#but it makes bobbys reaction here. as much as he is a shithead

[horror-aesthete]

Twin Peaks, 1990, dir. Tina Rathborne

SE01E04 Rest in Pain

[mrvdocks]

Is This Love?

- It had to be that fateful day that you two stumbled into his spree. The day that would mentally fuck with you forever. - Spree AU

♫ - The thinking you’re the better man The danger I don't I understand

Word Count: 3K

Warnings: Blood, language, some attraction to a serial murderer, standard final girl

pic credit: @pinkresources​

You don’t know where everything went wrong. Things just went downhill so fast that you barely had a chance to even blink.

Yet here you were, covered in who you thought was your best friend’s blood, a giddy Kurt, and a million people watching.

This couldn’t be the same sweet unassuming guy you’d met before, right?

Everything about him was off now. His tone, his style, his demeanor. Maybe you chose not to see the undertones of insanity to him. Because you were just as alone as he was in the end. 

Looking back now, he was definitely stalking his prey. Whether that was you or her, whoever gave him the most leverage and made him a household name. A name to either be feared or admired.

It had to be that fateful day that you two stumbled into his spree. The day that would mentally fuck with you forever. 

It was supposed to be a normal day, just get your friend, in and out of some of her busiest and various interviews. You were her assistant, even if she tried to coin it some other term or just called you her friend, plain and simple.

Your pairing made you feel somewhat self conscious. Here she was, pretty, leggy, adored by fans online, the facade she had constructed for herself when in reality she was just manipulative and vindictive. This definitely wasn’t the crowd you wanted to work with, alas here you were.

“Remind me what we’re doing.” She said, eyes still completely glued to the phone. 

“Variety wanted that challenge video with you.” 

“Perfect, now,’ she took her eyes off of the screen and paused her typing. “Where’s the car?” 

“What car?” 

She rolled her eyes, “Those shitheads didn’t get me a car? How do they expect us to get there, walking?” 

Sometimes you wondered how she made it this far. Probably because everyone wanted to be used by her.

“Relax, I’ll just order a ride again.” You whipped out your phone, picking a red app out of the hundreds of others that caught your eye.

“Relax? Do you know how hard it is for me? I could be in the Maldives by now but no you told me to do this stupid interview because you’re poor.”

The insult didn’t exactly sting you as much as it would’ve a year ago. As a media graduate you thought you’d be working within the big leagues, not with a prissy and bitchy vlogger who wanted everything at the drop of a hat. 

Plus this interview came with some big bucks and if you could manage to nail this without fail, you could quit the very next day.

“Sorry, look, it’s just today and then tomorrow you can go out and do whatever you want.”

She whines, eyes back onto her phone and tweeting about her hardships. While the princess waited you kept an eye on passing cars, anything that would match the one on your screen. 

A car pulls up in front of you both, the windows of the passenger seat rolling down to greet you.

“Kurt, right?” 

He nods with a smirk, definitely inviting you in but also reminding you of someone. You make your way to the backseat, but are pushed aside as your friend takes her place in the middle of the row. You laugh nervously, glancing at Kurt as you take the passenger seat. 

“What’s with all these cameras? Are you like in a reality show?” Your friend blurts out, prompting Kurt to glance at her.

“It’s just for safety. Wait are you - oh my god you are!” Kurt gushes, making the connection of the celebrity in his backseat. 

Your friend flashes her pearly whites at Kurt, loving to be the center of attention. 

“No way. Bobby is not gonna believe this.” He beams.

You can feel it’s almost time to dissociate in order to get through this ride. 

Kurt turns his phone over to the right, capturing your friend’s image a little better. The comments pop one after the other at rapid speed. You can’t read it but you can tell by Kurt’s face whoever is commenting is in disbelief. 

“My friend Bobby is obsessed with you, he always says he would make a sex tape with you.” 

You cringe at the thought and at the sudden robot voice erupting from Kurt’s phone exclaiming that Julia take her top off. It doesn’t seem to faze her though, she lives for it.

“Hey has anyone told you, you look exactly like that guy from Stranger Things?” Julia laughs, You’re unsure if it’s supposed to be a jab or an actual compliment for Kurt.

Kurt’s smile drops, it’s something he got a lot as a tease from Bobby. How he looked like him but didn’t quite have his suave and lovable demeanor. If anything he was the complete opposite, pathetic.

