#but not before he Burromuertos all over the place

[total-drama-brainrot]

josé becomes a part of Team Chris because chris thinks it's super funny that he somehow got both of the burromuerto brothers that applied for dirtbags on his show, and alejandro is so desperate to have him voted off immediately that he forgets about the eel comment and tries to rally the rest of his team against the "interloper". josé, meanwhile, is laying on the Burromuerto Charm real thick with the rest of the cast (including the rest of Team Chris) to surprisingly successful results- only heather, noah and alejandro himself aren't charmed by him, though josé 'explains' that his "baby brother al" is probably just jealous of his 'cooler, hotter older brother'.

after watching him schmooze his way through an elimination ceremony- josé convinced owen to vote for alejandro, and both noah and alejandro voted for josé leading to a tie (tyler voted for noah) but chris was too amused by the situation to eliminate either brother- noah conceeds that josé is worse than alejandro and agrees to team up with him to get his brother eliminated. to varying results.

(also josé's attempted flirting leads gwen and courtney to realise they like each other because they both get Mad Jealous when josé flirts with the other. maybe even gwourteather endgame?)

trying to think up some good fic ideas to post in astro's discord but honestly all i can think of is, like, an au where gwourtney kidnaps josé in london instead of duncan (the burromuertos were in london for diplomatic reasons i guess?) and alejandro reflexively beats the shit out of him when he's unveiled on the jet.

[perpetualexistence]

A Haunting Refrain

Day 1: Ghost/Siren

It was the singing that caught Alejandro’s attention. It was coming from a dilapidated manor at the end of a long, curving path. 

He was just going on a walk with two of his newest friends. He had moved into town just a few days ago. Once again, he had to establish himself into a new school hierarchy. But it was no matter, for he could adjust, just as he always did.

He’d already made two new friends, Duncan and Heather if he remembered correctly. Both on different ends of the hierarchy. Still, he needed to be friendly with all types of cliques before establishing himself at the top. Strange that the head cheerleader and the school delinquent would want to hang out together. Oh well.

He’d just wanted to explore his new neighborhood. They were the ones who wanted him to come down this path so badly. They had led him to the front of this house that sang of longing, loneliness, invitation. How could he not stop to question it?

What he hadn’t asked for was a story about a haunted mansion, a dead family, and a buried treasure of some kind. Yet they were telling him anyway. He only paid enough attention to feign interest. They didn’t explain the singing, which he swore was only getting louder.

Unfortunately for him, he must have done a good job. For now he was being dared into staying the night in the castle. He didn’t know how the conversation had come to that idea. Considering Duncan, he shouldn’t have been too surprised. As dumb of an idea he knew this to be, Heather was here. There was social capital to lose for refusing. 

So, he indulged. They’d keep a watch for him outside the mansion to make sure he ‘didn’t chicken out’. They helped him climb over the gate that warned trespassers to keep away. He turned around to thank them and gloat about his impending victory. They were already gone. 

He shouldn’t be too surprised they left him. Knowing them, this was some kind of prank they’d planned for the new kid. Still, Alejandro was no coward. He had his pride. He’d survive this summer night and whatever else his ‘friends’ had in store.

He walked inside. Everything was covered in dust. Nothing he wouldn’t expect from a place that had been abandoned long ago. The sun was setting rapidly. There was no electricity in the house, so he tried to make do with his phone’s flashlight. To his surprise, the light it produced was near blinding as it touched any part of the house. It forced him to turn away lest he make himself dizzy.

Dizziness found him anyways as the singing returned. Proximity made it easier to parse the voice. Tenor timber echoed down a set of grandiose stairs covered in cobwebs. Alejandro paid them no mind as he climbed each step. The voice echoed inside of his skull. He couldn’t make out the words, yet he knew they were a summons. 

Who was Alejandro Burromuerto to deny a summons?

His foot suddenly plunged through one of the steps. Old wood had given away with the passage of time. He gripped the bannister on instinct, saving himself from a nasty fall. He muttered curses as he pulled himself back up. His foot appeared fine, thank god. Though phantom pains shot through his body regardless. He’d have to be more careful in the future.   

It would be easier to rely on moonlight.  After a bit of wandering, he came across a bathroom. It would help him feel better to freshen up. He didn’t have too many hopes about the state of the plumbing but what other choice did he have?

His reflection started out normal. It copied him exactly. Yet the more he moved, the more it delayed. He saw it from the corner of his eye but paid it no mind. Not until it took a full five seconds for the head in the mirror to jerk up just as Alejandro’s did.

The thing’s mouth split into a grin. Alejandro knew this was just a prank, this wasn’t real. So why did he bleed when the thing reach a gnarled hand through the mirror to scratch at him?

He ran. It wasn’t his proudest moment. This was a joke, he was giving them exactly what they wanted. The crimson on his cheek begged to differ. So run he did. Even as this apparition passed through walls and obstacles without issue. Even as he made it to the front door only to find it locked. Windows were unyielding to his attempts to break through them. 

He started running inwards again if only to increase the distance between himself and this thing.His heartbeat pounded as his legs carried him to a guest room safe and comforting. 

That would have to be better than fear and panic. This panic continued as he closed the door and felt a hand cover his mouth. His hands scrambled to relieve himself of his newfound captor when the singing returned. So soft and melodic. A tinge of desperation peaked out. 

He could no longer hear the other creature’s cries, and so he turned to see who this stranger was. He was met with a shorter boy with a gap tooth noticeable in his nervous grin. 

They shared introductions as best as they could during these circumstances. His savior was Cody Anderson. A teen just like him who’d also been pranked into staying here. Except now he was trapped in this mansion just as Alejandro was. He’d figured out singing kept the thing at bay so he’d just tried kept doing that to survive.

Alejandro didn’t buy it. Cody was far too nervous with his story, and he kept avoiding the question of exactly how long he’d been here. Still, Cody knew more about this situation than him, so he decided to allow Cody the belief that he wasn’t suspected.

They spent the night getting chased by this thing. It could pass through walls but certain doors it couldn’t penetrate. Strange and inconsistent. One of the many things that made Alejandro question and wonder about this situation he found himself in.

Despite his trepidations, he found himself getting closer to Cody. This was hell that he found himself in, but at least it was a hell shared with another person. Cody was much lower on the social ladder. He made that clear enough with his attempts to be macho shortly followed by high-pitched screams. His singing, however, was invaluable. It was enrapturing. If only he could hear it under better circumstances.

Still, it was…freeing. To talk with someone who didn’t demand so many expectations. They went over their plans during the rest of their summer break that remained. Cody attempted to give Alejandro advice on making new friends from the town. He could tell they were horrible without even knowing much about this place. Yet Alejandro could tell this was an honest attempt to help rather than one of sabotage. What Cody lacked in ambition and grace he made up for with an earnestness Alejandro had never seen before.

Well, almost earnest. As expected, Cody was hiding something. He discovered it when he had dared to try his flashlight on the ghost and watched it stop existing while it was lit. It continued, though dazed, when it was gone. But the flash of light had also revealed Cody to be more translucent than he should be.

Alejandro couldn’t just hold his tongue at that point. So Cody finally confessed that he had been killed by the creature long ago. He’d avoided it until now, but with Alejandro here he thought at least one of them should be able to get out.  

Alejandro was more surprised about how much he didn’t mind this revelation than at the fact his companion was dead. It hadn’t changed what he’d learned about Cody, nor had it changed what he thought of him. What would happen after they figured a way out would be strange, but it’s not as if he could just leave the poor ghost here. He wasn’t a monster.

The way Cody’s face lit up let him know he’d made the right choice. 

The defeat of the monster was quick. So quick Alejandro didn’t remember how it’d happened. This was weird. He could remember the heat of the moment, the adrenaline and fear pumping through him. But not the event itself. It was just a fact that one moment he was running from the thing, and the net he was watching it get dragged down to the pits of Tartarus. 

With the creature gone, Alejandro was now able to leave. Though Cody wasn’t. The same object that kept the wraith tethered to the house kept Cody bound to it. The only way to save him would be to dig it free. There was a shovel right there outside, all Alejandro has to do is dig if he would pretty pretty please.

Convenient. This was all too convenient.

The seeds of doubt wormed through his head as he dug into ground. Cody was singing encouragement. Why was he singing it? Wasn’t the singing only for the other ghost?

He was right there. The chest there to open and free him. All Alejandro had to do was open and grab what was inside.

He opened it. He couldn’t stop himself from opening it.

But Cody couldn’t stop him from using his camera’s flashlight one last time to reveal what was in the-

Coffin.

It was a coffin.

With a corpse Cody’s size that had decayed long ago.

Alejandro stumbled backwards in panic. Cody was still. Alejandro’s head shot around for some kind of exit, his brain screaming at him to flee now.

There were graves marked in each direction. Behind him, where the mansion had once been, was just a mausoleum much too small for how much he had walked.

This didn’t make sense. It couldn’t. Alejandro had just been walking through his new neighborhood, bored without a chance to make friends until the school year started. When he heard the singing. 

Wait.

He turned his head to Cody. A sheepish grin met Alejandro’s look of growing dread.

Cody was sorry about all this, really. He’d never actually gotten this far before. He always went too far, or they broke through. 

He always wanted to give them a daring, action-packed adventure. Just like in the video games he was so fond of. It would end in a victory for Alejandro and Cody could get what he’s always wanted for quite some time.

It just got so lonely here. Alejandro could understand why that was a fate worse than death. Why he’d do anything to make that end.

Alejandro moved to run but Cody clung to him harder than anything he’d experienced. The breath left Alejandro no matter how hard he struggled for it as he was pulled closer and closer to that open grave.

Alejandro would understand eventually.

Cody jumped into the casket, dragging Alejandro with him.

They’d have all the time in the world for him to understand.

@total-drama-horror-week

[totaldramaweb]

ALEJANDRO BURROMUERTO CASUAL HC'S.

• he tans weekly on the family's tanning machine (in a speedo, yes). twice a week on winter since he gets paler on cold.

