#ch: jake s. | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

writing-until-i-drop · 8 months ago

Text

Wildflowers For A Hangman Ch. 1

Summary:

Daisy, a career novelist, moves in with her college best friend Phoenix who has been permanently assigned to Top Gun with Dagger Squad. She finds herself instantly connected with a cocky pilot who's soft only for her and Jake can't help but want to know everything about her. When the past comes knocking at both of their doors, will they stand together or fall apart?

Or: The Dagger Squad can't cook and Jake falls in love with a woman who makes a mean lasagna while they work their personal trauma.

Jake "Hangman" Seresin x writer!femOC | 18+ (eventually) minors dni. Fluff, smut (eventual), idiots in love, past trauma.

AO3 Link

“I think that’s the last of it,” I wiped my hands on my thighs, not yet used to the California heat. Natasha, my god send in cut-off sweats, passes me a cold beer, sitting on the edge of a box.

“I’m so glad you’re finally here, Daisy, It’s been impossible being surrounded by the asshats in my squadron.” Ah yes, the infamous dagger squad. Natasha had shared a little bit (or a lot) about each member of her team, leaving out any of the classified details of the mission that had brought them all together except for the fact it had led to permanent assignment for all of them. “When I told them my friend was moving in, they were chomping at the bit to see a picture of you.” My eyes cut to her, taking a long swig of my beer.

“And what picture did you show them?” As best friends since college, there were a lot of embarrassing pictures Natasha had access to that outweighed any of the hot ones on my Instagram. Natasha refused to meet my eyes, my heart sank. “Please tell me it wasn’t the one from-”

“It was.” Nathasha confirmed my worst fears with a proud smile. “You’d be surprised how well it worked for them. I told you, those Tweety Bird shorts- hey!” She rubbed where I punched her shoulder. The photo in question was me, drunk as a skunk, leaning over a frat house toilet while I puked my guts out. It had been a pajama party and my Tweety Bird pants had been cropped to show the entirety of my ass.

“You’re the worst, I’m never meeting your friends. You’ll have to suffer the testosterone alone.”

“Noooo,” Natasha whined. Rolling my eyes, I focused my energy on unpacking.

Surprisingly, I didn’t have a lot of boxes. Packing up my entire life had mostly been packing up my books and pajama pants that I wore for every occasion except weddings and funerals. My agent supported the move, saying that military novels were all the rage right now in the romance and crime communities, and he was hoping I would take advantage of my new situation for my next series.

I was one of the lucky authors, I had gone from self-publishing to being picked up by a moderately sized publishing house, my books taking off more than in my wildest dreams. My best-selling series was a 1920’s lady detective, followed by a hard-nosed New York cop hunting a serial killer. Despite this, my agent wanted me to take a swing at a smutty romance novel to capitalize on the buzz around them but I was hesitant.

“Have you forgiven me yet?” Natasha yelled from downstairs, “I ordered pizza!”

“Pepperoni?” I shouted back, getting an affirmative answer. “I forgive you!” My growling stomach marched me downstairs despite the few boxes still needing to be unpacked in my room. Tasha couldn’t cook, much to her mom’s disappointment, and lived solely off of cup noodles and takeout, something I planned to change the moment I could get to a grocery store.

Tasha was curled up on the couch, the pizza box and two fresh beers on the coffee table. I took my spot beside her, grabbing a greasy slice.

“We’ve got to decorate your place, Tasha. It’s depressingly bare.” Natasha shrugged, putting on some shitty action movie. “You’ve lived here for six months.”

“I didn’t expect it to be a permanent assignment and then I didn’t know where to start.” I rolled my eyes, opening Amazon and adding an insane amount of decor to the cart as we ate in comfortable silence. If this was going to be home, it was going to be cozy. No matter how much my bank account cried.

It took a week but the apartment was finally starting to feel like home. The brown couch now had throw pillows, there was art on the walls, and rugs on the floor. Everything was calming shades of brown, green, and cream, and there were string lights in every room that could be turned on instead of the overhead lights.

Tasha: Bringing some friends over for dinner - that cool?

I rolled my eyes, she was lucky I always cooked enough to feed an army.

Daisy: Sounds good. Get more beer.

Tasha: Already got it, babe.

I grabbed two more of the new placemats and finished setting the table. Tonight’s dinner was an authentic lasagna, garlic bread, and salad - it truly was far too much for just the two of us. Once everything was laid out of the table and I had myself a glass of wine, the door opened.

“It smells fucking delicious in here,” A man in an extremely loud button down exclaimed, followed by a boyish man with glasses who nodded in agreement. I snorted with laughter, drawing their attention. “And you are beautiful.”

“Nice to meet you too, Rooster. Hi, Bob.”

“Hi, ma’am.” I cringed,

“Daisy, please. Now why don’t the three of you wash up and then we’ll tuck in.” The boys, who had clearly been here before, took off for the bathroom while Phoenix shook her head, putting the case of beer on the counter.

“They’re ridiculous but they’re right, you and dinner are both delicious.”

Dinner went by with little conversation, the three pilots hungrily devouring the food in front of them so fast I was surprised they hadn’t passed out from lack of oxygen.

“Rooster, you have a roommate, right? I’ll make a plate for you to take home for him.”

“Hangman will be fine but I’ll take a plate for work tomorrow, honey.” I rolled my eyes,

“Tasha, text Hangman I’m sending home food for him and he’s to tell me if Rooster eats it. Bob, do you have a roommate?”

“No, ma’am - I mean, no, Daisy.”

“Then I’ll pack you something for lunch, there’s plenty - and yes, Tasha, you’ll have enough for lunch too.”

“Sweet!”

“Thank you, Daisy.”

“You know, once you meet, Hangman you’re not going to send him food anymore.” Phoenix and Bob laugh with him,

“I warned her about Bagman but Daisy’s sweet as can be. She’d give a cannoli to her worst enemy.”

“You’re wrong,” I wrote a quick, little note on Hangman’s box. Natasha gives me a uh huh look before I finish, “I would never share my cannolis.”

Phoenix: Daisy’s sending dinner home with Rooster for you - he’s going to say it’s for him, don’t believe him

Confusion wrinkled my brow as I tried to recall knowing a Daisy. It took a minute but eventually I remembered Phoenix talking about her new roommate. She had cooked dinner? Besides Bob, no one in the squadron knew how to cook much, if at all. So a home cooked meal would be the best part of my day.

Hangman: Tell the little lady thank you

Phoenix: Tell her yourself, she’s coming to the Hard Deck tomorrow even if I have to drag her kicking and screaming

I chuckle, refocusing on ironing my uniform for tomorrow. I even take pity on my roommate and iron his, not wanting to hear him crashing around the apartment bright and early trying to do it in the morning.

“Hagman, have you eaten?” Rooster called out, slamming the front door shut. There was not a single subtle thing about that man. Not his clothes, his flying, or his mannerisms.

“No but I heard you brought me something.” When I reached the kitchen Rooster was standing there, staring at the container of food. “Is that for me?”

“She even wrote you a note. She’s perfect, man. Funny, pretty, cooks well.” He slid me the still-warm container with a pink note sticking on the top. There was a hangman doodle with the note.

E N O Y H N E Y

“This is the best lasagna I’ve ever had.” Rooster nodded, passing me a beer. “I’ve got to meet this girl.”

“Try not to scare her off, bud. Or else she’s going to stop feeding us.”

Next Chapter

#jake seresin #jake seresin x oc #hangman x oc #top gun maverick #top gun fanfiction #fanfic #idiots in love #wildflowers for a hangman fic #natasha phoenix trace #pete maverick mitchell

69 notes · View notes

callsign-magnolia · 2 years ago

Text

Undiagnosed // Ch. 1

Mature Content 18+

Jake Seresin x Neurodivergent OC

Summary: Katie Blair grew up trying to be the perfect daughter. She always struggled to be the prim and proper little girl her parents wanted. Big personality as a kid, but now at 25, she's the shy admiral's daughter who just keeps her head down and tries to get through law school. So what happens when she's had enough and with help from a certain Lieutenant, she gets out.

