#abbie x tyler choices

[hotchocolatelovesyou]

I'm replaying The Freshman (because why not, I'm feeling nostalgic) and oh my God, I did not remember having to spend so many diamonds on Abbie and Tyler. I literally do not give a fuck, stop.

[shreyamistry]

"I fought so hard to get you and thank god I can finally rest." For Becca x MC

Pairing: Becca x MC

Prompt: “I fought so hard to get you and thank god I can finally rest.”

Word Count: 2400+

Summary: Becca and Jennifer throw a housewarming party in their new apartment, celebrating getting a new apartment and Becca’s five year anniversary of becoming a lawyer. The girls find themselves dancing, talking, and reminiscing on the good ol’ times.

A/N: Requests are open if you’re interested! Rules and Prompts here!

Thank you for reading! I hope you like it 🫶🏻🩷

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Cheers!”

A group of young adults clink their glasses together, all of them sharing bright smiles before throwing back shots of tequila and whiskey, a few grimaces and a few excited whoops following the shots. All of the friends jittery with excitment, everyone being ecstatic to see one another after all this time separated from one another.

“I can’t believe Becca’s been officially licensed for five years.” Kaitlyn grins, her black hair in a signature braid as she wrangles it into her standard of perfection. She is adorned with a glittering green crop top and high waisted black jeans that look stunning on her.

Jennifer nods happily, “I’m so proud of her. She’s worked so hard, she truly deserves it.”

“Agreed,” Chris adds. He straightens the cuffs of his rolled up sleeves, the red button up making his eyes shimmer in the lowlights of Becca’s new penthouse that her and Jen shared. “This house warming party is amazing.”

“Actually, it's a lawyer housewarming party, don’t forget?” Zack teases, his signature yellow blazer dazzling in the lights that flash around them.

“Don’t start,” Abbie glares with a playful smile, “James how’s the New York Times best selling author AND Broadway’s Newest hit play writer doing?”

“Things are great,” He beams, “I’m grateful. Zig, how is the charity foundation you started?”

Zig grins, “Not to brag but we’re doing amazing. Thanks again for the donation, bro.” Zig smirks at Chris who shrugs nonchalantly, holding back a smile at the praise. If Jennifer didn’t know better, she’d say Chris was almost blushing and the look the two guys shared gave her pause to consider it. Noticing her gaze, Zig quickly looks away, almost looking like a deer caught in headlights. “It means a lot, man. Speaking of, where’s Tyler?”

Abbie shrugs, steering the conversation away from him - though the pair are doing well she hates being the topic of conversation with Tyler, she knows how annoying they were in college from time to time. The group talks for a while longer, everyone exchanging stories about their lives, smiles and congratulations on the steps to becoming their best possible lives this far down the line. Everything from their careers, new friends, dates they’ve been on, plans for the future, and the times they’ve visited each other and hijinks they got up to together. It reminds Jennifer perfectly of their college experiences.

Jennifer can’t help herself from beaming hearing how amazing all of her friends are doing and she’s so grateful for Becca for flying everyone to their brand new apartment to celebrate how far they’ve come as a couple, careerwise and personal. She hugs her arms to her chest feeling full and rejuvenated; lacking even an essence of a worry in the world.

Her fingers straighten out her dress, a plunging neckline with glittering shimmers of purple adorned all over the extravagant purple evening gown. She hopes Becca likes it, she bought it specifically to surprise her fiance and excite her. She feels on top of the world, a wonderful journalism career in which she couldn’t even name all the celebrities she met on one hand and a loving fiance who spent every high and every low with her over the years. She misses simpler times like college, watching The Crown and The Flame with Abbie and Kaitlyn, sneaking out with Becca at night, and hanging out with Chris and Zig enjoying each other’s company.

——————————————————————————

Becca finds herself on the second floor of her marvel of an apartment, the place decorated artfully with money she’s earned. It brings her the most pride knowing she did all of this and achieved so much since losing her family fortune and starting her own career and financial plan devoid of her parents. Financial freedom is freeing for her and being able to help her friends when they need it and finding herself financially stable enough to take pro-bono cases to support women in need makes her burst with pride. She did this. With the help of her friends and her loving fiance.

She beams as she stands next to Madison the pair talking over glasses of wine. Crystal glasses with gold tips she got as a promotional gift from her law firm, finally excited to be able to use them for the first time. It’s a step up from being in the sorority house throwing back fruity drinks in red solo cups with frat boys trying entirely too hard to get their attention and make them swoon. Becca never felt interested, she’d rather be alone than deal with any more masculine energy than Chris.

It almost makes her laugh, thinking of being in college fighting with Jennifer over Chris only to find out the two wanted each other and not some stupid boy she was obsessed with being with for the sake of her public image. She wonders how much more fun college would’ve been if she met Jennifer sooner, stopped caring as harshly for her public image, or even gave her a chance sooner. She was grateful for the time she has with Jennifer and wouldn’t trade it for the world and she loves their little fairytale romance as is, but she does like to let her mind wander to what ifs and what could’ve been with one another sooner.

“Wordsworth Puppington isn’t taking to the move well,” Madison explains with a smile, “he’s confused. Not as confused as me. My boyfriend starts talking and all I hear is blah blah blah. Like sure I majored in volcanology but that doesn’t mean anything.”

Becca laughs sweetly, “I’m sure Wordsworth will adjust. It’s new. Mr Whiskers is having a hard time adjusting to moving here as well, they just need time.”

“Maybe,” She sighs, “I’m just so happy to see you.”

Madison throws herself around Becca, pulling her into the tightest hug Becca’s ever gotten, it knocks the breath out of her for a second. Becca sighs, despite herself she’s smiling and holding Madison tightly back. She shakes her head trying to hide the smile that refuses to part from her lips. This would be their fourth? Fifth? Maybe the sixth hug they’ve had since they found each other five mere minutes ago.

“Alright alright, you’re wrinkling my outfit.” Becca grins. “Madison I can’t tell you how much I love living in New York. This two floor penthouse is amazing and there’s so much room. Fit for a queen, such as myself.”

Madison laughs sweetly, “I’m happy for you, Becs.”

“I should go find my other half, talk later?” Becca smiles, taking Madison’s hand in her own with a comforting squeeze.

“Of course, maybe you can explain parking tickets to me when you get back?”

Becca sighs, shaking her head. “You worry me.”

She pulls away, giving a confused Madison a sweet smile before descending the staircase down to the main floor of their penthouse. Her hands glide along the smooth gold plated railing, bracing her every step with her high heels slowing her down only slightly. She could do heels in mud, rain, snow, and sleet but put a staircase and she’s nearly tripping down the steps. She shakes her head to herself glancing out at the party looking for the only person that matters to her.

She notices Kaitlyn first, as Kaitlyn is headbanging to her own song over the sound system. Leave it to the #1 best selling lesbian rocker to jam out to her own music in public, Becca thinks to herself with only a tinge of judgment. Mostly she was proud of Kaitlyn for finding her own place in the world and enjoying her life. Though, because Becca is a woman of tact and sophistication she would never give Kaitlyn the satisfaction of a compliment nor would Kaitlyn know that she listens to her CDs in her car.

As her feet find solid ground, her eyes follow Kaitlyn to Chris, Zig, James, Zack, Abbie, and Tyler, before finally settling on the only woman she wanted to see now and forever, Jennifer. Her heart races in her chest seeing the way the purple dress hugs her curves, the way her legs look so shiny in the nylons she wore and the golden heart necklace around her neck that she bought for her. She takes a moment to admire the way Jennifer looks, blushing to herself about ogling her fiance so publicly.

Becca bounds forward, her hand falling onto the small of Jennifer’s back with a devious smile tugging at her lips.

“Hey gorgeous,” She whispers sweetly.

Jennifer laughs sweetly, “You like?”

“Love.” Becca answers seduction on the tip of her tongue, “You are divine tonight. As you are every night, otherwise we wouldn’t be together of course.”

“Oh as if,” Jennifer giggles pushing on Becca’s arm, “You say I look gorgeous with my messy hair and the ugliest sleep pajamas from college that I refuse to throw out because Kait bought them for me.”

“Only because you’re perfect all the time.” Becca grins, “I’m a woman of class. And you’re a woman of my stature.”

“They were great pajamas and on sale.” Kaitlyn smiles at them.

Jennifer only laughs.

“Care for a dance, my queen?” Becca offers her free hand to Jennifer. Jennifer eagerally clasps her own hands around Becca’s grinning sweetly. Becca smiles at her friends with a quick greeting, before whisking Jennifer away to the dance floor. Friends from colleges, friends from work, and friends they’ve met during their journey dance and mingle with one another.

Becca twirls Jennifer around, eyeing the way Jennifer looks tonight, noting the way her dress twirls around with her. Jennifer can’t help the giggle that leaves her lips, letting herself be twirled and admired before being pulled back into her grasp. The few ballads Kaitlyn has released with her bands somehow magically begins to play as they continue to dance around.

Becca catches Kaitlyn’s glance who thumbs up at her, her eyes rolling with a smile despite herself she appreciates the gesture immensely. Her hands fall into place on Jennifer’s hips, Jennifer’s own wrapping around Becca’s neck holding her closer to herself. She breathes out a breath of relief, swaying slowly to the music as couples do the same around them.

“Tonight’s perfect Becca.” Jennifer hums, her breath warm against Becca’s skin. Goosebumps traverse up her arms at the feeling of warmth on her skin. She can’t help the way her body reacts to Jennifer’s touch. Her fiance’s touch was perfect and sweet. Even after all these years she doesn't think she could ever tire of being held or touched by her one true love. “It’s so nice seeing everyone together. Chris invited us to his pro game this weekend.”

“Sure, sure, sure.” Becca agrees mindlessly, her mind lost in Jennifer’s eyes.

“You’re not listening are you?” Jennifer laughs.

She nods her head no. “I’m distracted tonight.”

“In a good way?” Jennifer asks, her voice sweet with worry.

Becca smiles, “Yes. I love you so much, you know that right?”

“Of course I do.”

“And you love me, right?”

“With my heart and soul. What’s this about Becca?” Jennifer’s eyes wrinkle with worry, looking over Becca’s face. Becca only beams, no worry, no thoughts astray, she’s only happy and secure in this moment. She glances away to look at their friends drinking and talking. Tyler and Abbie on the dance floor around them and her heart surges in her chest.

“Do you ever think about us?” She inquired, “I do. Like our college shelves. I remember being so stuck up and condescending, well still am sometimes but not as much.” She laughs to herself. “I just think about how much it took for us to get together.”