• he always smells like cologne. even sweating, he stills smells very dense. he's always re-applying deodorant/perfume.

• used to shave his whole body with laser at the spa. after the volcano incident, he didn't grow body hair for a long time, so when It grew back he just let himself become hairy (only bodily).

• had a lot of hiperfixations growing up. he didn't quite have any friends so he used most of his time obsessed on a certain activity until he reached perfection, then dropped it to hop on another.

• he prefers reptiles over dogs or cats. but he likes dogs tho, he claims they are loyal and follow blindly.

• José lost one of his pets, never had any other due fear, yet he dreams of having a snake.

• he is a terrible joker. he can do a lot of things but joking is not one of them. he only remembers some jokes of his dad's comedy book he readed back on his childhood.

• he's a great cooker. he always made his mom company when she cooked dinner, he learnt from her.

• he has a guilty pleasure on writting, mainly poetry, and he's great at it. he actually takes It seriously and treat other themes beyond romance or clichés, perhaps even has a diary of his writings.

• he doesnt like movies because he claims he "doesnt have time for them" (canon on his tdwt blog introduction) but this actually raised among his dad telling him that, claiming he should use his time for better like studying or getting better at something. plus, everytime he wanted to see one, José would push him from the TV and take It for himself.

• he actually rarely has genuine fun. the only fun he gets is usually from his recreational activities, and even so, he concentrates more on being perfect on them rather than enjoy. and he does a lot, maybe to avoid being alone with his thoughts for too long before they overwhelm him.

• has photographic memory, and it's very good at remembering faces and places.

• he did just judge his babysitters until tears only to get some attention from his parents. he didn't want to be taken care of, he wanted to prove he's able to take care of himself, like José who didn't need one. he also just wanted to be looked at by them, to spend time with his parents instead of old ladies and annoying teens.

• they speak full spanish at home, he took english lessons since his first years, but didn't really used it until he moved to Canada.

• due his dad being a diplomat, he lived his first years on Spain before finding himself moving from country to country. Like Peru, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Japan, and many more until Canada. His dad worked at the embajadas of Spain in many countrys doing comercy deals between countrys and etc, he had to stay for long times in such countrys and his kids and wife following along wherever the head of the family went. Alejandro had a hard time doing friends on his new schools, eventually all the changes and the mindset he grew leaded him to be who he is, remaining friends is still a hard duty for him. He learnt that everyone leaves and due that he could at least get what he wants from them and It wouldn't be that wrong, he always dissappear from peoples lives and it's something he can't control. Hello, Drama Machine...

- 🕯️

[kookidough]

AGRGAGRGAV i always ponder how alenoah reunion would go because like . it could go So many different ways

like how do they feel about each other now?? i always feel like after world tour is over, noah’s irritation would fizzle out and he’d be back to winning the idgaf war, accepting that in the end it was just a game and alejandro ended up playing better than him

alejandro’s feelings on the subject feel more complex to me like. does he accept the fact that, while noah’s words were harsh, they held some truth?? i view his reaction to noah talking behind his back as very telling of how close they were (despite the relatively short amount of time they spent together)

personally i think that pre-london they were close friends because they could match each other’s humour/wit, like how they laugh at tyler on the runway and when alejandro tells a mean-spirited joke regarding lindsay’s intelligence he tells it to noah, and Cmon guys, i know it was a team challenge but they still spent like 18 hours traversing the amazon together i just know they bonded during that!!! i wont even get into the fact that they’re always standing next to each other / hanging out in the background because i will be a pigeon pecking at crumbs and ive already gone off topic from the original reunion idea

anyway i think alejandro was mad because he thought he could consider noah a friend but he can see noah maybe doesnt feel the same way + hes a threat anyway soooo bye bye noah, question is would he hold a grudge over it and if yes then how long for

and what r they doing in their lives now when they meet again?? is alejandro still with heather or did that doomed relationship crash and burn (again)? is noah with emma or did things not work out after the race? and of course this differs depending on which world tour ending you’re going for, because is alejandro finally a winner or does his family still view him as the runner up they’ve always seen him as, second place silver in a robot suit, never quite good enough for gold (had to go off topic again, burromuerto family angst Gets Me)

would they miss the brief friendship they had? does noah ever meet a contestant on another one of him and owen’s reality shows and get a fleeting reminder of alejandro when they flirt or flash him a smile? does he get tired of no one else being on his wavelength and cast his mind back to that one boy that was? does alejandro ever turn on the tv and spot noah on one of those dumb shows?? and if he does what does he think?

ough i got off topic so many times i love thinking abt them in the future, they dont even have to reunite i also enjoy the bittersweet angst of right people wrong time/place… i think things would’ve been better for them if a million dollars wasn’t on the line

also i am not reading all this before i post it so if there are mistakes or it doesnt make sense then . pretend u didnt see it ^_^

[r4bidcherry]

alecody week day 3: fantasy/horror

-

Cody ran in and shut the door behind him swiftly. He pressed his back against it to catch his breath for a second before getting back to locking it behind him. His hands trembled before he ran past his kitchen and leaned against the wall near the doorway of it. He waited a few moments before slouching down.

And for a while– nothing.

Maybe I lost him…

A knock at the door silenced Cody's thoughts and made him snap back to his stiff position.

Is he insane?! Well yeah, that was pretty obvious.

It went silent again.

Maybe it wasn't him.

He heard his door knob rattle, but it didn't sound as if the man was turning it. After a bit, Cody heard the door open. He went cold.

The man carefully stepped inside and shut the door behind him. “How nice it was for you to lead me to your house, Cody.” He said it in an almost flirtatious manner. The same tone he's had this whole night. It made Cody shiver how he can be so nonchalant while chasing him down and breaking into his house.

The man explored around, “Hasn't anyone ever taught you how to treat your house guests?” He walked into the kitchen and paused to look around. Cody was shaking and desperately trying to not breathe too loud. The man was so close– too close.

The man gripped the hand behind his back that held a knife tighter, he was getting impatient. “I know you are here. I can smell your cheap cologne.”

Cody gasped and figured it was time to book it upstairs to find a place to hide. The man chuckled as he quickly turned the corner and chased Cody upstairs. “Don't run from me!” he shouted, letting a bit of his insanity slip.

Cody had managed to get out of sight long enough to run into his room and hide in his closet. He was almost crying by now.

Oh fuck, fuck, fuck‐ this is how I die-

He had thought back to how he got into this situation to begin with.

Cody groaned and let his head fall onto the counter. His third girlfriend in six months. He was at a bar to take his mind off of it. He felt someone sit next to him.

The man had ordered a drink without paying any mind to Cody. He felt awkward having someone sit next to him when they were nearly the only people there besides a few groups of friends and many open seats. He started up a conversation, “Nice night.”

The man looked over to him and smirked, almost as if he was hoping Cody would talk to him. “Yes, it is. What are you doing here all alone, stranger?”

“Oh. It's a long story.” Cody looked away for a moment before looking back at the man, “I'm Cody by the way.”

“Alejandro. Alejandro Burromuerto,” he smiled and held out his hand. Cody smiled awkwardly and shook it.

Their conversation continued for what felt like hours. Before long they were out in the back alley behind the bar. “Well it's getting late. I should be heading home,” Cody explained.

Alejandro was leaning on his arm against a dumpster, other hand on his hip. He stared at Cody for a second. “How about this, come back to my place. We can take some drinks home,” he spoke in a low tone and gave Cody a suggestive look.

Cody's eyebrows raised as it finally clicked on his mind, “Wait- are you hitting on me?”

“What else do you think I could be doing?” he was still smirking.

“Woah uh, sorry to make this awkward bit I don't really swing that way heh–” Cody rubbed the back of his neck.

Alejandro's expression dropped but not enough to make him stop smirking, although Cody could tell he wasn't happy with that answer.

“Look you're cool and handsome– and all- but I really gotta go home–”

Alejandro sat up, “Looks like we are going to have to do this the hard way then.”

Cody didn't reply and just took to trying to get out of there as fast as he could. He started walking down the sidewalk hoping Alejandro wouldn't follow him. He looked back. He was.

Cody sped up. So did Alejandro. Around Cody's fifth time looking behind him he saw him pull out a knife. He started running at that point.

And that's how he ended up here. He dropped his head into his hands. If he had just not started up a conversation, agreed to go outside with him, or hell just stayed home and rotted in bed all day this wouldn't have happened.

…

Cody hadn't realized until now that he was so caught up in his thoughts he didn't notice the house was dead silent.

Did he leave? Did he think I left?

He sat still for a couple seconds before standing up. He opened the door carefully, trying not to make a sound. He looked around the room and slowly walked to his bedroom door. When he walked out he was pulled back into Alejandro's grip.

Cody looked up at him. “The closet? Very cliché of you,” Alejandro teased.

“What do you want, psycho!”

“You could have made this easier for the both of us, Cody. Came back to my place, get blackout drunk, drugged, and died peacefully in your sleep.”

“Why would you want to do that– why would you want to do this?”

Alejandro chuckled, “You really are not very bright are you.”

“What do you mean?”

Alejandro's chuckling stopped, “I am a serial killer. I kill cute and defenseless loners like you. Fun to play with I must say.”

Alejandro started to trace the edge of the blade under his chin. The rate of Cody's breathing started to speed up and his heart started to race. He tried to squirm out of Alejandro's grip but his he was too strong. Alejandro enjoyed watching the pathetic display.

Tears started rolling down Cody's face, he couldn't keep his composure anymore. “Please. Please let me go. I won't tell anyone– I-I'll do anything please-” he begged through his tears.

Alejandro ran the knife down Cody's chest, toying with the idea of stabbing him. Cody tried squirming again. Alejandro relished in the feeling he got looking at him so helpless. Alejandro continued down and came to Cody's abdomen before raising the knife.