Warnings: Emotional abuse, Major Character death, asshole parents, Jake is a jerk to start.

Word Count: 6.0k

Masterlist

“I’m sorry, Admiral Blair. Commander Kazansky is dead.”

Commander Kazansky is dead.

Tears welled my eyes as I stood in the doorway, my father behind me. “What?” My dad stepped around me, pushing me back into the house. I walked into the living room, seeing my mother sitting in her chair, glasses on her nose and book in her hand. “Who in god’s name is at our door at nine o’clock at night?” She asked, not looking at up. “A-an officer-“ She huffed, slamming her book shut before she ripped her glasses off her face and looked at me. “Speak up. I can’t hear you when you mumble and stutter.” I nodded, taking a deep breath and trying again. “An officer is at the door. Admiral Kazansky is dead.” I said as I rested my hand on the back of the couch. She stared at me for a moment before scoffing and putting her glasses back on. “Held on long enough, didn’t he?” “Mother!” I scolded. She huffed, slamming her book on the side table, standing. “Hush!” I immediately went quiet as she approached me. “He has been sick for years now. Your father has been waiting in the wings for his moment! And this is his moment!” She yelled, pointing her finger in my face.

“And you will not ruin his image!” I nodded, not meeting her eyes as tears streaked my cheeks. “Admiral Kazansky passed in his sleep earlier.” My father said as he walked into the living room. “And you’re crying for him!” Mom said, smacking my arm, making me jump. “He was a good man, mama!” She rolled her eyes, going back to her chair. “A man you met only three times.” I bit my lip, taking in a shaky breath. “I will be going up to my room.” I said turning, only for my dad to stop me. “Dr. Nieman says you have an exam next week; I expect you to be studying.” I nodded as he squeezed my shoulder. “Yes sir.” I said before he let me go, walking past me and allowing me to go upstairs. Once in my room I shut the door, taking a deep breath before going over to my fish tank, pulling out some food to feed them. They rushed to the top as I dropped the food, making me giggle. “Greedy little guys, huh?” I asked, knowing they wouldn’t reply. “Georgie!” I scolded the guppy who pushed Simon out of the way. “Oh my god, I’m scolding my fish.” I sighed before sitting down at my desk, deciding I better crack open the law textbook before my father came in and yelled at me for not working hard enough.

A few days went by and finally it was the day of Iceman’s funeral. I rode with my parents to the funeral, sitting in the backseat quietly as we rode from the funeral home to the gravesite. Once we pulled up and got out, I looked around at the sea of black dress uniforms, straightening out my own black dress as I stepped out of the truck. “Now,” My mom said as she walked over. “Stand still and be quiet, I don’t want to hear and squalling from you.” I nodded as she took my dad’s arm. “Yes ma’am.” I fell in step behind them, walking slowly through the grass and between the graves before finally stopping. My parents would sit, while I stood behind them, my heels sinking into the soft ground. We watched as the casket was carried over, and the funeral started. I was fine until TAPS started; it always made me emotional at these things. But I stood there, stock still but I felt the tears coming, and with them, the fear of my mother.

I inhaled deeply and shakily, fighting off the tears when suddenly my mother reached back, pinching my thigh. I jerked, which made her snap around and glare at me. It wasn’t until Captain Mitchell slammed his wings into the casket that the sobs started. I tried to hold back; my shoulders shook slightly as I held my breath. I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, making me want to crawl out of my skin. Why are you crying? You’re not family. You hardly knew the man. The voice resembling my own echoed throughout my head. I attempted to stop, but I couldn’t. The voice was right though, I had no reason to be crying. Once it was done, my mother quickly stood, taking my arm and dragging me back towards the truck. “I told you to stay quiet.” “I tried, momma. Really.” “Well, you didn’t try hard enough!” My back slammed into the truck, on the side facing away from people. “Your father has an image to keep. We can’t have an uncontrollably emotional child messing that up.” I nodded, knowing she was right. “Now, you are going to clean your face, because you have black streaks from your mascara, and then you will redo it on the way to the Kazansky’s. Sarah is doing a celebration of life and we will be in attendance.” She said as she shoved a makeup wipe at me. “Yes, ma’am.” She huffed, straightening her dress. “Now get in the truck. You look like a train wreck, and we can’t have anyone seeing you.” I nodded, getting into the backseat as my mother went to join my dad as he spoke to some people.

~~~

“Woah, who is that?” Coyote asked, looking past me. I turned, spotting who he was referring to. A girl walked in with Admiral Blair and his wife; she must be their daughter I’ve heard about. She had a small smile on her face and kept her eyes on the ground, her hair swishing in the short ponytail as she walked a few steps behind her parents. “She’s sexy.” I raised my brow at Payback, he wasn’t usually one to refer to women in such a way. “I wouldn’t even try it with her.” Coop, a pilot from my old squadron said. “What? Is she snobby?” Payback asked as I continued to watch the girl. “No, man. She’s weird as fuck. She holds eye contact too much; she stares into your soul. She also talks a lot about random things, her stories have side stories, and those stories have side stories! She’s a total weirdo.” I looked back to her; she now had a glass in her hand as her parents spoke with Sarah.

“Hey, Hangman?” I turned to Coyote who was looking at me confused. “You gonna try it with her? I don’t think your girl would like that.” I scoffed, shaking my head. “No,” I scoffed. “Kelly wouldn’t appreciate it. But she’s also not my type.” Coop chuckled. “She’s crazy emotional too. Like a loose cannon.” I looked over at him, sipping the lemonade Sarah gave me. “How do you know all this?” I asked him and he scoffed. “Made the mistake of asking her on a date.” “And was there a second one?” Payback asked and Coop shook his head. “Hell no! We paid, got in our cars and I never texted her again.” I rolled my eyes. Coop has an unrealistic idea of women. He wants a model, someone ‘perfect’. Little does he realize he isn’t such a catch either. “I bet you fifty bucks you couldn’t have a normal conversation with her.” I scoffed at his offer. “What? Fifty not enough? I’ll make it a hundred then and you can see how weird she is yourself.” I shook my head. “You know what, I’ll accept that bet.” I said looking back over to her seeing she had made her way over to the drink table. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need a refill.” I said before walking over to her, a smirk on my face.

~~~

“Hi.” I jumped, startled out of my own little bubble by the voice behind me. I turned to find a blonde man, tall, muscular, with green eyes that glistened in the light and had tiny flecks of light brown around the pupil. “H-hi.” I said, realizing how close he was when I turned around. I took a step back, bumping the table and tripping over my feet. I swung my arm, and he caught it, straightening me out. “I am so sorry! I’m so clumsy!” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Not at all.” I smiled, looking back into his eyes. “I’m sorry Lieutenant, I never got your name.” A look of realization crossed his face, and he held out his hand. “Lieutenant Jacob Seresin, ma’am.” I shook his hand. “You seemed off in your own little world over here.” He caught you, and now he thinks you’re weird before he even properly met you. “Yeah, I um… truth be told, I just got lost in thought.” I admitted. My mind had wandered to how Sarah and the rest of the family would cope without Admiral Kazansky, a thought I probably had no business thinking. “Happens to the best of us, right?” I nodded, looking down at my heels. “So how do you know the Kazansky’s?” He asked, bending down to meet my eyes, making my head snap up. “Oh, my dad is-was just under Admiral Kazansky. Now that he’s gone that makes my dad the new fleet commander.” His eyebrows shot up in realization. “Katie Scarlett!” I froze at my mom’s voice, straightening my back and diverting my eyes from Jacob. “I’m so sorry Lieutenant. Was she bothering you? She tends to run her mouth and talk. Why, she would talk till your ears fell off if you let her.” My neck burned red against my black scoop neck dress, tears gathering in my eyes.

