#and she had sooo many tattoos on her arms i got distracted

[proud-larrie]

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[mmvalentine]

Lover Like Me Pt 1 | Feysand

Sooo.... okay I wasn't planning anything but then I was whingeing about how SJM wimps out on her morally grey characters and it got me thinking about the opposite. Instead of a badass being actually soft what about a softie with a secret dark streak yknow? Anyway I don't know who is still reading these but here's yet another modern AU. I hate leaving the safety of my drafts.

[update: Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5 Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13 Part 14]

Tamlin had never liked Rhys, and perhaps this was the basis of his appeal.

I’m not too proud to admit it- the first thing I wanted to do after we split up was to shove something in Tamlin’s face. Anything. I got a tattoo a few weeks after I moved out, just because Tamlin said that girls with tattoos had ‘ruined themselves’. And because I wanted to make sure that he no longer knew what I looked like naked.

And there was Rhys in the waiting room, flirting with the receptionist while I filled out the waiver for first-time clients. He was wearing a black singlet and jeans that had seen better days, his left arm wrapped in cling film so I couldn’t see what latest addition he had made that day. He was in so many ways Tamlin's opposite. I used to think that Tamlin looked like a movie star, the kind you would find on a yacht, partying with models. Rhys looked like should be fixing a motorcycle, or something. I looked back at my clipboard quickly, but not quick enough to avoid Rhys saying “Feyre?” and sitting down next to me.

I had known he’d gone to high school with Tamlin; after I’d moved to Tamlin’s home town we’d bumped into Rhys in the grocery store. Tamlin tersely introduced him while I leaned on the handle of the shopping cart and tried not to choke on the density of the warring male hormones between them. In fairness to Tamlin, I did think Rhys was gorgeous when he threw me a dark and wicked grin. Just to wind Tamlin up.

And then I’d run into him here and there, but never really had any kind of deep or meaningful interactions.

Tamlin didn’t like me to have deep or meaningful interactions with anyone, except him. And his mother, Alis. Her I was allowed to speak to. But even she was afraid of him.

“He’s not a good guy,” is all Tamlin would ever tell me. Ground out between clenched teeth with no further explanation.

One time he said it in front of Rhys, and all Rhys did was wink at me and say, “he’s right you know.”

So there I was in the tattoo studio, scared shitless because I’d never been particularly good with pain, but Rhys knew the artist I had chosen and convinced her to let him sit down with me during my session. He sat backwards on a chair, leaning his forearms on the backrest and distracted me while the needle buzzed. Held my hand at first, and then started telling me outrageous stories about him and his buddies Cassian and Azriel. I focused on the deep rollling of his voice and shocking violet of his eyes until the needle on my arm was just background noise.

And that was how he found out Tamlin and I had broken up, and how I told him I was barely covering costs in the studio I had just moved into, and how he ended up getting me into a low-cost apartment in the projects where he lived. The paperwork went through within the fortnight.

“You’re just in the apartment next to me,” Rhys is telling me. He’s walking with a stack of my boxes in his arms, while I trail behind nervously clutching a suitcase. He's wearing a long-sleeved black t-shirt that hugs his biceps, and I still can't see his new tattoo. “On the other side of you is my cousin Mor, who is just going to love you.”

There is certainly part of me that questions how quickly I've decided to trust Rhys, especially given how well it turned out the last time I put my trust in a man. Then again, I don't have a lot of options. At least this time it's my own house where I have my own keys and pay my own rent.

“Right,” I mumble. “And how did I jump the queue and get this apartment again?”

Rhys just flashes a toothy grin at me, and says, “Because I’m the king of Velaris.”

We reach the apartment and Rhys braces one foot on the wall next to the door, so that he can balance my boxes on his knee while he fiddles with the keys. They clack against the silver rings on his fingers. He pushes the door open, gets a hold of the boxes again and then steps through.

Tamlin lived in a huge house on a lake, with marble floors and columns in the foyer. It was beautiful, and empty, and cold. I had a room to myself, which I thought was weird when I agreed to move in with him, until I learned that his parents had never shared a bedroom and he just kept that tradition going.

My new apartment is smaller, not even comparable, really. It’s a one-bedroom apartment with a short balcony and thick, cream carpeting that looks like it’s recently been replaced. I set my suitcase down on the floor while Rhys puts the boxes on the dark kitchen counter, and step through the double glass doors on the far wall.

The Velaris flats are on a council estate and the view is amazing. You’d expect the projects to be in some awful, nothing neighbourhood, and some of them are. But these ones are a block where half are commission housing and the other half are private rentals, and when you walk out onto the balconies there’s nothing but mountains as far as the eye can see.

“It’s not much,” Rhys says. “We’ll get you a couch and a lamp though and that will make all the difference.”

“It’s perfect,” I say, and before I really think it through I step close to him and wrap my arms around him. Rhys freezes for a second, and then hugs me back.

“I’m glad,” he says quietly.

There’s the sound of someone clearing their throat from behind us, and we pull apart.

In the doorway stands the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. She’s wearing a sweater dress that loves her curves, and she’s got long golden curls like an old Hollywood star.

“Mor,” Rhys greets her. “This is Feyre.”

“Hello.” I give an awkward little wave, but Mor sweeps into the room and hugs me like an old friend.

“Feyre,” she says. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you all week.” She even smells divine. Mor pulls back and surveys the room.

“Rhys are you moving Feyre into an empty room?” she asks.

“Well,” Rhys answers defensively, “I thought she’d like to pick out her own furniture.”

Mor turns to Rhys with exasperation painted on her lovely face.

“She’s moving into this shoe box because she doesn’t have any money, jackass.” She looks to me for confirmation, and even though she’s right, I don’t want to seem ungrateful to Rhys.

“Well..” I stutter.

Mor rolls her eyes. “Don’t worry babe, I’m here now and I’m gonna take care of you.” She kisses my cheek swiftly, and promises to be back soon. The free-flowing affection is unexpected but I find that I like it. I hear her yelling for Cassian and Azriel on her way out, and then it’s just me and Rhys left in the apartment.

“I’m really sorry, I didn’t even think,” Rhys starts to say.

“No!” I stop him. “Are you kidding? I didn’t have anywhere else to go, I don’t even have enough money to get a plane ticket back home. You really saved me.”

Rhys still looks chagrined but doesn’t say anything more about it as he helps me unpack. He brings a small bookcase from his house, because apart from clothes and a few kitchen things, my belongings mostly consist of books, my art supplies, and a handful of knick-knacks. I don’t know what he does with his own books.

“You know,” Rhys comments as he stacks the shelf. He’s organising books by what seems to be colour, while I slide plates into the kitchen cupboards. “If you really want to go home I’m sure we could find a way to get you there. There are cheap tickets.”

I shudder. “I don’t actually want to go,” I admit. “My sisters and I… we don’t get along.”

Rhys frowns, perhaps thinking of his own family and how close they seem to be. “That bad?” he says.

“Well, I moved in with Tamlin to get away from there, so that probably gives you an indication.” At first I thought it was so nice, the jealousy. How much he wanted me, after years of being unwanted.

“Ah.”

“Actually, it was Nesta who told me to do it. She said it’d be one less mouth to feed and it was the least I could do.”

“So Nesta was putting food on the table after your dad died?" We had gone over some family history in that tattoo session.

“No,” I say casually. “I was.”

Rhys’s frown deepens, but he doesn’t push.

“And you?” I start putting cutlery in the drawer. “Is this where you grew up?”

Rhys nods, seeming to concentrate on arranging a few little figurines along the edge of the bookshelf. “My dad was actually filthy rich but he was also an asshole.  My ma was able to leave because she got a placement under a domestic violence claim so we came here. And we brought Mor because she begged to come and her parents didn’t give a shit what she did.”

I didn’t know that about them, and I’m not sure how to respond. Before I can, Rhys continues.

“Cassian and Azriel were the only ones our age around here so we became close very quickly, and then when we turned 16 Mor applied for her own place and was lucky to get one in the same estate. I stayed though because Ma was pretty sick by that point. She only got another year or so after that so I’m glad I did.”

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. Rhys just shrugs.

“I’m sorry for you, too,” he says, and I know he means not just my family.

At that moment the door bangs open and Mor is back, a flush on her cheeks making her even more beautiful. She grins at me, before hollering over her shoulder.

“In here, boys!”

Next thing I know, two very large men are hauling an assortment of furniture into the house. The bigger one grunts as he drags a dark blue sofa into the room, and then goes back out only for the smaller one to set down a coffee table in front of it. The big one returns with what looks to be a dismantled bed frame, and goes to set it down but Mor flaps her hands at him.

“In the bedroom Cassian, come on use that pretty head of yours.”

“Sorry Feyre,” he says with a look at me, and moves off to the room down the hall.

“Nice to meet you,” is all I can think to say, and then the other one- Azriel, I guess- staggers through the door with a mattress.

“Mor,” I say tentatively, when Cassian is hauling in a wardrobe, “where did all this stuff come from?”

“Off the back of a truck,” Cassian grins at me on his way back out, and my jaw drops.

“He’s messing with you,” Azriel tells me, and then carries a night stand past me.

“There are a lot of poor people living here,” Mor explains. “But there are a lot of rich folk right in the next street. You just walk around the rich areas and see what people are throwing out, so much stuff is brand new. Thank the gods for gentrification, huh?”

She repositions a lamp that Cassian has brought in, and suddenly the little apartment looks like an actual home. For second hand furniture, Mor is right. The pieces are slightly mismatched but they’re in excellent condition, and much nicer than anything I could afford. People say that empty spaces look bigger but somehow, with everything in place the small room feels like all the space that I need.

The whole process takes mere minutes and I’m speechless. Cassian is stretching his enormous frame out over the two-seater. Azriel is leaning in the doorway and Mor is still making minor changes to the placement of things.

“Thank you,” I say, and there should be more but all I can do is inject as much feeling as I can into the words.

“Welcome to the neighbourhood,” Azriel says.

“Now about that pizza…” Cassian looks meaningfully toward Mor and she rolls her eyes.

“Rhys, I promised them pizza.”

Rhys sighs and pulls out his phone.

“Oh let me,” I say. “You’ve all done so much for me, the least I can do is get the pizza…” but Rhys is already putting his phone back into his pocket.

“I’ve got their order saved,” he says with a wink. “You can get the next one.”

“My order is four pizzas,” Cassian tells me. “I don’t care what’s on them, I just need there to be four.”

“I’ll remember that,” I promise.

“Az likes pepperoni, cheese for Mor, mushrooms for Rhys.”

“Got it.”

“Now let me tell you my definitive rankings for pizza in the area, it is not the same as Rhys’s.”

There’s a collective groan from the group, but I’m just so happy to be here, I’d listen to them talk about grass growing.

Ten minutes later, there’s a knock at the door.