“No– please don't–” before Cody could finish, Alejandro had brought the blade down into him almost delicately. Immediate burning pain hit Cody that made him want to scream but all he could do was whimper. Blood pooled from the wound at an incredible rate.

Cody couldn't tell if his lightheadedness was from the fear or blood loss. Alejandro thrusted the blade into Cody a few more times, each time more aggressive than the last. He let Cody fall to the floor. Cody was gasping and whimpering as he tried crawling away.

Alejandro just stood watching him, “Hm. You are quite a cute one. Maybe I should spare you.”

Blood was smeared from where Cody started crawling away. He felt his vision start to go dark and his mind felt fuzzy. Alejandro turned him over with his boot. He squatted over a Cody who looked like a sheep paraded before a wolf in a pool of his own blood. Alejandro looked at Cody intensely for a moment as if he was in deep thought before smirking. “Today is your lucky day, amor. See you when you wake up.”

Cody passed out.

-

hope yall enjoyed this little thing i cooked up for the first and probably only time ill ever participate in these things lol

[kijosakka]

the thoughts. the thoughts are Consuming me. badly. i will ramble. i have not rread back over this.

this little idea lives in my head alot of like pre-total drama noah having a kindof absent-ishh household where esp bc of his intelligence hes allotted a lot of freetime and he frequents a little food stall super often since the owner started giving him free stuff when he came around long enough < thats chef. isnt it canon that he can actually cook good food or smth WHATEVER the point there is that when chris and chef start talking about bringing chef onboard for show-business/production or of the sort noah is There << THAT IS THE LITTLE IDEA THAT LIVES IN MY HEAD.

this little idea expanded into like 'ok what if chris and chef knew eachother EARLIER and maybe noah had a sister who was in that kind of work area whatever and thats where hes heard of chris before' and through Means and Shenanigans he ends up just kind of accompanying chris and chef through their working through the ranks. theyre like his medical proxys (il)legal temporary(?) guardians or however (mostly bc chris/chef and noah dynamic will live in my heart forever) for years,, studios know him interns employees whatever, he helps out sometimes yk very (read: too) honest kid who will critique anything and everything with no filter. < thats the Dynamic. CUE TOTAL DRAMA!!!

since like,,, new show and all not really renowned host and whatnot, chris has some trouble filling out the cast, missing three people for the intended 22: thus, duncan, ezekiel, and noah. who is pissed at first, hes so incredibly annoyed with the entire show. he complains. loudly. many times. island comes, he knows chris deliberately stuck him on the (objectively) better team to maybe try and incentivize him to coast and/or stick around a little longer since he knows the audience will love this snarky little asshole. but then dodgeball happens -- noah was There throughout all of the pre-td paperwork and sorting thereof of everything, ofc he knows about playa des losers. and he wants nothing to do with this show, why would he not take the vacation??? wtvr wtvr here comes the tddddi special where the timeline moves juuuust a little. noah ends up in the water with the action cast, and immediately starts frothing at the mouth just. absolutely refusing to do anything -- and while chris was going to make him do even just a little bit until he inevitably threw the game, he concedes when courtney starts Lawyering all over the place and lets noah handle most everything legal, making settlements haggling demands etc

the real changes happen in world tour -- cause im just thinking,,, like the burromuerto family are diplomats in canon but here their role has a liiitle more like theyre part of 'high society' or whatever the bit comes in where noah just. hates the burromuerto parents. despises them. had one bad encounter with them and has to conduct exactly one (1) interview for one (1) josé burromuerto auditioning for total drama dirtbags and refuses to do one for alejandro. cue world tour, and realizing that alejandro is a slimy eel in a different (and much more intriguing) way than the rest of his family, and it piques noahs interest.

^ for this specific little idea, i imagine having spent many many years of his life in the Show Biz/reality tv sphere, noahs play style of the game itself shifts (the word panopticon comes to mind here) into one where hes always aware of the entity of the cameras and those behind them (and their potential demands), much more so than his competition. (i also imagine tweaks to sierras character in this where she distinctly appreciates this fact about noah and how he plays against what the Man Behind The Show demands while remaining juuust unaware enough for it to not incur any real punishment) (<see also the term 'panopticon' being kindof bastardized in the td verse as to mean 'aware of the cameras' in reality tv in general)

anyway motivated mostly by intrigue, noah starts prying into alejandros character and develops something paralleling alejandros canon frustration at being found/called out towards him, being fascinated with the idea of pushing hard enough that the mask slips fully (something something vague references to chris and s2 geoff where the 'character' in the show and the real person is separate in his head but the same in the perspective of the actual person of discussion,,, character arc where noah appreciates the person beyond just disconnected interest???) while still staying as aware as he can of his own position in the competition. comparing him to the other 'villains' of the cast (see: heather, courtney, justin to an extent?), he settles on the idea that being outright beaten at this social game hes been running so effortlessly would be the thing to really see the person, and resolves that as his goal: not so much winning, just being the cause of alejandros loss.

(also?? little tweaks to alejandros character mirroring noahs own shifts, where he plays the game ruthlessly but still involves his emotions even if theyre on a tight leash as opposed to noah who separates it cleanly and strictly, to a point where it is too separated and alienates him in a manner bc hes treating something people see as the same as two different things and hurting feelings/being too brash and smth,, man theres Something there about arcs and complimenting eachother but i dont Know how to verbalize it)

^ umm anyways here comes london!! he spent a lot of time, esp in newfoundland and jamaica just Observing, and now alejandro is no longer with the cast and owen is asking him what exactly he thinks. themes of being watched come back, noah steps around the question entirely and turns it into a kind of 'who do i ever really trust?' to which owen affirms with like a 'yeah that makes sense',, come the scene where they run back for tyler, noah pauses to look around the room and dead-on spots the camera set up on a guess of what angle would provide the best shot of the room < again, references to being in the Business,, after london alejandros 'glad to see some where concerned' line is directed at heather, with much more flirty undertones referencing how she was worried at the beginning of the challenge

surprise london is a reward challenge!! and instead of tyler, noah ends up seeing the gwen/duncan kiss (which i haaaaaate in canon oh god do i hate and loathe it with my heart and soul. but i am sleepy and the thoughts are following This Line so i must write it as such), to which he Gets The Fuck out before anyone sees him and immediately sits courtney down to which hes like 'i will swear on anything you want this just happened' and shes obviously devastated by this -- noah comforts her, albeit stilted, but then tells her to absolutely not be angry. confusing advice, he continues -- her anger brings in watch time and ratings, and it will most definitely be exploited at every turn. but no one likes just watching people cry. do not be angry, not in public, not where its filmed. save it for when you swear and gesture so badly the footage is ruined, save it for the corners of the cargo hold where theres no cameras flat out, save it. < cue some more references to the concept of panopticon, and mention how its a reality show thing. court and noah is fun idk

^ this leads to a little Thing. gwen is missing from first class atm which is perfect for courtney and she reasons that if anyone knows a lot about reality shows its sierra -- she asks about the whole concept and sierra is suuuper excited to ramble about it. also alejandro needs to be there?? umm maybe he was going to first class to argue with heather or get away from his team or something idk. but he has to Hear. so sierra goes off on a tangent, which then evolves into her mentioning noah, which either cody or alejandro comments on (depending on whether alejandro is presently there or eavesdropping ig) it and she goes off on another thing, saying to the effect of like 'yeah noahs like a total nepo baby. or i guess not really since the td producers like toootally hate how he pushes back on demands and stuff and only let him work gigs for them since he basically runs the studios and if he walked out everyone would go with him.' and mentioning how well he embodies the 'always watched' entity while acting just unaware enough, mention unique play style etc etc, and she brings up how in london he saw the camera and says offhandedly that he was 'definitely going to say something bad about alejandro but probably guessed he was being filmed'

which them makes alejandro suspicious about noahs intentions/true thoughts!!! thus making noah notice the shift in demeanor and other further piques his curiosity as to what caused it and what he'll show because of it, and then uhhhhhh i havent thought too hard about the rest of canon. its obviously a very noah centric idea but also the Themes make it feel like maybe he wouldnt win?? i imagine he makes it to the merge and even pretty far but maybe not a finalist? he gets what he wants in Genuine Alejandro Reactions though and hes content with not winning since it 'wasnt in his archetype/character plan' or something to that,, maybe he got too aware of the camera or smth idk idk part of me wants to make heather win again with a different finalist or smth, there jsut needs to be a definitive 'ive won against you' or smth to that effect for the whole noah thing i think, maybe alenoah and 'winning' the social game is actually developing something beyond the game itself???? or past that developing something beyond the game itself that is genuine and tangible and cherished,,, idk im not sure on that part

iam thinking so hard about. noah. and nepotism. like uhhhhhhh

[aeon-borealis]

Captivated: Chapter 1

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Note: I’ll be posting future chapters on fanfiction.net and hopefully A03. For now, I couldn’t wait and here’s chapter 1. Enjoy!

1: Welcome to Cress

:Alejandro:

Dark clouds rolled across the night sky and the howling wind dragged at the window shutters. Every time one of the shutters hit the side of the house, I wondered if I could sync up my heartbeat with the noise. Tap. Two seconds passed. TAP. Then my heart thumped. It was a crawling, sluggish beat across a big hollow drum. Such a somber sound.

Jose would describe my internal monologue as needlessly dramatic, Mama would ‘encourage’ me to find a more constructive use for my time, and Papa would tell me to “man up” like he always does. It’s odd to think about. Almost everything I do, say, or muse about is followed by my rough assumption of what Jose, Mama, and Papa would think about the same thing or what comment they might make. The older I get, the more I wonder if I am as much my own person as I want to believe.

I rolled over on the flimsy mattress and looked at the bed across the room from mine. There’s Jose’s sleeping form, barely covered by a thin blue quilt. He snored with the intensity and volume of a chorus of chain saws. Several loose strands of hair are plastered to his forehead and pillow with sweat. He used to be so particular about what length his hair was and strictly kept it very short.

