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boredinterview · 4 years

Conversation

Audrey Patterson on glam, the economy, and ears.

H: hi Axe, how are you doing today?

A: I’m doing okay, how are you?

H: not too bad. thanks for the tea! what kind of tea are we drinking?

A: It’s autumn something and cardamom.

H: oh my god I just got an email from Neil Shusterman who wrote the book—not from him but I guess his like mailing list or something—ask me anything on reddit this Thursday. (laughing)

A: I’m gonna finish it this Thursday and ask him questions…

H: let’s do it.

A: great.

H: yeah, good news.

I guess to give context, what are you reading right now?

A: It’s this really niche series by Neil Shusterman called Unwind… (laughing) it’s good so far. It’s like young adult fiction. It’s been fun.

H: It’s a crazy series.

A: yeah.. it just seems very much like propaganda but I can’t tell on what side it’s going to fall. there’s definitely something to say about like abortion in it and the laws. I can’t tell whether it’s saying “this is why we should have access to abortions”.. or maybe it’s not that, I don’t know.

H: yeah. definitely like the concept of like “unwinding” is like… which I’ll just say for the record, the concept of unwinding in this book is like.. they have a second civil war over abortion and there’s a pro choice side and pro life side and what they come to is that you can’t abort your child from the womb but then from the ages of 13-18 you can have your child “unwound” which is like a new medical technology where every single part of the person gets distributed for transplants so they’re technically still fully alive but living in a “divided state”.

A: so crazy.

H: yeah. anyways, uh what are you wearing?

A: ha, what am I wearing? did you just ask me this? I’m wearing these sweatpants that are like ten years old. they’re like really old. they’re comfy, I wear them when I’m working on stuff at home being gross so they have a bunch of eyeshadow on them and then I’m wearing my hand-me-down—what is it? Ralph Lauren?

H: yeah that guy. zip up fleece. It looks comfy.

A: It’s really comfy, yeah.

H: and slippers. very luxurious.

A: oh yeah. I was wearing my robe earlier too, feeling it.

H: you’re set. so jumping off of that, define glam for yourself.

A: oh god. I…. don’t know if I agree with that word. (laughing) even when I dress up I’m not trying to look glam. that’s just not a word for me I don’t think.

H: maybe give me an adjective when you do dress up, what are you going for? cause I guess glam is like a specific aesthetic. or like very flashy.

A: yeah. and I mean it’s like.. I hate to adhere gender cause it’s like not that but it does feel very feminine to me, the word glam and like it’s association so I just like—

H: I like the flamboyance of the word.

A: yeah yeah. I don’t know if I can think of a word. I was gonna say tough. like whenever I dress up like I want to like feel powerful maybe.

H: totally.

Madison who is also on the couch: this is really good tea.

A: it’s my favorite black tea cause the cardamom gives it a little spice.

H: nice. yeah I really like it. so what’s your go to snack?

A: I feel like it changes. honestly right now I’m—Madison makes fun of me but I love apples and peanut butter as a dessert.

H: oh yeah, I love that too.

A: it’s just like when I don’t have chocolate I’m like—what’s something sweet—and I don’t know.. apples and peanut butter. It just makes me feel good. I’m like fruit!

H: I think we said last night that’s a very earth sign type of dessert. I don’t know why. I can’t articulate why, it’s just not decadent but sometimes that’s what you need.

A: it’s like.. fresh too.

H: it just hits the spot.

A: it does.

H: I get honey roasted peanut butter so there’s like a little bit of sugar there. so what have you been doing lately?

A: nothing it feels like.

H: yeah, okay.

A: going like a little crazy because of that, perhaps. I feel like I haven’t done any ceramic stuff because I’m trying to consolidate my clay now that I know I’m going to run out. I’m like, what am I going to do after that if I don’t have something to do with my hands?

H: yeah. maybe we can like get some sculpey or something.

A: yeah, I think that queen city clay said that they’re delivering but it sounded like it was businesses and schools for educational purposes so I’m not sure if they’re delivering to homes.

H: yeah maybe we can find out. well when you are doing clay stuff do you want to tell me a little bit about your process?

A: I don’t know if I have a process, it depends on what I feel like making that day. I make a lot of spoons cause they’re like a silly object to me. what I think I’m trying to do is figure out how many ways I can make the same object. I do have a lot of spoons that are pretty similar just for the purpose of maybe eventually selling them, people will want a certain kind, I don’t know. Lately I’ve been trying to make vessels. Just as a different process because it feels more fluid. I don’t have a goal necessarily when I’m starting, it just comes along.

H: awesome, thank you. what’s something you’re working towards? It can be anything.

A: yeah, I mean perhaps just like.. I don’t know how to answer that question. I feel like in a very weird place in my life for the first time where I haven’t really had a direction set and it gives me a lot of anxiety. I’ve been the kind of person since I was fucking five years old that’s had like a fifteen year plan. I’ve always known what I’m going to do and I think being in school my relationship to the institution has changed a lot and now I don’t have any trust in my degree or my artistic practice so I feel like I can’t do what I wanted to do so now I’m kind of lost and not necessarily working towards anything.

H: yeah, there’s so much up in the air. so much uncertainty like nobody knows.

A: and especially now.

H: nobody knows the end result and so you can’t plan for anything.

A: the economy… what the fuck!

H: this will maybe be a good transition. describe your concept of evil.

A: evil…. fuck. I’ve had some real personal encounters with evil and encounters with people that I definitely need to go to therapy for… so as I try and distance myself conceptually from them and think about evil generally, when I think of evil I think of manipulation a lot and the weird relationship between people that are evil that are simultaneously aware and unaware of their actions regarding other people. I hate it.

H: to switch it up, what’s something beautiful you’ve seen lately?

A: I’ve seen a lot! can I pull up a picture?

H: yeah! I can put it with the interview.

A: great. I feel like I always take photos which is why my Instagram is the way it is. this is a picture of my cake I made. this is the most recent image that comes to mind.

H: it was a beautiful cake.

A: these pickled radishes are beautiful too. It’s all food.

H: they are beautiful. pink medallions. I love that.

what has been a recent source of inspiration?

A: long term I would say being out of school, I’ve been getting back into poetry which has been very inspiring. especially I’m so glad I get to live with you cause I get to read your poems and read what you’re reading which is very nice.

H: aw! (laughing) I definitely love sharing recommendations. do you have any book recs?

A: I would say Imaginary Museums by Nicolette Polek. It’s very interesting to think about the interview that I listened to before I read the book with Brad Listi whose just talking about her relationship with religion. I remember listening to it and thinking “I don’t wanna read that book it’s about god!” and then I saw it in a book store and I really loved the cover and couldn’t remember where I’d heard the name Imaginary Museums and the author before, racking my brain but I bought it anyways. as I was reading it I realized it’s because I listened to that interview. It was when I was with Madison in Pittsburgh when I was trying to figure it out and I discovered that it was from the interview which was basically an epiphany because I was like “OH shit this is about God!” it was beautiful to discover that for myself, and the book is really really good too.

H: oh, I love that. maybe I’ll borrow it…

A: yes! you should.

H: okay, tell me a secret.

A: let’s come back to this one.

H: okay, what do you miss?

A: …

Madison: can I say a secret?

H & A: yeah!

M: retroactively, I’ve been getting Joe Rogan and Alex Jones confused this whole time… (laughing) I just fucking realized they’re different people!

A: I don’t know who Alex Jones is.

M: he’s the one whose like “the water is turning the freakin frogs gay!”

H: I don’t know Joe Rogan.

M: Joe Rogan used to be the host of Fear Factor! I was so confused! I’m sorry for derailing the interview!

H & A: (laughing)

H: so coming back, what do you miss was the question.

A: oh, what do I miss. I miss working. as an earth sign, a capricorn I need the routine of it and I need to feel—not even powerful but just that I’m doing something worthwhile. I work in a restaurant so it’s whatever but even then.

H: I sympathize with that.

A: this is very shallow to say but I think it has to do with the fact that I live with my best friends, I don’t care to ever go out ever again. people are talking about how they miss going out to bars and that’s just never been my cup of tea and I could go without it.

H: that’s not shallow! I definitely feel that. I miss working I think because—it’s so weird—I miss meaningless tasks. I miss opening and closing. I miss even interacting with customers. and my coworkers, I really miss my coworkers. It’s a strange way to feel.

A: especially with the relationship we’ve had with the restaurant industry in the past. we’ve all been like “the industry sucks blah blah” but now we’re like “I kind of miss it….”

H: and I like… like my job.

M: my thing is that I don’t mind working but I really hate management. I think that if I didn’t have mr. **** expecting things from me. something about having that looming presence lorded over you, it changes the entire thing. also not having management that is willing to back you up is really mentally taxing so most of the stress of my job was working around management expectations and that inhibiting my ability to do my job.

A: and like making coffee—you love that shit.

M: I fucking love that shit! I really like talking to people. It’s kind of exhausting but I like having conversations with people and I’m really good at sticking up for myself within reason.

H: It definitely hits super different to mostly work with people that are nice to you.

A: yeah.

H: tell me something stupid.

A: the economy comes to mind. It’s just stupid. It’s stupid.

H: for sure. If you made a commercial broadcast to the entire nation, what would you say?

A: I would say fuck commercials. this is a PSA, FUCK COMMERCIALS! that’s what I would say.

H: the commercial to end all commercials.

A: yes, that would be great.

H: what is your favorite body part?

A: is this like an ass man or boobs question?

H: the whole body is free game.

A: I think I like ears, ears are cool. I like them as a concept. they’re very weird.

H: yes, so intricate. little machines.

A: and the way that they’re sculpted too. like who decided that they need to be this particular shape to do their job?

H: I think the shape effects the sound? weird.

A: would be a good wiki search.

H: for sure. do you have any confessions to make?

A: not currently but I’m sure I will at some point. they’re coming, we all have confessions.

H: do we?

A: yeah.

H: okay I’m gonna ask you a series of one word questions to end the interview and you can answer them however you like.

hungry?

A: a little.

H: lucid?

A: hardly.

H: grease?

A: love it?

H: weather?

A: hate it.

H: wanting?

A: always.

H: waiting?

A: always.

H: anticipating?

A: always.

H: advice?

A: whatever.

H: wish?

A: yes.

#interview boredinterview

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ofcloudsandstars · 5 years

Photo

This week was a wild Samhaintide ride. I’ll post more about it in the read more

Here's yet another selection of stories from my witchy life I am ready to dump on you all so get ready lol:

Wednesday night was the party at the occult shop Treadwells where we met a new witch friend who joined us for the Samhain festivities. I have already made a post about it here but her name is Letitia and she is a beautiful sapphic Taurean witch who loves gardening and cooking (duh she's a Taurus) and all the goddesses she worships and bought an incredible pumpkin pie to the ritual.

Halloween

So the day begun with me making candles for the ritual. I bought a skull candle, a candle the shape of a jackolantern and then I made several candles which were three mini pumpkins hollowed and filled with black wax that’s pumpkin and bourbon scented, then four tea light spell candles with black wax and four tea light spell candles with a special wax my sag witchy friend bought for me from Edinburgh from a witchy shop. The wax melt was made with herbs and was called 'thinning the veil'. I’ll elaborate later. I also had to walk to the post office to pick up the ouija board. I had a feeling I'd finally get my hands on it on Halloween. Its a very aesthetic round one and I was excited to use it.

We chose to gather in Queenswood in the north of London. It was already SUPER SPOOKY cause there was a murder nearby so all of the buses were being redirected lol. We gathered all in black with our witch hats and delved deep in the woods. It was so beautiful and the ground was completely coated in gold and red leaves so you couldn't even see the path. We found a clearing in the thick of the woods with an old tree that grew sideways so it made a semi circle. We made a HUGE circle that we drew in the earth with a dead stick and went over with dragonsblood incense and black salt.

We opened the space by lighting the pumpkin candles and begun with centering our energy. There were several parts to the ritual we planned, but first we begun with a 'putting it to rest' spell since autumn is the time to let things go and samhain is about death so it was like officially bringing things to an end. We wrote down what we wanted to end in our lives on a piece of paper (such as not seeing coworkers from a toxic job that someone was leaving or the retrograde made my friend run into her abusive father that she had binded from seeing her for YEARS so she wanted to put that situation to rest) and ignited it in my cauldron. When it burned down to ashes we chose a spot (under a goblin-like tree) outside of the circle to open the earth and bury it in. After we put it in it's grave we all said a few words of departure and said: rest in peace. lol.

In my case I wrote down names of these models that are obsessed with this Italian guy (who is the son of a huge fashion designer) who is in love with my sister. They are obsessed with him for his connections to the fashion world and that he is rich and are jealous of any 'hoes' he's currently into so they posted instagram stories on Halloween with them in witch hats taunting that they were going to curse him and all of his lovers or whatever in cutesy filters and my sister knows I practice witchcraft so she told me. So I binded and banished them and the next day they unfollowed her lol.

Anyway, afterwards we focused on what we should reflect on by pulling tarot cards for mercury retrograde in scorpio that was beginning on that day as it's going to be like two weeks of descending into our own underworlds. After we got a card we lit the black tealight candle as a road opening spell to manifest a helpful path with overcoming our retrograde's lessons.

Then I lit the skull candle and we had a moment to reflect on our ancestors and those that we loved that have been lost that year. We each shared stories then lit the white tea light candles with the wax that was for thinning the veil. When we lit it we thought about our loved ones or ancestors.

Finally we did a dance for thinning the veil. I had flying devil oil that was some fragrance oil I got from a hoodoo shop and we dressed ourselves with it and ran around the circle and chanted in the leaves. We then ate the pumpkin pie the lovely Taurean witch bought also some maple sugar fudge she bought (what a champ), and halloween candy. We used the Ouija board but it was really challenging. We thought maybe it was cause we needed to be less grounded so we put it away and cleaned up the ritual space and headed off.

The Taurean witch was going to head home to cook a feast, my French aries witch friend went to her friends she's staying at to have a party and my Sag witch friend went home to cook a dumb supper for her and her mom. I went back to my place to nap then get ready for the night. I met my Sag friend at a music venue to watch Honeyblood which is SUCH a witchy band. The performance really reminded me of some scooby doo hex girls shit. It was a lot of fun (until some grown ass men with no sense of self awareness took the mosh pit to mean something more of a Jailbreak riot and started throwing their whole 6ft man bodies everywhere despite not everyone being gladiator sized. It was really ridiculous but golden when Honeyblood sang "Glimmer" with lyrics like "she can put a hex on you" thats when this one guy in some sailor outfit shoved his body into us and we BOTH looked at him with such evil at the same time and he like.. stopped.. and like hastily moved to another part of the room..) If you don't know Honeyblood you should listen to them, they are such a babe witch band.

We then went to a bar nearby to get flaming shots of absinthe as its a personal tradition (also a way to 'cross the veil') and someone took candids of us at the bar! (I added the picture above), for some reason we really caught the attention of everyone though we just were in witch hats like EVERYONE was like: OOO WITCHES and like we even had some lady take pictures of us at the bar? Like ok it was cute I guess. My friend was drunk then so every time someone was like: oo a Witch! She'd holler back YASS BITCH 365 24/7!!!! Like o' dear.

