#but watching it at 1pm? yeah. that's great. love it

[wewontbesleeping]

yayyy it's almost here <3

[cinnamostar]

six dates to fall in love

part one. part two (here). part three. part four. part five. part six coming soon.

pairing : hyunjin x gn!reader

summary : after a two year long unspoken hatred, hyunjin and you are forced to be costars in a romantic series, but when it comes to filming any of the romance scenes, you both utterly fail and are unable to get through your lines. the director threatens to take your roles away if you two aren't able to get past this within the next week, which spawns the genius idea from both your managers: can you learn to (fake) fall in love in seven dates and save your careers?

wc : 2.3k

cw : actor!au, enemies to lovers ?!, slowburn (?!), cursing, one gorey joke thing, arguing, angsty, they're each other's biggest haters, let me know if i missed anything !!

a/n : this parts shorter unfortunately but i hope u like it! likes, reblogs, and feedback appreciated. pls read part one first if you havent! well. now theres a whole new hurdle for these two to conquer heh... this part is a lot shorter, so sorry for that but i felt like it was best to keep it at this length :o

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“He said what?” Chan asked, shock coloring his voice as you updated him on the night’s events, and how absolutely insufferable Hyunjin was.

“I’m telling you, that guy’s a dickhead,” you mumbled angrily on the phone, shuffling through your apartment as you discarded your outfit and headed into the shower.

Chan took in a deep breath from the other side of the line, “Well, I knew that already, but that was just a new low.” You hummed in agreement, rolling your eyes, “Yeah, whatever. I just have a bad feeling this isn’t going to work out in our favor.”

“You never know, maybe tomorrow will go a lot better, Y/N!” 

You smiled at Chan’s attempts to lighten the mood, “I seriously doubt it, but I will try to put my faith in you and this plan of yours,” you sighed, “Well, I’m going to shower and go to bed, thanks for listening.”

“Always, Y/N. Tomorrow will be better, okay?”

“Right, good night, Chan.”

“Good night!”

God, you could only hope that Chan was right.

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You were definitely having a severe case of deja vu as you sat at your local coffee shop, a pistachio latte in hand as you waited for Hyunjin to arrive for your second date of the week. You both had agreed over text this morning that you’d meet at 12:30pm, but it was nearly 1pm and there was no sign of Hyunjin. Great, you thought to yourself, as it seems like his inconsideration was not limited to just your feelings, but also your time. 

He most definitely was doing this on purpose, there was no way this wasn’t just one of his other tactics to get under your skin before even arriving. Was this how every date was going to be like this entire week? You wasting fifteen to thirty minutes of your life waiting for some conceited asshole to make it, even though he was the one to pick and agree on a time. This was ridiculous, and you couldn’t help but feel peeved as you watched the cafe’s clock tick by, mentally noting how much time had passed at every minute. Maybe it was best to go home, maybe this whole dating thing wasn’t going to work out and it was best to just cut your losses.

Right, going home sounded nice and at least you wouldn’t be losing time on some bumbling idiot. You let out a sharp exhale as you stood up, grabbing your bag and drink to make your way out, but as you turned around, you were met with Hyunjin, who was standing a few feet away from your table with his own drink in hand.

With an eyebrow cocked up, he mockingly cooed, “Aw, you were going to ditch me on our date?”

You rolled your eyes in frustration, an exasperated sigh escaping you as you sluimped back in your seat, motioning Hyunjin to take his seat with a hint of sass in your gestures, “Oh, right, I was the one ditching you, not the other way around.”

“I did not ditch you, I’m here, aren’t I?”

“You’re thirty minutes late, Hwang,” you deadpanned.

“Better late than never, no?” he smirked, taking delight in how easy it was to rile you up with such little effort on his end.

You pursed your lips as you glared at the man who sat across from you, a small ‘hmph’ leaving you, “Whatever.”

Much like the day before, the familiar tense atmosphere took its place once more as you both sat quietly in your own seats, occasionally taking a sip of coffee every now and then. Having Hyunjin in your company was torturous, it was almost as if he held you captive in the most miserable week of your life and he made no attempt to make it the least bit enjoyable.

You, once more, decided to remain quiet, allowing Hyunjin to be the one to make any conversation since he seemed to be the one struggling the most with this arrangement. It was best to let him go at his own speed, right? Although that did not stop the displeased look from leaving your features, your eyebrows remained furrowed since the moment you were made aware of his presence.

Hyunjin let out a gentle huff, placing his drink down as he analyzed yor features, “Do you always have this much attitude?”

Rolling your eyes, you responded sternly, “When it comes to you, yes.”

“Right, because I’m the problem,” murmured Hyunjin sarcastically.

“Glad you know.”

Hyunjin bit the inside of his cheek, lost in thought as he tried to figure out the right string of words to say, ones that wouldn’t kindle the already burning heat of hatred you had for him. The silence was unbearably uncomfortable, restricting him of any chance to catch his breath as anxiety and trepidation took over him. He despised this, he hated having to always be on guard around you and it was getting overwhelming, despite it only being the second day of this so-called plan. Hyunjin wasn’t dumb though, while he may be upset with these current circumstances, he would be an idiot to not take advantage of it. His plan was simple, all he had to do was get under your skin as much as he can throughout this week in hopes you’d decide to drop out of the project altogether, which would mean he would no longer have to worry about getting kicked off the shoot if they only had to replace you, he thought.

Unfortunately, you were as hard-headed as a bull, bulldozing over any hope Hyunjin had as your stubbornness made itself apparent through your countless attempts to speak to him last night. Though, something had to be working, he thought, as you reached a standstill of quietness in the middle of this bustling coffee shop. 

The coffee shop was brimming with life, fellow patrons laughing with their company and baristas shouting out names to orders as the espresso machines and blenders whirred in the background. It was a relaxing, welcoming, and cozy environment which sharply juxtaposed the energy emanating off you and Hyunjin. If anything, you and Hyunjin would be more fitting standing outside in the cold, icy, and piercing winter winds as you exchanged hardened gazes, neither wavering from their stance. Anyone who stepped within a three foot radius of you both would feel instant chills due to the intensity of the situation, yet, everyone was too absorbed in their own world to pay attention to the mental battle you and Hyunjin were engaged in. 

“What did I ever do to you?”

The sudden question surprised Hyunjin, effectively drawing him out of his stupor as his gaze softened at the vulnerability in your tone and the slight quiver to your voice, though your features remained in the permanent scowl that seemed to falter ever-so slightly. This was new, this was something Hyunjin had never seen from you before and it made his heart ache to hear the confusion and uncertainty reverberate from your words. This show of weakness from you should be something he celebrates though, this means his attempts to push you away from this project had to be working, yet why did he feel so guilty? Why did he feel his stomach drop slightly when he heard you tremble over your words? Moreso, why were you asking him that?

Hyunjin’s face contorted with perplexity, “You’re seriously asking that?”

Your frown changed into one of curiosity, not entirely understanding what Hyunjin meant by his question, “... What?” 

Hyunjin could only return your confused gaze, your cluelessness only seemed to light a fire under him as fury began to settle in his eyes, “You’re joking, right?”

Taken aback, your mouth struggled to form any words as your brain tried to rack through your memories, searching for a moment in time that you could’ve upset or hurt Hyunjin back then, but there was nothing. You were drawing a blank and could only wonder what you could’ve possibly done to cause this kind of rage in Hyunjin. You spoke cautiously, afraid the wrong words could escalate the situation as you desperately did not want to call attention to you two, “I’m sorry… I don’t… know what you’re talking about.”

Hyunjin could only wear a baffled look in his face, scanning your eyes to only find you were being truthful, no sign of deceit and you were not feigning ignorance, you were genuinely lost at his sudden outburst. He couldn’t believe it, had his version of reality been entirely false this whole time? Up to this point, he had scrutinized you as a villain, one of the worst in the industry, yet the thread that held this belief was quickly unraveling as he took in the innocence your eyes conveyed, a silent plea for him to not doubt your honesty.

“Weren’t you the one…” Hyunjin questioned, uncertainty in his voice, “Didn’t you sabotage me from getting that role on Director Han’s project?”

“Huh?” 

That was all you could muster out, your jaw dropping at the sudden accusation, “What the fuck are you talking about, Hwang?”

“I saw you talking to him on the set of your first film project together! Just a few days after my audition,” he spoke firmly, doing his best to remain steadfast in his perception of events.

“Yes, I did speak to him. In fact, Hyunjin,” you spat his name out, anger burning in your eyes as you tried to keep your voice down, “I was telling him how much of a joy you were to work with and was recommending him to cast you.”

“You’re lying.”

You stood up suddenly from your seat, hands flat against the table, refusing to listen to Hyunjin’s fictitious words and accusations as you felt yourself ready to explode, struggling to keep the heated discontentment you felt contained. Has this really been the reason why Hyunjin had been so cruel to you all these years? Over some dumb hunch that had no weight to it, no proof other than it being a convenient explanation? Was it simply easier for him to frame you rather than accept someone with more talent landed the role? It took everything within you not to slap Hyunjin across the face as you seethed in your rage, trying to make sense of everything that had occurred since that time. 

Of course, missing out on the role was absolutely heartbreaking for Hyunjin, as that film ended up being a blockbuster success and would’ve launched his acting career in a way so many could only dream of. Though, it absolutely wasn’t your fault that the director decided to cast a more experienced and already established actor, one whose name alone would’ve bought the film instant success.

“Right, I am so lying. Because there’s absolutely no way in hell they decided to cast someone who was just a better actor, right? It’s all my fault because of course, the great Hwang Hyunjin could never be a failure.”

Your eyes narrowed at him, studying his reaction as he remained frozen in his seat, a conflicted expression on his face as he tried to process your words. However, Hyunjin was a deeply insecure individual, one who needed constant praise to feel any bit of confidence in his ability to perform and he was quick to become defensive when it came to facing failure. Perhaps that is why he was so sure to blame you without second thought, someone who was such a stark polar opposite from him, someone who had all the confidence of the world in themselves, someone he absolutely envied and grew to hate over some theory he piped up to cope with his own shortcomings. 

You scoffed at his lack of response, muttering, “Unbelievable.”

Yet, you cannot expect someone to just back down from their version of events that they upheld as truth for so long. He had spent two years believing this, and how could he ever be so sure that you weren’t just lying to him in his face? What if you were just trying to maintain your image through lies? Though, something about the expression you wore told him that was not possible, but his own selfishness refused to let him fully accept that. 

“I don’t believe you,” was all Hyunjin could say, stubbornly holding onto the reality he had unknowingly fabricated as he did his best to ignore the hurt in your eyes.

“Why would I lie to you about that? Why would I have ever done that to you?” you whispered, tears welling up in your eyes as your frustration was finally getting the best of you. 

Finally uncovering the truth behind Hyunjin’s hatred towards you was not as satisfying or relieving as you had always imagined it to be. The growing indignation you felt was overwhelming, you were losing control of your own body and emotions, control slipping between your fingers like grains of sand as another wave of emotions began to make itself known. It pained you to know Hyunjin had thought so poorly of you for so long, your heart aching at the thought of him thinking you’d do something so terrible to him. 

The molten lava of anger that flowed through your veins finally met the cool, tumultuous sadness your heart took on, turning into stone as the emotions fought with one another for dominance, but the heavy weight of cobble filled in the cracks of your resolve and urged you to maintain your composure. 

You shook your head at Hyunjin, who still remained still in his seat, and without a word, you turned to leave the coffee shop, abandoning this stupid date idea your manager had conjured up from whatever demented reasonings he had. Maybe you should have left earlier, maybe it was best to cut your losses and accept defeat. All you had now was an unquenchable amount of anger that no amount of water would ever be able to fully put out, and this only intensified your dislike for Hyunjin.

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taglist: @kopikokrunch @icouldntcareless22 @kidrauhlschik @hhwangsmoon

**taglist will be closed at twenty users

[ladykailitha]

The Harrington Pattern Part 5

Hello! In this one we have things not getting off to the fun start Steve wanted, but Eddie and Steve show Robin the meditative joys of watching the weavers. And Mike and El get a lesson in when to give to friends.

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4

@mira-jadeamethyst @rozzieroos @itsall-taken @redfreckledwolf @emly03

****

Once they had all paid Steve gathered up the kids.

“You are to stay in pairs,” he admonished. “I don’t care if you swap every so often but stay in at least pairs. You can stay in great big group for all I care. But no one wanders off alone. If you want to do something and no one else does come find an adult, chances are that one of us six was already going to do it, okay?”

All the kids nodded.

“Everyone is to meet here at 1pm and 6pm for lunch and dinner,” Steve continued. “The adults are exempt but I tried to pick times where there wasn’t anything big going on. Food money was given to me by your parents so you’ll never starve. Drinking fountains are everywhere. Stay hydrated, you’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Will nodded. “I’ll make sure they do.”

Steve smiled. “Thanks, Will.” He held up his hand as they were getting into pairs. “One more thing. Your parents gave you money for loot. If you spend it all today and see something you want on Saturday, I will not buy it for you. Now I can’t stop anyone else from doing the same, but you need to watch your money.”

Eddie looked at the other Corroded Coffin boys who all nodded. “I think I can speak for us adults when I say. I ain’t paying for your shit either.”

All the kids turned to Robin like a lion sensing its prey.

“Don’t look at me,” she huffed holding up her hands in surrender. “I’m poor. I’m hoping that someone pretty will buy me pretty things so I don’t have to go without.”

Steve barked out a laugh. “Looks like you’ve been stemmed–stymied–” he frowned. “Looks like you’ve been thwarted all around.”

The kids grumbled but nodded.

Steve smiled. “Now go have fun! I promise, you’ll love it.”

Max and El grabbed each other’s hands and skipped ahead of the boys. Robin smiled.

“That’s the downside to growing up,” she sighed wistfully. “Is adults no longer think holding hands with your best friend is cute, only gay.”

Eddie nodded. “I just don’t care most of the time,” he said with a shrug.

Steve turned to the members of the band. “Are you guys going to be staying together for the most part or will you be splitting up? I just want to make sure I know where people are going to be.”

Gareth and Jeff shared an amused glance.

“What?” Steve asked, putting his hands on his hips.

“Eddie said you were such a mom friend,” Gareth explained, “but I didn’t believe it.”

“Yeah, man,” Jeff chuckled. “It’s cute.”

Steve crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked down, scuffing the dirt with the toe of his boot.

Brian waved his hands. “It’s not bad. It’s just a surprise.”

Jeff cocked his head to side. “Maybe not that big of one after seeing how he handled Mike...”

Brian laughed. “Fair enough.”

