#and michelle makes her even cooler! they really brought her to life

[felixcosm]

Marissa Ng is so fucking cool. No one does it like her 🔥🔥

[peter-parkers-passport]

Flower Child (Peter Parker x ofc)

Chapter 11: Just a Nobody

I’m really sorry I haven’t been consistent in updating on this platform, I think I’ll just mass update on here and catch up to speed? Idk, it’s a lot and again, I’m sorry. I’m trying to find inspiration to write!

warnings: Peter being rude, angst, depictions of anxiety… sorry 😬, mentions of death

The pair of them didn’t leave the greenhouse until midnight that night. Papers had been scattered around a workbench in the greenhouse under a single lamplight, covered in formulas that had been scratched and edited past legibility. Lila and Peter made an incredible team, much to their surprise, and within just a few short hours, a new webbing formula had been made.

Peter also walked her home, despite Lila reassuring him that he didn’t have to. He merely brushed off her attempts and bid her goodnight at her door. And despite the crazy events, like her almost dying, she went to bed with a smile on her face. Her crush was a superhero, how could she not?

When she went to school the next day, Lila was tired but cheerful. A light kind of air sat in her chest and put her in a good mood, even with the whispers of what happened the day before following her to her locker. She supposed the feeling of falling in an elevator made things like school more enjoyable since they were a part of living, but she attributed her happiness mostly to the two boys who walked quickly over to her locker as soon as they saw her.

“Hey, Lila,” Peter said, lips twitching in a nervous smile.

“Hey, guys, what’s-?”

“So you know?” Both Lila and Peter looked to Ned, whose expression was unreadable. “About-“ His voice lowered into a whisper, “-Peter’s sticky situation?”

A patch of red grew on the boy in question’s face, and he sent an exasperated stare his friend’s way. “Dude, come on, at least think of a better code name.”

“So you know?” Ned asked Lila again, to which she nodded apprehensively. Her eyes flickered to Peter, who offered an apologetic shrug. When she looked back to Ned again, he looked relieved. “Finally. I’ve really needed this, I didn’t know how much longer I could keep it a secret-“

“Ned,” Peter said, “You found out last week.”

“- I thought I was gonna blow it, but I didn’t. And now I can talk to you about how totally amazing this is.” Ned inhaled deeply, launching into a slew of questions. “So how did you know it was him? Are you psychic? Did you psychically connect to Peter, and that’s how he saved your life? Do you have, like, a spider-link now?”

“N-No, it wasn’t anything like that,” Lila answered him, Peter giving her a thankful look that she interrupted Ned’s questioning. She tucked her hair behind her ear before continuing, “Peter disappearing the night before, y-you having the Ch-Chitauri core, and - and the Stark Internship. Just… a lot of it d-didn’t add up.” Lila looked around them to see Michelle walk through the front doors. “Look, I’d b-better go before MJ gets suspicious but I’ll see you guys for fourth.”

Peter and Ned said their goodbyes while Lila walked down the hallway to her friend. Before she could reach MJ, however, Lila was stopped by Betty Brant, who had a fiercely determined look on her face. “Lila,” she practically addressed, her tone was so formal.

“B-Betty,” Lila swallowed, raising her eyebrows in surprise. “Wh-What’s up?”

“Midtown is running a story on the survivors of the almost-tragic Washington Monument scare yesterday. I need to know that you’ll be available for lunch to answer a few questions with the rest of your team. I would do it now, but I don’t have my co-host.” The last sentence ended with a note of bitterness, and Lila tilted her head in concern.

“Oh n-no, where’s - where’s Jason?”

Betty rolled her eyes, “His mom called him out of first period for some stupid dentist appointment and wouldn’t cancel. I’ve told him time and time again that his mom doesn’t understand how brutally competitive journalism can get in the age of technology.” Her eyes narrowed at the apparently sour thought. “Like, she doesn’t even know how embarrassing it was to see Principal Morita’s fall after the floors were waxed with new wax on Flash’s Snapchat story first. That should’ve been our story, but no, Jason had strep throat.” Her tone grew mocking and she put air quotes around “strep throat”. There was a beat of silence, and then, “Anyways, so I’ll see you at lunch?”

At this point, Lila had been daydreaming of a way to get out of the heated one-sided argument. “Sure.”

Satisfied, Betty nodded. “Good. And don’t talk to anyone else about what happened.” She strode away, leaving Lila feeling slightly confused as she walked over to where MJ was standing, watching the whole interaction.

*****

It didn’t go unnoticed that Lila was becoming fast friends with Peter and Ned. Soon enough, in the span of the next two days, they popped up nearly everywhere in her daily life. For some, it was a welcome addition to Lila’s friend count (now up to three). For others, it was a topic of slight confusion.

“I’m not, like, unhappy for you or anything,” Sophie commented one evening in the flower shop. She was watching Peter and Ned leave through the front doors, the cooler air from the outside falling at their feet. “I just didn’t know you were so close.”

Lila and the boys had just brought over some chemicals they’d nicked from school, and finally perfected the stronger webbing for Peter. It was all discreetly put away in a box tucked underneath spare gardening supplies. The box in question was placed in a corner, out of sight and hopefully out of anyone else’s minds that weren’t Peter’s, Lila’s, or Ned’s.

The door had shut by the time Lila turned back to Sophie, a light blush on her cheeks. “Falling in an e-elevator is a surprisingly easy way to m-make friends.” The flicker of suspicion in Sophie’s eyes disappeared almost immediately at Lila’s reply, and for a moment, Lila had the gut-twisting sensation of guilt. It was confusing: she wasn’t actually lying to Sophie, but she was hiding the truth. Plummeting to her death with Ned by her side did craft a strong foundation of friendship at a remarkably fast rate. And being one of about four people who knew Peter’s secret identity also warranted spending more time together than what was considered normal. Only, she couldn’t tell anyone that last part.

Lila hated that her cover story for spending time around the two boys was her near-death experience, but even she couldn’t deny its effectiveness. Sophie stopped asking questions after her comment, and soon started addressing them with the same familiarity as she would Michelle or her dad.

Michelle, whose skepticism came as easy as breathing, wasn’t as easy to persuade. MJ knew Ned was in the elevator with Lila, and her interest in them hanging out didn’t extend farther than a simple statement of, “Ned needs to download the free VPNs I sent you. I don’t want my network data accidentally getting monitored by the government because he’s using the WiFi at your shop.” Which was fine with Lila, Ned would be one less thing to worry about in regards to her most perceptive friend.

However, with Ned deemed not a problem, MJ’s wariness was focused on Peter. If she thought he was sketchy before, it was nothing compared to how she felt after he started to hang out with Lila. Michelle wasn’t much for holding a conversation with people she didn’t know, but the times where she did talk to Peter, it almost always was staged as interrogation. Lila felt sorry for Peter, for she knew MJ was intimidating, and too smart for her own good. She also knew that Michelle’s intention was a heavily-veiled protectiveness for her friend.

Ted Landry seemed to be the only person in Lila’s life who wasn’t suspicious of her new friends. In fact, he was completely clueless. Peter being around Lila more was merely a correlation to him personally checking on her the night she got back from D.C. The worst part was that Ted told Lila that the reason Peter was starting to be around her so much was because he had a crush on her.

“It just seems kind of obvious,” Ted said, ignoring the choking noises Lila emitted after hearing her dad’s thoughts. He merely patted her on the back as she tried to dislodge the granola that she accidentally sent down the wrong pipe. “I practically did the same thing with your mom, we became inseparable.”

Lila wished above all that her dad’s thoughts were the truth. But the brief look in Peter’s eyes that appeared whenever Liz walked by the three of them in the school’s hallways sent those thoughts crawling on all fours to the back of her mind.

*****

Over the next few days, Lila grew privy to the information Peter was gathering over the last week as Spider-Man. It all started with the bank robbers that accidentally decimated Delmar’s bodega, which Lila learned were capable of doing so with the acquisition of illegal weapons. Weapons that happened to have access to alien technology.

Peter and Ned explained that someone was stealing alien technology and fashioning weapons to distribute on the black market. Their target was Damage Control, whose existence was to be the clean-up crew of the Avengers.

“For lack of a better term,” Peter went on, fiddling with the screwdriver in his hand. That Wednesday evening, Peter had Ned and Lila over after he had perused the streets of Queens as Spider-Man. It was then the two boys filled Lila in on their mission. “But basically this department’s been confiscating all the alien tech and Ultron mess for the past eight years. And the helicarriers in Washington? They’re still working on that stuff.”

“And this guy in the wingsuit… the birdman?” Lila asked, trying to keep up with the nearly unbelievable tale.

A spark emitting from one of Peter’s web shooters had him diving back with his screwdriver. Ned, meanwhile, took the reigns. “We’re pretty sure he’s their leader. But they’ve got this stuff nearly on lockdown. Peter figures he must’ve been doing it from the beginning.”

Lila looked back over to Peter, “Do you know who he is? O-Or any kind of clue?”

The web shooter made a clicking noise that seemed to satisfy Peter. He turned away from his desk and set his eyes back on Lila. Shaking his head, he answered, “No, I’ve got no idea. And he got away with some of the stuff that was in the Damage Control trucks. Best guess, I’ll just have to catch them when they’re out selling this stuff again.” He paused, eyebrows furrowed in concentration. And after a moment, he added as an afterthought, “You didn’t happen to catch what Puth assigned for homework, did you? I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Peter, dinner’s on the table - Lila!” May poked her head inside Peter’s door. Lila whipped her head around to see her large grin, and heard Peter hastily slam his desk drawer shut to hide his web shooters. “I had no idea you were here!”

“Hi, May,” Lila smiled, a pale pink dusting her cheeks. “H-How are things?”

“Finer than wine, honey. I feel so bad, I would’ve made more food if I’d’ve known you guys were going to be here.” Her lips pursed briefly as an afterthought came to mind. “Actually, it might be better if you guys hit the road.”

Peter stared at his aunt exasperatedly, “Oh, c’mon May-“

“Uh-uh,” her expression was suddenly stern when her eyes fell on him, “If you’re going to ditch class, then you’re not going to have friends over.” She softened her gaze when she moved back over to Lila and Ned. “You guys need a ride home?”

Lila grabbed her backpack, eyeing Peter and feeling confused. Why would he ditch class? Peter’s eyes met hers before answering her with a jerk of the head to his desk, where the web shooters lay hidden.

“No,” Lila finally answered, brushing off Peter’s answer with a wave of dismay. “N-No, thanks. My neighborhood’s just f-five blocks over.”

*****

Betty Brant released her story on Thursday morning. Apparently Jason actually did have a pretty awful tooth infection, and wasn’t able to co-anchor her story until then. When Lila walked into school, the conversation, which had just begun to die down, picked right back up, and attention was back on the academic decathlon.

Everyone at Midtown pretty much knew of Lila and her inability to confidently socialize with peers, but that didn’t stop them from pointing at her while poorly concealing whispers. So she was left to navigate the crowded hallways alone, doing her best to ignore the eyes that followed her and the sounds of the news story reporting on her brush with death. One thing she did manage to catch was Jason saying, “Thankfully, no one was seriously injured, thanks to Spider-Man. Up next, the Spider mania is sweeping the school, how can you show your Spider spirit?”

And Jason wasn’t wrong. The talk of Spider-Man was re-invigorated at the school news’ story, and if they weren’t talking about the decathlon team, they were talking about Spider-Man. Some people wore shirts they bought from street vendors, and talked about how amazing he was. Flash was the biggest proponent of this, boasting about how Spider-Man made a harrowing rescue, pulling Flash out of harm’s way just in time, and giving him a fist bump right afterwards. All of which was untrue, and Charles and Abraham we’re glad to remind everyone around Flash of the fact.

Lila felt a deep sense of pride as she made her way down the stairs and past the mural. She knew Peter must’ve been at school, and hearing all of the positive thoughts everyone had on his secret identity. She could feel it in the air: pride. A sense of pride that one of New York’s own was a hero, a champion of Queens. Even Lila herself felt that pride, but for other reasons entirely.

She ran into Ned first, who was beaming at the television screen in the corner of the hall. The two of them shared a knowing smile, and the pair launched into a quiet conversation about it in the otherwise loud hallways. Ned spotted Peter ahead of the two of them, and pushed around the students in his way. He and Lila met Peter at the foot of the stairs, all three grinning from ear to ear.

“Dude, dude, dude, what is it like being famous when no one knows it’s you?” Ned asked.

Rather modestly, Peter smiled and gripped the straps of his backpack. “It’s crazy,” he whispered, looking around to make sure other people weren’t listening.

“Crazy,” Ned repeated, almost in awe. “Should we tell everyone?”

Peter still smiled, but his head tilted a little in confusion, “No.”

“Should I tell everyone?”

“No, dude, that’s not a good idea.”

Ned looked to Lila, “Lila could tell everyone.”

“I-I would not,” Lila said, briefly panicked. She felt better seeing Peter let out a breathy laugh. “Really, I w-wouldn’t do it.”

Ned sighed, his hopes dashed. “Well, come on, we’re gonna be late to class.”

Lila was prepared to bid them goodbye, since their classes were on opposite sides of the hallway, but Peter didn’t follow Ned. “I’m not going to class.”

Ned looked at Lila and looked back, apprehensive, “You're already in so much trouble for ditching the decathlon-“

“P-Peter, you can’t keep d-ditching school-“

“Would you listen? I figured it out, right?” Peter’s voice dropped to a whisper. “I’m going to see if my suit can go back to the deal I walked in on the night of Liz’s party and find out where those guys came from. Maybe they can lead me to the wing suit guy, and then I can catch him!”

“But we have a Spanish quiz,” Ned argued.

Peter looked at Ned with an expression that felt a little belittling. He was tired of arguing and clearly didn’t see why Ned and Lila would want him to stay in school. It was a kind of reckless determination that didn’t sit well with Lila at all. “Ned, I’m probably never going to come back here. Mr. Stark is moving the Avengers upstate. So, when I bring this guy in-“

“Dude,” All the excitement from the morning was gone from Ned. “You wanna be a high school dropout?”

“It wouldn’t be like that,” Peter assured him, even though that’s exactly what it sounded like.

“Ned’s right, Peter, you can’t - you can’t just skip school t-to fight crime. High school’s important-“

But Peter wasn’t listening. In fact, he started walking away. “I am so far beyond high school, right now.” And as he turned to a pair of doors that led to the exit, Principal Morita stood in his way.

“Ah, Mr. Parker,” he said, already walking back down the hallway. “Come with me, my office. Ned, Lila, get to class.”

*****

“Here, c’mon,” MJ pulled at Lila’s arm. The girls had a free period, and usually spent it in the library. Lila has fully planned on spending it pretending to do her homework when in actuality she was just going to worry about Peter.

Skipping school just wasn’t like him. Lila thought he was getting caught up in his situation. True, it was extraordinary beyond belief, and there was no way to tell how she would handle it, but she thought Peter had more grit than what he was showing. School was important, almost if not equally as important as the crime Peter fought in the afternoons.

And then there was the issue of Tony Stark, and Peter’s idea of where he stood. Peter had the mindset that he had to prove himself to Tony Stark in order to be fully accepted into a world he’d always dreamt of, but that made little sense to Lila. In her mind, Tony Stark already was accepting of Peter. If he wasn’t, he wouldn’t have given Peter the suit.

Those were the thoughts Lila distracted herself with in her first two periods, anyway. She’d planned on delving further into her worry during her free time next period. That is, until MJ changed their plans. “And where are we going?” Lila asked, allowing herself to be steered by her taller friend.

“I’ve been sketching the kids in detention,” she answered, ”Lila, they’re the perfect inspiration: they basically all just sit and wonder if they’re lives are going to spiral out of control. Like first, it’s detention, next it’s prison. I mean, you can’t get that kind of raw panic anywhere else.”

“I’m slightly worried you seem so excited about this,” Lila muttered, filing into the classroom where detention was being held. Coach Wilson was already perched at the desk, the TV on the stand waiting to play the Captain America tape that was at the ready. Michelle sat at the edge of the classroom, and Lila sat with her, already pulling out her homework.

She thought she got a few odd stares from the one or two kids that were further in the room, since Lila had never been in any kind of trouble in her life. Even though her presence wasn’t mandatory, she was still unsettled at the thought of being so close to a trouble she had no interest in ever being a part of. She only felt slightly better when Peter walked through the door as the bell rang. He eyed her suspiciously, and seemingly answered his own question when his gaze slid over to Michelle, who was already sketching away.

Peter looked antsy. Sitting in his seat, Lila could see the tension in his shoulders as Coach Wilson lazily went over the rules of detention from his desk chair. He proceeded to play the clip of Captain America lecturing the kids in detention, but Lila could tell Peter wasn’t taking in a word of it. She was considering shooting him a text when suddenly he shot up and grabbed his backpack. He marched out of the room without another word.

After a moment’s hesitation, Lila made the decision to go after him. She told Michelle she’d be right back and hurried after her friend. When she caught up to him, he’d reached the row of lockers where he hid things and lifted it one-handed. Despite her worry, Lila watched him in awe, having to take a second to adjust to the fact that he did actually have super strength.

When the moment ended, her sense caught up to her. “Peter!” She called out, jogging the rest of the way up to him. He turned, impatience dotting across his features. “You can’t go.”

“Lila, I don’t have time-“

“But you do,” She insisted. “Y-You do have time. You can’t just - just leave.”

“Yes, I can,” Peter actually rolled his eyes. It stung Lila more than she thought it would. “Look, you don’t understand, I’ve gotta do this for Mr. Stark. Now, I’ve really gotta go.”

He tried to turn away, but in a bold move, Lila grabbed his arm, “T-Tony Stark is a c-certified genius, and even he stayed in school. Why can’t you?”

“Because when the Avengers move upstate, I’ve gotta be there. The best school I could have would be by learning from him. Who knows, maybe - maybe I’ll get a tutor or something-“

“P-Peter, you’re chasing a-approval from someone who already gave it to you. I mean - look at what y-you’ve already done. The whole school’s b-been talking about it for the entire w-week.”

“Lila,” irritation at still being in school was what made Peter grow short. Lila flinched at the tone. “You don’t get it. I can do so much more if he could just see it, that’s why I’ve gotta go.”

“You do so much, Peter. You - you saved my life twice-“

Peter snapped, “Lila, stop. I’ve made up my mind. I can’t just be Peter Parker anymore, you know? I finally have a chance to prove that I’m so much more than just a nobody now. Because while that might be fine for you, it’s not for me.” The words left his mouth harsh and bitter before his mind could even keep up. Peter didn’t even realize what he’d said until he watched Lila take a step back.

White hot anger burned her skin and flushed her face. Hurt came quickly after, and Lila blinked furiously to stop the tears from rushing to the surface. She released a short breath and made eye contact with Peter. He felt bad, she could tell, but he didn’t offer any kind of apology.

So much for being friends.

“You w-wonder what that life is like, Peter? Being an - an Avenger?” Her voice was quiet, more quiet than normal, but the emotion seemed to amplify it down the empty hallways. “I’ll t-tell you. It’s staring d-down at people who are dead for the sole r-reason that pure evil just likes it that way. It’s being unable to s-save the people you love most, and l-living with that when all is said and - and done.”

“Lila, I-“

She angrily brushed the lone tear away that managed to escape. “You wanna hear wh-what I think? I think that if - if Tony Stark wanted you to b-be like him, he would’ve given you an I-Iron Man suit. Instead he gave you the Spider-Man suit. But what do I know, r-right? I’m just a nobody.” She gave Peter, the boy who broke her heart, one last look. “Good luck out there.”

And she turned around, walking away from Peter Parker with a few tears falling down her face.

[imaginetings]

if you love me don’t let go - eggsy unwin

Y/N - Your Name

M/N - Middle Name

L/N - Last Name

M/O - McDonalds Order

Word Count - 2471

Requested? - Nope

Warnings? - Swearing, mention of dying and injury, flashbacks that may get you in feels

Notes - I’m in my feels okay :( also it’s formatted more space for paragraphs and i canny be bothered to fix it sorry. also would you guys want a second part of this in eggsy’s pov??

part two

When they say you’re meant to see important parts of your life flash through your head before you die, they weren’t wrong. Yet after all that I’ve done there is one common denominator in these flashes, Eggsy. The man that has held a significant part of my heart for most of my life ever since we met in infants and he had that glimmer of hope in his eyes, we were the terrible twosome as Michelle loved to call us.

I never believed this would be the way I would go, alone in an alleyway, bleeding out because of a mugger or possible enemy of Kingsman. The details I didn’t care for, all apart from the fact that I didn’t have Eggsy with me.

Yet with the strength I have left, I reach for my phone and whilst my initial thought was to call Eggsy I know that if I am to get out of here alive, it’ll have to be the emergency services. After all, Eggsy is probably out with someone who’s most definitely not me. Best friends, that’s all we’ve ever been yet I love him more than that and I guess he’ll never reciprocate because it’s just plain old me.

Smearing blood on the phone screen as I typed in the one digit thrice I could only feel myself start to grow weaker as the time flew by. I can assure you that although time is flying, i’m not having fun.

“Hello, Emergency Service Operator speaking, which service do you require?”

“erm, the one with the ambulance thing. Yeah that’s it, ambulance please,” I ask and the operator who connects me instantly “Hello? I’m currently in an alleyway on Chiswick High Road and I was attacked and I’m bleeding really badly and I think they might have shot me, I don’t know it happened so fast and I just need help please,” I explain swiftly to the operator who keeps a calm tone.

“Okay miss can you stay on the phone? There’s an ambulance heading your way now. Can you stay on the line as I ask you questions?” The operator asks.

“I can try, but things are getting fuzzy.” I explain.

“Okay, so what’s your name miss”

“Y/N M/N L/N”

“What’s your age?”

“Oh erm what year is it again? Oh yeah 2015, so I am 23” I figure out.

“Okay miss, now what’s your blood type?”

“Red? I don’t know for the life of me Jesus Christ this is bad, i’m sorry,” I say to the operator as things start to fade in and out and I try to fight it, I really do yet black spots cover my vision and as I feel myself start to fall the last things I can hear is the operator on my phone asking me to stay awake.

——

“Okay class settle down today we are going to be doing work with partners so buddy up!” The teacher explains and I look around to see everyone buddy up with their best friends whilst i’m on my own. “Y/N, come here. Now you’re going to pair up with Gary okay?” I nod and we sit down at his table.

“My names not Gary, it’s Eggsy. It’s such a cooler name than Gary,” Gary, no. Eggsy says to me. I smile at him.