“A bit.” He waves the thought away, and as soon as your friend begins to take pictures of herself, he begins speaking rapidly. 

“If you post anything, make sure to tag me I’m KurtsWorld 96. Follow for follow.” He beams, as if this is something he normally does.

Ohhhhhh boy. This is just a twitter bot in a boy’s body isn’t it. 

Your friend just giggles to herself, completely ignoring his plea for fame. 

“See, I would love to do that. But my friend has to do like some background check or whatever. No hard feelings though, ‘kay?” With that she’s back to her own bubble.

It’s you who’s on the spotlight now though and you mentally curse her out for it. 

“Really?” Kurt glances at you and you can read him just like all the other fans. The hopefulness in his eyes. 

“I mean if you need to check out my stuff I don’t mind at all. In fact, that’s why I have all these cameras set up.”

“I thought they were for protection.” 

Kurt chuckles, “That too, but I mean when stuff like this happens you have to document it, right? Gotta let everyone know what you’re doing all the time.” 

The extreme level of desperation from Kurt almost scares you. You’ve seen this before, you were this before. His problem is he doesn’t have a Julia. 

You nod, smiling easily. 

“After all, we’re only as good as our last performance.” Kurt says suddenly. 

You do a double take.

There’s a familiarity to what he says. You’ve seen or heard it somewhere before. Something only known to you in private. 

Your brows furrow as you both look at each other. There’s a certain tension between you now, you get goosebumps from the way he looks at you. The feeling in the pit of your stomach confuses you. 

The times he glances at you in silence just to raise his brows or to do some facial quirk to make you laugh feel pleasant.

You watch him intently, the way his fingers grip the wheel, the way his hair could use just a touch of hydration, the way the corners of his lips lift into a smirk.

Julia doesn’t notice the eye fucking at all, not surprising.

The later half of the ride consisted mostly of just Kurt talking about something he was planning and that if you two were interested he would love to have both of you back. 

Julia, though always eager to have a camera shoved in her face, surprisingly declines because Kurt just doesn’t seem like he’d suit her brand. You feel the embarrassment for him and want to get out of this situation as soon as possible.

Your prayers are answered and the minute you see Kurt brake, you rush out just as your friend holds up a finger for you to wait. Kurt offers her a water bottle which she takes happily because it’s “free”. You wait but he offers you none.

She takes small sips and then crams it into her bag. 

Kurt simpers, but you don’t know what exactly is in the bottle, yet. 

“Thanks, Kurt.” You can’t help but meet his gaze. It’s not desperate anymore, no. It’s almost.....darker.

“My pleasure.” 

You both rush into the building, Julia forgetting about him already. But he sits in your mind the entire time. 

Julia cries as she doubles over in pain, her hand basically gripping yours for dear life as she coughs up blood. She had left the interview early due to a stomach ache but you’d never seen anything so severe.

“Julia, okay listen to me, we have to get you to the hospital.”

She shakes her head, hurling crimson onto your shirt and hands. 

“Julia! You need help, we need to go!” You yelled adamantly.

She wasn’t like this until the car ride with Kurt. 

You sprang into action, going back to your phone and putting in Kurt’s info to find where he was. The only perk about being an assistant to an influencer, is people will come when you call. And Kurt was sure to come.

You order a ride, and cover up Julia’s face which already is starting to look like something out of a zombie movie. Her face is swelling up and her lips are bleeding. 

You take her by the arm and lead her down to an awaiting Kurt, joining her in the backseat.

He looks different. More rugged and somewhat cleaner, he’s changed clothes since the few hours you saw him. Even the car is different, it wasn’t his Prius. 

He’s not even fazed by her sudden reaction to the water and instead, the moment you close the door he drives off in the opposite direction. 

“Kurt this isn’t the way to the hospital.”

“Oh I know, I’m taking you home.”

“I don’t live this way.” You were beginning to feel the panic rise in you.

He chuckles to himself as if he just made a killer joke. “No, no, my home.”

Your eyes widened. You scan the car filled with cameras. Certainly anyone watching would call the police. You can’t help but freeze, your shaky hands trying to grip Julia as she continues to hurl uncontrollably. 

You pass streets you don’t recognize and making contact with drivers is out of the question while you’re paralyzed. 

Kurt pulls onto a rocky road, a house completely devoid of light staring back at you. You wish you could scream once he gets out of the car but when he opens the door to your side and helps you with Julia into the house, you’re on autopilot.

