#and then Sadie's like “oh yeah i have a few things to do for the BoS or NCR or something” *leaves the Tops* | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

lee-laurent · 2 months ago

Text

All Wrong - Luke Hughes

Summary: Jack needs some help from Sadie, but Sadie finds another Hughes brother much more interesting.

content: fluff, angst, fake dating, kissing, making out, teasing, dirty jokes, underage drinking

wc: 11.6k

notes: HERE IT IS! MY LONGEST FIC EVER!!!! enjoy!!

"Sadie, it's not like I'm asking you to marry me. It's just for the summer so she leaves me alone," Jack pleaded from his spot on the girl's couch.

"Just tell her you're not interested or that you have a girlfriend. This seems overboard."

"That won't stop her. Trust me."

"Then why would me being there change that?"

"You're intimidating, Sadie. You'll look at her once and she'll run home like a puppy with its tail tucked between its legs."

"Jack..."

"Sadie, please! Didn't you say your parents had been on your ass about having a boyfriend? See this could benefit both of us."

"I-"

"Sadie!" Jack's tone had shifted from being teasing to almost desperate. "You don't get it! This girl... she doesn't take 'no' for an answer. Trust me... I've tried."

Sadie crossed her arms over her chest, settling further into the couch. "So your brilliant plan involves be pretending to be madly in love with you instead? Egotistical much."

"Shut up. If you're there, she'll see we're serious and she'll back off."

"And you don't think this is going to backfire? Or, I don't know, create a whole mess of awkwardness between us?" Sadie tilted her head, waiting for his response.

"It'll be fine. We're friends, right? We've kissed when we were drunk. We can handle a little fake dating for a few weeks. Plus, the thing with your parents... win-win?"

She sighed, feeling like she was fighting a battle she was gonna lose no matter what. She had mentioned it in passing--how her parents were always asking why she wasn't dating anyone. But this? Fake dating Jack? It sounded like the plot of a rom-com gone wrong.

"I don't know, Jack."

"Look, we'll just keep it simple. I won't make it weird, I promise. We'll hang at the lake house, do the whole 'couple' thing, and by the end of the summer, it's done. You're free. I'm free. And maybe we can get a few laughs out of it."

It sounded insane. Jack was her friend--her close friend--and she could see in his eyes how desperately he wanted her to say yes.

"You really think this will work?"

"Trust me. She'll be running away by the end of the first week."

With a heavy sigh, she finally nodded. "Fine. I'll do it. But you owe me."

"Deal! I owe you big time! But you won't regret this, Sades. It's going to be great!"

She wasn't so sure. It felt so much more complicated than Jack was letting on.

A couple weeks later, Sadie found herself standing on the driveway of the Hughes' lake house. She was standing next to Jack, picking at the chipped nail polish on her fingers. She genuinely felt like she could puke.

"Relax, Sadie," Jack grinned, holding their suitcases. "It's gonna be great."

She narrowed her eyes, but didn't respond. His grin didn't falter, and he motioned with his head for her to walk toward the house. The second her foot hit the first step, the door flew open and Ellen came out with a smile on her face. A smile scarily similar to Jack's.

"You must be Sadie! It's so nice to meet you," she said warmly, wrapping the 21-year-old in a tight hug.

"Oh, uh, yeah. That's me," Sadie stammered, trying to return the hug without looking too awkward. It was one thing to pretend around Jack and whoever this scary neighbour girl was, but in front of his family was a whole other can of worms. It felt so much more real.

"We're so excited to have you here! Jack never stops talking about you."

"Doesn't he?" Sadie smirked, turning around to glance at her 'boyfriend' who was pretending he couldn't hear the conversation.

Before she could ask anymore, Ellen was leading her into the home with a hand on her back. "Come in! I'm just finishing getting dinner ready, and the rest of the family should be here soon. Quinn and Jim were picking Luke up from school, so the three of them will be here around 9."

"Moose's coming?" Jack piped up, dropping their bags on the floor. "I thought he wasn't gonna make it this year."

"Changed his mind last minute. We'll all be together," Ellen grinned, wiping her hands on a dish towel.

"I'm gonna show Sadie around upstairs, we'll be back down for dinner in like ten minutes."

"Sounds good. I left some fresh towels for you on Jack's bed."

"Oh. Thank you."

"No worries. You two go get settled."

Sadie followed Jack up the creaky wooden stairs, her mind still spinning from meeting Ellen. Everything about the situation felt real. Too real. Way, way too real.

"Your mom is... intense," she muttered, walking into the hallway as Jack pushed open the door to the room they'd be sharing for the summer.

"Yeah, well, that's Mom for you. She loves you already," Jack grinned, throwing himself onto the bed. He stretched out, folding his arms behind his head as if he was relaxed as ever. Like they weren't lying to his entire family.

Sadie sat awkwardly on the foot of the bed, scanning the room. It was cozy. A few posters on the walls, hockey-themed of course, and an old wooden dresser in the corner. The window overlooked the lake and Sadie thought she could fall in love with the idea of living here for the summer pretty quickly.

"So, we're sharing this bed, I take it?" she raised an eyebrow.

Jack chuckled, patting the matress next to him. "Come on, Sades. We're dating, remember? Gotta sell it."

She rolled her eyes, scooting up to sit next to Jack. "Just remember this is fake. No funny business, Hughes."

"I know, I know. Jeez. I already told you, I'm not gonna make it weird. Just for the summer. Then we're free."

She shook her head, already regretting everything. She had agreed to the plan, but now that she was there, standing in their home, sharing a bed--it all felt too close for comfort.

"Speaking of Luke. You didn't mention that your brothers were gonna be here."

"They're chill. Don't stress. Moose has been busy with shit at Umich and Quinn in Vancouver. They'll just be happy to relax. Plus, they don't usually care about talking girls and stuff. So they won't grill you. If anything, they'll give me shit for dating someone so out of my league."

"I'll believe it when I see it, Jack."

Jack snickered, standing up and walking over to the side of the bed she was on. He leaned down, his tone teasing. "Come on, Sades. Let's go down and eat dinner like a happy couple."

"You're so fucking annoying."

Dinner went surprisingly smoothly. Ellen had a special way of making everything seem casual and lighthearted. Jack, of course, had been his usual... charming self, playing the role of the perfect doting boyfriend. He was good at it, touching her back lightly, pulling her chair out for her, and even dropping the occasional kiss on the top of her head.

It should've made her cringe, but instead she found it... comforting?

Ellen had asked the usual 'parent' questions--how they met, what Sadie was studying, if she liked hockey (which of course she had to answer yes to, knowing full well the consequences of not liking hockey in the Hughes household). Sadie played along, forcing herself to laugh at Jack's shit jokes and add details to the story they'd created on the drive up.

"Jack, why don't you take Sadie down to the dock and watch the sunset over the lake" Ellen suggested, clearing the table of plates. "It's beautiful tonight."

"Good idea, Mom," Jack agreed, standing up and taking Sadie's hand with a grin.

"Sure, sounds nice," Sadie forced a smile, trying not to feel awkward holding Jack's hand in front of his mother.

They walked out towards the dock, the cool air helping lift the weight of the day away. The lake stretched out before them, the water reflecting the orange and pink hues of the sunset. Sadie loved scenes like that. They brought her so much peace.

"You're doing great, by the way, Sadie."

She snorted, leaning her head on his shoulder. "I feel like I'm in some weird improv exercise. Just waiting for someone to figure out I don't belong here."

"They're not going to figure anything out," he whispered. "You've got this."

Lying to his family felt wrong, even if it was supposed to be for a good cause. Or at least a cause that Jack thought was good.

"This is going to be a very draining summer," she sighed.

"You wanna go to bed?"

"No, I need to stay up and meet your brothers and your dad."

"They'll still be here in the morning, Sades. If you want to go to sleep, nobody is gonna stop you."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, come on. Let's get you some sleep."

"Who's shoes are those?" Luke asked, closing the front door behind him.

"Jack's girlfriend's! You just missed her, she went to sleep about half an hour ago," Ellen smiled, pulling her youngest son into a hug.

"His girlfriend?"

"Yes! Sadie is her name. Such a nice girl. Very pretty too."

Luke looked back down at the shoes again, his mind still trying to catch up with what his mom was saying. Jack's girlfriend? The words felt so unfamiliar. Jack didn't talk about dating much, at least not in a serious way, so hearing about Sadie--a girl he apparently cared enough about to bring home--caught him so off guard.

"Yeah. Jack didn't mention much about her."

"He didn't? Oh, well, you'll meet her in the morning," she reached up to ruffle his hair, like he was still a little kid playing chase around the house with his brothers. "She's lovely. A little shy at first, but I'll sure she'll warm up to everyone. Probably just worried about making a good first impression."

Luke nodded, but inside his curiousity was growing. Shy? He hadn't heard Jack describe anyone as shy in, well, ever. Jack's type was the total opposite--bold, confident, the kind of girl that could hang with his rowdy ass friends without missing a beat. This Sadie girl was starting to sound a lot different than that.

"Well, let's get you boys fed before we all call it a night," Jim said, patting Luke's shoulder as he passed. "Your mom saved us some leftovers from dinner."

Luke followed his dad and Quinn into the kitchen, but his thoughts were still on the mysterious girl that had apparently stolen his brother's heart. Jack had never even mentioned a Sadie before and suddenly she was at the lake house. It all felt off.

Sadie woke up feeling as sweaty as ever. The house had AC but Jack was like a personal heater and somehow they'd ended up spooning at some point in the night. There was a thin layer of sweat between her back and Jack's chest and she felt disgusting.

Groaning quietly, she pulled herself out of his grip, using her shirt to wipe her back. Jack was still fast asleep, the duvet kicked around his feet. Typical. Jack could sleep through a fucking earthquake.

She swung her legs out of bed and padded to the bathroom, hoping a splash of cold water would make her feel more like herself. She thought about what Jack had said last night--about how nobody would figure them out. But staring at herself in the mirror, she felt like it was written all over her face.

She didn't belong here.

She threw on the first clothes she could find, a pair of jean shorts and one of Jack's many Devils t-shirts. By the time she made her way downstairs, the kitchen was already bustling. Ellen was preparing breakfast while Jim sat at the table sipping a cup of coffee.

"Morning, Sadie! Did you sleep well?"

"Yeah, thanks," she forced a smile.

"Jack still asleep?"

"Out cold."

Ellen chuckled, shaking her head. "Sounds about right."

Sadie smiled, but before she could respond, the sound of footsteps behind her caught her attention. She turned just as Luke appeared in the doorway, fresh from a morning run, judging the sweat on his forehead and the way his grey shirt clung to his torso.

For a moment, neither of them spoke. Luke's eyes landed on her, sharp and curious. There was something about the way he looked at her that made her feel like he was sizing her up--not in a rude way, but in a way that made her stomach flip uncomfortably.

"You must be Sadie," he made his way further into the kitchen. "I'm Luke."

"Yeah," she extended her hand to him. "Nice to meet you."

Luke shook her head, his grip firm but brief. His blue eyes lingered on hers for a second longer than she expected before he pulled away, glancing towards the coffeemaker.

"You're the one who got Jack all domestic?" he teased, grabbing a mug. "Didn't see that coming."

She laughed softly, "I don't know about 'domestic,' but... I guess I'm the one who convinced him to bring me here."

Luke smirked, like he wasn't entirely buying it. "Yeah. I guess."

Sadie got cut off again, but this time by Quinn entering the room. "Ah, so this is the famous Sadie! Nice to finally put a face to the name."

Thank God for Quinn.

Sadie sat on the dock, her feet dangling over the water, her book open on her lap. Jack and Quinn had gone to get the boat from the marina and Sadie had taken the opportunity to relax a bit.

She had laid a towel under her, Jack's t-shirt removed because she was not about to get a farmer's tan. She was basking in the sun, feeling the gentle warmth of the sun on her extremely pale skin. The world around her disappearing as she flipped through the novel. She was really enjoying it until she came to a parapgraph about suspicion. It took her right back to her interaction with Luke that morning. It was like he saw right through her, could sense all the cracks in her story. She had to be careful, maybe Luke was smarter than he seemed.

But footsteps on the dock behind her broke her train of thought. She glanced over her should, expecting to see that either Jack or Quinn had returned with the car from the marina, but it was Luke. He wasn't in the workout clothes he'd been wearing earlier, now dressed in a white t-shirt and board shorts, clearly ready for a swim.

"You mind if I join?" Luke asked, the same playful charm in his voice that Jack carried.

"Sure, it's your family's dock after all."

Luke smirked, dropping a towel beside her before sitting down, his legs also hanging over the water. He didn't say anything for awhile, just stared out over the water. Sadie went back to reading, well now she was pretending to read, her main focus being on how closely he was sitting next to her.

"So," he broke the silence. "How'd you and Jack meet?"

There it was--more lying about her and Jack. Sadie knew Luke was already suspicious of her, so she had to play her cards right. She looked up from her book, trying to keep her body language calm. "Friends. Some of his, uh, his friends go to school with me. So..."

"Friends, huh?" He was testing her, waiting for her to trip up.

"Yeah, like slow burn," she shrugged. "We hung out with a big group of friends first. You know how it goes."

Luke was silent for a moment, staring down at the waves lapping the dock. "Yeah, I guess, I do. Jack's never mentioned you before."

Sadie felt her stomach lurch, but she forced a smile. "Well, we kept things on the down-low for a while. Just us. It's still... kinda new."

"Makes sense," Luke's tone made it clear he wasn't entirely convinced. He shifted, resting his elbows on his knees, staring out at the lake again. "Just seems strange, I guess. Jack never brings girls here. And then... suddenly, you."

"I guess I'm just lucky," she swallowed harshly.

For a moment, she thought he might say something else--might press her further--but instead, he stood up and grabbed his towel.

"I'll leave you to it. Nice talking, Sadie," he walked off, completely disregarding the fact that he had clearly come out to swim. She just watched him retreat. It was clear he didn't trust her, hopefully Jack could fix that. She didn't need him figuring anything out before the trip was over. That was certain.

The sound of the boat engine humming across the water was the perfect background noise on a sunny afternoon. Sadie sat on the edge, occasionally letting her fingers trail through the lake below. Jack was steering them out to the centre of the water, Quinn sat up front basking in the sun, and Luke leaned casually against the small railing on the side.

"You ever driven one of these?" Luke asked, nodding towards the steering wheel.

Sadie looked over to Jack, who was too busy concentrating on his driving to respond. She smirked, "Jack never lets anyone take the wheel. He likes to be in control."

Quinn laughed, "Sounds about right. Captain Jack, over here. Watch out Sadie or he might start asking you to call him that."

"Don't give him any ideas," she groaned, flicking her gaze back to Jack. She really hoped that the banter seemed real and not forced.

"You love it, Sades! You're just mad because you can't even drive a car for shit."

"Hey! You've never given me a chance on a boat," she shot back, standing up and making her way to Jack.

"I think I have a good reason."

Sadie placed a hand on his shoulder, leaning in closer as she laughed. It felt so strange to have to be so physically close to Jack on purpose, but she was learning to fake it well. "Maybe I'll surprise you one day."

Quinn chuckled, "Honestly, Rowdy, give her a shot. What's the worst that could happen?"

"She crashes into the dock?" Jack raised an eyebrow, still smirking, one of his hands casually finding it's way around Sadie's bare waist. She stiffened slightly at first, but relaxed quickly after reminding herself to play the part.

"I'm more worried about you crashing into the dock," Sadie shot back.

Luke, who had been silently observing the whole ordeal, cracked a grin. "She's probably better at steering than you think, Jack. You're just a control freak."

Sadie stole a glance, glad to see Luke was no longer sending any weird looks her way.

"Alright, fine," Jack sighed, turning the wheel just slightly to change course. "Maybe I'll let you drive next time. If you're lucky."

Quinn snorted, "If she's lucky? You mean if she gives you head?"

Sadie's jaw dropped, but all three Hughes brothers started laughing like it was the funniest joke she'd ever heard. God, she'd never understand men.

The boat had been anchored and Sadie sat with Jack near the edge. Luke and Quinn were busy talking about who could pull off a better dive, leaving the 'couple' alone.

Sadie lowered her voice, looking around to see if the other boys were listening. "Jack, I think Luke is catching on."

"Catching on? What're you talking about?"

Sadie sighed. "Earlier today, he was asking me all these questions. It felt like he was suspicious. Like he knows this whole thing is all an act."

Jack chuckled, knocking his shoulder with hers. "Sades, he's just messing with you. Trust me, he's not suspicious of anything. That's just how he is. He's probably giving you a hard time because he knows it'll get under your skin."

She bit her lip, not fully convinced. "I don't know... I don't want him to say something to your parents or--"

"Relax," he softly grabbed her hand. "It's going fine. They all like you, and no one is doubting anything. Promise."

Sadie looked around again, but Quinn and Luke were now splashing each other in the water. "I guess you're right. I'm probably just overthinking shit."

"Exactly. Now, where's the Sadie I know? I'm not a fan of this anxious, worrywart. Where's the flirty, confident, almost scary Sadie that I became friends with?"

She just shook her head, a real smile making its way across her face. Jack leaned back, stretching his arms behind him. "Come on, Sades. Let's make the most of this. Summer is supposed to be funnnn."

"Okay," she giggled. "Let's have some fun."

She quickly stood up and cannon-balled into the lake. Luke and Quinn cheered her on, as Jack shook his head and laughed. "There's my girl!"

Sadie, Jack, Luke, and Quinn sat on deck chairs around the firepit, drinks in hand. It had been a long day spent out on the water, but the fun wasn't over just yet. The laughter was now coming even easier than before with the addition of alcohol.

Sadie leaned heavily into Jack's side, his arm draped over her shoulders, her head resting on him. She finally felt like herself, carefree. Jack's closeness didn't feel awkward anymore; it felt natural, or maybe that was just the alcohol.

"Alright, Sadie," Quinn said, his speech slurred slightly. "I gotta know what it's like dating Jack? He's gotta be a pain in the ass."

"Oh, you have no idea," she teased. "He thinks he's funny. Most of the time, he's just annoying."

Jack gasped dramatically, clutching his chest with his free hand. "Wow. You wound me, Sades. I'm hilarious."

"Debatable," she quipped, running her fingers along the seam of his shirt as she settled against him more comfortably.

"Okay, but for real," Luke piped up, "how'd you two even get together? I don't think Jack has ever brought a girl here."

She glanced at Jack, who winked at her before answering.

"It just happened, I guess. We were hanging out with a group of friends, like I told you guys, and then one day... I just knew she was the one for me."

"Oh, you knew, huh? That's not how I remember it," Sadie giggled.

"What's your version, Sadie?" Luke raised an eyebrow.

"Well... Jack was chasing after me for months, trying to get me to go out with him. I was playing hard to get."

Jack cackled, "That's not how it went."

"It's exactly how it went," she shot back, her voice full of confidence. "He practically begged me to go on a date with him."

Luke and Quinn were in stitches, the banter between her and Jack clearly entertaining them. Sadie felt so much more like herself. The earlier tension she felt from Luke's questions had melted away with the first sip of vodka.

Just as Sadie was about to make another joke at Jack's expense, the sound of footsteps cruncing against gravel caught her attention. She glanced over her shoulder to see a figure making their toward them. Sadie tensed.

It had to be that neighbour girl that Jack had warned her about. The whole reason this shit was happening.

The girl strutted up to the firepit, her eyes locking on Jack like he was the only person there. She didn't even acknowledge Sadie's presence, instead giving Jack a flirtatious smile as she drew closer.

"Well, well," her tone was sugary sweet. "Didn't know you were back in town, Jack."

Sadie felt Jack also tense beside her, but he didn't move his arm from her shoulders. He smiled politely, but there was no mistaking the discomfort in his eyes. "Yes, Natalie, we're here every summer."

The girl, Natalie, flicked her bleach blonde hair over her shoulder. "It's been a while. You should come over sometime. We could... catch up."

Sadie could tell from the girl's body language that she wasn't taking no for an answer. Natalie's obvious attempt to flirt with Jack was so blatant, it was almost laughable. It would've been laughable if it wasn't so goddamn irritating.

Luke and Quinn exchanged amused glances.

Sadie straightened up, pushing her body closer to Jack's. "He's a little busy right now," Sadie's voice was low but firm.

"Oh, I'm sure Jack can make time. Can't you, Jacky?"

Sadie's blood boiled. Natalie wasn't getting the message. She glanced at Jack, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere but there, then made a quick decision. Without hesitation, Sadie reached up, grabbed Jack's face in both hands, and pulled him into a kiss. Not a soft, delicate one, but a full-on, heated make out session that left no room for misinterpretation. She was making sure that everyone knew who Jack belonged to.

Jack responded immediately, his hands moving to rest on her waist as he kicked her back, clearly caught up in the moment. It was all part of the act, but Sadie could feel the passion in it, the alcohol blurring the line between fake and real.

When she pulled away, breathless and bright red, she didn't even look at Jack. She instead kept her gaze locked on Natalie, who was staring at them in stunned silence.

"Like I said," Sadie's voice was full of cool confidence, "he's busy."

Natalie's face twisted into a scowl, her cheeks burning with embarrassment. She shot Jack and Sadie one last frustrated look before scoffing and turning on her heel, storming off into the night like a child throwing a tantrum.

Quinn let out a low whistle. "Damn, Sadie. Remind me not to get on your bad side."

"That was brutal," Luke agreed.

She shrugged, playing it off like it was nothing, even though her heart was pounding in her chest. "She wasn't getting it. Had to make it clear."

Jack, still recovering from the intensity of the kiss, grinned down at her. "You sure did."

The room spun slightly as Sadie fumbled with the zipper on her shorts, still giggling about how the night had unfolded. Jack leaned against the door, watching her with a lazy grin, the alcohol still buzzing in his system.

"That kiss though," Jack teased, his voice slurred as he kicked off his shoes. "You really sold it, Sades. I think you scared Natalie away for life."

"Good," she smirked, peeling off her shorts and tossing them aside, not bothering with modesty. She started tugging her t-shirt over her head. "She wasn't getting the hint. Had to go for the kill."

Jack's eyes flickered to her as she changed, the casualness of it all catching him off guard. He swallowed, his throat suddenly very dry as he tried not to stare. Sadie, half-naked, standing there like it was nothing--it was making his head spin even more than it already was.

He blinked, knowing he shouldn't have been distracted like that, especially when they were just playing pretend. But Sadie didn't seem to notice nor care. She was sat on the bed, running her hands through her hair, her laughter replaced by a serious expression.

"Jack. I was actually really nervous... earlier. With meeting your parents, then Luke asking all those questions, and then fucking Natalie showed up."

Jack shook off his drunken haze. He sat down beside her, trying to focus on her words and the fact that her skin was glowing under the light in the room. "Nervous? You seemed to have it under control out there."

"I was faking. Well, partly. Thought maybe Luke's questions about us were to find holes or that Quinn was part of his plan."

"Sades, I'm not sure how many times I have to tell you. Nobody is suspicious."

"I just didn't want to mess this up for you. The whole fake dating thing--it's for you, and I didn't want to fuck it all up by being... weird."

"You weren't weird. You were amazing. And that kiss? I think you might have convinced me we're really dating."

"So... no one's doubting?"

Jack shook his head, his hand brushing gently against her back. "Nope. That kiss probably wiped away any doubts that Quinn or Luke might've had. You sold it. Hell, I think Luke might've been jealous."

She smirked at the thought, "Yeah? Jealous, huh?"

Jack grinned, leaning his forehead against hers. "Definitely. You've got nothing to worry about now. We've got this."

There was a quiet moment between them. The alcohol buzz still hanging in the air, but it was softer now, replaced by something warmer, more intimate. Jack's hand slid up to her shoulder, his touch gentle as he pulled her closer.

"I'm really glad you're here."

She leaned into him, resting her head against his chest. "Me too."

They lay back on the bed, neither bothering to change further. Jack's arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her into his side as she snuggled against him. The steady rise and fall of Jack's chest beneath her cheek, lulling her to sleep.

Jack and Quinn were gone for the day, some sort of offseason training session by some bigshot NHL personal trainer. The guy hadn't invited Luke, so he was stuck at the house with Sadie and his parents.

Sadie was stretched out on a towel in the backyard, basking in the sunshine, her earbuds playing some soft country music. She was enjoying her peaceful solitude.

Or so she thought.

When she turned her head slightly to adjust her sunglasses, she caught a glimpse of Luke standing on the back porch. He was leaning against the railing, looking right at her. His eyes flickered away as soon as she spotted him, but it was too late. Sadie had seen him staring.

A mischievous grin tugged at her lips.

Caught you.

Deciding to have a little fun with it, Sadie flipped onto her front, resting her chin on her folded arms. Then, with a playful smirk, she reached behind her and undid the knot on her bikini top, letting it fall loose against the towel beneath her. Luke couldn't actually see shit, but she thought it was hilarious to tease him.

After a few beats of silence, Sadie couldn't help but sneak a peek in his direction. Luke was still on the porch, but his posture was tense, clearly flustered. His eyes darted between her and the lake, like he wasn't sure where to look.

She bit her lip to hold back a laugh. Oh, this is too good.

Satisfied with the teasing, she casually rolled back onto her back and retyed her top like nothing had happened. Then she stood up, grabbing her book and towel, she sauntered back inside with a smirk tugging at her lips. She didn't need to look back to know there were still a set of blue eyes staring at her.

Luke wandered into the living room, hesitating briefly at the door before walking to Sadie on the couch. His hair was still slightly damp from a dip in the lake, and he seemed almost more relaxed without Jack and Quinn there.

"Hey, mind if I sit here?"

"Go for it," she replied, looking up from her book. She shifted over to make space for him.

Luke sat down and stretched his legs out in front of him as he leaned back in an attempt to look casual. It didn't work and Sadie could still feel the tension in the air. She knew Luke was flustered about the whole backyard situation and she found it fucking hilarious.

"You're always reading," he remarked, nodding towards the book in her hands. "What is it this time?"

She raised an eyebrow and flipped the book around so he could see the cover. "I'm not 'always' reading. You've caught me reading twice. And it's just something to kill time. You know, since your brother is off pretending he's a celebrity."

"Yeah, Jack's like that. Always pretending he's the best," Luke chose to ignore her remark about him only seeing her reading twice.

"Must've been annoying growing up with him," Sadie teased.

"Oh, it was. But he's alright. Could've been worse."

The conversation continued easily from there, their voices filling the silent house with stories about their childhoods, embarrassing moments, and life in general. Luke found himself relaxing more and more as Sadie talked. She was sharp, funny, and this special energy that drew him in. The confident, teasing girl from the backyard was showing her soft side and he could see why Jack was head over heels in love with her,

Sadie yapped about her life in university, the friends she had back home in Jersey, and even some wild stories from a girls' trip to New York. Luke listened, hanging off of every word. She was cool, and not in a superficial way, but genuinely cool. She wasn't just Jack's girlfriend. She was Sadie. And she was amazing.

But with that realization came guilt.

He watched her laugh as she told a funny story, and Luke felt the pull growing inside him. He was really starting to like her. Maybe too much.

This was Jack's girlfriend. He shouldn't feel that way about Jack's girlfriend.

He knew it was wrong, but he made no effort to distance himself from her. Instead, he found himself drawn to her more and more, wanting to sit there with her, to hear her laugh again, to see the smirk that covered her face when she teased him.

"So, how about you?" she asked, snapping him from this thoughts. "What's it like being the baby? Bet Jack gave you hell."

"They both did. But especially Jack. He never, ever let me forget I was the youngest. Always had to one-up me."

"Sounds like Jack," she grinned, and Luke's smile faltered at the lovestruck look on her face at the meer mention of Jack. "Bet you're giving it right back now."

"I try." There was a brief lull in conversation and the silence that followed felt like it was charged with electricity.

