#but im gonna go back to sleep before my alarm goes off | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sturniolohouse · 2 months ago

Text

Do Not Wait - M.S

a/n: this got heavier than i planned initially but i just leaned into wherever the story took me. it's also very reader focused, which i realized way too late. but, do not fret, matt is still in it :) lmk if you'd like me to continue this as a series... i hope yall like it, im proud of it.

summary: while matt is away, reader learns and struggles with some unexpected news that will change both their lives forever.

warnings: mentions of pregnancy, vomit, blood, death, grief, panic attacks, cursing. (no use of y/n)

word count: 11.7k

song: do not wait - wallows

"And it gets worse before it gets better That's one thing that I have come to know Just so you know"

“I hate to leave you like this,” Matt sighs, pushing my hair out of my face as his dark silhouette sits beside me on the bed.

I lay curled up in a ball after spending majority of the night sick. I feel terrible because I kept Matt up when he had to be up early for his flight to Chicago today.

Despite my attempts to avoid disturbing him, he spent most of the night beside me, rubbing my back while I hunched over the toilet and bringing me water.

I toss and turn, unable to find a comfortable position as my restlessness and nausea worsen by the second.

Matt’s hand touches my forehead, gently pushing my hair back and mindlessly scratching my head. I sit up as another wave of nausea twists my stomach, and I take a deep breath, hoping to suppress it. Matt sits up behind me, his hand now rubbing my back as I lean over the side of the bed with my head between my knees.

Thankfully, a moment later the wave of sickness passes and I sit up straight with a small groan as my body aches.

“I’m going to sleep on the couch. I don’t want to get you sick, and you have to be up in a few hours,” I croak, but he protests, gently pulling me back into bed.

"I don't give a fuck. I'll sleep on the plane, you're staying right here,"

As the morning light begins to filter through the curtains, Matt’s alarm goes off. By then, we had maybe collectively slept an hour and I knew he must have been exhausted. He got ready quietly trying his best not to disturb me, but I was already awake.

I don’t think sleep is in the cards for me tonight.

He places the back of his hand on my forehead, then my cheek, his touch gentle and searching.

“You still don’t have a fever...I don’t know if that’s good or bad,” He sighs, his fingers sifting through my hair with a tenderness that makes my heart ache.

Even with the faint light of dawn as our only source, I can still make out his concerned expression as he scans my face.

“I've never been this sick before. It must be a bug,” My voice is hoarse from repeatedly throwing up.

“Please, stay here with Nick while I’m gone so you have someone to look after you. I’m gonna text him now so he sees it when he wakes up. God, I don’t even want to go anymore,” He wipes his hand down his face in stress and I shake my head.

“No, stop, don’t worry about me. I’m gonna be fine. I’ll stay here with Nick. Please don’t be late for your flight,” I insist, gripping his hand weakly. “I’m going to make some tea and try to get some rest.” I go to get up but he puts his hand on my shoulder.

“I’ll make you tea, while we wait for the Uber. What do you want, mint?” He asks softly, his hand rubbing up and down my hip.

I nod weakly, thanking him.

I doze off a bit while he goes to make my tea, the repercussion of not sleeping catching up to me. When I open my eyes again, he’s setting my steaming mug on the bedside shelf carefully and placing two advils next to it.

“Text me when you wake up? And let me know if you have to go to urgent care, I’ll send you an Uber.” He tells me softly, his voice trembling with an emotion he’s trying to hide.

His reluctance to leave is evident in every line of his face.

I nod tiredly, “Mm, text me when you and Chris land. Have fun in Chicago. I love you.”

“I love you,” He kisses my forehead, before grabbing his suitcase by his bedroom door and leaving.

I was able to sleep a couple of more hours before I woke up again, dry heaving into the toilet because I quite literally had nothing left in my stomach.

I showered, brushed my teeth and went into the kitchen, searching for something bland to settle my stomach. I had decided to grab a rice cake and made more mint tea before I sprawled out on the couch in one of Matt’s hoodies.

It’s not the first time he’s been away, but this time, I miss him more than I anticipated. Even the scent of his hoodie brings a wave of emotion that catches me off guard.

We’ve never been one of those couples that spends every second of every day together anyway. Not even when we first started dating. We’ve always given each other the space we need.

But I must admit I could go for one of his hugs right now.

It’s around 10 AM when Nick comes down stairs and his face tells me everything I need to know about my appearance.

“I know, I look like shit.” I deadpan and he covers his mouth with wide eyes.

“I got Matt’s texts...I thought that motherfucker was being dramatic. Are you feeling any better?” He asks with a hand on his chest.

“Well, I haven’t thrown up in three hours, so that’s a new record. Your poor brother, I kept him up all night,”

“He'll live, do you want to go to urgent care?”

“No, I’ll wait it out. It’s gotta pass and I was able to keep my breakfast down.” I wave a hand.

Nick goes to make his own breakfast, slicing an apple before coming over to sit on the couch with me.

“Apple?” He offers me, munching on his own bite.

I decline shaking my head with a frown.

Nick wanted to watch Love Island, so I let him change the TV, feeling my eyelids grow heavy. As the sounds of the show filled the room, I found myself dozing off, giving in to the rest my body needs.

When I wake up, I have a blanket over me and Nick is editing on his laptop.

He notices me move and takes his headphones off one ear.

“Hey, you feeling better? Matt keeps pestering me for updates,” He shows me his phone with messages from a worried Matt.

I sigh, “Jesus...I’ll call him. But yes, I feel better now that I've gotten some sleep.” I get up and stretch my body, wincing at my achy muscles.

“How long was I out?” I ask grabbing my phone to see my own set of messages from Matt.

Kid worries too much.

“About 3 hours, you were knocked out. I’m gonna order food, are you hungry for anything?” He asks and my stomach rumbles at the thought of one food.

“I could fuck up some tacos right now,” I raise an eyebrow at him at my suggestion.

“I like the way you’re thinking.” He snaps his fingers pointing at me in agreement.

“Birria tacos for me and a Diet Coke. I’ll be right back, I’m gonna go call your brother before he has a heart attack.” I say walking to Matt’s room and calling him.

He picks up on the first ring.

“Hey,” He breaths out, his voice soft.

“What did I tell you about worrying about me?” I tease him and he laughs, sounding relieved.

"Hi!" I heard Chris shout in the background, before I heard a door close and Matt sigh. I'm guessing he went into a separate room.

“If you saw the state you were in before I left this morning, you’d be worried too. I take it you’re feeling better? Heard you napped,” He speaks up again, talking at a normal volume now.

“I was physically feeling the state I was in. But, yeah, a little better after my nap. How was your flight?” I ask, playing with the trinkets on his shelves.

“Besides me worrying the entire flight about you dehydrating and dying? Fine. A little turbulence, but nothing crazy.”

“Okay, drama, relax. I’m staying hydrated, I’ve napped, Nick and I are about to order some tacos. It must have just been a bug. I must admit, you're very cute when you worry about me though.” I smile and he hums shly.

A beat of silence goes by and I look at the photobooth picture of Matt and I on his wall.

“I miss you,” I admit to him, leaning down to inhale the collar of his sweatshirt on me.

“I miss you too. You know I haven't even been gone 12 hours though,” He reminds me, sounding amused at my unexpected sappyness.

I sigh, “I know,”

Suddenly I have a lump of emotion in my throat and he automatically hears the switch of my tone.

“Hey woah, what happened? Why are you upset?” He sounds panicked.

“Oh my god, sorry. I don’t know. I’m not even sad,” I choke back my tears.

“Doesn’t sound like it.." He doesn't sound convinced. "Do I need to come home?" He says next and I'm immediately objecting.

“What! No. Matt, I promise I’m fine.” I tell him quickly, taking off my hoodie as I begin to overheat.

“I love you... I’ll be back before you know it, okay? S'nothing we haven’t done before.” He reminds me softly and my bottom lip wobbles.

“Mhm,” I manage to get out and he sighs again.

“Sweetheart... You’re telling me not to be worried, but I’m beyond worried. Can you please tell me what’s wrong?” He pleads and I shake my head even though he can't see me.

“I honestly couldn’t tell you...I-i think I just needed to cry, and missing you isn’t helping because I wish I could hug you but you’re so f-far,” I hiccup.

“Okay, deep breaths, how about you take a nice hot shower–maybe a bath. Use Nick’s bath and when you’re done, you can eat your tacos and you’ll feel better. Okay? Listen, Chris and I are about to leave for dinner, are you going to be alright?” He checks in, sounding hesitant to hang up.

“Yes, I’m fine. Seriously. I’m sorry. I must be starting my period soon.” I compose myself, trying to ignore the sudden ache in my heart.

“It’s okay,” he says softly, his voice gentle and sweet.

Any other time, he’d be teasing me for being a crybaby—lovingly, of course—but I think he senses that my emotions are genuinely beyond my control right now.

“I love you,” he says again with emphasis, wanting to hear me say it back.

“I love you, so much," I say weakly, "Have fun at dinner and tell Chris I said hi.” I tell him, wiping my eyes.

“Will do. I’ll call you when we get back.” He says goodbye, hanging up.

I take a deep breath and I shake my head, feeling frustrated with my poorly-timed emotions. I feel terrible for worrying him more, I wanted this trip for him to be fun. Chris had really been looking forward to going with Matt—it had become a sort of tradition for the two of them. I need to get my emotions under control.

I wince again as I feel the heaviness and soreness in my breasts. Sighing, I go to my phone and check my period app to see when this torture will be over.

My stomach drops when I open the app and see I'm 13 days late.

My head feels dizzy suddenly and I pinch my eyes closed as the pit in my stomach spurs on more nausea. I lay back and put my arm over my eyes and take deep breaths.

My mind races, but I can’t seem to focus on one thought.

No, I can’t be.

I’m just stressed, that’s all.

I have an IUD, it's not possible.

But everything's adding up; the nausea, heightened emotions, late period...

I sit up slowly, feeling the weight of the realization settle on me. My heart pounds in my chest and I squeeze my eyes shut, trying to block out the flood of emotions threatening to drown me. But there’s no escaping this.

With trembling hands, I go to call Matt back, my thumb hovers over the call button but I stop myself. He’s going to dinner right now, on the opposite side of the country.

I can't burden him with this, not when I don’t even know for sure.

Dropping my phone onto the bed beside me, I try to self soothe, taking deep breaths to steady myself, but the anxiety is relentless.

I walk out of the room and Nick is asking me what kind of salsa I want with my tacos before he looks up at me. He immediately furrows his brows in worry.

“Hey–what's going on, are you okay?” He sits up and places his laptop on the coffee table.

“I-I can't breath,” I gasp, reaching out for him, feeling like a little kid.

He instantly stands up, wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

“What’s happened? Deep breaths, big deep breaths. There you go,” He rubs my back and I breath deeply with him.

My cheek smushed into his chest as I listen to the beating of his heart to help ground me. I pull away, still trembling and shake my head, unsure if I should even be telling Nick this.

This should be Matt.

Nick's eyes search mine, sensing my hesitancy. “You don’t have to talk if you’re not ready,” he says softly, his hands rubbing my shoulders.

I bite my lip, feeling a mix of guilt and desperation.

I don’t want to drag Nick into something so personal, but this is too overwhelming to keep bottled up.

“I… I think I might be pregnant,” I finally whisper, the words barely escaping my lips.

Saying it out loud makes it feel all the more real, and the weight of it presses down on me like a ton of bricks.

Nick’s expression shifts from worry to shock, his mouth falling agape and silence ringing between us. Once he hears me whimper, he snaps out of it and brings me back into a bone crushing hug.

"Shh, okay–it's okay, um…” His voice wavers, and I can feel his heart racing against my cheek.

For a moment, it seems like he’s trying to find the right words, but all that comes out is a nervous laugh.

“This is… wow, this is big. I'm sorry– I don't know what else to say right now,” His voice high pitched and shaky.

I can’t help but let out a shaky laugh with him, even through my anxiety.

“Yeah, big,” I agree, my voice barely above a whisper.

Nick pulls back just enough to look at me, his uncertainty showing in the way his eyes dart around, trying to process everything at once.

“I mean, I’m no expert on this—obviously—but we'll figure this out. You're gonna be okay, everything's gonna be okay.”

His reassurance is genuine, but I can see he's trying to convince himself too; a flicker of doubt in his eyes.

This is uncharted territory for both of us.

Nick and I had decided to order the tests along with the food, killing two birds with one stone. He’s doing his best to stay calm for my sake, but the trembling of his hands as he places the order is hard to miss.

"Okay, tacos and tests are on the way. I got, well, all of them because I don't know which one is best. I even got ice cream. Fuck, when did it get so hot in here? I'm overheating–are you overheating?" He says, his words moving a mile a minute as he fans himself with his shirt.

I can't help but to laugh as his nerves show and he shakes his head.

"I'm sorry, I know you're the one potentially knocked up by my idiot brother but I'm just so nervous. I'm sweating like a monster," His voice cracks.

"Do you mind if I use your bath?" I ask and he nods right away.

“Are you kidding? Of course, go ahead. Someone has to use it. I’m gonna…Well, I’ll just wait out here and try to chill.” He gives me a quick, reassuring smile, though it’s clear he’s still on edge.

I head to his bathroom and try to forget about my racing thoughts.

I turn the faucet on and put in some bath salts, checking the temperature before I step over to the vanity mirror. I take a look at my appearance and notice the puffiness in my face right away. My cheeks are flushed and my eyes are bloodshot.

I blow out a raspberry as I undress and get into the hot water.

The heat soothes my aching muscles and clears my mind. I soaked for a while, even draining a bit of the water and refilling the tub with more hot water. Once I feel myself pruning, I decide it's time I get out.

As I dry myself off, I notice light blood on the towel. My heart races, and I quickly check again—I'm bleeding. Very lightly, but there’s blood.

Relief floods through me, and I almost cry again, this time from the emotional whiplash. My legs feel shaky, so I sit down on the edge of the tub to steady myself, my breath coming out in shaky bursts.

Clutching the towel to my chest, I close my eyes and let out a long, relieved sigh.

“Thank God,” I whisper, feeling tears prick at the corners of my eyes.

I try not to dwell on the small part of me that almost wanted to feel disappointed. Maybe even mourning the part of me that might have embraced being pregnant–excited, even.

Instead, I focus on center of my emotions, the part where a massive weight has been lifted off my shoulders. Eventually, I pull myself together, cleaning myself up and getting dressed.

When I step out of the bathroom, Nick is on his bed, clearly trying to keep himself distracted. My eyes go to the food and the tests at the foot of the bed.

As soon as he sees me, he shoots up, his expression immediately shifting to one of concern.

“You okay?” he asks, his voice soft. I nod, a small smile breaking through the lingering anxiety.

“I’m okay,” I say, my voice a little shaky. “I uh…I got my period, I think,”

Nick’s face lights up with relief, his shoulders visibly relaxing. “Oh, thank God,” he shouts, “This is great fucking news—right?” He checks in and I nod.

“Yeah,” I agree, feeling a little dazed by how quickly everything has turned around. “I think we’re in the clear. We won't be needing those tests, I'll pay you back for them,"

Nick ignores me, pulling me into a bear hug, his arms so tight around me, I can barely breath.

“Shut up I don't care,” he says, “You don't have a parasite in you!" He cheers, jumping us up and down.

We both let out laughs, the tension that had been looming over us now replaced with a lightness.

“Let’s eat,” I suggest, letting out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Nick nods, "Couldn't agree more,"

We sit on his bed and for the first time all day, I feel like I can actually breathe.

As we dig into the tacos, Nick puts Love Island back on and we rot in bed for a few hours.

But even as we talk and laugh, there's still a pit in my stomach. A small portion of me can’t shake the feeling that this isn’t over yet.

Yeah, there's was blood. But it was different than my normal period. It was lighter.

I try not to panic, but I can't help but feel like my intuition is trying to tell me something. For now, I push my thoughts aside, focusing on Nick beside me yelling at the annoying horny people on his TV.

Nick offered for me to sleep in his room but I declined, wanting to sleep in Matt's bed.

Matt never called me, but he texted me apologizing and checking in on me. I listened to a voice memo he sent me of all they did today and I was genuinely glad he was having fun, so I didn't mind him not calling.

Plus, I'm not entirely sure I'm in the right state of mind to have a conversation with him right now. I wouldn't be able to keep today's events to myself.

I know I can’t keep him in the dark—I need to tell him what’s going on.

I glance at the stack of tests on his dresser and sigh. The bleeding from earlier has stopped, leaving me with a pit in my stomach.

I know I’ll have to take those tests, even if only for clarity. But for now, I’m going to force myself to sleep.

I find myself in a place that feels both familiar and strange. It's warm, the sun showering the garden and I immediately know I'm in my grandmother's backyard.

The breeze picks up, carrying the scent of blooming flowers—lilies, hyacinths, peonies, and marigolds—enveloping me in a peacefulness that feels like a comforting blanket.

I walk along the familiar stone path, my fingers grazing the soft petals of the flowers. Each step feeling like a compelling, magnetic pull, guiding me deeper into the garden.

I see her then–my grandmother, seated on a wooden bench beneath the shade of the large oak tree I used to climb as a child.

My breath hitches, she doesn't look sick. Her smile is lively, her cheeks rosy and the green in her eyes vibrant.

But there’s something else different, a kind of ethereal glow about her that sends a chill down my spine.

“Come here, my girl,” she says, her voice soft and inviting.

I walk over to her, feeling a strange mix of emotions: comfort, longing, and an inexplicable sadness.

I sit down beside her and she takes my hand in hers, her touch warm and reassuring.

“I’ve missed you,” I say, my voice thick with emotion, unable to fathom her not sick in a hospital bed.

She smiles, her eyes full of love. “I haven't gone anywhere."

There’s a pause as I try to process her words, but then she looks at me knowingly, another shiver down my spine.

"You're glowing," She hums, tucking my hair behind my ear.

I look at her confused until she places a hand to my stomach. My breath hitches and I can't control the tear that rolls down my cheek.

I shake my head in disbelief, "How...d-do you know?" I whisper, my voice getting lost in the intoxicating breeze.

It's then that I feel a deep flutter in my stomach, one that I can't describe.

I place my hand over my grandmother's that still rests on my stomach. The flutter intensifies, my heart mimicking the pattern as warmth blooms in my chest. The feeling is overwhelming.

An unexpected, joyous sob escapes my lips before I can stop it, tears blurring my vision.

“You're both going to be okay,” My grandmother says softly, gently wiping away my tears.

My lip wobbles and I let out a shaky breath before she speaks up again.

“She’s strong too, just like you.”

“She..?” I squeak. My grandmother’s smile returns, softer this time and she nods.

A wave of shock and confusion washes over me, but before I can ask more, the garden begins to fade. The colors bleeding into each other until everything is a swirl of light.

Her voice echoes as the dream dissolves, “Don't be afraid, Petal.”

I shoot up, my heart racing, my face soaked in tears and my body covered in a cold sweat. I feel disoriented as I take in my surroundings and my mind tries to grasp the remnants of the dream.

My grandmother’s face, her words, the fluttering in my stomach. But now, that fluttering has turned into a twisting feeling in my gut.

Something was wrong.

My phone buzzes, startling me out of my tangled, fuzzy thoughts. My hands tremble slightly as I reach for my phone.

It’s my mom.

“Hello?” I answer, my voice thick with sleep and confusion.

There’s a pause on the other end, and then my mom’s voice comes through, shaky and heavy with emotion.

“Honey...I'm sorry I'm calling you so early, but it’s Grandma....Sh-she passed in her sleep early this morning.”

The words hit me like a punch in the gut, and for a moment, I can’t breathe. She continues to talk but I can't hear her, my ears ring and time slows down.

A flood of emotions overcome me.

Grief, shock, and the strange sense that the dream was more than just a figment of my imagination.

As the reality of her passing sinks in, I’m left with the weight of her final words to me. She was telling me something important, something I can’t ignore anymore.

My stomach twists again and I bolt to the bathroom where I throw up until I'm dry heaving into the toilet.

I'm not even shocked when the test immediately shows up positive. I stare blankly at the two pink lines, the only hint of emotion is the tremor in my hand as I grab the test and chuck it into the trash can.

I feel numb.

Staring at my reflection in the mirror, I see the emptiness in my eyes, the darkness encasing them. The person staring back is a stranger.

I'm pregnant.

I should be feeling joy, maybe even excitement—I want to at least, but all I feel is nothing. My experience overshadowed by my grief. By the anomaly of this situation, how this could have happened.

I have an IUD, I was bleeding, but here we are.

I wanted Matt to be the first to know, to share in that moment with him, but now everything feels wrong, out of order.

I feel robbed of the happiness I should be feeling.

I step into the shower and let the scalding hot water claw at my skin. I finally let myself break down, grief rattling through me and slicing me open.

My dream replays in my mind over and over again. My grandmother's eyes, her warmth, her words, her hand on my stomach.

“You’re both going to be okay,”

My hand instinctively goes to my stomach. I press my palm into my abdomen, expecting to feel that flutter, desperate to feel any sort of connection with the life that's there–to cling to the intense joy from my dream...but there's nothing.

It was ripped away from me from the moment I woke up.

“She’s strong too, just like you,”

I whimper, the sound dissolving into the rush of the water.

I don’t feel strong. I feel weak.

My grandmother told me not to be afraid, but I can’t escape this overwhelming anxiety, the suffocating uncertainty that engulfs me.

The tightness in my chest, the heaviness in my heart, the deep-seated guilt that festers within me.

I cry and cry and cry until I can’t anymore, until the tears run dry, leaving only the ache in my chest.

When the water turns cold and the sun fully rises, is when I finally get out. My feet drag beneath me as I walk back into Matt's room and get dressed.

I pull on one of Matt's crewnecks and some sweats before I go into the kitchen to make a tea.

I make myself an Earl Grey, my grandmother's favorite.

I sit down at the dining table and book the first flight back home to Maine, which is tomorrow morning. My mom and I spoke again and she told me the funeral isn't until next week, but I wanted to be there for her. I couldn’t stay here right now.

My stomach growls loudly and I press my palms into my eye sockets. I suppose I should really eat something with substance, especially now.

I grab the berries from the fridge that are in their last leg, washing them before forcing myself to eat. The tartness of the blueberries sparks a memory of helping my grandmother make blueberry pancakes on Sunday mornings. I smile sadly at the fond memory of being her little sous chef.