“Honestly I’m surprised she made it this long. Everyone else lasted only a few seconds.” He guffaws, completely in awe as if this was some kind of achievement.

You stare at him, in deep thought of who else he’d done this to.  

“Why are you doing this? Why - why would you-” the sheer panic in your voice doesn’t seem to affect him.

He dumps Julia onto the couch mindlessly, as if he just came home from a long day of work. 

“Because I love you. And I’d do anything for you. And.....I didn’t like the way she was talking to you.” 

He faces you now, coming to hold your face in his hands. You don’t recoil yet but shiver at the way his oddly cold fingers feel against your warm flush face.

“How do you -” 

“We’re only as good as our last performance.” He echoes from earlier. 

It all clicks suddenly. The reason why he didn’t give you a bottle. The comments on her videos defending you. The anonymous messages between you two. It was him all along. 

To say that the now dead body next to you while he professed his love to you was very unsettling would be an understatement. Much less it being broadcast to millions of people watching. 

“If you loved me you wouldn’t be doing this,” You tried to reason, bringing his hands down to his side.

You liked Kurt. Even if you hadn’t known what his intentions were. But the messages made you feel like someone was on your side. Like he understood you. Now you weren’t sure if the past few weeks even meant anything to him or if he really was just using you to get to Julia. 

“You let her walk all over you the same way I let Bobby. But not anymore! You and me, we can be bigger than they ever were.”

“Kurt you’re insane! We have to go now.” 

You make a break for the front door, only to be pinned down by Kurt. You struggle but Kurt’s figure hovers over you. Your breath hitches at the sudden closeness of your faces and bodies.

“I’m sorry but I can’t let you do that.” He says grimly. 

“Kurt please, I won’t tell anyone. I promise. Look we can - we can leave and go somewhere they won’t find you.”

He scoffs. “Live in anonymity? You know I can’t do that.”

You know you’ve lost the battle right then and there. 

You have to appeal to his nature, his blood thirst. You’re quick on your feet because the stench of the blood on your hands is beginning to make your stomach churn. 

You crane your head to the side and lean into him, pressing your lips together. He’s frozen for a second, taken aback by your sudden change of heart. He pulls back and stands, leaving you on the floor still. 

He’s laughing now, almost manically. 

“You love me! See? With everything you and I know, we could be a power couple!”

You stand, watching him as he celebrates prematurely. 

The comments on the stream were going crazy. Most of them not believing that your friend or Bobby were dead now. A variety of sounds coming from the phone fill the room and muffle your quick breaths.

You take small strides to him slowly, keeping your eyes on the phone. “You’re right. No one can tell or make us do something we don’t want to anymore.”

He’s coming down from his high, raking his hands through his hair and muttering to himself. 

“We have to clean house.” He says, rushing to Julia’s body, grabbing her feet and dragging her to the garage. 

You take this moment when his back is to you to run to the door again, flipping the lock open and running as fast as you can out into the freezing air. The adrenaline fuels you. Kurt curses as he drops the body and runs after you. 

He lurches forward when he’s close enough, dropping the both of you onto the rocky dirt. You scramble to get up but he takes hold of your head by your hair and brings your head down onto the ground roughly. 

You’re disoriented for a moment, unable to see. 

“You’re making things harder than they need to be.” He sighs, flipping you over on your back and taking you into his arms in a bridal carry back to the house. 

“Please don’t kill me.” You manage out, feeling a stinging pain in your head.

He pouts. “I’m not gonna kill you. I need you.”

He sets you back down onto the pool table in the garage, going back to talk to the millions watching him and you now. 

You don’t see what he types but from the looks of it he disagrees severely. “No I’m not going to kill her! She’s the Bonnie to my Clyde.” 

If anything, this was going to be Romeo and Juliet. Only you weren’t dying for this.

You feel around for anything on the table with your limited view. A ball, a stick, anything. You grasp a hard triangular shape, gripping it with with the little strength and adrenaline you can muster. 

He’s too distracted by what everyone’s saying to notice you behind him, rack high in the air. You yell as you bring the rack down to the nape of his neck, he goes down hard and fast but you’re quicker. 

You pounce and straddle him, bringing the rack up again to gain more momentum and aim down at his face.

He’s cries out in pain, hands coming to shield his face. “What are you doing?! This isn’t how it’s supposed to be!” 

