#and i wanna start doing longer hikes with my backpack on the weekends too

[thesoundofsnowfallingfromeaves]

honestly having a purpose for which i wanna get fit is such a healthy motivator to work out for me, I am so glad I am doing this hike in summer! Before, even when I tried not to, working out always had the 'i wanna change my body shape' undertone for me, because there wasn't really much else to it? yeah bouldering I mostly just do for fun because its also usually with coworkers and it has a real achievement element to it (climbing progressively harder routes and you get to finish many of them in one session which feels great), but everything else was kinda that, even cycling to work when i did it, which is bonkers, cause its mostly also just transportation. But now I am training for my big adventure and the body stuff is so much less on my mind. Its more like "this will help me climb the big hills in 7 months hell yeah!". I feel like I hacked the system.

[cali-holland]

Under the Stars- Tom Holland One Shot

Pairing: Tom Holland X Reader

Prompt: When you invite Tom and Harrison to go to a cabin in the woods with your old college friends, Tom devises a plan to finally confess his feelings for you. Little does he know, the cabin belongs to your ex-boyfriend, and he’s also seeking your attention this week.

Word Count: 12k

Warnings: slow burn (ish), swearing, sexual themes (jokes/references), the reader kinda gets sexually harassed (nothing actually happens), fist fight + some blood, tom being a simp

A/N: this was a nine month process, so i hope you enjoy :) also thank you to @duskholland​ for being so supportive and reading through this fic and editing it. love you hannah! + Also reposting this because the tags didn’t work the first time :/ and tag list will be in a reblog!

Masterlist   Tom Holland Masterlist

*Moodboard is mine, pics used are not *

~~~

When you walked into Tom and Harrison’s house, you weren’t expecting to hear odd grunts coming from the living room. You’d heard many strange noises made in that house— a good amount of their sources were still unknown, but you’d never heard such aggressive grunts. For a moment, you considered slowly backing out of the house and knocking on the door. It would be easy to pretend like you didn’t have a key so you didn’t have to walk in on anyone doing anything gross in the other room.

But then Harrison walked into the entryway, smiling at you as a greeting, “Hey, Y/N.”

“Hey,” You replied, closing the front door hesitantly behind you. You pointed towards the living room, “Do I wanna know what’s going on in there?”

Before he could reply, there was a loud bang from the living room, followed by a string of curses. Forgetting all worries of what may or may not have been the cause of the noises, you hurried into the other room with Harrison trailing behind you.

Tom laid on the floor, groaning in pain as he clutched his foot. Tessa, who had been checking up on her owner, popped up happily when she saw you, rushing over to greet you at your feet. Tom looked up at you and Harrison in the door, forcing out his best smile. You stared at the large tent that was currently taking up most of the space in the living room, questioningly.

“Why do you have a tent set up?” You asked. Tom hopped up off the floor, standing beside the tent.

“Well, our camping trip is this weekend, so I thought I’d make sure it’s still durable.” Tom said proudly. He put a hand against the tent in an attempt to be smooth, but the tent came collapsing down, making Tessa bolt behind you from the sudden loud noise.

“And he wanted to make sure he could actually set up a tent, which clearly he can’t,” Harrison stated, and Tom glared at him in response.

“Were you going to tell him?” You laughed, turning to the blond beside you.

“And miss the opportunity to see him struggle setting up a tent for forty minutes? No, I didn’t tell him.” He smirked, only making Tom more frustrated and embarrassed.

“Tom, it’s a cabin. You don’t need a tent unless you don’t want to stay with everyone else.” You explained. “I just said camping because it’s easier to call it that.”

“Fuck you, mate.” He grumbled to Harrison, flipping him off before starting to put away the mess of a tent. You stepped in to help him, and Harrison just laughed to himself before leaving.

“I really thought you would’ve known. Did you really think I’d invite you and Harrison to spend several days in the woods with me and my college friends in tents?” You joked, “Besides, I didn’t think you’d come if it was actual camping.”

Tom paused his movements, but you continued to undo the poles, taking no notice of his action, “Why wouldn’t I go if it was actual camping?”

“I don’t know.” You shrugged, looking at him with your usual charming smile, “You’re not the outdoorsy, camping type. You don’t exactly go out and rough it in the woods on the weekend, like Will or Tyler; you play golf with Harrison and your dad.”

While your words were well-intended and teasing, Tom couldn’t help but take them to heart. He took everything you said to heart.

It was hard for him to be so helplessly in love with you, his best friend (besides Harrison) from BRIT school, for the past few years while you were completely blind to it. Normally, he’d do little things to impress you because he still wasn’t sure if he wanted you to know about his feelings— if you knew, there was a chance you’d reject him, and Tom wouldn’t know what to do with himself if that happened. Recently though, he’s started to feel like his heart was going to explode if he didn’t tell you soon, but that didn’t mean he knew how to tell you.

So when you asked if he wanted to go on a camping trip with you, of course he said yes right away. His mind told him that, no, he really wasn’t the outdoorsy, “roughing it” kind of guy, but his heart told him it was a chance with you. He was a sap and thought that maybe he’d pluck up the courage to tell you how he felt under a moonlit campsite, maybe even the two of you could share a tent, maybe he could kiss you in the lake— god, did he want to kiss you.

That had all come crashing down when he’d realized it wasn’t a romantic camping getaway. You’d invited Harrison and a few college friends, friends that neither Tom nor Harrison had ever met. And there was one friend in particular who Tom never wanted to meet— Will, your ex-boyfriend. You two ended things mutually, but Tom couldn’t stop himself from feeling like he needed to compete against Will, especially when he discovered it was Will whose family owned the land you’d be camping on; Will who took you on hikes all around your college town; Will who taught you how to fish and how to kayak with the lakes nearby; Will who one time got bitten by a rattlesnake and sucked out the venom himself; Will who could climb any mountain and come back unscathed. Will was an outdoorsy “roughing it” badass fucker that Tom despised.

And now, you had just furthered proved that Tom was a delicate flower compared to the lumberjack prick that was Will. He didn’t care about being compared to Will’s best friend, Tyler, who (from what you’d told Tom) was in a serious relationship with your other friend, Jane. Besides Jane, the other person accompanying you all to the cabin was Rose, your best friend and Will’s sister. Needless to say, Tom was very grateful that Harrison was coming along too— he didn’t think he could handle a Will-centered week alone.

“We can just leave this for now. I know I promised you Nando’s before we leave.” Tom said, getting up from his spot on the floor.

“Are you sure? We can just get it on the way to the airport.” You said, looking at the tent mess before you.

“Come on, it’ll be fine.” He held a hand out to you and you took it, so that he could pull you up. Before you two could make it out the door, Harrison arrived downstairs with a loaded hiking backpack in hand.

“I know you’re not trying to sneak to Nando’s without me.” He said, and Tom glared at him from behind your back. Harrison was very well aware of Tom’s feelings for you— everyone was except for you, and he took every chance he could get at being a little shit about it, which included ruining quality time for Tom to spend with you.

The three of you left to grab your last meal in the UK before heading back to their house. Tom finished putting away the tent, and Harrison loaded up Harry’s car with your bags as well as his and Tom’s. Harry (through bribery from Tom) drove you all to the airport for the first step in your camping trip.

Since you went to school in the US, all of your friends would be meeting you across the pond. Will’s family cabin was located in Maine, so the flight wasn’t too bad for the three of you— though Tom wished it was longer so he could devise a more accurate plan to impress you this weekend. He had to prove that he could be the outdoorsy badass guy you wanted. He had to outcompete Will.

“Why would you have to outcompete him?” Harrison asked Tom after hearing his dilemma. Fortunately, you were getting the rental car for the three of you to make it to the cabin.

“Because it’s clearly a competition.” Tom stated, nervously fidgeting with his fingers as he looked over at you across the way. “She told me I’m not outdoorsy like Will- that makes it a competition and I have to beat him.”

As much as Harrison loved to see his friend fail at keeping it together around you, something felt wrong about telling him, ‘yeah, it’s totally a competition, so go beat up her lumberjack ex’. Instead, he tried, “I don’t think that’s what Y/N meant. You do golf more than you go camping.”

But Tom took no notice of his advice, “Just watch. I’m going to be the manliest man this weekend.”

“Hey guys,” You smiled, coming up to them, making Tom jump very unmanly-like in the process. “You ready to go?”

The journey to the cabin was a fairly long one. After a couple of hours of driving, you parked the car in one of those reserved parking lots off the side of the road. Tom and Harrison both looked around in confusion, spotting nothing but trees and a gas station.

“Why are we stopped?” Tom asked you as you got out of the car. Tom and Harrison followed you out of the car.

“We gotta hike in.” You replied. “The cabin’s down by the lake, so there’s no actual road to get there. It’s only about a mile and a half hike in. Be ready for lots of hiking. I think tomorrow we’re going to hike 12 miles.”

By the time you three got to the little a-frame cabin, it was already dinner time, which was great because that meant you three could sleep soon. The five hour time difference was already starting to hit. Before you could even step inside the cabin, your best friend met you with a bone-crushing hug.

“You’re here!” Rose smiled, stepping out of the hug after a moment.

“We made it.” You laughed. Your other friend, Jane, stepped up next to hug you. “I missed you two so much.”

“We missed you too.” Jane replied. You caught their eyes trailing over to Tom and Harrison behind you, and you remembered that they hadn’t met before. 

“Oh, girls, this is Tom and Harrison; guys, this is Rose and Jane.” You introduced the two parties with a smile. After a polite exchanging of handshakes, you looked at the two girls curiously, “Where are the boys?”

“Will wanted to get in a light swim before dinner.” Rose laughed, and Jane made her way back to the kitchen. “Come on, I’ll show you your rooms.”

Rose gave the three of you a little tour of the cabin. The front door had placed you all in a little entryway room with a simple, wooden staircase taking up most of the room; a fireplace sat beside the stairs with a small loveseat across from it. Besides a rather large bookshelf, it was relatively empty, but elegantly simple nonetheless. There were four doors downstairs, all intricately designed with the same light wood color as the stairs. The first door on the left was explained to be Will’s room, and the second was Tyler and Jane’s. The third stood as the main bathroom, as Rose described it. The fourth door led to Tom and Harrison’s room.

It wasn’t very big— neither of the rooms were according to Rose, but that was the a-frame style of a quaint log cabin. A bunk bed sat on the side of the room with a small wood dresser across from it. There was enough space for the two boys to coexist, and Tom was just grateful he didn’t have to bunk with Will of all people; he was glad he had his best friend with him.

The upstairs of the cabin held the open space of the kitchen and the main living room. With large glass windows covering one of the walls, the living room had a magnificent view of the woods outside, and three couches were set in place to overlook it. Under the couches sat a large bear rug, one which both Tom and Harrison eyed suspiciously at first before Rose laughed it off, reassuring them that it was fake. Behind the couches, the dining room was situated beneath a beautiful antler chandelier and set for eight places, completing the rustic vibe of the cabin. The kitchen, while it was small, seemed to be just as well put together as the rest of the cabin, complete with a breakfast bar. The smell of Jane’s favorite lemon salmon filled the air, making you even more excited for dinner.

Next was your own room, which was just past the kitchen. A queen bed was pushed in a nook with only the foot of the bed accessible. Unlike Tom and Harrison, you and Rose didn’t mind sharing a bed, which is why they got the smallest room downstairs. Right beside your bedroom door was another bathroom.

“You brought stuff for s’mores, right?” You asked Rose as you walked with her, Tom, and Harrison off the cabin’s porch to the nearby shed where they kept all of their hiking and lake gear.

“Yes, absolutely!” She eagerly replied, a happy skip in her step.

“S’mores are a real thing?” Tom questioned in disbelief.

“Of course! You can’t camp without—” You let out a shriek as you felt cold, wet arms wrap around your waist, picking you up and spinning you around. You laughed, immediately knowing it was Will. “Oh my god, Will! Put me down! You’re all wet.”

Will chuckled, setting you back down on the solid ground, “Well, if it gets you wet.”

“Fuck off.” You scoffed, smacking his chest playfully. It was then that you realized he was shirtless— shirtless and dripping wet from the lake and gloriously tan and somehow more built than the last time you saw him. Tyler, on the other hand, was still Tyler; still an attractive young guy, but not attractive to you and that most likely has to do with him dating Jane for as long as you’ve known him.

“Ty!” You smiled, hugging him tightly, not even caring if your clothes got wet and gross anymore. You’d just change later when you could.

Tom straightened up a bit, already feeling uneasy about Will’s presence. Will looked like the lovechild of Zac Efron and Chris Evans, with a hint of Scott Eastwood; he was perfect, there was nothing wrong with him. It made Tom question why you two broke up. Even though Tom knew you’d said it was mutual, he also knew it took a lot for girls to walk away from guys that look like that. Meanwhile, Harrison just bit his lip to keep from commenting on his friend’s ridiculous territorial issues. 

“So, you two must be Tom and Harrison.” Will held out a hand to them, smiling politely. Tom took his hand, trying to subtly shake it sternly as if to prove he was better than Will— childish, Tom knew it, but he already hated this guy with his six pack abs and perfectly white smile. Will didn’t back down though, squeezing Tom’s hand equally as hard. Noticing both guys tensing up, you looked between them awkwardly, having never seen either of them put on the tough guy act.

With introductions out of the way, you all trekked back inside the cabin. While Will, Tyler, and even you changed into dry clothes, Rose helped Jane finish dinner, leaving Tom to frustratedly rant to Harrison in their room.

“God, he’s so annoying.” Tom scoffed.

“He said two words to you.” Harrison stated, “Try to play nice. I don’t think Y/N wants you two to keep having a ‘my dick’s bigger’ contest.”

“But mine is and I know it!” He exclaimed, before realizing he didn’t know how thin the walls were- and how odd that implication was, “Whatever. He’s stupid. This trip’s stupid.”

Harrison was too busy laughing  to even attempt a response to his friend. Instead, there was a knock on the door, pulling both of them from their conversation. Tom opened the door and immediately softened when he saw you, clad in one of his old sweatshirts that he didn’t even realize you still had. It gave him a sliver of hope that maybe, just maybe, he didn’t need to worry that much about Will this week.

“Nice shirt.” Tom commented with a smile.

“Thanks,” You smiled back, “I’ve actually been meaning to give it back to you.”

“What? Why?”

“Is dinner ready?” Harrison asked, cutting off the two of you and reminding you both of his presence. As if on cue, his stomach growled loudly.

“Yes, it is.” You laughed, almost embarrassed from forgetting why you had been at their door in the first place. You tugged on Tom’s hand, pulling him out of the room. Harrison grumbled something dejectedly, but you paid no mind to it. Tom sent his friend an apologetic look, though he made no attempt to make Harrison any less of the unofficial third wheel on the journey upstairs to the dinner table.

It didn’t go unnoticed by Tom how you sat beside Will, even if Tom got the free seat beside you. Harrison slipped into the seat next to him with Rose to his right. The dinner of salmon with potatoes, salad, and bread seemed simple enough, but it was still quite possibly the best fish you’d ever had.

“Did you get a bone?” You asked Tom, seeing him awkwardly moving his mouth like his tongue was fishing out a hard piece of salmon. Blushing from you calling attention to his struggle, he held up a napkin to cover his mouth, trying to spit out the bone without it looking too gross.

“Yeah,” He admitted sheepishly, muffled by the napkin.

“I thought you got them all out.” Jane said, looking at Tyler expectantly.

“Don’t look at me, that was Will’s job.” Tyler laughed as he used his friend as the scapegoat.

“Must’ve missed one.” Will shrugged, before joking, “You’re still welcome that I caught these.”

“You caught this salmon?” You said, “I thought you only did catch and release?”

“I still do, for the most part, but this salmon was too good of an opportunity to pass up.” He explained. Tom was already boiling with embarrassment, and now he had jealousy bubbling over- of course this perfect fish was caught by the perfect outdoor man beside you.