“I wouldn’t change it for the world, you know?” Jennifer hums. “I love everything about us. I love our awkward first dates, the way we used to flirt and sound and look so stupid.”

Becca laughs, “I was never stupid, thank you very much.”

“Agree to disagree.”

“If being a lawyer taught me anything, that never works.” Becca grins, “I just - I don’t know Jen.” She glances around the party, the music a little too loud but the energy is high spirited and fun. “I fought so, so hard to get you and honestly just thank god I can finally rest. Everything is so easy, I don’t feel like I have to try so hard to impress you. I don’t have to have the ice queen exterior I was so eloquently anointed with back in the day.”

“You didn’t even have to fight that hard,” Jennifer grins, “I was putty the second you even gave me the time of day.”

“I’ve been thinking,” Becca smiles, “What if we eloped tomorrow?”

“What?” Jennifer asks, “You can’t be serious.”

“Dead.” Becca offers, “I’m tired of waiting. Everyone’s here, it’s been YEARS since I finally proposed to you. I want this so bad. I want to be your wife. I don’t want to be your fiance anymore, I just want you to be Jennifer Emily Davenport more than anything in the entire world.”

There’s a silence between them, both staring at each other.

“Yes.” Jennifer laughs, “Yes, yes, yes, yes-”

Becca cuts Jennifer off with a kiss, her hands firmly holding Jennifer close to her body. Jennifer tastes sweet as Becca delights in the flavor of raspberry on her mouth, savoring the taste, the sounds, and smell of Jen against her. She groans as Becca’s nips at her lower lip before soothing over the skin with her tongue.

Jennifer draws Becca even closer. Her head tilting as Becca’s fingers trail up her neck, forcing her head to side. Becca breaks the kiss reluctantly, letting herself kiss down to Jennifer’s jaw before letting herself delve lower onto Jen’s neck. Hands now brush hair away as she kisses against Jen’s neck eagerly. Jen groans, breathing heavily as Becca dominates her letting Becca have her way with her.

Becca pulls away with a grin, watching Jennifer pout with disappointment. Becca’s hands cup Jennifer’s cheeks looking deeply into her eyes. She leans in, letting her forehead bump against Jennifer's, the girls breathlessly grinning at one another. She sighs with delight as their noses brush together.

“Are you sure you want to elope?” Jennifer coos.

Becca grins, “Yes. We can get to the courthouse early and wear white. Have Madison sign as my witness, Kaitlyn as yours, and we can officially get married. Then all of us can come back here and celebrate. Or go to dinner. I do not care at all. I want to be your wife immediately. I don’t want to wait anymore, we can have a public party with your family and mine later.”

“Yes.” Jennifer smiles. “Becca and Jennifer Davenport.”

“Has a beautiful ring to it, huh?” Becca smiles, Jennifer nods against her. Lips capturing lips, kissing her again in excitement knowing the rest of their lives will be as glamorous and beautiful as right now.

[equallyshaw]

ᴅᴀʏ ᴛᴡᴏ: ᴄʜʀɪꜱᴛᴍᴀꜱ ꜱᴏɴɢꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴇᴀᴋ - ᴛʀᴇᴠᴏʀ ᴢᴇɢʀᴀꜱ

country singer x trevor blurb!

warnings: swearing, cheating, etc. im sorry about this one besties🥺

word count: 4.1k

masterlist for holidays with equallyshaw.

𝘁𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝘀𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝘁 at a country festival, in spring of 2022. after a rough end to the season, him and jamie headed out to a country festival in southern california and just so happened to stumble upon 'miss daisy' the newest, up-and-coming country artist. the two hit if off very well and spent the rest of the weekend tied to one another's hips. daisy thought that it was just a weekend thing and nothing more, but then the day that they all went their separate ways, he was texting her how long she was at home in california for before traveling for summer festivals, and then it blossomed into so much more. daisy was unsure about it, just because her and her boyfriend of three years had just broken up. her ex did not like the success she was having and believed that she had changed. he also did not like how much more successful she was than him, it hurt his precious ego. she was nervous about rushing into another relationship, but trevor made it all very easy, and loving him was the easiest thing she'd done in her life; she'd believed.

❅

it was november a year and a half after meeting and getting together, when her ex boyfriend hit her up. she was in a club box at the ducks arena with her best friend abbi, when she felt her phone buzz. she peered down at it, a simple text stating "enjoying the game?" and sh quickly looked up to see if anybody in front of her had noticed her. her eyes quickly found his, in the box next to her's. she felt a rush of emotions hit her, and she swallowed tryings to blink back tears. she'd be lying if she did not say seeing him had made her heart flutter, and a wave of butterflies formed. abbi looked over and saw who her best friend had her eyes on, and daisy quickly looked back toward the ice. a few minutes later, she headed towards the open bar in the suite and ordered a simple cocktail. "actually can you wait on making it, im gonna head to the washroom." and the bartender nodded going to another patron. she headed out of the suite towards the washroom, "daisy!" she heard her name roll of the southern drawl. she continued her descent towards the washroom, but his longer legs had made him catch up to her.

he grabbed her softly by the arm and made her turn towards him. she yanked her arm away from him, giving him a scowl. "don't do that." he said looking around, to see if anybody had seen them. "don't do that? fuck off tyler." she spat, turning back around but he grabbed her again. she put her arms up, "don't touch me!" she growled, her hands going frantic. he raised his arms up in innocence, and she took a step back. "what? what could you possibly want?" she quizzed, crossing her arms over her chest. he hesitated before speaking, rolling on the balls of his feet. "i-i wanted to let you know that-" she cut him off, "spit it out tyler." she spat, getting impatient. "i have a song coming out tomorrow...and uh, its about you. us. everything." and the way her said 'everything' was shot to her gut, she took a large breathe of air in, and shook her head. "well good for you tyler." she huffed, before turning around and walking off towards the washroom.

it was later on in the evening when she say in trevor's car waiting for him to come out after media and post game stuff, her thoughts began to run wild. she had quickly texted her manager, to see if she knew about this; and she had. her team thought it would be best to not say anything just yet, but that proved to be the wrong choice because of how angry daisy was. why was he releasing something over a year and a half later? but she knew why. some ego or selfish feeling had washed over her as soon as he had said those words. he would be releasing music before she would be. she hadn't released anything since she headlined the weekend her and trevor had met, nothing had come to fruition. she didn't like anything, no she abhorred everything. and that made daisy the perfectionist angry, beyond livid. she knew that she'd have to hit the studio at some point, and knew she'd have to do some writing this week to get to that point. but she knew that he was doing it because one, his ego could not handle not putting anything out and two, he wanted to attack her name and who she was. make it seem like it was her fault, she knew that much.

her thinking was cut short when trevor opened the door and hopped in, leaning over quickly to kiss daisy. she leaned into it, before pulling away and buckling. "good job hun, you did so good!" she gushed, her subdued energy only glinting for a few seconds. trevor noticed...because he noticed everything about her. he looked over as he turned on the car, feeling wary. "you ok, z?" he questioned softly, turning towards her completely. she nodded giving him a tight-lipped smile, "yes, why wouldn't i be?" she hummed taking ahold of his hand that laid open between them, on the console. he knew not to push her tonight, so he nodded and gave her hand a quick kiss before driving off.

❅

the next morning she was up and out of the door, barging in on her producer whom she had trusted her first single and ep with, in the midst of listening to tyler's new single. she was fuming when she barged in to see her producer who at this point, was pretty much an uncle figure to her. "miss daisy, what can i do for you hun?" he questioned, pulling her into a hug. "i have so many ideas, i just need to get them onto paper. somehow." she said pulling away to sit on the couch. he nodded, sitting back down and crossing a leg over his other. "what sound are you going for?" he questioned, remembering that she had wanted to change her style just a bit the last time they spoke. "i-i." she shook her head, "we'll get to that. but i already called abbi and maya to come to help write." she said throwing her hair up in a bun, and he nodded. "alright, lets do this thing." he grinned, pulling out a pen and paper and daisy began to explain what she had been thinking and feeling recently.

christmas isn't canceled (Just You) was born into fruition that day, and it was different. it was very much different than her previous music, but she adored it. she headed home that day with a huge smile on her face, ready to play it for trevor. but trevor wasn't too thrilled about it. as soon as she walked in, he looked up from the couch but did not say anything. "hi! you wouldn't believe what we did at the studio today! i nee-" she stopped speaking when she had rounded the couch, and saw what was on the tv. tyler's song. she sighed, turning towards trevor. "i-i didn't know i promise! i found out last night at the game, my team didn't tell me or els-" he cut her off, "or what? what would you have done daisy?! he practically confessed his love for you and how no matter what he'll love you, no matter what you did, and that he'd drop everything for you. i thought he hated you? isn't that what you said to me the night we met? how your egotistical ex was a douchebag who only cared about his career and hated that you were apparently a fame whore, huh? honestly, i don't know what to believe anymore, z." he said standing up now and beginning to walk into the kitchen.

she blinked back tears, "trev, stop. wait!" she said called after him before following him. he turned around, "you know everything trevor, everything. i promise, what i said was true. he is doing it to spin this onto me, so he gets good press. because again, the girl is always the issue. you need to trust me that what he wrote and put out doesn't matter to me, only you and i. i would never, and you know this- i would never go back to him for any reason. he's doing it to get a rise out of me." she pleaded, no begging for him to believe her. she softly pressed her hands to his cheeks, pulling his face down just a bit to look at her. "you know me, you know my heart trevor. you know that it's all yours, my whole being." she said softly, as tears pricked at her blue eyes. oh, how he loved those eyes.

he sighed, before shutting his eyes, "i don't want you at the game tomorrow. i need some space." he annouced before heading upstairs. her hands stayed where they were in mid-air, before bringing them back down to her chest, and letting out a silent and violent sob. she sobbed for a few minutes, before sniffling through anger and despair- and knew exactly where she needed to go. she slammed the garage door, hopping into her car and pulling out of the garage. she drove for about 20 minutes to laguna beach, as if it was second nature to her. she parked in front of the small beach house and shut her door, walking up towards the door. she banged on it a few times, sighing as the person on the other side took forever. "you!" she said pointing a finger at his chest, and taking three steps inside before shutting the door behind her. he held up his hands in innocence, but that only made her more pissed off.