“Sorry babe. Change of plans.” You grit through deep and fast breaths. You get a few more hits in before he seemingly goes limp. 

Your chest heaves, trying to get back to normal as you wait with bated breath for any sign of movement from him. You make a move to climb off of him, seeing the phone thrown to the side, still documenting the entirety of what just happened. 

You toss aside the rack, crawling to the phone as you read the comments. Things calling for Bobby to come out, some asking if Julia was okay, others insulting Kurt and you. One catches your attention.

Watch out!

You turn in the nick of time, avoiding Kurt’s swing of the rack. You try to crawl away but he grasps your ankle and drags you back. You manage to get a kick in with your other foot, earning you a second or two. Kurt bellows out in pain.

He persists, climbing on top of you to grab your throat firmly. The action and pressure of it is enough for you to abandon the phone and try to pry him off. 

“We could’ve been great!” He yells, his bloody face painting yours. You cough roughly, trying to get some air back into your constricting lungs.

You can’t hold him off any longer, and if you don’t get any oxygen, he’ll win his twisted legacy.

Remembering the phone, you let go of his hands and feel around until you are able to grab it firmly and hit him in the eye with it. He falls back and screams in pain. 

You’re on top again, taking hold of the collar of his shirt to hold him as you attack with abandon.

“We’re.” Hit.

“Only.” Kurt groans.

 “As. Good.” Another dastardly good hit.

 “As. Our. Last.” He sputters, choking.

“Performance.” You let a guttural yell rip from your chest as you deliver the final blow. This time he stays down. 

The silence rings in your ear long enough to spur you out of the moment. You can hear sirens in the background, not long now. You glance back to your anonymous lover, your hand coming to lift the hair out of his bloody face. 

Your fingers linger on his face for a second. You bring the phone to your face and laugh mirthlessly, “Fuck you all.” 

You climb off of Kurt, heading to the welcoming breeze of the outside world. 

You sit on the porch chair, covered head to toe in a mixture of blood, eyes fluttering shut as the sirens get louder with each second. 

You smirk.

[hopeshoodie]

Favorite and least favorite LIs and why?

I put in the read more for convenience but whoo boy do I have THOUGHTS

((Also if I shit on your faves here or in another post, I mean no disrespect to you. Some of my best friends are Lucas stans- I’m kidding. Legitimately all of these come down to personal preference- except Levi, if you like Levi you need to get some self-worth babes- so whoever your fave is you’re valid.))

Season 1

Favorites: Talia 😍😍🥰😍 and Jake 😘🥰😍

I genuinely don't understand anyone picking other LIs. Talia is god tier, one of my favorite LIs from any visual novel. She’s so hot, really interesting, and open/kind/loving/pretty/sincere.... I love her. I do wish I knew more about her though because I chose her every opportunity but never really learned a whole lot of personal details. Jake is such a kind soul and we stan a handsome, respectful gentleman. I've always liked quiet boys and mad into loud smart girls so... yeah..... The only other valid LI choice is Tim, and he's my platonic bestie so. 

Least favorite: Levi 🤢🤮😡😤🤢🤢

Levi? Stupid idiot motherfucking Levi? Goddamn fool jock stupid cheating ass rat bastard shithead idiot Levi? Fuck OFF. I don’t really like Mason that much but haven’t done a run through where Mason is as terrible as Levi. I'm not even mad about Cherrygate I'm mad about how Levi treated MC after it. He never apologized, he never really showed MC that she could trust him, he never supported her. The nail in the coffin was the lie detector. We hate men who cant apologize or empathize.

I will say, they fixed Levi’s character in Matchmaker, so if we’re counting matchmaker then I guess my least favorite is Jasper.

Season 2

Favorites: Noah 🥰😚😏 Marisol 😅😏😍 Henrik 😇😍🤗 and Carl 🤩☺

I don’t even know how to explain why I love Noah. I love angst and slow burns, AND my comfort characters are always quiet smart lawful neutrals. He’s such a complex character and every action he does makes sense and ugh. I just really love him ok. He and my S2 MC are OTP.

I know people hate Marisol but she’s exactly my type irl. I love slowburns, and I love people who grow as characters because of the people they’re with. Marisol does this lovely thing when you couple up with her when she goes from flighty and insecure to fiercely loving and devoted. I think that works with her character. My big hangup with her is her pretentiousness-  like girl I took up to psych 305 and I don’t go around trying to analyze people and act like I’m so smart. I think she’s really stuck in her ‘not like other girls’ phase, and feels superior because of her education, which I relate to a lot. That was me 2-3 years ago, and it was all fed by insecurity and isolation. But maybe that’s part of the appeal? I want so badly to fix her. Obviously it sucks that you have to support her during RoccoGate just to access her, but I love her nonetheless.