Sadie held his gaze a beat longer than she should have before breaking the eye contact with a playful smile. "Well, if you ever need any tips on how to outsmart Jack, I've got plenty."

"I might just have to take you up on that."

The sun lay low in the late afternoon sky making the lake look like it was sparkling. Sadie and Luke stood by the water's edge, still filling in the quiet hours without Jack and Quinn.

Sadie grinned, nudging Luke with her elbow. "Bet you can't beat me in a water fight."

"You're on."

Without warning, Sadie walked off into the water, her laugh echoing as she turned around to splash Luke. He barely had time to react before a wave of water was hitting his lower legs.

"Oh, it's like that?" Luke laughed, taking off after her.

It didn't take long before they were having a full-on war, splashing each other mercilessly. Sadie couldn't stop laughing as Luke chased her through the water. After on particularly good splash, she tried to swim away, but Luke caught up to her, his hands gripping her waist as he tried to dunk her. Sadie squealed in protest, kicking her legs.

"Let go, you cheater!" she giggled, twisting in his grip.

Luke grinned, he really liked how infectous her laugh was. But as they wrestled in the water, something shifted. His hands lingered on her waist longer than they should have. Her skin was riddled in goosebumps from the cold water, but still felt smooth under this touch, and suddenly the playful moment didn't seem quite as innocent.

Shit.

Sadie, still in the middle of laughing and trying to escape his hold, didn't seem to notice the change in him. She was completely carefree, seeing the moment for what it was--a game. But Luke wasn't feeling it anymore. His throat felt tight and pulse picked up.

His hands were still on her waist.

Luke's breath hitched, and before she could turn around and see the look on his face, he let go, stumbling backward in the water.

"You good? You're not giving up already, are you?"

Luke forced a chuckle, but it came out sounding way more like a cough. "Uh, yeah, I--uh, I think I've had enough."

Without waiting for her response, he quickly waded out of the water and back onto the shore. The evening breeze did nothing to cool his flustered state.

Sadie was still in the water, floating on her back with a smile on her face. "Aw, come on!"

He just mumbled something incoherent, grabbed his towel, and hurried back into the house without even looking her way.

Luke rushed past his parents in the kitchen, heading straight for his room. He slammed the door shut behind him and flopped down onto the bed, shoving his face in a pillow. He wanted to scream, but even the pillow wouldn't muffle the sound enough from anyone downstairs.

I'm attracted to her.

The thought hit him like a freight train, the words echoing over and over again like a prayer. It wasn't just some innocent crush. He was undeniably, painfully attracted to Sadie--his brother's girlfriend.

How had he let it get this far? She was dating Jack. She was Jack's girlfriend. And yet, anytime she laughed or smiled at him, Luke felt like a fucking high schooler.

He couldn't stop it, couldn't ignore it anymore.

He hadn't meant to hold her like that in the water. It was meant to be just a harmless game, but he had taken it too far in his mind. Sadie, however, hadn't even seemed to notice. Maybe she did and she was just ignoring it. Surely that was it.

"You're such a fucking idiot, Luke," he cursed himself, but every time he closed his eyes all he could see was how perfect she had looked in that moment.

The worst part of all? He didn't want to stop feeling that way.

Even as the guilt knawed at him, he couldn't bring himself to want to distance from her. Being around Sadie felt good. It felt natural. And that scared him even more.

Suddenly, he heard laughter from the hallway outside his door. Luke froze, listening as Jack's voice joined in, low and teasing, followed by Sadie's giggles.

Luke squeezed his eyes shut, willing away the guilt. But then there was a pause in the laughter. He could picture what was happening. The way that Jack was looking at Sadie. The that Sadie was looking back up at Jack with a smile on her face, maybe teasing him.

Then... the sound of a kiss broke the silence. It was soft, but it might as well have been the loudest thing that Luke had ever heard. His stomach twisted, and he tried to shove his face further into the pillow, but it was no use the couple was back to laughing.

This is wrong. It's all wrong. But as wrong as he knew it was, he couldn't deny the truth.

He was falling for Sadie. And he was falling for Sadie... hard.

The whole family and Sadie were gathered around the pool table, Jim and Ellen watching from the corner, while the "kids" took their turns at the competetive game that had started.

Sadie was standing next to Jack, leaning against the wall with a gin and tonic, that her "boyfriend" had made her, in her hand. She was watching Quinn line up his shot, her eyes crinkling as she laughed about whatever it was that Jack was whispering to her about. Jack had his arm draped over her shoulders, pulling her closer as she laughed. They looked so comfortable. So perfect.

Luke stood across from them, gripping his pool cue so tightly that his knuckles had turned white. Every laugh that Jack and Sadie shared, every playful nudge, felt like a stab to his gut.

"Alright, Sades, your go," Jack kissed her cheek before handing her a cue.

She leaned over the table, lining up her shot with Jack standing behind her, offering a few "helpful" tips. His hand rested on her lower back, guiding her aim. Quinn looked over at Luke, raising his eyebrows as if to say "look how suggestive he's being."

Luke just shook his head, trying to focus on the game. But all he could think about was how close and touchy they were being. And how it made his stomach churn with something that he could only guess was jealousy.

Fuck, it was so messed up.

"Luke, it's your turn," Quinn called.

"Huh? Oh, yeah, right," he blinked, shaking his head. He stepped up to the table, trying to compose himself as he lined up his shot. He missed it by a mile, the ball ricocheting off the side with a loud thunk.

"Wow, nice one, Rusty," Jack teased.

His jaw was clenched, "Guess I'm just off tonight."

Sadie didn't even notice, giggling as Jack asked for her opinion on their next move. Why were they acting like they were the only ones in the room? Was nobody else finding it annoying? Luke glanced at his mom. She was smiling at the young couple, a lovestruck look on her face. Maybe he was the only one that found it annoying.

Sadie lay sprawled across Jack's bed, her phone held loosely in her hand as she scrolled through texts from her friends back home. Jack was in the shower, insisting he wash the lake water off his body. She had some time to kill and her friends, that weren't her friend group with Jack, were ready to gossip.

The Hottest Girls in Jersey Sadie, Alex, and Carly

Carly: Soooo, how's it going with Mr. NHL?? Alex: yeah, girl. spill. is he, like, actually boyfriend material or are you just having a hot ass summer fling??

Sadie rolled her eyes at their messages, biting her lip as she thought of her reply.

Sadie: it's... complicated Carly: Ugh, isn't it always lol Alex: we need details, sades. what's complicated? the sex? the family? Sadie: family's cool. his mom is like super sweet. and his brothers are... yeah Carly: Oh, brothers, huh? Now you like reallyyyyy need to spill

Sadie hesitated, glancing towards the bathroom door. She could still hear Jack humming to himself while the water ran. No way he was gonna come out and read her messages any time soon.

Sadie: okay, fine. it's not really jack. it's luke Carly: LUKE?! Alex: WAIT. WHAT. HIS BROTHER LUKE?! Sadie: yep. younger brother, but soooooo much more my type Carly: Girllllll, you're bad Alex: hold the fucking phone. is this the guy we're talking about here? what's wrong with jack, then? isn't he like the only reason you're there?

She chuckled to herself, it did kinda sound insane when she typed it all out.

Sadie: jack's great. don't get me wrong. but, luke... he's like more quiet. jack's more playful and sassy, but idk... plus i love a boy with curly hair Carly: You're catching feelings for his brother??? Holy shit, girl Alex: lmao this is legit some CW ass drama

She rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling. Maybe it was a little ridiculous, but it was true. Luke was more her type. He was tall, not that Jack wasn't tall, but Luke was tall. He had the cutest nose and the best curls she'd ever seen. Jack was fun. Jack was easy. But Luke...

Sadie: it's not that deep. but yeah, ig i'm more into luke than jack Carly: Oooo Alex: you're fake dating jack tho, right? like what's the plan here?? Sadie: i don't fucking know!!! nothing's happened with luke, obviously. but like next time we're alone? i might see what happens ;) Carly: You are fucking INSANE, Sadie!!! Alex: if you're that desperate, you've got Jack right there...

She laughed out loud at Alex's message. She was definitely not desperate, but she still glanced to the bathroom door. The water had stopped. Jack would be out any second.

Sadie: trust me, i'm not desperate. luke's gonna be the move

Just as she hit send, Jack emerged from the bathroom, towel hung low on his hips.

"Texting the girls?" he ran a hand through his wet hair.

She slipped her phone under the pillow, a playful smile on her face. "Yeah, they were asking about you."

Jack raised an eyebrow, falling down onto the bed next to her. "All good things, I hope?"

She snorted, "Guess you'll never know."

He rolled his eyes, pressing a soft kiss to her hair. "Whatever. You were probably telling them how much of a stud I am."

Sadie smirked, though her mind was still buzzing with the excitement of what she'd just admitted to her friends. Jack had no idea, and honestly? That just made it even more thrilling.

Jack bounded into the living room, his backpack slung over one of his shoulders. Sadie was sat on the couch, scrolling passively through Instagram, while Luke stood in the kitchen chugging a glass of water.

"I'm headed to the rink for a few hours," Jack announced, slapping his hand on the back of the couch, full of energy. "Got a little off-season workout with Q and some of the guys."

"A workout?" Sadie quirked an eyebrow. "You never stop, do you?

"That's what makes me so irrresistible, babe." He shot her a wink before turning to Luke. "You busy?"

Luke wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, setting down his glass. "Not really."

"Why don't you keep her company? You guys should hang out. Show her around town or something."

Luke flushed, his eyes flickering to Sadie, who was sat with an amused smile on her face. "Uh, yeah, sure."

"Perfect!" Jack leaned down and kissed Sadie's cheek. "Don't miss me too much while I'm gone, okay?"

"I'll try," she giggled, leaning into his touch but keeping her eyes on Luke.

"See you later! Have fun!"

And just like that Jack was gone.

"Well, looks like it's just us again," Sadie said, stretching dramatically.

"Yeah, guess so."

Sadie stood from the couch, tapping her finger against her lips as if she was thinking. "You know what we should do?"

"What?"

"Go for a swim! It's hot out, and the lake looks amazing."

Luke hesitated. He wasn't sure he could handle that again. But before he could come up with an excuse, Sadie was heading toward the back door.

"Come on! Don't make me swim alone. I might drown."

By the time he made it down to the dock, Sadie was standing at the edge, her back to him as she looked out over the water. She had stripped down to her bikini--a simple black one that fit her like a glove.

Luke shook his head. He had no right to stare. Jack's girlfriend, not his. Get a grip.

"Took you long enough, Luke. Thought you were going to bail on me."

"Just... taking my time." He managed a weak laugh.

"Uh-huh." She dipped her toe in the lake, testing the temperature. "Water feels amazing. Bet I can beat you in."

She dove in without even waiting for an answer. She resurfced a few feet out, shaking the water from her hair and grinning at him. "What're you waiting for?"

Luke hesitated for just a second longer before diving in after her. The shock of the cool water cleared his head. That was until he surfaced and saw Sadie floating nearby, her hair splayed around her like a halo.

"See? Told you it feels amazing."

He swam a bit closer, but decided to keep his distance. "Yeah, guess you were right."

Sadie flipped onto her stomach, treading water as she swam to him. "Relax." She nudged her shoulder with his. "You look so tense."

Her tone was light, but the promixity of them felt almost dangerous. "I am relaxed."

"Bullshit. You look like the tensest motherfucker ever," she splashed him, the water hitting him square in the face. "Come on. Loosen up."

Luke sputtered, wiping the water from his eyes. "Oh, it's gonna be like that, huh?"

"Just sayin'... life's too short to be serious all the time," her hand brushed his arm as she floated by, leaving goosebumps in her wake.

Her touch was light, casual, but it still made it so he couldn't think straight. He wanted to keep his distance, but she wasn't making it easy in the slightest.

"You and I should do this more often," she mused.

"What? Swim?"

She scoffed, "No. Hang out."

Was she messing with him? Or was she being serious? He couldn't tell with her. Her teasing had been light and innocent until now. Now every word that left her mouth felt like it had a second meaning.

"I... I don't know."

What kind of shit response was that? God, he looked like an idiot.

She swam closer to him, stopping when she was right in front of his face. "You don't know? I think you do, Luke."

He could feel her leg brushing against his and his whole body felt like it was one fire despite the cool water. He should've pulled back, but he couldn't. He was frozen.

"Ha! You're cute when you're flustered."

For a moment, he felt himself lean in, as if there was an invisible force pulling him to her. But just as quickly, Sadie pulled away, climbing back onto the dock and swaying her hips as she headed back to the house, leaving the boy completely flabbergasted.

Jim and Ellen had left for a special dinner out and Jack had quickly suggested a game night, complete with alcohol and whatever games they could find in the basement. Luke had agreed, only because he knew he could drink, and that might make being in the same room as Sadie more bearable.

"Alright, team," Jack tossed a can of beer to Luke, who caught it without looking "Game night is on. Hope you're ready to lose, Qball."

"Yeah, yeah. You always say that, but I'm the one who wins."

"You guys don't stand a chance. Right, babe?" Sadie grinned up at Jack.

"You bet. Dream team right here."

Luke looked at them, all snuggled up together. He blinked a few times before chugging the rest of his beer. Jack laughed, "Alright, Lukey." He tossed him another one, getting ready to explain the rules of the game.

By the third round, Jack had pulled Sadie into his lap, his arms wrapped around her waist like a seatbelt. They were laughing, whispering inside jokes, and exchanging kisses, acting like they were the only people in the room.

Luke tried to focus on the game, but he found himself looking up to see Sadie running her fingers through Jack's hair, her other hand squeezing his thigh.

He wanted to believe that she had meant something by the little act she'd put on at the lake. But seeing her all over Jack made him feel like he'd never been so wrong. She was clearly into Jack. She didn't mean anything by it. She's just... being friendly.

So why did it feel like more?

"Can you guys like chill?" Quinn spoke up. "We're trying to play a game, not watch you two make out."

"Oh, come on, Quinn. We're just having fun," Sadie giggled.

"Yeah, don't be a buzzkill," Jack added, pressing kisses to her neck.

"There's having fun, and then there's..." Quinn paused, his voice laced with annoyance. "You're practically having sex in front of us."

"Jealous?"

"No, Luke and I just don't wanna see that."

"Whatever."

"Your turn, Luke."

"Right," he muttered, grabbing the dice and rolling it halfheartedly. The alcohol wasn't helping, dulling his senses and making everything worse. He kept glancing at Sadie, hoping for some sign that she was aware of what she was doing to him, but she didn't even look his way.

The final straw came when Jack, clearly tipsy, pulled Sadie in for a long, slow kiss right in the middle of Quinn's turn. Jack and Sadie were known by their friends for their drunk kisses, but his brothers really didn't want to see it.

"I'm done. You two aren't even playing!" Quinn threw his hands up.

"Fine, fine. We'll stop! Happy now?"

"No. I'm going to bed before I see something even worse."

"Uh, yeah, me too. Night guys," Luke nodded, following his oldest brother.

"Bedtime?" Jack laughed.

"Yeah, bedtime, I guess."

Luke hadn't gone to bed. He couldn't sleep. His brain wouldn't shut up. It had been a couple hours since game night had ended and he felt more sober than he was before he started drinking. Maybe he was insane. Maybe Sadie had driven him to his breaking point. She was so goddamn confusing. And--

"Hey."

"What're you doing out here? Shouldn't you be with Jack?"

She shrugged, closing the sliding door behind her. "He's passed out. I wanted to come find you."

"Sadie, you really shouldn't--"

"I know what you're going to say. But I think you're wrong."

"Wrong?"

Sadie moved in, her hand reaching for his, her fingers tracing along his wrist. "You're overthinking things, Luke."

His breath hitched as she leaned in, her face inches from his, her lips so close he could feel her breath. He should've pulled away. He should've told her to stop.

But he didn't. He couldn't.

Instead, Luke closed the gap between them, his lips crashing against hers in a desperate, longing kiss.

She kissed him back, her hands sliding up to his shoulders. Her touch sent sparks through his body. But those sparks made reality set in.

He pulled away, his chest heaving. "No. This is wrong."

"What?"

"You need to stop," he stood up suddenly, almost making Sadie fall over. His voice was full of anger. "This... this whole thing is fucked up, Sadie. You're Jack's girlfriend."

She stared at him for a second or two before, to Luke's surprise, she started laughing.

"What the hell is so funny?" Luke snapped. "I'm going to tell him. I'm going to tell Jack everything. He needs to know what you've been doing."

"You don't get it, do you?"

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"Jack and I aren't really together."

"What... what do you mean?"

Sadie sighed, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's fake. The whole thing--it's just an act."

"An act? What the hell are you talking about?"

"Jack needed me to play the part of his girlfriend for the summer," Sadie explained, her tone casual as if everything she was saying was normal. "Natalie, the neighbour girl. She's obsessed with Jack. And she won't take no for answer. So he asked me to pretend to be his girlfriend so she'd leave him alone."

"So... this is all fake?"

"Yep. We've just been playing the part, that's all."

"But... you guys... you were kissing. You're all over each other."

Sadie shrugged, her smile turning sheepish. "That... that's just something that happens when we drink. No big deal."

"No big deal? You guys were making out in front of us, and you're saying it doesn't mean anything?"

"Exactly. Jack and I are close friends. That's all it is. No feelings involved," her tone was so matter-of-fact it made Luke's stomach churn. "All for show. We figured the more real it looks, the less people will question it."

"So... you don't have feelings for him?"

"For Jack? No. We're friends. Nothing more. We've been friends since he joined the Devils. And yeah, we get a bit... affectionate when we drink. But it's never been serious."

"Then why... why were you flirting with me?"

"Because, Luke... you're the definition of my type." She reached out and brushed her hand against his cheek. "Didn't think it was that hard to figure out."

"But Jack..."

"Jack doesn't care," she cut him off. "He's the one that suggested I hang out with you more. He's clueless. He only cares that I keep Natalie away from him."

"So this whole time, you've been..."

"I've been flirting with you. And you've been trying soooo hard to resist. It's kinda cute."

He had been so sure that what he felt was wong--so convinced that he was betraying Jack. Now... now he didn't know what to think.

"This is... this is insane."

"Maybe. But it's also kinda fun. Don't ya think?"

Luke didn't know how the hell he was supposed to respond to that. Everything he thought he understood had just been flipped upside down, and now he was standing there with Sadie--Jack's not-so-girlfriend--who had just admitted she'd been flirting with him for days. Part of him wanted to kiss her again. The other part was screaming at him to stop because even if they weren't dating, it still felt like he was lying to his brother.

"I... I don't know what to do."

"Don't have to do anything. Just think about it, I guess. I'm not going anywhere. Jack's got me stuck here for a while."

She winked, turning toward the door, leaving Luke alone with his thoughts once again.

Jack was up, chatting with his parents over breakfast, Sadie sat next to him looking as carefree as ever. Luke was watching her silently from across the room, his mug of coffee in his grip.

She glanced over at him and smiled like nothing had changed. But everything had changed. And Luke knew he needed to talk to her. He hated pretending things were normal when they weren't. His mind was playing the kiss on repeat and the way she'd admitted her relationship with Jack was just for show.

It all felt like a weird dream.

When Jack got up to grab some more cereal, Luke saw his chance.

"Sadie," he whispered, "can we talk? Alone?"

She raised an eyebrow, glancing at Jack who was now rummaging through the fridge for some milk. "Sure. Lead the way."

Once they were inside Luke's room, Sadie leaned against the wall, her arms crossed over her chest. "What's up? I see Mr. Serious is back."

"I just... I need to understand how this is supposed to work. The whole thing with Jack. You and me. All of it."

"What's there to understand? Jack's clueless. He doesn't know anything. Not that he'd care anyway."

"You make it sound so simple."

"Because it is," she shrugged. "You're overcomplicating it."

"I don't know if I can keep this up. It's driving me crazy."

"Is it? Because it didn't seem like you were too hard of a time last night on the porch."

"Fuck it," he muttered.

He grabbed Sadie by the waist, before he could second-guess himself, crashing his lips against hers in a kiss full of pent-up frustration and desire.

Sadie definitely didn't second-guess anything, kissing him back as her hands ran up to his hair. Any boundaries that Luke had tried to build had been torn down, but he didn't care. He couldn't stop.

They stumbled backward, his hands sliding down a bit to her hips. The kiss deepened, becoming more heated with every passing second. The rest of the world melted away, the only sound in the room their ragged breathing as they broke apart just to kiss again.

The bed hit the back of Luke's knees and they collapsed onto it, lips still locked. For one of the first times since Luke had met Sadie, he wasn't busy thinking about right or wrong. He wasn't thinking about Jack or the consequences of his actions. All that mattered was Sadie, the taste of her lips, and how tight her fingers were gripping his hair.

Just as things were about to heat up further, Jack's voice echoed from the bottom of the stairs.

"Sadie? You up there?"

She pulled back instantly, her lips swollen from the kiss. "Shit," she whispered. "I should... I should go."

Luke didn't say anything, his eyes half-lidded. Sadie stood up, adjusting her shirt and hair as she shot him a smile "Sorry, Luke. Duty calls."

She looked back at him one last time as she opened the door. "This isn't over."

What had he gotten himself into?

It had been a couple days since Sadie and Luke had shared their first kiss, and they'd been sneaking around ever since. Little touches when no one was looking, stolen kisses behind closed doors. The more they got away with, the more daring they became.

That afternoon, Jack had been outside messing around with Quinn by the dock, while Sadie had slipped away, telling Jack she needed to grab something from inside. Luke had been alone in the house, trying to clear his head. But the second Sadie entered the living room, everything went out the window.

And suddenly, they were tangled together on the couch, lips locked. Sadie gripped the front of his t-shirt, tugging gently. It was just them in that moment, tension building higher and higher, and Luke couldn't stop himself from enjoying it.

Then the door slammed.

They pulled apart just in time to see Jack standing in the doorway, his eyes wide with shock. The expression on his face was confused, almost dazed as he stared at them.

"Uh... what the fuck?" His tone was sharp, but not angry--more like he couldn't believe what he was seeing.

Luke's hands fell away from Sadie as he shot up from the couch, his face flushed. "Jack, I--"

Jack cut him off, pacing the room, his eyes shooting between them as he tried to piece everything together. "How long... how long has this been going on?"

Sadie just waited for Luke to speak.

"Luke, how long?" Jack repeated.

"A couple days. It just... happened."

"A couple days? And you just didn't think to say anything?"

Luke opened his mouth to respond, but Jack's attention shifted to Sadie. "Does he know? About us?"

"Yes, Jack. I told him. He knows it's all fake."

"So... you knew? You knew it was fake, so you decided..." Jack gestured wildly between them, pacing again, his hands tugging at his hair. "I don't get it. I don't fucking get it."

"Jack, I didn't mean for any of this to happen--"

"Didn't mean for what to happen? You didn't mean to start sneaking around with my fake girlfriend? Or you didn't mean to fall for her?"

Jack wasn't yelling. He wasn't angry. He just looked... confused. Hurt, maybe? And that just made it all so much worse.

"J, listen. This whole thing--it got out of hand. Luke and I... we didn't plan this. Just happened."

"But you two... were just... you were just making out on the couch! How does that 'just happen?'"

Sadie rolled her eyes, "Just does."

"Clearly! I mean, I thought everything was fine. I thought everyone was just hanging out, and meanwhile, you two are making out on the couch?"

"I'm sorry, Jack. I..."

"I'm not mad. Just... what the hell, guys? I don't understand."

"J, it's not like that. You and I--we're just friends. You know that. This shit with Luke... it's different."

"Different how?"

"Dunno. Just is."

Finally, Jack let out a long sigh, running a hand down his face. "Okay. Okay, fine. You two... you do whatever. I just... I need a minute to process all this."

Sadie opened her mouth to respond, but Jack held up a hand, stopping her. "Seriously, just... gimme a minute. I'll be outside if you need me."

Luke collapsed onto the couch, his head in his hands as Jack retreated outside. Could this get any worse?

The rest of the day had been weird and silent. Sadie had spent it journaling and reading, giving both brothers the space that they needed. But as they got ready for bed, things were the most awkward they'd ever been between Jack and Sadie. Jack moved around the room, grabbing his phone charger and tossing it onto his nightstand, while Sadie stood by the dresser, pulling a t-shirt over her head. Neither of them spoke, both waiting for the other to break the silence.

"So... are we going to talk about this?" Sadie finally gave in.

"Talk about what?"

"You know what," she gave him a look. "About you walking in on me and Luke today."

"What's there to talk about? I mean... I get it. You guys--"

"Are you jealous?" she interrupted, her voice timid. "Like, even a little bit?"

Jack blinked, caught off guard by the question. "Jealous?" He furrowed his brow. "No. I don't think so."

"Not even like... deep down?"

"Honestly?"

She nodded, urging him to continue.

"No. I don't feel jealous. I mean, maybe if I did... I'd be way more upset about it all. But.. I dunno. I've only ever seen you as a friend. Same way you see me. A close one, sure, but still... just a friend. You know that."

"Yeah, I do. But you were really thrown off earlier, Jack. You seemed so... I dunno.... confused?"

"Yeah. I think it was more just the shock of it, ya know? Didn't expect to walk in and see my brother making out with my fake girlfriend."

She let out a small laugh. "So it's not weird for you? At all?"

"I guess it's weird in the sense that... I knew that you and Luke would get along. I just didn't think you'd get along this well."

"Yeah, I didn't exactly see it coming either."

"But no, I'm not mad or anything. Honestly, I think you and Luke fit each other way better than you and me ever could. I'm just surprised... I guess."

"Surprised how?"

Jack sighed, leaning back against the headboard. "I just never thought that... bringing you here would lead to you two... doing whatever this is."

"We haven't really figured it out," she rubbed at her arm.

Sadie climbed into bed first, pulling the covers over herself. Jack followed suit, but as they lay there side by side, for the first time since Sadie had arrived, he made no move to cuddle. No arm draped over her waist. He just laid there, staring at the ceiling.

"You don't want to cuddle tonight?"

Jack hesitated, then sighed for the millionth time that day. "It's just... it feels weird now, I guess. Knowing you've been doing... stuff with Luke. It's different."

Sadie bit her lip, and for the first time she felt that guilt that Luke had been feeling. "Jack... I'm sorry. I didn't mean for things to get so complicated."

"Nah, don't worry about it. It's not like you did anything wrong... really. Things are just different now... that's all."

Jack rolled over, facing the other side of the bed, leaving a noticeable gap between them. Sadie stared at the back of his head for a moment, feelings like she should reach out and say something. But it was too late, Jack was already asleep.

Sadie and Luke sat at the end of the dock. The whole day had been awkward and Sadie felt even more out of place than she had when she first arrived.

"I don't want to make this weird," Sadie said, her voice soft, but her eyes locked with Luke's. "I really like you, but if it's gonna screw up my friendship with Jack... we should stop. We have to."

"I like you too. More than I thought I would. But yeah, this whole thing with Jack... it's too complicated. I don't wanna hurt my brother. I'd feel so guilty."

"We have to end things. It's not fair to him. Or us."

"I don't want to end things though," Luke admitted, his voice barely above a whisper. "This... it's not just about the physical stuff to me. I feel something with you, Sadie. Something real."

"I feel it too. But I can't mess up things with Jack, so maybe it's better if we end things now before they get more complicated."

Jack, who had been on his way back inside, had walked past and heard his friend and brother talking. He leaned against a tree, piecing together everything they were saying. His stomach turned. But it wasn't anger. Or jealousy. He wasn't upset. It was relief. Luke and Sadie really liked each other. It wasn't just some sneaky hookup. It wasn't fair to make them feel guilty for something that wasn't even real to begin with.

"Hey."

Sadie and Luke both jumped, practically leaping out of their skin.

"Jack, I--"

"You don't have to explain anything. I heard what you guys were saying. And look, it's fine. You don't have to end whatever this is."