“No ma’am. We were just having a pleasant conversation.” She looked at me, and I took a deep breath, willing the tears away. “Are you okay?” He asked and before I could even react my mother answered for me. “She’s fine. She just tends to be… overly emotional. If you’ll excuse us.” Mom said before gripping my arm and leading me away. “What are you doing?” I jerked my arm away once we were inside and out of sight. “I was having a nice conversation with a nice man!” She reached out, pinching me before placing her hands on her hips. “First off, don’t you ever cop an attitude with me again missy. Second, he is your father’s subordinate! What do you think it will look like if you’re flirting with him?” I furrowed my brows, pinching the bridge of my nose. “Oh my god, I was not flirting, mom! It was a normal conversation.” She scoffed. “Don’t talk back to me. Now, you will not speak to your father’s subordinates. These navy boys are not worth your time, or mine when you get your heart broken.” I rolled my eyes. “Dad seemed to be worth your time.” I popped off. Suddenly I heard a loud slap and my cheek stung. “He was worth my time, and you should be grateful because that’s why you are here.”

“Now,” She said as she composed herself and straightened her dress. “Clean yourself up, quit your crying and join me outside in five minutes.” She said as she pushed past me, making her way back outside. I turned, rushing into the bathroom as tears streaked my face once again. I cleaned myself up as best I could and let my hair down hoping it would hide the growing red mark on my cheek. I took a deep breath and plastered a smile on my face before going back outside. My father was standing with Lieutenant Seresin and a few others. I made my way over as my mom turned to greet me, a smile on her face. But in reality, that smile was a threat, saying if I screwed this up it wouldn’t be good. She looped her arm through mine as I stood next to her. “Oh, and this is our daughter, Katherine Scarlett Blair.” All eyes were on me, so I opted for a small smile. Something simple that couldn’t be mistaken for anything more than what it was. My father continued to ramble as I looked through the group. Immediately catching the blue eyes of Arnold Cooper, he smirked and waved as I turned my head away. I couldn’t stand him. He was so rude on our date, letting me go on then only to tell me how stupid the topic was and then went on to critique everything about me.

Your eyes are too far apart.

Your bottom lip is too big, it makes your smile look weird.

You’re too tall in those heels.

Your thighs are too big.

Anything he could find wrong, he pointed out. I left there crying and he never called or texted me again, which I was grateful for. I looked away, staring out at the ocean, ignoring the conversation. I wonder if I could just get a boat and take off. Quit law school, leave my parents behind and just go. Travel somewhere they would never think to find me. Like Nepal maybe? More specifically Kathmandu. It’s beautiful and I could do lots of hiking and exploring. “Katherine.” I turned, looking up at my mother who had a harsh look on her face. “I’m sorry. Were you talking to me?” I asked, turning back to the group. Lieutenant Seresin nodded. “Admiral Blair says you’re in Law school. Which one?” Of course, daddy would mention law school. “USD school of Law.” He smiled at me. “And how long do you have left before you graduate?” I opened my mouth to answer when my father cut me off. “She about to finish her first year. She’s on her way to being the best lawyer in California.” My parents didn’t have that much hope for me. They just wanted me to make good money. “Nice, how do you like it?” Another Lieutenant asked, he had a mustache that most people couldn’t pull off. “She loves it. It’s been her dream since she was a little girl.” My mom said as she ran her fingers through my ponytail.

“Is there a certain type of law you want to practice?” Lieutenant Seresin asked. Once again, I was answered for. “Either medical law or corporate law. She just can’t decide.” I nodded, just going along with it. Everyone looked between my parents and me, questioning look in their eyes. “Well I just wanted to wish you guys the best of luck on this mission of yours. I’ve read over the file and I have to say, it’s very dangerous, but you’re the best of the best for a reason.” They all smiled, shaking my dad’s hand before him and my mother walked away. I turned to follow but stopped at the sound of Coop’s voice. “Following mommy and daddy around like a lost puppy?” I kept walking, trying to ignore him. “Can’t even function on her own.” I turned around, glaring at him. “You’re the one that insulted me on that so called date, so why are you even bothering to talk to me? You’re the one that ran around telling everyone how weird I am anyway.” He chuckled, “Just wanted to get a rise out of you sweetheart.” I rolled my eyes, walking away. “Whiny bitch.” My fists clenched at my sides, and it took everything in me to keep walking, but I didn’t have to go far as my mother met me halfway. “What was that?” I furrowed my brows at her. “He just wanted a rise out of me.” I admitted and she huffed. “Get your emotions in check. Because if you ruin our image, there will be hell to pay.”

A few days later I was on base, heading to my father’s office. I apparently couldn’t be trusted home alone so I would sit in the rec room on base to study while I waited for my father to finish his work. “Hi, daddy.” He smiled at me as I walked into his office. “Hi, sweetie.” Good mood. Safe. I walked over kissing his cheek. “How did your exam go?” I bit my lip, nervous. “I feel like I did good on it. I only had to go back to a handful of questions.” He turned to me; an eyebrow raised. “Well good.” I exhaled lightly in relief, escaping his wrath for now. “Well, you know where the rec room is. I’ll come get you when I’m done.” I nodded, hiking my backpack higher on my shoulder and making my way to the rec room, dress swishing around my thighs. I kept my head down, knowing I would attract attention. It’s always better if I don’t meet their gazes. I made it to the rec room and thankfully, it was empty. I sighed, setting my stuff down and pulling out my laptop and textbooks. I pushed my glasses up the bridge of my nose as I got to work, studying.

My phone kept buzzing and I tried to ignore it, but finally I picked it up, looking at the notification before scrolling through my Instagram feed. “Oh ho, look who we have here gentlemen.” I slammed my phone down at the voice, a reaction I’ve picked up from living with my parents. I looked up, seeing Coop walk in with a few other pilots behind him. I didn’t recognize any of them except Lieutenant Seresin, who brought up the back of the line. “And what are you studying, Kate?” I withheld my eyeroll at the nickname and ignored him, going back to jotting down notes from my textbook. “Oh, come on, honey. Don’t ignore me.” I saw him stand up out of my peripheral vision, but I never expected him to snatch my glasses right off my face. “Hey!” I yelled, standing so fast I knocked over my chair. “Arnold!” I yelled his first name, hoping it would catch his attention. “Oh, come on honey! You can’t reach even in those heels!” He teased, making me even more angry. "We're grown adults! Give me back my glasses!" I yelled, jumping to reach my glasses and praying I wasn't flashing the other pilots behind me as my dress shifted around my thighs. "You're cute when you're mad sweetheart." I whipped around to Lieutenant Seresin, and if looks could kill, he would be six feet under. "Sorry that I enjoy seeing and I can't do that without my fucking glasses!" I turned around, landing a punch to Coop's gut. "Give them back!" I yelled, snatching them as he hit the ground. "Katy Scarlett!" Fear filled me at the sound of my father's voice yelling my full name.

I froze, dropping my glasses as I saw his figure standing in the doorway. “What the hell are you doing?” He asked as Coop stood, holding his gut. “I-um-I-he-“ “Stop fucking stuttering and get your stuff and go home.” He commanded. I nodded as I grabbed my glasses, slipping them back on my face before rushing to gather my things. “NOW!” I was shaking so bad, I put what I could in my bag before gathering everything else in my arms, rushing out as tears slipped down my face. As I walked away, I could hear my father apologizing to everyone for my behavior. I made it outside, getting into my Lexus in hopes I could pull out before he met me outside, but no such luck. He came outside just as I shut my door. I rolled down my window, keeping my head down as he leaned into my car. “You go home, and you wait for me. We’re going to have a serious talk.” I nodded, mumbling a ‘yes sir’ before he stepped away. I rolled up my window, taking the long way home as I cried.