“Okay, Eggsy. I’m Y/N and you’re going to be my new best friend.”

“But you’re a girl.”

“So what if I am?”

“Do you pinky swear that you’re not gross like other girls.”

“I pinky swear.”

“Now we can be best friends,” Eggsy says with a toothy grin and I return it with him and we begin to work on the poster that the teacher had set for us.

——

“Wooo! Go Eggsy!” I shout in the stands next to Eggsy’s mum. Both of us cheering him on in his gymnastics competition.

“That’s my boy!” Michelle shouts and I shout alongside her cheering for my best friend as if the noise I make will make him win even more.

He pulls off the routine effortlessly as per usual and I sit there restlessly with a cheshire grin on my face, waiting until I can congratulate him because that’s some talent needed.

It was no surprise he won the competition, again, yet to congratulate him we went to the one place anybody goes for celebration, McDonalds. He orders a big mac whilst I get a M/O and we sit down and eat across from one another and Michelle is sat next to Eggsy with her meal as well.

“Well done babes,” Michelle says.

“Yeah, well done Eggsy!” I say with a mouthful of food and Michelle gives me a motherly glare. “Sorry.”

“Did you see me out there? I was flying like a bird and just swinging and it was amazing!” Eggsy explains rushingly which Michelle just chuckles at and I nod and carry on eating my meal.

——

“Oh come on Y/N what’s one night going to do to your study plan? We’ve literally only just started year eleven you’ll be fine, you’re a clever clogs anyways.”

“Eggsy, we had this conversation when it came to mocks in year ten and what did I do? I flunked it, so we are not going there.”

“Don’t be a spoilsport love come onnnn, you know you want to,” Eggsy eggs on with a shit eating grin on his face.

“Fine. I’ll take the day off and we can do what you want.”

“Oh you’re going to regret saying that now,” Eggsy chides and I roll my eyes at his antics.

“Are you trying to make me change my mind?” He shakes his head and we leave my room to go and follow whatever antics he had in store.

That night ended up with us in A & E because Eggsy got into a fight and I attempted to break it up and a for sale house sign ended up hitting me in the face.

A busted lip with a scar to remember it with since the sign managed to break through into my mouth.

The look on Eggsy’s face when it happened seemed to be one of pure anger and fear, but I could’ve been seeing things. Yet at fifteen I knew for definite after all the years I’d known Eggsy Unwin, I loved him. For the following weeks he was so protective of me that it was almost overbearing. Almost.

I managed to get him to watch some movies with me and we even ended up eventually on watching My Fair Lady which I fell asleep to within ten minutes whilst Eggsy watched the whole thing.

——

It was one of them nights, I instantly knew when the phone rang. It was Eggsy, Dean was being a dick again. He came over to my house and I put aside all of my a level revision and brought him into a hug. “Why did she pick him of all people Y/N?”

“I don’t know Eggs, it’ll get better eventually, I promise.”

“How can you promise that?” he asks and that’s when I know he needs a pick me up.

“Because i’m psychic okay, and obviously I can see your future which is extremely blinding to the naked eye that you’d need factor a thousand sun cream okay?” I explain to him with a sorrowful smile on my features, he simply nods and I pull him back into a hug although it’s an awkward angle due to the height difference.

“I was thinking about joining the marines.” Eggsy blurts out.

“That’d be great for you Eggs, I mean it’s what you want to do right?” I ask him looking into his green eyes.

“Yeah, but.” He stops.

“But what Eggsy?” I ask.

“I don’t want to leave you or mum.” He explains.

“Look, if you do just know I’m with you every step of the way regardless, and i’ll be there for your mum as well. I’ll look after her.” I explain and rub his back soothingly. He gives me a incredulous look. “Oi, don’t be cheeky. Need I remind you on how I got this scar?” I nudge him and he chuckles.

“Okay, you’ve got me,” he sighs and loops his arms around me and brings me in tightly. “How do you always know to say the right thing?” he asks.

“I’m an a level student, I’m smart what can I say?” I say cheekily with a wink and that causes him to tickle my sides and I have no escape. “Eggsy! Stop! Please!” I plead.

“Say uncle!”

“Neverrr!” I laugh out and it starts to pain me. Yet he is relentless in tickling me. “Okay okay! Uncle,” I relent and he laughs before launching himself on my bed.

“So… rom com or horror?” he asks.

“which would you prefer?” I return.

“Romcom.”

“Horror it is then,” I retort and he gasps from behind me. “Deal with it Eggboy, you prefer the romcoms and I like the horror movies I thought we had established this by now. Okay, now pick. Left or right.”

“Right.”

“It’s…. Saw!” I exclaim pulling the movie out from behind my back and he rolls his eyes at my excitement for the franchise. “Don’t worry, you can hide in my arms if you get scared,” I tease as I put in the dvd.

“Oi!” he shouts and throws a pillow which hits me square in the face as I turn around.

“What? It’s the truth and you know it,” I chastise.

——

Eggsy was halfway through training before his mum went mental at him not wanting to lose him like how she lost his dad and I could understand and so did Eggsy to the point that he dropped out.

When he returned home I had my final exam of my whole a levels. Three and a half hours of pure writing and by the time it was done my hand had cramped up into the position of how I hold my pen. Yet when leaving the building he was there waiting for me in casual clothes. “Eggsy!” I exclaimed as I ran to him to which he brought me into his arms with ease.

“Hello love,” he states with a smirk on his face. “Pub?”

“Yes, you read my mind. Especially after that exam,” I state and we head to my car that I had saved up for with work.

——

All throughout the time I was in university, Eggsy was by my side. Even when I dropped out because the band that I had been working with was starting to take off and I decided it was for the best to drop out of my degree.

He was there when my family kicked me out after learning of me dropping out and helped me find a flat as well.

There were many lows and many highs. There was always the almosts. The almost love, the almost kiss. Yet it never happened.

And thus darkness, the only familiar thing throughout, when I was attacked it was dark and that’s what it’s like for me without him, dark.

Yet in the near distance a rhythmic droning beats. It sounds almost like a heart monitor. Wait. I must have made it to the hospital. I was found in time.

Fighting to open up my eyes was probably harder than it should have been but I was determined. Although it was bright, I soon adjusted and I’m met with the clinical space of a hospital bedroom. Flowers are dotted around the room and I notice a small teddy bear in a suit amongst them all. I smile at the gesture. Then the door swings open where two nurses are chatting amongst themselves and that’s when they notice i’m awake.

The next few days were a blur and before I knew it I was heading home, alone. Although the days were a blur, nobody visited. Lying in my bed for the first time in what felt like forever was luxurious yet it was interrupted by a knock at my door and a groan from my mouth following suit. I grab my crutches and hobble to the door, ready to tell the person to fuck off yet when the door opens I’m met with the familiar green eyes.

“You’re okay!” he exclaims and goes to hug me which I recoil against.

“Yeah, as much as someone who was attacked can I guess.” I say and hobble back in leaving him to follow me in and I head back towards my bedroom where my bed beckons me.

“Are you okay?” he inquires. I just nod and sit on my bed. “Okay now I know you’re not okay, talk to me Y/N.” Tears start to well in my eyes.

“I don’t know okay. One minute I’m walking from Amy’s and the next I know someone is attacking me and asking me about your job and then I was alone and it just felt so cold and it felt horrible, like I haven’t felt like that since my parents were screaming and shouting at me for dropping out of University. Yet I was on the verge of death. But the worst thing Eggsy, it was being there bleeding out in the middle of London alone. I don’t think I can be alone again if I’m honest.” He pulls me into his side gently and motions for me to carry on. “I realised that all of the best moment in my life are with you and I don’t know what I am going to do with myself if I don’t tell you that I love you Eggsy. I have done since we were kids and I mean in a romantic way, not a platonic way and if you leave i’ll understand but I had to say it.”

“Y/N, when I got the call from the hospital saying that you were there, I froze. I don’t freeze. I was with Merlin and Roxy and I broke down hearing that news because guess what, Y/N M/N L/N I am in love with you and I have been for years okay?” He confesses and we lean into one another, it was like it went in slow motion and then the next thing I knew we were kissing. “God i’ve waited years to do that,”

“I can bet I have been waiting longer than you Eggs,” I smirk and cock my eyebrow at him. That’s when he tries to lay me down. “Ah ah ah, nope mister. I’m not allowed to engage in any physical activity for six weeks until the stitches can be taken out.” I explain to which he huffs and decides to just cuddle me instead. “But this, I can get used to,” I mutter and lay my head on his chest.

“I love you Eggsy.”

“I love you too Y/N”

[mirkwoodshewolf]

Moments with mini-angel; Kline family

*Author’s note*

Here we go with the next part of baby Kelly moments and here we have the inlaw family, the Kline clan which means the SPN cast makes a reappearance since the b-day chapter. Here I explain just why I didn’t write them in the birth of Kelly so I hope this chapter helps with that explanation. Also there’s a special little moment towards the end between the Rock Angel and her mother in law so I hope you all enjoy that little heart to heart moment I have at the end. The next part will be Brian and then ending this chapter will be God-papa Roger. For now enjoy this part my lovelies :)

Taglist:

@psychosupernatural​

@waddles03​

@plethora-of-things​

@ixchel-9275​

@queendeakyy​

@platawnic​

@jd-johndeacon-or-jackdaniels​

@geek-and-proud​

@kairosfreddie​

@simonedk​

@onebigfangirlworld​

@naturalswifty89​

@starswin​

@dj-lowkey​

@isabella-bby​

@labessieisallama​

@5sos-wdw​

@bohemiansweede​

____________________________________________________________

*Kline family meets the baby*

3 weeks after Kelly was born just shortly before the Christmas holiday, Jack and I flew back to Lebanon, Kansas to finally introduce baby Kelly to her American family.  At the time of Kelly’s birth, mum and Misha were both sick, Jared and Gen got over worked and Jensen and Dani had to deal with JJ who got the chickenpox from a kid at school.

Now with everyone feeling better, we figured it was time for our baby girl to meet the rest of her family.  We arrived at Lebanon the next day after taking off (thankfully Kelly did so good during the flight. Of course I had the flight attendants hand out newsletters of a brand new baby on board just in case we got any beef with anyone).

But Kelly basically slept through the flight with only a few cries but they were soon stopped as soon as she either got fed or changed.  

Finally after arriving at the airport we soon had a brush of Deja vu as Jensen was waiting for us at the airport.  But this time he had Jared with him and when they saw us they waved.

We walked right up to them and the second they saw Kelly, those big giants were a puddle of mush.

“Oh my god look at her. She’s so tiny.” Jensen softly cooed.

“God I don’t know who she looks like more.” Jared whispered.

“Oh every bit like her beautiful mom.” Jack praised.  I smiled at Jack and I put in.

“I don’t know. She definitely at time if she turned her head a certain way, she’s got your profile. Especially your nose.”

“Well whoever she ends up looking like, she’ll be a beautiful baby. Bad news for you Jack you’ve got your hands full.” Jensen teased at the end.

“Okay well we better get out of here so that way we don’t over stimulate her hearing. (Y/n) you can go with Jensen to the car, Jack and I will grab the bags.” Jared said as he handed Jensen the car keys.

“You sure?” I asked.

“Yeah. Besides we took my car anyway since we still had our booster seat from when Shep was a baby.”

“Okay if you’re sure.”

“He is. Come on baby mama let’s get you and the mini-you out of this loud hellhole.” Jensen said as he wrapped an arm around me and guided me out of the airport.

When we got to the parking garage, Jensen unlocked a 1984 grey Volvo station wagon.

“Kinda a lame car I know. But this is the family car according to my brother. Tried to convince him he could get the new Ferrari with his paycheck but no.” he dragged out the no.

“Oh shut it. It reminds me of Deacy’s car. Except his is that more traditional brown on tan brown pattern.”

“Wait, wait. Deacy. You mean the John Deacon has a freakin Volvo?” he asked surprisingly.

“Oh yeah. Jensen when you have a wife and four kids, you gotta have a family safe car.”

“Yeah I guess so. Okay let’s get the little munchkin strapped in. Plus you’ll need to learn how to do this.”

“First thing I’ll need to do is learn to drive a car.” I said as he opened up the back door.

“Wait you don’t know how to drive a car?”

“I mostly did bike riding. It was much easier to ride and campus parking didn’t cost as much for bikes.

“So you’ve never really driven a real car before?”

“I learned once. But my uncle was always so impatient with me that I just—never got the courage to ask him again. I got bike lessons from an old high school friend of mine. He taught me all the ins and outs and helped me get my motorcycle license.”

“Well no worries kid. While you’re here, I’ll help you out. I’ll even let you test drive Baby. But don’t tell anyone.”

“You’d seriously let us test out your car?”

“Gotta learn the stick shift somehow, might as well be from mine. Plus the first car you gotta drive at least once in your life is a Chevy Impala.” He winked at me.  I smiled and said.

“Thank you Jensen. But I must warn you, I’m gonna be nervous.”

“Everyone is kiddo, you just gotta take a deep breath and just listen to what I say. Okay now for this little tyke. Let’s get you strapped in baby girl.”

“Come on lovie let’s get you in there.” Jensen and I worked together on strapping Kelly in and once she was in, she did fuss a little but that’s because she probably missed being in my arms.

“You get on in and calm her down, just so she knows you’re there. JJ went through a little separation anxiety when it came to the car seat.” I got inside and he shut the door behind me and we waited for Jack and Jared.

Once they came back and put the bags in the trunk, Jack sat on the other side of me while Jared took the wheel.  Jared turned the car on and soon we were on our way to the Kline family farmhouse.

Jared turned off his car and we all got out. Just as I reached in to take Kelly out of the car seat, Jensen came in and he said.

“I’ve got the munchkin.”

“You sure?”

“Yeah besides she needs to meet her cool uncle Jensen. Maybe even prove that I’m cooler than Roger Taylor. After all I did whoop his ass in poker during our bachelor’s weekend.” Oh yeah, that story. Roger continues to even bitch about it to me every now and then every time I tell him about the Kline clan.

“Yeah and I get blamed for it in your stand.” Jack groaned out.

“You’re a good kid Jack, thanks pal.” Jensen said as he gently and brotherly patted Jack’s cheek as he held our baby in his arms. I grabbed the baby bag and we walked right up to the house.

*3rd Person POV*

“They’re here! They’re here!” JJ and Thomas shouted. Soon Gen, Dani, Shep, Kelly and Misha all came running in the living room.  Misha quickly set up his camera and hit record right at the door.

“Okay guys just—oh god Misha get that thing out of my face!” Jared proclaimed.

“Oh come on Jared.” Misha cooed.

“Cut please.” Jared made the ‘cut’ motion with his hand before looking away from the camera.  But he couldn’t help but smile at the camera for a second before turning back outside to tell the guys what was going on.

“What’s going on?” asked (y/n).

“Oh Misha decided to bring the camera out and record you guys bringing in the new baby.” He explained to her.

“Then let’s have some fun, go in there and tell (y/n) to come in.” Jared looked at his brother but Jensen looked at him with a ‘just do it’ face.  Jared picked up a suitcase and opened the door back up and he said.

“Okay (y/n) you can come in now.” As the door opened wide, Jensen came in saying.

“Hey anybody order a pizza?”

*My POV*

I walked in chuckling and I said.

“Give me my baby Jensen.” The two brother’s softly chuckled as Jensen handed me my baby girl back.  Jack soon came in and he said as he cooed down at Kelly.

“Oh baby girl you’re not a pizza no, no. You’re a big, beautiful—meatball.” Everyone smiled and laughed softly.  Mum was the first to walk up after Jensen and Jared brought in the rest of the luggage and she looked down at her granddaughter.

“Oh my god. She’s amazing. God I wish I could’ve been there to see her the moment she was born.” She said to me.

“We wish you were there mum. But I’m happy you could see her now.” I told her.

“What have you both named her?” she asked us. Jack then came up and said.

“Well mom we—named her after you. Mom, this is Kelly Michelle Kline.” Mum just stared down at her and I could see the tears in her eyes.

“We really have you to thank for her being her mum. Had you not agreed to allow Jack to come to London for that summer, we would’ve never had met and this little lovie would never have been born.”

“Oh you guys, that’s the perfect name for her. Little baby Kelly.” Mum fawned over as she took her granddaughter in her arms and held her.  “Misha get a close up on this gorgeous little face.” She said to Misha.  He then zoomed in on his wife’s face but Kelly griped at him, “Not me the baby huh.”

Misha then adjusted the camera so it now looked down at my daughter.

“You see pops? Say hi pops. Hi pops.” mum cooed down at our baby girl.

“Ohh I can’t wait any longer, can someone please take the camera and get me with my little grandbaby?”

“I got you Misha.” I told him as I quickly took the camera and he went over to his granddaughter.

“Hi baby Kelly. Oh you are so cute. Isn’t she just the most beautiful baby you ever saw?” he cooed down as he stroked her tiny little head and gave it a kiss.

“Yes. Just like her father was the day he was born.” Mum said.

“Just thankfully this time it was the right gender.” Teased Jensen which made Jack throw his head back and roll his eyes in a ‘I’m done’ fashion.  I tried to keep in my chuckles but a giggle slightly escaped my lips and Jack turned to me giving me a slight glare.

One by one each of the adult members of the Kline family got to hold baby Kelly and it was all captured on video.  As Dani was now holding my baby, Jensen stood over her cooing down at her and giving her sweet kisses.

“Thank god she didn’t inherit anything of Misha.”

“Hey!”

“Don’t worry in a few years from now you’ll laugh at that.” Jensen waved off nonchalantly.  Dani shook her head at Jensen and she whispered down to Kelly.

“No worries about your uncle Jensen. He’s not that much of a jerk.”

“Oh trying to turn the kid against me already huh?”

“Dad, can I hold the baby next?” JJ asked.

“Yeah I wanna hold her too.” Thomas soon spoke up.

“I wanna hold her first!” Shep cried out.

“Shhh. Shep not so loud. Remember quiet voices.” Gen shushed her youngest son.

“Well that’ll be up to the parents.” Dani said down to her daughter.

“Please aunt (y/n) please!” JJ clasped her hands in a begging motion as she looked up at me with those puppy dog eyes of hers.

I debated in my head as I turned to Jack who just looked at me like the decision was all mine to make.

“Well……”

“I promise to be careful.” JJ promised.  I sighed heavily.

“Alright. But you have to come over to the couch and hold her.” She cheered but both her parents shushed her so that way she wouldn’t startle Kelly.

JJ hopped over to the couch as I took my baby girl back from Dani and walked over to the couch.

“Jack give her a pillow.”

“Aunt (y/n) I’m almost 10 years old I can hold her.”

“Sorry JJ. Okay no pillow. But you gotta make sure you support her head, her neck muscles aren’t fully developed.”

“We know aunt (y/n). We learned this at school.” Thomas spoke as he sat beside his cousin while Shep stood on the other side of JJ.  I then carefully transferred Kelly into JJ’s arms first and with a little guidance from her mum, JJ was now holding my baby girl.

“She’s so little.” Shep said.

“You know you were that small when you were first born Shep.” Jared said.

“No I wasn’t.”

“Oh yes you were.” Gen confirmed it.

“When do you think she’ll be able to play catch?” asked Thomas.

“Oh not for a couple years. You gonna teach her baseball or something champ?” Jensen asked his eldest nephew.

“Yeah. I wanna teach her some of the American sports.”

“That’s my boy.” Jensen said.

“Hate to say it guys but Robert’s got first dibs on teaching her some cricket.” Jack said.

“What the hell is that?” asked Jensen.

“Jensen language!” Dani slapped his arm.

“Sorry. What the heck is it?”

“You know it’s the sport with all the balls and the sticks and you make it go through the hoops. Kinda like a different version of golf except with no holes.” Misha explained.

“Oh yeah. That sport always looked boring. No offense (n/n).”

“None taken, I was never a big cricket fan myself. I always loved watching the football games. And sometimes a guilty pleasure of mine is rugby.”

“What’s that?”

“Well—the best way to describe it is it’s kinda like your American football, except we there’s no extreme padding and a lot more injuries.”

“Ohh. I like the sound of that.”

“The next season will start soon, I’ll tape a game and send it to you.”

“Oh heck yes!” Jensen cheered with a wide smile. Soon Thomas and Shep got to have their time holding Kelly and they were happy to hold their little cousin.  That was until Kelly decided to go poop while Shep was holding her.

At that point I took her away to go change her while I could hear Shep complaining that he (not in actuality) got pooped on. Which of course led his brother to tease him that he was worse than Kelly was and that he was always pooping when he was a baby.

As the days went by and the holidays came and went.  Kelly received so many gifts from her American family who just adored her so much. I was currently downstairs getting me a drink of milk before I went up to bed when I heard mum’s voice say.

“Well baby Kelly’s finally fast asleep.” She told me.

“Thanks mum. Although you know I could’ve done it myself.”

“Oh you’ve been doing too much. You cooked the Christmas meal this year, staying up all night whenever she cried too much, and keeping in touch with your own family back in England. Honey you’re exhausted. The least I could do was help take over for just one night.” She told me as she stood beside me.

“Is there something else you wanted to talk about?” I could see for the past couple weeks something seemed to be on her mind every time she handled Kelly.  I didn’t want to press her just yet cause I thought she would come to me and talk, but now I just have to ask her.

“Actually there is.” I set my milk down and she said to me as she took my hands. “I just wanted to say……thank you.”

“For what?” I asked.

“I’ve never told Jack this so I want to tell you. When I was pregnant with Jack, there were—complications with the birth. I won’t scare you with details but it almost costed me my life that I had to have an emergency C-section.”

“Oh my god.” I whispered.

“The doctors then told me that even if Misha and I tried to have another baby, the risks would be even greater, so much so that I could actually lose my life. So—I had no choice but to have my tubes tied off. Making me unable to have any more children. And sure even though I had dreamed of having a girl and even the doctor’s telling me that it would be a girl, I don’t regret Jack ending up being a boy. He’s the light of my life. And I wouldn’t trade him for anything else in the world.”

“Oh mum.” She cupped each sides of my face and said.

“But seeing you two together, and having your first child be a girl and naming her after me. That—was the most precious and most honorable thing I could ever ask for. And I will take that to my grave. So thank you (Y/n) Kline for giving me the chance to be a grandmother to a baby girl.”

“Mum. If I can, I’ll try to have as many daughters as I can just to make you happy.”

