#and that post gigi sent me the other day about people needing to be more unhinged about platonic relationships in media was so real

[lavampira]

speaking my truth but if I have any notp in this game it’s the portrayal of romantic fraysid ngl

[hotmessmaxpress]

part 1

Vale doesn't put much thought into what he says on podcasts, to be honest. He does so many interviews for so many different things that they all blur together in one long, blurry stretch of Things He's Said. He speaks in interviews and forgets the moment he leaves the microphone. He's been interviewed thousands of times since he was a teen-- it's hard to care after so many years. Besides, he's getting older now. He doesn't need to waste his memory on words for other people.

Vale is also not a man who has many regrets of things he says. He doesn't see the point in ruminating on his phrasing or his wording. He never even listens to himself.

It's early evening, and he's in a hotel room after a long day of post-race press. He's looking at pictures Francesca sent him of her day with Gigi; they're at some resort or another with Letizia and one of Francesca's cousins. He could probably recall more details if it mattered, but as long as they're both happy the details don't matter. Francesca is easy to please, and good at being left alone. She is a great mother to Gigi, and Vale is happy to let her do her own thing as she pleases.

He stretches, sore arms above his head, until his shoulders pop and he relaxes. His phone vibrates where he set it on the desk, and he picks it up, expecting another message about Gigi.

You have a daughter. Is she not enough to hold your attention? Why do you have to keep accusing me of awful things? I’ve never hurt you on purpose but all you do is twist the knife. Grow up and focus on being a father, not trying to ruin my life.

For a moment he has no idea what the message is about. The number is not saved in his phone, and he racks his brain for who he possibly could have angered.

...accusing me of awful things.

It's with a sharp pain that he thinks of Marc. He doesn't want to think of him-- he'd much prefer to believe it's someone else, but he can't think of another person he's accused of wrongdoing (at least, publicly).

He picks up the hotel-branded pen absentmindedly, twisting it between his fingers. He doesn't know if he should respond, or what he should say if he does. He isn't going to apologize, because he has nothing to apologize for, but it seems cowardly not to say anything in return.

No one is trying to ruin your life he types, then deletes.

I am not trying to ruin your life he types, then pauses.

He hits send, then closes out of the chat entirely.

[infinitywrites]

I Didn't Expect You Part 3 ~ Conrad Fisher

(Part 2) (Masterlist) (Part 4)

synopsis: Y/N never expected it to be the summer that everything changed. Conrad, Belly and Steven were all dealing with the consequences of recent break ups while Jeremiah's wasn't acting like himself. Susannah was undergoing treatment that provided unpredictable health results and kept her loved ones on the edge of tragedy. Had they drained the well of the magic of Cousin's beach? Or could something new fulfil it again?

warnings: multichapter slow burn, warnings will update with every chapter, timeline is both POST S2 and a retelling of S2 with changes, everyone swears A LOT, 4th of July party, THIRST, Cam Cameron, Taylor Jewel, Nicole (sorry to this Queen), Gigi, Marisa and girlfriend, Dara, Conrad's friend Danny (made this character into my own thing), hints of Belly/Jeremiah, I don't know shit about sports

word count: 4,058

___________________________________________

You brush past me in the hallway

And you don't think I, I, I can see ya, do ya?

But what would you do if I went to touch you now?

What would you do if they never found us out?

'Cause I can see you waitin' down the hall from me

And what would you do, baby, if you only knew?

That I can see you

It was finally here; the reason we'd all come back to Cousin's this summer at all. Susannah's famous 4th of July party was underway in all its glory despite the setbacks of the past year. Everyone had spent the day before running errands and putting up decorations, preparing appetizers and double checking the rest of the seafood catering while the woman of the hour sat on her chaise lounge and orchestrated it all to perfection. I barely talked to Belly and Steven that day let alone Conrad but it wasn't awkward when we were sent on a few errands together or standing side by side chopping veggies again. We all had a common purpose and it felt good. The five of us joined Belly on her night swim before bed that night to clean off the remnants of a productive day.

I pulled out my black swimsuit from the top drawer the next morning and was stopped in the doorway to the bedroom by Belly. "What is that?"

I looked at her for a second, confused before answering, "I'm gonna change into my suit after I shower." I attempted to leave again but she wouldn't move. Belly shook her head and muttered a handful of no no no's. I sighed dramatically, "What's your issue, girly?"

"Why did we go shopping for new bikinis if you aren't gonna wear yours? I learned about complimenting colours for you and look!" She rushed into the bedroom, pulled out the purple one that Taylor had treated her to for her birthday and the coral one hidden at the bottom of my top drawer. Belly held them up together to show me and I could tell she was moments from an adolescent tantrum. "Come on, it's the 4th and they're so pretty! Don't make me do it alone."

"Wear your Speedo with me then!"

"If you brought a cuter one piece, I'd compromise but you only brought two suits and only one of them is cute." She shrugged like it was the most obvious thing in the world and she's biding her time until I gave in.

She wasn't not wrong but that doesn't mean I made it easy for her. "What has Taylor done to you? We're here for less than a week, what do I need more suits for?"

"For the party, Y/N! You brought this one for the party so don't back down now."

I took the first step and grabbed it from her hands at least as I contemplated. "I feel kinda slutty…"

Belly translated, "Which means you look hot in it, amazing. I agree."

"Who are you right now?"

"Make sure you tell Taylor, she's gonna be so proud of me." She turned away from me to rustle through her drawers and assemble her outfit.

"Belly. It's a family party."

"Other people will be there! Jere said Cam's coming, Dara, Marisa and her girlfriend and then Conrad said something about Danny too. I invited Nicole but she said she wasn't sure and then my dad should be here with Taylor any minute. Lots of people not related to us." She wasn't even looking at me anymore and I didn't know if she'd just gotten good at this or she'd realized that she'd always had me wrapped around her little finger.

I sighed, "If I bring this with me, can I please shower now?"

Belly tosses the next words over her shoulder, mood changed on a dime from her dramatic pout. "Hurry up! Everyone will be here soon."

I groaned dramatically to try and get a final rise out of her but she was in her own world, discovering the perfect holiday fit.

Taylor did congratulate Belly when she arrived even when I insisted I hadn't made my mind up yet on what I was wearing under my dress. It was fun getting ready with the girls again, trading new makeup hacks and exchanging jewelry and shoes like we'd always done in the summers. There were last minute adjustments to our outfits only caught by an objective opinion. We'd all decided that red, white and blue was out this year and we committed to pink, purple and green instead. Taylor said they were meant to stand out and own it. I just always hated red against my skin tone.

I was the last one to get downstairs to greet Uncle John and the 'debs' as we affectionately called them since last summer. Susannah was set up on the outdoor couch in a floppy white sun hat and linen set that made her look like she should be vacationing in someone more tropical. The group of us had perfected the unspoken rotation of checking in with her, refilling her drink or keeping her snacks stocked. She seemed quite happy to lay around and watch the party unfold before her eyes.

Belly dropped her jaw in a silent scream when she saw me in my coral bikini covered up by my sheer white cover dress and squealed as she clapped her hands together, "See? Compromise!"

I just rolled my eyes and prayed no one was paying attention to her insanity. "Yeah, yeah. You look cute too." Her and Taylor were the cut off shorts sisters and they worked it.

The food was incredible, the decorations held up in the breeze and it seemed like we'd pulled it off. We'd managed a normal but perfect set up for Susannah's favourite holiday.

"I probably shouldn't have fucked Liam Meyer again but other than that hot girl summer is a go." The group of girls were sitting by the pool, dipping their feet in or laid back in the lounge chairs while Steven and Jeremiah were already swimming around and dunking each other. I'd always liked Nicole for the most part (if I forgot about her nasty revenge streak) but I would have liked to know less about her sex life. I was the only one though because the rest of the girls were giggling and eager to hear more stories from her.

Belly agreed, "I hear you. I swore to myself I wouldn't get tied down this summer."

Nicole looked surprised but impressed and Taylor smiled at Belly happily, "She's branching out from the Fisher family this year, right Cinderbelly?"

Belly shoved her arm and looked around to see if anyone heard. "Shut up! But…yeah, I guess."

"Good for you, girl. No need to settle for one summer boy when there's lots to choose from…at this party alone." Marisa's eyes were across the pool where Cam Cameron and Danny walked into the yard and waved their hellos around. The girl's attention was distracted by them for a moment.

Belly laughs, "I meant more like eating as much ice cream as I wanted and skipping shaving my legs a few days in a row."

Nicole looks at her friends before nodding, "I mean…that's cute too."

"Hot girl summer can mean whatever you want, Bells." I couldn't hold it back but tried to keep my tone as light as possible and Taylor shot me a grateful smile.

Nicole looked right at me like I must have read her mind, "Exactly. Mine just means the sampling platter of the finest dick that Cousin's Beach has to offer."

Her eyes focused over my shoulder and her mischievous smile grew as she spoke. The girls facing her way giggled loudly and I turned to look at what they saw. It was all the guys climbing out of the pool, looking fucking good because of course they did. I wasn't completely oblivious no matter what Taylor thought. Except Steven because gross but he was definitely being looked at by everyone that wasn't his blood relative. Conrad must have come out of hiding too because there he was, right in the middle of the group pushing the wet hair out of his eyes and laughing at something his friend said. Danny Wilder, who was tall and broad and looking damn good this summer.

I didn't even notice how my head tipped to the side until Taylor smacked my arm and gasped a wicked laugh. "OhmiGod, she's human after all!"

I laughed, "Shut up! You know what? Apparently I'm the only one with balls too." I got up and shrugged my shoulders at them before making a beeline to refill my drink and grab two towels before I spotted Cam and gently hip checked him to get his attention.

He was talking to Danny but quickly flashed his wide smile, "YN!"

I handed them each a towel and smiled back. Danny muttered a quick thanks before being dragged away by Conrad. I thought I heard him complain about why he didn't get towel service. I refocused my attention, "I'm so glad you came."

"Me too. Mrs. Fisher hosts the best parties."

"Good to know you're still as smart as you are sweet." He blushes and smiles. I stepped a bit closer to him and lowered my voice so hopefully he'd be the only one to hear. "Hey, I hope this isn't weird but I didn't get a chance to say anything after you and Belly–"

The poor guy looked so worried for a second, "Oh, that's totally cool now. Belly and I are good."

"No, that's what I mean. You were so great to her in every way and when– Just as someone who loves her and worries about her, you couldn't have handled that situation better. So thank you."

He shrugs as his smile spreads across his face again. "Ah, I got a good mom."

"Never change, Cam Cameron." I held his forearm gently and shook him in the mock threat.

"I'll remember that, Y/N. Thanks."

I nodded, "Can I get you anything? There's frozen virgin margaritas this time."

That sparked his interest. "Oh, actually…"

"Right? My idea and I'm very proud." I walked him over to the drinks table and swore I could feel a prickling on my neck. I looked over my shoulder to check my surroundings but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

The gang started to mingle a bit more after I broke the ice and I saw Cam giggling at something Dara said, Taylor and Steven were essentially beating each other up and if it wasn't so quintessentially them I might have worried. Jeremiah was sitting next to Belly on a lounge chair, trying to cheer her up no doubt. He'd always had a sixth sense for when she needed it most and he'd perfected how to make her smile. He was holding her hands in his lap and her smile was starting to light her face back up. I was smiling at the display when I went to find my own seat and got a glimpse of Nicole trailing her fingers up and down Conrad's abs. I took back what I thought earlier; she had steel ones.

Danny glanced in my direction and we exchanged quick smiles before he looked back at Conrad, who didn't look as happy about Nicole's bold moves as I expected. Next thing I knew, Danny was leaning against the table in front of me and when I looked back in Conrad's direction, he was shooting daggers of betrayal through his eyes at his friend who'd abandoned him. Danny Wilder was either stone cold or completely oblivious.

"Hey." Definitely oblivious if I judged that sweet smile correctly.

"Hi." I couldn't help but smile back again.

"I just, uh, wanted to say thank you for the towel. I didn't know your hostess skills were at the 'anticipation of needs' level." Just when the smile was drifting off my face, it came back with a vengeance.

"I mean, I was taught by the best." I gestured towards Susannah on her couch throne and noticed Conrad looking over his shoulder at us with a look of bewildered disgust. He was such a fucking drama queen and all it really made me want to do was flirt with his cute friend more.

Danny's focus was steadfast, unlike my own and it was exhilarating. He deserved my undivided attention. "That's true. You could pass it down the family line or charge for your services."

My eyes narrowed but the smile didn't leave my face, "You wanna pay me to bring you a towel?"

He paused and contemplated, "Yeah, that sounded way better in my head." The thing about Danny was that he was smart, as smart as Conrad or Steven but he wasn't trying to prove anything. If he said something stupid, his ego was never bruised and he was the first one to laugh at himself, not unlike sweet Cam Cameron who embraced his awkwardness and seemed to grow more into his own confidence every day.

I decided to throw him a bone, "How's school?"

He took a deep breath, "It's…a lot but I knew that going in. I mean, I love it so…"

"You're lucky." The sincerity between us was refreshing. Conversations with him had always been easy.

"Actually, I'm playing a little around Cousin's if you wanna come check it out. Conrad's supposed to play backup if he decides to get off his ass this summer." The idea piqued my interest. I could never call myself a baseball fan but baseball players…

"I never agreed to that!" At the mention of his name, Conrad yelled his interruption and practically galloped over to where we stood.

He claimed his territory by slinging his arm around Danny's shoulders and plastering on a smile that didn't reach his eyes right in my direction. "Besides, what the fuck are you guys talking about me for? I thought you were flirting."

We were embarrassed for exactly two seconds before we exchanged exasperated gestures at Conrad's fuckery. Danny shoved him and I rolled my eyes, "Fuck off, bro."

Conrad laughed in his direction, "Jeez, sorry. Y/N is leaving on Monday anyway. So too bad, so sad."

Danny's face falls in disappointment, "Shit, really? I thought you guys usually stayed for the summer."

I shrugged and regretted the short term plans for the first time since I'd gotten there. "Yeah, it's just been a busy year."

Danny nodded in understanding and Conrad looked between us before shouting at the top of his lungs, "Who's down for chicken?"

I narrowed my eyes at him, "You hate chicken." Everyone around them was hooting and hollering in agreement.

"No, you hate chicken. Let's go!" His crazy eyes had gotten out of control and I wasn't convinced he didn't suggest it just to piss me off. So I sat down on the pool's edge in protest and Danny asked if he could join me. We watched the first few rounds and I decided it was a way better game to watch than to play. No bruises on your arms or thighs from overzealous team members and I could even stay dry if I wanted.

Taylor tried to claim Steven at one point but he dodged her, "Not this time, Taylor. I want a fighting chance." He swam over to my direction and I sighed. He smiled expectantly, "Come here, you."

"You know I'm not good at this game."

"You're better than Taylor."

Taylor splashed him, "I can't believe you're being mean right now." She swam away and I resigned myself to my fate.

Steven splashed Taylor back but he was too close to Danny and we got sprayed . "Shit! I'm an idiot, sorry guys." I stood up to take my cover dress off before I slid into the pool. I saw Danny wave Steven off as he laughed.

I splashed him back gently and smiled, "It's fine. Go ask Cam if he's down."

"Oh, excellent idea."

I shouldn't have been surprised that it ended up being a chicken tournament in the end. There were too many varsity athletes at this party. Belly and Conrad alone could have been the driving competitive force so when I kicked him in the chest on accident, he said he was making it his mission to take me out. Jeremiah and Belly were a formidable team which surprised no one no matter how much shit his brother gave him. The teams weren't set at first but the strongest pairs stuck together after a while. Cam and Dara bowed out early due to weak arms and bad balance, their words, but they were giggling when they admitted it. Belly was determined to get Marisa and her girlfriend, Sarah eliminated as soon as possible which took a while but in true Conklin fashion, was a success. Taylor had abandoned the whole thing for snacks and I was so jealous.

Next up was Conrad and Nicole against Steven and I and as much as I wanted to do my best for Steven, expectations were low. Cam had taken up the mantle of announcer while Danny handled the scoreboard and refereeing. Nicole and I climbed onto the boys shoulders and looked at each other to exchange a friendly smile.

"Ooh! Here, let me help you with that." Nicole brushed Conrad's wet bangs from his forehead and he muttered a thanks. It looked like him and Steven were having a silent conversation.

"I thought you quit football last year, Con? I swear I've got more wiggle room up here than last year." She then made her point by wiggling her hips in place. The stones.

My brows raised against my will, I stifled a chuckle and tried to cover the reaction by joining in, "Funny, I think you lost weight, Stevie."

"If you think I won't dunk you right now…" Steven threatened as Conrad laughed at his expense.

Cam made his round announcement and read off the current score from Danny's phone. I squared myself on Steven's shoulders and took a deep breath while the boys shit talked until it got ridiculous.

"I'm gonna make you hate this game even more than you already do, Y/N!" Conrad spat and I just stared back at him for a second before I heard Cam yell 'GO!'.

I almost had that shit in the bag, Steven laughing maniacally, and Conrad must have known it too because all of the sudden when Nicole was starting to tip, I was distracted by a ticklish feeling on the bottoms of my feet under the water. I tried to squirm away while concentrating on the game but ultimately, I squirmed right off Steven's shoulders and into the water.

"What the fuck, Y/N?" Steven exclaimed in defeat and went to complain to Danny and Cam.

"You fucking cheater…" I came up from the water and spluttered. Conrad was laughing and high fiving Nicole.

Next thing I knew he was holding his hand out to me, "Come 'ere. I'll try and give you a fighting chance. You're embarrassing yourself at this point."

I scoffed at his offer, "Fuck off, I took Taylor down!"

I had no intention of replacing Nicole on his team but he grabbed me around the middle and dragged me along with him as he nodded placatingly, "There's the energy we need! Keep that up."

I wondered if Nicole had told him she wanted an out because when I looked around the pool I saw her getting out entirely.

Conrad whistled, "Jere! You and me, let's go. Pick your best fighter." The fucker wasn't wrong and we did beat Belly and Jeremiah. It was the first time I knocked Belly off balance but I still didn't know what Nicole was talking about, Conrad wasn't any bigger or stronger this summer. There were better ways to hit on him.

In the end, the championship went to Belly and Jeremiah even after mine and Conrad's temporary victory. They both shoved it in Conrad's face mercilessly and I couldn't help but enjoy every second. He called me a traitor when I wasn't shy about how much joy it gave me to see him lose even if I was right there along with him. Luckily it didn't trigger a bad mood like it might have done a few years prior and we all celebrated with crab legs and cake.

I was tossing my paper plate into the trash when Danny found me again equipped with puppy dog eyes, "I feel bad."

"Cause I lost the chicken tournament? Don't. Conrad's the one who needs someone to help nurse his war wounds." I nodded in his direction where he was chugging a margarita.

Danny looked back at him and chuckled softly, "Oh, believe me I know."

Conrad called from a few feet away, "I'm still pissed at you for dropping the ball!"

His focus turned back to me, "But that's not why. You asked me about school and that idiot interrupted before I could reciprocate. So are you excited? Stanford, right?"

I was surprised he remembered. "Good memory. I'm excited, I'm just also…trying not to think about it at all, you know? I don't wanna freak myself out."

"Oh, no. Believe me. That's smart. It's a lot of pressure and you gotta move to the west coast on top of everything." He nodded and blew out a breath.

I narrowed my eyes as my smile grew, "Are you saying, hot shot pitcher destined to go pro, Danny Wilder, was nervous about starting at Northeastern?"

Danny blushed and it looked good against his tan skin. He tried to laugh through it but before he could respond Conrad poked his head between us again. It was inevitable.

"Did he tell you that he sweat through his new uniform in the first practice?" Danny's shoulders slumped as his head turned towards Conrad's grin. "Honestly, bro, you should probably get that checked out."

I just focused my gaze at the grass for a moment before I tore into Conrad again. But it wasn't necessary.

Danny squared his shoulders as he looked at his friend, "You're just pissed because you gave up your football scholarship and went pre med instead. Not to mention your fastball was always a half second behind mine." Danny shrugged at his expense and I saw the moment Conrad froze. He scoffed and pushed his friend too hard to pretend it was a joke anymore.

My eyes closed as I sighed and I was treated to the sight of poor Danny's bewildered face when I opened them, calling out to his friend. "Connie, come on, man…"

We watched him stalk back into the house. "Ignore him. He's been like that for a while."

Danny was still focused on Conrad's path, "Do you think…? He knows he's a great ball player. I swear, I say that shit to him all the time."

I did my best to reassure him, "I know. You didn't do anything wrong, I promise."

He finally looked back at me and sighed. "Okay. Only because you said so."

"Wow. Some power I have." The spirit of our back and forth had lost most of its momentum.

"I'd say but uh, could you go check on him anyway? Maybe I'm just soft but I'm gonna feel shitty until he comes back and I think you could convince him." His brown eyes were pleading and it was so unfair. He was pulling a Steven.

I scoffed a laugh and meant to say under my breath, "Why does everyone think I'm the Conrad whisperer all of a sudden?"

Danny furrowed his brow in confusion, "Sorry?"

I mentally slapped myself out of my own thoughts and nodded in his direction. There was no way I was ever getting out of this. "Only because you're such a good friend. He barely deserves you."

The sincerity in his voice was so pure it hurt. "Thank you. I'll take that as a compliment…I think." A real smile came out at the end and it brought out mine too.

"You should."

"If it helps, tell him I'm an idiot and his arm was always better than mine." Danny pauses for a moment, "Which isn't true but…" He made a shushing gesture and I laughed softly.

"Yeah, not a chance. I draw the line at inflating his ego."

His eyebrow quirked up, "But not mine?"

I debated with myself for a moment, "Uh, to be determined, I guess."

Danny hummed, "Okay. Good luck."

The laugh that escaped my lips wasn't as sincere as he was as I focused on the sliding door, "I'm gonna need it."

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Next

author's note: I hope you enjoyed part 1 of 4th of July! I ended up having to cut in half but that means part 4 is coming so soon! I'm making shit up about sports and other things I don't know a lot about in this fic and I've accepted it so I hope you can join me 😅. Thank you again for the support 💙💚💛🧡. Reply with comments and let me know if you wanna be added to my taglist. If you'd like to ask me about any upcoming chapter warnings you wanna be warned of ahead of time (angst? 18+ smut?) then come visit my blog with any questions and I'll be happy to answer!

taglist: @c4rpediem-s @jackierose902109 @lcvecstiel @h0t-as-h3ll @stylesxroyalty @fandom-addict404

[two-braincells-in-total]

Me and @clarissaweasley-10 made a tig interview - she sent me questions and we both answered them

This is how it went (I'm literally quoting the messages btw):

ROUND 1

1. Who's your favourite character?

Me: "Avery or Gigi, I can't really decide between them"

Luna: "Avery or Libby or Gray(can't choose💀💀)"

2. Which is your favourite book? (+Any specific reasons)

Me: "I think that my favourite will be Games Untold when it comes out, because it's about all the characters from the OG trilogy that I'm missing rn and I'll probably be very sentimental as I read it, but from the ones that are already out, probably tig, it brings back memories, I feel nostalgic every time I think about it, but I'm also really loving tgg, jlb's development as a writer is really showing, but I felt very stupid while reading it because of all the riddles, so it's 2nd place"

Luna: "Speaking of the of series it's prob gonna be thl...l loved to character arcs and developments.."