When 7 AM rolls around, restlessness overtakes me and I step outside, sitting in the front stoop before calling Matt.

"You're up early," His voice thick with sleep as he greets me through the line.

"Hey," I say weakly, letting out a sigh as I gaze up at the clear sky. There's not a single cloud in sight.

"What's wrong?" His tone immediately shifts to concern.

"Matt... my grandma passed this morning," I start, my voice trembling slightly.

I omit the dream and the positive pregnancy test in his bathroom, grateful that he can't see my face.

There's a heavy sigh on the other end. "I'm so sorry. I know she was sick for a while... Are you doing okay? How's your mom?"

"I'm... managing. And my mom, she's actually doing okay. I think we're all relieved in a way, you know? It was only a matter of time. I'm just glad she's not suffering anymore," I navigate my feelings about her passing, my voice surprisingly steady.

"Of course," His voice is so soft, fueling my longing for his touch.

"Do you think…there's any way you can change your flight on Tuesday to go to Maine? The funeral isn’t until next Thursday, but I’m getting there tomorrow afternoon." I ask, playing with a loose string on my sweatpants.

"Of course, I'll look at flights right now," he responds without hesitation.

"Thank you, I just....I need you there," I tell him, feeling a tightness in my chest when I avoid mentioning the conversation we need to have.

"I'll be there. I found a flight that will get me there tomorrow night."

"Matt–" I start to protest.

"I already changed it. No refunds," He cuts me off, his voice firm. "Sweetheart, you need me, I'm not going to make you wait until fucking Tuesday."

"What about the rest of your trip? You'll miss the rest of the festival, and Chris–" I try and reason with him.

"Listen to me carefully...I don't give a fuck about the festival. You need me there, and I'm going to be there. Chris will be fine, he's a big boy. He has Sam here with him and they'll fly back to LA together," His tone leaving no room for argument, his mind was made up.

A small, grateful smile tugs at my lips as tears well up in my eyes.

"I love you," I manage to say, my voice trembles with emotion.

"I love you, so much it hurts. I wish I could hug you right now but I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I’m gonna go talk to Chris, text me or call me if you need me. I mean it, kid."

“I will,” I promise, ending the call and looking up at the sky again, wrapping my arms around myself as the cool morning air brushes against my skin.

I take a deep breath, the air filling my lungs grounding me. As I exhale, I try to focus on the one thing I know for sure—I may not feel strong, but I need to be and not just for myself, but for the life growing inside of me.

My grandmother's words echo in my mind.

"Don't be afraid, Petal."

–

Nick wakes up shortly after, only taking one look at me before I’m breaking down again—the weight of everything crashing down on me like another tidal wave.

I tell him everything, my dream, my grandmother's passing, I show him the positive pregnancy test.

I cry into his chest, feeling overwhelmed.

"I'm just s-so confused," I manage to say between sobs. "In my dream, I was so happy... everything felt right. I felt connected with..." My words trail off, dissolving into incoherent blubbering.

Nick just listens, rubbing my back in slow, soothing circles.

"Listen," he begins softly, "your body is under a lot of stress right now. You just found out about your grandma, and then this very unexpected news on top of it… Every single emotion you’re feeling is normal, and 100 percent valid. But you have so many people by your side who love you and will help you through this, no matter what you decide..."

I sniffle, trying to regulate my breathing as I take in his words.

"I'm angry, too," I admit, my voice cracking with the strain of holding it all in. "This is so unfair. The timing of this couldn't be worse... I can't even talk to Matt and I feel awful keeping this from him. He shouldn't have to find out like this."

"Everything is going to be okay, deep breaths," Nick repeats, his voice calm as he helps me process the flood of emotions.

I blow out a raspberry, pulling back and running my hands down my face in frustration. When I look at him, he's watching me cautiously, trying to read my expression.

"I'm pregnant," I say softly, the words finally leaving my lips for the first time.

A mix of emotions swirls in my chest and stomach—fear, uncertainty, a strange kind of acceptance.

Nick nods slowly, his eyes still scanning my face, and for a moment, I find myself imagining if this was me telling Matt.

More dread fills me.

How will he react? Will he be the support I need?

We’ve talked about having kids before. They were always in the cards for us, but never this soon.

We only just started to discuss getting our own place and now our lives are going to be changing forever.

Nick helped me pack as I tried to arrange a last-minute appointment to confirm my pregnancy, which proved to be quite the ordeal.

The receptionists initially inform me that they didn't have any openings for weeks. However, when I mention the IUD and a positive pregnancy test, the urgency in their voice shifted dramatically.

They told me to come in right away.

The urgency in the receptionists voice on the phone didn’t help my nerves. Neither when they took me straight into an examination room the minute I told them my name.

They take my vitals, draw my blood and give me a cup to pee in.

I left Nick in the waiting room, dressing down into the gown they placed neatly on the exam chair. I look around at the diagrams of the fetuses and the posters of the development. I’ve seen these countless times and never thought twice, but this time I feel unsettled.

I swallow thickly and sit on the loud crinkly paper with the anticipation of the doctor coming in soon.

There’s a soft double knock on the door before a head of wild, curly hair peeks in.

“Hello, hello. I’m Dr. Sullivan,” She says washing her hands and sitting down on the swivel stool next to the examination chair.

The woman has a mane of big, unruly curls that frame her face, with chunky black square-framed glasses perched on her slightly humped nose, drawing attention to her bright hazel eyes. A wide smile, complete with a distinctive gap between her two front teeth, radiates warmth and adds to her quirky charm. She almost seems like a character out of a cartoon—lanky, with an energetic, bouncy stride that matches her bubbly personality. She can't be much older than my mother.

"So, you are in fact pregnant. The lab results confirmed the presence of HCG, which is the hormone produced during pregnancy. "

“Do you have any idea how this happened? I mean, obviously I know how it happened but, I have an IUD.” I say, still trying to wrap my head around the situation.

She nods dramatically, her lips pressing into a line as she listens to my concerns.

“Unfortunately, no birth control is 100 percent effective. In most cases, the IUD might have been displaced, or in some instances, the body rejects the device without you knowing. I actually would like to get clarity on that with an ultrasound, but I think it’s important for you to know the risks of this scenario here.” She says, turning slightly more serious.

“Risks?” I ask, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Yes,” she says softly, “There is a possibility that, due to you having an IUD, this pregnancy may not be viable. Having an IUD increases the risk of what we call an ectopic pregnancy... are you familiar with that term?” Her hazel eyes lock onto mine and I shake my head, my heart starting to pound.

“Well, because you have a contraceptive device in the space where a fetus would normally develop, there's a risk that the pregnancy could occur outside the uterus. Typically the egg will implant itself in the fallopian tubes, which cannot host a safe or viable pregnancy...And if not treated immediately, the tube can rupture and cause internal hemorrhaging," She explains gently, carefully choosing her words to convey the seriousness of the situation.

I feel my heartbeat in my ears now as I process her words.

"So you're saying, this can be life threatening...for me and the..." My throat closes up and I can't finish my sentence.

She must take notice of the panic in my face, her round eyes widening slightly.

"If it goes untreated, yes. But I don't say this to make you panic, you're in good hands and whatever happens, we will take the next steps together." She places a hand on my knee, giving the tissue box so I can dry my uncontrollable tears.

"Based on your last period, you should be about seven weeks along. This ultrasound will confirm that and also ensure the pregnancy is positioned in the uterus. Before we proceed, I'd like to ask you a few questions... do you need a minute?" she asks gently, noticing my unease.

I hiccup and shake my head. "N-no, I'll be okay. Sorry," I mumble, wiping my nose.

"Don't apologize," she says kindly, giving me a moment to collect myself anyway, which I appreciate.

For a moment, I consider calling Nick in, but I decide against it. Even though we're close, this may be a little too personal, even for him and I.

"Have you been experiencing any cramping or discomfort in your back or abdomen?" She asks and typing my answer into the computer as I tell her no.

"Any spotting or bleeding?"

"I had some light bleeding last night, it only lasted maybe an hour... I had thought it was my period, but I knew something was off." I explain to her and she nods.

"That was most likely implantation bleeding, which is normal. It can be light spotting of blood, or some women experience heavy bleeding, similar to a period." She continues to take her notes before looking to me again, "Any tenderness in your breasts?"

"Oh, for sure. My breasts have been very sore the past few days,"

"Any nausea or vomiting?"

"Yes, the last couple of days–especially at night, I've been vomiting. I haven't really been sleeping well because of it."

"Yeah, the term 'morning sickness' is misleading... It can happen any time of day, you seem to be experiencing yours during the evening. Any other symptoms you've noticed that you'd like to note?" She asks and I try to think of some things.

"Uhh, I guess I've been more tired than usual, but I chalked that up to being up all night sick...I've also been getting hot flashes recently and I've definitely been more emotional,"

"These are all good to note, thank you very much," She pushes her glasses up the bridge of her nose before typing again.

She swivels herself back towards me, smiling warmly.

"We'll go ahead with the ultrasound now. But to get an accurate picture, we're going to do a transvaginal ultrasound, if that's okay with you."

"Okay, that's fine," I say, shakily.

She pulls the ultrasound cart to toward her before standing to move the stirrups into place so I can place my feet into them. She places a privacy cloth over me and I take a deep breath.

She puts a covering on the sheath of the ultrasound wand and places lubricant on the top of it. She taps a few buttons on the computer, calibrating the machine before turning towards me with a reassuring smile.

"So this will feel cold and you might feel a little pressure but if you feel any discomfort don't be afraid to tell me." She informs before placing the device inside to create the image.

I try not to wince and try to relax as much as possible. I go to look toward the screen but she has it faced towards her, so I opt to reading her facial expressions.

Dr. Sullivan adjusts her glasses by putting them on the tip of her nose and tilting her head back to get a better view.

She's quite animated with her expressions, her mouth opening slightly in concentration as she looks over the screen.

Although I can't see what she's looking at, she seems pleased, which is a relief.

"Okay, so good sign so far, I see your IUD," Dr. Sullivan says, leaning forward and pointing to the screen. "I can clearly see that it's sitting at the top of your cervix. It’s shifted down and away from your uterus. Do you happen to experience heavy cramping during your cycle?" she asks, her fingers tapping some buttons on the monitor.

"Yes, I do," I reply, the worry still gnawing at me.

She nods thoughtfully. "That could explain the displacement. Sometimes, intense cramping can cause the IUD to shift from its original position. It’s not common, but it does happen. It’s good that we’ve caught it now."

"I see the embryonic sac in, from what I can tell, a great spot. You're measuring at about 6 or 7 weeks along. Size of a blueberry." She says and I stop breathing.

I don't even hesitate to say yes as she asks if I would like to see.

My eyes are glued to the screen as I follow where her finger points, focusing on the grainy image. There it is—a tiny black oval with an even tinier dot in the middle. It's so small, I almost think I'm looking at the wrong thing.

“That’s... them?” I whisper, my voice barely audible as I try to comprehend the sight in front of me.

Dr. Sullivan nods, her expression tender. "That's your baby. It's early, but everything looks promising..."

"Really?" I squeak, still in disbelief, my throat tightening with sudden emotion as more tears fall down my face.

Relief— as she nods in confirmation, handing me the tissue box again.

Hope— as she zooms in, showing me the flickering of the heartbeat.

Joy—as I hear the heartbeat, feeling it sync with the thumping of my own.

For the first time since my dream, I feel joy, something beyond the crippling dread that had loomed over me all day. My heart swells and then bursts as I continue to stare at the flickering dot on the screen, blinking away the tears that blur my vision.

I breathe in shakily before a laugh escapes through a sob.

"Nice strong heartbeat, everything looks as it should... this looks like a healthy pregnancy," Dr. Sullivan announces, gently removing the ultrasound wand but keeping a looped video on the screen, allowing me a few more moments to take it all in.

"She's strong too, just like you,"

"So, the next step—for your safety—would be to remove the IUD today," she continues, her tone calm yet serious. "We can also discuss your options moving forward, including your decision on whether or not you would like to continue with the pregnancy. It's important to weigh all the possibilities and make the choice that's right for you."

"I-I'm gonna continue the pregnancy. It was in no way planned, but–"

"You don't need to explain...I had a feeling" She dismisses me gently, giving me a knowing smile, "I guess this calls for a congratulations,"

"Thank you," I say just above my breath, warmth still blooming through my chest.

After Dr. Sullivan removes my IUD, she tells me to dress while she steps out to calculate my due date.

I stare at the printed ultrasound picture, my heart swelling with a fierce protectiveness. I’m not worried about the complications or uncertainties ahead right now. All that matters is this life inside me.

I feel much stronger than I did merely hours ago.

My due date was February 7th, the same as my grandmother’s birthday.

–

I had landed in Maine a few hours ago, my mom and I were organizing all of my grandma's belongings. We spent the afternoon together, grabbing lunch before heading over to my grandmother's house.

The house always felt like a time capsule, preserving every memory. The duck wallpaper in the dining room, the scent of pine and clove, the worn couch cushions, her miniature schnauzer figurine collection, and the framed pressed flowers from her children’s weddings—everything was always in its rightful place. It always looked the same.

Memories of me and my siblings spending weekends here whirling behind my eyelids as I inhale the familiar scent.

It evokes a bittersweet feeling.

We keep the mood light, sharing stories with each memory we packed away. I still saw the flicker of sadness in my mom's eyes, even through her laughter as we reminisced.

Sitting on the carpet in the living room, we go through the boxes full of pictures to put together a collage for the funeral. I come across a picture of my mother pregnant with my older brother.

It's a candid photo in the kitchen of my grandmother's house, her hand resting on her swollen belly that pokes out the bottom of her blue shirt, a soft smile on her face. My grandmother is beside her, beaming with pride, tying an apron around her waist.

My mother looked so young, her freckles prominent on her flushed cheeks and her smile crinkling the corners of her eyes.

I was always told I looked more like my dad, but seeing her like this, so close to my own age now, I can't help but notice the resemblance.

My mom notices my pause and looks over my shoulder. "That was just a few weeks before your brother was born," she says softly, her voice laced with nostalgia. "Your grandmother knew we were having a boy from the moment we told her,"

Her words send a chill down my spine.

I linger on the photo, feeling a wave of emotion rise up at the mention of my grandmother as the weight of my own news presses heavier on my chest.

"Were you really sick, when you were pregnant?" I ask, lowly.

She hums in thought, "With your brother? Only for maybe the first few weeks. With you though? Forget about it, I was sick everyday for months."

I stay silent for a moment, studying another photo of my mom and dad in the hospital room with my brother the day he was born. My mom is in the hospital bed, looking tired but radiant, while my dad is crouched next to her, gently cradling my brother in his arms.

"He was so bald," I laugh softly, and my mom chuckles beside me.

"His hair was so blonde, it was practically see-through. Your father called him 'egghead' for the first two months of his life," she says, shaking her head and rolling her eyes with a smile.

I look at the photo again, my gaze lingering on my mom's face. Her expression is filled with such warmth and love as she looks at my dad.

"How did you tell dad? You guys were both pretty young," I ask and she stifles a laugh.

"We actually found out together in a gas station bathroom..." She starts off with a slightly shameful smile, "I had been so sick on our camping trip with your aunt and uncle, so I decided on our way back home to take a test. We were shocked to say the least, but we were happy," She shrugs casually.

I think about how I was alone when I found out I was pregnant. Matt wasn't there, and it wasn't his fault, but the last 36 hours of keeping this from him has been torture.

The moment I saw the second line show up with fresh cold sweat still rolling down my neck, I had to bottle up this relentless guilt.

I feel guilt. It wasn't anyone's fault. This is the most serendipitous situation I've ever been in, but I put the blame on me. I have a choice and I'm choosing the route that will completely flip our already hectic lives upside down.

Tethering us together for life.

Even if this decision it feels right, it still carries an enormous weight. It’s not just my life that’s about to change—it's Matt’s too.

I have no doubt Matt will be supportive, but when you're left alone with your thoughts long enough, you can convince yourself of anything.

I've spent every waking minute wondering how he'll react, imagining every possible scenario, from the worst to the best. It's been an endless loop of 'what ifs,' and it’s taken everything in me not to just blurt it out over the phone.

"Were you scared at all? I mean, weren't you like 20?" I press, searching for reassurance in her response.

Her eyes widen before nodding, "Oh, we were scared shitless. Your father almost passed out. We had no idea what we were doing, but hey, we survived. For better or for worse,"

I nod, looking down at my lap and fidgeting with my fingers. My chest feels tight, and the weight of everything becomes almost unbearable.

"Mom, there's something I need to tell you... I–"

"I know," She looks at me with a small smile, her green eyes glistening with tears.

My brows furrow together, giving her a confused look.

"You do?" I ask, my voice trembling.

She shrugs, "I know everything, I'm your mom... Plus, you gagged at the smell of chicken today, that was a dead giveaway." She bites back a smirk and I cover my face, laughing through some tears before looking at her again.

"I guess I’m not as good at hiding things as I thought."

"You never were," She says softly as she scoots closer to me, bringing me into her warm embrace.

I sigh deeply into her, squeezing her tight and breathing in her comforting scent.

"How are you feeling?" she asks, still holding onto me.

"Scared shitless..." I joke and we share a laugh before she pulls back to wipe the tears that escaped against my will, "But I'm happy," I admit, scanning my mother's face for any sign of judgement.

There was none.

She wipes her own few tears, looking at me with only love in her eyes.

"My baby's having a baby,"

"I think grandma sent me this baby," I whisper, allowing my emotions to come through.

My mom tucks my hair behind my ear with her gentle, comforting touch and she listens intently as I tell her my dream. We hold onto each other and cry. I then show her the ultrasound pictures and we talk until the sun disappears.

My phone buzzes softly and I check the message to find Matt’s text that he’s landed and on his way. The reality of his imminent arrival causes a mixed-wave of nausea and guilt to wash over me.

My mom looks at me with a reassuring smile.

"I'll leave you two be so you can talk. I'll see you in the morning, my love." She tells me softly, kissing my cheek and hugging me tight.

Matt and I were gonna stay here during our time in Maine. It's best right now that we have our own space, especially since my brother and his girlfriend are staying by my parents house.

As she heads out, I take a deep breath and text Matt to let him know the door is unlocked. I slip into the shower, trying to calm my racing thoughts and steady my nerves. The warm water helps, but my mind keeps racing as I mentally prepare for the conversation ahead.

Wrapped in a towel, I check my reflection in the mirror, trying to see if I look any more put together than before.

I think this is the best we're going to get.

I jump when I here the front door open and shut, then some feet shuffling. My heart skips a beat.

Matt's here.

"It's just me," I hear him call out as well as more shuffling and a paper bag crinkling.

"Hey! I-I'll be right out!" I call back out, my heart picking up again but I take a deep breath.

I quickly get dressed in a tank top and shorts; there's a heat wave here, and I can't figure out how to adjust the thermostat.

I step out of the bathroom to see Matt standing at the kitchen island, unpacking burgers and fries onto the counter. The aroma of it makes my stomach growl and I realize I hadn't eaten anything since lunch.

I admire him for a second; he's wearing pink sweatpants, a black hoodie and a backwards fitted hat.

He turns at the sound of my presence and his face softens. I'm trembling when he steps forward to embrace me into a tight hug. He buries his face into my neck before giving me a few kisses there.

"Hi," I breath out, my voice shaky.

I was so nervous.

"Hey, you okay?" His voice is so soft, my heart aches. He pulls away, rubbing his hands up and down my arms while scanning my face.

"You're shaking. What's going on?" He presses.

He knows something is up, he can see it all over my face. I shake my head, brushing it off to have one more minute with him.

I pull him back to me, wrapping my arms around his neck this time and locking him against me. He bends down a bit to accommodate but doesn't question it, just hugging me back. His arms wrapping around my waist and pressing our stomachs together.

My heart is slamming against my ribcage and I know he can feel it, his thumb rubbing my hip soothingly tells me he does.

"How are you doing?" His voice is muffled with his face buried into my neck.

"I'm okay, better now that you're here. I missed you," I mumble, kissing the side of his neck and running my hand down between his shoulder blades.

I breath him in, noting the warmth of him and the solidness of his body against me.

"I missed you... I brought us food. I don't know about you, but I'm fucking starving," He puts his hands on my hips to pull back from the hug, but I stay put.

He chuckles, giving me one more squeeze.

I pull back just enough to line our faces up and give him a kiss, which he eagerly returns.

"Thank you for being here, it means a lot," I say against his lips and he pulls back slightly to push my hair out of my face.

"I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else." He hums into another kiss, then places three quick pecks before giving my butt a light tap, signaling that it’s time to let him go.

I finally release him and head to the food on the counter.

"I passed a Five Guys on the way here, so I hope that's good for you," He grabs a handful of fries before munching on them.

As I reach the counter, the smell of the burgers makes my mouth water, and I can’t help but smile at his thoughtfulness.

“Five Guys is perfect, thank you,” I say, grabbing a fry from the bag and tasting its salty warmth.

Matt grins, clearly pleased with himself. “Good, because I was too hungry to think of anything else,” he jokes, unwrapping one of the burgers and handing it to me.

I take it, thanking him quietly, my fingers brushing against his. For a moment, I just look at him.

He’s here, and I should be telling him I’m pregnant with his child, but instead, we’re standing in the kitchen eating burgers. As if I’m trying to cling to this last bit of normalcy before everything changes.

I force myself to take a bite of my burger, moaning at the greasy, savory goodness. Matt smirks at me, taking a hearty bite of his own burger.

“S’good?” he asks through his bite, his eyes twinkling with amusement.

I nod, moaning again in response, savoring the taste as it temporarily distracts me from everything else.

Matt takes a sip of his drink before bringing a napkin to my face and wiping the corner of my mouth and chin.

"Wipe ya lip, kid," He teases and I roll my eyes, grabbing the napkin from him.

Matt inhales another large bite of his burger, and we slip into our familiar rhythm.

He tells me about his brief trip to Chicago, and I’m relieved to hear he managed to gather a few funny stories and catch at least one day of the festival. He’s notably enthusiastic while he talks, and I can’t help but smile at his excitement.

He also reassured me that Chris wasn't upset at all, which I already knew from the sweet text he sent me this morning.

“Well, I’m glad you had fun,” I say, trying to match his enthusiasm.

I then give him the rundown for the next few days while we prepare for the funeral and memorial.

We continue eating, the conversation shifting to lighter topics as we enjoy the burgers and each other’s company.

