughter. Nora had been the biggest thing in their lives, and they didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye. It was why their room looked like the family garden they had back at their house. There was Earth for the women in his life, and water for him. While he was able to keep Lily calm for the most part as they got used to it, he felt like her wasn’t going to do well for much longer, knowing how much pain their daughter was in. As he stood there he heard something outside and moved to the doorway, only to notice a girl who looked about Nora’s age wondering around, looking lost. “Hey there, Lass.” he called out. “Is there someone you’re looking for?”

Lily Mooney knew that there was no pain here, but she could have sworn that she felt the pain of being away from her daughter. She didn’t want to be reunited with her here, but she did want Nora to know that everything was okay even if she didn’t feel it was so right now. It could have been worst, she was at least here, sharing this afterlife with Jack. When he moved to the doorway, she frowned, not far from him. “Who’s there, Jack?” Seeing a young woman always made her feel as though the pain had returned. It always made her think of how Nora could be next and she didn’t want that. “Can we help you?”

Alex felt her heart growing heavier by the moment and when Michael mentioned his wedding song with Zoey she lost it. Hugging herself as she cried. She did her best to try and pull it together, even though she didn’t know if it was possible right now. At new people appearing Alex became more nervous, she wasn’t sure who else might pop out at her. “I’m just looking for Nina Ryback. I’m sorry to both you lovely people.” Frowning as she looked at them, they had a sense of familiarity to them that she couldn’t place for the life of her. “I’m sorry you both are down here.”

Jack Mooney looked at the girl with a little confusion when she spoke. He didn’t understand why she was sorry that they were down here, when he was sorry she wasn’t….Unless. “Are you not like the rest of us?” He asked, wanting to avoid the word dead if he could. When she spoke the name, he shook his head and gave a shrug of his shoulders. “I don’t know anyone by the name of Ryback,” He spoke as his thick accent made the name sound different. “But we have a couple old pals down that way and I can tell you that you aren’t too far off. I mean, you made it to Mooney, so you are almost out of the M’s.” He assured the girl.

Lily Mooney shook her head then. “No, dear, I’m sorry that you’re down here. You can’t be much older than our Nora, and I’d hate to see her here.” She didn’t want that day to come. “The Reinharts are close, down the way take a left. The Rs end the hall If you make a right at the end you’ve gone to S. If you run into Reinharts tell ‘em Mooney sent you, I’m sure they’d help.”

Alex frowned at him asking about her being like the rest of them, she moved some hair out of her face. "I'm not. I'm still currently living." As the woman mentioned the name Nora it caused Alex to raise an eyebrow. "Are you talking about Nora Mooney?" Asking curiously as she stepped forward to the two people near her, she hoped that maybe this was actually Nora's parents. Even though they had gave her useful information for later it caused Alex to smile at the last name. "Are you Nora's parents?" Asking with even more hope than before. "You both look just like her."

Jack Mooney sighed a small breath of relief and nodded his head. "Well, then I hope you get out of here as soon as you can. You still have so much life to life." He commented. However, as their daughters name was spoken, Jack's head perked up and he smiled at the girl. "You know our Nora?" He asked more for his own sake before looking at his wife for a moment, then back to the girl in front of him. "If you're talking about a little Irish girl who is very big into music, then yes. That's our little girl." Jack spoke, trying to keep himself calm. "You wouldn't happen to know if she's okay, would you?"

Lily Mooney ’s lip practically quivered at the mention of her daughter. This girl knew Nora. “If you mean that feisty little thing, that happened to snag her mom’s sarcasm then yes, that’s her.” Part of her hoped that they could get this girl by chance to send their daughter a message since she wasn’t one of them. “If you do know her can you tell her something for us?”

Alex nodded happily at their words, she couldn't help but smile. This was Nora's parents, which warmed Alex's heart like no other. She reached out to them, wanting to see if she could touch them. Maybe since they had died more recently there was a better chance, but her hands still sadly went through them. "I do. She's--" Trailing off as she tried to thing of the right word, but it never came. Instead, Alex just went with honesty, she hoped for the best. "Sad. She misses you guys so much right now." Wrapping her arms back around herself as she talked. "I'll tell her whatever you would like me to. I promise I'll tell her."

Jack Mooney felt a little excited to hear that this girl had known their daughter. He missed her so much, but there was no way to get to her. When she mentioned their daughter being sad, his smile fell a little a bit and he looked down for a moment before looking back up at the girl. "I mean, I don't..." He looked over to Lily. "Hun, what would you want to say?"

Lily Mooney had to think on it for just a moment. She took a breath, unbelieving that this was actually happening. “I want her to know that first we love her. We never stopped and I want her to carry that with her. Don’t let this close her off, I hope that she doesn’t stop living. Just as the life and the earth flows through her I want her to know that I’m there, it’s what we share. The plants and the trees and everything about it we’ll always be connected through it. I want her to remember us, to continue to love us but to keep living too, because though we can’t continue living, we will never stop loving her. And if she’s anything like me, she’ll want revenge, but tell her to kick ass but be careful. I don’t want to see her here, or I’ll personally find a way to send her back.” She was rambling and she knew it. “Honey?” she looked at Jack in hopes that he might have something to say to make sense of her rambles like he always did.

Alex: 'It's okay for her to be sad. She just lost you guys, but she'll be okay. I promise I'll be there for her." Biting her bottom lip as Lily started to talk, she felt like she was going to cry again. Lily's saying she wanted Nora to remember them was what broke Alex and the floodgates started up once more. Crying softly as she listened to Nora's mother talk, she smiled at the end. "I'll tell her every word of this." She knew Nora would want to know ever single word. "Is there anything else you want to say sir? I'll tell her anything.”

Jack Mooney was looking at his wife as she spoke and nodded his head. Every word she said was something he felt like his daughter needed to hear. His arm moved around his wife and placed a soft kiss to the top of her head. Looking back to the girl, he gave her a soft smile. "Make sure she knows we love her with all her and to let her music flow. We're there in every note and lyric she rights. Stay strong Sweet Potato." He paused, laughing a little. "She'll know it's us if you add in the Sweet Potato." He explained. "Thank you very much for passing along the message. We hate the idea of here being along, but we know she will be strong enough to make it through." Jack continued. "And we wish you the best of luck in your search for your friend. Hopefully you two can get out of here as soon as possibly."

Alex: Listening to him and she smiled at both of them, she just stood there silently for a long moment. She couldn't imagine how hard it was for Nora to lose both of these amazing people. "I'll make sure to add that in just so she believes me. Although I don't think she'll have much trouble." Who would really make up seeing someone's parents who just died. "I'm sorry you both are here, but I hope you both rest in peace." Walking past them as she gave them both another smile. "I promise I'll check in on her often." Keeping the fact her and Nora would be tied together forever a secret because the last thing she needed was more questions. "Thank you, both." Turning her head back straight as she walked down the hall as she tried to find the family that the Mooney's were talking about. As she walked farther down the hall Alex felt a pull that was leading her to her destination. She wasn't the least bit sure how she got here, but before she knew it Alex was standing outside a door with her fingers on the handle. Opening it slowly, she kicked it opened with the front of her heel to look inside. "Nina?"

Nina laid back on the replica of the dock of the boathouse from her home in Charlotte, listening to the water flowing. In her room it was practically eternally night because it was her favorite time, watching the moon reflect against the water. Her parents sat in lawn chairs behind her and it felt as though she was almost complete. She told them all about the things she’d been up to after they’d died, and they’d asked questions enthusiastically. One thing her mother didn’t really talk about was her birth father. She figured that there was good reason behind that. Probably that it was an awkward situation and it didn’t matter now, she’d never know him. Not unless he suddenly died. “Do we sleep here?” she wondered. ”There’s not really a need. We don’t get tired. We’re spirits, dead. There’s nothing human about us anymore,” her mother informed. Nina nodded. She closed her eyes regardless. Behind her lids, she saw Isaac and she could have sworn her heart ached. She let the silence permeate the room again and they all sat in contented silence. That was until a voice cut through the silence and Nina jumped to her feet along with her parents. Seeing Alex, she was annoyed. “Cromwell, I pushed you out of the way for a reason. What the hell are you doing here?”

