#also quick shoutout to Bianca

[sedonalace]

Stormy Nights with You- Gastina

Hey everyone! I thought it would be nice to give everyone a small break from working on ficweek so i brought this to y’all. (For the record I still haven’t started yet because I was working on this and yeah I know my life is a total mess I get it.) Anyways I hope you enjoy it! Send requests and good luck to everyone on finishing their ficweek prompts!!!

No school on a cold and dark day made for a brilliant date for Nina and Gaston. At Nina's house, they watched movies all day long, ordered pizza (twice), and occasionally make out every now and then.

Even after a year and a half of dating, Nina still gets flustered every time, but Gaston would never ever put her in a position she didn't want to be in. She was grateful for that. That she was the luckiest girl to ever find someone so relatable and understanding as Gaston. She loved having him by her side, and he with her. He loved that he could share the same passions with her and adore her with his entire being. They were truly a match made in heaven.

Throughout the day it began to rain. It began to pour later on, the storms were nearly coming. However, it was 10 o'clock meaning Gaston probably should be going. He took his arm from around Nina's shoulder, which caused her to look up from the screen.

"It's getting pretty late, I think I should be going." As Gaston is about to get up, Nina grabs a hold of his arm. "How are you getting home? You walked here." That stumped him there. He didn't really think this through. "I'll just call Matteo to come get me, don't worry." Nina nods in agreement and returns back to the screen, still unsure.

The phone kept ringing and ringing but Matteo did not pick up. Gastón called back again six more times and nothing. "He's not picking up," he calls his girlfriend to attention. "Probably having a little too much fun with Luna on their date tonight." Nina rolled her eyes at this. "It's fine, just stay a bit longer until it stops raining" she suggests.

"You're right. Maybe the rain will clear down soon." She shyly nods in agreement and pulls him back next to her, resuming the movie. He was still a bit anxious though, worried that the rain would keep going. What was he supposed to do then? He didn't bring his car, the bus doesn't run this late at night in this area, and he had nobody else to pick him up.

An hour and a half pass by and the rain is as strong as ever. Gaston was really panicking now. Nina seemed to sense his anxiousness and glanced at her watch and out the window. They look at each other reflecting the same expression. She bites her lip and looks down at her lap. She has an idea but is a bit nervous about. There really is no other option so she just goes for it.

"Um, Gaston?" He snaps out of his mind and turns to his girlfriend, all ears at her. "I-I think you should spend the night....... It's raining badly and all and.... It's just for one night." She looks back up at her boyfriend who wears a surprised expression on his face.

He really wasn't expecting her to suggest that. They had never done anything besides kissing before, and they had never slept over at each other's houses. Nina has always been a quiet and reserved person so they had always been very relaxed as a couple. Her suggestion really threw him off. He wasn't opposed to the idea, he just wasn't sure if it was because she wanted him to or just for hospitality.

"Nina, you don't have to. Really, I'll be fine. Besides, what about when you're dad comes back? I don't think he'd like the idea of me being here. But thank you, I appreciate it." She sat up a bit straighter to talk properly to him. "No, I'm not letting you walk back at this time at night in the rain. My dad texted me not long ago that he had some really big idea for this new app so he might be at his office for a few more hours, probably pulling an all-nighter. I'm okay with it. It'll be alright." She pulls his hand into hers, entwining their fingers together.

Gaston looks back up at her and bites his lip and sighs defeated. "Well if you're okay with it and everything. I'll stay." Nina's lips pull into a shy smile. "Okay, great." They quietly agreed and spent the next few hours in silence.

At about 2 in the morning, Nina finally decides it's time to go to sleep. She wakes Gastón up who is nearly about to fall asleep. "Hey, I'll get you some clothes, I'll be right back." He nods at her and gets up.

While she's gone, he takes the blankets and pillows they were using earlier to set up his bed in the couch. She comes back, clothes and new toothbrush in hand. "Here you go. I'm going to my room now, Goodnight." She reaches up to kiss his cheek and heads back. He goes to the bathroom to change and brush his teeth and falls asleep right away, not even caring that heavy rain is pounding against the home.

Nina is tossing and turning, not finding the ability to sleep. Heavy storms have always scared her. When she young, she'd run to her mother's room and sleep with her for the night. But now Nina is grown, alone but with her boyfriend sleeping in the room next door with no one else knowing.