“That was quick,” I say, and open it. But it’s not pizza.

“Lucien?!”

My ex-boyfriend’s best friend stands there, clenching and unclenching his fists. He’s slightly out of breath, and got a swollen lip and a bruise forming over one of his cheekbones.

“Vanserra? What are you doing here? And what the hell happened to you face?” Rhys has appeared behind me, and I remember that all of these guys went to school together. Lucien doesn’t answer him, just looks at me with desperation lighting in his eyes.

“Feyre,” he says. “Feyre I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to tell him, but he… I’m so, so sorry.”

I draw a shaking breath and don’t want to hear this. “Sorry for what, Lucien?” I breathe.

“He’s coming,” Lucien tells me. “Tamlin’s on his way over right now.”

***

Oh shit that ending makes it seem like I'm writing some kind of snuff piece i'm not lol it's just a hiccup dw

MASTERLIST

TAGLIST: @ghostlyrose2 @highladysith @stardelia @feysand-loml @tillyrubes10 @ratabrasileira @live-the-fangirl-life @maybekindasortaace @annejulianneh111 @thebonecarver @rowaelinismyotp @loosingdreams @pitrsattabhaadmeinjao @achernarlight @swankii-art-teacher @sjmships @courtofjurdan @teddytdr @positivewitch @thalia-2-rose @darling-archeron @rapunzel1523 @fairchildjace @hopefulacademia @story-scribbler @allthecolorsneverseen @fandomstalker27 @realbookloverproblems @dealfea @s-tormwitch @cretaceous-therapod @whenyadoesntcutit @scatterbrainedgirl @whoever-you-choose-to-love @endlessdaydream @themoonthestarsthesuriel @rarephloxes

[fizzingwizard]

Episode 28~ Well, I heard this season’s supposedly got 60 episodes total (don’t quote me, that may be wrong) so we’re almost at the halfway point... I’m gonna wait till episode 30 to talk about that though.

This episode I actually rather liked, even though absolutely NOTHING happens other than the important things at the very beginning and the very end. That’s becoming a pattern this season - lots of nothing sandwiched in between hints of big dramatic things to come. Eh. But yeah, I liked it anyway :P for a few reasons that are probably not that objective. It’s not the kind of episode that’s gonna make you want to rewatch though.

Cap of the week!

Look we all know Jou is exactly the kind of 12 year old who folds his clothes neatly even when lost in a mysterious parallel world. Also he brought more textbooks (social studies and Japanese). Aka more ammo for Mimi

More below:

Last week we ended with Patamon evolving to Angemon in what was a pretty anticlimactic moment, despite a big villain being there and a cliffhanger ending. Seemed like a waste after all we went through just to get him.

However, I do think the beginning of episode 28 makes up for it somewhat. Angemon gets to show off how Very Very Cool he is, but it’s also made clear that he’s not up to full strength. Seeing him throw all his effort into the battle to save them even though it’s clear he won’t win was actually pretty great.

More typhoon winds throwing everyone back XD they must have so many bruises

Poor Takeru gets thrown back all by his lonesome

So last episode, I said I thought Darknightmon was gonna go for Hikari and was surprised and somewhat relieved when he stayed interested in Takeru/Angemon. Um... I guess that was a red herring x’D he’s after Hikari after all.

He literally says “I have no use for you” to Angemon LOL sick burn my dude

Hikari: “There is a new cutest child.”

Takeru: “Um, actually the phrase is ‘smallest child’.“

Hikari: “No. Cutest child. Do not interrupt my moment, impertinent one.”

Grogu: “Did someone say ‘cutest child’?”

Angemon’s peeved that Hikari stole the spotlight so he immediately jumps into the way and prevents Darknightmon from grabbing her.

Angemon: “No one treats ME like some washed up has-been!”

But as hard as he tries, Angemon just hasn’t recovered enough. It probably took all the energy Patamon had stored up just to evolve. His wings lengthen and release into millions of shining feathers, and both he and Darknightmon de-evolve.

I really did kind of enjoy this battle! Seeing Takeru be all strong and heroic, and the desperation with which Angemon tries to protect him... me likey.

Next it’s a nod to 99 series! D-D-Digimon!

Yamato screams like he’s at the dentist’s.

There’s lots of freaky black lightning that rains down seeming to give dark energy and empower random Digimon who get hit by it. Just to ensure our heroes don’t get to waste time on any more “breaks”

A single feather floats down where Taichi lands and dissolves. I am not sure what happened to it, if it did anything or if it was what protected them until this point...

Taichi and Hikari wake up and discover they are alone. So last week I thought they’d get swept off into pairs... I didn’t even consider that they’d each wind up alone. Mixed feelings! On the one hand, seeing each kid interact with their partner and their partner only was one of the good things about this episode (except it wasn’t always true, which I’ll get to in a minute). On the other hand, my fears last week were that whoever ended up with Taichi would be overshadowed by him. Turns out, if no one’s with him but Hikari, that means all the plot stuff is with them and the others have nothing in particular to do. -_-; At least not this week. My hope is that it’s coming (and there were a few promising hints this episode so), but next week’s trailer looks pretty Taichi-centric too..

Taichi: “Can I help it if I’m so charming cool awesome and dare I say it adorable”

The impact of everyone being “alone” is cut short by the fact that they can all still communicate via digivice. I would be fine with that, except for what I said earlier - they wind up spending too much time talking to each other instead of their partners. Particularly the ones who like to Plan Things. Eh.

Yamato tells Taichi to protect Hikari, doesn’t even mention that he’s sadly separated from Takeru at this point ;_; He knows Takeru’s okay though because Takeru is also communicating by digivice.

Sora: “Hello yes, it’s in my contract that I get to be awesome X number of times per episode, and I have doubts that you are making your quota.”

I love how Tentomon’s job is basically Koushirou’s secretary x’D “Put my calls on speakerphone Margaret” “Yes Mr Izumi”

The partners really are suited to each other... Koushirou gets a secretary, Jou gets a mom, Mimi gets a gal pal, Yamato gets a therapist, Sora gets a sister, Taichi gets a... preschool child who eats paste... -.-’

takeru and hikari don’t count because they’re Special and their main attribute is Cute

All the kids have ended up alone except for super-charged monsters who want to eat them. Palmon hoists Mimi up a very sheer rock trying to escape Golemon who is not great at climbing but doesn’t seem to know that

Meanwhile Jou... is like “Ohh yeah, you guys have it so rough, I’m trying my hardest too, keep fighting the good fight y’all”

He’s relaxing in the hot springs and freaking studying.

Gomamon’s unusually fine with it though. Because he gets to swim. He says “Let’s invite the others here.” They’re both like YEAH THIS IS WHAT I CALL A VACATION

It’s all fun and games until the hairy guy with the tattoos and veiny arms sharing your hot spring starts staring at your ding-a-ling. Uhhhhhhh.

he does make the “Nanimono?” joke so all is well lol

No matter what form he takes, Patamon is always an Angel 👼

Takeru is alone but he has Patamon... but Patamon is...

... ADORABLE... and conked out. Takeru’s so proud of him though, look at that smile *sniff*

Taichi remembers to ask Koushirou how conditions are back at home. This kid is too organized.

Koushirou: “News and variety shows continue as normal even though the world’s ending.”

I’m not going to get into everything he says but it’s pretty much more of the same regarding the power influx from the human world to the digital world and the way the Zurumon’s attacks are wreaking havoc with electronics...

Taichi almost says “You’re so sugoi!” Almost. He’s grateful anyway. *chews on those Taishiro breadcrumbs till they’re broken down to atoms*

Then... Hikari’s acting strange!

Agumon: “What are you looking at?”

Hikari: “I don’t know.”

Taichi: “You don’t know but you’re looking at it?”

Hikari: “It kind of looks like Steve Buscemi... it’s hard to tell”

Taichi’s not too wigged out by freaky Hikari because he’s lived with her all his life, and she’s always been a freak.

Baby Hikari: “Shteeve... bushemiii....”

Agumon: “Your sister’s weird.”

Taichi: “Yeah but she’s MY weird sister.”

Yamato is fighting, of course. He stops for a moment to be impressed by how well Takeru’s handling himself. Garurumon points it out. I suppose it’s simply time to accept that this season Yamato is just not the disaster boy he was in 99 x’D

Now have some gratuitous adorable Patabutt images.

Patabutt patabutt pata pata butt butt

Um... is it just me or is Patamon kinda... oversized all of a sudden lol...

Takeru: “Did you eat all of my candy stash again?”

Patamon: “I just can’t seem to quit”

Takeru: “That’s it we’re getting you into rehab”

Patamon tries to fly but just can’t ;____; poor baby is totally wiped out. Takeru takes a long time to catch on to that. I REALLY HOPE THIS GOES SOMEWHERE, like Takeru has to protect Patamon instead of the reverse etc... pleeeeease don’t just leave this where it is writers!! The potential for cute is endlessssss

On the matter of Things That Are Not Cute... -.-;

Jou: “Please stop looking at my junk”

Nanimon: “Stop looking at mine”

Jou: “YOU DONT HAVE ANY wait do you wAIT I DONT WANT TO LOOK”

Mimi is much more useful! She discovers a shiny rock!

Theory!

This rock... could be the raw material for their Crests!!! Squeee~!! I mean, it’s about time something about that came up, assuming it’s still a thing. (Since they already seem to have their Crests loaded in their Digivices and got to Perfect level without any talk of values and personal strengths, I don’t know how much of the old Crest legacy remains in this season.) I, uh, did the same thing in my fanfic so I guess I’m just biased... These could totally be Evil Rubies Of Darkness and Terror but I’d rather have Crests :p Of course I would have expected Mimi to find green stones in that case sooo... maybe not.

Anyway she and Palmon are suitably distracted from running from Golemon and go mining instead. I’m sure that will not cause any problems.

We swing back to Taichi and Hikari, who are being approached by a big scary monster...

Taichi: “Watch my Tarzan impression.”

Hikari: “Nooo! I don’t want to be Jane!”

Fortunately Agumon evolves just to catch them in midair x’D Now is not the time for impressions, Taichi, seriously.

They are attacked by Volcdramon, which is a dumbass name.

Voldramon: “I AM VOLCRADMON, THE VOLCANO DIGIMON”

Taichi: “Velcromon the Velcro Digimon?”

Voldramon: “what NO i am Volcdramon-”

Hikari: “Voltronmon? Voldemortmon?”

Voldramon: *sniveling* “why does this happen EVERY time i JUST want to be one of the cool guys youre all such BULLIES”

MetalGreymon and Volcdramon face off, but something’s not right! Much like... the Digimon in the last episode whose name I already forgot *cough*, Volcdramon seems able to absorb other Digimon’s power. This presents a problem because last time it took all of them shooting into its mouth together to overload it so they could win. MetalGreymon is having a hard time on his own as Volcdramon just absorbs all his attacks.