Alex walked into the scene and she had to admit it was beautiful, it felt real even though she knew nothing about this was real. Walking out onto the dock, she practically cried at the sight of Nina. Not even thinking Alex ran towards Nina as she pulled her in for a hug. She realized for the first time she'd been able to touch someone; being able to touch Nina made her eyes start to water. Maybe she was able to bring Nina back afterall. "I'm fine." Putting both hands on Nina's face as just stared at her happily for a moment. "I came down here to get you, to bring you back home." Rubbing her hand down Nina's arm as she locked their hands together. "Please come back with me. I don't know how to do this whole life thing without Nina Ryback beside me." Smiling towards Nina once and she gave Nina's hand a gentle squeeze.

Nina let confusion mar her features for a moment, because people didn’t open other people’s doors. People who weren’t dead also didn’t hug and touch dead people. “I’m sorry, what?” she asked, as she hugged her tightly. She was happy to see Alex, yes, but none of it changed the fact that Nina was resigned to her fate. “Alex, I’m dead. I have a room. My family is here. Hayden’s in the Ls with a Strip Club. I’d say I don’t know how to do life without you, but I’m dead so I won’t have to worry about that. There’s no pain in here,” she told her then.

Alex just licked her bottom lip as she stared at Nina, she silently prayed that Nina wouldn't fight her too much on this. "I used my spirit magic to come down here and get you. It's a long story, but the sparks note version is you can come back with me. I promise I'll explain it all later to you, but you have a chance right now. You can walk out of here with me and be a living breathing person once more. At Nina mentioning her family and then Hayden living it up in the dead her eyes flickered red as she filled with rage. Of course, Hayden was partying like the trash queen she was. While she knew she couldn't attack her right now, next time though Hayden's little spirit ass was going to be hers. Sighing as Nina continued talking and she let go of Nina's hand. "How nice it must be to not have pain." Rolling her eyes at Nina's words before she looked towards her and she let her face soften. "You don't wanna be here, Nina." Sighing heavily again as she ran a hand through her hair. "I get your in pain.... I couldn't imagine if I had lost what you had." Looking towards Nina's parents who were still on the doc. "I don't know if you ever truly come back from that so I get wanting to stay. It's nice to be numb, but that's all it is. You're numb right now. The problem with being numb though is eventually that will grow to not be enough for you anymore. Do you honestly think someone as great as you can just sit here day after day feeling nothing." Nervously playing with the ring Ophelia had given to her as she tried to find the right words to talk. "I know I can't stand here asking you to do this for me or for Isaac. It's not fair to ask that of you. I'm asking though that you look at your future though Nina. What is it? If it's here then fine I'll leave you. If it's up there though then you know what you have to do."

Nina heard what Alex was saying. She did, but she thought about the fact that once she left this world that old pain, that old hurt would come back. She could see Hayden now and the pain wasn’t there. That blind rage didn’t matter because there was nothing left. She could see her parents and her grandparents and that sadness and loss wasn’t there anymore. “Maybe I don’t want to be here, but I don’t want to be there either. Not living like that, not crying every day because of it.” Suddenly it was as if she heard Zach’s voice in her head as she’d mentioned crying. “Whatever is going on and whatever’s making you want to cry, its okay. Everybody needs to cry sometimes. I know I do. I gotchu.” She swallowed the lump in her throat thinking about her friend. “That’s the thing…I don’t come back from that. I’m going to be in pain like this forever, nothing erases it but death.” It was Mason’s voice that she heard then, telling her the opposite once upon a time. “Nina Ryback, you’re a fighter, you’re amazing, you have been through so much and come back the other side, you have more than survived, you made it, life keeps trying to knock you back and you get back up again, stronger and better.” Nina sighed, trying to drown out the memories that came back to her in painful clarity. “I’m not that great. I’ve killed so many people, it’s like Karma has caught up to me.” It was a memory of Emily that weighed in next. “I can’t wait to see who Nina is, deep down.” Followed quickly by the very person that she was talking to. “I love you, okay? If you ever need a reminder about how you’re not a monster come find me and I’ll list you a number of reasons why you’re not.” Nina sighed. This was asking her to go back to hurt. To constantly losing people and watching almost helplessly as those she loved were harmed. She did remember though that she did have those people. She had people that were there for her. She had Lauren, who’d said, “But Nina, I would never have left you behind. As much as I wish things could have been different, especially for you, I want you to know that I’m glad I found you too. And I don’t let just anyone fly me up into trees and, you know, other heights.” She had Nic and in his own Nic way expressed that he cared about her.“Nina, I keep remembering why you’re one of my favorite people every time you speak.” “Is the pain really worth it, Alex?” but as she asked, she thought of Tyler. “Whatever you need, I’m here for it. Even if it means just sitting here and letting you talk through it or if you need to get anger out or anything, I’m here for you. Always will be. Just let me know what you need.” She heaved sigh then. “Do you even think I’ll get that family and future I want? Those three kids I want two girls and a boy. Mostly named after me and Isaac and all of you. It’s only a matter of time before I lose it all because of who I am.” Yet again she recalled words that disproved that very thought this time from Isaac. “I don’t care about what we go through, I care about you. That’s the deal, babe. I love you, better or worse. Look, we go through stuff and we deal with it together. It’s not conditional, I don’t want us to ever pick and choose. I just want to be there.” If that wasn’t enough, here Alex was in the fucking spirit world to come retrieve her, defying all kinds of laws of magic. The love of her friends greatly outweighed any love that her family had ever given her. She took Alex’s hand in hers then, looking apologetically at her parents. “I think I’m going back.” She looked back at Alex. “You and the rest of them love me way more than they ever have. Take me back.” She wrapped her arms around Alex in a tight hug. “And I love you too. Even though you’re crazy enough to defy magic laws for this.”

Alex watched closely as Nina made her decision, all she could really do was stand there and wait. “Nina—“ Reaching out to touch her, but she knew she couldn’t make this decision for Nina. This had to be Nina’s decision to come back, but if she said no then Alex was prepared to drag her back. She didn’t care if the spirit world crumbled on the way back, Nina was coming back one way or another. Although Alex believed in at least giving Nina a chance to reach the right decision herself. Taking in a deep breath as she played with her ring some more, she tugged at it nervously. Shifting her weight as she bit down on her bottom lip, she knew this wasn’t looking good right. “I do actually. If anyone can get happiness and that future it’s you, Nina. You will have Lily Alexis, Isaiah Edward, and Natalia Nicole even if I have to carry these damn children and give birth to them for you. You’re getting your family do you understand me. This is happening.” Putting both hands on Nina’s face as she spoke, she was serious. She’d do anything she could to make sure this was Nina’s future even if it killed her I promise you it’s worth it. At the end of the day it’s going to be worth it.” Looking at Nina when she said she would lose it all and she shook your head. “You are so wrong Nina Cromwell. You will always have me. You are just as much blood to me as my sisters and Sera are. You’re one of us. I love you so much.” Wiping away the few tears that were falling as she talked, she had to admit she was starting to feel tired and hopeless. Holding Nina’s hand back as she looked in the same direction, she frowned at Nina’s parents. Hearing Nina say she was going back actually shocked Alex and she hugged her back tightly. “Oh thank god.” Letting out a sigh of relief as a few happy tears fell and she was holding onto Nina for dear life. “I’d only defy the laws of magic for you, babe.” Letting go of Nina slightly, she started to feel more weak. “We have to go. If you want you can take a moment to say goodbye, but my energy is draining quickly. The girls can only hold on for so long.”

Nina shook her head but smiled as she did so. “People around me die then I die. Do I look like I get happy endings? I died. I get more pain and suffering every time I try as hard as I can and things like this happen.” She didn’t want to be a downer, but what do you do when you already died? Things couldn’t get much worse. “Alex, as much as I appreciate that, I want babies that also look like me and I want to be the big house of a pregnant lady. But I died, who’s to say I won’t be back here.” Alex believed in her future more than she believed it would happen at this point. It was as if she was already preparing for the worse. “Now where were you when I was trying to change my last name? I could have used that.” It meant so much to her that she had Alex in her life and she had a sister. “I’ve always wanted a sister, somedays rather I wanted a sister.” She was too spoiled to want a full time sister. “I love you too. This couldn’t possibly have been easy and I want you to tell me what you did,” Nina said, knowing that something bad must have happened to get her out of here. She was an Occultism major, she knew that people didn’t just leave the Spirit World. “It’s fine. I don’t want to say goodbye. Just, I’ll see you guys later,” she promised. “Mom will be back topside as a ghost. I know it. Dad, you can come too.” To which her mother and father nodded. “We can go,” she told Alex.