Final part to the night was the house party my Aries witch friend (she's the one who's apartment I almost burned down once when I was making spell candles). It was a place around the corner from mine with a host who was HIGH OFF HER FACE on drugs. There was the counter of alcohol that kept us going all night, we had a lot of mingling with everyone there then when it started to get a little less wild we claimed an empty bedroom and tried the ouija board again since we were definitely less grounded than in the forest. Unfortunately the results were still a bit weak but we got a little bit of consistency with movement. There was some guy there that seemed interested but as time went on it turned out he was more interested in me than the board. I am a touched starved human being and he was playing with my hair and I was drunk so I did not care then after we ended up kissing while my other witchy friends and some new comers were chatting about the dead. My Aries witch friend lives on the other side of the city so she asked if they could stay at mine and I was like yea plus it was like 4AM at this point and this guy was getting very handsy like I just wanted my hair to be played with so I was like ok nice meeting you I gotta go. And He was like oh no please come say one last goodbye. I was too drunk to realize that he was in the bathroom and he closed to door to make out with me and I was like this is nice you do have nice flowy long hair that covers your big shiny forehead that I am now noticing in this bright fluorescent lighting but I gotta go. And he's like: No I wanna take you home I wanted to the moment I saw you. And he WHIPS OUT HIS DICK AND SAYS: this is for you. I am DYING like honestly I found it hilarious, I was so drunk I like forgot that there were other people on the other side of the door so I barge out of the bathroom like: WE ARE GOING HOME and my witchy friends saw his dick and were howling with laughter and that 10 minute walk home they would NOT LET ME BE IN PEACE about it.

Samhain Day

Anyway my friends stay over and in the morning I make tea and a light breakfast since we are hung over and we watch The Worst Witch 1980s Halloween special where we fucking Howl at laughter at everything especially Tim Curry flying around in that Cape. The rest of the day is really quiet since most of it is me sleeping trying to recover from the day before.

At 4 PM I call my relatives to say I love them and stuff cause I felt like my closest relatives on the other side of the veil wanted that. I made a feast for myself which consisted of Mashed sweet potato, a salad of chopped royal gala apples, carrots and beetroots and duck sauteed in maple syrup and bourbon. It may sound sweet but the bourbon balanced it out and duck tastes a bit sweet so it blended well with the maple flavor. After I had sticky toffee pudding for dessert. I made a plate for my ancestors and then got ready for fireworks with my other witchy friend who is the sound healer at Alexandra Palace.

I nearly missed the MASSIVE fire effigy burning cause the commute there was a NIGHTMARE since everything was still being redirected. (Thanks mercury retrograde). The fireworks were incredible though. There were so many it was like being bombarded with fiery psychedelics. My friend still wanted to show off her sexy angel outfit for Halloween so I asked if she wanted to hang out with us tomorrow night to party.

Saturday Night

She came over like at 4 and we got ready. She looked a bit like the angel from the remake of Romeo and Juliette with Leonardo decaprio but in lingerie with a long white lace robe. I dressed as a poltergeist though I don't think it came off that way but I had a sheer black dress on with a skeleton body suit, a glow in the dark wig and pale tulle. I just wanted to be a spooky ghost. We had to sneak into a members club that I work at cause I am NOT allowed to be there and I was terrified of them finding out so it felt like Danger Partying. They had a day of the dead party so I blended in but I felt like some staff that recognized me were like staring at me all night. We still had fun and spoke about our Samhain experiences. My friend is also a medium so she gave me some ouija tips so hopefully that can help me in the future.

Sunday Morning

I went to a workshop in the food forest about fire starting!! It was beautiful and magical and the forest was in full autumn mode. I learned how to chop wood with different axes and carve wood and start fires with either two pieces of wood (which is extremely hard on your own like you better be in the dryest place possible and you better have a bow), and how to start fire with flint/magnesium which is 1000% easier would highly recommend. There's so much magic in nature and so much magic in those workshops. We learned which trees were best for firewood and which were toxic and how to use bark or forage for fire starter materials. I am getting more drawn to fire as an element to work with in magic so I loved learning the techniques and also that you can start fires with the back of a knife (the teacher had a specific wood carving knife that was thick) so its like if you get a specific Athame which is ruled by fire you could also use it to start fires too if you got a fire steel key. (It's a rod of magnesium and you'd strike it with the back of the knife hard and fast and sparks will shoot out like fireworks).

Anyway that was my week so far!! It was so much fun and adventurous I couldn't have asked for a better experience. I have today off so I had a moment to reflect and get myself together for work tomorrow but afterwork I am celebrating Bonfire night with my sag witch friend at Victoria park so I am excited to take part in that!

I hope you all had a great Samhain!

#halloween #personal #samhain #celebrations #I wish like every sabbat was this eventful #some parts could have been a movie #Some parts I wish I was more in the moment for but it was also a bit emotional with the retrograde

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frauleinsmaria · 6 years

Text

The Facebook Flub (1/3)

Summary: When Emma accidentally sends a friend request to the wrong person, she doesn't expect much to come of it. But maybe this accident is the best decision she's ever made.

Rated: T for now, potentially high T/low M in the future

Also on AO3

A/N: Inspired by a comment I came across on Instagram asking people to share how their long distance relationships began: "I added the wrong guy on Facebook that I met at the bar...the guy I added lived in Germany and I was in Canada. That accident...is now my husband."

A few changes to make it fit Captain Swan, plus a whole lot of support and cheerleading from @wellhellotragic , @profdanglaisstuff , and @thejollyroger-writer later, here we are! Thanks a million, ladies, you’re the best.

Going out was the last thing Emma wanted to do tonight. She had a long week dealing with a tough case at work, the weather reports were calling for snow, and she had a headache- not to mention the fact that she didn’t feel like being hit on by some drunk low life.

“Those are all reasons for you to go out then,” Ruby insisted when Emma relayed all of this to her over the phone. “It’s Friday night. You need to come let loose with your friends and forget about whatever else is on your mind. And you know I’ll gladly fight off anyone who bothers you.” It took similar texts from Elsa, Graham, David, and Mary Margaret for her to finally give in and join them. Which is how she found herself sitting at the bar at one of their favorite burger and beer places downtown.

She was drinking one of her favorite beers, with Graham on her left side flirting with the guy behind the bar, and a stranger on her right who had been talking her ear off about some upcoming movie since he sat down an hour ago. Emma wasn’t all that interested- in both him or whatever this movie is- but she listened anyway. She didn’t have the energy to join the rest of her friends at the dart boards, and at least this guy wasn’t trying to flirt. So when he suggested she add him on Facebook before he left, she’d had enough to drink that she saw little reason to object.

It wasn’t until he was gone when she opened the Facebook app on her phone and realized she wasn’t one hundred percent sure of his name. He’d introduced himself when he first took the seat beside her, but that had been several beers ago, not to mention the loud music in the bar making some of his words hard to hear.

It had been something different that she’d never heard before. Killiam James, maybe? she thought as she typed it into the search bar.

“I should’ve known.” Ruby appeared behind her, holding a glass of whatever she’d picked for her poison tonight. “Don’t tell me you came out just to sit on your phone by yourself.”

“I’m not by myself. Graham’s he-” She turned and saw that the man in question had apparently slipped off with the bartender without her noticing.”Huh. Or maybe not.”

Ruby sighed. “Come on, Emma. You know you wanna watch Mary Margaret kick David’s ass at darts.”

That was a statement she couldn’t argue with. “Hang on. Let me do this first.” But Ruby instead grabbed her by the arm and dragged her toward the dart boards, causing Emma to hit “add friend” for the first option in her search results without paying much attention to the name or profile picture.

The guy from the bar and the friend request had been forgotten about by the next morning when she woke up with a pounding headache and wondered exactly when she’d started getting old.

The events of that Friday night didn’t cross her mind again until the next weekend. She’d gone to see Captain Marvel with David and Mary Margaret, who were always willing to join her to watch any superhero movie despite both of them losing track of the plot at least half an hour in. It wasn’t the same as getting to experience it with someone as invested as she was, but years of going to the movies by herself when she was younger made Emma grateful for their company regardless.

They arrived at the theater early, battling the lines at the ticket booth and again at the concessions stand for overpriced popcorn and candy. The theater was already filling up after they’d gotten snacks. Emma stepped on quite a few feet to get to the only empty three seats together. Once they were settled, she pulled out her phone and opened the front camera. “Smile, guys!” Mary Margaret got the memo, but David looked like a deer in headlights in their selfie. This was definitely getting posted.

She made a few adjustments to the lighting before posting the photo on Facebook and Instagram. It’s Captain Marvel time!

The lights in the theater dimmed as the first movie trailer began to play on the screen. Emma silenced her phone and dropped it into her purse before grabbing a fistful of popcorn and settling into her seat.

It was over two hours later when the movie had ended and the three of them had arrived back at David and Mary Margaret’s house before she thought to check her phone again. There was a new text from Elsa about the shirt she’d borrowed last week and a handful of social media notifications. She opened Facebook first to see the response to her pre-movie selfie. It was when she started scrolling through the list of various reactions that an unfamiliar name caught her eye. Of course since she’d tagged David and Mary Margaret in the photo, several people who’d liked it weren’t Facebook friends of hers or people she knew. But this one stood out- it belonged to a person she’d never heard of before, and one who was apparently on her friends list.

Killian Jones. She frowned and clicked the link to open his profile page. They had no mutual friends, but sure enough, they were friends with each other. The brief amount of information listed under his personal details told her he lived in London and worked for a company named Ship Shape.

Emma quickly began to question just how she knew this Killian Jones. They hadn’t gone to college together; his profile listed him as an alum of a university in London she’d never heard of. He wasn’t in her line of work, so that wasn’t a possibility.

What if he had been a previous one night stand? No, that definitely wasn’t the case. She rarely got men’s names when those happened, let alone befriended them on social media.

And there was no way she would have forgotten a face like his. His current profile picture was taken from a distance on a beach somewhere, which made his features a bit harder to notice. The handful of previous ones were closer shots though. There were a few that looked like they were taken at some kind of professional event and a selfie with a dog she presumed was his. He was gorgeous, she realized as she quickly flipped through them. Piercing blue eyes, a head of dark hair that successfully toed the line between messy and polished with a five o’clock shadow to match. Yeah, she definitely would have remembered him.

Emma scrolled through a few more photos before she started to feel like she was crossing some sort of line. She had zero ideas on who this Killian Jones even was, and yet there she sat combing through the details of his Facebook profile as if they were close friends.

Contacting him seemed like the most logical thing to do. She opened Messenger, still annoyed that the feature wasn’t included with the regular Facebook app anymore, and typed out a brief message. Hey. Sorry if this seems weird, but I was wondering how you and I knew each other?

Her phone chimed with a response only a few minutes later. Not weird, love. Although I was wondering the same thing considering you’re the one who added me.

She stared at her phone screen and read the message again. There had to be some kind of mix up. Her friends list was on the small side, mostly former classmates and coworkers, and the people she regularly interacted with now. What reason would she have for sending a friend request to Killian Jones all the way in London-

And then it hit her. “Killiam James,” she groaned, remembering the guy from the bar the weekend before. If that was even his name. Emma blamed the combination of beer and loud music for the mix up, which explained why she’d added this guy with such a similar name.

What was she even supposed to say to Killian Jones now? The truth was ridiculous, and she couldn’t think of a lie that sounded even moderately believable.

Honesty won out in the end. “What does it matter? He’s never gonna meet me anyway,” she muttered as she started to reply. So, funny story. I thought I was sending a friend request to a guy with a name that’s really similar to yours and I just now realized my mistake. I’m sorry again because I know how weird this all probably sounds to you.

She hadn’t expected another reply. He’d probably delete her from his friends list after learning the reason behind the mishap and forget all about their brief interaction. What she got instead was a huge surprise. That’s quite alright. I suppose it could have happened to anyone. But, while we’re here, can I ask how the movie was?

Movie? Oh, right. She’d gone to see Captain Marvel tonight. His liking her photo was what started all of this. I liked it a lot. Keep in mind I haven’t read the comics, so I don’t know how accurate anything was. But it’s a great addition to the MCU if you ask me. And the cat was awesome.

I’m glad to hear that. I don’t know much about the comics myself, I just like the films as well. I’ll have to keep my eye out for the cat you speak of when I see it for myself.

This conversation was already a positive changed compared to the ones she usually had about Marvel movies. Most people, men especially, would make fun of her or call her a “fake fan” when she admitted she wasn’t familiar with the comics and didn’t really have plans to change that. Not only was Killian Jones not making fun of her preferences, he actually seemed to share them.

Emma soon found herself discussing everything from Endgame theories to the newest Spider-Man: Far From Home trailer with him. It wasn’t until her eyes grew heavy and she started yawning that she realized it was after midnight. Had this guy really stayed up until five in the morning to talk superheroes with her? Crap. I just realized what time it is. I’m really sorry if I kept you up. You’re probably exhausted.

No worries, Swan- can I call you that? As coincidence would have it, I’m a bit of an insomniac. I likely would still be awake now regardless. Plus, I work for my brother, so he can’t fire me for sleeping on the job unless he wants to lose his kids’ favorite babysitter.

Swan is fine- after all, it is my name. Although I still feel like you may need to apologize to your brother on my behalf.

Truthfully, she didn’t expect to hear from Killian again. Sure, they’d had a long conversation about a shared interest of theirs, but that didn’t mean he had any desire to continue talking to a stranger in the middle of the night. Or at any other time, for that matter.

Which is why Emma was caught off guard when she received another Facebook message from him a few days later. Hello, Swan. I know it’s the middle of the day where you are so you’re probably working, but I just saw Captain Marvel with a friend of mine and I needed someone to discuss the end credits scene with since he’s not nearly invested in this.

Their conversation soon left movies entirely and shifted to their everyday lives. Within the next hour, she learned that he was thirty-one, worked as a marketing executive for the shipping company owned by his brother, was the proud uncle of a nephew and two nieces, and spent most of his free time hiking or reading whatever fantasy novel was next on his to read list. Emma was more hesitant when it came to sharing specifics about herself for several reasons: talking about herself wasn’t exactly something she enjoyed, she barely knew this guy, plus, what if he really wasn’t the person he claimed to be?

If there’s one of us that ought to be suspicious, it’s him, she thought. You added him first; you could be the one Catfishing for all he knows.

Their once sporadic conversations soon became a nightly occurrence, switching from Facebook Messenger to texts once they felt comfortable with sharing numbers. (The short amount of time this took didn’t go unnoticed to Emma. She refused to let herself think too much about it.) Over time, it soon became easier to open up to him about a number of different things. Some days it was her favorite color or flavor of ice cream, others it was conspiracy theories she believed that dealt with people like Marilyn Monroe and Kurt Cobain. Emma rarely brought up her upbringing or personal life, and he never asked.