Sadie blinked in surprise. "You're not upset?"

Jack shook his head, a smile forming on his lips. "No. I'm not. I'm actually happy for you guys."

"Happy for who?" Ellen's voice joined the conversation.

"Jesus, is everyone listening to us?" Luke whispered to Sadie.

Jim and Quinn were close behind Ellen, also curious to what was happening on the dock.

"Luke and Sadie."

"Luke and Sadie?"

"Yeah, they're in love."

"We're not in--"

"Luke's in love with your girlfriend?" Quinn asked.

"About that..." Sadie rubbed her arm awkwardly.

"Sadie and I aren't really dating. We're friends. Close friends. She was just trying to help me get Natalie off my back. And I was helping her get her parents off her back," Jack admitted.

The family stared at him for a beat, then burst into laughter.

"Are you serious? All this was just to keep Natalie away?"

"Pretty much."

Ellen, still smiling, looked at Sadie and Luke, then back to Jack. "You know, Jack... I thought from the start that Sadie was a better fit for Luke anyway."

"Looks like you this turned out well for everyone," Quinn laughed.

Luke turned to Sadie, sliding his fingers between hers. "So... now that the truth's out... what do you think?"

"I think we've got time to figure it out," she giggled, leaning her head on his shoulder. And finally after weeks of being there, Sadie felt like she belonged.

#nhl imagine #nhl fic #hockey imagine #hockey fic #luke hughes #luke hughes imagine

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https-harlow · 8 months ago

Text

She's Totally Flirting With You

Summary- Jack gets hit on by a waitress, though he thinks she's just being nice, Paisley and Olive come to your defense to convince Jack she's flirting with him.

Jack had surprised you, Paisley, Olive, and Hayden with a family date, to a restaurant that the girls loved but was a little too fancy to take them to on a regular basis because even though they were pretty well-behaved, you didn’t want to accidentally become the family with misbehaving kids in a fancy restaurant.

You and Olive sat on one side of the booth, while Jack and Paisley sat on the other, Hayden sitting in a highchair on the side of the table. You could tell immediately that the waitress was flirting with Jack.

“What can I get you to drink?” She asked Jack first, placing her hand on his shoulder. Jack placed his drink order before she turned her attention to the girls. “And what do you two princesses want?”

“Daddy, can I get an orange soda?” Paisley asked, Jack nodded.

“Yeah, do you want the same thing Liv?” Jack asked.

“I want strawberry lemonade, please.” Olive said.

“And can we get water for both of them too?” Jack asked and she nodded. She took your drink order before turning her attention back to Jack.

“Anything else I can get you?”

“Can we go ahead and get a side of fries for the kids and let’s go ahead and get a second orange soda, she’ll want it as soon as she sees her sister have it,” Jack said and the waitress laughed.

“Of course, that’s so sweet that you’re thinking ahead,” She said, squeezing his shoulder. “I’ll be right back with all of that,” She let her hand linger on his shoulder as she walked away. The girls already going back to coloring.

“She’s totally flirting with you,” You said, and Jack laughed softly.

“No, she’s not, she’s just being nice.” Jack said, shrugging it off.

“If you want to call that just being nice, then okay,” You said sarcastically.

“She probably just knows who I am and doesn’t want to say something since I’m with family or something.”

She came back a few minutes later, placing all the drinks down, coming a minute later with the fries.

“I brought a couple extra plates, so they don’t have to share plates, I know I hated sharing when I was little, especially with my siblings,” She laughed softly. You and Jack split the fries between the girls, keeping a couple for Hayden, since he was eight months old you were letting him try different soft foods. “Neither of you look old enough to have three kids, are they all yours?” She asked, trying to make small talk.

“Yeah, they are all ours,” Jack answered, “We’ve been together for nine years, plenty of time to have a couple kids,” He joked.

“Do you guys know what you want to order?” She asked, her demeanor suddenly changing. You all placed your orders before she walked away again.

“Still going to tell me she’s not flirting with you?” You asked and Jack shrugged. “She literally has puppy dog eyes when she looks at you.”

“Well, maybe she’ll stop now that she knows we’re together.”

She came back a few minutes later to check on everything before checking on the table next to you.

“She needs to stop flirting with you Daddy.” Paisley said, loud enough for the waitress to hear. You smirked as you handed Hayden another fry.

“Do you even know what flirting is Paise?” Jack asked and she shook her head.

“No, but if Mommy doesn’t like it, then neither do I. You love Mommy not her,” She said.

“Well, you're right, I do love Mommy,” Jack said in agreement.

“She looks at you like Sadie does when you have food that she wants,” Olive said, taking a bite out of her fry. You and Jack couldn’t help but laugh at Olive’s comment.

“Where did you get that from?” You asked her.

“You say Sadie gives puppy dog eyes when Daddy has food, and you said that she’s giving Daddy puppy dog eyes,” Olive shrugged. Hayden started to get fussy in his highchair, so you took him out while you waited for your food.

“See, even the girls think she’s flirting.”

“Oh, they are just copying what they heard you say.”

“Maybe, but are you going to tell them she’s not and lie to them?” You teased and Jack fake gasped.

“Yeah Daddy, you can’t lie to us, that wouldn’t be nice,” Paisley said.

“Am I being ganged up on by my wife and daughters?” Jack said sarcastically.

“Maybe,” You smirked. “Even Hayden’s on my side, huh?” You asked Hayden and he giggled.

“Okay, okay, maybe I was wrong,” Jack said. “God, I’m screwed when they are teenagers, aren’t I?”

“You’re the one who wanted eight daughters,” You teased.

Tag list @jackharloww @harlowcomehome @nattinatalia @hoodharlow @itsyagirljaz @heavyhitterheaux @harlowsbby @awhore4moree @harlowslefttoe @twerkforambrose @jackmans-poison @ilovenudy @taniapri @killatravtramp @easternparkway @macey234 @toocriticalharlow @lightsoutstyles @rachxc13 @iknowdatsrightbih @idktbh101 @blossomluvv @middlechild404 @hufflewhore128 @christinabae

#jack harlow #jack harlow imagine #jack harlow x reader

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madebycloud · 1 year ago

Text

Sad, Beautiful, Tragic

jenna ortega x director!reader — 𝐦𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭

summary: in a special episode of a popular tv show, you were interviewed about your love life and the experiences you had with your ex-partner. warnings/themes: fluff & angst, not the ‘happy ending’ you're expecting ig, low-key based on la la land words: 3.5k notes: this song is stuck in my head, so i used it as the title 🙏

“Can you handle it?” she paused for a beat. “This whole Valentine's Day thing? You've been like, “yep, yep” for 11 times today, but I just want to make sure you're not going to won't lose it or anything.”

You roll your eyes before putting the phone on speaker and sighing audibly. “Sadie, girl, I promise I'm okay, alright, fine, whatever. Stop asking or I'm going to scream,” you reply, letting out a few giggles.

“Well, I just want to make sure,” she says, clearly still concerned.

“Well, you can stop now,” you reply with a smirk. “I'll tell you all about it later.” The phone call ends, and you take a deep breath and prepare for the next interview. Not just an ordinary interview, this one is all about your love life.

You straighten your clothes, fix your makeup one last time, and open the door. The staff instantly calls your name as you enter the room. “Y/N! The interview room is right there!”, the staff greets you.

You nod and offer a friendly smile to everyone before heading to the interview room.

One of the staff is already waiting for you inside. “Zoe,” she introduces herself. “"And you must be...?”

“Y/N,” you say, holding out your hand for a formal handshake.

Zoe laughs and grasps your hand with hers. “I believe our interviewer is busy right now, but you may wait there for the time being,” she adds, motioning to the chair where the interview will take place. You nod and take a seat, waiting for the interview to begin.

“You've prepared for the questions, right?” Zoe asks.

You shake your head and give a sly grin. “Questions? What questions?”

“Oh, please don't tell me you weren't prepared for this.”

“I honestly wasn't,” you shrug. “But I'm sure the questions will be easy.”

The interviewer finally arrives, and you greet her with a charming smile.

“It's a pleasure to meet you, Y/N.”

“Likewise,” you say, offering your hand to the well-dressed woman. She shakes it firmly before taking a seat in front of you.

“Alright, before we start, are you ready?” She asks, double-checking that you're prepared.

You give a confident nod. “Absolutely.”

The interviewer counts down from three, two, one, and the recording begins. She introduces both of you to the audience, and you listen as she speaks, nodding along.

When she finishes, she turns back to you. “Have you been in a relationship?”

You let out a small chuckle. “Yes, I have.” The staff in the back let out an ooooh, and your smile widens.

“Tell me everything,” the interviewer continues, her eyes locked on yours.

“The whole story?” You ask, raising an eyebrow in the interviewer's direction. “Like, I'll start from when we first met?”

She nods, giving you the green light to continue with your story.

“Okay, so I'm still in my third year of college, and she's an actress, and I was an intern, carrying around coffee on the set, you know, trying to make a good impression. I was holding my favorite camcorder and taking footage of my experience as the gofer. I'm glad the director approved my request to do this,” you say, letting out a small chuckle. “Oh, yeah, and he said the footage might be used as the behind-the-scenes footage for the film.”

—

You've captured everything—from the cast's interactions to the staff's busywork and even yourself buying coffee for everyone. You've dreamed of being a director, and maybe one day you'll be a director and film like this.

Right now, everyone's resting, and it's more like recess time, so you take the opportunity to record more footage. Mia walks up and wraps her arms around Brittany, and they begin to chat. You keep the camera on them, but they eventually leave, taking a break.

You turn back towards the set, scanning for anything else to film.

Then, out of the corner of your eye, you spot a brunette girl holding a script, practicing her next line. Your lips curl into a small smile as you aim the camera at her. Her voice is soft, and her facial expressions are so animated as she goes through her lines.

You find yourself forgetting about the camera and just focusing on her. Her body language, her tone, her facial expressions... everything just seems to blend together into one seamless performance.

Seconds later, she stops mid-sentence and looks at you, breaking you out of your trance. You put down the camera, feeling your face turn red. You look everywhere else but at her, hoping she doesn't notice. And then, she does. She makes her way over to you, the script still in her hand.

You turn to face her, feeling a bit sheepish. “Uh, hey,” you say, hoping to maintain some kind of composure. “I'm Y/N,” you add, offering her a small smile.

She notices your reaction and raises an eyebrow, clearly wondering what's got you so flustered. “Um, I was just filming the behind-the-scenes footage,” you blurt out, rubbing the back of your neck.

“Oh, that makes sense.” She chuckles. “I'm Jenna Or-,” she introduces herself.

“I know,” you cut her off. She raises her eyebrows again, and you panic. You didn't mean for that to sound rude. “I mean, I know you're Jenna Ortega. I'm working here too.”

She nods, fully understanding what you meant.

“I was just watching you act... you're amazing."

“Thank you,” she says with a smile. “I just practice a lot. It's important to me to give my best performance, you know?”

You don't know what to say. All you can do is nod, blushing like crazy.

“So, what do you do around here?” she asks, trying to make conversation.

“Oh, I'm one of the film set workers, an intern actually,” you say. “I basically help set everything up and make sure everything runs smoothly.”

She tilts her head to the side, and your heart skips a beat. You can feel your cheeks turning red, and she seems to be enjoying the fact that you're blushing.

“Are you an aspiring director?”

“Yeah… I've always wanted to make a movie, and I thought that this would be a good way to start.”

“Wow, that's awesome. I love movies too,” she says with a smile. “But being in them is another experience entirely.”

“Just trying to get a handle on things and see what I'm good at.”

“That's the best way to do it. Just try things and see what works. That's what I did with acting, and look where it got me,” she says, holding your gaze. You feel like you're melting into her eyes.

“So, why are you interested in filmmaking?” she asks.

“I've been studying and practicing filmmaking every day, and I hope to one day make something as great as what we're doing here.”

She smiles, and you notice how stunning her eyes are. They seem like the most beautiful, sparkly gems you've ever seen.

“Maybe we can work on something together someday.”

“Yeah, I'd love that. Maybe I can learn a few things from you. You're a really good actress, Jenna.”

She blushes and looks away, hiding a smile. “Well, I don't know if I'm that good, but thank you, Y/N. It means a lot coming from someone who's willing to learn more about the industry.”

“I should get back to practicing,” she says, turning away from you. “But we should get together sometime.”

“Definitely,” you say, smiling. “I'd like that.”

—

“I told myself to play it cool, but man, I was a mess,” you admit. “I couldn't help but feel butterflies in my stomach every time she was around, and my voice got all shaky. I felt like I was going to melt.” You hide your face in your hands, feeling the heat radiate from your cheeks.

“I'm sure she thought it was cute,” she says, giving you a warm smile.

“Oh, I hope so.”

She pauses for a moment, deep in thought. “Tell me, how did things go between the two of you after meeting?”

—

You ordered two scoops of your favorite ice cream, knowing that you'd need something to cool you down even in the middle of summer. You're minding your own business when you get a glimpse of Jenna seated on a bench, reading her script. You approach her, and instead of offering her coffee, you hand her two ice cream cones.

She accepts it and starts to unwind, licking the sweet, cool treat. You see a small smile spread across her face as she takes another bite.

“You're a true saint,” she says.

“You need a break,” you say, taking a seat next to her on the bench.

“You know, I wasn't expecting you to be a summer ice cream salesperson.” She takes another bite of her ice cream and raises an eyebrow. “So what's your motivation for bringing me ice cream today? Did you just think I needed a treat, or were you trying to impress me?”

You grin at her. “Maybe a little bit of both.”

“Don't tease me, Y/N.”

“Well, it's not like it's every day that I get to share ice cream with a movie star.”

The ice cream melts, and it creates a sticky mess on her fingers, making her try to clean her hands on her jean shorts. You grab a napkin from your pocket, and you hand it to her to use. “Thanks,” she says, taking the napkin and cleaning her hands.

“It's so, so hot out here,” you say, fanning yourself. You look around at the sun-drenched set.

She nods in agreement, wiping a strand of hair out of her face. “I know. It's unbearable,” she says with a sigh.

“I'm more of a Christmas person myself. I love everything about it.”

“Christmas, huh?”

“It's the best! All the snow, the gifts, the Christmas songs—and of course, the food!” you say, getting more and more excited.

“Okay, okay, calm down. We get it, you love Christmas,” she says, grinning. “I love Christmas too.”

“Do you really?” you say, feigning surprise. “Maybe we should watch some Christmas movies sometime, you know, for ‘research.’”

She chuckles, looking at you with deep brown eyes that drill into your soul. “Sure, why not?”

You nod, feeling your heart race a little faster. You want to say more, but you're not sure if you should.

She turns to her script once more. You can tell that she's focusing on reading her script, but the occasional glance she gives you makes your heart race. You have to remind yourself to breathe normally.

You glance down at the script she's holding, which she's still reading. “Can I read with you?” you offer. “I'm a bit of a movie nerd, so I'm happy to help.”

She looks up at you, her eyes sparkling with a bit of surprise. “Really? You'll read with me?”

“Yeah, it'll be fun.”

She hands you the script, and you start to scan the lines. “So, what scene are we reading?”

She points to the page, pointing to a specific part of the script. “This one, right here,” she says, biting her lip as she watches you read.

You clear your throat, trying to focus on the dialogue, but it's hard to ignore the butterflies in your stomach. She's so close to you, and her warm, intoxicating scent fills your nostrils.

You begin to read aloud from the script, trying to capture the tone and energy of the characters as best you can.

You hear a light chuckle coming from her direction, and you glance up to see her smiling, her head shaking slightly.

“What's so funny?” you ask, raising an eyebrow.

“Nothing, it's just…” she starts, but then hesitates, “I didn't expect you to be this good.”

You're not sure what to say to that, so you just smile. “Thanks,” you manage, feeling a bit flustered.

—

“A year,” you say, the word dripping through your lips. “We've been friends for a whole year. We hung out often, but life got in the way for both of us.”

You shift in your seat, making yourself more comfortable. “As a fourth-year student, I've been slammed with academics, and she's, well, a celebrity, so it's hard to make time for each other.” you continue with a small chuckle. “We still stay in touch, though, sending each other texts of encouragement or just sharing a little bit about our days.”

“Our first date…” you trail off for a moment, tapping your foot on the floor and looking at your feet. “I saw her at a record store in New York while I was out Christmas shopping. She was trying to pick out a record for herself, and I helped her find the perfect one.”

You smirk, crossing your legs as you sit across the table from the interviewer. “In fact, I invited her to my show that night.”

“What show?” the interviewer prompts, puzzled.

You shrug. “My little show was at a university theater, and with a limited run, it wasn't really a big deal.”

You take a deep breath, a small grin spreading across your face. “I was nervous because it was my first time directing, but the cast was incredible, and she showed up! I didn't expect her to, but she did.”

—

“The show was amazing! You're a total genius, Y/N,” Jenna says, while walking with you on the sidewalk.

“Don't flatter me too much, or I'll start growing a big head,” you reply with a half-smirk, giving Jenna a sidelong glance.

“Oh, we wouldn't want that, now, would we?”

You roll your eyes, but you can't help the grin on your face. “Nope, that would be my worst nightmare.”

You realize that the cold winter air is making your hands feel stiff and numb. You keep them in your coat pockets, trying to stay warm. You feel a flutter in your chest as Jenna walks next to you, her shoulder brushing against yours.

After a beat of comfortable silence, Jenna looks up at you with a smile, her hair framing her face in the soft glow of the streetlights. “So... you got any Christmas plans?”

“No, I'm just planning on spending the holiday with myself,” you shrug casually.

Jenna's smile falters for a moment, but she soon regains her cool. “That's boring. What about your family?”

You shrug again and glance at her, wondering where she's going with this. “Eh, they're all busy,” you say with a nonchalant air.

She narrows her eyes at you, and you can practically feel her brain working overtime.

“We're here,” you say as you reach the front of your house. “I'll see you around.”

“Wait,” she says, suddenly interrupting your internal monologue, causing you to jump.

“What is it?”

“I'll be spending this Christmas with my family,” she begins. Her hands fidget, her eyes darting around as if she's trying to find the right words to say.

She takes a breath, and you hold yours, not daring to interrupt her as she speaks.

“Do you... do you want to spend Christmas with me?” she asks, her eyes crinkling at the corners. “I mean, with us. If you want to...?” There's a moment of silence following her response, and she starts to wonder if she said too much.

You blink in surprise, catching a glimpse of your reflection in the windows of some of the nearby houses. The lights inside cast a warm glow on your face, highlighting the rosy hue that crept into your cheeks.

“I'd love to.”

“Really?” The corners of her mouth turning up into a grin as she looks up at you.

You nod again, unable to trust your voice to speak.

A delicate white snowdrop lands on your hair, and you tilt your head back to catch the flutters of powdery white. You smile, your teeth blinding white against your flushed cheeks.

“It's…” she starts, but the words seem to be stuck in her throat, as if the moment is too perfect to be interrupted with conversation.

“I know.” Your breath created a small cloud of frost in the air.

She looks up at you with a slight smirk on her lips, her eyes darting between yours and the falling snow.

The only sound coming from your lips is a soft ‘wow’ as the snow settles on the ground. She can't help but notice your cute grin that stretches from ear to ear, almost like a child on Christmas morning.

She reaches for your hand, and your heart skips a beat. Her touch is colder than the winter air, but the warmth of her presence sets your heart on fire.

You turn to face Jenna, a smile creeping across your face as you take in the soft snow falling like a gentle caress on your cheeks.

Jenna looks at you with such intensity that you can't remember how to breathe. “You're cold,” you state, and she nods, her eyes still locked on yours.

She swallows, feeling her heart pounding in her chest. She can feel the warmth of your hand on her forehead, and the mere act of being in your presence makes her feel warm all over.

Her lips parted slightly, as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't. The silence stretches on and on, and you've never wanted to fill it more.

And just like that, the moment is ruined when you sneeze.

“Sorry,” you mumble, turning red.

She chuckles. “It's okay, I've got a tissue.”

You accept it gratefully, wiping away the redness around your nose.

“Thanks,” you say, your voice a little hoarse.

She nods, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. “Anytime,” she replies, before turning back to the snow, watching as it falls around you.

—

“...after we spent the holidays, we started dating.”

“How long have you been dating?”

“Two years. We've been dating for two years.” You smile softly. “Time was the one thing we couldn't control. I feel like we've just been going in different directions.”

“While I'm trying to make my name as a director, she got into a major franchise as a supporting actor. We both have such busy schedules, and we would barely see each other,” you continue. “The busy schedules, the fights, the doors being slammed, the screaming, the distance—it feels like we've spent more time apart than we have together.”

“It got so bad that we almost broke up, but in the end, we chose to fix things. I supported her career, and she supported mine.”

“But then, as if the universe was playing a cruel joke on us, our schedules clashed over and over again,” you say. “We had a massive argument, with both of us shouting at each other. We could never see eye to eye on anything, no matter how much we tried. I reached my breaking point, and I made the decision to break things off.”

“We both know it's over,” you say, sighing heavily.

“I can't deny it; we've achieved so much. But we're both so busy and caught up in our own careers that we can't focus on each other.”

The interviewer waits for a moment, letting you gather your thoughts. “Do you still love her?”

“I used to, but not anymore.”

—

The sun sets over the studio as the interview comes to a close.

“Well, that's all the time we have for today, Y/N. Thank you so much for joining us. We wish you nothing but the best in your future endeavors.”

“Oh, I bet you say that to all the guests. But seriously, thanks for having me, Jenna.” You share a laugh and shake hands as she delivers her final line in front of the camera.

Once the cameras stop rolling, you join the staff in cleaning up before walking out. You spot Jenna and make your way over to her.

“Let me walk you out,” you offer with a smile.

“Sure,” she accepts, grateful for the company.

After a few minutes of walking, Jenna breaks the silence. “Your latest movie is a total hit. You must be so proud.”

“I am, thanks. It was a lot of work, but it was worth it to see how well the movie was received.”

You both continue to stroll in silence, the silence only broken by the chill of the night air seeping through your clothes.

But it doesn't last long before Jenna speaks up again. She stops in her tracks and turns to face you. “Thank you, Y/N,” she says. “Thank you for everything.”

You can only manage a small nod in response, unable to put into words what you feel.

Just as you're about to head out, the sound of a car honking catches your attention.

“That's him.” Jenna turns towards the parking lot, where an attractive guy is waiting for her. You watch as she runs over to him, burying her face in his chest as she wraps her arms around him.

She turns back to you and gives you a look that says everything. You wave goodbye one last time, a small smile etched on your lips.

Even if things didn't work out between the two of you, the connection is still there. You remember the journey you've had together, grateful for the part you've played in her life.

#jenna ortega #jenna ortega x reader #jenna ortega x you #jenna ortega imagine #jenna marie ortega #jenna ortega imagines #jenna ortega x y/n #reader insert #jenna x reader #jenna x y/n #angst #angst with a happy ending

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bellezaycafe · 10 months ago

Text

Get Your Shit Together - Chapter 6

genre: 2024 Season AU

pairing: Romantic! oc x two people because y'all voted on a triangle ;). platonic! oc x literally the whole grid.

warnings: lots swearing, mentions of the accident and crimes, discussions about gangs, mentions of bars and alcohol. Paranoia and an argument. love triangle crumbs

context: Part 1 and Masterlist…

Comments: massive lore drop but I've tried to keep the story moving and interesting. I'm a sucker for small details so I hope y'all have good memories ;)

"I'm in a witness protection program."

Sadie clenched her jaw, unsure what else to say. Lando and Max were silent.

"What did you see?" Lando's voice was so soft Sadie barely heard him over the road noise.

Her right hand flexed on the steering wheel. "I can't tell you that."

"Why did you volunteer?"

"Because I love F1."

Max chimed in. "You said it's too public, too many cameras."

"What I reported happened after Melbourne and just before SIlverstone. I- I think it would be better if I just told you, wouldn't it."

"Yes," Lando muttered, not meeting her glance.

"Okay, well. I was working a bar in Sydney and witnessed a crime. I was seen calling the cops and..." She took a deep breath. "And let's just say that I had dobbed on someone dangerous. Someone influential and known to police."

"You snitched on a gangster?" Lando's wide eyes would have made Sadie laugh in any other situation. "A real life gangster?"

"I didn't know who they were! I was cornered in an alley the next day and after that I spent all of my money on a two week stay in England. From there, I reported the attempted assault and was told to stay in England for the two weeks. The police said they could use that time to get me into witness protection and set up the right safeguards, if I anonymously testify in court. It happened to be the Grand Prix weekend, so I volunteered instead of sitting around."

"Attempted assault?" Max stressed.

Sadie glanced at him in the rear view and her silence was answer enough. You don't need to know.

"Let me get this right. You snitched on a gang, were threaten and then ran to England?!"

"Yeah, pretty much." Her tone didn't match her racing heart.

"What happened to 'too many cameras'?" Lando toyed with his silver necklace.

"Obviously I didn't consider how dramatically you were going to break your ankle in turn, whatever it was. I figured, as a medic, I’d spend a lot of time in areas with very few to no cameras.”

Sadie glanced at the phone Lando showed her and, with one hand on the wheel, swung them left and down a small side street.

“You are right, though,” Max observed. “The reporters aren’t allowed in the medical tents unless they’re unwell themselves.”

“Is that why you’re in Melbourne? Are you from Sydney?” She could hear curiosity in Lando’s voice.

“It’s complicated.” Sadie grimaced.

“It’s seems like everything is,” Max muttered.

“Oh, shush,” she joked. She knew it had landed when both boys smiled slightly. “I grew up just outside of Melbourne. I’ve been working back at that bar since I was 18. I took some unofficial leave in June to experience working in another city while we had extra staff. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have chosen Sydney.”

The boys were quiet as Sadie explained her time working at bars in Sydney and enjoying the nightlife of another city. She talked about the move up there and the sudden disappearance to England. Some of her stuff was still in Sydney, including some personal keepsakes like a bracelet from her mother. Sadie explained that Lewis and Max knew about the witness protection, but nothing further. She’d only told them when they visited her in hospital the day after the accident and after some significant convincing. She answered questions about her leg and how it had healed, which had turned out to be quite well.

“How much physio did you have to do?” There was guilt in Lando’s question.

“Just some at home things, it was quite easy,” Sadie admitted. She didn’t want to elaborate on the facts she hadn’t done any official physio because she couldn’t afford it. Australian public health care was good, but not that good. “How well has the ankle healed?”

“It was slower than I wanted but I’m cleared for next season which is good.”

Max grumbled, “but he didn’t stop complaining about it for months.”

“I was in pain, mate!”

“I know! You told me every chance you got!”

Sadie smiled at their banter, glad they weren’t holding up walls of suspicion anymore.

As she pulled up to the Piastri Family home, she cleared her throat. “I- ummm… It was good to see you again Lando, and good to meet you Max.”

“Oh no,” Lando chided. “We’re not done, I am not letting you just drive into the sunset again.”

“It’s already dark,” Sadie pointed out. “And that’s not what happened the first time.”

“And on that note, I’m out,” Max exclaimed. “It was lovely to meet you, Sadie. Thank you for what you did at Silverstone.”

He jumped out of the car before she could say anything and practically ran to the red front door of a small, low set home.

Lando undid his seatbelt and turned to face her, pulling a leg onto the seat.

“Sadie, you vanished.”

Straight into then.

“I feel better seeing that you’re in one piece, and not hearing it from news,” she murmured.

“That’s what you have to say?” he scoffed.

Sadie pushed down irritation. She might struggle to stay in one place for very long, but she was a patient person who had drawers of calm, collected masks to choose from.

When she didn’t answer, Lando shook his head and closed his eyes.

“How do you think I felt?” he snapped. “Lewis told me you had stitches. How many? I know you can walk, but how long did it take for the limp to go away? Did you need crutches? Because you know that I did, and you know how long I needed them for.”