“So, Tom, Harrison, we were talking about going for a run around the lake tomorrow morning. Want to come?” Tyler asked.

“Sure. How far?” Harrison replied, and Tom nodded in agreement.

“The loop’s about five miles.” Will answered.

“Are you going to run with us?” Tom asked you, knowing back home in Kingston you’d sometimes join Harrison on runs. Tom wasn’t the type to just go out for a casual run like his best friend was, but he wasn’t about to back down from this.

“Nah, you two can keep up with the cross country runners.” You joked, “I’d much rather save my energy for the hike.”

Once dinner ended and no one choked on any more fishbones, you all migrated to the couches. Much to Tom’s chagrin, you sat in the middle couch between Will and Rose, while Tom and Harrison sat on the couch opposite a very cuddled up Jane and Tyler. The fireplace in the corner crackled, keeping the room comfortably warm. When Rose suggested you all play charades, the entertainment for the evening was decided, especially considering the cabin had very weak cell-signal and no television.

“What are the teams?” You asked, sitting dead in the middle of everyone with three friends to your left and three to your right.

“Let’s do 3 against 4, so you choose who you wanna be with, Y/N.” Jane suggested as Rose stood up to get a boxed set of charade cards from the game cabinet near the kitchen. You looked between the two sets of friends. You wanted to lean towards Tom, Harrison, and Rose, because the two boys were incredible at charades, and Rose was your go-to partner for Password at least.

“Come on, you know you wanna be with us.” Will teased, throwing an arm over your shoulder.

“Just for that, nope.” You laughed and took his arm off you. You stood up from that couch and squeezed in between Tom and the arm. To make room for you and to mock Will, Tom casually put his arm on your shoulder and you made no effort to take it off.

Rose returned with the box of cards and the game began with you and Jane pantomiming first. The words ranged from silly ones like centipede to more inventive ones like lapdance; either way, you all were laughing and enjoying the evening. Tom was highly appreciative of the humor because more than once, you laughed so hard that you fell into him, clutching his knee or completely falling over into his lap. It wasn’t anything out of the usual for him to see you so effortlessly happy, but he enjoyed all the little touches.

“Okay, okay.” You breathed out, doing your best to compose yourself. You stood up from the couch with Tyler so that you two could read the answer and continue the round. Reading over the card, “Catch 22”, you began to think about what you could do to act out the card. As if it wasn’t impossible enough to describe it with words, you had to act it out. But then the lightbulb went off- you had a secret advantage and he was sitting right in front of you, as long as he could figure it out.

“Ready?” Tyler asked you nervously, and you nodded. Tyler started with the usual way of beginning: how many words and what it is. You immediately pointed at Harrison.

“Me?” Harrison spoke in confusion, and you nodded before pointing to your stomach, doing your best to act his death from the series.

“Catch 22?” Tom offered, and Harrison looked at him dumbfounded, still trying to connect how it was him as your main clue.

“Ah, thank god.” You smiled, cheering as he guessed it right. Tyler and the others sighed.

“How the fuck did you get that?” Jane questioned.

“Haz, here, was in the show.” Tom replied, proud of his friend. You were surprised by your college friends’ collective shock, but you were most intrigued by Rose’s reaction.

“Oh my god, I thought you looked familiar.” She said, impressed.

“Wait, you actually saw it?” Harrison asked.

“Yeah, I think I might have cried when you died.” She admitted, brushing a loose hair behind her ear, and that’s when it clicked for you- she was totally into Harrison.

“And you’re an actor too, Tom, right?” Will spoke up, casually taking a drink of his beer. You eyed him skeptically; he knew Tom was an actor. Back when you two were dating, you’d talk about your best friend’s accomplishments, so why was he now asking? Your only answer was it would clearly get a rise out of, at least, you, if not Tom as well.

“Yeah, only been in little indie movies. Nothing anyone’s heard of.” Tom played it off jokingly, causing you to smack him on the arm a little, your hand resting on his bicep.

“My mom loves that movie you did with Ewan McGregor.” Rose commented.

“Ah yeah,” Will laughed, “The one where you’re like 12.”

“I wasn’t 12, but thank you.” Tom replied sarcastically, and you could tell he was biting back a scoff. 

“Well, we’ve all seen the Marvel movies so you can brag a little about those.” You teased, making him blush.

“I know I cried when everyone was getting dusted.” Jane stated in a way to poke fun at Rose’s previous words.

“Never saw them.” Will shrugged carelessly.

“Yes, you did.” You corrected him immediately, and you felt Tom tense a little under your touch. While Tom liked that you were being supportive about this, he couldn’t help but feel like something was wrong.

Will acknowledged Tom’s clenched jaw and decided to press it a bit further, “Babe, if you’re talking about Infinity War, then, no, I didn’t pay attention.” He chuckled, “Don’t you remember we were in the middle of something?”

Tom wondered, at first, what he meant exactly. You dropped your hand from Tom’s arm and covered your face in embarrassment, but before you could comment, Rose let out a whine, “Gross, I was right next to you two.”

“Not like you’ve never gotten it on in a movie theater.” Tyler joked.

“Can we please not talk about this?” You groaned, getting up from the couch. “I’m going to bed. I’m tired.”

“That’s not a bad idea.” Jane stated as she stood up with a yawn. You closed your door, escaping to the privacy of your room, not wanting to think about how your ex just told everyone about that night- in your defense, you’d already seen the movie before so you weren’t missing anything.

Tyler and Will followed after Jane, leaving Tom, Harrison and Rose as they cleaned up the few cards that were left out. Feeling the awkwardness radiating off of Tom, Rose delicately spoke up, “Will’s just being a dick.”

“It’s fine.” Tom reassured her.

“Did you really cry when I died?” Harrison asked her the question that’d been on his mind since the second she’d made the comment. They started talking about the show, and Tom took that as a sign to leave. He thought for a moment about knocking on your door and checking in on you, but then he realized it might be too uncomfortable for you to talk about. There were times, like tonight with charades, that Tom considered maybe you liked him back, based on all your little touches here and there, but then, with Will’s comments floating around his mind, his thoughts were plagued by the doom of the friendzone. Tom didn’t know if he’d be able to sleep tonight knowing that you and your annoying ex ‘got it on’ in the theater during his own movie- what if he was dying on screen but you were too enraptured in Will to cry like Rose had cried over Harrison dying?

Tom only had a few minutes to himself before Harrison came back into their shared room, asking him, “How’re you feeling about the run tomorrow?”

“It’s going to kill me.” Tom sighed, and Harrison shrugged before climbing into the top bunk.

“Should’ve been running with me.” He laughed, “It’s not even that far.”

“I haven’t run five straight miles since Jake nearly killed me at the gym.” He replied, tidying up his bag.

“Why are you cleaning?” Harrison asked, looking down at his friend. “Are you worried Y/N’s going to come into the room or something?”

“Shove off.” Tom grumbled. Harrison took off his sweaty socks that he’d neglected to remove before getting into his bed and threw them down at his friend. One missed Tom completely, and the other clung to his shoulder. “That’s fucking gross.”

“If you’re cleaning, then clean them up.” He snickered. Tom threw the sock back at his friend, but it missed and weakly fell to the ground. A knock came from the other side of the door, and Tom opened it, smiling when he saw it was you, his absolute favorite person on this godforsaken trip. While you looked rather cute in your casual summer pajamas, he frowned when he saw his sweatshirt in your hands.

“Are you returning it?” He asked, and you laughed.

“It doesn’t smell like you anymore.” You said quietly, hoping Harrison didn’t hear your words. You held it out to Tom, “I figured I can give it back to you for a time, and then steal it once it smells like you again.”

“Wait a second.” Tom took the sweatshirt from you and disappeared into the room, rummaging through his once neat backpack to grab out another sweatshirt. He handed it to you, “Maybe this could suffice for now?”

Smiling, you sniffed it a little before tugging it on, “Thanks. It’s so cold upstairs, I don’t know how I’d sleep without it.”

“You could always bring your own.” Harrison said from the top bunk. Tom turned and chucked the other sweatshirt at him. You rolled your eyes at his words.

“Watch it, Osterfield, or your mattress is going to end up in the middle of the lake with you still sleeping on it.” You playfully threatened.

“I’m quaking with fear.” He laughed, laying down on the bed out of sight.

“Well, I should go.” You told Tom, “Thank you for the sweatshirt. Good night.”

“Good night, Y/N.” He smiled softly at you. As you walked away, he slowly closed the door, pleased with himself and his choice in sweatshirts. He turned to finish getting ready for bed, just in time for Harrison to throw the sweatshirt back at him.

“I will kick you out of this room.” Tom grumbled.

“I’d like to see you try.”

You didn’t sleep well that night. Even with Tom’s sweatshirt, your room was unbearably cold, and it didn’t help that Rose snored. With only a few hours of sleep under your belt, you woke up the next morning to the sun streaming in through the large window behind the bed and Rose already up and out of the room. You padded into the kitchen, making yourself some tea with the rustic teapot that was set out on the counter. Spotting Rose and Jane standing out on the balcony, you made your way outside.

“Good morning.” You said through a yawn, coming to stand beside Rose.

“We were wondering when you were going to wake up.” Jane teased. You looked at your two friends quizzically, taking a sip of your steaming tea.

“You already missed part one of the gun show.” Rose joked, sitting up straighter to look over the edge of the balcony, “They should be back any second.”

“Oh God.” You laughed, remembering the boys and their run this morning.

“I know I’m with Tyler, but damn, Y/N.” She teased, and Rose nudged you playfully. “Here they come.”

Seeing motion through the trees, you looked over at the runners. It was obvious they were racing the last bit of the run, considering how triumphant Harrison looked when he arrived first with Will right on his tail. And then came Tyler, and finally Tom. There was probably only a few seconds between their arrival, but it was still amusing to spy the looks on their faces. They were all shirtless and glistening in a layer of sweat, and they hadn’t noticed the three of you on the balcony at all- not that you were complaining. You’d rather not have them catch you all checking them out so unabashedly.

“Look at that. 24 abs right there.” Jane let out a small sigh. While her comment was for all four boys, her eyes stayed trained on Tyler. Rose, on the other hand, had her eyes on Harrison’s figure, which you noted to tease her about later. But you, you couldn’t help but check out Tom’s bare torso- there was a reason you didn’t watch either Spider-Man movie with him- you always ended up a little too focused on his shirtless scenes.

“Enjoying the show?” Tyler called up to the three of you, a cheeky smirk on his face, as they all made their way up to the cabin. You could’ve sworn you saw Tom blush a little when he met your gaze before Harrison playfully shoved his friend, making Tom lose focus on you and shove him right back.

“Boys.” Rose laughed quietly to you. You bit your lip, nodding in agreement.

“I’m glad I didn’t miss part two.”

The boys made their way into the kitchen, seeking out some water and gatorade as you and the girls went back inside to greet them. The sweet smell of salmon from last night was gone, overthrown by the ever lovely smell of sweaty men.

“It smells like a gym in here.” Rose gagged in disgust.

“I would’ve gone for sweaty ballsack, but yours is much nicer.” Jane laughed.

“Janie would know.” Will teased, clapping Tyler on the shoulder as he drank from his water, making the other choke a little.

“So how was the run?” You asked Tom as he and Harrison came over to you, Tom’s bottle of gatorade almost gone already. The other four got engrossed in their own conversation.

“Just a small workout, nothing too bad.” He replied, brushing it off.

“He was dying.” Harrison stated, making you laugh. “I told him he’s got to run with me more.”

“Well, you won, Haz, so congrats.” You replied.

“How did you know we were racing?” Tom asked. His ears turned pink from thinking that you knew he came in last.

“The four of you act like teenage boys; of course you’re going to make a race out of a casual run.” You teased.

“We should probably go stretch before our muscles tighten up again.” Harrison said, already backing up towards the stairs. Tom made his way to follow him, and you spoke up.

“I’ll come with.” You offered, setting your mug of tea on the counter. You followed them downstairs and out to the patio, feeling like you might as well spend some alone time with your two closest friends.

“You two think you can make it on the hike today?” You teased, already seeing Tom walk a little funny.

“Yeah, yeah, we got this.” He reassured you, sitting down on the solid ground to start stretching his legs. You started to stretch with them, and Harrison looked at you funny for it.

“Why are you stretching?” He asked with a laugh.

“It helps with flexibility.” You shrugged, switching legs as they did, all three of you mirroring the same poses. “How was the lake?”

“It was nice. We weren’t exactly looking at it though.” Tom replied with a chuckle.

“I don’t know, you were going so slow, I thought you were.” Harrison joked and Tom kicked his foot out, hitting Harrison in the leg.

“It’s shit like this that made me believe you were racing.” You laughed.

“I don’t do long distance running. I like focusing on my abs a lot more.” Tom defended himself. You flicked your eyes down to his abs, nodding a little, but Tom was so focused on his stretching that he had missed your small action, whereas Harrison fully caught it. He laughed, sending you a wink, and you flipped him off. Tom caught that exchange though, “Did I miss something?”

“Nope.” You replied quickly, only making Harrison laugh harder, “He’s just being a dumbass. Onto hamstrings.”

The three of you laid down to stretch your hamstrings, and you heard Tom let out a small groan from beside you. “I can’t do this. I fucking hate leg day.”

“Need help?” You offered. Before he could protest, you were already on your feet. He held his leg up as high as he could, and you pressed on his foot to stretch his hamstring even more.

“What if I need help too?” Harrison pouted, even though he was stretching his leg just fine.

“Sorry, Haz, it’s just you and your hand.” You joked, making Tom laugh.

“I see how it is. Ha ha, it’s me and my hand, and Tom and your hand, Y/N.” He sarcastically replied, as you dropped Tom’s leg and he bent his knee for you to lean on his shin. You helped him to deepen the stretch through his leg.

“Someone’s jealous.” Tom said, before grimacing a little.

“Was that too far?” You asked, loosening your hold on his leg, not wanting to overstretch his hamstring.

“A little.” He replied.

“God, Y/N don’t be so rough on him.” Harrison piped in, still having no issue stretching on his own.

“Haz, if you’re going to be a pouty baby about not having a stretching buddy, talk to Rose. She was totally checking you out earlier.” You stated, trying to change the conversation off of Harrison’s unnecessary innuendos. You let go of Tom’s leg and reached for his foot to stretch his other hamstring.

“Wait, really?” He asked, dropping his leg to peer at you with a serious look on his face.

“Yeah, why would I lie to you about that?” You laughed, “Besides, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her read a book, so I think she was lying about Catch 22.”

Flustered, Wide eyed and blushing, Harrison mumbled something about grabbing a shower before bolting off. You exchanged a curious look with Tom, but he followed after his friend.

You made your way inside after them and went to fix yourself another cup of tea. When you saw Will alone in the kitchen, you momentarily considered changing your mind and going to your rook, but it was too late, as he had already seen you.

“Want a cup?” He asked, holding up the coffee pot after he finished pouring himself a cup.

“No thanks.” You replied and made your way to the kettle.

“Enjoy the show earlier? Tyler and I started this new training routine that’s supposed to help with bulking up.” Will said. It took everything in you to not roll your eyes at his words.

“And how’s that working out for you?” You asked, not even trying to hide your disinterest. You still hadn’t forgiven him for his immature comments last night. Plus, the more you saw Will interact with Tom, the more justified you felt with your annoyance.

Will stepped closer to you. Slowly, he took one of your hands in his and pressed it to his abs, and you’d be lying if you said you couldn’t feel every part of his toned stomach. As much as you hated to admit it, you felt like you were falling under his trance again. “There’s more where that came from. Why don’t you come by my room tonight?”