On nights when Killian’s insomnia was particularly brutal, they watched Netflix together, one of the few pastimes they could share considering the distance between them. They usually chose comedies, preferring shows like The Good Place and Parks and Rec so they wouldn’t miss much of the story if they got caught up in whatever conversation they were having at the same time.

The first phone call happened by accident when they’d been talking about three months. Emma had just got in from work and was debating between Chinese and pizza for dinner when her phone began to vibrate. She froze at seeing Killian’s name on the screen. Why was he calling her? They had never talked outside of Facebook and texts. Phone calls had never even come up once in their conversations.

“H-hello?” she answered after a moment. “Killian?”

“Oi, Jones, is this your girlfriend?” Not Killian then, although another man with an accent who sounded far from sober. She heard some sort of commotion in the background, followed by, “Give me back my bloody phone!”

“Um, hello, Swan.” His voice sounded exactly as she’d imagined. (Not that she’d spent that much time thinking on the subject. Not at all.) The accent was there, of course, but his voice was softer and he sounded considerably more under control than whoever had greeted her. “How’re you doing?”

“I’m fine. Killian, don’t take this the wrong way, but why are you calling me? Where are you?”

“Well, you see, a few of us brought Liam to the pub tonight for his birthday, but I realized I’d forgotten to tell you about it earlier. I know you wanted to start Brooklyn 99 tonight since we finished New Girl. Anyway, I was in the middle of typing out a message to you explaining all of this when Will took my phone and called before I could stop him.” He sighed. Emma had a feeling Will would get an earful as soon as this conversation was over; she heard a lot about him from Killian, mostly complaints. “I’m terribly sorry, love. I’m sure this must be awkward for you.”

“It’s fine, Killian. I appreciate you for telling me, but I know you probably have better things to do on a Friday night than watch Netflix with a stranger in Boston.” Although that was the gist of their relationship from an outside perspective, Emma’s heart sank at her own words. She thought more for this virtual stranger than she did most of the people she saw in person on a regular basis.

“Don’t talk like that, Swan. Besides, it would’ve been bad form to leave you hanging without an explanation.”

She should have known he would be a stickler for manners, even for something as trivial as a regular Netflix binge. “Thanks, Killian. Seriously though, go enjoy your night out. Sing ‘happy birthday’ obnoxiously loud to your brother and maybe don’t let anyone else take your phone. We’ll catch up on Netflix later, alright?”

“Alright, love. Goodnight.”

The next time Killian called, it was intentional. Neither of them thought much of it.

The calls (via WhatsApp to keep from spending a fortune) soon became a semi-regular part of their “routine.” They didn’t happen as often as the texts, however, since it was harder to both talk and vaguely pay attention to whatever show they were watching at any given moment. Talking on the phone often made it easy to forget the difference in time zone and the ocean between them, even when Killian said something particularly British, like “tosser” or “knackered.”

She and Killian had their first shared experience with FaceTime the night before the surprise party she and Mary Margaret have planned for David. Emma had been asked to make cupcakes, something she now regretted agreeing to as she stood in her kitchen dumbfounded by the assortment of ingredients strewn out across the counter.

As if on cue, her phone vibrated.

Killian: How are the cupcakes coming along?

Emma: They’re not.

Do I really have to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately? They all go in the same bowl in the end. And how much batter do I put in the cupcake liners without them blowing up like mushroom tops? I don’t get why I had to pick a recipe that calls for baking soda AND powder too.

Basically, I need to be able to snap my fingers and have a professional chef in my kitchen to take care of this.

Killian: I’m no professional, but if you want to FaceTime, I could possibly help walk you through it.

Of course he could. She’d quickly learned that Killian Jones was one of those people who was unfairly good at most if not all things.

Emma opened the camera app on her phone to get a look at her current appearance. An old Rolling Stones t-shirt that probably should have been thrown out years ago, her-square rimmed glasses, hair thrown up on the top of her head in a messy knot, and no makeup, not to mention the zit on her chin that she hadn’t gotten the chance to get rid of yet. It would have to do. They were friends, and he already knew what she looked like thanks to social media. And she didn’t have time or energy to freshen up before she got the stupid cupcakes taken care of.

“Here goes nothing,” she muttered.

Her phone screen was taken up by Killian’s smiling face seconds later. “Hello, Swan.”

“Uh, hi.” Somehow he was even better looking in real time. It wasn’t fair. “You sure you’re up for this?”

“Come now, love. How hard can it be?”

“Consider who you’re dealing with, Killian. I almost cooked an oven mitt last week.” She didn’t add that it had happened due to their intense conversation on nineties one hit wonders and she’d been so distracted she hadn’t paid attention to where she’d placed the mitt after taking pizza out of her oven.

He barked out a laugh. “Something tells me chocolate cupcakes will smell much better. Do you have the recipe up?”

“Yeah. I’m sending it to you.”

Killian, being the good sport that he was, spent the better part of the next two hours going through the recipe step by step with her. Which was much easier said than done.

“You mean to tell me that not only do I have to mix the wet and dry ingredients separately, but I can only mix half of each together at a time?”

“Aye, that’s what the woman recommends.”

Emma had long since forgotten the name of the woman who’d posted the recipe online, but she had quickly become her worst enemy. “I should’ve just told Mary Margaret to make the damn cupcakes herself.”

“I highly doubt she could’ve gotten away with making cupcakes for her husband’s surprise party in their own house,” Killian noted.

How was it that he seemed to know her own family better than she did. “Yeah, well, then I should have bought cupcakes from the store and brought them to the party on one of my plates.” It would have at least saved the trouble of having a kitchen covered in flour, butter, and the other dozen or so ingredients she’d added to the mix.

She had just began pouring batter into one of the slots in her cupcake tin when Killian spoke up. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you, Swan.”

“Killian, I may have the cooking skills of a dustpan, but I do know that cupcakes have to be baked.”

“Right you are, but what about liners?”

“Come again?”

“You know, the paper things? You’re going to have an awfully difficult time without them.”

Of course. “Shit!” Hurling the mixing bowl at the wall now seemed like a great idea. “I can’t believe I didn’t think about that.”

“Hmm.” She heard the sound of computer keys typing as Killian looked something up. “Do you have parchment paper? Several sites list it as a possible substitute.”

“Wouldn’t that look kind of tacky though?”

“You don’t exactly have a lot of options, love, unless you’re willing to make a trip to the store.”

Emma glanced at the clock above her oven. It was past ten. A handful of stores would be open, but she didn’t have the energy or motivation to change into decent clothes to leave the apartment. “Parchment paper’s fine, I guess. What does it say I’m supposed to do?”

He quickly walked her through the process, which was much simpler than she presumed. After cutting the parchment paper into squares and folding them around a glass that was the same size as the slots in the cupcake pan, the problem was solved. They rewatched one of their favorite episodes of The Good Place while the cupcakes baked. She was so caught up in the show that she wouldn’t have remembered to turn off the oven if Killian hadn’t reminded her.

“So far, so good,” she told him once the pans had been taken out of the oven and placed on her counter. “They smell incredible.”

“Don’t rub it in,” Killian groaned. “The only form of chocolate I have in my flat is unsweetened cocoa powder.”

“Well, that’s just depressing.”

The icing process, while tedious, went over much more smoothly than the baking had.

“Swan, you’ve got chocolate icing all over your cheek now.”

“Maybe so, but I’ve got two dozen nice looking cupcakes. Isn’t that all that matters?”

“I suppose,” he agreed. “Although you’re just giving me something else to make fun of you for.”

He laughed when she stuck her tongue out at him.

She’d gone this far without sampling anything, too concentrated on not botching the cupcakes. But the sound of her stomach growling reminded Emma she’d never eaten dinner. “You think I can justify having a cupcake now if I don’t eat one at the party tomorrow?”

“After all the work you’ve put in, I believe you could justify two.”

“You, Jones, are a bad influence,” she said, taking the nearest cupcake and pulling off the parchment sheet liner.

“A bad influence who reminded you of the importance of cupcake liners.”

“Ugh. I hate it when you’re right.” Emma took a hearty bite of the cupcake and couldn’t hold back the moan that escaped her lips. “Ohmgod.”

Killian was quiet for a moment. Then, “I presume it’s good?”

“It’s not good, it’s fantastic. I never thought I’d say that about something I made.” Another bite elicited the same reaction, her eyes closing as she savored the rich chocolate taste. This caused her to miss Killian blush as his eyes shifted away from the screen.

“Erm, well, I’m very glad to hear that.”

The cupcakes, thankfully, are a hit. Several people at David’s party ask Emma for the recipe, a few eve complimenting the unique choice of liners. Her own brother was skeptical that she’d made them herself.

“I did!” she insisted. “I mean, Killian provided moral support via FaceTime, but all the manual labor was my accomplishment.” Her family and friends have known about her unconventional friendship with Killian for awhile now. Most of them went along with the idea, although a few were skeptical that her virtual friend was really the person he claimed to be.

“You and this guy have gotten pretty close, haven’t you?” David was one of those skeptical people.

She shrugged. “Kind of. I guess we’re as close as friends can get when they’re on opposite sides of the pond and have never met in person.”

“And you’re sure he’s not, what’s the word, fishing with you?”

“The term is catfishing, David. And the answer is no, considering we FaceTimed during the cupcake ordeal and his face matches the one in all of his pictures.”

“If you say so. I just don’t want you to risk getting hurt.” He almost always went into Protective Big Brother mode whenever Emma referenced a guy in any capacity, and this was no exception.

“I appreciate that you care about me, but I don’t think you have anything to worry about considering the circumstances. The chances of the two of us meeting are basically nonexistent.”

A few days later, they were on their third episode of Schitt’s Creek of the night and discussing each other’s uneventful work days when he brought it up. “So, uh, Liam has been talking about sending me away for work sometime soon.”

“That’s cool. Does he want you to go back to the Dublin office again?” Emma remembered that he’d taken a short trip to Ireland for business not long after they’d became friends.

“Actually, no.” He paused. “He’s made a few comments about Boston this time.”

Any interest she had in the episode they’d been watching was long gone. “Oh really?”

“Yeah. Sometime next month, if nothing changes.”

Her next words were out of her mouth before she could stop them. “I know a semi decent tour guide who lives in that neck of the woods if you have some free time while you’re here. And, y’know, if you’d be up for that.”

“I think that could be arranged.” She couldn’t see Killian, but somehow she knew he was smiling.

Emma didn’t start freaking out until the day before his flight. She was at Elsa’s apartment with Mary Margaret and Ruby, drinking wine and eating Elsa and Anna’s homemade cookies at the kitchen table. She was on her third- okay, maybe it was her fourth- snickerdoodle, only half participating in the conversation when she glanced up and saw the three of them staring at her.

“Do I have something on my face?”

Mary Margaret gave her a knowing look. “Have you been listening to anything we’ve said?”

“Yeah, of course I have.”

“Emma, I just said that Granny was having surgery next month, and your response was, ‘that’s cool,’” Ruby deadpanned.

Her face flushed red with embarrassment. “I’m sorry. Just have a lot on my mind I guess.”

“Is something goin- oh!” Elsa exclaimed. “Aren’t you finally meeting that friend of yours from London tomorrow?”

“Yeah. His plane is supposed to come in at two, then I’m meeting him for dinner and a little sightseeing before his meetings start the next day.”

“That’s really all you’ve got planned for him?” Ruby waggled her eyebrows over the rim of her wine glass.

Emma rolled her eyes. “C’mon, Ruby. He’s just my friend.”

“Your very attractive male friend, who you talk either to or about nonstop,” Mary Margaret added.

She shot her an annoyed glance. “I thought family was supposed to be on my side.”

“I am on your side! I want you to be happy, and I’m just saying maybe you should be open to the possibility that Killian could have something to do with that.”

Leave it to her sister-in-law to bring Emma’s love life (or lack thereof) into the conversation. ““Don’t get any ideas, Mary Margaret. I love that you’re an eternal optimist, but everything else aside, he lives over three thousand miles away. I never thought we would actually meet.”

“People do long distance all the time,” Elsa chimed in. “Anna and Kristoff did for several months when he was away doing research about climate change in the North Pole. It wasn’t easy, but they got through it and are happier than ever now.”

She wanted to remind Elsa that her sister and her fiance had been together for over two years before this, but disregarded the thought. “I know you all mean well- even though it seems like Ruby just wants me to get laid- but can we change the subject? Killian is my friend. That’s all there is to it.”

Even as she said the words, Emma wondered for the first time whether that was actually true.

Her intention had been to sleep in the next morning since she’d gone ahead and taken the day off. But, much to her dismay, she was wide awake at seven. By ten she’d gone for a run, showered, eaten breakfast, and cleaned most of her apartment. It was tempting to blame the random burst of energy on wanting to be productive while she had the time to spend at home, but that wasn’t it.

She was excited to see Killian. And the closer that came to happening, it terrified her too.

For starters, what if they didn’t mesh as well in person as they did online or over the phone? It sounded silly just to think about, but maybe actually being in each other’s space for the first time would somehow change how their friendship worked.

The conversation she’d had with her friends the day before wasn’t helping matters either. What they’d said shouldn’t have been getting to her like it was. Every argument she’d made against their insinuations about her and Killian had been true.

Then why have you barely paid attention to other guys since the two of you started getting close? The thought came to her once she’d started walking laps around the apartment just to keep her busy. Dating for her had been a rare occurrence since Neal almost ten years earlier. Walsh was the one exception, and things with him hadn’t gone much better. One nighters happened now and then when she wanted to scratch an itch without having strings attached. But even one of those hadn’t happened in months.

She didn’t even know whether or not Killian had been seeing anyone. Her first assumption was no. He’d never once mentioned dating, and, regardless, he’d spent the majority of his nights over the past handful of months talking to her. His unconventional friendship with her on top of his job and his family didn’t give her the impression he had a lot of time for dating.

Emma glanced at the clock on her phone. It was just after twelve. “Dammit.” Even with traffic, it would be at least another hour and forty-five minutes before she needed to leave unless she just wanted to drive in circles around the airport.

“Screw it,” she said at one-thirty after she’d won her fourth game of solitaire. TSA might give her hell about parking if she had to wait a bit for Killian, but she couldn’t sit around her apartment much longer without losing her mind.

There was a knock on her door just as she was pulling on her jacket and boots. She went to the door and found her brother standing with his arms crossed over his chest. “Hey, David.”

“Oh, good. I was hoping I’d catch you in time.”

“In time for what?” she asked. “I’m about to leave for the airport.”

“Yeah, I know. I’m coming with you.”

He’d known she was going to meet Killian today for over a week and had yet to mention this to her. “What? Why?”

“I don’t want you going alone, Emma. It’s not safe; you’ve never met this guy.”

She rolled her eyes. “Seriously? I could understand if I’d met a guy on a dating site or something, but I’ve known Killian for months now, David. I’m pretty confident that I’m not picking up a serial killer.”

The frown on his face hadn’t budged. “Either way, I’d still like to meet him before I leave you alone with him. Gotta let him know what he’s dealing with if he hurts you.”