3. Favourite couple (why?)

Me: "Avery and Jameson. They are the couple we've seen the most of for now and we just saw so much of them growing up as people and as a relationship that I feel like it's the most genuine (even tho all are) relationship in this saga. I really love rohavannah, but they still don't beat averyjameson in this"

Luna: "It's going to be Averyjameson/nash x libby (idk what their ship name is). Averyjameson cause they're just so pure and intimate and just everything a person would want in a relationship(or is it just me?)Nash and Libby cause they are just sooo underrated and they're story is just soo pure.. We need to talk abt their journey more"

4. If you could become any one tig character for a day, who would it be?

Me: "Avery. I want money. And to know the Hawthornes personally, this girl is living out my dream"

Luna: "Again deffo Avery.THE MONEY AND THE MEN? GIVE ME ALL OF IT NOW"

5. If you could go on a date with any one hawthorne brother then who would you choose?

Me: "Either Jameson or Xander. I really like how Jameson was as a bf in the books, but Xander is probably my favourite Hawthorne, so I'm split"

Luna: "Well for 5. Probably Jamie (l need to do crazy stuff) or Nash (he's my ideal type in many ways eco can turn down a rich cowboy gentleman?)"

6. Least favourite character?

Me: "Emily. I don't want to hear about her, not only was she the cause for Jameson and Grayson's trauma, she was just irrelevant. She was dead the entire time, BUT WAS STILL MENTIONED IN EVERY BOOK!!! I was so happy that we only got the mention of the cliffs in tgg, but Calla is gonna be the new Emily, I'm calling it and I don't like it"

Luna: "Emily.Laughlin. self explanatory "

7. Character with the best arch?

Me: "I love Grayson's arc. The way he slowly started to trust people more and now that we see him as more open in tgg, I feel like a proud mom. He might've been my least favourite Hawthorne brother in the other 4 books (not saying I didn't like him tho!) but I absolutely love him in tgg"

Luna: "Gray. I have ranted abt this in an entire post lol.. The way he went from a jerk to a broken guy who just tries to hide it from the world to a man who accepts the he's human and can make mistakes... Seriously he is one of the best written characters ever to me personally"

8. rank your villains

Me: "Idk if I'm listing everybody, I might've forgotten someone, but this is it:

1) Tobias Hawthorne - literally the reason behind all of this. He was awful to his grandsons and an awful person in general and I hate the way he put an innocent girl's life at risk like this.

2) Eve - I get why she did it at first, but atp it's not even about her bad childhood, she's just jealous and bitter. I'm pretty sure she's behind Savannah finding out what happened to Sheffield and Gigi's kidnapping

3) Sheffield Grayson - I think this is self explanatory. I'm glad he died

4) Vincent Blake - he wasn't even there for that long, but was the reason behind the things that went down in tfg, so he's more relevant than the ones bellow him, but I didn't really care about him, like, at all

5) I don't remember who the villain in tbh was, or if there even was one, but whoever it is, I'm pretty sure they're on this position

6) Skye Hawthorne - I don't have much to say about her, but she did try to kill Avery and was an awful mom, so there's that

7) Drake - abused Libby and tried to kill Avery. He's bellow Skye because he was working for her, but they're pretty much same level

8) Emily"

Tumblr was in a bad mood and it did not deliver Luna's message

9. Do you think Eve would get/deserves a redemption arc?

Me: "I don't want her to get one and I don't think she deserves one. Maybe at some point in tfg she deserves a redemption arc, while it was still about her bad childhood, but now that it isn't, she should just stay a villain. She keeps doing them dirty for no reason (and I kinda enjoy just hating on a character without feeling guilty about it, I love hating people). I also like that one of the major villains is a woman, I love female villains as characters, they're usually very complex and I think she's interesting, I just don't like her as a person" (more details about what I think abot her can be found on my most recent reblogs)

Luna: "Seriously Eve is such a complex character. On the one hand l just want to fling her off a cliff and on the other l feel kinda bad for her like she did go thru some pretty horrible stuff. But the point is she got a chance to start a new life, a chance just like the one Avery had, but she just let it go waste and now she's never gonna have another chance.. She makes a pretty good villain and idk about the actual chances of her getting a redemption arc (most villains don't) but we'll probably understand her character in more depth later on"

10. If you could do one thing the the cliff then what would you do?

Me: "I don't really understand this question, sorry 😭 If it's what I'd do at the cliff (?), I'd just point a middle finger at the place that Emily died, purely out of spite"

This is another message that was not delivered

11. Say you get to work for the Hawthornes. What job would you want-PA, Makeup artist,Hair stylist,designer, manager,or therapist

Me: "I want to say manager, but idk if I'd handle the stress. Probably therapist will be a better option for me"

Luna: "Definitely therapist i am a good listener (+what are the odds of getting a Female Therapist x Rich Traumatized Boy arc with one of the Hawthornes?)"

12. Fun activity to do with Avery and each of the Hawthornes

Me: "Idk if you meant together or separate, so I'm just doing both:

Together - strip bowling, idk why, I just feel like it

Avery - I'd ask jer to teach me how to play chess

Jameson - maybe going on one of those car rides

Xander - I'll try to mess-around-and-find-out my way through robotics with him

Nash - I'll go to a concert with him

Grayson - maybe I'll attempt a sword fight, idk, seems interesting"

Luna: "Avery-talk about books cause she seems like a book nerd to me Jamie-speed driving Gray-sing/learn to play violin(I'm a rather good singer myself and it would be nice to sing with someone else for a change) Nash -he's a cowboy so ride horses? Xander-EAT SCONES, CHOCOLATES,BUILD CRAZY STUFF, WATCH EMBARRASSING VIDEOS OF THE BROTHERS"

13. Which Hawthorne do you think does it the best-💀

Me: "Jameson. Don't even attempt to fight me on it"

Luna: "the internet connection got damaged sorry" (this is the message I received, I assume that my answer wasn't delivered, but I didn't get her answer)

ROUND 2

1.lf you could live through any of the books which would you choose?

Me: "I want to say tgg but I know that I'm too stupid for the riddles and won't make it out through the first door, so I'm saying tig, because, randomly inheriting money and meeting 4 hot men sounds fun"

Luna: "IKRR. And then one of them threatens you while the other flirts with you? Double ya" (I assume this is supposed to be the answer to that question, the messages got a little chaotic because of the connection)

2. Gray and Jamie are drowning. Who would you save?

Me: "That's a mean question. But I have to say Jamie, sorry Gray"

Luna: "You are supposed to say JAMIE love..Gray is a good swimmer remember??"

(We later came to the conclusion that the word "drowning " suggests that Gray's skills are no help, therefore the question IS actually a dilemma)

3. Are there any songs that remind you of any tig character(s)

Me: "Not specifically a character, but I've never been in love by Lauren Spencer Smith reminds me of Max and Xander a bit"

I don't think she sent an answer, just said that ships work too, but it's possible that it just wasn't delivered

4. Fun activities to do at a sleepover with the girls

Me: "Maybe sneak out and make the Hawthornes freak out. I saw a fanfic with Avery and Lyra doing that and it sounds super fun"

Luna: "OMGG I READ THAT FANFIC TOO!!!NGL IT SOUNDS SUPER FUN"

I feel the need to mention that I almost deleted the draft at this very moment because it wasn't saved, I panicked, thinking it was gone lol (but really, this is long, I don't wanna rewrite it)

5. Who would you want to go shopping with from the tig universe?

Me: "Probably Avery. I feel like she has a good style and will help me out"

Luna's answer wasn't delivered once again

6. Say you're having classes with the Hawthornes which period would you want to have with each brother?

Me: "I'd like to have math or science with Xander - he's definitely amazing at math and it's my best subject too, so I feel like it would be fun to have someone else who's good at it in the class

Probably history with Nash, literature with Jamie and art with Gray. Those three are chosen purely on vibes, i don't have explanations"

Luna: "Me too I'd have history with Nash based on the hunch they he's good at it plus staring at him will at least prevent me from downright falling asleep"

7. What would your reaction have been were it you that inherited close to 38 billions and four hot guys

Me: "I'd panic and probably faint" (+ in a later message: "Honestly, I'd be too stubborn to let the money go")