“Oh honey there’s no need to put that kind of pressure on you. I’ll be happy no matter how many or what gender of grandchildren I have. All that matters is that you and Jack love and cherish each child you get. Because you never know when the time may come that something goes wrong, or you lose that chance to be a mother to more than one child.”

I nodded and placed my hands on top of hers and I promised her that I would.  She smiled at me warmly and embraced as tight as she could as I hugged her back.

The two of us hugging each other.  One mother to the next until we both decided to retire for bed.

[lovelyparkers]

the lifeguard (1)

part one!

summary: you're a summer lifeguard at coney island's beach and peter convinces his friends to go. y'all are 18 in this and just graduated! 2.9k words

warnings: none really, just swearing, fluff and spice woo part two is gonna be spicier oops

peter knew from the moment you told him you were working on coney island's beach this summer that he would be there as much as possible. he had liked you all throughout high school. literally all four years and never did anything about it. but now high school was over and he knew you would slip right past him. plus seeing you on the beach in a tight red bathing suit? how could he say no to that. and of course, red was really his favorite color, and seeing it on you...that would be heaven.

you had discussed summer plans with peter and you told him of your new job. you told him how you would drive there every morning at 8 am and be there till 6 pm. 7 days of the week. but hey it payed well and you loved the beach. lots of kids from school frequented the beach too, so it's be nice to see your friends—and maybe part of you hoped you'd see peter.

peter had mentioned he had a night job in queens and besides that no other plans. you liked the boy. there was something about him that was just so endearing and when you talked or even looked at him you got butterflies. and don't even get me started on how you felt thinking about him.

you were all set the next day to go down to the beach for your first day in the job, feeling ecstatic. you had bought several different styles of red bathing suits, lots of sunscreen and a cute pair of sunglasses. you went through intense training about a month ago and were all ready to go. you'd spent other summers life guarding at your neighborhood pool, but wanted to go down to the beach for something different before heading off to college. and hey maybe you'll get to see a super cute boy aka peter there sometime, you dropped him hints.

the night of the last day of school, peter met up with ned, mj, and betty for celebratory pizza when he brought up the idea.

"so how 'bout we go down to the beach tomorrow? coney island," he asked while chewing.

michelle laughed, "why? because you know y/n is working there?"

"what? no! i didn't know she was working on eighth street."

"no one said she was working on eighth street peter," betty snapped.

"well i—"

michelle smirked, "just admit it, you like y/n."

michelle was one of your close friends and knew you somewhat liked peter so this was fun for her. but she was so happy he liked you back. you constantly complained about needing a boyfriend.

peter threw his hands up in defeat, "okay! okay! i like her!"

"i knew it!" ned screamed causing people in the pizza shop to look over at them awkwardly. "sorry."

peter's face flushed, "so, the beach?" everyone nodded. it was the beach for god sakes. hell yeah. and coney island was what they were all used to.

"i'm guessing we are going to eighth street right?" michelle teased.

"uh huh, and you're driving because you're the only one with a car!"

michelle groaned obnoxiously, "fine! but y'all are giving me gas money."

"we have to leave early so we don't get caught up in traffic," betty added.

"there's always traffic," ned replied.

"still there might be less."

"i don't think so it's summer—"

"guys stop! it's settled. eighth street, we'll leave at 8:30, mj is driving," peter spat.

everyone finally agreed and finished the last of the pizza. michelle got up to leave and said, "everyone meet at ned's i'll be there at exactly 8:30. if you're late we leave with out you, see ya losers."

the next morning at exactly 8:30 am, michelle pulled up outside ned's apartment in her dingy vintage car. ned was dressed to the nines in beach attire, as was betty. meanwhile peter was simply wearing flip flops, swim trunks and a white muscle tee, along with a blue beach towel draped around his shoulders. he had his grey backpack filled with snacks, sunscreen, his wallet, and other random shit. his black sunglasses shielded his eyes, as did his long brown curls that he had been growing out. it was almost 90° as well, so needless to say this was a much needed beach day. the boys packed some beach chairs and an umbrella into michelle's trunk then everyone hopped in the car, betty in the passenger seat, ned and peter in the back.

the drive wasn't too bad, it took 45 minutes with the traffic like said. and luckily they were able to find a parking spot in about five minutes of arriving which was rare. everyone got out and grabbed their things, running to the beach.

"guys! we should set up close to the lifeguard stand, you know in case of emergency," peter yelled over the noisy wind and boardwalk.

"you mean a y/n emergency?" michelle laughed causing peter to turn red. michelle decided to lead the rest of the way onto the beach and down the mat to find an open spot. michelle plopped her chair down like ten feet to the right of your lifeguard stand. the boys and betty were still trudging through the sand.

"hey y/n!" michelle called up to you.

"mj! hey! what are you doing here? i thought you hated the beach!"

"i do! i'm just a chauffeur. but hey i wanted to see you too!"

"oh cool!" you shouted back, taking long looks at the water since your coworker wasn't here yet. "who are you with?"

as you asked that, the staggering three came into your view and they all waved to you. peter was at the back of the group acting relatively shy. "i'll make sure you guys don't drown!" you shouted again, making them laugh. you got back to looking out in the water through your sunglasses, the cool shade of an umbrella over your head allowing you to somewhat relax from the intense heat. meanwhile, peter was taking glances at you every few seconds as the crew set up their beach spot. michelle immediately sat down in her chair, pulling out a book. ned and betty set up the other chairs and laid down a sheet in front of them to put their coolers and bags on, throwing a shoe on each corner. peter set up the umbrella since he was obviously the strongest one to stick in through the sand. he easily pushed it into the sand and pulled the cover up, making a nice circle of shade around the four of them. you couldn't deny that you snuck a look or two at peter's clenching back muscles as he jammed the umbrella into the ground.

"mj, wanna go touch the water with us?" ned asked innocently.

"no."

"okay then..."

peter, ned and betty went down to the water to feel it. it was brisk, but it felt nice under the 90 degree sun. tons of people were already in the water cooling off. you watched peter run a hand through his long locks and let it blow in the wind, making it a mess. but a cute one per say. you stood up on the stand, pushing your sunglasses up on your head to get a better look. he was splashing and kicking the water at his friends, laughing his head off. betty was screaming like the water was going to kill her while ned just joined it. peter's muscle tee left little to the imagination, allowing you to see his brawny muscles that he always hid in school. his pecs were also quite prominent through the front of his shirt as well, it was a bit see through, being white and all. and gosh you just couldn't imagine what he would look like when he-

you stopped your train of thought when peter looked directly up at you on the lifeguard stand. he smiled, mid laugh, teeth showing. you couldn't see his eyes under the sunglasses but they were bright and admirable. you grinned back at him, waving yet again, mouthing a 'hey.' peter waved too, with both hands up in the air, mouthing a 'hey' back. he turned back to his friends and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. god, you looked so good. your hair was blowing in the wind and you had a red bikini top and bottoms tied around your body. your lifeguard whistle was on a lanyard around your neck, hanging just in between your boobs. (ur hot asf and u cant convince me otherwise) the sight of you almost caused him to combust, how could you look that good. and he could just almost imagine what you would look like without-

"peter?"

"huh?" he asked quickly.

"you zoned out," ned said.

he scoffed, "oh yeah, i just- yeah, i'm good."

"is it y/n," ned winked.

peter shook his head up and down. he didn't even care that anyone knew. he just really, really liked you. and seeing you on the beach in that attire, didn't help his problem.

he rushed back to sit down in his beach chair, resting his slightly sweaty forehead in his hands to try to relax himself. he got way too worked up way too fast.

"you saw y/n i guess?"

peter looked up to see michelle laughing at him.

"why don't you just talk to her you weirdo."

"i don't know i- she's just- y/n is...i can't."

"yeah you can dumbass. just say hi."

"what are we talking about?" betty asked as her and ned sat down with the two. "he won't talk to y/n," michelle answered.

ned perked up, "peter! why don't you just pretend to drown, then she will save you and give you mouth to mouth! she said she would make sure you didn't drown."

"i'm pretty sure that's illegal," michelle said.

"yeah i-i can't do that."

"then just go talk to her," betty said agreeing with mj.

peter hopped out of his chair and started toward the lifeguard stand before stopping on his tracks at the sight of you greeting your apparent coworker. your coworker was a guy, probably around 20 years old and obviously good looking. he had messy blond hair paired with abs. nothing like peter's though. peter suddenly felt a pang of jealousy as you laughed at something he said. he watched the guy put a hand on your back, as he settled down. peter returned to his chair and slumped down, cheeks red from both the sun and jealousy. once peter sat down you scanned your eyes around looking for him and eventually landing on the boy in his chair.

your coworker was busy watching everyone in the water but you hopped down from the stand to keep an eye on some little kids...and maybe peter. just as your feet hit the sand, a gust of wind blew by, pulling peter's beach umbrella out of the ground and almost smacking you down, had you not caught it. peter had jumped up to try to grab and it and he ran after the umbrella only to be met by you holding it out to him. "here you go pete," you said smiling.

"thanks," he whispered, grabbing the umbrella from your hands.

"you gonna swim?" you asked him.

"oh," he looked at the water then back at you, trying not to get distracted by how good your boobs looked in that top, "yeah. we're gonna swim like, soon."

"cool."

"yeah," he said twirling the umbrella stick in between his hands.

"it's great to see you peter, you look great."

he blushed, looking down then back up, "you do too. look good i mean. you look great y/n...red suits you."

"thanks," you giggled. you had to stop yourself from reaching out and feeling his muscles. there was a moment of silence between you two until you realized you had to work. "i'm gonna uh, you know, get back to work. i'll find you on my break, be careful out there."

"i will," peter replied softly, watching you climb up the stand, ass almost in his face. you looked back down at him smiling. he shyly waved and returned to push the umbrella back into the ground.

"what took you so long? i could barely see my book!"

"i was talking to y/n. she said she's gonna find me on her break," he happily stated. peter had a little bounce in his step now, feeling more energised and confident. "c'mon guys! let's go swimming!"

"i'll pass," michelle shouted.

ned and betty obliged and got ready to head into the water. peter put his sunglasses in his back pack, not caring to lose yet another pair in the ocean. then he pulled off his shirt, revealing his once hidden abs to the world. his swim trunks sat on his hips, exposing his v-like slightly. you were lucky to have caught a glimpse of this show, sucking in a sharp breath when peter pulled off his shirt. shit. he was hot. of course he was.

he ran down the sand and straight into the water, diving under a wave when it got deep enough. you watched him intently, back muscles flexing when he dove. as he came up out of the water, he whipped his curls out of his face, facing you. you had no idea if it was on purpose or not but god did it make you shiver. this was gonna be a long day.

you watched him gracefully swim in the water and body surf waves so effortlessly. it made being a lifeguard less boring in all honesty. but gosh were you besotted with him. and when he walked out of the water to go back to his chair, it was like he was walking in slow motion, the way hot people do in movies. and it was gorgeous to watch. water was dripping all the way down his body. droplets would fall from his now even darker, wet curls onto his face and down his neck, then onto his broad chest and toned abs, finally reaching the waist band of his swim trunks. right to his v-line. you almost audibly gasped right there.

as peter walked by the stand he looked up at you, again running a hand through his wet curls to push it out of his face. he grinned at you, knowing you were watching him. and you stared right back. he was showing off wasn't he? two can play this game. you pushed your sunglasses back up on your head and made direct eye contact with him, causing peter to stumble in the sand. you laughed and put your glasses back down. he was so cute and hot at the same time. how?

when your break came around, you decide to head into the water and cool off. your coworker took over, watching you climb down the stand, as did peter. you slowly strutted toward the water, walking in slowly before it got deeper and dunking your head under the cool water. peter eyed you from the beach, hunching over with his elbows on his thighs. his sunglasses blocked the lustful gaze from anyone else's view luckily. when you came up out of the water he watched it drip all over your body and glisten on your face. he couldn't take his eyes off you.

you looked over to peter, since you did promise you'd find him during your break. you saw he was staring at you and just smirked. you pointed at him on the beach. he sat up in shock and poked his finger on his chest as to say, 'wait, me?' you then curled your finger toward your body in a come here motion, obvious to peter. he stood up and went straight to you in the water, swimming out past the waves to you. as he got to your side you noticed how flushed his face was, you couldn't tell if it was from sunburn or something else. it was the latter.

"hey," you started.

"hey y/n."

"so what goes on?"

"nothing really..just...swimming."

"well i'm glad you're here. it made me really happy."

"me too. i'm happy to see you too." the two of you were just floating in the water, up and down waves with each other.

"you know i didn't think you'd actually come."

"what do you mean?"

"well obviously i wanted you to come while i'm working. i was dropping hints in school, if you couldn't tell."

peter chuckled, "no, no. i picked up on them. you're ah, you're really cool."

"so are you." you smiled at each other now, just enjoying the company and the semi peacefulness. until your coworker blew his whistle and pointed at you.

"that's me, i gotta go. see you later peter!" you swam off towards shore, peter watching you all the way to the stand. he smiled to himself, giddy over the fact that you wanted him to come here. and he just wanted to spend every second with you. you were truly the kindest and most beautiful person ever, that he couldn't get enough of.

now all he had to do was ask you on a date.

[ournewoverlords]

Booksmart slaps. It’s just a huge amount of fun to watch - the key word here for me is “good-natured”. This is a good-natured movie that teases and pokes fun at a lot of people - a lot of *kinds* of people, from the queer drama kids to the dopey jocks to the Gen Z overachieving feminist types who have pictures of Michelle Obama on their wall and can quote Susan B Anthony from memory - without ever making fun of anyone in a mean-spirited way, and highlighting that no one is ever “just” their tribe. The ending ties the story up neatly with a feel-good bow about how no one is really what they seem on the surface, especially not in high school, when everyone’s trying so hard to be invulnerable… which also means they can’t be *seen*. There’s a lot of great character work here that I think could’ve been fleshed out even more (the 1 hour 45 min runtime feels shockingly short in the day and age of Endgame) but still feels natural and sincere, and the huge array of secondary characters - real characters, not just insert-famous-cameos - gives this movie not just humor but so much life and buoyancy.

(Warning: light spoilers beneath cut)

What keeps it from reaching the top tier for me, though, is that it somehow still feels like something I’ve seen before, even though the window dressing is so different. It’s definitely rare to see female best-friendship displayed so frankly, genuinely, and *hilariously* on the big screen, and I can’t remember another movie where the nerdy valedictorian is a boss and knows it, not to mention one where one of them is a lesbian (my young baby lesbian Amy!! protect that cinnamon roll), but the story of two blood-sworn, childhood-, everything-friends reaching the last chapter of their adolescence together in fun and games and boozy celebration, all while the fear of how they’ll face the great unknown without the other is this silent undercurrent churning beneath… that feels familiar to me? That doesn’t keep me from loving this particular theme, because it IS a great one, I just mean it’s not as original as Ladybird, so it lends itself to comparison more easily. 

Superbad, for instance. I actually kinda hate how every review (including the one linked here, which is totally in line with my sentiments) keeps calling this “the female Superbad”. Yes, it’s a coming-of-age comedy about two friends at the end of the senior year trying to go out with a bang together, and yes, it’s a little raunchy, and yes, it really is all about the friendship between the two main characters at its core… but the whole texture, color, and point of Booksmart are completely different. 

By texture, I mean that even as the two girls are the “heroes” of this quest, it’s still interested in the characters outside them, such that you really get the sense that they are their own people, with their own lives and inner life. In the briefest of screentimes you grasp instantly why someone like Molly would be attracted to easygoing jock Nick (but then connects to the hopelessly-messy-but-sweet Jared), and why Amy likes the skatergirl with the big toothy grin. The other kids and love interests aren’t just vessels for Molly and Amy’s own awakenings. In fact, some of them have their own troubles, and they’re all really pretty good kids.

It’s interested in the way that the two mains are, in their own way, not the most perfect people. How the world’s really not out to get them; in fact, they’re the ones who have to learn to fit into it. I talk more about this below, but this was the part I liked the most, because it feels particularly true to life in a way that I don’t think I’ve seen in many other coming-of-age narratives, much less light-hearted comedies.

Speaking of light-hearted, the whole tone of the humor is waay different from Superbad’s too. It’s funny as hell, which is probably the most important thing at the end of the day — there were a few scenes that had me and my entire theater howling — but amazingly for a coming-of-age comedy, I remember very few of the jokes being gross-out or sexual, or even all that cringe. Booksmart mines a lot of physical humor just in their sheer facial expressions (if a picture is a thousand words, Beanie Feldstein’s face does the work of a thousand punchlines), but it’s mostly the little throw-away lines and hilarious sketches (the attempted robbery in the car! Amy’s overly-well-meaning parents! everything GiGi and Jared do) that string everything together and carry the day. That’s not to say that there aren’t serious moments that are given due weight too — Amy under the water, submerged in that song is just an absolutely beautiful shot. 

It reminds me a little of Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade, which I think is a more interesting comparison than Superbad here. Booksmart tries to capture some of that raw realness that Eighth Grade had, underneath all the silliness and humor; it is, in many ways, about how hard it is to be vulnerable to someone else, even (especially) the people you love. It pulls at a lot of strands and among them are the idea that this is what high school is really like, that to be honest all these boys (and girls!) who hold your heart in their clumsy, sweaty fingers will be like leaves in the wind years from now, that standing on the entrance to adulthood isn’t a physical change, it’s not about booze, or losing your virginity, or getting accepted by your peers. Becoming an adult is inner work, alright, but it’s also not work you can do on your own. Because it’s about how you treat yourself, but it’s about how you treat other people too. 

But I think where Eighth Grade really succeeds is this it has this kind of specificity to it — it really, really is about this awkward girl, and her lonely existence, and about being a girl who is becoming a woman in a certain context. And that specificity gives it a kind of honesty that rings painfully true to me. Booksmart — probably because it is trying to avoid stereotypes and do something entirely new here, which is totally commendable — almost feels a little too universal. It feels like you could replace Molly and Amy here with dudes, and it wouldn’t be a huge change in dynamics outside the pussy hats and Malalia worship, because these two are defined more by their identities as “overachieving party-pooping best-friend NERDS” than by being girls per se. These are two whipsmart dorks who are best friends, and happen to be female, rather than a portrayal of female best friendship per se. And the other kids treat them that way too: no one gives a shit Molly’s chubby or Amy’s a lesbian, they give a shit that they’re exasperating know-it-alls.

Which is REALLY refreshing. I’m being unfair here — it’s *because* it’s so rare to see female friendships or just girls in general depicted this way on screen that I think it doesn’t quite “fit” my own intuitions about real life. But I’m a weird case of someone who really struggled in high school, and definitely didn’t have friends much less deep ones like theirs, and I bet other women would recognize themselves in these two and their relationship much more. The frank vagina talk and the fact that Molly and Amy are actually really self-assured and even pretty damn well-liked are just super freakin’ cool anyways. In particular I LOVE the way they’re still dorky, in a way I so rarely see female characters allowed to be because female characters written by dudes tend to be so poised and “above” the main male protagonist (probably because the screenwriters are thinking back to their own high-school crushes, who must’ve seemed so mature and unattainable to a nerdy teenage boy). 

It goes back to what I said about this being an affectionate, feel-good movie where everyone turns out to be pretty decent in the end. It doesn’t set out to be much more than that, and I’m not sure if I wanted it to be, but I think it’s that fact they didn’t go all out that keeps it from being a 10/10 for me. It’s just very sweet and knowing and funny and always making sure to laugh with these oddball kids, but that same gentleness keeps it from being something great; it’s like you need some claws to expose something “real”.

It’s a little strange to me, for example, that the movie dishes out a lot of high-school tropes — all the kids are playful representatives of some stereotype — but doesn’t seem to have any real bullies, and happily accepts the two not-very-outcasted outcasts at the party with open arms. And the girls each get their heart crushed, but only for like five minutes before they (tbqh) each get an upgrade. Every Gen Z tribe gets represented — from the failing stoner who actually has an offer from Google to the misunderstood school slut to poor Jared, my sweet beautiful mess of an unloved richboy — in this kind of Glee grab-bag kinda way, but without Glee’s sense that what ties us all together is this fucking shared suffering called high school; Booksmart’s high school is more like a utopia where everyone wears what they want and gets to be quirky and different and much cooler than you think in their own individualistic way. (They even have Jessica Williams as a teacher! UGH, so jelly.)

There’s something that’s actually really subversive about this, because 1) no one’s a villain and 2) to the extent that Molly and Amy are unpopular, it’s kinda brought on by themselves. *They* were the ones who chose never to hang out with the other kids, because studying was more important. *They* are the ones who have to learn something. Molly was the one who judged everyone by the school they got into, even as the others never gave a shit about it. Amy came out two years ago, but the reason she’s never had a kiss isn’t so much because she’s a lesbian, but because she’s too timid and unassertive as a person. Molly’s character arc is discovering that she’s too freaking judgey and she needs to stop assuming she knows everything from the cover, Amy’s is to realize herself as her own person outside of the (admittedly powerful) centrifugal force of her best friend. 

Those are GREAT ideas for arcs, it’s just that the execution of them didn’t completely land for me — maybe because the jokes were competing so much with the serious bits for screentime, it had to scramble at the end for the moment of character growth. So it didn’t feel fully “earned” to me, even as it worked on the thematic level of truly seeing people when you aren’t blinded by your own assumptions. 

Still, it’s a really satisfying movie with a different take on a common trope, and packed with killer lines and secondary characters like Jared that are just so great (he’s one that feels especially on-point to me because I recognize one of my old classmates in him — a great kid, just… swimming through life in a different lane). The cameos by the adult actors — Jessica Williams, Lisa Kudrow, Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte — were predictably fantastic. In fact all the acting and casting was SO GOOD (I found out later that the casting director was the one who did Freaks and Geeks!). I’m impressed by Olivia Wilde in her directorial debut here, it’s clear that she has an ear for comedic beats and some of the shots were wonderful — in a lot of comedies the camera is just kinda static and it’s all talking heads, but here the angles, the POV shots, the longer takes that move in and out of sound add so much dynamism. Excited for what she does next.

[lizk77]

Smitten

The Perfect Date

This story was based on a prompt from @begging-for-kamilah “The Perfect Date” for Joe and Tina. This is not the next chapter in the story, it actually occurs a little over a month into their relationship. After they had slept together but before “Snowed In”.

I almost had to post this a day late due to my procrastination. Hopefully the late hour of this posting doesn’t discourage people from reading it.

Warnings: this is erotica and is only suitable for adults over the age of 18. You have been warned.

Word count: 2483

You can read the rest of this series on my masterlist here.