Henrik is a delight. He’s the perfect balance of sweet, independent, honest, and funny. He's a goof but unlike Bobby he's not trying too hard. I just wish he hadn't gotten kicked out of the villa every time until I realized the only factor deciding that is who MC says she wants to keep to the girls- but then again, him cheating with Blake is so out of character unless it’s explained why and his reaction is different. 

And Carl is just my good quiet sweet boy, and his design is really pretty. I just wish he had a different pose because I hate his fuckboy hands and lip biting. But he’s really straightforward and supportive, and I headcanon him to be on the autism spectrum so he’s automatically one of my faves. 

Least favorites: Arjun 😤😒🙄 Bobby 🥱🙄😬 Gary 🙈 and  Rahim 😒😐😔

Arjun gets under my skin with how pushy he is. He doesn’t really bother to build a relationship with her but expects her to pick him. Also I hate how he and Elijah are the only mlm rep we've got but neither of them are unavailable or uninterested in MC. Ciaran and Tai kind of made up for it this season, but I still think Arjun sucks. 

Bobby is super insecure and doesn’t respect MC's wishes to stay just friends. I also? Don’t think he’s that funny? Like I love a goofy boy, but so much of Bobby’s humor seems like all set up and no punchline- ha ha I made up a word? ha ha I put on a dress? ha ha I switched peoples clothes? Versus Henrik and Chelsea, who I think are genuinely funny, are able to poke fun at themselves and reference other things. But it’s mostly the Nice Guy (TM) vibes I get from Bobby that put me off of him. 

Gary doesn’t support MC like I wish he would, he just lets people bully her and doesn’t apologize when he’s done hurtful things like kiss both her and Lottie. He’s a sweet character, but he gets away with a lot and never apologizes or recognizes that he’s hurt MC. That scene with Hannah always frustrates me because he acts like the victim. I get that people think he’s a sweetheart, and I like his backstory, but I just? Don’t see it? He refuses to take responsibility for his actions, allows his partner to be miserable without even asking what he can do, and storms off whenever there’s a confrontation. 

And finally Rahim. I’m mad about this one because Rahim was my FAVORITE until like day 22, then Fusebox did him so dirty. Dont get me wrong, he's hot af and his little 'I'm shy around girls' shtick is cute, at first. But my first playthrough ever I coupled with him before the disaster recoupling and then went back to him the first chance I got. He is SO sweet before CA, but afterwards Fusebox really leaned into his ‘control freak’ personality. I liked the drama with Jo and Shannon when MC is involved, so I don’t hold that against him. I like how he learned to open up and developed as a character (his arch is less pronounced when he’s with Jo but oh well). What I hold against him is how he treats MC and the other characters post-CA. He's super condescending whenever MC says something goofy, always shaming her and giving frowns. He really uses the 'I'm geeky so girls don’t like me' bit even though??? He's super hot and rich, so why is that still his Thing. I get lowkey misogynistic vibes from him with his pickup lines and bragging about spending money on dates- like dating is a game and women are prizes rather than people. ALSO!!! IN THE WEDDING EPISODE!!! Every other LI I've played through the wedding episode with has also had a ring and proposed to MC at the same time. RAHIM DOESN’T DO THAT!??! Such a weird choice for the writers to make and idk. I just really resent Rahim as a character.

Season 3

Favorites: Lily🏳️‍🌈😍🥰 and Yasmin 😆😚🔥

Lily is LITERALLY Henrik but as a woman and I love that. I’m so gay. She’s really open, caring, passionate, and plus she’d really hot. Not as hot as Iona, but up there. Even when she’s fighting, she seems like a real person as opposed to the generic personalities everyone else has. We love a lesbian queen.

I was hesitant to try Yasmin at first because her eyeshadow is really ugly, but I’m so glad I finally did. All of her lines are SO romantic and she’s SO pretty and ugh. Again, very gay. I love the spontaneity and the idea of a manic pixie music girl. 

I was into Tai for awhile (mostly because of that comment about MC’s voice) but he’s a bit too full of himself for me personally and also he and Ciaran are meant to be. They need to get married. Camilo’s also a really great character but he dresses like a 10 year old boy and also he’s a Man.