Alex just laughed softly at Nina's words. "I mean hey most of your friends are still kicking." Although she didn't really count the hell beast that was Hayden as one of Nina's friends. She was more like the demon who had been summoned to ruin everyone's lives then die the moment she actually had to deal with any of her bullshit. "You'll get a happy ending, I swear." Giving Nina's had a squeeze as she smiled at her once more. "Hey if you die again then we'll start this all over." Shrugging lightly, she knew she wasn't lying. She didn't care if she had to do this over and over again, she'd do it for Nina. "I guess I never got the memo." Hugging Nina tightly once more before she let her go. "You know if you want to change it then you're welcome to." Offering in case Nina still wanted to change her name, she wasn't sure if she did. "It's not easy at all. I promise I'll explain it all to you later." Her body started to feel weaker as the longer they stayed in the spirit world, she tucked some hair behind her ear. "Oh okay." Giving Nina's family a weak smile as she took Nina's hand and she started to lead her out. Walking back into the hall and towards the now bright light. As they made it to light Alex looked over at Nina and smile again before she pulled Nina into the light with her. Jolting up from her sleep and she gasped for air as she looked around. Her body felt absolutely drained from all the energy she used, she put her hands on the ground to try and steady herself. "She's back." With that Alex laid back against the ground, she did her best to keep her eyes open.

Nina nodded then. “I’ll think about changing it I’m sort of hoping Ryback is a temporary thing anyway.” She shrugged. “But who knows what the future holds.” Death sure was around every corner. As they walked toward the bright light, Nina couldn’t even prepare or brace herself for every emotion that left her to come back to her full force. She felt her body come to life once again, gasping for air as if she couldn’t catch her breath. Kept gasping but instead of a sense of calm all she could do was cry. That perfect dream felt like a distant memory. She didn’t just cry, she sobbed because she was back and so was everything else. The hole in her body that killed her was gone but it felt almost like tenfold her grief came back. She looked down at the bloody dress she’d been wear. “My fucking dress,” she cried harder practically hysterical at this point.

Zoey was so glad when Alex was back. She didn’t feel like she could even stand anymore she was so weak. She sank to the ground, trying to keep from simply laying there and never getting back up. She did have to say something to Alex though, the price was an urgent one. She crawled over to the other girl then. “Alex,” she whispered. “you have twenty-four hours to take a life or she’s going back. It’s a life for a life.” She didn’t say it loud enough for the other girls to hear. “There’s more…side effects but for now you have to that or all of this is for nothing.” She spoke with urgency, before looking around at the other girls then. “We all okay? We need to get Nina to the healing center and get to safety. I know we’re tired but we have to move and soon.”

Lauren had chanted as she held onto the other girls’ hands desperately. Nina and Alex were depending on them and it was very clear to Lauren that she’d do anything for them, whether that meant guarding the door or chanting in a foreign language even though she could feel her energy slipping away from her. She didn’t know how much time passed, but she nearly collapsed from relief and exhaustion the moment she heard Alex’s voice. She opened her eyes and took a few steps towards the two of them before she fell to her knees beside them. “You did it. You’re back,” she breathed out, reaching out to grab Alex’s arm then looking at the hysterical Nina who was devastated over her ruined dress. Lauren gave a weak smile as more tears flooded her eyes. “She found you.” Her arms felt like lead, so all she could do was grab onto Nina’s hand with both of hers. “She’s totally our savior daughter now. Nina… I’m so glad you’re back, Nina.” She nodded slowly at Zoey’s question, and while getting up from the ground seemed like the greatest challenge they’d ever face, she reminded herself they just brought someone back from the dead, so she could definitely stand up. “I can call Isaac...tell him to meet us there."

Emily felt like her mouth was a desert. Chanting for that long was hard. There was something else at work too. Standing up, even holding her arms that long shouldn't have tired her out. It was far less strenuous of an action that what she was used to. Still, she was drained, like the energy had been pulled right out of her. A weak smile moved her lips when Alex woke up, Nina suddenly gasping next to her. "I knew you could do it." Slowly she lowered herself to the ground, a long sigh leaving her lungs. She knew they needed to move, but it seemed next to impossible right now. Then again, so did bringing Nina back from the dead. She crawled on the ground over to Nina, putting an arm around her very bloody dress. "Don't go dying like that again on us, got it?" She tried to laugh but her throat was parched and she just ended up coughing.

Nora didn't know how much longer she was going to be able to hold. This kind of magic was taking more out of them then they really could handle, but she knew they were doing it for a good reason. They had to help their fellow circle member out as well they could. As she heard Alex's voice, Nora placed her hands on her knees and took a few breaths trying not to completely fall out from exhaustion. After a couple seconds, she moved towards the rest of the group before giving herself a chance to sit down. Getting a chance to relax was needed, after both the attack and this, but now they were talking about moving again and Nora was almost ready to just chill there. After a moment, Nora talked herself into standing up again and listened to the plants around here. "If we are moving by foot, now would be the time to go. The hunters aren't near this area and we can find some more hiding spots further on campus." She spoke, looking to the other girls.

Ophelia watched as they did all of their chanting and all she could do was stand there. Her eyes darted around them to make sure everyone was okay. It seemed like quite a while for the procedure to finish. When she saw Nina and Alex both wake up, her eyes widened. Then she looked at Zoey, her ears focusing in on the life for a life part. Letting out a breath, she shook her head. "I need a nap." All of this was too much to process.

Alex just put her hand on Nina as she heard Nina start crying, she did her best to try and comfort her. Even though she extremely exhausted and felt completely drained. She could hear others around her talking, but everything faded out as Zoey told her the price. A life for a life. The clock was already ticking away as each second past. Setting up as she bones ached, she knew she had to get this done. "Just get her to the healing center and call Isaac please. I gotta-- I gotta go." With that she pulled herself up wobbly and put her hands on her knees. "Thank you. All of you." Looking towards the girls as she gave them a weak smile. "I love you guys." Putting her hand back on Nina as she looked at her for a moment. "You'll be okay. Let them get you to the healing center." Placing a kiss on top of Nina's head, then she took off back towards her apartment. She needed to get her phone and get this done as quickly as possible.

[zoeysinclair]

What Doesn’t Kill Us... || Zoey, Emily, Nora, Lauren & Alex

Tagging: Zoey Sinclair, Emily Bryant, Nora Mooney, Lauren Lansing, and Alex Cromwell

Date:  May 31, 2017

Location: A clearing in the woods at RIAP

Notes: The girls begin the second bonding circle, and surprisingly...they don’t die. 

Here they were in the clearing again. This time things were different. There were stones fashioned in a wide circle around them. In between those stones were candles, the colors representing each of the elements. Zoey, reached into her backpack, handing over the dagger to Alex. She took her place in the circle, holding hands with the person to her left and right as Alex stood in the middle of the circle. They were doing this again. This time, they were doing this with a complete group. This was phase two. This was when they would get their strength, the push that they all so desperately needed, the extra power. Zoey looked around at the girl’s she’d assembled there. Each of them having their own reasons for being a part of this, and yet they were finally doing this. They were trusting one another and trusting her, and the the ancestor’s even more so that this is right. “Here we go, ladies.” She gave them an easy smile as she started the ritual, speaking the words she’d translated many times. “Chemăm puterile de cer din est. Asculta-ma.” We call upon the powers of air from the east. Hear me. She knew right after she spoke that she and the girls would have would have a resounding chant of “Ascultă-ne”, which meant Hear us.

Emily felt like they were spending an awful lot of time in this clearing in the woods. Still, she was excited. They had bonded successfully and at the end of tonight they would have the power they all needed so desperately. And somehow Alex was involved with all of it. While surprising, it was nice, and the circle felt whole with her there. Emily looked at each of the other girls, glad that they had each other. Zoey started the ritual, and Emily chimed in at the group part. It was kind of cult-ish with all the chanting, but she knew that this was right. It was her turn next and she took a deep breath, hoping to pronounce it all right. "Chemăm puterile de foc din sud. Asculta-ma."We call upon the powers of the fire from the south. Hear me. The group chimed in afterward, "Ascultă-ne".