Tagging: @kennaxval @indiacater @stopforamoment @cora-nova @innerpostmentality @missevabean @smalltalk88 @gardeningourmet

Excitement grew in the pit of her belly as Tina drove over the Skyway Bridge to meet Joe. She had never been to his place before. It was just about lunch time on a Monday and he had taken the day off work to plan what he described as the perfect date. She didn’t know anything about it, he had been weirdly secretive. He told her to dress in her best Steelers garb and meet him at his place. She had on her favorite jersey, number 36 for player Jerome Bettis, aka The Bus. Sure, he had been retired for many years, but he was still her favorite player of all time. She also had her black and gold Steelers hat on, her long ponytail pulled through the back. The look was topped off with a pair of Steelers logo earrings and a folded black and gold scarf around her neck. Tina shifted her eyes to the passenger seat next to her where her terrible towel sat. That was of course a must for any Steeler fan watching the game.

The Steelers were playing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for Monday Night Football. Joe was born and raised in Tampa, so he was a die hard Bucs fan. She figured he planned to take her somewhere to watch the game, perhaps a sports bar. But she couldn’t get him to give her any information, eventually she stopped asking and just went with it.

After what seemed like forever, she pulled into his driveway. Her stomach fluttered as she turned off the ignition. She checked her face in the rear view mirror, grabbed her purse and terrible towel, and headed for the door. Tina smiled as Joe opened the door, decked out in just as much Bucs garb. He kissed her on the cheek. “You look great, despite all the black and gold,” he said as he playfully grabbed her butt and pulled her closer. She smiled up into his bedroom eyes. “Same, although you would look better in black and gold.” She leaned up and kissed him softly. He smiled at her then swatted her playfully on the butt. “Nope. Will never happen.”

“We’ll see. I have my ways,” she said with a smirk as she walked past him down the hall into the kitchen. She looked around at the open floor plan. The kitchen had a bar built in to the counter with three stools. It opened up into the living room, where Tina saw the biggest tv of her life. “Wow, that’s some tv!” Joe beamed with pride. “Well thank you. It’s necessary for watching the games.” She smiled slyly as she peered at him from the corner of her eye. “Is this where we’re watching the game?” Joe feigned confusion. “Absolutely not. What makes you think we are watching the game? Do you really think I’d plan our date around football?” Tina giggled at his attempt to act confused. “Yes, I think watching football would definitely be your idea of the perfect date. Plus we’re all dressed up in football garb.” Joe smiled slyly as he put his arms behind his back. “Ok, I just don’t think I can keep this secret any longer.” He pulled something out of the back pocket of his jeans and handed it to Tina.

Her eyes went wide as she grabbed two tickets from his hand. Her mouth dropped open as she read them. “Oh. My. God. Are you serious right now???” He smiled wide at her and nodded. “And check out the seats. Right on the 50-yard line.” Tina squealed and jumped into Joe’s arms, wrapping her arms around his neck. He leaned back against the counter to brace himself. She just couldn’t stop hugging his neck as she thought about watching a Steelers game live. This was so much more than the perfect date. This was fulfilling a lifelong dream. She blinked back the hot tears that stung the corners of her eyes. He pulled away and smiled at her. His smile faded when he saw her tears. “What’s wrong? Did I do something wrong?” Tina shook her head. “No,” she said in a shaky voice. “You did everything absolutely perfect. I’ve never been to a live game before. I’ve always wanted to go, but every time I had an opportunity it didn’t work out. How did you pull this off?” Joe shrugged as he smiled at her, wiping a single tear from her cheek with his thumb. “I’ve got connections, baby.” She laughed at him and handed him back the tickets. “You must. I can imagine it’s hard to score tickets to a Monday Night Football game, even if it is the crappy Bucs playing.”

Joe shot her a stern look. “Hey now. You could just stay here and watch the game on my huge tv. I’ll be sure to wave at you from my seats right at midfield.” Tina grinned playfully as she swatted his arm. “Ok, you win. No more comments about the crappy Bucs. At least not until we’re at the game. Deal?” He nodded. “Deal. I say we make a friendly wager.” Tina raised an eyebrow. “Oh? What exactly did you have in mind?” He smiled mischievously. “How about whoever’s team loses has to be the other person’s slave for the rest of the night?” Tina narrowed her eyes at Joe. “Slave huh? What kind of slave are we talking about here?” He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her waist. “Whatever kind of slave we desire.” She raised an eyebrow at him. “I don’t know, I don’t exactly feel like scrubbing your toilet and washing dishes tonight.” He laughed and squeezed her behind. He looked into her eyes lustfully and mumbled in a deep, sexy voice, “Don’t worry, what I have planned for you as my slave has nothing to do with cleaning.” He pressed his lips to hers as she smiled. “Don’t get ahead of yourself mister. First the crappy Bucs have to win.” They both laughed and pulled apart.

“Come on, let’s get going,” he said as he grabbed his keys off the counter. A look of confusion crossed her face as she glanced at the clock on the wall. “But it’s not even 2. Why so early?” Joe broke into a big smile. “You’ll see. Let’s go.” She followed him out to his Jeep.

Once they were on their way, Tina’s curiosity got the better of her. “Ok, spill it. Where are we going?” He shot her a quick sideways glance. “We’re going to the game.” She rolled her eyes at him. “I know, but the game doesn’t start for like 6 hours.” Joe smiled. “I want to make sure you get the whole experience of attending a live game. So we’re meeting some friends for tailgating.” Tina shifted her upper body towards him excitedly. “Tailgating? At the actual stadium?” He nodded in response and smiled big. She squealed, unable to contain her excitement. He laughed and pointed over his shoulder with his thumb. “I’ve got all the required tailgating items back there. Lawn chairs, a grill and a cooler filled with food and drinks. We’re all set. Plus, you’ll get to meet a few of my friends.”

A few minutes later they pulled into the parking lot of Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Joe drove around until he spotted a red pick up truck and a blue SUV parked together in the corner. There were a few people milling around the vehicles, one was setting up chairs and tables. Joe pulled in next to the red truck and gave a friendly wave to his friends. Tina was suddenly nervous. She was a little shy, and it took her awhile to feel comfortable around new people. She bit her lower lip and looked out the window at Joe’s friends setting up.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Joe reached over and put his arm on Tina’s shoulder. She shook her head and smiled at him. “Nothing. I’m fine.” “You’re not fine. Spill it.” She sighed and dropped her gaze down into her lap. “I’m just a little nervous to meet your friends, that’s all.” He tilted her head up to meet her eyes and smiled at her. “Baby, you have nothing to worry about trust me. These people have already heard so much about you. I’m pretty sure they like you better than me. And they haven’t even met you yet.” Tina smiled sheepishly as he kissed her softly. “Let’s go.”

They got out of the Jeep and Joe laced his fingers with Tina’s as they walked over to the group. Everybody smiled as introductions were made. “Everyone, this is Tina. Tina, this is Greg and his wife Michelle.” A petite woman with blonde hair came over and wrapped her arms around Tina. “It is so good to meet you finally,” she said in a bubbly voice. Tina smiled at her warmly. “You too Michelle.” Greg stood behind his wife and extended his hand with a smile. She shook it as she looked up into his kind eyes. He towered over Michelle by at least a foot. Joe gestured to the other couple. “And this is Randy and his fiancée Jennifer.” Tina broke out into a wide grin as he shook Randy’s hand. He was the only other one in the group that was decked out in black and gold, with a terrible towel slung over his shoulder. “I see you finally found a woman with good taste Joe,” he said as he returned her grin. “I’m glad to see I’m not the only Steeler fan in the group.” Joe brought Tina’s hand to his lips, brushing her knuckles softly with his lips. “I’m gonna go unload the Jeep. Are you ok?” She nodded and smiled, already feeling much more at ease.

The guys went to help Joe and the girls offered Tina a beer and a chair. She accepted both. “Well I’m totally excited to get to know you Tina,” Jennifer said. Michelle nodded in agreement. “Joe has always been the eternal bachelor of our group. He’s dated girls here and there, but he has never been as smitten as he is with you.” Tina felt her cheeks grow hot. Jennifer nodded. “Yes his face just lights up at the mention of your name. You may tame him yet, Tina.” Joe walked up behind Tina and wrapped his arms around her neck. “Don’t believe anything these ladies tell you baby. I can’t be tamed.” He bent down and growled as he nipped at her neck. Then he whispered softly in her ear, “I’m wild for you.” Tina groaned and swatted him. “You’re so corny.”

The guys grilled burgers and hot dogs and everybody chatted happily as they got to know each other. Tina began to open up as she felt more comfortable. As game time grew closer, they started to pack everything up and headed into the stadium to find their seats.

***********************************************

“Weeeee got a feeeeeeling! Pittsburgh’s going to the suuuuuuper Bowl!!!” Randy and Tina skipped hand in hand through the parking lot, waving their terrible towels in the air with their free hands. The Steelers had won 30-27. It was a great game, won by a field goal in the last 20 seconds of the game. The others rolled their eyes at their chant. “Don’t you think y’all are getting a bit ahead of yourself? It’s only week 3.” Tina released Randy’s hand and spun around. “Don’t mess with our mojo.” She narrowed her eyes at Joe. He smiled and ran up to her, picking her up and tossing her over his shoulder as she shrieked. Her arms flailed out behind him. “Help me!” She called out to the others, but they just laughed and shook their heads with their hands up in the air. “Come on, Randy. Help me out here.” He giggled. “No way. We all know when Joe throws a girl over his shoulder he means business.” She groaned.

He carried her all the way back to the Jeep before he set her down. “You’re gonna pay for that mister,” she said as she wagged a finger at him. He shrugged with a smile. “I ain’t scared.” They all said their goodbyes and hugged, then Joe opened the door for Tina to get in the Jeep. She climbed in and he shut the door then walked around to the other side. He barely had his door shut and Tina was in his lap, straddling him, kissing him passionately. They made out like teenagers until the windows fogged up. Tina could feel his hardening length beneath her and she ached to have him inside her. She kissed a trail from his lips across his cheek to his ear. She nibbled his earlobe softly and whispered, “I want you so bad.” She sat up to look him in the eye. His pupils were wide with lust as he massaged her ass. “I guess we should probably head home then.” She shook her head and pouted. “I’m not sure I can wait that long.”

He smiled and looked around, realizing the parking lot was almost empty. Could they really pull this off? “Take off your pants.” She shifted off of his lap just long enough to remove her pants, keeping them wrapped around one ankle. He undid his pants and freed his cock as she climbed back onto his lap. She lowered herself onto him, gasping as she felt him fill her. He groaned as she began bouncing in his lap. He grabbed her hips to help give her leverage.

“Oh baby you feel so good.” Joe’s breath hitched as he fought to pull himself back from the edge. She continued to grind into him and bounce on his cock, tension building at her core as she moaned and panted. Their eyes met and with a sexy smile Joe said, “Come for me baby. Come all over my cock.” That was all it took to push Tina over the edge. Feeling her walls flutter around him, Joe finished at the same time. Their foreheads pressed together as they rode their waves of passion. He wrapped his arms around her, holding her as their breathing returned to normal. She smiled and kissed him softly, then climbed off his lap, pulled her pants up and sat back in the passenger seat. Joe fixed himself as well and sat there looking at her in amazement.

“So you liked the game, I take it?” She burst out laughing, swatting him with her terrible towel. “This was the perfect date. I’m not sure you’ll ever be able to top this.” He shot her a sideways glance as he started his Jeep. “Don’t ever underestimate me Tina. I plan to blow your mind and claim your heart.”

She smiled. He had already succeeded at both.

[buckychristwrites]

Two Wrongs Make It Right | OS | p.p.

Pairing: Peter Parker x Reader

Summary: Peter's used to being the one doing the saving, but on what he assumed would be one of the hardest nights of his life, the rescuing of a stranger makes the whole thing worth it.

Word Count: 4.4k

Warnings: So fluffy

A/N: Hey! Been a while since I’ve written for my favorite Petey boy. This is for @upsidedownparker‘s 5K Writing Challenge! Thank you to Kath for letting me participate. The prompt I wrote for is Fake Dating!AU! Let me know what you think! :)

Masterlist

In hindsight, Peter had no one to blame for being in this situation except himself.

He mailed in the RSVP. He bought the gift. He rented the suit. And then, for reasons beyond even his understanding, he showed up at the wedding.

And now he was sitting on the bride’s side, waiting for the ceremony to start while trying to hide the fact that he could not for the life of him stop fidgeting. He still couldn’t figure out why he listened to Tony when he told him to come to the wedding out of spite. It seemed like good advice at the time, but now it just seemed silly. Who’s really being spited when you actually accept the pity invite from your ex-girlfriend of almost four years who cheated on you with the man she’s marrying?

The little chapel was packed, Peter noticed as he scanned the room. If he had to take a guess as to how many people were in attendance, he’d say about sixty people, seventy-five maximum. Which isn’t a terrible number. Although, with the help of Tony, he could’ve gotten around two hundred or more people there. Hell, he could’ve invited no one except his coworkers, who happen to be the Avengers by the way, and it would’ve still been cooler than anything the actual groom dished out. Not that Peter was bitter or anything like that. He had a good life, being on his way to getting a masters in biomechanics and engineering. That, on top of being an Avenger, who had time for long term relationships?

Nope, not bitter at all.

“I wish they served alcohol at these things.” The voice spooked him, causing him to jump. Turning quickly, he found you sitting next to him. From the look on your face, he could tell that you were just as uninterested in being there as he was. Your head rolled to the side to look at him. “I mean, the ceremony is just a pregame to the reception right? And pregaming generally involves drinking.” He chuckled.

“Y-yeah, that would definitely make this more tolerable,” He admitted. You huffed slightly, before extending your hand towards him and introducing yourself. He stared blankly at your hand for a second, forgetting everything he knew about talking to another human being.

“Peter. Peter Parker,” He told you as he took your hand in his and shook it. As soon as you pulled your hand away, you looked around the room for a few seconds. Peter looked up at the front again, although after a short amount of time had passed, his eyes trailed over to look at you out of the corner of his eye.

“You here for the bride?” You asked him, although he knew you were just trying to start conversation. You knew the answer by his seat in the room.

“Yeah,” He said, sounding more sullen than he had meant to. The way you rose an eyebrow and tilted your head confirmed you had noticed. “Ex-girlfriend.” You nodded once in understanding.

“Harsh,” You said simply. “But I get it. I’m an ex too.” His eyebrows furrowed together, as he looked around to make sure that he hadn’t messed up and sat on the wrong side of the room.

“Of the bride?” He asked, turning to face you again.

“The groom,” You told him. “I just sat on the bride’s side because I didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of being on his.” The corners of his lips twitched. Peter knew there was more to the story, but just before curiosity got the better of him, the music changed to signal the beginning of the ceremony.

A large lump formed in his throat as he turned to watch the wedding party parade down the aisle, immediately facing forward again once they all had lined up at the front. He stood along with everyone else when the bridal song began, but he didn’t turn to face her. When she came into view, Peter swallowed down a gasp.

MJ looked beautiful, although he had expected her to, as she walked down the aisle. The closer she got to the front of the alter, the harder it was for Peter to breathe. The whole ceremony went by in a blur, as Peter had a hard time focusing on it.

It wasn’t that he was still in love with MJ, because that went out the window a long time ago. It was the fact that he thought that he would be doing better. She played him, fucked him over in a way that no one deserved. He gave her everything and she threw it away. From what people told him, karma would catch up with her in time. But it’s now been two years, and it seemed like things were only getting better for her while things were just the same as they had been for him.

“Do you, Michelle Jones, take Eugene Thompson to be your lawfully wedded husband?” The minister asked.

“I do,” She said earnestly. Flash looked way too satisfied at her answer as he turned to scan the crowd. Peter side eyed his neighbor, and chuckled as you scrolled through your phone, not even bothering with the events taking place in front of you.

“And do you, Eugene Thompson, take Michelle Jones to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

“I do!” Flash said eagerly. He looked through the crowd again, until his eyes landed on you, and then jumped to Peter. They narrowed, and Peter looked away from him.

He zoned out, missing the rest of the ceremony and only being brought back when the crowd began to cheer and applaud. He couldn’t help but glance over at you as you stuffed your phone in your bra and lazily clapped along with the rest of the guests. The newlyweds did the traditional running out of the room while everyone cheered, but Peter was thankful that the reception was in the party center room next door, and that there was no need to move to a secondary location. Or to go outside.

The crowd began to shuffle out of the chapel. When Peter turned to where you were sitting, he found that you were already gone. He suddenly felt slightly lonely as he stood and sauntered out of the chapel with his hands stuffed in the pockets of his dress pants.

The music was loud and boisterous as he entered the reception room, the bass making the floors vibrate beneath Peter’s feet as he walked to his table. The chair tipped backwards slightly  as he flopped down. The music changed as the bride and groom were introduced, but Peter ignored them, staring down at the table instead. He thought about all of the things he could be doing instead of being at this wedding. Studying. Watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Playing video games with Ned. Sleeping. Staring at a wall. Literally anything other than this.

“PENIS PARKER!”

The voice was so loud that Peter thought for a second that it was yelled over the microphone. He slowly turned to see Flash making his way towards him while being scolded by MJ, who was hanging off his arm. But Flash didn’t seem all that concerned.

“Hey, Flash,” Peter said, trying hard to hide his complete discontempt, though his monotone voice made it very unconvincing. He swallowed hard. “MJ.”

“How are you, Peter?” MJ asked in a delicate voice. He shrugged.

“Fine,” He said simply, not bothering to return the question.

“Why’d you come alone, Parker?” Flash said in a mocking tone. Peter began to think of high school, and was now really wondering why he didn’t think this would happen. “You know, the whole point of us giving you a plus one is so you can actually bring someone to the party, not look sad and pathetic when you don’t use it-”

“Why would he need a plus one when his date was also invited?” A cold voice asked. Peter spun to see you standing right behind him, two drinks in your hands as you walked over to the seat next to him and sat down. When Peter looked back up, for the first time in his entire life, he found Flash looking stunned, his mouth hanging open while no words came out. As you scooted your chair so it was pressed against Peter’s and looped your arm through his, Flash stammered in obvious frustration.

“You’re here with him?” He finally blurred out. You stared at him, with a face that read slight annoyance and confusion at the question.

“Was that not obvious?” You asked him. “I know you saw us sitting together at the ceremony, did you think that was a coincidence?” Peter had to give you a lot of credit, because with the way your stories were rolling off your tongue with such ease, he found himself almost believing them.

“Wh-how long have the two of you been together?” MJ asked, fighting to mask the shock of her own. Peter, taking the hint from you when you squeezed his bicep, spoke up.

“About a year and a half now, I believe?” He asked, turning to you. “Right, babe?”

“Two years in September,” You added, as if you were in sync with him. When Peter looked up at Flash, satisfaction filled him as he noticed the color had left his face. Flash leaned down towards you, leaving MJ with an annoyed look on her face.

“Can we talk?” Flash said so quietly that if Peter didn’t have super hearing, he wouldn’t have heard it. Without missing a beat, you looked at Peter.

“No,” You said simply, a bright smile filling your cheeks. It was obvious you were enjoying this way too much. Taken aback, Flash stood up straight again. As he put his arm around MJ’s waist, he didn’t appear to notice the glare she was shooting him.

“Thank you both for coming,” MJ said before grabbing his hand and pulling Flash away. You laughed as you watched them before turning back to Peter.

“Sorry about that,” You said as you took a sip of your drink. “You looked like you could use a bit of rescuing.” Peter shook his head as he took a large gulp of the drink you brought him. Rum and coke. Not a bad choice.

“No, thank you,” He said genuinely. “I’ve never seen Flash act like that before in all the years I’ve known him. Made this whole thing worth it.” You laughed before taking another sip of your drink. A long amount of time had passed before Peter realized he was staring at you. “So I have to ask. What’s the story between the two of you?” Rolling your eyes, you finished your drink before turning to him.

“I dated Flash in college,” You paused to laugh slightly. “For not quite five months.” Peter’s eyebrows met his hairline. He had thought, by Flash’s behavior, that it had been a lot longer than that. You laughed again when you saw his expression. “Yeah, not the longest time but long enough for me to be embarrassed by it.” You folded your hands on the table. “It was in my junior year. I had just gotten out of a bad relationship and really only wanted someone to fool around with. But he wanted more, and I figured what the hell?” You shrugged. “He was crazy clingy and a huge douchebag. I was getting ready to break up with him when he told me he was in love with me.” You shuttered. “That was a rough day. And now every time I see him, he hints that he’ll drop anyone and everyone if I said the word. So the goal for this evening is to not be alone with him at any point ever.” Peter nodded.

“Fair enough,” He said. In the back of his head, he noted to remember to call Ned later to tell him everything he had found out about the man who was the biggest bully in school, once upon a time. You leaned on the table, bringing your hands up to rest your chin on.

“And now I have a date,” You pointed out. “Which makes it even harder for him to corner me alone.” There was a hint of flirtatiousness in your voice that made Peter blush and look away. While you were a complete stranger and he knew nothing about you, there was a sort of comfort in knowing that he wouldn’t have to spend the reception by himself. And he found you incredibly attractive, which didn’t hurt either.

You sat back slightly in your seat, eyes narrowed at Peter.

“So let me guess,” You started, tilting your head. “High school sweethearts. Thought you were going to be together forever.” Peter felt his chest deflate. “And then one day you came home from a long day of work to find the love of your life screwing the biggest asshole on the planet in your bed.” Peter visibly flinched, and you softened a little bit. “Shit. That’s horrible. I’m so sorry it went down like that.” When Peter caught your eye again, he smiled slightly.

“It’s been years. It’s fine,” He said, shrugging. “Besides, you weren’t completely right.” His smile got wider. “I was coming home from class, not work.” For whatever reason, he felt his heart skip a beat when you smiled back at him.

The two of you whispered throughout all of the emotional parent and wedding party speeches, receiving glares from the people sharing the table as well as surrounding tables. But neither Peter nor you cared. It was the only way either of you could get through the never ending compliments of Flash and MJ as a couple.

Soon after the speeches were over, the newlyweds were brought to the dance floor for their first dance. Perfect by Ed Sheeran began to play, and Peter scoffed. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, you turned to him.

“I bet you anything she only picked this song because he turned down all of the other songs she would’ve much rather picked,” You said as you watched them, an amused smile on your face. Peter laughed a little louder than he intended.

“I was just thinking the same thing,” He told you.

The DJ invited everyone else to join them, and he turned to you.