Eddie walked over and lifted Steve’s chin up gently. “It’s sweet, Stevie. We aren’t mocking you for it, okay?”

Steve nodded.

Suddenly Robin coughed into her fist that sounded a little like ‘gay’.

Eddie and Steve almost leaped back from each other while their friends laughed.

“Laugh it up, fuzzball,” Eddie muttered as he stalked past his friends.

Steve just stood there as the rest of them followed Eddie in. All but Robin.

“I’m sorry, Steve,” she mumbled. “I thought you two were cute, I didn’t mean to embarrass you. That’s the last thing I thought it would do.”

Steve just shrugged and then led the way into the Fair grounds. Robin’s eyes lit up as the sights, and sounds, and smells came at her all at once.

There were people in jeans and t-shirts but also people in various states of costume, ranging from beginner to professional. The period ranges were vast, too. From the early 14th century to the very, very beginning of the 20th.

Robin was in awe.

“Steeeeveeee,” she said, smacking his arm repeatedly. “This is amazing!”

Steve turned to her and smiled. “I told you.”

She hugged him around the neck. “You did and you were right. Those kids brains must have exploded on entry.”

He chuckled. “Well, thankfully I don’t see any brain goo anywhere, so I think they’re safe.”

She threw back her head and laughed. “Fair enough.”

“Where do you want to go first?” Steve asked, taking a pamphlet from Fair worker that had all the events and times on it.

She peeked over his shoulder and hummed thoughtfully.

“There isn’t a lot going on today.”

Steve shrugged. “All the big events like the joust are going to be on Saturday when they have the biggest crowds. But there are still some fun things we can do.” He pointed to the events under that day. “We can watch the weavers or battle a knight.”

“You better not do that one,” she said with a grin.

Steve rolled his eyes. “Why? Because you think I’ll lose?”

She swatted his arm. “No, dingus, because you might accidentally pulverize the guy.”

Suddenly there was another arm being slung around Steve’s shoulders.

“I must concur with the lady pirate, mi’lord,” Eddie said cheerfully. “I’ve seen you fight, handsome. You’d accidentally kill the poor actor.”

Steve blushed. “Thanks.”

He looked around but he didn’t see the rest of Eddie’s merry band. “Where are your friends?”

Eddie sighed. “Already succumbed the siren lures of capitalism.”

Steve blinked at him a moment. “Huh?”

Eddie pointed a little further down the way where the market had been set up. “They’re at the sword stall.”

Steve’s mouth formed an O and he nodded. “Yeah, I don’t doubt that’s where the kids are, too.”

“That’s because there is nothing else to do,” Robin pointed out. “Not all of us want to watch people make clothes.”

Eddie’s lit up. “They’re already showing the weavers?”

Steve nodded. “Yeah, you want to come with me?”

“Hell yeah!” he crowed. He grabbed Robin’s wrist. “You’ll love this.”

And he started dragging her to where the looms, Steve laughing, close behind.

They reached building it was housed in and Eddie stepped aside to allow her to see into the room.

It was brightly lit from them many windows in the room. There were different looms from different eras and different levels of expertise. There was even a cute little blonde girl barely older than Holly, Mike’s little sister in one corner with her starter loom, still making mistakes but being patiently guided by someone who looked to be her mom.

But the true center piece was this amazing Asian loom at the back. The weaver was in a kimono and face paint, but her hands danced along the loom making it seem like she had more than usual two.

Robin was smitten.

Eddie smiled back at her and then grabbed her wrist again to pull her into the room.

The little girl’s mother looked up and smiled at them. “Welcome!” she greeted warmly. “We, of the weavers guild, greet you. I am Goody Danvers. If you have any questions please direct them at me so our weavers aren’t disturbed.”

All three of them nodded and began to wander around. Robin was forced to admit that it was way more than just making clothes or even cloth. It was artistry and technique that was just beautiful to watch.

She was, of course, drawn to the Asian loom with its beautiful weaver.

Steve on the other hand went straight for Goody Danvers. He was asking her all sorts of questions and she just lit up with someone expressing genuine interest in the weaving.

Then Steve asked the question. “You thread is amazing. Do you spin it yourself?”

Goody Danvers face was like the sun with how happy that question made her. “We do! Do you guys want to see how we do it?”

Steve nodded enthusiastically while Robin was loathed to leave the beautiful weaver.

“You go ahead,” she murmured never taking her eyes off the scene the woman was weaving into her tapestry.

Steve’s shoulders slumped a little. But Eddie came skipping up to them. “Prick any princesses’ fingers lately?” he teased Goody Danvers.

She wagged her finger at him. “Do you be going around calling me a witch, I might get burned at the stake.”

Steve and Eddie laughed and mimed zipping their lips closed and throwing away the key.

She led them to the backroom where there were other women spinning. Steve figured these were the ones that didn’t like being watched because more than half of them stopped what they were doing the moment they walked in.

He smiled his best babysitter smile and waved like an absolute dork. One of the teenaged girls blushed and turned away.

Eddie frowned, putting his hands on his lower back. He was about to turn back around and rejoin Birdie when he felt a warm hand on his elbow. Steve wasn’t looking at the pretty red-head that blushed at his dorky wave, he was looking at him. Hazel eyes almost antique silver in the natural light.

“You okay?” Steve whispered.

Eddie nodded. “It’s just dustier in here than I thought it would be.”

Goody Danvers nodded. “No fire of any kind allowed in this room. A simple spark could cause a powder keg in here and I don’t feel like leveling the Fair this year.”

“What type of materials do you use for your thread?” Steve asked, his hand never leaving Eddie’s elbow.

And they just listened to her talk about the different types of threads and what they were used for and Eddie felt the warmth in Steve’s presence as he paid her his rapt attention.

Was that was he looked like when he talked about DnD or metal music? Because if it was Steve never looking away from him when talked suddenly made a lot of sense. It was addicting watching Steve engage with someone who shared his interests.

Steve looked down at his watch. “Shit. We’ve got to go meet some people for lunch. But thank you for taking your time to show me everything and answer all my questions.”

Good Danvers smiled. “The pleasure was all mine. It was nice to find a young man who was so interested in what I had to say.” She walked over to a basket.

“Here, pick out a bundle of thread you like as my treat.”

Steve really lit up then. “Thanks!” He went through the basket and picked out this beautiful red silk thread.

“Good choice,” she said. “I know you’ll make something truly remarkable with it.”

Steve blushed and said thank you again as Eddie led him out. They were forced to drag Robin back out of the building.

“Food,” Steve insisted. “Actually...” he had spotted a water fountain. “Water first then food.”

Eddie took a long drink, his throat dry from the spinning room. Robin went next and then Steve.

They barely made it to the food court just under the wire. Some of the kids were already there. Max and Lucas, Dustin, too. Gareth was there, but Jeff and Brian weren’t yet.

Dustin looked at his watched and tapped like a disapproving father. “Just what time do you call this, hmmm?”

Steve burst out laughing as Eddie threw his arm around his shoulders.

“Like father like son,” Eddie teased.

Dustin gasped, offended.

It wasn’t too long before El, Mike, and Will showed up, cutting it even finer than they had, arriving at 1pm exactly.

Steve just raised an eyebrow as they skidded to a stop in front of their table.

Steve got them their food and most of them were half way through their lunch by the time Jeff and Brian had wandered into the food court.

Everyone was talking about all the things they had seen and their plans for the rest of the day and maybe Steve was more than a little pleased that they hadn’t spent all their money.

Everyone was talking but Will. So Steve slid over to the young boy and nudged his shoulder.

“Hey, what’s up?” he whispered.

Mike looked up at them and then began to poke at his plate.

Alarm bells were going off in Steve’s head.

“There was this really cool wizard’s staff at one of the stalls,” Will said. “But it costs ten dollars more than what I have on me.”

“I offered to give him some of mine,” Mike said, “but he wouldn’t take it.”

Steve got it. “Ah.”

“It’s your money, Mike,” Will protested. “Buy something you want.”

“I want to buy it for you,” Mike bit back.

El poked at her food too. “I too, offered to help him buy it but he wouldn’t let me either.”

Eddie stood up and motioned for Mike and El to follow him, while Steve scooted closer to Will. “I’m sorry you couldn’t afford it and it’s hard when you want something so bad and it’s just out of reach.”

Will nodded. “But somehow I don’t think you specifically are talking about a wizard’s staff.”

Steve looked up at were Eddie was talking to Mike and El, and then ducked his head shyly. “No, you’re right there.”

Will gave his hand a squeeze. “For what it’s worth, I think he likes you too.”

Steve squeezed his hand right back. He just hoped Will was right.

****

Part 6 Part 7 Part 8 Part 9 Part 10 Part 11 Part 12 Part 13

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[brooooswriting]

Could you please do a Sam Carpenter x fem reader in scream 6, where the reader takes tara to the frat party and comes back to find sam mad and then sam yells and the reader, but the reader really hates yelling, so the reader gets upset and like starts crying and sam feels really bad and comforts her? If not then it’s totally cool!! 🫶🫶

You for real?

Sam carpenter x reader, Tara carpenter x reader (platonic)

Taking Tara to a frat party might have not been the greatest idea, but there were two factors that made you decide in favor of going. 1. She was gonna go anyway, if you came or not and the 2. She was saved when you were there, so you decided to go against everything that Sam told you and go with the younger carpenter.

It was great actually, you were having fun as you made sure both of you drank responsibly, you were laughing, talking, chatting and the be honest, you haven’t seen Tara this carefree in a while. But at some point you had to leave her alone, even if you didn’t drink a lot of alcohol you still had to pee. Not wanting to leave Tara alone, you searched for Mindy and Anika and left her there.

There was a line to the bathroom, so you were gone for about 20 minutes and when you came back the brunette was gone. Mindy and Anika said that she wanted to get another drink and hurried off before they could say anything. So you started a manhunt for her, walking through the complete house, pushing through tons of people, but nothing. Just as you started to panic Anika called for you, Tara was drunk next to a couple of stairs, some guy laying in front of the stairs and next to him: Sam.

Yeah, this was gonna be your end.

Tara and the rest, you and Sam included, stormed outside where the siblings started fighting while you stood next to them awkwardly waiting for you turn. “Guys” you started causing both of them to snap at you which shut you up. Again, Tara storms off which means it was now your turn:

What were you thinking huh?” Sam started, her voice already raised causing you to stutter. “I-Well- it’s just that” the older woman immediately interrupted you. “You know what, I don’t wanna hear it. You clearly weren’t thinking at all, like always. Jesus, it’s so hard to be with you. You are the reason Tara was in danger tonight, you know what could have happened?” She was now full on screaming at you as she was insulting you, the rest of the group awkwardly standing around watching. “Sam, come on. Listen to me” you started but it was no use. “No, I don’t wanna listen to you. You put my sister in danger because you wanted to party, do you know how selfish that is? God, you’re a bad girlfriend” the screaming was finally to much for you. You mumbled a quick ‘I’m sorry’ before running away. The second Sam turned to take a breath you were gone, only Mindy and Anika seeing you run.

And that’s how you ended up in your apartment, you didn’t go to the lectures you didn’t need to and only left your house when you really really had to. No one of the group had seen you or talked to you since then, not that they didn’t try. All off them constantly calling and texting but you never answered, the fight really took a toll on you.

You’ve always hated yelling, it reminded you of your childhood. It reminded you of how your parents yelled at each other on the daily, day and night. How your mother yelled at you for whatever your sister and father did wrong, it was always your fault and how your father yelled at you at night when he was drunk. It reminded you of how fucked up your life was and how you’ve never been enough, even not for the people who were supposed to love you unconditionally.

And now it reminded you of how you weren’t enough for Sam either.

It was around 1pm when someone knocked on your door. You didn’t move from your position on your couch, even when the knocking got louder. You tried to ignore it until it seemed like the person was gonna knock the door down, “y/n, will you just please open the door” it was Tara’s voice. “Y/n, just open the fucking door before I call the police to break it down” that actually made you open the door, this girl really pulled no stops.

So you slowly opened the door. Tara gasped when she saw you, you got thinner, with dark circles under your eyes. “Oh my god, are you okay?” She asked as she stepped into your apartment while you already sat back on the couch. “M alright” you mumbled. Tara looked at you for a moment, she contemplated if she should keep nagging you about it but she decided against it. It was clear that you didn’t wanna talk about it and needed a friend. That’s what she was here for. “Okay, let’s watch something huh?” She sat next to you, close enough so you could get some comfort. The whole movie you didn’t say a word, she also kept quiet when she saw your teary eyes and the way your head kept sagging down.

“Well, I gotta go. But y/n, please talk to us, get out of your apartment and talk to Sam” she said, hugging you before she left.

“Tara where the fuck were you?” Sam asked as soon as the younger carpenter entered, “I was at y/n’s” she answered as she walked to the kitchen. “And you couldn’t have given me a heads up?” She asked annoyed. “No. But I’ll give you a heads up now. She has a lecture tomorrow from 8-9:30 am. Afterwards you will wait in front of the lecture and you will talk to her” Tara told her sister. “Tara-“ this time it was Sam who got interrupted, “I wanted to go to that party. It was MY decision. She tagged along to make sure I’m safe and not drunk. I got drunk when SHE was on the toilet because I ran away from Mindy and Anika. SHE saved me from 4 guys before you came who tried to touch me. Sam you broke her, I don’t know what you really said but it really broke her” Sam sighed and nodded before going to her room.

The next morning you went to your lecture without a second thought. It was one you couldn’t skip, not again. So you and the girl from the apartment next to you, Kim, went together, she was a nice girl. The last days she came by to bring you food that wasn’t fast food to make sure you were okay, she had met your parents a couple of times already. She knew more than your friend group. “You alright? You haven’t been eaten much huh?” She asked as you walked to campus, “I haven’t been hungry” she hummed as she looked at the ground.

The lecture was boring but it did help you. But that doesn’t mean that you weren’t happy when it was over. Kim laughed about something you just said as she threw her arm around your shoulder but for you the world suddenly moved in slow motion when you saw Sam on the campus. Her brows furrowed when she saw the woman next to you but she made her way towards you nonetheless. “Y/n” she said when you came to a halt in front of her, you only nodded while Kim kinda glared at the woman. “Can I have a moment alone with my girlfriend ?” Sam asked which caused Kim to look at you for approval, you nodded and she left.

“How can I help you?” You asked Sam who was just starting at you, her eyes wandering down your body, it was clear to see that your skinny jeans were now at least one size to big on you. “Let me walk you home, I wanna talk” you looked at her kinda wary as your brows furrowed, “only talking, no screaming” she added which made you nod. You walked next to each other in silence, just walking next to her made your body scream for physical touch but you were to shy to initiate anything. Sam seemed to either think the same or notice as she locked your pinkies together.