Nora looked around the clearing, ready to get this officially done. While she was happy that the first circle had worked, part of her was nervous that something would go wrong with all of this. But she wasn't going to let the nerves get to her, especially with the ancestors encouraging her on. With Alex standing in the center and everyone else in their places around her, it was time to finally get this done. As Zoey and Emily did their parts, Nora followed along and did her group part and now she was up. "Chemăm puterile de sol din nord. Asculta-ma." We call upon the powers of earth from the north. Hear Me. It was only moment after that she chimed in once again with the group. "Ascultă-ne."

Lauren hadn’t expected to be back in the clearing so soon, or even at all, but she still felt as ready as she had the last time. She held hands with the girls beside her and smiled at Alex who stood in the middle of them. She listened as Zoey spoke, then Emily, then Nora and joined in with the group chants until finally it was her turn again. She was still a bit worried about butchering the language, but after having successfully accomplished it last time, she was more confident that everything would go as planned."Apelam la puterile de apă din vest. Asculta-ma.” We call upon the powers of water from the west. Hear me. To which everyone replied with "Ascultă-ne.” Hear us.

It had been a rough day for Alex, but she wanted to do this and do it now because, for every chapter that ended a new beginning had to start, this was hers. Nervously Alex took the dagger from Zoey, she held it closer to her while she stood in the middle, surrounded by the familiar faces of people she loved. Listening as they all said their parts, she chanted along as she was needed. She gave each one of them a reassuring smile, this was going to work. It was going to be okay, they were going to be okay. While Alex didn't have the same experience with the language as the others when it came her time to speak, it was like another person spoke. "Chemăm puterile spiritelor din interiorul, combinate cu pământul-mamă, cu marea calmantă, cu înțelepciunea vântului și cu focul înfricoșător." We call upon the powers of the spirits within, combined with mother earth, the calming sea, the wisdom of the wind, and the raging fire. It came out with such familiarity, that she felt at ease. Her soul had experienced this many times, it was helped comfort Alex as the nerves and everything else fell away. "Ascultă-ne. " Hear us.

Zoey could almost feel a change in the air with each of the girls saying their portions. It was always something in the air that seemed to thicken. She didn’t know if the others could feel it too, but she felt it. When Alex said her portion, the still fell upon them, and the group as a whole said, “Chemăm strămoșii să ne împrumutați puterea,” We call upon the ancestors, lend us your power. It was then that just like the other circle, everything started to move. Every element seemed to be activated at once. With the wind, the rain, the lightening, the candles blazing instead of snuffing out this time. The rain falling harder instead of freezing in the air. Everything felt intensified. Everything felt almost overwhelming and then lightning struck and everything seemed to go black as Zoey fell to the ground. For a moment she wondered if she was dead. She laid there unmoving, and then she sat up with a start. Looking around at the other girls, to see if they were okay. “Is everyone okay?”

Emily watched as the other members said there portions, her attention drawn back to the center as Alex brought them towards the end of the ritual. It was weird, this clearing always felt magical, not just because they were doing magic within it. There was that silence right before they all joined in at the end. “Chemăm strămoșii să ne împrumutați puterea,” We call upon the ancestors, lend us your power. . Suddenly there was so much happening that Emily couldn't focus on anything. It was like the elements went into overdrive. The lightning struck and suddenly Emily was waking up on the ground looking around at her friends around her. "I'm alive if that's what you mean. Probably going to have a wicked headache tomorrow."

Nora watched as the last of the phrases were spoke and everything seemed to go quiet. It was then time for them all to join in together and say the last bit.“Chemăm strămoșii să ne împrumutați puterea,” We call upon the ancestors, lend us your power. It was seconds when the elements all started to come alive. Nora watched in wonderment, excited to see what was happening. She could only assume they had done it. Unless this was the good before the bad? No. It had to be good. This had to be right. Lightning struck the ground and next thing she knew, Nora was opening her eyes to see the sky above her. She sat up and looked at the rest of the group. With how quiet the ancestors were in her head, Nora kind of wondered if she really was alive or not. "I think so..."

Lauren squeezed the girls’ hands beside her as they spoke the final phrase: “Chemăm strămoșii să ne împrumutați puterea.” We call upon the ancestors, lend us your power. When the elements came alive around them, she held her breath and everything seemed to happen at once. Before she knew it the lightening struck and everything went black. Still, she could feel her heart pounding in her chest from it all so she knew that she wasn’t dead. Her head perked up when she heard Zoey’s voice, then she opened her eyes and looked around at the rest of the girls to see that they had all fallen to the ground as well, which she could’ve sworn she remembered from the dream about the circle before theirs. “I’m fine,” she answered, sitting up and looking around. “So…we did it?"

Speaking the final phase with other girls, she prayed silently this would work the way it needed to. “Chemăm strămoșii să ne împrumutați puterea,” We call upon the ancestors, lend us your power. Watching as everything around them became more intense, Alex held onto the dagger tightly, not wanting to drop this and it mess this all up. Before she could even react to anything else the lightning struck, she fell to the ground like a ton of bricks as everything around her went black. Opening her eyes, she dropped the dagger next to her as she sat up. Looking around at the others as she made sure they were all okay, they all seemed to be. "I think I'm okay too." Moving her hair out of her face as she put both hands on her head in amazement. "We did." Smiling as she looked around at the girls once more. "We should go now though, we don't want whoever was in our dreams to find us. Let's get outta here."

[wtfolober-blog]

Frown Upside Down || Alex & Oliver

@awgzkrth

Oliver frowned after texting him, he honestly hated to think of Alex upset. Even though he knew it was impossible to protect him from everything, he kind of wished he could. Ever since meeting back up with him, he found a growing fondness of his smile, and wanted to keep that smile on his face. He already knew that he cared about him a lot, definitely more than he expected to in the amount of time they’d been together. It wasn’t like he could really help it though, and he definitely meant it when he talked to Bethany about how much he already cared about Alex.

He tucked his phone in his pocket slowly with a sigh before rushing out to his car. It didn’t take him long to start his car and begin driving to Alex’s house. Even though he didn’t know what was wrong, he at least wanted to be there for him, make sure he knew that he wasn’t going anywhere. Oliver knew that some people didn’t really want to talk about things, so he knew better than to try and force him, but also wanted to make sure Alex knew that he was there.

It didn’t take him much longer to reach Alex’s house. On the way he bought some takeout, hoping he’d like it. He parked in his driveway and slowly got out of his car. Once reaching the front door, he knocked with a light smile while holding the food in his hands while waiting for Alex to answer. 

[lot-tommo]

Morning Bonding || LoTex

Lottie put her phone down and sat up in bed. She had been up for a short amount of time but she had been on her phone. She got out and tied her hair up quickly before walking out of her room and over to Lex and Louis' Bedroom. "Lexiiii" Lottie knocked and walked in. "Good morning pretty girl."

[duvalofthesea-blog]

New Boys || Nick & Alex

Nick had been in a surprisingly empty Starbucks of Hazel Run Island for a while with a java chip frappuccino in his hand, waiting for Alex to come and meet him. He always liked to be early to save the embarrassment of possibly being late but honest, he didn’t mind the wait. He’d just get something else whilst he was there to waste so time. He had a book of Pride and Prejudice and Zombies open on the table as he continued to read with the drink in his hand. His attention immediately went to the door as he hears it open. Nick grins as he blonde makes his way through. “Hey!” He said, shutting his book with a page marker so he wouldn’t lose his place in the story but he actually wanted to talk to Alex rather than read. “Nice to see you.” Nick greeted, getting up from his seat to give him a friendly hug like he always seemed to

@alex-whitfield

[mayaxalliot-blog]

Cleaning Up. || Maya & Alex

She had searched for a weapon; finally grappling at the man’s knife, Maya freed it before jamming it into his side. The blade twisted before she forced it out and in one more time before bucking her hips. Once she had the upper hand she started striking him again. Each blow was aimed at his face the repeated motion not ending even when she felt a heaviness in her arms. Her left hand left of his shirt and traded off the blows coming from each fist. His blood covered her shirt, her face and hair. She tasted it on her lips as she fell backwards. Her chest heaved as she crawled towards her baby – the year old German Shepard who hadn’t asked for this. Maya hovered over him hands moving over his fur as she hastily worked to find the bullet wound.