“Wanna dance?” He asked, holding out his hand. You stared at it, and he could see the wheels turning in your mind before you smiled.

“I’d love to,” You said before slipping your fingers through his and letting him lead you to the dance floor.

As you and him got into a groove together, Peter couldn’t help but notice the looks the two of you were receiving from both MJ and Flash, and for a quick second he felt slightly guilty. He didn’t come to the wedding in an attempt to make MJ jealous, and he didn’t go along with your plot to piss off Flash. The last thing he would want to do was ruin their day, even after everything they did to him.

“God, can you stop with the guilty looks please?” You moaned, and the smile on your face let Peter know you weren’t trying to be hostile. “You should be offended and angry. They clearly have an issue with you having a good time, when they fucked you over so bad.” Peter looked away from you. There was no doubting how right you were. The looks on the newlyweds’ faces read confusion and discontempt. It was obvious that they were letting the newfound information of Peter’s relationship status affect their moods. And despite the fact that it was a very elaborate lie, he was still quite pleased by the whole thing.

Your body was pressed against Peter’s and he was painfully aware of it. He knew that you were just trying to make it look realistic to your audience. It would definitely look odd if the two of you danced like a couple of eighth grader’s at the school dance when you were claiming to be a couple of two years. But there was something different about it. Obviously MJ wasn’t the last person he had been intimate with, but this was a level of intimacy that he hadn’t experienced in a very long time.

When the song ended, you planted a kiss on Peter’s cheek before pulling from his grasp, and for a quick second, he felt a sort of void from it.

“I’m going to the bathroom,” You told him, your dress twirling as you spun around and walked away. He watched the way it looked like you were gliding, losing himself for a quick second. The sound of a throat clearing from behind him brought him back to Earth.

“Hey, Peter,” A voice said, and he turned to find MJ smiling at him. He could practically feel his heart fall from his chest.

“H-hey MJ,” He said in the best excited voice that he could muster. Through her kind smile, he could see the discomfort in her face. “Beautiful wedding.” She looked around, nodding in agreement.

“Thank you,” She said distantly before turning back to him. “And thank you so much for coming. It’s...it’s really nice to see you. I wasn’t sure if you were actually going to come.” Peter took this time to look around the room himself. Everything about this conversation was making him uncomfortable.

“I wasn’t either,” He said truthfully, turning back to her with a blank face. She swallowed hard.

“Look, Peter. I just wanna say-” She began, but he didn’t let her finish.

“Don’t,” He said, shaking his head. She opened her mouth to speak again, which only made him shake his head harder. “Really. Don’t.” He knew all she wanted to do was apologize, and he wasn’t really in a position to want to lie and tell her it was all okay and forgiven. While he was over it, for the most part, there was still no part of him that had any interest in forgiving her or reconnecting. He just didn’t have the stomach for it.

She nodded, biting her lip and looking down at the floor. When she looked back up, Peter couldn’t deny the tears in her eyes.

“You look good, Peter,” She told him in a whisper. There was a moment where he just stared at her, his mind running blank, until one face popped into his mind.

“I- my girlfriend. She’s in the bathroom,” He said suddenly, referring to you as he pointed in the direction he had just seen you heading in moments ago. “I should probably go look for her.” Without hesitation, he turned and all but ran towards the bathrooms.

He turned down the hallway just as you were walking out, a look of surprise and confusion on your face. You opened your mouth to speak, but something changed in your face that Peter couldn’t quite understand. Suddenly, you were on him, shoving him against the wall.

“Just go with it,” You said quickly before your mouth crashed into his. His eyes were wide as he stared at you, but then he melted into your kiss. His hands found your hips and his eyes closed once your fingers entangled themselves in his hair. Something ignited in Peter as he deepened the kiss, bringing one of his hands up to hold the side of your head.

“Oh come the fuck on.”

The two of you jumped away from each other as Flash stood with his arms crossed over his chest.

“The only person who’s allowed to get any sort of action at this wedding is me,” He snapped before storming passed you and Peter and throwing the men’s bathroom door open. When the door swung shut again, you turned to Peter and smiled.

“I heard him coming, thought we could give him a show,” You said coyly. “Not bad, Parker.” He was speechless for a minute, his mouth opening and closing a couple of times as he tried to come up with what to say.

“How about we get out of here?” He blurted out accidentally. But when the look on your face was happily surprised and not angry or disgusted, he felt the embarrassment from it wash away. “I could buy you dinner, and we could actually have a fun night and not be surrounded by people we hate.” Considering it, you nodded.

“You know, I think I’d love that,” You told him. “Being petty and pissing Flash off on his wedding day is a great time, but it’s not worth it.” Peter held out his hand, and you took it without an ounce of reluctancy before the two of you walked back through the reception hall. Though he tried his best not to, he couldn’t help but notice MJ sitting at the wedding party table with her chin resting on the palm of her hand, looking around the room in complete uninterest. He thought about letting her know he was leaving, but then decided he didn’t care.

The evening air hit the two of you once you walked out of the wedding hall. Deep purples, pinks, orange and blues painted the sky as the sun was setting. While you walked, the two of you were silent. Peter looked over to find you admiring the sky above, your face awestruck. He couldn’t help but think of what he would’ve missed out on had he decided to skip the wedding. Sure, he wouldn’t have had to relive what MJ and Flash had put him through, but he also wouldn’t have had the chance to meet you, which made it worth it.

“Where do you wanna go?” He asked you, seeing the contemplation in your eyes as you mulled the question over.

“We should just walk for a while and see what we come across,” You told him. There was a long pause before you spoke again. “I almost didn’t come to the wedding, but I’m really glad I did.” You looked up at him. “I’m really glad we had the chance to meet.” Peter sighed in relief.

“I was just thinking the same exact thing,” He told you. The whole night he felt like your thoughts were in sync with his. Which made the experience with you all the better.

“We should get faked married and invite them, see how they react to that,” You said with a mischievous look in your eyes. “That really might push them to divorce.”

“Maybe one day we’ll get really married,” He said before he could stop it, instantly cursing himself. The thought had crossed his mind, but he didn’t mean to say it outloud. That was one fault Peter knew about himself. His filter didn’t always work. The tension that rose in his muscles relaxed the second you laughed.

“We’ll see how this dinner goes first,” You told him. Internally, he thanked every possible spiritual being in the universe that you didn’t punch him or run away instantly.

Within minutes, the sky was dark. Peter found himself growing protective, slipping his coat over your shoulders and pulling you slightly closer to him. Tony had engraved these habits into him, and now he couldn’t stop himself.

“So,” You said, drawing out the word as you looked around at the city surrounding you. Peter looked around with you, as it was obvious you were looking for people. But it was just the two of you for as far as he could see. When you looked back at him, you smiled slyly. “Are we just going to keep walking around, or are you going to stop pretending that you don’t have your web shooter on you right now?” Peter felt his entire body go cold.

“I- I don’t- my what? How- I don’t know what you’re talking about,” He stuttered out, shaking his head and breaking eye contact with you. Gently, you grabbed his sleeve and rolled it up to reveal the bracelet that Stark had made him, the one that turned into his web shooter as soon as he touched it. He stared at it for a few seconds before his eyes looked up to you.

“How the hell did you know?” He asked, slightly afraid. Lifting your hands, you reached for a button on his shirt, and when he looked down he saw that it was unbuttoned and showing the red Iron Spider armor he wore under his shirts. You were gentle as you rebuttoned it closed, tapping it with your fingertips before pulling away.

“Besides, Peter,” You said, your smile growing. “You’re not the only one with secrets here.” As you turned away, Peter swore he saw your eyes turn a piercing red color, but they were normal when you looked back at him. “So are we flying or not?”

Peter thought long and hard for a moment. You were a stranger, who evidently knew one of his biggest secrets. And while he should’ve taken that as sign to run away, there was something about you that told him not to. If you were a threat, you would’ve acted on it already now that the two of you were alone. But the smile on your face was too kind, and the way your eyes glowed in the moonlight made him take a chance. He always loved a good risk.

Before he could think about it for any longer, he activated his web shooter, before grabbing you and pulling you closer.

“Hold tight,” He said. Nodding, you jumped onto his back and wrapped your arms and legs tightly around him. With his free hand under your thigh, he took a deep breath and began to sprint, shooting up a web that sent the two of you soaring through the air. The quiet evening air was filled with the sound of your laughter bouncing off the buildings, which elevated his heart to a level he couldn’t recall it being in a long time. As he shot out another web, a bird began flying towards the two of you. He was about to swerve out of the way, but there was a flash of red and suddenly the bird had moved a few yards to the left. His mouth formed into an O shape as he whipped his head to look at you, but you were looking at the sky, smiling and pretending to not notice. As he faced forward again, he couldn’t hide a smile of his own, despite his best efforts.

It was clear that he was definitely not the only one with secrets here.

And he couldn’t wait to learn all of them.

_________________________________________

Tags

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[bigenderpeterparker]

Homecoming Out (Peter x Ned One Shot)

Ships: Peter/Ned, a tiny bit of Michelle/Liz

Word Count: 2797

Summary: Ned asks Peter to the Homecoming Dance. Peter is thrilled, he just wishes he hadn’t already asked Liz.

Notes: Fluff/Humor and PG rated. I posted this quite a while back but I deleted my blog so I’m just reposting it here.

"I was just thinking, well..." Ned said. "Maybe you'd want to come to Homecoming with me."

"What?" Peter asked. That sounded to Peter like he meant as his date, although he was fairly clueless in these matters.

"Yeah, I mean, if you'd want to," Ned said, looking a little embarrassed.

"No offense... but why?" Peter asked.

"Listen, never mind. Forget I said anything," Ned said. "It was stupid anyway."

Shit, Peter thought. That was not what he meant at all. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was make Ned feel bad. "I just meant like... as a date or like as friend or?" He clenched his hands into fists, trying to will his nervous energy.

"I don't know. Whatever," Ned said, obviously trying to play it cool.

"I mean, yeah," Peter said. "Sure, we could do that." It was bizarre. Though he had had feelings for Ned for... about his whole life, it seemed oddly anti-climatic that Ned would just ask him out like this. Nevertheless Peter's heart was racing really fast. And not just because he finally had an opportunity to be more than friends with Ned, but also because he had already asked Liz. Shit, shit, shit.

"I mean, we don't have to," Ned said. "Whatever, it's cool."

"No, we can go," Peter said. Why had he said that? Of course, he really wanted to go with Ned, but he hadn't just agreed to go with Liz, he had actively asked her out. Why had he done that? Why was he such an idiot?

"So, it's a date," Ned said tentatively.

"Yes, it's a date, totally," Peter said."I was just thinking, well..." Ned said. "Maybe you'd want to come to Homecoming with me."

"What?" Peter asked. That sounded to Peter like he meant as his date, although he was fairly clueless in these matters.

"Yeah, I mean, if you'd want to," Ned said, looking a little embarrassed.

"No offense... but why?" Peter asked.

"Listen, never mind. Forget I said anything," Ned said. "It was stupid anyway."

Shit, Peter thought. That was not what he meant at all. The last thing in the world he wanted to do was make Ned feel bad. "I just meant like... as a date or like as friend or?" He clenched his hands into fists, trying to will his nervous energy.

"I don't know. Whatever," Ned said, obviously trying to play it cool.

"I mean, yeah," Peter said. "Sure, we could do that." It was bizarre. Though he had had feelings for Ned for... about his whole life, it seemed oddly anti-climatic that Ned would just ask him out like this. Nevertheless Peter's heart was racing really fast. And not just because he finally had an opportunity to be more than friends with Ned, but also because he had already asked Liz. Shit, shit, shit.

"I mean, we don't have to," Ned said. "Whatever, you know."

"No, we can go," Peter said. Why had he said that? Of course, he really wanted to go with Ned, but he hadn't just agreed to go with Liz, he had actively asked her out. Why had he done that? Why was he such an idiot?

"So, it's a date," Ned said tentatively.

"Yes, it's a date, totally," Peter said.

Aunt May opened the door. "Everything okay in here?" She had been suspicious lately because Peter had been going out at all hours for Spider-Man related matters.

"Yeah, everything's okay. Totally. Why wouldn't it be okay?" Peter said. The more nervous he got, usually that meant the more he talked.

"Because you're being weird," Aunt May said. "But I won't ask. Teenage boys, who gets them?"

"Oh, he's just embarrassed because I just asked him to Homecoming," Ned said.

"Yes, thank you Ned. I really wanted to come out of the closet that casually," Peter said.

"Oh, sorry, I mean... We all knew Peter," Ned said.

"Yeah, like literally we all knew," May said. "Even Tony Stark knows."

"Even Tony Stark?" Peter said. Oh, man. He wondered what Tony thought. Would it be weird? No, Tony wouldn't care. "Like everyone knows?"

"I mean, people just kind of assumed," Ned said.

"Why? How did everyone know when I never told anyone? Anyone but..." Oh. "I told Michelle," he said, putting the pieces together.

"I honestly thought you were like, out or something," Ned said.

"Well, I guess I am now, whether I like it or not," Peter said.

"People were going to find out when we went to Homecoming together," Ned pointed out. He seemed kind of hurt.

"Yeah, I just... I thought it would have been cooler if we just showed up together and like maybe danced or made out or something," Peter said.

"I don't want to hear this," Aunt May said, throwing her hands up and leaving Peter's room. "Keep the door open!"

May was driving Peter and Ned to Homecoming. Liz had said she would meet Peter there. Peter was an idiot and didn't tell either Ned or Liz about what had happened. His hands were sweating and he was visibly nervous. Ned held his hand. That only made Peter more nervous.

"Okay, kids. Have fun and stay safe," May said.

"Stay safe? What does that mean?" Peter asked.

"I don't know, Peter. It's just an expression. I'm sure you're not going to get into any trouble at a high school dance," she said.

"Yeah, sure. I'm not going to get in any trouble," Peter said, lying through his teeth. He was totally one hundred percent screwed.

"Ned, I love your hat," May said.

"Thanks, it makes me feel more confident," Ned said.

"You rock that hat," May said.

Peter thought the hat was a little weird, but he said, "It's a good hat."

Peter let go of Ned's hand, pretending it was so he could get out of the car and not so that no one would see them. There was absolutely no way this was going to work out. He was going to have to tell Ned... No, he was going to have to tell Liz. He was going to have to do something. Maybe he should ask Michelle for help. As annoying as she was, she was generally helpful with just about everything. That had been part of why she had been the first person he had came out to. Of course, she had immediately told everyone and he couldn't trust her, but other than that she was a good option. If she would even come to something as stupid as a school dance.

"So, like what do people do at dances?" Ned asked.

"Umm..." Peter said. "Dance? Drink punch? Hang out with their friends?" That could work. Maybe if the three of them hung out as a unit no one would get suspicious. It could work, right?

"Let's get some punch," Ned said. "Do you think it's spiked?"

"Who would spike the punch at a high school dance?" Peter said naively. They got some punch and Peter sipped his nervously. Ned drank a whole red solo cup at once.

Peter spotted Liz with Michelle. So she was here. Maybe just in some elaborate ploy to humiliate him? It didn't matter, he had that covered all on his own. Michelle looked really nice, wearing an orange dress that looked like it belonged on someone else. Of course, Liz was dressed to the nines. And Peter hadn't even brought her a corsage. Shit.

Liz and Michelle waved at them. Peter waved tentatively. This could be okay. If no one knew Ned liked guys, it wouldn't even be weird that they were hanging out together. They always hung out together, right? Ned waved at the girls happily. He still had no clue what was going on.

"Should we go talk to them?" Peter asked.

"Sure," Ned said.

They walked over to the girls and Liz hugged Peter. "You look great," she said.

"Thanks, so do you," Peter said. Oh, God. He didn't know proper dating protocol straight or gay and he was supposed to be doing both in one night.

Liz pulled away from the hug. "You look great, too, Ned. I like the hat."

Ned smiled proudly. He looked like he was having a great time. Peter's heart hurt. Why had he lied to Ned? "Hey, listen. Liz I'll see you in a minute, I uh... just have to go talk to Ned for a minute. Over there. In private."

He had to tell Ned what was going on, even if it hurt. Even if it broke them up before they were even really together. He couldn't lie anymore. He wasn't good at lying or keeping secrets. Ned already knew he was Spider-Man. It seemed like Peter couldn't keep anything from him.

"Okay, what did you want to talk about?" Ned asked.

"Okay, there's something I really should have told you before I agreed to go to the dance with you," Peter said.

"Oh, I see," Ned said. "Is it the hat? I'll take it off if you want."

"No, it's not the hat. I like the hat, really," Peter said. If Ned liked it, so did he. "It's just..."

"You're not ready to come out?" Ned asked.

"Well..." Peter said. That was sort of what he had been thinking? Kind of? "It's not that it's..."

"Oh my God, Peter it's my favourite song, come dance with me!" Liz said, grabbing him.

"I uh... I'll get back to you on that one," Peter said to Ned, allowing Liz to pull him away. Not necessarily because he wanted to dance with Liz but it was an opportune moment to chicken out of the conversation with Ned. He didn't want to hurt her feelings either, but it would be worse for him to hurt Ned. Ned... he loved. Like... loved loved.

It wasn't a slow song, which was partly good because he didn't have to slow dance with Liz while Ned watched. However, Peter had no clue how to do anything other than slow dance, and this was some sort of hip hop song. "Come on, just move your hips!" Liz said. And then she was touching his hips and Peter was panicking.

"Liz, there's something I should really tell you," Peter started. It was going to be a really long night. He wondered if Ned was mad at him who Ned would get a ride home with. Would Peter have to get May to pick him up early because he had royally screwed up everything?

"It's okay, Peter, really," Liz said. The music was booming and it was hard to hear. "You don't need to explain. I understand," Liz said.

"See the thing is, I don't think you do understand..." Peter said. The song finished.

"Why don't you go hang out with Ned?" Liz asked. "I'm going to hang out with Michelle for a bit."

"Really?" Peter said. Why would she say that? "That actually sounds like a really great idea." Maybe he didn't have to tell Liz just yet. Ned first, Liz after. And if things blew up in his face... Well that, would just be the way things had to be. "I'll catch you later."

Peter pretty much ran over to Ned. "Hey, sorry about that..." Peter started.

"It's okay, I don't mind," Ned said. And it seemed he really didn't. "But what we're you going to tell me?"

"Actually..." Michelle said, popping out of nowhere. "There's something I want to tell you."

"Oh, no," Peter said out loud, even though he only meant to say it internally.

"I told Liz about how you were going to the dance with Ned, and now Liz is my date," Michelle smiled evilly.

"You mean... You're on a date with Liz, I am not on a date with Liz, and I am on a date with Ned?" Peter asked.

"Yes?" Ned said. "I mean, that's what I thought was happening."

"Good, good," Peter said.

"What did you think you were here with Liz, too?" Ned asked.

"It is probably best that I don't answer that," Peter said.

"Oh," Ned said, looking disappointed. "If you didn't want to go with me, you could have just told me."

"No, it's not that," Peter said. "I just... I asked Liz out first and then I wanted to go with you and I didn't want to hurt Liz's feelings and I didn't want to hurt your feelings, and it's complicated."

"I don't understand what's so complicated about it," Ned said. "Either you like me or you don't. Pick one."

"I like you Ned," Peter said fervently. "I mean, I really like you. Like a lot."

"You're a moron, Peter," Michelle said. "He's trying to say he's in love with you."

"Michelle can you maybe just not tell literally all my secrets to everyone?" Peter asked irritably.

"Peter is that true? Are you in love with me?" Ned asked.

Peter took a deep breath. "Yes, I've been in love with you since we were kids."

"We're still kids," Ned pointed out. "We're fifteen."

"Okay, then since we were younger kids. But really, I don't think that's the part you should be focusing on." Peter didn't know if Ned loved him back, and maybe he didn't need Ned to love him yet, but he needed to know Ned cared and that he wanted to be "a thing".

"Okay, well I love you, too," Ned said.

"God, that was hard," Michelle said.

"What was hard?" Ned asked.

"Setting you two morons up," Michelle said.

"You set us up?" Peter asked.

"Obviously. You two couldn't do it by yourselves, someone had to," Michelle said.

"That's... oddly nice," Peter said.

"Thanks, I did it out of the kindness of my heart," Michelle said.

"Thank you, Michelle. That is so kind of you," Ned said.

A slow song started playing. "I've got to go find Liz. You kids have fun." She gave them finger guns.

"Uh, do you wanna dance?" Peter asked.

"I mean, we could if you wanted to," Ned said nonchalantly.

"Yeah, let's do it," Peter said. He moved closer to Ned. "Uh... do you want to lead or should I?"

"Doesn't matter," Ned said.

"Okay..." Peter said. "I'm just going to put my arm around your waist."

"Okay," Ned said. "You could do that."

Peter's arms weren't particularly long and Ned wasn't the smallest guy, so the ended up pressed right against each other. Ned put a hand on Peter's back. "Yeah, okay, that works..." Peter said. They danced like the horribly awkward fifteen year olds they were. Peter wasn't sure, but he felt like he could hear people talking about them around them. Flash Thompson would probably have something to say. Peter didn't care.

The music stopped and Peter was a bit relieved because of his nerves, but a bit disappointed. It was kind of nice being so close to Ned.

"It's time to announce Homecoming King and Queen!" Liz said on stage. Peter wondered why they had chose her to be the announcer. Did that mean she wasn't winning Homecoming Queen?

"And the Homecoming King first is..." Liz said, pulling open the envelope. "It's Ned Leeds!" She clapped and smiled enthusiastically. Someone whistled and the crowd seemed to be generally approving. Peter hoped they weren't making fun of Ned.

"I'm Homecoming King?" Ned asked.

"It must be the hat," Peter said. "Go on. You're supposed to go on stage."

"Okay, yeah," Ned said, going on stage. Liz put a sash on him that said "Homecoming King."

"Wow, thank you," Ned said. He looked so happy. A couple of the boys laughed. Peter thought about how he could kick their asses and they didn't know it.

"And now for Homecoming Queen!" Liz said. She was laughing to herself. She read from the envelope. "Peter Parker!"

"What?" Peter said out loud. Everyone was staring at him. "I'm not a girl," he said.

"Okay, Homecoming King Number 2," Liz said. "You're Ned's date, right? Come on up."

Some people were laughing and some people were clapping. Peter went on stage anyway. He wasn't really sure he liked the idea of being called the Homecoming Queen, but it was sort of cool that he and Ned were voted in. Even if it was a joke.

Ned smiled up at Peter proudly.