He dropped your hand, and you were pulled out of your foggy state. You stepped away, turning away from him to continue getting yourself some tea. You felt his body envelope yours from behind. His head rested on your shoulder and his hands smoothed over your waist. Pressing a kiss to your cheek, he murmured, “I miss you.”

At his words, something inside of you snapped and you jolted away from his embrace, slapping his hands away. Firmly, you said, “I don’t miss you.”

Will left the room without another word, and you were left to ponder what the hell just happened as you stood alone in the kitchen.

It wasn’t until a few hours later that you all left on the hike, trailing through the towering trees to make your way to a nearby peak. You all stopped a few times for water and some food, and to even just enjoy nature. Between Jane’s ornithology degree, Tyler’s botany background, and Will’s forestry knowledge, identifying the different birds, plants, and trees around you was relatively easy.

“Can you imagine if we studied something environmental too?” Rose joked, nudging you in the shoulder as Jane mindlessly went on about the bird that had flown past nearly ten minutes ago.

“God, it would never end.” You laughed.

“What did you study?” Harrison asked Rose, making you look at Tom and roll your eyes at your friends.

“I’m a nurse.” She replied, and the two got swept into their own conversation.

“You sore yet?” You asked Tom, poking him in the side as you all continued the hike uphill.

“Me? Sore? Never.” He laughed. He shook his head to try to hide the slight hurt from the question. First, you didn’t think he was outdoorsy enough and now you think he can’t handle doing some mileage. “I’m perfectly fine.”

“Oh sure.” You smiled at him. Tyler pointed out a specific plant as you all passed it, talking about the intricate properties of the shrub.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more confused about nature.” Tom mumbled to you quietly. Since you two were far enough behind Tyler, Jane, and Will, they couldn’t hear his comment.

“Don’t worry. I have no clue what he’s talking about either.” You reassured him before letting out a small yawn.

“Did you not sleep well last night?” He asked, looking over at you in concern.

“Someone was snoring a bit too loud for me to sleep.” You said, loud enough for Rose to hear. She stopped and spun around to face you, face red in embarrassment.

“It’s a nasal condition! You know how I get when it’s cold!” She defended. As much as she tried to sound angry, she still had a small smile on her face.

“Love you, Rose.” You blew her a kiss, laughing at her reaction. She and Harrison turned back around and continued their conversation about who knows what.

“I think Harrison’s got a nasal condition too.” Tom whispered, making you stifle a laugh to not draw attention back to the two of you.

“Rose doesn’t even snore that loud.” You admitted quietly, “Even with your sweatshirt, I was still too cold to sleep.”

“I can give you another one when we get back. You can double up.” He offered, “But it was pretty cold last night.”

“Thanks. I’ll probably take you up on that.” You smiled softly at him. “You know, I’m really happy you came.”

“I’m happy I came, too. Thanks for inviting me.” He replied, and you nodded in response. Tom paused after a moment, stopping his tracks to look at you with furrowed eyebrows, “Wait, did you not expect me to come?”

You looked at him in confusion, before answering, “I mean I did, but-“

“But I’m not outdoorsy, so you didn’t think I’d actually be here.” Tom grumbled in agitation, beginning to walk again quickly to catch up to the group. You ran up after him.

“Is that what this is about?” You questioned, your voice unintentionally raised, “That I said you weren’t the camping type back home?”

Harrison and Rose turned to look at the two of you, and Tom just bit his tongue to keep from exploding about the sensitive subject. He knew he shouldn’t have asked, but he just felt so inadequate with Will going on and on about trees and shit.

“What is going on with you?” You questioned with a huff of frustration.

“It’s nothing. Let’s just keep going.” Tom stated, shaking his head.

“I’m not going one more step until you tell me what the hell is up.”

“What’s the hold up?” Will called back when he noticed the stop in your hike. Tom went to step forward to continue the journey, but missed his footing on a particularly slick patch of leaves. 

A collective, concerned shout came from you and Harrison as Tom hit the ground. He groaned in pain, and Rose came to his side. All frustration at him slipped out of you as worry flooded your system.

“Tom, oh my god- are you okay?” You asked.

“I think I rolled my ankle.” Tom said, cradling his ankle in his lap.

Rose looked at it briefly, no noticeable swelling or bruising yet. “Can you stand on it?”

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.” He replied before pushing himself to his feet. He bit back a grimace, standing on his ankle as normal, and you didn’t seem to be the only one to notice it. “Let’s finish the hike, yeah?” 

“You’re not hiking on that.” Rose shook her head with a small laugh.

“I don’t want to hold you all back. I can manage it, really.”

“It’s fine. We’ll continue on. Y/N can lead you back.” Jane spoke up, a little smirk playing on her lips.

“I’ll go with.” Harrison offered.

“As the house nurse, I feel obligated to walk back with him.” Rose added, and you caught the blush that touched her cheeks.

And just like that, it was settled. You, Rose, and Harrison would walk back with Tom, who was doing his best not to limp, which everyone saw through. Rose and Harrison made conversation the whole walk back, while you and Tom just stayed awkwardly silent. By the time you all made it back to the house, he still hadn’t spoken to you. You went to put away your hiking gear and found Tom a few minutes later, sitting on the porch as he looked at the forest before him, an ice pack on his elevated ankle to help with potential swelling.

“I meant what I said.” You spoke up quietly as you sat in the chair beside him. When he just continued to look straight ahead and not physically acknowledge your presence, you continued, “I am really happy that you’re here, Tom. I didn’t say that because I didn’t think you’d want to come. The only reason I wouldn’t expect you to come is because you’re always busy. I guess what I really meant was that I’m grateful you were able to make time for me this week, especially because I know the countless other, more fun things you could be doing right now. It really means a lot.”

After another brief silent moment passed between the two of you, he looked over at you with a small frown on his face. “Why would you think I wouldn’t make time for you?”

“Like I said, you’re busy. You do one movie after the other, and I feel like we hardly see each other anymore. It’s,” You trailed off, searching for the right word, “comforting that you’d want to spend your free time with me.”

“You’re my best friend. Of course, I’d want to spend time with you.”

You knew his words were sweet and that he meant every single one of them, but you still felt a small, subtle twist in your gut.  Another unnatural silence fell between the two of you until Rose came outside like a true savior.

“We’re planning on making s’mores tonight, are you down?” She asked, a cheery smile on her face.

“I’m offended you’re even asking me that.” You stated, and she rolled her eyes at you. You turned to Tom, smiling, “You’re going to love them. Just don’t burn yourself.”

“Burn myself?” He looked at you as if you were crazy, making you laugh.

“Don’t scare him.” Rose teased, “Besides, my money’s on Harrison burning himself first.”

“I heard that!” He called from inside the cabin through the screen door.

Just as Rose was about to leave to go back inside, Tom spoke up, raising his hand a little, still confused, “How do you burn yourself on s’mores?”

Several hours later, he got his answer.

“Ow, fuck, shit, ow.” Harrison cursed, dropping his burnt marshmallow into the dirt.

“That’s how.” You laughed as Rose clinked her s’more against yours.

“How do you know when it’s ready?” Tom asked, eyeing the marshmallow at the end of his stick. He slowly rotated the stick in his hands just as you had told him to do.

“Golden brown are the best, but they’re tricky to make because you can burn them instantly, which is what Harrison did.” You teased your blond friend beside you before taking a bite of your perfect s’more and turning back to face Tom on your other side. “Burnt ones aren’t bad, they just have a more burnt flavor, obviously.”

“So is it ready yet?” He questioned, but he was looking at you not at his roasting marshmallow.

“No,” You giggled. You finished off your s’more with another bite and scooted closer to him on the log. You placed your hand on top of his on the stick, twisting it so that the marshmallow was a few inches above the flame instead of right by the firewood. “And you just keep rotating it. You can see there’s already a gold hue to it.”

You smiled, looking over at him to find him already gazing at you with a soft smile of his own playing on his lips. The light from the campfire made his brown eyes sparkle with specks of gold.

“It’s burning!” Jane exclaimed, and you quickly retracted the stick and marshmallow, blowing out the fire on the now burned marshmallow.

“Well, it’s golden on one side, but burnt marshmallows are an essential part of the s’mores making business.” You said as you passed the stick back to Tom. You gathered the two parts of a graham cracker as well as some Hershey’s chocolate and set it up for a s’more.

“I think I need help with this part.” Tom admitted with a chuckle.

“So you put the marshmallow here.” You pointed at the graham cracker topped with a piece of chocolate. He moved the stick to put the marshmallow in its proper position, and then you put the other half of the graham cracker on top. Grasping the two graham crackers with the marshmallow in the middle, you finished, “And now pull out.”

“Hah, pull out.” Tyler laughed at the innuendo through a face full of his double stacked s’mores. Tom did as told, his eyes lighting up in excitement when you presented him his very own s’more.

“Ta-da. It’s real rocket science, isn’t it?” You joked, and Harrison elbowed you, still grumpy that he had lost his first marshmallow and burnt his hand trying to catch it.

“Burnt and fallen marshmallows are just casualties of s’more making.” Rose said.

“S’mores have to be the thing I miss most about living here— the U.K. just doesn’t do camping quite as well.” You stated, shaking your head a little in disbelief.

“How could you miss s’mores more than us?” Will asked, a playfulness in his voice, but you could recognize the serious undertones of his words.

“I’d miss s’mores more than I’d miss you.” Rose teased, saving you from having to actually think of a response.

“Hand me a marshmallow. I’m ready to try again for a golden one.” Tom said to you, and you reached over into the marshmallow bag beside you, slipping him the soft treat.

“Good luck.” You encouraged him with a laugh.

Tom’s second attempt ended up burnt as well, and you gladly ate it while he made his third one. By the time it was golden brown and ready to be eaten, Jane, Tyler, and even Will had retired for the night.

“That tastes so much better not burnt to a crisp.” Tom said, impressed by his own marshmallow-roasting skills.

“Camping heaven.” You agreed, finishing off the s’more he’d burned earlier.

Rose stood up with a small sigh, stretching her arms. “I think I might head to bed.”

“Me too.” Harrison stated, getting up after her. Tom looked at him questioningly, and you bit your lip, giving Rose a teasing look. She rolled her eyes at you, smiling to herself as she turned to head towards the cabin.

Noticing how Harrison’s hand caught hers once they were a decent distance from the campfire, you called out to them, “Good night!”

“Night!” They chorused back.

“Haz and Rose seem to have hit it off.” Tom commented once they were inside. Your eyes drifted from the dying fire up to the starry sky overhead. 

“Yeah, they really have.” You nodded, caught up focusing on the twinkling lights above you. Quietly, you admitted, “I’ll never get tired of looking at the stars.”

“I bet your neck will.” He joked, making you shake your head.

“They’re just so beautiful.” You mumbled.

“Really beautiful.” You heard Tom murmur under his breath. Your eyes flickered over to him, noticing how he was definitely staring at you and not the stars in the sky. When he turned to face the campfire, your eyes diverted back up to the stars, trying your best to suppress how fast your heart was racing.

“I used to know all of the constellations too. Will and I used to camp a lot, and I’d just study the stars until I fell asleep.” You confessed, attempting to strike up a conversation to keep you from your thoughts. When Tom said nothing in reply, a small sigh escaped your lips, and your eyes trailed back down to Tom beside you. Staring right into the dying campfire, he looked deep in thought.

“What’s on your mind?” You asked him, nudging him a little with your shoulder.

“It’s nothing.” Tom shook his head, but his attempts to play off his thoughts didn’t work on you. After a moment, he spoke up, barely meeting your eyes as he did so, “Did you and Will really— you know— in my movie—“ he trailed off, not wanting to finish his question. He was already apprehensive about the answer, and yet he couldn’t help himself from asking.

“In Infinity War?” You asked, laughing lightly at his question, or lack thereof. Looking up towards the sky again, you replied, “Unless you count the fastest handjob ever, no, we didn’t.”

Tom was silent, making you look back over at him. His shoulders were shaking as he bit his lip, doing his best to stifle his laughter.

“Shut up.” You scoffed, playfully hitting his arm. “It wasn’t like you were dying in the scene or anything. You weren’t even on the screen.”

“I didn’t say anything.” He insisted, before breaking into a fit of laughter, unable to contain it any longer. In that moment, you felt complete tranquility. Tom’s laughter broke through the silence of the atmosphere, making your heart flutter in happiness. His eyes were shut, and you could count every crinkle by his eyes. With the fire illuminating his features just right, he was positively glowing. If you wanted any moment to last forever, it was this one. Tom settled his laughter, “Sorry, I shouldn’t be laughing, but it’s just-” He paused, and his smile faltered momentarily, “It’s a relief.”

“A relief?” You repeated before you could help yourself, and Tom realized his words.

He cleared his throat awkwardly, thinking on his feet of an explanation, “It would’ve been really awkward if I was dying, and you and Will- yeah.” He stopped himself short, and a comfortable silence overcame the two of you.

“How’s your ankle feeling?” You asked, not wanting the conversation to end. If it ended, then that meant the night was over and your precious alone time with Tom was over.

“It’s fine, now. Honestly, it didn’t hurt that much.” He replied with a bit of a nod. You watched as he sucked in a tight breath, “I’m sorry about what happened earlier on the hike. I got frustrated and a little jealous. I was so determined to prove that I could be like Will that I just ended up being a dick.”

His words took a moment to sink in, but you found a small smile breaking over your face as you understood the layers of their meaning. You reached out and touched his knee. Softly, you admitted, “You have no reason to be jealous over Will. I’d never want you to be like him. The main reason that I broke up with him was because, well, he’s not you.”

You could see Tom think about your words for a moment before, ever so slowly, he started to lean in. Tom’s lips seemed to fit perfectly with yours, tenderly moving in sync as you both caved into your suppressed feelings. With one hand cupping your cheek, Tom’s other hand moved to your waist, pulling you in closer to him. You paid no mind to the uncomfortableness of your position on the log, too lost in the kiss to think straight. For the second time that night, you wished that this moment would last forever.

But it came to a quick, bittersweet end as Tom pulled away. His face stayed close to yours, his breath fanning over your face. A smile crossed his lips, “That took us way too long.”

“Way, way too long.” You agreed. He went to pull you in for another kiss, but the sudden cold of the dying fire pulled you two back to reality. Almost reluctantly, you said, “I guess we should probably head inside.”

It was far too cold for either of you to want to stay outside without the comforting heat. Gathering the food and putting out the last of the fire, you two walked back to the cabin, hand in hand.

“Thank you for the s’mores.” Tom said quietly to you, aware that most likely everyone in the cabin was sleeping. He placed the last couple bags of marshmallows and graham crackers on the kitchen counter (the chocolate was all eaten long ago), and you made a mental note to take care of it in the morning. 

“Any time.” You joked softly. Tom leaned in to give you a quick, but just as sweet good night kiss.

As he made his way over to the stairs, he spoke up again, “Don’t get too cold tonight.”

“Good night, Tom.” You laughed lightly, turning towards your bedroom door.

“Good night, Y/N.” 

With one last exchange of soft, sleepy smiles, you both turned to go your separate ways.

When you entered your quaint cabin room, you were met with Rose’s snores, a sharp contrast to your favorite sound that was Tom’s laughter from moments ago. You quietly maneuvered around the room, getting ready for bed. A smile ghosted your lips as you tugged on Tom’s hoodie. The familiar warmth and scent enveloping you comfortably.

You waited for sleep to overcome you on the cold bed; it felt like hours (when really, it was probably only ten minutes) before you finally decided to get up. With a small sigh, you shuffled out of the bed. Maybe the couch would give you more peace than your shared room.

As you made your way out of your room, you heard a door downstairs open. Curiously, you peeked down the staircase to see Tom emerging from the bathroom, in nothing but basketball shorts.

“What are you still doing up?” Tom asked you with his voice just above a whisper. You silently made your way down the stairs until you were in front of him.