When you arrived you settled on to the couch. “What happened y/n?” Sam asked you as she turned to look at you, “nothing. Everything’s alright” you answered, trying to keep your guard up, “it’s not. Stop lying” her voice was more energetic than before, “I’m not lying” you mumbled. “Of course you are. Goddamnit, its always the same with you. You can’t just suddenly stop talking to all of us and lie to us. Just be honest one time” she raised her voice at you, again which made you cower. “Sure, act all scared now. Can’t you just act like a grown adult for once? Im so over this” This time she was full on screaming again which send you into hyperventilation.

Looking back, you believe that this is the moment that Sam finally opened her eyes.

“Y/n?” She called out but you didn’t react as you were to busy trying to calm yourself. She mumbled your name a couple of times before she slowly sat next to you. Unsure of what to do, she just opened her arms. You immediately threw yourself into them, your arms wrapping around her shoulders while hers hugged your waist tightly. The moment she squeezed your waist she gasped, you were scarily thin. “I’m sorry, I said I wouldn’t yell and I did” she mumbled, pressing you to her body to calm your breath. That in combination with her smell did the trick as you slowly started to calm down.

In that moment you hated how at home you felt in her arms, even after she screamed at you while she knew that you hated being yelled at. But you couldn’t change it, she was your person, if you wanted it to be or not.

“I’m so sorry. For screaming and saying all those things I said. I was scared for Tara and my brain went into circuit, I only thought about what could have happened to the two of you at that party but I didn’t think about what didn’t happen because you were there to look öfter her. I should have listened to you afterwards, I was mad and cut you off which was wrong. And you are a great girlfriend, you looked out for Tara as if she was your sister and you’re dealing with my overprotectiveness all the time. I’m so sorry for hurting you” you laid in her arms in silence, you didn’t say a word, unsure of your feelings. The anxiety attack wore you out and you had to fight to keep your eyes open which Sam seemed to notice. “Maybe you should sleep a bit, it looks like you didn’t do that for a while” she mumbled as she laid the two of you down on the couch. “You staying?” You mumbled sleepily, “if you want me to” the way you tightened your arms around her seemed to be answer enough.

This was your first attempt of sleeping since the party where you weren’t haunted by nightmares of your childhood. It was the sleep you needed the last couple of days.

But when you woke up Sam wasn’t under you anymore which made you panic, you shot up from the couch looking around to see her phone on the small table in front of the couch. You smiled lightly when you saw her background, it was a picture of you two at a some stupid party Chad brought you, you were making out while Sam held you up against a wall. Mindy took the picture back then.

The fact that her phone was still there made you calm down a bit. A sudden sound from the kitchen gave you her location as you slowly walked towards the room to find her standing in front of the stove. “What are you doing?” You asked as you stood next to her causing her to jump slightly. “Shit you scared me. I’m making you food, it’s obvious that you haven’t really eaten the last couple of days so you are now!” You only nodded slightly. The way Sam gave you a certain type of comfort even after a fight was so weird to you but at the same time it made you believe that you were meant to be.

You suddenly shuddered next to her causing her to look over, “are you cold? Do you want me to get you a hoodie?” She asked as her left hand rubbed over your arm but you only shook your head before looking between her and her hoodie that laid on the kitchen table. The older woman chuckled before grabbing it and helping you put it on. Her clothing was to big on you which made you look even cuter.

“Here, eat up” she said as she put a plate of your favorite food down in front of you. “Thank you” you mumbled and started picking at your food. The way you still didn’t eat anything made Sam sigh, “look, what can I do to fix this? I hate seeing you like this and I despise the fact that I’m the problem” you looked at her for a moment before finally speaking up. “Am I good enough for you?” The way you asked the question broke her heart, you were more than enough for her and the fact that you thought you weren’t hurt her. “Of course you are. You are the greatest person I know baby. Why would you ask that?” you gave her a teary smile. “Everybody who screamed at me always did it because I wasn’t enough for them” you mumbled out and Sam grabbed your hand. “These people were assholes! You’re more than enough okay? I screamed because I have a short tamper but I will work on that alright? I promise you I’ll be working on that and I’ll try to never scream at you again alright? Plus, you can have all the hoodies you want” you giggled out slightly and nodded before eating your food.

“Should we meet up with the others?” You asked as you stood in front of the bathroom mirror after showering. “No, I want you for myself tonight” Sam smiled as she hugged you from behind, her hair also wet from the shower you just took. “Let’s get to bed. You need sleep” she grabbed your hand and led you away but not before stealing a kiss from you.

You laid in bed cuddled up not even 15 minutes later. “I love you” the brunette mumbled into your hair pressing a kiss there. “I love you too” you smiled before leaning up and kissing her.

[gentlebeardsbarngrill]

02/07/2024 Daily OFMD Recap

TLDR; Cast & Crew Sightings; More Rhys Cameos; Damien Gerard; Hugo PIerre Martin; More Samba BTS Feat. David Fane; Cosplay Day; Feb 8 Events: #WeLoveSamson; Upcoming Watchparties; UK Fan Effors: Radio!; YouGov Tutorial; Stats; Schadenfreude; More Clowning; Morale; Love Notes; Daily Darby/Tonight's Taika.

= Cast & Crew Sightings =

Another Rhys Video on Cameo! This one in particular had a lot of folks clowning today. You can watch the video on cameo-- it's the newest one 3:51 seconds long with him in the hat and the red shirt. I tried to download it and upload it, and tumblr literally lost all my drafts because of it, I have no idea what happened so I'm not doing that again lol. Instead, here's the short video of what triggered the clowning.

"Thank you so much for all your support on Our Flag Means Death, they'll be more stuff happening in the future, keep listening and watching, and uh, yeah, peace out, Rhys Out, Don't let that Octopus out! BuhByeeee!"

Thank you @Jodegg for sharing this video with us!!!

== Damien Gerard! ==

Damien Gerard gave us a new BTS photo for #WearFineThingsWell

== Hugo Pierre Martin ==

Hugo, aka our friend the french doorman from The Best Revenge is Dressing Well poked his head out! We'd love to have you doing venues sir!

==More BTS from Samba!==

It's a David Fane themed day! Wanna see the videos too? Head on over to Samba's IG!

==Cosplay Day!==

Today was cosplay day and lots of folks shared their awesome costumes from today or over the past couple years! These are just a few highlights! Please feel free to hop over to IG or Twitter for more!

== Events for Feb 8! ==

Tomorrow is #WeLoveSamson Day! Let's show Samson Kayo some love for all his hard work and various characters! Feel free to reach out across platforms to send him some love! Pic Src: Samson's IG

Twitter / Instagram / Facebook

=Watch Party Reminders=

No watch party for Feb 8, but Feb 9 we've got:  Love Birds Watch Party on Feb 9th - 9 pm GMT, 4 pm EST, 1pm PST.

Watch Party Hashtags:

#AdoptOurLoveBirds

#AdoptOurCrew

#SaveOFMD

== UK Fan Efforts ==

Fans are reaching out to radio stations in the UK! Very cool guide put together by @TeeHeeSeason3 on Twitter for contacting BBC radio stations in the UK regarding what to place to help support the OFMD Renewal.

== Focus Groups ==

Remember the focus group/surveys we mentioned yesterday on yougov.com? Well some folks have been trying to sign up and been having some issues finding OFMD, so our lovely, sweet, amazing @libbyroseitm was kind enough to make a tutorial for everyone! Twitter Thread. YouGov rating tutorial! Make an account first, then follow these steps. If you'd like to see what kinds of questions it asks for you to sign up, visit here. Step 1: On your Account page, scroll down until you see a link for "View All Ratings", and click that

Step 2: You'll be taken to a screen that says "Rate Everything", click on the link for "Not What you're looking for?" and it will pop up a model that gives you a button to click that says "Previous Version" Click that.

Step 3: Once in the new version, type the name of the show (or actor, writer, etc) you'd like to rate

Step 4: Select your show when it pops up, and then rate it and add an opinion if you'd like!

Special Notes:

People probably aught to be careful to keep personal information to themselves.

You can search for actors and other films and tv shows related to OFMD, not just the show itself.

Vote on things other than OFMD so they don't get suspicious.

= STATS STATS STATS =

As always, special thanks to our dear friend @meowzawowza_ over on twitter for their constant stats updates

== Schadenfreude ==

Awww, looks like WB Discovery Inc is still trending downwards. How sad. Thank you @btweenhisteeth for keeping us up to date on these sad sad times for WB!

== More Clowning ==

So today I learned of this "Honk Weather Control Center" account on twitter (@HonkForecast) and I have to say it's pretty great. So far for several days they've had "clown" forecasts for how much we should be clowning. Love it.

== Morale ==

Definitely head on over to Rhys' New Cameo video if you haven't already because as always his sunshine is a big ol dose of Vitamin Darby right to the soul and there's nothing that can replace that feeling!

== Love Notes ==

Done with your Rhys love? Great! But now you have to endure my unconditional love as well! *Maniacal laughter*

Are you aware that you are so very loved, my dear?

But also, did you know you're worthy of love?

All the love--- Like every kind you want (platonic, romantic, parental, agape, etc)

You are not difficult to love. Not at all.

You are not too much, or too little,

you're exactly the right amount,

and you are worthy of love just the way you are.

I've probably said it before, but I want you to know just how imperfectly perfect you all are, and every moment of every day you deserve love and happiness and everything you want in life.

The world is such a better place with you in it and all of your crewmates want you to know that. We care for you deeply my friends.

You matter, don't ever forget that.

= Daily Darby / Tonight's Taika =

So I just got done watching a bunch of Radiradirah on youtube (which is goofy AF btw, like New Zealand Monty Python style fun) and I can't get over Space Waltz, so tonight that's the theme. Look at these two stinking goofballs and their faces.

Night lovelies <3

PS: I never say it but thank you for all the lovely comments in the tags! They always make me smile, yall are the best!

[guvato]

Tamalog Day 6

We started the day at 7AM, i went to bed and before sleeping i fed everyone, Picochutchi wasn't very hungry but she was bored, so we went to the Arcade and played quite a lot, i played until her Happy bar was full, fed her a Cactus Steak and called the Sitter to look after her while i slept. On the Pix, Haretchi evolved to Himetchi, i was quite surprised cuz i spent all day yesterday waiting for her to evolve, but she only evolved this morning, but hey, no biggie. As soon as Himetchi woke up, we went to the restaurant and she had Pancakes for breakfest, then, we went to the Arcade and since today's theme is nature, we picked some fruits and she flew on the Rocket, i then called the Sitter and went on to wake up Milktchi. Milktchi was quite hungry early in the morning and only had one Cheese Dog left, so we went shopping and bought pretty much everything in the shop, she had 1 Curry and 1 Quiche, then i gave her some pets until she was Maxed out and went to sleep.

Waking up at 1PM, knowing two Tamas were safe with the Sitter, i went straight to the Smart to check on Milktchi, she was Sick, i became extremely worried since i thought i had miscalculated something and y'know, care mistakes are a bad sign, so i went to look and apparently it was due to poop, though her fondness meter was pretty low, enough for her to be sad at the top right corner, her food meter was as 3/6, so i believe her sickness was really due to her pooping while i slept and i took too long to clean it, gotta watch out for that. The rest of the afternoon was pretty chill, i gave them food whenever they were hungry, played a bit with each of them and did my daily prize draw which Himetchi got 1st place and won 200G, we also explored on the Pix and Tama Searched on the Uni, making really good progress on both of em, i also cooked a Hotdog on the Pix using my leg and the arm of a chair, i am trying to take my time with the Pix's features, cooking one food a day and trying to explore once at different locations to also take some photos of many places with different Tamas, it's been really fun. Picochutchi said 2 days jn a row that the Antenna is working fine which is great, i wonder what would happen if it didn't work, she sang a song for me at 5PM which is just too cute and i love it, we also went to the garden where Rinsetchi was hanging around, she played with it a bit and them went on with her day. Milktchi went to TamaWork and did some dancing since we blew all her Gotchi Points with food, and having the money to restock when she goes out of food is a strategy i often employ, just making sure i don't have her eating Onirigi all day cuz i was too lazy to play at the arcade that day, i also discovered today (about 4 months of running the Smart every day mind you) that there IS a Sitter option on the Smart, it's the second option in the Care menu, 'Rusuban' which means roughly 'House-sitting', and oh boy, do i feel bad i didn't know about that sooner.

Come night time, Picochutchi went into the tamaverse, displayed her new outfit and played the first match of the Wave Riding event playing for the Macarón team, which first impressions are really good, probably my favorite TamaVerse game since Dragon Jump, and we placed 1st baby oh yeah, after that we gave our Tama Friends some hearts i left her to do whatever cuz she was doing good already. Himetchi was okay so i let her just chill a bit, just gave her a bath and she cleaned the house, when i least expected it, she went to sleep. Apparently the Pix works from 7AM to 8PM, which aye, fair enough, it has too many things to do so i don't mind them going to sleep pretty early, better too cuz less battery usage i guess? idk. Milktchi had more Curry and some Nikujoga, used the Cleaning Robot to tidy up the house and took a bath, after that she asked me for help to fall asleep and went to sleep. Before going to sleep i fed Picochutchi some ham sandwiches and just like the others, gave her a bath and cleaned the house, she then just went to sleep peacefully probably feeling like the MVP of the day, as she was the number 1 Wave Rider for this Tama Day.

[shenashygans]

THE SUNDAY CURRENTLY -49-

ahh Sunday. slept early, woke up late. early meaning, 7am and woke up 1pm lol. happy mother's day din pala! my head is throbbing but i shall do this one for the sake of my jowa. so here's another TSC from yours truly~

CURRENTLY

Reading

last week's TSC

Writing

TSC 49 on a Monday. i was typing this yesterday, but we were busy so i forgot. tapos ung jowa ko eh binanatan ako ng, "i look forward palagi sanTSC mo" edi gawa naman ako hahahaha

Listening

the fan. my jowa in the kitchen fixing us some breakfast

Thinking

of what series to watch after Sherlock. yeah yeah. i did watch it again. i missed them kasi. thinking of how to spend my birthday with my friend and jowa. gusto ki lang relax kami at bonding. hahaha bingo ganern :)) pero isip isip padin :)) swimming kaya kami? hahahaha

Smelling

pancit. milo. breakfast:3

Wishing

everyone a good week. start nanaman ng panibagong week eh hehehe ü

Watching

this new supermarket game na kaka-DL lang ng jowa ko lol dun padin ako sa luma :))

Hoping

di kami masyadong stressed sa work ngayong week ugh sana bumaba na ung mga markets.