"I'm not going to make you wear the tiara," Liz said. "I wanted to make a speech, though."

"You're not even Homecoming Queen!" Michelle yelled from the crowds. "Not your moment!"

Liz ignored her. "I want to say that the Homecoming Queen and King trend is both heteronormative and assuming everyone has a binary gender, and that's wrong. With that, I would like to present to you, your Homecoming Kings!"

[stunudo]

BAU Prep School AU

A Criminal Minds Fan-fiction

Competition

Welcome to the Frederick Buchanan Institute located in scenic Quantico, Virginia, a senior high academy that shapes the best and brightest minds. Its motto is “Behavior, Analysis, Unity,” the mascot the Submariners, colloquially “the Unsubs”. The small school supports the most accomplished faculty from across the country. 

Feb. 11, 2017 8:49pm Winter Formal

The entire room had frozen around her, the music a distant throbbing as her eyes fell on the pair. Lizzie didn’t know what to do, she wanted to scream at him, call him out in front of everyone. She needed to run. The traitorous tears had started falling before time returned to her. Her corsage scratched against her cheek as she tried to brush away the downpour. She wrenched it from her wrist and dropped it as if it had grown arms and legs that had somehow offended her.

“Typical, Lizzie, of course no one is your friend for you,” She berated herself. “He just wanted to get into the fancy school dance, wanted to flirt with all the rich girls.” She didn’t know where she was going, but she was marching out of the gymnasium with a zeal that would have impressed the Speed Walking team, if the school had such a thing. She was muttering under her breath when Nurse Callahan stopped her.

“Whoa there, where’s the fire?” She asked jokingly, until she saw the state of the young woman. “Lizzie, is everything alright?”

“Yep, fine, Nurse Callahan,” Lizzie sniffed back the tears and postured her bare shoulders. Kate couldn’t remember the last time Lizzie had worn makeup, this was a special night for her and something had wrecked that.

“Do you need an escape plan?” She asked knowingly, tossing her arm over the girl’s shoulder, conspiratorially. “Because, I will have you know, that my office is a perfect place to hide from life or, bad dates?” She guessed.

“It wasn’t even supposed to be a date, the only way I got him to come was in a group.” Lizzie admitted. “Why are boys so shallow, Ka- Mrs. Callahan?”

“They’re not all that way,” Kate squeezed her arm, despite the height difference Lizzie felt protected. “I know it’s hard, but everyone is so confused on what they want at your age. Find a guy who likes your fire more than he likes your body.”

“But what if I want him to like my body too?” Lizzie mumbled.

“In order for that to work, there’s gotta be trust. Don’t waste your time on people who can’t see all of you.” She grabbed the lanyard from her neck and unlocked the door. She held the door open for the burdened teenager and flipped the light switch.

“Take your time, I’ll check on you when the dance is wrapping up.” Kate made sure Lizzie was situated before turning to leave. “I’m serious, just yesterday Coach Jareau needed a break. That couch does wonders.”

“Thanks, Nurse Callahan.” Lizzie fell sideways and stared at the wall of quotes and baby animals.

Kate returned to chaperoning, letting Penelope know that Lizzie was in her office. Women understood the devastation of dance drama best. After a good, solid cry, Lizzie sat herself back up. She headed into the private bathroom to straighten out her face.

February 24, 2017 4:02pm Charlottesville, VA

The caravan of SUVs and minivans pulled into the assigned parking lot on the college campus. Zachary had fallen asleep, but one of his earbuds had fallen out allowing the rest of the car to listen to James Earl Jones’ voice reading from the Bible. Ms. Blake was appreciating the cadence and gusto as she clicked open her seat belt.

“We’re here,” Alex rolled her shoulders and started opening doors before ending at the rear hatch where the coolers were stored.

The teen-aged participants grumbled in their seats as they woke from their short naps. Six students had progressed to reach the State competition, blowing everyone away was little Zachary Henkle. Kimi Dalton, Sacha Kane, Trevor Malcolm, Amelia Turner and Jake Hernandez rounded out the little troupe.

Ms. Garcia bubbled over to their coordinator, leaving Dr. Reid in the passenger seat of her massive car. “Are we settling in or just taking a knee?” The be-dangled counselor asked, clearly picking up some sports lingo from her boyfriend.

“Well, er,” Alex started, scratching the back of her neck. “I think we have allotted tables inside the Center. They will be our base of operations for the weekend.”

“I brought signs and name tags,” Penelope explained. “This way we can keep track of everyone.” She opened her canvas bag showing off her eye-numbing neon signs.

“If you can get anyone to wear those, sure, Penelope.” Alex placated. “Didn’t Reid ride with you?”

“He’s finishing up the rule book, only had like fifty pages to go,” Penelope waved towards her car.

“Well, at least someone read it,” Alex muttered, shoving her hands in the back pockets of her jeans. “Un-subs! We will drop off our bags at the hotel later, for now let’s get situated outside the auditorium.”

The students tossed their luggage back in the trunks as they listened. The few parents that came along also respected the teacher’s authority and listened intently. The winter chill nipped at the poorly dressed students, hoodies and letter jackets hiding bunched fists.

“Dr. Reid and I are required to attend a supervisory orientation this evening. I trust you all, will listen to Ms. Garcia and the parents who came down early, while we are away. After that, you will have free time at the hotel until lights out at ten o’clock.”

“Ms. Blake?” Zachary’s hand caught her eye first. “If our parents aren’t here, do we have a shared room?”

“Yes, Zach,” Alex answered in her same booming voice. “Students may stay with their family members. Dr. Reid will supervise the boys’ room and Ms. Garcia will stay with the girls.”

“Good thing, Michel didn’t come.” Jake muttered to Kimi as the group started making their way across the parking lot.

“I’m pretty sure Ms. Garcia would have made sure they had their own room, Jake.”

“That’d be nice.” The boy admitted.

“Creating safe spaces isn’t easy, loves.” Ms. Garcia whispered to the pondering competitors. “Are you excited for tomorrow? I love a good debate, well, not really. I like winning debates. Does that count?”

The teens laughed, their guidance counselor loved to keep them entertained.

March 7, 2017 3:45pm

The pitch was still damp with the late winter rains, naked of chalk, gleaming in the fading light. JJ held her clipboard in front of her as she paced, waiting for the girls to change and meet her outside. A new season of soccer was underway, tryouts lasted two weeks, starting this afternoon. With her mind on the pool of players, JJ lined up the school’s balls in a daunting row. Thirty seven names were on the sign up sheet from outside her office, three were boys and four were mildly comedic and terribly immature imposters. She put out thirty three navy and white balls, to be safe.

She didn’t start the tryouts with a heated inspirational speech. She just explained her expectations for the day and kept the students moving. Twelve of the team from last spring had returned and another seven that had been cut had put themselves back out there for another round of scrutiny. The rest were new faces, freshman and sophomores that hadn’t tried out last year. JJ was impressed and slightly apprehensive about the large numbers. Cuts were hard, but necessary.

After an hour of warm ups, drills and sprints, JJ was ready to get down to business. She evenly divided the returning players with the new recruits, preparing them to scrimmage.

“Hannah, I want you to lead the Blue Squad and Camille I want you to lead the White Squad.” Coach JJ explained. “You have five minutes to set your line ups and I will whistle when we are set to start.”

The girls broke off into excited huddles as JJ sauntered over to her bag and camping chair. Seltzer water had become her best friend over the past month and she downed half a bottle while the players organized. Her features were pink in the late afternoon chill, she seemed to have lost what little meat there was on her face. She checked her watch, time to release the hounds.

“Un-subs!” Her voice sliced across the field. “To your positions. We will have a quick scrimmage. All players must be subbed in if they are not starting. Fifteen minute quarters, to ensure your captains are able to make those substitutions.”

She hiked to the center of the field, lined with orange cones as Anderson wouldn’t lay down the paint for a few more weeks. The whistle hovered over her lips, she eyed the forewords, nodding to the White Squad that they could call the coin in the air.

“Heads!” A chirping voice called out.

“Its tails, Blue Squad, choice?”

“Blue Squad will receive, Coach.” Little Cissy Howard parroted Hannah’s instructions.

“Very well, line up.” The whistle finally peeled into the gloaming.

March 8, 2017 7:22am

Coach Morgan was running behind, having left Penelope’s house later than normal. She was quite distracting in the morning and as she didn’t have a class full of students waiting on her first period; a terrible influence. He by-passed his usual stop in the main office and jogged down the corridor towards the gym and eventually, the weight room. Lifting in the morning was his favorite class, the students were too tired to be chatty and it got the bulk of the supervising out of the way. It didn’t hurt that he practically dictated his own schedule each year.

He slipped inside the locker room to change for class, always ready with a “go-bag”. As he rounded the corner he caught the hulking form of Andrew Heathridge bending over the bench. But he wasn’t tying up his trainers, his foot was bare and he had a syringe in his hand. Derek did a double take as the door finally closed, signalling his arrival.

The muscular boy stood up quickly tossing the needle into a corner of the lockers.

“Heathridge?” Coach reprimanded.

“Coach?” His voice startled, shame clouding his features for a moment before he reset his eyebrows.

“Do you want to tell me what I just saw?”

“No, sir.”

“You and I are going to have a talk after school, man.” The other weightlifters had started filing in behind the awestruck Coach. Andrew remained silent, but he rolled his eyes and went back to his sock and shoes. Derek Morgan was heartbroken.

March 10, 2017 9:37pm

“Alright, but remember that one time you tried to serve him store bought gelato and he nearly threw it back at you?” Alex was laughing so hard that the tears were collecting in her crow’s feet.

David Rossi nodded solemnly then shook his head, “I mean, I probably spent more on the stuff in the package than I do on ingredients, but Jason knew!”

Haley was laughing just as hard as Alex and Stan, Jordan’s husband. Aaron smirked as he sipped his bourbon. Chef Rossi had some of the old timers and the headmaster over for a dinner, letting the memories of Jason soothe over the rough way he was sent off.

“I remember him telling us, once, that his great uncle was an executive for some movie production company in Chicago?” Hotch asked Rossi for verification.

“Believe it or not, that wasn’t a lie. He has some old reels of Chaplin that he puts on sometimes.” Dave admitted. “God, what is he going to do with himself now?” Instinctively, his eyes wandered to Allie for an answer.

“Don’t look at me,” Alex teased. “I lost Jason and the house, remember.”

“You hated this house,” Dave shrugged.

Haley sensed some wine-fulled nostalgia changing the topic. “So what was Jason like, before, when he was married?”

“Night and day,” Jordan piped in. “He smiled, he was courteous. Still impulsive and perhaps even more reckless.”

“Before his wife left him, Jason was a decent guy, thriving on knowledge and sharing those discoveries.” Stan explained in a broad baritone.

“Has anyone heard from Stephen?” Hotch asked, cautiously.

“I get semi-regular updates. But nothing since,” Dave finished his glass. He stood making his way to the beverage cart he had in the sitting room. “Can I get anyone anything? I’m up.”

“Actually,” Aaron eyed his beautiful wife. “We should probably get going. The babysitter is waiting.”

Dave and Jordan shared a knowing smirk. “Uh-huh, sure.”

“Thank you so much for having us!” Haley stood enthusiastically hugging the old chef. “You really do have a nice house.”

“Mansion, but thank you, my dear.” Rossi teased. He shook Hotch’s hand at the door.

Jordan and Stan helped Alex clear the glasses before heading home. Alex sighed as she looked back at the circular drive illuminated like a beacon, a lonely castle in the night sky. She never really hated the house, it just held too many memories to live in it any longer. It was better to visit, rarely.

March 13, 2017 7:18am

Dr. Reid found Coach Morgan in the Main Office before school, his shoulders hunched in his FBI windbreaker. The inquisitive man didn’t know how he was going to explain his impulse to offer to help with an athlete, but something had put his feet in motion. Perhaps it was everything that had happened to students this school year, perhaps it was a distraction. Whatever it was, it wasn’t leaving Spencer Reid to sit by the wayside.

“Coach?” Spencer said, despite his croaking voice.

“Hey, Reid. What’s up?” Morgan’s full attention was now on Spencer.

“Listen, I heard, about young Mr. Heathridge,” Spencer began as Derek nodded. “I was wondering, maybe, if I could talk to him?”

“Uh, sure, I guess. But Reid, what exactly do you know about the situation that I don’t?”

“Though I am sure you are versed in the lasting effects of such doses, I may be able to appeal to him on a different level.”

“And what level is that?” Derek straightened his posture, eyeing the science teacher now.

“As an addict.” Spencer let it sink in. “Now, obviously I wasn’t taking steroids or performance enhancers, if, we are being generous. I have a problem with Dilaudid, which is like heroin. I know what its like to take something to make life easier.”

“Wow, man. How long have you been clean?”

“Three years, seven months and eighteen days.” Spencer said instantly.

“So right before you started teaching?” Derek said after a few moments of heavy silence.

“Pretty much.” Spencer waited.

“Does anybody know about this?” Derek asked gently.

“Hotch does, President Strauss, uh, found out, and I am sure some of the students do, or have guessed.”

“Let me think about it?” Derek answered finally. “I want to help Andrew, but I don’t want to leave you vulnerable, if it backfires.”

“Derek,” Spencer said, was this the first time he had used the coach’s first name? “I need to help. I can’t let another student falter, not when I could have done something.”

“Okay, man.” Derek smirked in admiration, patting Spencer robustly on the back.

Very Special Thanks to Cassie @mentallydatingspencerreid,

Meg @imagicana , and Loki @ay-nako!!!

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@loadingdelete

[imaginexmeintheuniverse]

Promposal

@buyreputationbytaylorswift requested: "Female!reader ask MJ to the prom with the help of peter and ned"

Pairing: Michelle Jones x Fem!Reader

Warnings: None

Word Count: 1, 818

Summary: Asking Michelle to prom is not as easy as you thought it would be...

Tags: @coltcas

Masterlist

A/N: This is long overdue I'm sorry it took so long for me to complete this request but I think I'm finally getting over my writer's block so I hope you enjoy this!

You're not quite sure what you'd call your relationship with a certain mysterious, intellectual loner- who was ironically enough, one of your closest friends. Nothing was ever made official between the two of you, but it had certainly crossed over the platonic line. Everything always happened behind closed doors with you and Michelle.

You've wanted to ask her to be your girlfriend for so long now, but you also didn't want to ruin what you had by freaking her out. What you had now was good and you told yourself that knowing her, even if you were official, not much would change since she probably isn't a huge fan of PDA, but you're okay with that because neither are you. However, you couldn't continue lying to yourself and minimizing how strong your feelings for her had become; you're ready to take the next step and if she's not on the same page now, how were you guys going to remain friends at the very least, past graduation?

You don't want to force her into any commitments she's not ready for, so you think there's no harm in asking her to prom as the first step. Brainstorming for ideas, you research promposal videos online for inspiration, while keeping in mind what would be best suited for Michelle. She probably wouldn't want something too public or in-your-face, but you feel like she would secretly appreciate a grand gesture of some sort.

You've got it! You've a got a plan and you can hardly wait till the next day to ask her.

You barely slept. The excitement of it all was too much and you stayed up all night working on the banner. You weren't as good of an artist as MJ is, but you're pretty proud of your work.

You made a banner with a bunch of cute caricatures, much like she likes to draw, with a message scrawled on it asking her to prom. You're standing under where it hangs in the hallway, waiting for her to pass by on her way to her first class. Everything is set up exactly how you want it to and you see her down the hall, walking towards you. Before you can call out to her, you here a girl squeal in excitement.

"Oh my gosh! You did all this for me?!" The girl's boyfriend looks dumfounded as she launches herself into his arms. He doesn't have a chance to protest before she exclaims, "Yes, yes! I will go to prom with you!"

Everyone around you claps for the happy couple and you're left burying your face in your hands wondering how the hell that could've possibly gone wrong. You lift your face at the sound of a groaning Michelle standing next to you.

"I know," she says. "It's so cheesy I can't watch either."

You're left speechless and semi-broken hearted as she walks off to class. So that may have not worked out, but you're not ready to give up just yet.

It's game night and the squad is over. Peter took a night off from his double life and came with Ned right after the decathlon practice you all attended. Michelle had some' presidential' business to take care of afterwards, so she'll be joining a little later.

The pizza arrives right before you receive a text from MJ that she's on her way over. Perfect timing, you think to yourself. After checking the masterpiece of a pie you ordered and silently cheering that so far everything was going according to plan, you set it down on the kitchen counter. It has all of Michelle's favorite toppings and it's from her favorite pizza place in town- and you requested it in a heart shape, hoping it wouldn't be too cheesy.

Your promposal attempt with food this morning failed miserably. You had picked up a box of her favorite doughnuts on your way to school and decorated them with the letters to spell out 'PROM?' on them. They looked adorable, and food seemed like the perfect not-too-public way to ask Michelle to prom. However, just when you spotted her at a locker and made a beeline, you were knocked to the ground. Some kid who was carrying a giant model that obstructed his view had bumped into you and immediately started to apologize profusely after seeing what he had done. You let him know you were okay, dusted yourself off, and met MJ at her locker, glad the box of doughnuts didn't go flying when you fell. Unfortunately, the box was shaken up and the icing was smudged all over the place.

Despite this, you weren't ready to give up on food or asking Michelle to prom yet, so you figured third time's the charm and went with the pizza. You go retrieve your markers to write your message to her on the box, but you come back to the pizza to see it being devoured by two hungry teenage boys.

"Peter?! Ned?!" You shout incredulously, horror written all over your features.

"What?!" they ask in unison, mouths full with your promposal.

"Ugh, the universe is against me!" you cry out, looking up at the ceiling.

"We didn't eat all of it! We did leave some for you guys-" Ned says.

"W-We could order another one! On us!" Peter offers.

You know your best friends mean no harm; they're the sweetest guys on the planet, but boy were they oblivious. "That pizza was in a heart shape for a reason; I was going to ask Michelle to go to prom with me." They follow up with chorus of apologies which you accept and then shush them for when it becomes excessive. You worry all these failed attempts are a sign of some sort that you and her might not belong together, that you're not good enough for her. "It's all right guys, I don't think it was meant to be."

"No way!" Ned speaks up. "You two are most definitely meant to be! You're like Leia and Han!"

"Yeah," Peter chimes in. "You're like Sherlock and Watson; you two belong together."

"I don't know..." As much as you appreciate your friends' reassurance, the only opinion about your relationship that really matters is Michelle's.

"We'll make it up to you!" Ned exclaims. He and Peter share a glance and you're not sure whether or not you should deem it worrisome.

"Yeah and I know exactly how," Peter affirms.

You texted her to meet you in the workshop where you, Peter, and Ned like to take apart old electronics to build cool stuff, before academic decathlon practice. You're standing right under the masterpiece, admiring your hard work.

The three of you have been working non-stop the past two days on an LED sign with the coolest effects (courtesy of Ned), Michelle's name having never looked cooler. Specifying the person was important as you learned from your first trial- not that anyone but Peter and Ned would see this. You barely avoided yet another disaster when the sign almost fell onto your head, Peter coming to your rescue with his Spidey-strength and efficiently securing the sign to the wall with his web-shooter. Ned checks the status on the little robot you sent out to greet her, letting you know that she'll be here any second and Peter gets his camera ready to capture the whole thing.

It all happens so fast, you don't even seem to have time to blink before Michelle is standing right in front of you, more expressive than you've ever seen her in public. She stares at the scene in front of her with wide eyes and her jaw slack, lips slightly parted. Her focus shifts from the sign to lock eyes with you. All words leave you sounding like a bumbling idiot, not even directly asking her what you've been trying to ask her all week. "I- uh- well you know- you don't have to- only if you want to-" She cuts off your nervous babbling by gently grabbing your face with both hands and kissing you, leaving you wide-eyed and breathless. "I-Is that a yes?"

She rolls her eyes playfully and nods her head 'yes' before pulling you into another sweet kiss, which interrupted by Peter and Ned's 'awww's. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to ask?"

You're both surprised and extremely happy that she's been wanting you to ask her to prom but there was quite a bit of time left, in fact this was pretty early to do so. "W-Well, I've been trying to ask you to prom all week, but every plan I had kept failing." She raises an eyebrow as though to prompt you to elaborate. "Two days ago when I brought you the box of smushed doughnuts, the icing spelled it out, and then that evening I had ordered your favorite pizza in the shape of heart, but these fools," you eye Peter and Ned who have huge grins plastered on their faces. "They ate the pizza before you got there- A-And the banner in the hallway Monday, that was me- It was meant for you."

"Oh my..." A wave of realization washes over her features. "When I said it was cheesy- I would've loved it if it were for me- from you of course." A relived smile spreads across your face as she takes your hand in hers. "But the whole 'waiting for you to ask me' thing, I wasn't referring to prom..."

"Huh?" You're smile is replaced by a look of utter confusion, further warranted by Peter and Ned running out of the room laughing. You reluctantly turn around to see that they must have changed the words on the sign at the last second to read 'Michelle Jones, will you be my girlfriend? (and go to prom with me?)'

"I'm going to kill those two," you mutter under your breath and Michelle lets out a laugh. You are grateful that they did change the sign since that's what you've really been wanting to ask her; prom was trivial compared to how you felt about her, but it could have also gone horribly wrong.

You're ecstatic it went the way it did, because now you're walking to academic decathlon practice, hand-in-hand with your girlfriend.

*BONUS EPILOGUE*

You enter the practice, still holding hands with Michelle, to quite the scene. Everyone on the team is holding up protest signs, each decorated in various ways to ask you to prom. Michelle lets out a chuckle next to you. "I didn't know whether or not you'd ask me to prom, so I made a few preparations of my own."

"I like that one," you say, pointing to a sign that reads:

Can Y/N agree to go to prom MJ so I can put my arms down? I'm tired

She laughs again, before calling out, "Flash! Stop whining!"

[shbettereveryday]

Day 595 - 597

Bananas and Aniversaries

Life with an SCI can feel like you are on a roller coster.  I have learned that along the way for sure.  Today (Thursday March 8th) is my 1 year 6 month anniverssary from the day I left rehab.  A very important day in which I got on this ride officially.  The inpatient hospital was so controlled and designed for me to succeed with plenty of ups and downs.  Lots of sharp turns and unexpected drops.  We both have come so far in the last 1 ½ years but have so far to go as well especially for me to get to a more complete independence.  I have celebrated big accomplishments and the next day crying over something else.  There have been so many things that we weren’t sure how we would do it but we always find a way. Many days when I start feeling like I just can’t go on but I do.  One day I feel like crap the next day fine.  At least SCI fine which starts with chronic pain and accesibility issues.  As well as dealing with the feeling, as a fellow SCIer in the support group said on Monday, that your life was robbed from you.  It can all make you feel bananas or at least that a banana can set you off.