“How much did Lewis tell you?”

“You’re focusing on the wrong thi-“

“How much, Lando?”

The panicked edge to her voice had Lando pausing, looking closer at her face through whatever haze was over his mind.

“Just that,” he breathed. “He told me you’d needed stitches but were okay. He wouldn’t tell me anything else.”

The fist around Sadie’s heart relaxed slightly as she sighed with relief. “Okay, as long as it was just that.”

“You’re scared,” he stated like he’d only just noticed. His watercolour eyes were lit slightly by a nearby street lamp. They appeared hazel in that light and it was a detail Sadie wished she hadn’t noted.

“I’m paranoid,” she replied just as curtly.

“I was scared,” he admitted, breaking the eye contact.

“That’s fair. If your ankle didn’t heal properly, your career might’ve been over.”

“No, that’s not- Well I was scared about that but I meant that I was scared for you.”

Sadie frowned. “What? Why?”

“I didn’t know if you were okay! You put yourself on the line for me, you saved my life and I didn’t know if you were okay!”

“I didn’t save your life,” she scoffed. “It wasn’t headed for your heart.”

“I rewatched the footage,” Lando confessed with a sheepish smile. “If you hadn’t put yourself between me and the track? The debris would have hit me and my career could have been over.”

“Your career, Lando. Not your life.” Her voice was the softest it had been all night. It even surprised her.

“My racing is my life, Sadie.”

“I-“ but he cut her off.

“I never got to thank you in person.”

“You can do it now.”

“No.”

“Why the fuck not?” Her patience was slipping. She pulled another mask from the drawer.

“I think you’d take it as closure, or something. Then you’d leave and I would never see you again.”

He wasn’t wrong. She’d began to form a plan on how to give him the answers he needed, and then vanish again. He was a liability to her safety.

“Would that be so bad?”

“Yes.” No hesitation.

She didn’t know what to say to that. Sadie couldn’t bring herself and meet the gaze she could feel on her.

“Max almost punched a reporter,” Lando said.

That had her looking up at him, a confused smile on her lips.

“What?”

“In the media pen, Max almost punched a reporter that wouldn’t stop asking about you.”

A laugh bubbled out of Sadie. Max Verstappen? Protecting the young woman who had ego-checked him at Albert Park?

“I’m serious!” Lando insisted, but his smile was widening. “The guy asked every driver, but Lewis and Max had already told everyone to say nothing. The reporter was so frustrated at getting ‘no comment’ from every driver. Max’s interview was second or third last and the reporter asked something so out of pocket. If you find the interview you can see Max trying not to hit the guy.”

Sadie laughed again, and she caught Lando grinning in her peripheral vision.

“I did make him swear on his championship,” she commented it.

“What?” It was obvious that detail was also new to Lando.

“After the incident, while we were still at the track, I made Lewis promise to hide me from the media. Max visited my hotel room a few days later, and I made him swear the same thing.”

“On his championship?” Lando was trying to hold back a laugh.

“Yeah.” Sadie couldn’t hold back her own.

They laughed for a few minutes at the absurd notion of Max swearing anything on his championship.

“Jesus,” Lando sighed. “That makes so much more sense now.”

“What does?”

“I tried to find you, after a month. Fuck, I even tried to rope half the grid into helping me find you, but Lewis and Max always shut it down. They never told my why, but I guess that’s it.”

“I’m not going to apologise for trying to protect myself.”

“You’re good at protecting,” he said.

It wasn’t the most random comment he’d made that night but it was the one that stuck out the most.

Sadie didn’t know how to reply.

She didn’t have a chance to think about it when she saw a shadowy figure moving toward the car.

“Lando, get out of sight,” she warned.

He was too shocked by the immediate change in demeanour and topic.

“What?”

“Just- oh. Nevermind.”

As the figure came closer, they stepped into the lamplight and Sadie recognised Oscar Piastri.

“It’s Piastri,” she breathed.

Lando wound down his window and waved.

Oscar leant down, rested both arms across the opened window and glanced between them.

“Hey, how are you?” He began.

“Could be better,” Sadie quipped with a joking smile.

“I’m trying to convince her to stay,” Lando explained.

Oscar raised an eyebrow. “Stay the night or-“

“No, Oscar!” Lando laughed and Sadie couldn’t help but like sound.

“He means in your lives. But I can’t.”

Oscar tilted his head sideways quizzically and some of his hair fell into his eyes. “Can’t or won’t.”

“Both.”

“You make it sound like you don’t have a choice,” he observed.

“She does,” Lando said at the same time as Sadie’s “I don’t.”

“Lando, I-“

“No, Sadie you do have a choice. Not every part of our lives is public.”

“I’m still very confused,” Oscar added.

Sadie’s patience slipped again. “Piastri, I fucked with some dangerous people, and I can’t let them find me. Lando, you don’t have a private life. If you’re not doing Formula One, you’re doing Quadrant; if you’re not doing Quadrant, you’re partying with Martin Garrix; and if you’re not partying, you’re posting something on Instagram. You live an incredibly public life, and that’s okay, but I can’t join that in any regard.”

Lando looked at her with stunned silence. Oscar was watching her with a very concerned expression. She pointed at him with an intense stare.

"You might think your life is fairly private, but when you post on social media everyone nit-pics at it because of how rare your posts are. And every sighting of you is scrutinised.”

A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth but he didn’t say anything.

Sadie pulled in a deep breath and pulled on another mask from the drawer.

“I’m sorry, to both of you, but I’m going to vanish again. I have to.”

“Are you in witness protection?” Oscar asked.

Sadie nodded with a frown. He’d put it together fast.

“When’s the court date?” Oscar’s deep brown were intensely focused on her.

“Wednesday, next week. I will be testifying anonymously.”

“So even if they have gang members who aren’t convicted, they won’t know it was you.” Lando pressed, catching onto Oscar’s train.

“Gang members?” Oscar’s went up an octave.

Sadie waved off the question and focused on Lando. “I see where this is going.”

“Then you can see why I’m right.” His eyes were set on hers, a hand set on the handbrake between them.

Sadie sighed and closed her eyes.

“All of the members who saw my face will be going on trial. A few of them have been convicted already.”

“So after next week, you won’t be in witness protection anymore.” Lando pressed.

“That will depend on whether they’re all convicted and how long their jail time is.”

As Sadie spoke, Oscar pulled out his wallet and an old receipt. He pulled a random marker from another pocket and wrote something on the back before handing them both to Lando. He took this hint and wrote something as well.

When he handed it to her, Sadie noted both their phone numbers and tiny signatures at the end of them.

“Text when the trial is over. Just a yes or no. A yes doesn’t mean that you’re going to to be thrust into the spot light. It’s a maybe.” Oscar said, running a hand through his brown hair.

“It’s a maybe I could thank you properly." Lando added. "A random dinner or a paddock pass to which ever race you want.”

That brought a small smile to Sadie’s face.

“Everyone at McLaren would want to thank you,” Oscar added, but there was a tightness to his jaw Sadie hadn’t noticed until then.

She caved.

“Alright maybe,” she said. “I’ll keep this but I'm not promising you anything.”

Oscar's soft smile said that's enough, but Lando's slight frown meant he wasn't ready to give up. Oscar noted it.

"Lando," he interrupted whatever the older driver was thinking. "Mum made chocolate cake while you were out and wants you to try it."

"She knows about our diets right?"

"She'll insist until you fly out."

Lando sighed with an amused smile and opened his door.

"I'm not going to say thank you, not yet. I'm not even going to say goodbye."

"It might be your only chance," Sadie reminded him.

Lando shook his head as he stood, brown curls waving in the small breeze. Oscar pushed his door shut gently and ducked his head back through the window.

They watched Lando walk away, oblivious to the fact Oscar wasn't on his heals.

"I saw it happen, at Silverstone," Oscar murmured. "I saw you make the choice."

"I didn't choose. I reacted. There was no choice, or thought process, or thoughts at all, actually. It was just an action."

"An action we're all grateful for, but-" His voice dropped, as if Lando would hear him if he was any louder. "- I want to thank you for making that choice, or doing that action, whatever."

"Stop," Sadie demanded. "Stop, Piastri."

He did. The first one to stop the first time she asked.

She pulled in a deep breathe and calmly explained, "I did what I did. It happened. I know you're all grateful, but it has to stay at that. This is not a movie, where a chance meeting leads to years of friendship."

"I wouldn't call being hospitalised for being a human shield, a chance encounter," Oscar noted dryly.

"You get my point," she replied.

"I do, and I think I understand." He stepped away from the car. "You have our numbers. Call us and we will be there."

Sadie smiled slightly but didn't give him any hope.

"Go, before Lando comes back out."

"It was good to meet you, Piastri."

"Good luck, Sadie."

With that, the handbrake was off, car in gear and she was gone.

----$----

I know y'all loved the Max/Sadie dynamic in chapters 1 and 2 so how about some more Max content next chapter? ;)

Masterlist…

Taglist; @snubug

#lando norris #f1 fanfic #get your shit together #f1 x oc #formula 1 #f1 fic #f1 #formula one #f1 imagine

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extremelyblackandwhite · 1 year ago

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pairing: dad!bucky barnes x au pair!reader

warnings: age gap (reader is 10 years younger than bucky), smut (18+, dni if under 18)

author’s note: things are picking up now xx

masterlist

and you understand now why they lost their minds and fought the wars

Waking up on a Friday was also the toughest thing to do. At least, it had become an issue ever since Sadie realised that the 5th day of the week usually meant the last one at kindie before she got to spend the next two days at home. In fewer words, the two year old had learned the concept of a regular working week which is a feat considering her father blatantly disregards the sanctity of a Monday to Friday work week in favour of a messier approach. Y/N was almost sure his motto was screw work-life balance; nevertheless, Sadie made it incredibly hard to bathe and dress with all her excitement with what to do over the weekend, specially since Steve was around.

She finished brushing and braiding Sadie's hair, straightening her uniform so she wouldn't get yet another passive aggressive note from the PTA mums complaining about tidy uniforms - as if it was possible to get a 2 year old to be tidy. The two went downstairs with Sadie running to the breakfast table once she saw some donuts laying around which she was sure to only eat the pink icing of and hand Y/N or Bucky the donut itself.

There was something ... off. Bucky was silently buttering a slice of toast and Steve was staring into the further wall which Y/N knew was not that interesting.

- Who died? - Y/N asked as she sat down.

- It's Friday morning, Y/N. Sorry if we're not singing Kumbaya my lord. - Bucky replied, taking a bite of his toast.

- Thank god, you can't hold a tune. - Y/N smirked, helping Sadie place a napkin on her lap. - We're gonna need to get Sadie a new uniform, by the way.

- A new one? - Bucky looked up from his plate. - Swear we bought her that one a few months ago.

- We need to get the winter uniform. She doesn't fit the one from last year and it's starting to get chilly.

- Take the AMEX and buy it today. - Bucky fished through his wallet before handing Y/N the gold card. - Oh, get her one of those lunchbox thingies. I saw some kids with them the other day.

- Hm, now describe such lunchbox thingie, Sergeant.

- What do you mean? The thingies the kids carry along with their lunchbox for soup or water. The round thing.

- A thermos? Why would Sadie need a thermos?

- Yeah Bucky, she's a 2 year old not a college student. - Steve said, handing Sadie a donut. - She doesn't need one.

- Y/N get her one. Get one for yourself too, you eat soup right?

- I have a thermos, thank you.

Sadie, as expected, ate the sprinkles and frosting off the donut and handed the half eaten donut to Y/N. She excused her from the table, kissing the top of her head and sending her on her merry way to wash her hands and get her backpack, leaving Y/N to bring the dirty dishes to the kitchen. Bucky followed behind like a puppy, carrying some leftover pastries and fruit to put in the fridge before they ended up with fruit flies.

- Are you going to Columbia today? - he said, opening the fridge nonchalantly.

- No. I'm going to come back home after dropping Sadie. I have some online meetings booked with some experts in the UK and France about some topics in my PhD and the library didn't have any available private rooms.

- I'll ask Steve to come down with me to the office then.

- That's not necessary. - Y/N loaded the dishwasher with the plates, looking at Bucky, taking a very good look. He didn't look as put together as he usually did. His hair, usually wavy yet gelled into place, was messy and he wasn't wearing his suit yet. - I'll just go to my bedroom.

- You can use my office. - was he trying to get on her good graces once more? - The internet signal is better there.

- It's your office, Sergeant. I'm not gonna use it.

- I absolutely hate it when you call me Sergeant. - he shut the fridge, leaning against it. - Look ...

He sighed, his eyes not meeting hers.

- I'm sorry. - those words came from his lips very slowly, as if it pained to say them and if Bucky were being honest it pained him to say them. Bucky wasn't sorry but that didn't mean he wanted Y/N to hate him forever. - It's not my place to interfere with your relationship.

- I know. - she shrugged. - If you think your opinion of my love life interferes with it in any way, you're wrong.

- I'm just trying to look out for you. There's a lot of wolves in New York.

- I'm not a country bumpkin, Sergeant. I know how to look after myself.

- So ... are you and Chris Davis dating then?

- That it none of your business, Sergeant.

- It actually is. - he smirked. - You see, you are my employee, he is my employee which means if two of my employees are dating they should tell HR.

- You're not HR, you're the CEO.

- Maybe I multitask, how about that?

- That would be illegal and a conflict of interests, Sergeant. Besides, why are you so interested in my relationship? Are you bored of yours?

- He's just not the type of guy I would picture you with.

Of course not. Bucky had always considered Y/N would end up with someone ambitious, someone who'd crawl and give blood, sweat and tears to get what they wanted. Chris Davis, although not a complete dunce, was not that. He was smart but he wasn't innovative - what he was good at was packaging old ideals to newer audiences. He didn't come up with new marketing ideas, nothing that hadn't been done and when he did it was usually under the guide of an executive. He wasn't his worse employee but he also wasn't his best and Bucky wanted Y/N to have the best.

- Clearly. - Y/N dried her hands. - As if you have a good track record of relationships.

- Is this about Anna? Are you still pissed off because of Anna?

- You can't treat people like crap and then expect them to forgive you.

- I know but you have to understand that me and Anna ...

- You are a father first, Sergeant. You can't potentially hurt your child because you're so blinded by this stupid notion of "a real family". You and Sadie are a real family, you don't need Anna and you can't force her. If Sadie was any older she could've gotten very hurt.

- I know but if it had gone well ...

- Bucky. - Y/N interrupted him. She didn't want to be mean, she didn't want to be hateful about a woman she'd never met, specially the woman who birthed Sadie. - If you think the woman who left a baby in front of your door and has never attempted contact would suddenly change your mind, you're naive.

- You wanna know what's funny? - he moved away from the fridge to get closer to her.

Y/N almost took a step back. She didn't like being close to Bucky, it was always weird for her. Bucky, despite being her boss, was an attractive man, an attractive and imposing figure and she sometimes would find herself divided between fear of what he would say and fear of what she usually did at night when she thought of him.

- I don't think anything is funny about that situation.

- Anna would've liked you. - he said before turning around, almost happy that he'd gotten her a bit speechless for a while, happy he got to be the dominant one for a bit. - And you would've liked Anna.

- I doubt I'd like any woman who would willingly sleep with you.

- She didn't like any woman who would willingly sleep with me either. - Y/N rolled her eyes, not really understanding what Bucky was trying to get at. He was always like this, jumped over bad moments looking for some peaceful solitude in an off hand joke or confusing statement. - Are we gonna continue being mad at one another?

- Who said I was mad at you?

- Fine, if you're not mad then take my office upstairs for your meetings.

Before Y/N could reply something regarding his very flawed logic who wouldn't win him any debate, Sadie came walking through the kitchen, dragging her backpack through the floor and her yellow raincoat so Y/N could help her onto the plastic garment.

- Hey squid. - Bucky lowered down to her help, taking over Y/N to help Sadie into her raincoat. - Do you want a thermos?

- What? - she looked at him eyes wide, probably not knowing what a thermos even was. The red head looked at her au pair, looking for clues about what her dad was talking about. Y/N just smiled and shrugged. - Yes.

- See? Told you she wanted a thermos. - Bucky picked her up to kiss her cheek, directing his voice towards Y/N.

- She doesn't know what a thermos is, Bucky. - Y/N took Sadie from him.

(...)

When she returned from dropping Sadie off, buying her an overpriced uniform and a thermos which she would probably only use by the time she was 12, she found an empty house. Bucky had made good on his promise, leaving a note telling her Steve was with him as well as where to find the key to the office. The office was usually locked due to Sadie, according to Bucky, having almost gotten hurt. If Bucky's dramatic retelling was to be believed, when Sadie had started to walk she'd manage to get into the office and grab a stapler which she was keen on using until Bucky caught her. However knowing Bucky and knowing 2 year old Sadie who still struggled to reach the handles of doors, she reckoned he was overreacting or probably saw something similar in one of those "scare the parents" TV shows.

Nevertheless, the office/study had been locked and Y/N had never had been inside, yet once she got inside, it looked like what she expected Bucky to have as a work space. It was white, bright and minimalist with a few knickknacks from when he had been stationed in Italy and some first version novels which had undoubtedly came from his mother. His desk was deep mahogany, neatly kept with all contents at a 90 degree angle.

She moved to seat on his chair, putting her laptop on the middle of her desk and logging into Zoom. She waited for the right time, her eyes hoovering over everything in his desk from the gold pens, to the tape and the photo frames. He had a big photo of Sadie when she was a newborn followed by a few others, yet what called her attention were two gold circled frames - one with a photo of Sadie and Y/N when she had first started to work for them and one of Y/N and Sadie at Christmas.

She didn't allow herself to dwell much on it, she had meetings to get to. Besides, this was nothing big. It was just a photo of his daughter that he liked which Y/N happened to appear in. She had bigger fish to fry now than wondering about Bucky.

(...)

The work day wasn't any better for Bucky. Steve was being, well, Steve and to describe Steve is to describe someone who likes playing both sides to get to a decision which everyone is happy with. He knew he shouldn't have brought up the stuff about his wife, Steve would never try to break a relationship, heck he wouldn't even think it. Nevertheless, now Steve and Y/N were upset at him - maybe they can unionise and start a little "We hate Bucky", maybe they'll get branded thermos.

- Sergeant Barnes? - his assistant knocked on the door. She was pretty, very pretty and Bucky was almost certain they'd slept together ... almost. Yet today not even the pretty assistant could sort his mood out. - Christopher Davis wants to talk to you.

- Christopher Davis? - oh yes, the best way to make his day, seeing Chris Davis. - What does he want?

- He says it'll be a quick word, Sergeant Barnes. Should I send him in?

- 5 minutes. - he sighed, closing his laptop. Maybe making Chris Davis squirm would make his day, yet again, he was sure the "We hate Bucky" club would not enjoy that. Besides, it was hair washing tonight for Sadie and last time he tried, he had ended up inside the bathtub.

Chris Davis walked into the office, the mere sight of him ignoring Bucky. Did Y/N seriously find that attractive? He was so bland, so boring, the only interesting thing about him was that he was rich and Bucky was almost certain he only finished his PhD because his godmother is Professor Anderson. Nevertheless, here he was, taking a seat in one of the chairs of his office without even asking. This is the guy who gets to see Y/N naked? Life really is unfair.

- What do you need Davis?

- I know this will probably be crossing a line but I was wondering if you could let Y/N have the weekend off.

- What Y/N? - he cocked a brow at him.

- My Y/N.

- My daughter's au pair Y/N? - Bucky rested against his chair, looking down at the man in front of him. - Why?

- I was thinking of taking her to the new restaurant downtown but she said she was busy with Sadie. I wouldn't ask but it's really hard to get reservations and I got one and I would love to take her.

Oh, this was fun.

- Y/N has always had the weekends off. She doesn't work weekends unless she wants to, specially not this weekend which I'll spend at home. Besides, she doesn't have a fixed work schedule.

- Oh ...

- Maybe fix your communication issues with her before you come and waste my precious time, Davis. You can go now.

(...)

Having meeting after meeting had really wasted all energy Y/N had and to congratulate herself for not crying when someone suggested another alteration to her project with a thick French accent, she decided to cuddle against one of Bucky's many small yet cuddly cashmere blankets in the couch of the living room watching Gilmore Girls. She was close to snoozing off when the front door opened and closed. It could be Bucky, Steve or a burglar but she was much too tired to actually check.

- Oh, Y/N, do I have some gossip to share with you. - Bucky. It was Bucky and it was the first time she'd heard him say the word gossip. That couldn't be good.

He walked with a douchey smile to stand in front of the TV, sitting on top of the coffee table and staring at her, just waiting for her to question him on it and she was much too tired to avoid playing his game.

- What? Someone you fucked got pregnant?

- Someone came into my office asking about you. I didn't know that you were gonna be busy with Sadie this week. Isn't Steve taking her to Coney Island?

- What?

- You're using me and my kid as an excuse not to go out with Chris Davis? - he chuckled. - What? Is he a bad lay or something?

- Oh shut up!

- Small dick?

- This is highly unprofessional. - she turned around to face the couch.

- And sleeping on my couch isn't? C'mon, tell me, Y/N. Are you tired to pretend to orgasm or have you just figured out he's just bland.

- You're such a child! - she got up, folding the blankets so she could get away from her but he kept going after her. - Why don't you go pick up your daughter?

- Steve has her. I wanna know more, I thought everything was okay in the Y/N-Chris relationship. Is he one of those guys who cries when he cums? Is that it? Is he a crier?

- Why won't you shut up?

- Or maybe he can't find your clit. You know, he can barely find the copy room sometimes and that's way bigger.

- He is perfectly fine, I just don't want to hang out and I didn't want to hurt his feelings but because you can't lie to save your goddamn life I know have to go.

- He's taking you to Le Coucou, you may want to brush your hair before you go. The poor thing fought so hard to get reservations but obviously you prefer to eat buttered noodles with Sadie.

- I have been to Le Coucou.

- I know, I took you there. - he smirked. - And here I was thinking you'd soon start bringing your boyfriend around.

- I don't want to go. I'm tired, I need to wash Sadie's hair tonight and that will take time and I am not in the headspace to get ready.

- I'm sure Chris would love it if you came in with a soaked white t-shirt.

- You're a dick, Bucky.

Before Bucky could continue with his teasing about it, Y/N's phone started ringing. She grabbed it from the counter and put it up to her ear as she saw Sadie's school number. Bucky watched, mostly hoping it was Chris so he could tease her some more but as the colour drained from her face, he realised he wasn't. She put her phone down and looked at Bucky.

- We have to go. - Y/N looked overwhelmed, looking around fo something. - Sadie has appendicitis. They called an ambulance and she's going to the New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

- Shit. - Bucky rushed to grab his keys.

- Where's her toy, where's a toy? - Y/N started throwing pillows around, looking for Sadie's cuddly toy.

- Y/N, let's go.

- NO! - she screamed at him. - She's scared and when she's scared she needs her toy and I knew, I knew she was a bit off when I dropped her off and I should've known better and I ...

- Y/N. - he held her shoulders, stopping her in place. - I'll go find her toy, get the car going and drive there.

- But yo ...

- I'll get a cab. Now you go and stay with her, I'll meet you there with the cuddly toy. Go.

taglist: @talesofadragon @themermaidscales82 @winters1917 @vladsgirlxx @stinkerbelle007 @maybefoxysouls @blackwood-bodecker-housewife

#sebastian stan #sebastian stan x reader #sebastian stan/reader #sebastian stan imagine #sebastian stan x y/n #sebastian stan x you #sebastian stan/you #sebastian stan/y/n #bucky barnes #bucky imagine #bucky/reader #bucky x reader #bucky x you #bucky/you #bucky x y/n #bucky/y/n

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thecapricunt1616 · 9 months ago

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The Bear & His Honey - Chapter 9

♡ Chapter Inspo: Lyrics; Awkward (SZA) “You look at me different, so I let you see my body - now we don't seem to get along, now I regret it all.” ♡♡》》𝟙𝟠+ 𝕆ℕ𝕃𝕐 𝔽𝕀ℂ! ℕ𝕆 𝕄𝕀ℕ𝕆ℝ𝕊 𝔸𝕃𝕃𝕆𝕎𝔼𝔻《《♡♡ ♡ Summary: Carm closes his day off w/ Winnie. Winnie, Syd, & Sadie shoot the shit, and disconnect Winnies mushy heart from her hook-up antics. Carm feels rejected by Winnie not knowing the whole story, and lands himself back in a support group (by choice). Sugar wins Big Sissy of the year award. ♡ W/C: 9,444 (angel #’s purr!) ♡ Posted Date: 02/23/24 ♡ A/N: Hayoooo! I hope y’all love this chap. - Next one will be long and juicy since its the 10th… hm.. Not feelin’ very wordy for some reason. Oh!! I saw the new ep. Of The Good Doctor- I MISSED MY SHAUN MURPHY!!!! I <3 MY GOOD DOCTOR!!! Anyhoot- ennjoooy this chap frayndss :D ♡ Warnings for BTC: MAJOR talks of Suicide, grief talk, sad / insecure Carm, swearing, smoking, drinking(cant remember so just in case?), mentions of chronic pain, think that’s all.

➵ 𝐂𝐡𝐞𝐜𝐤 𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐌𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 ♡

➵ 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐮𝐩 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 ♡

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈

Winnie’s P.O.V. -

I came back to the bedroom, teeth freshly brushed and glasses on. “Ready for some Drag education?” I joke, getting our fluffy blankets from the foot of the bed and draping them over us. “Mm drag education. Sounds fun” he opened his arm so I could lay on his chest. I laid down comfortably and he chuckled a bit.

“What?” I asked and he curled his arm around me, gently rubbing my side. “Nothin’ just didn’t realize you wear glasses” he said and I look up at him with a small smile on my lips “mmhmm just another one of my faults, eyes that don’t work” I joke and he snorts, “you have no faults” he said brushing my bangs out of my eyes gently.

“Okay enough flirting, mister” I poked his nose and leaned over him, grabbing the remote from my nightstand and turning on the tv. I went to Paramount and typed in the title, scrolling to drag race season 15 “okay…so this is last season, a lot of the queens are from Connecticut, but you’ll get the gist of it- and learn all the phrases that Sadie and I use” I said and hit play on the first episode.

“Oh! Yeah that’s why my stomach hurts” I sit up and he scrunches his eyebrows “What?” He asks “forgot I was hungry. Watch! I’ll go make the rest of the pizza” I went out to the kitchen before he could reply, and preheat the oven putting the rest of our pizza from last night on a tray and popping it in, not bothering to wait for it to beep before coming back. “Okay so, I like the cute one, the little one” he points and I giggle, “Marcia Marcia Marcia?” I ask and he scrunches his eyebrows.

“See they have weird names” he said his eyes flicking back to the tv as Rupaul came out and he raised his eyebrows ``wow” he muttered “thought he was a drag queen?” He questioned. “Not in the workroom babe, just watch” I settled back into his chest and played with his fingers, finding it adorable how he was so engrossed in it. I watched along with him for the mini photoshoot challenge and he scoffs softly “see…I hate her makeup it looks- it looks weird.” He muttered and I giggled.

“See! I told you you’d love this show” I look up at him and he rolls his eyes “you tell no one at work we watched this, I’ll never hear the end” he said and I laugh, looking back at the screen “mm well…I guess another reason to behave yourself” I said smugly and he pinches my bum playfully. After a while I started to smell the pizza and sat up “be back, lovey” I said softly, shuffling off to the kitchen. I divided up the remaining 4 slices on my plastic strawberry shortcake plates and opened my fridge.

“Carm, do you want cherry coke?” I called “Sure” he replied. I grabbed 2 cans, a few pieces of paper towel, and our plates, before heading back to the bedroom. “Irene somethin’ won the challenge-thing” he sits up, leaning against the headboard. “Got 2,500 bucks just for that. Good money” he took the plate and I handed him the can of soda and I smiled a bit.