Hikari prays to Jesus to save them. Digimon is approved for Christian families 👼👼👼

ugggghhh I love them

Taichi promises Hikari everything will be okay. His back-and-forth with MetalGreymon here is kind of cool. Every time MetalGreymon takes a hit, Taichi’s encouragement and coaching?? I guess keeps frustration at bay.

Buuut eventually they’re both feeling pretty desperate :P It was hard for me to take this battle seriously since, after all we’ve seen MetalGreymon capable of, it seems weird that he should be struggling this much. But obviously they don’t just want to make him invincible. And this problem makes sense: the ability of Digimon to absorb attacks and turn them into energy is definitely a new problem.

The question is, how do we solve it?

Apparently it helps if you have a little sister who’s some kind of super battery.

Taichi: “Nothing shocks me anymore with Hikari. She could announce she’s been Beyonce this whole time and I would believe it”

WarGreymon appears (again) as his goldeny vision self, defeats Volcdramon, then promptly de-evolves back to Agumon.

So the question is, why is this happening... From earlier episodes we know Agumon & co are some group of legendary warriors who have had their memories tampered with (??) to some extent (because they do still know each other, or at least Agumon and Gabumon remember knowing each other). Omegamon’s a given for that of course so I suppose that’s why. Hikari seems to be the key to unlocking the legendary warriors, maybe with Takeru. That’s my guess. Of course, Tailmon’s probably already in the bad guys’ clutches, much like Patamon was. I hope she’s still working for them. I want more double agent fun times. Also ANGST

Hikari: “Thank you, Agumon-” *disappears*

Taichi: “GEEZ I can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t even breathe without something bad happening anymore, like excuse me for BLINKING”

Yeah so... Skullknightmon appears and abducts Hikari like it’s nothing xD

Skullknightmon: “What’s under arm number two? Iiiiit’s your sister!”

Taichi: “Aw damn, I wanted the sports car”

Taichi quickly gives chase. I assume Agumon’s pretty exhausted after that and probably can’t evolve now. Bad timing. Oooor maybe this is all how Skullknightmon planned it...

Then... the unthinkable! Hikari looks at her brother rushing desperately to save her... and turns away!

Taichi is SHOCKED! Le GASP!

Taichi: “But but but I’m the MAIN CHARACTER”

Hikari: “Not anymore bitch it’s my show now”

Yeah okay jokes aside! This bit was AWESOME. Like, I’m sure it’s obvious that she can tell the voice that “called” her to the digital world is with Skullnightmon. Or at least, her heart’s telling her she has to go with him in order to meet that person (Tailmon, duh). I’ll be surprised if that’s not what’s going on. But... to so coldly just turn her back on her brother... I mean, maybe she also thinks she’s protecting him... but SHE JUST GOT HERE... holy crap...

To think we spent so long theorizing that Takeru would be the one abducted but no it’s Hikari... In retrospect should have been obvious. She’s 1) a girl and therefore a damsel, and 2) the one who was abducted in 99 xP

But I really like her semi-willingly going off with Skullnightmon. Much better than just screaming as she’s whisked away King Kong-style. In 99 she also got abducted voluntarily (I mean, it was coercion, so... that’s not voluntary, but you know what I mean). So they kept that in this season and I like it.

That’s it for this week’s episode! So the bits that I liked were the individual moments with the kids and their partners, of which we had more than usual but still not nearly enough. Nowhere near. In the end it was still a Taichi episode.

As a Taichi fan... it’s not like I’m ever sad that he gets more focus. But I love ALL the kids and they’re NOT getting development. We do keep getting hints about them but it’s so, so, so slow. To be fair, it’s not like we know THAT much about Taichi either. He gets so much focus because he’s always fighting. This season doesn’t seem concerned with personality and character bits like the 99 one, and I am gonna compare them for that. Because I think that was the heart of the 99 show. Without it, it’s missing something. I keep hoping it’ll come back, we keep getting those hints and special moments here and there, but the plot is such a distraction... if it was like a really good plot maybe I’d care less but...

Next week...  as far as I can see, it’s another Taichi episode xP But I do think they’ll do the same as this episode and intersperse Taichi’s battle with what’s going on with the others too. If that’s how they do it, I won’t mind. It might even be better. Fine, Taichi can fight, as long as the others are showing us more about themselves and getting other things done in the meantime. Mimi and Jou both look promising. Takeru too. Sora and Yamato, not sure..

Koushirou better not just sit at his computer the whole time -___-

Le owch.

Taichi: “Look being the main character’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I have three concussions and six broken bones. Also I can’t feel my toes anymore”

hang in there bud im cheering for ya

[footballffbarbiex]

Here’s a snippet of a little Antoine AU I’m working on and dying over.

Can’t decide if it’ll be for here or Patreon yet, so if you like the idea, lemme know :)

There’s many, many fics out there where she’s the cam girl, but what if it was the other way around...?

___

“Sooo…you’re a gamer, huh?” She asks, trailing her fingers over the top of his monitor and sinking down into the chair. She pulls a face as she declines, clearly impressed with the quality of it and gives the mouse a little wiggle. 

“That’s not new information,” Antoine replies, watching her cautiously with his arms crossed over his chest. 

“But, you don’t need all of this for gaming. Or do you?” She asks, tapping the side of his camera and gesturing to the lighting and mic. “I mean, I game, but I don’t stream, so I wouldn’t know. Are you on twitch or something?”

“Or something, yeah.” Antoine replies, trying to keep a straight face. “Yes, I have a twitch account.” He replies seriously when she raises her eyebrow. 

“Many subscribers?”

“A few.” He wasn’t lying, he just had considerably more subscribers on a different platform. 

“I’ll have to play with you some time.” She says, sitting back and swaying the chair. Her elbows are propped up on the arms of the chair. Her body posture is open, her leg is held up by her tiptoes as her other leg is bent, the ball of her other foot presses into the chair’s seat.

Mental images fill his mind of slipping between her thighs and tonguing at her cunt. He swallows and tries to avert his eyes as he pushes the thought out of his mind but he can almost imagine how she’d taste. Considering how he spends his spare time, it’s been a while since he’s slept with someone and he misses it.

“you think you can take me on?” He asks after clearing his throat with a small cough. 

“I’m not too shabby. I can hold my own.” She says, lifting her chin to look at him, their eyes locking and it does nothing for him wanting her. He wills himself to think unsexy thoughts, distracts himself by thinking of anything else than sinking into her pussy and hearing her moan. 

A notification appears on his phone screen which is in front of her on the desk. 

“Oooo someone’s popular, you’ve got a notification from...” she begins to say as she goes to look but Antoine knows that notification sound and rushes forward. The look on her face tells her that she’s already seen it before he manages to swipe the phone and put it into his pocket. “New subscriber for there?” She says quietly, sucking her lips onwards and wets  them. “I know that site isn’t just for porn but I didn’t realise it had gamers too.” She tells him, trying to keep her tone light. 

“They don’t.” He admits and holds his own, waiting for her to mock or judge or say something negative. 

“Do you have a lot of followers?”

He nods as fear and excitement rushes through him. It’s out there, his secret is out and she’s not recoiling in horror. “Yeah.”

“Do you actually game?” She asks and he laughs.

“Yeah, yeah I do. The lights and microphone and camera is all for both. It’s not just for...that side of things.” 

“So I’m not going to walk in and you be doing your thing?”

“I can’t guarantee that but it won’t always be that that you walk in on.” 

Using the foot that anchors her to the floor, she sways in the chair as she observes him. “Who else knows?”

“Just you and my ex. I don’t want anyone else knowing.”

“Would they not see your face?” 

“I don’t show it. Tattoos get covered with make up. No distinguishing features on show.”

“Oooo, I could have touched myself while watching you without knowing it was you.” She grins at him as he shifts from foot to foot, moving one hand to hang down in front of his crotch as it twitches at her words. 

“Would you have continued if you knew it was me?” 

He can’t stop the words from coming out and when she replies, “I’d have cum to each of the videos and pictures,” it takes all the strength he has to hold himself in place.

[caffeinated--writer]

MadaSaku Week(end)

@madasakuweek

Prompt: You’re an attractive tattoo artist so I keep coming to get more tattoos.

Sakura sighed. She was pathetic.

This was now the third time in a matter of weeks she found herself standing in front of the multi-purpose piercing-tattoo shop. Sakura wholeheartedly blamed her friend Ino for this new addiction she seemed to have for this place. Weeks ago Sakura would never have thought to step into a place like this.  

Piercings and tattoos were never actually Sakura’s thing. It had been grilled into her since childhood that tattoos and piercings were bad and “only delinquents get them”.  Of course the older she got Sakura realized her parents closed minded views weren’t the truth. Considering her two best friends sported some tattoos of their own and were both enrolled in one of the best Universities in the city, along with herself, it kind of killed her parents’ theory that only delinquents with no jobs or school got tattoos.

No, Haruno Sakura didn’t like tattoos because she had a slight fear of needles. The irony was not lost on the pre-med student whose career goal was to be a surgeon, but the thought of sitting in a chair for hours while someone repeatedly stabbed you with a needle just didn’t sit well with her. With that in mind she was sure she would never find herself at any tattoo shop.

Until the dreadful day she agreed to play Ino’s silly game of truth or dare.

3 weeks earlier…

They had decided to have a fun Friday night in their shared college apartment, after getting through some stressful exams a couple of days prior, and had invited a couple of friends over for drinks and movies, just some nice end of exam fun.

An hour or so in Ino suggested they play truth or dare. The rules were fairly simple, whoever spins the bottle, placed in the middle of the group circle, gets to ask truth or dare to whoever the bottle lands on when the bottle ceases to spin. If you refuse to answer someone’s truth question or follow through with a dare given, you will be forced to do something worse.

Sakura wasn’t much of a fan of those sorts of games, much less when someone as dirty minded and devious as Ino was behind the game, so she had been fully prepared to sit out the game with Sasuke and Naruto and watch her friends. But Ino wouldn’t have been one of her best girlfriends if she didn’t know how to spark Sakura’s competitive spirit. It took one little crooked flap of her arms, to mimic that of a chicken, and Sakura was fired up and in the game. The game was relatively easy for her to get into. Perverted questions were thrown in here and there with equally perverted dares being handed out but Sakura had yet to deny any questions or dare sent her way. Clearly Ino meant to change that.

When Ino spun the bottle, on her 6th turn, a particularly devious look fell across her face when the bottle landed on her pink haired friend. Without thinking Sakura found herself blurting out “Dare!”

That had been a bad move on her part.