Emma checked the time on her phone again. “Ugh. Let’s go,” she groaned. “You’re not gonna let this go, and I don’t have time to argue with you about it.”

Any nerves she’d felt before had briefly been alleviated by the desire to strangle David. The drive to the airport was spent with her hands wrapped tightly around the steering wheel so she wouldn’t wrap them around his neck instead.

“Are you gonna insist on spending the day with us too?” she asked as she pulled into the airport’s parking lot and looked for the garage for short term parking.

He shrugged. “Not sure yet. Ask me again once I’ve met him and had a chance to evaluate.”

“You’re insufferable, you know that?”

“I’m your older brother. That’s my job,” he insisted.

Emma parked in the short term garage connected to the airport. There was no point in trying to wait at the curb since she knew they’d be asked to move. She and Killian had decided to meet at the landside area, so she sat and waited for a text that he’d arrived and tried to ignore David tapping his fingers against the passenger door.

Her phone vibrated a few minutes later. Hello, Swan. Just wanted to let you know I’m waiting for my luggage and then I should be good to go.

Emma swallowed hard as she got out of the car on shaking legs. This was it.

She was too anxious to object when David followed her out of the garage and into the airport; she’d known better than to expect him to wait in the car for them.

When they’d entered the waiting area, Emma quickly scanned the room for a familiar face, coming up short. This was the place where they’d agreed to meet, wasn’t it? He’d sent her the text just minutes ago confirming their plans. What were the chances the nerves had gone to her head and made her mix something up?

She was so lost in thought she failed to hear the footsteps coming up behind her. “Someone in particular you’re looking for, love?”

They’d FaceTimed on several occasions and shared more ridiculous Snapchats than necessary. Emma knew what to expect. And yet, somehow, she’d been all wrong. His eyes were so much brighter and vibrant in person, there was no way to accurately capture that on camera. There was a tinge of red to his hair and scruff she’d never noticed. She liked it. A lot.

“Hello, Swan.” Shit. His already perfect smile was somehow better in person too. It wasn’t fair.

“Killian. Hi.” How could she have talked to him for hours on end over the past few months and be at a loss for words now?

They stood in silence for a moment, each trying to take the other in. Emma wasn’t sure how she was supposed to greet him. Was their friendship advanced enough to permit a casual hug? Or should she stick to a handshake?

David solved that problem for her, stepping between the two of them and extending his hand to Killian. Emma had all but forgotten that he’d come with her.

“So,” he said, using what could only be called his Protective Big Brother voice, “you’re the British guy.”

“Seriously?!” Emma hissed loud enough for only him to hear as Killian accepted the handshake.

“Aye. And you must be David.”

Her brother looked taken aback. He must have been under the impression Killian had no idea he existed. “Uh, yeah. Emma’s mentioned me then?”

“Oh, yes, several times. She tells me you’re quite the Orioles fan.”

Uh oh. This had the potential to be a recipe for disaster. David did not take comments about his notoriously terrible favorite team lightly. If Killian made any patronizing remarks about the Orioles, any chance at getting on her brother’s good side was doomed.

“I’ve caught highlights from a few games online before,” Killian continued. “Always admired Ripken.”

Emma let out an audible sigh of relief. Killian may very well have been lying through his teeth to appease David, but at least he’d avoided making a bad first impression. “Yes, well,” she butted in, “David’s just here for the ride. We’re dropping him off back at his apartment on our way.” She shot her brother a look that told him not to argue.

The first few minutes in the car were filled with awkward silence as Killian fidgeted in his seat, clearly used to a steering wheel in front of him on the right side, while she tried to ignore David’s presence in the back.

“How was your flight?” she asked after a moment as they headed in the direction of David and Mary Margaret’s building.

“All right. Bit of turbulence, but nothing terrible. The airplane food, on the other hand.” Emma saw him cringe out of the corner of her eye and tried not to laugh. “I’ll be more than happy to see what restaurants you have to recommend in the city.”

“Anything particular you’re up for? Most places aren’t gonna be busy at this time of day. And no, he’s not coming,” she added, glaring at David in the rearview mirror before he had a chance to chime in.

Killian pursed his lips. “Eh, would you judge me if I said I just wanted a good, American cheeseburger?”

She laughed. “That was the last thing I expected. But no judgment here, Tony Stark.”

“I’m perfectly fine with that comparison.” He grinned. “Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist…”

“I’m sorry, playboy?” David questioned. Someone didn’t know his movie references.

They arrived in front of David’s building minutes later. “Okay, here we are, you’re welcome for the ride home, talk to you later, bye.” Emma must have gotten her point across since he got out of the car with no objection other than a shake of his head.

“I’m really sorry about that.” She glanced at Killian apologetically as she pulled back out into traffic. “I didn’t know he was going to show up and insist on coming with me, or I would have warned you.”

“It’s quite alright, Swan. He was just looking out for you. If I’m being truthful, not wanting you to be alone when you met someone you’d come across online isn’t an unreasonable request.”

“I totally get that to a certain extent, but I know you well enough to trust that you’re not, like, a serial killer. Unless you have something you wanna tell me.”

He barked out a laugh. “Rest assured, love, I have no blood on my hands. At least, none but my brother’s when we were lads.”

“Let me guess, it was always Liam who started it?”

“Sure. We’ll go with that.”

Traffic was light at that point in the afternoon, the two of them arriving at Emma’s chosen destination sooner than she was expecting. “This place might not look like much,” she told him as she pulled into a parking spot in front of Granny’s, “but she’s got the best burgers and fries, excuse me, chips, in town as far as I’m concerned.”

“And grilled cheese and onion rings as well, I presume?”

“You’re a smart man, Killian.”

The diner was fairly empty as well, just an older couple drinking milkshakes at the bar and a group of college students crowded around a table with a stack of textbooks.

“Is there anywhere in particular you’d like to sit?” she asked Killian.

“No. It’s your pick.”

They took a booth near the back of the diner. Emma handed him one of the plastic menus and flipped through one herself, even though her order had been virtually the same over the years. Maybe it wouldn’t hurt her to branch out a little more with her choices, even if it was just getting a burger or chicken club instead of a grilled cheese for once.

A waitress came to take their orders after a few minutes. Killian requested the cheeseburger he’d wanted with fries, the American term sounding foreign on his lips. She ordered the same.

“No grilled cheese and onion rings? Are we sure this is the real Emma Swan?” Killian asked, feigning concern.

She shrugged. “I’m trying to live a little. And for someone like me, that’s apparently as simple as ordering a burger. Or maybe you’re just a bad influence,” she teased.

“Oi! I wasn’t a bad influence when I helped you make cupcakes in your time of need.”

“Yeah, yeah, technicalities.”

There was a long pause as Emma tried to figure out what to say next. She wondered if Killian was having similar thoughts. This was an easier problem to remedy when they were texting or talking on the phone and she could turn the conversation to whatever show they were on at the time. Even still, there wasn’t the added component of having him across from her to sense any awkward tension between them.

Killian broke the ice. “I’ve been meaning to ask, Swan, have you ever seen One Day At a Time? Been seeing a lot about it online lately.”

“I haven’t actually.” She should have remembered most of their best conversations began with shows. “You know how I feel about good sitcoms though.”

“Aye. Perhaps we’ll add it to our unofficial to watch list?”

“I like the way you think, Jones.”

They talked for awhile about the season of Schitt’s Creek they were working on until the waitress brought their food a few minutes later. The conversation had somehow turned to which of Moira’s wigs would look best on him. It was hard not to laugh as Killian nearly swallowed his beloved cheeseburger whole.

“Don’t judge me,” he said through a mouthful of fries when he noticed Emma snickering. “I was bloody starving.”

“Clearly.” She dipped one of her own fries in the generous pile of ranch dressing on the side of her plate. “Otherwise you wouldn’t have so easily done away with all that English charm us Americans aren’t civilized enough to have.”

“What do you mean ‘done away with’? I’ll have you know I’m always charming, love.”

“Says the man who has ketchup on his chin.”

Killian’s face reddened as he grabbed a napkin and wiped off said ketchup. It was barely enough to be noticeable, but she wasn’t going to pass up the opportunity to tease him a bit.

As they ate, the conversation shifted from shows to Killian’s work and what he’d be doing in Boston over the next few days. She didn’t know much about his job, other than that he worked for Liam and their company provided parts and equipment for ships. While the company’s primary clientele was located in the London area near their home office, they were looking to expand to other areas as well, hence the meetings Killian had flown over to attend.

“Don’t take this the wrong way, but why were you the one to make the trip instead of Liam?” she asked. “I don’t really know how a lot of business procedures work, but it seems like he would be the one to handle stuff like that considering he’s over everyone else.”

“Aye, you would think so. But the truth of the matter is, Liam’s tied up with so much within our office. Not to mention he doesn’t like making trips now since he’s got Belle and the kids. From both of those angles, it makes more sense for me to handle as much of the international business as I’m qualified for since I truly have nothing tying me down in London nowadays.”

Emma hated the way her heart skipped a beat at his words. If he had nothing tying him down at home, did that also mean there was no girlfriend there too?

(Could she ask him something like that without him seeing right through her?)

“That’s, uh, great,” she told him, trying to get back to the point of the conversation. “That you’re able to travel for him. I’m sure you get a lot of cool opportunities and stuff.”

“Opportunities like getting to eat an American cheeseburger while I have a face to face conversation about sitcoms?”

“Exactly.”

Killian asked a handful of questions about her job, how she liked her boss and coworkers, if she’d dealt with any major cases lately.

“Not really. It’s mostly the usuals, cheating husbands and deadbeat parents.”

He frowned. “Pity situations like those occur enough to be ‘usuals.’”

“It’s enough to make me want to throw in the towel sometimes if I’m being honest. These people are lucky enough to have a family in the first place, and they just throw it to the side like it means nothing to them.”

Emma didn’t realized what she’d said until it was too late. While she’d become comfortable enough with Killian to share certain details about her personal life over the past few months, her upbringing in foster care was the one subject she’d avoided. She’d heard stories of his and Liam’s upbringing by their single mother, who died when Killian was in college. The only family she’d ever mentioned to him was David, and he didn’t even know they weren’t actually siblings.

But that wasn’t a conversation she wanted to have at Granny’s in the middle of the afternoon. She wasn’t sure how much time he had free to spend with her, or when she would see him again. If you even will, she thought.

Sensing her discomfort, Killian reached across the table and gave her hand a squeeze. “Is everything alright, love?”

The feeling of his hand in her own stopped Emma’s train of thought. She almost hated how comforting it was. “Yeah, it’s nothing.” She gave what she hoped looked like a genuine smile. There was no need to waste her time with him focusing on bad memories. “What do you say we pay the bill and go do some sight seeing? Boston isn’t New York or LA, but it can be fun. I think so anyway.”

“Sounds like a plan, love.”

They bickered at the cash register over who was going to pay. Killian wanted to be a gentleman, Emma wanted him to feel like her guest in some way. She somehow won. “You can buy me a bear claw at my favorite bakery later if you really want to,” she told him as she swiped her debit card through the reader and he stood to the side pouting.

She and Killian were heading for the door when a familiar face entered the diner. The sight of Ruby made Emma consider grabbing Killian and hiding him.

“Emma!” Her friends’ eyes lit up when she spotted them, red lips breaking out into a grin.

“Hey, Rubes. I didn’t think you were working today.” She would have taken Killian to eat somewhere else otherwise. Emma loved her friend, but something told her Ruby would have less of a filter than usual around him.

“I wasn’t, but Ashley had a doctors’ appointment and asked me to cover her shift.” She glanced around Emma to get a look at Killian. “Oh, is this the English guy? You didn’t tell me he was hot.”

The urge to crawl under the nearest table was tempting. “Uh, yeah,” she said, her face reddening, even more so when she realized it sounded like she was agreeing with Ruby’s comment. She turned to Killian. “This is my friend, Ruby. Granny’s is, well, her grandmother’s.”

Ruby held her hand out to him. “It’s so nice to put a face with the name. Emma talks about you all the time.”

Emma shot her a death stare as Killian accepted the handshake and brought her hand to his lips. “It’s a pleasure, love. I’ve heard quite a bit about you as well.”

“Such a charmer.” Ruby’s grin widened. “I love it.”

“Yeah, well, we were just leaving, and I know you have to get to work.” She grabbed Killian’s hand and pulled him out the door before Ruby had another chance to embarrass her. “Bye!”

Emma groaned as soon as the door to Granny’s had shut behind her. “I’m sorry about that. She means well, but she tends to come off a bit strong.”

“No worries, Swan. I can’t say I have many objections with a woman who so freely acknowledges my good looks.” He smirked, and she couldn’t help but think how much she wanted to kiss the smile off of his face.

Which she wasn’t going to do. Because that would be ridiculous. “Yeah, I’m never gonna let her live that down.”

She moved her car to a free public lot and spent the next hour with Killian, walking around downtown Boston to show him some of her favorite spots in the area. She pointed out the precinct where she often dropped off bail jumpers, the library, her favorite coffee shop, and the bakery that made the best bear claws in town.

“You can definitely return the favor from lunch now,” Emma told him when they entered the shop and she caught a whiff of something that smelled like butter and cinnamon.

“Whatever the lady wishes.”

“The lady definitely wishes for a bear claw. Or five.”

In the end she requested one, although Killian told the attendant to add another to her bag. “In case you’d like one for the weekend and don’t feel like making the trip.”

“Bold of you to assume I’ll let it go uneaten for that long.”

They sat at a bench outside the bakery since the weather was nice. Mid September in Boston was often ideal since it was still warm without being unbearably hot. Emma took one of her bear claws out of the paper bag and bit into it, letting the warm dough melt in her mouth. “You don’t know what you’re missing,” she told Killian, who had started eating his blueberry scone.

“I’ll take your word for it, Swan. You know I’m not fond of raisins.”

“Whatever.” She feigned disappointment. “More for me.”

It occurred to Emma that she had yet to ask another important question. She had no idea how long he would be in Boston, and if she would get to see him again after today. Killian had mentioned in previous conversations that he had a handful of meetings over the following two days, but nothing about what his schedule looked like or when he would be flying back.

Killian picked up on her unspoken apprehension. “What’s going on in that head of yours, love?”

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. Hadn’t she decided she wasn’t going to waste time worrying while he was there? “It’s nothing,” she insisted again. Killian’s expression suggested he didn’t believe her, but he didn’t press the issue.

“Did I tell you my nephew is into Peppa Pig now?” she asked, knowing he might like this change of subject. “He’s, like, fascinated with the British accents and tries to talk like the characters all the time now. It’s hilarious.”

His eyes lit up. “Is that so? I like this lad already. Although I do prefer Percy Pigs myself. It’s a type of candy,” he explained when her eyebrows shot up. A quick Google search provided a photo of what he was referring to, which was, as suggested, a gummy in the shape of a pig’s head.

It was weird, if she was being frankly honest, but Leo would love them. “Kid’s definitely getting an order of these for his next birthday.”