“Couldn’t sleep. The room hasn’t gotten any warmer since last night.” You admitted, subconsciously crossing your arms.

“Come here.” Tom slowly uncrossed your arms, taking one of your hands loosely in his. He led you to his room. The door creaked open and shed some light into the dark bedroom. Wordlessly, he brought you over to his bed and dropped your hand to shuffle the blankets.

“What about Haz?” You whispered as Tom slipped into his bed, laying sideways and as close to the wall as possible to make some room for you.

“It’ll be fine.” He reassured you. You slid into the bed, finding comfort under the blankets. You laid on your side facing Tom, and it was then that you realized just how small the twin bed was— you two were close enough to each other that you could feel his minty breath fan over your cheeks, which still made you nervous even though just ten minutes ago he’d kissed you.

“We’re never going to fall asleep like this.” You teased softly. Tom let out a quiet laugh, shuffling so he was flatter on his back, giving you room to lay in his arms. With your head pressed to his bare chest and his strong arms circling around you, you finally found warmth.

“You’re really warm.” You mumbled into his chest, snuggling into his embrace and letting your legs tangle comfortably with his. It wasn’t the first time the two of you had cuddled, but it was the first time the two of you have cuddled on a tiny bed and with him being shirtless.

“Makes me the best cuddling partner.” Tom mumbled, his chest shaking lightly underneath you as he chuckled. You hummed in agreement, a smile forming on your face.

“Do you two ever shut up?” You heard Harrison question from the bunk above you.

“Do you always have to ruin a perfectly good moment?” Tom replied, and you subconsciously snuggled deeper into his embrace.

“I better not wake up in the middle of the night to noises.” He grumbled. The bed shuffled as he flipped over in his bed to get comfortable.

“Haz, that’s just you snoring.” You teased. He muttered something incoherent and you whispered to Tom, “Let’s wait until he starts snoring and then move his mattress to the lake.”

“Deal.”

Unfortunately for you but luckily for Harrison, you drifted off quickly, listening to the sound of Tom’s heart beating underneath you. You couldn’t help yourself; he made for the best pillow and the best heat source.

The next morning, you woke up with a start, hearing a loud thud from right beside you. Blearily, you leaned over the edge of the twin bed to find the source of the sound; when you saw a groaning, half-asleep Tom on the floor below you, a fit of laughter overcame you. The blankets were falling off the bed, all tangled up in his legs.

“Did you fall off the bed?” Harrison asked, even though all three of you already knew the answer, and you looked up to see him peering over the edge of the bunk bed.

“It’s not funny.” Tom muttered, frowning in faux annoyance at your continued laughter.

You held your hands out to him, offering to help him up even though you were in an impossible position to really help, still laying in the actual bed. Teasingly, you asked, “You got an owie?”

Chuckling, Tom reached up and grabbed your hands, pulling you off the bed. You let out a yelp as you landed on top of him, in a similar position to just last night. Your legs subconsciously fell on either side of his to somewhat straddle him, and you lifted yourself up on the palms of your hands to look down at him properly, a smile etched on your face. The familiar intoxicating pull from last night returned; you almost forgot Harrison was in the room— key word, almost.

“Get up before I come down there and join in.”

And with that, you quickly got off of Tom, and he scrambled to his feet. As Harrison came down the bunk bed ladder, you and Tom put the blankets back onto the bottom bed. You pondered where last night left the two of you, and you weren’t sure how to approach the subject. You were clearly more than friends, but were you more than friends in front of the others?

“What’s for breakfast?” Harrison asked, cutting you off from your thoughts. 

Over the course of the next few hours, you tried to somehow be alone with Tom to talk things over. It felt odd how things ended last night— not a bad odd, but odd nonetheless. Between the guys going for yet another run and you all spending time at the lake together, it just seemed like the opportunity would never come.

“God, I can’t believe it took you that long.” Rose teased, a giddy smile on her face as she cut off your recounting of last night. The boys were outside chopping some firewood while you, Rose, and Jane prepared dinner.

Jane winked at you jokingly, “What was it like?”

“What was what like? The kissing?” You asked, and she nodded.

“We want all the details!”

“In all honesty, it was the best kiss of my life.” You admitted, the butterflies you felt last night returning at just the thought.

As the three of you continued to talk, coo, and gossip about the four boys outside, they were hard at work. The late afternoon summer sun was bearing down on them, and they had stripped away their shirts earlier. Tom decided very early on that he didn’t like chopping wood, even if Harrison was somehow worse at it than him. While Tom and Harrison mainly kept to themselves, Will and Tyler had their own conversations going, despite the others clearly within earshot.

“You and Jane— I don’t know how you do it. One girl for all those years?” Will commented, and Tyler laughed with a shrug.

“It’s been so long, I don’t know what I would do without her. Plus, she’s the best fuck I’ve ever had.” Tyler said crassly, making his friend laugh.

“Mine was by far Y/N.” He stated, loudly, as if to ensure that Tom would hear it. At the sound of your name, Tom and Harrison both began to listen in on the conversation.

“It’s been years. Surely, there’s been someone else.”

“Nope.” Will protested, stopping his work to lean on the axe handle, “She was supposed to come over last night, but she must’ve gotten lost.” Tom couldn’t stop himself from scoffing at his words. Hearing the sound, Will turned to face Tom, “Got something to say?”

“Yeah, I do actually.” Tom said, dropping the axe. Holding himself up straighter, he made his way closer to Will. Harrison hesitantly stepped closer to Tom as the brunet continued, “She didn’t get lost, she just had a better option.”

“Better option? You mean you?” He bit back. “Yesterday, you couldn’t even do a simple hike without hurting yourself, and you’re shit at chopping wood. You may think you’re hot shit in London, but this is my turf, movie star. I’m the one who gets the girl here.”

Harrison went to grab Tom’s balled fist, but he was too late as Tom had already swung, nailing the surprised Will right in the nose. Will responded quickly, throwing a punch back at Tom. Tyler and Harrison exchanged questioning looks, silently wondering if they should break up the fight or just let them go at it, but the pair decided the former was probably a better idea.

Aware of sudden commotion outside, you, Rose, and Jane all rushed to the balcony, wondering what could possibly be happening. The fight between Tom and Will was ending as Harrison and Tyler both successfully pulled their respective friends away from the other. Even from the distance, you could see the new bruises on Tom’s face and Will’s bloody nose; it was most likely broken, but you didn’t have it in you to care. The boys were unaware of you and the others, until Harrison looked up at the balcony. He gave you a sad smile, and Tom was next to look up. Ashamed, he didn’t dare to meet your eyes and, instead, grabbed his shirt from a nearby log and trudged his way down to the lake.

Your eyes flickered to Will, and a pit of anger flamed inside you. Just by the look on his face, you didn’t even need to question who was the antagonist. Not bothering to say a word to Rose or Jane, you marched downstairs and out to where Will, Tyler, and Harrison remained.

“What did you say to him?” You questioned Will angrily. 

“Nothing he didn’t already know.” He replied nonchalantly.

“That’s bullshit, Will. This is all just bullshit. Every chance you get, you bring up something to antagonize Tom and embarrass me. And, every time you do that, you just remind me that you’re half the man Tom is.”

“You’re acting like I was the one to start the fight. News flash, princess, your man threw the first punch.” Will said, bitterly.

You stepped closer to him, your eyes hardening, and you swore you saw fear flicker in his eyes. “Believe me, if Tom hadn’t broken your nose already, I would break it myself.”

Without another word, you turned on your heel and headed down to the lake. You knew they were all watching you-- Harrison, Tyler, and Will from the ground and Rose and Jane from the balcony. The sun was already starting to line the tops of the trees across the lake, and you felt your anger slowly dissipating as you saw Tom sitting on the dock. With his legs swinging off the edge, he looked at peace, but you knew him better than that; a storm was brewing in his head.

You didn’t say anything, and Tom made no effort to look away from his hands in his lap as you approached. Silently, you sat down right next to him at the end of the dock. Now that you were beside him, you noticed the bruise forming on his eyebrow and the cut on his lip. Will definitely got a few good shots at him, but you could tell Tom had gotten him worse. Your eyes trailed down to his hands; his knuckles were red in agony. Slowly, you reached your hand out to grab his injured one.

“It doesn’t hurt.” Tom mumbled, but you could tell he was holding back the truth. You tenderly placed a kiss on each of his red knuckles before intertwining your fingers.

“Wanna talk about what happened?” You asked him quietly, fearing if you spoke too loud the fragile moment would somehow be ruined.

“He was talking about you like you were just a good fuck and nothing more.” He replied, his voice just as soft as yours.

You couldn’t help but smile at him, your heart fluttering at the thought that he was defending you. You let go of his hand and turned to properly face him. The smile never left your face as you cupped his face in your hands. Confused, Tom asked through a laugh, “What are you doing?”

You kissed his bruised eyebrow before responding, “Well, I’ve got to kiss it better, don’t I?”

“I think you missed a spot then.” Tom pointed to his lips with a cheeky grin. You pressed a chaste kiss to the cut on his lip, before teasingly pulling away. You didn’t get far as Tom’s hand went to the back of your neck, bringing you in for another, deeper kiss. Caught up in the moment, you somehow forgot about his cut; it wasn’t until you nibbled on his bottom lip, accidentally catching the cut, that you remembered and Tom pulled away with a quiet groan.

“I’m sorry.” You said through a laugh, though you were still genuinely concerned about him. Your fingers traced lightly over the agitated cut.

“It’s okay.” He reassured you. One of his hands trailed up your arm to your own hand, and he brought it to his lips, kissing it just as gently as you had kissed his knuckles. “You’re cold.”

“Guess my personal heater isn’t working.” You teased.

“Come here.” Tom beckoned you closer to him. You slid into his side, snuggling into his warm embrace. With his arm hanging around your shoulders, you slipped your fingers through his, smiling at the ease of it all.

“I wish we could stay like this forever.” You mumbled, looking at the beauty of the lake and the sunset before you. It was like a scene from a painting, a scene you wanted to memorize forever.

Tom pressed a kiss to your forehead, pulling you in closer to him. “We can stay here as long as you’d like, darling.”

[aliasimagines]

One Hell of a Night // Luke Patterson

a/n: HAPPY HALLOWEEN Y'ALL, it officially passed midnight here.Are you guys going to celebrate Halloween at home? And if so are you going to dress up? Tell me all about it lovelies, I wanna hear it ❤️. prompt 18 nad 15 from this list��� this fic is chaotic, hope you enjoy😊

word count: 2692

warnings: a few (three i think?) curse words, and a..uhm a line of dirty talking (I'm sorry I'm not like this all the time I promise 😅) and scary stories

The dry, colorful autumn leaves creaked under hiking boots as you walked into the woods. A smile appeared on your face as you heard some noises. Only a few seconds later you spotted the source. The Sunset Curve. The boys worked on getting the campfire lit while joking and laughing loudly. You stopped by a tree and leaned against it. Alex just hit Reggie on the back for just sitting around and not helping with putting logs and dry leaves on the fireplace. Thanks to Alex, Reggie swallowed the huge marshmello he had in his mouth and started coughing. 

Bobby was trying to light his lighter again and again but it just didn't work. That's when Luke threw a pack of matches at him causing the rhythm guitarist to stumble back and fall into a pile of leaves. You started laughing quietly and walked up to them.

"That wasn't nice of you, babe." you said from behind Luke. He jumped, not noticing you creeping up on him.

"BAH! I almost got a heart attack, y/n!" he shouts pouting. You giggled and placed a small kiss on his cheek. 

"That's what you get for not waiting for me." you smirk. Luke looks down embarrassed and goes to scrape the back of his head. 

"Yeah…Sorry about that. I was too eager to set up the camp." he gestured at the two tents. Both were full of blankets and pillows. It looked super comfortable. You also spotted his acoustic guitar, and a whole bunch of food in you guys' tent. 

"You did a great job."you smiled before walking over to the other boys." Hi guys! What's up?"

"Y/N! Finally! Tell Alex to stop hitting me!" yelled Reggie. You shook your head laughing. 

“Stop being so childish than Reginald!”

“Boys, come on!! It is halloween, have some fun!” and with that you fished out a huge bag of candy from your backpack and threw it into Reggie’s hands. He looked up at you like you were some kind of miracle maker. 

“Is this..is this all candy?” the dark haired boy asked, still in awe. You laughed, nodding your head slightly. 

“Yeah. I don’t really want to think about how much money I spent on sweets.” 

Soon after everyone got to work (this time for real) and the fire was lit in no time. Just as it started to get darker. All five of you sat around the campfire. You sat next to Luke, opposed to  Reggie and Alex. Bobby sat beside them in a camping chair. Thanks to the warm californian weather you didn’t need jackets just yet, despite being the end of october.

"It's getting dark. I think we could get started on the ghost stories?" asked Bobby looking up at the sky then around the little clearing in the woods where your tents were set up. Reggie munched on some candy corns but immediately stopped upon hearing those words. 

"Ghost stories? Don't mind if I do." he sat his candies aside and prepared to tell a story that would send shivers down your spines. You leaned over to Luke, placing your head on his shoulder. He looked down at you with a smile before turning his attention back to the bassist. 

"One day, a little boy, while walking around the woods, found a big toe on the ground. He ran home with it and-" 

"-his mom cooked it in the soup which revolted in the toe's owner haunting them." you suddenly cut Reggie off. He gasps, offended. 

"What? I knew the story. Was I supposed to just sit around?" you ask, earning a soft laugh from Luke. Reggie huffed and gestured at you. 

"Alright then, take it away y/n. See if you can do better."

"Not to be that person but she definitely can. You only said like two sentences." Alex jumped in, not wanting to miss an opportunity to roast his friend. 

"Because she cut me off!!" 

The woods, once again erupted with the boys' laughter as you stared into the fire, waiting for them to quiet down so you can start your story. 

"I was only a small kid when this happened, around five,maybe six, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. My mother was out of town for the weekend because of her work, so naturally, it was my father who read me a bedtime story in the evening. Everything was great, he was reading from my favorite book but right before he could finish the chapter we heard a quiet tapping noise from downstairs. My father looked puzzled and put his finger against his lips, signaling me to stay quiet so he could listen. The tapping didn't stop, it got louder before turning into banging and a final loud crash which sounded like the front door flying open. I looked at my father, scared to death, not knowing what to do." you kept your voice low, your face straight and never removed your eyes from the fire."He grabbed me and quickly ran with me to the small bathroom that was connected to my room. He instructed me to lock my door and only open it when he says so. I don't know what happened after that, but heard my father going down and some muffled noises before hearing him climb back up the stairs. I remember his voice. It was just so nice and comforting. He said it was a false alarm and I could come out. I reached for the doorknob but then he leaned down and looked inside through the keyhole. My little hands stopped midair. I kept staring at his eyes. He repeated that it was safe to come out and that everything was fine. But I did not believe him. Because that wasn't my father. He sounded exactly like him, but his eyes… They were a different color. Not my father's welcoming eye color. So I just stood there. For minutes. Maybe hours. He wouldn't stop talking, reassuring me but I still didn't unlock the door."

Reggie leaned forward with a worried and scared expression.  

"What happened next?" 

You lifted your gaze, slowly to look at the spooked boy. 

"He started tapping. It sounded just like it did on the front door. And it wasn't long before he started banging his hand against the wood." 

"Oh my god.." Reggie whispers. 

"He is hitting harder and harder until finally the door breaks and flies open. And the creature, no longer looking or sounding like my father, rather like a tall bloodied figure with sharp teeth, jumps at me, opening his huge mouth and SWALLOWS ME WHOLE." you shout the last part causing Reggie to scream and the others to jump just a little. 

"Fuuckk, i think I peed myself!" exclaims Reggie. You only laugh, seeing all the boys being a bit paler. 