Somehow Ino’s smirk managed to grow wider before she decided on the fate of her friend: a three way kiss between herself, Sasuke, and Naruto. Sakura’s eyes grew wide before her face twisted into slight disgust and she distinctly heard what sounded like Sasuke and Naruto both choking on their drink, signifying their equal level of shock to the dare. Sakura was not completely oblivious to Naruto and Sasuke’s attractiveness, and she was sure any other girl (or boy) would jump at the chance to kiss Sasuke or Naruto (especially at the same time). Had they been any other boys Sakura would have considered jumping on the adventurous train and giving it a shot, but Sasuke and Naruto had known her since she was 6…they were like brothers to her. Sakura didn’t think they could ever do something like that without feeling sick or at least not while she was sober and her better judgement was still very much alive and kicking.

A pout came to Sakura’s face realizing she couldn’t do her dare. Sensing her friend’s defeat Ino squealed in victory. They had always been a bit competitive as kids so any small harmless victories against each other were reveled in. Sakura felt Naruto and Sasuke give her a comforting pat on the shoulder as she let out a sigh in defeat. She was not looking forward to her punishment.

All had calmed down by 2AM as their apartment began to clear out. Their close friends headed back to their respective school living quarters, leaving Ino and Sakura to clean with the slight-almost nonexistent- help of Sasuke and Naruto, whom decided to spend the night. It was at this point Ino decided to give Sakura her punishment.

“A tattoo? You can’t be serious!” Sakura glared, not liking what Ino had chosen as her punishment.

“Oh, stop whining.” Ino retorted, rolling her eyes at her friends extreme reaction “I could have made you fuck Rock Lee as a punishment. I’m being quite generous.”

Sakura would admit that the punishment was relatively tame compared to the thousands of perverted and sexual things Ino could have probably forced her to do but that still didn’t make Sakura happy. Ino knew she hated needles.

Ino sighed realizing that Sakura’s glare was still firmly in place. “Look, it doesn’t even have to be a big tattoo. It can be as tiny as a cherry blossom tattooed on the side of your wrist.” Ino explained, “you told me a couple of days ago you wanted to do something new and spontaneous with yourself! This is me, forcefully, helping you to do so.”

Sakura’s glare softened and she let out a loud, frustrated, groan in defeat causing Ino to laugh. “Plus you really need to get over your fear of needles. I don’t know about you but I don’t think that’s a good look for a future doctor.” Ino chuckled, putting the last used cup I the trash can.

Sakura leaned against the kitchen counter, chucking her plastic cup in the open trash can, and she pouted. “Where the fuck would I even go?” Sakura asked, “It’s not like I know the best tattoo parlors to go to. If I pick at random I may come out with something infected.”

Sakura shuddered at the thought of going into some grotesque place where none of the supplies were clean.

Ino shrugged at her question, “I don’t know, don’t Sasuke and Naruto have some ink? Ask them where they got it done.” She suggested, tilting her head in the direction of a barely dressed Naruto, walking into the kitchen with a mere towel around his waist and covering his damp tresses, indicating he had just hopped out of their shower.  

“Ask me what?” Naruto grinned, flashing his pearly whites.

“I wanted to know if you could take me to the place you got your tattoo.” Sakura questioned pointing at the black spiral covered in Japanese characters that covered his belly button.

“You’re finally going to get a tattoo Sakura?” Naruto questioned excitedly, happy that after years of convincing his best friend was going to get one.

Sakura sighed at her friend’s enthusiasm. “Not exactly willingly,” Sakura stated, giving Ino a pointed look which she shrugged off, “I’m only getting a small one so don’t get too excited.”

Naruto looked up in thought trying to remember the place he got his tattoo done.

“Sasuke took me to some place he was familiar with. He knew the staff and everything!” Naruto grinned, “We can have Teme take us tomorrow.”

Come that Saturday morning Sakura found herself, along with her two best friends, at some tattoo parlor with big red letters on its windows spelling out ‘AKATSUKI’.

Sakura gave Sasuke a weary look before entering the establishment. It was…eerily quiet inside with no person in sight, causing Sakura to feel a bit more on edge then she already was, though considering it was 8AM she presumed she shouldn’t have been expecting too many people -precisely why Sasuke dragged them out of bed so early-. But she found it even stranger that she did not see a single worker either. Before Sakura could unleash hell on her friend for dragging her to some abandoned shop, something orange flew past her slamming into Sasuke.

“Sasuke-chan!” A high pitched voice squealed. For a moment Sakura thought that maybe there was a child in the shop but seeing that the person who had attached himself to Sasuke’s person (thoroughly testing her friends short patience) was  at least a foot and a half taller than Sasuke…she presumed that accusation was out of place.

“Sasuke-chan hasn’t visited us in sooo long!” The man cooed as he rubbed his orange swirly mask against Sasuke’s cheek.

Where the fuck had Sasuke taken her…?

Fed up with the uncalled for (and unasked for) antics, Sasuke shoved the large, childish, man off of him.

“Obito, we just saw each other at the family dinner last week.” Sasuke seethed. It was the words ‘family’ and ‘dinner’ that caused both Sakura and Naruto to do a double take. Sasuke, though dearly loved by both his friends, was the walking epitome of pessimism, dark sarcasm and was all in all a condescending ass. Whereas the orange mask wearing man in front of them radiated pure unadulterated innocence, something in which Sakura didn’t think was capable of existing in this day in age…

It just didn’t add up that they were in any shape or form related.

Feeling his friends eyes on him, filled with nosy curiosity, Sasuke let out an annoyed sigh. “He’s my cousin.” He grumbled, answering the unasked question.

At that moment Sasuke’s cousin lifted his mask to grin at both Naruto and Sasuke. All doubts about their family relations were effectively thrown out the window once getting a good look at his face. Obito had definitely been blessed with the same Uchiha genes as her best friend. Despite his childishness he was quite the looker. Sakura couldn’t begin to understand why he choose to hide them under some swirly orange mask but who was she to question? As a matter of fact it made her wonder if her college professor, Kakashi Hatake, was hiding some unusually attractive face under his strange black mask…

Distracted by Obito’s chattiness and Naruto and Sakura still in a slight state of shock over the new information, they had not noticed someone step out to meet them at the front.

“Come for a visit Sasuke-chan?” A deep voice chuckled “Do you need some more work done?”

Sakura felt her mouth go devastatingly dry as her mouth dropped open catching sight of the long haired male.

“Oh my Kami…” Sakura whispered, struggling to keep herself from letting her eyes roam over his clearly well fit physique that was being complimented by his well-tailored dark blue suit.

“Madara! Guess who came? Baby Sasuke!” Obito squealed, bounding over to the dark haired male who Sakura immediately took note to mentally remember was named Madara.

While Madara was preoccupied trying to get the orange mask wearing male to calm down and remember that he too possessed eyes and was aware of his cousins presence, Sakura sharply nudged her brooding companion. Giving her an annoyed glare Sasuke, begrudgingly, gave her his attention.

“Umm who is that?” Sakura inquired meekly, attempting to make her mouth less dry discreetly pointing in Madara’s direction.

“His twin,” Sasuke replied, referring to Obito, “and my older cousin.”

Sakura was never really a religious person…but she was almost certain Kami-sama had a great deal of bias toward anyone with an ounce of Uchiha blood running through them and Sasuke’s family was a fine example of that as it seemed any relative of his she met was drop dead gorgeous.

“Did you need something, Sasuke?” Madara questioned, directing his attention back to them “This is a place of work, not a playground.”

Sasuke glared at his smirking cousin –whereas Sakura attempted to stop her rapidly beating heart-.

“Hn, she wants a tattoo.” Sasuke muttered, tilting his head slightly in Sakura’s direction.

Madara turned his amused gaze in Sakura’s direction and almost immediately she felt her breathing come to a halt.  

She’d be sure to thank Ino once she got home.

[lovenletter]

♡ get to know me tag ♡

aaa, i was tagged by @8boo. thank you sooo much !!! tbh i should be doing my online class ,,,, but LOL NOPE. online classes are such a pain bc I always get distracted ..... it’s tumblr’s fault ..... that’s okay, right ???

Rules: Answer these 92 statements and tag 10 people.

THE LAST:

1. Drink: orange juice ... 2. Phone call: to my dad, i think?? 3. Text message: i’m currently texting one of my friends bc she has a match later on today and i won’t see her :( 4. Song you listened to: i’m listening to music right now ??? it’s beautiful by seventeen :’)

5. Time you cried: yesterday bc language barriers lol

HAVE YOU:

6. Dated someone twice: or dating in general .... no

7. Kissed someone and regretted it: nope

8. Been cheated on: no 9. Lost someone special: yeah 10. Been depressed: kind of, but like not rly 11. Gotten drunk and thrown up: i’ve never been drunk haha

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

12-14: gray, peach, and ive been digging purple lately

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU:

15. Made new friends: yessss !!!! 16. Fallen out of love: i’ve not been in love ??? 17. Laughed until you cried: so many times hahaha 18. Found out someone was talking about you: im not interesting, no one talks ab me.

19. Met someone who changed you: all my new friends helped me to be a better person :) 20. Found out who your friends are: .... good people ??? 21. Kissed someone on your Facebook list: no. why facebook?

GENERAL:

22. How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: all of them ??? they’re just my famil tbh. i dont’ rlly use it ... 23. Do you have any pets: not in my house, but my cousin has been taking care of my pet. 24. Do you want to change your name: nahhhh. i like my name. 25. What did you do for your last Birthday: i had a sleepover. i don’t rlly do much for my birthdays :/ 26. What time did you wake up: twelve p.m .... 27. What were you doing at midnight last night: probably on my phone ... or talking to my mom. 28. Name something you can’t wait for: july !!!!! i get to go back home + see if I can go to diamond edge !!! :))))))) 29. When was the last time you saw your mom: she’s sitting right next to me right now. 30. What is one thing you wish you could change in your life: i can’t rlly come up with anything ??? maybe starting to play tennis earlier so that i’d be better now lol. 31. What are you listening right now: still lonely by seventeen lol 32. Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: yes, kind of. tom is like the “president” of our neighborhood. 34. Most visited Website: probably between tumblr & twitter (more tumblr tbh).

LOST QUESTIONS.

35. Mole/s: i have a ton ... i got like five on my face and over five in each arm and leg ://// 36. Mark/s: like scars ??? i have one under my chin from when i fell down the stairs as a child. then i have one on my upper thigh bc i ran through a boat hook. i have matching ones on my legs, but they’re disappearing ... finally. 37. Childhood dream: to own a hotel lol

38. Hair Colour: it’s brown .. but it gets like blonde streaks in the summer naturally 39. Long or short hair: it’s like in between ?? it’s not rlly long, but it’s not short. 40. Do you have a crush on someone: hehehe no.