It feels so easy, so light. It always is with us. But underneath the surface, the words I need to say weigh heavy on my mind, threatening to break the easy rhythm.

Matt watches me closely, his own burger forgotten for the moment as he sees me disappear inside my head again.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks again, his eyes look between mine. “You seem… I don’t know, you're acting weird.” He tries to find the right words.

"Matt..." I go to dismiss him, getting up slowly but he cuts me off, standing up too.

"No, I'm serious. You've been acting weird for days, and I'm no longer 2000 miles away for you to push me away or avoid me." He steps closer to me, trapping me against the counter with his arms on either side of me.

"Is it your about grandma? Did something else happen while I was gone?" He throws out, looking between my eyes.

"I–" I try to speak up but my voice gets caught in my throat and I get lost in the icy storm of his relentless gaze.

"It's not just my grandma," I manage to say, the admission causing him to soften slightly, a glimmer of relief at the small breakthrough.

"Okay, so talk to me, sweetheart. Please, I've been worried sick about you. You have no idea," he pleads, his breath brushing against my skin.

"I didn't know how to tell you..." I try to put together my words but I feel like I'm making it all worse.

I watch as his eyebrows pinch together and he leans down more so he's eye level with me instead towering over me.

"Tell me what, kid. I'm not a mind reader," His voice strains, frustration evident in his face.

When I try to break eye contact with him he pulls my chin to align our eyes again.

"What, d'you crash my car?" he guesses, clearly joking, his eyebrows raising playfully.

I can't help but smile and snort at his attempt to ease the tension.

"No, it’s not that," I say, my voice cracking slightly. "It's much bigger than that," I trail off and he waits expectantly.

"I uh– I went to the doctor yesterday," I pause and study his face, which drops ever so slightly, seeming to be bracing himself.

He stays silent, whether it was out of patience or fear, nothing could have prepared for my next sentence.

"I went to confirm that I was pregnant," I finally blurt out, my voice shaky, and he freezes.

Not one muscle moves in his face or his body.

"You're..." His voice cracks and he clears his dry throat, hitting his chest, "Are you serious?"

"I'm seven weeks, or a month and a half," I stammer, my voice wavering. "I don't really know how to—"

"Seven..." He whispers in disbelief, the shock settling in and I nod. "Y-you were on birth control– you have that AED–"

"IUD, yes, I did. It still happened, that shit is useless if it moves out of place," I explain and he looks down between us.

"A-and everything's okay, you're okay?" He looks up at me again, holding onto my face.

I take hold of his wrists, rubbing my thumb over his skin.

"I'm fine, the baby's fine..." I say softly and his eyes widen in realization as he pales.

"Oh my fucking god," He pulls back, cupping his hands over his mouth. "I need to sit down."

"Okay, okay. Do you want water?" I panic, hoping he doesn't pass out or puke.

He takes a seat at the dining table, shaking his head before taking off his hat and leaning his elbows on his knees.

"Oh my god, I thought I was crazy..." He says, his voice cracking with nerves as he presses his palms into his eye sockets.

"What?" I ask, confused.

"I had a feeling all fucking week," he says, his voice still shaky, and my brows knit together.

"I knew something was up. You were acting different. You were moodier than usual, you were napping all the time—and you never nap... and your tits are huge," he adds, and I roll my eyes.

"Sorry, that’s beside the point," he continues quickly, "I just couldn’t shake the feeling that you could be... I think I was trying to convince myself you weren't, but then you were so sick before I left," he rambles, staring blankly at the wall.

"It's a lot to take in, I know." I swallow thickly as I watch him process everything.

"You're pregnant," he says finally, looking at me again, this time with tears brimming his eyes. "And you were dealing with all of this by yourself," His voice is low and I shake my head, moving to stand between his legs, cupping his face gently.

"Hey, no. None of that... How could you have known?" I shush him and pull his head towards my chest.

His hands rest behind my thighs, his thumb lightly stroking my right leg. I run my fingers through his hair, comforting him as much as he's comforting me.

"I've been so scared to tell you..." I confess softly and he pulls back slightly, looking up at me with his brows furrowed.

"I know this wasn't part of our plan...at least not for a while. But before I took a test, the night my grandma passed, I had a dream. I was here, in my grandmother's garden... and she told me I was pregnant. Matt, the feeling I had," I pause, struggling to find the right words.

"It was the most intense, pure form of happiness I've ever felt. I can't even describe it to you..." I trail off.

I shake my head, "I know, I sound crazy. But I think this was meant to happen." I whisper, heat creeping up my neck at the admission.

He’s silent for a moment, absorbing my words. Then, a slow smirk carves a crease into the side of his mouth. "You are fucking crazy…" he murmurs, his playful tone breaking the tension as his smile lines deepen.

I huff a breathy laugh, the sound catching in my throat as my emotions take over again. Tears blur my vision, and I can’t hold them back any longer.

"Are you mad?" I squeak, letting my fear slip through the dam I built up.

He's immediately shaking his head, his eyes widen with sincerity, "Mad? Of course not. I mean, I thought we'd maybe get a cat first but..." He says, quirking his lip and I can't help the laugh that escapes through a sob.

I was the definition of an emotional wreck.

He gently squeezes my hips as I tip my head back to collect myself.

"Look at me," he says firmly, and I sniffle and hiccup before forcing myself to look at him. "Am I surprised? Yes. Terrified? Definitely. But, not even close to mad."

He wipes my tears tenderly, "We're going to be okay. Take it easy, alright? Deep breaths," His tone gentle but assertive, dragging me out of the pit of my dark thoughts.

I sigh as his thumbs draw circles on the exposed skin on my hips.

"I'm sorry," I say and he pulls me to sit sideways on his lap this time.

"Why are you sorry?" he asks softly, intertwining our fingers and bringing my hand to his mouth for a kiss.

"Our lives are going to change and I feel like it's my fault,"

"C'mere," He pulls me in fully, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I love you, and we're going to get through this... We were gonna do it anyway; we're just getting a headstart, yeah? Everything is going to work out," He tells me softly and I can tell he means every word.

Matt never says anything he doesn't mean.

"Also, don't say stupid shit like this is your fault. Last time I checked, it takes two to tango," He says firmly, lightly slapping my hip.

I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat as I lean into him completely, resting my head on his shoulder. His hand rubs gentle circles on my back, and I close my eyes, letting myself soak in the comfort of his presence.

"I missed you so much," I whisper, my voice muffled against his shirt. "I've been so sick, this kid might be trying to kill me," I try to joke, and he breathes a laugh into my shoulder.

A few beats of silence pass, broken only by the distant sound of crickets outside and the occasional creak of the old house settling.

"We're having a kid," He speaks up, realization laced in his voice and I hum against him. "Maybe we're both fucking crazy,"

I stifle a laugh and pull back to look at him, "D'wanna see it?" I ask, getting up from his lap and he looks to my stomach with a raised brow.

"Kid, you're not showing yet," he says, leaning back into the chair with his arms crossed, a playful smirk on his face and I roll my eyes.

"No, the ultrasound. Hold on," I say as I head to the counter to grab the pictures from my bag.

I pull out the strip of photos, and when I turn back, I see Matt standing up and stretching. He takes off his sweatshirt and his shirt riding up slightly, exposing a sliver of his stomach. Heat rises to my face but I can't stare too long though because he's walking towards me to look over my shoulder.

"Okay, what am I lookin' at?" He stands behind me, his hands on his hips as his head tilts in concentration.

"You see this black circle here?" I point to the sonogram, and he leans in closer, his breath warm against my neck as he grabs hold of the paper to steady it.

"Yeah, that's it?" He asks, narrowing his eyes and I giggle.

"No, do you see the tinier white blob inside it? That's the baby." I explain and his face scrunches for a second, looking at the picture again.

"No fucking way," he says in disbelief, a wide smile breaking across his face. "That tiny thing?" His voice raises a pitch as he looks at me, eyes wide with awe, "Can barely fucking see that," He says playfully before rubbing his eyes.

"Mhm," I can't help but giggle as he wraps an arm around me, pulling me in and placing a kiss to my temple. "Just wait til you hear it, the heartbeat was insane. It was so fast," I add and he freezes.

The realization in his face settles in even deeper as I tell him that, his soft smile returning.

"You heard the heartbeat?" He whispers, looking between my eyes and I nod.

"Yeah, yesterday. They emailed me the video of it, I'll show you in a bit if you want," I tell him and he kisses me then like he can't help himself.

"That's fucking nuts... do you feel pregnant?" he asks, his voice curious and his eyes slowly lowering to my stomach peaking out of my tank top.

I shake my head, "Not at all. I just feel like shit... and constantly bloated," I admit, laughing softly.

He lightly chuckles himself, a charmed smile on his face as he reaches to rubs my stomach a couple times.

"We're really gonna have to lock in, kid." He moves around me to pull me into a full hug, pressing our stomachs together.

"Okay, gamer, acting like this is a video game..." I scoff teasingly and he bends down, laughing into my neck.

"Well, what else do you want me to say? We're leveling up..." he continues the joke and I jab his side with my finger.

"Ow," he fake-cries, clutching his side with exaggerated pain before breaking into a fit of giggles.

"Stop saying corny shit, you goof," I warn, though his laughter makes it impossible not to smile.

I bury my face in his chest, my ear pressed against his heart as we settle into a comfortable silence.

"Now we really gotta get our own place," He says and I can hear his smirk.

"I don't know…" I shrug slightly, considering. "Maybe it wouldn’t be a bad idea to stick around for a bit. It might be nice to have the extra help before we go completely on our own."

He pulls back slightly to look at me, tilting his head with an inquisitive expression. "You really think my brothers will be any help? They don’t know anything about babies."

I snort. “Probably not, but neither do we." I reason and his mouth shrugs in defeat.

"Good point... I guess we can wait it out, we're not in a rush. It'll definitely give us more time to research where would want to be somewhat permanently," He points out.

I hum into him and try not stress about that. The reality is we'd be putting ourselves in a tough spot—both our families are here on the East Coast, but our jobs and lives are rooted in LA.

It's easy to go back and forth when it was just us, but now we're gonna have a kid.

"I already hear your mind racing," his voice breaks me out of my thoughts as he rubs my back. "Don't worry, we'll figure it out..." he says softly, and I sigh deeply.

My stomach turns when I get a whiff of the food still laid out on the table.

"Matt," I say, pulling back slowly, holding my stomach.

"Mm?" he hums, looking at me with concern as I put my hand over my mouth.

"The smell of those burgers is making me sick now," I try not to laugh, and he shakes his head, immediately tossing all the trash into the large paper bag it came in.

"Alright, where's the incinerator?"

#matt sturniolo #matthew sturniolo #chris sturniolo #christopher sturniolo #nicolas sturniolo #nick sturniolo #sturniolo triplets #sturniolo x reader #the sturniolo triplets #matt sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo fanfic #matthew sturniolo x reader #dad!matt #sturniolohouse

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ashleysturn · 4 months ago

Text

dirty laundry - matt sturniolo

context: after a long day of filming with matt and his brothers you’re spending the night at their house. you decide to take a shower before bed.

nsfw

<———————————————➰———————————————>

“i set a towel in the bathroom” matt says

“thanks” i grab my bag and walk into the bathroom, shutting the door behind me.

i undress myself and get into the shower.

-a few mins later

knock knock “hey y/n?”

“uh yeah?”

“i’m about to throw a load of laundry in, can i grab your clothes?”

i hold the shower curtain closed fully “uh sure thanks”

the bathroom door opens and i hear matt step in “alright cool, sorry carry on”

he leaves the bathroom with my clothes and shuts the door behind him.

i get out of the shower and dry off with the towel matt left out for me. i rummage through my bag looking for my pajamas.

i pull out a matching bra and panties set and a soft velvet hello kitty pajama set- shorts and a tank top.

i get dressed and wrap my hair up in the towel.

i do my skincare and put lotion on my body

i walk out of the bathroom and down the corridor to the living room where everyone else is hanging out.

“how was your shower?” matt asks

“uhm good, thanks” i sit down on the couch next to him.

later that night after chatting and watching a funny movie, nick and chris head up to bed.

“are you getting tired y/n?”

i nod my head “a bit”

matt gets up and stretches “i might head to bed honestly”

“okay.” i pause “wait is the laundry done? i have to leave early i don’t want to forget it.”

matt pauses, his face almost turns white “uh yeah it should be. i’ll go check”

i follow him to the laundry room.

he gets on his knees and opens the dryer “hmm” he rummages through

“here” he hands me my shorts, tshirt, and bra

i smile and take them “thanks.”

“i- uh.”

matt looks up at me “what is it? did they shrink?”

i shake my head “no i’m just missing something, can i look through the rest?”

matt sighs and scratches the back of his neck “uh yeah go ahead. i’m gonna go to bed”

he walks into his room on the other side of the hallway, and i start looking though the laundry.

where the fuck are my panties?

i look through all the laundry but can’t find them. damn it. my dirty panties are here somewhere.

i retrace my steps. i look in the bathroom, behind the sink, in the hallway, under the washing machine, i dig through my bag.

nothing.

i guess i’ll i look for them the morning. i mean i wouldn’t care if they were clean but i wore them all day filming.

<———————————————➰———————————————>

-in the morning-

my alarm goes off early. i groan- i hate getting up early.

i’m assuming i’m only person awake in the house, the triplets always sleep in.

i get my belongings together and knock on matt’s door

“matt?” i knock again

i hear noises and shifting coming from behind the door.

“hey matt? you said you’d take me home” i open the door

my eyes widen and my jaw drops. i see my panties in matt’s hand wrapped around his dick

“fuck y/n! get out!” he yanks his blanket over his lap

“fuck sorry sorry!” i turn around and slam the door

what the fuck just happened

a few moments later matt walks out of his room “y/n im sorry i-“

“no i shouldn’t of just walked in” i interrupt, shaking my head

matt nods awkwardly “so uh.. you need me to take you home?”

i pause for a moment before changing the subject. “were those my..”

“yeah.” matt says ashamedly, looking at his feet.

i look down as well, i see an obvious tent in matt’s shorts- which were on backwards since he quickly threw them on.

he bites his bottom lip “i- uh”

“i mean i don’t have to go home quite yet” i shrug my shoulders

matt looks up at me with a confused look in his eyes

“i can stay for a bit.” i glance down at matt’s crotch

matt smiles mischievously, he reaches out and grabs my hands, guiding them down to his bulge. butterflies fill my stomach.

i let him guide my hands, i wrap my hand around matt’s clothed dick, he lets out a groan, shooting his head back.

“come to my room” he says huskily, stumbling to reach for the doorknob behind him.

i follow after him into the room. i sit down on the edge of his bed. he shuts and locks the door

Matt walks up to me and pushes me back on the bed which catches me by surprise.

he spreads my legs apart by my knees and crawls on top of me. i look up at him with needy eyes.

he pushes his hair out of his face and lifts his shirt off before pulling me closer to him by my hips

“fuck are you sure?” matt and looks down at me.

i nod my head “mhm.”

i lift off the bed a bit and slide off my shorts

i notice matt glancing down and biting his bottom lip

he places his hand softly on my jaw and lifts up my face to look him in the eyes. he leans in and presses a gentle kiss to my lips.

i let out a soft moan against his lips and wrap my arms around him.

matt reaches down and places his fingers on my clit through my panties, the sudden contact sending a shiver through my body. fuck.

“this okay pretty girl?” he speaks as he starts tracing shapes over my clit

my breath hitches “yeah.. yes” i look back to him with needy eyes.

matt traces the elastic waistband of my panties and slowly slides his hand under them

“mmm- you’re so wet for me” matt groans.

“please matt” i whine

“tell me what you want y/n” he teases my entrance with his fingers

“matt” i lift up the lower half of my body for more contact

“say it” he starts to slowly push a finger into me

“oh fuck. more.. please” i beg

matt pushes a second finger in and starts pumping in and out of me. he curls his fingertips up to hit my g-spot. each bit of contact sending shockwaves through my body.

“feels so fucking good” i spit out

matt grins as he continues to finger me. my stomach ties up in a knot and my walls pulse around his fingers.

i see matt’s eyes darken. he can definitely feel that i’m close. his hair is sticking to his forehead and his teeth are sunken into his bottom lip

i grip onto his back, my nails leaving marks

“finish on my fingers y/n” he quickens the pace, hitting my g-spot with every pump

i practically lift off the bed, my legs shaking sporadically. that pressure in my stomach releases and i clench around matt’s fingers. i let out a shriek and matt’s spare hand goes to cover my mouth

“good girl” he slowly pulls out his fingers and sucks my juices off of them. “you taste so good”

i pant and look up at him. “you can take more, yeah?”

i nod my head. matt slides down his shorts and boxers in one motion.

he strokes himself a few times before lining up his tip to me.

he’s so big.

“ready pretty girl?”

i nod my head again. i have no words.

matt grins and slowly pushes into me

“can you spread your legs more for me?” he gently pushes my legs apart more.

he slowly pumps in and out of me with only half of his length stretching me out.

“you’re so big” i moan. matt just shakes his head

“you okay?” he brushes my hair out of my face

“mhm” i nod my head.

i wince as matt bottoms out, he lets out a whimper.

“so tight” he starts to thrust into me faster. he leans down to place kisses on my neck.

matt reaches under my shirt and up to my chest. he runs his fingertips over my nipples, i let out a moan

“fuck your noises are so pretty” matt thrusts faster into me “i’m gonna cum y/n”

my stomach knots up again and my walls tighten around matt’s dick

he lets out a whimper and i feel warmth filling me up

“fuck sorry” he slowly pulls out and a string of white gushes out of me. he uses his discarded shirt to clean me off. the fabric touching me when i’m so sensitive makes me shiver

i smile. “thanks matt.”

matt crashes down next to me and opens his arms for me to lay on his chest.

“you should leave your dirty laundry here more often he teases”

i giggle, my head laid on his chest.

“i’m keeping those panties by the way” he laughs, wrapping his arms tighter around me.

<———————————————➰———————————————>

an: i loveddd writing this. it’s been in my drafts for like a week but i just finished it hehe hope u enjoy 💋

((also not fully proofread sorry. also my next fic will be chris!))

#sturniolo triplets #sturniolo #matt sturniolo #matt sturniolo x reader #matt sturniolo imagine #matt sturniolo smut #matthew sturniolo #sturniolo fanfic #sturniolo x reader #sturniolo smut #matt stuniolo fanfic #matt sturniolo x you

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urhoneycombwitch · 7 months ago

Note

im gonna be at work for high night 🙄 so save my self-indulgent idea for later lu

reader who keeps hitting the snooze button on their alarm and groans knowing they need to get up for work but they just really cannot find the motivation to. The bed is warm and they're so comfortable and what's the harm of calling out....

Eddie who notices they're still laying down, eyes closed and in that fighting off being awake state and he knows there's only so many snoozes they can hit before they're definitely going to be running late so he sneaks under the covers....

and he doesn't come back up again until reader is awake, a tired, but satisfied smile on their face as they blink up at the ceiling. He presses some kisses to their lips/cheek/neck, slick and smelling like them, going "Hi, pretty. Ready to get up now?"

nauuurrr anon 😞 we will miss you but hope u see this after ur shift 💖 eeeheeeeheeeheee I’m literally kicking my feet behind my back sleepover-style giggling at this. that ellipses is so sinister I gotta help it out

+18 mdni

cw: R receives oral + fingering while sleeping (has been previously discussed as a 👍), somno, Eddie’s a soft!dom

___

Eddie’s always so attentive to your needs and state of being- he’s naturally super empathetic. by no means a morning person himself, he learns quickly that the rhythm of your day is usually set by how you wake up.

he’s dealt with the consequences of you having been off to a bad start, before- it takes a huge amount of cajoling or kisses or swinging by the diner for waffles to shake you out of a grumpy funk. and based on the way you’ve been tossing and turning this morning, you’re about to have the most miserable work shift ever.

what he doesn’t have this morning, though, is a lot of time- waffles will have to be for another day. he’s got an even better idea for a sweet wakeup.

he moves slow, weight in his hands on either side of your sleeping frame, kissing as he moves down your body. first to your bare shoulder. then to the side of that pretty nightie’s strap. one for your pebble nipple, peaking through the silk.

Eddie trails his kisses down- one on your stomach, one for the bump of your cunt- pulling the sheets away as he goes.

with fingers nimble and dextrous, he feels for the band of your underwear while keeping his eyes on your face, careful to pause if your expression changes. the goal is to keep you pliant, for this next part…

he gets his head under the edge of your nightdress, pussy fully exposed to the eager lappings of his mouth. with one hand on your stomach to keep your center grounded, Eddie slips the middle two fingers of his other hand into your slippery cunt.

a soft shift of your hips, a whimper, and Eddie moves his hands with your pelvis, using the momentum to dip and catch your clit in his mouth.

he follows with his head as your hips sink back down into the mattress, sucking hard on your beating clit as he goes.

you must’ve been having a dirty dream, ‘cuz you’re already so tight around his fingers, slick pooling in his palm. he laps noisily into your cunt, wet squelch of his fingers bringing you to bleary consciousness.

“whuh- uh- oh fuck, Eddie-”

your legs jerk close on impulse, trapping his head between your thighs, and Eddie thinks he might’ve died and gone to heaven. fully clothed, about to cream his jeans from eating his girl out. sure, he’s down to meet god, but can it wait a second?

“was dreamin’ you- ah, yeah, there- dreamin’ of you doing this to me. fuck…” your voice ends in a hoarse rasp, your hands shooting into Eddie’s hair, tugging at the roots.

he ruts into the mattress, cock leaking steadily into the fabric of his briefs, humming with pleasure against your clit.

your back arches off the mattress, he hears that tell-tale, breathy little gasp, and you’re gone- clenching around his fingers like a vice, flooding against his pistoning fingers.

he’s gone just as soon as you, coming in hot spurts with each upstroke against the quilt below, moaning into your pussy.

he kisses a sticky trail back up your body, sliding your nightie strap into place, loving and firm- “morning, princess. go take a shower, and no complaining. as a thank you for the wake up gift- ‘kay?”

you wouldn’t dream of complaining, nodding easily to his command, sleepy and sated smile on your face. your arms reach to encircle his shoulders, and Eddie leans in for a kiss- he tastes like you.