Luna: "Id die and then they can literally fight over what's left over my dead body"

~~~~~~~

So, Luna, if you're reading this, feel free to fill in the gaps (how did we pick that one day when we both had bad connection?). I really enjoyed talking with you and I'd love to get to know you more, feel free to crash in my dms whenever you want ❤️

This was very fun to do!

[tricksters-captain]

Helmut Zemo imagines - Hostage Part 1

AN: I came up with this idea for a series in the shower and I hope you guys are as intrigued by it as I am. Also I’m aware it’s posted later than I said but I’m a perfectionist and couldn’t post it until I was happy with it!! To make up for it, I have some Laszlo Kreizler smut coming up soon for you Alienist fans. 

Summary: You were chosen as one of Karli’s elite. You became a super soldier to help your cause, make the world a better place but taking the serum came with a price. After being cornered one day, you’re taken by the famous Helmut Zemo to give him answers or face the consequences. 

In This Chapter: Introductions. You are sent on a mission for Karli, only for it to turn bad. 

Pairing(s): Zemo x Fem!Reader, Karli Morganthau x Platonic!Reader

Word Count: 2,703

Warnings: Spoilers for TFATWS, violence, strong language 

You stared back at the burning building as the truck pulled away. 

Despite the rumbling of the thick tires on the tarmac beneath you, you could hear the screaming. 

“Hey.” DeeDee placed a hand on your shoulder and tugged you round. “Don’t look.” 

You could see in her eyes that she was just as shocked as you were but was trying to hide it.

The task had been to remove as many supplies as possible from the GRC depot to take back to the camps in Riga. There had been no mention of bombing the place. 

Lennox’s eyes met yours in the rear-view mirror. You were all thinking the same thing. 

Why would Karli go through with something that hadn’t even been discussed?

“Turn here. It’s faster.” DeeDee leant forward pointing towards a more narrow alley as fire engine sirens echoed up ahead. 

Lennox did as suggested and the others followed close behind. 

It wasn’t a long drive from Vilnius to Riga but you all stopped when daylight broke to take some time to eat something. 

You sat down beside Diego, your eyes flickering to Karli every few minutes as she dished out supplies for you all. 

She noticed. 

“(Y/n).” Karli remained standing as she handed out the last can to Dovich. 

You took the hint and rose to your feet. 

You followed her to the side of the abandoned structure as the others tried to tune the radio. 

“What’s the problem?” Karli asked you, a hard expression across her features.

“What’s the problem?” You couldn’t help but scoff at the question. “Karli, you blew up a building with people still tied up inside.” 

“I did what I had to do. It’s the only language these people understand. You saw just how much food, water and medicine they were sitting on. If we had a fraction of that just a few months ago Mama Donya might still be alive.” You could see the tears Karli was trying to suppress as she spoke of Mama Donya.

“You still should’ve consulted us before you went ahead with it. We’re better than an eye for an eye and you know that.” You cautiously took her hand into yours to try and comfort her. “We’re trying to make a difference here.”

“And that is how we do it.” She dropped your hand as she defended her actions. You shook your head but didn’t retaliate. You knew there was no use in arguing with her in that moment. 

“There’s something I need you to do after Mama Donya’s funeral today.” Karli was quick to change the topic. “A mission for you and DeeDee.” 

“What is it?” You asked, folding your arms across your chest. 

“I need you to go to these coordinates immediately after the funeral. One of our allies will be expecting you both. He has information and something I need. It’ll be a parcel, small enough to conceal so you can make your way back to us without any suspicion.” Karli texted over the coordinates and the information on the contact. 

“How can you be sure it’s safe?” You asked as you studied his profile. 

“I wouldn’t send you if it wasn’t.” Karli paused before she wrapped her hand around the back of your neck and brought your forehead to hers. “We have to stick together now more than ever.” 

You closed your eyes and exhaled a shaky breath. 

“One world.” You muttered. 

“One people.”Karli pulled away just as Dovich called over to you both. 

They had managed to get the radio to work. 

You sat down and opened a can of fruit slices to try and quench your hunger. 

“The depot that was bombed was funded and run by the GRC, the Global Repatriation Council. One of the workers killed was the father of two and had only been on the job for one week. After condemning this latest action by the radical group known as the Flag Smashers, the GRC formally began drafting legislation known as The Patch Act, which would seek to restore traditional border regulations and fast-track the return to normalcy. The act of violence has also brought attention and followers to the Flag Smasher cause. No one can deny the world-wide reach of this group is growing, as is the danger.”

You shared a look with Gigi and Dovich as you listened to the broadcast. Your stomach churned at the mention of the father. You swallowed hard as you placed your food down. 

Karli parted from the group again, feeling the pressure of the eyes on her, but you chose not to follow. 

You had known Karli for 3 years. You met in Riga and became close quickly. You both had lost everything and then you had each other. When she took off to Madripoor, you followed. She always knew how to get people to see things her way, she had a spark inside of her that drew in those who wanted to fight for something; she was powerful for 19. She only grew more powerful with the serums. 

You had backed her and supported her from the start but something was twisting. Something was going sour. You had never killed innocents before but in Karli’s eyes; was anyone on the side of the GRC innocent?

“Finish up. We need to get to the border in time to meet our contact.” Karli strode past the group and didn’t stop until she climbed into one of the cars. 

You cleaned up after yourselves, leaving no trace that you were there, before you got back on the road. 

You were back in Riga soon enough, your contact at the border let you through without any issues and you made it to the checkpoint with all the supplies safely. 

Fortunately, you still had time to spare before Donya’s funeral. 

You remained hidden, on the low, whilst Karli went with Nico to pick up the leftover serums. 

You had previously spoken about creating more super soldiers. You had been against it. There were more than enough of you for the moment and the process of turning into one was beyond any pain you’d ever felt. You didn’t think more people needed to go through that. However, the vote passed and more were to be created. 

“You ready?” Karli asked you as she returned. You nodded. 

You headed to the secret location of Mama Donya’s funeral and fell into the crowd as the body came into sight. Mama Donya had been important to Karli and therefore important to you. She had been a kind woman. Kind to you. But Karli had a bond with her that you didn’t. This was Karli’s time to heal, to grieve, to help those who also relied on Donya. 

You watched Karli step up to say a few words. 

“I don’t remember my mother or my father. Same goes for siblings, grandparents, cousins. What I do remember is being alone. Worse than being hungry or cold or scared. I was alone. Until Mama Donya. Like a lot of you here, Mama Donya saved me. She clothed me, fed me, loved me.” You followed Karli’s eye line when she gasped softly. 

It was Sam Wilson. Avenger. 

You felt your blood go cold. Usually where there was one avenger, there were sure to be more. 

“She taught me that we have to do for each other because they won’t. And we know who they are. They imposed struggle and hardship on us, then labeled us as criminals for pushing back. But the struggle is what brings us all together. People who have nothin’ in common. For we are, after all, simply one world and one people. So live accordingly.”

As you stepped forward and placed your bouquet of flowers down beside Donya, Karli clasped hold on your wrist. 

“Go now.” She whispered under her breath. 

“What about you?” You asked. 

“I’ll be fine. Get to the contact.” Karli tried to assure you but you weren’t certain on leaving her. Dovich guided you away to stop you from arguing with Karli about it. He told you that he was going to stay behind to help Karli and that you had a more important job to do right now. 

You had to give in and leave. 

As you made your exit, you grabbed DeeDee and the keys to the motorbike outside. 

“We gotta make a detour. Make sure we aren’t being followed.” You announced as you climbed onto the motorbike. 

“Karli said our guy would wait for us so it’s better to be safe than sorry. We can’t mess this up.” DeeDee agreed with you as she placed herself behind you. 

You took off down the street and did your best to lose any tails. 

You ended up ditching the bike and moving underground once you were sure you were alone. 

You were either really lucky or they had only brought enough backup to deal with Karli. 

“We should be close.” You checked your phone to read the GPS before placing on your mask. 

DeeDee held the flashlight up as you worked your way through the empty tunnel. 

“You’d think Karli could organise a rendezvous point somewhere a little less musty.” DeeDee grimaced as a trio of rats scattered past you both. 

“This is the safest way. We may have gained a lot of supporters above ground but we have a lot of enemies too.” You tried to defend Karli’s choice but even you had to admit that the sewers were a low point for you all. 

“You think she got away okay?” DeeDee asked, the concern obvious in her voice despite her blank expression. 

“I think Karli’s smart and she wouldn’t stick around if she knew she couldn’t win.” You may have been anxious for her but you rarely had doubts with Karli. Even without the serum she always managed to slip through the cracks. 

As you continued to make your way through the tunnels, you spotted a silhouette up ahead. 

You narrowed your eyes as DeeDee shone her light on him. 

Fortautely, it was your contact.

“Greetings.” The man smiled widely at you both. He wore a bright head torch that stopped you from looking him in the eye and a large forest green coat. 

“We’re here to collect the parcel and information for Karli.” DeeDee informed him, shading her eyes from his light as she tried to lift her gaze. 

“Yes. Yes. I know.” The short man pulled out a small object wrapped in brown paper from under his coat. “Karli said you would be coming.” 

As the man spoke, you heard something splash in the water behind you. 

“What was that?” You asked, looking back to see if you could spot anything. 

“It was probably just one of the rats.” DeeDee tried to assure you but the hairs on the back of your neck began to stand up. 

You had a bad feeling about it. 

“I’m going to check it out.” You whispered to her. “Better safe than sorry.” You repeated what she had said earlier. 

“Be careful.” DeeDee handed you her flashlight before letting you go. 

You crept back round the corner from whence you had came. You remained close to the wall to avoid any oncoming intruders head on. Peering down into the water, you saw that it had been in fact just a rat that was now paddling through the sewage. 

“It's okay.” You relaxed, shouting ahead so they could hear you. “It was just a ra–––” You were cut short by a gloved hand covering your mouth. 

You sent your elbow backwards instinctively which threw your attacker into the wall. 

You spun around to see a figure dressed in a lavish coat with a purple mask covering his face. You furrowed your eyebrows at his appearance. You didn’t recognise him as an Avenger. 

He came towards you, sending a fist to the side of your head. You managed to block his attack, kicking him in the chest. 

You thought he’d be no match for you with your enhanced powers but he managed to put up a good fight. 

He wrestled with you against the wall as he gained the advantage. You resorted in head butting him to get him off you. 

You sent your leg up into his side but he wrapped his arm around your calf and yanked you forward. You lost your balance as he grip moved, hooking under your knee. He squeezed your thigh against him as he pulled out a rather large syringe. 

“DEE! RUN!” You managed to howl before the needle sunk into your thigh. 

You tried to fight again as he dropped your leg but your vision became patchy and your balance began to sway. 

Not to your knowledge, he had injected as much tranquilliser into you as one would a tiger. Your enhanced abilities wouldn’t help you with that, you were soon out cold. 

--

The stars shone above you as you and Karli laid back on the bonnet of the car. 

“I genuinely believe that you could be the one to change things, Karl.” You said as you munched down on the chocolate bar she had gifted you. 

“What are you on about?” Karli furrowed her eyebrows through her smile as she turned her head to face you. 

“I mean look what you did for my birthday, just using your powers of persuasion.” You smirked.

“Persuasion isn’t enough to change things.” Karli disagreed. 

“You’re right but right now, people need someone to look up to. Half the world is gone and hope isn’t something that's easy to come by anymore.” You stated. 

“And you think that person could be me?” Karli scoffed at the idea. 

“I think you could do anything you wanted if you put your mind to it.” You broke off a piece of chocolate and handed it to her. 

“I think you’re spending too much time around Mama Donya.” Karli took the chocolate and popped it in her mouth. 

“We’ll see who’s right one day.” You mused with a small smile. Karli rolled her eyes before trying to steal another piece. “Hey! It’s my birthday present!” 

--

When your eyes finally opened, you realised you were no longer in the sewers. 

You were standing but your hands were up above your head, chained to the wall behind you and a large metal strip was around your neck also. You desperately tried to search your surroundings through your mask but the restraints stopped you from moving much. 

The room was dark, no windows, a few dim lights dotted around caused the room to seem almost a brown colour and there was little furniture. 

You would’ve been a fool if you didn’t noticed the gun on a small table off to the side as well as the medical equipment glistening on a tall metal cart. 

Your head throbbed and your mouth held the metallic taste of blood. You tugged at your wrist restraints to test their strength and to your luck they were holding. 

“You’re awake.” You heard a thick accented voice when you stopped rattling your chains. “Good.” 

The possessor of the voice, your kidnapper, stepped into light and you clocked who it was immediately. 

It was Baron Helmut Zemo. 

Zemo could not see your face as he had left the mask on you but he could tell from your eyes that you knew who he was. 

“I bet you are wondering why you are here. Tied up in this basement.” Zemo started. “Let’s start with introductions, shall we?” 

You remained silent.

“My name is Helmut Zemo––”

“––I know who you are.” You retorted. 

“Then you know what I am capable of.” Zemo glared at you for the interruption. His hands finding his pockets as his eyes settled on your own. 

“I know you’re going to kill me.” You knew of what happened with the Avengers. You knew of Siberia and the destroyed soldiers. You knew of his hate. 

“I’m not going to kill you.” Zemo wagged his finger at you. “Not yet at least. No. We have a few things I’d like to discuss first.”

“Like what?” You scowled at the man. 

“Like the whereabouts of Karli Morgenthau.” 

(PART 2 HERE)

Taglist  

@cathrin2405 @serenityfirefly97​ @shannon-posts​ @dxnxdjarxn​ @hiddlepiddlediddlewiddle​ @trelaney​  @sierrabaltzer​  @daydreamer-in-training​ @e-barba​ @ornella0910​ @natty13 @bry-97​ @cherieweasley​ @kermuddgen @madelyn-barnes @jaxcliffaconda​ @candicerace​ @mo320 @takacsgram @hiccup005 

[1ddiscourseoftheday]

🗣Tues 15 Dec ‘20🙊

Anyone order their daily with EXTRA DISCOURSE today? Lucky you, I guess, I'd send it back to the kitchen if I had the option but this is more a 'you'll take what you get and like it' kind of establishment so here we are! EAT UP we got Liam and Lou Teasdale making everyone mad, Louis and Harry's teams forgetting they're supposed to be mortal enemies, and Zayn?? Getting papped?? Omg is Z3 really coming this time? I've been burned so many times before (flown too close to the sun) but what if....... So first Gigi and zaby stroller were papped, then Zayn was papped in his usual way-- 'if you can get a good picture of me in the seconds it takes me to walk from my front door to the car have at it, that's exactly all you get'-- and then a fan reported seeing Zigi and zaby at a pizza restaurant. Zayn's hair is bleached white blond and that's about all I can tell you except that Z NEVER gets papped (or spotted really) for nothing so I am excite!!

Liam's back! He did the postponed-from-last-Tues hour long live for Stand Up To Cancer (and raised $16k!) and he's got a show in two days so I'd say his extremely brief breather is probably done with, whether he got the time he needed to be happy about coming back or not. He seems in good shape for the live though, even if he does say “its been a really long day, you don't even know, REALLY long” and that what he wants most for Christmas is “to have a little bit of time to reflect.” But he says he is going to take some time out and go away and write music “for the first time in a very long time,” in the new year, nice! He mentions how he went up to Sweden for recording recently and says it ”went really well I'm really really excited” about the new music and, uhhh, “got something sent through from Mick Fleetwood while I was over in Sweden writing, some guitar stuff, which was amazing, and he was dressed like santa at the time!” I...what??? I'll just... leave that there?? About other bands, he says that he's become a big fan of the Wanted over time, that “someone Zayn-ed out,” of Little Mix but “Zayn left for pretty much the same reasons and I do feel for them,” and “are 5SOS still together? Did they pull an us I thought they pulled an us?” He said yes, it's so great about Louis' show, and “it was great, and do you know what, like listening through those lyrics, it’s really nice to hear the truth in his music because obviously I mean I know all of the full story about him, and [pause].. and uh... his relationship with his girlfriend and whatever else,” SKLDYSSKKJ.

This long live also had him responding to screen comments he would usually ignore (though thank GOD he only reads but doesn't answer 'what happened with Niall in Japan' please tell me the questioner wasn't trying to get him to comment on the 'violently masturbating' story), anyway so we got Liam on touching his hair if larry is real-- “of course that's not going to happen don't be silly,” and on whether he thinks 'larry is disrespectful' “sometimes I do... actually that's not true, all the time I do.” Well he's not wrong though I'd expand that to 'all the fans' but if I had to wade through a million “touch your nose if larry is real” comments every time I was promoting my own material, for ten years, I'd probably get tetchy too! He didn't say it was or wasn't real, as he himself pointed out he never WILL do that for REASONS; tbh I'm with Liam can people PLEASE stop being so embarrassing on main and let him live? ANYWAY, moving on, his Advent Alarm clock today is the sleep story edited down to be just Liam laughing for like 30 seconds, aka the exact edit that I suggested they should make a couple weeks ago, which I find frankly extremely alarming (ALARMing HA) are they... listening to me?? Well if Liam's management are looking for ideas BOY HAVE I GOT SOME FOR THEM hit me up fellas PLEASE.

Harry and Louis both announced further postponements of their UK and Europe tour shows, like really the same announcement and just fully back to back, I can only assume that after weeks of intensive hashing out to match up dates their teams have arrived at some kind of plan and were like cool let's announce! Louis has added some new shows, while Harry's new schedule is undisclosed as yet. Harry says “I really hope to play these shows and will have news for you in the new year on when they will take place.” Louis' new dates include previously omitted countries (Iceland! Austria!), and those tickets go on sale Friday. Harry did not respond to Rob Sheffield's awkward attempt to link Watermelon Sugar and WAP as being similar but he did like Megan Thee Stallion's post celebrating her successful year, and Vulture ranked Adore You in its top 5 videos of the year with a much better take on what Harry is all about, saying that it “highlights one of the singer’s best traits: his willingness to be delightfully weird.” Kid Harpoon said that he and Harry “wrote a song in Japan that may yet see the light of the day,” and Harry continues to roast him, disputing his songwriter of the year award-- “they found 8,000,000 opposing ballots in a bin behind his house! FRAUD!”

And last but most discourse-y-est of all, The Sun made waves today, pulling the most salacious parts of a Lou Teasdale interview with the Sex, Lies and DM Slides podcast from last week and bringing it to wider attention. In the interview she talked at length about systemic discrimination against women working in the music industry and her own work experiences, which naturally include (very briefly) touching on her highest profile job- the years she spent traveling with 1D. In this context she says “you kind of can’t sleep with them [the band]- it’s quite important to keeping your job... some people would come in and like you know assistants and stuff and I think they would really think... that it was love and obviously it’s not,” and “it’s just the quickest way to lose your job- because then they’ve got a new girlfriend and she’s there and they don’t want you in the room.” She did not sell her story to The Sun she mentioned this in passing as part of an interview about her work experiences; she herself says, “I didn’t do an interview [with] the sun. I’ve never done that. I did a podcast with friends about loads of things.”

There is nothing remotely unlikely in this story, either in the concept that members of the band slept with girls casually (we know that certain of them did and there isn't even anything wrong with that in a situation of consent, the denial of it is as bizarre as scribbling out the beer bottle in a 28 year old man's hand), or that low level members (“assistants and stuff”) of the 150 person+ crew appeared and disappeared on a regular basis. The band were, to my guess, probably simply not paying very much attention to the serious ramifications of this carelessness and the consequences rather than demanding that people be fired, but I do very much hope they've learned over the years to be responsible for the kind of power that they have over other peoples' lives (something I really doubt they understood the extent of yet as very young people being dragged from one place to another who felt powerless themselves).

[lesbianzhane]

gigi goode does NOT simp (crygi)

gigi goode is a popular instagram designer and model. her friend, jan, constantly posts photos with a pretty girl that gigi falls head over heels for. when nicky throws a party, and that pretty girl just so happens to be there with jan, gigi knows that her friend was pulling out some sort of scheme. 

ao3 link!

Gigi never liked to call herself an ‘influencer’. The word seemed far too snobby, and she really didn’t believe she was all that big of a deal online. Sure, she had a couple hundred thousand (closer to a million, really) followers. But, in the grand scheme of things, did that really matter? People would tire of her one day, they’d find another pretty fashionista to gush over in the span of a year. For the time being, she just wanted to bask in whatever glow she had. The fame would come and go, and soon she’d be left with nothing but the memory of her silly little instagram account. 

Speaking of, the blonde haired girl set up her next post. Her caption had been some witty pun made up by her best friend, Jackie, because obviously she wouldn’t think of something so endearing yet stupid at the same time. Gigi usually ripped her captions from stupid things her friends would say, or she would force Nicky to translate some song lyric into french and use that. She wasn’t exactly the most creative when it came to captioning her posts, but she made up for it with the fact that the clothes she wore were all hand designed. 

Ever since she could remember, Gigi loved fashion. She loved being able to make things that people loved and wished they owned themselves. She adored the way that people would ask her where she got a garment, and how she could answer that she made it herself. Most inspiration she had came from her mother. She had been a seamstress as well, and as a child Gigi would watch her work. She was fascinated with how easily her mother put together clothes, and she started designing at a young age. It’s what led her to where she was now. 

Gigi began posting her outfits on Instagram a year prior. She didn’t expect it to go anywhere, really. So, when she started gaining followers, she was completely shocked. People actually liked her designs and her fashion enough to follow her. Enough to anticipate her next post. It was mind boggling to her. 

As she hit post, she scrolled down her Instagram feed. It was mostly filled with her friends. Jackie’s silly little Star Trek stan account that she had insisted Gigi followed, and Nicky’s own fashion account. Jackie had even forced her to follow the girl she had been pining after for years now, Jan, and she could have sworn the girl combusted when she got that follow notification. The direct message that followed consisted of a fully caps locked message, and a whole bunch of spelling mistakes that Gigi couldn’t even count. 

Pausing her scrolling, one post in particular caught her eye. It was from Jan, posted about an hour ago. In the photo, Jan was smiling brightly with a taller girl standing by her side. Her bouncy red curls were flying all over the place, and her smile lit up the entire photo. Gigi loved when Jan posted photos like this. She didn’t even know the name of the mystery person, and there was never an account tagged in the photos. Gigi was left wondering who that beautiful girl was, and of course she brought it up everytime she saw Jan. 

Gigi could recall the most recent time she brought up the mystery girl. Her, Jan and Jackie were gathered around a busy diner booth, all sharing one basket of fries. It was a silly idea, because Jan could eat far faster than the other two, so by the time Gigi had tuned back into the conversation, half the basket was already gone. She didn’t really mind though. She was aimlessly scrolling through her Instagram, as she does, when another photo of the mystery girl popped up on her feed. She slid her phone towards Jan, quirking an eyebrow. 

“Who is this?” Gigi had a rather harsh tone of voice, and oftentimes she sounded meaner than she had intended to. But, Jan knew her well enough to see past that. 

“That’s me and my friend, why?” Jan was much more upbeat than Gigi was. Sometimes, the blonde would wonder if Jan had ever felt any emotion aside from happiness. 

“Yeah but like, what’s her name? Her Instagram?” Gigi pressed forward. 

A grin spread onto Jan’s lips, and she snatched Gigi’s phone up. “Are you being a simp? Are you simping for my friend who you have never met?”

“What does that even mean?” Gigi attempts to snatch her phone away from Jan, all while Jackie sits back and does nothing to help her. Some best friend she is. “Jackie, help me.”

“I want no part in whatever you two are doing.” Jackie throws her hands up, before taking another fry and popping it into her mouth. It’s so like Jackie to not get involved in their silly squabble, it makes Gigi wonder why she loves the girl so much. Except, not really. She knows why. 

“Give me my phone! I don’t even know what a simp is.” Gigi stretches across the table until she’s practically kneeling on it. It’s garnered the attention from other occupants in the diner, most of them wondering what the hell this twenty something year old is doing. Gigi pays no mind, finally grasping her phone and sinking back down into her seat. 

Jan goes on to explain exactly what a simp is to Gigi, and the girl can't even deny the fact that maybe she is simping a little bit. She doesn’t think it really counts though, she’s never sent this mystery person any money. She doesn’t even know her name for crying out loud. 