Once home my mother was waiting, I assume my dad called her. I took my stuff upstairs and sat in the dining room, waiting for my dad to get home. Once he did, he was yelling before he even came through the door. “What the hell were you thinking?! Acting that way in front of my men!” I flinched as the door slammed into the wall, hearing his feet stomp through the house. I opened my mouth to answer as he walked through the door, but stopped as he held his hand up. “I don’t fucking care! You assaulted a naval officer!” “YOU DID WHAT?!” I flinched again as my mother screamed in my ear. “He took my glasses.” I mumbled and my mother groaned. “Enough of this mumbling shit! Just speak up!” “He took my glasses! He snatched them right off my face!” I said loudly. “Well, if you would wear your contacts, that wouldn’t have happened!” I crossed my arms over my chest in frustration. “They give me a headache.” “Then take an aspirin!” I stood, turning to her. “I should be able to wear my glasses without someone taking them, and I shouldn’t have to wear contacts if they make my head hurt!” My father quickly stepped closer. My knees buckling out of fear and planting me back in the dining room chair as he bent down in my face.

“I don’t care what he did. Tomorrow, after class, you will come onto base, and you will give him a sincere apology.” My jaw dropped. “So, he gets to take my glasses, preventing me from studying and I have to apologize to him?” He nodded, crossing his arms over his chest. “You will, and you will do it with a smile.” I sighed. “God! Just stop the huffing and puffing! You did this to yourself! Now go upstairs and study. If you fail another test, you don’t get to come back here and cry about it. You’ll have nowhere to go.” My mother threatened, making a shiver run up my spine, knowing she was serious. I just nodded, standing and looking to my father. “Dismissed.” I bit my lip, rushing upstairs. I shut my bedroom door, tears streaming down my cheeks. I covered my mouth as I slid down the door, silencing my sobs. Why can’t I just control my emotions? I should’ve just let him keep my glasses and stayed in my chair. I took a shaky breath, wiping my cheeks clean. I stood, kicking off my heels and walking over to my fish tank. “Hey guys.” I watched as the colorful fish swam around, a few swimming up to my face as I rested my chin on the shelf the tank rested on. “You hungry?” I asked as I grabbed the container of fish food. They all rushed to the side of the tank I kept the food on, watching intensely as I sprinkled it into the tank. All five fish ate as if they were starving when in reality, I fed them this morning. I heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs, knowing they were my fathers, I dove for my bag. Quickly pulling out my textbooks and rushing into my desk chair just as the door opened. “I don’t want to see you out of this room till dinner. You understand me?” I nodded as I opened my book. “Yes, sir.”

The next day I was dreading everything, including waking up. But I did, getting myself ready in an olive-green dress that was knee length with a ruffled hem and nude heels. I struggled to focus in class, not sure how I would manage to survive the ridiculous apology. I couldn’t focus, taking half-assed notes as I thought of how humiliating this was going to be. I barely managed to walk out of the building and get into my car. I could just drive off, maybe somewhere upstate, or even into Mexico. But they would just report my car stolen and I’d be right back here, more miserable than ever. I don’t remember the drive to base, or showing the guard my ID. But soon I found myself walking into my dad’s office, keeping my head down as I stood in front of his desk. “About time. You got out of class twenty minutes ago.” I pulled on my thumbs, wanting to snap that it takes me twenty-five minutes to get here from school, but I just kept my mouth shut. “Set your bag down.” I set my bag in the chair as he stood from his own. “Follow me.” I followed him out of his office and down the hall, keeping my head down as my heels clicked on the tile. He led us outside to the hangar, my heels announcing our arrival. I managed to lift my head, looking at the ginormous jet across the way. “Captain Mitchell.” I looked up to see an older man turn from his team to look at us. “Commander Blair.” Everyone jumped up, standing at attention and saluting him as we walked closer. “As you were.” Movement caught my eye, and I glanced behind everyone to see Lieutenant Seresin and the other man with the mustache walking closer.

“Lieutenant Cooper. Step forward.” I pulled on my thumbs again, my knees growing weak from nerves. Coop stepped closer, keeping a poker face as he did as my dad asked. “Katy, I think you have something to say to Lieutenant Cooper.” I felt everyone’s eyes on me from behind Coop and I looked up to my dad who just quirked a brow as if to say, ‘Get on with it.’ I took a step forward, averting my eyes from everyone behind him down to my feet. “Coop, I just wanted to say-“ “Eyes on me when you’re talking to me sweetheart.” My head snapped up, glaring at him. “Wasn’t there something you had to say to me?” He was trying to get a rise out of me again, and I wasn’t going to fall for it this time. “I wanted to apologize for my behavior yesterday. It was wrong of me to hit you.” I said through gritted teeth. Coop poked his bottom lip out, tilting his head at me. “I don’t think you mean it.” Tears of frustration gathered in my eyes as I fought back every emotion within me. I shook my head and took a big breath before I gave him the biggest smile I could muster. “The way I acted yesterday was wrong, and I never should’ve punched you. I really hope you can forgive me.” He grinned at me, relishing this moment. “Of course, I forgive you, sweetheart.” I nodded, folding my hands in front of me. “Good, now that that is out of the way. You can go back to training, and you need to go study.” My father’s hand slammed down on my shoulder, making me jump as he did so. “Yes, sir.”

With that I went back to my dad’s office, grabbing my bag and going into the rec room to study just like I did the day before. I sat there, staring at my textbooks but not reading them. What I wouldn’t give to go back and punch Coop in his smug ugly face. God, why did I ever think he was attractive? Thinking back on it he’s really not, and he has an ugly personality to match. God, I hate him, and I can’t stand my father for making me do that. Should I have hit him? No. But did he deserve it? Hell yes. “Do you need help?” I looked up, caught off guard by the quiet voice. A blonde man with stunning blue eyes and glasses stood before me. “Oh. No, I don’t. Don’t trouble yourself with me.” I said as I turned my head back down to my books. “I’m pretty good at law. I started in the Law education program at the naval academy before changing majors.” I narrowed my eyes at him, and he gave me a small smile. “What does Amicus Curiae mean?” I bit my lip, realizing I didn’t know the answer. “On the bench?” It was more of a question than an answer. “That’s En banc. It’s Latin for ‘friend of the court’.” I nodded slowly. “I’d be more than happy to help you study.” I stared at my textbook for a minute, going over my options. I could study on my own and risk failing, which means my parents would kick me out of the house. But if he helped me, maybe I can pass and live in the house another day.

“Okay. You can help me.” He smiled at me, slipping in the chair next to me. “Your name is Katy, right?” I nodded, realizing he was there when I had to give that stupid apology. “I’m Bob.” He held out his hand for me to shake, clasping my fingers around his, I realized just how big his hands are. I was worried I would struggle to study with Bob, but he made it so easy. He taught me a few ways to remember phrases, and it’s like a whole new world opened up in front of me. “Hey! Baby on Board! What are you doing?” Our heads snapped up at the sound of Coop's voice. He seemed angry, and Lieutenant Seresin behind him didn’t look happy either. I watched as his eyes shifted from Bob to me and I immediately hung my head. “Don’t waste your time with her. Come on.” He waved him over and Bob looked to me before back to Coop. “I think I’m gonna stay here and help her study.” My head snapped up to him in surprise and he flashed me a small smile. “She’s not fucking worth it. Now, come on.” Bob opened his mouth to retort, but Lieutenant Seresin cut him off. “Don’t fucking argue, Floyd.” I closed my text book, putting it in my back. “I’ll just leave.”