“Mmhmm, they win like 200,000 at the end” I said and his eyebrows raised “wow, hmm. High stakes then” he continues watching along with me as we eat our pizza. We were snuggled up, at the end of the third episode and he sighs softly, rubbing my side to get my attention. “Honey” he mumbled gently and I looked up at him.

“I gotta…Y'know '' he said with a slight frown and lifted his hand to motion to the door. “Got work in the mornin’..” he said and I pout a bit, “I know…I know” I sighed and sat up, “it was nice, y’know- spending time with you..” I said and pulled on my bear paw slippers as he slipped his hoodie over his head.

“It was really nice, Win, I’ll call you, yeah?” He comes over opens his arms for a hug. I nuzzle into his chest, closing my eyes. “Mmhmm, I’ll leave my ringer on for you” I said softly, breathing in the scent of his cologne, subconsciously trying to memorize it. “Y’gonna try and come down for lunch sometime this week? Mm? I can make y’somethin’” he said and kissed the top of my head sweetly. I smiled a bit, resting my chin on his chest as I looked up at him.

“Now that I have two friends there, I’ll be sure to stop by more often” I said softly, and puckered my lips for a kiss. He leans down, kissing my lips tenderly, lingering for a moment before pulling away. “I look forward to seein’ you more, then.” He said and rubbed my back gently before pulling away. I walked him to the door, handing him his backpack after he slipped on his sneakers and once he put it on I pulled him by the straps, kissing him passionately, running my fingers through his curls, and gently tugging.

He hummed into my mouth, his hands trailing beneath my shirt and squeezing my bum in his palms before stroking my thighs with the tips of his fingers gently as he leans against the wall in our heated make out. After a minute or two he pulls away, our lips only mere inches apart. “Baby, I gotta go, yeah?” He said softly and kissed my nose. I jetted out a pout with my bottom lip and looked at him up through my lashes. “Yeah” I mumbled, and pulled him into one last hug before opening the door.

“Be free” I shooed with my hand playfully and he chuckled. “Until next Saturday yeah? I’ll be waiting to see what happens to our bunny friend” he pecks my lips on the way out the door and I smiled. “Mmhmm, don’t work too hard this week” I said and he rolled his eyes jokingly. “Mm- ye’ I’ll try” he said and I shook my head with a grin, shutting the door. I leaned against it with my full weight, and sighed deeply when I knew he was well out of earshot, sliding to the floor pathetically in a heap, covering my face in my hands.

I need to process this.

I hastily got up off of the floor, padding heavily into my bedroom, and picking up my phone off the charger. It smells like him in here - and I’m unsure how I felt about it. I grabbed my bong and a lighter, as well as my little lavender tin of pre-ground flower, and went to sit out on the balcony outside my bedroom, FaceTiming Sadie. She answers by the end of the second ring.

“Biiiitch - ok wait, you didn’t call last night so before you start- Say hey Syddd! We’re wine drunkkk” She giggled, already gone- and turned her phone on it’s side, leaning it up against god only knows what so I could see them both together and I bit my lip, trying to appear happy. Shit.

I just wanted to air out everything to Sadie but of course she and Syd are hanging out- when she isn’t with me she was with her. This was going to be harder to navigate then I thought.

I stuffed my bowl full of flower with my fingers, “hey!” I said trying to sound enthusiastic and I lit it, taking a deep inhale.

“Dude did you fuck him I need all the details like - S-O-U Winnie!!!” Sydney said and I nearly choked out a lung laughing, completely not expecting her to be so open about me being with him knowing how she’d ranted about her frustrations about him before. Sadie busts out laughing and I try to catch my breath, drool pooling in my mouth. I dashed inside, grabbing my water bottle and taking a few big chugs before returning.

“Sydney” I said once I caught my breath and looked at her, we all went silent for a few short moments, and before I knew it we were all giggling together again over nothing. “Stop! Stop stoppp we need details Winnie!” Sadie said when she caught her breath and I shook my head, unsure where to even start. “Well…Syd do you still want to fuck him?” I ask and she snorts loudly. “No absolutely not. Not anymore. I just stand that asshole at this point.” She rolled her eyes, taking another sip of her wine.

“How do you mean?” I asked, lighting my bowl again to take a proper hit. She shakes her head, playing with the end of one of her braids. “Dude, Where do I even start?” she sighed deeply, thinking for a moment. “Okay, well let’s start with the fact that he’s so fucking selfish. Winnie- the only thing, and you’ll learn this sooo fast- the only thing he cares about, is easing his own fucking- his inadequacy!!” She said, talking with her hands as she usually did when she got passionate, just like Sadie and I.

“Expand” I said after I exhaled, crossing my legs and Sadie took a big gulp of her wine, knowing she was about to listen to the following complaints for the third or fourth time over now. “Well, firstly, for starters- I’ll tell you the real reason he fucked around with that girl Claire. Because it’s what Mikey would’ve wanted him to do. Same reason he opened the new restaurant. Because he only cares about proving to himself that his brother would be proud of him. But- but he doesn’t even want to be happy! When that is really what Mikey would have wanted, I mean- right?” She asked and I swallowed thickly, nodding a bit.

“N-no. No you’re right and - yeah that’s his biggest issue so far” I said and she laughed, covering her mouth. “Sorry sorry it’s not funny it’s just…wow he hasn’t even behaved himself? Hid it? Like…” she took a deep breath to steady herself. “Winnie- I love you. You know tha, right, really. ” she said, I nodded quickly, my chest tightening. “He’s not a person to get involved with. Even for the dick. Even if it’s good which- I can’t say I haven’t thought about it - but you’re a sweet person Winnie. And as much as you want to think he deserves you - despite him being a little bitch. he does not deserve someone like you - period. Because he will forever push you away. We know how you are, and we know better than you know how he is. So, this will be my one and only warning about him - do not get involved.” She said and I bit my lip, nodding quickly.

Don’t get involved further, Syd wouldn’t lie just because she wanted him for herself. She really, truly loves me, she’s one of my best friends.

I stare off into the distance, that thought bouncing around in my thoughts and the entirety of the day suddenly feeling…wrong. “Ok so now that we got that out of the way- how was it. Like is it big? Also how…like good is he?” she asked and I sat back, sighing softly. “That was another…downfall…even though it’s not even really a downfall!” I shake my hands for emphasis. “It’s literally- he’s so good like…well- he’s not pussy eating champion 2024 but” I said, earning a giggle out of them.

“I was riding his face while we were 69 so it wasn’t like bound to be the best for me - but anyway he is huge! Like not long, but thick” I said, lighting my bowl and taking another hit. “Cut or uncut?” Sadie asked, causing me to snort, smoke coming out of my nose and I coughed a bit. “Guys - Italian Catholic? Cut” I said matter-of-factly and Syd laughed. “Okay but - please don’t tell me he has all that rage and doesn’t take it out in the bed?” She questioned and I shook my head.

“He's actually like…shy? Even in bed! But he’s so hot you’ve seen him shirtless, right Syd?” I asked and she nods “oh- yeah. Of course. So…what like virgin shy?” She asked and I bit my lip slightly as I thought. “Kinda but like- he’s done it - but it’s been once or twice and that’s it like he got all his bases covered, practiced everything a few times - and that’s it, but when he commits he commits and he listens oh my goddd!” I close my eyes thinking about it and Sadie laughed.

“At least he knows how to follow directions in bed if anywhere good” Sydney said while taking a sip of wine and I laughed. “Ohhh my god! Oh my god. He’s like- low key a sub but I’d neverrr tell him because he’d never let me touch him again, I know it.” I went inside, closing the balcony door and setting my bong on my dresser before sitting on my bed. “Well yeah but I mean- wow” Syd blinks in surprise, taking in what I’d said. “Wow.” She hummed in thought and I laughed.

“What?” I asked “well- I mean like I said multiple times he’s an asshole at work, so with how brute and bossy he is, I like assumed he’d be like ‘get on your knees slut’ kinda guy? That was my fantasy anyways“ she mocked Carmen and I burst out laughing, “oh my god I wish” I said gasping in laughter. This is exactly what I needed. I needed to rip the bandaid off, because I knew Carmen wasn’t going to keep his promise, how he acted before we took a nap solidified it. He hates being with someone more than once.

“I wish. I had to beg him practically to tell me that he liked what I was doing. Like, isn't praise the first thing in porn?” I roll my eyes, petting Persephone as she jumps up. “Wait- wait- you had to tell Carmen Berzatto how to do something” she laughed, her head falling back. “Dude- oh my god! You are my saving grace. I am so glad I never slept with him. I'd have been so disappointed!” she said and I snorted. “That’s what I was gonna tell Sadie when I called actually… I mean- like I said he follows directions sooo well, but I wanted him to throw me around a little and he didn’t” I shrugged, picking at my nails.

“So if he asks, will you see him again?” She asked and I nibbled the inside of my lip nervously. “We had like…. We cuddled and stuff I’m never-“ swallowed thickly, my heart beginning to ache- remembering how attached I’d really felt to the day we’d had together, underneath all the anger I was feeling that he was so emotionally guarded. “I’m not doing that again- ever with him. But he has a really nice dick- we fucked in the shower?” I laughed and Sadie and Syd burst out laughing again.

“And ohh my god. The most dominant thing he did was like spank me- I don’t know what came over him! I was like oop!” I giggled and Sadie snorted, Syd leaning over the table in laughter. “Sooo he made you finish?!” Sadie asks and I nod “oh yeah- I mean. Like I said. He listens really well he just needs to be told what to do.” I said. “So he fucks like a puppy?” Syd teased and I rolled my eyes, laughing a bit. “In a way. But it’s like- he can learn. That’s why I’m kinda like…” I sighed softly, looking away.

“I dunno..I dunno” I shook my head and sighed a bit. “The Carmen Berzatto effect, welcome.” Syd said sarcastically and I rolled my eyes. “But he- he’s…so sweet” I sighed, playing with the ends of my hair. “And…like- I dunno. I’m slipping back into my old ways. I want to fix him” I rolled my eyes at the realization and rubbed my face.

“Wooooow!” Sadie drawls “holy shit! Well maybe you aren’t slipping because I’ve never heard you come to that realization before you run yourself to the bone for someone who can’t be fixed.” Sadie said and I sighed deeply, knowing deep down she was right. “What if he does the work?” I asked hopefully, “he won’t. He like- I dunno I don’t wanna say he hates himself, but he hates himself. Like any sense of good in life he crushes it for himself because he thinks he works better if he has nothing and he’s always chasing something.” Syd said and shrugged, her voice even and calm.

It was about an hour and a half of me divulging nearly every detail of the night to them other than the intimate details of Carmen telling me how many people he’d had sex with before we were all talked out.

I swallow thickly. “I’m just- I’m gonna shower guys. I love you Syd, thanks for not being mad at me. And…I’m- I’m sorry. I’m sorry for doing that.” I said honestly and she shakes her head.

“Honestly, he may be happy this week cause he got his dick wet for once- so he might not be such a terror at work. Just…sleep it off. It was once, Winnie, but I promise- If you let yourself get involved further, he is going to hurt you. We didn’t even get anywhere and when he cut me off cold emotionally after Claire? I felt like a fucking nutcase. It’s for your own good, just - forget him, okay?” She said and I nodded softly.

“Love you” I replied before hanging up

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Carmy’s P.O.V. -

After my night with Winnie, I slept peacefully- the first night. I had a nightmare, and I only threw up once opposed to the 2 or 3 times a night it usually occurred. But by around 8 am when everyone started showing up, all of the questions were making me anxious, and it was generally pissing me off that Richie, Tina, Fak, Sugar, it felt like everyone except for Syd was up my ass.

I stood at one of the stations, chopping up onions and garlic for a stew that Tina was working on, doing absolutely everything in my power to not think of her. This was why. This. The fact that her face was the first thing I thought of when I got up. The fact that every fleeting thought is somehow weaving back to her. I could not do that again. Just the simple fact that I was sleeping better after seeing her once gave me unending anxiety.

If I keep fuckin’ around with her, Shes gonna leave. Or she’s gonna be taken. Or she's gonna realize I'm not good enough. Or she’s gonna find someone better.

I dropped the knife on the cutting board with a slam. “Goin to smoke.” I mutter to Syd as I pass by and shut the back door a little harder than I meant to. I leaned against the cool brick, trying to catch my breath. I felt over my pockets, finding my cigarettes, but - my fucking light. “Fuck!” I mutter to myself, rubbing over my face roughly.

This is exactly how it fucking started with her. Me losing my damn lighter.

I shook my head, squeezing my eyes shut and shaking my hand, trying to ground myself.

You fucking pussy. Get it together. You hooked up once you are not attached. You aren’t fucking attached.

I tug at my hair, remembering the feeling of her beneath me, the softness of her sheets, that fucking mug. I leaned against the brick wall, taking a deep breath. I took out my phone, cursing myself for a small part of me hoping she’d texted me, since I was too pussy to say anything to her last night or this morning. I stared at my text messages, my eyes falling on my conversation with sugar.

She’d sent me some “anonymous group therapy” shit about anxiety and she told me she thought it could help me. I'd brushed it off until now, but talking this shit out like I did with Mikey to people who weren’t allowed to repeat it- it sounded like it would feel good. I clicked on the lick, licking my lips nervously as it opened and took me to the page.

Anxiety/PTSD ANON: Monday evenings at 6:00PM-9:00PM at St. Anthony’s Presbyterian Church.

I furrowed my eyebrows a bit, PTSD. I hated when people would tell me I have PTSD. It’s so stupid- I’d never been to fuckin’ war. Or been raped or whatever. Being yelled at for being an idiot doesn’t constitute PTSD. But, considering people with PTSD are probably going through real shit, I’m sure it would feel easier to spill my guts to them then someone perfect like Winnie.

I sit up off the wall, heading back inside and I look at Syd “yo- c’mere” I nod to the office and she follows, I shut the door. “Goin, on with you?” I asked, putting my hands on my hips. She raises her eyebrows, “nothing? Why…” she questions and I narrowed my eyes slightly. “You’ve avoided me today. So again what’s up.” I asked and she shook her head, rolling her eyes slightly.

“I don’t have time for this, Chef,” she said and sighed a bit. “You know what I’m talking about. You were on my ass Friday about me wanting to get out early and you were dying to know why- and you come in on Monday it just skips your mind?” I shrug, crossing my arms.

“Look” she snips, taking her hand off the doorknob. “I don’t know what you think is going on, Chef. But I’ll have you know- I’ve had zero interest in your personal life again, until you started sneaking around here with one of my closest friends- and my cousins, who’s more like my sister- her best friend. So let’s just say, after the conversation she and I had-“ she looks at me pointedly.

“An honest, open, friend to friend, girl to girl conversation, Carmen- you will have nothing to worry about me, and my interest in your “personal” life - anymore.” She said and left the office with a slam. I felt my heart sink to my stomach, fuck.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuuuuck. Fuck.

I could hear a ringing in my ears and my vision blurred slightly. I get the familiar feeling in my chest and sit down, clutching my head in my hands and spiraling into one of my episodes.

My “personal” life. Ouch. I knew after what happened with Claire things had been…different between us- but I didn’t think she cared. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I tug on my hair, my eyes screwed shut and breathing labored as my thoughts continue racing.

Fuck. What did - did she tell her? Did she tell them about- oh my god I’m such a fucking moron. Of course she did. Of course. That’s- Winnie’s best friend- oh my god why did I trust her. Fuck. And - and she thinks I’m gonna fucking hurt her. She knows I would hurt her.

“Sour things give you something to focus on”

Her voice rings throughout my mind. I took a shaking breath, opening my office drawer and grabbed one of the sour warhead things I’d gotten on the walk home after that night with Winnie, and popped it in my mouth. I cringe at the sensation, but immediately am pulled back, for now.

I spit the candy in the garbage can after a few grueling moments to be sure I got the full effect, before pulling my phone out of my pocket. Before I knew it with shaking hands, I was calling Winnie. After just 3 short rings the phone clicks and I sit up a bit

Please leave a message after the tone for - Heyy it’s Winnie, I can’t talk right now, if you wanna leave me a message cool- but I’m better at texts. Ciao! *beep*

I took the phone away from my ear, quickly hanging up. At the sound of her voice I felt like I could breathe again. I bit my lip gently, considering texting her and telling her to call me back- but she would if she wanted. I shook my head, setting an alarm for 5 to remind myself to leave for that group thing, before locking my phone and heading back into the kitchen.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Winnie’s P.O.V . -

I went to the back around 5, finally finished cleaning up after a story hour today. It was Sadie’s day off and Mel was out sick so I was running the store alone, I barely got a break to take a piss let alone have a quiet thought to myself from the moment I got here.

I sighed deeply, rubbing my bad hip that was driving me nuts today. The only thought that had been running through my head was how much I wanted to see Carmen. I was kind of grateful that the store had been so busy today because if it had been dead slow I’d probably have just locked up and gone to find if he was out for a smoke every few hours hoping I’d get lucky.

It took me a while to finish cleaning up after the littles, and vacuum the whole floor considering the aching pain in my hip that was reverberating through my thigh and knee all the way up to my ribs. By the time I was squatted by the vacuum, in the back of the store, rolling up the cord it finally gave out on me and I collapsed to the floor in a heap, my head landing in my purse under the desk. How convenient.

“Fuckin shit” I muttered to myself, knowing it would be at least 20 minutes before I would be able to use it again. I huffed, sitting up and banging my head under the desk in the process and groaning “ow” I whined, rubbing my head and leaning on my hip that wasn’t throbbing intensely. After a minute or so I dug through my purse, pulling my phone out. I scroll through the notifications from the day, Tik Toks from Sadie, news reports, a few texting ads when I see it towards the middle of the stack.

Carm🧸 1 missed call

I swallowed thickly - why was he calling me in the middle of the day? I checked our conversation to see the last text that was sent was still from when I’d told him my apartment number. I bit my lip gently, going over to Twitter to try and forget about him. I scroll through different posts, liking some of them, until my hip finally feels well enough again to try and stand.

I slowly shifted my weight on to my good side, gently lifting my hip and letting out a small cry at the shooting pain as I pulled my knee up to get my foot in a standing position. “God fucking damn it” I cried out in pain as I haul myself standing, my arms shaking in pain as I lower myself as gently as I could in to the desk chair. I took a heaving breath, wiping away the tears from the corners of my eyes and swallowing thickly. I was absolutely not going to make it 2 blocks on this hip tonight.

It had to have been all the exertion of the shower with Carmen, mixed with not sitting down only for 30 minutes today while I read to the kids. I rubbed my forehead in frustration, opening up the Uber app and seeing since it was ‘peak pricing’ it was gonna cost me $40 to get from the store home, and I do not have that kind of money.

I groaned, sitting back and thinking to myself if trying to wait it out would just get me in a worse position of being stuck here all night because Sadie has no car or not eating dinner for the rest of the week, since my groceries were dwindling and I didn’t get paid until Friday. I huffed, “no, I can fucking make it” I muttered, I pull myself up, nearly screaming at the pain screaming at me to stop, and yank my jacket over my arms.

With shaking hands, I got my keys out of my purse, flicking lights off as I limped, every step feeling like my leg was about to fall out like a Barbie that had never been properly popped into place. I groan quietly in pain every few steps, barely being able to lock the door from how violently my hands were moving. I looked both ways across the street, knowing it wasn’t long before a car came along. I try to take as big of strides I could into the alley.

I honestly didn’t give a fuck if I ran in to Carmen right now, I was not walking an extra three blocks in my condition just to avoid him. I lean against the wall, feeling that familiar shaking in my bad hip like it was telling me it was counting down before it gave way and barely got to the steps outside of the bear's kitchen door before collapsing with a grunt, the pain vibrating through my spine at the fall.

“Fuck” I whine, stretching my leg out in front of me. The faucet behind my eyes gives and my eyes are suddenly blurring with tears and I’m muffling sobs into my hand. The pain, the day I’ve had, and the worst of it- I’m stuck in the one place I don’t want to be. What kind of stupid desperate bitch will I look like if Carmen comes out to see me crying on the fucking steps of his restaurant.

I swallowed hard, doing my best to pull myself to my feet but my hip had locked and it was no use. With shaking hands I take out my phone, and the door creaks open behind me. I quickly dry my tears as best I can “uh- I'm not here to see you I- I’m going home I’m sorry” I mutter.

“Winnie the Pooh?” A slightly familiar voice said and I looked up to see Sugar standing there, a confused look on her face and I started to laugh to which she started looking concerned. “Oh!” I sniffle. “It’s you. Don’t tell Carmen I’m h-here” I hiccuped a sob and she furrowed her eyebrows, “no he's- wait” he shuts the door and sits next to me.

“Why you cryin’?” She asked gently and I shook my head “oh my god it’s- I-“ I wiped my tears again. “My hip…I got in an accident when I was 19 and had to get my hip fused, and they did it wrong so it’s all fucked and it just..hurts” I said and sniffled. “Okay why- why don’t you want Carm to know that?” She asked “did he already fuck up?” She said with a teasing smile and nudged me playfully.

“No- no he. Carm is…” I look at my feet. “Carm is wonderful. But he- he doesn’t want…what I would want, you know?” I look at her, still a bit teary eyed. She nods a bit “Y’know…Carm…somethin’ ‘bout that kid, he doesn’t allow a lot a’ good things…and” she rubs her hands together in thought, looking down for a moment.

“I think you’re right, but it’s what he needs.” She said and looked back at me finally. “I won’t…get in the middle of this. But- just know, Carm could really use a girl like you around. He left early today…he told me he was feeling like it was too much and he needed to go think about shit. He’s never done that. That tells me you are getting to him to take care of himself. So if it’s a Carmen thing, pushing you away? Sometimes with that kid you have to force him to see what he’s missin” she got up and extended a hand to me.

“What’re you doing?” I asked “cmon. Takin you home. Can’t live too far if you’re walkin’, right?” She asked and I smiled a bit. “You seem like a really good sister” I said softly and she smiled big. “Y’know. I always wished I had a sister, I don’t think either of my brothers have ever told me that'' she said, tucking her large purse into the crook of her arm. I crinkle my brows ``ok..well Carm and I will be talking about appreciating you because you give great advice” I grab on to her hand.

She giggled a bit as she hoisted me up and I quickly balanced myself on the railing, my hip still barely functional. “Woah!” She said, wrapping her arms around my waist tightly. “The car is right there parked in front- think you can walk?” She asked, concerned. I nodded quickly “yeah- yeah. I might need to like…lean on you” I said, my cheeks going pink with embarrassment.

“Course! C’mere chicky” she wraps her arm around my waist and I smiled a bit to myself as she helped me limp to her car. “You hug like Carmen” I said softly as we approached the passenger side and she laughed, “don’t tell him that. He’s always said I’m too ‘touchy’ since we were kids” she pulled open the door and I slowly got in, the pain in my hip dulling significantly when I sat on the plush seats of her SUV.

She gently pushed the door closed, coming to the drivers side and hoisting herself into the large vehicle. “Trust me- I totally get it. I have 2 kids, my hips or my bladder haven’t been the same since” she said jokingly as she started the car.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·.

Carmy’s P.O.V -

I tried to take a deep breath, staring pointedly at the church in front of me. My dark gray knit sweater was suddenly feeling itchy all over my exposed skin, even though my usual white work shirt was still layered underneath. I pulled at the collar of the offending garment, roughly itching my collarbone at the sensation of a tickle just under my chain. Taking a final drag of my third cigarette just standing there, I throw it to the ground, crushing it with my sneaker.

You can turn around- you can just get back in your car, and go home. You don’t have to do this.

The devilish voice bounces around in my head. I’m unsure what got me to drive here, what got me out of my car after sitting there for 15 fuckin’ minutes, but suddenly I was planting my feet up each step into the grand wooden entrance of the church.

Turn around. Turn around. Turn. around.

My entire body screams for me to run as I step into the welcome hall. This confidence to change so suddenly has to be the effect of a mostly-full nights sleep- thanks to Winnie of course.

Stop fucking thinking about her.

I’m met with a folding easel, a plain piece of white printer paper with an arrow that points to the left, reading ‘PTSD/ANXIETY ANON’ in large bold letters. I swallowed hard, staring at it intently.

Leave. Leave. Leave!!!!

The voice in my head was so loud that in my rested state, it drove me to push against it. To deprive it. I headed down the hall, the only sound being my sneakers tapping the tile floor and the loud fluorescent lights buzzing above me. My eyes fixed on a bolded sign at the large honey-stained wooden door just at the end of the hall, taped to the wooden frame. “ANXIETY ANONYMOUS” typed in bold letters on the same 8x11 printer paper and taped to the easel out front.

I took a deep breath, blinking my eyes shut hard out of habit, thinking about what I was about to do- before swallowing back the anxiety and my hand felt the icy touch of the handle, pulling down and pushing it open. I met the faces of about 4 other tortured souls, staring blankly back at me. “Uh” I mutter, standing in the doorway feeling like a total idiot.

“I-is this th-the.” I bit my cheek fucking word stumbling moron. “The fuckin’ anxiety anon meeting?” I spit out, trying my best to swallow the nausea rising in my throat from the crippling fear of meeting new people. A woman with a short bleach blonde bob, sitting in the corner at a large desk looks up.

“Oh!! Joy. A newbie!” She chirps, standing up and walking over, standing a few feet away. “I’m Claire” she said happily, and the protein bar I scarfed down my throat earlier begged to make a grand

reappearance.

“C-cl-?” I tried to grate out, swallowing thickly and my cheeks feeling so hot I was sure I could light one of my cigarettes on them.

Run. Run, RUN - Carmen!!! Find the fuckin’ bathroom, slink out like it never happened. Bad idea. Bad idea. Horrible idea.. Moron. Idiot. Stupid. Useless.

“Claire!” She repeats happily. “Are you alright with handshakes, dear? What's your name honey?” She sticks her right hand out to me confidently. My gaze meets her hand, and I swear my vision went blurry. I stumble back a bit. “Ba- bathroom” I muttered quickly, the feeling of vomit creeping up in my throat.

She gently pushes me into the hallway, grabbing the small trash can with her right hand and shutting the door behind her tightly. I ripped the trash pale out of her hands quickly, hurling my protein bar and whatever bile and water my stomach held for the last 6 hours In to it, squatting pathetically in the hallway against the wall and she stepped a bit closer, charm bracelets jingling as she rubbed my back while I wretch so hard I swore for a second my organs would fly out of my mouth.

“Christ kid” she muttered, her nails gently grazing the small of my back as she rubbed soothing, small circles. “Know a Claire, mm?” She asked matter-of-factly when I finally stopped heaving, my brain fully empty other then fuckin Winnie reading to me last night. And the story of the stupid fucking bunny.

“Yes- b-b-sh-she“ I tried to get air into my lungs, but instead my chest forced me into a painful gasp. “N-no- used to…” I dry heaved over the garbage can so hard I dropped to my knees on the cold tile, and was sure I'd either pass out, or die of embarrassment at the pathetic sound and sight, feeling fully like a sniveling child. Unfortunately to no avail.. I gasped in a breath so violently, the sudden pressure in my lungs made me feel as if I was really about to pass out.

I leaned against the cold wall, catching my breath before continuing. “I- I- fuckin” I winced at the pain in my stomach, my face clenching up slightly at the pang reverberating through every muscle in my body due to the intensity of all the emotions I was feeling at once.

“Fuckin... I crushed on ‘er as a stupid, idiot kid..but fuckin hate ‘er now..“ I sniffle, mucus getting caught in my throat, causing me to choke and cough so hard over the trash can that my lungs burned.