It’s about a week later, and Gigi still has no answers to who this person is. Jan refuses to tell her, for whatever reason. She has to push those thoughts aside for the moment, because their close friends are throwing a party that evening and she still has yet to get dressed. She moved over to her closet, rifling through her clothes for something suitable. It wasn’t something super fancy, so she could skip out on long gowns. She didn’t really feel like showing up in a cocktail dress either, though. 

After searching for an allotted time that she doesn’t really want to admit, Gigi finds the perfect outfit. It’s a turtleneck shirt that hugs her figure like a glove, and it has a beautiful floral print on it. She pairs it with a simple high waisted short, tucking the shirt into them. It makes her waist look skinny, and her legs long. She adds a small little pink scarf tied around her neck. She pairs it with a matching pair of pink boots that make her even taller, and she looks over her outfit in the mirror. It’s perfect for a casual party, plus she looks pretty enough for anyone new she might meet. 

Grabbing her purse, she slips her keys into her hand and heads out the door. Thoughts of the mystery girl are completely void from her mind, which was rare. She was glad for the distraction though, and she drove towards Nicky’s house with Clario blasting throughout her car. 

Nicky has much more money than Gigi did. Her house was larger than Gigi thought was possible, and the other woman surely didn’t need that much space. It helped though, when she had parties like this. Though it was mostly kept to close friends, other friends were brought around and it made the house bustle with noise. Gigi stepped inside without even knocking, knowing Nicky well enough that she didn’t find it necessary to do such a thing. 

As she was crossing the main hall to go find where her friends were tucked away, she saw her. Long legs covered by a pair of worn out denim jeans that were absolutely covered in iron on patches. She was wearing a bright green blouse that hung loosely off her shoulders, and it was unbuttoned enough to reveal the white tank top she was wearing underneath. Bracelets and necklaces clinked together every time the girl moved, and there were the signature red curls adorning her head. She looked even prettier in real life. 

Before she could even take a deep breath, Jan was by her side tugging on her wrist. Gigi stumbles a bit, still a little dazed from seeing the mystery girl from all those photos right in front of her. “Hey girl! You drooling? Better pick your mouth up off the floor before she notices!”

The music from the house pumps in her ears, and she can barely hear Jan making fun of her because of it. Barely being the key word here. Gigi shoves her, puffing out her cheeks. “I didn’t know she would be here. You should have told me, you bitch!” 

Jan simply laughs, grabbing Gigi’s wrist and pulling her over towards her. She can feel her heart in her throat as they get closer, and Gigi has time to appreciate just how beautiful this girl is. Sure, her fashion is louder than Gigi’s, and she certainly looked more creative than herself. Her features were soft, her lips look fuller in person if that was even possible. Gigi was absolutely blown away, how was it possible for someone to be that pretty?

Before she could get over whatever she was feeling, the mystery girl was right in front of her. Her smile lit up the whole room, and Gigi was finding it difficult to even breathe in the presence of this girl. She was already striking up a conversation with Jan that Gigi was tuning out. In favor of listening, she was simply staring at the girl and hoping that she would be swallowed by the floor. She couldn’t do this, she couldn’t talk to someone this pretty. All the confidence she prides herself on having was washing away. And then, that smile was directed at her, and she thought she might just pass out.

“Hi! I’m Crystal!” Crystal. That was her name. Such a perfect name for such a perfect girl. Gigi thought that Crystal suited her, considering she was about as unique as a crystal. None of them looked perfectly the same, and they all stood out on their own. 

“Uh..” Gigi stuttered over her words, looking around the room as if she had forgotten her own name. “Gigi! I’m… Gigi.”

“Pretty name for such a pretty girl!” Crystal shot her a wink, and Gigi felt her heart stop in her chest. The way the music pounded made her feel dizzy, and Crystal giving her that flirty little smile wasn’t helping at all. Gigi simply laughed the compliment off, waving her hand and excusing herself from the two of them. She needed to get some air. 

Stepping out onto Nicky’s back patio, Gigi looked down at the pool below her. There was a small staircase that led down to the pool's edge, and with the beginning of summer fast approaching, Nicky had just opened up the pool. The water shone with the sunset, rippling and allowing Gigi to get lost in her thoughts. The mystery girl, Crystal, had actually been here. Jan was probably planning this all along. Gigi wouldn’t be surprised if the reason she kept any and all information a secret was for this exact night. Actually, she guaranteed that was the reason. 

Reaching into her pocket, Gigi took out the one object that always brought her comfort. Her phone. She opened her Instagram, scrolling through her notifications until a certain name popped out at her. 

crystalemethyd has followed you!

Crystal Methyd. That was her full name. She clicked onto the page, finding herself lost in scrolling through pictures of the beautiful girl. Her follower count was low, and it was clear that this was a personal account and not a business one like Gigi’s. Crystal's vibrant smile captivated her, and she didn’t even hear the door to the patio opening. She was far too engrossed in the current photo of Crystal holding up her cat and laughing at the camera. The way her eyes crinkled slightly was absolutely adorable, and Gigi couldn’t tear her eyes away from it. 

“That’s my cat, Tic Tac.” The sudden voice behind her startled her, and Gigi nearly dropped her phone down into the pool water below them. She took a deep breath, locking her phone quickly and pressing a hand to her chest. 

“You can’t just sneak up on somebody like that, jeez!” Gigi puffed up her cheeks, though her voice was much softer than she intended. Crystal just laughed quietly at her, holding her arms up. 

“I’m sorry! You were just standing out here by yourself, thought you could use some company.” Crystal shrugged, and Gigi had to force herself to look away from those perfectly painted lips. She looked up to the sky, watching the way it melted from a light purple to a beautiful pink. The edges of the sun were setting, and she could see how all the colors blended together to make a masterpiece. 

“So…” Crystal broke the silence. “Why are you out here scrolling through my Instagram? Are you some sort of stalker or something?” The playful grin on her lips made Gigi’s heart tremble, and she looked away quickly. 

“No! I just noticed you followed me.” She swallowed. Since when was she this awkward? Never in her life had she found herself fumbling for words like this. “I’ve seen pictures of you and Jan before. You were never tagged in any of them.”

“Oh yeah, I didn’t want Jan’s followers like hounding me or something.” Crystal laughed again. “People on the internet are scary. And mean.”

It was the first time since she had seen Crystal that her smile faltered. There was a flash of nervousness, of insecurity in her eyes before it was replaced by that confident aura that seemed to follow her. “Yeah.” Was all Gigi could bring herself to say. 

The two of them stood in a comfortable silence for a few minutes, both sneaking glances at the other. Gigi still couldn’t believe how beautiful Crystal was in person, and that fact that she was really standing in front of her was starting to settle in. As if the silence was actually physically hurting her, Crystal brought her hands down onto the railing of the patio, forcing Gigi to look over to her. 

“Well, it’s been great standing here and doing nothing.” Crystal starts, and Gigi assumes that she must think she’s the most boring person in the whole world. “But, Jan is going to throw a fit if I don’t help her with Jackie. That’s why I’m here after all. And for this mystery girl who has been simping over me for a while.”

Crystal winks at her, and Gigi feels her entire face go red. Of course Jan had told her about that, because why wouldn’t she. She swore that she would get back at her at some point, probably by using Jackie against her. Really though, she knew that Jackie wouldn’t go along with it. 

Crystal grabbed her arm, producing a pen from her pocket. Gigi hadn’t even realized what was happening until she felt the numbers being scrawled across her arm. They were loopy and beautiful, and she never wanted to wash them off. She gasped at the numbers that were clear for anyone to see, and Crystal just grinned at her. 

“You do know I have my phone with me, right?” Gigi challenges her, and Crystal just waves her hand.

“Where’s the romance in that, miss Goode?” With those final words, Crystal shoots her one last wink and disappears into the house. Gigi is left standing there, mouth hung open as she tries to process what had just happened. Did Crystal want to go out with her? Was this a date invitation?

Gigi had no idea. But she took her phone out, copied the number into it and put a cute little heart next to Crystal’s contact name. After a few deep breaths, she went back inside to find where the hell Nicky and Jackie were. Plus, she wanted to see whatever scheme Jan had planned to swoop Jackie off her feet. 

Gigi never really understood slang, despite her follower count. Most of it went over her head, and she wasn’t well versed in meme culture. But, in the words of Jan, maybe she was a simp. 

And maybe that was okay.

[unmaskedagain]

Worse than the Devil

Hey Everyone, I got really inspired by the amazing response to my first fic Queen Of Mean. I decided to write a follow up. Its to Selena Gomez’s version of Cruella De Vil. I loved it when it first came out and it sent shivers when I realized it was perfect for my follow up.

Looking back the missing pigtails in the bluenette’s hair when she walked into class Monday morning, dressed like she just got off the runaway, flanked by Chloe at her side, should’ve been the first warning sign.

But in the class’s defense, it had been a crazy weekend. The fireworks that came with Ladybug’s video, Alya’s meltdown, and Lila being outted as a liar didn’t die down after class ended that day.  No. The weekend had been filled out a never-ending stream of group texts, complaining of hurt feelings, nasty little liars, and why, or why wasn’t Marinette replying to their texts? Answering her phone? Didn’t she know they were sorry? Didn’t she know they needed their everyday Ladybug now more than ever? Alya in particular.

Alya, who had spent the entire weekend, nearly 24/7, trying to save her blog; defend her life’s work against the avalanche of criticism that had come it’s way; even the most loyal fans screamed of betrayal. She had released a dozen video explaining what happened and begging her viewers to understand that people make mistakes. Calling Marinette with no answer, texting her best friend for help only to get no reply. Texting Marinette that Lila was a dirty, rotten, liar in over a hundred different way, in over a hundred different texts; only to never get a reply; which Alya never understood. Marinette was right. Lila was a liar. Alya and Marinette should be teaming up to bring her down like their brought down Chloe; stand together like best friends do.

As Alya sat patiently at her desk, with Nino holding her hand in support, waiting for Marinette to arrive so she could find comfort in her bestie, never once did an apology cross her mind. Alya was too indignant, too self-righteous, convinced the Ladybug was victim-blaming. It wasn’t Alya’s fault. Her boyfriend agreed. Her entire class agreed. She just knew, soon, all of Paris would agree.

           When Marinette casually strolled in, talking animatedly with Chloe about their week, she left the other students stunned. Gone was the pintails. Gone was the easy-going, simple, practically trademarked pink pants and grey flower decorated shirt. Gone was the happy smile that the students had always remembered was there to greet them and bring them cheer on a sour Monday, like the day was.

           Instead, Marinette’s hair was down and flowing down her shoulders, longer than they could ever remember it being (though granted they hadn’t paid much attention to their once friend in last few months, except for giving her a few quick glares and sneers) and was perfectly coiffed with strands pullback in braids that would’ve made Daenerys Targaryen take notes. She was dressed in all black; a cropped leather jacket, a sparkly black halter top that tied around her neck in a pretty bow, her jeans black and skin tight, and killer high heels that would make most girls envious. The only color Marinette wore was the sliver bracelets adorning her arms and the classic movie star red lips she sported. Marinette looked a supermodel.

           And if Marinette’s new look didn’t stunned them. Then the look on her face when she glanced at them sure did. Move over Hawkmoth, because if Marinette didn’t scare you, no evil thing could.

It was like the entire classroom went colder. Maybe it was because of the ice in Marinette’s stare, her curved red-stained smirk that screamed: beware. The way everything about her just screamed predator, alpha, top of the food chain. Queen.

           Alya blinked hard. Nino blinked hard. Adrien blinked hard. Too stunned at the sight to even remember to badger the bluenette.  She and Chloe, also dressed like a runaway model, flounced to the back of the class without a hello, a smile, a wave; anything friendly. It was like they were too insignificant for the girls to notice. If they had an ounce of luck still in their lives, that would’ve been so.

           Unfortunately for them that wasn’t the case.

           The girls were painfully aware of their existence; of every move they made over the week, every stupid text they sent, every false apology uttered. Because the downfall of the Ladyblog was just a taste of what was to come. At this point, Marinette and Chloe was just Spiders waiting for the kill.

“Girl, you don’t have to sit with Chloe,” Alya exclaimed.  “We’ll make room, right?” Nino nodded quickly, eager to give his childhood friend an olive branch.

“Why wouldn’t I want to sit with Chloe?” Marinette asked nonchalantly. “She’s my best friend.”

           What happened next was similar to what, Marinette, thought happened in movie; where the main character says something shocking at a dance, there’s a sound of a record scratch, and silence as all eyes turn to the speaker.

           The smirk the spread over Chloe’s face, the glow that filled her, the thought of the havoc she was about to help commence practically made her purr.

“Best friend?” Alix asked, her pink hair pulled back and her face skeptical. “Last I checked, you were mortal enemies.”

“Last time you check was not long after Lie-La came to class,” Marinette retorted.

“Which is the last time you’re opinion matter to us,” Chloe added. “Or well to Mari here. I never paid you peasant any mind.”

“You can’t be best friends,” Alya jumped up. “You shouldn’t even be friends. I can’t believe it? After what she did to you?”

           The other students nodded.

“She stole your design.” Rose put in.

“Bullied you for years,” Max said.

“Ruined your present for teach!” Kim added.

           Alya nodded smugly at the class backing her up, and gave Marinette a bright smile and an expectant look that always used to work on cowing the other girl.

“Bygones,” Marinette sighed. “I forgave her. And we bonded over how stupid you were at believing Lie-La.” Marinette leaned back in her seat. “Besides it’s not like she ever called me a jealous bitch? Told me to check my sources? Ditched me a million times. Whispered mean words about me right in front of me. And even crueler words behind my back. Chloe would never do that.”

“You know who would?” Chloe grinned. ‘You.” She pointed at Alya. “And you.” She pointed at Alix. “And you!” At Nino “And you, you, you, you. And well everyone here really.”

“Chloe maybe be mean; in fact the greatest mean girl Sharpay,” Marinette smiled lovingly at the blond who preened at the praise.

“But at least I’m not a bad friend,” Chloe snipped viciously.

“Now Chloe that would imply I’m still friends with them at all.”

           At the statement, students wilted into themselves. Their misdeeds weighed heavily on them. They had been so upset at Lila for lying to them, at themselves for believing her, kicking themselves for not listening to Marinette, they never once considered how Marinette felt about the whole mess. But now they knew, she wasn’t happy.

           Little did they know just how furious the once sweet girl was.

           The two girls turned their attention to each other.

“Wasn’t this week just amaz!” Chloe said easily. “Fashion shows are always just so spectacular.”

“Your mom is, like, the best,” Marinette nodded eagerly. “I still can’t believe we got to model.”

           Chloe side-eyed the students, pretending they weren’t listening. “And why not? They were short. And just look at us. We’re beautiful. We deserved to be on that runway.”

“Runaway?” Mylène asked, awed. “You were in a fashion show.”

           Marinette nodded, kindly, though inwardly smirking. “There are pictures from the show online. They’re trending.” So was Marinette’s social media accounts. “We got to model with Kate Upton and Bella and Gigi Hadid.”

“We’re all the rage!” Chloe stated. “Mommy’s thinking of making us the faces of her new line. We’ll be in next week’s issue of Teen Vogue.”

“I posted a few photos on my Insta,” Marinette shrugged. “You can look if you want, I guess.” It was said with a faux unsure, insecure, unassuming voice; a voice that even the most terrifying vampire bat could have even the smartest of victims dancing to it.

           With that the girls went back to their conversation. Pretending they didn’t notice their classmates whipping out their phones to verify.

“WOW,” Rose beamed. “They do have pics with the Hadid sisters. Oh you look so pretty Marinette.”

“Dude is that Kendall Jenner?” Kim asked.

“Beyoncé!” Alya yelled. “Beyoncé was there. You met Beyoncé.”

“Chill,” Chloe snapped. “We didn’t meet her. We just waved. Jay-Z was there too btw.”

“Jay-Z,” Nino whispered in awe.

Before befriending Marinette, Chloe was have gladly lied and said they met the goddess, that was Queen Beyoncé. But Marinette wouldn't suffer liars. And hated anyone who lied about her. Chloe was smart enough to know losing Marinette as a friend would be costly to her; both personally and professionally.

           The blond refused to toss away the blessing that was Marinette’s friendship. Not the like fools before her. They didn’t know what they lost. But Chloe would make sure they did.

           It had taken weeks of slowly inching her way to being Marinette’s friend. The girl had been untrusting the blonde’s actions at first. But eventually, Chloe won her over, proved she could be a good friend, if not the best friend Marinette ever had.

           And the best part? Chloe didn’t have to change. Granted she had to dull unsavory traits like lying and stealing but it was worth it.

“Tony. Stark.” Max gulped like he was just told Santa was in fact real. “You are in a picture with Tony Stark; Iron Man.”

“Pepper Potts wanted a vacation,” Marinette said. “Peter, their son, is a friend of mine. We met last summer when he was visiting England with his class. I was there with my grandma. We hit it off. He knew I was nervous about going on stage so he got his mom to come here so he could support me. It was just supposed to be the two of them. Until Mr. Tony realized and followed along. Swore up and down they were trying to ditch him,” Marinette laughed.

“Oh please,” Chloe huffed. “He was proud that his kid was hanging out with a gorgeous French model.”

“Two gorgeous French models,” Marinette corrected. “The three of us got ice cream afterwards, remember? I can’t wait for this summer. Peter said we can spend of three weeks at Stark Tower; interning. PR for you. You’ll be amazing at it. God knows I could do, though.” She said glumly. Though her internship was going to be assisting the Pepper Potts on her day to day life.

“Ridiculous!” Chloe snapped. “Utterly Ridiculous. You know you can’t wait to get your hands on Thor’s cape to find out what material Alien princes use. Not to mention the plans I saw for a potential Captain America supersuit.”

Marinette crossed her arms, and huffed. “Hey that man is walking around dressed like America’s drunk prom date. Someone has to step in.”

“It’s a classic look,” Nathanial told them.

“It’s a crime against fashion,” Marinette hissed.

           With that, the girls went back to talking about their weekend and bickering over summer plans. Or at least they tried to.

“You could’ve invited us,” Alya snapped. “Or at least told us.”

“Why?” Marinette asked. “We’re not friends. Why don’t you ask Lila how it was? I’m sure, she’ll happily spin you a yarn about how amazing everything was. And promise you’ll meet them next time.”

           It was like a slap to the face. The entire class quieted back down; wishing the bell would ring already. And wondering where Miss Bustier was.

           Unfortunately for the teacher, quite a few concerned parents and staff members had taken issue with how Bustier had been running her class. Bullying, students being constantly turned into Akumas, why Lila could miss so much school without it being a major issue.

“Don’t you think you’re being harsh?” Adrien asked. “They’re sorry.”

No, Marinette thought darkly. They weren’t. Not yet. But they would be soon.

“Okay,” Marinette shrugged, carelessly, inhumanly. “I don’t see why that matters. I accept their apology but it changes nothing. Sorry doesn’t fix anything. It doesn’t magically make every alright again. It’s no Ladybug charm. Let it go.” She warned.

           While Marinette did have plans to bring down Adrien, they were for a later time. And when she did, it would be painful. And it would break him. Like he helped break her.

           For months Adrien had stood by, remained silent as Marinette was made into an outcast, bullied, lost all her friends… when he knew. Knew Lila was lying, knew Marinette was just trying to help. After he promised, vowed to have her back. Instead, Adrien let them deface her sketchbook after Lila accuse Marinette of yet another bullying incident; destroying all of Marinette’s hard work. Despite knowing Marinette couldn’t have possible done what Lila said she had. He just let it happen, too afraid to stand up and tell the truth.

           Adrien didn’t take the hint. Or didn’t recognize a warning when he heard it.

“Their hurting too!” The blond boy defended, outraged at how his everyday Ladybug

“How?” Marinette asked curiously, innocently reminiscent of the girl who had been their friend who had existed when the world was still a wholesome place. “You said it yourself it’s not like Lila was hurting anybody. At least that’s what you told me, remember? You knew Lila was lying since like forever and you’re just fine.”

           It went silent again. Adrien paled. Marinette could barely stop the smile from slipping onto her face. If she wasn’t careful, they might combined their collective ten brain cells and catch on. See that she was a monster that should’ve never been released.

“You knew?” Nino asked in horrified disbelief.

           Dozens of hurt filled eyes trained on Adrien. It was at that moment Ms. Mendeleiev walked into class. “Students, I’ll be filling in today and possibly for the rest of the week. Everyone in their seats. Class is about to begin.”

           It was the smoothest devastation Chloe had ever witnessed and grew up with her mother and Gabriel Agreste as role models.

           In few years, the blonde knew there would be few would who hesitate to call Marinette, or herself, the devil. Too stunned to realize just how much worse either girl was.

           Chloe glanced at the girl who had become her best friend, and fellow mean-girl-in-arms. Marinette had her bluebell eyes trained on the chaos she had just unleashed, once again, on her fellow classmates.

           A lessor man, woman would’ve shivered. Chloe had shivered and had nightmares the first time that gaze rested on her.

           However, when time wore off the shock; Chloe realize she’d only see those type of eyes watching from underneath a rock.

           If you weren’t scared of the New Marinette, then you hadn’t met her yet.

Look out world, Chloe thought. Long Live the Queen.

[artificialqueens]

You've Got a Shot, Though (Gigi x Jackie) - Strawberry & Cobblestaubrey

Summary: Gigi Goode, Jackie’s sworn enemy.

Okay. Not sworn enemy. She wasn’t sure if Gigi even knew who she was. However, that didn’t stop Jackie from feeling something when Gigi was around. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint it, but it must’ve been envy or jealousy. The blonde girl was rich, and beautiful, and Jackie felt drawn to her whenever she was around. Did she want to be Gigi Goode? That had to be it.

And it pissed her off.

Jackie runs for student council president. So why does Gigi freaking Goode have to, too?

A/N: Hi everyone!! Basically @cobblestaubrey and I wrote this together and posted it on AO3 and we decided to bring it over to AQ as well! It’s half serious and half crack fic if you’re into that, I hope you enjoy :)

“I’m just sick of people not taking me seriously. I mean, who cares about student council treasurer?” Jackie threw her hands in the air, continuing to pace around the emptying hallway.

Nicky furrowed her brows. “There’s a student council treasurer?”

“Yes! Me!”

Jackie had been treasurer since her freshman year of high school, yet no one seemed to know who she was. She had tried to put herself out there time and time again to no avail, and she was fed up with consistently failing at it.

Nicky at least had the decency to look sorry. “Oh… On purpose?”

“Yes, Nicky, thanks. A good friend you are.”

“Not what I meant!” Nicky held up her hands in defense. “I’m just wondering if you’re stuck there? Have you tried running for something else?”

Jackie had never thought about leaving her spot as treasurer. No one had ever tried to snatch it from her; it felt like she owned the position. Nicky was right, though, a change of pace could be what she needed. “I guess Vice President would be nice?”

“Mm. Not big enough,” Nicky responded almost immediately.

“But, the only other option is…”

Nicky smirked. “Exactly.”

“I can’t run for student council President!” She couldn’t believe what Nicky was suggesting. It would be a total long shot.

Shrugging, Nicky continued. “Why not? The position is open,” she leaned forward, nudging Jackie with her elbow. “We all know what happened to the last President.”

Jackie grimaced, remembering the fate of Dahlia, who had been President since freshman year. She had been popular and easily snagged the votes of every boy in the grade. The only problem was she had no idea how to be President and basically had faked it the entire time, until it all finally caught up to her. Her Vice President, Jaida, had ratted her out for fulfilling none of her presidential duties, and Dahlia had ‘stepped down’ before the student council could impeach her.

“Do you really think I could do it?” This would be a big decision; it would put Jackie way out of her comfort zone.

“Why wouldn’t you be able to? You’re smart, and you’ve - apparently - been in student council this whole time. You have the experience.”

Jackie couldn’t remember a time Nicky was so unabashedly supportive, but she couldn’t complain about being buttered up.

“I don’t know…”

Nicky pursed her lips, before speaking again. “How about this, I’ll be your advisor!” She could see Jackie was still not convinced, and continued on,  “I’ll tell you what to do, make sure you don’t make any of those stupid puns you like-”

“Stupid?”

“Yes, Jackie, they’re stupid, and no one’s gonna vote for you if you say them.”

Jackie sighed. “Okay, fine. I’ll think about it, alright?”

“I think it would be… good for you.”

That sounded weird. “O-kay…”

“Well, I’m about to be late for cheer,” Nicky started, turning on her heel, before looking back at Jackie, “but definitely think it over.”

The conversation was definitely odd, but Jackie was too preoccupied with thinking about all of the things she could get done, and the power she would have if she were President.

Dahlia had never listened to any of her ideas. Jackie had spent so much time calculating how to reallocate money from their failing sports teams to the underfunded arts department, but Dahlia was failing ninth grade algebra in junior year and didn’t know how money worked.

On her way out of the school, towards the parking lot, Jackie had kept her eyes on the floor, and nearly ran into a wall. Stumbling backwards, trying to catch her balance, she got a good look at what was on the wall.

“No freaking way.”