Wednesday was a microcosm of a lot of that.  While funny now, the story I am about to tell was decidedly not funny at the time.  I had a doctor’s appointment today and we were going to leave at 12:30 for a 1pm appointment.  Changed the schedule of the normal day up a little.  I was prepping dinner for the evening, which often is me cutting up something that Michele made previously, putting in a container often with rice or a potato and a vegetable.  Today I had gotten out all that stuff and the makings for a lunch as well. Doing things in the kitchen can be difficult even with the elevate feature on the chair, which I wasn’t using anyway.  The fun began when the chicken I was cutting slipped off the plate and part fell into my lap.  Crisis averted it seemed, as it didn’t hit the floor for a waiting Basset Hound to happily accept.  This is where it gets entertaining.  As I brought the chicken back to the plate I pushed the plate which pushed the soft cooler I use to take lunch, off the counter and fell just about on the dog's head.  This brought out a yell probably with an expletive that sent the dog running.  As I attempted to pick up the bag, I knocked the empty chicken container on the floor, spilling some residual BBQ sauce that the dog would usually happily lick up, but she was in hiding because my yelling had gotten louder, but just wait there's more to come.  Next, in attempting to pick up the container with a reacher, somehow I knocked a banana on the floor and in that split second I moved the chair backward to get a better angle for the reacher, I backed over the banana, leaving smooshed banana on the floor and in my tire treads.  That was the final straw, letting out a tirade that the dad on Christmas Story would be proud of, and I didn’t say fudge.  This was enough for Michele to stop her shower and run in to help clean up so I didn’t track banana all over the house.  As she did, I sat there fuming, and when she finished and left I sat in the kitchen bawling over the absurdity that is my life sometimes.  It is a horrible feeling to not be able to do things for yourself or to not control things in your life. I know they say not to cry over spilled milk or in this case banana. Sometimes the banana means more than it really is.  Like I said it is funny now and the rollercoaster continues and I celebrate an anniversary that I'm proud of today.  1 year and 6 months of being bettereveryday.

[sophie-summer]

All I need

Universe : Endless Summer

Pairing : Jake x MC

Prompt : Travel

Tagging : @hollyashton and @angelschoices

Author’s Note: I hope I’m still on time for the prompt. I didn’t have too much time in the week, so I had to do this as fast as I could. Sorry if you find some misspell. Enjoy it.

When the cell phone vibrated the second time, I was awake. When the music started, I was about to turn off the alarm. 5:30 am. I wasn’t a morning person, rather I was just the opposite. Everything that was before 10:00 a.m. seemed to me too early and my mood depended directly on the time I got up, the later, the better. But since the night before I was anxious about the trip, suddenly I was the 8-year-old girl who was unable to sleep because of the excitement of what awaited her the next day, and in the few moments of sleep, the only thing present in them, were related to the trip, what would happen and in all the scenes that my mind had imagined being awake. Checking in the calendar the days waiting for the one marked with red letters. So when the time indicated by the alarm arrived I was more than willing to leave the warmth and comfort of my bed.

It seemed incredible, but somehow everything returned to normal, returning only a week had passed, the same time we had to spend there. As it is logical to suppose, we decided to keep the secret, anyway it’s not as if someone would believe anything we said. Time travel, mythical and prehistoric creatures, a tribe of blue people with exceptional abilities? No, I don’t think so, that would definitely have bought the 11 of us a trip to the insane asylum, but not one back.

We didn’t see each other as regularly as we thought, but sometimes I gathered with the girls to catch up, went to games to encourage Sean and Craig, attended some parties together, we managed to have each other class in common. We even had some slumber parties in the apartment where Michelle and Quinn now lived.

But that day was different. The group was never complete, not really. Ever since we came back to the USA, it was always missing a person, someone with blue eyes and a crooked smile. Whose absence always dimmed a little the brilliance of such quietness.

Upon our return, Aliester and Grace, with the help of their influence in belonging to the Rourke and Hall families respectively, were trying to prove Jake’s innocence. However, things were not so simple, it had taken time and still had not been achieved. If he tried to return to the country he would be arrested immediately … as long as the authorities find out. I was not the only one tired of not getting results, and although it was fun to go to Costa Rica in any vacation period, it wasn’t enough, we all wanted things to be resolved.

Jake struggled to hide everything under a lopsided grin and with his unequaled sarcasm, but every time it was time to go home, the fun of his smile wasn’t reflected in his eyes, the glow of them was softened and his sarcasm it became empty.

But that day, that day was different from the others. That day we would finally meet the 12, there in our home. I don’t know how, but Aliester made arrangements so Jake could come a few days undetected, because what was the use of power if you didn’t use it in your own convenience from time to time.

I loved the beach. Everything in it made me feel safe, happy, free … the sand on my feet, the warm breeze caressing my skin, the saltpeter sticking in my nose, the sound of the waves breaking on the shore, the way the water changed its color depending on the sky. Not even all the craziness we went through at La Huerta could change that. So when Aliester gave us the news of Jake coming to the country, one thing led to the other and plans were made.

When I was ready and had assured myself for the tenth time that nothing was missing, I took my things and left the dorm. We’d been meeting in the apartment that Quinn and Michelle shared, there, the bus that we rented would pick us up.

7:15 am. I hurried forward, that 15 minutes late was ensuring a good reprimand from Michelle. The place where they lived was near the campus, so it wouldn’t take me more than 10 min to get there on foot.

“Do you want a ride?” A car pulled up beside me, and in the driver’s seat I recognized Sean.

“Oh! you’re my lifesaver, if I come with you Michelle isn’t going to murder me.” I smiled at him and approached the car. “Will you help me with the door?” I lifted the container.

“Sure.” He reached back to open the door, and I managed as best I could to sit in the back seat.

“Hey Princess.” Every hair on my body reacted before the sound of him voice. Sean and Craig were together everywhere, so I assumed who was in the passenger seat was him, but Jake was the last person I was waiting for.

The last time we saw each other, we had agreed not to continue with our relationship, it didn’t do us any good. I only lived in the few days that we spent the one in the arms of the other, the other days were a blurred intermediate between the times that I went to Costa Rica. He told me that he wanted me to have a normal life, to go out with kids of my age, who go to college just like me. But when he said that he didn’t know that my life without him was not life, that I didn’t care for any other man than him, and that I spent a whole month crying after that.

“Hey Jake.” And I couldn’t say anything else after that.

Almost all of them were there, except for Craig. And we had to wait for him to arrive during two hours. We spent the first 20 minutes joking … after that, well everyone began to despair. In that time we were able to prepare the food that was missing, to go and buy breakfast for everyone and to put our things in the vehicle. There was even time to go and buy the domino game that the boys had forgotten. Finally after half an hour more waiting, Craig showed up with in the apartment with a huge cooler.

“Why the hell did you take so long?” Zahra shouted at once.

“I was looking for something important, babe.” Craig replied.

“What is so important to have us all morning waiting? … and do not call me babe”

Craig’s face brightened with a smile, as if he had been waiting for that specific question. He opened the cooler and out of it he took out a six-pack of beer.

“Booooooze!” He yelled.

“Beer, Craig? Really? “Complained Michelle.

“Don’t worry Meech, I brought everybody’s favorite.”

“You’re already forgiven.” Jake said, patting Craig on the back.

With Craig finally there, there was only one thing to do. We all settled into the seats. I was one of the people who believed that if you went somewhere, the fun started from the time you got up, and that was just what we did. The trip was full of laughter, Craig had to put up with jokes at his expense for being late, and Zahra took care of much of it, we sang at full lungs the songs out of tune, there were many stolen kisses and silly giggles. And many, many photos. Although none of that compared to the looks that Jake and I were throwing during the entire journey. Some things never changed.

The sheen of the sea greeted us when we arrived. The view was incredible. Miles of white sand that contrasted perfectly with the water. Blue and white. And around that, there were numerous palms giving away their shadow here and there. The sky had been stripped of any cloud to let the sea reflect its color with great intensity. I could almost feel the water surrounding me. I just had to take a few more steps and I would be there. Best of all, that part was completely empty.

The boys were in charge of accommodating the heaviest things, chairs, table, the cooler. And we took the food, though Aliester as always didn’t want Grace to raise her own purse. If it hadn’t been for my control, my feet would have led me to the water immediately.

We finished fixing what was missing and did what we most wished, at least I was wanting it more than anyone. I took off my clothes as fast as I could and didn’t resist the temptation any longer. The others soon joined me in the water, except for Estela and Zahra. Each of them looked as happy as I felt.

After a few minutes arguing, Sean, Jake, and Craig headed to the waterfront. Though only Craig could take over of Zahra, it was a good idea that two took over Estela, because despite twisting, fighting and protesting as much as she could, they both ended up in the water.

We spent a lot of time playing, sprinkling water on us and we also tried to make a pyramid, and I say we tried, because on the third attempt Craig thought that maybe I needed a little push to go up, and that’s how Quinn, Grace and I fell on the others in a mixture of hair and limbs. Aliester almost had a heart attack and from that moment he didn’t let Grace take more than two steps if he wasn’t beside her anymore. Raj received a poke in the face from Quinn. And I was the one that had better luck, most of the impact of my fall was caught by Jake, but I knew it wasn’t luck at all. After checking out no one had broken any bones, Michelle made sure Craig thought twice before doing any other nonsense that day.

Afterward, no one had the courage to continue in the water, and with the roaring stomachs we decided to take a break to eat. The food was delicious. And surprisingly, my part wasn’t so bad. When everybody had eaten, some of the guys installed the domino game.

The rest of the afternoon passed the same, for times we went back to the water, went out, played, or just basked in the sun.

Craig fell asleep face down on the sand. And Zahra, believing that no one saw her, laid down on him and stayed like that for a long time. Of course nobody missed the opportunity to make a million photos of that scene. Sean and Michelle disappeared for two hours, and only God knew where they had gone, and what they were doing. Estela and Quinn defeated me and Grace playing Volleyball but it was a lot of fun anyway.

At the end of the afternoon, the bus picked us up again and we prepared to leave that piece of heaven on earth. The return trip wasn’t as energetic as the one out. We were all tired and those who hadn’t fallen asleep already, soon would. Curled up against each other, Michelle and Sean, Craig and Zahra, Quinn and Estela, Grace and Aliester. Raj was sprawled in a single seat, snoring like a tractor.

While it was comforting to feel Diego’s arms encircling my shoulders, I would have given anything for feeling Jake’s instead. To cradle me in his chest. Let him rest his head on mine. And stroked my hair until I fell asleep with the sound of his heartbeat as the only cooing.

“How long do you plan to keep the farce?” Diego whispered in my ear. “Because honestly, the sexual tension between you and Jake is almost visible. Did you see how he undress you a little while ago? Besides, now that you were looking at him you had those eyes of lamb.”

“Diiiego!” I pushed him trying to hold back the laughter. “First, you’re not supposed to say that sort of thing, you’re my friend! Second, it’s already too difficult for me to have to pretend I don’t notice those things and third, I wasn’t looking at him like that.”

“No, that’s exactly the kind of thing I should tell you. When do you think to stop pretending that you’re not dying for each other? And let me tell you that you are not better than him faking. ”

“It’s just that …” I could not find the words to describe how I felt at that moment. “It’s just that we both agreed, and we knew it was not going to be easy for any of us when we saw each other again. Besides he was the one who wanted to finish this, it’s not like having sex is going to fix things, and if he wants everything to be like before, isn’t he supposed to be the one who tells me?

"So, you’re telling me that the only thing that stops you from make it right here is you pride?” He said after a few seconds.

“I’m a fool, ain’t I?”

“Definitely.” His eyes flashed with mischief. “But that’s why you got me.”

“What-” He didn’t even let me finish the sentence. Before I know it, he was on his way to where Jake was. “Wait Diego.” I whispered in vain. From my place I saw them exchange a few words, but I couldn’t understand what they said.

But what happened to these guys? First Michelle and now Diego? Did they want to make my life more miserable than it already was?

A raised eyebrow from Jake and a nod from Diego was all my heart needed to pump blood faster than it’d ever been able to.

Jake stood up. I closed my eyes. I could feel every part of my body vibrate with anticipation. Breathing became a very complicated task suddenly. Air in. Someone settled down beside me. Recognizing his warmth was not difficult for me. Air out. He turned to me. Air in. We weren’t touching. I hadn’t even opened his eyes. But for goodness sake! I knew his eyes pierced every inch of me. Air out.

“I know you’re not asleep, Princess.” I forgot how to breathe. I opened my eyes, but didn’t look at him. “How long are you going to stay this way with me?”

“Like what, Jake?” I turned to look at him.

“Like that!” He said and pointed at me. “I know I’m an idiot.” He ran a hand through his hair as if he did every time he despaired, “You know there’s no way I can be away from you for so long, that the only thing keeping us apart is that I’m still a wanted man. We don’t know when it’ll be solved, damn it, we don’t even know if it’ll ever be solved. That’s why I said what I said, I don’t want you to spend your life waiting for something that may never happen. But I can’t bear a second without touching or kissing y-”

"Then do it.” I said in a slight voice, almost begging him to do it, and It was like he knew the words that were going to go out of my mouth, because when I pronounced them he wrapped me in his arms and kissed me.

I put in that kiss each of the seconds of torture that I had to spend during the day wishing it and his lips responded with the same intensity. At last we became one. This time, nothing would separate us again.

In Jake’s arms, the dream was slowly invading me, with that pleasant fatigue that provides so much fun. A warm tingle gripped my chest. I guess happiness felt like that. And I couldn’t help smiling at that thought before falling asleep.

[persephoneofhades]

Star Trek Discovery Review

I liked it!

Now I’m not gonna ever try to say I’m the biggest Trekkie in the world. I’ve only seen one of the five shows all the way through and that’s the original series. I’ve seen a lot of TNG, one episode each of Voyager and DS9, and exactly none of Enterprise. So I don’t necessarily have the history and knowledge that a hard-core Trekkie might have, but I’m putting my opinions out there, anyway.

I’ve been seeing some people say that the dialogue was clunky and they don’t like the new costumes or the new Klingon design or what the fuck ever.

A) I watch a shit ton of shows on the CW, so bad dialogue and heavy-handed plotlines are ALL I ever see. I’m used to that. This was so much better than anything I ever see on the CW and it’s not like Trek has been known for all of it’s super hard-hitting and expert dialogue anyway. 

B) I don’t honestly give much of a shit about the costumes, but given that the colors got switched around from TOS to TNG and the design completely changed (it even changed DURING the show if I’m not mistaken) and I’m not even sure there’s a reason given as to why that makes much sense. The new creators just... wanted something new and liked it better. So I’m not gonna give DSC much flak for doing the same. Personally, I think these look way cooler than the primary color design. If I had to see the characters in Kirk’s fugly yellow-green puke-ish colored shirt, I’d have been more disappointed, honestly.

C) The reason the Kligon design was massively changed from TOS to TNG is reasoned off by Worf in DS9 with a flippant “We don’t talk about it.” So.... why are we upset that there’s a different Klingon design again? Haven’t the creators actually PROMISED there’s a reason for it that presumably won’t be written off as just a “we don’t talk about it” cultural mutation embarrassment? What’s the big fucking deal? They’re aliens, they look weird, get the fuck over it.

Okay, now that that’s out of the way, here’s some of other thoughts I had.

Phillipa Georgiou died way too fucking soon. Like I get it, the mentor has to die for the main hero to move forward, but Jason Isaacs is gonna be replacing her as Michael’s new mentor presumably, so it doesn’t sit super well with me that a woman of color is getting replaced by a white(ish) man. Especially since we spent all of two episodes with Phillipa so it’s hard to feel the weight of Michael’s loss when Phillipa dies since there’s not as much time to get attached to the character or the relationship as there probably should be for that moment to have the weight they want it to have. 

That being said, I still believe Michael had a major crush on Phillipa and you can definitely tell that the two were really close with what interactions we’re given. But my sadness came more from losing the character’s potential and my major excitement at seeing Michelle Yeoh kick butt in a Starfleet uniform than anything else. 

The decision to have the first two episodes be to set up Michael’s character and jumpstart the Klingon War plot without introducing the Discovery or most of the main ensemble is a risky one. This show is going to rise or fall based on the chemistry of the main cast and everyone knows the ship (or station) is essentially another character in every Trek show. And they’re holding off on showing us these characters presumably to situate Michael as the main character and put her in a specific mindset that’ll define her relationship with the rest of the crew and give her a place to go from. She’s in a very comfortable spot in the very beginning of the series and almost literally hits rock bottom. She’s got nowhere left to go but up and with a war starting, it’s going to be very difficult for her to find a reason to even try. 

I’m invested in Michael’s character, though. For all that some people found her “Vulcan” dialogue somewhat clunky, I think it’s meant to sound off. She’s not Vulcan, so that type of speech will never come easy to her. And all the years with Phillipa on the Shenzhou will definitely have left their mark. She straight-up admits that her more impulsive actions are born of emotion, of trying to save the crew and her Captain, though in the most logical way she can think of. She’s not Spock, half-Vulcan and half-human. She’s not Data, a robot trying to be human or Seven-of-Nine, a human turned machine who’s relearning to be human. 

She’s a human who spent a significant portion of her life being raised by Vulcans, but we can pretty safely assume she remembers her human childhood to some extent. She’s aware that, as a human, she’s not necessarily required to be emotionless and logical all the time the way Vulcans are. This isn’t a part of her biology, it’s an active choice she makes every moment of her life to be “logical.” 

But she also laughs as she goes to the satellite because she’s having fun and the only word she can find to describe the Klingon relic is “wow.” She gets frustrated and worried very quickly when the Klingons show up and shows very clear signs of PTSD that interferes with her “logical” reasoning and causes her to act more impulsively than she might otherwise. And she’s not as cautious as Saru is, who IS biologically required to be cautious, in the same way that characters like Spock, Data, and Seven-of-Nine were biologically required to be more logical. 

And she seems to have lost all ability to really be “logical” in the face of the destruction of all she’s known for the last seven years, the loss of her Captain and friend, and her imprisonment at the beginning of war she started. A war with an enemy she holds a personal grudge against. An enemy she still has nightmares about. So I’m really intrigued to watch how her character reacts once she’s brought back into the war with a new mentor who is far less inclined towards peace and more “tough-love” oriented than her last one was as far as I can tell. I’m invested in watching how she has to regain her sense of self on the Discovery with the new crew.

[weekendwarriorblog]

WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEEKEND MARCH 8, 2019 – CAPTAIN MARVEL!!!

 This is a big weekend for Marvel Studios, as they release their first superhero movie with a female protagonist -- not counting Elektra (thanks for the laugh, Max Evry!) -- and the question is not whether it will make $100 million this weekend but how much MORE than $100 million it will be making this weekend. But that’s a question to be answered over at my gig at The Beat and it will be answered in about an hour...

CAPTAIN MARVEL (Marvel Studios/Disney)

Directed by Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck (Half Nelson, Sugar, Mississippi Grind) Written by Boden, Fleck and Geneva Robertson-Dworet Cast: Brie Larson, Samuel L. Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn, Djimon Hounsou, Lee Pace, Annette Bening, Gemma Chan, McKenna Grace, Lashana Lynch, Clark Gregg MPAA Rating: PG-13

I’m not sure how much more I have to say about the latest Marvel movie after writing about it extensively for The Beat. (You are reading my Box Office Preview there for all the stuff you used to read in this column about the wide releases, right?)

I am greatly looking forward to seeing this on Thursday night for a number of reasons and none of them are due to “old white man hater” Brie Larson, who I used to have respect for until she decided to attack me and my livelihood and ability to get work.

That said, I’ve been waiting for directors Anna Boden and Ryan Fleck to break out and do a big studio movie for many years, as I’ve been a fan of theirs since Half Nelson and have spoken to them a number of times including one of my favorites of theirs, the road trip movie Mississippi Grind, starring Ryan Reynolds and Ben Mendelsohn, who played a much nicer and more sympathetic role in that then he has portraying the villain in many studio movies since then.

I’m also looking forward to Captain Marvel since it introduces to the MCU the idea of the alien races, the Kree and the Skrulls, who have played such a large part in some of my favorite Marvel Comics storylines, including the “Kree-Skrull War” from The Avengers, which certainly could be something being set up in the MCU. I also loved the Skrulls as Fantastic Four villains, and here’s hoping that with the new Disney-Fox merger, we might actually see a GOOD Fantastic Four movie one of these days (or a crossover with Avengers even!)

Anyway, we’ll see whether I feel like writing a review for this on Friday after seeing it on Thursday night, but it’s really tough to be fair and impartial when the star of a movie has already gone out of her way to write you off, due to your gender, race and age.

More importantly, let’s get to some…

LIMITED RELEASES

One of the best movie out this weekend is Oscar-winning Chilean filmmaker Sebastian Lelio’s new movie GLORIA BELL (A24), starring Julianne Moore. A remake of his 2013 Spanish language film Gloria, the filmmaker behind A Fantastic Woman makes his English language debut with Moore playing the title character, a lonely older woman dealing with family issues who goes out dancing on Friday nights in hoping of meeting men. On one such night she meets John Turturro’s Arnold, and the two of them fall into a romance that runs into issues when he finally meets her kids and ex-husband (Brad Garrett).  Although I never did see Gloria, I was pretty blown away by how Lelio told this story, and Moore gives one of the best performances of her career – YES, MUCH better than her Oscar-winning turn in Still Alice. I know that A24 brought the movie to TIFF last year, but for whatever reason, they decided to hold it until March… just like Brie Larson’s Free Fire, ironically enough. Personally, I think Moore has a real chance at another Oscar nomination, but having a movie released so early in the year will make it tough, sadly. I was really able to relate to this movie more than I thought I would but mainly to Turturro’s character.

Another film worth seeking out is Vincent D’Onofrio’s second film as a director, the Western THE KID (Lionsgate), as in “Billy the Kid,” played by Dane DeHaan. The “kid” in the title is also teenager Rio, played by Jake Schur, who is on the run with his sister (Leila George) trying to get away from their abusive uncle (played by Chris Pratt!) Along the way, they meet Billy the Kid, as well as Sheriff Pat Garrett, who has been sent to capture and try Billy.  It’s opening in 250 theaters on Friday, so it won’t be too hard to find, and I’d love to say more wonderful things about it, but I’ve been embargoed. I hope to have an interview with D’Onofrio soon over on The Beat!