41. What do you like about yourself: i guess that i get stuff done and im dedicated ??? does that count 42. Piercings: my ears 43. Bloodtype: o positive :) 44. Nickname: my name is too short for a nickname lol. 45. Relationship status: when have i not been single. 46. Zodiac: libra sun - taurus moon - pisces rising 47. Pronouns: she/her, but like they/them works too.

48. Favorite TV Show: i have watched every single episode of house and ncis ... also my mom & i watch reign together :) 49. Tattoos: nope 50. Right or left hand: right !!! i cant write with my left like at all. 51. Surgery: when i was little, to take out something from my throat i dont rlly know.

52. Hair dyed in different color: i dyed highlights once and then tried to fix the “crown” effect but then it looked orange. tho i rlly want to dye it gray/silver. :) 53. Sport: tennis !!! ... i’ve been practicing three hours a day since summer started hahaha. 55. Vacation: boy, i’ve been to a lot of places. like i counted the amount  of countries i’ve been to recently and i think it’s 25 ??? 56. Pair of trainers: like ??? i have a two pairs of white shoes i use to practice in ??? does that count ??? idk.

MORE GENERAL:

57. Eating Currently: i had a bagel for breakfast lol 58. Drinking currently: water lol

59. I’m about to: either do my online class or watch suspicious partner haha.

61. Waiting for: to go home. i have my albums there and i have not opened any of them ,,,,,, 62. Want: money. a. lot. of. it. pls. 63. Get married: at some point ??? right ... 64. Career: i dont have a job rn and i have no idea what i want to do in the future lol.

WHICH IS BETTER

65. Hugs or kisses: both !!! they are equally amazing. 66. Lips or eyes: .... i mean i look at both ??? 67. Shorter or taller: what ... i mean im taller ... and i get jealous of short ppl. 68. Older or younger: what even. all my friends are older ??? 70. Nice arms or nice stomach: both ??? but it doesn’t rlly matter. 71. Sensitive or loud: both ??? why not 72. Hook up or relationship: swerve both 73. Troublemaker or hesitant: wait what. i guess hesitant ??

HAVE YOU EVER:

74. Kissed a stranger: nope 75. Drank hard liquor: ... yes  76. Lost glasses/contact lenses: no, i rarely use my glasses and my contacts are dailies so. 77. Turned someone down: yes. sorry. 78. Sex in the first date: hahaha no 79. Broken someone’s heart: well ... i guess when i turned them down ??? idk. 80. Had your heart broken: not really.

81. Been arrested: no. 82. Cried when someone died: no ?? i mean in movies, yes 83. Fallen for a friend: yeah, but they liked my best friend instead :////

DO YOU BELIEVE IN:

84. Yourself: yeah i guess 85. Miracles: yes 86. Love at first sight: ehhhh, it’s a nice idea 87. Santa Claus: no 88. Kiss in the first date: depends ... 89. Angels: yes ??? maybe

OTHER:

90. Current best friends’ names: irl ... i have a group of four and our names are similar so we call our groupchat SLX2. but like online ??? all my mutuals :) 92. Favorite movie: oh boy ... i watch so many movies. i love leap year, the imitation game, intersteller, and the intouchables !!! that’s just a few lol

this is a rlly long tag !!! but it’s fun :) if you don’t want to do it, it’s fine. oh !!! and let me know if you don’t want to be tagged.

i tag: @calamityy , @youngjai , @hyungwon , @m0nst4x , @chamgmin , @jeonghhan , @curlypcy , @jpghope , @innohurry , @ilyoonqi !!!!! 

[xbaepsae]

92 statements tag

Tagged by my lovely @xtaexhyungx <3

RULES: you must answer these 92 statements and tag 20 people. 

THE LAST: 1. drink: water, i think lol 2. phone call: my workplace lmao (i really hate talking on the phone) 3. text message: “happy j4 to you too” (it was america day yesterday rip) 4. song you listened to: come back home // bts 5. time you cried: idk i cry all the time because i’m emotional lol

HAVE YOU EVER: 6. dated someone twice: BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA hell no 7. kissed someone and regretted it: no 8. been cheated on: uh... i mean, not really but a guy did fuck me over and it was because of another girl 9. lost someone special: of course 10. been depressed: not medically diagnosed, but yes i have felt extremely depressed about twice in my life 11. gotten drunk and thrown up: i ain’t about that wasted life

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS: 12-14. blue, black, and gray  IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU: 15. made new friends: yess @ all my gorgeous mutuals on tumblr 16. fallen out of love: no 17. laughed until you cried: all the fucking time bro 18. found out someone was talking about you: yes, haters will be haters 19. met someone who changed you: i feel like everyone we meet changes us in some way, even if we don’t recognize the change 20. found out who your friends are: irl, i have like two people i hang out with and talk to regularly... so yes lol 21. kissed someone on your Facebook list: lol no; i consider fb pretty private so only family and close friends

GENERAL: 22. how many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: i’m still friends with somepeople from middle school/high school, but since you have that option to “unfollow,” i unfollowed A LOT of people. i only keep up with my family and a handful of people i actually liked from high school 23. do you have any pets: no (i reallllyyyy want a cute little puppy tho) 24. do you want to change your name: i used to not like my name that much when i was growing up. gabrielle is three whole syllables and seemed very extra to me; but as i have gotten older, i actually like my name a lot now (even though most people i know call me gabby lol) 25. what did you do for your last birthday: my birthday’s are never too special tbh; i usually just do a dinner with my fam and then another with friends 26. what time did you wake up: i got up around 10 today, but laid in bed until almost noon lolololoool (god why am i like this?) 27. what were you doing at midnight last night: attempting to finish part three of heartbeat and watching youtube videos 28. name something you can’t wait for: cooler weather tbh (i’m tired of this heat, and i wanna wear sweaters and boots again) 29. when was the last time you saw your mom: last night before i went to bed 30. what is one thing you wish you could change in your life: i wish i was more extroverted and “friendly;” i think i’m a pretty nice person, but i wish i could express that freely and not be an awkward bean or have people believe that i’m a bitch because of my rbf lol 31. what are you listening to right now: nothing; sounds can be distracting and i like silence 32. have you ever talked to a person named Tom: i actually have a friend named tom lol 33. something that is getting on your nerves: how rude everyone in bts is being lately; control yourselves pleaseeeeee 34. most visited website: probably youtube (i waste sooo much time watching the randomest videos) 38. hair color: dark brown/black, but it looks really light in the sun 39. long or short hair: it depends really; i’ve had both long and short hair and i loved them both! 40. do you have a crush on someone: honestly, it’s really hard for me to genuinely crush on someone 41. what do you like about yourself: hmm... maybe the fact that i’m not an open book; i’m a mystery that needs to be unraveled 42. piercings: only my basic single ear piercings (tho i really want to get more in the future - blame bts bc they have some amazingggg ear piercings) 43. blood type: i really have no idea, but i want to know so badly! my mom’s an O, but idk what my dad is so i can’t predict via punnet squares 44. nickname: well, gabby is a nickname lol but my friends call me gabbs and my fam calls my apple (idk why) 45. relationship status: single (and not looking) 46. zodiac: libra 47. pronouns: she/her 48. favorite tv show: i have loved scandal and htgawm (and any show on hgtv or tlc) for yearrsss; but some new faves would be riverdale and dear white people 49. tattoos: i want one in the future! but idk what i would get 50. right or left handed: right handed 51. surgery: i’ve had all my wisdom teeth removed lol 52. piercing: like do i like piercings? um yes. i’ve always wanted to make out with someone who had a lip ring LMAO 53. sport: i’m not sporty at all lol, but i really like reading sport!au’s and watching sport themed movies/shows. i think i just like all the drama behind it haha 55. vacation: yes; anywhere and everywhere 56. pair of trainers: like a pair of nike’s? or a personal trainer?? i mean, i would love to have a personal trainer because i need to hit the gym more

MORE GENERAL 57. eating: i love food 58. drinking: if i go to a restaurant, i usually order water or a coke; but i loveee iced coffee so much 59. i’m about to: finish writing lol 61. waiting for: creativity to surge through my veins 62. want: meet bts and just hug them and tell them that they’re loved and special and appreciated asdfghjjjjjjkl; 63. get married: one day 64. career: i want to be a travel writer, so i can do my two most favorite things: write and see the world

WHICH IS BETTER 65. hugs or kisses: hugs 66. lips or eyes: eyes are the windows to the soul 67. shorter or taller: i want to be shorter than my significant other (and so i can wear heels, duh) 68. older or younger: older bc my brother is two years younger than me and dating someone younger than me would be like his friends and ew 70. nice arms or nice stomach: ARMS BOI  71. sensitive or loud: hmm... depends 72. hook up or relationship: i am a hopeless romantic (and i think i’d suck at the whole casual sex thing because i become too emotionally invested) 73. troublemaker or hesitant: both of these are on two completely different spectrums, but i think a balance is better

HAVE YOU EVER: 74. kissed a stranger: no 75. drank hard liquor: i’ve had vodka before and it’s disgusting lol 76. lost glasses/contact lenses: omg yesss so many times! 77. turned someone down: yes and it can honestly get so awkward 78. sex on the first date: i feel like sex is a really intimate thing that i only want to share with someone who really cares about me 79. broken someone’s heart: i don’t think so 80. had your heart broken: um, i’ve been hurt before but having my heart broken romantically? no 81. been arrested: no 82. cried when someone died: yes 83. fallen for a friend: kind of and it ended h o r r i b l y (10/10 would not recommend)

DO YOU BELIEVE IN: 84. yourself: most of the time 85. miracles: i mean, i passed some classes that i believed i was going to fail... so yes lol 86. love at first sight: no, personally i don’t. like i mentioned earlier, i can’t develop crushes on people easily... so fall in love with them at first sight? no. i believe love takes time 87. santa claus: no, and it’s a shame we force children into believing he exists 88. kiss on the first date: it doesn’t hurt ;) 89. angels: yes

OTHER: 90. current best friend’s name: p <3 91. eye color: basic brown 92. favorite movie: freedom writers, dead poet’s society, dead man walking (as you can see i love torturing myself with sad dramas)

Tagging: @boymeetsfiction, @blumiin, @namjoonsbby, @jiminieee95, @dearseok, @boymeetsfiction, @taecup, & @velvethoseok. 