Emma finished her bear claw and wiped her mouth with a napkin from the bakery. But she must have not done an adequate job. Killian leaned over. “You missed a spot, love,” he said, brushing his thumb at the corner of her mouth. Any reply she had was forgotten with the gesture as she became hyper focused on the brief but startling feeling of his touch.

“Uh, thanks.” The words came out raspy and uneven.

Her reaction seemed to make Killian realize what he’d done. “Apologies, Swan. I wasn’t thinking.”

She couldn’t stop herself from blurting out the question that followed. “What are we doing here, Killian?”

#cs ff #cs au #captain swan #captain swan fic #captain swan ff #captain swan fanfiction #cs mc ff #meredith writes

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lady-olive-oil · 5 years

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Work Out: Chapter 2

Writings || Florian Index || MTC ||

What up, what up! It’s ya girl Liv here with another chapter of Work Out. In this chapter we’ll go deep into Geneva’s past and her favorite past time. Let me know if ya wanna join the Lil Nasties Squad. I also added 2 new characters to the roster, one is Josephine Montoya-Wade (in MTC) and the other one, well you’ll see soon. Thanks for reading! Stay tuned from scenes for our next episode. Skating visuals linked in bold.

WC: 3.4K [I’m starting to think each chapter will be this long]

Warnings: suggestive themes, dirty flashback if ya squint

Tag Team, Lil Nasties: @maddiestundentwritergaines || @sparklemichele || @designerwriterchic || @honeychicana || @chaneajoyyy || @jojolu || @dc41896 || @titty-teetee || @inlovewithmakeupcomicsanimelove || @ljstraightnochaser || @mimigemrose || @crushed-pink-petals || @fumbling-fanfics || @madamslayyy

The sounds of 70’s to 00’s music rumbled through the rink, as skaters young and old all came together for one night in solidarity. For those who can skate that is. Others like myself however, have been in the game for years.

“Come along and ride on the fantastic voyage.” I couldn’t help but sing along to the sounds of my childhood. Seeing friends of old and new in the rink made me feel at home again. Not like good old nostalgia to make you feel at peace.

“Is that Jimmy and Trinity? The franchise let them have a break before the big match? That’s new.” Destiny got my attention by noticing two old friends of mine from the past.

I was a trainer for WWE in Orlando, years ago. I have met the past; present and the future of the company come in and out of those doors. It was a tremendous job to have right out of college, that I will forever cherish. I’ve grown close to most of everyone from all rosters. I left due to some personal reasons.

“Yeah it is. Let’s go say hi.” Maneuvering through the busy crowd I tapped the glow queen herself, and was met with an excited squeal. Thus rewarded with a loving hug with just enough force.

“Gege! It’s am so glad to see you. How’ve you been girl?” Upon giving Destiny and Cynthia their hugs as well, Jimmy and Jey both hugged us all in a group hug.

“I’ve been well, about to be blessed with a divorce soon.” Taking a swig of my Angry Orchard Rośe, I heard Trinity chuckle.

“You finally went through with it. Proud of you little sis.” Jimmy commended me, with Jey nodding in agreement.

“Thanks Uce, It’s been a long time coming too. Trust and believe me, Dede and Cyn are throwing me a divorce party. What better city to do it in, than Atlanta?” You better believe I was looking forward to that party. Nothing was going to keep me away from it.

“You know I’ll be there. Even if I have to drag Jimmy with me.” Trinity nugged her husband, who was in a deep conversation with his twin over which food is better: bacon double cheeseburger vs mozzarella sticks.

“Huh? Uh yeah Atlanta seems cool.”

“That’s funny because last time I remember, you weren’t going for my good sis to move to the ATL.” I arched a brow in mock curiosity, causing Jimmy to blush a tad.

“At first I was but then I realize she needs a lot of family around no matter what. Plus Georgia and Florida ain’t far, so we came to an agreement.” Placing a kiss on how wife’s head, made all of us smile in pure joy.

“Y’all are sickeningly cute. Let’s go skate, I gotta get my groove on.” Lacing up my white skates, the ones with the hot pink wheels, and neon green laces on them, I saw a pair of Jordan’s come into view.

“Well well well, look who showed up.” Leaning against the table, giving a glance over

“Couldn’t stand my cousin up now could I?” Michael showed his pearly white teeth, before giving me a hug. Looking up behind him I see Florian in all his glory.

His tight black v-neck shirt; with matching jeans and red polo sneakers just made him irresistible. His hair and beard were clean cut, and what set it off was his gold link chain around his neck. If I’m being completely honest here y’all, at some point I plan on yanking on that gotdamn chain and-

“Hello gorgeous.” His deep voice broke my inner thoughts and just melted my insides. Making my body feel all warm and giddy. This man does things to me already.

“Well hello there handsome. I see my cousin let you come out and roll with the big dogs huh?” Smirking a bit as I skated around him on the rubber glow in the dark floor.

“Actually he didn’t want to come, I dragged him. He wanted to stay in all day and watch Netflix.” The way he laughed was even a magical tone. Like you could be hugged by a velvet blanket, by a cozy fire in the middle of winter.

“Oh? Damn Baraki, you don’t wanna spend time with ya cousin? I’m hurt.”

“I’m here aren’t I? Besides, had to break out my skates from retirement and help Florian buy his from Amazon. Turns out, the dude here owns a pair, without my knowing” He shrugged and stuck his tongue out at me when I flipped him off. Feeling glad that the rink had given us the party section to have us somewhat away from fans. Yet a few had asked for pictures, and I didn’t mind taking them for them.

“Yeah yeah. Anyway, Florian do you know how to skate?” I asked gently.

“Little bit. Haven’t had the time to in a while, just been training more often.” His reply was honest and sincere. Man why isn’t her dating anybody already?

“Oh really? Well I wouldn’t mind teaching you a bit.” The slight bite on my bottom lip, caused Florian to smirk at me before taking a sip of his Heineken.

“I’m sure you could.” He mumbled just enough for me to hear, letting me hold his beer so her could tie his skates up.

His arms bulged with every movement, a vein popped a few times and it just made my body hum in desire and need. That was until I felt my phone vibrated, I gave him back his beer, and watched as he skated with Michael over to the Dj booth. Checking my phone for a few updates from friends and fans of my work, I received a message from Cassie that she had arrived.

Cassie was also another childhood friend of mine who had no issue with telling you how it is. Knowing that she moved back to the city as well, made it all better for me to have friends. My phone buzzed again, letting me know a message came again. This time I was worried. Re-reading the message, I felt my face scrunch in confusion.

Cassie: Uh Geneva don’t be alarmed but a certain blonde walked in.

What was she talking about? Responding as fast as I could, I looked around the section and saw nothing.

Me: who?

Looking at Trinity, who nodded her head in the front direction of the rink.

Trinity: she devil

Me: oh fuck

The she devil in question, was another former trainee of mine at the facility back in 2016, when I had started. She is one of the major causes of my divorce; Mandy Rose. I don’t see what the WWE universe sees in her anyway. All the while I know what I did see; Jake’s dick in her in our bed.

“Watch my back.” I told the girls, and they all looked towards where I was skating at. They soon followed me when they knew immediately where I was going. The memories came flooding back.

I haven’t spoken to Mandy sinch I quit. It was around April of last year, Wrestlemania season, when everything went down and I had filed for divorce 2 weeks later. That was the final nail in the coffin of my marriage with Jake, and I couldn’t take it anymore. With all the blatant disrespect; the awkward silences when I asked him about the finances of our joint accounts; the secret rendezvous he’d have coming home late, the high expense charges and the lying.

I thought he was different from all the others but that was lie, a bold face lie. We got married right after graduation, in 2014, two years later I started working in Orlando. The first full year on the job I introduced Jake to Mandy. It had been a whirlwind to work for WWE with my medical degree, to make sure the superstars were in tip top shape. With the constant bickering, physical altercations and accusations he threw at me, about sleeping with one of my coworkers I had to put out marriage on pause that same year.

A year of separation had put my mind into perspective and think about what I wanted out of this marriage. We had agreed to meet up at our house, I was staying at Cynthia’s at that time, for dinner to catch up. I still had a key to the condo, it was in my name, and I looked all over the house for him. What do I see walking up the stairs? Mandy riding Jake like no tomorrow. He tried to save his ass by running away from me, as I waved my steel bat at him. Mandy was long gone and laughing by then.

Putting in my resignation was hard but I had to do it. Now more than ever, I was focused on me and only me. Moving back home to New York was just the beginning. During the first few months, filing for divorce, I did go on a few dates. Only a few guys came home with me, none of them satisfied the itch I craved. Maybe Florian could be the one to fix that.

Trying not to fall while skating through the crowd, I made it to the group that just came in. Sonja Deville sported me quick and pulled me into a tight embrace. The death glare I set straight towards Mandy could be picked out of a much bigger crowd.

“Geneva! It’s been too long. How’ve you been?”

Keeping my composure I returned Sonja’s gesture.

“I’ve been well, been well. Working on my personal trainor thing, keeping the lights on. I’m always busy, plus going back to school so yeah.”

I made it my priority, to keep my bond strong with Sonja, after I left the company. When I told the MMA fighter about the scene I witnessed, she couldn’t fathom it either. She promised to keep an eye out on Mandy for me as well.

She was one of the first people, besides my crew of course, to message me about the sly matching posts on Instagram, between Florian and I. She wished us nothing but luck and invite her to the wedding in the future.

“I hear ya. I hear ya. Just to let you know, I did keep- ah hell.” An exaggerated sigh escaped Sonja’s lips, causing my face to contort in confusion.

“Uh something wrong?” I asked curiously, seeing her visibly gulp.

“Want me to be honest?”

“I expect nothing from a woman who kicked my ass in practice back in Orlando.” Earning a soft chuckle from her, she sighed and turned me around to the scene.

“That little bitch.” The growl that erupted in the back of my throat, made Sonja go wide eyed.

“Geneva-”

Before she could even finish that sentence, a let my anger skate me towards Florian. I was already attached to him and I didn’t want Mandy to ruin that for me. She was touching all over him; feeling him up, touching his face, shoving her silicone bean bags in his face and just being her trashy self. The look of discomfort shown on his face, but soon shifted once I came into view.

“Hey Florian, ready to go skate?” I intervened so fast, that you could see steam coming out of Mandy’s ears.

“Well lookie here, It’s the hag. Listen honey, he doesn’t want to skate with the likes of you. He’s having fun talking to me. Isn’t that right Florian?” Moving her hand on his chest, you could see the disagreeable expression on his face. Upon removing her hand from his chest, he stood by me and I felt my body temperature erupt in euphoria and triumph, as if I had won.

“Well I was here to skate with Geneva and her friends.”

Mandy sneered at me with her fake lips and tosses her bleach blonde hair.

“Fine, but this isn’t over Geneva. May the best woman win. Oh and Florian, I’ll catch you later.” Being the snake that she is, she leaned up on her tippy toes and placed a kiss on his cheek, before leaving with her friends. I wanted to claw at her face so bad, yet I’m surprised Florian held me back.

“It’s Genevieve to you.” I gritted through my teeth.

You see, lately I’ve been talking to Florian about myself, opening up a bit more, getting to know one another better and such. I had mentioned Mandy in the conversation, how she was one of the causes of my divorce, and how she tried to one up everyone. He knew her through a friend of theirs, they chatted and had a night together.

Although she got too clingy for him after that and it’s not in him to just let a woman go after a night, but he needed to be away from her. By the time this all transpired, it was before his practice scenes for Creed. That’s when I met him on set a month later.

“I’m sorry that happened Geneva. Nor did I know she was coming either.” He tried to sooth and keep me calm. I had never been consoled by another man who wasn’t my father or my brothers.

Glancing up at Florian I saw hope; dedication and devotion. Some qualities I loved in any man, but this man here was something else. Collecting myself together, I took a breather and skated away from him on to the rink floor.

“It’s all good Flo.” The way I said his nickname, caused his face to heat up in embarrassment. The action caused his sweet smile to appear as he leaned against the rock wall, watching me groove to the music in place for a bit. He was entranced by just a little movement.

“So I hear that you’re, Queen of skating huh?”

“Maybe so. If you can keep up with me during this song or the next I’ll go on that date.”

“Wait wait, for real?” He arched a brow, as I nodded.

“Foreal. I’ll go on a date with you if you can keep up.” Sending off a wink before I skated off to the jumping sounds of reggae music. Moving my hips to the rhythm, I kept eye contact with him as I move to the beat.

My hips have a mind of their own, as I float across the floor and take off my jacket. I managed to hand it to Cynthia as I skated around to hand it to her and I kept going. I always felt at home here, it was never a dull moment.

Upon hearing the song change over, to Rock the Boat by the ever so great Aaliyah,I felt a pair of strong hands grace my hips. I didn’t think he’d catch up to me.

“Guess who?” His warm voice graced my left ear, and sent chills through my body, as we grooved to the music in sync. Moving my hips on instinct against him, rolling in tandem with his hands around the rink.

“So Flo got rhythm. So tell me, how do you know how to skate?”

“A movie you mentioned, that was your favorite. May have picked up a few pointers.” Grabbing my hand on cue, he twirled me around before bring me back to his strong, broad chest. I stand corrected, I was in heaven.

“You watched Roll Bounce? And you listened to me too.”

“And I’ve been skating since I was 10. So that’s just a bonus.”

Dancing on him with the music changing, made the tension grow hotter and more sensual. Lost Without You started playing and I followed Florian’s movement this time around. Hearing his gentle voice singing in my ear once more, I began to sing along with him. I haven’t felt this much emotion in so long, I’m starting to feel like this was meant to happen. The smooth gentle rocking, made me feel like I was floating. We were floating. I felt safe in his arms more than I thought. I could feel his rigid muscles through his shirt on my back, making me hold back a moan.

I know he could feel the connection as well. The grip on my hips told me otherwise. Placing my hands on top of his, I laced our fingers together before turning to skate backwards.

“White boy got some moves. I like it, you can keep up with me.” He twirled me around a bit before holding me against his chest again. I leaned my head back to look up at him a little, just to place a kiss on his chin.

“That’s not all I can do.” The deep baritone bass of his throat made me want to jump his bones right then and there.

“Oh I bet.” I teased him back by rotating my ass against him, earning a low growl to erupt from his chest. Gege can play too Flo.

The Dj let everyone know that it was time to roll out, and to drive safely. Rolling off the floor, we met up with our group and planned the next move of action to extend the night. The rink was starting to close up soon, so we all met in the parking lot.

“Girl we saw you and Florian getting down like an old southern couple.” Cynthia nugged me, giving me a sly look.

“Y’all were doing the damn thing.” Destiny winked and caused me to laugh a bit.

Cassie high fives me before heading to her car.

“Geneva, I’ll catch you later this week aight? Gotta get up for work in the morning. I’ll see if I can bring Josephine to the meeting.”

Sending her my love my regards, I placed my skates in the back of my Range Rover.

“So y’all good for some bar hopping? I know this great spot along the jersey shore.” Ryan mentioned while looking up the directions.