Wearing

work clothes. brown pants + maroon top hehe

Wanting

a peaceful week. ayoko ng stress. ayoko ng ingay. ayoko sa madumi. ayoko sa maputik hahaha teka, movie un diba? lol

Needing

to eat breakfast muna kasi the jowa made us food hehehe ininit niya ung handa ni gelic hehehe

Loving

our bonding time last Saturday & Sunday! late bday celebration ni Gelic and dun kami sa Sharjah nag-stay. we made baked sushi and leche flan for them. tapos we slept around 7am na ng Sunday! kamusta naman ang puyat? hahaha. masaya lang na may bonding time padin kami lahat hehehe

Feeling

full. pancit + milofee is making me full in the morning   feeling energised din. idk kung nakabawi na ako ng sleep, pero di na masakit ang ulo ko at di na ako masungit hahahahaha

Manifesting

STABLE JOBS (FOR US). FINANCIAL ABUNDANCE. GOOD HEALTH (FOR FAMILY & FRIENDS). HAPPY LOVE & SEX LIFE ✨ (uulit-ulitin ko ‘to) HAPPY MARRIED LIFE 💜

-- have a great week, everyone! :))

[crinkled-emotions]

Day 3: "I'm not going anywhere; nice try."

Fam... I have had a day (it's only 1pm lmao)

I wrote this a couple days ago, did a final cut last night to make sure it was satisfactory, closed my laptop screen and didn't think much of it... then my lovely Macbook decided to update overnight and didn't save the original fic and I looked everywhere but I couldn't recover it ����‍♀️

The good news is I had some notes left and the first paragraph or so written in my goodnotes!

Ship: Rhett Abbott (Outer Range) x OC (Hadley)

If you are looking for more of Hadley and Rhett, check out part of the first fic I wrote for them in August 2022 here!

-

Rhett pressed a kiss to Hadley’s temple as he walked around where she was standing in the entrance waiting for him to get ready. They’d flown into San Diego that morning and Hadley could already feel her nervous energy rubbing off on Rhett. He didn’t love flying but when Robert called he didn’t hesitate. Robert, from what Hadley could understand, was Rhett’s estranged twin brother.

“How long has it been since you spoke to your brother?” Hadley asked as she watched Rhett move around their motel room. He shrugged.

“Jus’ turned 18, I guess. He didn’t want to stay on the ranch so dad made it clear he couldn’t come home when he washed out.”

“Sounds like he’s doing well for himself. A Lieutenant is a big deal, right?”

Rhett slowly exhaled, pausing his nervous pacing.

“S’pose so.”

Hadley put her handbag down, extending her hand to her partner.

“Are you sure you want me there? It’s okay if you don’t, I can-“

“-he said his team’s gonna be there. I want you to meet him. Bobby’s the only normal Abbott out of all of us. Started using his middle name as his last ages ago, made it hard to track him down.”

Rhett lifted Hadley’s wrist to check the time on her watch then gestured to the door.

“Should get a move on.”

-

The minute Hadley walked into the bar she immediately relaxed. Despite dozens of people in various uniforms milling about she could tell this was a good neutral ground for Rhett and Robert. Rhett kept a gentle hand on her arm as he navigated the crowd, occasionally double checking she was still behind him. Hadley couldn’t help but look around, so distracted by the bar’s décor and jovial atmosphere that she almost didn’t realise Rhett had stopped mid-step until she walked into his back. She snapped back to attention, about to scold him, when she felt his shoulder relax.

“Rhett.”

“Bobby.”

A long pause. The blonde man sitting beside Rhett’s twin at the table sighed, nudging the brunette woman on his other side.

“The last time it was this awkward, Tash, we found out Rooster’s pseudo-dad was-“

“-right here, Hangman.”

Hadley watched a shorter brunette man walk past, swatting at Hangman’s head in passing. Hadley cleared her throat, gently stepping around Rhett to offer his twin a handshake.

“It’s great to finally meet you, Robert, I’ve heard so many great things. I’m Hadley; Rhett’s girlfriend.”

“Please, call him Bob, he’s forgotten his words. I’m Natasha, Bob’s pilot. Everyone uses callsigns around here; mine’s Phoenix.”

Natasha shook Hadley’s hand for her friend. Finally, Rhett snapped out of his awkward daze and he took Bob by the arm.

“Saw a table out the front; think we could talk alone?”

“Uh- yeah. Yeah, sure.”

The two men walked out of the bar, leaving Hadley standing by the other pilots. She winced, but Phoenix gestured for her to take Bob’s now empty seat. Hadley slid on to the leather and she had a cold beer in front of her in seconds.

“Hadley, right?”

It was one of the other men at the table; he had kind eyes, beautiful dark skin and the moustache he was sporting rivalled one of the other pilots wearing a Hawaiian shirt.

“Yeah...?”

“Payback. Let me introduce you to the others.”

He made quick work of it; Rooster, Fanboy, Coyote, and of course Hangman.

Hadley wondered what he’d done to earn that callsign.

“Australian, right?” Phoenix asked. Hadley agreed.

“What part of Australia?”

Phoenix had reached across the table for Rooster’s beer, taking a sip only to hand it back to him. He rolled his eyes but didn’t outwardly complain; too busy looking toward where Bob and Rhett had gone outside.

“Victoria. You’ve been there?”

“Me and Hangman flew water jets in Western Australia a while back. We both got heat exhaustion, put us in the medbay overnight.”

“I can imagine, I competed over there and I remember getting a sunburn so bad I couldn’t sit in the saddle.”

Hadley too glanced toward the doors, biting her lip. She felt someone gently touch her arm and found it was Phoenix.

“I had no idea Bob had brothers, let alone a twin until a couple days ago. I can’t imagine how you feel.”

“Confused, mostly,” Hadley confessed, “there’s no mention of Bob in the Abbott house and they don’t even share a last name. To say I’m shocked is an understatement.”

Phoenix hummed.

“It’s not my story to tell, I barely got it out of him yesterday, but Bob... he had his reasons.”

“I know.”

Hadley squeezed her shoulder, falling into conversation with the rest of Bob’s team.

-

Rhett and Bob reappeared almost an hour and a half later. No one mentioned the fact that Bob’s eyes were red rimmed behind his glasses and Rhett didn’t look much better, squeezing Hadley’s shoulder as he dragged another chair over to the table. Bob and Phoenix squeezed on to her seat together but it was Hangman who leaned over to whisper to him, brows furrowed at their hushed conversation. Hadley glanced over her shoulder to Rhett who cleared his throat.

“You don’t have to stay, Hads, I’ll be okay.”

She still felt that pit in her stomach, the tightness in her chest. She’d been feeling it ever since Rhett sat her down two days ago and told her about Bob. She smiled, nudging his shoulder.

“I’m not going anywhere; nice try.”

“Hadley; Bob tells me you’re a barrel racer?”

Hadley snapped out of their moment, turning to Hangman.

“I started camp drafting when I was a kid but I found the barrels a lot more interesting.”

“You have a horse here?”

“Bought Jester almost a year ago, he’s great.”

Rhett’s hand stayed on Hadley’s back, dropping a kiss to her forehead. She squeezed his hand, falling into the conversation.

“Wait, wait. Repeat the name of that place again?”

Hadley grinned.

“I grew up in Tiddybong, just outside of Wycheproof. From there I went to Werribee because I had a 3DE stint in my teenage years, and then I-“

Rooster started choking on his beer. Payback stifled giggles behind his hand while Fanboy’s brows shot up. She felt Rhett’s chest rumble when he started laughing too.

“Alright, fuck you. Take the piss, assholes.”

That earned snorts of laughter. Hadley would take it as a win.

-

Back in the motel room that night, Hadley took a seat on the end of the bed and reached for her bottle of moisturiser. Rhett was half asleep (read: tipsy) against the headboard, but he was also grinning and he’d hugged Bob on their way out of the bar with a promise to see him for breakfast in the morning. With her legs moisturised Hadley climbed under the covers and reached for her phone. Rhett frowned when he saw who she was texting.

“You and Phoenix hit it off?”

“No, I’m texting a photo of Jester to Hangman. I promised.”

Rhett snorted.

“You think him and my brother are together?”

“That’s not a can of worms for tonight. How did your talk go?”

“We’ve got some work to do if we want to fix shit, but...”

He shrugged.

“He’s my little brother, y’know?”

“Aren’t you two twins?”

“He’s five minutes younger.”

Hadley smiled, leaning over to kiss him.

“Gotta stay humble, right?”

“Stick to your roots.”

“The only roots you should be sticking to is me, Rhett.”

Rhett laughed.

“Say that in public, I dare you.”

“You know I would.”

Hadley leaned against Rhett’s shoulder, holding her phone screen out to him when it buzzed.

“Twenty bucks he’s sleeping with your brother.”

“That means shit in our currency.”

“Exactly.”

-

[mulledcherrywine]

Five Minutes

A/N: Lowkey written very quickly and badly, BUT this is a first attempt and very very cliche. pls be gentle with me on this one 😭

also the formatting? ew. anyway….

Early morning was a different part of the day to everyone. Those productive, do-it-all types never failed to take advantage of it, finishing all their emails and paperwork before lunch time. There were also those who refused to move their body until at least 1pm. You had always been somewhere in the middle. Would you run a mile first thing in the morning? No chance, but you always loved the golden hue the Sunday morning sun sent through your window.

Your eyes slowly opened, still stiff from the late Saturday evening you had spent watching hallmark films with Harry the night before. He was always persistent that they were terribly made, but once they were over he seemed to have 3 more lined up that he wanted to watch. 

You scanned the room, silent with an early morning lull. The window was opened just a little, the curtains slightly parted, letting that glowing sunshine through. Next to you, Harry lay on his side, his face covered ¾ by the covers of the bed; His mop of hair and the small mole on his forehead were just barely visible from the outside. You brushed a thumb over the top of his head, moving a few of the sun bleached curls (from months lying out in Italy no doubt) off of his forehead.

“I’m not asleep,” He muttered from beneath the blanket, still unmoving. You dropped your jaw teasingly, pulling the cover down to reveal Harry, eyes closed but smiling deviously. 

“You should’ve woken me up!” You protested, beginning to get up and start the day. 

“Oh yeah, that’s a great plan, remind me again how much you just love getting woken up on weekends?” He laughed as you jokingly tossed a cushion from your side of the bed at him. He neatly tucked it away back where you were laying before. 

“Teamwork,” he said proudly. You rolled your eyes and walked round to his side. You reached out a hand for him to take, 

“Coffee?” you suggested. He wrapped a hand around yours and lightly pulled you back onto the mattress, spooning you into him. He put both his arms around your waist and brought you closer. 

“Five minutes.” 

@harrysfolklore @platinumbarbie143 thank u 4 believing in me 😭

[themultifandomgal]

Isaiah Jesus- Low Blood Pressure

For as long as I can remember I've struggled with passing out, feeling dizzy and sick. Arthur being my oldest brother took me to the doctors with our aunt Polly after I kept passing out. I was told my bloody pressure was low and that's why I had been fainting. Some days are better than others, but today has been terrible. It started from the moment I got up this morning...

I groan waking up to the bright daylight outside, my head feeling fuzzy as usual but I'll be fine once I have a drink. Slowly I sit up and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. It was Charlie's birthday yesterday so all of us stayed over at Tommy's house (much to his despair). Tommy wouldn't let Isaiah and I sleep in the same bed because in his words "I'll be dambed if you get pregnant out of marriage while under my roof" and so our rooms are at the opposite ends of the house. Slowly I stand up, my vision blurring but soon returns. Quickly I get dressed and make my way down the stairs, already being able to hear the yells and laughter of all the kids. I finally arrive in the living room where everyone is, already dressed

"Mornin' nice of you to join us" Arthur grunts while reading the paper. I look at Arthur confused

"It's 1pm love" Polly says

"1? bloody hell" I frown looking around and spot a spare seat next to Isaiah. Wobbly I walk over and sit down

"You feelin' alright?"

"Err yeah just need a drink" I sigh. Isaiah pulls me closer to him

"I'll put the kettle on" Polly smiles at me

"Thanks" I smile back.

After having a cup of tea my head starts to feel fuzzy again

"Aunt YN can we go and ride the horses" Katie, Johns eldest asks me

"Not today Katie maybe another day"

"Why?"

"I'm not feeling great today that's all" I weakly smile at my niece

"But yesterday you said we could go ride the horses"

"I know I did but..." John then cuts me off

"You remember when me and Esme told you and the kids that Aunt YN is poorly?"

"Yeah?" Katie frowns

"We'll some times YN doesn't feel poorly but today she does"

"Why don't you all go outside and play eh?" Tommy speaks

"Ok" Katie is obviously upset, but takes Charlie's hand and begins to walk out. After they walk out I sigh while closing my eyes

"How bad is it this time?" Arthur asks in a worried voice

"It's coming in waves. Right now, if I stand up I will probably pass out"

"Please tell me this hasn't been getting worse" Polly sighs

"No...maybe a little, as it's been so warm out"

"I'll get you a drink and something to eat" Isaiah says getting up

"Why didn't you tell anyone you were strugglin?" Tommy asks with his arms folded

"Didn't wanna worry any of you. Your all busy and I've dealt with this my whole life so it's nothin new" I shrug

"So you didn't even tell Isaiah?" Polly asks and I shake my head

"Here" Isiah walks over to us handing me a drink and some food

"Thanks"

"Isaiah can I have a word" Tommy nods towards the door of the room. Isaiah places a kiss on my forehead and follows Tommy out

"How do you feel now?" John asks

"A little better" I smile at my brother.

"Right" Tommy says walking back in with Isaiah "we've just spoken and we think you need to speak to a doctor"

"What? no come on Tommy. This isn't serious. Last time the doctor said to just eat better"

"And have you?" Arthur asks raising his brows. I look down ashamed

"No" I mumble

"Ok. I'll make you a deal eh? you start eating better or you see a doctor"

"Fine" I roll my eyes at Tommy

"Aye you may be an adult now, but your brothers still care for you" Polly scolds me

"I know I know. I'm sorry for worrying you"

"Just don't do it again" John laughs sitting next to me. Isaiah sits the other side of me pulling me into him

"Watch those hands" Arthur warns making me laugh

"What are you gonna do when I have a child Arthur?"

"Your not" I roll my eyes at Arthur

"Leave our dear sister alone. I'm surprised she's not knocked up already" John laughs then looks at me "your not are you?" his eyes widen

"No" I chuckle

"Good. Keep it that way" Arthur points to me. All this time Tommy is giving Isaiah a death stare

"Yeah yeah whatever" I roll my eyes again.