"youre so sick and twister tyler, you know that? you are harming a healthy fucking relationship for what? harming my image, with a fake song! what-what tyler?!" she yelled at the country singer, and he only shook his head as if she was dumb. "what?!" she screamed, and he looked at her deeply. "you already know that answer, daze." and the way the nickname rolled off his tongue made her heart swell, again. she shook her head, "no. you made your choice, you get to live with that. forever." she said holding her ground. "despite what you think and thought of me, i thought you were a better person than that. i thought your mama raised you better than that!" she said, anger flowing through her at a rapid pace. he chuckled, "and we also know that you wouldn't be over here if you too didn't feel the same way about things, and me." he teased, a coy smile forming. she rolled her eyes, "god you are such a dick! why can't you have a simple conversation before accusing me of the only thing you think you know about me? im still the same person tyler, think a little or can your pea size brain not comprehend that?" she quipped, ready to open the door but he shut if with one hand above her head. "if you walk out that door, there's never going to be an 'us' ever again, there's never going to be a future where we can even be friendly." he threatened, and she hated him for it. "why would i want to be friendly with you, when you've dragged my name through the mud, huh?" she questioned, without looking back at him. "because you'll need a friend when your hot shot of a boyfriend breaks up with you." and she turned towards him. "excuse me?" she spat, and he chuckled. "maybe ask your boyfriend what he did while you were away over the summer, in europe. ask what he did when he was at the boots n barbecue (idk) festival." he announced, and she swallowed heart. "what?" she asked, barely above a whisper.

"your superstar boyfriend cheated on you daisy. and say what you want about me as a boyfriend or person but i would never cheat on you or anybody. you know that much, daze." he said, as he watched her think. she waved her hand, "you're lying. he'd never." she said barely above a whisper, again. but the look that he was giving her, she knew. she knew he wasn't lying and that he'd never lie about such a thing. she swallowed, "i-i have to go." she said turning back towards the door and opening it, "its true. i wasn't lying when i said if you walk out that door, they'll never be an us or any friendliness from me." he announced, a glint of hope coursing through his veins.

she looked at the ground and sighed, before shutting the door behind her. god, she hated herself. and how much she still loved him.

"now give me your coat." he hummed, taking two steps forward into her space and began to pull it off himself. "oh, valentino. nice." he grinned through soft words. he pushed the coat off, still staring down at the girl. goosebumps washed over daisy, as his gaze poured into her eyes. his blue eyes matching hers, perfectly. he grinned, leaning closer stopping just before her lips, and then moved his lips towards her right ear. "still the same perfume as always?" he whispered, exactly where it was the most dominant behind her ear. maison francis rouge, 540. the exact one he had gifted to her for christmas before he broke up with her. amber, woodsy and floral just like her, he had always said. even coming up with three different songs for her. he placed a soft kiss underneath her ear, and she felt herself instantly place her hand in his semi-medium dark brunette locks, and he chuckled. "tyler..." she said in a whisper, as he did it again but on the other side. "come on darlin..." he hummed, as he pulled her towards the bedroom.

❅

the morning of december 17th, she felt arms around her waist in a bedroom that looked exactly the same as the time it did when they broke up. he hadn't wanted to change anything, because she had been the one to decorate it. she heard her phone ring with a call from somebody. "turn it off." tyler groaned, his face in her neck. she scooted over and felt dread wash over her, as she saw trevors contact. "he'll think something is up, if i don't answer." she said sitting up to take it. "hi t-" he cut her off, "where are you right now?" he asked without hesitation. "what?" she asked growing nervous, looking down at tyler who's head perked up at her question. "where are you daisy? and don't lie to me." he said pacing on the other end, "come on trevor. what are you trying to get at?" she questioned, rubbing her eyes. "are you with him? are you?" he questioned, looking up at his parents who had dropped in early for the holidays. trevor had been suspicious lately of how much time she was spending at the studio, she'd never spent so much time in all of their relationship. but a tip from jamie from abbi her best friend, had him worried. "oh come on trevor, you know im at the studio. im trying to get a single out before christmas." she said looking in front of her. he shook his head, "just-just please come home. that's all i ask." trevor said vulnerable, and she swallowed. "ill be there soon." she hummed before hanging up. she hadn't said home, trevor thought as she did so.

"I have to go." she said throwing the covers off and throwing on her underwear from before, and tyler objected. "no, don't gooo." and she rolled her eyes. "i knew this whole thing was a mistake." she said walking over towards her black dress from the night before, putting on her bra in the process. "then are you gonna tell him that you know? that you know what he did?" tyler said getting up, and putting on his boxers. she had trouble zipping up her dress, and tyler swooped in and she instantly felt electricity run up her spine. she shrugged it off and continued to walk out the door. "daze, you have to tell him." he said as he followed her downstairs. "tyler." she said his name in a way he hated it because he knew her answer. "come on daisy!" he yelled out, and she turned around to him giggling. "you only want me to tell him so you can have me again, so i can be all yours. well you know what, what if i don't want to be yours, again?" she quipped sliding on her light trench coat. he shook his head, "you're lying daze. i know when you're lying." he chuckled. "so what?! you think me telling him about us, this - right after i tell him i know about him and what he did, that he isn't going to be any less mad about it?" she spat, stepping into her heels.

"are you gonna stay with him, if he chooses to not leave you ofcourse." he countered and she giggled. "whatever i decide, ill text you." she said sarcastically before walking out into the garage and into her car. tyler watched from doorway before heading back inside.

❅

she shut the garage door behind her, her black boots she threw on in the car clunked on the marble floor. she sighed hearing voices from the kitchen, and she made her descent towards the stairs. she had made it into the bedroom, when she heard footsteps after her. she turned around to trevor who took in her little black dress, a black oversized jacket she had also thrown on in the car. he crossed his arms, not saying a word. he just stared at her. "tyler you're making me uncomfortable." she said turning around and heading towards her closet, to grab some change of clothes. he walked in behind her, shutting the door as well. "ty-" she stopped herself when she saw the look he was sporting.

guilt, shame, anger, betrayal, and despair were all evident on his face.

"i cheated when you were in europe." he confessed, biting the inside of his cheek. she nodded softly, "i know." she said just above a whisper, and his eye's found hers. "what?" he questioned, eyebrows crinkling. "i know, i found out a few weeks ago." she said turning back around to take off her jacket. "who told you?" he questioned, and she shook her head. "it's not important." she hummed, shoving her boots off. "who daisy? who?" he said but he knew the answer, and as she turned around she saw the tears that had begun to form.

"him. right? because its always him." he hummed, putting a hand on his hip. "trevor-" he cut her off, "you've been seeing him haven't you?" he questioned. when she didn't answer, he knew the answer. "i don't know how i can be angry when i did the exact same thing but at least it was with a stranger and not fucking tyler!" he screamed the last part, now fuming. "oh fuck off trevor, if you could have done it with emma you would have!" she screamed back at him, and he laughed. a wicked laugh filled with slight amusement. "now you're gonna go on and on about emma, again are you?" he questioned, a slight amused look on his face. "me? you're going on and on about tyler! i think its warranted, if you're bringing up my ex all the time!" she shrieked, throwing her hands up. "at least she isn't out there writing songs about how the one got away! how the girl that i love, is busy with some 'past time'!" he said now throwing his hands up. "good god trevor, are you jealous? are you jealous of him, huh? because believe me i could bring up the fact that i saw you text emma a month after we got together, how do you think i felt? feeling less than and thinking that she was who you really wanted!" she said and he stood there shocked, "don't act surprised. jamie tried to play if off but i knew trevor. i fucking knew, and i still let you fool me! i allowed you to whisk me away that summer and fool me into believing that you liked me and that i was the one for you. but you going on and cheating on me in fucking public, might i add- really shows how you really feel huh?" she spat, taking a moment to breathe.

"i get i get that you are upset with me, i get that you feel betrayed. i get that you don't like tyler, i get that what tyler did was shitty. believe me, I've already given him earfuls. but-but you cant expect me not to get upset about you texting her and then doing what you did this summer. we both fucked up. we need to be civilized adults and move on trevor." she finished, sniffling. he tilted his head just a bit, his lips turning inward. "ill have my stuff out by the end of the game tomorrow, trevor." she said turning back around, and throwing a bag of clothes together. she began to walk out of the closet before looking back at trevor, "i hope you know that song i wrote in july. that- that was everything i felt and more, i meant that song trevor. don't forget that." she said softly before walking out.

out of his life forever.

❅

she smiled softly, as she took pictures for her holiday ep. ᴄʜʀɪꜱᴛᴍᴀꜱ ꜱᴏɴɢꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴇᴀᴋ. (which would without question, go #1 on the country charts and pop) today was the 22nd, and somehow she had written and recorded the few songs to put out the very next day.

the track list went: mine, river, christmas isn't canceled (Just You) and my grown up christmas wish. (mine and canceled is by kelly clarkson) abbi her best friend took ahold of her best friends hand as they exited the studio together, as tyler continued to text her. he hadn't heard from her as she left that day. she never did tell him of the inevitable breakup.

"you know as much as tyler is an ass and has made some questionable choices recently and despite what he said when yall broke up..i know you still love him daisy. i know that even while you were with trevor, you were hoping for a way out - the whole time." abbi said as they got into the car. daisy sighed as she put her hands on the wheel. "yeah thankyou for reminding me." she said monotoned, and abbi giggled. "seriously, as much as i loved you with trevor and how much he brought out a different side of you, we both know and so does the world that tyler brought way more out of you. the better side of you. yall were each others first love for christ's sake." abbi said wiggling her eyebrows. daisy rolled her eyes, before pulling out into downtown la traffic. "alright alright abbi, thanks for the talk." she hummed, pressing tyler's contact name on the screen in front of her.

❅

her and tyler walked into the popular breakfast place, christmas morning. the two decided to spend christmas together, just the two of them. frankly, because tyler hadn't booked a flight home to dallas in time. they held each others hand before Tyler let her walk in front of him towards the booth. she slid in across from him, and smiled. the two had decided they didn't want to hide their relationship from the world anymore, and though it might look messy from the outside- they were prepared to set the record straight. again, even if it was messy. he took ahold of her hand, smiling like the cheshire cats- the both of them.

trevor noticed the two walk in as soon as they had, as he was sipping his cappuccino from the table with his family. he swallowed hard, watching as the two sat down smiling like fools. even if it stung trevor, it didn't hurt as much as he thought it would. he knew deep down that her and tyler were the one's for each other- he'd just been a stop on her way back to him.

tags: @toasttt11 @jayda12 @dancerbailey3 @jackhues @cuttergauthier

please like and reblog if you enjoyed, id appreciate it vv much❤️

[bradfordchens]

hi! and welcome to liz's 12 days of ficmas 2024!

so last year i had a ton of fun writing 12 different prompts that were sent by you- i decided to change it up a bit this year and offer you some prompts to choose from since i have so many ideas and not enough time to write them! just send me a message with your choice of prompt from the list below and i'll dedicate the story to you on one of the 12 days of ficmas (december 14th - december 25th).