She didn’t care about her own wounds that scattered all over her body. The black and bruised check. The potentially broken ribs, the bruises around her neck they would all heal eventually and fade away. She pulled off her shirt and pressed it against Leo’s wound. She knew it was too late for him the pool of blood and matted fur told her that. Maya’s blood covered hands held her shirt to the wound while she pulled him into her lap. The dog quietly faded in Maya’s arms. She pressed her eyes closed and slowly moved away oblivious to the door opening behind her as she stumbled towards the body on the ground her foot slammed into the body a pointless effort.

[leofitz-engineer-blog]

Dragon & Dioptase // Alex & Fitz AU

Humming lightly to himself, Dio slung the saddle and straps against his shoulder, hefting the heavy leather out of the stables. He needed to get across the training yard to reach his workshop, something that wasn’t typically a hard task, but may end up being more challenging if kids were practicing with their dragons. He loved watching them work with their little dragons; both learning what rider and creature meant by certain commands. 

He brought his chin up to stare into the sunlight, trying to see just where everyone was so he knew whether he needed to run or not. Sometimes dragons liked to spit fire, acid, or ice on new people, and he had been burned more than enough times to know it was safer to look. 

Deeming the coast clear, he picked his way across the grass and hefted the leather up higher, making it to his workshop without incident. Dumping the equipment into the closest corner, Dioptase ran a hand through his curls and stepped out back, looking out onto the river that ran near his shop. It was always comforting, and more than a little convenient when he could dump hot iron out back, or take a quick dip to cool off. 

As he looked out, he saw something new a little bit upstream. Frowning, he hurried up the grass embankment, getting as close to the object as possible while still staying dry. It was large and black-like onyx- and while it seemed to fit with the rocks in the riverbed, he knew it wasn’t an old feature. 

Dio judged the distance in between himself and the object and waded into the river, the rushing water getting up to his knees before it leveled out. If a storm had passed by, the water could have been powerful enough to rush the rock downstream. . . but it had only been light rain for weeks now. When he neared the object, Dio reached his hand out to touch the surface, expecting a cool touch but meeting a sharp pain instead. 

With a quick cry, he clutched his wrist and looked at the marking, not seeing the object begin rocking, nor the cracks start to appear along its surface. When he did finally notice, it seemed too late to even move; he could only watch as a web of cracks appeared. “There is no way-”

[eithanhart-blog]

Alex

Había grandes diferencias entre la primera temporada y la segunda, Eithan había dejado muchas cosas atrás desde el inicio de la misma ya que por algún momento llegó a disfrutar el reality pero fue después del rompimiento de su primera relación como toda su actitud se fue al fiasco. Por un momento pensó que eso lo alejaría de todo pero ahora que lo ve de otra forma, le hizo comenzar a ganar seguidores por ser todo un descarado pero ¿Acaso siempre había sido así? No lo creía de esa forma, al menos no después de darse de cuenta que sería encerrado con el joven que alguna vez le hizo ver la vida de manera distinta, por un momento intentó correr pero por el otro, era eso o escoger a alguna de las personas que poco le agradaban así que no quedaba más que aguantar  — Alexander Jussieu, que milagro volvernos a encontrar  — Clama mientras lo analiza de arriba a abajo, había cambiado un poco pero de alguna forma sentía que le guardaba un poco de cariño aunque tampoco le agradaba demasiado  — Siempre supe que no eras distinto a los demás, mírate alcoholizado, hecho un desastre, definitivamente no sé como algún día pude poner mis ojos en ti  —

[wickedninaryback]

  The Rescue Mission || The Avengers: Witch Edition

Tagging: Alex, Riley, Nina, Dylan, Oliver, & Vivian 

Location: Raleigh, NC

Time: Saturday night

Notes:  The rescue mission is in full swing as a battle between the hunters and the ladies continues. All the while the captured trio are rescued. 

Riley turned back towards the barn when she heard Alex scream and rushed inside. Thankfully Nina had already reacted and took down the hunter that nearly got Alex. She walked over to Nina and looked at the hunter being suffocated to death. She didn’t feel an ounce of pity for him. “Not so fun now, huh?” she asked the hunter before walking toward the other hunter Nina had knocked out to make sure he didn’t try to get up and pull the same stunt.

Alex watched out of the corner of her eye as Nina killed the hunter that was going to attack her as she made her way over to the three. Going to Vivian first since she was the closest to her and she pulled the knife out of her pocket before starting to work at the ropes. “Are you guys okay?” Alex asked as she moved behind Vivian’s chair and started working at the ropes on that were binding her hands. Applying more weight as she moved the knife back and forth to try and make this go quicker, the ropes started to give. When they finally snapped and realized Vivian’s hands Alex moved onto the next.

The flashbang did it’s job on the hunters, while also somewhat disoriented Vivian in the process. But the moment Alex walked through the door, she sighed in relief. “Yeah we’re fine. We’ll be fine.” Vivian’s response was somewhat muffled by the swollen lip she was now sporting, but it really didn’t matter. As soon as her hands were free, she reached down to untie her legs. Once they had been released, she stood up and took a tentative step, but pain instantly shot through her leg and forced her back down on the chair. “Son of a bitch!”

Nina kicked his lifeless corpse for good measure, making sure he was, in fact, dead. Once she was sure he wouldn’t be coming back to attack anyone else, she hated towards the others. She watched as Vivian stood, but sat back down. She rushed over to see if she was okay. “Is there anything I can do? Just tell me how I can help you, Vivian,” she said, now that the fight was quiet inside.

Riley walked over to join everyone. “Everyone in one piece?” she asked as she approached. She focused on Vivian. “How bad is it? I can’t exactly heal you but I can help you walk.”

Moving to Dylan next Alex noticed her shoulder. “I’m sorry but this is going to hurt like a bitch.” Putting the knife to the rope as she started to work on it more, she quickly moved it trying her best to not further injure Dylan. Finally getting the ropes undone and she pulled them off Dylan’s wrists before moving to Oliver so she could get his ropes off.

Dylan: Dylan was laser focused on the one remaining hunter that was unconscious but still breathing - albeit with trouble as it was the one Oliver had headbutted. “It’s fine Alex. I’m glad to see you,” she told her sister as she felt the bonds fall from her wrists. She rubbed at them then untied her legs and stood, wobbled her first couple of steps and steadied as she went toward the man on the floor. She waited for magic that didn’t come, but she didn’t care. She was determined to break his neck if that’s what needed to be done. “Too bad he’s not going to be awake to see it coming,” she muttered, lips pulled back into a sneer and eyes blazing with unrivaled hatred as she neared him.

“Yeah I’m alright. I…help walking will be nice. We can worry about actual healing later. I just want to get out of here.” She started to stand again when she noticed Dylan stalking toward the last hunter. Vivian knew exactly what Dylan had in mind and she took a wobbly step forward. They needed this one alive. He might be able to help them find Morgan if Tess couldn’t do it. If anything he’d be able to give them more information about the hunters in general. “Dylan, wait! We can’t kill him! We have to take him back so we can get information from him.”

Nina planned to help Riley with Vivian before she saw the two interact. With the commotion going on about saving one of the hunters, she noticed from the corner of her eye another holding his head, but making his way into the barn. She pushed him up against the nearest wall. The air holding him there. “Who wants him? I think one of you deserves to take a crack at him.” And she hoped it’d be Dylan because that’d be fucking hot to see, but if no one took him out, she’d happily do the honors.

Riley: Riley held onto Vivian when she stood up and took a step towards Dylan, making sure the other woman wouldn’t fall over. “Vivian has a point, Dyl. I kinda wanna know what’s up with the whole snatching bullshit.” She looked at Nina and the hunter. “Kill that one instead Dyl, he’s obviously a little too dense to interrogate if he seriously thought it was a good idea to waltz in here.”

Alex noticed Oliver’s shoulder and she frowned for a second before she started to work at his ropes, she tried to be as gentle as possible. Using the knife to cut enough of the rope away, she started to use her hands at that point to get him untied. Not caring a bit if it knocked out her magic, she just wanted to get him untied. “Here.” Handing the knife to Dylan as she finished getting Oliver’s hands untied, she stood up. She walked around so she was facing Oliver, she looked down at his feet. “Do you need me to help or do you have it?”