#eddie munson x reader #lu’s anons #e.m. thots from lu #eddie munson #eddie munson smut #somno #tw somno

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wands-natsthing · 2 months ago

Text

Sunday Morning

This story was on my old acct @wandanatsthings I made a new one (aka this one) which will be the acct I use from now on.

HI, so this is my first fic and first time writing anything so stay with me lol. I love reading ALL of the wandanat x reader fics on here and I decided that I was gonna try myself. Now I know this isn't great or even good for that matter but it is the start of hopefully a great journey and as time goes on I'll continue to get better fingers crossed. So if you have any tips or feedback please feel free to comment and enjoy. :))

(P.s im dyslexic and grammar isn’t my thing)

Word Count: 960

Warnings: I don't think there are any? maybe religious beliefs but it does not go far in detail. It's really just fluffy.

Summary: Wanda and Natasha surprise you by going to church with you one Sunday.

It was a Sunday morning when you heard the alarm you set the night before go off. The alarm told you It was time to get up and go to church. As you rolled over to turn the alarm off you realized something. Your girlfriends were nowhere to be found. Now I know what you may be thinking. "You're gay and are going to church?" I know that may seem a bit off to some people, but the church is somewhere I've always felt safe. It's where I grew up. Even when I was struggling with my sexuality and homophobia I always felt like I could go to church and feel safe and accepted. It was one of the only places you felt that way besides your girlfriend's arms. Speaking of you still had no idea where they were.

Now it wasn't super early. You weren't one of those people who got up to go to church at the butt crack of dawn. It was only 9 am. That meant Natasha should have been back in bed with you and Wanda from her early morning run by now but she wasn't and you had no idea where Wanda was. You decided to get up and go look for them. You had to get up and get dressed soon anyway so you wouldn’t be late. You listened to see if you heard anyone in the bathroom and you didn’t. So You decided to make your way downstairs.

The closer you got to the stairs you could hear lovers laughing together and the smell of Wanda's pancakes. The sound and the smell put a smile on your face.

You walked down the stairs into the kitchen and before they could see that you were there, you just admired them. Seeing them wrapped up in each other’s arms. Natasha had her arms wrapped around Wanda’s waist while Wanda was at the stove making sure the pancakes wouldn’t burn because Natasha couldn’t cook to save her life. You loved seeing them so domestic. You also took note that Natasha wasn't in her normal morning workout clothes and Wanda wasn't wearing the pajamas from the night before. You didn't have much time to think about it though, because your beautiful witch finally noticed you standing there.

She walk’s toward you with a smile on her face and open arms. “Good Morning detka how did you sleep?” she asked. “I slept okay, I woke up to an empty bed though,” you say pouting. Natasha then comes up behind you wrapping her arms around your waist “Good morning baby” she says with a kiss on your forehead. “I'm sorry you woke up alone, we wanted to make you breakfast and ask you something. Isn't that right wands?’ Wanda looks up at you and nods saying “that is right love.” You notice they're looking at each other the way they do when they have something planned. “ You two are up to something,” you say, giving them a look. “Yes but you will find out after breakfast now let's go eat,” says Wanda.

You all follow Wanda to the dining room table with plates of pancakes in hand, you sit down in the seat you always do with Natasha at the head of the table you to her left and Wanda across from you to her right. While you guys are eating you pay more attention to their outfits. Natasha had on a white dress shirt and black slacks. While Wanda had on about the same thing just with an added suit jacket. They both looked nice you thought but you couldn't help but wonder where they were going dressed like that. You couldn't remember them telling you that they had anything planned this morning. So you decide to ask them. “Hey guys are you going anywhere this morning? You look nice” You see them turn to look at each other with smiles on their faces. Wanda is the one to speak up. “Actually yes detka, we were wondering if we could accompany you today at church?” They both look at you with hopeful glints in their eyes.

Now neither one of them was religious in any kind of way but that didn't stop them from letting you go church at all, you never even really talked about it besides them asking you how it went every time you got home. You never invited them simply because you didn't think that they would want to come, but hearing that they were asking you to come made your heart melt. You loved that they were taking an interest in something that meant so much to you. In something that made you who you are. “Detka '' You hear them say in your midst of awing. You snap out of it and say “Yes, Yes I would love for you to come with me’ ‘But are you sure I know you guys aren't religious like that.” “We are so sure sweet girl, we want to see the place that makes you feel safe and the place that makes you, and that brings that smile to your face every Sunday” Natasha says. Wanda then goes on to say “ yes exactly what Tasha said we want the experience and would love to go with you.” You start to tear up at their words you couldn't believe it. “ You don't know how much this means to me. I love you guys so much " And we love you too,” they both say. You all get up and hug each other so tight with smiles on your faces. You look up at them and say “I thank God every day for the love that we share and I will forever cherish it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What do you guys think? lemme know!

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wandanatsthings · 9 months ago

Text

𝐒𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠

(P.s im dyslexic and grammar isn’t my thing)

Word Count: 960

Warnings: I don't think there are any? maybe religious beliefs but it does not go far in detail. It's really just fluffy.

Summary: Wanda and Natasha surprise you by going to church with you one Sunday.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The closer you got to the stairs you could hear lovers laughing together and the smell of Wanda's pancakes. The sound and the smell put a smile on your face.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

What'd you guys think? lemme know!

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creative-heart · 6 months ago

Note

hello ! i didn’t know that you were taking requests omg i would have spam you sooner. i don’t know if you have seen enzo’s last ig story in snow but ommmg if you could write a fluffy request based on that story

like reader wakes up and she doesn’t find him, she just found a little note that he went walking into the forest so she goes back to sleep and when she wakes up after, she opens her insta and found his ig story. immediately she tells him to come back in their apartment bc she’s terribly afraid he might get lost in the snow or catch a big cold

he’s like no never im strong and i survived lsdln lmfao but when he comes back even though he doesn’t want to admit it, he’s completely frozen and he starts to sneeze and he’s starting to be really sick so reader has to pamper him 🥺🥺 warm a hot bath for him, prepare a soup or a tea, put him in bed.

like i just imagine them being in bed after he supplied her to stay in bed and reader telling him next time stop playing enzo the snow king bc look at you right now baby you have fever and you’re hiding inside my sweater 😭 and him still doesn’t want to admit that he took a big risk for his health, being like « who told u i’m not faking being sick just to sleep under you pullover next to your/my 🍒 » 🤭🤭

okay my imagination might be too big lol

Lucia’s Notes: I love this request dear nonnie, because I feel like he’d be like a little boy when sick. I hope you enjoy this little drabble.

Content Warning: I don’t think there are any warnings, this is just fluff.

Word Count: 690

"Winter's warmth"| Enzo Vogrincic

You wake up when the lack of Enzo’s warm body against yours hits you like a ton of bricks and turn around looking for him curling more into the blankets to shield yourself from the cold of the outside world. As you look around you find a little note on his bedside table and grab it to read it “Morning honey, woke up early and decided to take a stroll around the woods, love you xo. En” You look out the window and see the clouded snowy picture burying yourself back into your blankets and going back to sleep.

An hour or so later, you finally open your eyes and grab your phone to start roaming all the social media and messages you might have missed. When you finally fall onto Instagram Enzo’s story is the first one up there, you click on it to see what your fugitive boyfriend’s been up to while you slept in. One look at his snow-covered hair is enough to make you shoot up on the bed sitting up hastily calling this crazy man you call yours. As soon as you hear the click on the line of the call being picked up you say “Enzo Vogrincic Roldan, what the fuck are you doing out there with this snowstorm!? You’re gonna get sick, you could get lost even!” the tone of your voice rising in alarm at the thought of your boyfriend wandering too far from the apartment you rented for your holiday and not being able to find his way back safely.

You hear his low melodious lazy laugh on the other end of the call “Good morning to you too chiquita, don’t worry about it, I’m not far and I’ve figured out how to get back, and as to getting sick, I would never, I survived filming La sociedad, remember? I’m immune to cold” You roll your eyes at his stupid bravado “Don’t roll your eyes baby, I’m fine, I’ll be there soon with some pastries for breakfast, you get some coffee started, will you?” you sigh getting up “just come back love”. As you hang up you get up putting on one of his sweaters that are just lying around the room before heading to the kitchen smiling at the fireplace in the living room. Just as you’re pouring the mugs of hot coffee Enzo walks into the apartment ruffling the snow off his long raven-colored locks and trying to muffle a sneeze so you won’t hear it. You shoot around as he’s failed to conceal it from you. “I’m just fine babe, don’t look at me like that” Enzo retorts to your arched brow.

Later on that day you can see him shivering and sneezing more frequently and look at him “Ok, that’s it, you’re coming down with a cold love, I’ll draw you a warm bath and make you some tea with honey for when you get out” And he knows by the look on your face to better not argue it and nods softly “thank you love”.

Once he’s out of the bath and you’re both cuddled in bed with your tea mugs as you play with his unruly locks absentmindedly you whisper “Now, could you stop playing Enzo king in the north and not go out in the snow next time? look how you’re feeling now, you have a fever, you’re even hiding in my sweater like a little kitten” you kiss his forehead to check if the paracetamol you gave him has started working yet. He shoots his face up to look at you, glossy eyes trying to look offended by what you said, “But I’m not sick baby, I just enjoy cuddling my girlfriend and snuggling away on my…sorry, your boobs”. You laugh at his silly statement and nod softly “I’m sure that’s it baby”. You keep playing with his hair seeing him slowly drift off to sleep as you admire his peaceful features tracing his nose lightly with your finger and smiling to yourself wondering how you ever got so lucky to get to share your life with a man such as this.

P.S: This was just adorable to write, I had the silliest smile on the whole time. I really hope you enjoyed it.

Taglist: @madame-fear @cyliarys-starlight @luceracastro @castawaycherry @lastflowrr @espinasrubi @koiibiito @candycanes19 @nperoconelcositoarriba @lxdyred @deepinsideyourbeing

#ask box request #ask response #request #enzo vogrincic fanfic #enzo vogrincic fic #enzo vogrincic fluff #enzo vogrincic x reader #lsdln cast fic #lsdln cast fluff #lsdln cast x reader #enzo #enzo vogrincic #fluff fic #fanfiction #fanfiction finder

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samcscreams · 1 year ago

Text

It can't be a coincidence

Hello friends! This one shot was inspired by @doctorwhoarchive it would not have been possible without her! Also took an inspiration form this post. Im also super proud of this one. Its my biggest project yet and I put a lot of time and effort into it so I hope you like it!

Also a shout out to @monarchsrus for all the writing advice!

Trigger warning: Drug Use

Word count: 7.5k

__________________________________________

It was like any other day. Sam rolled over to turn her alarm clock off. It had been about 9 months since she’d been able to actually wake up to the sounds. No, most days she wakes hours before her alarm clock goes off and just stars at the ceiling waiting for time to pass her by.

After turning it off she rolls over and sit on the edge of her bed. After taking a much needed deep breath she begins to get ready for school.

She shuffled over to her closet and pulled out a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and makes her way to her sisters room.

“Knock Knock. You up yet Tar?” She asked as she slowly opened the door.

Her baby sister was still curled up under her covers. Sam sighed knowing she was gonna have to be responsible and wake her up. She just looked so peaceful while sleeping, it broke her heart to be the one to ruin it.

“Hey time to wake up big girl.” Sam rubbed circles in Taras back to coxes her out of sleep.

As Tara started to stir awake she smiled at the sight of her big sister.

“Morning Sammy” She said with a toothy grin as she rubbed sleep from her eyes

“Im gonna use the bathroom. Make sure you pick out some clothes and pack your book bag” Sam said as she left.

Tara felt the emptiness of the room eat her alive. Sam would normally help her pick out her clothes and at least say good morning in return. But lately Sam just wasn’t the same. Tara sat up in bed wondering if she did something wrong.

After Sam was done in the bathroom she was putting her clothes on when she noticed her jeans were now officially two inches higher than when she got them.

“Dammit” She muttered to herself. Sadly, she had gone through a growth spurt only a month after she found the diaries.

Therefore Christina has been less than eager to go shopping with her daughters. Christina also thought since Tara never seemed to grow and could still fit into some of her preschool shirts the other one should be just as fine.

She was not fine, far from fine but she would never tell anyone that. So when Sam went to put on the t-shirt she pulled from her closet she flexed just a bit too hard casing the back seem to pop. She looked over into the mirror and almost chuckle as she looked like the hulk ripping out of her own clothes.

She needed a plan and fast as she would need to head down stairs to make tara breakfast soon. Then it hit her, her dad not dad left his clothes. He’s gotta have something she could take.

Sam snuck into her mothers room and over to her dads not dad closet. Upon entering she took a deep breath taking in the lingering smell that used to smell like safety, like home. She looked up towards the top shelf. There were a random assortment of old band shirts so she grabbed the top one. ‘Nirvana, perfect’ she thought to herself and snuck back out not waking her mother in doing so.

She grabbed her combat boots, as they were the only shoes that fit her, and luckily they made up for the two inches that her pants didn’t cover on her legs. She then grabbed her zip up hoodie and made her way down stair after seeing tara was no longer in her room.

“Tara?” Sam called as she hit the bottom floor.

“In here Sammy” Tara called back from the kitchen

Once Sam made her way to her sister she was greeted with burnt toast and half squeezed OJ.

“Tara what are you doing?” Sam asked trying to bite back her temper which was becoming alarming harder to do recently.

“I wanted to make you breakfast. To make up for making you mad.” Tara with her big doe eyes stared directly into her big sisters looking for any sign of reassurance that she was forgiven.

“Making me mad? Baby girl what do you mean?” Sam pulled her baby sister in for a hug pushing Taras bangs away to get a clear look at her. Yet Sam could feel the guilt bubbling in her gut.

“You don’t help me get ready for school anymore. I though I did something wrong.” Tara said looking up at Sam tears pricking the corner of her eyes.

Sam mulled over Tara’s words realizing she had been pulling away since last December. But even more recently with starting high school. They’ve been promoting Stab-a-Thon for months at school and truth be told it was starting to get to Sam. She was numb most days to deal with the fear of who she was. Who she could be.

“Im so sorry. I didn’t realize. But no little one. You’ve done nothing wrong. High school is just a lot sometimes. It’s really not your fault.” Sam said as she kneeled down and cupped Tara’s face.

“Oh okay.” Tara respond with in a timid voice.

“Do you like breakfast?” She followed up with, as a smile grew across her tiny face.

Sam took a burnt piece of toast and took a bite. Immediately the ash flavoring coated her mouth. But she swallowed and put on a show.

“Mmmm when did you become a five star chef?” Sam asked making Tara erupt with glee

“Now hurry, go grab your book bag and put on your shoes. Mom will be up soon and we gotta get you to school now don’t we.” Sam said ushering Tara off.

She turned back to the burnt toast on the table and threw it in the trash and went to make some fresh pieces. ‘Tara won’t know the difference’ she thought to herself and right she was. As they made their way out the front door Tara was happily munching on her buttered toast she thought she had made.

Sam was just happy to have gotten everything done without running late for school. As they rounded the corner to walk through the town square, Sam froze in her tracks. Hanging from each lamp post was a Ghostface decoration. She knew it was only a matter of time before she was going to have to face people dressing up as her personal nightmare. But for the whole town to be covered in the reminder of what was in her blood made her stomach flip. It wasn’t until Tara started to tung on her sleeve that she snapped out of her trance.

“Sammy come on. What are you doing?” Tara said trying to get her big sister attention.

“Ya what sorry” Sam said looking down at her sister. She moved to take Taras hand as they continued forward towards Taras elementary school.

“Ouch, too tight” Tara tries to pull her hand from Sam’s. Sam immediately lets go not realizing she tensed her muscles at the sight of a a poster in the book stores window. ‘Today at 1pm Out of Darkness’ Sidney Prescott’s face beaming brightly behind the words.

“Sorry.” Sam said shoving her hands into her jacket pockets.

“What’s gotten into you?” Tara asked rubbing her now throbbing hand. Her big sisters been distant but not careless. Tara waited penitently for her sister to respond but alas all there was was silence.

Sam was frozen again. The sound of a car door caught her attention as she looked behind her and saw none other than Sidney Prescott in the flesh. Her blood ran cold at the sight. It was one thing to hear about her and the stories but there she was clear as day. Sam couldn’t hear anything but the sound of her heart beating in her ears. Her hands started to tingle inside of her pockets as her air ways closed.

“SAM” Tara yelled looking around to figure out what had such a grip on her sister.

“Shit sorry Tara. It’s just…” Sam looked to Tara who was eagerly waiting for the truth.

The truth.

Sam couldn’t face that. Sam couldn’t begin to explain to Tara what was going on with her. Not today. Hopefully never. So she switched on. She had to be there for Tara. She needed to keep it together for her.

“… been hard to sleep that’s all. Im sorry for being weird. No more of that as of now! How about after school today we watch some movies. I'll even make popcorn.” Sam said with a smile on her face. She had to pull it together. She promised to always be there for tara. Just because her life is turning out to be a shit show doesn’t mean she can’t make sure Taras isn’t.

“You mean it?” Tara said jumping a little as she walked.

“I promise” Sam said holding out her pinky. Tara took it with her own and then turned back to walking.

Lucky for Sam, Tara didn’t say anything else as they finished their walk to her school. Her mind raced ‘why was Sidney Prescott in town?. Nobody had seen her in years. Why of all days, times, years was she here?’

Before Sam new it they were outside Taras school.

“Have a good day. Love you” Sam said as she kissed Tara’s forehead

“Love you too!” Tara said walking off towards her group of friends. Sam waived at the twins and Wes.

As soon as Tara was safe inside Sam made her way to school. She put her headphones in and tried to tune out the world.

Only to catch a car rolling by right next to her causing her to jump a little.

“Hey Carpenter” Asked Kirby Reed leaning over to yell out her passenger side window.

“Oh hey Kirby” Sam responded digging her hands further into her jacket pocket.

“Need a ride? I gotta pick up Jill and Olivia still but I'm sure they won’t mind.” She asked with a genuine smile.

Sam thought about it as Kirby had always been so nice to her ever since she got paired with her for adopt a freshmen. It was a program for incoming freshmen to get paired up with a senior to show them the ropes. Sam forgot she signed up before everything went down. She’s honestly glad she did but would never admit to it.

“No i’m gonna walk, thanks tho.” Sam said thought a tight lipped smile.

“Suit yourself freshie” Kirby said stepping on the gas sending her flying down the street right past Sherif Riley.

Sam chuckled as she watch the car try and slow down as the Sherif yelled climbing into his own car.

Not too much later Sam was standing on the lawn of Woodsboro high school. Students swarmed around her going in every which direction. She took a deep breath as she made her way to the front on the school. Only to catch as she walked pass a group a seniors the one piece of information she needed to realize today was going to be her worst nightmare.

“Here is my Woodsboro massacre anniversary question. What is your favorite scary movie?”

‘Shit what’s today’ Sam thought to herself as she puled her old flip phone from her back pocket.

September 28th 2011

“Fuck” Sam muttered to herself.

Today was the 15th anniversary of the original massacre. The one where Billy Loomis her father and Stu Macher killed a bunch of kids at a house party. ‘How could she be so stupid. She knew this day would come. How could she forget’ Sam’s thoughts ran wild as she went to her locker. She couldn’t help but notice the growing pit inside of her. It settled low in her stomach gnawing at her as if it was trying to tell her something.

Once making it to her locker she opened it and put away her book bag and grabbed her stuff for first period. As she went to grab her books she saw her hand was shaking, she grabbed the side of her locker like her life depended on it and took a deep breath to try and steady herself. As her luck would have it, it didn’t work. So she wrapped her arms around her books and hurried off to her first class.

“Sam wait up!”

Sam turned around to see Vince Schneider running up beside her.

“What do you want Vince” Sam said dryly

“Nice to see you to sunshine. I just wanted to ask what you were doing tonight. Ive got a hook up if you're interested.” He said with a sly smile

“What makes you think i’d want to do that?” She asked

“Well you dropped all your old friends in the last year. Just thought you could use the company. Anyway, you know where to find me.” And with that he was gone.

After Sam had found the diaries she effectively pushed everyone she knew away. Not that there was a lot of people to push away in the first place but even acquaintances became strangers agin.

Sam sat in the back of her class and just waited for the bell to ring. It wasn’t that she was dumb or anything she just found it hard to care about how mitochondria is the powerhouse of the cell. When would that ever be useful?

On days like today time alway seemed to mess with her. One second she was here, the next someplace else. Sometimes time wouldn’t move at all and she'd be suck for what felt like hours. She thought herself lucky when the bell rang faster than she expected. In hindsight she wishes first period never ended.

Sam got settled into second period. She bounced her leg along to the sound of her heart beating in her ears. They were reading The Great Gatsby and were just about to start the open discussion when everybody’s phone started to buzz.

Sam pulled her shitty flip phone out of her back pocket, to her surprise and slight embarrassment she had nothing on her phone. It seemed that everyone had gotten a text about something. Why didn’t she?

“Oh my god Marnie Cooper and Jenny Randall were murdered last night. Says they were stabbed to death. They're saying it was Ghostface” One kid says as the rest of the class starts to erupt with chatter.

“Look” Some other kid said standing up and walking to the windows. There were already news vans racing down the street to set up and start interviewing students.

Sam want to get up to join her classmates but she couldn’t move. Her legs were cemented to the ground and no matter how hard her brain yelled at her arms, they wouldn’t budge. All she could hear were three words dancing around her mind making her skin crawl and the pit in her stomach grow.

Stabbed

Murdered

Ghostface

Everyone was up staring out the windows but her. Sam could feel her hands start to go numb. At first it was just her pinky finger but the more she sat with the knowledge the more the numbing traveled up her arms.

‘Were her classmates staring at her? When did they all start looking at her? Why were they staring? Do they know. They have to know. They all know.’ Sam’s head was screaming as her breath was becoming more and more labored.

‘Leave, Run, anything’ She heard break through the chatter in her mind. So Sam did exactly that. She ran, leaving all her stuff behind. Pushing through anyone in the hallway, she slammed the bathroom doors open and took the first available stall and locked it behind her curling up into a ball.

At this point her vision was starting to blur and the numbing had spread all over her body. She couldn’t even hear anything over the pounding of her heart inside her chest.

‘“Breath Sam just breath” She muttered to herself as she rocked back and forth in the shall.

Sam wanted to distract herself to calm her mind but there was no escape from the tormenting thoughts. ‘Why was this happening now. Someone had to know. What if she’s next. What if this is all her fault? What if they target Tara?’