“I can’t. I have class in the morning and a test, I need to be sober for. Sorry guys.” Gently replying I smiled up at the crew before shrugging.

“Dang maybe next time. Oh what about our monthly couples game night? How about Monday, Geneva’s?” Destiny suggested as she headed towards her Jeep renegade.

“Couples game night? Sounds intriguing, I’m in. I’ll bring Johari, you in Florian?” An enthusiastic Michael was all anyone could handle.

Glancing over at me, he smirked gently.

“Yeah I’m down. Geneva, I’ll pick you up tomorrow from class for our date. See y’all around.” Placing a kiss on my cheek, I sighed heavily and bit my lip. This man was gonna be the death of me. The action caused him to chuckle adorably.

“Deal. See you tomorrow Flo.” Kissing his cheek, I saw his face heat up again. Seeing him walk away with my cousin, I let out a soft groan.

“Girl, you are sprung.” Cynthia smirked at me while Destiny let out a gut busting laugh.

“She got it bad.” Destiny couldn’t help herself.

“I will say this; I hate to see him go, but I love to watch him leave. His ass is sculpted like a god.” I fanned myself in the process.

Hugging my friends goodbye, before getting into my car and driving home, I glanced down at the sound of my phone going off. Glancing down for a split second, I saw the notification. I had received a text message from Florian.

Making it home safely I got ready for my shower and for bed; tying down the massive mess of my 4c curls in a silk scarf, I finally read the message. Leaning against my room door, I read it over and over again, feeling all giddy.

Florian:

Can’t wait for tomorrow night gorgeous. I promise it’ll be worth it. You deserve the best and I plan on delivering. Sweet dreams my queen.

This man knew how to charm his way through anything. Getting back on track, I kept staring at the message. I had to reply and not be rude. So I kept it short and sweet, yet tasteful.

Me:

Looking forward to what you have in store handsome.

“Damn Florian. My heart is yernin for ya love..” singing gently to myself before getting into the shower, I felt powerful. Maybe this is my chance to finally be happy. To finally be free from my chains of the past. This whole turning over a new leaf thing, won’t be so bad after all.

#florian munteanu fanfic #florian munteanu #florian x geneva #florian munteanu x oc #genevieve shaw #geneva shaw #work out #work out chapter 2 #sevyn streeter

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worshippingmendes-blog · 6 years

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Reunited

Okay so this can be read as a part 2 to The end of our chapter, but also on it’s own. Feedback is always appreciated!

January 14th 2020

“So have the next article ready by next week, okay?” Susie took another sip of her coffee. “Yes, and about my latest one-“ Y/n started but was soon hushed by her boss. “No. Don’t live in the past. Carpe diem!” She said and turned on her heels, leaving y/n with a confused look on her face. But she only shook her head and went back to work. Y/n had last year managed to get a job as a writer for a famous magazine and she loved it, it was a good pay and she sometimes she had to travel to different countries to write, which of course only made her fall more in love with her work. She was currently writing an article about famous people’s influences on their fans and platforms and how that affects the younger generation. She chewed lightly on her pencil as she got stuck in her thoughts. Looking out over the city from her office she could see the snow falling from the sky, the small white flakes glistened in the bright sunlight. She saw the people on the streetsc, all the cars moving in a speed that left them looking like colored shadows. And then, just outside her building, a huge crowd of people. She wrinkled her brows at the sight, celebrities coming in for an interview always took the back entrance, so that this would not happen. Y/n got out of her office, ready to fo find somewhere to have lunch. As she made her way to the elevator she felt someone grab her arm, and by reflex she pulled it back. “Y/n!” Sienna whined. Y/n’a face softened at the sight of her coworker, but she felt her cheeks getting hot at her earlier behavior. “I’m so sorry Si!” Sienna shook her head, causing her light pink curls to cover the most part of her face. “Always so paranoid. Anyways-“ She started “There is a celebrity outside, and I know you don’t like crowds and stalking the people you stan and bla bla bla” Y/n rolled her eyes and crossed her arms over her chest. “But please will you come with me? I’ll buy you lunch” She pretended to think for a moment before she nodded her head. “Free lunch is something I cannot resist” Sienna laughed and dragged her into an elevator, pressing the button to send them to the lobby. “So who is it?” Y/n asked, meeting Siennas confused eyes. “The celebrity?” “Oh, I don’t know” She shrugged her shoulders. “But I’m still getting a picture just in case it’s someone cool” Y/n let out a laugh at the tall girl standing next to her. Sienna was one of the people in the office that she liked the most. She was easy to talk to, and always had the latest gossip about everyone and everything. Somehow she knew that Kylie Jenner was pregnant before the rumor even surfaced, and she was also the one who told everyone about Susie’s affair. Sienna really was the opposite of herself. An extrovert, an open book. The elevator soon reached its destination and they both stepped out into the lobby only to be met by a bunch of paparazzi and almost everyone from the photo department. “Holy shit who is this person? Obama?” Sienna said, as they made their way through the crowd to get outside. “Yeah, it sure looks like it” Y/n replied as she felt Sienna grab her hand. “Hold on tight darling” She smirked before starting to run through the masses, leaving traces of swearing people behind. “Sorry! I’m so sorry! Was that your foot? Oh christ” was some of the things falling out of y/n mouth as she followed her crazy friend. Suddenly Sienna stopped and y/n stood confused next to her. “What?” Sienna didn’t answer, instead she just lifted her hand and pointed to the tall brunette surrounded by a bunch of screaming girls. Shawn. It was the first time in over a year that she had seen him. His name still burned in her throat every time she said it. She knew that he was a big celebrity, but not that he was this big. Y/n stood frozen for a while, just trying to concentrate on breathing. But even that seemed like an impossible task at the moment. Suddenly the boy started moving, and he slowly made his way towards her. She tried to hide behind a tall dad in hope that he would not notice her. “Thank you honey” Shawn smiled to a girl as he handed her back her phone before hugging another. A familiar scent filled his nostrils and he stopped for a moment, looking out over the crowd.

His honey eyes met hers just for a second before she looked away again. His mouth opened slightly and it seemed like the world around them stopped. Y/n felt the anger pump throughout her body as he turned around, and made her way out of the crowd. Shawn quickly handed the girl her phone back before he ran after her. He could hear everyone yelling his name, and Jake swearing at him, but he didn’t care. Yelling a bunch of sorry’s and I really have to go’s he ran after her into the prestigious building. “Y/N!” He yelled as he tried not to swear at the tens of paparazzis taking pictures of him. Suddenly she stopped, causing him to finally reach her. “Hey we-“ He started, but was soon interrupted by y/n who dragged him into a storage closet. When she turned on the lights he was finally able to take in her features again after so long. Her cheeks were crimson and her eyes glossy from anger. “Y/n I-“ “You what?” She spat out. Her voice was harsh and her tone was sarcastic. “Please tell me what the fuck you have to say Shawn” The anger in her voice took him by surprise and he was stunned for a moment. “What? Come on then” She said, crossing her arms over her chest and giving him a small nod. “I’m so sorry” was all he got out and she just snorted. “You’re pathetic” she mumbled as she went to unlock the door and walk out. “I’m pathetic? You’re the one that won’t even listen to me” he yelled through the room. Her frame froze and she slowly turned around to face him. “Because I know that everything that comes out of that mouth is fucking bullshit” she yelled back “I did what was best for the both of us!” “That’s the thing!” She screamed. “You never even asked me what I thought would be the best, no you just gave up like you always do. As soon as something doesn’t go exactly like you want it you just give up” Shawn looked down on the cement floor. He knew that the things she said was true, but he didn’t want to believe it. “I’m sorry okay? I don’t know what to do to prove it to you!” She shook her head as she sat down on a desk. “There is nothing you can do!” Tears were streaming down her face. “Don’t you get it?”

“You left me Shawn. I opened up to you and you left. Not only did you break my fucking heart into a billion pieces, you didn’t have the decency to even apologize. No, you uploaded a fucking picture on instagram instead” He looked at her where she was sitting. She was broken, and it killed him knowing that he was the reason to all her pain. Shawn tried his best to keep himself from crying. “I know. I fucked up, I fucked up big time. But y/n please” His voice was on the verge of breaking. “I need you, and you love me” “Loved. Past tense” She said, trying mostly to convince herself. “I stopped loving you when you left, and I’m not going to lie. I missed you. I missed you like hell” She looked up and connected her eyes with his. “Everyday I missed you. And I started thinking, blaming myself for the things you did. I told myself that I wasn’t good enough, pretty enough. That I wasn’t what you wanted” Small teardrops made their way down his face at her words. “You are perfect” he whispered and she only shook her head. “This isn’t fair” “I’m finally happy, I have finally moved on from you. I do not longer wake up in the middle of the night thinking about calling you because I saw something that reminded me of you” Shawn let out a soft sniffle. “Do you think it was easy for me?” “Not a day passes where I don’t think about you, hell you’re the only thing on my mind. I’ve tried anything to get rid of the pain, I’ve been drinking too much, sleeping with girls who I don’t give a fuck about. And I hate myself for letting you go, for causing you the kind of pain I would normally be there to support you through” He ran a tattooed hand through his hair. “But why did you leave then? If you didn’t want to hurt me, why do it the cruelest way possible?” She said, voice almost a whisper. His heart dropped at the question he knew was coming. “I was scared” he watched her roll her eyes at the lame excuse. “I was so fucking scared y/n. You are so fragile and I didn’t know what do. All I knew was that I never wanted to be the one to hurt you like that” She stood up and walked up to him. Their bodies so close to each other, but yet too far. Her lips ghosted over his ear, sending shivers down his spine. “But you still did. You hurt me more than anyone has ever done”

Shawn didn’t dare to even breathe.

“And it’s doesn’t matter how sorry you say you are, it’s too late” She whispered slowly backing away from him.

“It’s too fucking late”

Without thinking Shawn grabbed her wrist, stopping her from leaving the room. She looked at him with disgust as the tears flooded his cheeks.

He quickly turned her around, pressing her body against the cold wall, causing a whimper to escape her blood red lips. His eyes wandered over her face before they found hers. They were a shade darker than usually, and he could not tell if it was the anger or something else.

Slowly he leaned closer, their noses almost touching. She felt his hot breath on her forehead and her stomach could not help but turn at what would come next.

“So…” He started, his voice was raspy and low.

“You can honestly tell me that this is nothing you want anymore?”

Shawn leaned in just a little bit closer, enough for their lips to barely touch one another.

As she took in his features, she tried to resist the urge to press her lips against his perfectly pink ones.

“What’s it going to be, darling?” He said with a smirk. That damn smirk.

And with that she gave in and connecter her lips with his, and he tasted just like she’s imagined.

Because sometimes, no matter how hard you try to hide them, suppress them, and suffocate them. Some feelings never fade.

Tag list: @nervousroses @coffeebringsmelife @oyesmendes @justmesadgirl

#shawn mendes #shawn mendes imagine #shawn mendes fandom #shawn mendes fanfic #shawn peter raul #mendes army

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finn-nelson-for-the-win · 7 years

Text

Changing Priority-Chapter 12

Hey there! How’s it going, everyone? I’m back with my next chapter after less than a week and I’m feeling pretty proud of myself…this chapter picks up almost exactly where the previous chapter left off, so if you’d like a refresher on what went down in the prior chapter or the 10 chapters before that, look no further!

There’ll be a couple more Author’s Notes at the very end, if you’re willing to read that far, but without further ado, let’s get on with it, yeah?

With a Little Help from My Friends- Part 2

“I warned you, Abbie! I said ‘my hair is purple’ and you didn’t believe me…” Rae said with a chuckle as she pulled her awestruck mate into a tight hug.

“I guess I just didn’t realize HOW purple it was going to be! I like it though. It looks really good on you!” Abigail returned the hug and lightly picked up one of Rae’s curls to examine it further.

“Well thank you! I rather like it too!” Rae jokingly flipped her hair and chuckled as her and Abigail approached Abigail’s car where she had parked it in front of Rae’s apartment building.

“So…what’s life been like for Abbie this the last semester while you’ve been attending Uni on the other side of the country?”

Abigail told Rae stories about some of the fun nights out with friends she had this past semester and all of the boy drama she had dealt with in recent months while the two girls drove to the restaurant Abigail wanted to try for lunch that day.

When they pulled up to a quiet little Italian restaurant a short distance from Rae’s apartment and parked, Abigail was concluding telling Rae about everything that had happened in her life since the last time they had seen each other in-person.

“So…how are things going in the life of Rae?” Abigail asked as she and Rae perused the menus after being seated at a small table off to one side of the restaurant.

“Surprisingly good, especially as of lately! I’ll give you the whole run-down later today if you want me to, but let’s cut to the chase because I’m sure Finn is bound to come up in conversation at some point…so I’ll lead with that, if that’s alright with you?” Rae asked casually when she looked up from the menu in her hands to meet Abigail’s eyes with a friendly smile.

“Oh! You know me too well, Rae! I’ve been dying to know what’s been happening between you two since you texted Chloe and I in the group chat a while back!”

“I figured as much,” Rae began with a chuckle before continuing, “So picking right where we left off after I texted you and Chlo for advice on my boy troubles…”

Rae proceeded to tell Abigail about every new development between her and Finn in recent months including the confusion Hannah and “Alphonzo” added to the mix, Finn leaving for two weeks and missing Rae, and their new and much more flirty dynamic that has taken shape in the last couple weeks leading up to the last time they worked together.

“Oh my god, Rae! That’s great! I’m so happy for you. Have you made any attempts to ask him out yet?” Abigail asked as she served herself a slice of the Margarita pizza that she and Rae had ordered to split which their waiter had brought out to their table at some point during Rae’s stories about what had been happening between her and Finn lately.

“Well, not exactly, no. Unless you count our rain check to visit my garden..?” Rae replied, nervously tearing pieces off of her own slice of pizza to avoid making eye contact with her friend across the table.

“Hmm, I’m not going to count that as a date unless it turns out to be more than just a casual tour of your garden when it actually happens…Why don’t you just text him and see if he wants to hang out or grab food or coffee or something?”

“Well I would, really…but…I don’t exactly have his phone number…”

“Rae! Are you serious? Why not!?” Abigail asked, nearly choking on the bite of pizza she had just taken.

“I just haven’t found the right opportunity to ask for it…we aren’t allowed to have our phones out at work and I seldom see him outside the confines of work…it’s not as easy as it seems!” Rae exclaimed defensively.

“Well do you have him on any social media sites or anything?”

“Uhh…nope…” Rae emphasized the pop of the “p” at the end of the word before she began nervously biting her lip, unsure of what her friend’s reaction would be.

“Seriously? Oi…Rae…Wait! I have an idea. What’s his first and last name?” Abigail grabbed Rae’s her cell phone from where it sat on the table with a suspiciously excited smile on her face.

“Finn Nelson…wait…why do you need to know his name?” Rae already had a sinking suspicion about what her friend might be doing, but she asked anyways, hoping that her assumption was wrong.