A loud clap of thunder sounds and startled Nina. She shuts her eyes tight hoping that it will go away. It doesn't. She tries her best to shake it off. After a few minutes she can't take it anymore. She musters up the courage to get up and go towards the living room. She finds Gastón sleeping deeply on the couch. She takes a deep breath and gently shakes him in an attempt to wake him.

"Gastón. Gastón." He slowly blinks his sleepiness away to look at his girlfriend wide awake. He sits up straight thinking there's an emergency. "Nina, what's going on. Why are you awake?"

"I couldn't fall asleep. The thunder has always frightened me." Nina says as she sits next to him. Gastón takes his girlfriend in his arms for a protective hug, running his arms up and down hers.

After a few moments,she takes a few deep breaths before asking him a really bold question. "Gastón?" He pulls away from her just a bit to get a better look at her, "yes Nina?"

She looks down blushing. "Um, can you sleep in my room with me?" She looks back up at him to see a taken aback expression. He doesn't say anything for a few moments, making Nina nervous. "Uh, yeah I'll sleep in your room." She nods her head and pulls him toward her room. He takes the blankets with him and sets them on the floor by her bed.

"I meant, in my bed" the girl whispers shyly.

Man did this girl know how to keep surprises going. Gastón was really astonished by the amount of confidence and boldness his girlfriend had. He really admired that of her.

"Are you sure Nina?" Gastón asked, not wanting to pressure her at all. Nina shook her head, "yes. Please, the thunder is really crazy right now." Gastón hesitated, but decided to follow.

He climbed onto the bed, leaving as much room for Nina as possible. She facing the ceiling, and his back against her.

Only a few moments later did they hear a big crash of thunder which jolted Nina up. She began hyperventilating. Gastón immediately caught her in his arms and began soothing her, rubbing his arms up and down he back. He kept shushing her and her breathing began to go back to normal.

"Are you okay?" he whispered in her ear softly. She could only nod her head in response. He wasn't quite sure whether to let them go back to sleep or stay in that position for a while, so just decided to stay like that for a few minutes more.

She began dropping from his arms and fell against the pillows and crashed to sleep, still holding onto her boyfriend tightly. He didn't want her to wake up frightened again, so he wrapped his arm around her waist and fell asleep holding each other together.

Gastón heard the way too loud pug of his phone at 7 in the morning, indicating a text probably from Matteo. He was about to grab his phone when suddenly he forgot in that brief moment that he had slept with Nina. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes to peer over at an adoring Nina who was peacefully against her boyfriend's chest.

Gastón smiles down at her, fully content. He reaches into his pocket to glance at his text.

6:58 A.M. Matteo Balsano: Dude, where did you go what the hell?

Gastón rolls his eyes at his best friends message. How was he the one at fault?

7:00 A.M. Gastón Perida: Thanks for answering me last night buddy. You're a real one!!

7:00 A.M. Gastón Perida: Don't worry, I slept over at Nina's. Nothing happened by the way.

A few seconds later Matteo responds back.

7:01 A.M. Matteo Balsano: I'm coming for you in 10. Imma need you to explain yoself .

What a dumbass this kid is Gastón thought. But he totally appreciated him.

Gastón slowly pries his girlfriend off his chest onto her pillows, despite how much he would have wanted to stay like that forever. He really didn't want to get caught by her father. He laid a kiss on her forehead and cheek. He shoots her text explaining why he left before she woke up. He cleans up and gathers his things, and quietly slips away.

Nina wakes up about two hours later, confused as to where her boyfriend was. She finds her phone to read his text and smiles.

7:06 A.M.   Gastón Perida:   Good morning Nina, I had to leave early because Matteo gave me a ride home plus I didn't want your dad to catch me. I'm sorry I wasn't there to wake you up. I had a great time last night and I'm eternally grateful I get to call you my beautiful and wonderful girlfriend. Thank you for letting me stay. I'll see you later today. I love you.

She lays back down all smiley, remembering the fact that she fell asleep in her boyfriend's arms in her bed last night. How unlike her it was to do it. But she didn't regret a single thing. It was something she was going to remember for a very long time. And she would tell Luna every single detail about it when they met day. Never missing a single beat.