[suju-bangtan]

92 truths

tagged by @monsteronfire ! Buckle up and get ready for a long one

Rules: Tag 20 people

THE LAST…

1.Drink: Dr. Pepper

2.Phone call: Mom

3.Text message: my best friend <3

4.Song you listened to: K.A.R.D - Rumor

5.Time you cried: Yesterday

HAVE YOU EVER…

6.Dated someone twice: Never

7.Been cheated on: Never

8.Kissed someone and regretted it: Never

9.Lost someone special: Yes

10.Been depressed: Im not too sure

11.Gotten drunk and thrown up: Never

LIST 3 FAVORITE COLORS:

Black, Blue, Red

IN THE LAST YEAR HAVE YOU…

15.Made new friends: Yes

16.Fallen out of love: Nope

17.Laughed until you cried: Yes

18.Found out someone was talking about you: Nope

19.Met someone who changed you: Nope

20.Found out who your true friends are: I've always known

21.Kissed someone on your Facebook list: Nope

GENERAL…

22.How many of your Facebook friends do you know in real life: uhhhh, most of them I think

23.Do you have any pets: Yes!! my German Shepard fluff ball Rocky

24.Do you want to change your name: Nope

25.What did you do for your last birthday: Worked

26.What time did you wake up: erm...9a.m ish

27.What were you doing at midnight last night: spamming my blog with Super Junior posts. #noregrets

28.Name something you cannot wait for: Super Junior's comeback

29.When was the last time you saw your mother: 10 minutes ago

30.What is one thing you wish you could change about your life: That I wouldn't procrastinate so much >.<

31.What are you listening to right now: S NUPER - Back:Hug

32.Have you ever talked to a person named Tom: Yes

33.Something that is getting on your nerves: people who keep taking my unofficial seat in my classes...like I've sat there since the first day of class and you saw me sit there then mid way through the semester you're just gonna decide to take it? like pls gtfo

34.Most visited website: Youtube

35.Elementary:  Yes

36. High School: Yes

37.College: Yes

38.Hair color: Blonde

39.Long or short hair: Medium length ish, might let it grow out a little more. I haven't had long hair in a while

40.Do you have a crush on someone: Nope

41.What do you like about yourself: I honestly don't know

42.Piercings: Kinda? I have ear piercing but they're probably closed in. I always forget to put earring in...opps.

43.Blood type: No clue

44.Nickname: Malfoy (gaming friends), Baby Girl (from high school soccer because my face looked like a baby face to some of the seniors so it stuck)

45.Relationship status: Single

46.Zodiac sign: Leo (August 2nd)

47.Pronouns: She/her

48.Favorite TV show: I don't think I have one. There's nothing on TV that interests me, or at least on the channels we have.

49.Tattoos: None, but I want some so bad

50.Right or left hand: Left

FIRST…

51.Surgery: July 23, 2015 - cant forget because it was the day after I had to take a calculus 2 final. I had surgery because I completely tore my right ACL along with tearing up some cartilage and getting a bone bruise. Story time!! I used to play as a goalie in an adult co-ed soccer league here, so in April is when I first messed it up but I didn't think anything of it cuz I didn't hear anything pop so I was like whatever, but when it did happen I had to go out of the game because my knee was like 'nah fam'.  So summer league came along and I played in that for a game or 2 before my knee acted up again so we went to the doctors to get a MRI and what not. Then when the doctor told me I tore my ACL, man I think that's one the times I cried the hardest. Its healed but im to scared to play again because I don't wanna mess it up again, but I might get back into eventually.

52.Piercing: Ermmm...want to say I got my first piercing when I was 8

54.Sport: Soccer!! <3

55.Vacation: Destin, Florida in like...2008ish? haven't been on another since

57.Eating: Nothing, im starving though

58.Drinking: Flavored water

59.I’m about to: Go to sleep maybe. unless I get distracted by something else

60.Listening to: Ehhh was S NUPER earlier but now its DEAN - Bonnie & Clyde

61.Waiting for: Me to be productive and study for these stupid tests coming up

62.Want: To learn Greek and Korean and to travel the world

63.Get married: Eventually yes

64.Career: Chemical Engineer, although my dream job is Marine Biologist with a concentration in sharks

WHICH IS BETTER…

65.Hugs or kisses: I've never kissed anyone sooo I'll go with hugs lol

66.Lips or eyes: Eyes

67.Shorter or taller: Taller

68.Older or younger: No preference

70.Nice arms or nice stomach: No preference

71.Sensitive or loud: No preference

72.Hook up or relationship: Relationship

73.Troublemaker or hesitant: No preference

HAVE YOU EVER…

74.Kissed a stranger?: Nope

75.Drank hard liquor?: This year at Mardi Gras maybe. I have 3 Jell-O shots for the first time. I don't know what kind of alcohol it was but I'll consider it hard liquor for me since it was my first time trying alcohol. And poor me thought the Jell-O would help some...hahaha nah. Got a good taste of pure alcohol.

76.Lost glasses contact/lenses?: Nope

77.Turned someone down?: Nope

78.Sex on first date?: Never had sex so nope

79.Broken someone’s heart?: Not that I know of

80.Had your heart broken?: Nope

81.Been arrested?: Nope

82.Cried when someone died?: Yes

83.Fallen for a friend?: Yes

DO YOU BELIEVE IN…

84.Yourself?: No

85.Miracles?: No

86.Love at first sight?: No

87.Santa Claus?: No

88.Kiss on the first date?: Maybe

89.Angels?: Possibly

OTHER…

90.Current best friend’s name: Kelli <3 my hufflepoof best friend

91.Eye color: Blue is what they are the most but they'll change to green sometimes

92.Favorite movie: Gonna bring back childhood feels because Aristocats will forever be my #1 movie

Kinda feel blahh to tag people, and I've done a lot of these this week so feel free to do it if you want to!

[anavoliselenu]

Monday Chapter 2

Why was Selena carrying a gun in her purse?

Chapter Three

Selena grabbed her purse from Justin, removed the keys, and handed them to him.

She’d screwed up. Put Gwen in danger instead of helping her ward off unwanted advances from strange men. Gwen shook as Selena and Neil lead her to the town car that Neil drove. She said she was okay, but Selena didn’t believe her. She kept glaring at Neil with misguided anger.

Once they returned to the hotel, Selena would have her answers. Until then she had to deal with Justin.

Why were they in the bar to begin with? She should be happy with his intervention, but all she could think was that if she hadn’t been distracted with Justin showing up, she could have handled everything fine.

Justin drove in silence until they hit the interstate. All Selena could focus on was his hard profile. Strong jaw, and sexy mouth with that slightly swollen lip.

She shuddered, thinking of the pain.

“Why?”

She sucked in a deep breath, let it out slow. There wasn’t a need to ask what he was referring to. Why were they in that bar to begin with? Why had she taken Lady Gwen, a sheltered debutant from the ball and to a bar? “We wanted to blow off some steam.”

“Doesn’t the hotel have a bar?”

“Yes. Perfectly safe and boring,” she told him. “Gwen wanted more.”

“Gwen doesn’t know what she wants. She could have been hurt.”

Selena glanced at her hands in her lap covering her purse. “Gwen was starting to believe that all cowboys were gentlemen because they say ma’am and pull out her chair. If she didn’t go to that bar with me, she’d have gone alone.”

“And you helped her, how?”

“If you hadn’t shown up and distracted me, I’d have kept her from leaving with that guy.” Her voice rose and anger bubbled to the surface.

Justin huffed and signaled to leave the freeway.

“Why were you there anyway?” she asked.

“To keep both of you from becoming part of tomorrow’s headlines. Looks like Neil and I showed up just in time.” Justin’s hands clutched the steering wheel as he pulled into the hotel parking lot. He bypassed the valet and opted to self park.

“It wasn’t that bad.”

“The guy with his hands all over you was a drug dealer. Did you know that?”

She knew about tattoos. Knew of their meaning. “Small town at best.” Not that she’d given any attention to the guy when he showed up at their table. In fact when he sat down, Selena was ordering coffee so she and Gwen could make their way out of there. She suspected the guys around her realized none of them were going to get laid, so tension started to fill the room. She was on the verge of making their excuses when Justin showed up and dragged her onto the dance floor.

“Small town. That’s all you have to say on the matter?” Justin pissed wasn’t a happy look. His jaw was so tight and his eyes narrowed to slits so small that stickpins would have bounced off him.

Instead of giving him more, Selena shoved herself out of the car and slammed the door.

She made it two yards from the car when Justin spun her around for the second time that night. “Admit you were wrong and I’ll let it go.”

The hell!

They stood there facing each other, toe-to-toe, glaring.

She took a few breaths, refusing to give in. If he thought he could wait her out, he was going to be sooo sorry. No one did the silent treatment better than she did.

“God you’re stubborn.”

“Don’t forget it,” she told him.

His grip loosened and something in his eyes shifted. His voice softened. “You could have been hurt.”

“You mean Gwen could have been hurt.”

His gaze traveled from her eyes to her lips and awareness ignited. “Her, too,” he all but whispered.

From the look in his eyes, Gwen hadn’t been his concern.

His fingers ran up her arm and sparks flared from his touch. His switch from anger to fear sucked the air from her lungs and left her light-headed. His lips moved, as if he said something to himself as he started to close the space between them. She knew he was going to kiss her. A colossal mistake to be sure, but she couldn’t stop him, didn’t want to. She held perfectly still and waited for his touch.

His cell phone rang from inside his pocket and cracked the tension like an ice cube hitting hot water. “Dammit,” he uttered.

Selena backed away and shook her head as he reached for his pocket.

“What?” he barked into the phone. “Yes. No… sonofabitch.”

The color from Justin’s face faded. He ran his free hand through his sandy blond hair, making him look even sexier.

She really shouldn’t be thinking of him as sexy.

“Yeah. You know what to do.” He hung up his phone.

“What’s wrong?”

“Apparently tonight’s little party is all over the social media. That was my campaign manager.”

“Oh, no.” That couldn’t be good. Men were tossed out of elections on less.

“More than oh, no. C’mon, I need to get you inside so I can go do damage control.”

Every step into the hotel was riddled with guilt. What happened to the walls she’d worked so hard to build? Selena attempted to mask her feelings and hoped Justin couldn’t see through her slipping façade.

He shoved her into the penthouse suite without a word. He took one look at Gwen, pointed at her, and said, “Next time you want to go out, take Neil.” Then he pivoted on his heel and slammed the door behind him.

It’s all my fault

****

The door to the penthouse shut, and Gwen shot to her feet. “I’ve never had so much fun in my entire life.”

Selena stared at her, speechless. “What?”

“First those cowboys. So cute. And the beer. I didn’t think I’d like beer. My mother told me it tasted like dirty bathwater and that ladies didn’t drink beer. And the dancing…my word I’ve not danced that way, ever.” Gwen paced the room, her voice raised at least an octave as she rushed her words, one on top of the other.

Selena shook her head. “Are you crazy? Neil saved your not so virginal ass from that jerk in the parking lot.”

“I noticed Neil an hour before he decided to walk into the spotlight. I was never in any real danger.”

Selena felt her mouth going dry. “What?”

“You didn’t see Justin and Neil walk in? I can see how Justin might have entered unnoticed, but Neil? The man is built like one of those trucks on the interstate. Solid muscle.” Gwen lifted her left eyebrow and her glossy eyes from one to many beers glossed even more.

“You like Neil?”