[piastrinorris]

An Unambiguous Love [10/10]: Rescue Mission

1 :: 2 :: 3 :: 4 :: 5 :: 6 :: 7 :: 8 :: 9 :: 10 ::

alternate AO3 link

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Eddie Munson x f!Reader

Genre: fluff

Summary: Your favourite customers really make it easier returning to the town you never went to school in. If only your friends at work would stop trying to play matchmaker between you.

Chapter 10 word count: 3608

A/N: And that's a wrap! I really hope you've all enjoyed reading this fic as much as I loved writing it. I have two oneshots in this universe already planned, but if there's anything in particular y'all want to see, feel free to prompt it!

The next day, you’re busy moving the oldest of the “new releases” rack to their respective aisles when you hear Jesse clear his throat behind you. “Oh, jeez!” you press your hand into your chest. “Oh, you scared me. You good?”

“Uh, yeah! I was… I was going to ask, I know you’re not in this Saturday, so I was wondering if you wanted to hang -”

You interject, “I’m sorry, Jesse, I’m just… Not in a great place right now, I wouldn’t be good company one-on-one.”

“It wouldn’t be!” Jesse replies hurriedly. “It’s… A whole bunch of us. From here. Like a staff appreciation thing. We’re closing early, everyone’s coming, it’s a whole thing. You wouldn’t need to be “good company”, you can just show up and then be a part of the group, if that makes you more comfortable.”

You sigh with relief. “You know what? Hanging out with everyone here, without work hanging over us… That might just be exactly what I need,” you nod. “Yeah.”

“Awesome!” Jesse claps. “Uh, so Saturday, at the complex, 1pm, we can go get food, watch a movie, just hang out. See you then?” 

[...]

You’re so excited to get to see all your work friends outside of work, for once. You’re rambling on about it to your brother, who tells you that he misses your other friends. He likes it when they’re here to visit. You tell him that you still do, too, but that it’s okay for you to have more than one group of friends. You still dread to think what life is going to be like with both Steve and Eddie again after kissing the two of them individually, without any inkling of which way to decide between them, if at all.

You put those thoughts away for now, though. Now, you’re going out with other friends. None of this drama has to exist around them. You guys can all just have fun and be nerdy together. Even Cameron’s been actively chatting to you about things these days. The first real conversation you’d had with him a week prior, where you'd both talked about your excitement for the next instalment of Elvira due to come in, truly made you feel like you were an instrumental part of the team.

You find a relatively central space inside of the theatre entrance and await any familiar faces. The boy that knows Nancy is here too, looking at you. It's a tad unnerving, but you try and look away, especially when he slowly reaches for the phone handset on the wall.

Jesse is the first to show. He greets you warmly, trying to pull you in for a hug. You've never really hugged him before, so you're in unfamiliar territory here, but you comply nonetheless. He's constantly trying to make small talk, which you reply with vague sounds to as you eagerly look around, getting more and more desperate as time goes on

Eventually Jesse looks at his watch. "I don’t think anybody else is coming."

You narrow your eyes. "Not even your sister? Didn't you bring her with you?"

"Hm? Oh, of course, I meant to say. She decided to spend time with friends from school instead. And come to think of it, I vaguely remember Cameron saying something about not making it either. I assume since he isn't here now either that Ralph has bailed without warning, so maybe we should just get some food, the two of us?"

"If it's all the same to you, I- I might just… Go home, like I said, I’m not great company on my own right now,” you falter.

Jesse holds your arm, “Come on, don’t sell yourself so short! Let’s at least get something to eat while we’re here, right?” he grins, almost unsettlingly.

You go to protest, but your stomach betrays you as it makes a loud rumbling sound. “Alright, we’ll get some food and that’s it, okay?”

—[ meta ]—

Nancy’s busy tidying up when Mike bangs on her bedroom door. “Pick up your phone! It’s that guy from the school paper!” he shouts through it. 

She picks up her receiver. “Fred? What’s going on?”

His tone is heavy with an arrogant smugness. “Just wanted to let you know that I was right, all along. You were setting your friend up with those two, Harrington and the freak -”

“Fred.”

“And I said, maybe you were wrong, and that there was no romantic interest there at all? Guess who’s getting cozy with another man. Hugging him closely and everything.”

"I don't… Another man? Who?"

"Do I look like Hawkins' ultimate socialite? How should I know? Either way, I think you sho- oh."

"What? What 'oh'?"

"..."

"Fred?!"

"She does not look as happy being here as he is. Keeps looking around."

"Fred. Answer me honestly. Does it look like she's in danger?"

"The guy is trying to stay in close proximity to her, but she doesn't look like she wants that."

"Fuck. Okay. I'm hanging up now. Don't do anything stupid, just… Get her some help if it looks like he's hurting her."