Least Favorites: Bill 🤷‍♀️🙄🤨 and Harry 🤢😤🙄😐🤮

Bill really isn’t that bad, I don’t mind his silly turns of phrase or his insistence on debating dumb things- because it’s mostly banter. What I do mind is him defending those phrases instead of laughing it off and thinking that hes somehow deep for not liking small talk. He comes across as a twitter poet. Also I think his pose is dumb. 4/10 he has some endearing moments but eh I'm not into him. 

But Harry on the other hand......... I was going to pick Harry in the first coupling because he's super cute and his fashion sense (at least his swimwear- that yellow jacket is something else...) is way better than everyone else's but he ruined that when he opened his mouth. Business major is a red flag, but then his dumb little pick up line turned me off. And then every scene since I've hated him more and more. I work in legal services and want to go to law school in the future, so I like educated and successful people just fine. But I HATE when they act classist and like that makes them better than other people (if you cant tell by my distaste for Hannah, Marisol, and Lucas). Harry doesn’t care about real things, he cares about the status they bring him. It's not that he wants to open a business because he has a drive for a product or service or cause, it's because he wants to say hes a business owner. If your only goal for doing something is getting power I don’t have time for you. 0/10. EDIT: He gets one (1) point back for being open about his anger issues and actively seeking treatment, I don’t know many men in their 20s willing to admit that and seek help. Every time I replay I try to be like ‘give him a fair shot, he has a lot of stans’ and then he blows off MC to play video games and says he has no freetime because he’s networking all the time. *pointing at Harry* blow that piece of junk OUt oF the SKY.

[juicehoee]

All Along the Watchtower {Chapter Five: Happy With Me} (Juice Ortiz)

One/Two/Three/Four/Five

This chapter is shorter, and it needs some heavy edits. But I thought of a completely different direction than I originally intended, so this is more of a filler while I get my thoughts in order.

Enjoy!

Chapter Five: Happy With Me

“Could you be happy here with me?”

Juice was surprised by his own question as soon as it left his lips, but he couldn’t take it back. Did he want to take it back? He wasn’t sure. Did he really mean it?

Priscilla looked at him, not taken aback at all. A sweet smile crept slowly onto her face, twisting it into an expression of joy. “Of course I would, Juice.”

He paused as his brain stuttered, not expecting that reaction. A state of shock would have been acceptable. Silence, discomfort, or even a screaming rejection would have been more realistic reaction than the agreeable compliance she just gave him. It wasn’t right.

They were eating hot dogs at a cute little picnic table in her hometown. Nothing else laid in sights for miles, just a sweet hot dog stand with a few tables right off the main road. Juice had always lived in the city and Charming was a town, but the country completely blew that out of the water. He fucking hated it, but he liked spending time with Priscilla and he needed to get over Lana so he could properly break her heart to save his own ass. Maybe it was selfish and he was being a dick, but he’d already convinced himself that Clay and Gemma hadn’t given him a choice. Still, it left a bad taste in his mouth-- worse than these nasty hot dogs.

Juice kicked himself mentally for trying to fuck this up. Priscilla said she’d be happy with him here and he wasn’t going to ruin a chance at love for himself because of these goddamned self esteem issues. He’d been doing this whole life thing for too long and his house was too empty with only him and his two cats there. There was just a lingering sense of guilt and suspicion suspended in the pit of his stomach that he just couldn’t seem to shake. A future with Lana was out of the question, he knew it.

There’s nothing wrong here, he told himself. It’s all in your head.

He just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was up.

“You’d really be happy in Charming?” Juice asked, prodding her with questions. “Even with all the MC shit I’d have to do? You could really be happy with that?”

“Well, yeah.” Priscilla answered like it was obvious. “I really like you, Juice.”

“I really like you, too.”

He couldn’t stop thinking about Lana and that kiss and the way she felt that night when he took her home on the back of his bike. It was a fucking mistake, but he was drunk on her and her hair smelled so nice and she was so young and tight and perfect and he couldn’t stop thinking about the way she curled around him and-

“Juice? Juice?” Priscilla shook him. “Anybody home there?”

“Oh, shit, yeah.” he rubbed the back of his neck. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s alright, just making sure you’re still with me.” Priscilla giggled. “Besides, you look so cute when you have that dreamy, glazed look on your face. You’re so in thought.”