“Breathe, kid” she said, patting my back. “In through your nose and out through your mouth” she said and demonstrated a calm even breath. I rested my face on my arm, doing as she said, and finally catching my breath. “S-sorry I haven’t eaten much t’day and smoked like half a pack” I said and she nudged me gently. I look over and she’s holding a tissue, “thanks” I said wiping my mouth and nose tossing it in the garbage and leaning against the wall again, sighing deeply.

“C'mon, you can just listen today if you don’t feel like talking. We have water bottles in there for ya’ “ she said, standing up fully and extending a hand to me. I nodded a bit, taking her hand to steady myself as I got up. She took the trashcan and tied the bag, leaving it in the hall before opening the door. “I’m..sorry” I mutter, shaking my head.

“No! No happens all the time. Don’t worry” she said and opened the door. “Well gang, it’s us plus one newbie!” She said and handed me water from the counter at the side of the room before going to her seat and I swallowed thickly, sitting down on the furthest chair from everyone else, setting the water bottle on the chair before wiping my clammy hands over my jeans and swallowing thickly. “Alright” she said, sitting down with a clipboard. “Are there any big things this week that we need to start with?” She asked, I kept my gaze fixed on my lap.

“Yes- uh…my nightmares came back..” a small voice said and I looked up to see a girl with mousy brown hair and a deep scar on her right cheek. Claire nodded “did you want to share about them?” She asked her and the girl swallowed thickly. “No- no. I just… it’s about dating again after what happened. I can’t- I can’t. I’m always looking over my shoulder, I feel like a freak. It’s hard enough dating girls- and I- I have a hard time texting. And so when I meet them in person, I always catch them staring at me. And… and like I can hear their thoughts. Like ‘who is she hiding from’ or ‘I bet she has a secret girlfriend.’ And I - I’m so paranoid.” she huffed.

“I’m sure all of us here have felt paranoid after a trauma, and especially, when experiencing something new, the feeling of…waiting for the other shoe to drop. Is very common. Especially if it relates back to childhood, those wounds linger for a long time. Has anyone else been feeling paranoid?” She asked the group. There was a silence for a moment, I took a deep breath, finding my tongue.

“Me” I said, rubbing my thighs to soothe my anxiety. There was that familiar tightness in my stomach and my heart was thrumming in my throat. “Oh! Did you want to share more about that…sorry, how should we address you?” She asked and I kept my eyes locked on her, trying to forget there were other people there but still not wanting to sit alone with a shrink in an office.

“Carmen'' I said and she nodded, “okay, Carmen- did you want to share what you’re feeling paranoid about?” She asked and I sniffled, rubbing my lips together nervously. “Ye’ uh, I met a-a girl. Last week. And I haven’t stopped…thinkin’ about her? Like. I dunno. I have sworn off women quite a while ago.” I rub my chin, eyes gazing to the floor nervously.

“Okay, so what are you paranoid about?” She asked and my eyes flicker back to her. “So uh- yeah. S-sorry. Sorry. So uh- I work in a-a restaurant. And I run it, with my cousin and my sister. My second in command though, she- she knows this girl. And uh…I don’t know what’s been goin on? With me? And I…I like her. That’s-that’s why I’m paranoid. Cause I don’t…I can’t do girls and she-“ I sigh deeply, clearing my throat.

“She told me that she wouldn’t pressure me?” My eyes met hers again and she nodded. “Okay, so you’ve felt pressured in relationships in your past, and are worried it will happen again?” She asked and I thought for a moment, rubbing the back of my neck.

“Yes? Well…no..no not from her. I-I’ve been very pressured to like someone before and it was hell for me. B-but…that’s the thing is I trust she won’t pressure me. And I- when I’m around her, I’m not fuckin- im not fuckin like this? Like I- I can think, and I can breathe and…so-so-so if it’s not” I shake my head. “I feel so different around her? That’s why I’m paranoid.” I said finally. Claire sits back in her chair a bit.

“Okay, so you’re paranoid she’s going to leave?” She questioned. I shook my head a bit, “no- no that’s the thing is that the shoe always drops for me, I already fucked this up by just being me. My- one of my chefs, Syd. She- she’s friends with this girl and…and I think she told her about all my…fucked upness. She-she warned her that im a fuckin’- a fuckin loser. I just- and I didn’t even want to allow myself to feel this way which is why I’m so scared cause I- I feel like- like.” I shake my head.

“I feel like she’s good for me though. I-i just know I’m bad. I’m- I’m fuckin selfish. I would be a horrible boyfriend. I’m fucking insane I- I think. I wake up every night fucking throwing up. I- I obsess over things, and I just keep pushing and pushing until I get it how- how I see it in my head. B-but with her it’s like…I want to see? Where things go? Y’know? L-like I. I want her to show me…it’s- it’s stupid never mind” I shook my head looking back at my lap, pushing my bangs off my forehead nervously.

“Well in here, no one is crazy. I think you’re paranoid of having no control over your emotions, Carmen. Which is perfectly normal. We can’t control anything in this world, other than how we react to our feelings about things. So, let’s delve deeper into your current self image- what comes to mind first when I ask why you’re selfish?” She asked and I shrugged a bit.

“I fuckin’ shut the beef down, knowing it’s not what Syd wanted, knowing it’s not really what anyone wanted except for me. Because…cause Mikey left it to me. And- and I was like…I am fuckin’ angry at Mikey. And it was like- like a fuck you. Watch me do it better then you ever fuckin could” I said and run another hand through my hair at the realization. “Cause I fuckin’ - I only care about provin’ to myself that - that maybe I’m not a fuckin idiot. That I’m not useless.”

“You aren’t an idiot, and you are not useless, and it sounds like you feel selfish- because you’ve found yourself in a pattern of catering to others desires. How do you feel about your own desires, Carmen?” She asked and I shook my head a bit.

“No- no that’s..that’s what I’m saying I’m selfish. I - I’m a fuckin control freak at work everything is done my way, everything is tweaked to my standards, I don’t care what other people have to say about the re-“

She cuts me off “no- not your desires at work, in your life. Outside of work. In your relationships, friendships, personal goals? What do you desire your life to look like when you retire?” She asked and I swallowed thickly, my mind going blank.

“That is a great topic for today, desires. It is extremely hard, especially after a traumatic event or even years of incurring trauma, and then allowing yourself to desire. We may feel selfish as Carmen does, after we incur tragedy in our lives- to feel joy again, or allow new people in our lives because we are afraid that if we desire while we are unhealed, then we were never really damaged to begin with.” She said and a guy sitting a few chairs away from her clears his throat.

“I uh- yeah I relate a lot to what Carmen said about feeling selfish..after my brother died I stopped doing…everything I loved.” I look over at him, sitting up in my chair slightly. Cause I felt like if…if I’m happy then I don’t miss him? Or..or like. Like if I think about our good times together and loose the anger I feel about him killing himself for a few seconds- I feel like…like I’ll never stop thinking about what the fuck our lives would have been like if he just talked to me.” He said and crossed his arms. I sit up a little further in my seat.

“Mikey - he was m-my brother. He killed himself too” I said and he looked over at me, “I’m sorry…older or younger?” He asked “shit- yeah sorry I should have led with that I’m sorry too. He was- he was older…” I replied and he nodded, swallowing thickly and looking away.

“You couldn’tve done anything. I fuckin failed him though. He was younger” he muttered and I furrowed my brow shaking my head. “Nah. Nah don’t fuckin’ say that shit about yourself dude. Both of our brothers did it to themselves. That's one thing that we’re not responsible for. I’m- I’m angry that he- I needed him. Just like you needed your brother” I said and he nodded a bit.

Claire cuts in “it is normal to feel angry at a loved one for committing suicide. It’s also completely normal to feel guilt for that anger. Jack, it sounds like the anger you’re harboring for yourself, for not ‘protecting’ your brother from himself- is covering up a guilt you feel for a perceived responsibility to the reasoning behind your brother's passing.”

“I’m fuckin angry.” I shrug. “I’m fuckin- pissed at Mikey.” I said and she looked at me. “A question for you to ask yourself, Carmen, are you angry at Mikey or are you angry about the choice he made, to end his life, and leave you behind to forever miss him. Because they are 2 separate things. One is your brother, and the other- is a stupid choice he made. A choice that altered the lives of the people closest to him forever. He made the choice to have his legacy be one that ended in pain, and suffering for those who love him most. That choice, or Mikey - your brother that you clearly love very, very dearly.” She asked.

I felt a lump forming in my throat, blinking back tears and I looked over to the clock.

“Let’s circle back, yeah we have about 5 minutes left. This week's homework for you all, I want you to do one thing, or speak to one person” she looks to me for a moment “that you desire, and it’s guilt free, because you aren’t giving yourself the permission, I’m giving you the permission, and next week- we’re gonna talk about how it made us feel alright?” She said,

“Alright. Hopefully I’ll see you all again next week. Same time and place per usual” she got up and went over to the desk grabbing her bag. I got up, grabbing the water bottle and quickly darting out of the room and back down the hall to the front door. I shoved it open taking a deep breath as I went down the steps 2 at a time back to the parking lot.

I am not fucking going back there ever again.

I shook my head to myself, but realized that I didn’t feel…like I was gonna have an episode. Er- panic attack like Winnie called it. But rather than everything I’d buried about Mikey felt like a hardened scab to a barely healed wound had been picked at and messed with for a while. It was an extremely uncomfortable feeling. This is why I stopped going to AI-anon. Talking about it hurts more than just focusing on other shit and forgetting about it when I can.

I dug my cigarettes out of my pocket, taking one out and lighting it, leaning against the car as I smoked. I don’t know why Sugar keeps telling me that it’ll get better if I just talk about it, every time I talk about it I’m fuckin realizing shit. And I don’t like realizing shit. About myself. About Mikey. I’d rather just…fucking work. Just work. But I also hate work.

I’m brought out of my thoughts to the same blonde that irritated the scab which felt permanently fused to my soul. “Spirits huh?” She said and I looked over at her. “Yup” I mutter, taking another drag.

“I get it. I get it… if you don’t want to talk to me outside there it’s fine. I just wanted to say, I’m proud of you for opening up, good job. You should be proud of yourself.” She took a pack of Marlboro reds out of her purse and a blue lighter.

“Thanks…” I said, watching as she took a drag. “No offense… but I kinda feel worse?” I said and she laughed, smoke spilling from her mouth in a cloud. “None taken my friend, none taken.” She said, waving her hand in front of her to clear the thick puff of smoke. “That’s good actually, really good. It hurts before it helps” she shrugged, taking another drag.

“So- wait the fuck did I do t’you?! You wanna hurt me before you help me?” I questioned, pulling on my own cigarette. “Nothing oh my god!” She laughs. “Nothing Carmen! Oh jeez” she giggled slightly. “You need to come back, shut out the voice shooing you away” she said with a teasing smile and I rolled my eyes. “Sorry, not interested in ripping open old wounds when I’m already not able to process the bullshit I’m facing now.” I look at the ground, taking a long drag.

“Mmm. Alright.” She shrugged casually, dragging her own and exhaling without a beat. “ what?” I asked her, dropping my cig and crushing it with my sneaker. “I…don’t care?” She laughs a bit. “If you want to stay in the mental prison you’ve created, so be it, Carmen. But- I’m here! Every week for the past 11 years” she retorts, tossing her cigarette into a puddle over the parking lot barrier.

“Nice meeting you, kid. Word of advice-“ she turns to me as she pulls her driver's side door open. “Do the fuckin’ homework, mm?” She sits in her seat, starting the car. “That girl you mentioned, whatever her name is- I may be a shrink - but I’m also a spouse - the way your eyes sparkle when you talk about her? That's your wife, if I never see you again? I hope you’ve gone and got her.” She pulled her door closed without another word, backed out of her parking spot.

I felt a vibration against my hip, pulling my phone out of my pocket in case it was one of the employees and checking who it was. My throat dries out as I listen to the marimba ringtone, staring at my screen, my mind going blank.

Winnie 🍯 Mobile

The slide to answer button practically laughed at me.

.·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈ *¨¨*:·..·:*¨¨* ≈☆≈

➵ 𝐍𝐞𝐱𝐭 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫

#the bear fic #carmen berzatto #carmen berzatto fanfiction #the bear fx #the bear hulu #carmen berzatto fluff #carmy berzatto #carmy berzatto fanfiction #the bear fanfiction #carmen berzatto x you #carmen berzatto smut #carmen berzatto x reader #carmen berzatto x oc #carmy berzatto x oc #carmy the bear #carmy berzatto x reader #carmy x reader

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roxyzwritez · 3 months ago

Text

au writing shit idk

heres the Rough Plan for my first few eps:

ep1: the au branches off of canon in the final SU ep, Change Your Mind. renamed to Change Your World. when white yoinks the gem out of steven and pinksteven reforms and whiteasks W H E R E I S P I N K the response is something along the lines of "i am right here, but fuck you im not talking to you." (girlboss) and white gets the "im a child, what's your problem" and has the perfectionist meltdown, then steven's like "sorry but we gotta head out" and they're like "PINK WHAT THE FUCK?" steven goes "im not pink just leave earth alone" the gems agree and give steven The Legs™️.

pearl latches onto the idea that rose is still alive in there. (didn't write that tho just had it cut to this next bit oops) her and greg build a thing to connect to the gem that will essentially connect to pink/rose im just gonna call her rose damnit and allow her to communicate w everyone. shes like "...hey guys. uh. sorry for trying to kill myself i guess that didn't work but i have been minecraft spectating steven for the entirety of his existence with no ability to do anything but think and watch" pearl has a lesbian implosion, everyone's all happy n shit. steven eventually asks about the lying and she's like "yeag i done bad there. i just wanted to keep you guys together" (now that i think abt it there was no mention of bismuth here.. oops,) garnet gives her a Garnet Specil motivational speech and she's like "i missed you too garnet" (i forgot to mention, garnet violently explode-unfuses and ruby+sapphire are just bumbling with happy when rose spoke) amethyst has her own moment (she thought this was all bullshit and started playing fortnite upstairs but between games she heard rose and a p p e a r e d)

anyway rose then is thinking "oh man i gotta talk to so many ppl" and realizes eh guys nothing to worry abt just a HAPPY TO LISTEN, HAPPY TO STAY, HAPPILY WATCHING HER DR- but we should go there NOW" so they do, spinel is understandably distraught and breaks the gemspeaker in half but feels bad about it. she comes with the gang to earth, they show her around, a new gemspeaker is made and they reconcile. yippy! also spinel ate one of ALL. big donut flavors. sadie allowed this just for on e because steven is the LORD AND SAVIOR OF THE STEVEN UNIVERSE haha funny.

anyway she and bismuth talk. bis is kinda like "yeah i wasnt very gamer sorry about that herhee" again ignoring that SHE lied about the bubbling, conveniently forgot to explore that conversation for ease of writing and so i didn't need to go "how do i utilize my 2 iq points to channel these characters and get them to have a coherent, consistent to character conversation about this situation"

peri and lapis are called over by bismuth who doesn't say shit to them for the surprise. lapis is like "yeah ok hit me" peri is more curious. rose speaks, peridot fangirls and lapis is like "oh shit that's historically significant " peri is like "I NEED TO RESEARCH:)))" and runs off. spoiler: gem cloning

bis brings up the idea. rose is like "yeah that sounds legit" (the gem cloning conundrum took me way too long to understand. i drove my friend crazy. "hey can u explain every single quantum detail of this in the most verbose way i dont understand" but eventually i understood it JUUUUST enough to write it lmao i still don't get it)

rose n steven talk in roses room. all happy n shit. greg is told abt the plan and hes like oh shit i gotta clean up and steven is like "you know her standards. she don't give a shit" hes like "yeag"

peri makes progress! she made a little clump!! (explaining the gem cloning: theyre making essentially an empty gem with the powers but no consciousness inside. when its ready, white will take steven's gem out again, rose reforms, and the new gem gets ever so graciously stabbed into his belly where the old one was.)

peri tells steven its gonna take a year. he's like "well okay better than like hundreds of years" then he goes off to talk to the diamonds. he brings the speaker with. rose lets out the thousands of years of distrust and anger at the dismonds and they are humbled even more than when they got pinkd and rose is like "you WILL heal all the shattered ones i don't give a shit" and theyre like "whatever you say little one" (yes they do indeed heal the fallen. probably with regular shipments of steven fluid. that sounded wrong but im not a freak like that hes still 14)

also they go back home and steven talks to rose abt "you told the diamonds you literally wanted to die are you fr?" she explains and hes like YOU FATHERFUCKER, YOU ARE AMAZING AND YOU CAN'T DO THAT (crying)"

next episode is just year-long filler but i made it actually good by making it essentially a montage of lapis and peri in the barn becoming lesbian for eachother. finally, a controversial move on my part, they decide to overcome lapis's fear of fusion and fuse for stevens birthday. their fusion is turquoise (took way too long coming up with a fucking name) and can corrode (water + metal) and can morph/control metal (liquify n stuff. definitely not taken from a lapidot fusion concept i found on google images.) garnet is like "hey pearl look at these silly lesbians " pearls like "damn relatable" garnets like "yeag"

a week or a few after the bday, the gem is finally ready. everyone is excited until steven asks how this is gonna work. peri is like UHHHHH... 😊 and lapis is just "eh just take that one out, stick this one in!" peri goes NNNO- but after some damage control and telling everyone steven will be fine hes like "well i better get some good sleep then. big day!"

there's more but im done typing my fingers are about to go peridot and fuckin fly away let me know if you want the like 1other episode and the minisode after that

#too much WORSD

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intergalactic-garbage · 3 months ago

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(tsartistry on my main) I'm so glad you see my vision!! Imagine Blitz making magical accessories for his new niece and nephew. Amos appreciating and modeling every article of clothing Blitz makes for him.

I suppose it would technically be a polycule since I also ship Amos/Set in that Symbrock kind of way.

Which leads me to Set adopting Samirah and Alex by proxy like "I'm going to be a significantly less sucky Chaos God Parent because pissing Loki off would be objectively hilarious."

(which also gives Set plausible deniability, he's just committing to the bit! Of course he doesn't ACTUALLY care about Sam and Alex. He's just attending all of Alex's sculpture exhibitions & helping Sam attend flight school & supporting their interests and defending them from prejudice IRONICALLY shut up Sadie!!)

ohmygod hiiii love! I SEE YOUR VISION

amos is such a babygirl, he's so soft for all the kids, and set is like one of my favourite characters, he's just the typical trickster guy who was an antagonist in trp and pretty much nothing about him changes in the following plot, except that he's on the side of the good guys. honestly set/amos is SUCH a fun dynamic. im almost tempted to read some fics of them now

oh but amos is absolutely very caring about what he dresses in, and only takes the finest fabrics and gets every little thing tailored (the guy definitely has to have a matching pocket square and tie), and he carries this quiet sort of old times gentleman charm to him (of which he isn't that much aware)

he appreciates blitzen's expertise so much and loves talking to him, he really values his opinions on pretty much everything, and before they become actual friends who go for coffee together, just spends always nearly an hour talking to him while he's supposed to be running errands. they eventually become well-acquainted and go for dinner to each other's residences as well as fancy restaurants

oh loki and set absolutely know about each other and have even met a few times, and you know, they hear about what the other did from time to time, and appreciate it, generally; realness recognizes realness and all that.

once during dinner, blitz talks about the happenings in the norse pantheon, and how loki's just been fucking insufferable lately, and how his two nieces suffer needlessly simply for being his children. set perks up; "his children?" "oh yeah," blitz says, dabbing his lips with a handkerchief, "samirah and alex, one a valkyrie and the other an einherjar. they're like family to me." and amos smiles, and comments on how that sounds lovely, and with a smirk remarks that he's sure blitzen would be a wonderful father (all through this, set is already going off in his head about how he'd be SO MUCH of a better father than loki)

the next month, amos quietly shows up next to blitzen at one of alex's pottery showings near the chase space. "oh, amos, what are you doing here?" amos' eyes flash with a light sort of reddish orange "oh, i find it hilarious that as a superior chaos god, i can show up for the children of chaos when they need it." blitzen grins, and gently slips his hand into the other's

this becomes a typical occurrence .

#memento Mari #tkc #the kane chronicles #mcga #amos kane #blitzen mcga #old man yaoi #riordanverse #blitzamos #amoset #blitzamoset #I LOVE MY OLD MAN YAOI #blitzen x amos #amos x set #blitzen x amos x set #chase space mention #rrverse #WE ARE MAKING OLD MAN YAOI

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your-favorite-therapist · 3 months ago

Text

The Calm Before the Storm, or

***

Thank you for writing this, @ask-sadie-morgan, it's beautiful. It means a lot to me 🧡

***

Adina opens her eyes in the morning and is nothing short of startled to find that Lee is still laying next to her, fast asleep. She lets out a soft gasp and scoots away slightly.

She… she hasn’t left?

She pauses, then takes this opportunity to lean in and study Lee a little closer. At this point in their situationship she’s quite familiar with the contours of Lee’s body. But her face?

Adina moves a tuft of Lee’s hair out of her face in order to get a better look, then softly runs the back of her hand down Lee’s cheek. Her heart leaps into her throat.

She hasn’t left. She stayed. On her own.

This is the first occasion in which Adina hasn’t had to use her venom to get someone to stick around. It means something to her that she can’t exactly identify, but it undoubtedly hits deep.

She rolls from her side onto her back and thinks for a moment. She wants to kiss Lee awake and hold her in such a way that as much of their bodies are touching as possible. But she looks so peaceful. So sweet. So much like something she could look at every day.

Adina all but hops out of bed. She can’t think such thoughts. Not right now. She strides to the linen closet, selects a fleece robe, and slips it on. She retrieves one for Lee as well, setting it down on the bed before making her way to another room.

After a few more moments, Lee stirs awake. She also seems surprised that she’s stuck around until morning for once.

“What did I…” She cuts her own sentence short when she notices that this time it is Adina who is absent from the scene.

Wait… don’t tell me dat she…

Lee scans the room for clues. Adina’s bedroom looks strange in the morning light, she must admit, but… she thinks she likes it.

After doing a full lap around the room with her eyes, they finally settle on the neatly folded robe that is sitting on the bed where Adina once was.

As if on cue, Adina reenters the bedroom.

“Oh, darling, you’re awake.” Lee’s heart skips a beat. Darling?

“I wasn’t certain if you’d prefer coffee, tea, orange juice, or milk, so I sent for them all.”

“Sent for?”

Adina giggles and crosses the room, sitting on the bed. “Room service, my silly little bug.” She gently grabs Lee’s face and squeezes her cheeks. “In a matter of minutes, the finest breakfast selection that the executive chefs to the Seraphim have to offer will manifest on the dining room table. Certainly you’re hungry after last evening’s romp?”

“Yeah, uh, I could eat.”

“Wonderful!” Adina hisses playfully and flicks out her snake-like tongue, tickling Lee’s nose with it. She scoots back under the covers. “While we wait, come here, why don’t you?”

While in the grand scheme of things they’re still relatively new to each other, it’s not lost on Lee that this sort of behavior on Adina’s part is not exactly commonplace. At first she merely tilts her head in confusion.

Stellen Sie keine Fragen, Lee, just lean into this.

Now, a wily smile spreads across her face. “You didn’t get enough of dis last night, huh?”

Adina reaches out and pulls Lee close. “Oh, bug. I already have what I need from you… for now. Consider this extra credit.”

Lee begins mentally preparing herself for another round. She’s puzzled when Adina simply… holds her.

Da hell?

If she’s to be honest with herself, Adina doesn’t quite understand her actions, either. She’s not even certain why, she only knows that she wants Lee close to her.

She positions herself in such a way that her chin is resting on the top of Lee’s head. She settles down. Feeling Lee’s body heat complimenting her own, years of tension leave her.

Lee does, in fact, let herself lean into this, nuzzling her face into Adina’s shoulder. She nearly melts, surprised at just how soft and comforting Adina’s rabbit ears are.

This is a feeling that Lee has yet to find as a result of mere sex. This is much more than lust.

This is intimacy.

The two of them lose the rest of the world for a few moments. Neither of them are sure how much time passes before they eventually hear a loud WHOOSH and feel a gust of wind from the other room.

“Oh! That’ll be our breakfast,” Adina says.

It seems easier for her to let go of Lee than it is for Lee to be let go of. Lee watches, almost like a puppy left in an alley, as Adina leaves the bed and starts to walk away.

“Won’t you put on your robe and join me in the other room, then?”

My robe? Lee thinks to herself. Now, she smiles, somewhat absentmindedly, still sort of baffled that she’s still here.

She nods. “Sure, bun-bun. I’ll put dis on and be right in.”

Lee watches as Adina all but sashays out of the room, then grabs the robe and drapes it over her shoulders for now. She stands up and stretches her back before tying the garment around her properly.

Truthfully, she had only stayed because she was so damn worn out; had she woken up first as normal, she would’ve split, just like every other time, hastily pulling her clothes back on and scurrying away before Adina even knew what hit her. But then she would’ve missed out on this.

She turns her head and looks into the room where Adina waits for her. Their breakfast has arrived, and Adina is smiling as she pours each of them a glass of orange juice.

Adina lifting so much as a finger for someone else? Previously unheard of.

It occurs to Lee that she’s been missing out on this the whole time. Slow mornings with someone who makes your heart do a front flip are a luxury, she now understands as she watches Adina flit around the dining room, and she feels a little peeved with herself for denying herself this.

And what about Adina? Lee had never before considered how she felt about waking up alone after a night together. Could it be that she was craving this, too?

She snaps herself out of the little stupor she’s fallen in, tells her heart to slow down, and joins her lover in the dining room.

Adina hums lightheartedly as she arranges the breakfast table how she likes. She hasn’t felt this breezy in a long time, if ever. She’s delighted beyond her vocabulary that Lee was still beside her this morning; an unfamiliar feeling that she doesn’t entirely hate.

She had tried to be nonchalant about her mornings alone, but her increasing disappointment with each passing empty bed should’ve been her first clue that there was an underlying desire for more.

It’s still unbeknownst to her most conscious self, but she wants Lee in more ways than she already has her.

“Just in time, my dear!” she says as Lee enters from the bedroom. “And don’t you look precious in that robe.” She crosses the room and gives Lee a kiss on the top of her head, then pulls out a chair for her.

“Danke, ‘Dina,” Lee murmurs, almost in a bit of shock. That kiss— light and innocent as it was— felt… tangible. Meaningful.

Adina nods. “Only the best for my bugaboo.” She sits at the chair across the table. “You did so well for me last evening, I wanted to reward you. Please have as much as you’d like.”

Lee’s been eyeing one particular piece of quiche since she walked in the room, and immediately reaches for it. Adina giggles at her enthusiasm.

“So, my sweet little bug, did you sleep well?” she asks, fixing her own plate, starting with a heaping serving of black pudding. “I know I certainly did.”

“Ja. I zonked,” Lee answers. “You wore me da hell out!”

Adina laughs again and winks at her. She tells Lee about the dream she had the evening before; something funny about her colleagues that would never happen in real life.

In turn, Lee tells her about a dream she once had. Then, before she knows it, she’s telling her about the dream she once had. Her carefree, childhood days. Stopping short of sharing the difficult decisions she made, she talks a bit about her life.

Adina listens intently. Knowing more about the mantis will allow her to better play the game. But, again, there’s more to this. She finds herself genuinely wanting to know more about Lee, to allow her to better care for her.

There is a break in conversation, and Adina glances at the window. Daylight, obviously. A downside to Lee staying until morning for once that neither of them had anticipated in the heat of the moment: how was Lee supposed to leave inconspicuously now?

Even as a master of disguise, and regardless of her chosen form, it’s unlikely that she would go unnoticed at this point.

“Bugaboo.”

“Ja, bun-bun.”

“I think perhaps it’s time that you leave.”

Lee’s chest tightens. She finds herself hurt by not only the words but also the tone in which they’re spoken. But she knows Adina is right; no one should be seen sneaking out of a Seraphim’s quarters.