"So who's next?" 

"I'll go." Luke said beside you and you shifted away from him, knowing that he will need the space to gesture along his story. You watched as he started to speak. His expression changes with every sentence as he introduces his characters. His frown as he talks about a creepy night in the woods. Your eyes wander down to his lips, too busy just staring at them to actually listen to the words that make them move. You distantly hear various curse words from the guys as your boyfriend goes deeper into detail with his horrifying story. With eyes still glued to Luke, you smile slightly. 

"../n...y/n...Y/N!" you hear making you jump and almost falling backwards on the log you have been sitting on. You see all the guys staring at you. 

"How are you not scared? Did you not hear Luke's story?" Reggie asks, earning a knowing laugh from Alex. 

"No, she did not. She was too busy staring at his lips." as your friend's words hit your ears you feel your face heating up. 

"Dude..,alright I might have zoomed out. A bit but I am here now. Where were you, babe?" 

Luke looks at you, amused. 

"I finished like 3 minutes ago. You 'zoomed out' for legit 20 minutes." 

Looking up at the sky, you realized they were right because it got pitch black since you last looked up. Your lips curved into an 'o' shape before mumbling a sorry.. 

“We should put more wood on the fire. It's starting to weaken.” says Reggie. Bobby points into the dark woods.

“Suit yourself, man.” 

“What? I am not going alone. Someone come with me.” he whines. Alex visibly changes his posture and sits into a more comfortable position.Luke puts his muscular arm around your shoulder grinning.

“You’re on your own, man.”

“No! Please??”

You bite back a laugh and carefully remove Luke’s arm from you. 

“Alright, I’ll go with you.” 

“Thank you!You are amazing!” 

You grab the basket ,that’s been laying on the ground, for the twigs. You also reach into your bag for your flashlight. 

“Ok, I’m ready to go.” you step towards Reggie but Luke grabs your hand and places a small kiss on it. 

“Be careful, love.”

“Always.”

The two of you start walking towards the woods.

“Try not to pee yourselfs guys!” Alex calls after you in a sing-song voice.

“Ha ha, very funny Alex.”

To be honest you were a little spooked but didn’t show it.Not like Reggie who was literally shaking beside you and jumped up at every little noise he heard as you got further into the woods. You picked up a few sticks and bigger twigs, slowly filling the basket with them. Or rather, you tried but when Reggie stoped right in front of you you accidentally dropped it spilling the stuff everywhere.

“Dude! I am trying to help you here!”

“Shhhhh! Didn’t you hear that?” he whispers, voice panicked. 

“Come on, Reg. This isn’t going to work on me.”

He turns to look at you.

“No, y/n! I am serious! I heard a whisper! I’m sure of it!”

You roll your eyes, not believing your friend.

“You gotta be more convincing next time. I dont scare that easily..AH” just as you assured Reginald how it takes more for you to get spooked, someone, or something grabbed you from behind and started to pull you while shouting ‘WAA’. The flashlight landed on the ground too as you let out a bloodcurdling scream. You kicked your attacker(s?) wherever you could. 

“Ahh! WHoo, stop, it’s just us.” you suddenly hear your boyfriend's voice and feel the arms around you letting go. You turned around your fear vanishing and turning into anger.

Reggie behind you falls on the ground,clutching his chest while he tries not to cry.

“ARE YOU GUYS INSANE?!” you shout at Luke and Booby. Alex is nowhere to be seen, he probably stayed next the fire to keep an eye on your stuff. Luke's eyes immediately  widen upon hearing you raise your voice.

“I..I am sorry we thought-”

“What?! Lucas Patterson I am, so, so mad at you right now” you say shaking. You hear Bobby giggle quietly. You snap your head in his direction. “And don't even get me started on you Bobby...Bobby..uhm” you stop to think about his surname, only to realise you don’t know it. For a moment you let go of your anger. “What is your surname?”

He only scoffs and smiles. Alex must have heard the shouting and come to investigate with a flashlight in one hand and a drumstick (as a weapon?) in his other.He soon puts them down tho as he sees that you are all in one piece. Luke looks at Bobby with a puzzled expression.

“That is actually creepy, cause I don’t know it either.”

“What?! How? He has been in a band for, what? A year and a half? And you never actually asked his last name?” you ask, more interested in the mystery of Bobby’s name than shouting at them now. Luke shrugs.

“Do you even have a last name?” you hear Reggie asking from the ground. You all turn to him with questioning looks.

“Everyone has a last name Reginald.” says Alex.

“Not celtic gods, no.” he responds.

“What?” Luke exclaims clearny not understanding the bassist.

“Bobby is not a god.” says the drummer annoyed. “ He is a normal teenager like us.”

“Is he tho?”

Meanwhile Bobby leans back against a tree and stares at Reggie.

“You are creeping me out...Please stop creeping me out oh majestic god of...what are you the god of?”

Booby just smiles mysteriously. 

“Oh for f…’s sake.Y/N back me up here, there are no gods and even if there were, Bobby is not one of them.”

“Thanks Alex but I am not offending a celtic god.”

“What is wrong with you guys?!”

Luke doesn’t know who to look at in this chaos. Soon he decides to pick up the twigs and collect more while you, Reggie and Alex argue whether Bobby is a god or not. Bobby bends down too, to help the lead singer.

“You do know my name is actually Wilson, right?” 

“Yeah. Of course I do, I think Reggie does too, he just forgot.” the two boys laugh. 

You all walk back to the camp and Booby, upon seeing Reggie still looking at him suspiciously walks over to him.

“I am not an ancient god, you know.”

“That is exactly what I would say too.”

Not hearing Reggie’s nonsense reminds you of what Luke did so when you feel him wrapping his arms around you, you push him away.

“I sorry, bae. I was an asshole. I shouldn’t have. Please look at me?” he stands before you so there is no way you can avoid him.

“Don’t do this again.” you said with a firm tone. You can't help but smile, seeing Luke’s shit eating grin. He opens his arms once again but waits for you to hug him first. You do, and for minutes you just stand there in his embrace. The silence was broken by the familiar sound of the acoustic guitar which was followed by Reggie’s voice as he started to play some country song. 

“Dude, no, put down my guitar.”Luke ran off to get his instrument or to, at least convince him to play ‘normal’ music. You laugh and walk over to Alex and Bobby.

“Hey, y/n, I am sorry about scaring you.”

You wave your hand. 

“It’s fine. However don’t be surprised when I get back at you.” you say before sitting down next to Reggie and giving him a hug because let’s be honest he was pretty traumatised in the woods too.

“Woo,hey! Why does he get a hug?” Luke asks, upset he couldn’t change Reggies mind about playing country songs. And from the fact that his girlfriend was hugging him.

“Maybe because you decided that it was a funny idea to scare the living shit out of him and I.”

“Stop guilt tripping me.” he pulls you up and away from the fire, closer to the tents. ”I said I am sorry. And you are right, I shouldn’t  have scared you. Besides…” he leaned closer to your ear “I know more fun ways to make you scream.”

You gasp upon hearing his words and right when you are about to react Alex walks by casually. 

“No, no. With the tents it’s like we are sleeping next to each other. If you guys try anything I will murder you myself.”

Both of you look after him, blushing before breaking into laughter.

Luke’s watch showed 3:58 when you all agreed to call it a night.You put out the fire with the help of Bobby while Luke went to pack away the trash you all left out.

Reggie yawned and looked up at Alex.

“I am still pretty scared...Can I cuddle you Alex?”

He looks at him like he heard it wrong.

“Absolutely not.”

“What about you Bobby?”

“No way, Reg.”

Despite them saying this, all three of them woke up hugging each other in the morning.

[thefloorisbalaclava]

pragma - part eighteen

Pairing: Frankie “Catfish” Morales x F!Reader

Warnings: SMUT

A/N: Ever since I wrote body heat I’ve been thinking about how else one could make love while out backpacking/camping. This chapter involves another way ;)

Also I hc Frankie as a guy who says really cheesy things and tells horrible jokes but in a charming way. This is from his POV.

I have decided to do a few pre-pragma one shots to explore Frankie and reader’s past with each other. Something is mentioned in this chapter and I will expand on it in one of those one shots :)

Enjoy!

Summary: Frankie takes you on a camping trip and makes sure you enjoy yourself.

pragma masterlist

(the gif has absolutely nothing to do with this chapter but it’s frankie so lol)

Frankie watched happily as she walked around the house talking about all the things they’d need for their little camping trip. She had pretended not to be excited and he was sure there was a reason behind that—he’d ask later.

“You know, there’s a camping store in town if you’re missing anything,” he told her.

“I’m sure everything I need is out in the attic.”

“The attic?” he asked.

“Yeah…ex thought it took up too much space anywhere else. I never used it with him anyway.” She shrugged. And there it was. “We planned lots of trips that never happened.” Her smile started to fade and Frankie didn’t like the direction this conversation was going in especially because she was just so happy.

“Well, this one is happening. We’re getting away for a while—from bad times, bad memories, your asshole ex—it’s just gonna be us and the mountains and the trees.” He put his hands on her shoulders and she smiled at him. She was back.

“When’s the last time you went backpacking or camping?” she asked.

“A very long time ago. Uh…the last time we all went together, remember? Then there was a time with my dad. It’s all so long ago now.” He scratched his growing beard. “Looks like we both deserve this.”

“There is one thing I think we’ll need to get,” she said, moving in close and fixing the collar of his shirt. “Double sleeping bag?”

“Oh?” He smirked and wrapped his arms around her. “We’re gonna be alone for a while and you might get sick of me because of that. At least here if you kick me outta bed I can sleep on the couch but it’s not the same out there.”

“Well, if we fight while camping, I guess we’ll just have to make-up.” She smiled slyly.

“Thank God for you,” he chuckled, squeezing your butt once.

“Francisco…”

“Hand slipped.”

She slid her hand down and grabbed his butt. “Now we’re even.”

“Yeah, the only difference is that you actually have something I can grab. I’m as flat as a board back there.” He laughed as she shoved him away, giggling.

“You have enough for me,” she said.

“I do?”

“Yup. You know I love everything about you, right?” She looked at him.

“Like what?” He kind of had a thing for hearing her say what she liked about him.

“Well, let’s see. Your hair, your eyes, your nose, lips. The little bit of grey that grows in your scruff. I love how rough your hands are but how gentle they are as well.” She looked at his stomach. “And my favorite, of course.”

“What is it with you and my stomach?”

“It’s cute and I like to rest my head on it.” She chuckled as he ran a hand over his stomach. “And those legs.” She whistled lowly. “Your thighs are a delight, soft but strong.”

“Anything else?” Frankie was sure he had turned red by now.

“You. I just…love you. You give me something to admire about you every day. I’ve never been very religious, but I swear you’re my angel. You were sent here for me. You saved me.” Her voice cracked and she shook her head. “Sorry.”

“You saved me, too. In more ways than you’ll ever know.” Frankie honestly didn’t know where he’d be without her. How’d he get so lucky?

“Well, good thing we get to go camping with each other. If something happens, we can save each other,” she said, smiling with tears in her eyes. Frankie felt himself getting emotional, but held back.

“The only thing we have to do is pick a spot,” he said. “There are so many to choose from.”

“Which do you prefer?”

“Nope. You’re picking.” He pointed at her.

“But you just said we have to pick a spot.” She gestured between the both of them.

“Well, I meant you.”

“Then you have to decide when we go. It’s only fair.” She walked upstairs then called down to him. “How am I supposed to know which spot to choose? I don’t know what most of these places look like.”

“I have a bunch of pamphlets in my truck and…we have the internet.”

When she came back downstairs, she was wearing one of his shirts. “Okay, I’ll grab my laptop.”

“Did you go upstairs just to change into one of my shirts?” He watched her walk to her desk.

“It’s more comfortable.”

“It’s big on you,” he pointed out.

“Which is why it’s comfy.” She sat on the couch and he walked to the door.

“Grabbing the pamphlets.” He ran to his truck and back quickly, settling beside her. “Here.”

She took them and made faces at all of them except for one. “This spot is beautiful.”

“I knew you’d like that one,” he said with a smile.

“How?”

“We went there years ago,” he reminded her. “All of us. Me, you, Santiago, and a few others. Remember?”

“Kind of.”

“Well, you did get shitfaced so I’m not surprised you don’t remember.” He smiled fondly. “It was fucking adorable.”

“Adorable? You’re making fun of me.”

“Nope. You had to know by then that I was crazy about you. Everything you did was cute to me. I loved making you laugh really hard because you would snort and get all embarrassed but…it just made me fall in love with you more." He shook his head and sighed. “I was so in love. Still am.”

“Why didn’t you tell me right then and there?” she asked.

“I…don’t know. I mean, a girl like you and a guy like me…” He eventually told her but that was years later and by then he had been dealing with a whole other mess—the one that probably played a huge role in making her leave.

“Look at us now.” She winked at him then pointed to the pamphlet. “Let’s go here…again. Looks nice and…secluded.”

“You wanna be secluded?” he asked.

She only gave him a look and it dawned on him. “Oh. Oh!”

“Don’t get all shy on me now. Are you telling me you’ve never thought of it?”

“Now I am.” He thought for a moment. “Let’s go this weekend,” he suggested.

“Okay. Let’s do it.”

*

*

“Who needs $350 hiking boots?” Frankie asked for the hundredth time as they grabbed their packs out of his truck.

“They were a gift,” she said, struggling to get her pack on. He walked over and helped her then just looked at her. “What? Is something on me?”

“No. You just look…great,” he said. “We better start walking.” He led the way, looking to make sure she was okay every now and then. She kept up every step of the way without complaining. He never doubted her. “How’s this spot?” he asked, leaning against a tree.

“It’s definitely secluded.” She looked around then back at him. “I like it.”

“If we walk out a little more that way,” he pointed, “There’s a great view.”

“Great. Now let’s see if I can remember how to pitch a tent,” she said, dropping her pack.

“I assure you, you have no issues doing that. In fact, you’re very good at it.”

She looked at him and squinted. “Francisco Morales…”

He shrugged. “It’s true.” He took his water bottle out and drank before taking his cap off and squeezing water onto his head and face. When he opened his eyes again, she was staring at him. “What? I have enough water for the weekend.”

“I know.” She drank some of her water then poured some into her hands, rubbing the back of her neck. “This is gonna be fun,” she said, moving to stand beside him as he put his pack down.

“Yup.”

They stood there quietly for a moment then suddenly she was on him. He grunted in surprise as she pushed herself against him, kissing him roughly.

“You look really hot with your hair wet like that,” she said breathlessly. “Did you know that?”

“Now I do.” He grinned before kissing her again, stumbling backwards until he hit a tree.

“We…should…get the tent…up,” she spoke between kisses.

“It already is,” he joked again and she laughed against his lips.

“Mm we should at least wait until the sun goes down.”

“Nuh uh…the way the light is shining down on you right now…just like this. I want to see you.” He turned her so she was against the tree now. She kissed him again, raking her hands through his hair and pulling slightly just the way he liked.

“I had no idea you were so…adventurous.”

“We learn something new every day, hm?” He couldn’t keep his lips off her and she was the same with him. When she turned around and pressed herself against him, he nearly whimpered. He preferred to be able to see her face when he made love to her but they had to get creative out here. She moved her hands from the tree and unbuttoned her pants, pulling them down just enough along with her panties.

“Jesus…” Frankie whispered.

She turned her head to look over her shoulder at him. “And don’t worry… I’m ready for you.”

Frankie had been more than ready longer than he cared to admit. He took in the way she placed her hands on the tree for balance as she arched her back just right for him.