“I see you’ve finally got some brains. You can finally tell when people don’t want you around.” Coop snapped and I just stood with my bag, ignoring his words. “I have to say, I can’t stand to look at her face. But God do I love watching her walk away.” I heard their laughter behind me. I just kept my head down, hiding my tears as I made my way down the hallway. Once I was a ways down the hallway, I stopped, pulling my glasses off and wiping my eyes clean. “Hey, you okay?” I turned, seeing a woman and the guy with the mustache walking up. I turned to them, leaning against the wall as I took a deep breath. “O-oh, yeah. I’m fine.” The girl smiled at me. “We just wanted to say, Coop was completely in the wrong.” She said and the guy behind her smiled. “Yeah, and it definitely wasn’t okay that Commander Blair made you apologize to him.” I offered them a small smile. “Thanks.” The girl held out her hand for me to shake. “Natasha, callsign Phoenix.” I shook the guys hand next. “Bradley, callsign Rooster.” I smiled, feeling a little better. Their smiles were infectious.

“I’m-“ “Katy Scarlett!” My fathers voice boomed down the hallway, making me stand rigid as I turned to face him. “You’re supposed to be studying.” I nodded, folding my hands in front of me. “Yes, sir. It was just getting noisy in the rec room, so I was coming to ask if I could go home and study there? I’ll probably focus better.” He stared at me for a moment before looking to Natasha and Bradley. “Was she bothering you?” My shoulders tensed as he laid a hand on them, turning me around to face them. I kept my eyes trained on my heels, not meeting anyone’s eyes. “Not at all. I noticed her shoes in the hangar earlier and stopped her to ask them what brand they were. Valentino? Right?” Natasha asked as she leaned down to catch my eyes. I stared into hers, seeing something flash in them and I knew she was trying to keep me out of trouble. “Yes. They’re very comfortable.” My dad nodded, looking down at me. “Very well. Go home. I’ll be late so make sure you’re studying before dinner.” I nodded. “Yes, sir.” I said before turning and making my way out to my car. Once I was inside, I released a breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “I owe Natasha big time.” I mumbled to myself as I cranked my car.

I studied until dad came home, rushing downstairs to make sure I had the table set before he sat down. Once I did that he sat down, and mom placed his plate in front of him before we made our plates. “How was work, dear?” My mom asked, looking over at my dad. “Good. I have to be on base early in the morning. The team that Iceman put together ships out for their mission in the morning.” I listened intensely as they discussed his work. “They keep talking about how ‘someone may not make it back’. Cyclone isn’t worried about it, but Maverick is.” My mom scoffed. “Ugh. Maverick? He’s still flying? I figured he would’ve been discharged from the Navy, or more likely, dead.” My dad chuckled. “Maybe we’ll get lucky, and he’ll go down on this mission.” My heart lurched into my throat at his words. How can someone have such disregard for human life? “Katy.” My head snapped up to catch my mother’s eye. “God, listen to me the first time I say your name. You need to eat more peas.” I took a deep breath. “I’m twenty-five mother. I eat every vegetable but peas.” She grabbed the spoon that sat in the bowl of peas and lifted it, slamming a huge scoop of them down on my plate. “Just fucking listen and eat them. I don’t need any remarks from you every time I say something.” I just did as she said, no energy to fight with her about it.

The texture and taste was gross, but I just have to pick my battles with her. When we were done, my parents went out onto the back deck for drinks, and I cleaned up the kitchen. I used to complain about it, but as I got older, I realized this was the only time I could guarantee they wouldn’t barge in and they would leave me alone. Once I was finished, I went back upstairs and into my room. I have spent most all of the day studying, so I opted to read a book from my shelf. I plucked Salem’s Lot from my shelf, plopping down on my bed to read it. I got 5 pages in when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs. My heart pounded in my chest, knowing they were my fathers, but they didn’t sound like angry footsteps. I sat up quickly when my door opened, my eyes widening behind my metal frames as my father stared at me. “What are you reading?” I gulped, looking down at the book in my hand. “Salem’s Lot?” It should’ve been a statement, but I was scared of the look in his eye. “You have another exam tomorrow.” I nodded, standing from my bed. “Yes, but I’ve been studying non-stop for the past week. I-I thought maybe reading something different for an hour would help me relax.” I was flipping the book from hand to hand, struggling to sit still in the tension filled room. “Just put it down and study. I’m tired of having to ride your ass about school. Just fucking study and pass your fucking tests before you force your mother and I to kick you out.” He huffed and I nodded. “Yes sir.” I put the book back before sitting down at my desk, turning on my laptop. With that he closed the door and I sighed, leaning back in my chair. While I waited for my computer to boot up, I stood, walking over to my fish tank to feed them. I watched as Splish and Splash, my twin goldfish shoved each other around trying to eat. “Guys. There’s plenty.” I dropped just a little more in the tank, giggling as the all rushed around. “Do you guys think I’d make a good lawyer?” I asked as Frankie, my angel fish turned to me, almost staring for a second before swimming off. “Yeah, I don’t think so either.” I sighed before sitting back down in my desk chair.

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

Taglist: @wkndwlff @cherrycola27 @daisydaisygoose

#hangman #jake seresin #jake hangman seresin #jake seresin top gun #jake seresin x oc #hangman fic #hangman seresin #top gun maverick #top gun #top gun imagine #hangman top gun #undiagnosed #ADHD OC #jake seresin x neurodivergent oc

460 notes · View notes

scarabsinthestardust · 24 days ago

Text

Right on Time // Ch. 9

MASTERLIST

word count: 2800+

Things are happening.

CHAPTER WARNINGS: language; anxiety; fear; depression; extreme emotional distress; mentions of physical injury; previous domestic violence; police/detectives; mentions of underage drinking; vomiting; talks of murder & strangulation; talks of drunk driving & a fatal car crash; I'm not a medical professional and I have no formal medical training

I was happy to see the swelling around Josh’s eye finally going down enough that he could open his eye, at least a little. The medical professional in me won out and I found myself pestering him to let me check him for anything I found concerning. He huffed in annoyance as I held his face to examine his eye, but annoyance was good. It meant he hadn’t lost his attitude.

“How’s your vision? Can you see okay?”

“S’ fine.” He brushed my hands away. “Stop worrying.”

I planted a kiss on his forehead before letting him go and leaning against the wooden railing of Jake’s back patio. The weather was cool, a little breezy, with just enough cloud coverage that the sun wasn’t beating down on us. I watched Josh close his eyes and tilt his head back as the wind lightly blew through his hair and he breathed in the fresh air. He stood like that for a minute or two, the silence relaxing, then blinked his eyes open and looked back at me.

“You’re going to your mom’s for dinner next Friday, right?”

I was kind of surprised that he even remembered, with everything that happened. “Oh. No, I already talked to her and let her know I wasn’t gonna make it.”

“What? Why?”

“I, uh, didn’t think you’d be up for it, and I don’t want to go without you.”

“That’s stupid.” He furrowed his brows, and I couldn’t help but laugh at his expression. “Your mom’s gonna be upset if you don’t go.”

“She’ll be okay. She understands.”

“You shouldn’t miss out because of me.”

“Is this your way of subtly trying to get rid of me?” I joked.

“Pft. If I say yes, will that make you stop arguing about it?”

“Probably not.” I rolled my eyes and chuckled. “Don’t worry about it. We’ll go to the next one. Right now, I’d much rather be here with you.” I knew he wouldn’t be able to stay mad (if you could call it that) once I said that, and he sighed in defeat.

We were interrupted when Jake opened the sliding glass door and poked his head out. “Hey, uh, Josh? There’s a detective here, wants to talk to you.” He looked just as confused as Josh did, and I felt.

“I thought you already talked to the cops and everything?”

“I did,” Josh mumbled before warily following Jake back inside. I trailed close behind.

The man stood in the living room, peering at some of the artwork and décor on the walls. He was in a blue button-up and khakis, a metal police badge clipped to his belt and a folder in his hand. He nodded in greeting when he saw us, extending his other hand to Josh.