Another film worth seeking out is 3 FACES (Kino Lorber), the new film from Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi (The Circle, Offside), who has been banned from making films in his home country but continues to find a way to make films anyway. This one received an award for Best Screenplay at Cannes last year and has played Toronto and New York Film Festivals before opening at the IFC Centeron Friday. Panahi also stars in this drama along with Iranian actor Behnaz Jafari, as they go on a road trip to help a girl whose family has forbidden her from attending a drama school in Tehran, encountering various people along the way. The film continues Panahi’s exploration of combining his personal life with dramatic storytelling in the real world, which I haven’t really enjoyed as much as his straight dramas.

Opening at Metrograph is Black Mother (Grasshopper Films), the new cinema verité doc from filmmaker and photographer Khalik Allah (Field Niggas), which combines portraits of denizens of Jamaica shot on 16mm and HD with audio recordings of them talking about life in Jamaica. It’s a really beautiful film, and this is from someone who generally doesn’t care for cinema verité docs, but this really is a compelling film that’s worth seeing.

Oscar winner J.K. Simmons stars in his wife Michelle Schumacher’s second film I’m Not Here (Gravitas Ventures) playing Steve, as a lonely man who is haunted by memories of his past locked into the objects and sounds around his house. The film also stars Sebastian Stan, Mandy Moore, Max Greenfield, David Koechner and Harold Perrineau, and it opens at New York’s Village East, Los Angele’s Laemmle Monica and in other select cities this Friday. (Simmons and Schumacher will be at the Laemmle for a QnA on Sunday evening.)

Opening at New York’s Quad Cinema Friday is Giacomo Durzi’s doc Ferrante Fever (Greenwich) about novelist Elena Ferrante, who has made waves both in Italy and in America, thanks to a few independent publishers.

Gabrielle Brady’s directorial debut Island of the Hungry Ghosts, winner of Best Documentary at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival, will open at Astoria’s Museum of the Moving Image. It focuses on the residents of Christmas Island off the coast of Indonesia where asylum seekers are held in a high-security detention center and counseled by trauma therapist Poh Lin Lee.

Since I haven’t had a chance to see JC (All Is Lost, Margin Call) Chandor’s new movie Triple Frontier, starring Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund and Pedro Pascal (Narcos) as Special Forces operatives planning a South American heist, I don’t have much to say about it, although I’m sold based on the premise alone. It’s opening In New York and L.A. on Wednesday in single theaters in both places (Sorry, Steven Spielberg!) but it will stream on Netflix a week later on March 13. Maybe I’ll write more about it next week. Maybe not.

Opening at the Film Society of Lincoln Center is the late Hu Bo’s An Elephant Sitting Still (KimStim) which played at New Directors/New Films in 2018.  It involves a teenager who accidentally injures a bully and interacts with various people who are dealing with their own burdens. Actor Zhang Yu will be making appearances before and after screenings including a reception before the 6:30pm screening on Friday.

This week’s Bollywood offering is Sujoy Ghosh’s BADLA (Reliance Entertainment), starring Taapsee Pannu as a young entrepreneur who is locked in a hotel room with the body of her deadl lover, so she calls upon a prestigious lawyer (Bollywood vet Amitabh Bachchan) to figure out how she ended up in that predicament.

REPERTORY

METROGRAPH (NYC):

Ringo Lam X3 continues through the weekend, while Raul Peck X2continues with a screening of Murder in Pacot  (2014) on Saturday. This week’s Late Nites at Metrograph  is Fassbinder’s Love is Cooler than Death (1969), and the weekend’s Playtime: Family Matinees is 1982’s The Last Unicorn, an animated film from Rankin and Bass that was co-created by the Japanese anime studio Topcraft, who went on to form Studio Ghibli – you’ve probably heard of them. The voice cast includes Mia Farrow, Alan Arkin, Jeff Bridges, Angela Lansbury and Christopher Lee, and it’s probably a bit of a lost classic.

THE NEW BEVERLY (L.A.):

Weds and Thursday is the Billy Dee Williams cop double feature The Take  (1974) and Nighthawks (1981), and then on Friday and Saturday, the Bev double features One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest  (1975) and Arthur Hiller’s The Crazy World of Julius Vrooder (1974) (a movie I’ve never even heard of!). Sunday and Monday’s double feature is two Paul Wendkos films, The Case Against Brooklyn and Tarawa Beachhead, both from 1958. On Saturday and Sunday, the Kiddee Matinee is the Australian horse movie Phar Lap  (1983) while the midnight offerings this weekend are Kill Bill Vol. 2 on Friday and The Groove Tubeon Saturday. Grindhouse Tuesday is back with the “Bruce Li” double feature of Soul Brothers of Kung Fu  (1977) and The Image of Bruce Lee  (1978), movies made after Bruce Lee’s death.  (If I lived in L.A., this is where I would be on Tuesday night.) The high school comedy classic Clueless (1995) will screen on Tuesday, as well.

FILM FORUM (NYC):

Starting this weekend, the Greenwich Village theater presents a new 4k restoration of Jack Clayton’s 1959 film Room at the Top, which won Oscars for screenplay and actress Simone Signoret and was nominated for Picture, Director, Actor and Supporting Actress (for Hermione Baddeley’s 2.5 minute appearance in the film). It’s about a working-class guy who sets his sights on the daughter of the boss.The weekend’s Film Forum Jr. is Joe Dante’s 1993 film Matinee, starring John Goodman. Also, author David Thomson will present a screening of Joseph Losey’s 1963 film The Servant on Sunday.

MOMA (NYC):

New month, new Modern Matinees series and for the next two months, it’s a doozy with Modern Matinees: B is for Bacall, showcasing the fabulous filmography of Oscar-nominated actor Laure Bacall. This week, they’re screening the 1954 film Woman’s Worldon Wednesday, Howard Hawks’ The Big Sleep (1946) on Thursday and 1947’s Dark Passages on Friday. (Note that most of these movies will be rescreened later in the series in case you miss them this week.) Also this week is the series William Fox Presents More Restorations and Rediscoveries from the Fox Film Corporation, which features lots of movie from the ‘20s and ‘30s, many of them accompanied with live piano. Wednesday is Hangman’s House from 1928 and 1920’s Just Palsand Friday is 1929’s The Cock-Eyed World and Me and My Gal (1932), and there’s more on Saturday, Sunday and next week.  This is a busy time for MOMA as they’re also presenting Carte Blanche: Mariette Rissenbeek on German Women Cinematographers, which mostly features films from the last 15 years but many which never have received U.S. theatrical releases.

EGYPTIAN THEATRE (LA)

Big weekend for Albert Finney fans as Albert Finney Remembered presents a few fantastic double features including Two for the Road  (1967) and Alan Parker’s Shoot the Moon (1982) on Thursday, the Coens’ Miller’s Crossing  (1990) and John Huston’s Under the Volcano  (1984) on Friday and Tom Jones (1963) and Tim Burton’s Big Fish (2003) on Sunday. The Egyptian’s big event for the weekend is the 7-movie day-long Boris Karloff-Bela Lugosi Movie Marathonon Saturday, which will include Frankenstein, Dracula but some lesser-seen classics like The Raven (1935) and more. If I lived in L.A., this is where I would be on Saturday.

AERO  (LA):

The AERO continues its Hitchcock, Truffaut and Jones series with double features Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much  (1956) and Truffaut’s 1968 film The Bride Wore Black (which I’ve actually seen fairly recently!) on Friday, and Rear Window  (1954)and Mississippi Mermaid (1969) on Saturday. The theater will also have an all-day screening of Sergey Bondarchuk’s 7-hour epic adaptation of War and Peace  (1967) in four parts with two brief intermissions.

QUAD CINEMA (NYC):

The Quad’s still a month away from its 2-year restoration anniversary, but they’re reshowing Bertrand Blier’s Going Places and Luis Bunuel’s Tristana this coming weekend. The former is also part of Amour or Less: A Blier Buffet, a retrospective of the French filmmaker who I’m not even remotely familiar with. (Sorry!) They’re showing eight of Blier’s films before the new 40thanniversary restoration of his 1978 film Get Out Your Hankerchiefs opens on Friday, March 15.

IFC CENTER (NYC)

While Weekend Classics: Early Godard  seems to be taking a weekend off, Waverly Midnights: The Feds  is screening the Wayan Brothers’ White Girls (2004) in a 35mm print! Late Night Favorites takes a break from showing Ridley Scott’s Alien (which celebrates its 40th anniversary this month!) to show David Lynch’s Eraserhead (1977).

BAM CINEMATEK (NYC):

Premiering at BAM on Friday (as well as the Laemmle Glendale in L.A.) is the U.S. premiere of a restoration of Franco Rocco’s 1980 film Babylon, which was banned from the New York Film Festival and never released in the United States. Written by Martin Stellman (Quadrophenia), it stars Brinsley Forde from reggae group Aswad as a dancehall DJ who fights again racism and xenophobia in Thatcher-era London.

MUSEUM OF THE MOVING IMAGE (NYC):

See It Big! Costumes by Edith Head concludes this weekend with screenings of Hitchcock’s The Birds (1963) and Marnie (1964).

LANDMARK THEATRES NUART  (LA):

The Nuart’s Friday midnight screening is George Miller’s Mad Max: Fury Road Black & Chrome Edition (2015).

STREAMING AND CABLE

Season 1 of Ricky Gervais’ new series After Life will debut on  Netflix starting Friday, but there are also a few new movies including Clark Johnson’s Juanita, starring Alfre Woodard as the mother of three who goes on a trip to Montana, plus there’s Conor Allyn’s Walk. Ride. Rodeo., an inspirational drama that tells the true story of Amberley Snyder, played by Spencer Locke from the Resident Evil series, a 19-year-old rodeo rider who barely survives a car crash that leaves her paralyzed from the waist down. So yeah, Netflix is even trying to sidetrack Brie Larson’s Captain Marvel rerelease with other female-led films just like they’re going to try to derail Warners’ Shazam! with Brie Larson’s directorial debut Unicorn Store next month. The struggle continues.

Now available for digital download is Joe Eddy’s Steve McQueen biopic Chasing Bullitt (Vertical), starring Andre Brooks as the legendary actor who in 1971 makes a deal with his agent to let him choose his next acting gig if he finds his Ford Mustang GT 390 from Bullitt. Also available digitally is Dallas King’s action-thriller Kiss Kiss (Cleopatra Entertainment) that follows four strippers who go to a wine tasting that turns into a female fight night. I didn’t make this movie up, but apparently, it’s counter-programming to Captain Marvel.

LOCAL FESTIVALS

On Thursday, the Museum of the Moving Image is presenting the 6thannual Philip K. Dick Science Fiction Film Festival with two programs of short films. Also on Thursday, the IFC Center will kick off Canada Now 2019 with Nicholas de Pencier and Edward Burtynsky’s new doc Anthropocene: The Human Epoch, another globe-crossing from the duo behind Manufactured Landscapes. There will also be other Canadian films that have played in various film festivals north of the border.

Oh, yeah, also South by Southwest is happening in Austin, but I’m not going, so…

That’s it for this week. Next week, Captain Marvel will probably be #1 again, but there are a few other movies hoping at least for second place.

[firethatgrewsolow]

Chapter Fifty-three

**Moving on to Wales … prepare yourself, sentimental fluff ahead.**

Robert shifted in his seat for the third time.  Christ, why am I so bloody nervous?  It had been building since they touched down in Birmingham, their physical arrival a manifestation of all the dreams and promises shared in a land so far away.  This is it.  No turning back.  Not that he’d want to, having finally procured what he’d longed for the past few years.  Will they like their new home?  Will they like it here at all?  As Bella snuggled into his lap, he stayed silent, the thread of apprehension growing larger.

The urban setting surrounding the airport faded away, endless rolling hills taking its place, and Michelle gazed in wonder. Churches that must have been hundreds of years old dotted the countryside, along with cottages likely no younger.  The pictures he’d shown her hadn’t done it justice, unable to capture the pristine beauty of the landscape, now the fabric of a new life.  “This is incredible.  Like a storybook.”

“It’s something, yeah?” Robert replied, trying his best to mask the tension in his voice.

His tone gave her pause; he sounded stiff, almost aloof.  Is he happy we’re here?  Is he having second thoughts?  The goodbyes had been painful, as she’d known they would be.  Melody had been nearly distraught. Truth be told, Michelle still felt numb, the abrupt change of course leaving her breathless.  It’s only a matter of weeks … then everyone will be back for Earl’s Court.  Most everyone, anyway.  Her mom and dad wouldn’t be attending, not that she’d expected them to, particularly since they’d not been invited.  Her thoughts turned to Robert’s parents, and butterflies invaded her tummy.  God, please let them like me.  And Bella, especially Bella.  For all intents and purposes, the child didn’t have any grandparents, a fact that filled her with regret, having loved her grandmother so.  Well, there’s Nancy, I suppose, and of course, Laura and Mel.  

She’d read all she could about life in England and Wales, hoping for some semblance of understanding.  In the end, she’d have to rely on fate and Robert … and maybe a little John Henry.  She’d not realized that the farm in England was so close to the drummer’s family and caught herself wondering what his wife was like.  Will we be friends?  It was no matter, for the moment, as their first stop was Wales, but the doubt lingered.  Will I have any friends at all?  God, am I doing the right thing?  She swallowed, glancing to Robert.  Bella was still in his lap, his arm wrapped protectively around the drowsy child.  He caught her eye and smiled, the soft glow of it smothering the momentary indecision.  Yes, there’s no doubt that I am.  As they slowed to take a turn onto a small gravel drive, she peered through the window. “Are we getting close?”

There was a look on her face he couldn’t decipher, and Robert felt a pang in his gut.  “Well, this is it, actually.  We’re, uh, home.”

Bella squealed and pointed to their host, who was merrily greeting them, barking and running alongside the car.  Michelle couldn’t suppress a chuckle.  “Is that who I think it is?”

“The one and only,” Robert murmured as the house came into view.  He kept his eyes glued to hers, searching for any sign of acceptance.  Please, please let this work.

Michelle stared transfixed.  It was nestled between thickets of oaks, a fortress of sorts, the mighty gray stone walls likely impenetrable.  But warm, too, cozy and safe.  Just like him.  An expansive garden curled behind it with daffodils sprinkled along the edge, and her mouth began to curve as they rolled to a stop.  

“I know it needs work … I’ve always meant to … we’ll do whatever you want,” Robert stammered, helping her from the car.

“Robert.”

She was still, so quiet that he almost missed his name on her lips.  Oh, Christ, I knew it.  She hates it.   “What, Belle?”

“I love it.”

She loves it.  He hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath, and air rushed into his lungs as relief flooded through his body.  “Do you really?” he squeaked with a silly grin.

She draped her arms around him as Bella and Strider played chase.  “I feel like I’ve always been here.”

“Oh, honey, I’d hoped you would, I’d really hoped …”  He leaned into her for a kiss, stopping at the gentle clearing of the driver’s throat.

“Where should I put your bags, Mr. Plant?”

“Sorry, mate, ah, just leave everything by the door, thanks.”  Like the giddy boy he suddenly was, he scooped up Bella and took Michelle’s hand, whisking her away.  “Let me show you my favorite part.”

He led her to the side of the house and down a short trail covered by thick thatches of mossy trees.  The faint roar of rushing water caressed the air, and it felt quiet and cooler.  Secluded.  They approached what appeared to be a kind of room beneath the canopy.  A large hammock swayed between two of the bigger trunks, surrounded by makeshift tables and chairs formed from massive roots and rocks.  A rich Persian rug had been situated to provide a carpet of sorts, and candles were scattered about, most ensconced in ornate, metal holders.  It looked enchanted, pagan, like something out of one of his crazy tales.  It looked like him.  “Unbelievable.  This is just …” she trailed off as he coaxed her toward a curtain of stone facing an extraordinary view of mountains and the sea through long, leaf laden branches.  “It’s breathtaking,” Michelle whispered in awe, “I can see forever.”

Robert set Bella down, amused as she immediately scurried back to her new best friend. Gathering Michelle against his chest, he reclined on the rock, both of them mesmerized by the panorama.  “Do you know how long I’ve waited for you to see this?  For you to be here?”

“Yes, I do, actually.  Three years, six months and, um, about eight days?”

He laughed, laying his cheek atop the crown of her head.  “I adore you, Michy Belle Plant.”

“I believe that’s Grant.”

“No, not anymore.  I want you to marry me and make a passel of kids, maybe from this very spot.”

“Well, I like the sound of the last part,” she snickered, nibbling her lip. 

Robert sighed, his brow wrinkling.  “You’re not taking this seriously.  I mean it.”  He spun her around, looking into her eyes.  “I want to give you my name, Michelle.”  

“The one I have is okay with me.  All that stuff is such … what is it you say?  Bollocks?  It’s just silly and old fashioned.”

“Well, then I guess I’m silly and old fashioned.”  He cupped her face, tracing her features.  “I want to share everything with you, girl … give you anything you want.”

She ran her hands along his shoulders, tangling them in the locks she loved.  “I have everything I want and everything I need right here.” Her fingers tightened in his hair, and Michelle drew him closer.  As he opened his mouth to respond, she kissed him, softly at first, tentatively listening for Annabelle and Strider, but they were forgotten for a moment as the kiss grew deeper.    

He could feel a hum in the back of her throat and brought his hands to her hips, slowly sliding them up and around her breasts.  As his body responded, he began to contemplate all the different ways they could …  

Michelle abruptly pulled back at the sound of Annabelle’s giggle and Strider’s disapproving bark.  The collie jumped up, giving her a very sloppy admonishment across the side of her jeans.  “So charming,” she chided as Robert scolded him, brushing away the mud from her pants.

“He certainly has his moments … and I believe we have unfinished business.  Maybe we set a date for …”

“Kiddo goes to bed at seven.”  Michelle smiled as Bella protested with the best grimace she could muster.  “With jet lag, it should be six, honey.”

“What’s jet lag?”

Robert swooped her into his arms, settling her against his hip.  “Your mum’s being too hard on you, isn’t she?”  The girl’s histrionic pout was a work of art, and he glanced to Michelle.  “I think we may have an actress on our hands, yeah?”

“Or a very good grifter.”

Annabelle was, indeed, asleep by six, the long journey having exhausted her.  She lay nestled in her new bed between a wall of fuzzy stuffed animals and Strider, who wouldn’t leave her side.  After Robert’s third goodnight kiss, Michelle corralled him into the living room, settling on the sofa while he fetched some wine.  She gazed through the room, adorned with various paintings and books, pausing on the centerpiece, a broad fireplace framed by a beautifully carved mahogany mantle.  “Strider and Bella seem quite taken with each other.”

“Strider’s like me. He has a weakness for pretty girls.” With a pop, the cork flew from the bottle, and Robert poured them each some Champagne.  “Besides, I had a long conversation with him.  I told him to be on his best behavior.”

“Really?  And when would that have been?  Before you left for the tour?” she teased, shivering at the chill from the evening air wafting through the ancient plate glass behind her.  “I didn’t know clairvoyance was one of your many attributes.”    

“It was on the telephone, naturally.”

“Right.  Of course.”  Drawing a quilt over her shoulders, she scanned the pile of wood stacked neatly on the hearth.  “You know, I’d really love a fire.”

“It’s not that cold,” he countered, topping off the flutes.

“It’s cold enough.”  At his stubborn silence, she added, “I can do it myself, if you like.”

The singer smirked at her miffed tone, taking a step toward the sofa.  “You don’t know how to light a fire.”

Cocking her head, Michelle made a move to stand.  “I damn well do, you little … git!”

Robert froze, the stems laced precariously through his fingers.  “Did you just call me a git?”  

“I did,” she replied as menacingly as she could.  

A standoff ensued, each gauging the other’s course of action.  As the seconds ticked by, he watched a smile gradually form on her face.  That smile.  Delivering the wine, he dispatched himself.  “A fire it is.”

Exalting in her win of the battle of the wills, Michelle curled her legs underneath her.  “I think we should unpack tomorrow.”

He wrestled with the kindling and a few small logs, finally sparking a flame.  “Sounds good to me.”  Satisfied with his ministrations, Robert burrowed next to her.  “Lots of other things we can do to stay occupied,” he murmured, gliding his hand along her thigh.

As the blaze caught on, its snaps and cracks echoed through the room, nearly making her flinch. “You need softer things in here.”

“I’m off to a pretty good start.”  He nipped at her ear, his hand drifting north.

She playfully slapped it away.  “I mean things like thicker rugs … something to absorb the sounds.”

Not the least bit deterred, the corner of his mouth turned up.  “It’s an old house, love.  Lotta hard things in here.”

Shaking her head, Michelle rolled her eyes.  “Jesus Christ, don’t you ever get tired of …”

“Nope, never.  It’s a gift.”  He reached for his glass, ceremoniously clinking it against hers. “To us, Belle … to the beginning of the rest of our lives.”  As he toasted, his dimple deepened.  “And to christening every room in this house.”

“Mmm, big house … I suggest we get started.”

In an instant, Robert pounced.  Like magic, the flutes vanished as he nudged her into the cushions.  “At your service.”

She laughed, running her hands through his hair.  “You sure don’t waste any time.”

“There’s none to waste.”  He nuzzled her cheek, expelling a short breath.  “Christ, I’ve been lookin’ forward to this all day.”  A log shifted in the fireplace, dropping with a thud near the screen, and Michelle glanced to the burning embers trailing across the hearth.  “Leave it,” he whispered, his lips dusting hers.

With a purr, she draped her legs around his hips and thighs.  “You better hope Annabelle doesn’t wake up.”

“Strider’ll keep me apprised.”  Unbuckling his belt, he tugged at her top.  “We have an understanding.”

“You’re ridiculous, you know,” she breathed, wriggling out of her shirt.

“Pretty aware of that.”  Robert kissed her again, moving his attention to the buttons of her jeans.

She lifted her hips as he slid them off.  “Let’s just go to the bedroom.”

“No, uh-uh … gotta start here.”  Unclasping her bra, he tossed it aside.  “It’s, ah, good luck.”

“Good luck?” she scoffed, pressing her hands against his chest.

“You wouldn’t understand,” he mumbled, his fingers skimming the edge of her panties.  “Ancient Celtic ritual.”

With a snort, Michelle raised her brow.  “Ancient Celtic bullshit.  You’re just horny.”  She narrowed her eyes as he shrugged, giving her a sheepish grin.

“That too, love, that too.”