“Fuck it.” He made quick work of the fly of his pants, thankful for the relief from constriction. “You’re ready…you’re sure?” he asked.

“Yes Francisco.” She whispered it but as always, hearing her speak his name spurred him on. He placed one hand on her lower back as he guided himself inside. She bit down on her hand to quiet her moan once he was fully inside.

“You okay, baby?” His only answer was her pushing herself back on him and wriggling her hips. “I guess you are.” He kept his hands on her hips for a while, keeping a slow pace, taking his time.

She reached back and took hold of his shirt. “More…please,” she gasped.

He cursed under his breath as he picked up the pace. She moved her hand from his shirt and held onto the tree again. Her body trembled and he crushed himself against her back, wrapping one arm around her and using the other to grab one of her hands that was against the tree. Her knees buckled but he kept her upright.

“I need to see you,” she whimpered and suddenly she was turning around and pulling one of her legs out of her pants. She hooked the leg around his waist and he quickly reached down to get himself inside her again. “Yes."

He hiked her leg up a bit more and she cried out but quickly put a hand over her mouth. “Did I hurt you?” he asked, slowing down.

She shook her head and kissed him before speaking. “You’re just…really deep.”

Now his knees buckled at her words and his fingers dug into her thigh as he felt himself getting close. “You feel so fucking good,” he said in her ear before thrusting faster and harder, hitting that spot she loved over and over again. He finished before her, burying himself within her with a growl. She wasn’t far behind, getting pushed over the edge by the way he throbbed and the sounds he made.

“Holy shit, Frankie.” She noticed how his hips still moved. “Are you still…”

“Shit,” he gasped. “I don’t think I ever came that hard before. I can’t see straight.”

“Can you see me?” she asked and he nodded, kissing her passionately as he carefully pulled out of her and lowered her leg. “I could use a nice nap now. Too bad the tent isn’t up yet,” she jested as she fixed her clothes.

“We’ll make quick work of it. After a little breather.” He sat against a tree and looked at her. “You’re beautiful. Nature agrees with you.”

“Thanks babe. And can I just say that you’re ridiculously handsome. You’re in your element.”

“You trying to get in my pants again?” he teased. “Gimme a few more minutes and I’ll be ready to go.”

*

*

Frankie held her as she hummed a song he didn’t know. They had made love again after getting the tent up and now they were spent, content with just holding each other.

“I’m glad we did this,” he said.

“Me too. I love all my adventures with you.” She played with his fingers.

“Adventures? What…like Indiana Jones?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

“Well, I already found what I was looking for.” He touched her cheek and she looked up at him. “Mi tesoro.”

“And you’re my treasure too,” she said, kissing his chest before resting her head on it again. “We should check out that view tomorrow. Take some pictures and stuff.”

“We can do whatever you want.”

“Are there bears out here?” she asked suddenly.

“Yeah probably.” He realized that she was probably a little scared. “But I won’t let ‘em get you. I already staked my claim on this honey.”

Her body shook against his as she laughed. “Did you really just say that?”

“Sure did.”

“Gosh…my boyfriend is so dorky.”

“And you love it,” he said, holding her tighter.

“I sure do.”

[nineteen]

Tags: @cable-kenobi @saltywintersoldat @ahopelessromanticwritersworld @pedrosdoll @psychobillybunny @behindmyeyes-insidemyhead @keeper0fthestars @mrsparknuts @thinemineours @huliabitch @synystersilenceinblacknwhite @lavenderl3mons @mrscrain-x7 @fioccodineveautunnale @gooddaykate @themilkface @tiffdawg @ms-dont-care @mus1caln0tes @awesomefandomsunited @seawhisperer @virtualxjournality @badassbaker @demigod-dragonrider-schoolidol​ @lokiaddicted @forever-rogue @sloantravels @javier-djarin @jawabear

[dwaekiki]

Camping trip

Caregiver : Hyunjin

Little : Seungmin

-

The members were all excited today. They had a weekend to relax and they had chosen to go camping! Everyone was running everywhere in the dorm, looking for the last stuff needed for the trip. Making sure they didn't forget anything. Seungmin had woken up already into his little head space as he was so excited for their trip. He hadn't been able to rest and slip for a long time now since they were always practicing all day long. He was happy he could take the weekend to fully relax and be little. When the group had finally packed all their stuff, they were ready to leave for a well deserved break. Hopping into the car, they all buckled their seat belts and the vehicul started.

The ride to go there was kind of long, almost two hours and for little Seungmin, it was the most boring thing. He had tried to sleep like Hyunjin had told him to, but he was too excited and couldn't keep his eyes close for more than three minutes. Seungmin let out a loud sigh in annoyance and Hyunjin put his hand on his baby's head to calm him down, stroking his hair. To the little's delight, they finally made it to the camp. He happily giggled and started swinging his legs back and forth, waiting for his caregiver to get him out of the car as he had fell deeper into little space. Hyunjin cooed at his baby and took him up in his arms, trying to help the others with all the stuff at the same time. By the time they finished installing the tents, Seungmin had fallen asleep on Hyunjin's shoulder. The day was coming to an end already and tommorow they had a big day planned. They had all agreed on going hiking. There was four tents so they had to sleep in pairs and once everyone had settled into their respective one, Hyunjin watched his little softly breath, already deep into sleep. He smiled and closed his eyes, drifting off pretty quickly.

The morning sun woke up Seungmin the next day. He shuffled into his slipping bag, trying to block the light and possibly be able to sleep a bit more, but it was no use. He looked around and beside him, he saw a sleeping prince. He smiled at the thought and observed his boyfriend's features a little more. He didn't want to wake him up, but he felt himself already starting to get bored. He turned his head again and found his plushie not far away from him. Taking it, he played with it for some time, but the boredum came back quickly so he finally decided to wake his caregiver up. Slowly approaching the latter, Seungmin put a hand on his shoulder and started shaking him slightly.

"Dada"

He whispered.

"Dada, Minnie bowred"

Hyunjin shifted in his sleeping bag, but his eyes remained closed.

"Dada"

Seungmin tried again, louder. A hummed was heard from Hyunjin as he finally opened his eyes, looking at his baby.

"What is it angel?"

He asked soflty.

"I bored"

"Did you try going back to sleep baby? It looks pretty early and you need to be in great form for today"

Hyunjin tried, but only got a whine in response.

"Minnie triwed but can't"

Now almost fully awake, the caregiver lifted himself up into a sitting position.

"Does Minnie want to try sleeping in dada's arms?"

Seungmin immediately nodded and slipped himself into his dada's sleeping bag. They both layed down again, the little pressed onto Hyunjin's chest, the latter holding him tightly. Fortunately, the couple soon drifted back to sleep, but sadly only to be woken up about thirty minutes later. Once everyone was up, the eight boys then started to get ready for the day. They had packed sandwiches and water bottles and Hyunjin didn't forget to bring a first aid kit, just in case. Finally, they were ready to leave and everyone was excited and cheerful. Seungmin more than everyone because of his little state of mind. Jeongin was happy when Minnie was little because he felt like he had a younger brother and really liked to take care of him. Along with Jisung and Felix, the maknae made Seungmin laugh and jump around, making him even more frantic then he already was. Seeing the energetic youngers, Chan decided they could take a longer road than the one they first intended to take. They had originally picked a three miles road, but they changed for a five miles one. They thought it would be alright, as they'd packed enough supply and left the camp early. They would be back by the end of the afternoon, before dinner time.

~time skip

About two hours of hiking had passed before the maknae line, and Minho joining them, started to whine about being hungry. As it was almost noon anyway, the group stopped at a nearby table, which were dispersed everywhere around the trails, and took out the sandwiches. Each member took one and they begun to eat happily. After lunch, they all regained energy and were ready to continu, everyone chasing and teasing baby Minnie. Unfortunately, running around on a ground full of roots and rocks wasn't the best place for Felix' clumsiness as he fell, his knees hitting the ground harshly. Every members ran to him and helped him sit so they could see if he was okay. His knees were bleeding, but it was nothing serious. Although, Hyunjin was happy he had thought of bringing the first aid kit. He took it out of his backpack and opened it up, revealing band-aids, coton balls, sanitizer and lots of other useful supplies. Seugmin, understood Felix had hurt himself, but was still trying to calm down from all the excitement he had just lived. He tried to get the members attention, but they were all by Lix' side, trying to calm him down, but Seungmin needed attention, he wanted someone to take care of him too. Who was better at that then his dada? He then made his way towards Hyunjin and slightly taped his shoulder, getting no evident reaction, as the older was busy dressing Felix' wounds.

"Dada"

The little tried again.

"Dada Minnie wanna pway"

He exclaimed, tapping Hyunjin's shoulder again, but the latter shrugged his hand off.

"I'm busy Seungmin go elsewhere"

Seungmin was disappointed, he wanted his dada to pay him some attention.

"But dada, wanna pway"

Hyunjin became irritated and without looking at his little :

"Seungmin, I said go away! I am busy!"

The members didn't even seem to notice the small argument, as they were drying Felix' tears, or holding his hands, or saying calming words to the Australian. Seungmin was hurt. He didn't feel like his dada cared about him anymore. He slowly backed away from the group, looking around him. Minnie gonna go back to the camp and pway wif plushie. He thought to himself, looking at the track they came from, already starting to make his way in that direction.

A good twenty minutes later, Felix wasn't crying anymore and his knees were gently wrapped in bandages. The group thought it was a better idea to get back to the camp since one of the member was hurt. Starting to walk back, Hyunjin remembered the way he had talked to Seungmin earlier and felt awful. He started to look for him in hope of apologizing but the little was no where in sight. Panic slowly rose inside of him and he stopped, looking around again. It catched the attention of the others and they started questioning Hyunjin on what he was doing.

"Where is Seungmin?"

He faintly asked in a shaky voice. The other six boys looked around, imitating the scared caregiver.

"Where is he?"

He repeated hopeless.

"Where is my baby?"

He questioned again, his voice cracking at the last words as worried tears filled his eyes. Chan approached him and patted his back reassuringly.

"Don't worry, we're going to find him, he's propably not that far"

The others agreed and made groups to go look for the little. The leader stayed with Hyunjin while the rest of the members parted ways. The dancer was still out of it, continuously looking at all the trees surrounding them.

"It's my fault, I didn't take care of him when he needed me. Chan-"

He broke down in tears, the oldest holding him up so he wouldn't fall on the ground.

"It's going to be okay, everybody's looking for him"

Chan reassured, holding Hyunjin in a tight hug. The only way not taken by the rest of the group was the way back to the camping site so once Hyunjin had calmed down a bit, the pair started to walk that way. They had planned that if by 5pm, they still hadn't found Seungmin, they would reunite and ask for professional help, it was currently 1pm. They all hoped it wouldn't get to that. Hopeless, Hyunjin pitifully walked the trail beside a supportive Chan.

~Time skip again

The two hours back to the camp were exhausting for Hyunjin, for Chan too in fact, but the leader didn't let it show as he tried to cheer his member up. Arriving there with no one in sight made Hyunjin want to break into another wave of tears but before he could, a small figure catched his eyes. A little Seungmin was sitting in front of their tent, a plushie in his arms, singing to himself. Chan's eyes widened while a smile grew on Hyunjin's face. He immediately ran towards Seungmin, not caring about his tired legs.

"Minnie!"

He screamed. The little looked up and his eyes shone at the sight in front of him.

"There you are, don't ever do this again baby"

Hyunjin said, holding his baby in a tight hug.

"But Minnie wanted to pway dada"

The caregiver hummed, hugging him closer.

"I know baby, I should've listened to you. Dada is sorry he yelled at Minnie"

"Ish okay dada, wanna pway now?"

Seungmin asked, resting his head on his boyfriend shoulder.

"Sure, anything for you angel"

Seungmin giggled. Chan, behind them, called the others, telling them they had found Seungmin at the camp. Once everyone was reunited, they used the rest of the day to play games with Minnie, not leaving him alone one second.

The end~~

[chimtaegukkie]

Camping Trip

Pairing: Jungkook x Reader

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1.8k

“Kookie Kookie Kookie!” I chant and open my front door.

“Hi (Y/n)!!”

With a huge smile, I run up to my -now very muscular- childhood friend and nearly tackle him in a hug.

“Jeez, (Y/n)! I could’ve fallen!” Jungkook says chuckling. He returns my hug and runs his hand through my hair. “Your hair is so long now!” He says pulling away to look at me. I puff out my cheeks noticing the differences. “What’s wrong?” He asks noticing my annoyance.

“You’re taller than me..” I mutter quietly. Jungkook just laughs.

“I mean, it has been ten years since we’ve seen each other in person.” He says.

“Whatever. It wouldn’t be this way if you hadn’t gone to study overseas.” I grumble.

“(Y/n), even if I had stayed in Seoul, I’d still be the same height as I am now.” He says.

“Shut up.” I say glaring at him. He simply raises his hands in the air with a giggle. “Anyway, are you ready for this weekend?” His eyes basically start sparkling, causing me to smile.

“Camping weekend! Woo hoo!” He hollers loudly.

“Jeon Jungkook, shut your big mouth! My niece is sleeping!” I scold and smack him on the arm. He winces.

“Sorry.” I roll my eyes and sneak through the house and past her bedroom, gesturing for Jungkook to follow. We make it into my room and I sit on the edge of my bed and Kookie takes the chair by my desk. “So why is your niece here? Babysitting?”

“Basically. My sister asked me to watch her this afternoon while she went to work. She got called in unexpectedly. She’s picking her up tonight,” I explain while playing with my bed sheet. “Anyway, so tomorrow, we’re meeting here?” He nods. “And you’re bringing what again?”

“I’m bringing the stuff to make food. And you’re bringing the tent and the sleeping bags. Any preference on what to eat?” He asks pretending to hold a pad and pen like a waiter.

“Hmmm. I’d like the filet mignon with creamy potatoes and a side of your finest broccoli.” He nods and pretends to write down my order. “I’m just kidding, Kook. You know I’ll eat anything.”

“You got it. A pile of dirt with some crickets on the side.” He says with a wink.

“Okay, not anything, but you should know what I meant.” I say rolling my eyes.

“I’m just messing with you, dear. Now that that’s settled, what else should we bring? Or should we just wing it and only bring food and shelter?” He asks.

“Well, I don’t wanna hike with too much, so why don’t we bring food and shelter and find something to do there. We could hike to the waterfall.” I wonder aloud.

“I like that idea.” He agrees.

“Okay, great!” I say with a smile. I glance behind him at my desk noticing an old picture of the two of us, causing me to giggle. Jungkook follows my gaze and picks up the frame. “We took the day you were leaving. I was really upset about it.”

“I can tell. Your face is bright red and there are boogers coming out of your nose because you’re crying,” he teased. I lean over to punch his shoulder, telling him with my eyes to stop. “Sorry,” he chuckles. “Well, I’d better go so I can go shopping for food. Go ahead and start packing so you get everything and you aren’t rushing,” he stands and walks to the door. “Don’t forget anything, okay?” He stops in the doorway and smiles at me.

“What?” I ask with a smile. His smile grows slightly.

“I really missed you, (Y/n).” He leaves and once he’s down the hallway, he yells, “I’ll see you tomorrow!”

“(Y/n)! I’m here!” I hear Jungkook call from outside. With a grin I start dragging my stuff out to my car where Jungkook is already strapping stuff to the top of the car.

“Hi Kookie!” I greet. He smiles at me and gives a small wave. I bring my stuff over to my car but before I can lift anything, he takes it out of my hands and straps it up for me.

“I’ve got this. You go pick some good music for the drive.” He says picking up the rest of my stuff.

“Okay,” I say hopping in the passenger seat of the car. I unlock my phone and flip through all my music to find some things we both like. By the time I find some good music, Jungkook seats himself in the car.