And he has so much stubble now. Band-aids with illustrations of dinosaurs and Disney characters haphazardly covered parts of his chin where he nicked himself with his razor. He used to have such a clean-shaven face. At one point he had bragged about wanting to try shaving the “old-fashioned way” with a real blade.

The only logical conclusion I have been able to reach is that aliens abducted Jose and replaced him with this bum. They can keep him.

***

Carlos was married six months ago now and he didn’t tell anybody. I’ll never forgive him for keeping such a major milestone in his life a secret from me for so long.

It’s surreal sitting across the long mahogany table from Athena, Carlos’ wife. She has short curly red hair, constellations of freckles across her pasty white skin, and a little pixie nose. Other than her physical appearance, the best way I can describe her is that she’s practically a fairy tale character brought to life: She likes to talk with her hands and use grand, whimsical hand gestures. Plus, she has a high-pitched voice and she’s followed by this strong, ever-present apple cinnamon smell.

Tonight she made some kind of cheese-smothered box meal lasagna. Carlos was so proud, going on and on about how little experience she had cooking, how he cooked most of their meals, and how she was slowly but surely learning how to cook real food. Lovesick Carlos was being generous when he lavished praises generally reserved for a fine crème brulee on a basic pasta. Athena only made things more embarrassing when she openly admitted that her previous diet was a mix of Hot Pockets and other microwavable crap before Carlos “nudged” her towards learning to use an actual stove.

Somehow, I managed to stomach it. I made myself shovel mouthful after mouthful of rubbery cheese into my maw because I love my older brother more than I hate cheap food. I’m expecting to spend most of tomorrow hunched over the porcelain throne as a result, though.

I can learn to make excuses to escape Athena’s cooking. I can learn to deal with one eccentric, but well-meaning person because she genuinely makes Carlos happy. But then he stumbled into the dining room.

Athena asked Jose how work went today. Jose mumbled something incoherent under his breath, spat a chewed-up wad of tobacco gum into a napkin, then unceremoniously plopped down into a chair across from me and planted a sneakered foot on the table top. He’s hunkered down in his thin-fabric windbreaker and trying to hide the bags under his eyes with the hood part of his maroon hoodie. With a tight-lipped frown, Athena placed a helping of her rubber lasagna in front of him.

Jose grabbed it by the tips of his fork prongs and wolfed down the entire chunk of food within mere minutes. I looked down at my own generous helping, idly poking at the amorphous mass with my own fork. Then I looked back at Jose and can’t help the way my eye twitches or the intense urge to shoot my dear brother the iciest glare I can muster.

Suddenly, Carlos grabbed me by the arm and ghosted me into the nearby hallway. He knitted his thick eyebrows together as his face morphed into that stern expression that used to be permanently plastered to Mama’s face.

“Please. Try to be civil, Alejandro,” Carlos said with a deep sigh.

“I am. He’s the one stumbling in like an uncultured barbarian...”

“I know.” Carlos’ gaze trailed off for a second. Then he turned back towards me, pinning me with his dark eyes and making me hold his gaze. “Look. I’m not happy about our current situation but the way I see it, he’s my brother and he deserves time, space, and understanding while he sorts himself out. He’s acting like a rebellious teenager, yeah, but Athena and I decided we should pick our battles with him.”

“So, he’s a charity case like Mama and I?” I couldn’t keep the biting edge out of my tone.

Carlos glared at me. “You’re not a charity case. Never use that phrase around me again, got it?”

“Seriously, Carlos. What could possibly be going wrong in the world of the high and mighty Jose Burromuertos?”

“He lost his entire fortune and had to declare bankruptcy a few months ago,” Carlos replied with a heavy sigh.

“So he squandered all his money. What an idiot. Everything played out exactly like Papa said it would...”

Carlos’ eyes narrowed dangerously and his nostrils flared. There was a bull seeing red behind those eyes and he was visibly shaking as he tried to tamp down and contain his anger.

“Ignacio officially disowned him about a week ago.”

My blood suddenly ran cold and I could swear my pupils were the size of bowling balls.

I felt like the world had broken and shattered beneath my booted feet. Papa was stern and he could be cruel. But, he would never. He couldn’t have. Even after Carlos ran away from home years ago, Papa never gave up on him. He even kept Carlos’ name on his official will. There was a trust fund Carlos could pull from at any time he wanted. And this was despite Carlos resisting Papa’s will at every turn and arguing furiously with him every chance he could.

Jose was the model son. He’d always been the golden standard Papa and Mama both pointed at and harshly compared me to.

Carlos found his voice again. “Jose is very aware of exactly how bad his situation is. We’ve had some very long, hard talks about this already. I’m actually trying to help him bounce back from this. Despite his appearance and behavior, he’s trying to bounce back from this, too. He needs all the support he can get right now.”

There was silence for a long beat. I couldn’t think of anything particularly meaningful to say. This was enough to blunt my sharp-as-a-tack brain.

Furrowing his brows, Carlos placed a hand on my shoulder and lightly squeezed. “Alejandro, be nice to Jose. If for no other reason, do it as a favor to me. We’re all in the same rickety boat right now and we’ll have much smoother sailing if you and Jose can get along for more than five minutes.”

I tried to swallow the large lump in my throat.

With that, Carlos lightly clapped my back, then gestured back towards the dining room.

As I walked back in, I noticed Mama had decided to join everyone. She seated herself next to Jose of course. Since I had been shocked by him, I can only imagine what was running through her mind. Mama nervously adjusted and re-adjusted her pea-green shawl while tugging at the loose ringlets in her dyed pale blond hair. The tips of her hair were starting to turn light brown again. Considering our current situation, I wouldn’t be surprised if I see Mama with a head of graying hair within the next several months.

“Is your room okay?” Carlos appeared beside her chair, lightly touching the curved back.

“Yes, it’s fine,” she said with a dismissive wave. She purposefully turned her face away from him, trying to hide the way she was curling her bottom lip.

The attempt was in vain. Carlos himself was biting his lip and, quite possibly, a snarky remark. Before the awkwardness escalated any further, Athena placed a plate in front of Mama with a meek smile and lightly pulled Carlos away to where they were seated.

Mama critically eyed the lasagna for a long moment, then pushed the plate away and hurriedly stood back up. “I’m not hungry. Thank you, though.”

She scurried out of the room as quickly as she could. Barely a minute after she left, Jose slid her plate towards him and devoured the lasagna with as much wolfish gusto as he had previously. I looked down at my plate for a moment, considered pulling a similar move with my food, and then sneaked a glance at Carlos and Athena. The two of them were speaking quietly and it seemed like Athena was on the verge of tears.

Any mere mortal would be driven to the brink of insanity living with one Burromuerto, let alone three. With a deep sigh, I forced another forkful of the food into my mouth.

Perhaps Athena’s cooking will finally help me overcome having such a sensitive stomach.

***

As much as I hated the prospect, Carlos was very firm about me getting a job. Athena is pregnant. Mama and I are tight on funds and allowed to live in Carlos’ respectable-sized townhouse rent-free. So it’s only fair that we pulled our weight somehow.

To my chagrin, being a delivery driver at this hole-in-the-wall pizza restaurant Kelsey’s is the only job I’ve been able to find within the past month. I can and will find better but for now, this will do.

About two hours into my shift, I’m already sick of the cheeky grinning rooster on the wall clock. A portly man stared at the menu with vacant eyes and drool collecting on his lower lip. The restaurant was pretty much deserted except for a stressed-out single mom and her babbling toddler. All I could think about is what kind of terror my future niece or nephew will be when I look at that little girl. She was peeling the wrappers off of crayons and ripping them into confetti strips. Then she placed those same crayons between her tiny knuckles and salivated all over each one. I’m going to have to clean up after that little monster. Ugh.

The portly gentleman finally placed his order: two different pizzas with a series of ridiculously complex toppings. As if taking fifteen minutes to confirm his order wasn’t frustrating enough, he leaned over the counter and gawked at everyone on staff with this bizarre and intense I’ll-eat-you-alive-I’m-that-hungry expression. What made matters worse was how often he kept licking his lips. Dios, I can’t accurately describe the immense relief I felt when he finally took his pizzas and left.

“That’s Don. He’s a regular,” someone said conversationally.

One of my co-workers sidled up next to me. My day just became ironically brighter. She’s a cute Goth girl with shoulder-length multi-colored teal and blue hair.

“He’s...something.” I tried to keep my eye from twitching too much.

“He’s creepy, but not in a fun Tim Burton kind of way.” She laughed as she wiped her hands off on the front of our restaurant’s obnoxious orange uniform apron.

“We’ve been taking bets on if he’s a stoner or mental ward escapee.” Another co-worker joined in on our conversation. He had a bright green Mohawk and several eyebrow piercings. I was mildly surprised he’s able to wear them while on shift.

He leaned on the front counter and grinned obnoxiously. “My theory is Crazy Katie is his wife. She orders the exact same crap he does. Right down to the extra extra sausage and pineapple chunks.”

“You have quite the background story for a complete stranger...” I chuckled softly.

“Gotta do something to entertain ourselves around here,” Mohawk replied. “What else we gonna do? Clean?”

“Speaking of...” The Goth girl pulled a questionable-looking yellow rag out of her apron pocket.

“You get to clean the toilets!” Goth girl and Mohawk crowed at me with the same obnoxious gusto as a too-eager, slightly sadistic game show host.

“Wait...I’m the delivery driver. Shouldn’t we-”

Mohawk snagged the rag and shoved it in my face. “Sunday afternoons are dead, dude. Take all the time you need.”

In a perfect world, I would find a way to turn this around and convince Mohawk to clean the bathrooms while I chatted up the Goth girl. Unfortunately, my efforts would be useless: Mohawk and Goth girl were the only two other employees, Mohawk was wearing an Assistant Manager tag, and the Goth girl had sneakily and flirtatiously shoved her hand in Mohawk’s back pocket.

I took a deep breath. “Is there...better equipment I can use?”

Mohawk cackled like a discount Saturday morning cartoon villain. “You got whatcha got in the broom closet.”