The prompts:

inspired by euguene by sufjan stevens [a jackson au tessjoel story about estrangement and growing together and lemon yogurt] - TAKEN

tess finding nina barrett’s (my town doctor oc) sister and brother-in-law while out on a raid and bringing them back to the settlement [subsequent nina angst, set within girls verse, still heavily tess/joel] - TAKEN

tessjoel the proposal au [tess is in need of a greencard when her canadian citizenship is revealed- joel, her overly loyal assistant, offers to marry her. their pretend relationship is tested when they head to his grandmother's 90th birthday party in cedar park, texas.] - TAKEN

the tlou2 dance scene, but in girls verse, and the subsequent fallout between tess x joel x ellie x and the girls - TAKEN

joel teaching ellie how to play 'seven nation army' on guitar, therefore ensuring tess will forever be annoyed since ellie Will Not Play Anything Else

tess and ben sibling backstory in the qz leading up to his murder [minor tessjoel] - TAKEN

beginnings of modern day au girls verse [tessjoelsarah in college] - TAKEN

tessjoel beauty and the beast au

abby deciding to infiltrate jackson and date ellie in order to ruin her life / kill joel [tess lives au, heavily tessjoel / tessjoelellie] - TAKEN

how joel finds moose in girls verse aka the millers get a dog

tylerkate + kate making tyler experience an nyc christmas - TAKEN

bathena + mistletoe - TAKEN

if you have any questions about any particular prompt and what it entails please feel free to message me to ask! if you want to claim a prompt just sent me a message or ask- just include the prompt number and your ao3 handle so i can gift it to you when i post! there's no number for how many you can claim, so feel free to take multiple if you so choose :)

i'm so excited to spend the holiday season with you all once again, it's my favorite time of the year!!

[choiceswithmika]

The Freshman x The Royal Romance CrossOver Series

Rating: Mature

Summary: The Freshman and The Royal Romance Series from Pixelberrry Studios (Choices). What if The Freshman Gang and The Royal Romance Dream Team all met and even being in each other's lives through out after Hartfied and Cordonia. Are they going to get along well and even make friendships? Are they going to work together? or... this might not end well for both groups?.. A Crossover series of two well known choices books and they all meet/reunion after two to three years..

Characters: Mikaylyn Ortega, Zig Ortega, Chris Powell, Kaitlyn Liao, Zack Zilburg, Abbie Bishop, Rebecca Davenport, Tyler Allan, James Ashton, Will Williams, Sumi Ayashi, Liam Rys, Hana Lee, Maxwell Beaumont, Drake Walker, Olivia Nevrakis

My AU

- Zig and Mikaylyn are married

- TRR Mc is a guy, Will Williams and King Liam Rye are getting married.

- Abbie and James are dating

- Sumi is Mikaylyn's best friend that was not a Hartfeld student but gets along with everyone else

- The Freshman Gang are graduates

- Will Williams are still friends with Sumi, Mikaylyn and The Freshman Gang but have not met up ever since Will moved out of the state.

Warnings: NSFW, Swearing, Sensitive topics like harassment, emotion abuse and more.

Word Count: 1729

___________________________________

Chapter One: The Freshman Gang's POV

It was a lovely day in the city, the gang all had graduated from Hartfied and living in their new lives. Mikaylyn and her friends are living happily in their lives since graduation. Right now seems like the group all had been reunited in a buffet restaurant after a while last time they all met up. Everyone seems like having a good time by talking and having fun conversation. Some conversations were deep as continuing to have a conversation. 

"Hey guys! Check this out!" Chris says as he showed his phone to everyone at the table. 

It was a news article about King Liam Rys and Will Williams together. Mikaylyn and Sumi looked into Chris's phone and both realized that Will was getting married. Everyone else was invested about them while Sumi and Mikaylyn overthinks this, they used to have a trio with Will but when he had to leave their state to Cordonia, they kind of stopped talking to each other but they were still considered friends despite that. 

"Man.. How has it been?" Mikaylyn ask as looking at Sumi.

"I think.. like a year or two?" Sumi answered.

"Wait about what?" Zig asked. 

Mikaylyn sigh then takes a deep breath. 

"Me and Sumi used to know Will actually. He is still our friend but when he moved to Cordonia, it kind of changed and we all stopped talking to each other." Mikaylyn explains. 

Zig wrapped an arm around Mikaylyn's waist and gives her a reassuring smile. He then talks to Mikaylyn his sweet tone as looking into her eyes while holding her hand rubbing it with his thumb as he tighten her waist a little bit.

"I'm sure he still remembers you or us since Will met me before but look Mikay... It will be okay amor just remember he still is the same annoying man we knew." Zig says in an amusement trying to light up Mikaylyn's mood by saying his banter jokes about Will. It worked though, Mikaylyn chuckled a little and smiled then looks at Zig smiling.

"Yeah... You're right Zig.. I have nothing to worry.." Mikaylyn says in her normal tone that everyone knows her for.

Zig nods his head and he softly smiles, "That's my girl." Zig says in his sweet tone.

"Hey! I got an idea! We should totally go see Cordonia." Zack says with a grin.

Everyone stared at Zack with a shock, surprise and disbelief look on their faces. Like they think what Zack just said was either a stupid idea or is he actually crazy. The slience tells it all then a few minutes later Becca speaks up first. 

"Uhm. I think you are insane or double insane because huh?!" Becca says in her reaction of confused and conflict with disappointed facial expression. 

"For once, seconded because you know we are literally asking for a death wish and seeing a king and his people or friends that are literally well known everywhere!" Tyler says. 

"Okay. but Mikaylyn is famous and she has no problem with it." Zack says being defensive.

Mikaylyn then spoke up, "Zack, there is a difference with being well known writer and heroes in a kingdom. I think you are crazy for going to Cordonia, like.. there's no way we'll be accepted!" Mikaylyn stated. 

"Okay but like do you have any other ideas?" Zack said with a pointed look at Mikaylyn.

"Okay but at least we gotta let Will know that this is happening." Kaitlyn stated.

"I got it." Mikaylyn said as she got her phone out then texted Will.

It took a few minutes and after Mikaylyn putted her phone away, she looked at her friends and husband.

"Well.. Will said we can go to Cordonia in a week for his wedding with the king." Mikaylyn stated.

"But... is the King like going to be okay with it?.. More likely I am nervous of meeting the other members there.." Abbie says nervously.

"I meannn if I can meet the all time badass Olivia Nevrakis, that would be cool so I am down to give a kingdom a visit." Becca says in a small smirk on her face.

"Sooo am I a genius now?" Zack says grinning.

"I think this might be fun for all of us!" Chris says.

"Sure... But we never know what is going to happen so I say it'll be a experience.." James says.

"I guess we'll see each other at the airport next Wednesday?" Kaitlyn ask. 

Everyone nods their head in agreement.

________________________

As time went on, the dinner was over and everyone say their good byes. They all went into their separate ways, Mikaylyn and Zig headed to their car to drive home. It only took them like ten minutes to reach home. Zig parked the car in the driveway and stopped the engine. He then unlock the car for both Zig and Mikaylyn to walk out of the car and head inside. Mikaylyn gets out of the passenger seat as Zig does the same of the driver seat. They both linked their arms together and walks towards their house. They both then walk inside their house as Mikaylyn unlock the house door with the key. The couple took their time to be ready for bed since it was almost like 8:45 Pm at this time. When they finished getting ready for bed, they both hopped onto the bed and were now cuddling for a little while as talking to each other. 

"What do you think about Cordonia and I mean be totally honest with me.." Mikaylyn spoke as holding onto Zig as looking at him.

"My honest opinion? I think it'll look beautiful and fancy." Zig answers. 

Mikaylyn chuckled to Zig's answer.

"Of course hehe, I did not expect a different answer." Mikaylyn said smiling at Zig.

"Okay but babygirl think about this, I mean we are literally going to meet Will's future husband and his other friends there. It's like, we are meeting celebrities basically-" Zig said in his normal tone of reaction but bit shocking.

"Okay fair but you kind of know Liam but we have not met like you know everyone else like... Drake, Maxwell, Hana and Olivia." Mikaylyn stated.

"But we should see how this goes for all of us eh?" Mikaylyn added.

"Mhm but well we should sleep amor.." Zig says.

"Yeah alright.. Good night Mi querido esposo." Mikaylyn grins as she gives Zig one last kiss.

Zig grinned back at Mikaylyn and responded, "Good night Mi amada esposa." Zig kissed Mikaylyn's lips softly before laying down on the bed with his arms wrapped around Mikaylyn. 

Mikaylyn wrapped her arm around Zig's neck and falling asleep in his embrace. Zig does the same as he leans in closer pressed his side on Mikaylyn's peacefully now sleeping.

__________________________________

Time Skip: A Week Later At The Airport

Mikaylyn, Zig and their friends all met up in the airport with their bags packed, they all did the security gate and together as a group. When they went through the security, they all go walk together. Mikaylyn and Zig are holding hands, Abbie and James are holding hands as well while everyone else just talk and walk side by side.

"Okay.. so what number was our gate again?.." Sumi ask.

"I think.. Gate 9?" Tyler answers.

"Actually um.. Will texted me yesterday and told me that.. Liam was nice enough to helps us by getting into his private plane.." Mikaylyn stated.

Everyone stopped in their tracks and looked at Mikaylyn, even Zig who is still holding her hand was even shocked. 

"I'm sorry. Did you just say... PRIVATE?!" Zack shouts in shock. 

"Zack!!" Mikaylyn tried to calm him down.

"Wait.. Are you serious?.." Becca and James both ask at the same time in their shock tone. 

Mikaylyn showed everyone her phone of the text message from Will. Everyone was stunned to speak.

"Okay.. This is already scaring me.." Kaitlyn says. 

"Uh girl? You mean this is great!!" Becca says.

"I never thought we would go in a private plane.. the only fancy good thing is first class and I always did not want to take first class-" Zig said in shock tone. 

"Well... Let's go enjoy the hell out of it!" Abbie says.

Everyone nods their heads and agrees by cheering 

_______________________

The group all spent their time just doing last minute things on their phones and and devices before they all head to the airplane as walking towards the private plane gate. As soon everyone sees the plane in front of them they all stopped and looks at them with their mouth dropped. 