Nancy hangs up the phone and immediately calls Family Video.

~~~

Meanwhile, at the video store, Steve has been pacing the aisles, wanting nothing more than to talk to Robin about what happened between him and Y/N, but all six kids are around and he would rather have the ground swallow him whole than have a bunch of freshmen be his romantic counsel.

He jumps at the chance to answer the phone, "Y'ello, this is Family Vi- Oh, hey Nanc- ... Uh, I don't know, a couple of days ago, why?"

As he's asking that, Eleven pulls Dustin over to the window, points over at the comic book store and then at the clock, looking puzzled. Dustin also looks confused, adding a, "That's weird."

"What is?" Robin asks.

"Y/N told me and El on Friday we wouldn't be able to buy anything this afternoon, because the store was closing early so all the staff could go out. But it's that time now, and it doesn't look like it's closing."

Robin's face falls. "Nobody else has said anything about closing early today."

Steve's face widens in horror. He interrupts Nancy’s retelling to ask, "Nancy, did Fred say anything about who that guy could be? ... Do you happen to know of a guy named Jesse? Fuck, there's no time, shit!" He hangs up and hops over the counter. Only one thought crosses Steve's mind: I can't do this without him. On his way to the door, he calls out. "Robin! I need you to call Eddie, tell him to meet me at the theatre ASAP, immediately, right now."

Robin looks perplexed. "But you're you, surely you can handle this jerk, why do you need Eddie?"

Steve spends almost every ounce of restraint he has on thinking before he speaks. He's barely been coming to terms with his own sexuality for weeks now. The only one who might understand is standing right in front of him, but so are six teenagers, still practically children, to whom he does not exactly want to explain the complexities of his feelings of attraction. Instead, he simply looks at his best friend, panicked, and yells, "BECAUSE PEOPLE CAN LIKE CATS AND DOGS, ROBIN." before running out to his car.

The kids all look at each other, confused, before plastering themselves to the glass to watch Steve speed away. Robin, on the other hand, finally feels as though everything about this entire mess she's been meddling in now makes sense. It's never been Steve versus Eddie, vying for Y/N's affections separately. It's always been the three of them. That's when they're at their happiest. That's who they're most comfortable around. That's what the answer's been all along. Steve and Y/N and Eddie.

Quickly finding the number, Robin hurriedly dials Eddie's phone number. As soon as it stops ringing, Robin starts, "Ed, hi, no time. You need to go to the theatre, now. Y/N needs you."

"Me? Why not Steve, isn't he with you? What's the panic?"

"Not anymore, he ran out and asked me to call you. Look, Eddie… I get it, okay? Right now, Y/N needs you both. And I know Steve needs you and her, and you need the two of them, too, alright? Just… Please? For them."

"...On it."

Robin slams down the phone, and looks at the kids. "Which of you feels like reporting that creep to his manager?"

—[ end meta ]—

"Hey, hey, what's the rush? You'll make yourself unwell again, eating that quickly," Jesse chuckles. "And besides, at least now you're paying me back the time I spent covering for you, right?"

You look puzzled. "But I did extra for you on my first day back, I was only supposed to be on opening but I closed as well so that you didn't have to.”

"True, but I covered more than one shift for you, didn't I? My time is precious too, sweetheart." The pet name cuts through you like a poison-tipped blade. That word only belongs in Eddie's mouth.

Still, you carry on eating in silence, barely making eye contact with him. He still keeps trying to engage you with inane talk about work. He mentions that he heard from Cameron that you're interested in Elvira, but apparently, the House of Horrors franchise is already not to Jesse's liking, and he's subjecting you to learn how in excessive detail.

When you both finally finish eating, you hurriedly make your way out of the eatery when he takes hold of your arm, "Did you see Highlander, by the way?"

Relief washes over you, and boy, in this moment, does it feel good. "Yes! I have! I've already seen it, not 100% sure it was my kind of movie, though."

"Oh, it's my personal policy that you should see every movie twice before forming a full opinion. There's a showing in about 20 minutes," he looks at his wristwatch.

You groan, "It's nice of you to offer, and all, but I really feel like I should just go back home and rest up, y'know? Like I said, I only really felt up to being in the background of a group hangout rather than be super present -"

"So, what's the difference between sitting and watching a movie, and sitting at home? You know, I really feel like you're not giving me a chance here, I've done nothing but welcome you since the first day you started. I invited you straight into my campaign, which you left after the first arc. You talk to everyone else, my sister goes to visit you, when you've got a far more age-appropriate person to invite over standing right in front of you -"

You interject, "Tiff came over because she asked one of my friends whom she also knows to take her. She took that initiative herself."

"Oh, your friends," he sneers. "Do you mean the ones who sneak away from work to talk about you behind your back?" Your face falls. "Yeah, they all do it. Making creepy little comments about those… Boys that hang off every word you say," Jesse's tone fills with venom. "Please, what business does Steve Harrington have at a place like ours? You know how many women he goes through? And then he thinks he's got free control of the market in our store, the one place I might find somebody worth talking to. And when I finally do, of course he shows up. And Munson? That freak? What could he possibly off- Oh," you don't like the sound of that. "He's using his drug supply on you, isn't he?!"

"You have absolutely no idea what you're talking about, Jesse. I'm leaving," you turn to walk away, but he grabs your wrist with more force, pulling you towards him.

"No! I deserve just as much of a fair shot as anyone, especially those two. You at least owe me that mu- AUGH!" 

The next five seconds happen so quickly you can barely register them. Two arms clad in leather wrap over you, holding you tightly as someone with a perfect mop of hair tackles Jesse to the ground. You hear the familiar dulcet tones of Eddie soothing you quietly in your ear. He starts leading you backwards as Steve stands up from the floor, brushing himself down and looking over at you both with a reassuring smile.

Jesse soon stands up as well, shouting, "What the hell is your problem, Harrington?"

"My problem," Steve illustrates every point of emphasis with a shove into Jesse's chest, "is that you, think you're owed the world, because you tell people you're nice while being the most obnoxious asshole around."

“Oh, come on, Harrington, be a man, won’t you? You know you want to punch me,” Jesse sneers.

Steve scoffs, “What, so you can go running to your boss, and tell him you weren’t to blame, that Y/N is, and get her fired, just because a weasel like you can’t take no for an answer? Please.” He grabs Jesse by the front of his shirt, and pulls it up high, leaning in close enough for their noses to almost touch, as he growls, “You’re going to leave now. You’re either going to tell your boss that you can’t work any more shifts with Y/N, or that you’re going to quit outright. Or else things are not going to be pretty for you. Got it?” He drops Jesse, who collapses onto the floor. You hide a giggle behind your fist, and lean into Eddie, who wraps an arm around you and slides his fingers into your hair comfortingly.

Steve turns to see you both, and he smiles warmly at the sight as he approaches you both. As he’s walking towards you, Jesse stands and yells, “Still too chicken to fight after all these years, Harrington?! C’mon, why not try and give your daddy something he can be proud of you for, for once?”

You feel yourself getting angry over that, but it’s nothing compared to what you see from Eddie. You feel him tense beneath you, and you look up to see him seething. His fingers start to curl up until he realises he’s still embracing you. He looks down and softens his grip, trying to look reassuringly at you, but you put a hand on his chest and look defiantly up at Eddie. “Hey,” you whisper up at him. “Just… Do it. Kick his ass.”

Eddie kisses your forehead before walking off, placing a hand on Steve’s stomach briefly as he walks past him. You reach out to Steve to pull him towards you, hugging him closely. You both watch on as Eddie marches over to Jesse, moving the rings from his left hand onto his right and forming a fist. “Oh, so she’s leading you on as well, is she, freak? Maybe I ought to back off, who wants a sl-”

The next moment happens in slow motion. You watch every single one of Eddie’s rings dig into the side of Jesse’s face, dragging his skin with them as his arm swings in front of him and his fist collides with Jesse’s cheek. You watch his skin tear as a bruise already starts to form below his eye.

A security guard strides over to drag Jesse back by his jacket. “Alright, alright, let’s get you kids out of here.”

“Didn’t you see! That guy attacked me!” Jesse shouts, pointing over at Eddie.

“I saw you try and restrain this poor young woman first,” the guard points out. Steve opens his mouth, looking both shocked and offended, most likely at how the guard must have noticed but still didn’t intervene. Not wanting to cause any further drama, you hold Steve back and wave at Eddie to get his attention and call him over. He joins you, and the three of you embrace for a while, completely ignoring the amount of eyes that are on you.

Eventually, Steve pipes up, “We should, uh, we should get outta here. We should get you home safe.”

You pull back to finally notice what he’s wearing. “Oh my god, are you meant to be working right now?!”

He waves off, “Eh, that’s not important. Robin’s got it all under control over there.”

“M-maybe we should all go, to my work,” you look between him and Eddie. “Explain to Cameron what happened before he can twist things."

Eddie frowns, "I'm sure we can just do that over the phone, sweetheart. I'm with Steve, I think we need to get you back to your own place."

Your face contorts a little, and both boys look at you with concerned confusion. A hint of amusement laces your tone as you admit, "I know it's probably less safe for Eddie to leave his van unattended, but I'm not sure I can stomach finally experiencing his driving for the first time."

"I'm not bad!" he frowns, to the tune of yours and Steve's laughter. "Fine. I'll be the most careful driver you've ever seen. Promise."

True to his word, he drives at the limit, stops at every sign, constantly looks over to check on you both. But, as you're learning, it's not necessarily the way Eddie drives that causes unrest in his passengers. Between his poor suspension, less-than-padded seating and the seatbelts either not locking at all or pinning you to the back of the seat, even the most careful driving has made for a pretty meagre experience. Eddie has a hand on your knee the whole drive, as Steve holds your hand. The feeling of safety that brings you almost outweighs your discomfort. Almost.

When you get back, you quickly glance into your living room to greet your family, who are busy teaching your brother. The boys also poke their heads in to wave to them, an extra sentiment you appreciate. Eddie leads you up the stairs, with Steve following close behind, though not before Marvin snakes his way past all your feet, nearly tripping Steve up in the process. "See, I told you! He's trying to kill me!" You simply laugh him off as you get to your room.

Eddie holds the door open, but you stand in the doorway, arms crossed. "Doesn't it make it easier if the middle person gets on the bed first, or have you forsaken your dib-" Laughter consumes your last word as Eddie quickly yanks off his jacket, throws it aimlessly and launches himself onto your bed.

The three of you arrange yourselves, Steve spooning Eddie but with his arm snaked beneath the two of you, you laying with your head on Eddie's chest and arm outstretched over him to hold Steve's hand. Even Marvin finds himself a spot to sleep in. In this moment, you experience nothing but genuine comfort and happiness. This is what you were seeking all along. You look over at Steve, who’s just constantly looking back and forth between you both with pure joy in his eyes. You look up at Eddie, whose eyes are closed but has the most genuine and content smile on his face. Though you’ve not said it, it’s clear in this moment: the three of you are all madly in love, and it may never make sense to anyone else, but it makes sense to you.

When you next make eye contact with Steve, you beckon him over, raising your eyebrows in offering. Gleefully, he leans over Eddie’s torso to kiss you, and you once again feel his smile against your lips as he kisses you once, twice, three times. A small whine from Eddie, who’s just realised what you two are up to, pulls you both away to lean up and start showering the corners of Eddie’s mouth and his cheeks with quick little pecks, causing him to grin against the two of you. 

You spend the rest of your evening together: Eddie shows Steve some of your D&D books as they try and conceptualise a character to go alongside the ones you’d designed for those two - you’re not sure what charms you more, Steve’s constant ability to only grasp about 60% of every concept, or Eddie’s patience with him despite him practically chewing through his own knuckles; Steve once again flicks through your “personal highlights” VHS collection, stopping at random times elected by Eddie to pick one out at a time and critique it, usually ending in a heated debate between the two of you; you start reading The Hitch-Hiker’s Guide To The Galaxy aloud to them as they listen intently - sat as always, Steve sprawled on his side as Eddie lays on his stomach and keeps kicking his feet up in the air - while both looking at you with nothing but adoration. You keep telling them off for distracting you, but it falls on deaf ears.

You even get a phone call from Cameron while he’s at work, checking in on you, apologising profusely and reassuring you that Jesse will never set foot in the store again. He tells you that he hopes you’ll still feel comfortable working there, but that he understands if you can’t. You tell him you’ll see him tomorrow.

Your parents eventually call the three of you down for dinner, and even around your family, the boys just… Fit. Everything fits. Sure, there’s plenty of other complications that come with dating two people who are also dating each other - far more for Steve and Eddie, specifically. But as long as you’ve got your boys, and they’ve got you, everything is as it should be.

[jassackles]

An Actress Life - Chapter 15

Warnings: kinda mad Jensen, hungover!Reader, fluff, Jensen’s birthday, Jensen and the reader are fighting

Word count: 2, 179 words

She wakes up the next morning and feels a pounding headache. She opens her eyes, already forgotten, that she fell asleep in the living room. She looks at the coffee table and notices a note, a glass of water and aspirin.

Note: Hey, I thought you might need these, when you wake up. -Jensen

She takes the glass of water in her hands and swallow the aspirin quickly, finishing the whole glass. She starts realising, how she snapped at Gen and Jared. How she tried to drink her problems away and although she didn't want to have sex, she really tried to sleep with him, because it's his birthday. She feels more than embarrassed, she wishes the floor would swallow her, like right now. Oh shit the party. It's 11 am. She dials Gen's number and waits for her to pick up.

"Hello?" She says not too thrilled, when she sees Y/N's number and she can't blame Gen.

"Gen, it's me y/n/n, I-" she sighs and run a hand through her hair. "I-I wanted to apologise, how I acted, how I snapped at you I'm so sorry. How I ruined the party, I'm so sorry."

"Hey honey come down, it's fine. I know you're sorry, but you have to try dealing with and eventually forgetting it for your own sake, okay? Promise me that." She says softly with a small smile.

"I promise you that." Y/N chews on her lip.

"Anyway, you know my plans for today don't you?" She asks her.

"Uh yeah, Jared is gonna pick Jensen up at 1pm and I will come over at 1:20." She answers, nodding to herself. "Thanks. For everything. Bye." "Bye." They hang up. She walks into the bathroom and takes a quick shower. She dresses herself in ripped jeans and a blouse. When she walks into the kitchen, Jensen's busy with his phone, probably checking his twitter.

"Good morning, birthday kid." She says softly with a loving smile, but he doesn't respond the smile nor says anything. She frowns slightly, thinking he's giving her the silent treatment. "Is anything wrong?" She asks him and he looks at her for the first time.

"If anything is wrong? Did you really just asks that?" He scoffs.

"Since when do you drink your problems away, huh?" He adds and she sees him clenching his jaw. Great, now he's angry at me. "Look, uh- I'm sorry, Jensen. I know, what I did wasn't the right way to cope with my feelings and I'm really sorry, I know how angry you were-are, it's just I just wanted to get drunk...probably not my smartest move."

"Wasn't the right way, damn right it wasn't. Why did you get drunk in the first place?" "I'm sorry okay, I really am. I'm sorry how I acted when we got home, it's so embarrassing, just thinking about it. I don't want to fight on your birthday." She says with a sigh and small smile, walking to him and wrapping her arms around his neck. He doesn't look at her still feeling mad at her, they way she acted.

"I'm sorry, Jensen. It will never happen again I promise. I try to cope with it the right way, trying to move on, okay?" "Just do that never again." He scolds at her."I promise." He gives her a small smile and wraps his arm around her waist.

"What do you have planned for today?" He asks curiously and smirks, knowing you almost ten years, he just knows you have something planned for him. "Nothing much, just relaxing with my boyfriend on his birthday. Why are you asking?" she says, smiling innocently.

"Are you sure you didn't plan anything?" He raises his eyebrow at his girlfriend. "I'm pretty sure." She nods. "Good." "Jared picks me up at 1, I hope that's okay?" "Of course, why shouldn't be that okay?" "I don't know, because you wanted to spend some time with me." He says softly and hugging her closer. "We can do that afterwards." She says, smiling lovingly and pecks his lips.

"Do you wanna watch an episode of Jane the Virgin?" He asks hopefully and her eyes widen.

"Since when do you wanna watch that show? I knew you like that show!" She exclaims and hits his chest playfully. "Guilty." He smirks innocently and she laughs, shaking her head as she walks into the living room, Jensen close by her heels.

After a few episodes the doorbell rings. "I got it." She says softly and rushes to the door, opening it. "Hey." He says and hugs her from the side. "How long do I have to distract him?" He whispers. "For about three hours." She whispers and Jensen enters the hallway.

"Hey Dude, happy birthday." Jared says happily and gives him a tight hug. "Ready for golf?" Jared asks him after the hug. "Oh yes!" He exclaims happily. Jensen bids his goodbye to Y/N, so does Jared, before they leave. They leave the house and drive away.

About 20 minutes later Gen arrives and Y/N starts preparing food, drinks and a birthday pie. An hour later Misha and Mark arrive. "Hey guys." She says happily, while opening the door. She hugs both of them and they follow her into the kitchen. "Y/N/N what did you buy for his birthday?" Misha asks before he takes a sip of his water. "I bought him a trip with me." She says cheerfully. "That's amazing, dear." Mark says with his British accent and Gen looks at you.

"That's so romantic." Gen says dreamily, making Y/N laughs slightly. The doorbell rings one more time. "That might be my sister and her hubby." She says and walks to the door. "Hey sis." She says after opening the door and hugging her sister. "Hey Brad." Y/N hugs her brother-in-law.

"Thanks for the invitation." He says.

"Oh, it's my pleasure, Jensen will be happy to see you two." She smiles.

A few minutes later the doorbell rings. Again.

She opens the door to see Jensen's sister.

"Oh gosh, y/n/n. I am so happy to see you."

Mackenzie says hugging Y/N tightly.

"And you don't know how happy I am." She says happily and gestures for her to come in. "When will l Jensen be back?" She asks curiously while they go into the kitchen. "In a few minutes." Y/N says softly.