At the sound of the door Oliver looked up from the guy he had just headbutted to see Alex, he felt both relieved to confirm that she was well and worried that she hadn’t called, Paladins or Wards hell even guards and was instead doing the rescue herself, putting herself in harms ways. He struggled against his restraints as he watched the wards move towards her, when Alex dropped the flashbombs, he closed his eyes and tried to use his ears to keep up with what was happening as his sight adjusted. He was trying to keep himself straight but the pain on his shoulder after being strained like that for so long hept him leaning on his side, he tried not to grunt or complain too much as Alex cut the ropes, wincing and groaning as his arm returned to its natural position. “Alex.” He breathed out nodding for her to help him as he untied his foot with his good arm, once he was free he stood up and wrapped his arm around her while leaning into her for support as he regained his balance, his eyes moving around the room making sure besides them no one else was injured. “Thanks for coming.” He said smiling down at Alex.

Dylan turned her rage on Vivian for stopping her, barely hearing the rationale. Before she could make her displeasure be known, the other hunter stumbled in and Nina had him pinned like a particularly ugly specimen in a bug collection. “Fine. I’m killing ​that​ one.” She took the knife from Alex as she passed and stood in front of the hunter, now more aware of his situation and looking around frantically. “Should I gut you?” she asked, poking the tip of the knife into his belly. “No, that’s too good. Lift him up a bit, sweetheart, and hold his head for me,” she said, turning to Nina. The air witch obliged and Dylan waved a hand to stop her when the hunter’s feet were a few inches off the ground. His eyes widened in terror as he rose from the ground. “I don’t even need my magic for this. Believe me, it’s going to hurt you much, much more than it will me.” She drew the knife across his throat, ignoring the pulsing spurts of blood that rushed out. She did it again, and a third time, severing trachea, tendons and spine, until the body fell to the floor. The head stayed in place, the face twisted in shock. Kneeling she pulled off the protective vest and cut open the shirt with the knife, exposing his chest. She drew a line with forked lines at the bottom. Turned the other way, with the forks at the top, it was a rune of protection, one of the few she knew well. This way it was a warning. She cleaned the blade on the dead man’s shirt and stood. “Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

Vivian saw the rage in Dylan’s eyes and was about to argue when Dylan stopped and said she would kill the other one. “That works just fine for me. But this one stays alive.” She pointed to the other one before watching as Dylan killed the hunter that had just stumbled in. She folded her arms across her chest and arched an eyebrow when Dylan started to carve a rune into the now dead hunter’s chest. “The far left line isn’t long enough.” Dylan turned back to face her with a look that very clearly said ​'Really?’​ before rolling her eyes and adding a small portion to the line. “What? It has to be right otherwise it won’t mean the same thing.” With only one hunter left alive and their warning message taken care of, Vivian nodded tried to walk on her own before holding out her arm for help. “Yeah let’s go. I’m tired of this fucking place. I need some help walking and then someone will need to carry him out.”

Nina had obliged Dylan’s wishes, watching in awe as the woman expertly killed the hunter, leaving her with the floating head. Her stance on Dylan being the hot one was completely amplified even more, because that was the hottest thing she’d ever seen. She let the head fall then, hearing Vivian mention carrying the sole hunter. She watched as Dylan helped the woman walk. “I’ve got him. Resident air witch at your service.” Nina said, lifting the man with the air to carry him out of the barn as they left.

Riley: Riley squinted as she watched Dylan have at it with the other hunter. A bit more gruesome than she was expecting but she couldn’t say she blamed Dylan. Once they were set to go she headed out of the barn with everyone else.

Alex: Alex helped Oliver quickly get his feet untied and she sighed when he hugged her. Putting her mouth to his car for a moment as she wrapped her arms around his waist. “If you ever do this to me again I’ll murder you myself Norwood.” Looking at him with eyes warning him to test her before her face softened, she placed a peak against his lip. “You’re welcome though.” Keeping her arms around him as she turned to look at Dylan, she cringed at the blood rushing out. Looking down for a moment as she walked, she helped Oliver along the way. Looking back at Nina, she couldn’t help but wonder if she saw the events from earlier with whatever the hell was going on with her. Turning her head back as they walked out of the barn, she held tightly onto Oliver. “I think we could all use a drink after tonight.”

Oliver: Oliver watched as Dylan killed the hunter and carved a rune on his chest, he was so glad this was all over, there was nothing more he wanted but get healed, get his magic back, take a shower and be with Alex just being glad they had survived, for a moment he had thought he wouldn’t be able to see her again, the relief he felt had him reaching for Alex’s hands with his uninjured arm as they walked out. As Everyone walked out he rushed to his truck opening the latch so Nina could lay the hunter on the bed of his truck. He saw movement out of the corner of his eyes and looked up just in time to watch a car passby, the guy at the wheel was dressed like the hunters but it was the woman that caught his attention, it couldn’t be… Could it? No, he could hardly remember what she looked like… not by memory at least but the moment his eyes laid on the woman in the car it was… “Mom?” He said to himself even though for years whenever he had been forcing of talking about her he had only referred to her as mother or she/her, he was still to shocked to even realize what he was doing but his feet we already moving, taking one step, then another and another after the car, picking up in speed.

Dylan: Dylan had an arm around Vivian’s waist helping support her as they walked to the truck. As she helped Vivian into the back seat, she heard Oliver say something and start toward the road as if in a trance. “Oliver?” she called after him. When he didn’t respond she went after him pulling on his arm. “Come on, we have to go before more come. Let’s go.” She kept pulling but it was no use. She still didn’t have her magic, so she turned to Nina. “Nina, I need a hand here.”

Nina eased the hunter into the bed of Oliver’s truck. She wanted to flat out drop him hard, but she didn’t want to risk him waking. She was tired and she didn’t know if she had that much air magic left in her after she’d given it all she had multiple times to defeat these hunters. Just as she’d let the hunter down, yet again fuckery was afoot. She heard Oliver call out to his mother. She saw him moving toward the car and picking up speed. All it took was Dylan telling her to give her a hand and she was on it. She concentrated, quickly dropping the atmospheric pressure around him so that he couldn’t breathe. She knew that he would pass out quickly. When she watched him fall, she floated him back to the truck so that he could join the hunter taking his little nap as well. She was ready to get the hell out of there.

[tai-duke]

A Friend in Need /Tai & Alex/

 alexmorganjfc

  The house was unusually quiet. All of the cast members were either out enjoying themselves or staying in to have a calm night like Tai was. The curly haired girl was sat in the house theater, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders and a bottle of tequila in her hand. The past few days had taken a toll on her. Between thinking about leaving and talking to Harry about her life in the system, all she wanted to do was drink until she forgot why she was stressed in the first place. She sighed as she glanced down at the phone resting on her bare thighs, the screen lit up with texts from people she couldn't remember, broken up by messages from people she considered close to her. An emoji filled text from Ayden made the corners of her mouth twitch into a slight smile as she brushed her thumb over the screen. Shaking herself out of her thoughts, she found Alex's number in her phone, lovingly saved as "Asshat", and wrote out a quick SOS message. "Help I'm drinking alone this never ends well" She tossed her phone away from her, watching as it bounced on the couch cushions, still vibrating with unwanted invitations of parties or hookups. 

She knew she had shut herself off a bit to the rest of the house ever since her closest friends had left her. She knew they were all happy living their lives outside of the show, busy working or travelling. But she couldn't help but feel betrayed when her best friends left with a simple hug and promise to "Skype her later". The girl had always been hesitant to truly trust people, having been passed around families for years. She knew not to make herself too comfortable with the people she befriended, because they would inevitably be ripped away from her without a second thought. The Valleys had weakened her sense of solidarity, making her want to trust these people she was living with. She'd turned soft, letting herself get close to Vanessa and Ellie, talking about her secrets and family with them. Tai did truly care for them, but it made it hurt even more when they left. Staring blankly at the movie playing on the wide screen, she let herself drift into a half asleep state as she waited.

[wtfolober-blog]

PM Boozers || Oliver & Alex

@awgzkrth​

Oliver gave a light smile after putting down his phone and sighing quietly. He didn’t drink all that often, but tonight he was just in the mood. He still barely knew his way around LA, so didn’t really want to go alone. The first person that came to his mind was Alex. He was glad that Alex had agreed for the drinks, getting a chance to catch up with him was definitely something he was looking forward to. Part of him understood a lot of what Alex was going through and wanted to try and be there for him if he could. He felt terrible about what happened with Alex and his ex. However, another part of him was still proud of him for being able to come out. Oliver still hadn’t been able to come out as bisexual to his fans and only a few friends knew, but he didn’t really know if he ever actually would be able to bring himself to. He grabbed a hoodie and tucked his phone in his pocket, before looking outside, waiting for Alex to come pick him up.