“I didn’t say that.”

Not a denial. Interesting.

Selena rubbed her hands over her face, smudging whatever makeup she had left. “Tonight was a huge mistake.”

“I disagree.”

“Justin is running for election, and he was just involved in a bar fight. Apparently photos are already circulating.” Selena couldn’t help but hope she wasn’t in any of them.

“Oh… Oh!” It looked like Lady Gwen was finally getting a clear picture of the problem.

Selena flopped on the couch, hands at her side. “It’s all my fault.”

Gwen sat beside her and placed a hand on her knee. “No. I’m just as guilty as you.”

The responsibility lay squarely on Selena’s shoulders. Now the question was, how was she going to fix it?

****

With his head buried in his hands, Justin sat in front of his laptop with his campaign manager, Jay watching via Skype. “…and because Gwen Harrison was involved, you’ve even made the London papers and tabloids. We’re screwed.”

I need to fix this.

“Nobody wants a bar brawling, single man in office. They don’t mind adultery and drug use, but fighting in the bar parking lot—not gonna work.”

“There’s got to be something we can do.” He was planning to officially announce his candidacy in less than two weeks. One night of protecting a woman’s honor, and all his life plans were shot out of the stratosphere. “How soon should I do a press conference?”

“And tell the reporters what exactly? That you were in a bar drinking—”

“I wasn’t drinking.”

“How long were you in the bar?”

“An hour.”

“And you weren’t drinking?” Jay’s sarcastic tone laced his words.

“I nursed one drink.” He’d sipped on one beer so he didn’t appear to be spying on Selena.

Jay huffed out a breath. “Like I said, you were in a bar drinking. Picking up women—”

“I did not.”

“The pictures I saw were with you standing next to a dark haired sex-is-my-middle-name woman.”

“That was Selena. Samantha’s best friend. After the fight I drove her home, Neil drove Gwen,” he defended.

“I don’t think the papers are going to care whose friend she is. Listen, Justin, they’re going to say you were there drinking—which isn’t a lie, you picked up a chick—which isn’t a lie, and you bloodied a man’s face—which isn’t a lie.”

Justin was a hair away from saying, but he started it. How high school could he be?

“When is Blake’s party?”

“Two days.”

“Stay low, and watch who you talk to. Maybe some of this will blow over, and we’ll figure out how to handle it.”

Justin rubbed the growing tension in the back of his neck. “Ignoring this isn’t going to make it go away.”

“No, but what choice do we have? Unless it’s you walking down that aisle tomorrow, or within the next week, I’m not sure how we’re going to turn you into a trusting family man ready to take office. The image of the bar brawl isn’t going away. The best we can do is cover it up or make it out to be some kind of heroic gesture. Even then, it’s going to be an uphill battle.”

The image of Kathleen, his date for the wedding, swam in his mind.

Marriage? Not gonna happen.

“There has to be something we can do.”

“I’ll consult with some of my friends in D.C. They deal with this kind of thing all the time.”

“Call me.”

“I will. Oh, and Justin?”

“Yeah?”

“Stay out of redneck bars.”

Justin ended the call and tossed the phone on the bed.

He was so screwed.

Chapter Four

The dress was even hotter than she thought it would be. The yellow didn’t add to Selena’s pasty complexion, the one she’d worn daily since the infamous bar brawl.

“You look…sweet,” Sam said, her eyes shifting from Selena to Gwen and back again.

“Like icing on a cake.” Only the inside of the cake was bitter and tart. The thought of facing Justin as they walked up the aisle left her nauseous. Where were her snarky attitude and her quick comebacks when she needed them?

“At least the temperature dropped,” Gwen said, optimistic to the core.

“By what, five degrees?” Selena swept open the silly fan and used it.

There was a knock on the door.

“Come in.”

Mrs. Hawthorn poked her head in. “Oh, don’t you girls look lovely.”

Selena refrained from snorting. Sam’s dress was equally ridiculous, but at least it was white. Mrs. Hawthorn obviously needed her eyes examined. Only Gwen appeared to wear the gown, and the yellow, well.

“Are the men ready?”

“They are, they are. Can I tell them to play the music?”

“Please,” Selena pleaded. The sooner they started, the sooner it ended. Then maybe she could slip into the shadows. She’d yet to come up with a way to make up her “party foul” with Justin. The news had jumped on his “bar brawl” and painted him as a volatile candidate. Justin didn’t address the media even though they camped out at the hotel in search of a quote.

Sam lifted her heavy dress to avoid stepping on it as she walked by.

Half way down the stairs Selena spotted Justin and Neil, both decked out in tuxedos with yellow ties. Justin smirked at something Neil said before Neil’s eyes found them.

Justin swiveled his head, and his smile fell as his gaze landed on her.

Selena swallowed hard, attempting to ignore the building tension in her gut.

Justin took his place at the bottom of the stairs and waited. His eyes glanced over her before he stuck his arm out for her to take. He was stiff and unyielding.

This is going to be fun.

“Hey,” she managed without stuttering.

He offered a hey back, but averted his gaze to Neil. “Let’s get this moving,”

Gwen’s radiant smile beamed toward Neil, and she snuggled into his arm.

Neil pulled at his collar and nodded toward Justin.

The music outside started to play, and Selena let Justin escort her down the hall.

As soon as she and Justin stepped into the aisle, his charming smile manifested, and he moved Selena a little closer to him.

He finally allowed her a glance, but must have not liked what he saw. “You look lovely,” he said.

“You must be blind,” she whispered and smiled as she did.

Two photographers snapped pictures. One hired by Samantha, the other hand picked from the media. The camera seemed to focus an awful lot on the two of them.

Good thing Neil had the okay to delete any pictures he didn’t deem appropriate.

“You look like Daisy Duke. Very Texas,” he managed from the corner of his upturned mouth.

“Daisy Duke would be wearing cutoffs and showing her butt cheeks.” Selena nodded toward one of her and Sam’s clients who was seated on her right.

Justin chuckled under his breath. More flashes of light arrested her senses.

He led her up to the front and held her hand briefly before letting go and taking his place beside Blake.

The ceremony was brief. A renewing of vows with a sprinkling of words of devotion spoken from both Sam and Blake.

And though the gown stuck to Selena’s skin by the time they were done, a tiny bit of emotion clogged her throat. Samantha and Blake were very much in love and seeing them together gave Selena a splattering of hope for humanity.

****

Selena snagged a glass of champagne from a passing waiter, and Justin’s palms grew damp as she let the sweet beverage trickle down her throat.

He licked his lips while a shot of desire wedged in his gut and wouldn’t let go.

Kathleen nudged his arm. “Is that the girl from the pictures in the paper?”

Embarrassed he’d been caught staring, and if he were honest, lusting, after a woman other than the one he’d arrived with, Justin turned to his date. “The woman with the dark hair?” he asked, forging innocence.

Kathleen offered a wan smile. “I’m not a fool.”

No, Kathleen wasn’t that. “Yes, that’s her.”

His date took a moment to stare over her glass. “She’s very beautiful, despite that awful dress.”

He nearly laughed and twisted his head toward Selena again. He thought of her comment about cutoffs and butt cheeks and felt some of the week’s tension lift. “I suppose.”

“Suppose? Please, Justin, you’ve hardly taken your eyes off her all night.”

Damn. “I’m overloaded since the bar incident. Seeing her and Gwen again has my thoughts turned around.” Which wasn’t a lie. Only it wasn’t Gwen who fueled his apprehension.

Kathleen placed a hand on his forearm and managed a half smile. “I think it might be more than that.”

He started to shake his head and she stopped him. “Tell me, do you think you have the same chances today as you did last week to win in November?”

“We’ll start damage control tomorrow.”

“But you’re not as sure any longer?”

Kathleen’s blue eyes met his.

“I’m not sure.” He might have to wait another four years for the opportunity to clear his image.

She sighed and tilted her head. “You know what you need?”

“No, tell me.”

“You need a new scandal to overshadow the old. Something noble. With an impact of a soldier coming home from war.”

Perhaps.

The back of Justin’s neck tickled with awareness. He twisted and noticed Selena shift her eyes away suddenly.

When he turned back to Kathleen, she shook her head and lowered her eyes. “This isn’t working for me, Justin.”

He stared at her for a long moment, neither of them speaking. Memories of their short time together flashed and were finished in less than a minute. He wanted to feel something with her declaration and he did. She was calling an end to their dating and he was relieved.

“I’m sorry,” was all he could say.

Kathleen lifted her head high, leaned in, and kissed his cheek. “Goodbye, Justin.” She turned and walked away.

****

It wasn’t her business.

She didn’t care.

Selena noticed Justin’s beautifully polished date slip away from his side. The woman was clingy. Not something Selena thought he’d admire in a woman. Apparently, she was wrong.

Samantha waved a hand in front of her face. “Earth to Selena.”

They’d been talking about something, but she couldn’t recall what. “I’m sorry. What did you say?”

“Are you sure it’s okay if Gwen stays with you for a while?”

That shook Selena awake. “Stay with me?” Had she agreed to something while staring at Justin and his date?

“You’ve not heard a word I’ve said, have you?”

“No. Yes, I heard you say Gwen is staying in Malibu while you and Blake take another honeymoon. Which is the only thing about getting married every year that’s worth the effort by the way. What’s this about Gwen staying with me?”

“We’re only going to be gone five days. Gwen will be with Eddie and our staff, but when we come home she wants to stay with you. She said you were fine with it.”

I am?

“You’re not fine with it,” Samantha said.

“No, I’m just… We didn’t discuss it.”

Sam shrugged. “She thought it was okay.” Samantha rubbed the inside of her palms together, a sure sign she had something to say but wasn’t uttering a word.

“Out with it.”

There were very few things the two of them kept from each other. No reason not to be blunt. “C’mon, Sam. You have something to say.”

“Gwen wants to work for Alliance.”

“Work? Has Gwen ever worked a day in her life?”

Sam squeezed her eyes together. “Technically, no. But—”

“It’s a bad idea.” One week with Gwen and Justin was losing an election and Selena’s face was plastered on papers all over the world.

“Hear me out. I don’t think Gwen is cut out for office work. But we could use her connections to find more women for our registry. Who knows, she might even be able to find men to match with the women.”

Sam had a point.

“If you’re that against it—”

“No. I’m not.” Selena took a deep breath. Ultimately, Samantha was the boss. Though she’d always respected Selena’s opinion, and they’d never taken on a client that rubbed one of them wrong. This was a different matter. And to top it off, Gwen was Sam’s sister-in-law. Not something they could overlook. “I’m standing here wearing something the yellow tooth fairy threw up. All because Gwen is hard to say no to.”

“Which is why she’d be great for recruiting.”

Sam’s pleading eyes said it all.

“Okay, we give her a trial run. She’ll probably hate living in the burbs after a week and want to go home anyway.”