She dipped in her finger into the ketchup and wiped it on his nose, making him jump in surprise. His jaw dropped into a perfect ‘O’ shape as she burst into a hysterical laughter. “Oh, you tricky little minx!”

Priscilla let out a squeal as he smeared mustard across her forehead. “Hey! Who said you could do it back to me?”

“I did.” he said as he shrugged and licked the mustard off of her.

Damn it. Was that too straight forward? He was getting too comfortable around her and didn’t think it through. God, what the fuck had he done?

Fortunately, the world didn’t end right then and there. Priscilla merely beamed at him and did the same to him. It was weird, but he figured they would be one of those weird couples that nobody really understood. But they would understand each other better than anyone and that’s what really mattered, didn’t it?

“You’re the best. Definitely worth the three hour drive both ways.” he said. It felt like like a lie.

“Well, I better be!” Priscilla noted. “You shouldn’t be killing the environment with that gas guzzler of a bike for someone who’s not even worth your time.”

“Well, I guess I’m just lucky I met you then.”

He pecked her cheek and grabbed her hand, basking in the hot light from the sun that sizzled down on him. In the back of his head, a voice told him he should have worn some sunscreen, but he couldn’t be bothered (for once in his miserable life) to pay attention to its nagging and ruining of his best moments. He beamed at this wonderful girl and he was happy. So fucking happy.

“Come on, sweetheart.” Juice stood up. “Let me take you back home before Uncle Lenny gets his shotgun out again.”

“Oh, relax.” Priscilla said. “He only did that once and he likes you! It was just a formality. It’s not like he has to worry about you actually hurting me.”

“You’re right. Will you tell him that? He’s friendly and all, but I feel like he has a little bit of a dark side with how quick he got that gun out.” Juice felt nervous, like he was an awkward, bumbling fifteen year old again, seeing his girlfriend on the weekends and blushing at the bad end of her uncle’s shotgun.

“Uncle Lenny? A dark side? Doesn’t sound like him.” Priscilla said. “Anyway, are you coming up next weekend? Aunt Linda could make us some dinner and we could see a movie. She’s curious about meeting you ever since you started coming around regularly.”

“Of course, I’ll be up.” Juice assured her, guiding her toward his bike with his hand at the small of her back.

“Maybe you could stay over?” Priscilla looked up at him, hopeful.

“Yeah, yeah.” Juice was already calculating the plans in his head. “I’ll just make Half Sack pick up a shift for me or something.”

{***}

“Church in five minutes.” Clay barked at Juice as soon as he pulled into the lot. “Get in there, shithead. You’re late.”

Juice cursed himself. He underestimated the amount of traffic that he’d encounter on the highways in between here and Nevada and it took closer to five hours when he factored in all the bathroom breaks, food stops, and sitting in traffic with soccer moms in mini vans. Church was supposed to start an hour ago.

As he walked into the room, Juice was met with salty glares around the table that made him feel trapped in his chair. Clay closed the door behind him. Tig was especially annoyed with him, but then again, maybe Tig’s face was just naturally like that?

“Trouble’s a-brewing in Charming.” Jax said, ominous.

Clay took his seat at the head of the table, everyone’s heads now turned to him in alarm. “It hasn’t reached Charming yet, but I plan on getting ahold of it before it does.”

“And what is this mysterious ‘it’ you’re speaking of?” Chibs spoke. His hands were tense and curled into fists, knocking on the table every few seconds.

“A Nevada MC.” Clay explained. “They’re called the Roman Skulls and they’re thinking about moving into the illegal gun business. Made a bid with the Irish and rumor has it, they’re setting up a charter in Oakland to get closer to the Russians.”

“That means we’re out and broke.” Jax said. No shit.

“Well, how did the Irish react?” Juice butt in. “They wouldn’t just drop us like that. Clay’s been doing business with them for decades and aren’t they all about that loyalty and business relationship shit?”

“We’ve got their loyalty in the long run, but they’re gonna have to go through the Roman Skulls while we rebuild.” Clay said, sour. “It’s gonna take us some time and money to get our warehouse built and our resources up and running again.”

“But that still comes with some issues,” Jax cut in. “We’re putting a lot of people in a tight spot and we’re most likely not coming out of this situation smelling like a rose.”