"Oh, then I am in time." She says happily.

"I guess so." Y/N says with a smile. "Oh hey, Mac." Y/N's sister says and they hug each other. A few more moments later she hears the front door opening.

"Babe, I'm home." Jensen calls through the house and she runs quickly into the hallway.

"Hey." She says to Jared and Jensen. Y/N pecks Jensen's lips and hugs Jared. "Jensen, I have a surprise for you." "What for a surprise?" He asks happily, already feeling excited.

"If I tell you, it wouldn't be a surprise anymore." She says, smirking. "Just close your eyes." She adds and places her hand in front of his eyes.

She holds his hand while leading him into kitchen. She grins at everyone, who's standing in the kitchen and they all smile happily and excitedly.

"Okay Jay, open your eyes." She says happily as she puts her hand away, he opens his eyes immediately, a big smile creeping up his face.

"Guys, what are you doing here? I am so happy to see you." He says happily and greats everyone.

"We're here for your birthday, man!" Misha says happily and pulls Jensen into a hug, wishing him a happy birthday, like everyone does. Jensen talks to the people, who came just for his birthday, catches up with them, asking them how their break will look like. An hour later, Y/N disappears into the kitchen checking on Jensen's birthday cake. She decorates it, as they all walk into the yard, when Jared and Gen carry the food Y/N made outside.

Y/N finishes his cake and walks into the yard with it as she starts singing 'Happy birthday', smiling lovingly at Jensen, when everyone joins her singing. Jensen feels his cheeks heat up, hating it, like every one does. It feels awkward, when people sing for someone on their birthdays.

Jensen smiles shyly and blows the candles out, "That's your favourite cake." Y/N tells him happily and he smiles lovingly at her pecking her lips gently. "So who wants cake?" Y/N asks all of them.

"Thank you." Jensen says later that night, when they're alone for a moment. "For what?" She asks confused as she sips her soda. "For throwing the sweetest and best party." He tells her softly. She smiles lovingly and pecks his lips gently.

"And it was an amazing surprise to see my sister, it's sad that my brother couldn't make it, but I like and appreciate it a lot." He says and kisses her temple gently, already not feeling too mad at her.

"Okay Jared we should leave, my sister is probably waiting for us." Gen says an hour later and stands up. Jensen and Y/N pout slightly, but nod in understanding. They say their goodbyes and leave. "We should probably leave too." Y/N's sister says. "Yeah, me too." Misha and Mark say at the same time. "Oh okay." Y/N says sadly, but they're right it's almost 11pm, they nearly spent the whole day together.

"I'll leave too, see you at dinner tomorrow." Mac says. They all say their goodbyes and leave. Y/N closes the door and walks into the living room. Luckily, Gen and Y/N cleaned up after they has dinner, so it's not too much they have to clean up on their own.

"So just you and me." Y/N says with a small laugh. "Yeah." He says softly and walks towards her with a smile, kissing her softly, before she pulls away with a happy smile.  "I got something for you." She says cheerfully as she smiles, grabbing the envelope with the tickets. "What is that?" He smiles. "Just open it." She says softly. He grabs the envelope and opens it, taking the tickets out. He looks at the country they're flying to, "Poland? Does that mean I finally meet the rest of your family?" He asks happily.

She nods with a huge grin. He never met the rest of her family, there was never the time and then the two broke up, but now is the best opportunity.

He kisses her lovingly, smiling into the kiss, before pulling away. "That's the best birthday present, ever. I can't wait to meet them." He says excitedly.

"You know, I always wanted to meet them." He says softly as he walks closer to her, pulling her into his arms. "Thank you." He says softly and she smiles lovingly, nodding.

"Let's go to bed." He says and leads them upstairs. They change into comfortable clothes and Y/N walks into the bathroom to remove her makeup and brush her teeth. Jensen does the same, when she lies down on, now, their bed. She turns on some music, they used to listen together, before they went to sleep, when they got together.

"Maybe we should bring some stuff from your apartment to this place." He says softly as he enters the bedroom again. "I'd love that." She tells him softly and smiles at him. He lies down next to her and pulls her info his arms. "Maybe we could redecorate." He suggests as he caresses her cheek gently. "Yeah, maybe." She says with a happy smile.

When Y/N finished Highschool, she actually wanted to become an interior designer, because she redecorated her childhood room at least 10 times, since she was 15, but then acting came up and she never followed that path.

He smiles lovingly at her and leans in kissing her gently, no pressure, just kissing his girlfriend, the woman he's missed so much, the only woman he ever imagined getting married to, the only woman he can call his best friend.

Maybe they end up making out, slipping tongues into each other's mouth, but nothing more. When Jensen gets painfully hard, he pulls away from kissing her, not wanting to push her, or make her feel like she has to have sex with him.

Y/N notices him being hard and can't help but stare at his cock, that screams for her touch, she swallow hard. "You don't have to do anything." He tells her softly, cupping her cheek and making her look away from his cock. "Okay, but I kinda wanna give you a handjob." She says biting his lip and he's kind of surprised, definitely not expecting that so soon.

He shakes his head in a confused kind of way, "You sure?" He asks softly. "You don't have to, you know, my cock has no priority." He says with a small laugh, but she nods eagerly.

Read next part here! :)

————

tag list: @leigh70 @jensensgirl @stoneyggirl2

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[authoressofdarkness]

I saw that you're taking prompts, from the dialogue list. Can I get number 20? “I’ve never had someone taking care of me before.” for starker obviously. I'm excited, I love reading your works. Thank you in advance!

Hi anon! That means so much to me and I’m v glad to be taking this as my first prompt. Thank you 💙

I kinda want to try some new things with some of these prompts, so I’m gonna go at this with omega Tony and alpha Peter and see where it goes. I hope that’s okay with you anon and that everyone likes it 😘

Same age college AU, omegaverse, alpha Peter Parker, omega Tony Stark, some angst and some fluff at the end.

—

It’s a well known fact that Tony Stark has a shitty family.

Well, at least to anyone who knows him, it is. They know how he’ll do anything to not be at home when his father is around, to get out of the endless pressures of social events and promotional things and questions of mating and management and all of the things that he hated about being born an omega and being attached to the last name Stark to top it all off—

For years, it was just him. Some flings, mainly to piss his father off, but he never had his attention for longer than the time it took to scold him or order him around, and his mother was never much help, either. He had precious few friends growing up, never really made any real ones until college when he met Rhodey and Pepper — an alpha and a beta respectively that helped him manage things there and that were the first people to truly understand the depths of struggles he had going on at home.

And they were great friends, still are, but there was never anything more there between them. They helped him float through the first year of school, and then—

And then came Peter Parker.

Tony doesn’t hate all alphas on principle, although he is often rather tempted to try to, what with how they were shoved in his face most of his life. They were great for a good fling but most of them were meatheads. As horny as Tony was, he couldn’t allow just anyone to be close to him, nothing too get to serious, because he’s got a lot of responsibility coming down to him and he needs the right partner — alpha or otherwise — to be willing to deal with that. Not that he’s particularly interested in mating right now but he also isn’t going to allow someone close enough to potentially mark him knowing the repercussions of that.

He’s the heir to Stark Industries, sure, but he’s still an omega. An alpha will have significant legal power over him once they’re mated. And he wants to be the one to run SI, to take on his legacy, to build, to create, and to run his business, and he’s not going to let anyone stop him, even if that means flings forever.

(Not that that’s legally going to fly because he can’t take over until he’s considered qualified which implies a certain amount of stability that translates into having an alpha that’s more than just a fuck buddy but—)

It doesn’t matter. None of it matters after he meets Peter.

Peter is a year younger than him in school, technically, but biologically they’re the same age. Peter just started a bit later than most — and for good reasons, as Tony comes to find out.

He’s in one of Tony’s engineering classes and his organic chemistry class and the omega would be lying if he said he wasn’t immediately taken with him.

He can’t help it. Peter is cute, with his overgrown curls and slim form and silky skin and shy little smile and—

The other man is all alpha, there’s no doubt about it. He exudes it without even trying, but there’s a shyness to him, too. He’s not a meathead; he’s a sweetheart. From day one he’s respectful of Tony in class, kind when he sees him around campus, and that makes them the perfect lab partners in chemistry, and after knowing that, it’s just the natural choice for them to partner for the project in engineering and then—

Then things spiral, and Tony doesn’t even care.

He’s seeking the alpha’s attention, and Peter, the innocent, shy thing he is, is happy to give, to dote on Tony in ways that he would resist if they were coming from anyone else.

They’re not even fucking, but it’s intimate, so intimate that he can’t even explain it, and he loves it, scarily so. It both soothes and sets all his instincts on edge at the same time.

By mid semester they both have keys to come and go freely from each other’s rooms. It’s more common to see them together than it is to ever spot one of them out alone. The whole school probably thinks they’re a couple, and even though they’ve never made it official — and he’s never allowed himself to even come close to considering it before — Tony can’t bring himself to mind.

As midterms approach, though, Tony locks himself in to focus on his work. He doesn’t mean to, really; it’s just that hours studying slip into full nights and then he hasn’t eaten and he hasn’t left the room, even missing one of his classes because he doesn’t realize the time.

Peter hasn’t come by in days and except for the occasional check in text, Tony hasn’t heard from him, either. But they’re both busy with midterms so he really isn’t surprised. In fact he barely has time to eat, let alone check his phone, so even if he was texting him regularly Tony probably wouldn’t be answering.

Except mid terms or no, of course Peter notices when Tony misses class. And when his texts go unanswered by the absorbed omega, he doesn’t hesitate to show up and let himself in.

Tony doesn’t even realize anyone is there until he feels a hand on his shoulder. He jumps so hard he nearly knocks the chair back, and when he turns around he sees Peter, stepping back and holding his hands up in the universal “I surrender” gesture, clearly not having meant to startle him.

“I’m sorry, I knocked but you didn’t answer so I let myself in. I just— you weren’t in class, and I was worried… are you okay? When was the last time you ate?” It takes all of two seconds for Peter’s sheepishness to melt into concern, and he steps forward again, closing the distance between them to tilt Tony’s chin up, looking at the shadow stretching across his jaw where he hasn’t shaved in a few days. “You’ve lost weight,” he murmurs, thumb brushing over Tony’s cheekbone tenderly — which, yeah, is definitely more prominent than it was at the beginning of the week.

Tony’s eyes flutter and he leans into the touch for a moment before refocusing and shaking it off. “I’m fine. This is normal, Peter. I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you?” Peter raises an eyebrow. “Do you even know what day it is?”

“It’s Saturday—“

“It’s Monday, Tony. 1pm on Monday, at that. You missed engineering this morning and you haven’t answered my texts all weekend.” Surprise flits across Tony’s face at that, because — yeah, last time he checked it was Saturday, and he had no new texts from Peter, so— “When was the last time you ate?” Peter continues to prod, voice gentle but insistent.

Both aspects only serve to spark irritation in him, though. Tony bats Peter’s hand away from his face, frowning. He doesn’t need to be treated with kid gloves. “I ate a little while ago. I’m fine.”

“You don’t even know what day it is—“

“It all kind of blurs together when you’re not doing anything besides working, okay—“

“Two days is a lot of blur, Tony—“

“And just because I need a shave doesn’t mean I haven’t left my desk or that this isn’t totally normal for midterms—“

“You’re the one saying you haven’t left your desk, not me—“

“That’s not what I meant! I’m just saying—“

“I’m just saying you need to take a short break, it’s not that big of a deal—“

“I don’t need a break, I know my limits—“

“Tony, I really don’t think—“

“Jesus fucking— You’re not my alpha, Parker, would you fuck off?”

The words come out before he can stop them, and he flinched himself at the hurt on Peter’s face, the way the alpha physically recoils, shoving his hands in his pockets.

“I’m not— god, I know that, okay? I’m just trying to help you, Tony. Please, this isn’t sustainable. You need to eat. Just— let me find you something, and then I’ll leave, okay?”

Leave? No, he doesn’t want him to leave. But the only thing that comes out is a quiet “whatever,” and he watches Peter escape to the kitchen with a ball of guilt growing in his chest.

Peter is just trying to help. He likes Peter and he doesn’t want him to leave, he just— he panics, and then he snaps.

Because what if Peter wants more? What if he really likes him? And Tony is a fuck up that does shit like this when he feels emotions and has so much baggage attached to being with him and—

And Peter knows that, at least some of it. It’s been a few months of seeing each other nearly every day, now, and his family situation was never a secret.

So why is he still here? Oh god, did Tony just ruin it?

The thought, for reasons that he’s refusing to immediately think about, is almost too much to bear. He stands up, fumbling his way out of the chair and into the kitchen.

The smell hits him almost as soon as he enters, and he sucks in a deep breath. His traitorous stomach growls, loud and demanding.

Soup bubbles on the stove as Peter works at the counter, chopping up some fruits and vegetables. He’s already managed to put a few little storage containers of food together for him, and something in Tony’s gut feels warm at the sight. But it also drops — preparing premade meals most certainly means that Peter isn’t intending to come back.

He looks up when Tony enters, expression wary. “The soup was the quickest thing you had, and since I had to be here for as long as it takes to boil anyway I thought I would just—“

“Peter.” His own voice sounds remarkable calm for how shaky he suddenly feels, lurching towards the alpha at the countertop. “It’s okay. I… thank you, for this. I’m sorry.”

Peter looks taken aback by the apology. “Tony, you don’t have to apologize. You’re right; I’m not your alpha and it’s not my place to give you orders. I just… I care about you, okay? I just want to help. I know you don’t think about me that way, and I’m sorry I overstepped, but—“

“You’re wrong.”

“What?” The words draw Peter up short.

Tony takes a breath, looking down. He focuses on the alpha’s hands, watching him chop instead of looking at his face. It’s easier. “You’re wrong. It’s not that I don’t think of you that way. The problem is… that I do. And I… I’m not used to this. I’ve never had someone take care of me before. Not really, not in any way that mattered. And what I feel for you… it scares me.” He takes a little breath again, looking down at his own hands. “I want you to be my alpha, Peter. But I’m not really a good omega, and I just have so much shit that comes along with being with me. The thought of asking you to do that… what that could do to us… I just don’t think I could handle that.”

He hears the knife ting against the countertop as Peter sets it down, and the pitter patter of footsteps as the alpha crosses the room. He’s suddenly being drawn into a pair of lanky but surprisingly strong arms, surrounded by the musky, relaxing scent of alpha, and he practically melts into it, nestling his nose into the spot between the collar of Peter’s sweatshirt and his throat almost automatically.

Peter’s hand running up and down his back is soothing, relaxing him the rest of the way, and the press of the alpha’s chin against his head is just the perfect weight to be comfortable, reassuring.

“Tony… I’m not an idiot,” he says gently. “I know who you are. What you’ve done, where you came from, what’s expected of you — and yeah, I’m sure there’s more that you haven’t told me and that’s not public, but— I get why this is a struggle for you, and why you feel the need to put so much pressure on yourself. There’s nothing wrong with you for that and it is most definitely not your own fault that you’re not used to being taken care of. And you’ve no idea how badly or how long I’ve wanted to be your alpha.” He pulls back a little to look down at him, fingers scratching Tony’s scalp gently as he works his fingers through his hair. “But that doesn’t mean that this kind of behavior — towards yourself or others — is good or acceptable. It’s okay to let me take care of you — at least in small ways. I know you’re scared of losing your independence, but that’s not what I want for you, either. I just want to help.”

“Help,” Tony echoes, eyes drifting to the pan on the stove and then back to Peter. “I… I think I’d like that.” He bites his lip, looking up at him. They’re about the same size and height, but this close, wrapped in the alpha’s arms and scent, with his steady gaze on him, he can’t help but feel small by comparison. “You really want to be my alpha?”

“Only if you want me to be, but…” Peter looks down at him and cracks his shy little smile. “I’d like to try, if you’d let me.”

“I’d like that,” Tony admits. He shifts to press up against him, putting a hand on his chest. “I’d also really like it if you’d kiss me.”

Peter looks a little surprised, but not unpleasantly. Still, he shakes his head, giving him a little push back. “Tony, you didn’t even know what day it was. God knows when the last time you brushed your teeth is. No offense, but… ew.”

Tony just laughs a little, unable to help himself. “If I brush my teeth…?”

“Maybe. If you eat your food as well.” Peter moves back to the counter, finishing up the container he was working on. “We can’t be doing anything that’s going to burn you extra calories when you don’t have enough to begin with, hm?”

Tony finds himself grinning. “That’s an argument I can get behind. Literally and metaphorically.”

Peter flashes a grin in return, voice back to that gentle but insistent tone that he knows so well when he says, “Go, Tony.”

And for once, Tony is all too happy to obey.

[smajor-updates]

Scott replied to Lauren and Jack Massey Welsh on twitter!

[Image ID:

A cropped screenshot of a twitter thread between LaurenZside @/LaurenzSide, Robert Kyncl @/rkyncl, Jack @/JackMasseyWelsh and Scott Smajor @/Smajor1995.

Lauren’s tweet reads “Doing another "I Let Strangers Edit My Video" so here's the green screen video file for any of you to edit, then upload it to YouTube using #LaurenZsideEdit3 in your title & you could possibly get showcased in my upcoming video! Submit by 1PM EST Wed 1/19.”

Robert Kyncl’s quote retweet reads “Such a unique & fun idea for a series @/LaurenzSide - I love it when @/YouTubeCreators inspire creativity in others, and am excited to see the finished product!”

Lauren’s reply reads “Wow, thank you so much Robert! You all hear that? Now you'll really have to step up your creative editing game, @/rkyncl is watching! Haha, no pressure! 😂”.

Jack’s reply reads “Yeah great idea LAUREN!!!”

Scott’s reply reads “You should ask her if you can do it too Jack! I think it could be a funny video for you 😄”.

End ID]

[nothoughtsonlynat]