“Right, yeah, of course.” She scoots her chair away from the table. “Lemme help you clean all dis up.”

Adina shakes her head. “I will call for a servant to do it after your departure.

Understood, Lee nods. She feels… disappointed, maybe? Like perhaps she had been looking for a reason to stick around for just a few minutes longer.

Adina backs away from the table as well, and the two of them make their way back into the bedroom, where their outfits from the night before are strewn about the floor.

Lee unties the waist cinch of the robe and lets it fall off of her shoulders. Is she supposed to… take it with her? She thinks about that instead of wondering why her heart feels like it’s sinking.

She gets redressed and picks up her satchel. Something tumbles around inside. Of course! How could she forget?

“Oh! Uh, ‘Dina.”

“Hmm?”

“I… I have something for you.”

Adina looks puzzled. “A gift? For me?”

Lee blushes. “Yeah, I mean, dis… it’s, uh, not much, but… I just wanted to do somethin’ nice for you. I know dat—“

I know dat you’re embarrassed of me…

I know I’m just a toy. I know dat people talk and rumors fly. I know you’ve got your reputation.

“I know dat… uh, dat dis will look great on you.”

Out from the satchel she retrieves a beautifully crafted stainless angelic steel tiara. Vienna had helped her make it, although Lee wouldn’t tell her why she had asked to collaborate on a project.

Lee rotates the tiara around, taking a moment to look it over and appreciate her and her sister’s work before she hands it over to its intended rightful owner.

Adina is left momentarily speechless. Her entire career as a fully-fledged Seraph has involved doling out gifts to deserving Winners. But to be given a gift herself?

She delicately takes the tiara into her own hands and inspects it just as Lee had.

“Lee, this is… astounding. Remarkable. I…”

Not knowing what else to say, she puts the thing on, positioning it just so. It sits perfectly under her halo and nestled between her upward swoops of hair.

“How does it look?”

Lee’s heart somehow quickens and stops at the same time. Her vision blurs in such a way that all she can see clearly is Adina; standing there in her robe and her messy morning hair topped with her new adornment. Now, she is the speechless one.

She blushes and takes a moment to reply.

“Great. Just like I said it would.”

Adina grins, pleased. She walks over and kisses Lee on the forehead.

“Thank you, bugaboo.” She places her hands on Lee’s shoulders and guides her to the giant

French doors that lead to the balcony. “Now, I hate to part on such a note, but… we must.”

Lee opens the doors herself and steps out onto the balcony, taking just a second to appreciate the panoramic view of the Embassy District.

“Yeah, I know.”

“You’ll return to me.”

“Of course, ‘Dina.”

Lee takes on the guise of some random, generic looking Exorcist, mask and all. She stands on the railing of the balcony, fans out her wings, and flies away.

What choice do I have?

#sinner lee #seraphim adina #leedina #lutualverse

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poppy-in-the-woods · 6 months ago

Text

Playing God | Chapter Three: Look But Don't Touch

Plot: Sadie is a vampire hunter with a problem: the members of her favourite band are vampires. She spent the last five years since she found out training to take them out, one by one, beginning with the youngest, guitarist Tim Henson. But things rarely go as planned, and Sadie's life will be turned upside down after her first encounter with Tim.

Cross-posted to AO3

Pairing: Vampire!Tim Henson x Vampire hunter!OFC

Word count: 4315

Rating: Mature/Explicit.

General tags: vampire au, arranged marriage, smut, violence, blood, biting, implied homophobia, misoginy, lgbtq characters, slight gore.

Chapter tags: talks of slut shaming, alcohol consumption, asshole brother, asshole boyfriend

Author's note: As always, English is not my first language, this is not proofread, yada yada yada, you know the drill already. Hope you enjoy, and if any of you want me to be tagged into this, let me know.

@veronicaphoenix

After her comments about the potential existence of good vampires, Jack and her father took turns watching her. On Saturday she went to bed early and did something she hadn't done since she was a teenager: she put a couple of pillows under the covers and climbed out her bedroom window. They had agreed that Tim would pick her up at the end of the street, so, after putting on her heels, she ran to his parked car.

“Ready?” he asked her as she put on her seatbelt.

“Pedal to the metal!”

For some reason, she felt excited about going to a party, and after a couple of minutes of thinking about it, she realized why: as an adult she had never gone to a party for the party itself, but to kill vampires. The last party she had gone to with the sole purpose of enjoying herself had been her prom, and it hadn't ended well.

“What's on your mind?” he asked.

“My prom. My date tried to grope me while we were dancing, so I broke his face,” she said. “I literally broke his jaw with a punch.”

“Shit!”

“I didn't mean to do it, but I was so angry I went too far,” she confessed.

“Remind me never to piss you off,” he said.

She couldn't help laughing, and he joined in soon after.

“Do you have any stories about dances?” she asked him when she could stop laughing.

“No, not really. I missed a few, that's for sure. As a teenager I spent a lot of time grounded for smoking pot,” he said, smiling wistfully, “and I even got arrested a couple of times, so to stay out of trouble I took up playing the guitar.”

“So that's why you're so good.”

“And because of my mother. She's Chinese, you know, and Asian mothers are a little crazy. I started playing the violin, and even though I didn't like it, she made me rehearse and rehearse,” he confessed. “There's no denying she taught me discipline.”

“Do you speak Mandarin?” she asked.

“Unfortunately, no. I mean, I can speak it now, but I never learned it as a human.”

“Oh, that's too bad. Did you know there's a way to tell if a vampire learned a language as a human or if they're using their gift of tongues?”

“Ah, yeah? Which one?”

“If they have an accent of their mother tongue when speaking the other language, they almost certainly learned it as a human.” She explained. After that, they were silent for a while. “Tim, can I ask you a question?”

“Sure, go ahead.”

“What does it feel like to be bitten?” she wanted to know.

“It hurts, obviously, but only for a couple of seconds. We have substances in our saliva that numb the pain. It makes the experience euphoric,” he said in a dreamy tone. “But I was only bitten to be turned, so my experience is minimal.”

“I guess I'll have to ask the fleurs-de-lis.”

“Exactly. We're here.”

The party was at a hotel, small and exclusive. They had booked one of the rooms that normally hosted weddings, and a hotel employee was checking to make sure no one entered without an invitation. Her anxiety grew as they approached the door; there were too many vampires there, and she didn't have her stake with her, nor any of her weapons, just in case she had to go through a metal detector.

“Your invitation, sir?” asked the stewardess politely.

“I have it here,” he replied, taking it out of the inside pocket of his jacket.

“Of course, have a nice evening,” the woman wished them after reading it and returning it to him.

They entered. The room was filled with vampires of different ages, genders, and backgrounds, plus several human waitresses moving among the people, carrying trays of glasses of champagne or blood. The pressure in her chest increased.

“I don't know if this was a good idea, Tim,” she whispered.

“Relax, no one is going to hurt you,” he assured her. “You are my guest, and that means that it is forbidden to touch you without my permission, okay? Look but don't touch.”

“Look but don't touch,” she repeated, taking a deep breath. “I need a drink.” Tim took a glass of champagne from a nearby tray and handed it to her. “Thank you,” she said, and proceeded to drink it in one gulp.

“Slow down, you beast, you're going to get a good bender if you keep it up,” he said, amused. “Would you like to dance?”

“Okay.”

Sadie left the empty glass on the tray of a passing waitress and let herself be led to the dance floor. They swayed for a while (neither of them knew how to dance to the kind of music that was playing), until a vampire (male, about forty or forty-five years old apparently, with a beard and graying hair) came up to greet Tim, followed by an obviously human woman, a statuesque blonde wearing a scandalous red dress.

“Hi, I'm Claire” the woman introduced herself as the vampires spoke. “I've never seen you around these parties before, are you new in town?”

“Sadie, nice to meet you,” she replied, shaking her hand. “No, I... I'm not a fleur-de-lis, I just came with him,” she explained, nodding to her date.

“Oh, I see. If he gets tired of you, or you get tired of doing it for free, call me, okay?” Claire said, holding out a card to her. “You won't know what it's like to earn real money until you're one of us.”

“Does one really earn that much?”

“Right now, between clothes and accessories, I have about five grand on me,” Claire confided. “Of course, you have to know which vampires to associate with, but here in Los Angeles are some of the richest vampires in the country.”

“No offense, but isn't that like being a very expensive hooker?”

“Luxury escort,” Claire corrected her. “Luxury bloodscort, if you will,” she added, laughing at her own pun. “The vampires have paid for my breast augmentation, liposculpture, my house, my closet and my car. And all that in just five years.”

“I assume not everyone will earn that much.”

“No, of course not. Again, it depends on where you operate and the contacts you have,” acknowledged the fleur-de-lis. “Besides, this job is not for everyone. There are girls who have tried it and soon quit, and they were just as happy.”

“Because they didn't want to sleep with their clients?”

“You don't have to if you don't want to,” the woman assured her. “They pay you to drink from you, nothing else. Any extra service is paid for separately and in advance.”

“I get the feeling you're trying to recruit me.”

“I like you, but no, more girls mean more competition. I'll tell it like it is, and you can decide what you want to do. What do you do for a living right now, if you don't mind me asking?” Claire was interested.

“I'm a gym instructor, part-time,” she replied.

Everyone in Sadie’s family had to have a job since the moment they turned sixteen, because the bills didn't pay themselves, and hunting didn't make money, but nothing that would take up so much of their time that they couldn't fulfill their duties.

“You'd make more in the two minutes it takes them to drink from you than you would in a month's work,” Claire said.

“Does it hurt a lot to be bitten?” she asked.

“Oh, no, just a few seconds, and there are even vampires who do it so gently that you hardly notice,” Claire assured her. “They have something in their saliva that makes it not hurt. It's even... not orgasmic, but post-orgasmic. You know that feeling you get when you cum really hard and for a while your brain feels like cotton candy? Like that.”

“I don't think I've ever felt that,” she lied to get Claire to keep talking. She had experienced it a couple of times, but it had been a long time ago.

“Oh, well, you don't know what you're missing, it's a wonderful feeling.”

“And do you... do you have sex with him?” she whispered, glancing sideways at the vampire accompanying her, who was still talking to Tim.

“No, though I do with others. Men and women. You haven't had real cunnilingus until you've had it done by a female vampire.”

“I believe you. Tim,” she called him, “I need to go to the bathroom, can you come with me?”

“Sure. Nice talking to you, Antoine. What did you think?” He asked her when they were far enough away.

“She's nice, but too intense for my taste.”

“Yes, I agree with that,” Tim approved, amused. “She's not on drugs, in case you're wondering; the rules of the fleurs-de-lis prohibit it. That's just the way she is. If you'd like to meet some less intense ones, I can introduce you to them.”

“Yes?”

“Besides, I need a sip of fresh blood,” he said.

“Oh.”

The disappointment must have shown on her face, because Tim replied:

“Unless you offer, and I know you won't, I have to eat.”

“I don't want to be bitten, not by you, not by anyone,” she confirmed.

“So that's it. Let's go.”

They went to a couch area, where there were several human women chatting with each other and drinking, though not alcohol.

“Hi, girls,” he greeted them with a big smile, “My friend and I are tired, can we sit down?”

“Anything for you, handsome,” said one of them, an Asian-looking brunette, patting the free space next to her.

“Jia, my flower, can I have a drink?” he continued, sitting down.

“Sure, drink,” she agreed, offering him her wrist. “But don't forget to pay me after.”

“You know I never forget.”

Fascinated as well as disgusted, Sadie watched as Tim bit into the offered wrist, but still making eye contact with her. Disturbed, she looked away.

“Why aren't you feeding your vampire?” asked another of the fleur-de-lis, a redhead with very large eyes.

“Oh, no, he's not my vampire, we're just friends.”

“Ah. I don't want to be rude or anything, but if you're not one of us, and it's evident that you're not, and he's not your boyfriend, what exactly are you doing here?”

“Sadie is going through a somewhat difficult personal situation,” Tim answered before she could do so, saving her from having to lie, “so I offered to take her out of the house for a while, to distract her from her problems.”

“And you brought her to a fleur-de-lis party because…?” asked Jia.

“Because you throw the best parties. And because I still have to eat.”

“Yeah... Where's Anya, by the way? We thought you were coming with her,” asked the redhead.

“We've called it quits,” said Tim. The fleurs-de-lis let out exclamations of disappointment in their support. “No, it's okay, she wanted something from me that I couldn't give her.”

“She's a romantic, that's why we never told her to join,” said a third fleur-de-lis, a blonde, in a knowing tone.

“That's not why, we haven't told her because she's practically a bite junkie,” said Jia in a dismissive tone. “She doesn't have what it takes to do this job and not end up dead. I'm sorry, I know it sounds awful, but that's the way it is; the poor thing doesn't know when to stop and never has.”

“I think she's changed lately,” Tim defended her. “I mean, she's the one who broke up with me.”

“Because she wanted to be your girlfriend, not because she wanted to stop,” replied Jia. “She's a bit too much of a party animal, if you know what I mean.”

“A piece of advice: don't be blinded by glamour,” said the blonde. “Always be very clear about the reality of the situation.”

“And that is…?” Sadie wanted to know.

“They're vampires, and we're just beautifully packaged food. They pay us well, it's true, but most of them don't appreciate us,” explained the blonde fleur-de-lis.

“There are always exceptions, like Tim, but it's not the norm,” Jia added. “This is all purely transactional, and if a fleur-de-lis hangs up her robes for one of her clients, it's because she's pretty sure she'll end up a vampire.”

“There are several old fleur-de-lis among the ladies with fangs tonight,” said the redhead in a tone of confidence.

“Yes, but let's not talk about work anymore, huh” -said Jia.

“Oh, I have a hilarious anecdote! Do you know what happened to me the other day? I went to a friend's birthday party, and her little daughter…”

They were chatting and laughing for a while, until, after having had several non-alcoholic cocktails, Sadie had to go to the restroom for real this time.

“Go out that door and continue down the corridor,” said Jia, pointing to the door in question with the hand that held her glass. “The bathrooms are on the right, you can't miss them.”

“Thank you.”

Before she could reach the door, however, a vampire woman stepped out in front of her. Tall as a model, with dark skin, very long braids decorated with gold rings and a golden dress with stiletto sandals. She looked like a representation of some primordial goddess.

“Good evening, little flower!” The vampire greeted her. “I haven't seen you here before, are you new in town?”

“Yes, I... well, I moved here a few months ago.”

“If you need a friend, I can be your friend,” the vampire continued, smiling. She took a glass of champagne from the tray of a passing waitress and handed it to her. Sadie took it out of inertia. “My name is Chantal,” she introduced herself, toasting her and taking a sip from her own blood-filled glass.

“Sadie, nice to meet you. It's just that I, uh... I already have a friend,” she replied, feeling the heat rise in her neck and face.

“Oh, I'm sure they don't mind, besides, a girl like you should have lots of friends.”

Was that vampire flirting with her or had she just mistaken her for another fleur-de-lis? Or both at the same time? Unsure, she took a sip of champagne.

“Thanks, I guess?”

“Girl, don't be ashamed, there's nothing wrong with this!” The vampire laughed, “Besides, I know you're one of mine, I've seen how your eyes went to my cleavage.”

“Oh, well, it's just that it's a spectacular dress, and you look great in it,” she excused herself.

“Thank you, it's an exclusive model,” answered the vampire, running one of her hands along the bodice of the dress. “In every way.”

“I don't want to be rude, I really don't, but I was going to the bathroom and, anyway, I'm not a fleur-de-lis, I was just invited to the party.”

“You're not? Oh, sorry, with that mouth-watering smell and that appearance I just assumed you had to be. Anyway, if you ever feel like meeting up, you can give me a call,” Chantal added, holding out her card.

“I'll think about it. If you'll excuse me...” she said, pointing to the door.

“Of course, go ahead. I'll see you around, little not-a-fleur-de lis.”

After that, it didn't take her long to find the washroom, and she was already washing her hands when a woman about her age came in, crying.

“Are you all right?” she asked the other girl while drying her hands with a paper towel.

“Oh, I'm sorry, I thought no one was there…”

“Don't apologize, you didn't do anything wrong. I'm Sadie, did someone hurt you?”

“Rose, nice to meet you. No, it's just... my boyfriend just broke up with me,” she confessed.

“Wow, I'm so sorry. What happened? If you want to talk about it, of course, you don't have to tell me.”

“I started this job to put myself through college, you know? Nothing else. Two years ago, I met Kenneth, and we fell in love. After a year together, I felt it was time to tell him what I was doing,” Rose explained. “I wanted to be honest with him; that was my biggest mistake. I don't have sex with any of my clients, ever, I just let them drink from me, but Kenneth didn't like it and that's when the fights started. He says if I really loved him, I'd get another job. Another job! I pay for everything, my expenses and his, and he has the nerve to tell me...!” She couldn't finish the sentence, because she started crying again.

“You're better off without him,” Sadie assured her, rubbing Rose’s back in what she hoped was a reassuring way.

“But I love him!” Rose protested.

“Sometimes it's not enough. Kenneth takes advantage of the benefits of your job, but he judges you for it, is that fair?” asked Sadie.

“No.”

“And is it fair for you to stay with a man who, on top of that, doesn't trust you?” She continued. “Because if I understand you correctly, one of his problems is that he thinks you're cheating on him.”

“Yes, that's a big problem for him,” Rose confirmed.

“But you haven't cheated on him, even though you could earn more if you did, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then, is it fair that he doesn't trust you even though you've never done anything to betray his trust?” she reiterated.

“No. But I shouldn't have come to this party... he warned me, that if I came, he would leave me.”

“Why did you do it? I mean, why did you come to the party if you knew Kenneth wouldn't like it?”

“Because several of my vampires have moved out of town, and I need to get new contacts,” Rose explained, wiping away her tears.

“You came to do business. To make sure you're still making enough money to support both of you,” Sadie said. “He has nothing to complain about, and he shouldn't have given you an ultimatum. I assume you share an apartment” Rose nodded “and that your name is the only one on the lease.”

“Yes.”

“Well, time for you to give him an ultimatum,” Sadie said. “Either he gets out of your fucking place, or you call the police and have him removed. Tonight. You don't want to see him when you get back.”

“But where's he going to sleep? Besides, if I call the police, I run the risk of being reported for prostitution... I don't want to be filed.”

“I came with a very nice vampire, maybe he can throw Kenneth out and erase his memory,” suggested Sadie. “And as for where he's going to sleep, that's not your problem, it's his for putting you down like that.”

“Okay... Anyway, now that he's left me, the rules say he has to forget everything.”

“Well, let's go.”

Tim was still chatting with Jia and her friends when Sadie returned, accompanied by another girl, who looked like she had been crying. Sadie waved him over.

“Excuse me, I'm wanted. Is something wrong?” he asked, approaching.

“This is Rose, her boyfriend had the nerve to dump her over the phone,” Sadie informed him.

“I'm so sorry, Rose, but what have I got to do with it?”

“Her ex is at her apartment right now, and since he knows what Rose does for a living, he needs his memory wiped.”

“Oh, I see. Well, we'll have to fix that. Are you here with someone?” He wanted to know.

“No, I came by cab because my car is in the repair shop.”

“All right then, we'll give you a lift.”

Following Rose's directions, he drove to her home in Boyle Heights. On the way, Rose calmed down enough to think about doing a little networking with him, who kept his card and promised to call her.

“So, you're not her boyfriend?” Rose asked.

“We're just friends.

“How did you two meet?” Rose wanted to know.

“At a club,” Sadie answered laconically. “Is that your building?”

“Yes, we've arrived. You can park in the number seven spot, Tim, that's mine.”

Rose lived on a third floor. As the elevator went up, her nervousness increased and her confidence disappeared; Tim could sense it in the way her thoughts swirled, spinning uncontrollably. Sadie must have noticed it too, because she grabbed her hand.

“Don't worry, we're with you,” she said.

Rose nodded. The fleur-de-lis hadn't noticed, but now her new friend held the knife in her other hand. Tim looked at her, questioningly, but she merely shrugged her shoulders slightly. He understood her to mean ‘just in case.’

Rose went in first. Even though it was almost midnight, her boyfriend was in the living room, watching TV, dozing. He barely turned toward the noise when Rose opened the door and walked in, but straightened up, wide awake, when he saw that she wasn't alone.

“I can't believe you brought one of them to our home,” he said dismissively, looking at Tim.

“Our home?” Rose repeated, incredulous, and suddenly very angry, “Our home?! This is my home! You just live here for free. And you know what? You're going to leave right now.”

“Are you out of your mind? It's midnight! Where am I supposed to go?”

“I don't care,” Rose replied, “I went to that party to work, and you have the balls to break up with me via text? And on top of that, when I get back you're still here. I remind you that it's my name on the lease!”

“I was hoping you'd change your mind,” said Kenneth, disappointed.

“What?” Rose asked, puzzled.

“I thought that if I dumped you, you'd come back, and we'd make peace,” he explained. “I thought you'd change your mind about continuing to be... a whore, basically.”

“Oh, for all the angels in heaven and demons in hell, I've told you a thousand times, I don't have sex with my clients!” Rose exclaimed, exasperated. “Why can't you believe me?”

“Why did you bring them here, if not for a threesome?” Kenneth countered.

“I brought Sadie to give me some moral support, and Tim to erase your memory,” explained Rose. “I'm sorry, but those are the rules: you can't go on knowing of their existence now that we're no longer a couple.”

Kenneth wanted to get up, but before Tim could intervene, Sadie did.

“Sit back down,” she ordered, threatening him with the knife. Kenneth obeyed. Sadie moved to his side and pressed the blade flat against his cheek. “Stay very still; if you move, the tip of the blade will go through your lower eyelid and into your eye, do you understand?”

“Y-yes.”

“Good. Tim, do your thing before this idiot stabs himself in the eye, and we have to take him to the emergency room.”

“Kenneth, look me in the eye and listen carefully...”

After Rose’s problem was taken care of, as Tim drove her back home, Sadie felt his eyes on her every few minutes.

“Look at the road,” she scolded him.

“Girl, that was... even I was scared,” he said after a while of silence.

“Liar,” she accused him.

Vampires weren't afraid of anything, least of all humans; they were at the top of the food chain, and they knew it. Not even a young vampire like Tim would be afraid of someone like her, unless she managed to catch him by surprise, and in that case, he shouldn't even have time to be afraid.

“No, I'm telling you the truth,” he replied. “It made my testicles shrink and everything.”

“Ha-ha, very funny.”

“I swear. You'd make a terrifying vampire, even as a newborn.”

“I wouldn't last two days as a vampire,” she contradicted him.

“Why not?”

“I'd hate myself so much I'd kill myself.”

“But you don't hate me,” he said. “Or do you?”

“I don't hate you, but it's different,” she said. “I may not like that you have to drink blood, but I accept that it's what you have to do to survive. If I had to do it myself, I don't think I could.”

“You would. Your instinct would take over,” he assured her. “It disgusts you now, but when you're a vampire you see things differently. We've arrived,” he announced, stopping the car. “Do you need my help sneaking in?”

“No, I'll be fine. Thanks for tonight, Tim,” she said, and surprising herself, reached up to kiss him on the cheek. “See you, sweet fangs” she said goodbye, leaving before she could think too much.

Sneaking back into her room was not difficult for her. However, when she landed with the softness of a cat on the carpet, the light on her bedside table came on: Jack was waiting for her.

“Where were you?” he asked.

“Out.”

“Where?” insisted his brother.

“At a party.”

“A vampire party?”

“No, I didn't go hunting, it was just a party. You know what they are, don't you?” she asked, sarcastically, as she started to change into her pajamas.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Sadie? You've never acted like this before.”

“Like what?” she asked, annoyed.

“First you don't kill that vampire, even though you don't seem to have a problem with taking out any of the others, then you start saying ‘let's see if it turns out there are good vampires, and we don't know about it’, and then you run off to go to a party like you're a fucking teenager,” her brother enumerated.

“I don't have an answer that can satisfy you, Jack,” she replied. “Now, I'd appreciate it if you'd leave, I want to sleep.”

“This won't stay like that,” her brother warned, getting up. “Arthur and Dad will know about this.”

“You can kiss my ass, all three of you,” she replied. “Now, get the hell out of my room.”

#polyphia #polyphia fanfiction #tim henson #tim henson fanfiction #tim henson fic #polyphia fic #tim henson x ofc #vampire!tim henson x vampire hunter!ofc #vampire au #vampire!tim henson x ofc #playing god the fanfic #poppy writes

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anthroparis · 1 year ago

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nourtney au

hi. commission details are here if you're interested in more writing. this was based on the image made by @totaldramatakestakestakestakes

It was cold. That, perhaps, was the last thought Courtney had before she fell asleep.

It was well past dark, some days after the challenge had started, and there was a strong breeze combing through the trees and the flimsy wooden shacks Chris had been trying to pass off as cabins.

Courtney had been absolutely determined to stay awake the longest. She was already on thin ice, having chickened out of the last challenge, and she'd already spent a collective four hours bragging to her teammates about how many all-nighters she'd pulled during her class council campaign.

"Oh, yeah. It was tough, no doubt, but I adapted. I practically became nocturnal!"

"OMG, that's so cool," Katie said, braiding a strand of Sadie's hair. "I could like, never do that. I need my seven hours or I get all bloated."

"Totally, me too," Sadie added. "So did you win?"

Courtney's eye twitched- an involuntary reaction to bothersome situations.

"No. But I came close, so close, and it was totally rigged anyway. Stevie Mallard won just because she was junior prom queen... Popularity is a disease,"

"OMG, I wanna be a prom queen!" Sadie squealed.

"Me too! Let's totally be prom queens next year,"

The two squealed and Courtney rolled her eyes.

She had something to prove. Not just to secure her place on the team, but to show all those airheaded teenage clones that popularity was the last thing that mattered in this game. Courtney didn't have to be popular to win, and that's what drew her to the show in the first place. Not that she'd ever admit it- she was perfectly comfortable keeping her reasoning to herself.

Besides, anything Courtney would say about the droving hordes of addle-brained fame chasers here would just make her sound edgy and jaded, like that freaky goth chick. Keeping chipper and positive was an essential part of any team leader, and it was what made her such an effective C.I.T.

No. Courtney didn't have to be popular. She just had to be competent.

Falling asleep, then, was suicide.

She didn't dream. She rarely did.

It was warm when she woke up.

For a moment, Courtney wondered if she'd been carried back to the cabins and tucked into bed, like her father used to when she fell asleep in the car on their long drives home. He hadn't done that in some time.

But as she was brought back from the great empty void of sleep, she reminded herself there was no one tender enough to lift her from her cold bed on the ground and carry her somewhere safe. And that's how she preferred it. This was a competition, after all, and to let her guard down like that would be a sign of weakness. She was a leader. Not a baby.

Courtney's eyes opened a sliver and she adjusted to the morning light, the cold wash of silver highlighting everything in gentle tones, as if she'd woken up on the moon. She watched a ladybug crawl across the grass mere inches from her face and closed her eyes again. Just a few more minutes...

The warmth was close. It was on her, surrounding her, enveloping her in a blanket of safety. If she kept her eyes shut and focused on her breathing, she could imagine she was back at the time in her life when she got carried to bed, surrounded by quilted blankets and stuffed animals that, by now, had either been donated or tossed.

The ladybug made its way up her arm and around her neck before settling on her ear. It seemed to stall, its tiny legs padding around on her skin and sending shivers up her spine. It must've been a huge ladybug, because...

Courtney's eyes shot open and a cold rush of adrenaline flooded her body, immediately drowning her fantasies of home. She jolted from where she'd been resting and shrieked, the "ladybug" following suit, sitting up and shouting himself.

"HEY!" Courtney yelled, scooting away from him. "You pervert!"

"Hah!" Duncan laughed from behind her, gesturing with the shank he'd been using to carve a stick into a stake. "Looks like everyone's trying to get a slice of C.I.T. pie today, huh?"