[charlie-archer-blog]

A Night Out || Chalex

There was something in the air that made Charlotte feel overly-anxious about seeing her husband. It could be the fact that they've rarely seen each other in the last two months, or the way the gossips been going around about him and his new best friend, Cassia. Either way, the brunette's hands fumbled with everything, making it even more difficult to get ready. She had burned herself twice already, while attempting to straighten her hair, and resulted to pulling it up into a messy bun, letting a few stray strands straggle out. She unplugged the demon iron, and made her way into the bedroom, regretfully catching a glimpse of herself in the mirror. She attempted to ignore it, knowing all too well about how she'd stand there all day, pointing out her flaws. So, instead, Charlotte closed her eyes, and stepped over to her bed, where her dress was laid out.

Charlie had just finished clipping her garter to her stockings when she caught a next glance at her reflection. This time, she embraced it. The girl stood directly in front of the mirror and smoothed out the black dress, absolutely adoring the way she looked. She slipped on her shoes, that sat next to it, before making her way back to the bathroom, to do her makeup. Most of it was already done, all she had to do was touch her lips up. She pulled the dark red lip gloss from her purse, that sat on the opposite side of the sink, and applied it generously to her lips, before replacing it in the bag. She couldn't wait to see Alex. Charlie had a plan in mind, and she wondered whether or not she should bring it up tonight. Either way, she wanted to look stunning for her favourite man. 

charlotte's outfit.

[leofitz-engineer-blog]

Label the Relationship // FitzSummers

He walked out of his apartment building and looked around, simply to make sure no one was following him and he was being safe. Since the campaign speeches, everyone seemed more than eager to hurt S.H.I.E.L.D. or target the agents. It felt like something huge was going on, but he had no idea what. All he hoped was that he could keep his friends out of the line of fire and keep alive long enough to find out how he could be useful.

Once he was sure no one was coming, he moved down the sidewalk and started over to Alex’s apartment. He had a large overnight bag filled with blankets and sheets, remembering his earlier promise to replace the ones Alex sent up in ash. He doubted Alex had actually gotten around to replacing them, so he would help him out. Because that was what they did. . . now more than ever. Because they were a thing- a great thing. . . they were something that Leo had no clue what to label it.

He crossed the street and walked through the main doors, waving to any undercover agents or specialties that Leo knew offhandedly. He liked that Alex was in this apartment building- it was a safe spot.

Instead of waiting at the door, he simply picked the lock and let himself in, calling out for Alex the second the door was closed. “Hey there Alex- ya’ll neva guess who’s here.” He called out, dropping his bag to the floor and moving to look in the living room for his . . . guy. 

When he found him camped out on the couch, food beside him and laptop out on his lap, Leo grinned and leaned over the side of the couch, next to his face. “Hey there, Cutie. How’s tha essay goin?” He teased, leaning closer to capture his lips without letting the man respond. 

He was really happy about the macaroni and cheese thing, okay?

[ben-booker]

Stuffed Animals and a Little Something Else || Ben & Alex

TAGGING → Ben Booker and Alex March.

TIME FRAME → Friday, February 14, 2014.

LOCATION → Lakemere carnival.

GENERAL NOTES → Ben and Alex go on their second official date, and much adorableness ensues, including one very important milestone in their relationship.

Alex: While she was one to usually find events like a Valentine's carnival silly, Alex had really been enjoying herself. It was just some simple fun, and with Ben she had found herself laughing, and smiling the whole night. While the nerves were always there, there was an ease with being with him. The heaviness she sometimes felt seemed to disappear, as she got lost in the fun of the games, and just being in his presence. When they reached the desired booth, she pressed her lips together, as a smile pulled at them, finding the boyish look on his face as he mentioned the game, amusing. She sat down next to him, her hands gripping the gun. "Be prepared to eat your words, Booker."

Ben: While he was usually a gentleman, there was no way in hell he was going to let Alex beat him. Call it his manly pride, or perhaps he just really wanted to win a tiny stuffed animal for her – the prizes for this game were never all that big – but he was intent on being the first one to pop his balloon. He watched as a few others settled into their places, and he could only grip his gun in anticipation. He looked over at Alex, who seemed as determined as ever to defeat him. Smiling, he chuckled and shook his head. "You look cute when you're about to lose." The attendant signaled that they were done accepting any more people before starting the count down. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1... RINGGGG!!! And with such focus and precision, Ben shut his left eye, using his single right eye to skillfully aim the stream of water into the tiny hole in the distance.

Alex: Though her speech was confident, Alex had never in fact played this game. She wasn't sure what her chances were of actually winning, but her competetive nature would never admit that to Ben. That grin on his face, and his sweet smack talk, was enough to urge her on. After all, how hard could it be to pop a balloon? She gave him a slight glare, a barely-there smile placed upon her lips, just before the bell rang. Consentrating on the game, Alex shot at the hole, frustration seeping in as she realized her aim was not as spot on as she hoped. She couldn't help but look over at Ben, who looked like he was more at a shooting range and not just a carnival game. She laughed to herself, before putting her attention back to her shooting. Ben: Growing up in Iowa, he most certainly had had his fair share of experiences with guns. Granted, he wasn't playing carnival games all the time. He was shooting more tin cans in an open field than water to pop balloons, but the concept was the same. He didn't even have time to worry about what Alex was doing because he was far too focused on his own performance. He knew that he was in the lead, but some other guy was right on his tail, probably hoping to get a stuffed animal for his girlfriend. Ben's balloon was getting bigger and bigger, and he could swear that in just a few more seconds, it was bound to pop. Alex: Alex had no hope of winning, she knew that for a fact, so she focused on not getting last place. For, she couldn't have Ben teasing her about letting the children competitors beat her. Focused on her balloon, she jumped in her stool as a loud pop sounded off, and she realized Ben had won. She put her gun down in defeat, taking a moment before looking at him. Swinging her body towards him, her lips pursed as she gave a slow nod. "Nice shooting there, Farm Boy." Ben: Once the balloon finally popped, Ben felt a wave of accomplishment course through his body. Victory was sweet. He could see the other guy looking thoroughly disappointed, his girlfriend trying to cheer him up and telling him there were other games. He turned to Alex, grinning as he playfully joked, "Congrats, you didn't finish last!" He stood up, happily taking the medium-sized teddy bear from the attendant as a token of his big win. He motioned for Alex to follow him out of the booth, stopping when he got to the middle of the road. He held the bear up. "Hmmm. What should we name him?"

Alex: "Shut up," She leaned over, giving him a small push in the shoulder. "I'll have you know, I'm pretty sure the game was fixed. There was totally something wrong with my gun." Small bits of laughter left her lips, and she shook her head, unable to accept how poorly she had done. Standing up she followed close behind Ben, stopping as he did. Staring at the bear, she pretended to study it hard, looking deep in thought, before reaching Ben's eyes with her own. "Teddy? Isn't that like the rule of thumb?" Ben: Ben pretended that her little shove hurt him, a playful "ow" escaping his mouth as he rubbed his shoulder. "Oh, of course. Of course. They rigged it so that your gun squirted less water than everyone else's." He nodded his head, going along with joke. He was holding the bear up, wondering what sort of creative name Alex would give him, but only to laugh when she finally decided on the generic "Teddy." He couldn't help but shake his head, still snickering at her choice. "Now, Teddy. Isn't that short for Theodore Marshall Roosevelt the Fifth?" Still chuckling, he held up the brown bear, right in front of his face. "Here, Teddy's yours, but first, you gotta give him a kiss."