Abigail did not respond to Rae immediately, typing and scrolling rapidly on the phone in silence until she seemed to find what she was looking for.

“Is this him?” Abigail asked, handing Rae her cell phone back.

Before Rae even looked at her phone and saw the Instagram profile Abigail had found by searching Finn’s name Rae instantly knew that what she found would most likely be Finn’s Instagram account.

“Yup…that’s him…” Rae mumbled as he set her phone down on the table, refusing to look further into Finn’s Instagram profile

Abigail on the other hand, quickly grabbed Rae’s phone again and began scrolling and commenting aloud on the various things she saw.

“Wow, his username is ‘finnnelson_’…that’s not creative at all! Oh…oh my, are those his tattoos…holy shit, he is in a band…wait a second…that cupcake looks delicious…Okay, it’s settled, Rae.”

“What is, Abbie?”

“This boy uses emojis and his Instagram page is amazing…you need to marry this boy immediately.” Abigail said matter of factly as she reached for her glass of water on the table to take a drink.

“Okay, Abbie…because that totally makes sense and is grounds for marriage…” Rae snorted a laugh and rolled her eyes, not at all surprised that her mate would say something along those lines.

“Can I follow him on Instagram for you? Pretty please?” Abigail asked, hovering her thumb over the button on Rae’s phone that would allow her to follow Finn’s account if pressed.

“No! Absolutely not, Abbie! He’ll probably think I’m some creepy stalker who found him on Instagram by searching for his name or something…”

“But you did find him on Instagram by searching for his name…? Well, technically, I did…but still…what’s so wrong with that?”

“I don’t know…it just feels really weird and creepy to me. Like if we had mutual followers or something like that, it might seem less random, but I’d find it creepy if I were him if one of my coworkers found and followed me on Instagram out of nowhere!”

“Okay, a couple things to point out Rae: it’s not out of nowhere, you two have been flirting like crazy for months now…also, you can’t just wait for him to follow you first and make the first move. Based on what you’ve told me about him, he’s a pretty reserved guy and he most likely doesn’t want to seem too forward by following you on Instagram first!”

Rae shrugged, legitimately considering what her friend was telling her but not knowing how to respond just yet.

“Listen Rae, I don’t want to force you to follow him or get his number or make the first move if you don’t feel ready or comfortable with it yet, but at least promise that you will consider it or at least try to drop subtle hints to steer the topic of conversation toward getting in touch with him on social media or getting his phone number. Can you do that?”

“Well, I can’t make any guarantees, but yes…I promise that I will consider it and try to get his number or Snapchat or follow him on Instagram or something.”

Rae and Abigail had finished eating lunch and were idly walking along the street lined with a variety of other restaurants, shops, and street performers playing guitar and attracting the attention of patrons passing by.

“Rae…I love this city. Don’t get me wrong, I love the university I attend, but I can definitely see why you and so many others would enjoy living and attending Uni here…”

With no concrete plans for the rest of their day, Rae and Abigail continued walking along the street and looking at the displays in the shop windows they passed when one shop caught Rae’s attention and cause her to fall behind and stop in front of the shop.

“Do you want to go in there, Rae?” Abigail asked as she turned back and walked to stand next to where Rae stood in front of a piercing shop they had recently passed.

“Uh, yeah, if that’s alright with you. There was a piercing I was wanting to get soon and I suppose today is as good of a time as any!” Rae said with a smile as she reached to open the door to the shop.

Abigail happily agreed and the pair walked into the piercing shop and was hit with the distinct smell of antiseptic that was jarring initially but offered reassurance as to the cleanliness of this piecing shop.

Since it was at an odd hour of the early afternoon on a Tuesday, the shop was not at all busy and as quickly as Rae had decided that today was the day she wanted to get her septum pierced she had chosen the jewelry, filled out the necessary paperwork, and had the piercing done.

“Holy fucking shit…I love it!” Rae exclaimed as he examined her face in the mirror only moments after the man who had done her piercing secured the jewelry she selected into place.

Abigail walked up to get a closer look at the white gold hoop with an single light blue jewel in the center that now adorned Rae’s septum and the matching white gold and light blue stud that Rae had put into the piercing on her left nostril.

“It looks so cute, Rae! I’m so happy that you like it!”

When Rae and Abigail walked up to the jewelry display case where her piercer stood—preparing a small bag with the necessary after care instructions and the products necessary to cleanse the piercing during the healing process—Rae reached into her purse to get out her money to pay for the piercing and jewelry but was stopped by Abigail.

“Don’t worry about it Rae, I’ll pay for it! Just think of it as your belated Christmas present from me, yeah?”

Not long after that, Abigail drove Rae back to her apartment and they sat in Abigail’s car where it was parked as they said their goodbyes to one another.

“I’m so glad we got to hang out, Rae! It’s been hard not seeing you on a regular basis since we go to school so far away from each other, but I’m glad that we have still remained fairly close.”

“Me too, Abbie! Uni just isn’t the same without you here, but I’m glad that you’re doing what you enjoy and have the opportunity to study what you want to study.”

“I think the Uni lifestyle suits you, Rae,” Abigail stopped for a moment when Rae chuckled lightly under her breath before continuing, “I’m serious, Rae! You look good, you seem more confident and relaxed than I’ve seen you in a long time and you seem…happy. Like actually, truly happy. It’s a really good look for you, Rae, so whatever you’re doing or whoever is the cause for this new, happy Rae…I’m glad you found it.”

“You’re actually the second person today to point out that I seem happier than usual and I think you guys may be on to something. I don’t wanna jinx myself or speak too soon, but I do feel like I might possibly be on my way to being truly happy for the first time in nearly six years. It’s kind of terrifying, in a way, but it also feels fantastic.”

Rae got out of Abigail’s car and waited outside the metal gate leading to her apartment, waving goodbye as her friend drove away, before opening the gate and climbing the steps to her apartment.

Rae: I have a surprise for you the next time I see you, Izz! ;)

Izzie: Oh, is that so? (^.^) I feel like I haven’t seen you in ages, Rae! Are you free to hang out this week? Thursday, perhaps?

Rae: I work in the early afternoon, but we can definitely hang out once I’m off work. What do you have in mind?

Izzie: Oh, nothing too crazy. Just video games, movies, the usual…is that alright with you, Rae?

Rae: Yeah, of course! That sounds great, Izz. I’m really looking forward to it! :D

Rae grabbed the makeup compact that was sitting on her counter and used the small mirror to get another close look at the new pieces of jewelry that seemed to be commanding attention from where they were placed on her nose.

Why did I wait so long to get my septum pierced!?! This is such an adorable piercing!

Although Rae was still trying to become accustomed to the new piercing, every time Rae happened to catch sight of her reflection, she could not help the smile that would spread across her face.

It’s official, I’m obsessed…

***

Rae was working two separate shifts on Wednesday with a two hour gap between them, and as she walked into work at 8am with her hot chai latte in-hand, she could not wait to show some of her coworkers her latest piercing.

As she sat at her desk between Archie and Hannah, Rae decided to wait for someone to mention her new piercing instead of bringing it up in conversation. They had been working in near silence for almost an hour, when Archie cleared his throat as he turned toward Rae to ask a question.

“Hey Rae, can you take a look at this customer’s questio—OH MY GOD! When did you get that piercing and how am I barely noticing it now?” Archie exclaimed as he brought his face closer to examine Rae’s septum piercing up-close.

“I got it done yesterday and I was trying to keep quiet about it until someone else brought it up, so thanks for that!” Rae replied with a chuckle.

“It looks so cute, Rae! I wish I could pull off that piercing as well as you do…” Hannah said when she looked over at Rae to determine what Archie’s attention was now focused on.

“I think a septum piercing would look good on you too, Hannah.” Rae replied with a smile.

“Definitely not as good as it looks on you. If I had a septum piercing I feel like I would need to do my makeup and dress nice every day to make the piercing look nice…but you’re already so pretty…it’s like you don’t even have to try to look nice, it’s just effortless for you. I find it kind of annoying, honestly, but I think that’s just my jealousy getting the best of me.” Hannah blushed slightly and looked away after saying this while Rae’s eyebrows remained raised in surprise.

Hannah is jealous…of me? Why the fuck would she be jealous of me?

And what does she mean that looking nice comes naturally to me? She couldn’t be further from the truth even if she tried.

“Wow, thank you, Hannah. That’s really sweet of you. I think you’re naturally pretty as well and you wouldn’t have to put in any extra effort to look nice if you wanted to get this piercing too, so I’d go for it if I were you.”

“Maybe I will…hopefully it’ll look half as good on me as it does on you, Rae!”

Rae was still blushing from the flattery Hannah had been giving her when Archie rejoined the conversation after getting help from someone else while Rae was preoccupied with talking to Hannah.

“I agree with Hannah, the piercing looks really good on you, Rae! Did it hurt?”

“Oddly enough, no, it didn’t really hurt. I was mentally prepared for it to hurt a bit, but I’ve decided that this piercing was the least painful one I’ve gotten thus far!”

“Wow, that’s great, Rae! I’m glad that you seem to really like it because I think that this piercing suits you well.” Archie added.

The small machine on the wall chimed when the time changed to 10am, which signaled the end of Rae’s first shift of the day.

“Hey stranger…” Rae said as she walked past Finn who was rushing through the door to get badged in before he would be considered late for work.

“Rae!” He called back in return, but Rae was already out the door and he was unsure if she had even heard him or not.

Rae had a couple hours to kill before her second shift that began at noon, so she walked to her Uni campus and decided that today was a good day to check on her plants inside the Secret Garden.

After removing all the grass and weeds that were beginning to sprout within her garden and watering her garden, Rae sat down at the stone table off to one side of the secret garden to browse social media until it was time for her to walk back to work for her next shift.

Rae opened up snapchat and began playing with the various Snapchat filters and taking in her appearance today. As usual, Rae had chosen not to put on makeup and while most days her attention would be drawn to every blemish and imperfection on her face, today Rae was surprised to see only the positive things.

After taking an unreasonable amount of Snapchat selfies and sending them to some of her mates who would not be seeing her in-person anytime soon, Rae decided to start walking back to work, even if that meant being a little bit early to her shift.

As soon as Rae walked back into the office building her boss, John, saw her as he walked out the door toward the break room.

“Wow, back already, Rachel? You just couldn’t stay away, could you?” John asked with a laugh as he held open the door for Rae before walking briskly to the vending machine to purchase what was indubitably his third or fourth energy drink of the day.

I have no clue how that man can drink that much caffeine and not be dead or glowing crazy colors from all the chemicals!

Rae was not interested in sitting down at a desk and getting logged into her computer—since she was well over twenty minutes early to her shift—but she noticed Rebecca sitting on the opposite side of the office and she made her way over to chat with her friend for a bit.

“Hello, my darling!” Rae said in a poor imitation of a Russian accent that she frequently used with Rebecca as part of an inside joke they shared.

Rebecca, who had evidently not seen Rae approach and did not register that her friend was giving her a hug from behind until she heard Rae’s signature greeting, jumped and shrieked in surprise.

“Oh my god, Rae! You scared me! You can’t just sneak up on me like that…I’m fragile!” Rebecca exclaimed, still slightly breathless and turned around in her desk chair to face Rae with one hand positioned over her heart from the initial shock she experienced.

“I’m so sorry, Rebecca!” Rae was laughing slightly, since it was often Rebecca who would sneak up on Rae by hugging her from behind when she least expected it, but she composed herself and continued, “I could have sworn you looked over at me and saw me before I even walked up behind your chair, so I didn’t think I would scare you!”

Rebecca was laughing now too but she opened her arms wide, inviting Rae forward to give her a proper hug.

“What are you doing here? Are you on break right now?” Rebecca asked.

“My shift starts at noon, I just got here super early and wanted to talk to you for a bit! I also wanted to show you my latest piercing…” Rae trailed off and tapped the tip of her nose twice with her index finger to give Rebecca a hint as she scoured Rae’s face to locate the new piercing she was referring to.

“Rae! That is so cute on you! I love it! I swear, I never knew how good piercings could look on a person and then you just casually get all these different piercings and make them look great!”

“Oh, you’re too kind, Rebecca!” Rae replied, giving her friend a wink as she shrugged off the compliment.

Rae and Rebecca kept talking and they made plans to get dinner after Rae got off work later that evening to continued catching up on how they spent the holidays, but Rebecca’s attention kept being pulled away from their conversation.

“Why do you keep looking over to the other side of the building?” Rae asked, trying to determine what could be catching her mate’s attention.

“There’s a guy over there that keeps looking over here. I though he was just looking around idly out of boredom, but he always ends up looking over here at us talking…Wait! That isn’t what’s-his-name that is in love with you and has been flirting with you for months, is it?” Rebecca nodded her head to the side of the office that Rae worked in, gesturing towards the person she had noticed looking over at them off and on for nearly five minutes.

“Uh, yeah…that’s ‘what’s-his-name’ otherwise known as Finn…I don’t know why he’d be staring at us though…” Rae trailed off but smirked when she met Finn’s stare and his eyes widened suddenly before he turned away to direct his attention back to his computer screen.

“Well, I suppose you can always go ask!”

“Perhaps I will. I really should be getting to work soon anyways…It was really nice to chat for a bit today before my shift, Rebecca, and I’ll text you when I’m off work and then we can get dinner, yeah?”

“Yeah, of course, Rae! I’ll go over there and say goodbye to you when my shift ends in a couple hours, okay?”

Rae nodded her agreement and waved goodbye to Rebecca before walking to her respective side of the office and taking a seat at the nearest open desk.

“Rae! I didn’t know you were going to be back today. I tried to say ‘hi’ to you when I first got here at 10, but I was running late and you were leaving and I have no clue if you actually heard me or not…so yeah, hi, girl!”

“Hiya, Finn! I heard you and figured you were in a rush, but since I knew I was coming back for a second shift today, I decided that I could just talk to you a bit later.” Rae replied with a smile, which caused the fluorescent lights of the office building to glint off the small jewel on her septum piercing enough to draw Finn’s attention.

“Well, that’s new, isn’t it girl?” Finn added with a smirk as he leaned forward and rested his head on one hand while examining her latest piercing.

“Yeah! I finally made the leap and decided to get my septum pierced yesterday! I have to admit, I’m really loving it so far, so thank you for being one of the people who helped me decide to get it done once and for all.”

“You are very welcome! I was so right, by the way…you look really good with this piercing!” Finn added with a cheeky smile.

“Thank you, but you never said that…at least not to me…”

“Well no, but I thought it…and I was completely right…it looks really good on you! Can I..?” Finn asked, hovering a finger near the piercing and requesting permission, which Rae immediately granted.

His fingers were slightly rough and calloused from what Rae assumed to be years of playing the bass but as he brushed his fingertip over the jewelry of this piercing and used his hand to turn her head side-to-side slightly to see the piercing from different angles, he did so with a gentleness that Rae was not expecting Finn to possess.

“Did it hurt?” Finn breathed against Rae’s left cheek as he sat leaning forward in his chair, still examining her new piercing, with this face only inches from hers.