“Probably,” Sam agreed with a smile. “Thanks.”

Sam hugged her and left her side. Selena attempted to peel away the material of her dress from her chest. She hated the heat. After flicking open her fan, she found some relief with the forced air against her damp skin.

“Are you ready for those cutoffs?”

Justin’s voice caressed the back of her neck. The vision of him “almost kissing” her flooded her senses. She swallowed but didn’t turn his way. “Do you have any?”

“I can arrange them.” Why did his words sound so much like a seductive offer?

“Trying to get me out of this dress?”

“I’ve had worse thoughts.”

She turned and saw his cocky smile. “Don’t you have a date?”

“Yep.”

“Then why are you standing here flirting with me?” Selena was a good many things, but a poacher on another woman’s guy, she wasn’t. Even if Selena had known Justin a lot longer than his arm candy, he didn’t arrive with her and that made him off limits.

“Is that what I’m doing?”

“That’s what it feels like. And I have to tell ya, it’s a bad idea.”

“What’s a bad idea?”

“You and me…flirting. We clash. Remember? Last Christmas we were shouting at each other over the Christmas pudding.”

“We were arguing about a call between Green Bay and Carolina. The ref sided with me.”

“The ref was blind.” Her voice rose and all thoughts of Justin flirting with her sailed away like a pesky mosquito running from RAID.

Justin smirked.

“What’s so funny?”

“All you need is a big black stripe, and you’d look like an angry hornet in that dress.”

She would have hurled an insult at him if he wasn’t so flippin’ right. Instead, she huffed out a laugh, glanced down at her dress, and let her arms flop to the side. “God it’s awful. For the record, Gwen picked it out.”

Justin turned around. “On Gwen it isn’t that bad. It’s not good, but…”

“Something tells me Gwen would look good in whipped cream.” She was that beautiful. Classic lines, the perfect height, and laughing eyes. Gorgeous, and currently surrounded by three guys.

“Whipped cream huh?”

Selena placed her focus on Justin and felt a simmering heat along her skin.

Whipped cream and a trickle of chocolate syrup down your thick chest. Selena nibbled on her lower lip and a flash of light sucked her out of her brief fantasy.

She and Justin both turned to glare at the photographer. Nonplussed by their anger, the photographer was checking the digital display and nodding. “Man it’s hot tonight,” was all he said before walking away.

“Should we allow that?”

Justin shrugged. “Better than a bar fight.”

For a brief time, Selena had completely forgotten the fight. “How’s the campaign?”

He hesitated with his answer, then said. “Not good.”

My fault.

“I feel responsible,” she admitted.

“You do?”

“Well, yeah… If I hadn’t taken Gwen there, you guys wouldn’t have followed. One thing lead to another and all that. If there’s something I can do to help.”

Selena considered repeating her words when Justin stood staring at her. Somewhere in his head, he was thinking up something and struggling with the image it created.

“Justin? Are you okay?”

“Uh huh. Just thinking if there is something you can do.” His words came out slow and steady.

“Right. I was there. I know you didn’t start the fight. I could tell a reporter.”

“Uh huh.” He kept staring and mumbled, “I don’t know.”

“You don’t know what?”

“Know what?” he repeated her question.

“You’re not making any sense.”

He snapped out of his thoughts. “When are you leaving tomorrow?”

“In the afternoon. I’m flying out with Sam and Blake.”

“So you’ll be in L.A. after that?”

“It’s where I live, Hollywood. Not all of us have the funds to charter a private plane.” Selena used the nickname Samantha had given him when they met. His big-screen good looks were every producer’s wet dream. Instead of searching for fame, he picked law. Yawn!

“Right,” he said with the smirk returning to his lips. “I have a press conference in two days at the Beverly Hilton. Can you be there?”

She swallowed and felt her palms dampen even more. “To explain what happened?”

“If need be.”

What could she say? It was her fault he needed the press conference. She had to do something to make it right. “Yeah. I can be there.”

Justin let loose a full smile, the one Hollywood would love to have.

“You should get back to your date. I’ll bet she’s looking for you.”

Justin tore his eyes away from her and glanced around the room. Selena noticed his date laughing at something another man was saying. “Looks like someone’s moving in,” she told him, nudging his arm.

“She cut me loose. They can move in all they want.”

Selena stared at him. “She dumped you?”

He nodded, but his expression didn’t change. Kathleen obviously wasn’t that important to him. Or maybe there was more to the dump.

“Wait, she didn’t dump you because of the election did she?”

He shrugged.

A strange weight fell on Selena’s chest. A mixture of relief that Justin wasn’t attached, which was completely unwanted on her part, and dose of what a “rat” Kathleen must be to dump a guy for such a shallow reason. If his date knew Justin at all, she knew that beyond his often arrogant demeanor he’d protect a woman despite how the media would take it. Guys like Justin didn’t exist outside of books.

“She’s not good enough for you anyway,” Selena mumbled.

“What was that?”

“If a woman is only with you to be the first lady of California, then you don’t want her.” Kathleen was leaning into a Texas cowboy in a five-hundred dollar suit. Probably has an oil field.

“Is that so?” Justin asked.

“Yeah. That’s so.”

The music playing in the background stopped, and the emcee for the event picked up the microphone. “Well folks, looks like we need to do a little cake cutting so we can let the hosts run off and start their third honeymoon.”

Selena glanced up to find Justin observing her. He smiled and offered his arm so the two of them could help at the cake table.

As Selena slid her hand along his arm, an electric current fluttered in her chest and raised gooseflesh on her skin. Her already warm body heated with his simple touch and tightened in all the right places.

Chapter Five

“I need your help.” Selena stood in Samantha and Blake’s living room pleading with Gwen.

“You need my help?” Gwen sat taller and lifted a manicured eyebrow high. She appeared just as surprised to hear Selena’s request as she was in giving it.

“Shocking, I know. But you have experience with this kind of thing and I’m clueless.” Selena didn’t like asking for advice, but she didn’t have a choice.

“What experience?”

Selena lifted her hand to her mouth and nibbled on a fingernail. “Justin asked me to join him at a press conference tomorrow. I don’t know what to wear��don’t know what to say. I don’t want to come off as some hick. Lord knows those pictures of us in the parking lot were less than flattering.”

“I thought they were splendid,” Gwen said.

“For a jeans and beer ad maybe. This is a big deal for Justin. I should look…I don’t know, dignified. I’m good at evening gowns. I can do casual. But a press conference? Not a clue.”

Gwen placed a hand on her chest. “I’m proud you came to me.”

Oh, good. “So you can help?”

“If there is one thing my mother taught me, it was how to handle the media.” Gwen stood and stuck out her hand. “Come. Let’s start with the perfect clothes.”

Thirty minutes later, they were standing in a designer dress store Gwen had obviously scoped out on one of her visits. The owner greeted them the moment they crossed the threshold.

Someone pressed a glass of wine in Selena’s hand while Gwen explained to Nadine, the owner, what they were looking for.

Drinking the wine kept Selena from biting her nails.

She half listened while the other women walked around the room. Gwen removed a couple of skirt and blouse combinations from the rack. “I think dark colors will bring out her complexion and photograph well.”

“Right. But not black. You’re not attending a funeral,” Nadine announced.

Selena laughed, not able to shake the feeling that standing in front of a bunch of cameras might actually feel like a funeral. She’d spent most of her adult life hiding from cameras. Now she was going to be center stage.

“What about a hat?” Gwen asked. “I realize it’s English of me, but a hat adds mystery and can hide some of your nerves.”

Selena snapped her attention to Gwen. “I like that idea.”

Nadine left the clothes she had in her arms on a sofa. She then stepped to the back of the store and returned with a few hatboxes, removing each hat carefully. “We want mystery, not a statement. Nothing small or with feathers.”

“But I like feathers,” Gwen announced.

“Well, maybe a small one on the brim,” Nadine agreed.

One at a time, the hats met with Selena’s head, briefly. Other than a baseball cap to hide her hair on bad hair days, Selena didn’t wear hats. The large brims felt awkward. After seeing her reflection, she couldn’t help but admire how they transformed her face.

“I like the second one,” Gwen said.

The brim covered Selena’s face enough to where she could dip her head maybe an inch and hide her identity. “I like it, too.”

“Super. Now, on to the dress. Clean cut, nothing too low. It will be warm so short sleeves on the jacket and it needs to be silk. You’ll feel confident, despite your heart pounding in your chest. Never let them see your nerves,” Gwen said.

As she spoke, Nadine removed different dresses and placed them behind a screen.

There was some debate of color, but they decided on a deep navy matching the hat. The shoes were practical two-inch heels, and if Selena were honest, more comfortable than her six-month-old running shoes. Amazing what a pricy shop could provide.

Thinking about the price of the ensemble shocked her back into reality. Although Lady Gwen and Samantha could tap into a duke’s wealth, Selena could not.

As they bagged the dress and the hat made its way into a large round box, Nadine handed Selena the bill.

She drew in a quick breath. Three grand was a hard pill.

“You take credit cards?”

“Of course.”

“Let me,” Gwen offered.

“When I asked for your help, I didn’t mean financially.” Selena removed plastic from her purse and pushed it toward Nadine.

“I’ll be living with you by next week. I owe you something for that.”

Although Selena couldn’t afford the dress, she wasn’t about to let the other woman pay for it. “When you move in we’ll arrange something.”

Gwen must have seen the determination in Selena’s eyes and dropped the debate.

****

The doorbell rang to the Tarzana house Selena had shared with Sam before her marriage. Justin was five minutes early.

“Coming,” she yelled down the stairs, not sure he could hear her. She slid on her heels and checked her appearance one last time. She wasn’t sure where Selena Havens had gone. The woman in her reflection was a stranger. A mysterious, and yeah, slightly beautiful, stranger. “You can do this,” she said to herself, desperate to calm her nerves. The entire ruse would crumble if she started biting her nails and fidgeting.

Gwen’s pointers had gone long into the night.

“Stand still. Shoulders back, chin high. Not too high. Now tilt your head to the side and let your lips lift a fraction. Not a smile, not a smirk. Perfect.”

The tips went on and on.

Gwen had done the impossible. Turned Selena into a sophisticated lady over night. Maybe not impossible.

The bell rang again, and Selena blew out a deep breath. “Here we go.”

She straightened her skirt one last time before opening the door to greet Justin.

It wasn’t Justin.

“Ms. Havens?” The short man wore a three-piece suit and a smile. In her driveway was a town car and a driver standing at the passenger door.

“I am.”

The man removed his glasses and did a quick scan of her body. Nothing sleazy, just a short appraisal. His lips spread into a large grin like a man with a secret. “I’m Jay Lieberman, Justin’s campaign manager. Sorry for the inconvenience, but he has to meet you at the hotel.”

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