Gigi Goode, Jackie’s sworn enemy.

Okay. Not sworn enemy. She wasn’t sure if Gigi even knew who she was. However, that didn’t stop Jackie from feeling something when Gigi was around. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint it, but it must’ve been envy or jealousy. The blonde girl was rich, and beautiful, and Jackie felt drawn to her whenever she was around. Did she want to be Gigi Goode? That had to be it.

And it pissed her off.

Nicky did not have cheer practice that day. She wasn’t even wearing a cheerleading uniform - she wasn’t sure how Jackie missed that - but she was grateful for the brunette’s obliviousness.

Instead of going to the gym, Nicky headed down to the art wing, where Rock was. Walking inside one of the classrooms, she found Rock devouring a glue stick.

“What the fuck?”

“My mom didn’t pack me a snack and you took too long,” Rock spoke around the glue, continuing to munch on it as Nicky watched in horror.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I convinced Jackie to run.”

Rock’s eyes lit up, and she finally put the glue stick down, brushing her sticky hands on her pants. “Seriously?”

“It actually wasn’t that hard. Did you know she was treasurer?”

Rock sent her an exasperated look. “Yeah that’s the whole fucking point, Nicky, we talked about this.”

“I was a bit distracted,” Nicky smirked, giving Rock a once over, which made Rock roll her eyes.

“Slow down, Casanova, we have a different couple to get together first.”

Crossing her arms, Nicky raised an eyebrow. “How am I supposed to trust you when you eat glue sticks?”

“It was one time!”

“There are three empty glue sticks right there.”

Rock quickly shoved them off the desk, wincing as they clattered onto the floor. “No there aren’t. Anyway, you don’t have to trust me. Gigi Goode gets what she wants, and she wants Jackie.”

“Are you sure you two are even friends? How does this work?”

Rock scoffed. “I’ve known Gigi since she was in designer diapers. We go way back.”

“Suuuure.”

Rock rolled her eyes, and then got out of her seat. Walking over to the printer in the corner, she pulled out a large sheet of paper from the printer tray, and held it up for Nicky to see. “Now, come on, we have more of these posters to put up.”

Jackie had given in and signed up to run for President, and now she was sitting in the library, waiting for the first meeting. She had arrived twenty minutes before it was supposed to start, like she always had done.

A few students had taken residency in the chairs in front of her and behind her, but it wasn’t as many people as she originally thought. Her competition wasn’t too steep, either.

There was Jan, who had never won anything in her entire school career, and Scarlet, who was funny and personable, but couldn’t tell the difference between “President” and “precedent”. The others were no names who Jackie had never even seen in the library, and her confidence was on the rise.

Until Gigi Goode walked in, two minutes before the meeting started, and took a seat right next to Jackie.

Great. The last thing Jackie wanted was to have Gigi sit next to her.

Gigi sent her a soft smile, which Jackie pointedly ignored, crossing her arms and facing towards where the principal would begin speaking.

“So you’re running too?” Gigi asked, flashing her another smile.

“Uh, yeah. That’s why I’m here,” Jackie finally spoke to her, annoyed at Gigi’s ignorance.

Gigi looked firmly chastised, folding her hands in her lap and nodding. “Cool.”

Luckily for the blonde, the principal finally stood up to address the room, saving her from the awkward moment with Jackie.

“Alright, I assume you’re all here for the student council President position?”

Most everyone nodded at that, except for one student who got up and left.

The principal, after watching said student leave, turned back to the group. “Alrighty. Well, as you all know, being President means holding a lot of responsibility for not only yourself but your classmates and their time here…”

Jackie, having heard a similar speech before, began tuning the principal out, letting her eyes wander around the room.

Eventually, she was pulled out of her trance by Gigi, who elbowed her lightly. “Treasure her? I barely know her!”

Jackie flinched away from Gigi’s arm, sending the girl a glare. “What?”

“Treasurer, ‘treasure her’, get it?” Jackie stared blankly, causing Gigi to falter. “You’re the treasurer, right?”

“Yes.”

“Cool.”

Jackie couldn’t believe that Gigi was trying this hard to distract her. Shouldn’t Gigi be focusing on what the principal was saying, and not on Jackie?

She rolled her eyes. Gigi must’ve thought Jackie was real competition if she was willing to stoop so low. Jackie knew it was all a plan to get her in trouble, so she was trying her best to ignore all of the terrible puns Gigi was throwing at her.

By the end of the meeting, Gigi had finally stopped trying to speak to her, and Jackie was thankful for the silence so she could go back to zoning out. However, when everyone was dismissed, Jackie could see out of the corner of her eye that Gigi was still there, waiting.

“Well,” Gigi began, scratching the back of her neck. “Good luck!”

Jackie did her best to not react. “Thanks,” she muttered, slinging her backpack around her shoulder and leaving, barely avoiding a collision with Gigi’s shoulder.

Election season was now in full swing, and candidates were dropping like flies. Now the only two people left were Jackie and Gigi. Jackie was extremely confident that she was doing fairly well, as everyone she had asked said they would be voting for her.

Jackie had sauntered up to Nicky, leaning on the blonde’s locker as she always did in the morning, but Jackie wasn’t as tired as she usually was. Instead, she was bouncing on the balls of her feet. “How are the polls looking, Nicky?” Jackie asked, watching Nicky pull up the results on her phone. She had heard she had been doing better recently thanks to the few posters Nicky had made for her that hung around the halls, and couldn’t wait to see the polls.

The blonde skimmed the page, before looking up and smirking. “You’re up three percent.”

“Really?” Jackie grinned, trying to look over Nicky’s shoulder at her screen. “What’s my total?”

“Three percent.”

Jackie’s eyes went wide, searching Nicky’s face for the joke.

“What? But… Everyone said they’d be voting for me!”

Rolling her eyes, Nicky put her phone back into her pocket. She crossed her arms and raised a pointed eyebrow at Jackie. “You asked three people, and I was one of them.”

Jackie ignored her, shaking her head at herself. “How is this possible?”

Looking down the hallway, Jackie spotted Gigi talking to a girl Jackie recognized from her BC Calculus class. Wait, was Gigi handing her money?

Nicky had begun talking about something or another, but Jackie couldn’t be bothered to care. She had bigger problems right now. She stalked towards Gigi, ignoring Nicky’s calls behind her.

“Hey!” Jackie shouted when she was close enough to be sure Gigi would hear. “What do you think you’re doing?”

“Oh hey, Jackie,” Heidi, the girl next to Gigi, said, “Have you done the homework yet?”

“Um, yes, obviously I did the homework, but that’s not important right now,” Jackie flared her nostrils, giving Gigi a piercing glare. “Are you bribing her? Seriously?”

Gigi continued handing the girl the money, albeit slower, as if she assumed that if she was quiet enough, Jackie wouldn’t notice. “No.”

“I can see you, that is, like, fifteen dollars.”

“Actually, it’s twenty!” Gigi smirked. “And there’s no rule against it, the principal didn’t say I couldn’t bribe people!”

Putting her hands on her hips, Jackie scoffed. “Is this how you get through life, Gigi? Buying your way into anything you want?”

“I feel like I shouldn’t be here right now,” Heidi said, looking between the two. She quickly pocketed the money and slipped out while the two other girls were busy staring each other down.

Gigi rolled her eyes. “Would you rather have me slander you? I’m sure I can pull up some sort of blackmail.”

“Good luck with that, I haven’t done anything remotely as bad as you have. I should be slandering you!”

“Oh, yeah,” Gigi crossed her arms, smirking, and Jackie knew this was bad news. “Freshman year, dress coded in the hall.”

Jackie sputtered, “that wasn’t my fault! It was the rampant sexism!”

“But the forty percent of undecided male voters might say otherwise.”

Jackie stopped in her tracks. “Really, forty percent?”

“Yeah, I think they hate women and don’t want to vote for one.”

“Well, they don’t have a choice.”

“Right? It’s actually ridiculous.”

“Yeah,” Jackie nodded, before lowering her eyebrows and looking away. “Wait, no! I’m mad at you! You can’t blackmail me.”

With a flip of her hair, Gigi began to turn away. “Then I’ll keep bribing whoever I want.”

As she started to walk down the hall, Jackie called out, “You won’t win this way!”

“Are you serious, Jackie? Yes I will,” Gigi laughed, causing Jackie’s cheeks to burn at the sound. Whether it was from embarrassment or something else, Jackie wasn’t sure, but she was angry, and she wanted to win.

If there was one thing Nicky hated, it was being interrupted while kissing pretty girls in her bed, but if there was anything she hated more, it was how oblivious Jackie was to everything around her.

Rock pulled away, her forehead creased. “Why is your ringer so loud?”

Nicky rolled her eyes, pulling her phone out of her back pocket. “Shut up. This better be worth it.”

[jackie.cox] Gigi is SO annoying! She’s bribing people left and right, and has no qualifications, and she keeps… smirking at me!

“Well?” Rock leaned forward, trying to catch a glimpse at Nicky’s phone.

“Definitely not worth it,” she muttered, “It’s Jackie, ranting about Gigi as always.”

“Aren’t you supposed to be her advisor?”

Nicky laughed, “Yes,” before sending a message back to Jackie.

[nickydoll69] u r dumb

[jackie.cox] ??? I have a 4.0 GPA ???

[nickydoll69] dumb

Nicky looked back up, raising an eyebrow at Rock. “Gigi is bribing people?”

“As her campaign’s financial advisor, I completely support this.”

“Well, Jackie’s having an aneurysm over it.”

“Lemme see,” Rock scooted off of Nicky’s lap to sit by her side, taking her phone. “Really? She’s mad at the smirking? That was like, the opposite of what Gigi wanted.”

“Gigi planned this?”

Rock shrugged and nodded. “Yeah, she said something about no girl being able to resist the ‘Goode Charm’,” she made air quotes with her fingers, “She’s ridiculous.”

“But is she wrong?” Nicky asked, showing Rock the newest text on her phone.

[jackie.cox] I hate her and her stupid smirk on her stupid pretty face!

“That sounds kinda gay, Jackie.” Rock commented, and then looked back at Nicky. “We’re getting somewhere.”

“No we are not,” Nicky scoffed, “It’s going to take her two years to realize she likes Gigi at this rate.”

“Trust me, if Gigi ups the ante, there’s no way Jackie can resist her.”

Sending a quick text back to Jackie, Nicky put her phone down and pulled Rock onto her lap. “This sounds fucking stupid.”

Rock simpered, leaning closer. “It is, but it’ll work.”

Jackie was still fuming by the time lunch rolled around the next day, but she tried to keep her cool, as she was with Nicky and Rock. Gigi’s table of rich, future socialites was only ten or so feet away, but Jackie tried to block the blonde’s voice out nonetheless.

“Have you guys seen the TikTok where-”

“No Rock, I have not seen whatever anime TikTok you’re about to describe,” Jackie pointed at Rock with her spork, before piercing one of the cubed peaches in front of her.

“And I have seen it, and probably hated it,” Nicky added. “I hate all of the TikToks you send me.”

“Even the-”

“Yes. Even that one.”

“You guys suck.” Rock pouted, picking up her Capri Sun. “I send you guys the best ones!”

Jackie was about to respond, a quip on the tip of her tongue, until she heard an obnoxious, loud male voice behind her.

“I don’t think gay people should be allowed to run for anything, let alone president…”

It wasn’t like Jackie hadn’t heard something like this before, but with her losing numbers in the poll, this only made her angrier.

Before she had the chance to turn around and begin degrading whoever had spoken, another voice rang out.

“Hey!”

Jackie watched as the boy who had spoken and his friend turned away from her, only to come face to face with Gigi Goode.

The blonde’s glares were usually cold, but this one was especially sharp. “Jackie being gay has nothing to do with why she’s going to lose!”

“Very nice, Gigi, very cool,” Jackie muttered to herself as she watched this go down.

“Because she’ll be losing to a lesbian, anyway.” Gigi stared the boy down, “how do you feel about that, Jake?”

Sputtering, Jake looked around the cafeteria where half of the student body had been watching. “But you’re so hot, you can’t like girls!”

“And why not?” Gigi cocked an eyebrow.

“Because!”

“Because…” Gigi leaned forward, urging him on, “You’re an idiot?”

“Yes!“ He said with his full chest, and then pulled back, scrunching up his brows, “Wait - no! What?”

A few spectators began to laugh, as well as Jake’s friend, who had backed up to put space in between them. Gigi smirked, taking in the crowd, before meeting Jake’s eyes once again. “Do you think you’ve embarrassed yourself enough, or should I keep going?”

He rolled his eyes, scoffing. “Whatever. Bitch.” He walked away, motioning for his friend to follow him.

Jackie swallowed, unsure what to think. She had been so rude to Gigi these last months, but Gigi had just stood up for her, and she was gay?

“Uh,” she started, inwardly cursing herself for sounding like a moron. Gigi turned to her expectantly. “Thanks.”

Gigi nodded once. “Yeah.” She turned away swiftly, giving Jackie no chance to say anything else.

When she swiveled back around to Nicky and Rock, the two appeared to have been listening with rapt attention. However, when they noticed she could see them again, they switched positions, looking anywhere but at her.

“What are you doing?”

“Huh?” Rock asked, studying her lunchbox. “Nothing, we just - oh did my mom pack cookies? Sweet!”

“Wow, so cool Rock! No glue this time?” Nicky asked, her eyes way too wide and her excitement too over exaggerated.

Rock deflated at the comment. “I wish.”

“Uh… okay.” Jackie looked between the two, wondering what moment she had just interrupted.

Silence fell over the three, before Nicky spoke again. “So… That was really nice of Gigi.”

“And she’s gay,” Rock added, helping no one. Nicky kicked her underneath the table, which caused Rock to yelp.

“Yeah, that was really nice of her to come out to defend me,” Jackie shrugged.

“Yeah… it was… very kind of her to do that…” Nicky emphasized the thought, leaning forward in her seat.

It was really nice, Jackie thought to herself, twisting slightly in her chair to catch a glimpse at Gigi’s table. The blonde was laughing with her friends, her wavy hair going past her shoulders. Jackie let her eyes stay on Gigi for only a moment more, before she slid them back to the table. Maybe there were two sides to every story, and Jackie had written Gigi’s side without even getting to know her. She had stood up for Jackie, seemingly without a second thought, would Jackie have done the same? Of course, but… Jackie was a good person, right? Could Gigi be a good person, too?

Jackie was pulled out of her thoughts by the conversation Nicky and Rock were having at the other side of the table. “Do you think it’s working?” Rock had whispered, glancing between Nicky and Jackie.

“What are you two talking about?” Jackie asked, furrowing her brows.

Rock’s eyes went wide, before she stuttered out “Anime! Crunchyroll on mobile is so glitchy!” She gave a tense smile, and let out a high pitched, fake laugh.

“Right…”

Though she was still confused, Jackie wouldn’t let Gigi throw her off completely. It was almost the end of the election season, and Jackie knew her only way to reel in the undecided voters was to nail her speech. She had begun writing it, but had no direction. After what had just happened, an idea finally hit her.

By the time speeches rolled around, Jackie was filled with confidence. She was extremely proud of the speech she had prepared, she had been rehearsing it every single night and was ready to crush Gigi’s dreams of being President.

The two sat to the left of center stage in the auditorium where the speeches would take place. Their entire class trickled in slowly, making their way into the rows. As more and more piled in, Jackie’s anxiety rose. She could feel dozens of eyes on her. The principal began introducing the two candidates, redundantly, if Jackie had to say, and then gestured to Gigi to step up to the podium.

Gigi stood up swiftly, walking up to the stand, the clack of her heels echoing through the large room. All eyes were on her now, so Jackie could finally relax.

With bated breath, Gigi finally began her speech, dragging her eyes along the audience.

“Hey guys! My name is Gigi God, I mean Goode, fuck, I mean, not fuck, I mean, shit, I mean, hey!” She turned to the principal, cocking her head, “Am I allowed to keep going or am I suspended for that?”

He nodded, gesturing for her to continue.

“Cool. I decided to run for President because we need someone who can work! And I can, even though there’s a rumor that I can’t. Thanks, Dahlia. You wish you could be up here.”

“No I don’t,” a voice called out from the audience.

“Shut up, Dahlia. I hope that was Dahlia. Anyway, I am really good with an E, get it, Gigi Goode? Wow, funny, too? You guys are really gonna miss out if you don’t vote for me.”

Jackie watched in horror as Gigi’s speech devolved into absolute chaos. She had no idea where all of Gigi’s confidence came from, as it appeared as though she was an absolute moron when it came to public speaking.

“So, if you don’t vote for me, know you are not cool. You probably are a nerd and want to vote for Jackie for, I don’t know, longer Dungeons and Dragons meetings. Sorry Rock. Peace!”

With that, Gigi pulled away from the podium, and walked back to her seat, a smug smile on her face. “Beat that, Jackie.”

Jackie sent her an incredulous look. “I would be worried if I couldn’t.”

Letting out a deep breath, Jackie got up from her own seat, and walked to the center of the stage. She gripped the podium tightly, bending down slightly to speak into the microphone.

“Hello everyone. As you know, I am Jaqueline Cox, your treasurer, and, hopefully, your future president. I have the experience of being in the student council, and I am fully confident that I have what it takes to be the greatest President this school has ever had.” She took another breath, looking down to read the next line of her speech.

“Coming into high school was difficult, as it was for many of us. Figuring out who we are, who we want to be, who other people think we should be, it’s like we’re placed in a box before we even know how to break out. Now, look at us.” She tried to find a few familiar faces, smiling gently at Nicky and Rock, who were situated a few rows to the left. “Soon we’ll be going into the real world, where more boxes will be built around us, some less temporary than others. I want to help give each and every one of you the tools to break out of those boxes, regardless of how daunting it may seem.”

She had spent hours figuring out what her speech was going to be about, and hit several walls. However, thinking back through her own high school experience, it was not her intelligence or her drive that made her happy or successful, it was her bravery. It was her fearlessness in being herself. That was all she ever wanted for everyone else, as well.

“Because of my upbringing, my boxes were always so rigid, and I was always afraid to break out and be myself. But coming here, and seeing all of you, and finding out who I am, I’ve learned that the only way to live is to live truthfully. There is always going to be fear and danger in subverting expectations, but are you really living, if you aren’t you? Allowing diversity into our school, and allowing it to flourish, would be the best opportunity we would have to create a graduating class of unique individuals who are ready to break out of societal confines, and be exactly who we all want to be.”

Jackie scanned the audience, looking for any reactions. Everyone’s faces were blank, besides Crystal, who was sobbing in the front row and Gigi, who was staring intensely at Jackie.

“If you elect me as your president, I promise that I will fight each and every day to ensure that everyone gets to be themselves. There will be no fear in my hallways.”

Crystal stood up, starting to slowly clap, looking around and waiting for the other students to join in. They didn’t. She sat back down immediately, trying to pretend she didn’t embarrass herself in front of the entire student body.

“Um. Thank you,” Jackie spoke, shifting her eyes around the unreactive audience.

With that, she turned to go back to her seat. Gigi held up her hand for a high five, which Jackie stared at for a little too long, before slowly bringing her hand up to meet Gigi’s.

“And for our final announcement of the day, the new heads of Student Council…”

Jackie listened closely, tapping her sneaker on the cafeteria floor to keep her occupied. It was the end of the day, and after what felt like thirty activities and announcements, it was finally time to learn who had become the president. She had been in study hall for her last period, and with little homework to occupy herself, had been terribly anxious and snappy while waiting.

“Our Secretary is Widow Von Du…”

Jackie rolled her eyes. She had run unopposed, what was the point in announcing this?

“Our new treasurer is Brita Havea…”

At least some good had come out of this race, Brita would be a fantastic replacement, and she voted for Jackie.

The principal paused, which only acted to further annoy Jackie, and her tapping foot became incessant.  

“And our new President and Vice President are… Gigi Goode and Jackie Cox, respectively!”

What?

“ What? ”

What had happened? Had she been Thomas Jefferson’d? Why was she the Vice President?

“I’m sorry,” Nicky said, putting a hand on Jackie’s shoulder to console her. “Gigi’s speech was God awful, but it was the most human thing she has ever done. She won by a landslide.”

Jackie turned her head away, accidentally finding Gigi amongst the sea of students, across the room. She was clapping for herself. Jackie looked away quickly, because Gigi’s presence and her joy were making her upset. She gathered her things and started heading to the library. Once she got into the empty hallway, she heard footsteps behind her that followed her rhythm, but they were getting closer. After listening closely, Jackie could tell that it was no other than Gigi, the last person she wanted to see.

“Go away, Gigi.”

“I know you’re pissed but listen to me!”

Jackie continued walking towards the library, bunching her hands up at her sides. “Why should I listen?”

“Because!” Gigi sputtered.

“Amazing argument.”

The loud groan Gigi let out shocked Jackie for a second, before Gigi started speaking again. “I… might’ve… offered the school some things to have you be my Vice President, because I knew how much this meant to you!”

Jackie stopped in her tracks. She hated the fact that Gigi couldn’t seem to stop bribing people, but then again, that money could go towards a lot of the programs that desperately needed funding.

“Why would you do that for me?” She asked, staring at the linoleum floors under her. “I don’t think I’ve ever been nice to you.”

“Does it matter?” Gigi asked, putting her hand on Jackie’s shoulder to turn her around. “You can make it up to me,” Jackie furrowed her eyebrows; Gigi actually looked… nervous? The blonde put a loose strand of her hair behind her ear, looking down, before looking back up at Jackie. “I was planning on going bowling tonight, if you want to join me?”

“You were going bowling… alone?”

Gigi nodded fervently, “Yeah! To, um, celebrate my win!”

“…Alone?”

“No one else won the presidency, did they?”

Jackie chuckled, shaking her head. Gigi was a lot more than the bitchy front she put up in the past, and Jackie was actually enjoying getting to see this other side of her, in a weird, ironic way.

Jackie finally gave in, smiling despite herself. “You really bribed the school for me?”

“Yes!” Gigi laughed, and Jackie joined in, because the situation was ridiculous. “Go bowling with me?”

Jackie rolled her eyes, still smiling. “Sure, why not?”

“Great!”

There was a pause, before Jackie spoke again. “So, are you picking me up?”

“Um…” Gigi looked around, tapping her shoe on the floor pointedly. “You are aware I’m gay, right?”

Jackie took a mental step back. “What?”

“I can’t drive, Jackie, I’m gay.”

“Okay?”  Jackie was even more confused, now. “I’m gay too, and I can drive?”

“Yeah, but, you’re… sophisticated.”

Laughing, Jackie nodded. “Okay, okay, fine. I’ll pick you up, just text me a time.”

“I don’t have your number, though?”

“DM me on Instagram,” Jackie said, giving Gigi another easy smile.

“Okay.” Gigi flashed her a toothy grin before turning around and heading back to the cafeteria to celebrate her win.

Jackie rolled her eyes, wondering what she had gotten herself into.

Clothes were strewn everywhere in Jackie’s room, covering her bed and desk. She couldn’t find a single, cohesive outfit she wanted to wear, but she had never cared before. What had changed?

Did Jackie… like Gigi? No, that couldn’t be possible, she had felt nothing but anger towards Gigi until recently. Everything Gigi did had made her mad, or confused, or nervous, or…

God damnit. She did like Gigi, but there was no way the blonde could feel the same way. Gigi was out of Jackie’s league, and she had no chance after she had been flat out rude to her the entire election season.

And now, they were hanging out, only because Gigi felt bad for her, and Jackie was going to be weird about it. Great. Gigi had done such a nice thing for her (ignoring the bribery), and even had offered up a friendship, and Jackie was going to ruin it by being a dumb lesbian.

It was less than thirty minutes until she was supposed to pick Gigi up, and having this crisis was not it. She looked over to her bed, where her phone was lying on her comforter, and wondered if it was too late to cancel. Sure, Gigi would be disappointed, but Jackie was not willing to put herself and her dignity through this.

She walked over to her bed, writing out what she would send to Gigi in her head (something along the lines of “Oh my God! I completely forgot that my mother wanted me to do xyz tonight, I’m so sorry!”), until she realized she had a notification from the other girl anyway.

[gigigoode] cant wait for tonight! this is the second thing im gonna beat u at today :)

Jackie laughed, despite how insulting that should have been. How was she supposed to cancel on her, when the blonde sounded so excited? Fuck it, she was going to have to put her feelings for Gigi on the back burner for tonight.

[jackie.cox] Jokes on you, I am a MASTER at bowling!

She wouldn’t say she was amazing at bowling, but she thought winning something against Gigi would help her shattered ego.

[gigigoode] :’(

Against her better judgement, Jackie decided to leave for Gigi’s early, in case she got lost. Gigi lived in a neighborhood she wasn’t entirely familiar with, so she was being prepared. She totally didn’t want to get there early on purpose.

However, when she finally arrived, she found herself overthinking everything. What if Gigi thought it was weird that she was early? But she couldn’t just sit in Gigi’s driveway like a stalker, that would be even weirder.

[gigigoode] are u at my house??

“Shit,” Jackie whispered, texting back a quick response before Gigi could think mean thoughts about her.

[jackie.cox] Yeah, sorry I overestimated the amount of time it took me to get here. Haha

[gigigoode] it’s okay just give me a minute and i’ll come on down :)

To Jackie’s relief, Gigi came out of her house only moments later, dressed in jean shorts and a striped blue button down, and it might have been the first time Jackie had seen her without heels, having swapped them out with a white pair of sneakers. It was the most dressed down Jackie had ever seen her, but it somehow only fueled her newly realized attraction. God damnit.

Although the car ride was a little awkward, and Jackie almost T-Boned someone because she got distracted by Gigi, they got there in one piece.

The bowling alley had a galaxy theme, with bright strobe lights flashing over the starry rugs and countertops. Children filled up almost every lane and every game that the arcade portion had to offer, throwing balls into gutters and stuffing their faces with pizza.

Jackie remembered being young without a care in the world, which was the exact opposite of how she felt right now, with Gigi’s hand brushing up against her own as they walked to the counter.

“I’m paying,” Gigi announced loudly, handing over her money to the gangly cashier, who was about as subtle in checking Gigi out as every other boy in their grade (which was not at all, ever). It annoyed Jackie, throwing a glare at the boy that she hoped he noticed.