"Okay.. Will was not joking.." James stated. 

"I still can't believe that this is real.." Tyler says. 

"Seconded.." Chris added. 

"Well let's go guys!" Zack said excitingly as going into the plane first. 

Everyone stared at each other then all head inside the plan one by one. They all taken their seats and waited for the take off. The whole plane trip was kind of fun since a lot of things to eat and drink including good signal as well so everyone could go on their phones if they needed to. Zack and Tyler were playing video games on their switches. Becca was reading a magazine as Kaitlyn was listening to music. Sumi is drawing while Chris was reading a book. Abbie and James were cuddling in their seats taking a nap. Mikaylyn and Zig were holding onto each other as looking through the window while drinking some soda. 

"I never seen the ocean this big since the last time we traveled after Japan.." Mikaylyn stated.

"Yeah me either.. I never thought Cordonia would change my opinion of that besides Japan..' Zig adds. 

The rest of the flight was more smoothing than what everyone thought. It was also kind of an over night flight so everyone fell asleep in the plane on their seats as the sun went down. 

The next day though, the plane was landing in the Cordonia's private space for the plane to land, The gang realized that they made it to Cordonia.. One by one everyone gets up and walk out of the plane carefully to not bump into each other. As everyone walks out of the place. They all admire Cordonia and how beautiful the kingdom looks. 

"This is it..." Mikaylyn says as she held ZIg's hand. 

@choicesficwriterscreations

[pleasantlysecretdream]

This is when I fell in love

For the first time ever

Bonus:

[alliewilkes]

In My Direction

                         In My Direction

Pairing: Chris x MC (Allie) Zig x OC (Ash)

Book: The Freshman Book 3 

Word count: Too many (3,500+)

Rating: R (eventual sex, swearing, and heavy topics)

Summary: This takes place during book 3 where my MC has a twin brother. I can't imagine my life without any siblings, so I've been writing this in my head for over a year now. Her twin brother Ash, falls in love with Zig, and the two men go through their own struggles. Together or not is the question.

Author's note: This is my first time getting back to writing in a year. I just graduated college myself, so I'm a little rusty writing anything other than notes and flashcards. I think the beginning of my chapters are a little fast paced, but I hope everyone else likes it more than I do. I'll add a picture later, I wanted to get this out as soon as possible. I don't really know about the texting part and Tumblr botches the formatting so ugh. Please don't roast me. 

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

Relaxing after work was nice. Ash Wilkes spent nights pretty much just scrolling through his phone until he got tired. Nothing else to really do other than make sure his tiny apartment was clean. Though he could probably eat. 

Setting his phone down next to his gloves on the nightstand, he sat up and was about to stretch until his phone buzzed. Snatching it up, he was surprised to see a text from his sister.

ALLIE

You up for coffee?

ASH

👀

Free coffee?

ALLIE

I mean no

ASH 

👁️👄👁️

The person who usually invites pays 

ALLIE

Whatever asshole. Just get over here.

ASH

Love you sis

ALLIE

🖕

Okay then. 

Throwing on some clothes and grabbing the keys, Ash made his way to Hartfeld. He didn't go see her as much as they were hoping to, but he was glad he could actually take a little bit of time off now. He tried to be around for her a little bit, especially since he knew she needed comfort with her anxiety, being in a completely different home and all. So far he's only met Chris.

So he was a little nervous when he realized she actually has four other roommates. But maybe he's just a little overprotective. He gripped hard at the steering wheel to push the idea that anything that bad could have possibly gone wrong. 

She would've said something. He was definitely about to find out.

Stepping out of the van, he noticed a well dressed man step into the coffee shop. A little overdressed for some caffeine he thought, but maybe the man had a date. 

As soon as he made it in the door however, the first thing he saw was the same man grabbing Allie's arm. 

"Hey!" His attempted intervention went unnoticed however, as a strong whatever it was sent him falling backwards. 

Rubbing his now throbbing head, he caught a glimpse of the dickhead booking it out of the shop. 

"Are you okay?" 

Startled, Ash looked up and saw Allie looking at another man in front of her before turning in his direction. 

"Ash!" His sister kneeled down next to him and pulled him into a hug which he gladly returned.

"I didn't even realize you were coming in. Are you okay? You didn't just get hit did you?" He laughed a little bit at her concern, clearing his throat when she raised her eyebrows in offense. What she didn't know is that he was supposed to be asking her.

"I guess I just got the wind knocked out of me for a moment," he shrugged. "Who the hell was that grabbing on you?"

Now she shrugged. It was a way bigger deal than her body language is saying it is. Before she could open her mouth, a yell erupted from the other side of the cafe.

"Zig! We need you behind the counter!" 

Zig. He'd really have to thank him for acting to protect Allie. He can only assume that was the manager. Ash forgot about everyone else other than Allie for so long that the first reminder that it wasn't just them made his insides almost eat themselves. Could also be adrenaline.

"Sorry, I need to go," Zig spoke up. "If that a-hole comes back, come find me, okay?" He slouched off where his balding, pissed off looking manager was waiting. Yeesh.

Allie grabbed his arm pulling him up off the floor. Once they got to the others, Allie set a coffee cup in his hands before she got enveloped into Chris's arms. 

He smiled at them for a second before he focused on his coffee. He seemed to be in his own head for a bit because after a moment, Allie started walking away. 

"Where are you going?" 

"I'm thinking I should go say something to him," She suggested. Turning to her friends, she gestured to the dining room. "Can you guys go get us a table?"

"I'll go with you," Ash shouted suddenly, catching everyone off guard for a moment before her friends walked to find a table and Allie smiled at him.

"Come on then."

Despite whatever that jerk was about to do to her, Allie even just laughed a little. It was good that she found ways to stay her happy little self, especially with everything he worries about her going through.

Once the twins made it to the counter, Zig gave them a pleasant expression before Ash greeted him.

"So… Zig, huh?" Okay, not so much "greet", more like just blurting out words randomly. It wasn't too late to check to see if he has a concussion.

Zig glanced up at him, surprised. Looking down at his hand, Ash let out what he was hoping was a silent wince. He's had his fair share of injuries, but ouch.

The shock on the barista's face quickly melted into a calmer expression. "Short for Zigmund," He remarked. Interesting name. "Zig is fine, though. Zigmund tends to raise a lot of questions." 

Ash chuckled, until his sister kindly bumped his shoulder to remind him that he was being a weirdo. Clearing his throat, he simply smiled. "I don't think shortening it is really fooling anyone."

Zig smirked. 

"No I guess it's not."

Ash bit his lip subconsciously, trying and failing really hard to hide a smile. His cheeks flushed a deep red as he felt he ended up doing that for a very uncomfortable amount of time. 

Another clearing of the throat. Can he stop doing this? "I'm Ash, and this is my little sister, Allie."

Allie snorted and rolled her eyes, elbowing her brother a little too hard, causing him to clutch his chest.

"We just wanted to say thanks, and I'm sorry you had to get involved in all that," She said, putting her hands in her pockets.

Zig smiled at her.

"Nice to meet you guys. But there's no need to apologise," he shrugged. So humble. "I'm not a fan of bullies."

Before Ash could think of something to say, Zig tossed a rag over his shoulder and fiddled with the espresso machine. The twins stepped closer.

"Trust me, I can take care of myself," Allie smiled. "But I appreciate the help." Not so humble. 

She put a finger on her chin, furrowing her brows. "I haven't seen you around before…," Oh, he must have just got here. Maybe a transfer student or something. "Are you new?" Ash looked at Zig with a smirk, and the barista fixed him with his own.

"Yep," The smirk was a wide smile now. "Just started here a couple weeks ago." Awesome.

"I mean at Hartfeld. What classes are you signed up for?" Allie continued.

"None," Zig replied. "I'm not in school actually."

"Oh! Sorry I just assumed…" Allie smiled sheepishly. Or hoped.

Zig turned his attention back to the machine, reaching for the tamp with the bruised hand. He dropped it with a hiss, shaking out his hand. 

"How bad does it hurt?" Ash asked, reaching to tell Zig he wanted to get a better look at it.

"I'm fine," He assured, holding it out of his view. "Probably." 

Ash leaned over to gently grab him by the wrist of his injured hand and saw that his knuckles were badly swollen and a bruise was starting to form. Zig quickly pulled his arm back.

"I guess evidence suggests otherwise."

Ash looked at Allie with a mixture of amusement and slight annoyance. This man was a stubborn one.

"Let me help you with that," Ash suggested, already getting up to sit on the counter. Zig's face lit up with a smile.

"I'd really appreciate it," his smile made Ash ridiculously happy for some reason. "But my boss would be pissed if I let anyone behind the counter."

Psshh. Screw that guy.

"Well, you've already punched out a customer. How much worse can it get?" Allie spoke up. Ash fixed him with a smirk.

"I guess you have a point," Zig chuckled.

Ash climbed over to the other side of the counter and flushed red when Allie walked in through the gate, and went to find the ice tray. One of them held the towel while the other took care of scooping ice into it.

Ash took it and pressed it to Zig's injured hand. He hissed through his teeth as it made contact.

Ash bit his lip, too nervous to apologize out loud. He was questioning why, they were talking fine two minutes ago. He suddenly noticed how close they were to each other now. He had gloves on, but he could feel Zig's fingers on his palm.

"Sorry," he finally got out. "Does it hurt?" 

"I've felt worse," Zig made a face. Oh god, he was looking directly at him. 

"So are you going to tell me what that whole scene was about?" Ash looked really confused for a second, and then turned to his sister. He really wanted to know too.

"If you would believe it, it was a student council dispute," she said. Both men arched an eyebrow, Ash a little more impatiently. He knew politics were a touchy subject, but it should never involve actual touching. 

"Really?" Zig opened his mouth in shock. "Seems like a lot for something like that." His feelings exactly.

"I guess you could say there were extenuating circumstances," she responded. Ash rolled his eyes and shook his head, focusing back on Zig's hand. Even Zig raised a sceptical eyebrow at her. She finally told them what happened during her first two quarters. Now it was Ash's turn to be shocked.

"You blackmailed someone? I wouldn't peg you for the type," Ash personally was more worried that Allie was near a fucking sociopath this entire time.

"Well, it was a pretty low moment for me."

Ash felt his heart ache at that, pulling his sister into a one armed hug. 

"Sounds like you were just looking out for your friend," Zig said. Ash gave Allie a supportive smile at that, causing her to hug him a little tighter before letting go, and then looked a little sullen again.