“Hi, Josh. I’m Detective Leyte with the Salt Lake City Police Department. I’m sorry to bother you, but I wanted to ask you some questions about Finley Carroway, if you don’t mind. Can we sit?”

Josh glanced around at Jake before meeting my eyes.

“I’m sorry,” I started, “but what does a Utah detective want with a Tennessee DV case?”

“It’s not so much the DV part that I’m interested in.” He motioned to the dining room table, Josh silently following to sit. The detective attempted to get us to leave, but Josh quickly shut him down, insisting he wanted his brother and boyfriend present for… whatever this was.

“I know it was a long time ago, and I don’t expect you to remember dates, but anything you can remember would be helpful.” Josh nodded. “Do you recall Finley taking a trip to Salt Lake City, about three and a half years ago, or know why he would be there?”

“I… I don’t know. He traveled a lot for work.”

“You two were in a relationship at the time, correct? Did he ever tell you he was going there?”

Maybe I’m biased, but I wasn’t a fan of the guy’s tone, the way he was talking to Josh like he thought he was lying.

“No, I don’t… I don’t remember.” Josh shook his head, and I could tell he was already getting frustrated. Whether it was with the detective or himself, I didn’t know. He wasn’t having any official memory loss from his injury, but I definitely think he blocked a lot out, probably involuntarily. Thankfully, Jake spoke up for him.

“When they fought, Finn would just take off. He’d disappear for days or weeks without telling anybody where he was going.”

“Why are you asking me this?” inquired Josh.

Detective Leyte pulled a photo out of the folder and placed it on the table. “Do you recognize this man?” It was a picture of a young guy, with short, dark curls, a small collection of silver earrings on both ears, and a huge smile on his face. I couldn’t help but notice that he sort of resembled Josh, and it was almost unsettling.

“No,” Josh answered after examining the photo for a second. “Who is he?”

“Stephen Cutter. He was 19 years old. Found dead in a motel room in Salt Lake City.”

Shit.

It didn’t take a genius to figure out where this was headed. I met Jake’s eyes, and his expression told me he was thinking the same thing. Josh was calm, surprisingly so. I barely noticed his breath hitch before he collected himself again.

The detective continued on. “Used a fake ID to get into the bar, and left the same bar with an unknown male. The only description was ‘a tall guy with red hair,’ and the eyewitness was drunk.” He pulled out another photo, a blurry, black and white still from what appeared to be a security camera. It depicted who I figured was Stephen and the “unknown male” walking along the sidewalk. Finn.

“Security footage is grainy and not really helpful, and the bartender couldn’t confirm a positive ID. We took prints from the scene, but it’s a motel room, so obviously the prints are useless unless we have something else to… hook them onto. So, we’ve been stuck on what was ultimately going to be a cold case. And then, this happened.”

He motioned toward Josh, and I gritted my teeth at the gesture, the way he waved his hand at him like he was simply referring to a mess someone left in the kitchen that needed to be cleaned up. I considered that I was possibly just reading into it too much, and feeling slightly protective, but the way Jake stared at the man with narrowed eyes indicated it wasn’t just me.

“When Mr. Carroway, Finn, was arrested and booked for his attack on you, his fingerprints popped in the system. It’s a national database, and his prints matched with an unidentified set from the motel.”

“What are you saying?” Josh’s voice was low, but steady.

“I’m saying that with everything we have, I’m really liking Finley as a murder suspect right now. I’ve already been up to the jail, but he clammed up on me. So, if there’s anything you can give me��”

“How did he die?” he asked, barely above a whisper now.

Detective Leyte straightened up in the chair. “Strangulation.”

Jake turned so I couldn’t see his face, his hands going to his head in disbelief and frustration as he cursed under his breath. I’d zoned out for a second as I registered the information, but quickly drew my attention back to Josh. He hadn’t moved, hadn’t given any outward signs of distress other than the haunting silence. Was he not surprised? Or was this something he already knew…?

I shook off the thought and he spoke again. “You have the pictures?”

The detective nodded and moved to pull something else out of the folder, but I jolted when I realized what they were referring to. “Josh, no. You don’t have to look at those.”

He ignored me and kept his eyes trained in front of him. “Let me see them.”

I watched his face for any sign of a reaction when the photos were placed on the table in front of him. I heard him take a sharp inhale of breath but otherwise, he didn’t budge. I glanced at Jake, who looked like he might be ill. I tried not to spend too much time looking at the pictures, but my eyes kept drifting back to them. The images of this kid (because that’s what he was), cold and stiff, left alone on a motel bed while his killer went about his life. His brown eyes were open, affixed to nothing in particular, and the bruises around his neck were a stark contrast to his pale skin.

It took Josh a moment to respond. He pushed the pictures back towards Detective Leyte. “I’m sorry. I don’t know anything that could help you.” His voice cracked, barely noticeable.

I was pleasantly surprised at the detective’s response, a sympathetic tone in his voice. “That’s okay.” He gathered all the photos and stood, pulling a card from his pocket and handing it to Josh. “This is my number. If you do think of anything, even if it doesn’t seem important, give me a call. I appreciate your time.” He nodded to me and Jake before taking his leave. I imagine he was just trying to cover all his bases, and figured Josh wouldn’t be able to tell him anything anyways. If he thought Josh really knew something, he wouldn’t have given up so easily.

It wasn’t until the detective was gone, the door securely locked behind him, that the dam finally broke. Josh was up in a heartbeat and bolted to the nearest bathroom, where he all but fell to the floor and emptied the contents of his stomach into the toilet. Jake was quick to follow him, rubbing Josh’s back as he vomited. I stayed in the doorway, not wanting to crowd him.

When he was finished, he sat back against the wall and brought his hands up to his face. “Fuck!” The flood gates opened, and tears were freely flowing now. He rocked back and forth, his breaths ragged and short as he hyperventilated.

Jake squatted down in front of him and tried to calm his twin, who was in such a state of panic I don’t think he could hear his brother’s voice. I stayed close and tried to quell the unease in my own gut. How did things get so fucked up? What Finn did to Josh was bad enough, but to know there was a (high) possibility he’d actually killed someone… it made the entire situation that much scarier. What stopped him from killing Josh that night? And what would happen if he got out and decided he needed to finish the job?

I drew my attention back to Josh; I wouldn’t spend too much time worrying about the ‘what if’s right now. But what else could I do in this moment? Nothing I said would change anything, and if his twin, the other part of his soul, couldn’t bring him back from the ledge, what chance did I have? It didn’t mean I wouldn’t try, though.

Josh stayed like that for hours, on the bathroom floor, knees hugged to his chest. He cried so hard he made himself throw up again and again, until I was sure there was nothing left. The vomiting irritated his throat so badly he temporarily lost his voice, but that didn’t stop him from forcing out strings of curses and pleas for this to just be a bad dream. My heart broke for him, probably for the hundredth time, and I wanted as badly as him for this to all be over.

He was practically paralyzed with fear, and when we eventually convinced him to leave the bathroom, I all but carried him to the bedroom as his legs wouldn’t support his weight.

Later in the night, I woke up in a sweat, plagued by my own nightmares. I reached out for Josh to find he wasn’t there. I found the bathroom empty as well, and I started to feel anxious. It was impossible to not worry about him, in what I hated to admit was a delicate mental state.

It didn’t take me long to find him. He sat cross-legged on the bench on the back porch, a laptop I assumed he swiped from Jake resting on his lap. He was just staring at it, unmoving, while the light from the screen illuminated his face. At least he wasn’t crying anymore.

“Josh?” He didn’t even acknowledge that he heard me. I moved to touch his shoulder and kept my voice low. “Josh, what are you doing out here?” When he still didn’t answer me, I moved so I could see what he was staring at.