“Alright.” I winced as I took the proffered rag and shuffled off to find the broom closet. My nostrils shriveled up as soon as I opened the door and a myriad of horrible, questionable scents drifted out. My stomach was cartwheeling as I dragged the scuffed-up mop bucket, dingy mop, and other assorted materials towards the tiny unisex bathroom.

Mohawk whistled and I briefly turned to shoot a withering look at him. He winked and saluted in the most obnoxious way he could. Ice radiated up my spine as I remembered when Jose would make similar condescending and mean-spirited gestures at me.

“Pendejo.” I tried to whisper the word as low as I could under my breath. It’d be difficult. Very difficult. But I have to keep my irrational anger in check. This guy is definitely a jerk, but he’s not anywhere close to the same level as Jose. He gives off schoolyard bully vibes not I’ll-ruin-your-life jackass vibes. I’ve tamed schoolyard bullies before. I can handle him.

“What’d you just say?” Mohawk waltzed up to me with his fists on his hips.

“Nothing. Nothing...”

“I know you called me something.”

“Hijueputa,”I spat at him with a big, churlish smirk.

“Son of a bitch?” He was starting to grin now. “Is that the best you’ve got?”

“I’ll refer to you as every nasty slur I know if you wish.”

“Come on, dude.” He lightly clapped my shoulder. “Next time, it’s my turn to clean the shitter. I’m not a complete ass.”

“I don’t know. You’re the spitting image of a burro to me.”

At that, he started laughing and lightly punched my arm.

“Look. I’ll sweeten the deal by throwing in a free pizza.”

I grimaced. No thanks. I’ll take another rubbery lasagna from Athena before I’d ever consider eating the food here.

Mohawk laughed again. “I hate the pizza here too. I only eat as much as I do cause it’s free.”

I sighed heavily and made my way towards the bathroom. Smear-stained mirrors and pubic-hair covered toilet seats were quickly becoming more appealing than one more minute with the assistant manager’s awkward small talk.

***

The first day at my new school finally came. I was exhausted. Utterly exhausted. The entire weekend was a mix of avoiding Jose like the plague, stomaching as much of Athena’s terrible cooking as I could, and spending more time in bathrooms than I ever have in my life. The one highlight was that my supervisor at Kelsey’s was true to his word. After I swabbed the deck that afternoon, he took cleaning duty after a drunk stumbled in and...I really don’t want to entertain that mental image right now.

Just as I was reliving that nightmare, I saw my coworkers hanging out in front of the massive blond brick school building. Duncan was shamelessly smoking a cigarette and had his free arm slung around Gwen’s shoulders. He made some kind of lewd, crass comment and she was laughing to the point of tears. Gwen was definitely head over heels for this loser for whatever reason. I suppose he has some kind of roguish charm or charisma to him. He’s certainly the classic definition of a bad boy type.

Duncan looked up and caught me looking over at them. Then he waved lazily and gave me a cheeky monkey’s grin before immediately turning back to Gwen.

I rolled my eyes and headed inside. Despite how I felt, I was hoping that I could revitalize my weary spirit in an environment I know how to sow and develop to my liking. Cress is a smaller city in the pocket of the larger, more glamorous New York City. It’s small enough to cultivate starry-eyed longing for something bigger and greater than small town life, but big enough to have a fairly diverse student population. There are the stereotypical cliques and hierarchy, but then there are the eccentric outliers. I already passed by one student outrageously confident enough to walk the school halls wearing a cape and Star Wars light saber. He was even accompanied by a fairly attractive redhead rocking an old-school librarian look.

While I’m disappointed that the lovely Gwen was already taken, there are already plenty of other prospects hanging out in the front lobby alone. Excuse the inappropriate and archaic description, but I felt like a ravenous squid at a high-quality sushi bar.

There was a shapely brunette girl wearing a knee-length tan skirt and matching platform boots chatting with a blond girl that had Sunglasses on her head and an old-school Hollywood aura about her. Another cute redhead with pigtails and big brown eyes was animatedly talking to a moony-eyed blond in a sweater and lavender tights. Before I could even decide what to do next, I was approached by a green-eyed blond with her hair tied back in a long ponytail.

“Hey!” She seemed a bit sheepish as she extended her hand. “I’m Bridgette. Awkward question. Are you the new exchange student?”

I put on my most charming smile and gently kissed her knuckles. “Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I’m Alejandro.”

“A-ah….” She blushed furiously as she took her hand away.

“Excuse me for being so forward, but you’re very beautiful. I’m especially drawn to your eyes. They’re the same shade and color as jade.”

“I-I have a boyfriend,” Bridgette squeaked. “I’m flattered, but...I have a boyfriend.”

“He’s quite lucky to have you.” I smiled again and winked at her.

Bridgette only managed a low, incomprehensible noise this time.

Coincidentally, a lean and slightly muscled blond in a pink button-up shirt walked over to us at just the right moment. He had one arm draped around the true foreign exchange student and was fastening a gaudy button to the younger boy’s shirt. It had a poorly illustrated squirrel on the front.

“And this is my lovely girlfriend-” The blond fellow stopped when he saw her beet-red face.

As if directed by his sixth sense, he slowly turned his head towards me. I waved and gave a faux innocent smile as the gears slowly turned in his mind. Once everything clicked, one of his eyes started twitching slightly.

“Are you okay, Geoff?” The exchange student lightly tugged at his light pink button-up shirt.

“Just peachy,” Geoff replied through gritted teeth. Before the exchange student could prompt him again, he pulled away and adjusted the collar of his shirt as he cleared his throat.

“Geoff...hey...” Bridgette looked like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“Hey, are you another exchange student?” Geoff asked me, trying with some difficulty to keep his composure in tact.

“No. I am a new student, though.” I shot my most oily smile at him. “Your girlfriend definitely gave me quite a warm welcome.”

Bridgette’s blush intensified, Geoff became even more visibly furious, and the exchange student just looked baffled.

“...can you help me find my locker?” The exchange student piped up.

“Of course!” With that, Geoff made a very blatant display of slipping his arm around Bridgette’s waist and glaring daggers at me. “Bridgette and I are happy to help however we can!”

“Hey, do you want to come, too?” The exchange student looked over at me expectantly. “Maybe we can help each other out.”

It would be so fun to wind up Geoff a bit more and sneak in a few more comments to fluster Bridgette. Honestly, though, it’d be far more refreshing to flirt with someone more receptive and free right now. I’m itching for some witty banter or ego-boosting comments after the weekend I had.

“No, I’ll be fine. Thank you, though.”

Just for good measure, I winked again and blew a kiss to Bridgette when she sneaked one last look at me.

While I wanted to try and flirt with one of the other girls in the lobby, I wouldn’t be surprised if a few of them had witnessed that exchange and picked up on the tension. I probably already shot myself in the foot by being extra obnoxious. So I decided to venture a bit further into the school and see what else I could find in the forty minutes I had left to kill before classes started.

***

The library at Cress High was surprisingly large for a public school. There was an elegant domed ceiling, a computer lab with some of the highest-end computers and tablets on the market right now, and rows upon rows of books at least seven feet high. A short page wandered the aisles and there were step ladders in the middle of each aisle prompting students to ask the page for help in obtaining a book from one of the taller shelves.

A few students were milling around the aisles or clumped around tables staring intently at smart phones. Considering the location and atmosphere, I was hoping to stumble across a shy violet with her nose stuck in a weighty tome somewhere around here. Instead, I found a stressed-out brunette in the middle of one of the aisles. She was surrounded by reams of “Vote Courtney” stickers, fliers, and buttons. All of the promotional materials were professionally done up with similar colors and theme to President Barack Obama’s well-known Hope poster.

“Would you like some help?” I bent down and folded my arms on my knees.

“Yes, please!” Courtney bellowed, her tone slightly strained. “At least there’s some helpful people around here...”

I started scooping up some of the various materials and arranging them in appropriate piles.

“So, I presume you are running for class president?”

“Yes!” She beamed and her eyes lit up like a string of fairy lights. “I’m hoping this will finally be my year! I’ve been class treasurer for the past two years. It’d be nice if I got to be president for senior year, you know? It’d look so good on a college application!”

“I certainly hope you win.”

Let’s see if I can steer the conversation from fluffy yes-man compliments towards something else.

“Thank you!” She was grinning ear to ear now. “I have so many new policies I want to put in place, too. Unlike the current president, the witch that shall not be named, I actually listen to people...”

“Mm-hmmm.”

“That b-I mean, witch, only wants the position because she can abuse her power to call in favors for friends. She’s such a bitch that that’s the only reason she even has friends. And, I mean, that’s the only reason I can conceivably see Lindsay, dumber than a sack of rocks Lindsay, of all people being captain of the Chess club. Or Dakota being able to start her weird retro fashion club...”

Courtney went on like this for some time, complaining about other students I didn’t and may never know. The one element that caught my attention was her strange fixation on and utter hatred towards the current class president. The more mud-flinging she did, the more fascinated I was by who this witch was. I definitely needed to keep tabs on her if only to secure my own place in Cress High’s hierarchy.

Courtney took a deep breath as she started, hopefully, coming down from her long-winded rant. For the first time in what felt like an eternity, Courtney actually stopped to look at me. I turned towards her and held her gaze, trying to put on my most charming, heart-melting smile. Apparently, it was effective because she dropped all of the precious materials she’d been clinging to and absentmindedly reached up to touch her cheek.

“You’re...you’re gorgeous...” She muttered.

“And you’re the most beautiful girl I’ve seen at this school,” I replied, reaching out and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “On top of that, you’re smart, ambitious, and you obviously care very deeply about the welfare of your fellow students.”

Courtney sighed happily as she bit her lip. “Yeah. That’s all true.”

“You’d do a fantastic job running this school,” I said in a dramatic stage whisper.

“Keep telling me how great I am.” Her eyes were shimmering.

“You’re a very capable, powerful woman. Seize the day!”