"I was, but I could have ruined someone else's life in the process." Did she mean Sebastian's? 

"You mean that entitled brat who tripped me?" Allie was too damn nice to people, if someone thinks it's acceptable to not only treat complete strangers like they're beneath him, but also to take advantage of them and the school that seems to kiss rich people's asses, he can go live in a box for all he cares. "If you or anyone else do wrong by him, he's earned it." Ash liked this guy.

"Well, when you put it that way…" Allie's voice broke him out of his thoughts. "It was him or Chris, and I protect the people I care about."

The twins shared a smile at this.

"That's good to know. Loyalty's a sexy quality," Zig said. What?

Ash couldn't tell when he felt first, his heart sink or his face turn red. 

"You're kind of a flirt, aren't you?" He blurted out, putting a hand on his hip. 

"And I've been told I'm damn good at it." 

If his face got any redder, he'd have to throw himself into a tomato garden. 

"Is it working?" 

"I won't lie, I'm kind of into it." Okay, now he was just saying things. Better than speaking in tongues or something. Probably.

"Glad to see I'm not losing my touch, then." He heard his sister chuckling to herself behind him, and quickly glared at her for being nosey. When he looked back at Zig, the slightly taller man was smiling at either him or the exchange between the siblings.

Ash went back to pressing the ice against Zig's hand, and he let out a shudder.

"Ah! Careful!" He should've been paying attention.

"Sorry!" Despite feeling bad, he laughed. "I'm not being a really good nurse, am I?"

"I think you're doing just fine," Ash had to avoid eye contact to stop himself from doing anything else too embarrassing. He could feel Zig's gaze burning a hole into his skull.

"Well… you should be good now," he said, making sure Zig had a hold of the towel. 

"We should probably get back to my friends," Allie said. 

"Sure thing. Thanks for checking up on me," His smile made Ash feel really… happy? He wasn't sure.

Zig held up his hand and gingerly flexed it. "I think the sting is starting to wear off a little."

"Well, just keep icing it and try not to put too much pressure on it." Zig laughed at him.

"Yes, nurse Ash."

"Don't be a smart ass, I've had my fair share of injuries, especially hand injuries, so you should be thanking me." Both men smiled at each other after he said that, and Ash quickly extinguished his before he did something way too forward.

"I guess we'll see you around?" He was glad Allie interrupted this time. 

"You know where to find me." Ash started walking off towards the booth her friends found and Allie gave Zig a wave on their way back.

"Oh I forgot to tell you, we're here because my friend Kaitlyn made a friend who's in a punk rock band," She sat down next to Kaitlyn and he sat across from her, rolling his eyes. He didn't care if he was going to be a jerk about this, but he didn't exactly trust Kaitlyn's judgement with anything after Allie texted him last quarter about how alone she felt. Her friends shouldn't have turned their backs on her.

"I came here for you. But I will say, checking out a different kind of rock music is a good way to hang out," he smiled at her before taking a sip of his frozen mocha.

"I'm so bad at remembering to introduce people," Allie laughed. She started pointing at her friends around the table. "You kind of already know Chris and Kaitlyn, but this is Tyler, Abbie, and Zack. And this is my other friend James, he also worked with Professor Vazquez."

"Cool."

Allie turned her attention to the band, observing them doing an instrument check. 

"Wow, they look so cool," Abbie said, mouth agape. Tyler, the guy sitting next to her, fixed her with a look.

"You think so? I think they look kind of intimidating." Ash rolled his eyes. What are those ladies going to do? Aggressively play their songs in their faces? That's kind of the point of rock music.

Microphone feedback turned everyone's attention back to the stage. A woman who he guessed was the lead singer was in front of the mic. "Hey everyone! Thanks for coming tonight! We're The Gutter Kittens."

This should be fun.

The band started their thing, and once they dove into the song, Ash started absentmindedly tapping his fingers against the table to memorize the beat. Or it helps him enjoy it more, he wasn't sure. Just something he's always done. 

"Hey, they're pretty good!" Chris commented.

"I knew they would be," Kaitlyn smiled. "Natasha's got a great taste in music." That she does.

"This is perfect," Zack stood up. "I can definitely work out some pent up aggression to this. I'm hitting the dance floor, who's with me?" He yelled, pumping his fist into the air.

Allie and Kaitlyn looked as excited as he was. It's been forever since Ash found himself in a moshpit, but hell yeah. 

"I think I'll pass, I'm not sure that is dancing," James said. What a pussy.

"Oh whatever, James," Kaitlyn giggled. "Count me in, Zack. Allie?" She looked at his sister hopefully.

"I'm totally in! I could stand to work out some issues too," she said, pumping her arms in the air. She was too cute. Then he felt his arm being tugged on. "You're going too. And no, you don't get a choice."

Like she even had to convince him. The now slightly smaller group ran in front of the stage and started dancing.

"Yes! I haven't been in a pit in so long!" Kaitlyn shrieked. Ash laughed at that and his sister almost hitting him in the face with her hair. He would drag her to places when they were in high school, but only managed to get her to go to one concert. She seemed to be uncomfortable with the amount of people, but she seemed to be thriving now that she's in college.

"Do they call it that because it smells like armpits?" Zack asked, making everyone laugh.

"With all this jumping? How could it not?" Ash joked back good-naturedly. Maybe her friends weren't so bad.

He bumped shoulders with his sister and she bumped back, the twins getting into a groove while laughing and playing around.

After a few songs, they all went back to the rest of the group, sweaty and sore. 

"You guys totally missed it," Kaitlyn smiled, making it to her seat first.

"Zack bumped into this huge guy, and he was not happy about it." Allie finished, she and Ash laughing together.

"I totally thought he was going to murder me," Zack shrunk into his part of the booth. 

"Be grateful you weren't wearing earrings," Ash said, rubbing at his earlobe at the memory. "Worst concert of my life." 

"You guys were a great crowd!" The lead singer yelled into the microphone. "We've got one last song left, but first, I'd like to bring up a special guest to help sing it!" 

The crowd cheered as the group of friends "ooh'd" in interest.

"Ooh, a special guest?" Kaitlyn looked more mesmerized than everyone else.

"We just met recently, but I'm sure she knows all the words. Kaitlyn?" The girl on the mic said, holding out her hand.

Everyone turned to Kaitlyn, shocked. She seemed quite surprised herself. 

"M-me? In front of all these people?" Kaitlyn squeaked out. 

The other woman waved Kaitlyn over while her other bandmates re-tuned for the next song.

"I don't know about this," Kaitlyn whispered.

"Kaitlyn," Allie smiled, putting her hands on her friend's shoulders. "You've got this! We'll all be right here cheering for you."

The rest of her friends smiled.

"And I've heard you sing in the shower before," Abbie said supportively. "You've definitely got a set of pipes."

"You can hear that?!" Kaitlyn gasped.

"Pretty much anywhere in the suite," Tyler piped up. "I've heard you up on the roof before."

"I'm surprised we haven't gotten more noise complaints from the neighbors," Zack joked, elbowing Tyler in the arm.

"Don't listen to them," Chris rolled his eyes at his friends and their antics. "That's beside the point. What do you have to lose?" 

"Yeah…" Kaitlyn said softly, still unsure. "Yeah. You guys are right," she brightened up. "I'm going up there. Wish me luck!"

"Luck!" Abbie said sweetly.

Kaitlyn ran up to the stage while Ash found himself cheering her on along with Allie and her friends.

"Knock 'em dead, Kaitlyn!" Chris yelled.

"Yeah! Uh, rock on!" James said awkwardly, throwing his fist into the air.

Kaitlyn got to the stage and once the rest of the band had everything ready, she spoke into the microphone.

"Uh, hi everyone, my name is Kaitlyn and this is 'Heart of Ice' by Coargurot and well, here goes nothing."

The band launched into the song, and Kaitlyn gripped the microphone as she sang intently into it. The crowd cheered wildly, singing along with her.

"Wow, she's really something, isn't she?" James said in awe.

"I mean, I knew she was something, but look at her go!" Abbie laughed, happy that her friend was enjoying herself.

Looking up at the stage, anyone would be able to see that Kaitlyn was in her element. 

Everyone continued cheering her on until The Gutter Kittens finished playing the final notes of the song. Kaitlyn bowed as everyone clapped for her, grinning wildly.

She ran offstage and immediately got tackled into a hug by Allie.

"You were incredible! Who knew my best friend was so metal?" She said almost breathlessly.

"I know right? I guess all the singing in the shower paid off!" Kaitlyn shrugged.

"Kaitlyn, you were so good!" Abbie complimented. 

"Thanks guys!" Kaitlyn laughed.

Kaitlyn startled suddenly at a tap on her shoulder. She turned around to see the bandmates.

"You totally killed it girl!" One of them said, who Ash recognized as the drummer.

"Seriously, our shows never get that crazy," the girl next to her mentioned nonchalantly. 

"I find that hard to believe. You guys can play." Kaitlyn looked starstruck.

"Tell that to the people who don't go to our shows," the drummer said.

The lead singer walked up, throwing her arms around her bandmates shoulders.

"I see you've officially met Amara and Rachel. And these are probably the rest of your friends?" She looked the group over.

Kaitlyn lit up. "Yeah! You already know Allie, obviously Abbie. And this is Chris, and Tyler-"

"Yeah, that's cool," Natasha cut her off. Ash raised an eyebrow at her for the rude gesture. "How would you like to join the band?"

"Like, full time?" Kaitlyn opened her mouth in shock.

"Natasha likes to say she isn't really a singer. We've been looking for someone for a while now…" Amara informed.

"We just couldn't find someone who we liked or fit our aesthetic," Rachel added.

"Until now," Natasha smiled warmly. "What do you say?"

Everyone looked at Kaitlyn, awaiting an answer.

[chrispowellownsmyheart]

inside my mc’s, addison, instagram!

(chris powell x mc)

[sarzkh31]

Hi kids IT'S SAPPY SUNDAY!

[priyas-tiddies]

All I’m saying is Abbie should have broken up with Tyler years ago and got a cute British boyfriend while in London.

[maxattack-powell]

Me now that The Freshman Series is over.

[playchoicesconfessions]

Sent by anonymous

‘MC's parents are divorcing, she got forced to break up with her LIs or argue with Zack, but of course Abbie and Tyler is the happy couple of The Senior and nothing bad happened to them in this book. Are you f*cking kidding me PB?'

POST/CONFESSIONS DO NOT REFLECT THE MOD’S PERSONAL OPINIONS!