Human (Natasha Romanoff)

Human: Chapter 1

A/N: Troyes, France is 6 hours ahead of NYC so 7pm there is 1pm in NYC. For the sake of this fic we’re going to pretend that the Battle of New York lasted quite a few hours.

*This is my first ever fic and I wrote it at 3am so bear with me

WARNINGS: swearing; mentions of weapons; violence; panic attack; anxiety; my crappy writing; and I think that’s it (lmk if there’s anything I should add)

Barcelona, Spain; January, 2012:

The repetitive ticking of the clock registered in my brain before my eyes even opened. I didn’t need that clock to know what time it was, of course. It was 4:30 am— the same time I've woken up everyday for the past twenty-five years of my life. I no longer need to wake up this early, yet it’s a habit so deeply engrained in my framework that it’s seemingly unbreakable. I roll out of bed and make my way into the dingy kitchen with light footsteps. With some quick math I figured that I got barely two hours of sleep last night, but that’s more than usual. I started the coffee machine and asked with a sigh, “Would you like some coffee or are you just going to lurk in the corner?”

The leather-clad stranger with an eyepatch stepped up to the kitchen island opposite of me and responded, “I wouldn’t mind a cup. I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised that you knew I was here.”

“Well, you know what they say about old habits. You got a name?”

“You can call me Fury. We have a lot to talk about, Eight.” I slid him a mug of cheap coffee and gestured for him to take a seat. 

“Then we’d better get started so you can get the hell out of my apartment.” He simply chuckled in response and I could already feel my patience wavering.

Two Hours Later:

“Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division? Really, dude?”

“Yeah, it’s a mouthful. Trust me I know.”

“I’m sorry that you came all this way for nothing, Fury, but there’s no way in hell I'm working for some government spy circus.”

“It’s technically an extra-governmental spy agency-“

“Doesn’t matter. I’m not joining,” I said, cutting him off.

“So, you’re just gonna hop from one shitty apartment to the next until you die? That doesn’t seem like a great life.”

“Better than the one I lived before.”

“You aren’t the person to live in hiding. You’re the person who thrives in the action and lives to kick ass, and we both know it.” When I didn’t respond he continued, “I’ll leave you my card. When you change your mind, which you will, you’ll know where to find me. You don’t have to be the bad guy anymore, Eight.” With that he slid off the stool and left my apartment, leaving me with nothing but my rapidly spiraling thoughts and a black business card.

Troyes, France; May, 2012:

It had been four months since Director Fury came to my apartment in Barcelona. We’d kept in contact and he hasn’t given up on me joining S.H.I.E.L.D.. I'm living in my third apartment since then. Wow…those landlords must really hate me. I was watching the seven o’clock news when I saw something that made me choke on my Cheerios. “An alien invasion?! What the fu-” My Cheerio-muffled exclamation was interrupted by the ring of my burner phone. “Hello?”

“Eight, you watched the news recently?”

“Uh yeah, I'm watching it now. You fighting aliens now, Nicky?”

“Okay first of all, I told you to stop calling me that. Second, yes… aliens. I’m forming a team of…extraordinary people to help protect against these threats and they could really use a hand to finish off this fight.”

“I may be weird as hell but I ain't ‘extraordinary’, Fury. I don’t wanna join your band of misfits.”

“Alright, how about a compromise? You fly your fancy jet here right now and help them out and if you still don’t wanna join once the battle is over, you can go right back to France and I’ll stop bothering you about joining.” After a few seconds of silence I agreed. 

“Fine, but I’m not gonna change my mind. Wait, how do you know about my jet?”

He gave a hearty laugh and said “I know everything, Eight. You should know that by now.”

New York, New York; 96 Minutes Later: 

I flew my jet into the city, making sure to take out a few flying Chitauri in the process. We don’t need to talk about how I got my hands on a German jet that can fly 2100mph. I saw a few interesting characters standing in a circle fighting off an endless sea of aliens. I maneuvered the jet and— wait…is that guy wearing blue tights? Is this what Fury meant by extraordinary? Whatever. I landed in the street about 20 yards away and killed the engines. I hopped out and started jogging towards the group. A couple of them turned around, probably wondering who the hell the chick in the black uniform is and— whoa that’s a beautiful woman. After realizing my steps had literally faltered in a mini gay panic, I slowed to a walk and said “Y’all need a hand?”

“Depends on whose hand it is,” replied the redheaded source of my panic.

“I’m a friend of Fury’s. He practically begged me to come save your asses.”

“Fury doesn’t beg,” she said in a doubtful tone.

“Not typically, but I'm just that awesome. If you don’t believe me then call him up but I’m gonna go kill some aliens.” With that I took off down another street where there was a group of the repulsive bastards. After unloading all of my magazines into Chitauri bodies, I switched to my swords and daggers. After another hour or so of fighting, there were no more aliens in sight. I started jogging toward the rich dude’s tower when I saw said rich dude falling through the rapidly-closing portal. I stopped next to Mr. Blue Tights and the buff blonde guy with the hammer when the big green dude grabbed Mr. Rich Dude from the sky and landed next to us. The green guy yelled, waking Mr. Rich Dude up with a start. “What the hell? What happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me. Except for her, she’s pretty hot,” he said nodding toward me. Just then the redhead jogged over to us and eyed my blood-soaked form from head to toe. 

“See something you like, Red?”

“No. I’m pretty sure I'd be classified as a sadist if I liked the sight of that much blood,” she said with a raise of her eyebrow.

“Yeah that’s fair.” She shook her head at me with a small smirk. There was barely a second of silence when Mr. Rich Dude spoke up. 

“Anybody want shawarma?”

Three Hours Later:

I had gone to the Triskelion after the band of misfits apprehended Loki. Agent Hill showed me where to park my jet and directed me to a room so I could shower and stay the night if I wanted to. I had put on black jeans, a white tee, and a black jean jacket, all of which had been in a to-go bag in my jet. I was toweling off my hair when someone knocked on the door. I opened the door to see none other than the one-eyed-wonder standing there. “What can I do for you, Nicky?”

“The Avengers are being debriefed in Conference Room 6B in ten minutes. You should come.”

“The Avengers? Is that what you’re calling them? That’s cute. But I'm not an Avenger and I don’t want to be an Avenger, so no thanks.”

“You should come anyway.”

“I don’t actually have a choice, do I?”

“You know me so well, Eight,” he said with an amused grin.

I walked into the conference room and the Avengers were already there. Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, Thor, and Natasha Romanoff—whose names I learned from Hill— were scattered around a large table, along with Fury. Romanoff eyed me from where she was standing and arched a perfectly sculpted eyebrow at me. I squinted my eyes and wiggled my eyebrows in response, and I could see her stifle a laugh. “What’s your name?” She accompanied the question with a blank expression, which made me feel oh-so-special. 

“That’s a very personal question, Miss Romanoff. Let’s slow the pace, please.”

“You know my name but I can’t know yours? That doesn’t seem fair.”

“The world isn’t fair, Miss Romanoff, and I love a good mystery.”

“If you two are done flirting, we have business to attend to,” interjected Fury.

“Right, my apologies, Nicky.”

“Don’t call me that, Eight.”

After an excruciating 43 minutes and 27 seconds, Fury finally let us leave. I was so close to freedom when that unbelievably sexy voice called to me. “Eight!” Romanoff hastily walked towards me in an effort to catch up.

“Yeah?”

“Is your name actually Eight?”

“If you want it to be.”

“Why are you so damn stubborn?”

“It amuses me, Red.” There was a brief silence during which both of us were trying to figure out if the conversation was over. 

I was about to leave when she continued, “So that’s it? You’re just gonna leave?”

“Well, no. I’m going to stay the night, steal some really expensive jet fuel, and then leave in the morning before Fury can get up my ass about joining his little team.”

She rolled her eyes and responded, “Why won’t you join the Avengers? And why won’t you tell me your real name?”

“It’s just not my style. I’d rather fly solo.”

“You ignored my second question.”

“Then maybe you should take the hint and stop asking.” With that I turned around and started walking away, but a hand on my arm stopped me dead in my tracks. Alarms started going off in my head, and I'm pretty sure Romanoff was saying something to me but I was too caught up in the memories of beatings, punishments, and psychological conditioning to register it. After a few of the longest seconds of my life, the white of my vision cleared up and the voice telling me ‘physical contact is strictly forbidden’ faded into the background. My heart was still hammering in my chest and I was trying to keep my breathing steady despite the inevitable panic attack trying to drag me under, I regained my neutral expression and said. “Sorry, did you say something?”

“Are you okay?” She had a concerned expression and if I wasn’t so blinded with anxiety, I would’ve appreciated how cute the furrow of her eyebrows was.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just gonna turn in. It’s been a long day.” I turned around and walked back to my temporary room at a brutal pace. As soon as the door closed behind me, hot tears raced down my cheeks and I lost the ability to breathe. It was gonna be a long night.

3:21 am:

I finally managed to calm myself down and stop the panic attack after almost four hours. Well, I passed out because I couldn’t breathe but it did calm me down. Trying to sleep would be pointless, so I decided to leave before anyone woke up. I didn’t really have much to pack so I grabbed my duffel bag and left the room. I made it to the corridor attached to the landing pads and ran into the one person I really didn’t want to see. “What are you doing out and about, Red?”

“I’ve got places to be and things to do. Were you just going to sneak out in the middle of the night like a teenager with a rebellious streak?”

“Yes, that’s exactly what I’m doing, actually. Do you need a ride? Where are you going?”

“Madrid. Fury said I could hitch a ride on another plane that’s headed for Germany.”

“Well I’m going to France if you wanna ride with me. My jet will get you there a lot faster.” She studied me for what felt like way too long, probably debating if I would try to kill her or not. You know how spies are with their trust issues.

“What the hell, why not?”

And that is how I ended up in a jet with “Candy Shop” playing over the speakers and Natasha Romanoff in the copilot seat yelling at me to, and I quote, ‘slow the fuck down.’ “Why would I slow down, you psycho?! That’s the whole damn point of this thing!”

“Where did you even get a German jet this fast?”

“Germany.”

“No shit Sherlock. How did you get it?”

“I went to Germany, stopped in at the local speedy-jet dealership, and walked out with this beauty.”

“Sarcasm is a defense mechanism, you know? You’re only being like this to keep me from seeing the real you. You built walls. You want everyone to think you’re fine when in reality, you’re falling apart.”

“Okay…um…there was no need for that, Dr. Romanoff. I can find my own therapist, thank you very much. And don’t go pretending you’re all healthy in the head, Miss Assassin.” It was quiet for all of five seconds before we both burst into laughter.

Madrid, Spain:

I landed the jet at the local S.H.I.E.L.D. base and killed the engines. Romanoff and I removed our headsets and I stood to help her get her bags. “Welp, I’ll see you around I guess.” I really wasn’t good at this type of thing. Or any social interactions, really. Twenty-four years in a cell will do that to you.

“Will I? See you around, I mean?”

“Um, I don’t really know, honestly. I’m not part of S.H.I.E.L.D. so we won’t just run into each other or anything but…”

“Why won’t you join S.H.I.E.L.D.? I mean what else are you doing?”

“Ohhh, I see. You just love me so much that you don’t want me to leave. You’re gonna miss me so much-” I was cut off when she threw her backpack at my head. “Hey! You’re lucky I caught that! Freaking crazy woman.”

When our laughter died down she said, “Well I should probably go. Thank you for the ride.”

“Of course. Hitchhikers are always welcome aboard my beloved jet.” A small smile appeared on her face and she stepped forward to give me a hug but she must’ve seen my body go rigid because she stepped back. She might’ve said something but the voice in my head was too loud for me to understand her. I don’t know how long it was before I unfroze but when I did, she was gone. I walked to the front of the jet and started the journey to France.

[notebooknebula]

Two Kinds Of Rehab By Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority

https://www.jayconner.com/two-kinds-of-rehab-by-jay-conner-the-private-money-authority/

There are two kinds of rehab: The RENOVATION and then there is this thing called “Rent-ovation”.

Watch this short video now to find out more.

Corey Reyment is a full-time real estate investor originally from Green Bay.

Corey and his wife Carrie bought their first duplex at the end of 2016 and parlayed that into 115 doors within three years of that first purchase using the BRRRR Strategy almost exclusively creating a portfolio now worth over $8 Million dollars.

They also run Fox Cities Home Buyers and Wisconsin Discount Properties, the largest real estate wholesaling company in Wisconsin, where they did about $2 million in revenue in 2020.

They teach students across the country who are looking to get their first BRRRR Deal and run a Mastermind Group called Launch, which helps businesses go from working in their real estate business to working on their business.

For more valuable information click on this link and watch the complete episode: https://youtu.be/ZSq-AX2-1PM – “Discover the BRRRR Method with Corey Reyment and Jay Conner, The Private Money Authority”

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Have you read Jay’s new book: Where to Get The Money Now? It is available FREE (all you pay is the shipping and handling) at https://www.JayConner.com/Book

Free Webinar: http://bit.ly/jaymoneypodcast

Jay Conner is a proven real estate investment leader. Without using his own money or credit, Jay maximizes creative methods to buy and sell properties with profits averaging $64,000 per deal.

What is Real Estate Investing? Live Private Money Academy Conference

https://youtu.be/QyeBbDOF4wo

YouTube Channel

https://www.youtube.com/c/RealEstateInvestingWithJayConner

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Listen to our Podcast:

https://realestateinvestingdeals.mypodcastworld.com/11289/two-kinds-of-rehab-by-jay-conner-the-private-money-authority

Real Estate Investing With Jay Conner

Jay Conner:

This strategy is for building long-term wealth, right?

Well, a couple of questions to drill down a little bit. So when we’re fixing up a house, then there’s two kinds of rehabs, at least. There’s renovation, if I’m wanting to pull it in the MLS and get very top value… renovation. Then, there’s this thing called “rent-ovation.”

Corey Reyment:

I love that. That’s right.

Jay Conner:

“Rent-ovation,” Which means I may not put as much money or put as much, like, if I’m want to want to hold this house like forever, I may not want to put granite countertops. I may want to put Lowe’s or Home Depot countertops versus granite. I may not want to put the very top of the line LVP – luxury vinyl plank – if I’m going to be renting it. However, for the long-term, I’ve discovered luxury vinyl plank is going to outlast carpet any day of the week. So my question to you is in your strategy, you know, you’ve, you’ve got a lot of this going now. Do you rehab them quote, unquote, all the way as if you were going for top retail value or how do you approach it?

Corey Reyment:

Yeah, that’s a great question, Jay. Actually, we talk about this and we have a course on the BRRRR strategy as well. And in the course, we talk about number one thing. You can do the same strategy. I mean, really, if you’re going to put it on MLS and do the renovation, as you mentioned, I mean, the process is the same. It’s actually just a little bit quicker because you’re just selling the property and you’re offloading it. You’re not going through the refinance and that thing, or- And you don’t have to do the other “R” of renting it, obviously. You can just throw it on the market and sell it vacant. So you can skip a couple of those. But the idea is you’re creating equity and you’re creating a spread by doing this strategy. And not just going to say, I see this all the time, and this was my problem.

When we started, I didn’t know this strategy, I didn’t know this existed. So I found a real estate agent because that’s what I thought you had to do. And I thought that real estate agent must know everything about real estate investing, right? So, because they’re a real estate professional, I didn’t understand it’s a weekend course. And a lot of times they know how to sell a great Brent house, but they don’t know how to do investing in real estate. And then, and then you go get a conventional loan and you put 25% down and you leave your 25% stuck in this property for the next four years before you can ever get access to that again. Right? And so we went to go buy that first property and we had a deal under contract and we were going to have to put 25% down.

It was a duplex and that would have wiped us out. We had no reserves then. We had nothing left over and I’m like, “This is so depressing. This is going to take me forever to get out.” I wanted to get out of my full-time job. And I’m like, this is going to take me forever to get out of here, right? And then I’m looking at some of my friends that are in real estate investing. I’m like, “How do these guys have like 50 doors or a hundred doors? They must have millions of dollars for down payments, right?” And that’s when I started to dig deeper and understand this BRRRR strategy. But to go back to your original question. In the course, one of the things that I recommend everybody does that wants to get into this is hire good property management from day one. So bad advice I got from one of my good friends was you should manage your own properties when you first start so that you learn.

And yes, thanks, Jay, you’re shaking your head. Terrible advice. I wanted to punch my tenants in the face. I probably was going to end up in jail if I would’ve kept managing people because it wouldn’t have worked out very well. I’m not handy. I always joke these are soft office hands. I don’t know what I’m doing in fixing this stuff. It’s frustrating. And those are typically the people that you’re going to buy these discounted properties from. They’re the ones self-managing. Frustrated with having to collect rents, frustrated with dealing with tenants, evictions, all that stuff. It’s way easier than that if you just hire a good, professional property management company, and we’ve found the property management companies we work with, will handle all the rehab for us. So we don’t have to get in on these value-add projects and hire our own general contractors or do any of that stuff.

They take care of all of that for us. And typically what I’m seeing, at least in our market, is they’re doing this at a much lower cost than what the people who are trying to GC their own projects and know nothing about GC-ing a project. They’re spending because they are over-renovating these properties for what the market’s bearing. You know, they’re in a C-class property and they’re putting A-class finishes in it. And yes, you’re probably going to attract a better tenant, but your ROI is going to be terrible. And you’re going to eat up all that equity that you thought you had in that property. If you just leave it to a good, reputable, professional management company that knows the market and knows what is going to rent for what and what your ROI is going to be, you can be really hands-off. And they’re typically going to be able to keep your costs much lower than what you’re going to be able to do on your own, trying to figure it all out.