[cnc-hoebayb]

Okay ! wait sorry gotta give a shoutout real quick i

I’ve been big time triste for a sec lol but lemme just say when these hoes start blowing up the gc i immediately am like 🥰

They’re just like the breath of fresh air i need after a rough day bc i know they’re gonna get my mind off some things without even knowin they are lol

And i love that shit no matter what. bc even if it’s about who should write a certain something for money 👀👀, or what to wear for the day, talkin bout real life, somehow fitting the boys into every real life scenario we can, and even sleepover plans for the future lol, i enjoy deadass every second of it

Bc they’re so supportive of everything and so damn smart too I’m telling u all!!!

I never thought I’d be such a sap like this bc i swear I’m not like this irl...

But i never thought I’d have good friends like this over something as random as a boy band lmaoo

I can’t tell u how many times I’ve died over Sarah’s ( @la-saffron ) 294819 voice messages she leaves us cracking up and usually about her day or how she imagines the boys doing the same thing. Or like when she says “imagine ___ doing *something sexual* to u rn lmaoo” and i choke skfjak. And idk how tf she does it but she just has that weird sense when somethings goin on she be in my messages like “u good?? 👀” she’s so fuckiN caring oof (my long lost Capricorn twin :,) ) Yoel betta come claim his lady

Or when Bianca ( @imabasicqueen ) tells us about her roommate and i just wanna throw hands on sight 😤 omg and her energy never fails to get me hype she’s just the fuel i need sometimes. But y’all- her freaking mind i s2g she gots some gooood shit about Zabdi like 24/7 I’m definitely team Bi/Zabdi all the way and she’s got my back with Jay/Chris 😂 we each other’s biggest support con tODO. Y’all sleepin on her big time and she should be so loved every second of the day and absolutely deserves thE WORLD, don’t @ me

And Aliiii ( @quisieracnco )ugH she’s 10/10 the sweetest person u will ever meet, her humor also top grade A1 👌🏽👌🏽we joke that she’s the reason of the group, but i know she on some freak shit and crazy as hell under it all lmao. She’s the best for advice and i love that she ain’t afraid to speak her mind too, she be like “y’all wildin out tf.” And don’t get me started on how positive and supportive she always stay with us like- i could never. She supports my slime career and all my other antics so ayy big shoutout. Big time badass and ain’t no man other than richuki should step up 2 her bc she needs the besT

Sport that was so long I’m sorry if it’s weird y’all ain’t gotta read it all lol. But I’m just saying they’re the most beautiful, supportive, and amazing people and I’m sooo grateful to have met them. Also luv that they haven’t exposed any of the shit i send them. That’s some big dirt on me lol.

Okayonelastthingsorry but they all deserve the man of their dreams bc they shouldn’t settle for anything less than Zabdi, Richard, and Joel 😂 real shit

[wanderlustjas-blog]

Welcome back! Look at me go, two posts in one week. This year is off to a good start! So let’s dive right in, onwards to Marrakesh!

I also forgot to add the day-sheet for Fes, so just sticking it in here!

DAY THIRTEEN: Daysheet for reference!

Shoutout to Simone for reminding me of some of the conversations we had along the way about Morocco which I had honestly forgotten about until she reminded me – how we thought language evolved and thinking without words – we had some weird and wonderful conversation on this trip – so thank-you and sorry for forgetting :P

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To say it was hot when we were in Morocco was an understatement. Height of summer, lots of sun meant you were sweating as soon as you woke up. So having a surprise stop for lunch on our drive to Marrakesh was heaven for me – a pool.

This wonderful, random hotel in the middle of the desert allowed us to stop in for a few hours, get our swim on and have some lunch. It was a wonderful surprise and it definitely rejuvenated the group.

Back on the road, we arrived at our hotel in Marrakech after a few hours, so we dropped our bags and headed out for our first look at the Jamaa el Fna Square where the main marketplace of Marrkech is. Again, because of Ramadan, there’s not too many people around during the day, so the square was pretty empty.

After our quick look around the square, it was off back to the the hotel to get changed for our dinner out. We would be travelling in style this evening with a horse ride to the restaurant. It was definitely a race to see who would get there first which was slightly harrowing when there’s horses, cars, scooters, pedestrians and the like all clamouring to get through first. Not sure if there was a speed limit, but it really didn’t feel like it! You basically just go when you want. Thrilling, and glad to be finished!