They got their shoes from the counter, and headed off to their lane.

Jackie was feeling pretty confident after she found the perfect bowling ball, happy with the way her thumb wouldn’t get caught in it when she released it. However, after plugging in both of their names into the system, Gigi immediately bowled a spare.

As ‘SPARE’ played across the screen, Gigi did a celebratory dance, which Jackie found it boastful, but also cute at the same time, which she hated.

“You’re up,” Gigi looked back at Jackie as she walked towards their seats, smirking.

Jackie did pretty well, knocking over seven pins, having left two on the left and one on the right. She tried to hit the two on the left, but her ball ended up going straight through the middle of the lane.

“Oooh, not quite,” Gigi teased, walking up and grabbing her teal ball from the ball return. She took a few moments to align herself, sending her ball down the middle and knocking over all ten pins.

“Woo!” Gigi brought back the celebratory dance, stopping as soon as she saw Jackie’s face. “Uh…”

“It’s fine,” Jackie lied, standing up too straight.

She ended up knocking over another seven pins, which was still fine, but annoyed her further with how far behind she’d still be.

It was like Gigi picked up on Jackie’s irritation, because once it was her turn, she rolled a gutter ball.

“Oops! Silly me, I’m just too dainty to hold this heavy ball, it looks like!” Gigi pouted, letting her wrists bend down.

Jackie squinted and tilted her head. “Yeah…”

“I guess you’re gonna catch up…”

Jackie continued looking at her suspiciously, before shaking her head and getting up once more.

Gigi didn’t give up her act of pretending she couldn’t hold the ball, and Jackie ended up winning the game with a total of 73 points.

“Did you let me win?” Jackie finally asked, after watching Gigi manage to knock down one pin on her last go.

Gigi had the decency to look surprised. “Wha- I- Of course not! You’re just so good at bowling!”

“Do you want me to teach you, then? We can play another game.”

“Yeah! I’d love to.”

Every time Jackie would help Gigi hold the ball, she would feel Gigi lean into her touch. Surely Jackie was just imagining it, there was no reason for Gigi to want to do that. Despite her instruction, Gigi hadn’t been getting better, and had to keep asking for Jackie to repeat her instructions again and again.

That was, until the end, when Gigi finally got another strike. Her little dance came back once again, and Jackie found herself smiling at the blonde.

“Jackie! We did it!” She squealed, hopping off the platform to give Jackie the tightest hug.

“Yeah, we did. We’re a great team, I’m glad we were able to become such good friends after everything!”

She could feel Gigi still almost immediately, before pulling away from Jackie and giving her a cold stare. “Friends?”

Jackie swallowed. “Yeah? What else could we be-”

“I ask you to go bowling with me, and pay for it, and get you to ‘teach me’ how to bowl, even though I’m clearly better than you, and you call us friends?”

“Wait, so you were faking it?”

“Yes, Jackie, you idiot! So not the point!” She threw her hands up, balling them into fists and setting them back down to her sides. “I like you! I don’t know how to spell it out so you can finally figure it out, but I’ve had this massive crush on you for like a year!”

Jackie felt every word she wanted to say get lodged in her throat, watching Gigi grow angrier.

“And I thought you felt the same, because you said yes to this date!”

Jackie took a step back mentally. “This is a date?”

“‘This is a date?’” Gigi mocked her, “Of course it’s a date!” She let out a huff, closing her eyes and finally calming down. She spoke calmly, her voice sounding like it was on the verge of cracking. “Did you not want this to be a date?”

“No, I do! I just never thought you felt that way about me!”

Gigi laughed incredulously, shaking her head. “Seriously? I thought I was being totally obvious.”

Suddenly, a lot more of what had happened over the last few weeks made sense to Jackie. The reason why Gigi had sat next to her that day in the library, their arguments always being filled with tension that she couldn’t pinpoint, her own feelings towards Gigi. The way Gigi had always looked at her, intensely, and without shame.

“I’m not… the best at picking up on things…” She rubbed the back of her neck, her face beginning to burn. “I feel like an idiot now.”

“You should, honestly. I bribed the school for you to be the VP, and you thought absolutely nothing of it?”

Jackie rolled her eyes, trying not to let herself smile. “Way to make me feel better.”

Gigi grinned, leaning forward to nudge Jackie’s shoulder with her own. “Sorry, you’re just ridiculous.”

The two laughed, and Jackie felt all of the pressure of the night fall off her shoulders. She wasn’t sure what this would make the two of them, but for once, she couldn’t be bothered to care. She was having a good time, and she was having a good time with Gigi. “Yeah, but you like me.”

“You like me, and I bribe people.”

“Morals be damned in the name of high school crushes,” Jackie shrugged, laughing along with Gigi, before pressing her lips together. “Where does that leave us now?”

Gigi twisted her bowling shoe on the ground, quirking her mouth to the side. “I guess we could, you know, finish our date?”

Jackie could feel herself genuinely smile again, blushing under the strobe lights. “Well… I am positive I could kick your ass at the arcade games.”

Gigi smirked, leaning forward to grab Jackie’s hand, pulling her towards the Arcade. “You’re on.”

[ghost-writing]

Fee+Bear 2/?? - Home (Henry Cavill fanfic)

This is a re-post from my other blog… I’ve decided to post my writing on a separate page, it’ll be easier to access like that.

I’ve edited this a little, but there might still be some spelling mistakes & grammatical errors. (English is not my 1st language!) So, if you see something that irks you, please tell me! :)

Word count: almost 1.8k

Warnings: brief mentions of sex, AND SOPPY SUGARY FLUFF. 

This is a prequel of this, but there might be some inconsistencies in the Fee+Bear stories, as it’s more a collection of one-shots, so be warned!

The sun is shining outside London. For once, the weather is great, even if a bit cold. But after spending most of the day in the garden playing with the kids and the dogs, Sofia decides to retreat to her office, because the script for episode 6 is not gonna check itself. And it needs to be sent to twins John and Paul, the writers and showrunners, for their own corrections, with still enough time left to print the final version for the whole cast and crew. 

There are a lot of people depending on her now: she’s not just the star, but also one of the executive producers of her new show. A show that she’s abandoned a lot for, that she’s invested a lot in. She was working hard for it before, and is working even harder now that the lock-down is finally over, to make up for lost time.

Work is a lot on its own, but she also wants to be there for Gigi and Noah. Carmen and Elena had moved to London with her, and she owed them a huge debt for that. Their presence allowed her to dedicate herself to rehearsing and filming during the week, but she insisted on staying at home on the weekends as much as possible. Her schedule was so full, she was sure no man would have wanted to be included in that constant chaos, but Henry was not any man. He worked hard too, but came to spent most of his free time with her and her kids, instead of partying or doing whatever he used to do before they got together. She had sworn not to rush back into a relationship so quickly after her divorce, but he changed her mind easily. From the moment he met the kids, blissful, happy moments were the norm in their home when he was around.

But right now, she has to work just a little to be able to enjoy the rest of the 4-day weekend they had managed to squeeze into their extra tight work schedule. (Just one more proof that Henry was committed to their relationship.) And the quicker she gets it done, the sooner she’ll be free of it. She knows that, but she’d pushed it to later several times already.

The room is cool, which Sofia welcomes after the overheating she endured in the garden. Even in shorts and a top, the intense playing made her blood boil. But maybe that was because Henry took of his t-shirt at some point… Of course, the cat had followed her, trying to escape the ruckus Kal, Kit and the humans made (the big one being the loudest), bothering his fifth nap of the day. Sirius knows that in here, he’ll find peace and quiet, and maybe some belly rubs.

Sofia grabs the small stack of paper that’s been sitting on her desk for almost two days now, a purple pen (her designated colour for corrections, the twins using blue and green), her phone and headphones, and goes to lay on the sofa, the huge Maine Coon in tow. As soon as she settles, her head resting on a big cushion at one end, facing the door, and her bare legs and feet on the other end, Sirius looks for the best spot: her belly isn’t large enough for him to curl up in a ball on, and there’s not enough space for his large fluffy body between her and the back of the couch. 

Sofia lets out a slightly annoyed sigh. “Can’t you decide already?” The black feline lifts his majestic head and looks at her right in the eyes with those enormous green marbles of his, as if to argue that this is the most important part of his routine. She melts, as usual. “Alright, baby.” She lifts him up, kisses his forehead and pets him gently, long enough for him to purr for a moment, and places him on the armrest, above her feet. She knows that in ten minutes tops, he’ll get down from there to get closer to her, demanding attention, but at least, she’ll cool down before having to deal with him. She puts the headset on, turns on some heavy rock music, like she always does when she needs to concentrate, and begins to read.

She’s about halfway through her task, and Sirius has moved spot three times, when Henry’s head peaks through the door.

“What?”, she says, taking the headphones off.

“Can I come in? I have to make a phone call.”

“Sure!” She smiles at him. “And you also need to hide from my adorable but exhausting kids, don’t you?” She winks.

He sighs deeply. “I do love them, but they. never. stop.” After removing Sirius with the utmost care and putting him gently on the ground, he sits next to her. The tiger looks at him with disdain, making Henry recoil a bit, before searching for another position of power.

“It’s all your fault, Cavill!” She brings her legs closer to her upper body to give more room to the big man. “Don’t be so goddamn nice to them, and they’ll play with each other, instead of always asking you to entertain them!”

“I tried, but I can’t say no to them! Gigi always makes that sad puppy face, and I cave… Every time!”

“Superman defeated by a pouting 6 year old… Batman’s got nothing on my girl”, she mocks. “Ok, make your call and let me finish this, please! When I’ll be done, I can teach you how to fight off the Evil Curly Dragon and her sidekick, Deadly Birdie.” She puts the headphones back on, not waiting for her boyfriend to groan at her.

Henry calls a friend or one of his brothers, presumably. She turned the music down to a more acceptable level, and she can hear him laugh. She can’t help but peak out from behind the sheets of paper every now and then: he smiles, he frowns, he makes gestures with his hands, fully immersed in his conversation. She forces herself to concentrate on her work.

Minutes pass, she’s getting close to the end of the script. Sirius is now resting on top of the sofa’s back, close to her, his legs lazily dangling on each side. His butt is turned towards his rival for Sofia’s affection, showing his disapproval.

Immersed in her script, Sofia suddenly realizes that Henry’s hand is resting on her legs. Her bare feet were now pushing on his meaty thigh, as she was looking for warmth, subconsciously. She always had cold feet, and Henry was hot in more than one way. He starts moving up from her feet, slowly caressing the ankle, then up the calf, lightly massaging the muscle with the pulp of his fingers. She looks at him, ready to scold him for distracting her, but he’s still talking over the phone, apparently unaware of what his hand his doing. He’s gone a bit quieter, so she can’t hear what he says.

From the corner of his eyes, he sees her looking at him. His hand leaves her briefly, gesturing for her to take off the headphones.

“Mum says hello!”

“Hello, Marianne! See you soon!”

“You heard that? Yeah, maybe in…”

She puts the headphones back on, decided on finishing her task rapidly. But his hand is back on her leg. His whole palm is rubbing her calf now, going back down to her feet.

“God, this is divine…”, she thinks. Henry is very tactile, and she always welcomes his gentle touch. Thinking of it, they had barely shared a moment alone yet this weekend, just the two of them… They arrived really late on Thursday night, exhausted, so she just snuggled in his arms as they both fell asleep rapidly. The children had been all over them from early Friday morning. Only last night did they finally make time for some intimacy, but they were still tired, so they did what they had to do, and quickly called it a night. Maybe he was attempting something now… She couldn’t deny it was slowly putting her in the mood.

Until he touches her sole with his thumb, which makes her wiggle her toes at the tickling feeling. She puts the script down harshly, slapping it on her thighs. He silently apologizes, continuing his conversation with his mother. This time, his hand stays still on her legs, not going back to his delightful ministrations. And she feels like pouting at him just like her daughter, to make him start again. No, she has to finish work first!

A few minutes later, she sighs with pride and relief, closing the script and throwing it in direction of the desk. It bumps on it and falls on the ground, the noise making Sirius flinch and almost fall from his perch. She turns to face Henry, who’s looking at her, a grin on his face.

As soon as she takes her headphones off, he queries “Finished now?”

“Almost! I just have to scan it and send it to the twins!”

“Can you do that a little later?” He places his hand on her exposed thigh, his expression speaking without the need for words.

“Why would I wait?”, she replies, as innocently as she can, while he stretches his gorgeous body above hers, one of his knees placed between her legs. She can feel the heat emanating from his broad chest, flowing down to her stomach, and lower.

“Because your legs are cold, and I have to warm you up… Should we go to your bedroom?”

He dives his nose in her neck, his stubble scratching at her skin deliciously, his lips and tongue tracing a wet trail on her veins and nerves. They’ve been together less than four months, but he very quickly found all of her weak spots. Only four months, but things got serious between them even before they actually could start. After talking to each other almost everyday over the phone for several months, it did not feel like they were rushing into anything thoughtlessly. Maybe it was time for another step forward…

“Our bedroom?”, she asks.

He lifts his head from her neck and looks at her, not talking for a moment. She feels worried that he won’t agree. But he kisses her lips, and she kisses him back, her arms grabbing his neck while he wraps her legs around his waist. She pushes him gently with one hand, breaking the deep kiss, needing a clear answer.

“To our bedroom, then!”, he says, the biggest of smiles illuminating his face.

[shcnley]

╰ ✧ ZOEY DEUTCH. MUSE SEVEN. BISEXUAL. ❞ say hello to the s club’s very own SHANLEY EVANS! a TWENTY-THREE year old CISFEMALE that goes by SHE/HER pronouns. i heard they were voted MOST TALKATIVE in high school, which says a lot about them because they’re very VIVACIOUS and DEPENDABLE, but watch out for their IMPULSIVE and STUBBORN side as well. i hope they’re ready to take a break from being a TEACHER and finally get this summer started! 

hiiii friendssss, i’m gigi!!! and here’s my lil french fry lovin’ bb, shanley. sooo excited to plot w/ you allllll <333 

B A S I C S

full name: shanley nicole evans gender: cisfemale pronouns: she/her sexuality: bisexual age: 23 years old birthday: january 27th 1997 birthplace: NYC currently living: chicago, il relationship status: single zodiac: aquarius sun, virgo moon, leo rising occupation: teacher ( 1st grade )

I N S P O

characters: jessica day ( new girl ), lorelai gilmore ( gilmore girls ), harper ( set it up ), summer roberts ( the o.c. ), alexis rose ( schitt’s creek ), & amy march ( little women ). music: click this sentence for playlist !!  pinterest: click this sentence for pinterest !! 

B A C K G R O U N D

kso, i’m going to be honest. shanley had an extremely normal and happy childhood. her parents met in high school, fell in love and were married after graduating college. her father ( theodore evans / think sandy cohen from the oc ) is an executive vice president of an insurance company while her mother ( clara evans / think kristina braverman from parenthood ) is a stay-at-home mom. born and raised in new york city. she has an older sister ( haddie evans / think prue halliwell from charmed ) who is three years older, she has an extremely close relationship with her. shanley is obsessed with family, tbh. she tells them just about everything. they had dinner together every night and talk about their days, have inside jokes, go on family vacations every summer ( before sclub summers ). overall, her parents are very loving and supportive, wanting only the best for their daughters. in high school, shanley was convinced she wasn’t like other girls *pUkeS*. she was very outgoing. like she literally made friends with anyone and everyone. a friendly face; probably the student who showed the new students around. it was rare to see shanley upset or rude to anyone unless she was defending someone. she had good grades (our shanny was v advanced), kind of a teacher’s pet but like still got her seat moved or sent to the hallway because she wouldn’t stop talking. i almost made her superlative most likely to say something stupid because like that’s her too. she was on the yearbook committee, played volleyball, and was a part of the student government. if she wasn’t at school or home, you would most likely find her with arlo, which whew. a story there. when it came to the sclub, she spent whatever free time she had left with them. encouraging all the trouble; shanley will do ANYTHING you tell her to and probably doesn’t think about it. don’t give her dumbass a dare because she will do it. sorry , i forgot what i was going to say; let’s change topics. NO i remembered, lets carry on. she’s always up for a good time. don’t hesitate to invite shan...even if you don invite her...she’ll invite herself SO. fast forward to college, shanley was accepted to loyola university and moved to chicago. how excite!!!!  kso she always knew she wanted to go away for school yanno be miss independent thats why they love her BUT college life wasn’t easy, not in the beginning at least. she was going through a breakup and lost herself for a while. became cold and detached; honestly after the break up her routine was to go to class then back to her dorm, study, cry and repeat. she was only friends with her roommates till finally they forced her to go out and deal with her heartbreak the “””normal””” college way aka getting stupid drunk. *tiktok vc* it izz what it izz. joined a sorority then dropped it because it was too culty for her. she got a part time job at insomnia cookies. slowly became high school shanley again. her spirits were especially lifted when she began student teaching. the kids made her so happy. they also proved to her that teaching was what she was meant to do. next thing ya know, four years are up and our girl has a degree in elementary education.  no one probably asked but her love life !!! like mentioned earlier shanley is single. she was convinced she was going to end up marrying arlo, maybe not right after high school like people assumed but eventually. they just connected on another level so when he ended things after their first year of college, shan was crushed. but if you’re curious, she's still got the hots for arlo. are we surprised tho? no? exactly. thanks for reading, pals. dsjkn okay i’ll add more. fine. so she hooks up with people and goes on dates but no one sticks. she doesn’t want them to stick either. she knows she had that like one great love and doubts she’ll ever feel it again so she just prefers to be on her own. she don’t need no man !!!!!!!! except for one...but mind ur business. so like what is shanley nicole evans up to now? well, her original plan was to move back home once she had graduated. but she was offered a teaching position in chicago and gladly accepted it. she figured since she loved living in chicago so much and it was at the school where she completed her student teaching; it all felt right for her to stay there. this was a fresh start for her. and she got it!! ya girl moved into a beautiful ( expensive ) apt near lake shore drive, started her own tiktok account where she randomly went viral and fell in love with all her students who she calls her kiddy beans!!

E X T R A !!

has 4 tattoos:       portrait of her dog, on her left calf // why? again obsessed w/ her dog       aquarius symbol,  on her right outer elbow side // zodiac hoe. Is v proud       coffee mug, on her right wrist side // her first tattoo. couldnt think of anything else.       honey bee, back of her arm above elbow // got really drunk, heard a song, thought of arlo, ended up at a shop with friends as a joke and woke up the next morning with it. 8 piercings: 3 each lobe. Industrial ( left ). tragus ( right ). sings when she talks sometimes most of the time speaks in really bad accents; new jersey being her fav is always in a dress...look at her pinterest...all she has is dresses. she likes to show off her legs ok. obsessed with animals ( if she’s not paying attention, its bc she’s thinking about her dog and/or bunnies ), coffee, and junk food. a jonas brothers stan, nick is her favorite brother. shelf is her favorite song. cries whenever she hears when you look me in the eyes ( she sang it to arlo when he took her to their concert ). has a big following on tiktok. on the teacher side. she posts her ootd and weird shit her students have said. sometimes even reenacts scenes from new girl. a reality tv show about birds she sees. its quite entertaining.  potatoes and pasta are her favorite foods. grew up making fairy gardens has a concentration face  dances for no and every reason.especially if she’s excited or beat someone in something. rambles way too much, forgets what she’s talking about mid sentence, attention span of a fruit fly. she has a hammock named bartholomew and she chills on it when she’s sad...so most of this trip. :-)))

welcome 2 the end; gimme all ur plots. i wanna plot with you all. i am down for everything and anything. 

[writethehousedown]

And The Livin's Easy, Chapter Five (Multi) - Zyan

a/n: hello! we’re reaching the end, and as usual with me, the shit hits the fan with this chapter. i hope you enjoy! thanks to frey for aggressively cheerleading me and beta-ing this. sidebog is @chachkisalpaca !

The days go by in the blink of an eye.

Crystal texts Gigi every day, runs into her at the beaches more times that she could count, and her lips become sore from all the kissing and biting. She likes Gigi. She’s fun, laid back, and doesn’t tell Crystal her major in arts is useless, as she has no clue what she’s going to do with her fashion degree either.

Gigi tells her about her friends, how they tease her when she comes back home and how they’re dying to properly meet her. Maybe tomorrow, she always says. And Crystal tells her about her surfer friends —mostly Vanjie and April— but leaves Jaida out, because she’s a long story that she rather not unpack. Not with Gigi, at least.

Before they notice, it’s the night before the competition, and Monét and Monique organize a get together again — more chill, though. They decide to eat out at Sal’s Shack with the same people as previously, and for a moment it sounds like a good idea to Crystal.

Until she remembers the Brooke Lynn situation, and that Jaida will also be there. She prays to every God and every saint for the night to go smoothly, without any incidents.

Crystal puts on an orange dress that Vanessa deems hideous, but she likes it nonetheless. She likes to think she’s able to pull it off.

They have to join two tables and steal a few chairs to be able to fit in, but it’s still early and the place isn’t that crowded, so it doesn’t matter. Crystal sits next to Vanessa and April, and they quickly engage in a conversation in Spanish, mostly for April’s sake.

Brooke and Yvie are running late, because of course they are — they’ve never been early or on time for anything.

April makes a joke about this, with Plastique, who’s sitting in front of April, piping up and saying she sent her a text ten minutes ago that they were on their way. Crystal sighs under her breath when she sees Vanjie roll her eyes.

“I know, right?” Is all that she says, before going back to their previous topic. Crystal is surprised, but proud. It was about time.

Speaking of, Jaida is sitting in the row in front of her, talking with Monét and Monique, laughing and talking loudly to get a word in. Crystal feels the nostalgia hit her at moments, but then one of the girls tease her about Gigi and it goes away.

Though she’d known Gigi for a short time and were moving rather fast, Crystal didn’t mind. Gigi was the embodiment of a summer fling; fast, euphoric, ready to kiss her at any moment, and with endless smiles to give her. Part of Crystal hated that they lived in complete different sides of the country — she would’ve liked to take Gigi on a proper date.

Maybe next summer.

“Look who’s decided to appear,” Monique calls out when Brooke and Yvie approach their table.

Crystal glances at Vanessa out of the corner of her eye, but she doesn’t seem the least bit bothered by her.

“Don’t look at me. This one finally decided to make a move on the lifeguard right before we were supposed to leave,” Brooke says with an annoyed tone, pointing at Yvie with a cheeky grin.

The table soon erupts into a fit of giggles and exclamations, but Yvie doesn’t look the least bit bothered. If anything, she has a wide grin on her face as she sits next to Brooke.

“Hey! At least Scarlet gave me her number, and she’s coming to see me beat y’all’s asses tomorrow,” Yvie defends herself with a smile that’s giddy and cocky at the same time.

“You mean she’s coming to see your ass getting beat by me,” Plastique pipes up, sticking her tongue out to Yvie, who gasps in mock offense.

“Plastique, sit your ass down, you’re still a fetus, there’s no way you’re getting that first place above me,” Monét cuts in, causing a loud laugh from all the girls by the table, except Plastique, of course.

It doesn’t go unnoticed —for Crystal, at least— how Brooke bends over on the table to tell her something in a whisper that gets lost in the noise, and Plastique smiles, biting her lower lip.

If Vanessa noticed it, she doesn’t even flinch; instead, she joins the jokes and tells Monét she better kiss that prize goodbye, because she didn’t get endless sunburns throughout the summer to lose against her.

The table soon is a mess, with a hundred conversations going on at the same time and jokes being aimed at each other relentlessly. Crystal likes it. This is the sisterhood she knows and loves.

“I don’t know about y’all, but I have a lady to treat to dinner, and that’s enough reason to step up my game and get to that podium,” Crystal declares, slamming her hand on the table and causing many skeptical eyebrows to quirk her way.

“What kind of crazy bitch did you find to put up with your annoying ass during this summer?” Monique inquires in a playful tone. Jaida looks at her with a calm demeanour, but Crystal barely notices her. She grins at the opportunity of babbling about Gigi.

“Her name’s Gigi. I met her at this place last week, we’ve been going out after practices. And she’s cute. Ain’t she, Vanj?” Crystal says with a smile, and Vanessa rolls her eyes with a tiny smirk.

“It’s all this hoe talks about. I swear her cheesy ass makes me wanna vomit sometimes.”

“Hey! You talk about Kameron all day long and I say nothing.” She folds her arms with a childish pout, and it’s the first time in the night she sees Vanessa panic. Crystal is confused for a moment, until she realizes what she’s done.

Fuck, she wasn’t supposed to talk about Kameron in front of Brooke.

There’s silence for what feels like an eternity, until Brooke clears her throat to speak.

“You’re going out with Kameron?” She asks, her polite tone and piercing stare glued to Vanessa make Crystal’s stomach drop.