“Yes!” She clenched her fists. “I’ll beat Heather this year. I can do it!”

Suddenly, the bell rang and Courtney’s pupils shrank when she realized that she still had a mess to clean up. I sighed and rolled my eyes when she wasn’t looking then started shoveling miscellaneous materials into her backpack. She was gritting her teeth and stuffing everything back in with reckless abandon.

“I can’t be late...I can’t be...” The poor girl uttered the words like a mantra.

She was so caught up in her own thoughts, she snagged the last few things from my hand and took off like a rocket. So I was left sitting there on the carpeted floor with my mouth slightly agape. From what I can tell, I just served as faceless emotional support and it’d be very difficult to follow up with her now. No number. No date. Not even a loose thread for picking things up again later. Was I losing my game?

***

I refused to let Courtney deter me and had a few different phone numbers by lunchtime. Grinning, I scanned the lunchroom, hoping to find the cute dark-eyed, long lashes brunette I’d been chatting up all throughout English.

To my surprise, someone grabbed my arm and whirled me around to face her. It was Courtney, lids lowered flirtatiously and light pink lip gloss applied to her lips. The color was garish but I was too excited by the underlying implications to care. Batting her eyelashes, Courtney walked two fingers up my chest and suggested going somewhere more private.

To my further surprise, she dragged me to a little mom and pop sandwich shop and even offered to buy me a sub. That wheat and turkey sandwich was the best food I’ve had in about a week now. Dios, I had to restrain myself from tearing it apart like a ravenous, wild wolf. Courtney spent the entire time talking about herself and her grand goals, but I was more than happy to listen since she’d been generous enough to buy me something. There were even a few interesting and helpful nuggets sprinkled in about other students that I mentally filed away for later.

Perhaps, Courtney is girlfriend material. It’s been awhile since I last seriously committed to someone. I still think about Gabriel ever so often and every time, I feel kind of sad. We honestly had a lot in common and gelled very well, but the physical attraction didn’t stick. He felt more like my platonic best friend than my boyfriend. I don’t have the most honest track record in regards to my love life but I will be merciful. There was no way I was going to string the poor fellow along.

Between thoughts of Gabriel and staring longingly at Courtney’s lips, I decided to just wait and see how things progressed. Aggressive and assertive girls definitely hook me in faster than anyone else. I just need to make sure I don’t fall too hard too fast. It’s better that I be the one with a level head no matter how much of a romantic I am.

Courtney folded up her napkin, tossed it in the nearest bin, and grabbed the collar of my shirt.

“Let’s head back to my car.” It was a demand not a request.

Minutes later, Courtney had pulled off under some trees at a nondescript park. She immediately snapped off her seatbelt and rolled on top of me, forced the seat back just under the windows, and wrapped her arms around my neck. She dived right in, her kisses as strong and powerful as she tried to present herself.

About five minutes in, Courtney pulled away and gave me a very stern look.

“Is something wrong?” My heart was already sinking to the pit of my stomach.

“We’re going faster than I normally do...” She sighed, her face falling.

“We can slow things down,” I assured her, even though my pounding heart and hormones screamed otherwise. “I honestly prefer to do some pretty extensive wining and dining before going too far. How about we head back to school for now and plan another date for later this week? I’d be more than happy to treat you next time.”

Courtney sighed, then crawled off of me and back into the drivers’ seat. She folded her arms on the steering wheel and dipped her head forward, covering her face with a curtain of brown hair. The hopeless part of me noticed how the dappling sunlight painted yellow highlights across various strands and sections of her hair. It was an impromptu, natural halo.

“Alejandro...I’m so sorry.”

“What for?” I was trying to decide whether or not it’d be a good idea to put a comforting hand on her shoulder.

“I just got out of a bad break-up.” She tilted her head and looked over at me through half-lidded eyes. “My ex cheated on me with my best friend and...I just. I’ve been trying so hard to keep it in. So hard.”

“Oh, wow...I’m very sorry to hear that.”

“When I saw you this morning, I had to have you. I was scared if I didn’t make a move right now you’d be snatched up by some other girl. But I think I moved too soon, you know?”

I felt like I was being tugged in two different directions: one part was extremely sympathetic while the other wanted to crush cars with my bare fists. Before I acted too rashly, I took a deep breath and ran a hand through my hair. The better move here is to play the kind gentleman providing a shoulder to cry on. In a few days, I could collect myself and hopefully, make more meaningful progress with another one of my prospects.

“You’re okay, Courtney. You’re in a lot of emotional pain right now and people act quite irrationally when they’re upset enough.” I tried to smile in a sweet, reassuring way. “Let’s just be friends for now. I’m happy to be someone to confide in for now. And when you’re up for it, we can try this again if you want to...”

Courtney sniffed a few times while giving me the most pathetic look she could. She pulled a tissue out of her glove box, wiped her eyes and nose, then looked back at me with a strange determination in her eyes.

“Promise me something, Alejandro?”

“What is that?” A sense of dread crawled down my neck and I could feel the ghost of Courtney’s lips from a few minutes before.

“When we become exclusive, you won’t ever cheat on me.” Her eyes were daggers, pinning me to the car seat.

I swallowed hard and involuntarily raised my hands in an “I surrender” gesture. “Never.”

“Good.” She nodded and readjusted herself.

Then she spent an agonizing five minutes preening herself with the car mirror. Sweat raced down the back of my neck and I was imagining shackled wrists. If only I had another ride back to school.

As Courtney drove back, she slipped back to her normal demeanor. She carried on a one-sided discussion about how she wanted to decorate the gym for the upcoming Homecoming dance. It took all my will power not to bash open the side door and take off at roadrunner speeds once we returned to school.

“So...here’s my number,” Courtney said shyly, holding up her phone and showing me her details.

Heart hammering in my chest, I took out my own phone and pretended to punch in her details.

“Got it.”

“Text me, okay?” She smiled sweetly and chuckled. “Walk me to class?”

“I’m sorry, Courtney. I promised the science teacher I’d help set up his next presentation.”

“Aw, you’re so sweet, Alejandro.” With that, she waved and took off for her next class.

As shameful as this is for me to admit, I skipped my last class and spent thirty minutes splashing my face with water and mulling over my new Courtney situation. I even took the time to scrub at the lip gloss marks, but even after I’d wiped them off, I could still feel a lingering tingle. It was rare that a kiss came with such a heavy price tag attached.

***

On the way home, I grabbed a cheap greasy McDonald’s burger. Then I holed up in my room, or more specifically, the room I shared with Jose. I was so thankful he had an all-night shift at the gas station tonight.

I wedged myself in the corner of the room wedged between my bed and the wall. Overflowing with shame, I reached into the paper bag and dug out the cancer-on-a-bun burger. My eyes started welling with frustrated tears as I tore off the thin yellow wrapper and took a big bite. No matter how much I thoroughly despised McDonald’s, it was still better and a quick, convenient substitute for Athena’s rubbery pasta.

There was a knock at the bedroom door. My shoulders sagged and I closed my eyes, smiling wryly at the sliding lock on the door. Both that lock had been pulled across and Jose’s computer chair had been wedged under the knob.

“Alejandro? It’s dinner time!” Carlos called out. “Mama and Athena are waiting.”

“I have a big test tomorrow!” I called back as big fat embarrassing tears rolled down my cheeks. “I really need to study. I grabbed something on the way home so I could get right to it.”

“Care to join us for a few minutes?” Carlos asked, slight concern in his voice.

“It’s a test for French class.”

There were a few beats of silence. Carlos was well aware of how infatuated I was with the French language. I remember gushing to him over the phone years ago about how desperately I wanted a chance to practice speaking and refining my so limited pool of knowledge on the subject. So, this was one of the few lies I knew I could successfully sell him on.

Carlos let out a heavy sigh. “Alright. I hope you do well tomorrow.”

I took another bite of the burger and sloppily swiped at my tears with one of the napkins in the bag. As hard as I tried, I couldn’t get myself to finish the nightmare burger. It ended up in the trash along with the uneaten sugar-drenched fries once I threw myself back on the mattress. The smell lingered heavily in the air. My stomach churned and lurched, but I’ve been getting used to scents from the seventh level of hell over the past week.

Jose had been dragging fast food home for the past week. Somehow, his diet had increased dramatically and the fellow that used to send well done steak back to the chef was shoveling down grease-soaked burgers every night. He was a very broken and defeated man, but he was too proud to express himself or talk things out. Instead, he was turning to fast food for...I don’t know. Comfort?

I guess. I guess I was hoping that it might help me too. If one McDonald’s burger could fill the void growing in my stomach then I could easily balance it out with enough exercise and meditation later, right? I’ve been exercising, but my mind is too rattled to meditate lately.

A few more tears rolled down my face when my cell phone buzzed in my pocket. I scrubbed at my face, hating how gross and weak and utterly pathetic I felt. My heart sank to the toes of my boots when I glanced at the screen. But I steeled myself and answered anyway.

“Hello Papa...” I managed, trying to sound more confident than I felt.

“Hello Alejandro. I have a proposition for you.”

“Yes…?” I felt so low right now it was hard to summon up any kind of reaction. All I knew was that he was about to dangle something in my face like a callous fisherman baits an unsuspecting worm. He’d always enjoyed pitting Jose and I against each other by offering exclusive opportunities like a chance to go to a prestigious private school in Paris or a violin lesson with the best violinist in the world. All it took was furthering our hatred for each other and achieving some arbitrary, petty goal that ultimately made Papa look better in the long run.

“I remember how you used to go on and on about wanting to study architecture at the Pratt Institute...” Papa said with a certain smugness and satisfaction in his voice. What I imagined was an anthropomorphic cat with a wide, devilish grin full of sharp, glinting canines.

“Yes?”

“I’ll cover your full tuition if you get straight As this semester and become the president of at least two school clubs as well as earn the class president title overall.”