[karazorxel]

IM FUCKING ENGAGED TO THE LOVE OF MY LIFE 😭😭😍😍

So I’m currently sat here typing this and crying at the same time like wtf KAITLYN IS MY fIANCEE, that’s soooo UNREAL IM SOBBING JUST KNOWING THAT IVE BEEN WITH THIS BOOK SINCE THE BEGINNING and now I’m engaged to Kaitlyn??? That’s mad!!! 😍😭😭

IVE NEVER BEEN SO HAPPY LIKE BEST AND WORSE CHRISTMAS EVERRR!!! I’m also crying because it’s all over 😖😭

[jamesashtonisbae]

That I Did Always Love

Word Count: 3,664

Pairing: James x MC (Lacey), Becca x Zig, Abbie x Tyler, Kaitlyn x Anissa

Rating: M

Warnings: Language, sexual content

Summary: It’s Lacey’s senior year, and she and James have been together since she was a freshman.  They’re in love with life and in love with each other.

Author’s Note: This is my first fic.  It is probably terrible.  The tenses are probably all screwed up.  No one is probably going to read it.  But here it is anyway!

Disclaimer: I do not own these characters, they belong to pixelberry studios.  This is based on The Freshman Series.

…

Lacey was curled up under a blanket on the couch in her and James’s apartment.  A mug of coffee sat on the end table next to her as she flipped through The New York Times.  As she began to read the Lifestyle section her phone chirped with a message from Kaitlyn.

-hey, want to go to the salon today? Abbie, Becca, and I need our nails done asap.  You should join.  Going at 10!

Lacey considered it for a moment, trying to think through her day.  She and James had made plans later that afternoon to go walk through the park and check out some of the new food trucks there.  He was out that morning to get some writing done at his favorite coffee shop, so she was free for hours.

-sure, see you at 10!

She got up from her couch after briefly skimming an article on the benefits of buying a houseplant, lifted her kitten Austen off of her lap, and maneuvered to the kitchen without stepping on their puppy Poe.  

“House plant?” she wrote on the marker board on their fridge before cleaning out her mug and putting it in the dishwasher.  Poe yapped at her feet, looking up at her with his big brown eyes. Lacey laughed and reached down to pat his head.

“Dad will be back at noon, I know he’s your favorite.”

As she moved down the hallway toward the bedroom, Poe followed, his energy astounding. Quickly, Lacey slipped through the door and closed it behind her, keeping Poe from coming in with her. With a laugh, she peered into her lobster Gerald’s tank and noted he was sleeping, sort of, on the bottom.

“Oh, Gerald.  You sweet, simple boy.  Some days I want your life.”

Lacey shed her silk robe and pulled on a pair of light wash jeans, then her favorite pair of knee high brown suede boots.  She slipped into a navy cropped turtle neck, then put on the gold studs James had got her for their third anniversary.  A final glance in the mirror revealed she was ready, and so she pulled on her maroon trench jacket and her slate gray bag.  

She hurried out the door, kissing both of her fur babies on the way out.  Lacey scurried to the first floor of the apartment complex and hustled to her car.  Traffic was light, and she made her way to the nail salon in no time.

“Lacey!” Kaitlyn was the first to greet her, rushing over with more gusto than necessary at 10 am.

“Hey girls!  It’s so good that the gang is back together again!”

“Lacey, how are you?” Becca said, slipping an arm around Lacey’s shoulder and pulling her into her side.

“Good, Bex.  How are you?”

“I’m great.  Just finished up my last midterm yesterday, so I’m rewarding myself with a one day break from all things law school!”

“Well, that’s good!”

Abbie put her arms around the three girls, her curls tickling Lacey’s neck.

Lacey let out a laugh, “It is so good to see you all again.  I feel like I just hang out with James now.  And don’t get me wrong, I love the man, but sometimes I just need girl time.”

“Please, as if any of us have ever doubted for a second that you love James Ashton. That boy has got you wrapped around his finger,” Abbie added.

The four girls had made their way over to the nail stations and were each getting their hands cleaned.  Lacey had decided on a classic French tip, which was her go to.

“So tell me, how are things going?  I want juicy deets!”  Becca said, “From all of you!  Abbie, go!”

“Well, Tyler and I have been talking a lot about post-graduation things, and we’re thinking of moving to San Francisco.  His family is out there, he would be close to Silicon Valley, and I’m actually getting really into graffiti-style art, so that would be a cool place to study that and incorporate it into my repertoire, ya know?”

“What? San Francisco? Abbie that’s amazing!” Kaitlyn said, almost shouting, “but are you guys talking about the M word?”

Abbie quirked an eyebrow at Kaitlyn.

“Marriage,” Becca explained.

“Oh! Yes we have, we think it’s still a few years off for us actually.  We’re very happy, but just don’t see the need to move into that step right now. And we want to make a little money first so we can have a ridiculous wedding.”

“And Kaitlyn?  How are things?”

“Wow. So the band is great.  We’re getting ready for the tour over Thanksgiving. It’s going to be something new, pretty challenging, you know, all of that fun stuff, but I’m excited to see how we grow.  Plus, Anissa’s amazing, and we’ll get to spend more time with each other.”

“So things are going well there?” Lacey asked.

“Very well.  I guess, I do have one question, since the three of you are very sensual ladies. It’s pretty weird, but you know me, I’m just going to ask.”

“Kaitlyn, nothing you ask me could ever shock me, just go ahead,” Lacey added.

“So like, obviously it’s kind of different for me, since I’m with a woman and you all are with dudes, but like, what are your thoughts on butt stuff?”

Becca laughed, Abbie’s eyes widened, and Lacey shook her head, “Zero percent of me is shocked by this, Kaitlyn.”

“Well,” Becca began, “Zig and I don’t really do a lot of it.  I mean, when I give him BJs I definitely finger him sometimes, if that’s what you’re asking.  He goes crazy for it.  Nothing vice versa though.”

“Like no pegging or anything though?”

“No. Not that either of us would be opposed, just that our sex life is very satisfactory the way that it is.”

“Cool. Good to know.  Abbie?”

“God, I never thought I’d talk about this with anyone other than Tyler.”

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to.”

“Nah, I will.  We don’t do pegging, but I’ve let him try anal a couple of times.  Both of us kind of like it.  He always goes down on me after, so that’s why I am unopposed.”

“Lacey?”

Lacey let out a short laugh, “Well, for starters, James is huge, so if we’re going to do it anal, we have to decide like two days before and I’ll wear butt plugs so that he doesn’t split me like a rail.  But when we do, I use a vibrator, which he loves, but we both come together at the very least, but yeah, he goes down on me when we’re done. Granted, he goes down on me an average of ten times a week.”

“Just how much sex do you guys have?” Becca asked.

“Lots. Like more than multiple times a day.”

“When was the last time you had sex?”

“This morning in the shower.”

“And before that?”

“Before we got in the shower when we woke up.”

“You guys have been together for four years!  How do you have it so often?”

“Literally nothing is off the table.  Except for sharing.  We won’t share each other.  We tried it once and it was not good.”

“Wait, with who?” Kaitlyn asked, curious.

“I don’t know if this will shock you or not, but it was with Logan.”

“What?” Becca exclaimed.  “Wait, how was it?  What happened?”

“Well, Logan and James didn’t touch each other, but Logan definitely went down on me while I gave James a BJ, and then they double teamed me, Logan in my ass and James inside me.  It was incredible, but he was very jealous seeing another guy please me, so we agreed never again.”

“Lacey, you are a minx!” Abbie exclaimed.

“Well…”

“No, you are.  No one would know by how prim and proper you are, but damn you are a sexual goddess. No wonder James will do anything for you.”

“He does anything for me in the bedroom too.  And often.”

“So wait, what I’m hearing is, butt stuff isn’t horrible?” Kaitlyn brought it back.

“No, not at all.  Like what type of butt stuff?”

“Anissa got us strap-ons, so that type of butt stuff.”

“You may be into it, you may not be.  I like it a lot,” Lacey added.  “But I like almost everything James tries.”

“Weirdest sex thing – go,” Becca asked.

“Well, I think it was probably this time when we were cleaning and started getting down and dirty and he lay me down on our counter and used a broom handle on me. It was amazing, but really weird for sure.”

“How is anyone else’s weird sex thing supposed to compare to that?” Kaitlyn asked.

“It’s not.”

They spent the rest of the morning gabbing and catching up, although they’d hung out a few weeks prior.  It was hard for Lacey knowing that she didn’t get to see them as often as she had when they were younger.  But their time was special nonetheless.

When they were finished, and Lacey had impressively manicured French tips, Kaitlyn had black bedazzled nails, Abbie had hers painted maroon, and Becca had hers painted nude, they paid and ran to McDermot’s for a quick bite.  As Lacey sipped her second coffee of the day and tried to maintain a semi-healthy take on lunch, her friends filled her in on their plans for the day, all being pretty vague about their nights.

“Oh, I’m just going to hang out with some friends, I think,” Kaitlyn mentioned.

“I’ll probably head somewhere with Zig, I guess.”

“Yeah, Tyler and I might do something tonight.”

“Wow. That isn’t descriptive at all.  I guess if I don’t see you later, then I don’t. James and I are going to go try food trucks tonight and he mentioned inviting people over for drinks later. If you guys are free you should come.”

“I’ll talk to Tyler and we’ll see.”

“Yeah, I’ll run it by Zig and see what he has to say.”

“Anissa and I should be down later, we’ll let you know.”

“Okay, sounds good,” Lacey stood, “I guess I’ll be on my way then.  I’m going to run home and throw around some article ideas before we head out.  Bye!”

Lacey drove home, thinking about what she may want to eat.  She always wanted tacos, and food trucks never disappointed, but James always tried to pick out obscure ones for them to try together. Hopefully she’d be able to persuade him to get just one taco the whole night.

As she fumbled with her keys to get into her apartment, James opened the door for her.

“Oh! Thanks, Babe.”

“Anything for my sunshine,” he said, pressing a kiss to Lacey’s cheek.  “How was your morning?  Do anything fun?”

“Yeah, went to get my nails done with Abbie, Kaitlyn, and Becca.”

“Let me see.”

Lacey held out her hand, which James took with a smile of approval, “They look beautiful, much like the woman to whom they belong,” he pressed a kiss to her hand, her knuckles, the inside of her wrist, up her arm as far as he could underneath her sweater.  Then, he pulled her to him, slipping his hand under the hem of her sweater, pressing his lips to her neck.

“We have a couple of hours before we’re going out.  How would you like to spend them?”