I do remember before we got to Morocco, that Simone & I were wanting to find the ‘David Beckham Morocco’. The pretty, exclusive part/s of the city that looked so beautiful and inviting. So we were on the lookout for that on the way in to the city!

  Dinner was in this big room, massive round table and comfy couches. Logan and I bee-lined for one big couch and pretty much took up the whole thing. Dinner was comprised of mountains of food and it felt like it just kept coming. It was lovely, like a Moroccan tapas, picking at lots of little bits and pieces. The food in this country was just lovely.

Once again, we had dinner and a show with traditional dancers as well a few belly’s in the mix. I did not get up again, my time in the belly dancing spotlight was one0time only. It was an enjoyable evening and we wanted to keep it moving so after dinner we went back to the square to find a nice bar to continue with a few drinks and maybe a shisha or two. The atmosphere was so very different to that very afternoon.

(Apologies for the blurred pic, my phone is no good for night shots!)

Our Egyptian Guider, Muhammad, took us to a rooftop bar in the marketplace. I do remember that there was a bit of gossiping going around at this point of the tour. Mainly from the group that joined ours and what they’d heard about what had happened (or people thought had happened) before they had joined us. I distinctly remember Christina telling me that one of the girls from the other group had told her gossip that was meant to be about her. It was such an odd way to go about putting a group together and it didn’t really work that well to integrate everyone together.

At this point in the tour, people had made friends and little groups so there wasn’t much that could make that change.

Anyway, some drinks were had before we headed back to the hotel.

  DAY FOURTEEN: Another full day in Marrakesh! Another scorcher as well, I think it got over 40 degrees in the full sun. So I was very happy when we started our tour of the city within the cool walls of the Bahia Palace. Beautiful old building, gorgeous mosaic patterns, doorways and tiles.

After this we walked past another spot that I remember Simone and I being excited for, the Casbah!

It was a fun moment to see and the song got stuck in my head all day afterwards.

Following this, we hit up the Berber pharmacy, somewhere quite a few of us were excited to visit. Berber’s are a group of people who are pre-Arab and live in North Africa. Old-school medicines, make-up and cheap products full of argon oil. This place was a lot of fun and it was interesting to learn how they made the products. It was also interesting to see them put the lipstick and eye liner and stuff on some of us.

I bought a couple of things, mainly lip-balm and some cold medicine as a just in case.

We had the rest of the day free to do with as we wished. Logan, Amy and I decided that we wanted to go to the Moroccan bathhouse. I’ve already done one in Turkey, so I knew what to expect. It was a lot smaller than what I was expecting, but it was warm and steamy and the three of us had the room to ourselves. You haven’t bonded with people until you’ve sat in a hot room on a hot day in just some disposable underwear.

Having burnt the back of my legs quite badly the previous fortnight before in Malaga, getting scrubbed down was wonderful – goodbye dead skin! After people properly rubbed, scrubbed and rinsed, we headed off to find some of the others for lunch near the Medina.

I had a tagine for lunch and then proceeded to completely sweat through my pants. Oh my god, the back of my legs just seemed to pool all of the liquid from my body so it looked and felt like I’d wet myself. A lovely feeling, really. 40+ degrees will do that to you.

After lunch and a chill out, Logan, I think Amy was still with us, and I went off to play in the Medina – the marketplace. Me being a cheap bitch, I just got a pair of new sunnies, but there was so much to see and look at. If I’d had unlimited bag space and money, I would’ve bought a lot more. Just means I’ll have to go back one day!

We wandered for a few hours, picking up bits and pieces, finding different people from our tour along the way. We could’ve played an amazing game of hide and seek in this place.

I don’t know if anyone else felt it, but I know I felt a little bit guilty carrying around my 2 litre bottle of water and chugging it down in front of the Moroccan’s who were working the heat and not being able to have anything themselves.

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We were out again for dinner in the evening. I have no recollection of the meal. What I do remember is going out to the club at the casino afterwards.

I wasn’t there for very long, I had a chat with Areti about Bianca, dancing for a bit and then buggering off home with Trevor and Lionel.

Our time in Marrakesh was at an end. I enjoyed this city a lot more than the more traditional Fes, it felt more ‘me’ and I would love some time to go back and explore it more fully.

Next day, we’re onto Tangier and the coast via Casablanca!

        Contiki: Morocco – Marrakesh Welcome back! Look at me go, two posts in one week. This year is off to a good start!