"SHUT UP, DUNCAN!" Courtney shouted. "Butt out!"

"I just call it like I see it, man,"

Courtney turned back to the boy, who had shrunk in on himself. He was blushing furiously and unsuccessfully trying to hide it.

"Don't you have anything to say for yourself?!"

He thought for a moment. "Um. No,"

"Ugh! You're neanderthals- all of you!" Courtney snapped, turning to Duncan to hammer in her point. He rolled his eyes.

By the time she'd whirled back around, he had vanished. She sighed. "Men!"

"Keep crying, sweetheart, it won't bring your boytoy back," Duncan flicked a wood shaving off his shorts.

"Can't you mind your own business?"

"Whatever. Shouldn't you go check on your boyfriend?"

Courtney growled at him and stood, making a point to storm off. She wished he'd care enough to feel a little bad, but when she looked back he'd returned to poking his handcrafted spear at Harold.

She stumbled into the mess hall and yawned, plopping down at an empty table and slumping forward, resting her head on the surface. She tried not to think about the splinters and carpenter ants as she closed her eyes again.

What a miserable start to the season this had been. Courtney was losing around every corner, and it was leaving her with the uncanny feeling that she was falling from a high place to a hard landing below. Her stomach churned and her chest ached with every reminder of her failures thus far.

That boy, the "ladybug"... what was his name? She couldn't be bothered to remember, or she'd never learned it. It didn't matter- if it was important, she'd know. Courtney was sure of that.

But, whatever it was, she couldn't seem to remember a single thing about him. He was rather... normal for a show like this. Quiet, kept to himself, never made much fuss about anything that wasn't a backhanded compliment or a stinging remark. What a useless team player.

"This seat taken?"

That voice was familiar. Courtney opened her eyes, and there he was. The Ladybug.

"Watch it," she warned.

He held up his hands defensively. "Hey. I didn't mean anything by it, I'm just tired and I wanted a break from the goons outside," he spoke in a dry, unamused tone, and jabbed his thumb behind him.

Courtney thought for a moment, and then sighed. "Fine,"

He took a seat. "Believe it or not, I don't find watching Duncan snort hogies on unconscious people very intellectually stimulating,"

"Ugh, tell me about it," she rolled her eyes. "You're lucky you're not on his team. If I have to smell that atrocious B.O. one more time..."

"Eh, could be worse. You could have Cody,"

"Which one's that?"

"Short. Brown hair. Nerdy,"

"Ah, I know the one. He's like the human amalgamation of every Goodwill I've ever been in,"

Noah laughed, prompting a smile from Courtney. She'd yet to see him happy. It was a warm reminder that humanity still existed on this Golding-esque island.

He continued: "If Cody is Goodwill, then Duncan is Autozone,"

"Duncan is more like a flaming dumpster outside a defunct Tim Hortons,"

Another laugh. Courtney felt an odd sense of accomplishment for that, like she was getting a good grade in something.

"You know, you're not so bad," he smiled. "Your bite is much worse than your bark, huh?"

"I guess you could say that," she shrugged. "I'm just here to play and stay off of people's bad sides. I don't need to make friends."

"Eh, you say that now, but it'll happen," he said. "It always does."

She scoffed. "Not for me,"

A silence hung over them for a few moments. Finally, he spoke.

"I'm Noah, by the way. You don't seem the type to remember names,"

"I try not to concern myself with details that don't matter," Courtney announced, curtly. Then she realized that what she said sounded rude and slowly backtracked. "But... thank you. I'm Courtney."

"I already knew that. Unlike you, I like to observe before I act,"

"I'll try to take that as a compliment,"

"You should,"

The two smiled at each other for a moment before the door to the mess hall burst open and Harold ran in screaming, covered in spiders. Duncan's laughing followed from outside.

Courtney sighed. "I should get back out there,"

"You don't have to,"

"Well, unlike you, I feel a sense of duty to my team," she smiled, somewhat playfully. "Someone's got to lead."

"Sure. Whatever you say, Miss C.I.T.," Noah smiled back, equally as biting. "Have fun."

"I won't!"

#nourtney #enjoy your food fandom I remember nothing about

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walker-extended-universe · 11 days ago

Text

Halfway to Freedom, Chapter 1

Relationship(s): August Walker/Sadie Yoo, Eve Edwards & August Walker, Bode Leone & August Walker, August Walker & Cordell Walker & Stella Walker, Geri Broussard & August Walker

Tags/Warnings: Prison, Crime, Estranged Family, Family Issues, Family Drama, Drug Addiction, Referenced Drug Use, PTSD, Running Away, Self-Esteem Issues, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Regret, Hope, Angst with a Happy Ending

Summary: After some poor decisions, August Walker ends up at Three Rock Fire Camp. ON paper, he's the perfect candidate for the program. But, in practice, Even Edwards knows it's never that simple. He has a long way to go if he's ever going to make it out into the real world again.

Written for @whumptober Day 28: "They caught me red handed"

Taglist: @theladywyn, @ihavepointysticks, @klaatu51, @itsjessiegirl1, @neptunium134

---------------------

Welcoming a new batch of inmates was always an exciting day. Nerve-wracking and panic-attack inducing at times, but exciting nonetheless. Getting everyone settled into their new bunks, introducing them to new routines, hoping there wouldn’t be any unexpected gang rivalries sparked…. It was a new experience every time.

One thing that Eve always took advantage of the first day to do was get to know her new firefighters. After some rough experiences in her first few years, she learned it helped to understand their stories before she became their captain. She could read their files, but that rarely held enough of the story. Actually talking to them helped her understand how they would react to certain things and plan around what accommodations they might need. She also felt it gave them a chance to know her too, rather than just seeing her as some distant authority figure that could (perhaps unfairly) decide their fate. It was easy enough to work some in-office interviews into the schedule, even when they had a larger group.

This time, the new group was pretty small, only 6 newbies. So, she had her last little interview just after the lunch shift. And this one was….interesting.

“So, yeah, they caught me red handed. Kind of hard to fight against security camera footage and about 10 witness statements.” August Walker slouched in his chair.

“That’s very interesting, but that’s not what I asked you. I asked you why you were here.”

He cocked an eyebrow. “Pretty sure that’s what I just said….”

“No, that’s why you got arrested. I asked you why you were here, at Three Rock. What are your goals here.”

“Oh.” August rubbed the back of his neck. “I’m here to get out earlier, I guess. It wasn’t my idea. My uncle kept insisting on it and I got tired of him hassling me about it so I applied. I was kind of surprised I got in, to be honest.”

Eve hummed. There was no reason for him not to be approved. He had a good behavior record, never caused trouble for inmates or prison personnel. He wasn’t even considered a violent offender, having only been arrested for felony theft. He didn’t even resist arrest.

So, this little interview told Eve that August was suffering from a severe lack of self esteem, or any hope for his future. That could be a problem. An unfocused firefighter posed a risk to themselves, their teammates, and any civilians in the area. “And your uncle is….?”

“My lawyer.” August rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I know, should be considered a conflict of interest but he knows all kinds of weird loopholes.”

She made a mental note to reach out to his uncle at a later date and see if he could provide any insight.

“Well, I think that’s all I have for you for now. We’ll get you started on training tomorrow, so why don’t you go get settled in? We always start our days early here so I recommend you get some rest.”

He shrugged. “I practically grew up on a ranch; I’ve never slept past 6 in my life.”

Eve smirked. “Good; we get up at 5:30.”

His lips quirked into almost a smile. “Sounds like a plan. I guess I’ll see you in the morning.” He quickly left her office and jogged to join the rest of the men in the outdoor gym area.

Once he was gone, Eve pulled out her phone and dialed a very familiar number. “Hey, Manny, are you busy tonight? I could use some advice….”

#whumptober2024 #no.28 #they caught me red handed #fic #walker #fire country #my writing #my fic

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himbogiants · 1 year ago

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What's the best thing to do when stressed about exams? Study? No. Write a g/t story until 4 in the morning? Of course! This one is definitely getting a part two. And possibly three. I dont wanna go starting a new story that I'll never get around to finishing as I already have plenty of stories to work on, but I got inspiration and had to write so enjoy. (Side note I was listening to part of your world from the little mermaid before I wrote this so you'll see connections in one part)

4010 words

Part of that world: part 1

The crew had just about wrapped up their game after a good few hours of play when Theo piped up among the conversation after a sip of his drink

"Oh! I forgot to tell you all! Remember how I said I thought this place was haunted?"

Nearly everyone groaned, much to Theos frustration

"Oh okay, because we sit here every weekend playing a fantasy game but ghosts and spirits are off the table?"

Besides him Thomas rolled his eyes with a smirk

"We never claimed the game was real, Theo. Neither are ghosts."

Maisey perked up at that shaking her head

"Well..I mean I feel like there's a possibility ghosts exist just..not here Theo. I'm sure your beliefs are justified!.. and I suppose I may be bias as I don't live in this building so I wouldn't know..but this building isn't very old- and as far as I'm aware, thankfully nobody's died here...yet."

Before anyone else could make their arguments Theo continued

"Yes yes! Well I'll have you know ouiji boards exist and it wouldn't surprise me if one of the neighbours dabbled in the dark arts before, my bets on Helen from 2B upstairs. Anyways!! What I wanted to say was, I bought cameras, for the kitchen to start with. I might get more but the kitchen seems to have the most evidence of supernatural so"

Thomas laughed from across the table

"Dude. You're crazy. You sure you're not high again?"

Henry who never usually pitched into conversations like this even had something to say, in his usual brooding manner- though he was Theos flatmate so his words were necessary in this matter

"You bought cameras and I'm only being informed now? You do realise rent is due in two weeks? You better not have wasted all your money."

Theo made gestures of neglect with his hands, shoving off the comment.

"Oh relax, you'll get the money man. They were off some dingy website. And I only set them up yesterday so no need to worry about privacy. I haven't even turned them on yet. But tonight. Tonight I get my answers!"

Sadie, adjusted her hair and snorted "yep. He's insane. I think the finals coming up are starting to get to you Theo."

Theo stood with a look of finality, clapping his hands together.

"Say what you will, but tonight we shall see, and you shall weep of embarrassment. Ye of little faith. For now, I belive we can wrap up this campaign for this evening, I do need to get these cameras on after all."

And so the crew packed it up, all wishing their goodbyes Thomas pairing off with Sadie, grabbing a box of takeout from the table with them. Maisey after giving Henry a kiss and Theo a hug made her way to the door only to stop before hand

"Best of luck with the cameras, Theo. Despite everything, I'll be curious to see if you find anything. Night guys!"

When all had left Theo shut the door to face a disgruntled Henry who regarded him with folded arms.

"Aw come on pal, don't gimme that. Listen I know you think I'm crazy but just, trust me on this! Things going missing, noises in the kitchen, voices in the walls?!"

Henry pinched his nose and sighed, pushing up his glasses.

"That isn't a ghost, Theon. It's rats. And as for voices, they're either an effect of marijuana or squeaking. Besides, I've already got it covered. You may have noticed the traps I've set."

Theo grumbled at this, his roommate ever so logical.

"Yeah I've seen 'em. Rich of you to comment on me wasting money when you bought all those!"

Henry shut his eyes, it was clear Theo was testing his limits- of which wore thin. He exhaled deeply through his nose

"It's a rational assumption Theon. Especially since rat's are real. And you should know I value cleanliness. I won't have some vermin lurking about if I can do something about it."

Theo took a mouthful of noodles from an open box, finishing it off and depositing it in the trash. He swallowed and met Henry's eyes.

"Well, one of us is right. And one is wrong. Let's let the camera decide."

Henry's face fell flat with a tiresome expression. He removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes. Part of him praying the tech would show some full proof footage to finally shut his friend up.

"Goodnight, Theo."

In the end. Both boys were wrong. Though a judgemental eye would say Henry's theory was not far off. Pitter patters raced through the walls, from four small sets of feet. One pair slower than the other.

"Daphne! Wait up!"

But the other pair persisted, destination and goal in mind and on path.

The male voice breathed out harshly

"Come on Daph! You know I'm not as fast at you!"

Suddenly the other pair stopped and the small borrower boy came crashing into them -or rather her- with an 'oof'. But the girl didn't say a thing, only looked out in awe

"There it is Riven. The kitchen.."

Riven came to her side.

"You..you say this everytime you know that?..look, I've got a bad feeling about tonight I think it's best we make this quick."

Daphne turned with a raised brow and smirk to her friend

"You're not getting cold feet now, are you?"

Riven shook his head incredulously

"N-no! Of course not. Just, Daph.. I have a bad feeling is all. You seen the traps yesterday, right? And before you say it I know you'd never fall for them! B-but still! It's.. unnerving to picture. I just wanna be careful about this!"

Daphne wasn't phased by this and only smiled brighter

"Crazy right? Humans are so creative with their traps. I'd love to get my hands on one, I'm sure they'd be interesting to dismantle.."

Riven paled

"I..did I just hear you right? Gods Daphne they're deathtraps! Those things can and will kill us!"

Daphne rolled her eyes shrugging him off, ready to hurry off before Riven latched onto her arm.

"Please Daphne..just..just be careful. I wouldn't want anything to ever happen to you. Plus your father would do a lot worse to me than any trap could ever achieve."

Daphnes features softened and she pulled her friend into a hug.

"Alright Riven..I won't be long tonight. Or even 'foolish'" She mocked her fathers voice on that last word and continued

"Besides, Father doesn't even know we come here. He's too busy with the others. I dont even think he knows we come here. We aren't on the borrowing squad after all." She huffed, deadpanning with a mumble "He made sure of that much"

Riven eased

"Good. Though, no offense Daph..but I kinda get his precautions..no matter how good you are. You tend to get carried away.."

Daphne frowned at this, though her casual smirk founds its footing again, grabbing her friends arms and leaving through their secret exit out onto the counter tops.

Moonlight lit the kitchen and a tickling of a clock resounded through the quiet expanse.

The pair exited, one much faster than the other.

Daphne twirled around in glee as Riven was pulled along.

"Come on! Come on!"

Riven stumbled out almost falling forward, he grabbed his friend for support pulling himself up

"Daph! C-calm down!"

She hurried along, practically dancing about, basking in the moonlight. So many possibilities and so little time! Where to start was the question plaguing her most.

It didn't take long to figure out, Daphne was a very distracted girl after all.

She got loose of Rivens hold and her eyes lit up.

"Oh my gosh..Riven look.." She whispered.

Just before her sat the most peculiar thing. It was circular- almost like a button? But metal? An it had jagged sort of edges.

"It almost like a..bowl? Is that what humans call it?"

She knelt down gently and traced her fingers over it in awe, before picking it up and twisting it over. It's red sleek shine reflected in the dim lighting and as another bonus it was surprising light! On the back there was an intricate design, words?

"C-o-k-e"

She sounded it out coming to the conclusion that it sounded 'coh-keh'

Riven inspected it too tilting his head

"I think it might be off a drink? You know..like a lid thing?"

Daphnes eyes lit up

"It's absolutely beautiful. And it's just.. lying here.."

Riven interupted before she could continue already sensing where her mind was headed.

"Daphne, no."

Daphne pouted

"Oh come on Riv! Clearly it isn't that important. They just left it here after all! And I know just where it will go in the collection."

Riven tried to reason but he knew it was a lost cost, so he resorted to excuses.

"I-its too big though! It won't fit in your satchel and you'll never be able to get past the guards with that button. They think we are scouting after all. If you come back with a borrow that big your father will know."

Daphne once more didn't seem bother by this, if anything she seemed determined.

"Nonsense. Humans leaves stuff outside all the time. I'll say I brought it home as a reward for my labour. You really think the guards will argue with the daughter of the chief?" She quipped.

"Possibly Daph..they're quite rude. Listen, we've never been here during the day. We don't know the humans, their attitudes or routine. Perhaps this cap is here for a reason. And if not that, then it must be some sort of test. You seen the traps. They think they have rats. Maybe they want to mess with them?"

At this Daphne faltered. Her eyes filled with dismay as she heeded her friends advice. Sure, it was amazing. Sure, she longed to take it home..but..her friend mattered more. It was already dangerous enough dragging him here with her. Leaving the treasure could be a compromise of sorts to make sure he kept coming with her. He was her only friend after all, and she would never want to loose him.

"Okay" She sighed placing it down.

"Gods I wish I was on the borrowing squad. If only I could convince father." She turned to her friend

"You know sometimes, they go during the day! They actually see humans..I mean..could you imagine?"

Riven swallowed, clearly not sharing her interest in seeing such large beings up close.

"Humans are so.."

"Dangerous?" Riven offered, to which Daphne chuckled lightly

"Yes.. I suppose..but gosh..just look at this stuff Riv..it's amazing..it's so creative and wonderful. I just..don't see how world that makes such wonderful things, could be so bad?"

Riven gave a look of pity. He took her hand a guided her to the edge, sitting down to which she obliged.

"It's not the creations that's are bad..it's who makes them..sure, there is cool stuff like that thingy, but then again, there is traps. Poison. All sorts of dangers. But I get it, Daph. It is pretty interesting, just dangerous. But for what it's worth, you'd make a fantastic borrower."

He did truly believe it- only part of him hated the thought. She was agile, quick and fast! But she was far too fascinated with humans, and that would only lead to one thing. He shivered at the thought.

They sat in silence as the listened to the clock tick, but with Daphne quiet never lasted very long.

"Yknow, I hear humans are kinda like borrowers."

Riven couldn't picture that. The height difference was staggering enough, but he was willing to hear her out.

"Apparently, when they need stuff, they leave their homes and return with bags full of supplies! It's like they have some sort of hidden storage facilities that has never ending supplies. Could you imagine?"

Riven cocked his head

"Really? I always pictured they traded stuff. Like.." He was shocked to find his next words leaving his mouth "Like us."

"I wonder what they trade then. One time outside I saw the most fantastic object. It was like that shiny red thing over there, only it was a different colour and completely flat! Kinda silvery? Like metal. Oh and it had a face on it!" At her friends bewildered look she laughed once more

"It's true! Anyways.. part of me reckoned they traded with those. I never seen another, so assumed it was rare. And I couldn't take it home because well..Father. It would've made a fine addition to the collection."

Riven smiled, but then a thought came over him. They'd been here quite a while- and this was meant to be a short visit. He did have a bad feeling in his gut after all.

"H-hey..I dont mean to cut things short. But we should head back now."

Daphne faltered as he stood up, hesitant to do so.

"We've only been here a little while!"

She watched his shoulders fall as he released a withheld breath

"I know but I trust my gut Daph..we should head home. Especially if we wanna be up early tomorrow"

It was Daphnes turn to be confused. Up early? Riven raised a brow as if to prompt her memory, but when he got no avail he solved her inner dilemma.

"We've got scouting at dawn, remember?"

Immediately Daphne rose to her feet in shock. "Right!! Oh gods how could I forget? I'm so foolish- come on then let's get out of here!"

Together the pair hurried off, but before they made it to the exit something caught her eye.

A small box with a blinking light. Riven was already in the wall ahead of her, but she stopped.

And slowly made her way over, with awe and caution.

What was this?

She paused before it, it was a big enough contraption, it went up to her rib area in height. She examined the strange box utterly enchanted. How was she only seeing this now?!

She got down on her knees to see an odd glassy circle in its core.

She tapped it once and skittered away immediately expecting a reaction, but it remained still, it's light persistent in its blinking.

She heard Riven coming back as he hopped back through

"Daphne! There you are! You scared me for a sec, I was talking to myself in there and I- what are you doing?"

He approached her before he too came to a halt.

"Um..Daph..what is that?"

Daphne who was starstruck only whispered

"No idea Riv..but its incredible."

Riven glared down at it. Something about the red light felt like warning signal.

"L-lets go Daph..this feels wrong."

She was instant to defend her newest find when Riven assured her they could return to see it again. She hesitantly agreed, as Riven pulled her away from it and guided her back to the wall. The whole way there, she didn't let it leave her sights once.

How peculiar..

Theo awoke the next morning. Ah, Sunday. Such a blasted day. A much appreciated break (if one didn't have to study), but a reminder that college resumed the next day. He lay back in his bed as the morning sun drifted in and bird song whistled about. Now..what was on today's agenda?

The d&d campaign didn't resume until next week when everyone was free again, so his efforts as dungeon master could take a break. He had no assignments. Odd. He was sure there was something about today that was incredibly important to him.

He turned on his phone and a video he fell asleep watching resumed.

'Buzzfeed Unsolved: The Demonic Possession of the Conjuring House

Seemed about right. He was pretty restless last night after his conversation with Henry-

Wait.

He sprung up immediately, his sheets billowing on the floor.

"The cameras!!"

He skidded out into the hall, almost slipping over his pyjamas as he hurried down to the kitchens to his cameras.

He was so excited. Proving people wrong was fun but proving Henry wrong? Now that was a celebration to behold.

This is not the way a normal person should act to their home being haunted- but if anything Theo wanted to witness the wandering spirits more than anything.

He slammed open the kitchen door and instantly scooped up camera one, the view of the dining area. He uploaded its content to his phone and pressed play, watching with bated breath.

Only to falter..in the corner on fast play it read the time. It got all the way to the current hour and absolutely nothing happened.

Ok..not great.

But there was still hope!!

Betting on the second camera he held his phone inches from his face watching for signs of something, anything!!

But there was absolutely nothing. Just the endless image of the cooker.

He felt his shoulders droop as he picked up camera three, questioning if it was even worth it. He sighed sitting back as he played the recording, anxiousness building in his stomach at the thoughts of his friends laughing at him. He usually didn't mind it, his theories were extreme after all. But this time he really hoped to be correct.

And somehow his prayers were answered.

And not in anyway he ever expected.

His eyes widened, his jaw slacked and he stood immediately, knocking the chair to the ground.

"Holy fuck!"

Two tiny figures stepped out onto the counter at two a.m. His heart was positively pounding, the phone fell from his hands, which he scrambled to catch, falling to the floor.

He sprung up almost leaping as he crashed into the cupboards.

"HENRY! HENRY!!! GET IN HERE!"

Henry was tired. In general and of his roommate's shit. He cared for him dearly, but some days he longed to move in permanently with Maisey. Anything to escape his madness- anything to escape mornings like this.

Of course he knew what he was being so urgently summoned for. Theon believed his blasted little cameras saw a ghost. If he were in better moods he wouldve played along to make it easier. But he was rather dull this morning. He longed for caffeine more than anything. Though there was no getting near the delicacy without Theon getting in the way.

He snatched his glasses, a sour expression painted his face. Better get it over and done with then.

He marched out into the kitchen, to find his roommate clutching his head as he stared down to his phone in shock.

"Theon, I swear, you're getting on my last nerve. You didn't see a bloody ghost."

But his friend simply shook his head- in agreement, not taking his eyes off the screen for a second.

"You're right. I didn't."

Henry hitched at this, Theon admiting he was wrong? That wasn't something that happened everyday. He decided to entertain his nonsense.

"Alright. You got my attention. What is it?"

Theon looked up from his phone

"Something much better. Call everyone get them here now. No time to loose. Go quickly!!"

Henry was taken a back, and frustrated to say the least but while Theon usually pulled stunts like this, this one seemed awfully genuine. He grabbed his phone.

It was thirty minutes later when the others arrived much to Theons dismay. They sure did take their time. But in that half an hour he hadn't moved. He simply kept rewinding- annoying the daylights out of his roommate who was getting more impatient about his outstanding discovery by the second. They were so small, so fragile..so very impossible. But it would appear more so, improbable. He dissected each frame harbouring any detail he could. Unfortunately for him the recording was black and white- part of night vision filter he guessed- he couldn't exactly make out their appearances but the were so human. There eyes both glowed from the recording so judging their actual eye colour was near impossible. It was almost the same with skin colour though the boy seemed quite tan, the girl pale. The boys messy hair was definitely dark brown, the girls looked to be a blonde? Or red? He couldn't distinguish it, but it was tied back in a ponytail that swished around around her excitement. Their clothes were also a point of interest, looking like sew scrap fabric. He couldn't imagine having to make his own clothing, albeit he was crafty but not that crafty.

He didn't want to spoil the surprise to his roommate so he kept the volume off, waiting to hear what these two had to say in the company of his crew. If they could even say anything that is.. he really hoped they could. It was eating him inside, if they could speak what language was it? An entirely new one? English? What did they sound like? They seemed to be a different species all together. His patience was at a loose end, he kept asking Henry every five minutes if their friends had arrived yet, which led to no avail.. and almost resulted in Henry shattering his coffee mug in fury.

But then the knock came and Theo sprung up whipping it open and ordering them to follow without any other explanation.

Once he had them all gathered he sat them down in their living room and shut them all up before they could start ranting about time or bombarding him with questions.

"Alright alright. Now I'm sure you're wondering why you're all here at eight a.m on a Sunday morning."

"Yeah, I'd love to know pal!" Thomas quipped sarcastically only for Sadie to continue "This is insane Theo. It's too early for this."

Theo almost faltered but he knew what they were about to see would shut their traps. Maisey yawned from beside Henry

"Please, Theo, it's quite early. I understand you're excited but..just..yeah"

Theo smiled at her, appreciating her acknowledgement only to clap and almost jump with a start.

"Right then. As you may remember for last night I believed there to be ghosts in this apartment. Specifically the kitchen."

"Oh jesus, this?! Man, this better be good" Thomas groveled.

"Well, I didn't find any ghosts, but I found something much better."

He screen mirrored his phone to the TV and pressed play.

Two a.m hit and he slowed it down.

Everyone was silent, and Thomas was about to break said silence when his eyes widened.

He sat up instantly. Henry spat out his coffee. Maisey squeaked. Sadie's jaw was on the floor.

Theos grin went from ear to ear as he finally grabbed the remote and turned up the volume. The big reveal. Please. Please

'Come on! Come on!' 'Daph! C-calm down!' 'Oh my gosh..Riven look'

The group sat in shocked silence, nobody dared interupt the little beings as the girl discovered a lid from a coke bottle. Theo, Sadie and Thomas all found a smile playing at their lips at her pronouncement of the word, the other two looked as if they'd lost all their brain cells- which was terrible as they were the smartest of the bunch. The mini duo marveled at the trash, the conversation moving on to her taking it to her collection. Then to her father- so there was more of them!

Theo couldn't help but catch how the boy spoke of 'humans' with such uncertainty. But absolutely adored how the girls eyes sparkled at the mere idea of them..of people like him. She..she reminded him of himself.

Henry despite his shock admired the boys intelligence for watching out for possible dangers, and could feel pity knowing exactly how it felt to have an over-the-top friend himself. Surely the square cube law outruled any possibility of tiny people yet here they were..

Sadie who too was floored, found the girl amusing, she was a proper Disney princess with how she was acting..all she needed was an animal sidekick. She was so curious about everything and it made her wonder the girls age. She looked old enough but younger than her. Same for the boy.

Maisey was in awe, as was everyone but this was something she couldn't describe..that's science couldn't even describe. She couldn't quite comprehend it all but she was trying her best. A whole society of tiny people.

Thomas was gonna explode. He was like a ticking bomb. This was absolutely insane. Guilt fell over him for his doubts in Theo but knowing how his friend usually was he felt he was justified. He'd been that way since they were kids. This was one of the rare times he'd been right.. not about ghosts..but of something supernatural being in his home. Thomas felt a smile pull on his face as he watched the antics of the duo, reminding him of his own friends. He'd very much like to meet them..

The girl being the daughter of a chief, her awe of human creation, the boys fear of it.. her longing to be on the borrowing squad. And the boys comfort that she'd make an excellent borrower..

Theos eyes lit up as a whole new wave of possibilities and excitement fell down upon him.

Namely when and how he would meet his new little borrower friends.

#g/t story #giant and tiny #gianttiny #giant #tiny #borrowers #borrower g/t

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