“We’re not making any moves yet, but keep your eyes out for this new MC.” Clay warned them all. “We’ve gotta squash them before they become a real threat and we gotta figure out a new source of income in the meantime. We’re drained dryer than old pussy.”

“Ain’t that the fucking truth.” Bobby added. He couldn’t get up from the table fast enough. “Anyone up for a game of cards?”

“Aye.” Chibs agreed. “Could use a feckin’ beer while we’re at it.”

The guys followed the Scotsman out of the Chapel and into the sacred bar to blow off some steam before heading home for the night. The sky was black with speckled stars giving off a certain vibe that Juice couldn’t put his finger on. All he knew was that he needed a couple of beers and a walk around the clubhouse so he could feel his legs again. Damn, his back was so stiff it felt like he spent the night on top of the bar again. He could barely move a muscle without his joints popping.

He spotted Lana as she walked into the clubhouse next to Gemma with her little leather purse slung over her shoulder. Colored pencils poked out of the zipper. How did she keep everything in such good condition when she was so careless with her shit like that? Whatever, she was young. He was sure she could just stop at Michael’s once a month and restock without thinking much of it.

Still, the stuff looked expensive.

Lana and Gemma broke away from each other and Gemma beelined it for Juice as soon as they went their separate ways. She jabbed Juice in the ribs, making him flinch. “Do it now.”

“Do I have to?” he whined.

The look on Gemma’s face didn’t give him much of a choice. Better do it now than put it off and make him feel even worse about everything.

Nightmares plagued his sleeping hours. He kept thinking about the kiss with Lana and how comfortable she felt against him while she was trembling. It was wrong. It was selfish. And it was a dead end for the both of them.

“Lana, can I talk to you outside?” Juice jered his head toward the door.

The way she perked up killed him since he knew what he was about to do. “Sure. What about?” Lana followed him out the door into the cold California night. Juice was 99% sure he caught Tig’s glaring eye on the way out.

“We need to talk.”

That got her attention. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No, it’s just-”

“Spit it out Juice.” Lana was quickly losing patience. She avoided his eyes by looking down at her feet and he knew he had to rip the bandage off quickly.

He didn’t know exactly what to say. It was a mistake? He was already seeing a girl that he could really see things working out with? He lead her on? She was nineteen and practically a baby? He decided on the truth. He had to tell her the honest-to-god truth.

Tig caught up with him before he could say anything else. Juice bit his tongue and tried his best not to snap then. Biting Tig’s head off wouldn’t get him back in anyone’s good graces anytime soon, but something told him there was something up with Tig anyway. His cool, blue eyes were furious and he kept glancing to Lana in the corner.

“Lana, get inside.” Tig ordered, grabbing Lana’s wrist hard enough to make her wince in pain. “Now.”

“But-” she started, looking at Juice for help, but Juice didn’t know what to do. How was he supposed to break this off (was there even anything to break off?) if he couldn’t talk to her.

“Don’t argue. Just get inside. Now, sweetheart.” Tig’s voice softened when he looked her in the eyes, but they didn’t lose their sense of urgency.

“Juice needs to talk to me, Tig-” Lana tried hard to make her case, but it simply wasn’t working for her. It was hard to argue with Tig.

“NOW!” he yelled, making Lana scurry into the clubhouse with her tail between her legs. She only looked back once and he could see the worry for him in her eyes. It was like she thought he was going to get punched in the face.

Wait, was he going to get punched in the face? Fuck.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, Ortiz?” Tig said. “Clay’s already had to run you off of her and now I have to intervene before you can lure her onto your bike! What was your fucking plan once you got her out here?”

“Nothing, Tig, I swear!” Juice pleaded. “Gemma told me I needed to have a talk with Lana about her crush on me. Tell her there was never gonna be anything!”

“Likely story.” Tig laughed, not believing him. He rounded on Juice, getting directly in his face. “Get it through your thick fucking skull that we’re not gonna let you get in her fucking pants.”

“I’m just gonna go. Tell Lana there’s nothing there. Tell her I said it. Clearly, I have no chance of having a decent conversation because you and Clay are busy making sure she’s treated like a child.”

He spit on Tig’s shoes (out of frustration and annoyance and he knew it was a bad idea, but Tig just had a way of getting under his skin) and turned on his heel to beeline it the hell out of there and go home after a long ass day of driving five hours through the country.

Tig had other plans.

Juice blacked out from the force of Tig’s fist against the side of his face, losing his grip on reality as his skull hit the hard concrete.