“Uh…what? Er, I mean, not really…it was probably the least painful of my now nine piercings that I have, honestly,” Rae replied, still in somewhat of a daze from the intimacy and tenderness of Finn’s examination of her septum piercing.

“That’s good to hear, girl…Wait, did you say you have nine piercings…where are they all?” Finn quirked an eyebrow up as he briefly looked Rae over, suggesting that some of her piercings maybe not be in a place that is easily seen.

“Now, now Finnley! Let’s not get carried away…Yes, I have nine piercings: three on each earlobe, my right helix, my left nostril, and now my septum. That makes nine, it just sounds like a lot more at first,” Rae replied, using her index finger to point out each piercing as she mentioned it to make sure that Finn was following along.

“Ah, I see. Well either way, it looks really good on you and I hope you like this piercing as much as you hoped you would. I think it’s…you’re…beautiful,” Finn breathed the last word so quietly that Rae couldn’t determine if she had correctly heard him or not.

Did Finn just call me beautiful? He was talking about how much he like the piercing, but I could’ve sworn…maybe not?

But what if he did…?

Rae and Finn kept chatting as they worked and Finn mentioned how much he like her piecing and how good it looked on her on numerous occasions, causing her to blush every time.

When Rae was nearly two hours into her shift, she saw Rebecca walk past and hold up one finger, signaling for Rae to wait for her to come talk to her in a moment. As soon as the small machine on the wall chimed signaling the new hour, Rebecca scanned her badge and quickly walked over to talk to Rae.

Rae waved at Rebecca as she saw her approach, but Rebecca stopped a short distance from Rae’s desk, her jaw hanging open slightly in shock for a brief moment before a wide and cheeky grin spread across her face.

“You have got to be kidding me, Rae! Seriously? You guys are so fucking adorable,” Rebecca paused briefly as she took in Rae’s look of confusion, “wait, you don’t know what I’m referring to, do you?”

Rae shook her head and before Rebecca could elaborate, Finn cleared his throat and chuckled before speaking.

“We match today. Like our clothing? Our outfits match almost entirely, girl…”

Rae looked at Rebecca, who nodded to confirm that what Finn said was true, and then looked down at her own outfit for the day.

Dark blue-green flannel over a fitted gray band tee, dark denim skinny jeans, and black high-tops…okay…and Finn is wearing..?

A fitted gray t-shirt with a dark greenish-blue flannel over it, dark blue jeans, and black converse sneakers…well, fuck…we DO match!

“Wow, I guess you’re right! Great minds think alike, I suppose!”

Finn was smirking uncontrollably as he logged out of his computer and stood from his chair before turning to face Rae.

“I feel honored to be dressed similarly to someone like you, however I must say, you make the outfit look so much better than I could ever hope to…I’ll see you later, yeah? Have a nice day, girl!” Finn replied, glancing down at her cleavage that was visible from the scoop neck of her gray top for longer than justifiable, before shooting Rae a wink and giving Rebecca a friendly smile as he walked past them to scan his badge at the machine on the wall and leave the building.

“Well, that Finn boy sure is good at subtlety…not! Is it always like this or is that palpable sexual tension and overt flirting a newer development?” Rebecca asked while trying to contain a laugh after seeing the flushed look on Rae’s face.

“Uhm…it’s fairly new, I suppose…I’ll tell you more about it at dinner today, okay? I need to get back to work again, but I’ll see you in a few hours, yeah?”

“Of course, darling!” Rebecca gave Rae a tight hug and waved goodbye as she walked out the door and Rae attempted to refocus her attention back to her work, which proved to be much more difficult for Rae than anticipated.

***

Rae rolled over in her bed Thursday morning, taking her time to allow her eyes to adjust, and glanced at the alarm clock on her bedside table.

5:24 AM? Are you shitting me? Why am I awake at this ungodly hour when I could be doing literally anything, namely sleeping?!

Despite her best efforts to fall back to sleep until her alarm clock was set to wake her up at 8:30am, Rae quickly realized that she was officially awake and would be staying awake, so she might as well make use of the extra time she has to get things done before going to work at noon.

Rae did laundry, washed the few dishes that she had left in her sink to be washed at a later time, and showered and it was barely approaching 9AM.

Rae: Good morning, Izzie! I think I’m gonna head out to run some errands before work today, are there any snacks you’d like me to pick up for our movie night tonight? Just let me know!

Rae took her time getting dressed and she even decided to spend some time putting on makeup as she waited for Izzie to respond before she left her apartment.

Izzie: Hiya, Rae! You can bring whatever you want to. I’ll eat pretty much anything, in terms of snacks, so just whatever you like! :)

Rae: Ok, cool! I’ll see you later today!

Rae left her apartment and decided to grab coffee from the café across the street from her work, since it was in the same direction that she was already heading. She walked into the café and was initially surprised to see that the line to place an order was nearly out the door, but then she realized that this was the first time she had ever gone to this café later than 8AM.

Rae waited for nearly twenty minutes for her turn to place her order at the counter, but she was still in no hurry and welcomed the warmth and fresh coffee scent that she always found endearing about this café.

“Good morning, Rae! What can I get for you today, sweetheart? One of the usual drinks or are you willing to be a little adventurous today?” The same barista who had taken her order every time she came here stood behind the counter, giving Rae a wide grin as she walked up to the counter.

“Hey there! I suppose I’m a little predictable, huh? I’ll take a large hot hazelnut latte…with soy milk, as usual, please!” Rae replied, giving him a friendly smile.

“Of course! Your drink will be ready in a few minutes at the other counter, if you just want to wait down there.”

Rae began to reach into her purse to pull out her credit card to pay for her drink, but the barista quickly stopped her.

“Don’t worry about it, Rae. I’ve seen you in here often enough and you always tip generously and are so polite and courteous to me and all the other workers here when you come in. It would be my pleasure to pay for your drink today, in fact, I’d be terribly offended if you didn’t allow me to…”

“Really, are you sure? I don’t want to get you in trouble or anything. It’s really not a big deal, I don’t mind paying, honestly.”

“I’m very sure, Rae. But if you really feel that bad about me paying for your drink, come down to the other counter and we can chat a bit while I make your drink? It’d be more than enough to repay the favor…”

Rae smirked and agreed, walking away from the counter allowing the next customer to place their order and toward the other end of the counter where the barista stood scribbling on what she presumed to be her cup.

“So…you’re here quite a bit later than I’ve come to expect you. I was honestly beginning to get a little worried about when the next time you’d come in while I was working would be, but alas, here you are!”

“Here I am!”

“You haven’t been cheating on me with some other coffee shop, have you? Because no matter what they try to tell you, they will never put the same kind of care and attention to detail in your drinks that I do.”

“No, my work schedule just changed with the New Year and it has been super crazy lately. And yes, I know how difficult it must be to make a basic latte with soy milk or a chai latte with soy milk, but what can I say? I am a girl with very complex, sophisticated tastes!”

“Are you mocking me? I’ll have you know that I don’t let any other barista lay a finger on your drink when you come in for fear that they might screw it up. I refuse to serve anything but the best to my favorite customer, Rae!”

“Well, I greatly appreciate that…”

“No problem. Sorry for the long line today, Rae, you caught us at a particularly busy time.”

“No need to apologize, I’m in no hurry today!”

“Well, either way, if it’s ever super busy like this again and you see me working, come down to this counter and get my attention and I can get your drink started for you without you having to wait in such a crazy long line.”

“I couldn’t, but thank you, that’s very kind of you to offer.”

“I can’t force you to do anything you don’t want to, of course, but just know that the offer still stand should you ever want to take me up on it.”

“Thank you, I’ll definitely keep that in mind.”

The barista handed Rae her drink carefully, ensuring that she gripped the cup by the protective sleeve to avoid burning herself on the heat permeating through the disposable take-away cup.

“It was really nice talking to you a bit more today, Rae! I hope you enjoy your drink and I look forward to seeing you around here really soon, hopefully!”

“Likewise…well, this is terribly awkward…I just realized that I don’t know your name…”

“Oh, right. I suppose we’ve never been properly introduced, I just learned your name from taking your order all the time,” the barista blushed slightly before reaching out a hand to Rae and grinning, “my name is Eric. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you!”

Rae chuckled and shook his hand with her free hand before waving goodbye to him as she walked out the door of the café.

It was abnormally warm for late morning in January, so Rae stopped at one of the tables outside the café to remove her red flannel shirt and tie it around her waist, exposing the low-cut white top she was wearing underneath. Once situated, Rae pressed play on the Spotify playlist she had paused on her phone and put her earbuds into her ears, blocking out the sounds around her with Oasis’s Wonderwall, which happened to be the first song that came up with the playlist on shuffle.

Rae took a slow sip of her latte, which had cooled significantly while she was chatting with Eric the Barista after he finished making her drink. As she lowered the cup from her mouth, the writing on the side of the cup caught her attention and she turned the cup slightly to get a better look at what it said.

As always, her name was written in the rushed script that bordered on sloppy that she had come to associate with Eric the Barista when he would write her name on her cup; however, this time there was a small heart drawn next to her name.

Slightly below her name she saw additional writing, but the protective sleeve was obstructing what that said. She carefully eased the sleeve down the cup enough to read what else was written as she proceeded walking down the street, toward her initial destination, and gasped quietly when she read what else Eric the Barista had written on her cup today:

Seeing you is always the highlight of my shift!

~Eric

P.S. You look very beautiful today, BTW ;)

***

By the time Rae had walked to the closest grocery store and bought a few different snacks to bring with her to Izzie’s apartment when she went over after she got off work that afternoon, Rae had just enough time to walk to work before her shift began at noon.

Rae sat at a table in the break room at work—waiting a little while longer before actually going inside the main part of the office and getting to work—sipping the last her now tepid latte and trying to avoid reading the short note left on the side of her cup by Eric the Barista which would cause her to blush and become flustered all over again.

“Hey there, Rae! I haven’t seen you in a while, how have you been?” Andrew said ass he pulled out a chair from the table where Rae sat and took a seat next to her.

Andrew had been one of the first people she met when she initially interviewed for this job and they often used to sit beside each other when they began working here; however, after Rae switched departments she rarely saw Andrew except for when Rae would go over to chat with Rebecca on her breaks.

“I’ve been pretty good, Andrew, thank you. And yourself?” Rae replied, slightly off-guard by seeing Andrew at work today.

“Not too bad. I’ve noticed that with the new schedules, I don’t see you come around to chat with Rebecca as often. I know she really looks forward to seeing you and giving you hugs, and she always brings you up in conversation, so seeing her miss you is making me miss seeing you around a bit as well”

“Really? That’s really sweet. My new schedule is pretty crazy, but I can assure both of you that I will try to stop by and say ‘hi’ whenever I can, okay?”

“Yeah, that sounds good to me. Oh, I’ve been meaning to tell you this for a really long time, but I suppose I never found the right chance, but I really like the way your hair looks like that. Purple suits you and your personality really well, I think.”

“Well thank you!”

“You’re welcome. I hope this isn’t crossing any lines as your sort of coworker, but you look very pretty today. I don’t know what you’re doing later today, but if you’re free, maybe we could…hang out or something…?”

Wow…is today secretly “complement Rae endlessly day”? This is so crazy…Had this conversation happened three months ago, I would have been dying from excitement because the guy I liked just asked to hang out with me outside of work, but do I even still see Andrew in that way anymore? I’m not so sure that I do…

“Wow, thank you, Andrew. I’m incredibly flattered, really I am, but I actually have plans with my mate Izzie tonight…so, sorry about that.”

“No need to apologize, my offer still stands, so maybe we can hang out together another day?”

“Yeah, maybe. I need to get to work now, but it was nice chatting with you for a bit. Have a nice day, Andrew!”

“You too, Rae!”

Rae walked through the break room door that led into the main office building and scanned her badge at the machine on the wall when she heard someone calling her name from the farthest row of desks on the side of the building she worked in. She turned around, walking toward Finn who she immediately realized was the one who had called her name as he sat at his desk waving his hand to beckon her towards him.

“Hi there, Finn…you certainly seem excited to see me today!”

“Of course I’m excited to see you. I’m always happier when I get to see you, girl,” Finn gave Rae a genuine smile as he continued, “I just wanted to let you know that I saw you!”

“Wait, what?”

“Yeah! I saw you when I was driving to work today!”

“Where? When?”

“It was around maybe 9:50 or so this morning, because I wasn’t running late to work. You were standing outside the little café down the street and then you kept walking down Dorsey Place for a bit. You were listening to music, I think, because you had your earbuds in…and I think you were looking at something on the coffee cup you were carrying.”

“Oh, geez, uh…okay…Huh, did you try to say ‘hi’ or honk at me or try to get my attention or anything? I mean, if you honked I probably would have just thought you were a creep and ignored you, but still…I don’t think I heard or saw you.”

“Yeah…well no, no I didn’t think to do any of that. You just seemed to be in your own little world and you were bobbing along to whatever music you were listening to and you just looked really cute and I didn’t want to interrupt. So I just sort of stared and watched you walking, I guess, and I told myself that if you worked today I would tell you that I saw you while you were walking…which I just did…now that I’m saying all this out loud, it feels a little weird and creepy, so I’m sorry if that was weird or creepy of me to do, but yeah…”

“Ah, cool. You’re fine, it’s really not too weird or anything. But maybe say ‘hi’ or something next time? That might make this whole situation a bit less weird if you are feeling weird about it…”

“Okay, I’ll keep that in mind for the next time I see you around.”

Finn’s shift was nearly over, but he kept chatting with Rae as she logged into her computer and began responding to customers. When the machines on the wall chimed, signaling that it was noon, Finn logged off of his computer and told Rae goodbye before leaving work for the day and leaving her to finish the next four hours of her shift with no one at either desk to keep her preoccupied while she worked.

@eveerez @tinakegg @hey1tskat1e @bitchesbecrazy89 @kneekeyta @milllott @protectfinnnelson @arathewallflower @jackiewalsh2013 @pink-royaute @i-dream-of-emus @lurkernolonger @bitchy-broken @nutinanutshell @mallyallyandra @borntosik

A/N: Hi there! Thank you for making it through yet another chapter! What did you all think of the last two chapters that detail most of the first week of the new year (expect for Thursday evening and Friday, but they warranted a separate post)? Rae somehow managed to balance working everyday that week with having a social life, getting a new piercing, and attracting the attention of some new boys being introduced into the story (just when things start to pick up with Finn…new boys enter her life and start getting flirty to add a little drama to the mix, hahaha).

I’m trying my hardest to knock out the next few chapters within the next week or so, which could be a bit ambitious, but I have a plan and that plan requires me to be at a point in my story that is still about two weeks away in the timeline of my story (so like 3 more posts, approximately). Wish me luck! 😅😅😅

#mmfd #my mad fat diary #mmfd fanfic #my mad fat diary fanfiction #my writing #chapter 12 #Changing Priority #are y'all ready for some more drunk Rae shenanigans?#because that's exactly what you're gonna get in the next chapter #hahaha

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