“Tara” Sam said though numb lips. If she didn’t know any better she would assume she was having a stroke.

“Hello? Is someone in here?” A voice echoed thought the empty bathroom.

Sam was unwillingly shaking her leg causing the toilet seat they were resting on to rattle which alerted anyone who enters the bathroom of her existence.

“Hello?” The voice said again

Sam tried to speak, she really did, but her words caught in her throat.

“This isn’t funny. I can hear you.”

Sam tried to move again. Only her body was stuck shaking as her mind simply could no longer control her limbs. Sam could hear the girl walk slowly over to the stall she hid behind.

“If you don’t say anything I'm gonna open the door” Said the girl from the other side.

A beat passed and all the air seemed to evaporate from the room as the stall door swung open.

Sam’s body relaxed at the sight of Lindsay White, someone who she use to consider a friend. Well a friendly acquaintance at least.

“Samantha? What the hell is wrong with you? You scared me half to death. With the news of the Ghostface you really think it's funny to scare people?” She said holding a stern disappointed look across her face.

“Its Sam and what kind of psycho opens a bathroom door on someone?.” She said in a dry tone

Sam became free of her panic at the familiarity in front of her. She moved off the toilet seat and out of the stall.

“Ya, ya you go by Sam now. Whatever and you could have said something.” Lindsay said rolling her eyes

“What are you even doing in here? Oh my god have you been crying? What it’s not like you new them or anything” Lindsay noticed the red hints to Sam’s eyes and her face was slightly swollen and tear stained.

“Im fine Lindsay. Just drop it.” Sam snipped

“Drop it, Yeah… Like you dropped me?” Lindsay’s eyes narrowed at Sam. She moved only inches away staring at Sam through the bathroom mirror.

“We weren’t even friends” Sam said refusing to meet Lindsay’s eyes in the mirror as she washed her hands.

“Wow. Didn’t realize I meant so little to you.”

Sam waited a beat hoping the silence would send Lindsay away but Sam’s luck ran out a year ago when she opened that stupid diary.

“What even happened to you? One day you’re saying hi to me in the hall’s, asking to do projects together and the next I don’t even exist to you. Like ya, your dad left or whatever but you barely ever saw him anyway. You got cold and distant.”

Sam was gripping the side of the sink so hard her knuckles were turning white. Lindsay’s voice was like nails on a chalk board, effectively bubbling the constant rage that lay deep in Sam’s stomach.

“Lindsay just go” Sam said looking up to finally meet Lindsay’s gaze.

Lindsay stumbled back at the look on Sam’s face. Her eyes were dark and hooded.

“Oh my god. You did it.”

Sam’s heart imploded at the accusation completely dropping whatever expression she had a moment before.

“What? No… I…” Sam said almost sounding like a pleading child begging for their parents to understand.

“I know you Sam, you always had that glint. But it's more now. It’s different. Something inside you broke over Christmas break causing a dark cloud to always follow you around. Why else would you be hiding in here when the news dropped?” Lindsay’s voice was full of realization as if she found the last pice of the puzzle. But her words made Sam’s skin buzz with fear of the truth.

‘Your just like him’ She heard rattle around in her mind. Bile burned the back of her throat as she tried to swallow her emotions. So before Lindsay could add anything else or, Sam in turn make things worse she pushed pass the girl and ran out of the bathroom. Sam’s mind and body barely keeping up with the panic rising and falling inside of her. Her brain was on fire as her mind started to attack.

‘Murder, killer, you're just like him, Ghostface, stabbed to death, you did it, broken, you can’t escape it, darkness, psychopath, you did this, this is your fault’ Sam just kept running. If she ran fast enough maybe it would all stop maybe the voices would just shut up.

Before she knew it she was three blocks from the school and completely out of breath. She sat down on the closest stoop and tried to relax.

‘Think about the things that make you happy’ Sam remembers one of her mothers friends saying after her father not father left.

So Sam did exactly that she thought of Tara.

“Oh my god Tara” Sam said out loud as she bolted to her feet. Without even thinking her body moved towards her sisters elementary school. If she was gonna feel any better about the events of the day she needed her sister by her side. As they say anyone is a suspect and if that was the case she needed to protect her sister from anyone.

Upon reaching Taras school she saw the line of parents and cars rushing to pick up their children as news of Ghostface spread.

Sam made her way to get in line but stopped only feet away. Frozen once again she saw none other than her mother waiting impatiently in line at the school.

Her mother never picks Tara up. Even when Taras sick she calls Sam out of school so she can go pick her up and deal with it. With that being said their mother defiantly hadn’t called Sam out of school yet.

‘Fuck she can’t see me’ Sam thought to herself. She needed to get out of there and fast. At least she knows Tara’s gonna be at home. She would say safe but Christina as been becoming more and more erratic since last December.

As Sam is backing away she bumps into someone.

“Oh hi their Samantha. Are you here to pick up Tara?” Judy Hicks asked trying to steady the young girl in front of her.

“It’s Sam. But um, no, my mom is. I just came to make sure she got her.” Sam said shoving her hands into the pockets of her jacket.

“Sorry, Sam, but before I forget is there a chance you could babysit Wes tonight and tomorrow? With all this craziness id feel much more comfortable if he was with his friends.” Judy looked down at Sam who seemed hesitant to answer.

“Ill pay double” She added

“Okay, ya I just gotta go back to school and get my stuff. You can drop him off whenever. I think my mom should be home with Tara” Sam shot the deputy a small smile before turning and walking back towards the high school.

“Be careful Sam.” Judy added as Sam walked away.

Sam kept walking towards the school but truth be told she’d rather get hit with a car than go back inside of that place. She just need a place to lay low for a bit. Going home was the obvious choice but now that she knows her mother will be there its the last place shell go.

So Sam walked and walked and walked until she came upon a park that wasn’t far from her home. She had taken Tara here to play plenty of times when their parents would fight or if she was babysitting the kids. The park was the first place all day Sam felt safe. So as if her body knew, exhaustion hit her like a truck. From having a plethora of panic attacks to walking what felt like a marathon she was about to collapse. So as soon as she came upon a park bench she sat down. Then she made the mistake of laying down.

‘Just a few minutes’ She thought to her self. It felt so good to just breath for a moment. She was so tired that her mind was finally silent.

“Yo Sam.”

Someone said as a hand shook Sam’s shoulder jolting her awake. In a panic she looked around trying to make out her surroundings. It was well past night fall causing Sam to strain her eyes as she realized who was there.

“God dammit Vince. You scared the shit out of me.” Sam barked

“Whoa don’t yell at me. Your the weirdo sleeping on a park bench with a serial killer on the loose” Vince shot back

“Whatever” She replied as she got up from the bench and stretched. She then noticed the other two kids a few yards away. They were smoking something.

“Why the hell are you here tho for real?” Vince asked sincerity dripping from his tone.

“Its none of your business okay.” Sam’s irritation was bounce off of her like hot oil

“Jesus fine. I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Vince took a moment to take in Sam. His heart pinged seeing this disheveled girl who had clearly been crying most of the day. He saw a similar look flash in her eyes one he can relate too. One that say the world is just too much to take.

“There’s something about you carpenter. We're connected, I don’t know how yet but we are.” Vince looked at Sam with compassion and understanding. It made Sam’s skin burn like a magnify glass being held up to the sun.

“And somehow I'm the weirdo” Sam said as she gabbed her phone from her pocket to check the time.

“My phones dead. What time is it?” She asked putting the useless bric back into her pants packet

“9:18”

Sam sprinted before Vince could say anything else. ‘How the fuck did it get so late. She was suppose to watch Wes, Tara and the twins. Her mother’s gonna beat her senseless’ She thought to herself making her way down the street.

Sam took a second before entering the house. She knew It wasn’t going to be good but with all the kids over maybe that would lessen the punch of her mothers words. Christina would hate if those kids reported back to their parents how poor of a mother she is.

Then it hit Sam. The unnerving sounds of shear quiet. She couldn’t hear anything. There was no birds chirping or bugs buzzing. There wasn’t even the sound of the wind rushing though the trees. But worst of all there wasn’t the sounds of four 9 year olds running wild within the house. It was like the world was frozen with fear.

Sam sucked in a deep breath as she opened the front door. She yelled out for her sister to have some form of hope call back to her that everything was going to be okay. That her light was inside this haunted home and she was safe. But no words answered back. Just empty echoes of a broken house. Sam could feel the numbing tingles prick her pinkies once again. As she moved through the house every alarm in her body went off telling her to leave. To just turn back around and go. She knew she wasn’t safe, but when was Sam ever good at listing.

“Mom?” Sam asked once spying the older women standing in the kitchen wine glass in hand.

Christina took the last swig of her drink and began to poor another. Not even bothering to look up at her eldest.

“Where’s Tara?” Sam asked trying to suppress her panic. Yet her words fell on deff ears as her mother just continued to drink. Sam’s panic quickly shaped into anger. She didn’t like not knowing if Tara was safe or not.

“Mom where is Tara?” Sam said again more sternly finally pulling her hands from her pockets.

Yet again her mother completely ignored her.

Sam could feel the way the numbing sensation dissipated in her hands. She could feel them start to itch as they bawled into vengeful fists.

“I swear to God, if you don’t answer me I'm gonna…” Sam was cut off before she could finish

“Your gonna what Samantha? You're gonna hurt me? Huh? Is that it? You're gonna grab that knife and go to town? Gonna make daddy proud?”

Her words were like shrapnel from a bomb, logging themselves deep into Sam’s skin. But Sam stood there and took it. Absorbing the blows and pulling the pain into her rage.

“Fuck you. Im not playing this game. Where’s Tara?” Sam hissed at her mother.

“You couldn’t even last a year. I mean I knew it was inevitable, turning into him. It's always their Samantha, right in your eyes. I bet you’ve been planning since the night your bastard mouth ruined my life. You’ve just been biding your time until that bitch Prescott came back to town.” Christina could barely stand but that didn’t stop her from unleashing every vile thought in her mind.

Sam knew she should have walked away. She knew she should have taken the last bit of her sanity and walked away. But holding the rage back was becoming harder and harder with the bullets that left her mothers mouth. If she moved now she might not have control over what she did next and Christina could tell. She could see the way her daughter was seething under her words. Most mothers would stop at the visible anguish they cause their children. But Christina wasn’t most mothers.

“I sent Tara away to the twins house with Wes. As you should have been the one to watch them but I knew they wouldn’t be safe with you.”

“Excuse me” Sam spit out as red seeped in around her vision. She knew acting on her range would only prove her mother right.

“Don’t act coy, you heard me. God Samantha how do you live with yourself. How does it even feel?” Her mother started to cry, fake tears of course but it didn’t stop Sam’s heart from wincing at the sound.

“Answer me demon child. How did it feel? Say it! How did it feel to gut those kids Samantha!” Her mother yelled from across the counter.

“Just stop. Please” Sam felt the tears sting the back of her eyes. She didn’t realize she was teetering on the edge of rage and sorrow effectively falling to sadness. She would much rather feel the burn of rage than see her mother beam with pride at her tears.

“You were never a good liar Samantha. You’ve had plenty of time to deny my words but you stood there as if they were true. Because deep down you know they are. Deep down you're the same monster he was. As soon as I heard the news I knew it was you. Thank god I went to pick up Tara when I did.”

Sam’s breath hitched in her throat. She could feel the shame spread across her chest as she realized the only reason her mother was at Taras school was because she thought Sam had killed those girls. The realization hit that her mother wasn’t being mean for the fact that Sam caused her father not father to leave, like in the past. No, she genuinely believes Sam is following in her real father’s foot steps.

“You can kill me but I'll never allow you to hurt Tara” That was the last thing Sam remember’s hearing. A ringing replaced any and all sounds that followed and her vision was more crimson than before.

“Don’t you EVER say I would hurt Tara. She is everything to me. That’s something you could never understand. So don’t act like you care. Don’t act like I'm the threat here. We both know who you are so let me make everything clear. If you hurt her I will follow in his foot steps without even thinking. Do you understand.”

Fear flashed across her mothers face as she nodded and made her way out of the kitchen. Only to get one last word in before she walked down the hall.

“He was possessive too, just like his mother. Guess it runs in the family” her voice was soft as if she was whispering words of love to a child. Yet the words weren’t full of love but full of poison.

Sam stood there as the words washed over her mind. ‘Was her love for Tara toxic? Could she hurt her? Did it run in the family’ she thought to herself realizing she was holding in her breath. As she turned to leave she saw in her hand was a kitchen knife. Not knowing when or how she got a hold of it she threw it in the sink shuddering at the loud clinking sound it made as it settled.

“Can’t run from who you are Sam.” A deep voice echoed through her mind

Which in turn made Sam jump out of her skin but the voice was right. There was something wrong with her and she couldn’t get a grip on it. So Sam did what she does best and ran. Right out the front door and down the street back towards the park.

Before she new it she was coming into view of Vince and his friends again.

“Carpenter, back so soon?” Vince said trying to hide a sly smile.

“I just need it to stop” Sam said march right up to him.

“Whoa whoa what are you talking about?” He asked trying to stepped back at her sudden closeness.

“No, no questions. I just… I can’t handle this anymore. I can’t feel like this anymore” Sam said running her hands thought her hair. She was coming apart at her seams.

One of the other kids that was there walked over to a pacing Sam.

“Here you want this” They said holding out a joint to the clearly panic stricken girl.

Sam slowly reached for it. Her hands shook as she tried to carefully grab the object of her desires. But Vince saw all too clearly that look of fear in her eye. So he reached out his hand to stop hers.

“What the hell” Sam snapped at him like a dog nipping at its owner for taking its food.

“You don’t want that. It will just make your more paranoid” Vince said while rummaging around in his pocket.

“This is what you really want” He finished pulling a small pill out from his coat.

“What is that?” Sam asked in a soft broken tone.

“Xanax. All your little worries will be long gone with this baby” Vince said with a smile placing the pill into Sam’s hand.

Without even thinking Sam swallowed the pill and walked over to the bench she was laying on before. Within minutes Sam started to feel better. It was the first time in a while someone was honest to her. All her worries were slowly drifting away along with herself. She doesn’t remember most of the night. Just the feeling of floating away.

In the morning she woke to a killer headache in a house she didn’t quite recognize. Only to see Vince and the other kids all passed out around her. She made her way to the first bathroom she could find to try and wash up. She had another long day ahead of her and school was the last thing she wanted to attend.

She turned the water on to wash her face. As she waited for the water to warm up she finally took in her appearance. Her hair was a tangled mess and her skin was pale from exhaustion. But mainly her eyes seemed haunted and tired. They were still blood shot from the drugs she took the night before. It made her shudder, the look of herself, she honestly didn’t really know who was staring back at her in that mirror.

Sam tested the water again and slashed her face taking deep breaths as she fought off the impeding thoughts of what to do next. She knew she had a lot to face today. Yesterday was just so overwhelming it felt like her brain split in two.

Wiping her face off she looked back up to see how well she washed off the last 24 hours. Only to see someone else staring back at her. She jumps out of her skin and fell to the floor. Trying to take deep breaths to calm down.

“Come on Sam get it together. Nobody is there. It's fine. You're fine.” She says to calm herself down.

Sam slowly stands back up and faces the mirror. Her legs turn to cement as an explosion of anxiety and fear spread all over her body. Her lips go numb and her hands shake as she stars none other than Billy Loomis in the eye.

“Y.. y… you’re not R…real. It’s just the drugs” Sam stutters out

“We both know it’s not the drugs Sam. We both know why I’m here” Billy says in his hunting voice.

Sam can feel a cold sweat run down her spine. She can feel the way a dark pit forms in the center of her body. She can feel how she wishes it was fear, how her heart yearns for her gut to tell her this is all wrong. But it doesn’t. The pit only grows as she stares her father in the eye and it feels like power. All consuming, all intoxicating power. Her hands start to itch causing her to look down breaking the connection Billy had with her. She examines her hands noticing things she never had before. The way they're covered in scars and bruises. The way they’ve been itching and burning every time her anger goes unchecked. The way they have the power to kill and how much they crave it. So, she shoves them in her pocket and bolts out the door. She can’t think of what’s next she only knows that nobody around her is safe. That what’s happening can’t be a coincidence, Sam is at fault and everybody knows it.

Before Sam can get to the front door she runs right into Vince. Knocking them to the floor.

“Fuck Carpenter”

Sam ignores the boy and gets up to leave but he stops her before she can go, effectively catching her wrist in his grip.

“Wait are you okay?” He asked noticing the shine in her eyes.

“Its whatever. I gotta go” Sam said pulling her arm from his grasp.

“Fine, just here” He said putting a small baggie filled with Xanax into her hand

“But I…” She started and was cut off before she could continue

“You seem like you need it more than I do” He said with a soft smile

“Thanks” She said with a nod and turned to leave.

Upon making it outside and down the driveway Sam could feel the weight of the little baggie in her pocket. She pulled it out and looked down at it rubbing the plastic between her fingers.

The back of her mind was buzzing with all the suppressed thoughts of what just happened. She knew that door would break eventually.

“You can’t run from me Sam” A voice broke through her rattling mind causing her to pop another pill before she could even blink.

In a nearby car she could she the outline of Billy glaring at her leaving perpetual goosebumps on her skin. But as the Xanax started to take effect her skin returned to its softness and her vision was clear. She relished in the way her mind grew quiet and her body got lighter.

But with a quiet mind comes a lack of judgement. So Sam found herself standing in the kitchen of her own home when all of a sudden she felt a weight collide into her and wrap its arms around her.

“Where were you?” Tara said clinging to Sam with all her strength.

“What?” Sam said trying to push the doe eyed girl off her.

“You promised. You said you’d be here and you weren’t.” Taras voice broke as she looked up at Sam. Tears were already falling from Tara’s eyes before Sam could even understand what her baby sister was talking about.

“You said we would watch movies and have popcorn. You lied” The hurt in Taras eyes was enough to cause Sam to sober up enough to at least communicate.

Sam got down on her knees to better look Tara in the eyes.

“Im so sorry. It’s just complicated Tara.” Sam said trying to sooth her little sister.

But Tara just pushed out of her grip. The hurt in her eyes dissolved into betrayed.

“What’s wrong with your eyes?” Tara asked causing Sam to rub them and look away.

“Nothing their fine. It’s not a big deal, now can we please move on?” Sam’s tone was unnatural and out of place. She couldn’t quite grasp the situation at hand and was perpetually digging herself further into a whole she started 9 months ago.

Tara walked over and grabbed her book bag by the front door.

“Your right Sam it’s not a big deal. Im gonna walk with the twins today.” Tara said and walked out the door.

Sam could feel her heart shatter into a million pieces but nothing came of it. The drugs she took stopped the pain from reaching anywhere inside of her. She was numb but not in the ways like before. Funny enough she wanted to feel it this time. She needed it to. Maybe if she could have she wouldn’t have walked down this path.

“And you said you’d never hurt her” said the devil up the stairs.

Her mother had sent the last nail for Sam’s coffin because she was right. Sam hurt Tara and she couldn’t even care. She’s been hurting Tara without even noticing. She’s going to keep hurting Tara. She’s been predestined to destroy everything around her and theirs no stopping it now. So Sam pulled that small little baggie out of her pocket. The last whispers from the angle on her shoulder were screaming to stop. But she didn’t. She took another pill from the bag and popped it into her mouth and headed for the front door.

“Where the hell do you think you're going Samantha? There was another murder last night and I cannot let you leave in good conscience.” Christina said trying to get under Sam’s skin.

But Sam just turned back to her mother. Nothing in her eyes.

Christina grew irritated at how unbothered Sam was towards her.

“If you leave I'll call the cops. Don’t think I won’t Samantha.” She spewed losing her temper quicker than shed like.

“Call them then. See what I care” Sam said slamming the front door behind her and walking down the driveway.

“You come back here right now. Don’t you dare leave me Samantha. Come back. I swear to God don’t leave me.” Her mother yelled as she walked onto the grass of their home.

Christina only wanted a play toy that would never leave. She wanted someone to abuse and project onto but would forgive her. That would bend and break to all her empty threats. She loved her toxic game of pushing and pulling. So when her father not father left for real Christina needed a new object to break.

Tara was too weak and fragile she told herself but deep down she knew Sam was always going to protect her. It made her sick with jealousy. So when she pushed Samantha for the first time and saw a glimpse of those eyes she loved so many years ago, she relished in having a toy that didn’t easily break.

“Your just like him. You're evil. You hear me Samantha, you’ve got the devil in your blood.” She was hysterical at this point. She knows she didn’t lose this time. Christina just didn’t think her new toy would stop playing the game.

So no matter what her mother yelled from their yard, Sam just kept walking, letting the drugs take over her mind. She wasn’t mad, or sad, or scared. She wasn’t anything. She was completely empty.

Sam then had one singular thought that changed the next 10 years of her life.

Maybe if she could just stay empty, she wouldn’t be able to destroy the life around her.

#I really hope this is good. I’m so nervous about it but hey I love it so ya🙃#oh and sorry for sadness #sam carpenter #tara carpenter #scream #fuck christina carpenter #samantha carpenter #kirby reed

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ourflagmeansgayrights · 1 year ago

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ofmd s2e2 rewatch where i pause to jot down my thoughts and other random shit

not quite a reaction post, not quite a liveblog. this post is gonna be unpolished and messy bc this is the only way i know to process my emotions abt these episodes enough that i can actually start talking coherently about them.

s2e1, s2e2, s2e3, s2e4, s2e5, s2e6, s2e7, s2e8

did not notice the first time around that buttons is sleeping with his legs sticking up resting against the side of the ship. king.