A big lump formed in my throat as I shot a tired look at the architecture books lying at the base of my bed. Blueprints and pictures of beautiful, arcing Gothic cathedrals filled my mind’s eye. Drool collected on my bottom lip and I swallowed hard.

“And you know what kinds of connections I have.” He chuckled softly. “I could set you up with a job right out of college.”

My heart was stuck inside of a piano getting played by an insane pianist that kept pounding the pedals. Every heart beat was strained and painful as if my heart was set between a piano hammer and string.

“What do you say, Alejandro?”

He knew he had hooked me in. I was a helpless fish, desperately floundering about and trying to return to the placid waters below.

“Yes.” I swallowed hard. “Yes, I’ll do it.”

[kjllerbass]

Slice of Life: A Total Drama Fanficiton

Chapter 1: First Day Jitters

Point of View(s): Cody Anderson and Heather Mendoza

Chapter Summary: The teens go back to school for their sophomore year of high school! Will a new teacher and new classmates cause strife for class nobody Cody Anderson and queen bee Heather Mendoza?

——————————————————————————

September 3rd, 6:15 in the morning. The alarm on Cody’s phone started. It was officially his first day of sophomore year at the teenager-dubbed “hellhole,” more commonly known as Wawanakwa High School. After what seemed like the shortest summer vacation of his life, he had strong disbelief that going back to school was the right idea. The crisp fall morning brought an attitude of freshness to Cody, despite his dread to leave his bed. He finally crawled out after a self pep-talk and a few tears. Little did he know that sophomore year held more in store for the young man than he could handle.

“I don’t understand why you’re so apprehensive to go to school, Cody. It’s not like you’re getting, like, tortured in hell for eight hours every day.” Izzy laughed, still bounding a few steps ahead of the male. His morning walk for the last three years, now four, had consisted of chasing his neighbor down a block or two before barely catching up to her for conversation. It was a blessing and a curse, but a great deal of cardio each weekday morning.

“Except I AM!” Cody sighed. He was now at an equal pace with the redhead. Her energy levels at such an early time were not understood by the male, but he brushed it aside to continue getting his thought out. “I have a literal fear of Heather Mendoza. That’s not good.” Cody was too busy playing with the straps of his backpack to notice Izzy almost double over in laughter.

“It’s a rational fear. I think everyone fears that-” Izzy stopped laughing as a horn stopped her, causing the friends to peer into the street. What they didn’t expect to see was Noah Archya waving them into his older brother’s car.

“You’re gonna be late.” The brunette whined unenthusiastically, and Izzy compiled by dragging Cody into the street with her. What was the girl thinking? He grumbled in protest as she forced him to climb into the backseat. Why would he want to get into Noah’s car? The two were barely friends, but Izzy was the buffer for the time being. “What were you guys talking about? Seemed funny.” He chimed sarcastically, making Cody’s face go red.

Izzy smiled enthusiastically as she started speaking on the topic again. “Cody’s fear of Heather! Isn’t that so crazy?” She said, almost speaking a mile a minute. The scrawny brunette sent his friend a glare. No one deserved to know about his fears. Especially not Noah.

“Priceless.” Noah chuckled. “I had to work on freshman council with her last year. Sucked ass.” He said plainly, shrugging his shoulders. “I gave up all thoughts of running for president this year.”

Before Cody could even muster up the courage to answer, the car reached its destination. It was quite an oddity, getting a positive and meaningful answer out of Noah Archya. He had no time to mull over it, though. Izzy had already booted him out of the car and chided at him for being a slowpoke. Cody watched the students file over the school campus. Some, mostly freshman, were socializing in the middle of the pathway. Others could care less about conversation and made themselves straight inside.

“The first bell is in three...two...one!” counted Noah, who led the threesome through the wilderness called the hallways. Turns out, they were all in the same homeroom. And to think Cody had a break from the brunette.

On the other side of things, Heather Mendoza couldn’t wait to be back and reigning the halls of Wawanakwa High School. Freshman year was a bit rough, yet she still made quite the reputation for herself. Who knew telling half of the student body about Gwen’s crush on Trent would boost her popularity? And getting her hair cut by Gwen as a result? The perfect catfight. Everything was normal. She was the top of the food chain. The presidential election would come as a piece of cake to her. That was until she entered homeroom. 

Wawanakwa’s current sophomore class was one of the smallest in its current cast of students, only being split into two or three homerooms that haven’t changed since freshman year. Heather walked into the classroom, immediately taking the middle seat Lindsay was saving for her. The two had fallen out over summer, but their status of the most popular girls in school kept them together.

“Hi Heather, how was-” Lindsay attempted to start a conversation, before noticing Heather’s drastic change in hair length. “Heather! Where did it go?!” She exclaimed, only for Heather to give a sigh as a response. Sometimes the blonde’s reaction time wasn’t too... outstanding.

“Pasty cut it off. As if she wasn’t already busy enough sucking Courtney’s boyfriend’s face off.” Heather said, loud enough for Gwen to hear. The goth ignored it though because everyone else had already assumed she and Duncan were a couple just because of their appearances. The chatter of the room was brought down by this year’s homeroom teacher, Mr. McLean. He was the new head of the drama department and taught English to teenagers who really didn’t care about why Harper Lee chose to write about Southern racism. Oh, and rumor had it that he once was famous.

“Alright, campers,” The man started, standing up from his desk. “I’m Mr. McLean, call me Chris. I don’t mind it.” He shrugged, now using the surface as a seat. He dressed casually for such a job and looked about in his mid-thirties to Heather. Sort of like the brother she never speaks of. “Enough about me though! Today, we have-”

Mr. McLean was interrupted by Beth Kanassis, resident nerd and wannabe friend of Heather. “Weren’t you on that figure skating show? The one where that guy dropped the girl? Right on her head?” She asked, and you could see the teacher get more and more flustered with every specification she gave.

“What a dumb assumption!” replied Chris, his face reading an emotion Heather couldn’t place. A girl from the back of the room stood up. “It was him! I’ve only seen it about sixteen times, though.” She said with a certainty that some students believed to be...unsure of.

“Speaking of new students, thank you, Sierra, for the confirmation!” An already aggravated Chris said. “Class, we have two new students joining us today!” He continued, staring the purple-haired girl down. “Please give a warm Wawanakwa welcome to Sierra West and Alejandro Burromuerto!” Chris waved the girl and a new, Latin-looking man into the front of the classroom. Given how many girls, and Tyler, were staring at him, Heather could tell Alejandro would be even more trouble than Justin.

“Hello! I’m Sierra, and I can’t-” Sierra already froze up during her introduction. Was it because she finally caught the daggers Heather was sending? The girl gave herself a mental pat on the back before softening her features. Even after she did, Sierra was still starstruck by something in the back of the room. Heather followed Sierra’s sightline to a brunette boy slouched in his desk. Cody Anderson? Oh god.

 “Next!” Chris said, nudging Sierra back to her seat. Attention was now focused on Alejandro, the guy who Heather already hated. “Hello, I’m Alejandro. Always Alejandro. Never...Al.” He stated, his voice falling to a malicious mumble towards the end of his introductory statement. Most girls were already tuned out and just in awe, but Heather was listening, alright.

“Sorry, Al, could you repeat that?” Owen, another person Heather wasn’t fond of, asked the question to set him off. Instead of losing it, Alejandro kept his composure. “Please, el gordo, just stop talking.” He chided, returning to his seat after speaking. 

So he was transparent, fake and...deliciously seductive? Well, not to Heather. Maybe he would be an easy target to gain as an ally, like Lindsay. But Owen pissed him off, so he was smart enough to comprehend that already. He didn’t know that Heather Mendoza was a force to be reckoned with, though.

Throughout the day, it was like she couldn’t escape the Latin Lover. He was in her honors classes, where she thought she could catch a break from at least some people. Lunch was the only period where she didn’t feel the threatening eyes of the new student. She made her way from the line to the table, immediately stopping when she spotted who Lindsay had already directed to the table. It couldn’t be real.

“Hello, you must be Heather. Lindsay has only said the most wonderful things about you!” Alejandro said, giving Heather that charming smile that made all of the girls, and Tyler, fall earlier in homeroom. He was good, too good, and so perfect. Heather would have to get it through the blonde’s thick skull that hanging around with him was bad news.

“That’s right. And you’re Al, right?” She asked, an emphasis on the nickname he hated. He kept his charming smile, and just blew a kiss to the girl who became an annoyance. Heather gasped, turning her head away from the boy in front of her. She could tell what was running through his mind, but it wasn’t until they were walking back to their lockers when Heather confirmed her suspicions.

“So, what do you think your purpose here will be?” Heather asked, still very uninterested at the thought of this boy. She was only playing nice for Lindsay’s sake. Yeah, for Lindsay’s sake. “You know, when you’re not too busy making everyone look more stupid than you do?”

“I was planning on running for class president. Lindsay suggested it to me. Nothing like a little bit of healthy, friendly competition. Right, Mendoza?” He said, opening the locker that lived three doors away from Heather’s. Thank god that he couldn’t see her face right now, for it was redder than his shirt. How dare Lindsay tell him about her plan? She would have no competition until the dumb blonde opened her fat mouth. Plus, the idea that he could just go and call her Mendoza like that? Unthinkable! No one disrespects the queen bee like that. Maybe behind her back, but certainly not to her face.

“May the best man win, Al.” She sneered, leaving the lockers with a thud and a growl that even scared herself.

[aeon-borealis]

Captivated -TEASER

p { margin-bottom: 0.1in; line-height: 115%; }

Note: I finally started working on chapter 1 and wanted to share a little of what I have so far.

Dark clouds rolled across the night sky and the howling wind dragged at the window shutters. Every time one of the shutters hit the side of the house, I wondered if I could sync up my heartbeat with the noise. Tap. Two seconds passed. TAP. Then my heart thumped. It was a crawling, sluggish beat across a big hollow drum. Such a somber sound.