“Ready to go?” He asks. I nod and we drive off towards the woods.

When we arrive, we put on our backpacks and begin our hike. Soon, we reach our campsite and we attempt to figure out how to set up our tent. Eventually we are able to set up what could pass as a tent. Though there is a small hole in the screen but, I believe we can survive the night.

“So now what?” He asks stepping back from our tent.

“Well, we could go explore. Want to do that? Maybe we’ll stumble across that waterfall.” His eyes brighten and he nods.

“Yeah! Let’s do that!” He says seeming very excited. 

Together we hike off, following the sounds of the waterfall and using it as our guide. When we make it there, we see that the fall pours into a very large lake. I point to a cliff that is over the lake and we grin.

“Let’s check how deep the lake is then we’ll race to the top,” Jungkook says before stripping off his shirt and starting to slide off his pants. I can’t help but stare at his abs. He must feel my gaze because when we lock eyes, he smirks. “Like what you see?”

“Don’t be cocky.” I grumble before peeling off my shirt, leaving me in a sports bra and shorts. Now it’s his turn to stare. He clears his throat and walks into the lake, swimming around to see how deep it is.

“Okay, I think we’re good.” He says. “Now just let me get out and-“

“Last one to the top eats ass!” I scream as I start clambering up the rocks to the cliff. Jungkook is hot on my tail, but I make it up first. The only problem is, I didn’t realize just how high up it was.

“Don’t think, just jump.” Jungkook says noticing my hesitation. He inhales and leaps off, doing a canonball into the lake.

Why hasn’t he come up yet?

Come on, come up…

Jungkook finally breaks the surface of the water and laughs. “Woo! What a rush! Come on and jump!” He says smiling up at me. His smile gives me the confidence to jump, so I follow his lead and canonball too. I come up immediately and laugh.

“That was amazing!” I say happily. “Let’s do it again!” We both share a laugh and climb back up the cliff to jump again. Jungkook does a flip and I swan dive. “This is so great!” I say with a laugh. “Got one more?”

“Hell yeah!” We get out of the lake and climb back up. “Ready?” He asked with a smirk.

“For wha-JEON JUNGKOOK AHHH!” Jungkook lifts me over his shoulder and leaps off. When we come up, I glare at him and he just laughs. Right when he opens his mouth, I splash him in the face.

“You. Did not. Just do that.” I splash him again. He smirks before sending a wave of water at my face. I duck under the water and grab his ankles, yanking him under. When he comes back up, he growls. “How dare you?” He asks trying to mask a laugh. I stick my tongue out at him and swim to the shore.

“I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry, so you should make me food.” I say triumphantly. I go to put my shirt back on, but all of our clothes are soaked from our splash fight. “And I’ll make the fire to dry our clothes.” I mutter. He nudges me, grabs his clothes, and starts walking back to the campsite. I run to catch up, slightly shivering as the sun sets.

We sit by the fire together as we watch our clothes dry, the food Jungkook had cooked was eaten and enjoyed. “Wanna go ahead and set up sleeping bags?” He asks glancing at me. I nod.

“Yeah. Let me get them out for us.” I say unzipping my hiking bag. I pull out one and toss it into the tent before going to look for the other one. “Um..Kook? We may have a problem..” He walks over to me and glances over my shoulder.

“What’s wrong?” He sees me clawing through my bag. “Did you leave the other sleeping back in the living room?” I sheepishly nod.

“Since I messed up, you can sleep in it. I’ll be fine just sleeping on the ground.” I say gesturing to the tent.

“No, watch.” Jungkook goes into the tent and unzips the sleeping bag to make it into a pallet for us both to sleep on. “There. Now we can both sleep on it.” He says smiling at me. “Now, I’m ready for bed. We can leave the fire going so it’s not as cold.” He says before laying himself on one side of the sleeping bag. “Night, (Y/n).”

I smile softly before laying down next to him to where were facing away from each other. I shiver slightly, still cold from my damp clothes. I subconsciously curl into Jungkook’s body heat, keeping careful to not touch him. He turns over and sighs. Knowing him, he’s probably close to being asleep already. I turn over to face him and I see his cute face at peace. Over the ten years where he was overseas, we would video chat at least once a week to keep in touch, but seeing him this close in person makes me realize how mature he’s gotten. He’s quite attractive. My heart begins to beat faster. Jungkook sighs again and his eyes flutter open to meet mine. He smiles at me and whispers, “I’ve really missed you, (Y/n).” I smile back at him.

I’m not sure who leaned in first, but we kiss. It starts as soft pecks, but turns into slower and longer kisses. His lips brush against mine as he gazes into my eyes. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to do that.” He mutters against my lips before kissing me again.

“Kook,” he just hums in response. “I love you..” He pulls away and looks me in the eyes. His face breaks out into a smile and he pulls me into him, burying his face into my neck. I giggle and hug him back.

“I love you too.” He mutters into my neck. My heart beat speeds up again and I run my fingers through his hair. “Thank you.” He says after a minute.

“For what?”

“For waiting for me to come home to you.”

[bittysvalentines]

Upwards and Onwards

To: @nevermindedanyway

From: @jlzsoftie

Hi! I really hope you enjoy your gift and have a wonderful Valentine’s day! Much love <3

Warnings: mentions Jack’s OD

__________

Four days before Jack and Bitty come out, they leave early for Canada with Shitty and Lardo. It’s been planned for months now and everyone agreed that a few days as far away as possible would be for the best. The Zimmermann family cabin seemed like the obvious choice from the start, with its lake and swing set and just enough reception to make a phone call but not enough to load an article, and yet it took a while to convince Jack to go. It’s been a while since last time and he didn’t know if he wanted to risk tainting every happy memory, but Bitty managed to convince him eventually.

Jack tries to tell himself that it’s just another trip, just another weekend with his friends like all the times they went skiing or surfing or exploring, but he knows it’s more than that. And it deserves to be more than that. It’s huge. Everything has its time, good and bad, and everything that coming out entails isn’t an exception. It deserves memories too.

“This is gorgeous, Jack,” Bitty says on day one. The sun is shining just high enough for the water surface to catch it and it looks like a photograph. Like a picture perfect photograph. You can see the lake from the porch where they’re standing but that’s the only view besides trees that you get for miles in that direction. They’re not too far from the main road on the opposite side though, no matter how isolated it feels.

“Yeah, glad I brought my camera,” Jack says and puts his arms around Bitty’s waist from behind. He places a light kiss on the top of his head and then relaxes.

“I think we’ll wanna remember this. I think it’ll be good,” Bitty confesses. They’ve avoided any predictions thus far, but Jack’s gonna let this one slide. Mostly because he agrees.

“I don’t think we could forget it even if we tried.”

————

Day two and three are spent hiking and catching up. They pick a decent trail and walk until they don’t want to keep going anymore because it’s no longer about getting anywhere in particular. Shitty and Lardo tag along the first time, and it’s the most fun all of them have had together in months, but they stay at the cabin when Jack and Bitty decide to go again the next day.

An hour or two into that second time around they’re sitting on rocks with their backpacks to the side and looking at the view. Most of today’s hike was spent going uphill and now they can see the top of the small town church they passed on their drive here not long before turning onto the dirt road. Bitty picks up a blue flower, “to match your pretty eyes, Mr. Zimmermann”, and puts it behind Jack’s ear. Jack just thinks ‘this is what happiness is’ and kisses him breathless right there.

————

Day four is spent trying not to worry. He gets a text from George in the afternoon that tells him the plan is working so far, plus a ‘You’ll be out in less than 24 hours. I’m so proud of you’, and Jack can’t be sure exactly when she sent it because of the bad reception, but he sends back a thumbs up and turns his phone off.

No one mentions what’s about to happen tomorrow but they all know they need a distraction so they start a bonfire before it even gets dark. It’s a suggestion out of nowhere and no one has any objections. Jack pulls out some old patio lounge chairs from the shed and cleans them off while Shitty and Lardo gather every blanket in the entire cabin. Bitty brings out the food and beer just in time to sit down and they settle in together as the sun goes down.

“And then,” Shitty stops to laugh as he’s trying to tell the end of a very long story. Jack’s heard it before so he’s already laughing at what’s about to come while Bitty and Lardo can’t keep it in just from watching them. “And then he said… ‘dude, this is Harvard fucking Law, I don’t fucking care anymore’ and jumped. And the guy next to me sighed and was like ‘I really hope he defends me in my murder trial’ and jumped too, like what the actual fuck were they on?”

Jack can’t breathe at this point, he’s laughing so hard. Bitty’s throwing his head back onto Jack’s shoulder, laughing almost as much, and clutching the blanket around them like it’s going to keep them from falling out of the chair. Jack suspects Lardo’s probably heard it before too because she’s practically living with Shitty at this point even though she has her own apartment closer to work, but she’s still laughing the hardest.

“Harvard Law sounds ridiculous,” Bitty says when they’ve all calmed down. “We’ve gotta come visit next semester.”

“You better.” Shitty points a finger at them jokingly and then pops a piece of chocolate from the smores tray into his mouth.

It seems like the laughter ended up tiring most of them out and not even thirty minutes later both Bitty and Lardo are asleep. Bitty’s holding onto Jack instead of the blanket now and Jack gets stuck watching him like he always does. When he snaps out of it again he catches Shitty’s stare and knows he’s about to ask. He can feel the question buzzing under his skin and he’s not ready but he also never will be.

“So, now that Bits is asleep,” Shitty says and casually drinks the very last drops of beer left before continuing, “how’re you feeling about this, dude?”

Jack’s smile falters a bit but he immediately picks it up again when he realises Shitty’s just being genuinely curious. They haven’t talked about it much, especially not one on one, especially not with everyone at their busiest, and maybe they should’ve but. Should’ve, could’ve, would’ve. The outcome will still be the same at the end of the day. At the end of today.

“It feels good. The timing feels right and we don’t have to deal with it for another couple of days now so… good.”

Lardo moves around a bit in her chair and they both look at her twisting and turning for a second before settling in again. Shitty’s smile is soft and comforting when his eyes are on her, it always is, but then he turns back to Jack.

“No, how does coming out feel? Forget about the other shit; reactions, time, whatever.”

Jack knows he’s allowed to take his time answering. He’s never been very good at expressing himself when he’s feeling everything at once and Shitty, in his own way, is the same way. Jack gets quiet and thoughtful while Shitty gets loud and regretful. Both have their consequences. This time though, Jack tries not to think too much.

“You know, right before and after I overdosed I couldn’t imagine myself making it past twenty. I wanted to, more than anything, but I wasn’t supposed to-” he stops himself because it’s impossible to describe how much he thought his life was over when everyone else thought it had just begun. “I don’t know, I just never thought I’d see happy days again, you know? It was too messy to ever imagine any other future than disaster after disaster and now… I’m so happy to still be alive. I’m happy I got to have all of this.”

“So… you’re not scared about tomorrow?” Shitty holds his beer tight between his hands and leans forward. He looks pleasantly surprised and hopeful.

“Oh, I’m scared shitless,” Jack whispers and brushes his fingers through Bitty’s hair; smiling again. The light from the fire dances over Bitty’s freckles, flickering from dot to dot as the smoke rises upwards and onwards. “But I’m happy too. No regrets.”

“No regrets,” Shitty repeats a few seconds later.

They bask in the quiet for a while after that. The only sounds around are coming from the fire and the woods and Lardo occasionally snoring. Serene doesn’t even begin to describe it but it’s the closest thing to words that Jack can think of. The chaos and the judgement is so distant that he’s almost forgotten about what’s about to go down in just a few hours.

Eventually Bitty blinks awake though and lifts his head off of Jack’s chest to look up at him. Then there’s a yawn and a stretch and a ‘can we go to bed?’.

“Of course, bud,” Jack says and manages to get up on his feet with a lot more grace than expected while still carrying Bitty in a mess of blankets. The ground under his feet is still a little damp and slippery from some rain that fell earlier so he’s extra careful on his way towards the cabin, praying that he can carry him through this without falling flat. “See you tomorrow, Shits. Goodnight!” he whisper-shouts back towards the fire when he makes it to the porch.

Inside, under a ceiling that still holds glow-in-the-dark stars and posters of hockey glory, Jack dumps Bitty onto their bed and begins to remove his clothes. Bitty’s giggling and trying to convince Jack that he doesn’t have to but he’s also letting him do it. Suddenly, tomorrow feels easier.

“You’re the best, honey.” Bitty sighs and closes his eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you too, Bits.”

————

“Jack?” Bitty asks into the dark, their legs tangled and Jack’s head on Bitty’s chest right above his arms around his waist. Light rain is hitting the window and it’s the sound of a storm approaching. Jack feels ready for it.

“Yeah?” It’s sleepy but aware.

“I’m really, really happy you’re alive, too.”

Jack just holds him tighter.

————

Monday morning comes and goes and the world hasn’t ended yet. The rain killed the fire before time could though and the woods are louder than the night before; full of things that have woken up too, but Jack is still happy. Scared, but happy.

[lukewynn]

Denver

Summary: Luke & Sabrina wind their night down in Denver. (NSFW)

@sabrinariccii

Luke

Luke paid for their drinks and carried them back to the car, which drove them to the hotel. He checked into the room, then stepped into the elevator. When they were finally at the room, he unlocked the door and stepped in, setting their drinks down on the small table. He opened a bottle and took a long drink for it. "I'm feeling pretty good right about now." He smiled as he set on the edge of one of the beds.

Sabrina

Sabrina kicked off her shoes and sets her bag on a chair then pulled off her thin sweater. She sat on the bed and leaned back on her hands. "Me too, today was amazing." She said reaching out for the bottle to drink from after him. "This was definitely a great way to start the many adventures we plan to have."

Luke

"What other things do you want to for adventures? "

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:03 PM

"I wanna do scuba diving, i want to sail, travel to other parts of Europe basically backpack through Europe, camp in the mountains. So much. I want to try and make my life an adventure  you know?"

LukeLast Saturday at 11:05 PM

"Oh boy, I haven't thought about going to Europe. I so love camping though, we could definitely do that sometime. We would have to start soon though since it's cooling off."

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:06 PM

"I've only been to Italy and Spain but that's just a start." She chuckled. "How does next weekend sound? If you can get off work."

LukeLast Saturday at 11:07 PM

"Maybe! I'll have to see what I have going on or when my next day off is."

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:08 PM

"Great, you can give me a call." She said before taking a long swig from the bottle then hands it back to him. 'Man it's either hot in here or it's just me. Hope you don't mind but i gotta take this off." She said, pulling her top off.

LukeLast Saturday at 11:09 PM

"Definitely take your clothes off. " he said with a playful smirk, pulling his shirt off so they were even.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:14 PM

“Wow no hesitation there.” She teased but couldn’t help but let her eyes fall on his bare chest. He definitely did work out. “Just So you know I don’t usually do this with just anyone.”

LukeLast Saturday at 11:15 PM

"Karaoke?" He asked teasingly.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:16 PM

“Cute.” She chuckled as she got up to pull off her jeans.

LukeLast Saturday at 11:17 PM

Luke watched her with a small smile. "You're hot." He told her, standing up and wrapping his arm around her to pull her a little close. "And I don't do this with just anyone either. Karaoke or this." He said before moving his lips to hers in a kiss.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:21 PM

“You’re not so bad yourself.” She said with a playful wink. After being pulled close, she moved her hands to rest on his chest. “Well I feel special.” She murmured. She kissed him back, moving one hand to place on the back of his neck.

LukeLast Saturday at 11:26 PM

Luke let his hand roam down her back as they kissed, then up to her bra to unhook the clasps.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:27 PM

Sabrina tossed her bra aside somewhere then started working in unbuttoning his jeans, pushing them down

LukeLast Saturday at 11:28 PM

Luke stepped out of his jeans, then moved to the bed and pulled her into his lap. His kisses were heated as their lips met again, his arms around her.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:30 PM

Her tongue grazed his bottom lip, asking for entry as her fingers tangled into his hair. Her hips slightly grinding into his.