WHY DID THEY USE A DIFFERENT TAKE OF THE YOU WEAR FINE THINGS WELL SCENE WHAT PURPOSE DOES THIS SERVE. THIS HAS BEEN BOTHERING ME FOR DAYS.

oh god the face stede makes after he breathes out all wistfully is so pained... ogughuhg heartbreak......

why is the groom cake topper dirty ed were you kissing it. ed. edward.

hNNNG ed pushing the painted bride figurine closer..... im gonna throw up

ed!! rolling over and crying!!! TAIKA HOW ARE YOU SO GOOD AT LOOKING SO FUCKING SAD THIS SHIT HURTS ME

like i can literally feel the tears burning in his eyes. the way his chest starts shaking with sobs but he's managing to keep the sobs in for like one more second. he's trying so hard to hold it in and i've cried like this before and it physically HURTS

also oughg the song. run from me baby... run my good wife... run from me baby..... you better run for your life........ ED THINKS THAT'S WHAT STEDE DID!!! RAN AWAY FROM HIM!!!!! and he thinks that was stede running for his life bc like, he thinks he's inherently monstrous and unlovable and hnnnnnnnnngggg. ed teach go to therapy challenge.

the crew responding to zheng's wake-up bell is so relatable. me when my alarm goes off at 6am

ok so the running bit where stede's crew has never heard of China before. is kinda weird to me. and honestly it kinda runs back to what zheng said in the last episode "one thing i've learned in my time here: you people know so little" about nobody knowing how valuable indigo is. like the show is portraying your average caribbean pirate as really ignorant and only like, ed stede and fucking ricky are on par with zheng yi sao. and i mean knowledge doesnt equate to intelligence so like the indigo thing i didnt really bat an eye at but when it was played for comedy with olu not knowing how to pronounce china i was like... hm. but the season's just started so maybe im reading too much into it but idk. it's a weird writing choice to me.

loving how at the start of last season the crew almost mutinied bc stede was a soft captain but now roach is out here embracing how all of them are "tender as hell."

love how lucius and pete have their romantic reunion chat just. fully in front of an audience

stede looks. so upset. watching lupete kiss. this man misses his boyfriend so fucking bad

lucius not even trying to hide how much he Does Not want to be stuck with stede in towels

also hi the sky in this scene is so pink. it was blue when buttons was doing tai chi so i guess this is sunset. day one complete.

buttons confirmed sea witch one of the best scenes in s2 so far. intrigued by auntie saying "i have looked for you far and wide" like are there other sea witches and auntie only wanted buttons?? or is buttons literally the only sea witch in the world. i want the lore.

ed. eddie eddie edward. ed my beloved babygirl. i would fuckinggg die for you

ok but also there is literally no way frenchie didnt see ed when he walked in like ed is standing Right There. i love when directors do stuff like this tho it's so funny to me. "ok joel just walk in there and pretend like you dont see taika standing literally right in front of you"

just noticed ed was polishing the handle to the wardrobe (the main wardrobe) right there. he's tidying up. getting his affairs in order before he— *i break down into inconsolable sobbing*

i wont like tho it was very funny to me when we finally got this full scene and ed's "and no more stede" turned out to be "no more izzy." very fun for me

god i LOVE when we get pirate code shit. none of these rules ever make sense it's always just whatever works for the plot's sake. "that's the code of the sea: the new first mate always kills the old first mate. it's always been like that" i don't think it was literally ever like that i think the writers decided that making up this bullshit rule would add drama to the situation. it's like how pirates can win duels by rendering their opponent's sword inoperable (as if pirates ever had like ritualistic duels). or next episode when zheng yi sao is gonna kill them for mutinying against ed. i love how all the logistics of the plot are always some handwavy-bullshit bc the show just Does Not Care about this shit. this is the ed and stede show and everything else is just superfluous set dressing

we were all fixated on lucius living in the walls none of us predicted that it could be izzy living in the walls

"start with his leg see where it goes" frenchie what does this MEAN

archie thinking jim was asking which leg to cut off and just. answering the question genuinely. is so fucking real lmao me too girl

JIM PUTTING THEIR HAND OVER ARCHIE'S TO BRACE THEMSELF BEFORE THEY START CUTTING INTO IZZY'S LEG... the romances on this show are unparalleled

archie when izzy's leg starts gushing: aye yai yai!

stede telling everyone in laundry abt his whole romance with blackbeard. and stede telling zheng and auntie abt blackbeard when he thought they were just soup sellers. you KNOW stede's been telling literally everyone he meets abt how he's looking for his beloved ed.

lol ok but cuba was not written on the map in the one shot and then stede says "oh, hang on, he might be in cuba!" and it cuts back to the map and he underlines the word "cuba" which somehow mysteriously appeared on the map while stede was chatting. 10/10 no notes

also GOD do i relate to stede so hard sometimes. it did not even occur to stede to ask lucius how he's been until lucius points it out and then he's like "oh! right! how are you??" and he does genuinely care but he was just so absorbed in his own shit it did not occur to him to ask. like. ohhhh baby does that hit home

LUCIUS DRAMATICALLY PAUSING IN THE DOORWAY WHEN STEDE TELLS HIM TO WAIT. HIS HANDS ON EITHER SIDE OF THE DOOR AND HIS HEAD BENT. THIS FUCKING DRAMA QUEEN I LOVE HIM!!!!

LLOOKING OVER HIS SHOULDER "oh, yeah. now you care?" AND THNE SHAKING HIS HEAD AS HE WALKS AWAY god i LOVE this soap opera

ok but buttons looks very confused when auntie says "i see you've adopted the humble form of a man" and then she hands him the book abt shapeshifting. like did she know that he doesnt know how to change form or what.

auntie asks buttons to bless their travels. anyway this is how stede somehow didnt get everyone killed in e1 despite the fact that they were at sea for a few months and he had no idea what the fuck he was doing.

LOVE auntie's little... yell? whimper?? before shuffling away nervously. incredible performance.

also the spellbook thing is in chinese. pretty cool how buttons knows how to read chinese.

ed jumpscare 2!

frenchie's "fire away. not literally, i hope" I MISSED THAT THE FIRST TIME KJSGHKFJDGHJHK WHAT A GREAT FUCKING LINE

love how irl frenchie using the wrong hand for that throat-slitting pantomime would be unimportant but the show acts like that's something that could actually give frenchie away bc they need to really nail home the fact that Ed Is A Fucking Genius

another thing ed is: INCREDIBLY HOT. he is being intimidating and evil to frenchie rn and i am very very into it.

obsessed with archie casually picking some random gore off her hand

also obsessed with how jim is just poking at izzy's leg. they learned how to butcher animals as a kid tho so i guess they're not really grossed out by severed body parts lmaoo

also also obsessed with how izzy would absolutely have not survived this at all. i love this show

list part 2:

ok im sorry but "he's our dick" does not feel earned to me. like they use that fantastic shot of the whole crew in episode 6 last season but what's crucial abt that shot is izzy isn't hanging out with the crew. he's sitting away in the corner monologuing abt how he thinks maybe ed might not want to kill stede.

i do think it's significant tho that jim wasn't there for izzy at his worst aka threatening to withhold rations for laughing at him. like they weren't part of the vote to mutiny against izzy. but frenchie was and frenchie was like "start with his leg see where it goes" which does not seem like he's really that invested in keeping izzy alive.

also it's weird how we don't see fang at all for this bit with hiding izzy in the walls. like he would be the one i'd expect to have the strongest connection to izzy bc he knew izzy before the show started and he was hugging and comforting izzy last episode.

anyway imo jim keeping izzy alive is more abt them missing when they were on the ship with olu and the whole crew and the ship was like a family, not necessarily abt feeling loyalty to izzy specifically. i could be wrong tho who knows.

one thing i do know is that it is VERY important to point out how jim is struggling really hard with everything, archie is not. she wasnt there for the co-captaining era at all and she seems to be rolling with everything like it's all expected. this includes the wedding raid and ed pointing a gun at her last season and stuff. even now she's mostly just confused by why jim is bothering to try and keep izzy alive. but she acts like the amputation and the violence are all what she expected.

yay kissing!! with the shit stuffed up their nose and covered in blood and jim still holding the leg GOD I LOVE THIS SHOW

hnng when archie says "you have... hope" jim's jaw tenses and they visibly swallow after the word "hope." god jim is going through it

"the wooden demon boy that thirsted for life" god i love this game of telephone that the show is playing with pinocchio it's so fucking funny

archie definitely still says a few syllables after "no i was cleaning up blood" while jim was leaning in for another kiss but none of it forms a coherent word. relatable.

ed's "ohhhhohoho. ohoho" is so funny to me. this man is so jealous that other people are getting to kiss ppl they like but not him.

hm archie and jim are not actually kissing when we cut to the shot of ed standing in the stairwell. i imagine this is an editing goof or something

jim and archie pulling away like two kids who got caught kissing under the bleachers during gym class or something. incredible. one of jim's nose plug rags is mysteriously missing now. i think archie ate it.

ed shushing frenchie. nothing to say here but "i need him carnally"

"take the fuckin leg" ed does NOT like mess!!!

"he was your friend" well jim. he might have been ed's friend. but he had a very strange way of showing it.

why does it sound like ed has spurs on his boots

OLU IS SO CUTE I CANT BLAME ZHENG FOR BEING LIKE "you're doing so good at filing thanks so much!!" WHEN HE'S ACTIVELY FUCKING EVERYTHING UP

also. i want to know about auntie's filing system. ahead of it's time, you say?? tell me more. hi my name is jess and i love sorting things

ah yeah olu mispronouncing china moment

olu and zheng are cute tho ngl

roach is having an orgasmic experience drinking soup. very relatable.

love that stede called the broth "insane" like fics so often get stede's voice wrong bc he will randomly say casual slang in a way that contradicts his general s1 vibe of stuffy frilly rich guy. but he's more like your average dad whose general grammar when speaking is pretty outdated but he's also trying to use slang to fit in with his kids

oh god stede is trying so hard with lucius it is giving SUCH awkward dad vibes. "when i was young and edgy" and "mr. cool" STEEEEDE

"my spicy little rat boy" im so sad that lucius hates that pet name bc this is the funniest thing black pete's ever said

aw nooooo the way pete jumps when lucius yells at him :(:(:(

yo wee john has like a wristband with all these sewing needles and shit stuck on it that's such a cool costume detail

the first thing izzy says after waking up is "my leg" and in my head im hearing it in the spongebob meme voice

first: very funny how ed responds "yeah!" like, laughing about the whole. amputation thing. and then secondly i am obsessed with "up in Leg Heaven" he is so fucking quirky. i love him.

"have you come to take the other one" yeah you'd probably enjoy that huh izzy.

love ed's dangly earring. gender.

smthng abt how izzy is instantly exhausted and dismissive when ed tells izzy to take the gun vs how ed was also bored and dismissive when izzy said "i have love for you." idk if there's anything there im just making tenuous connections in my head rn

help. ed clenching his fists when he's standing with his back to izzy. he really wants izzy to do it but also even deeper than that he really doesn't he wants to live

izzy starts to laugh the same way he started to cry last episode with like a really loud sudden gasp of air. also he laughs so weirdly jesus christ

also jesus this is so fucking dark. i mean obviously but im fucking reeling right now from ed trying to get izzy to kill him and izzy's response is just "do it yourself you fucking pussy." fuck.

more thoughts on this scene here

"i loved you... best i could" i actually dont have a lot of thoughts abt this at all aside from it just seems like a weird thing for ed to say. idk. i have a few metas abt this saved that ive been meaning to read so maybe that will help me deconstruct this but i think i'd need more time to figure out why this line feels weird to me. it could literally just be that i dont like blackhands at all but idk. probably not gonna unpack my feelings for a while tho bc in terms of everything i want to dig into from these 3 episodes alone this is at the bottom of that list lol

love how ed tells frenchie "go live" right before he steers them into a storm and tries to doom everyone on the ship.

"two messed-up kids probably" i know this is one of those things that some viewers are just always gonna have a problem with but it's so fucking funny to me how stede is like. never seeing his children again. and is like "yeah they're probably traumatized by how i was a bad father. well that's for mary and doug to deal with!"

lucius winking when he calls stede quite the fuck-up. i love this snarky gay

anyway for how fucked up the vibe is on ed's ship at least they weren't playing human puppet or making people catch rats with their teeth

shit this is longer than the last post. anyway list part 3:

ok i completely forgot abt this scene where the crew back on the Revenge is talking in the hallway before they go confront ed but i think it's rlly interesting how jim is the only one who says anything abt how ed's sudden cheery mood is NOT a good thing. fang is like "do we think he's better?" and jim's like "fuck no!" and frenchie's like "idk he seemed pretty calm to me." like this is so fucking juicy to me. jim knew this wasn't "better." i think this is because jim kinda gets it. they know what it's like to be told you're only meant for violence. and they know what it's like to want something softer. last season i probably wouldnt have said jim understood ed's suicidal tendencies but the way jim KNOWS that this isnt better makes me wonder if they understand this, too.

altho when they go outside and ed is like "it's a bad storm! and i took the wheel! and im gonna fire into the mast! we're all gonna die!!" jim yells "what do you want, you piece of shit!" (in spanish) so maybe they dont get the suicide bit of it. but they did understand that ed wasn't better.

oh ed's voice in "what do i want?" is so whiny and sad. babygirl is fucking going through it. good thing the rain is hiding his tears ahaha. ha.

"all love dies im just hastening the process" objectively this is fucked up but also it is so funny to me that he's like "i got dumped so now nobody else is allowed to be happy and in love." he broke up all the couples at the end of s1 and he raided a fucking wedding. babygirl i love you. you are so unwell

VERY RANDOM THOUGHT and i would have to go back to last episode double check but i dont think any of the background crew are women?? it's just archie??? which kinda bums me out a bit like i dont only want female rep in the main cast i want to see random background women too. i could be entirely wrong abt this tho just in this scene i only see dudes in the background

anyway archie being like "alright i guess we're fighting" bc this is archie's normal. archie is just kinda resigned to her life being shit.

stede crossing out "dead" and circling "alive" is so fucking funny to me hfjkhdjvgdfjk like. manifesting.

but also he does kinda manifest that in the next episode doesnt he?? he loves ed back to life ahaha oh god oh fuck *starts sobbing*

"looks like he's gotten back into arson" okay and??? wee john's an arson enthusiast also, cmon lucius dont judge a man for his hobbies

stede's fucking face when he considers what lucius said abt "maybe his time with you is the best it's gonna get for him" like i think he tries to think abt it and just. cant. he cant fucking accept that. god im gonna throw up.

HNNNNG THE RUN FROM ME SONG COMING BACK IM GONNA LOSE MY SHIT

i cant get over how archie is like. yeah bro it's fine. it's cool just kill me im not gonna hold it against you.

jim's like "YOU WERE GONNA DO IT ANYWAY!!" and ed's like "teehee yeah :3 u got me"

oh bro some of the random background crew people just fully go overboard huh. damn. rip those guys.

ok so im choosing to believe that izzy fired a lucky shot there bc the man couldn't even shoot himself point blank in the skull but im supposed to believe that he got ed right in the arm from the other side of the deck in the middle of a crazy storm and the ship rocking like crazy and izzy's probably suffering from like, insane amounts of blood loss?? i dont buy it. i mean it doesnt matter at all but i think he was trying to hit ed's general torso area and if ed didnt have his arm held out izzy would've missed. like i said tho this makes no fucking difference. it's just a fun little headcanon hehe

love how ed laughs like an absolute maniac here. babygirl u are so unhinged.

wait it's fucking wild how in the middle of all this we to cut to auntie putting the map back together and then we see that zheng is bringing her fleet over land. anyway this is foreshadowing obviously but like considering the song choice and cutting this between ed's suicide attempt and then the crew mutinying. is a choice. and idk why they made that choice yet.

it is a pretty dramatic reveal tho. i didnt appreciate that the first time but holy shit. she's just pulling her ships all the way to the caribbean. girlboss.

and then the mutiny. the relief on ed's face hurts me so fucking much

other thoughs about this scene here

HOLY SHIT THIS POST CREDITS SCENE AHHHHHH

so first of all. auntie saying olu can be allowed to clean up random hairs around the desk and zheng being like "there's not that much hair" girl you know you're lying. her hair is so long and so gorgeous and you KNOW random strands end up making scary-ass hair spiders if somebody doesn't regularly sweep things up

second of all: olu pretending there's a carrier bird with a messege for zeng to give her a break is SO CUTE. OLU. OLU YOU ARE SUCH A SWEETHEART.

#ofmd s2 spoilers #our flag means death #ofmd #ofmd s2 #ofmd season 2 #edward teach #stede bonnet #crew of the revenge #archie #zheng yi sao #izzy hands #izzy critical #s2e02 #txt #mine #og #gentlebeard #ofmds2rwwiptjdmtaors

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pending-dope-username · 9 months ago

Text

as part of the #DCUValentinesDay2024 hosted by @wait-whos-batman , I wrote this little piece!!

I hope you enjoy! it's also posted here on ao3, i don't think im ever gonna let you leave. this was definitely one of my favorite pieces to work on.

Summary:

Jason wakes up to a surprise a few days before Valentine's day. Damian makes him breakfast, takes him on a date, and then asks an important question.

fic below cut

Jason woke up slowly. His eyes fluttered open and his system started up. He scans his room, nothing out of the ordinary. His body is slowly forced into a sitting position and he’s hit with the sudden smell of something. It smells good, whatever it is. Like meat and pancakes. Suddenly he feels a bit alarmed. There shouldn’t be anyone in his house but nothing feels off. So he carefully gets up out of bed, grabbing one of his guns off his nightstand. He approaches the kitchen quietly, pausing at the door as all tension leaves his body. There, at the stove, is Damian. He’s humming softly and flipping pancakes. There’s a plate of bacon beside him and a bowl of scrambled eggs. A smile creeps its way onto Jason’s face and he lays the gun on the counter quietly. He makes his silent way behind the other before plastering against his back and wrapping his arms around his waist.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty.” Damian mutters. This earns him several kisses to his neck, Jason’s hands rubbing against his stomach and hips. “I made breakfast for you. Eggs, bacon, and pancakes. Toast is in the toaster.” His voice is small, to not break the peaceful moment. This is when Jason knows just how much the other cares for him.

“Thank you, baby.” He rumbles voice husky from sleep. More kisses follow the curve of the brunette’s neck and shoulder. The toaster goes off, signaling the toast is ready, and Damian plates the last pancake. He easily makes Jason’s plate with the other still plastered to his back.

“Here, let’s sit.” He nudges the big man towards the table and Jason reluctantly pulls away to sit. Once Damian is in reach, he tugs him into his lap earning giggles from the teen. One more kiss to the cheek and then he’s digging in. He pauses a few times to feed Damian pancake bites, knowing it’s the only thing vegan. It’s nice. He loves the domesticity of it, enjoying the silence as they coexist. His hand is back to rubbing against the other’s hip. They don’t say anything, just sit there with each other, letting the silence wash over them in comfort. Jason loves these moments when he gets to just hold his partner. When they don’t have any pressing matters, no bank robberies, no crime rings, no Batman, or Justice League. He loves it when it’s just Damian and Jason.

His plate is clear and Damian is now getting out of his lap to put it in the sink. “I planned something for us to do since I won’t be around for Valentine’s Day,” Damian says. Jason’s heart lurches, happy that Damian wanted to do something but sad that they can’t share the real day. He knows it’s because they have yet to tell their family and Damian has a gala he will be forced to attend, but he still aches when he thinks about it. He wishes he could spend Valentine’s Day spoiling his lover. If he had it his way, he’d lock the teen up and never let him go. He presses a kiss to the other’s forehead.

“Tell me about it?” He asks softly.

“We’ll go to an aquarium and then the library. After, we’ll go out for lunch. Then we will come back here and watch a movie.” He replies, leaning into Jason.

“Let me get dressed?” He asks Damian. The brunette reluctantly gets off his lap to let him up. He trails behind him as he goes to the bedroom. Jason gathers a simple pair of dark jeans and a t-shirt. He pulls the clothes on before tugging on his leather jacket. He turns and sees that Damian’s eyes are shamelessly scanning his body, obviously having been staring at his body. Jason chucks a shirt at him. “Hey, eyes up here, perv.” His voice laced with affection and teasing.

“Fuck off.” Damian’s voice is small, eyes turning away with red-tinged cheeks. His arms cross over his chest. Jason chuckles as he walks over and rests his hands on his waist.

“Don’t be like that.” One hand rests on Damian’s cheek and he tilts his head up so he can press a kiss to his lips. The kiss is sweet and short. Jason pulls away with a small smile before Damian pushes forward to give a deeper kiss. Their lips lock together, moving in sync. Jason’s tongue presses against the younger’s lips before it slides into his mouth. They’re tongues dance and they hold each other close, Damian’s arms unwrapping from himself to loosely rest around Jason’s middle.

While this kiss is hungrier than the last, it’s still sweet and slow, full of the love they hold for each other. They are happy to just exist together, share the same oxygen, and overall be one in two bodies. There’s no urgency here, just the push and pull of two mouths. They’re pouring everything they have into it. Thousands of words left unsaid being spilled into it, ‘I love you’s dressed in saliva and teeth, ‘I need you’s pushing from one to the other. There’s so much going on, yet nothing happening at the same time. They’re one and the same, a coin with two sides. Two forms of violence and rage meeting in the middle. Separately, they’re the raging storm, together they’re the eye. They pull away reluctantly after a while, desperate for the oxygen.

They pant as they just hold each other and stare into each other’s eyes. “I love you, Dami.” Jason’s voice is soft and a small smile sits on his lips, a voice and smile reserved for the youngest Wayne alone. Damian buries his face in the crook of Jason’s neck, flushed a deep red. He makes a small noise in the back of his throat, one that Jason has learned is his own embarrassed way of expressing the same sentiment back. He can feel the smile against his skin and he presses a kiss to the top of black hair in response. This earns him a small peck to his neck. “Now, you said you had a day planned for us.”

Damian removes himself and grabs his hand before tugging him out the door. “I hope you enjoy it.” He says, a little bit of insecurity lacing his voice.

“As long as I’m with you, I will,” Jason admits. He didn’t know when he became such a sap. Perhaps it was when Damian first said he loved him, or maybe it was the second those big blue eyes had turned to his. He’s not sure. But he wouldn’t change it for the world. He had read plenty of love stories as a kid, wishing for that one day. His relationship with Damian isn’t like those books, but it’s better. It’s filled with soft moments they share on the couch, moments of fiery passion wherever they can escape to, and most importantly sappy little moments like this. After the pit, he found it hard to enjoy the love stories, fearing he was always going to be too angry to have that. But then Damian came in like a firecracker in a room full of fireworks. One small spark and then everything was ablaze. No corner of his heart left unburned, not a single speck left unaffected.

Jason loved Damian. There was no getting around it. He was happy when he finally got Damian how he wanted. Now they spend lazy mornings cuddling and busy nights thinking of each other. They start their days with each other when they can and always end their nights with each other. It’s not always easy to be together physically so they make do with texts and calls at night when it’s necessary. It’s not perfect but it’s them.