Vanessa inhales a sharp breath and finally pulls herself to meet Brooke’s eyes for the first time in a year. She’s flooded with memories of the good times, but the Brooke in her memories isn’t the one sitting across her — this Brooke doesn’t look at her with love in her eyes and a smile painted on her lips. This Brooke looks at her as if she’s trying her best not to pitch a screaming fight.

“Yeah, for about six months now,” Vanessa finally says, and Brooke cocks a sly brow.

“No wonder two months ago my dear cousin asked me if I was going to participate in the competition,” Brooke comments, her tone sharp and angry. Vanessa wants a hole to open up in the ground and swallow her whole. “Would y’all excuse me? I need a cigarette.” She pushes the chair back and gets up to leave, grabbing her pack of cigarettes and a lighter from her purse. Yvie follows her after a while and Plastique stays glued to her chair.

Vanessa rubs her temples, feeling as if she’s in a bubble of white noise, making her ears hurt, and a feeling she thought was a part of her past settles in her chest.

Crystal feels extra guilty. It’s her fault, after all; she should’ve just let Vanessa mock her, or maybe say something about her current girlfriend without mentioning her name. But no. She had fucked everything up, even when things were going smoothly.

There are two things she’s sure of; she should start thinking before speaking, and tomorrow is going to be a hell of a bloodbath.

*

In the middle of the awkwardness last night, Jaida couldn’t get to say she also wants to win to impress a girl.

She’s been talking to Jan sporadically — after that encounter in the bathroom, they exchanged Instagram handles and would reply to each other’s stories from time to time. Sometimes Jaida sends risky replies and Jan —seeming to be the shy type— replies with a plethora of purple emojis and trying her best to let her know they’re on the same page.

She’s so adorable. Jaida wonders if she has enough time to ask her out while they’re still in the city.

Jaida has posted about the competition on her Instagram Stories, and Jan replied wishing her good luck. When she asked her if she was coming, Jan just said it was a possibility, with two winking emojis.

She hopes to see her there, but it’s not as if she’ll lose sleep if she doesn’t come — in the grand scheme of things, Jaida is far more worried about the competition itself.

The beach is crowded, like it always is, but this time around there’s more people with surfboards walking around, taking photos and warming up. She tries to find a familiar face among the crowd, but someone finds her instead.

“Jaida! Hi!” She turns around to see Jan standing there in a purple bikini, her blonde hair tied in a high ponytail, and her face is red, but Jaida can’t tell if it’s from the blush or the sunburn she got a few days ago, trying to get a tan — she knows this because Jan likes to overshare in her Instagram Stories.

“Jan, you came,” she says with a grin. Jan nods enthusiastically, motioning behind her.

“My friend, uh, she dragged us here to see the girl she’s going out with. But I wanted to come anyway, to see you, I mean,” she stammers a little, and it only makes Jaida’s grin widen.

“Tell your friend I’m sorry, ‘cause I’m about to beat her girl.” Jaida winks at her, and Jan giggles, flustered. Jesus, she’s too easy to get her flustered. Jaida always thought California girls were bolder; Katy Perry had lied to her, apparently. Not that she’s complaining, though.

They chat for a bit before Jaida has to go warm up, and Jan promises her she’ll be cheering for her. She follows her with her gaze and frowns a little when she sees she’s heading towards Crystal, who at the same time is talking with a brunette. Jan tugs at the arm of the brunette, and she gives Crystal a quick kiss before following Jan, leaving her lipstick behind on Crystal’s lips.

It takes Jaida about a second to put two and two together; she and Crystal are chasing after two girls of the same group.

How utterly cliché. Is the island that small?

Jaida pulls her hair in a tight bun before starting her warm up, stealing one last glance of Crystal, who’s trying to wipe away the lipstick off her lips and talking to a very gloomy Vanessa.

Almost on autopilot, she searches for Brooke and finds her warming up next to Yvie, with Plastique nowhere to be found.

Jaida just hopes they’ll be able to pull themselves together before the competition starts; she knows she could have a clear advantage if they aren’t focused, but she wants to compete with the best of the best — and beat them, clearly, so that means she’s the best.

Jaida takes one last deep breath once they’re allowed to go into the water, her muscles clenching with the cold water splashing her, but her heart races so fast she thinks it’ll come out of her chest at some point.

Somehow, she’s sure she hears Jan scream her name as she drifts away from the shore.

[swinterr]

VALERIE III

People in Twitter are twitting about a video of Val’s reaction when she saw Shawn and Camila, she received mixed comments about her reaction.

Her parents are really protective about her, even her siblings mostly Vernon. Her Dad and Mom doesn’t understand what’s happening between them, they all thought that Shawn is gonna be Valerie’s forever.

Of course Shawn saw the video. He’s not stupid, he knows that he’s hurting Val.

He also saw the message Valerie send him but he didn’t read the it because he knows he cannot stop himself on answering back.

He loves Valerie so much, but he has to do this.

When he first play the video the first came to his mind is that Valerie looks so pretty, very pretty. Valerie isn’t really like those blonde, long legged, orange tan (well she is tan but not oramge tan). She looks like a goddess. She’s perfect.

Then he saw Vernon from the background, Shawn gets along well with Valerie’s family well but Vernon is the hardest one to get along. He is scared genuinely of Vernon.

The time when Brian told him that Valerie broke up with him, he excused himself on sound check saying he wasn’t feeling well. He went back to his hotel and cried holding Valerie sweater in his chest.

He cried for the half of the day. He only went out when it’s Q&A.

He really wants to fix this but he can’t, it’s too fucked up to be fixed. He feels so powerless.

-

Valerie feels awful when she got back home.

She didn’t ate dinner instead she spend her whole evening, well half of it, on the gym boxing with Vernon is a good exercise but she did her exercises alone, she did it without a trainer while Vernon does cardio. Actually she didn’t even do her exercises, she just keeps punching the punching bag until her knuckles bleed, until they severely bleed. Her mom has to take her to the nearest clinic to aid her bloody knuckles.

“Val, you’re knuckles are going to bleed if you keep doing this. Stop it you’re hurting yourself.” Vernon tried reasoning with Valerie, growing more and more concerned about her and her new obsession with puching the punching bag carelessly.

“No, it’s either I ruined this punching bag or I do more stupider sh!t than this.” Valerie’s voice is quiet and cold, She always had a my-voice-is-so-soft-and-I-will-not-raise-my-voice-on-anyone-bc-that’s-rude-attitude.

“Can you at least where gloves, hand wrap is not enough you know.” Vernon reminder her.

Valerie didn’t listen and brought her fists close to her face, finding her aim and released all of her pent up anger, frustrations and pain out through quick, sharp punches, showing no mercy on the already worn punching bag wanting to release all the pain she felt in the past few weeks. Sweat glistened every inch of her body, especially in her face.

Vernon can’t even distinguish if that even is sweat or tears, her curly hair sticking to her back, arms and all angles of her face.

Val could her Vernon stopping her in the background but she didn’t listen.

Soon the punching bag falls from where it’s hanging. And Valerie knuckles are bleeding.

“Dammit Valerie! You’re bleeding! Mom!” Vernon shouts.

Ever since Val and Shawn broke up Vernon is more over-protective of Val.

She really wants to go back to Toronto, but Toronto has too much memories for her to handle. She wishes that Bella and Gigi are here with her. She’s lucky enough to have a thought, loving and caring Anwar Hadid by her side.

Gigi, Bella and Anwar (even though they live near), Aaliyah, Ana, Lauren and Dylan (her friends back home), Kiera and Darius (her dorm mates) are texting her everyday saying that everything gonna be alright and Shawn’s a dick.

She can’t wait to go back to Massachusetts and receive pity looks. Insert sarcasm.

She just needs to wait few more days until they are schedule free.

Valerie hadn’t spoken to anyone since they came back from downtown Los Angles (besided her mom and Vernon who approach her). She is currently laying in her king sized bed.

Staring at the clock, watching it tick by. 11 o’clock in the night, she should be asleep by now but her mind is somewhere far away. Far away from all this drama and chaos that is currently happening in her life.

Sobbing her heart out. Puffy eyes and runny nose are they best description of Valerie right now. Maybe a fever in the morning too.

She never wanted to end their relationship like this. To be honest they can survive this relationship, Valerie is just tired of being treated like this.

Don’t get me wrong, Shawn’s a great boyfriend but he focuses on his career more than their relationship.

People though they are perfect for each other. She thought that Shawn will be THE ONE. Her grandparents from her mother and father’s side already met and approve of Shawn even the ones who live in Florence.

She genuinely believe that they are ment to be together but jealousy got her. Her insecurities got her.

Her heart still aches profoundly with pain. She miss her so much but it’s so unfair that he moved in that quickly.

Valerie, Shawn and Camila are trending right now. Everything seems so chaotic. Her sobs still fills her big room.

Instagram stans are making up the craziest sh!ts right, some makes her laugh and some are true that makes her cry hard.

@queenval

@queenval to be honest val is the greatest thing that ever happend to shawn. i love shawn sm but he stupid!!

50,234 likes

Shawn is the greatest thing that ever happend to her.

Shawn’s fans been calling him out because of his stupid moves. Many of her fans are still supporting Valerie even if they are not together anymore.

Valerie shakily reaches for her phone she usually listens to His music when she’s sad, but at this state listening to His music will make her more sad than ever.

Malibu Nights by LANY played. Is it ironic that she is listening to Malibu Nights heartbroken and she really wants to go to Malibu. Its just a 40 minute car ride. She can survive right?

She brought a beach house recently somewhere in Pacific Coast Highway. She brought it the exact day Shawn left Canada to continue his tour, Valerie brought the house because when she will visit Shawn on his tour this will be their hiding place.

People say that Valerie have it all; Brains, Beauty, Wealth but everything means nothing if you aren’t happy right?

Decided to spent the rest of her days in Malibu. Valerie picked this big ass box that has been sent to her by a company. She didn’t even bother to read what company it is all she knows that is a clothing company. Few shoes, hoodies and her underwears on her bag.

She dressed herself into a pair of jeans and a shirt, hoodie on her arm incase she’ll needs it.

Everyone is asleep so this should be the perfect time to sneak out, she closed her room door quietly as she held the big box on her hands, struggling to balance it and keys and a Gucci bagpack filled with he laptop, personal needs, medicines and this tiny vape pen she got from Anwar.

Valerie isn’t the type of girl who does wild stuffs, stuff like normal teenagers do. Maybe that’s the reason why they broke up, she’s too boring for him.

Well now that they are over, Valerie wants to do the things she didn’t do when they were together. Things teenagers would do.

Now she be vaping, she wants to have tattooes too. Val got a rose tattoo behind her ear on her 19th birthday. She wants to add more.

Valerie successfully got down from the 3rd floor, her room, to the ground floor.

She wants to do things that she hasn’t done yet. She opened her parents wine cellar and pulled out a bottle of Pinot Noir with a three bottles of beer and a big bottle of her father’s whiskey.

She didn’t really want to steal this alcoholic beverage but she know that many shops out there knows her and has a high possibility that they will post pictures about her underage and buying drinks.

She puts the bottles on her bag, wanting to go to Malibu quickly, she runs towards their garage, mentally kicking herself for having a loud foot steps.

For Valerie if is she’s sad or disappointed she chooses to be alone. Being with herself alone is always the best part of her day or best time of her day.

Valerie picked the black Mercedes-Benz G wagon.

She puts her things in the passengers seat and zoomed off to Malibu.

She felt tears start to form as the now familiar burn caused her to shut

her eyes for a moment and stop at the side of the expressway she like crying. For her crying is good for her mental health because crying can help reduce pain. Oxytocin is a hormone that promotes feelings of love and Endorphins help relieve pain. These two make people feel good and may also ease both physical and emotional pain.

But sometimes crying too much can also be bad for her, too much crying can lead to depression and she doesn’t want that. All she wants is to move on and live a happy life.

But moving on takes a lot of time.

The whole drive was quiet except for the radio and her quiet sobs.

She stopped on Target along the way to pick up some food for the next few days.

Valerie pulls up on the parking lot. The Californian cold wind creeps on her arm, regretting not wearing a hood and leaving it at the car.

Valerie pulls out the vape pen as she walks along the entrance of Target, she holds it to her mouth, tasting the vanilla flavored vape before releasing it. She lets out a deep sigh with some vapor leaving along her mouth and nose she continues this few times and stopping as she enters the shop.

She just pick up fruits for breakfast, pasta, vegetables and chicken for dinner, chocolate flavored milk, a gallon of water and eggs. She likes cooking, she doesn’t buy a lot of processed foods and microwaveble foods. She payed the cashier keeps giving her looks, is it because the cashier knows her or because she is the front page of one of the magazines on the counter.

“Is this you?” the cashier ask as she types something on the computer.

“Nope.” Valerie answers back as puts the goods she brought on a biodegradable bag and puts it back to the cart.

She walk back to her car and few teenagers curiously stares at her. She struggles to put the groceries on the car because it has a big tires and obviously a tall car competed to her 5’6 self.

She finally sees her house on the view.

Her gates open, headlights giving her the view of her house as well as the Pacific Ocean. The entryway features a reclaimed European fountain and big door that open to opulent interiors.

Her house looks so homey yet loney. She is used to go on a vacation with her family or family or with Shawn.

She inserts the keys while struggling to lift her heavy backpack filled with alcoholic drinks the big box and groceries she brought are stacked upon each other.

She enters her new house, she walks on the hardwood floors pushing the box with the groceries on top, she stares at vaulted ceiling and sees a Indian stone fireplace and custom designed sitting area.

For her, a house with a fireplace and a big couch is a must.

The balcony is a sliding door that has a view of the Malibu Coast.

Valerie finally fixed her clothes on her closet, turns out the box is from Gucci. Now she has a Gucci filled closet. Yey!

Her refrigerator is filled with groceries. Yey!

It’s already 12:34 am and she is still wide awake. She sits on her couch as she finds for her cell.

She looked everywhere, her hoodie, her bag, her car, on the closet even the refrigerator.

She left it on Bel Air. Yey!

She doesn’t have anything to do she she just drinks the alcohol she brought lol! Her TV still doesn’t have any channels and her house doesn’t have a wifi.

Valerie drinks the vodka shot in one gulp, ignoring the burning sensation in her throat caused by the strong liquor.

“I love you so much why did you do this to me!” she gulped the vodka down.

“I wish I didn’t love you! But I did I’m so stupid!” she gulped the other one.

“I don’t wanna date anyone anymore!” and another one.

Despite this, Valerie’s body feels more relaxed and her mind feels lighter and more problem free. It took her couple vodka shots for achieve this but it was worth it.

The bottle is nearly empty so she just decided to drink the bottle.

It’s a quarter past midnight. The buzz has worn off, now she is just dead ass drunk.

She miraculously arrived at her room, passing the stairs and remembering her room is a miracle.

As much as she wanted to sleep she washes her face and brushed her teeth and changes in a bougee Gucci pajama and sleep on her big bed with the view of the sea like a baby.

Alcohol can really make you forget everything temporarily even pain.

taglist:

@night-girls-world

@alinashawn

@feliciaceciliamariajacobsson

-

I FINALLY POSTED THIS. PLEASE LOVE ITT HEHEEH

[migleefulmoments]

"for those of you are are drinking the Kool Aide, you all believe that he shares his entire private life, because we see him all the time and constantly out and about." I can't get over how black and white she sees everything. Darren has to share every part of his life or share nothing. It's just not how things work for any celeb or even people we know irl. I don't know every single detail of my own friends lives and I don't need to, people are entitled to share/not share as much as they want.

Isn’t it incredible? She really has a very literal interprotation of words- several times a week I am still shocked by one of her revelations. That entire ask was pretty interesting.   

Anonymous asked:

It perplexes me that stans try and say we read too much in to D's friendships with people like AC, HS, etc and that they're only his PR friends when they do the same thing with the SKs and others. Just because D says RR and the SKs are his besties on social media doesn't make it true in the same way us believing in a friendship based on social media doesn't make that true. Funny how they use the same tactics as we do to prove their side but we're chastised for it!

Nonnie, the stans are desperate right now. 

I love how she always claims were are shaking in our shoes because we know she’s right-it’s so childish. I think that was the argument strategy I used with my younger sister when I was in middle school. Abby projects her own anguish by claiming “they are desperate”. Except I'm have never said #Iamveryupset over something in Darren’s life, I don’t hate 2019, and I don’t come up with derogatory names to bully his friends and disparage his wedding and the show he created. 

One of them spent hours researching each person we posted about to tell us where said individual was on the day of the horror film  Hours, her post is laughable, because she needs to feel better about the fact that she too knows that the guest list was off. 

It’s hilarious that she believes I spent hours searching for where each person was on February 16. First of all, I mentioned that my fairy godmother sent me those links and second of all, they were from Instagram so not hard to find. 

Not to mention she completely discounted that D&M were ecaged for over one year, 

Then she lays on some classic Abby logic- they were engaged for a year so their “friends” (as defined by Abby) should have known to get the day off. Of course they should have because that is what she did for her friends’ wedding. I’m sure that those who wanted to be were there. But some times work gets in the way (Why are we taking about this 7 months later?).

and most people who wanted to be there would have been there, not one of the excuses she names to me was something that had to happen.

Wow...the people who paid to see the live performances and the costars and crew who worked those show would disagree. Alan, Lena, and Laura all had live shows that weekend soooooo not exactly the same as Abby getting a coworker to cover her at a conference while she was in a wedding last weekend. But more importantly, isn’t this an argument in my favor? I agree, everyone who wanted to be there would have been hence those people You believe are his real friends- that I'm arguing are coworkers- weren’t there (X) (X) (Xk)

I have gotten countless anons saying D is “private” and we don’t know who he hangs out with.  Not true, if you believe in the marriage, he is not private”

 FACT: Each and every time I debunk a cc trope, I methodically lay out the proof and provide evidence showing why and how ccers are wrong. I include links, dates, photos and quotes- all which can be double checked for accuracy.  There is nothing fun about making up facts- it’s only fun if I can prove I’m right. Here you are “taking me down” with some sweet cc proof (X) Take note- they are all gifs. 

I get it, you believe Darren’s closest friends are his former coworkers because those are the people you’ve seen with him in so many photos on social media. Those are the people he said such nice things about while promoting the project but of course, that is what you do when you are drumming up publicly for a show. While I have no doubt he likes those people and they are friendly acquaintances- friends even- they aren’t his closest friends. If the only time he is with those people are when they are working or promoting a project-that is a pretty good hint that they are not his ride-or-die friends.  You have to look for consistency-are they hanging out while working on a project or have thy been friend for 16 years?  The people he has literally called “one of my best friends” are also the people he travels with (Vegas, Palm Springs, overseas, Ann Arbor, NY), they attended each other’s weddings and performed at each other’s ceremonies. They are the people he takes to shows in and around LA. see various music and theater shows in and around LA, Do they mention Mia on social media? All of Darren’s close friends have a friendship with MIa. 

If you really want to have a clue about what is going on in Darren’s private life, you have to look a little deeper. You have to listen to what he says in his interviews-even if there isn’t a gif-worthy moment to manipulate. You ignore the audio and print interviews- even those where he divulged a lot -because they can’t be altered- there is no video to crop, slow-down, and make into an emotional gif. 

Another telltale sign -does he talk about the friends in relation to his future? He calls writing a show with TheStarKid “the most fun thing to do”. Taking in all of the evidence, it is clear to me that the people at his wedding were the people he considers his closest friends.   He hired Nick Lang and John and Jennifer for Royalties because he likes them.  

Fact, they can’t have their cake and eat it too. If you accept that m/iarren is real, they you must accept that D has lied repeatedly about privacy being precious.  I feel like i went to JLB’s wedding. I felt like i went to MS & BH’s wedding.  And like I was on the great family honeymoon in the Philippines. And both European trips.    I see that he has been with the creepster and his “not gf” repeatedly over the past few months.  And I lived the sham mockery we have so much footage.

(starts beating my head against the wall) “He’s private so we don’t know who he hangs out with” except we can see with our own two eyes who he is with. Do you imagine that he stays home so he can hang with Edgar, Jane, Alan and Elvis privately? Oh wait, I know they  all have invisibility cloaks. For the 9000th time, “being private” means he doesn’t share his intimate life secrets. All celebs have to give up some level of privacy. Darren keeps mentioning it to explain why he doesn’t post on social media more- it’s something he thinks? worries? about a lot. He isn’t telling us he’s private because he thinks it’s our responsibly to worry about it. 

He is actually private-compare him to Kylie Jenner or Gigi Gorgeous who share everything. He does however leave his house and we can sometimes see who he’s with. The only person in your list of “friends” that we know he spent appreciate time with when they weren’t working together is Ricky Martin. He has spent personal- non-working time- with StarKids, Ricky, Ben, and Ashley . 

(still beating head against the wall) You didn’t “almost go to” any of thoseweddings. You saw a few short videos and some photos because you stalked all of the people who were invited to those weddings. Darren had NO control over any wedding outside of his own and he clearly wasn’t worried about his privacy at his friend’s weddings and that isn’t something for you to worry about. Darren is an adult and he is making choices in his life.  You let him handle his own life- you will be way less anxious.  

 If they insist the people we see are real friendships like SK, they can’t then go the opposite way and say he is hiding his very private friendship with JC, AL, BF, and PA.  It doesn’t work that way.  If you accept what they repeatedly show us, weekly, often daily, then you accept D is an attention whore. Plain and simple.

(hitting my head against the wall EVEN HARDER) I can absolutely accept that Darren feels like privacy is precious AND also feels very comfortable that what he shares about his life AND is happy about his life choses.  I do not believe that he is hiding his relationship with Jennifer, Ben kor Pamela, and whomever else your initials represent (my brain hurts from all the hitting). Darren’s personal life is private and there is no doubt he has relationships with people we don’t see- they might also be Mia’s friends. Or he knew he was hiring Jennifer for the show and invited her. There are lots of solutions to the equation-it isn’t my job or yours to solve it. Your need for everything to be “all” or “nothing” is what is tripping you up here. It absolute can go both ways.  He sees Ricky, Ashley, StarKids and Ben more often because they are friends who and out, they have a lot in common and enjoy seeing time together because they are at the same stage of life. Pamela and Jennifer can be special to Darren even if they aren’t people he spends a lot of time in public with. People can be very special even if we see them very rarely. Relationships aren’t predicated on spending time together. But the fact is WE DO SEE his friendship with StarKids, Ricky, Ashley and Ben and we know they are good friends because he’s told us so. We have verbal confirmation and we have seen physical evidence.  With Jennifer, Ben and Pamela, we have not seen evidence of a friendship besides the wedding but they were at the wedding and it isn’t our responsibly to figure out who each person is friends with  and how special that friend is. The message is that that person meant enough that they invited them to the wedding.  As for you list of “friends” Alan, Elvis, Jane, Ricky, Edgar etc, we saw a ton of interaction while they were promoting their projects but then it stopped. They also weren’t at the wedding which leads me to believe that they are friends but they aren’t al that close that they would fly to NOLA for a wedding.   

It is Darren’s responsibility to decided how much he wants to share and to know whether he is sharing too much with his fans. It Is NOT my responsibility -as a fan- to make sure he is comfortable or to determine what he means by   “private”.

I don’t agree with you that “If Miarren is real then we must accept that Darren is lying repeatedly about the privacy thing”. What I will agree with is that you constantly misconstrue what he means the says he is private. I also believe that as a general rule, those of us who grew up before social media have a much more restricted definition of “private” than those who were younger when it became popular. So what you think is “private”, younger people  willingly share. 

What I don’t understand is that you claim over and over that everything out of Darren’s mouth is a lie. You claim he isn’t straight, he is with Chris or married to Chris, he is not married to Mia, his wedding was a sham, and that he doesn’t own or even like TSGs, that he doesn’t live with Mia in the home he show off as his home, and that he lies during interviews because he team forces him to interviews 

Sp the question is what lie are you willing to accept?  Because either D is lying about his sexuality or he is lying about his desire to keep his private life private and off of SM.  

 My question to you is “what lies are you willing to accept?”   

[badgerpride96]

A Wild West Experience Part 9

*Crawls out of Black Lagoon* I’m alive I promise. This took me so long to write and type, but it’s here now and I’ll be posting a snippet of Part 10 because I’ve been silent for so long!