It was a news article, from somewhere in South Dakota. It was dated a little over six years prior. The headline read, ‘Mother of two, victim in fatal hit-and-run crash.’

What the hell? “Baby, talk to me, please.” I kneeled down to be closer to him, and searched his face for any hint as to what was going through his head. He didn’t look at me, nor did he respond to my touch, but he did finally speak.

“I had to know.”

“Know what?” I asked.

“It didn’t make sense,” he began. “If he’d been arrested before, his fingerprints would already be in the system, right?”

I nodded, still unsure of where he was going with this. “In theory, yeah.”

“And Detective Leyte said it’s a national database, so they’d be able to see it, even from a different state?”

“Yeah, I think so.”

He closed his eyes and sighed, like that wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear. “I don’t know how much more of this I can take.”

“Hey, don’t talk like that. I know this is… I can’t even begin to imagine everything you’re feeling, but you will get through it.”

“He told me nobody died. He said… he got arrested for driving drunk after the crash, but that everybody was okay. He said the mom and her two kids… the kids were the reason he got sober in the first place.”

I glanced back at the computer screen. “In South Dakota,” I sighed. It wasn’t a question. “You don’t know it was him.”

“I don’t know that it wasn’t,” he countered. “They had no suspect, the kids couldn’t give a description, and there weren’t any other witnesses. It says the car was a company rental or something, and nobody knew who was supposed to have it.”

“That still doesn’t necessarily mean it was him. Maybe the fingerprint thing was a fluke, some backwoods police agency half-assing their job. He might not have had anything to do with this one.” The assurances were empty, but I think he knew that. I had to at least try to, what, protect him? He didn’t need anymore of this bullshit piled onto him, more of this stress that I knew was already turning into baseless guilt and self-blame.

“He lied to me about so many things. And I let him. I let him get away with it. Or maybe I was just too stupid to realize who he was. What does that say about me?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that none of this is on you?” It came out a little more snappy than I intended, but he was so lost in his own head that I don’t think he noticed. “People like that, Josh, they’re master pretenders. Lying to people, manipulation, it’s what they’re good at. Not being able to see through it doesn’t make you stupid.” When you view someone through rose-colored glasses, all the red flags just look like flags. He loved Finn, cared for him so much that he was willing to overlook all of the things that made him toxic. But not once did I ever fault Josh for that.

“I don’t know what to do,” he said sadly. “I feel like everything’s been taken out of me. I don’t even think I could cry anymore if I wanted to. I’m just… I’m so tired, Cai.”

“I know,” I whispered. I carefully shut the laptop and placed it on the ground, out of the way. I scooted him over and moved so I could sit with him. I wrapped my arms around him, his back pressed against my chest. He was absolutely exhausted – I could feel it in the tension of his muscles, the thready sounds of his breath, the way he seemed to be trying to sink further into me and disappear.

He did eventually fall asleep once I got him back to bed, but I think it was only because his energy was depleted, and he was physically incapable of fighting it anymore. The next morning, well after the sun had risen, he turned on his new phone for the first time. He ignored the plethora of notifications that were popping up and plucked the card with Detective Leyte’s phone number off the table. I watched him as he held the phone to his ear.

“Hi, it’s Josh Kiszka – listen, I can’t help you with your murder case, but… maybe you can look into something else – a car crash in Sioux Falls.”

///

TAGLIST Let me know if you want to be added

@hollyco @fleetingjake @musicislove3389 @hailthegodsong @josh-iamyour-mama @katuschka @lilbitx @gvfstuddedmajesty @joshylanefleet

#greta van fleet #gvf #josh gvf #josh kiszka #greta van fleet fic #jake kiszka #greta van fleet fan fiction #gvf fanfiction #jake gvf

9 notes · View notes

princeseerow · 13 days ago

Text

animorphs #4: the message, ch. 1 - 6

this was one of the few animorphs books i actually owned as a kid (i think it was a library book that i never returned) and so i have such strong memories of this one, especially the opening scene. cassie trying to hide her demorphing squirrel tail behind her back is still one of the first things that always comes to mind of whenever i think of her

cassie pronounces opossum like oh-possum

i love that jake keeps a photo of cassie trying to medicate a badger on his desk. you'd think they'd been married for 10 years.

ok i said i wasn't going to point out every little change between the audiobooks and the original prints but marco referencing elmo immediately jumped out to me as so strange i just had to check to see what it was originally. while not impossible for it to have been an elmo reference since he debuted on sesame street in the 80s, he didn't get his meteoric rise to stardom until, funnily, when the animorphs books were getting published. and i was right -- it was originally mister rogers' neighborhood and king friday. and while i do kinda get why they changed it and the baywatch reference he makes immediately afterwards and the vhs tape thing, it does make me a little sad that the animorphs reprints try to scrub away much of its late 90s references. now i wonder if this holds true for the scully/mulder/cindy crawford thing in book 14.

and yet they still call hork-bajirs salad shooters, which is far more obscure to the average 2020s child than baywatch

really enjoy cassie's description of rachel's neat and organized bedroom. rip rachel you would've loved pinterest boarding.

cassie also takes the time here to tell us that she, yknow, likes, jake and is afraid to tell him. as if the guy that keeps a picture of her trying to give a pill to a badger on his desk might not already return the feeling

i like that cassie's view of traditional femininity is not outright scorn or the insistence that she's not like other girls, but just that it's something she doesn't have time for. she keeps her hair short and wears overalls all the time because it's practical, but is also not against the idea of borrowing a dress from rachel to look pretty. she also doesn't comment much on rachel's sense of fashion, but never admonishes her for it either. it would be so easy for a poorer writer to make them detest each other so it's so great that rachel and cassie are besties.

in their narration rachel and cassie have both agreed marco is cute but not their type lol

does... cassie not know elfangor's name? do any of them? they just keep calling him "the andalite" over and over

well... is he wrong?

completely insane btw that the sharing controllers start opening fire on what they initially assume to be normal teens hanging out on the beach

god i love that tom and chapman are the first to deduce that the so-called andalite bandits might not be andalites at all... but like hell are they going to be the ones to tell the visser he's wrong. also, in book 1, tom('s yeerk) already has suspicions that jake might've been at the construction site that night. i gotta keep an eye out for when he could have first put two and two together about jake being an andalite bandit.

#animorphs #animorphs book club #the message #unfortunately i have no idea where this book is now #i think maybe my brother has it. i still have his copy of the invasion and i dont think he even knows

8 notes · View notes

popculturebuffet · 8 months ago

Text

Sam and Max Beyond Time and Space Retrospective

My retrospective from last year covering all 5 chapters of Sam and Max's decent second chapter in the Telltale Trilogy, Beyond Time and Space. You can find my retrospective for the first game here

And here's beyond time and space just in time for Devil's Playhouse!

#sam and max beyond time and space #sam and max #sam x max #bosco #mama bosco #flint paper #freelance police #jurgen #video games #telltale games #skunkape games #nintendo switch

8 notes · View notes

jeysamores · 2 years ago

Text

The Baby Project - ch.1

.synopsis: It’s towards the end of your senior year, and only one more quarter of classes to go. If you thought it would be peaceful then you’re completely wrong because your health teacher decides to give you a simulation project and partners you with your longtime crush.

a/n: This work took A LOT of time to write mostly because of school and colleges, chapter 1 is not long but chapter 2 will be, so I hope you guys enjoy reading this as much as I did writing it! much love - jey

paring → Sunghoon x f!reader,

wc: 1.7k

warning(s): swearing, mature themes, Yuna bitching Jake, Jakes hitting kink, rest is tbd

next l mstl

“3 more months and I’m out of here.” you think to yourself, looking around the cafeteria full of some of the most annoying people you’ve met in your life. You had a love-hate relationship with being a senior in high school, one of the benefits being that you could sign yourself out of there whenever your bitch of an English teacher or really anyone, got on your damn nerves. But one of the things that sucked this year and the past 6 years was the only boy you’ve ever liked since 7th grade never even talked to you.