“Remember that thing you did to me with the broom handle?”

“Mmm, how could I forget?” he murmured against her neck.

“Would you want to do it again?”

“Yes, god, yes.”

…

“James, please?  I just want a taco!” Lacey said, taking one hand in both of hers and tugging him towards the taco truck to their right.

“Lacey, we’ve gone over this.  You need to branch out, Sunshine.”

“I will, but I want a taco first!”

“You’re insatiable, and I love you.”

“So, I get a taco?” 

“As if I could deny the most stunning woman in the world what she desires.”

Lacey leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek, “Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!”

She skipped over towards the taco truck, James’s hand in hers.  As he followed her, he thought to himself God, I could not love this woman any more.

They decided to get two pork al pastor tacos with pico de gallo and feta cheese. While they wandered through the park, they each took bites of the tacos and talked a bit about the article they had each read about houseplants.

“How long would it take for Poe to destroy a houseplant, though?” James asked.

“I mean, not very long, but he can’t climb on shelves or counters, so we could keep it like on the entertainment center or our dresser, don’t you think?”

“Why do you want a houseplant, anyway?”

“I don’t know, I really like the color green, and I feel like in an apartment it’s so easy to feel removed from nature, so we could kind of make up for it if we got a house plant, don’t you?”

“I suppose you’re right, my dear.  We should go to Earl May over fall break and try to find one we like.”

“I’ve already kind of started researching some that would be good for us.”

“Real research, or “Design your apartment and we’ll tell you what houseplant to get” quizzes on Buzzfeed?”

Lacey let out a quick laugh and leaned into James’s side as he wrapped an arm around her, “A little bit of both.”

“Good, because I only make life decisions with the help of Buzzfeed quizzes.”

“I love you so much, James Ashton.”

“Lacey Morgan, I love you too.”

She pressed her lips to his in a quick but sweet kiss.  He grinned down at her, marveling at the perfect woman in his arms. How he had gotten so lucky was beyond him.

“Now, will you please come try a different food truck with me?”

“Of course I will.  Which one, Babe?”

“That Greek one looks good.”

“You know how I feel about Greek food…” Lacey began.

James’s face fell, “You hate it, I know.”

“But you also know how I feel about you,” she kissed his cheek, “so I’ll happily try yet another gyro with dill sauce for you my sweet man.”

After sampling a few gyros and deciding she still hated them and he still loved them, Lacey and James made their way towards the fountain in the center of the park. Night was beginning to fall, but the park was still well lit and it was easy to see the newly changed trees. Reds, yellows, and oranges were splashed across the background behind the fountain, and Lacey sucked in a breath at the beauty.

“What’s wrong?” James asked, nervously shoving his hand that wasn’t holding hers into his pocket.

“Absolutely nothing.  Everything is perfect.  It’s so beautiful here.  I want to remember this night forever.  I want to be here with you forever.”

James chuckled nervously, sitting on a bench, “It is the most perfect night ever. It truly is.”

Lacey sat down next to him, wrapping her hands around his, “Are you okay?  You seem a bit off right now, Love.  What’s going on?”

He cleared his throat, then turned to face her, taking both of her hands in his, “Lacey, you are the greatest gift I’ve been given.  Knowing you has made me a better man than I ever thought possible. Every single day, I think of a new way that I fail you and a new way that you amaze me and think that I can never deserve you and the love you give me.  You know how much I love Emily Dickinson, I know how much you do, and when I think of you I cannot help but think of that night we spent reading poetry during the spring of your freshman year.  Do you remember the “That I did always love” poem?”

“As if I could forget,” Lacey whispered, reciting, “That I did always love, / I bring thee proof: / That till I loved / I did not love enough. / That I shall love alway, / I offer thee / That love is life, / And life hath immortality. / This, dost thou doubt, sweet? / Then have I / Nothing to show/ But Calvary.”

“What I didn’t know then was that I was going to reach a point where any life I imagined without you was one I did not want.  Where you go, where you belong, I am going to go with you.  You are the most important thing in my life, Lacey Jae Morgan.  I love you. I love your morning routine, the way you roll over and press yourself against me for five minutes before you quietly get up and shower.  When you wrap your hair up in your towel and slip on your silky robe, then go eat a muffin and drink the darkest, most disgusting coffee known to man while you read the Times.  I love how you talk to Poe, and Austen, and Gerald as if they are human.  You are so sweet and caring, and think of things I never would when it comes to what they need and what makes them comfortable.  I love how you help me with my writing.  You never tell me what to do, you always listen and get me to believe in myself.  You’re so capable, you could tell me what to do and it would be phenomenal, but you always ask me to find myself when I’m stuck.  You’ve never forced your way onto me, and at the same time I feel like I become more like you every day.  Because of you, I am kinder, wiser, more thoughtful, better with people, more open, more joyful.  You’re the sun, Lacey Jae Morgan.  When everything is dark, you’re the sun.”

By now, tears were streaming down Lacey’s cheeks.  She was holding onto James’s hands, her forehead pressed to his as she gazed at him.  She was so in love with this man, she couldn’t even think straight sometimes.  But here they were, in a park by a fountain, sharing one of the most special moments of their relationship.  James was baring his soul, but begging her not to respond.  A small piece of Lacey knew that he was not done with what he had to say just yet.

“Lacey Jae Morgan, you are my everything.  I cannot fathom anything without you.  Every piece of my life has been so touched by you, that I will never be the same.  And frankly, I don’t want to be the same.  I want to grow with you Lacey.  For the rest of my life.”

James let go of her hands and stood.  He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box.  Lacey’s hands flew to her face, covering her mouth.  She was full on sobbing now as James sunk to one knee in front of her.  A few tears streamed down his cheeks as he looked up at the love of his life, “Lacey, my sunshine, will you marry me?”

He opened the box, but Lacey didn’t even look at it.  She reached down to wipe a tear from his cheek, keeping her hand on his face as she gazed down at the man she adored.  As her face broke into a huge grin, she leaned her head down to press her lips to his.  They kissed passionately for a few moments before he pulled away and said, “So is that a yes?”

Lacey threw back her head, laughter mixing with the tears on her cheeks.  She stopped laughing and looked back down at him “Yes.  A thousand times yes.”

James rose and pulled her into his arms, spinning her around, the box now closed and in his hand.  They embraced for a long moment, before she pulled away and said, “I know that it’s not really that important, but I’d love to see that ring now.”

“It’s very important,” he said, pulling out the box, “I want you to love this ring so much that you’ll never want to take it off.”

“It doesn’t really matter what it looks like, I’ll love it because you got it for me.”

As she said that, he opened the box and her jaw dropped.  Had she envisioned her perfect ring, it would not have compared to the ring James had gotten her.  It was a vintage ring, with a thin gold band and a very large oval diamond.  Lacey began openly sobbing as James took her hand and put it on her finger.

“Oh James, this is perfect.  I know it wouldn’t matter if it were just a plain gold band but this ring is stunning and I wouldn’t have picked a better one for myself if I’d tried.  Oh,” she wrapped her arms around his neck, pressing a kiss to his mouth.

They held each other and kissed for a few moments before James pulled away, “You know that rooftop bar we went to when you were a freshman?”

“Yes,” Lacey said, hesitantly.

“Well, I rented it out tonight.  Our friends and family are there right now if you would like to go join them.”

Lacey let out a laugh, then pulled him close again, “James George Ashton, you have thought of everything haven’t you?”

“Well, I should have, that’s for sure.”

“Oh and why is that?”

“Because I have been planning this day since I first met you.”

“James, you have not.”

“Really? You don’t think I have?”

“There’s no way.”

“When we get home tonight, I’ll show you my journal from the September of 2014. You’ll find that was the first time I called you sunshine or compared you to the sun.  You’ve lit up my life for years Lacey Jae.  And you’ll continue to do so for years to come.”

[afternoonprod]

I bet I know how The Senior ends...

The set up:

Alright, MC's lost Vasquez's journal, left in a cab, never to be seen again, right? WRONG! The last entry she read detailed how Vasquez finally realized what a dope he'd been with (chick he was dating whose name I cant remember because Vasquez's journal enteries were typically hella boring). Point is, Vasquez and what's her face split up to take their own paths, much like MC and James (or whoever your LI is even though it should be James because we should have ALL been dating James). Ohhh, the foreshadowing!

How this will all go down:

James finds the journal in the cab on his way to the airport when he's leaving for Alaska (or, someone else in the gang finds the journal in the cab and passes it along to James before he leaves, but for the sake of drama, let's say it all goes down IN the cab with James being the finder). James thumbs through the journal, settles on the entry MC finished reading in this chapter, where Vasquez realizes he was an idiot to let the love of his life just take off because he was unwilling/afraid to compromise. James reads the next entry. In the next entry, Vasquez, now aware of how stupid he was to take the job that was a "sure thing" in the first place, hauls off after what's her name. Clear-headed, still in love, and more determined (and jobless) than ever, he shows up wherever what's her face is and BEGS, no, PLEADS for her to take him back. Vasquez expresses that his actions were driven by fear, blah blah blah. He promises to change, says he believes in her, whatever. She takes him back, they have a kid, the rest is history that I dont remember from The Freshman series.

Inspired, James (and all the money he saved when he moved out of his fancy, expensive apartment to live in absolute squalor with MC) gets to the airport and changes his flight. He's not going to Alaska. He's taking a page outta Vasquez's book and going to London to BEG for forgiveness! He doesn't need Alaska, their earthquakes, or a view of Russia from his backyard (or wherever the other LIs were going. I dont know where since, again, we should all have been dating James)! All he needs is MC. He promises that if she takes him back, he'll get his shit together, cause let's be honest, he knows he's been working her last good nerve since he started counting the asparagus! MC agrees to resume a relationship with James (hopefully after he takes her out on the town and does things to her in that dress that aren't rated PG-13 because why the hell else would we spend diamonds on it when the series is probably ending), but by now she's been hired on fulltime. No problem at all though. James moves to London. They live in a nice place, get hitched, make babies. James is the happiest stay-at-home author/dad ever.

And yes, it works out exactly like I said because this is The Freaking Freshman series and shit always works out just fine, damn it!

Just rememer, you heard it here first. I called it!

Pixelberry, I'll be waiting for my job offer to join your writing squad. I do not require benefits of any kind, just a check. Thank you in advance.

Oh, AND! A random sinkhole opens up and swallows Tyler whole, because I hold insurmountable grudges fr.

[hisuian-goodra]

The Sophomore in a nutshell 🤔