Alex: "You noticed it too," she put a hand up, the smile she was trying to hold back, forming onto her mouth. "I bet you paid the guy extra to make sure I got the faulty gun." Her brow raised as she looked up at him playfully. A quiet chuckle escaped, and she shook her head, running a hand through her hair. "What can I say, I'm just really into history," she laughed again. Alex crossed her arms, as he mentioned the needed payment for the bear. She looked down at the stuffed animal, then back up at Ben, her right eyebrow arched. "You have got to be kidding if you think I'm going to kiss a teddy bear out here, right now." Ben: Ben nodded his head vigorously. "Oh, yes. I most definitely set you up so that you'd get the dysfunctional gun. Yes." He was grinning from ear to ear now, thoroughly amused by all the excuses Alex was making to explain her dreadful loss. He watched as she folded her arms over her chest, refusing to give the necessary payment to claim her prize. "Oh, come on. I did the hard part. I won the bear, and now, all you have to do is kiss him." Ben had a slight twinkle in his sapphire blue eyes. "It's not like you're going to make out with it. It's just a little peck on the lips." He continued to hold the bear right in front of his face, now talking in a cute little bear voice. "Kiss me, Alex. Kiss me!" Alex: A playful glare settled into her eyes, "I knew it." She pointed at him, shaking her head at herself soon after. "No, I'm gonna look like such an idiot," she tried to protest, but he was already wearing her down. What he was asking her to do seemed stupid and cheesy, but the girlish grin upon her face did nothing to discourage him. She looked around the carnival, before her eyes settled back on him and the bear. The way his eyes shone, sent a flutter in Alex's stomach, and she couldn't hold back the small giggle that escaped as he did the silly voice. "Oh my God, fine. I'll do it if that means you'll shut up." Pushing up on her toes, she moved up towards the bear, laying a small kiss on the brim of it's nose. Ben: Ben had a feeling that Alex wouldn't be able to resist any longer. The bear was so freakin' cute, damn it. With a goofy grin still plastered on his face and his eyes still shining brightly, he watched as Alex finally gave in, tiptoeing to plant a quick peck on Teddy's nose. He wasn't quite sure what possessed him to do it, but as her lips rested on the bear's nose, he slowly pulled the bear aside to replace its nose with his own lips. He'd been wanting to do this for so long. Maybe it was his victory that had given him the courage to do it. He wasn't really sure, but his lips were finally on Alex's and that's all that mattered right now. Alex: Just as she was about to pull away from the bear, Ben took her by surprise, as he moved it, and she found herself now kissing him instead. Her heart went a flutter as his lips made contact with hers, and she let her eyes close with ease. Her hand fell lightly upon his chest, as she pressed her lips firmly into his. She had imagined what it would be liked to be kissed by Ben. Wondered about the softness of his lips. The warmth of his mouth. This kiss, in this moment, didn't compare to what she had only thought of. It was better. God, so much better. Ben: Using his free hand, the one not preoccupied with the teddy bear, Ben gently cupped Alex's face, allowing him to deepen the kiss ever so slightly. This kiss had been a long time coming. He had waited for so long, and he was definitely happy he did. All the waiting leading up to this moment just made it that much better. Her lips were so soft, her mouth so warm. He allowed himself to get lost in the kiss for just a second, oblivious to the fact that some teenage girl was snapping a photo of them and posting it on Instagram and tagging it as "#truelove." Happy Valentine's Day, indeed. Alex: She loved the feel of his hand upon her face. His touch so strong, yet gentle. He deepened the kiss, and she gripped on to his shirt, pulling her own body into his. The world around them was completely lost on Alex, as he became her only focus. Never had she experienced this. Never had she known a man to handle her with such care. Never had she known a kiss that could reach down inside her and make her heart race the way it was now. Kissing, for Alex, had always been just a physical act, but this... This was more, and it terrified and warmed her at the same time. Ben: It had been a long time since he'd felt something like this. After David, he'd shut out everyone else, fully convinced that his heart was no longer capable of feeling that kind of love anymore. And while he didn't love Alex (yet), she did make him feel things, as if there was still hope for him to find someone in this crazy world and that even after getting his heart stomped upon, he could still care for someone. He didn't want to pull away, but his lungs were sorely missing oxygen, so he slowly disconnected their lips. Immediately, the absence of her lips made him feel like something was missing. There was a silence between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable. He looked straight into her eyes and said in all seriousness, "I think Teddy's jealous." Alex: How could something so simple as him putting his lips against hers, put such a hold on her? What was it about this man that made her long for all the things she never knew before? All the waiting had been worth it for this kiss. She was glad for this moment. Glad to share it with him, like she had never done with anyone else before. Peeling his lips off of hers, she found herself yearning for the warmth that his mouth had brought. Her eyes were slow to open, and it wasn't till he spoke up, that Alex's mind was pulled back into reality. "Hmm?" Her brow raised, eyes big as she looked up at him. The teddy bear had been long forgotten until this moment. "Oh," quiet laughter left her lips, as she remembered. "Yeah, I think so too," her voice was quiet as she responded. "I could give him another kiss... to be fair," A smile reached her brown eyes. Ben: He loved Alex's smile, and he was happy to be the reason for it right now. The teddy bear, previously neglected, now had all the attention once again. Ben lifted the brown stuffed animal back up in front of his face, doing his best little bear voice once more. "Don't forget about me, Alex! Kiss me!" He waved Teddy right in front of her face, snickering from behind the stuffed animal. Alex: A gentle laugh made it's way through as she shook her head. "You are such a dork," she looked away for only a moment, before snatching up the bear in her hand. Pushing up against him, Alex moved her hands, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You said I only had to kiss him once. So I did, and now he's mine." A playful expression from earlier returned to her face, as she stared up at Ben. Ben: Ben was mildly surprised when Alex took the teddy bear out of his hand. "Hey!" he laughed as he surrendered control of the stuffed animal to his date. Her hands were still draped around his neck, not that he minded. "That, I did," he agreed. "And I'm a man of my word." Still smiling, he looked down at Alex. "But I never said anything about you and me." He wanted so badly to kiss her again, but at the same time, he wanted her to just grab him by the collar and plant one on his lips. Alex: She titled her head, a small smirk placed upon her mouth. The smile soon disappeared though, as that familiar feeling of yearning to feel his lips on hers returned. "And um," she held his gaze, eyes wide. "How many kisses do you think that will that take?" Her mouth inched closer to his with every word she spoke. Ben: Ben watched as Alex's face moved closer and closer to his, and he so badly wanted to kiss her. He returned her smirk with one of his own before managing to whisper, doing his best not to laugh, uttering in a most serious tone, "At least one every single day." With that, he was unable to resist the urge any longer, and once again, for the second time that day, their lips collided. This kiss was slightly needier than the other one because Ben knew that both of them wanted this. There was no need to be timid anymore. Alex: With his answer, a sweet, small smile tugged at the corners of Alex's mouth, but it was soon hidden, as Ben's lips reached hers again. He kissed her with an urgency this time, and she kissed him back with a need that matched it. Her free hand ran up the back of his neck, fingers sliding into his hair. She had wanted this for so long now -Ever since that dinner at his place where he cooked, and sang to her.- and for some reason he seemed to want it back, though she had no understanding of why, but she was glad he did. Ben: Usually, he wasn't one for public displays of affection, but fuck it, it was Valentine's Day and grand romantic gestures were not uncommon. Now that both of his hands were free, he was able to let one rest on the small of her back, pulling her body closer to his so that there was no space between them, while the other one rested on her hip. All he could think about was how good it felt to kiss her, the amazing feel of her soft lips and her tongue grazing against his. It was heavenly. Alex: Her body pressed completely against his, and she loved the feeling of his hands on her. She felt cared for in his arms, not just lusted after. Though, the physical attraction was quite present as well. His tongue met hers, and Alex completely melted into the kiss. And she kissed him until she absolutely had to pull away. Resting her forehead against his she took a moment to catch her breath, and in that moment she realized for the first time, her nerves were completely gone. "I think I could handle doing this every single day." There was a slight tone of humor to her voice, but Alex knew her words to be true. While she had never been kissed like this before, she knew now she didn't want to go without it. Ben: Ben had been joking when he'd teased that they should kiss every day, but he really wouldn't be opposed to doing this regularly. This time, she was the one who pulled away, so he smiled at her, thanking the heavens that he'd found the courage to ask her out on a date. "I have no problem with that," he raised his hands, chuckling as he took her free hand into his, lacing their fingers together. "Come on. Let's go win you an even bigger bear." Alex: Feeling his hand encase hers, she felt unsure at first, but she relaxed her hand his. It didn't seem like a big deal before, but Alex realized as she stared down at her hand in his, that no man had ever held her hand before. Not like this anyway. Never had a man walked side by side with her and entangled his fingers with hers. She stared up at Ben as they walked, almost in wonder of him. He was like a dream, as she had never met anyone like him. But without her even realizing it, he had been her dream, and somehow, just somehow, he was real.