Jason gets on his motorcycle after confirming the aquarium’s location. Damian hops on the back, arms locking around his middle once more. His body is pressed unnecessarily close but Jason doesn’t mind. The ride is nice, filled with the soft of hum of a playlist in both their helmets. Once they arrive, they pay for their tickets and enter the building. “So, where to first, baby bird?” Jason asks.

“There’s a new dolphin exhibit,” Damian suggests and Jason lets him lead him that way. They get to watch as the workers care for the dolphins and it turns out they arrived just in time for their physical therapy. “All these dolphins were illegally captured. They were gonna be killed for sport and meat. But they were rescued and now they’re here, getting better.” Damian mutters as if he doesn’t expect anyone to hear.

“That’s pretty cool that they’re taking all these sick animals in.” Jason drapes an arm around the other’s shoulders. They spend the rest of the time at the aquarium like this. Damian rants about the animals, talking about how horrible people are for wanting to hurt them, and Jason gives his input when Damian lets him. It’s pretty simple and fun. Jason loves it when Damian gets all passionate about things. It makes him want to kiss him. But he can’t because they’re in public and someone might recognize the Wayne boy. Once they’re done there, they go to the library just as promised. This part of the date is spent more quietly than anything.

They stand in front of bookshelves, shoulders pressed together as they point at random books or show each other something in an attempt to make them laugh. Jason gets a couple of laughs out of Damian and vice versa. They make their way through the library, finding themselves in a far corner. It’s here that Jason give in to the urge to kiss his boyfriend. He gets Damian’s attention to show him a book written about a Nazi where the cover has been totally defaced. In the middle of Damian’s laugh, Jason presses forward to kiss him. It doesn’t take long for the book to end up on the ground and Damian to be pressed against the shelf.

Jason’s pressing his body against the younger, hands trained on his waist. The kiss is passionate and full of devotion. Damian’s arms come up to wrap around the taller man’s neck. Suddenly he’s being hoisted up by the thighs, legs instinctively wrapping around his lover. Tongue and teeth clash as they battle for dominance, something they both know will go to Jason. It’s simple and hungry, full of the pent-up energy they’ve been staving off since they left Jason’s apartment. Jason’s hands dig into the meat of Damian’s thighs, sure to leave marks. He kisses a trail down his jaw to his neck where he nips and sucks. He covers his neck and shoulder in hickeys, loving to leave his mark. He doesn’t really care that Damian will have to explain it later, it’s not the first time it’s happened. Sure, there are ways to get rid of them but neither of them like that. They both enjoy seeing Jason’s marks on his body.

There’s a cough somewhere behind them and Damian tries to shove Jason off, he can clearly see whoever it is. Jason doesn’t go easily but eventually, he stops and sets the other back on the ground. Damian’s face is flushed and he’s trying to fix his shirt. Whoever interrupted them seems to have just been wanting a book from where they were standing and they don’t say anything as they get it and leave. Damian harshly shoves Jason. “What the fuck!” He whisper yells. This earns a laugh from the older one before he turns around to leave the library. Damian follows in annoyance.

“So, where did you want to get lunch?” Jason asks, getting on his motorcycle. Damian tells him the name and location, letting the drive clear his mind. They make it there without a hitch, only experiencing a little bit of a hiccup once inside.

“Sorry, we don’t take walk-ins. Reservation only.” The hostess says when she sees them.

“I have a reservation under Alfred Pennyworth,” Damian says, voice stiff and solid, commanding no bullshit. The hostess eyes them warily before checking her book. She seems a bit upset that the reservation is legit and takes them reluctantly to a table in the back. It’s far from prying eyes, half walls and curtains keeping them mostly concealed. At least no one would know they’re here.

“Thank you,” Damian says before she walks off again. “She was disrespectful.” He glares at her retreating figure. Jason laughs.

“What do you expect? We aren’t exactly in high-end clothes at the moment.” He challenges. This earns an eye-roll from the other before a menu is chucked at his head. They chat for a bit until the waiter comes around to take their order. His eyes widen when they catch sight of Damian’s neck and then shoot over to look at Jason. He just smirks at him before reciting his order. The waiter scurries off quickly.

“Todd, how badly did you fuck up my neck?” Damian asks in annoyance.

“Not that bad.” He smiles sweetly. In reality, the entire right side of Damian’s neck is almost completely pink, a few spots already turning purple. Damian rolls his eyes once more before taking a sip of his drink. Their food arrives and they spend the meal chatting about life and patrol. Eventually, it moves to the topic of the gala.

“Father said I should take a date.” Damian says. Jason freezes. They haven’t exactly talked too much about when they will announce their relationship, leaving a lot of unanswered questions. Jason knows Damian wouldn’t leave him or cheat on him but he also knows that he has to put a good image forward. And that good image is not with his previously declared dead recently declared alive ex-brother on his arm.

“Is there, um, someone in mind.” He asks carefully.

“Yes. But I don’t know if they’ll be up for it.” Damian responds.

“Who is it?” Jason really hopes it’s one of the supers or perhaps Billy. Those will be easier to convince to be a one-time date.

“You.” Damian’s answer knocks the breath out of Jason and his fork clatters to his plate.

“What?” His heart is racing and he doesn’t know if he heard right.

“Jason Todd, I love you and you are the most important person in my life. We have been dating for over a year now and I don’t want to hide it anymore. I want you to attend the Valentine’s Charity Gala as my date. Do you accept?” Damian’s voice sounds formal but Jason can see him fidgeting nervously with his napkin. Jason reaches out and locks their fingers together.

“Of course, Dami. Anything for the love of my life.” His smile is soft and his heart melts when he sees Damian relax and let a smile grace his face. They talk about how they’re going to announce it and decide on meeting at the gala.

And when Damian acts all secretive about his date, it drives his family mad. They start to suspect he’s lying until they pull up and Jason Todd hops off his motorcycle in a nice suit and offers Damian his arm. The press have a field day with it and their family is shocked. The gala goes smoothly and at the end of the night, the two hop on Jason’s motorcycle after a small kiss and drive off to his apartment. A few months later, they announced their engagement, and then a wedding the next year, completing their family with kids not long after, but for now, they sit and stare lovingly at each other from across the table of a fancy restaurant while they share a desert.

#DCUValentinesDay2024 #writing #fanfic #dc #dcu #dc universe #batman #jason todd #damian wayne #jason x damian #jaydami #written by an aro

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mialikeshockey · 1 month ago

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Sick - Gavin McCarthy

I roll over in bed as my alarm goes off. The sun shines through my window and my dog cuddles closer to me, not being ready to get up either. Before I could turn my alarm off, my phone lights up with my boyfriend’s contact name and picture.

“good morning, what’s got you up this early?” I question him, looking at the clock that’s sitting on my dresser. “I missed you.” Gavin says sounding stuffy. “Are you okay? Were you crying?” I start to get worried that there’s something wrong until I hear Aiden and Case in the background.

“Is that Hazel?” Aiden asks, Gavin hums. “Hi Hazel! Come get him, he’s gonna get us all sick and me and Case got plans!” Aiden practically yells into the phone, Case lets out a laugh. “I’m not that sick, you guys are being dramatic.”

“Sure, you’re acting as if we aren’t about to leave to get you some medicine. Hi Hazel!” Case takes the phone from Aiden. “You guys stop picking on Gav and just get him what he needs; I’ll bring some soup.”

“You don’t have-.” I cut Gavin off. “I want to, and I’m going to. I’ll see you in a bit, love you.” Gavin sighs, “love you, be safe. Text me when you get here please.” I hang up the phone and start getting ready.

I put on one of Gavin’s hoodies that he left, some sweatpants and converse and put my hair in a messy bun. I’m not big on makeup unless we are going out somewhere, so I leave everything else the way it is. I grab my keys and head over to the store to grab some of Gavin’s favorite soup.

I walk into Target and as soon as I turn I see Case and Aiden looking through the medicine aisle. Aiden looks up, hits Cases chest and waves me over.

“Well isn’t it, dumb and dumber.” Aiden pulls me into a hug and Case gives me a smile before looking back at the back of the medicine. “He’s acting like he’s not really sick, but he’s been up all night throwing up and has had a fever all morning, kids barley slept. He’s been talking about you all morning too and how much he misses you. He’ll be glad to see you.” Aiden says, taking the medicine out of Cases hand and walks to the checkout.

“Let me go grab the soup and I’ll pay for all of this.” I start to walk away, “no it’s okay, go grab the soup and I’ll pay.” Case says as he walks away from the checkout line. I nod my head and try to hurry to find the soup. Once I find it, I grab a couple and head back in line with Case and Aiden. I follow them back to the McCarthys house. I grab my phone and head inside.

“He’s upstairs in his room, I’m gonna heat this soup up and I’ll bring it in.” Case says walking into the kitchen. I head up to Gavin’s room and knock on the door, I slowly open it to see my sick boyfriend, cuddled up like a baby watching tv.

“I thought you were gonna tell me before you got here.” Gavin sits up. “I thought I’d just surprise you.” I smile and walk over to him. “Case is gonna bring you up some soup in a bit and Aiden is getting your medicine ready, he also told me that you haven’t been sleeping good nor able to basically relax.”

“It’s just a little stomach bug, that’s it.” Gavin lays back down in bed and moves over to make room for me. I lay down and he pulls me into his chest. “You better not get me sick McCarthy. I’ve kept a clean streak of no sickness for the past three months.” Gavin laughs, “I’ll try not to.”

I begin to start yapping about how this book im reading is going. Gavin’s head is on my stomach, as I play with his hair. In the middle of talking, I hear small snores come out of Gavin’s mouth, I couldn’t help but giggle.

I text Case and let him know that he’s sleeping. I start to rub his back, I close my eyes and just hope that this doesn’t get me sick but maybe it will be worth it knowing I helped Gavin feel better.

—

Sorry this is so bad, school has been killing me. One of my teachers made my class write an essay in 30 minutes because apparently we weren’t paying attention and 95% of my class got in trouble for plagiarism and it was insane. I was happily not one of those kids who got in trouble and got a 95/100 on the essay but I was also out for two weeks because I had covid and the flu at the same time so enjoy this little thing while I start on a series for Aiden and I work on my Case one 🙏🏽

#gavin mccarthy #case mccarthy #aiden mccarthy #jack hughes #trevor zegras #cole caufield #alex turcotte #usa hockey jack hughes

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oliverreedmasterass · 1 year ago

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Starcatchers 1x2 - Waited All Your Life

Synopsis: In the second episode of Starcatchers, the members of Greta Van Fleet deal with loss: Josh loses his beloved notebook (which Sam attempts to find) and Jake and Danny get hopelessly lost in the woods.

Words: 6.7k

Warnings: reference to cannibalism, sad Josh, Jake not Respecting the Pouch™, Bigfoot, the Kraken

Notes: EVERYONE GIVE ALEX (@jmkho) SO MUCH LOVE FOR THE TITLE AND ADDISON (@starcatcherkiszka) FOR THE ORIGINAL IDEA!!! 🫶🫶🫶

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Josh wakes up in a well-kept, rustic-themed bedroom with a deep yawn and a wide smile. Sunlight floods in through the windows and birds can be heard in the distance singing their morning songs. Josh carefully folds his sheets down to his feet, revealing a fancy pair of silk pajamas, and slides out of bed to admire the stunning view of the Great Smoky Mountains. In high spirits, Josh begins to whistle along with the birds, joining their jovial songs. He’s basically a Disney princess.

Across the hall Jake’s alarm goes off, playing a loud guitar solo that may or may not be something he recorded himself. Jake is laying on the wrong end of his bed, so his foot slams down on his phone like it’s an actual alarm clock. This does nothing to turn the phone off. Despite this, Jake continues to bang his foot on the phone before eventually giving up and kicking it against the wall, cutting off the sound. Jake lets out a deep groan and curls up under his covers, like a dragon retreating into his cave.

Next door Danny is startled awake by Jake’s rattling snores. He glares at the wall and attempts to press his pillow over his head to drown out the sound, to no avail. Danny huffs, rolls out of bed, and raps his fist on the wall a couple of times. This only makes Jake snore louder. Danny lets out a frustrated groan, and scans around his room. A clock reveals that it is 6am. Danny perks up with a revelation and hustles to his backpack, where he pulls out his pair of in-ears. He pops them in and happily falls back asleep.

Down the hall from Danny, Sam is nowhere to be found in his room. The camera pans around in confusion, trying to find him. It eventually lands on him, standing upright and stiff as a board on the balcony wearing nothing but a pair of swim trunks, goggles, and flippers. The camera moves closer and it becomes evident that he is sleep-talking.

SAM: I’m ready to fight the Kraken. Put me in, coach, I wanna bop ‘im in the schnoz.

Sam gives a few half-assed punches as he continues to sleep.

JOSH: [singing loudly as he passes down the hallway] Rise and shine! Adventure awaits, boys!

Groans sound from all of the rooms except for Sam’s.

SAM: The only thing that will rise is my fist to your face, tentacle boy!

Starcatchers Theme/Opening Titles

[acoustic theme song with a harmonica]

From the fires we emerged anew,

Singing, playing rock and roll,

Reviving a genre just for you.

Across the globe we traveled far

Recruiting an army of peace,

Enchanting crowds with our guitar.

A battle ensued at the Gardens Gate

And we preserved the gift of nature,

Standing up against a culture of hate.

We are the Starcatchers, reaching for the sky,

Discovering words of wisdom to live by.

We deliver a message from the heavens above:

Live your legend through the intelligence of love.

[end theme]

The members of Greta Van Fleet sit around the dining room table, sipping Capri Sun pouches.

JAKE: You need to stop eating chocolate before you go to bed, Sam.

SAM: I don’t think chocolate is what’s making these dreams so realistic.

JOSH: You’re right, there has to be something seriously wrong with you. I mean, who gears up for a scuba expedition and sleeps standing upright for 7 hours?

DANNY: Your brother does, that’s who.

SAM: (into his pouch) It made sense at the time.

JAKE: I’m sure it did, Sammy. (around to the rest of the table) We’ve got a big day ahead of us, Van Fleeters.

DANNY: I thought we agreed we weren’t gonna call each other that.

JAKE: It’s cool.

JOSH: I, for one, hate it. It sounds like we’re afraid of vans.

SAM: Wouldn’t be too far off for you with your eighteen wheelers though, would it, Josh?

JOSH: Quiet…

JAKE: (ignoring the banter) We have to get another song down in the books by the end of the week, otherwise we’re gonna get in trouble with “The Man.” At least, that’s what our manager told me. Could be the Kool Aid Man, could be Iron Man, I don’t know, but it didn’t sound good.

JOSH: Well I, for one, have to design all of my jumpsuits for our next tour. I’ve seen some stunning visions in my dreams that I’m looking forward to bringing to life.

SAM: Were you, by chance, standing when you had those dreams?

DANNY: I think we might need to start strapping you into your bed at night, Sam.

Sam looks like he isn’t entirely opposed to that idea. Danny looks at him in disbelief. He was joking.

JOSH: Actually, I should probably sketch one of them out now while it’s still fresh in my mind. It’s a jumpsuit for you, Jake! I think you’ll love it.

JAKE: (darkly) I doubt it.

JOSH: I’m gonna grab my notebook!

Josh jumps from his seat and does a cartwheel out of the room.

SAM: I think you would look good in a jumpsuit, Jake.

JAKE: I think you would look good with my foot up your butt, Sam.

DANNY: That’s a terrible comeback, Jake.

From the next room over, Josh lets out an agonizing shriek, as if he just discovered Mr. Boddy dead in the study with a lead pipe. Jake, Sam, and Danny hurry to find Josh on his knees in the center of the living room, clutching at his face in despair.

SAM: Oh god, did Rosie piss buckets in your slippers again?

JOSH: (whimpering) It’s my notebook.

DANNY: You lost it?

Josh nods his head sadly.

JAKE: You hardly looked for it, dude.

JOSH: I have a photographic memory. I vividly recall placing it on that table right there last night before I went to bed.

Josh points at the coffee table next to him. It’s empty, with the exception of a few Capri Sun pouches sucked dry, Rosie’s leash, and a Bop It. Jake absently grabs the Bop It and starts to play with it while Josh continues to wallow in his misery.

DANNY: We’re the only ones who have been here, Josh. Are you sure you didn’t put it somewhere else?

BOP IT: Twist it!

Jake twists the Bop It as he moves to the beat of the canned music.

SAM: (suddenly wearing a Sherlock Holmes-esque hat with a pipe and magnifying glass) No need to fear, dear civilian, this is a case for Detective Kiszka to crack open, just like a cold one.

BOP IT: Pull it!

Jake pulls the Bop It.

JAKE: Yoink!

SAM: (continuing) I’ve cleared the JFK assassination case, I proved that the moon landing was fake, my list of accolades extends farther than the eye can see.

The camera zooms in on Danny, who is rolling his eyes in the background.

BOP IT: Bop it!

Jake slams his hand on the center button of the Bop It.

JAKE: That’s what I’m talkin’ about!

SAM: (to Josh) When your grief subsides, poor soul, I would love to meet over tea so we can discuss your relationship to this notebook, and your speculations as to where it could have gone.

Josh gives a shrug.

JOSH: You can pencil me in for after 7 today.

Sam nods with understanding and pulls a ballpoint pen from his back pocket, licking its tip before writing a note on the back of his hand. Just visible on his hand is the note, Meet w/ crybaby @ 7.

BOP IT: Pull it!

JAKE: (in the background) Ohhhhh yeahhhhhh!

SAM: I’ve got you booked to find your notebook. Or, notebooked to find your notebook.

As Sam talks, the camera focuses on his tongue, which now has a massive blue ink splotch in the center of it. He’s one hell of a detective.

JOSH: I’ll have you know I didn’t find that funny at all, Detective Kiszka.

BOP IT: Twist it! Bop it! Pull it!

Jake is actually kind of nailing the Bop It. Even though Josh is still beside himself, he joins Sam and Danny as they watch Jake.

BOP IT: (faster) Pull it! Bop it! Twist it! Bop it! Pull it! Pull it! Pull it!

JAKE: What the?

BOP IT: Pull it! Pull it! Pull it!

DANNY: Dude, I think you broke my Bop It.

BOP IT: Pull it! Pull it! Pull it!

JAKE: It’s a trick, he’s trying to throw me off guard.

BOP IT: Pull it! Pull it! [beat] Bop it!

JAKE: HA! You can’t fool me, tiny man!

SAM: (holding his magnifying glass up to Jake) Tiny man?

JAKE: (still playing with the Bop It) Yeah, the tiny guy who lives inside this toy and tells me what to do next.

Sam, Danny, and Josh stare blankly at one another. It’s apparent they are all hoping Jake is kidding. Jake focuses back on the toy, indicating that he was, in fact, not kidding.

BOP IT: Bop it!

JAKE: I met him in a dream once. His name is Fergus.

SAM: When you woke up from that dream, were you standing, by any chance?

DANNY: Again, Sam, I think that’s a “you” problem.

Sam slumps his shoulders. Across the room, Josh has thrown himself dramatically on the carpeted floor, holding the back of his hand up to his forehead in exasperation.

JOSH: Oh, my dear notebook! What am I supposed to do? That’s where I keep all my sketches and lyrics, I’m nothing without it!

DANNY: How about this? I’ll go and grab us all a nice breakfast to try and get this day back on track so we can work on that song. Jake, you’re coming with me.

BOP IT: Twist it!

JAKE: (under breath to himself) Aw yeah. [beat] Wait, why me?

DANNY: Sam needs some space to do his detective work.

Danny winks at Sam, who brightens at his suggestion. Detective Kiszka is about to be on the case, and whoo boy, is he gonna sleuth hard.

JAKE: (saluting) Aye aye, captain.

BOP IT: Twist it!

Jake twists the Bop It and the camera zooms in on the center of the toy, zooming back out to reveal that the Bop It is still in Jake’s hands as he sits in the backseat of Danny’s car while Danny drives.

JAKE: I think I’m gonna beat my high score of 12.

Jake continues playing. Please take note that, for the rest of the script (until noted) Jake will be playing the Bop It with the sound in the background of all conversations.

DANNY: Trust me, I think you’re far past that.

JAKE: Boy, I hope so.

DANNY: I hate to ask this, but could you navigate for me? I would, but my GPS is broken and I don’t know how to get out of the woods to the grocery store.

JAKE: Hmm? Oh yeah, for sure.

DANNY: I was thinking of grabbing some Pop Tarts to lift Josh’s mood.

Jake completes a really challenging pattern on the Bop It.

JAKE: Yes!

DANNY: I’m glad you agree. So should I turn up here?

Jake once again revels in his success with the Bop It. He’s really on a roll now.

JAKE: YES!

DANNY: I love the enthusiasm.

Danny turns the steering wheel and an overhead shot shows Danny’s car driving down a long and rural dirt road. That shot matches a painting of a similar landscape hanging on the wall of the cabin’s living room, where Sam and Josh are sitting. Sam is still equipped with his detective gear while Josh sits with an oversized fuzzy blanket wrapped around him.

SAM: I’m going to ask you a few questions. You may find some to be a tad bit invasive, but I ask that you answer them with as much detail and transparency as you can afford.

JOSH: (sniffling) I’ll try my best, Detective.

SAM: First, do you believe dreams can serve as portals to other dimensions?

JOSH: Uh, what does that have to do with my notebook?

SAM: Nothing, it’s just something that’s been troubling me lately. When I woke up this morning, I was soaked wet.

JOSH: Maybe Rosie isn’t the only one who pisses buckets?

Sam chooses to ignore Josh’s comment.

SAM: Anyways, when was the last time you saw your notebook? Give me the exact time: this is crucial so I can study the moon charts to get more clues.

JOSH: I would say 10:48.

Sam writes this note down on his hand, below his note about Josh’s appointment time, which is already smudged.

SAM: Why, might you presume, would someone be motivated to take your notebook?

JOSH: I have some pretty cool drawings in there, I guess. My shading has gotten really good in the past year.

SAM: Yeah, it has. Now, sir, is there anyone who you might suspect would go out of their way to cause you harm, such as stealing your own personal possessions?

JOSH: Well, Jake can be mean sometimes.

SAM: Has he shown any signs of hostility towards you recently?