Jose would describe my internal monologue as needlessly dramatic, Mama would ‘encourage’ me to find a more constructive use for my time, and Papa would tell me to “man up” like he always does. It’s odd to think about. Almost everything I do, say, or muse about is followed by my rough assumption of what Jose, Mama, and Papa would think about the same thing or what comment they might make. The older I get, the more I wonder if I am as much my own person as I want to believe.

I rolled over on the flimsy mattress and looked at the bed across the room from mine. There’s Jose’s sleeping form, barely covered by a thin blue quilt. He snored with the intensity and volume of a chorus of chain saws. Several loose strands of hair are plastered to his forehead and pillow with sweat. He used to be so particular about what length his hair was and strictly kept it very short.

And he has so much stubble now. Band-aids with illustrations of dinosaurs and Disney characters haphazardly covered parts of his chin where he nicked himself with his razor. He used to have such a clean-shaven face. At one point he had bragged about wanting to try shaving the “old-fashioned way” with a real blade.

The only logical conclusion I have been able to reach is that aliens abducted Jose and replaced him with this bum. They can keep him.

Carlos was married six months ago now and he didn’t tell anybody. I’ll never forgive him for keeping such a major milestone in his life a secret from me for so long.

It’s surreal sitting across the long mahogany table from Athena, Carlos’ wife. She has short curly red hair, constellations of freckles across her pasty white skin, and a little pixie nose. Other than her physical appearance, the best way I can describe her is that she’s practically a fairy tale character brought to life: She likes to talk with her hands and use grand, whimsical hand gestures. Plus, she has a high-pitched voice and she’s followed by this strong, ever-present apple cinnamon smell.

Tonight she made some kind of cheese-smothered box meal lasagna. Carlos was so proud, going on and on about how little experience she had cooking, how he cooked most of their meals, and how she was slowly but surely learning how to cook real food. Lovesick Carlos was being generous when he lavished praises generally reserved for a fine crème brulee on a basic pasta. Athena only made things more embarrassing when she openly admitted that her previous diet was a mix of Hot Pockets and other microwavable crap before Carlos “nudged” her towards learning to use an actual stove.

Somehow, I managed to stomach it. I made myself shovel mouthful after mouthful of rubbery cheese into my maw because I love my older brother more than I hate cheap food. I’m expecting to spend most of tomorrow hunched over the porcelain throne as a result, though.

I can learn to make excuses to escape Athena’s cooking. I can learn to deal with one eccentric, but well-meaning person because she genuinely makes Carlos happy. But then he stumbled into the dining room.

Athena asked Jose how work went today. Jose mumbled something incoherent under his breath, spat a chewed-up wad of tobacco gum into a napkin, then unceremoniously plopped down into a chair across from me and planted a sneakered foot on the table top. He’s hunkered down in his thin-fabric windbreaker and trying to hide the bags under his eyes with the hood part of his maroon hoodie. With a tight-lipped frown, Athena placed a helping of her rubber lasagna in front of him.

Jose grabbed it by the tips of his fork prongs and wolfed down the entire chunk of food within mere minutes. I looked down at my own generous helping, idly poking at the amorphous mass with my own fork. Then I looked back at Jose and can’t help the way my eye twitches or the intense urge to shoot my dear brother the iciest glare I can muster.

Suddenly, Carlos grabbed me by the arm and ghosted me into the nearby hallway. He knitted his thick eyebrows together as his face morphed into that stern expression that used to be permanently plastered to Mama’s face.

“Please. Try to be civil, Alejandro,” Carlos said with a deep sigh.

“I am. He’s the one stumbling in like an uncultured barbarian...”

“I know.” Carlos’ gaze trailed off for a second. Then he turned back towards me, pinning me with his dark eyes and making me hold his gaze. “Look. I’m not happy about our current situation but the way I see it, he’s my brother and he deserves time, space, and understanding while he sorts himself out. He’s acting like a rebellious teenager, yeah, but Athena and I decided we should pick our battles with him.”

“So, he’s a charity case like Mama and I?” I couldn’t keep the biting edge out of my tone.

Carlos glared at me. “You’re not a charity case. Never use that phrase around me again, got it?”

“Seriously, Carlos. What could possibly be going wrong in the world of the high and mighty Jose Burromuertos?”

“He lost his entire fortune and had to declare bankruptcy a few months ago,” Carlos replied with a heavy sigh.

“So he squandered all his money. What an idiot. Everything played out exactly like Papa said it would...”

Carlos’ eyes narrowed dangerously and his nostrils flared. There was a bull seeing red behind those eyes and he was visibly shaking as he tried to tamp down and contain his anger.

“Ignacio officially disowned him about a week ago.”

My blood suddenly ran cold and I could swear my pupils were the size of bowling balls.

I felt like the world had broken and shattered beneath my booted feet. Papa was stern and he could be cruel. But, he would never. He couldn’t have. Even after Carlos ran away from home years ago, Papa never gave up on him. He even kept Carlos’ name on his official will. There was a trust fund Carlos could pull from at any time he wanted. And this was despite Carlos resisting Papa’s will at every turn and arguing furiously with him every chance he could.

Jose was the model son. He’d always been the golden standard Papa and Mama both pointed at and harshly compared me to.

Carlos found his voice again. “Jose is very aware of exactly how bad his situation is. We’ve had some very long, hard talks about this already. I’m actually trying to help him bounce back from this. Despite his appearance and behavior, he’s trying to bounce back from this, too. He needs all the support he can get right now.”

There was silence for a long beat. I couldn’t think of anything particularly meaningful to say. This was enough to blunt my sharp-as-a-tack brain.

Furrowing his brows, Carlos placed a hand on my shoulder and lightly squeezed. “Alejandro, be nice to Jose. If for no other reason, do it as a favor to me. We’re all in the same rickety boat right now and we’ll have much smoother sailing if you and Jose can get along for more than five minutes.”

I tried to swallow the large lump in my throat.

With that, Carlos lightly clapped my back, then gestured back towards the dining room.

As I walked back in, I noticed Mama had decided to join everyone. She seated herself next to Jose of course. Since I had been shocked by him, I can only imagine what was running through her mind. Mama nervously adjusted and re-adjusted her pea-green shawl while tugging at the loose ringlets in her dyed pale blond hair. The tips of her hair were starting to turn light brown again. Considering our current situation, I wouldn’t be surprised if I see Mama with a head of graying hair within the next several months.

“Is your room okay?” Carlos appeared beside her chair, lightly touching the curved back.

“Yes, it’s fine,” she said with a dismissive wave. She purposefully turned her face away from him, trying to hide the way she was curling her bottom lip.

The attempt was in vain. Carlos himself was biting his lip and, quite possibly, a snarky remark. Before the awkwardness escalated any further, Athena placed a plate in front of Mama with a meek smile and lightly pulled Carlos away to where they were seated.

Mama critically eyed the lasagna for a long moment, then pushed the plate away and hurriedly stood back up. “I’m not hungry. Thank you, though.”

She scurried out of the room as quickly as she could. Barely a minute after she left, Jose slid her plate towards him and devoured the lasagna with as much wolfish gusto as he had previously. I looked down at my plate for a moment, considered pulling a similar move with my food, and then sneaked a glance at Carlos and Athena. The two of them were speaking quietly and it seemed like Athena was on the verge of tears.

Any mere mortal would be driven to the brink of insanity living with one Burromuerto, let alone three. With a deep sigh, I forced another forkful of the food into my mouth.

Perhaps Athena’s cooking will finally help me overcome having such a sensitive stomach.

[kjllerbass]

“I can’t stop thinking about you” with Alenaoh?

You’ve got it! A story surrounding our sarcastic favorite and the eel.

“Is there a way you can get yourself out of my head, Noah?” Alejandro spoke up, from one end of the room to another. His voice was quiet and sly, and could only be related to a fox in Noah’s mind. With everyone else being asleep in one place or another and the darkness of the space, he couldn’t focus himself away from the other man. His words invaded Noah’s thoughts and pushed away any other focus he had. “I can’t stop thinking about you.”

At the last whispered comment, Noah’s head finally snapped up. His expression was concealed by the lack of light, which was one commenced of confusion and mistrust. The boy made his way over to the other, carefully stepping in between the partygoers who were now asleep on Duncan’s apartment floor.

“Is this a sick joke, Burromuerto?” Noah spat, biting back all of what twisted emotion he felt. His arms were crossed across his chest, and from what he could tell, his actions were mirrored by the stronger Latin man standing in front of him. Alejandro merely laughed, leaving the smaller of the two to work this out on his own.

“Whoever said my true feelings were ever a joke, vato?” Alejandro replied, paying a brooding yet softer look to the other. This was exactly what made Noah wonder about the situation. Once again, the other male spoke, breaking into Noah’s rushed thoughts: “You have me captivated, Noah. You may still not trust me, yet I want you to know that these feelings are real.”

The last part of the man’s confession was what made him want to fire back even more. As quietly as he could, the brunette started letting his emotions out. “You don’t know the first thing about me. I could give you multiple reasons on why I’m so apprehensive to even look at you. You’re an untrustworthy snake to me, and this is probably just another one of your sick heists. I don’t want to hear it, Al.”

There it was, all of Noah’s emotion outpoured into a confused, exasperated, quiet mess.  He took a deep breath, still refusing to look up to meet Alejandro’s face. A sigh was given from the other before he placed a hand on Noah’s shoulder. “It’s a shame you feel that way, Noah. But, given of our past, I deserve to hear it.” He said in response, his expression one of defeat and a bittersweet smile. “So much for sharing.”

It took Noah a moment to process what had just happened. The boy looked to the empty, moonlit balcony, letting everything that just was said slip away. He contemplated if it was a good move, before turning out of Alejandro’s touch. He trudged over a sleeping Tyler, before sliding the door open as quietly as he could. He let himself exit the crowded apartment, settling on the seat farthest from the door. Finally, back to solitude, he was, until another person slid through that very same door. Alejandro took a sharp breath, settling down next to him.

“You might as well call yourself the snake charmer, because that’s how it’s feeling, Noah.”