Gio arrived at the office the next day, woke Jones up, and made coffee. The two men chatted, as always, but something was off, missing. Jones went on his way, Gilbert trotting ahead. Gio paced a bit, drank his coffee and read some claims.

It hit him. There was no noise above him. No rustling, pacing - nothing. It was too peculiar; the sheriff went to check at the door. He quietly mounted the stairs, and upon not hearing anything at all, knocked. The door swung open - the room was empty. 

The sheriff’s stomach dropped to his knees. He could only assume she’d run, that he’d been so very wrong. He clattered back down the stairs to the storage safe. All her weapons were still there. The sheriff spun on his heels and clutched his hands behind his head. Maybe he’d miscalculated, and the opposing sheriff had nabbed her. 

“Persephone,” he muttered to himself. There was no time to call Sam. Gio snatched his hat up. However, as he threw open the door, he nearly collided with Sam himself. 

“Lord, Sam!” Gio pulled the young man to his feet. 

“I’ve a message, sheriff, urgent!” 

“Sam, unless it’s about Miss Rose, I don’t have-”

“It is!” Sam gasped, rubbing his chest. “It is about Miss Rose.”

This actually surprised the sheriff. He checked, almost stumbling again. “Oh. Well let’s hear it then.”

“Sass was wantin to let you know that Miss Rose is currently sleepin at the Goose.”

“At the Goose?”

“Yes Sheriff. He sends his apologies if you were worryin, but he kept her there after they both had a bit too much t’drink, y’see,” Sam rattled off. 

Gio was trying to reconcile his mind to this significantly calmer turn of events. “At the Goose,” he muttered again. “Astounding.”

Any reply, Sheriff?” Sam sam asked, hopping from one foot to the other. 

“Ah, right. Sam, send back that I’ve gotten the message, and I’ll be droppin round bouts when Jones relieves me tonight. No need for Miss Rose to come here, she can stay at the Goose today.”

Sam took off again. Gio shook himself and looked out across General St. and Main. It had continued to be hot, but he sensed a wind today. A hot, dry wind that makes you anxious and afraid as it howls, that churns itself into dust devils, that leaves anger and dust in its wake. Such winds almost never entered Haven. There had been one that lasted a week, the week the War was declared. There had been one right before a prairie fire had decimated the outskirts of Haven. Gio felt one now, rustling its breezes, creeping along the streets. 

Gio took a deep breath, nodded once, and turned his back on the hot wind.

At just about 5:00, Jones arrived. Gio had been uneasy all morning, and thus was itching to leave. He had taken several turns of the town, meeting with people and receiving claims. But by 2:00, no one wanted to be outside, and he retreated to the office. 

“Where are you off to in such a hurry?” Jones asked as Gio hastily grabbed his hat and raised the horse screen. 

“The Goose,” was all he got in reply. 

“I don’t blame ye, it’s blisterin out there, and now there’s a wind!”

“Ye don’t say,” Gio thought as he pulled Gigi around and set off for the bar. He barely hitched Gigi before running up the stairs.

Kelly was behind the bar, laughing at something Owen was saying. She was back in her dungarees and a shirt, which looked strikingly like Sass’s favorite. Sass himself was pouring beer. Gio went to the end of the bar, leaning on the counter expectantly in the universal “we need to talk” stance. Elek nodded at him, slid the pint down the bar to its grateful customer, and came over.

“Late night?” Gio asked with a touch of irritation in his voice. 

Sass narrowed his eyes. “Yes. If you’re thinkin I should have sent a note late night, I was in no fit state to be contactin anyone. I’m sorry you were worried. But she was safe with me.”

“It’s not just her safety, Sass. She’s still an outlaw. She’s wearing your shirt, for God’s sake! Tell me you didn’t-”

“Gio,” Elek said, half angry and half amused. “Tell me you know me better than that. She’s wearin my shirt because she didn’t have one with her and didn’t wish to wear the same dress.”

Gio stared his best friend in the eye for several seconds, then sighed. “I do know you. Just, for God’s sake, send a note or wake Sam or ride your damn horse over next time. I was panicin.”

Sass gave him a lopsided smile. “You’re the boss.”

“Damn straight.” Gio leaned in, making sure Kelly was heartily engaged in telling Owen an adventure of hers. “What did happen?”

“Nothin. We had some drinks, which I admit were...exaggerated, we did some talkin; she fell asleep and I carried her upstairs. That’s all.” 

“That’s all?” Gio searched Elek’s face for any sign Elek was hiding something. Sass stared him down with a straight face.

Then, so small Gio almost missed it, Sass smiled. “That’s all. I wan’t unsavory.”

Gio let him go and settled in next to Owen. Kelly nodded to him, took a beer order, then came over. 

“I’m awfully sorry,” she said quietly. 

Gio waved away her apology, mostly for decorum’s sake. Owen was trustworthy, but people would ask why the sheriff couldn’t control the one outlaw in his custody, or they would gossip that Sass was colluding with her. No one would believe it, but everyone would say it. “No, it’s alright. Old Fashioned, if you would.” Kelly winced slightly, but made an excellent drink. “You alright?” Gio asked her.

“What? Oh! Yes! Just fine!” The doors of the bar opened, and she looked up smiling. “Admiral! Welcome!”

“Good afternoon, m’lady.” The admiral strolled to a seat on the other side of Owen. “I have a list of witnesses I want to call, I’ll have to write off to them. If you might provide the addresses, I can get them out with the 6:00 mail.” He pulled out a sheaf of paper, and handed it to her. 

“Naturally,” she glanced down, nodding. “Sass, can I use your writing desk?”

“Be quick,” Sass said, and she dashed off. She returned only a few minutes later, her tightly curled writing accompanying the admiral’s loopy scrawl. “Here you are, Admiral, I knew my hobby of memorizing lines would come in handy. Remembered them all.”

“Smashing! My dear bartender, may I now take advantage of said writing desk?”

“My office is gettin many attentions, is it?” Elek jerked his head to the office and the Admiral disappeared. “Well then, who wants sausage plates?” Several tables in the bar cheered back, “Right ‘ere!”

The next two hours passed pleasantly enough. This was the hottest day yet, and the wind Gio had noticed had broken cover. Folks came in dusty from hat to boots. 

“Is this a hot wind?” Elek muttered to Gio, leaning across the bar.

“‘Fraid so. Clocked it this morning.”

Elek grimaced.

“What’s that you two are whisperin about?” Kelly asked lightly, though she had the grace to ask quietly.

“Hush,” Elek said anyway, bumping her shoulder. Gio flicked his eyes to his friend’s face. The bar girl, having just started her drink at a table in the closest corner, smiled into her glass. 

“There’s a hot wind in Haven.” Gio said.

“What’s so secret about a wind?” 

“Hot winds bring trouble,” Gio told her quietly, Elek nodding in agreement. “Fires. Fights. Just trouble and always bad.”

Kelly glanced out the window at the sunset. “What’s this one blowin in?”

No sooner had she spoken the question than the doors of the Goose bashed open, hitting the wall and half swinging back again. Several people jumped. Gio and Owen whipped around. The bar girl darted behind the counter. Elek seized Kelly’s hand and pulled her behind him, to her annoyance. Yet when she saw what shadowed the doorway, she went white.

A tall, gaunt man stood in the middle of the doors, a few steps in. His appearance was both hulking and almost sickly. He was pale, but for his dark, sunken eyes. His lips seemed locked in a permanent sneer, just showing his teeth. He was covered in dust, from the soles of his boots to the Sheriff’s star on his chest. 

Three more men came in, standing behind him in a V. The farthest one looked at the bar girl and licked his lips. She shuddered, gripping the neck of an empty whiskey bottle behind her back.

Gio and Owen stood in front of Kelly as well, Sass glaring behind them, forming their own barrier. “Sheriff,” Gio said, nodding slightly.

“Sheriff,” Thomas replied, his voice deeply gravelled. He looked past Gio, straight into Kelly’s eyes. “Sister.” His sneer deepened. 

“Tom. So you finally caught up.”

“You finally realized you couldn’t run.” He turned back to Gio. “This is foolish, the whole charade of a trial. We all know she killed her husband, just release her to me. Justice will be swift in our dealin.”

Gio brushed his shirt back, and saw the sheriff’s eyes flick to the revolver on Gio’s hip. “All due respect, Sheriff Thomas, you’re in my town now, and this lady is in my custody. The trial will go ahead.”

Thomas stepped closer. “She got to you, didn’t she? You’re all protecting her, but I tell you, her own husband was murdered at the hands of this bloodthirsty bitch.”

At the insult, chairs screeched and every woman (and some of their braver male counterparts) stood up, some yelling objections. Every man, standing or not, made his weapon visible.

Before Gio could say anything, Kelly said loudly, “Call me whatever slurs you want, Tom. I’m not goin with you and they’re not lettin me go anyways. There will be a trial, and we’ll decide this there.”

The Sheriff moved as though to reach for her, but with so many hips glinting, he raised one hand. “Alright now, we’re in agreement. A trial it is, however much of a circus it may be.”

Gio addressed him cordially enough, but did not give any signal to stand down. “We can have rooms prepared for you and your men for the duration-”

“No, thank you, we’d not suppose the...hospitality of Haven. We’ll sleep out in the fields over yonder. Me and my men are well used to campin by now.” Thomas’s men looked as though they may not entirely concur, but they didn’t correct their leader. 

“Fine. Come into town for food or water. The trial will begin in two days, soonest the judge can do.” Gio stepped towards the other man, making it clear whatever welcome there had been, was overstayed. The bar girl finally relaxed; she had seen one too many bar fights for her liking. She glanced at Sass, and as he nodded to her, she saw that his hand still grasped Kelly’s. Kelly herself  began to come around the bar, following her accuser and releasing Elek’s hand. She and Gio escorted the sheriff and his men out to their horses. 

“By the way, Tom,” she said as he swung onto his horse, “you really ought to work on that act of yours.”

He curled his lip at her. “What’s the meaning of that?”

Gio and Sass, having come to the door, watched as she defiantly glared up at the man on the horse. 

“Because if you were a better man, a better sheriff, or just plain better at bullshittin, you would’ve remembered that he was not simply my husband. He was your brother, too.”

The smirk vanished and Thomas’s face darkened in anger. He jerked his reins, and galloped out of Haven, Kelly glaring after him.

–

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-–

For more Content, check out @contentcreatorshaven or www.contentcreatorshaven.com! We are a creator collective dedicated to helping each other make it in this very crazy world.

[laketaj24]

Played Pt 4

A/N: Heyy! I removed some people from the taglist that weren’t active, if it was you... I’m sorry I’ll put you back on lol Just say the word! NSFW below the cut. 

“Ian!” You yell from your bedroom. “Shoes on now! You’re going to be late for your first day of school.” Your son had never done what you want you wanted him to, he always rebelled.

“No!” He yells from the hallway poking his little pink tongue between his lips. Ivar had enrolled him in Lothbrok Prestige, the Daycare/Preschool in the lobby of the company. It helped you with him being so close to you both. But Ivar hadn’t seen him since that day. And he’d more than likely blocked you because all of your call went directly to voicemail.

“Ian!” You growl hauling down the hallway stepping on the small red brick of a lego. You howl something furious and he points at you giggling as he walks down the hall to get away. Legos were the damn devil. Then there was your child, a menace to society since birth. He shared one distinct feature with Ivar and those were his glacier blue eyes. Always piercing rather, they were menacing or playful. “Your Gigi is going to be so upset you won’t put on her favorite shirt. You’re only going to stay for a day or so.”

“I want to stay with you!” He screams.

“No,” you say exhaling. “Look, mommy has to handle some things and you have stay with Gigi and Pop. It’s not a choice. Get your clothes on your four-year old devil.”

He pouts folding his arms over his chest as he walks over to the counter grabbing the striped shirt. “I want to stay with you.”

“You’re going to meet some new friends here soon. They’re your family and I think you’ll have fun. But you can’t do that until mommy handles the business. So, tell me that you will be good. Please.”

“Fine.” He does as you ask putting on his clothes, the little blue jean button up and his striped shirt underneath. You make it outside to the car and bends down tying his shoes and you snap a picture of him. He smiles devilishly cute and you two walk into the building.

“Ian, your Uncle Ubbe is going to take you to his office until school starts. Do you promise to behave?”

Ubbe waits patiently watching you pep talk the little four-year old. “I’m scared.” He says with a wavering lip.

Ubbe bends down in front of him. “You’re going to be okay. See here you are a little warrior, I’ll keep you safe if you keep me safe?” Ian shakes his head in agreement holding Ubbe’s hand. “Have you talked to him?” He whispers.

“He won’t talk to me. And it’s his birthday this weekend, both of them.”

“He’ll be fine eventually, he’s just pissed. Hvitserk and I plan to be at the party.” He rolls his eyes. “We have to go now Ian. Tell your mom goodbye.”

 Ivar didn’t like to celebrate his birthday, he didn’t have fond memories of the last time it was celebrated. He remembered crying over Aslaug and sifting through rubble from where his brothers lie. It was the reason he had banned Bjorn from all in house business dealing. He could do whatever he wanted to with the Lothbrok Outreach Program, but he was never allowed in the company’s business. He stared down at the picture of the young your mother had sent him. He for sure had his eyes. Glacier blue and sneaky. He smirked. He didn’t understand why you had hid it. But he didn’t dwell on it vocally. He slides his shirt over his head and pats Nia on her thigh.

“Are you gonna get up babe? We have a ton to get done.”

“It’s your birthday, so I have made some reservations and then your brothers said that they would be there.”

“I don’t want to be around anyone really. No one but you, we should just take the boat out today and celebrate alone?”

“No,” Nia sat up in the bed. She wasn’t like Y/N. She was stubborn and defensive of everything regarding him. Y/N went with what eh said for the most part always understanding his reasoning. “We can get your son and we can all go somewhere.”

“No,” he answers stubbornly. He hadn’t tried to see him two weeks. Ivar couldn’t think of words to say and he was sure that he couldn’t control his anger towards Y/N. he’d already made her work overtime and given her extra floors, all except his. “I don’t want him to meet you.”

“I beg your pardon?” she raised her eyebrow pushing him forward as she stood up from the bed.

“I said don’t want him to meet you. It shouldn’t be that difficult for you to understand babe. This is my son and I am just now at the beginning of getting to know him. You don’t need to know him. And I don’t want to offend Y/N.”

“Offend her!” She yelled. “you should have that bitch locked up for the way she hid your child from you and just left. Why does this hoe, yes, I said fucking hoe, get all the affection? She deserves nothing.”

Ivar says nothing watching her parade around the room wearing only her underwear. “Are you done?” he says once she’s silent for a moment. “She is the mother of my child and I will give her some respect for that and also, my relationship with Y/N is none of your concern.”

“Yeah. You’re right. It’s not. So, celebrate your birthday by yourself you fucking asshole.” Nia slams the door behind her and he sits on the edge of the bed. “Let her play your ass again!!!” She yells.

 You stare down at the Facebook post. He couldn’t even allow you a moment. He’d commented with his snide remark and you wanted to scream. Ivar’s distance towards you was uncanny. He’d gone out of his way to not look at you and even called your mom to talk about Ian. Yes, you were wrong. You knew that you were and that was understandable, but you wanted to talk to him. You try to perk up for the trip, but it was weighing you that he didn’t want to see you.

You’d never rode in or driven a box truck, but chance was definitely having the time of his life. He continued to sway and sing to the music as if he was at a concert. “Man, what you know about this?”

“Gangster Party? What do you know about this chance?” You laugh watching him bring out his definite west coast swag you didn’t even know he had.

He continues to dance and sway to the beat bumping into you playfully until you start to sing the lyrics. Then he turns the music down. “I ain’t forgot about my food either.”

“I know you haven’t, fat ass.” You pause twiddling with your fingers before looking up at him. “There are some things that you should know about me. And if after you hear them you don’t want to be my friend anymore or fuck or whatever, it’s fine.”

“You a murderer?”

“No?” You gasp.

“Aight, then whatever you have to say won’t be that bad.” He smirks. “Hit me with it.”

“I have a child. His name is Ian and he is the absolute light of my life, no matter how much of a tiny terrorist he is, he’s five, well about to be tomorrow.”

“That’s great news. I can crack mom jokes on you now. Oh, hell yes,” He pauses. “I’m with a MILF. This is like checking off three major ass items from my bucket list.”

“wow, you’re a dick.” She laughs but is relieved he doesn’t care really.

“I don’t mind tiny terrorists. Kids are awesome. I have like ten nieces and nephews myself and as a matter of fact I have a new one on the way next week. My sister is having her first child. So no, children don’t scare me off. What else you got?”

“When I was younger I kind of lost my shit. I was dating his brother, Hvitserk. I cheated on him with Ivar and I loved him,” you gulp at the past tense word “loved” not knowing if it was true or not. Every time you thought of him your heart still leapt even if he had blocked your number. “but I was wild. I was pretty much a slight thot.”

“Just a little thot?” He laughs. “Continue I’m sorry.”

You relish in the fact that he is so controlled in this conversation and his opinion of you hasn’t wavered. “Anyway, I cheated on him with Ubbe.”

“The cool one,” he shrugs. “It’s cool ma, you don’t even have to explain this shit to me, for real.”

“Well, I left because I did that and I didn’t want to face Ivar and then like the day after I found out about my son and I never came back.”

“His father is Ivar Lothbrok.” The box truck veers off the road for a minute when he jakes his head over and stares at you and he regains control of the situation. “I know. I have a baby by your boss and that perhaps is not the ideal part of it.”

“The dude with the soft ass voice that everybody is scared of?” Chance says.

“Soft voice? Ivar, my highly crazy ex that has no personal boundaries and often is the pettiest guy I have ever met in my life.”

“Didn’t know all that side shit.” Chance laughs.  “But look ma, every single person has a past, be that good or bad. And I don’t judge people for the shit they have done because that is not my place. You embraced that shit like a pro and I have no business placing my judgement on you. If you can live with yourself and still be doing like you are, I don’t even care. I hope this kid ain’t got no soft ass voice though.” He burst into laughter.

“Shut up.” You say laughing.

“I hope this doesn’t mean you’re going to be choosing between the tow of us. I don’t know what you got going on with that or whatever, but we getting to know each other. I like you. Don’t rsh back to this guy because it’s easy?”

“Okay. I mean it. Take you time.”

 The next day you return home from the trip having unpacked most of Ian’s things in his room and everything else was at least put away for the moment. He’d stayed at your parents’ house long enough. He needed a routine and a normal life.

Your mom had actually done you a favor and called you to let you know Ivar was coming. You found odd he could bucket on Facebook but never respond to you. You push those thoughts aside when you here the door close outside. Of course Ivar was here. Two weeks was long enough. You sit in the floor with Ian watching him fly Superman over the Lego Buildings. Ivar isn’t walking with his cane and you weren’t sure why, but you peer up to him and stand from the ground. “Ivar.”

“What are you doing here?” He whispers. Your mom half hugs him and grabs her keys walking out of the house.  “Y/N.”

“He’s about to meet his father for the first time.” You whisper. “And I didn’t want to not be here. I want you to know him and talk to him.”

“First of all, if you truly wanted this knowing and talking. You would have let me see his first step.” He whispers harshly. “you would have let me here him say his first word. You would have let me hear that first cry. And for you to say that you give a fuck now is infuriating and I cannot listen to your bullshit. You want to be here. Fine. Sit your ass down and leave me alone.” He walks past you over to Ian. “Hey. Remember me?”

“Yes.” Ian drops Superman. “Fucking Horrible!”

“Ivar, but close enough.” He sits on the couch in front of him. “Your mom has something to tell you. Isn’t that right?” He says glaring at you. “Come on.” You watch him pat the seat next to him and walk over to him.

You sit next to him. He’s shaking nervously glaring at you. There was no way you would make it through the small talk without trying to cry. “Ian, I told you not to say that again.” You gripe. “This nice man is your dad.” His blue eyes grow two times their normal size and it’s obvious what he is thinking. “And his name is Daddy or Dad not Ivar. You have to call him that and you should know you have the best dad ever. He’s such a superhero. It’s where you get your powers from.”

“You’re a superhero?”

“Yeah.” Ivar answers. “Something like that.”

“Cool.” He says shoving his tiny hands in his pockets in a none caring way. He was Ivar all over trying not to care. Ivar notices the small similarity shaking his head approvingly.  

“Are you okay?” You ask.

“I don’t think I will ever be.” His phone vibrates, and he stares down at the screen. NIA: I’m sorry. He rolls his eyes. “Sorry for the comment earlier, shit just comes out sometimes.”

“I know. I didn’t mean to harm you or to make you feel left out. I didn’t mean to make you hate me.”

After ten minutes and Ian’s playful banter turns into snoring lightly on the couch. He sighs finally saying something “I don’t fucking hate you.” He whispers. “I’ve tried to hate you, trust me. What do you need for him?”

“He has everything.”

“I mean he doesn’t. Why is your mom keeping him? Where were you yesterday?”

“I don’t answer to you Ivar.”

“Well, your mom needs a break and he can enroll in Lothbrok Prestige, so he can be around children his age and close to both of us at work. And you have to leave that Mail Room. You have to be a mother and making fourteen an hour when your child’s father is a Billionaire is degrading. I’ll have stipend for you and find something to do with yourself.” Ivar stands from the ground groaning in slight pain.

“Why are you walking without your cane?”

“I had a few surgeries.” He admits. “And for the most part I can walk without assistance. I just hurt sometimes.”

“Why the surgery?”

He smiles pulling his hair behind his ears. “At first I thought you left me because I wasn’t man enough for you. So, I had surgeries and all that shit. It was stupid.” He dusts his pants off. “I’ll be at the party tomorrow.”

You swallow back your stupid tears and change the subject with him. “Great. One second.” You run down the hall. “Come back here.” You call. It takes him a minute, but it gives you time to get out his shirt from the box. “Here.” You say tossing him the shirt. The all blue shirt with SUPERDAD in white letters. “I had it made before you called me a bitch and fucking horrible. You chuckle walking closer to him. There was an ever-constant part of you that wanted to be with him.

He’s behind you, admiring the shirt. “I have done nothing in his life to be considered a SUPERDAD” he says smirking. “But thanks, you know when you were gone I used to think about what it would be like to be with you when you were gone.”

“Ivar I shouldn’t have,” your words are trapped when his hand grips around your neck. Your heart pounds listening to his breathing behind you. He’s erratic nearly shaking. “I’m sorry.”

“Shut up.” He sneers with his lips against your neckline. “I don’t want to hear your excuses or apologies.” He pushes you forward on the bed dragging his nose along your neck and then the tingles of where he had been are covered in kisses.  you melt feeling his lips on you. He flips you over pulling you up by your hair so that you’re facing him. “I don’t want to hear it. Do you understand?” You shake your head yes and he kisses you again his tongue intertwines with your while his hands grip on your back. “Turn around. ”You refuse still kissing him still until his hand is around your neck again and a grin surfaces his face. “We can do that later I want you. Turn around.”

 He’d never taken you standing up so you feel weird stripping in front of him, but you do turn around for him once you’re undressed. You feel the cool breeze blow behind you for a moment and then you feel Ivar. Ivar pulls you up gently by your hair slipping his fingers into you with ease. You’re panting as his thrusts become quicker and harder. And then he removes his fingers slamming into you with his length. It’s sharp and quick pushing you forward but his finger wraps around your hair pulling you back to him so that your hips slam against his with each thrust. You feel your ass bouncing against his hips and he snakes his arm around you rubbing circles on your clit. You drag your teeth over your bottom lip trying to stop your yelps. “Does he fuck you like this?” He growls removing his fingers from your clit gripping his fingers around your neck. You’re choked, and you wouldn’t answer if you could. He’s thrusts get harder and deeper. And your pants turn into pleas for more. “Uh Uh.... shut up.” He whispers. But you can’t, feeling him slam into you your body spasms and you fall forward on shaking legs. “You come for me already?” He grins still pumping into you. You climb the bed to breathe but he snatches you back to him throwing you on your back. “I want to watch this time.” He pleas. “Come for me again baby?”

“I can’t” You try to breathe. He doesn’t listen to you pushing your legs up higher and fucking you once more. You’re throbbing, and he covers your mouth with his and your fingers intertwine in his hair tugging hard. “Do it for me?” He goes faster, and you climb to your high and your legs collapse to the bed shaking harder than before. Your lips meet his again nervous that once he’s done this won’t be any more. Ivar comes trying to control himself and you both fall into the bed breathlessly. You watch his chest rise and fall.

“How are we going to do this huh? I can’t control myself when I’m around you. I’m not supposed to do this.” He rants.

“I don’t know. I’m not good at it either.”

He covers you with the comforter allowing you to nestle into him. “I don’t want to think about it right now.” The door freaks open and Ian jumps into the bed. His tiny feet trample on both of your bodies. Ivar just watches highly amused. “What are you doing?”

“Nana said get out of her bed.” He chuckles. “Now.”

Your face tinges with embarrassment you shake your head. “Hey, go in there with nana, and we will be up there in a few.”

“Fine!” He says leaving.

Ivar sits up in the bed. “Your mom is going to kill me, I just started to like her.” He groans. He reaches for his ringing phone. “Nia,” He answers. “I know babe, yeah, I just got out of a meeting I’ll be by shortly.” You steam anger watching him talk to her. You throw his shirt at him and he flinches at you shocked with his mouth agape. “Alright. I will babe. Okay bye.” He stares at you. “What is the matter?”

“I don’t want whoever that hoe is around my child.”

“What?” He says nearly laughing. “I don’t tell you who to fuck, don’t tell me.”

“You can fuck her. Keep her away from Ian.” You watch him laugh. “I’m not fucking playing with you Ivar!” But he continues to laugh getting dressed.

“You have some nerve… tell your mystery fuck I said the same.” His voice was SOFT, you sneer at him and once again you just wanted to slap him.

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