Josh has a flashback of Jake sucking down a Capri Sun the day before, blowing it back up through the straw, and putting the pouch on the floor in front of his raised foot. Josh screams at him in terror that he has to Respect the Pouch™, but Jake gives him a devious grin and slams his foot down, creating a deafening popping sound. Josh shrieks and flails for cover, only peeking from behind the couch when he thinks the coast is clear. Jake is unscathed, laughing hard at Josh.

JOSH: Not more than usual.

SAM: Is there anyone else you can think of?

JOSH: Not really. I’m a pretty likable person. I’ve been told that I have the personality of a cult leader.

Sam nods. Josh has a point.

SAM: Well, that should do it for my questioning. I’ll start to investigate the perimeter while my highly intellectual brain fits the pieces of this puzzle together.

JOSH: Huh, that was fast.

Sam leaves Josh to head outside so his investigation can commence. As Sam opens and shuts the front door, Danny does the same with his car, out in the middle of literally nowhere.

DANNY: (on the brink of panicking, calling back to Jake, who is still in the backseat) I thought you were gonna give me directions?

Jake is still fully engaged in the Bop It.

JAKE: Huh?

DANNY: Directions, Jake! Directions! You told me yes when I asked you if I should turn, and now we’re out in the middle of nowhere!

BOP IT: Pull it!

Jake pulls the Bop It.

JAKE: Yes.

Danny pulls out his phone to try and call Sam, but then squints down at the screen. He has no service. He groans and gets back in the car and tries to start the engine, but it stalls and then pitters out.

DANNY: Oh my god. This is bad, this is really, really bad. Jake, do you have your phone on you?

JAKE: Nope. Left it at the cabin.

BOP IT: Twist it!

Danny clutches at his head in despair and jumps out from the front seat, taking a lap around his car, looking at the area surrounding them. It’s a lot of trees, and not a whole lot of grocery stores.

DANNY: We can’t be that far away from the cabin. We’ve only been driving for (checks his watch and then pales) thirty minutes.

JAKE: Maybe Fergus can tell us what we need to do.

BOP IT: Bop it!

JAKE: You gotta bop it.

DANNY: I literally have no clue what that means.

JAKE: Just, you know, bop it.

Danny falls back on his butt in the dirt and looks up at the tree tops and the blue sky ahead in disbelief. Things aren’t looking great as far as their survival is concerned. Danny throws his back on the ground with a loud thud. In a matching shot, Sam’s bare feet thump over the dirt in the front yard of their rented cabin. Sam is scanning obscure things like wild mushrooms and snails with his magnifying glass, as if that is going to get him closer to solving the mystery of the missing notebook. Behind him, Josh sits on the steps, wearing oversized sunglasses to hide his tears while theatrically blowing his nose. Sam plods back to Josh’s side.

SAM: We’ve got a suspect.

JOSH: By all means, tell me the criminal’s name so I can smack ‘im up Philly style.

SAM: I don’t know how you know what “Philly style” means, but it’s in my code of conduct that my clients can’t smack up anyone until the case is closed. You’d be surprised how many innocent people get whapped upside the head with no just cause.

Josh nods, like he follows Sam (he doesn’t).

SAM: (continued) My speculation may surprise you, but I promise it has merit. (long pause) I believe Bigfoot may have taken your notebook.

Sam pulls out his phone to play a sound byte of dramatic music.

JOSH: (standing to his feet to head back inside) That’s crazy talk.

SAM: No, no, come down here, you have to see this.

With interest, Josh comes down the steps to join Sam’s side. Sam is proudly “smoking” his pipe by blowing into it, making the oregano he packed inside shoot everywhere, and nods his head down at the ground next to him. Josh studies two relatively large sized footprints. His eyes then track to Sam’s bare feet.

JOSH: Detective Kiszka, I don’t know how to phrase this in a way that won’t come off as offensive to you, but I believe those footprints belong to your own dogs.

Sam removes the pipe from his mouth in shock and squats down to rub the dirt from the footprints beneath his fingers, taking a quick taste. Josh looks disgusted.

SAM: Hmm. So it is. Great detective work. Well, we can put Bigfoot on the back burner then. But I still think there’s more here than meets the eye. The pieces just aren’t fitting together.

JOSH: (to himself) You’re telling me.

SAM: I need to get a visual on this case. Inside!

Sam runs inside the cabin with Josh trudging behind him. The camera travels back outside the cabin, zooming across treetops until it finds Danny and Jake. Jake is still playing with the Bop It, now sitting up in a tree, while Danny films himself as he squats by a pile of sticks next to his car.

DANNY: Hour 1 in desolation wilderness: no service, the car is broken, and we’re hopelessly lost. This video is for A24 to make an experimental documentary about my life, starring Alex Wolff. If anyone finds this, please tell my family that I love them. Now, one of the things that I learned as a cub scout is, in order to survive, you need a massive bonfire to scare away predators.

Danny grabs two decent-sized sticks and starts rubbing them together. Out of habit, the rubbing eventually morphs into him air drumming with the sticks. It takes Danny a while to realize what he's been doing, but when he does, he scolds himself and then tries to rub them together again. Faster this time around he starts air drumming again. He throws the sticks over his shoulder in frustration.

DANNY: Maybe I’d be better off foraging some food for Jake and I.

Danny grabs his camera from the ground and holds it at an angle under his chin as he takes a few steps into the woods, away from the car.

JAKE: (calling from his tree) Hey! Where are you going?

DANNY: To get food!

JAKE: Can you get me a pickle?

DANNY: (to the camera) I’m ignoring that.

Danny films himself looking through various plants in the area, including some stuff that looks poisonous, and stops, staring at something off screen in confusion. He silently flips the camera around and zooms in on a pickle in mint condition that’s chilling on the ground. Danny cautiously grabs the pickle, wipes it off on his pants, and approaches the base of Jake’s tree.

DANNY: Here, catch!

Jake isn’t seen on screen but, in between the sounds of the Bop It, he catches the pickle.

JAKE: Comin in clutch, Swaggy Waggy!

Danny returns to addressing the camera.

DANNY: Morale is high, the sun will be out for a while longer, I’m optimistic that we can make it through this tribulation.

BOP IT: Bop it!

Danny turns off the video on his camera. The scene jumps to the cabin, where Sam is holding Jake’s phone with a shattered screen in his hand, searching for a photo of Danny on Google. He selects the first image suggested, zooms in close on Danny’s face, and then proceeds to stick Jake’s phone to the cabin wall with some heavy duty duct tape. Josh stands just behind Sam, studying his evidence board. Alongside the phone, there is a copy of Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End nailed to the wall, poorly drawn photos of Josh and Bigfoot, and “Bookie Wookie” written on a post-it note. For some reason, there is also a banana nailed to the wall. Sam holds up George Harrison’s All Things Must Pass album and is about to add it to the board.

JOSH: Don’t tell me you’re actually gonna nail Jake’s album to the wall.

SAM: It’s supposed to be me.

Sam ignores Josh’s protest and proceeds to pound a nail through the album cover with a hammer while Josh watches in horror. Sam has been chewing an impressive glob of gum while he works, and takes a break to remove it from his mouth, pulling it out in a disgustingly long string.

SAM: So you and I both have alibis because the notebook belongs to you, and I’m helping you find it.

Sam makes a show of putting “X’s” over George Harrison and Josh’s faces with the gum. Josh watches his younger brother with judgment stretched across his face.

SAM: Which leaves Jake and Danny as potential suspects. I’ll have to interrogate them when they’re back.

JOSH: You know, they’ve been gone for a while.

SAM: (ignoring Josh) If I had to speculate, I would say Jake may have taken it as a prank. Danny is harder to read, though. I’m not sure what his motive would be. That guy is hard to read. I’m keeping Bigfoot here as well because my tummy told me to.

Sam creates lines between Danny, Jake, Bigfoot, and the notebook.

JOSH: What’s up with the banana?

SAM: Oh, that’s if I get hungry later.

JOSH: Oh.

SAM: I wish there was more evidence I could work with. This case is a lot more complicated than I thought it would be.

Sam wipes his face.

SAM: I must retreat to my study to ponder this in more detail. You’ll have to excuse me.

Sam hurries out of the living room to his bedroom. Josh watches him go, and then throws himself onto one of the living room chairs with a deep sigh. It’s obvious the absence of his beloved notebook is really starting to wear on him. With a match cut, Danny is also sighing loud, filming another video of himself.

DANNY: 1 hour and 7 minutes in desolation wilderness. Our chances of survival are growing slimmer by the second.

Jump cut to Jake chilling up in his tree with a bunch of squirrels and birds invested in his game as he continues playing with the Bop It at an impressive speed. He’s happily crunching on his pickle.

DANNY: (continued) There is no sign of life, no saving grace for me or my friend. I can feel the delusions kicking in. I thought I saw Pitbull a few minutes ago. (Danny turns around briefly to call off into the distance) Dale? (Facing the camera again) I also think that I might have a rash.

Danny shows off his arm to the camera. The guy most definitely got caught in some poison ivy during his foraging.

DANNY: (continued) Outside of Jake’s pickle, I’ve only found twigs and worms to eat. The worms are edible as long as you gaslight yourself into thinking you’re eating cold spaghetti. It would probably be better with a dash of salt and pepper, but I’m working with what I’ve got. Though I have to admit, if we’re stuck out here much longer, I might have to make the choice between facing my own mortality and eating Jake. I’m not sure which decision I’ll make, but I’m not gonna deny that Jake looks pretty tasty right now.

The Bop It is still heard loud and clear in the background. It’s going so fast at this point that Jake is moving like lightning. It’s like he’s predicting each command before it comes from Fergus. Danny looks up at Jake and shakes his head, turning the video off. Jake is entirely in the zone, but then Fergus’ voice starts to get slower and deeper. Jake frowns down at the toy.

JAKE: Fergus? Are you drunk?

BOP IT: (in a demonic growl) Pullllll itttttttt…twistttt ittttttttt…..booopppppppppppppppp itttttttttttttttttt.

The Bop It dies.

JAKE: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! FERGUS!

Jake jumps down from the tree and sinks to his knees, cradling the Bop It in his arms.

JAKE: Say something to me, anything!

The Bop It is still dead.

DANNY: I think the batteries drained, dude.

JAKE: We have to go to the store.

DANNY: Yeah, I want to go there too, trust me, but, uh, that’s not really possible right now.

Jake snaps his head up to study Danny. It’s as if he finally realizes where they are. Jake looks closer at Danny, covered in rashes, his hair matted, and his clothes in tatters. Jake cocks his head to the side. He obviously hasn’t been paying attention for the past 1 hour and 9 minutes.

DANNY: (continued) We’re lost, the car isn’t turning on, and I have no service.

JAKE: I’ll get us out of here.

DANNY: I’ve tried. I don’t think you’re gonna pull it off.

Jake is already in the front seat of Danny’s car, messing with the controls. Within 15 seconds, the car is back on and running.

DANNY: (under breath) What the?

JAKE: (popping his head out of the window) You turned off the car while it was still in drive! You just have to put it in park and then it won’t stall.

DANNY: You’ve got to be kidding me.

Jake leans on the horn a couple of times, and Danny takes his cue, getting into the passenger seat. Jake hands Danny his Bop It like it’s a newborn child.

JAKE: Can you please take care of this for me?

DANNY: Yeah, sure.

JAKE: Alright, grocery store, here we come!

DANNY: How do you know where you’re going?

JAKE: The birds are gonna help us.

DANNY: The birds?

Jake whistles and a flock of robins swarm the car, chirping warmly at Jake. Jake motions for them to go, and they lead the way. With a squeal of the tires, Jake powers after them. The car passes across the screen, acting as a wipe transition so the camera is now in Sam’s “study”. He paces back and forth at the foot of his bed, tapping his chin with the handle of his magnifying glass.

SAM: The notebook couldn’t have moved on its own because it is an inanimate object. It is not physically possible for notebooks to grow legs and move, or to creep like a snake or a worm. It had to be moved by the hand of a perpetrator. Their intent had to be sinister. The notebook could be hiding somewhere within this cabin, taken somewhere off the premises, or it could be destroyed. No viable fingerprints or footprints have been recovered. Not a single clue has led me in the right direction. It was on a table, and now it isn’t. Maybe it went where all my socks go when I put them in the dryer.

Sam looks like he could believe this explanation, but then his eyes track to the balcony connected to his room. Sam suddenly has a deep frown on his face.

SAM: Oh no.

Sam has a quick flashback to the night before, when he was sleepwalking on the balcony, dressed in scuba gear. In his left hand he clutches Josh’s notebook and a pen.

SAM: (back in reality) Oh god!

Sam rushes onto the balcony and grabs the discarded notebook, which is flopped partially open on the wooden boards. Sam flips through some of the pages and lets out a gasp. His messy handwriting is sprawled over a lot of Josh’s sketches and lyrics. Sam squints closer at what he wrote on one of the pages.

SAM: (reading aloud) 18 August 1682: The curs'd Kraken may destroyeth mine own ship, but that gent shall nev'r destroye mine own will to pow'r f'rward. Yond tenticl'd beast shall one day crumble in mine own grasp.

JOSH: (outside Sam’s closed door) Everything okay in there, Detective?

Sam slams the notebook shut in fear.

SAM: Oh no. I need to hide this thing. (Calling to Josh) Peachy, my good sir!

Sam looks back down at the notebook in terror. A similar look of terror is plastered on Danny’s face as he sits in the passenger seat of his car, grasping onto the grab handle. The birds are still guiding the car, and Jake speeds through the wooded area, just barely dodging boulders and trees. Danny lets out a shrill shriek as Jake comes flying out of nowhere onto a country road, nearly t-boning a passing car in the process. He skids over into oncoming traffic and then veers the car back in the right lane, speeding up significantly so the engine dangerously revs. An instrumental version of Safari Song blares through the radio.

DANNY: (calling over the music) You wanna slow down a bit?

Jake ignores Danny and steps on the gas pedal, sending them flying down the road at an even faster speed. They shoot past a cop who aims a radar gun at Danny’s car. The cop looks down at the speed and whistles.

COP: There’s no way I’m catching that guy.

Jake’s driving would cause a driving instructor to have a mental breakdown. He speeds up at turns, cuts people off left and right, and passes cars using the shoulder of the road. At one point he starts doing donuts in the middle of the highway, just for the hell of it. In spite of all his shenanigans, he looks through the windshield with a look of determination. The guy needs his batteries.

JAKE: (conversationally) Do you think the game saved before Fergus died?

Jake is driving in between lanes now, somehow squeaking between two semi-trucks. Danny lets out a squeak, but offers a shrug.

JAKE: (continued) I think I would fall into a bottomless pit of despair if it didn’t save.

Jake looks back at the road ahead of him and speeds forward, breaking out of the confines of the two massive trucks. Danny lets out a sigh of relief which almost immediately becomes hitched in his throat again when Jake cuts across 5 lanes of traffic and takes out a sign, exiting the highway.

JAKE: I nearly missed my exit!

DANNY: (choking on his words) Thank god you didn’t.

JAKE: You know, Josh and Sam are always telling me I should hand my driver’s license back to the DMV, but I don’t know what they’re talking about. I’m a safe driver.

Within that span of dialogue, Jake has run through 3 stoplights, driven on a sidewalk (nearly hitting an elderly woman), and taken out a mailbox.

DANNY: Oh yeah, you definitely are.

On the downlow, Danny pulls back out his phone and starts filming another survival diary.

DANNY: (to his phone) I may not make it out of this car alive. If anyone finds this footage, please tell Taylor Swift I think she’s great. And, if Jake manages to walk away from this one alive, never let him get behind the steering wheel again. Ever.

JAKE: (looking directly at Danny and not the road, where he has run another stoplight and caused a massive pile up.) Who are you talking to? Josh and Sam?

DANNY: My beneficiaries.

JAKE: Fun!

Jake hits a fire hydrant which immediately starts shooting out a geyser of water.

JAKE: I think we’ll park here.

Danny sits in stunned silence with the airbag deployed in his face but, without a word, he untangles himself from his seatbelt and gets out of the car alongside Jake. They start to walk towards the grocery store across the street. In the background a firetruck and a few cop cars arrive at the scene of Jake’s accident in a rush. The firemen and cops are standing around in confusion, scratching their heads at the abandoned car.

JAKE: (pumping his fist in the air) Let’s find my batteries!

JOSH: (calling through the door to Sam) Did you find my notebook?

Sam panics and shoves Josh’s notebook down the front of his shirt and opens his door to face Josh.

SAM: No, of course not! Why would I find it in my study? That's ridiculous!

Josh eyes the notebook-shaped bulge around Sam’s stomach and then squints at him.

JOSH: Okay…what’s the plan now, Detective?

SAM: We, uh, get you a complimentary drink first to drown your sorrows! Why don’t you start to fix yourself something nice, and I’ll be there in a second. I, uh, have to scratch my butt really fast.

JOSH: TMI, dude.

Josh leaves Sam alone and heads for the kitchen. Sam breathes out a sigh of relief and removes the notebook from under his shirt. He scans around the living room and decides to place it back on the table, where Josh said he had last left it. Suddenly, Josh jumps back into the room, pointing at Sam, who has been caught in the act.

JOSH: AHA!!!

SAM: (voice cracking) Josh?! It’s not what you think!

Josh breaks the glass bottle he was holding to pour himself some lemonade and rushes to Sam, holding the broken bottle up towards his neck.

JOSH: (growling) You wanna tell me what’s going on here, Sammy boy?

SAM: I really don’t.

Josh moves the bottle closer to Sam.

SAM: No, no, no, I’m allergic to lemons.

JOSH: You’re literally not.

SAM: Please! I have a wife and children! They’re dependents on my healthcare plan; how will they get their annual physicals if I’m gone?

As Sam is blubbering nonsense, Jake and Danny enter back into the cabin, Danny with a bunch of Pop Tarts boxes, and Jake back to playing his Bop It. Based on the speed the game is at, it appears that it actually did save where he was at before it died. Danny drops the Pop Tarts when he sees Josh holding a broken bottle up to a crying Sam.

DANNY: Hey! What’s going on?

Josh lowers the bottle in shock when he sees Danny. Danny looks as if he made it to the final round of Survivor. His face and arms are covered in dirt, stray leaves, twigs, and rashes. His shirt and shorts are in tatters. One of his shoes is gone, and his hair looks like he got electrocuted. In comparison, Jake looks unscathed.

JOSH: I should be asking you the same thing, Danny. Did you take a wrong turn and fall off the side of a mountain on your way to the store?

DANNY: (grumbling) Something like that.

Sam takes Josh’s distraction as an opportunity to plant the notebook back on the table, out of his hands. Although he still seems shaken up, he tries to get back into his Detective character.

SAM: By George! It’s a miracle! The notebook is exactly where you left it last night at 10:48! The mystery is solved! Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go somewhere very, very far away from here to, uh, register Rosie to vote.

JAKE: You can’t go, Sam, we got Bop Tarts. Oops. Pop Tarts.

BOP IT: Bop it!

JOSH: Not so fast, Samuel.

Josh picks up the notebook and flips through the pages. His face falls. Sam winces, bracing himself for the worst. Josh is still holding the broken bottle in his hand, and Sam has a bad feeling he knows how to use it.

JOSH: (reading one of Sam’s added entries) 21 August 1682: The Kraken consumed mine own first mateth in one biteth. The screams w're deafening and I feareth I shall nev'r catch but a wink a soundeth night again. I holidam to avenge mine own mateth, Jeffrey, if 't be true t's the lasteth thing I doth. (taking a break from reading) When did you learn to write like this?

SAM: It was Bigfoot, not me. The dude is a wordsmith.

JOSH: Right, right, so you’re telling me that Bigfoot, who is definitely real, broke in here without leaving a trace, took my notebook, wrote a bunch of random stuff about the Kraken, and then returned the notebook afterwards?

SAM: Yes?

Josh sighs and takes a seat back on the sofa, dropping the broken bottle onto the cushion next to him so he can flip through more pages. The camera follows him doing this, and it’s evident that Sam filled out every single page in his sleep the night before.

JOSH: I wish you had just been honest with me, Sammy. I was really worried about my notebook, I thought I would never see it again. My heart was all twisted up in knots.

BOP IT: Twist it!

JOSH: It was pulling me apart.

BOP IT: Pull it!

JOSH: This notebook is my one way to brainstorm what I share to the masses, to the teenyboppers out there who adore us!

BOP IT: Bop it!

Danny grabs the Bop It out of Jake’s hands, stomps to the front door, and chucks the toy.

BOP IT: (Voice growing fainter as it flies away) Awwwww man! Final score: 284,923.

JAKE: Are you kidding me? I was gonna break my record!

SAM: (eyeing the George Harrison album nailed to the wall behind Jake) I already did that.

DANNY: Your high streak was 12, Jake! You definitely broke it!

Jake looks disappointed, but he shrugs. Then he notices Sam looking at the evidence board and gapes.

JAKE: My George Harrison record!!

Josh finishes looking through his notebook, grabs a box of Pop Tarts from the ground at Danny’s feet, retreats back to his room, and comes back out with a second notebook, which looks identical to the original one. Sam stares at it blankly. Josh uncaps a pen and fixes himself an Apple and Cinnamon PopTart. Josh takes a big bite out of it.

JOSH: (with his mouth full) Now that I finally know where my notebook is and have some brain food, I can get back to work.

Josh starts drawing sketches in his new notebook as Waited All Your Life starts playing. As the song enters into the first verse, Josh is transported into a music video world where he frolics through fields with his notebook, they ride a tandem bicycle, share a Capri Sun, and watch a beautiful sunset at the ocean. As the song fades out, Josh is back in the living room, holding up a completed sketch of a jumpsuit. It has an anchor on it and the sleeves and legs are wrapped in tentacles. Josh has just designed a beautiful tribute to the Kraken.

JOSH: What do you guys think?

Josh holds his notebook up to Sam and Danny, who are feasting on Pop Tarts as well. Sam has taken off his detective gear, and Danny managed to get a quick shower in to clean the grime off. His skin is now covered in cream to help with his rashes.

DANNY: That’s actually pretty neat.

SAM: So you’re not mad at me anymore?

JOSH: No, I’m still pissed.

Although it’s cheesy, Sam, Josh, and Danny all hug one another. In the background, Jake receives an award from the Guiness Book of World Records for his Bop It score. None of his bandmates notice this happening. Jake shakes hands with a man in a suit and receives a certificate, getting his picture taken. Jake looks happier than he ever has.

END OF EPISODE.

(if you read this whole thing, I love you)

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