LukeLast Saturday at 11:31 PM

Luke's lips parted, a small groan escaping. He lay back against the bed with his arms still around her.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:34 PM

Sabrina kissed his lips a bit longer before slowly moving down to his chest, peppering him with kisses until reaching the waistband of his boxers. Fingers hooking into them and pulls them down and tosses them aside.

LukeLast Saturday at 11:36 PM

Luke lifted his hips to help get his boxers off. "Take yours off too." He said with a smirk.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:38 PM

She was quick to pull off her underwear, kicking aside. “If you wanted a strip show, I could’ve given you one.” She teased playfully with a smirk.

LukeLast Saturday at 11:40 PM

"I'll keep that in mind for next time. " he chuckled as he gently pushed her back against the bed to kiss her again. His hand moved between her legs to rub her.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:44 PM

She smiled into the kiss before letting out a soft moan at his touch. She deepened the kiss, slightly spreading her legs bit.

LukeLast Saturday at 11:48 PM

He continued to work her up for a long moment before pulling away so he could grab the condom from out of his wallet. He didn't want to forget it, so he rolled it on, his eyes on her. Moving between her legs, he began to kiss her once more.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:50 PM

She bit her lip with her eyes never leaving his as he prepped himself. She cupped his face as they kissed, leaning back down on the bed as she waited for him.

LukeLast Saturday at 11:52 PM

Luke guided himself into her, slowly filling her. He let his lips move to her neck as he began to thrust into her.

SabrinaLast Saturday at 11:54 PM

Her breath hitched when he entered her. Leaning her head back a bit, giving him more access to her neck with her fingers into his hair. She lets out a moan.

LukeYesterday at 12:03 AM

Luke's hips moved into her as his kisses grew more intense on her neck, leaving behind a little mark. He lifted his head to look down at her,  "You feel so good. "

SabrinaYesterday at 12:07 AM

She looked up at him, biting down on her lip as he moved. “You’re so big” she murmured but she liked it. In a quick move, she pushed him to lay back into the bed gently and moved over her. She guided herself down on him until he filled her up and started rolling her hips against his.

LukeYesterday at 8:43 AM

He lay back against the bed, his hands on her hips. "Fuck.." He groaned, his eyes watching her move on top of him. "You're so sexy."

SabrinaYesterday at 8:52 AM

Sabrina smirked as she moved faster on him, biting down on her lip again. She leaned down, hands beside his head to hold herself as she pressed her lips against his.

LukeYesterday at 8:54 AM

Luke cupped her cheek as she kissed him, his lips against hers passionately. When he could feel himself getting closer to the edge, he gripped her hips again and moved against her.

SabrinaYesterday at 8:56 AM

The familiar feeling bubbles in the pit of her stomach. It had meant that she was drawing closer to her climax. She kissed him a bit longer before sitting back up and bouncing herself on him to get closer.  It hadn’t taken her long to hit her high as she let out one last moan.

LukeYesterday at 9:06 AM

Luke managed to hold on until he felt her pulse around him, causing his release. He sighed happily as he looked up at her. "You're so cool." He said with a small laugh.

SabrinaYesterday at 9:07 AM

Sabrina panted a bit as she looks down at him. “Thanks.” She chuckled, pecking his lips before climbing off him and laying on the bed beside him.

LukeYesterday at 9:11 AM

Luke got up and moved to the bathroom to dispose of the condom. When he returned, he lay beside her. "I swear I didn't feel that drunk until I got up just now. " he laughed.

SabrinaYesterday at 9:14 AM

Sabrina moved to pull the blanket from under her and covered herself with it. She looked over at him and laughed, “I almost forgot we had drinks tonight. You really know how to make a girl forget things.” She definitely  not mean that In a bad way.

LukeYesterday at 9:31 AM

He got under the covers and put his arm around her. "I'm tired now. I've drank way too much this week." He joked, pressing a kiss to her cheek.

SabrinaYesterday at 9:39 AM

Sabrina smiled, moving to rest her head on his chest and lightly grazed her fingers against his skin. “Enough to last you a few weeks without drinking?”

LukeYesterday at 9:40 AM

"I don't know if I'd go that far." He shook his head with a smile.

SabrinaYesterday at 9:41 AM

“Well we do have extras to take back home with us.” She said looking over er shoulder at the bottles on the nightstand.

LukeYesterday at 9:43 AM

"Yeah, I don't know why we got so much." He laughed.

SabrinaYesterday at 9:47 AM

“I don’t know either.” She turns back to face him. “Is it weird that I’m pretty bummed out that we leave in the morning now?”

LukeYesterday at 9:48 AM

"Yeah,  I wish we could stay longer too. If I didn't have to work tomorrow afternoon, I would be down to stay another night. "

SabrinaYesterday at 9:53 AM

“I don’t want to go to work either .” She sighed. “But that means we have something else to look forward to. After long days at work, we’ve got camping which I’m most excited about. I haven’t gone since I was 19.”

LukeYesterday at 9:54 AM

"Really?  There are some great camping spots out here. We will definitely go soon. "

SabrinaYesterday at 9:56 AM

“Yeah. This time we can make it longer than one night and probably finish the bottles we buy.” She laughed.

LukeYesterday at 9:57 AM

"Exactly. " he agreed, his hand running along her back. "I have a nice tent and sleeping bags too. Do you like to fish?"

SabrinaYesterday at 9:57 AM

“I wouldn’t say it’s my favorite thing but I know how to.”

LukeYesterday at 9:58 AM

"That's okay,  we can hike and just hang out. I just love being outdoors. "

SabrinaYesterday at 9:59 AM

“No no, we’ll fish too. We can see who can catch a bigger one. We have a whole weekend to do anything.” She smirked playfully.

LukeYesterday at 10:00 AM

"Sounds like a perfect weekend to me. " he yawned, cuddling closer to her.

SabrinaYesterday at 10:02 AM

Smiling, she leaned up and kissed his cheek. “Let’s get some sleep.” She laid her head on his chest again and closed her eyes to try and sleep.

LukeYesterday at 10:04 AM

Luke wrapped his arm around her, "Goodnight." He said softly as he drifted off easily.

[uterusclub]

Party planning had been premeditated a few weeks prior which, per usual, escalated from one idea to a wonderful thread of several, awesome ones! This was going to be a hit out of the park! We initiated our weekend with a scheduled meeting at The Hyatt Regency at McCormick Center courtesy of a free night-stay voucher bestowed upon us by the always generous, Wika Shorty G. As I was already pre-committed to subbing at Cheetah gym beforehand, Sharon took her leisure getting ready at home whilst I donkey-trekked my overstuffed backpack to the likes of Andersonville for some cardio pre-party. Post class, I jumped aboard my Uber with a very friend Indian driver who immediately launched into his life story and offered me some Bollywood-esk tunes for my journey. Shit was good. Shazammed a bunch of it. But this ride was LONG. That’s what you get for rush-hour Fridays though, I suppose. In any case, either HE grew tired of the Bollywood or thought I had as he eventually changed the musical accompaniment to his favorite American tunes which involved some car-karaoked Backstreet Boys. My route concluded with Celine Dion’s My Heart Will Go On at which point, we neared the Hyatt Regency which was chaos-packed with vehicles as well as tuxedo’d gentlemen and fancy-dressed ladies. What in the fuck? I was well aware the Chicago Auto Show was happening (by no means of my own) but what did fanciness have to do with that? We came to later learn of the First Look for Charity which costs a whopping $300 per ticket. So basically, rich people is the answer. And we are not as such. In fact, I was, dare I say looking quite derelict post-workout class by the time I arrived at this very classy joint. Which, might I also add, is confusing as all living hell. I had to actually call Sharon and summon her to appear in order to figure out just where the hell to go. So she met me in some lobby portion looking equally derelict-y and we made our way back to our hotel room where we noshed on pre-ordered Indiana food while watching a re-run episode of Ghost Adventures.

Indian in belly, we did our utmost to glamor up before grabbing an Uber and making our way to the Museum of Science and Industry! Mission: Silent Disco! So I’d heard of this concept for quite some time and thought it very intriguing. Wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but I was NOT disappointed. Upon descending an accouplement of stairs, grabbing our drink tickets and dropping off our coats, we ascended to an exhibit hall lightly sprinkled with people. Handed our headphones, we observed three DJS set up in opposition and liquor tables arranged in the center. We took a few moments to scour the scene and get a little ‘groove’ on before turning in our ticket for some liquid courage. It was, of course, at this point, we realized we couldn’t leave the area with drink in hand so we chugged as quickly as we could to peruse the open exhibits around us. Exploring the museum was much more enjoyable jetting back and forth between house music and a bunch of random 70’s tunes. I could do this forever. I could live here under these ground rules. In any case, in hour into our endeavor, we were over it (as we are oft to do) and scheduled an Uber.

Back at the hotel, we de-make-up-ified (although my hair glitter refused to completely vacate the premises), changed into PJ’s and partook in the absolute splendor that is Forensic Files. It was not until the next morning that we came to realize the magnanimous-ness that is the Hyatt’s most wondrous beds! Holy awesome sleep! I’m fairly sure I didn’t move from my original sleeping position which is quite unheard of. Well rested, we woke up entirely too early (as per usual) and made some in-room coffee. Following that and upon packing up our gear, we headed out to catch Uber.

Congress Hotel, here we come! Upon arriving at the hotel, MAN, this place was GORGEOUS! Not to mention, TIMELY! The old school decor and feel brought me back to my last viewing of The Shining. Creep? Perhaps. But mostly gorgeous and almost homey (gotta be that ‘old soul’ thing). We stayed just long enough to meet the bell-hop to drop off our bags before heading out immediately to catch the 29 bus towards Navy Pier. Time for Cider Fest!! One uneventful bus ride later, we were at the very over-rated Navy Pier. As much as we despise this place, we always end up back here. Go figure. Per usual, their ‘events’ are always held at the exhibit halls at the farthest end of the strip. So basically, it’s a hike. Fortunately, the way there is ALWAYS much easier than the inebriated way back.

Once we reached the exhibit hall, we were at a stand-still for a short period of time. The line looked a lot longer than it was, in actuality. In fact, we ended up entering the exhibit much earlier than anticipated. After grabbing our sample ‘glasses’ and tickets, we met with some awesome friends of ours and made our way upstairs to the less congested area and began our ventures. Let me just say now, it is SO easy getting crunk here and it’s absolutely the best! I couldn’t love cider people more if you paid me. Okay, perhaps I could. But seriously, everyone was so delightful and polite. We had some absolutely OUTSTANDING ciders and of course, some that made you wanna die a little (I blame myself for my lure to the higher percentages). All in all though, no real complaints. An hour and a halfish later, Sharon and I were STARVING. We headed out, quite impressively now that I look back at it and actually WALKED all the way to our next scheduled stop-off, The Public House. Mission: Alcohol milkshake.

So back-story on this. This place concocts themed alcoholic milkshakes every month and they always look super adorable but generally taste like absolute garbage. I think we mostly go there for picture taking purposes. In any case, last time we came here the themed milkshake was ‘sold out’ and it completely broke out hearts. So like complete over-planning nerds, we made sure to call ahead and not waste our goddamn, drunken time. Fortunately, all was well and we got to dabble in their Valentine’s Day themed Rose milkshake which was actually pretty decent tasting (not so much the cake portion or the accompanying cookies but the actual shake was dece). Capping that off, we grabbed another Uber to bring us back to the Congress in order to change and get ready for the ‘evening’s’ fancy, birthday dinner. Side note: during the process of getting our bags from the bell-hop, Jose, we mentioned our ghost-hunting ambitions and after relaying we were staying in room 612, were advised that room 610 had had numerous complaints of arguing being heard in the room at night. I think we were both leery on believing this guy but we were still both hopeful. In fact, I theorized he might possibly be a ghost himself! Especially when we later came to discover there WAS no room 610! After later accusing Jose in the elevator about it, he very nonchalantly replied, ‘Oh, well, it could have been room 612.’ Hmmmmm . . . .

Putting on make-up for the 2nd day in a roll was rough for the both of us but somehow we managed. Heading out, we caught another Uber to take us to the Tortoise Supper Club which, ironically, happened to be literally across the street from The Public House (go figure). While waiting to be seated, we met with some friends and were seated immediately. Good conversation and food was had with of course, more booze. We ended up catching a ride back to our hotel and immediately stripped down and back into PJ’s for the remaining night’s activity: ghost hunting!

Keep in mind, we’re not new to this ghost investigating in our PJ’s thing. Been there, done that – we have no shame. In fact, we actually headed downstairs to the lobby to grab a drink to kick-start our adventure. There, we met bartender, Kevin, whom I immediately questioned, with drink in hand, about his experiences at the hotel. He explained how he’d observed a glass combust out of nowhere and referred us to a woman named, Michelle, who could take us around the hotel. Eventually, he disappeared for a bit and Michelle appeared to be our ‘tour guide.’ She was an absolute blast! Funny, no-holds-bar, type attitude. She ended up taking us to the Gold Room banquet hall where a Peg Leg man was theorized to appear. We mentioned wanting to hit the south tower as I had previously researched it was allegedly the most ‘active’ area to investigate. We headed up to the 12th floor at which time Michelle continue to give us back-story on some of the apparitions believed to be haunting the hotel. She even mentioned how someone had fallen over the stair railing back on NYE and had plummet to the 9th but still managed to survive (though all sorts of fucked up as a result, naturally). At one point, I brought up room 441 which, I had read, was supposedly the most haunted room with a female apparition that would kick the bed while people slept. Michelle was familiar with this story and admitted she hadn’t even been on that floor. She also advised that the entire south tower was technically ‘closed’ since business was slow. As such, we were roaming dark hallways in silence and it was absolutely GLORIOUS! After reaching room 441, we hung out for a bit. Sharon and I used our recording device to do a session. While asking questions and awaiting replies, Michelle would hilarious butt in with whispered responses and at one point, ‘boo’ed the crap out of us! She laughed, we laughed but we were also partially annoyed. It was at this point we realized, nothing was seriously going to get done with her. So we headed back downstairs to the bar and grabbed us a few Moscato’s which Michelle gave us on the house (I think she seriously felt bad about scaring us). Ironically, as we sat and drank, a plethora of people were abound now in the bar. A young man to our right sparked some conversation and we ended up finding out he was on a stop-off for a ghost-tour. Sweet! After speaking with him very briefly, I attempted to ‘overhear’ information from the tour guide but between the bar noise and my own inebriation, it was pretty pointless so I gave us pretty much immediately.

Upon the additional intoxication, we made our way back up to the south tower and the 12th floor and made our way down, ghost hunting gear in hand. We, of course, stopped off at room 441 once again and loitered for quite some time but to our grave disappointment, experienced no phenomenon. To much chagrin, we took our down-trodden selves back to our hotel room at which point, I looked over my photos from the night’s activities for potential orbs and Sharon played back our audio until we were basically fell asleep. We conked out fairly quickly that night with much discomfort (those beds are god awful) and again, headed out relatively early in the morning to trek to the blue line and to the much beloved and abhorred, monkey (Bear) at home.

Sunday was a mixed day of catching up on terribly awesome tv shows and Sharon ‘wasting’ (in my opinion) her birthday cooking short-ribs for dinner (seriously, who cooks on their own birthday?)! Presents were opened and much contentment to the joy of being back at home were indulged. The evening was concluded with the inevitable dread of the incoming Monday which we could only DREAM of ghosting.

Boo-gy and Boo-ze Birthday Party planning had been premeditated a few weeks prior which, per usual, escalated from one idea to a wonderful thread of several, awesome ones!