Well, he talked to you once, but it was just a polite ‘excuse me’, and even from that small interaction you found yourself screaming inside and ranting about it to your closest friends everyday for a week straight and them being the supportive best friends they are, supported your delusions for 6 years straight.

“At least he looked at me when asking me to move, and at least it was me who he asked to move. See? That means he thought about me. I told you that’s my man.” That was your mindset ever since that interaction, and you were set on using junior year to make a move. You weren’t sure on why specifically junior year but that’s besides the point because the real point is you bitched out every time you planned on making a move.

And now it’s almost the end of senior year, and no action involving him what-so-ever. Soon you’re just gonna have to face reality and realize that Park Sunghoon would never like you, would never look your way ever again, never talk to you ever again, and would definitely not be the person waiting at the end of the altar for you, later becoming the father of your 3 children.

“You’re literally gonna be single forever if you keep acting the way you do about this boy y/n. It’s not that hard, go up to him and say what you want.” Yuna has been saying the same shit for over 3 years now and throughout those whole 3 years, you never once listened to her.

Even with your friend’s help, you just can’t (and won’t) get yourself to make your body move in his direction and actually talk to him without possibly embarrassing yourself, which you most likely would if you were to ever step foot in his direction.

“Y/n, spark a conversation, be flirtatious, pull your boobs out of your shirt for gods sake. You’re making it seem like such a hard task.” Felix says, sounding a little aggravated by this whole situation since he just wanted to eat his lunch in peace without having to hear the whole "y/n is in love with Park Sunghoon but is a little bitch about it” bullshit. Hearing it for the past 6 years was already enough for him.

“Why her boobs though?” Winter asks while trying to suppress a laugh.

Felix turns to winter, “Can you leave me and my choice of words the hell alone please? And I don’t know it just came out. Also don’t even think you’re off the hook either miss, because your little ‘secret crush’ on Jay is NOT unnoticeable.” Felix is now targeting poor Winter about the small crush she’s had for about a year now. Everyone knows that Winter obviously likes Jay, who the hell in the friend group didn’t know. “Wanna know how I know, because..well I just know, and the facts that I have are completely true.”

"When can I hit him?” Usually to get Felix to shut the hell up Yuna resulted in violence. Yuna just didn’t want Winter being embarrassed by how obvious it was, especially since Winter wasn’t the person to talk much about a love interest, let alone the type of person to actually talk and socialize.

“I don’t like him so leave me alone, go get an actual girlfriend for once in your life. You’re all over y/n about Sunghoon but look at you.” says Winter, scowling down at the sandwich in her hand before shoving a good amount of it into her mouth and taking a bite. That was the most Winter talked the whole lunch period, but not the first time she said some rude shit to Felix.

You can’t even remember when Felix started hanging out with you 3 girls. According to the man himself, apparently it was at Jake Sims 14th birthday party, and Yuna punched him in the stomach and then proceeded to smash his face into the cake and called him a dooshbag right after. Felix being the dumbfuck he was -and still is- thought it was so badass that he started following you girls around, attempting to be in the group. And he just stuck ever since. keyword; apparently.

But despite all that, the birthday story regarding Jake Sim getting bitched was actually true. And despite Yuna letting Jake know that he wasn’t shit by handing his ass to him at his own party, they’re actually dating. It’s a secret though, everyone thinks they’re some type of enemies with hella sexual tension. Speaking of the devil, here he comes right now.

His tall frame came into view, that sly smirk started to appear on his face which was sculpted by the gods btw. Those lips that Yuna is literally obsessed with but acts like she’s not slowly forming a smile when he sees her. it’s really mind blowing how they hide their relationship so well.

Jake said the exact moment he knew he liked Yuna was when she bitched him at his party. He said that when he finally got up and wiped the cake out of his eyes while still groaning in pain, he thought that was the hottest thing ever and began getting on her nerves even more hoping she would hit him again because he “liked how it felt.” Jake also went on to tell us that this was the point in his life where he figured out he liked being hit, in a kinky way. Why are there so many outcomes from this party?

“Hey Yuna, you know that instead of sitting on that hard chair you could just sit on my dick? All you gotta do is ask love.” The smirk on his face said that he was trying to get something out of her, but his eyes showed nothing but love and adoration when looking at her.

“GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE SIM!” Yuna shouted, pushing him away. It worked, he got what he wanted, for her to touch him. And even though it really sounded like Yuna wanted him out of sight, her eyes were telling him something else, something you weren’t going into detail on because it’s obviously some freaky shit. It was a daily thing for Jake to do this at lunch, come to your table for a little show for the public eye and to see his secret girlfriend.

Once Jake was gone Yuna looked from felix to winter and back down at her phone still trying to suppress her smile, "why do you even sit here with us, shouldn’t you be with Chan?” It’s true, where was this guys babysitter?

“Also, y/n has the rest of this year and possibly more to tell Sunghoon how she feels since they’re going to the same university. I think you should take your time.” Winter said before shoving the remaining piece of a sandwich she held in her hand into her mouth. Winter is the only person in the group who doesn’t pressure you into doing stupid shit like telling THE Park Sunghoon that you like him even though she knows it’s kind of long overdue.

“Well y/n, if you die a lonely virgin, it was never my fault.” Felix's laughter was soon cut short when he started yelling in pain and holding his right arm. “WHAT THE FUCK YUNA!?? why do you punch so hard!? I’M BRUISING! DO YOU SEE THE BRUISE FORMING?! I COULD’VE DIED!!! MY ARM COULD’VE FALLEN OFF!”

“You deserved it so stop screaming like a bitch.” One thing about Yuna was that no one was allowed to talk shit about her girls unless it was her who was talking shit (which she didn’t do). She was very protective of you girls, especially when it came to Winter since most of the time she wouldn't say anything back to Felix’s stupid jokes.

Apart from the library, you found lunch to be a peaceful environment even with the constant never ending bickering between Yuna and Felix. You should’ve chosen the library today instead of your lunch table.

Looking at the time shown on your phone screen you realize that it’s almost time for class and you still had to go to your locker which was conveniently 2 lockers down from Sunghoon’s to exchange some books. “The bell is about to ring guys.”

As you’re gathering your books your eyes wander a little and land on a silver haired boy talking and laughing with a group of other boys surrounding him. His perfect side profile, those moles that accentuate his face, that jawline. God that perfect pointed nose, you know many things it could be used for. His laugh that you can practically hear even from a mile away.

Sad how he wasn’t really social with other people that weren’t in his friend group, and apart from him the whole friend group was hot. The school considered them to be the prettiest boys to ever walk these halls. They all looked like models, something so delicate and capturing which should be held in a museum.

Snapping out of your thoughts, you quickly finished packing up and let the girls know you’re ready to go, which was a lie because you wanted to stare at Sunghoon for as long as possible. But you have all next period for that.

Yuna starts smiling which lets you and Winter know she’s up to no good. Looking up and straight at felix and loud enough for the next lunch table over to hear she shouts “Whatever, BYE VIRGIN! let’s go girls.” All three of you walked away from the table laughing at Felix’s dumbfounded expression and trying to clear up the accusation.

taglist @voidbeomgyu @cha0thicpisces @heeseungsbabymomma @zomyy @rikisly @sjakewrld @bellebear @ocean-minho @isylvr @notrosemary @classygirlsthings @asyleums @levi-09 @hajimalagooo @lvufran @jhopesucker @lunacrtk @vivibelov3d

88 notes · View notes

hanasnx · 5 months ago

Text

MINORS DNI 18+

JAKE SULLY abuses that pussy. Makes sure you’re some stupid mute mess when he’s done with you, fucking you into the ground until you’re a babbling hot tangle of limbs. Sweaty sex hair sticks up and shaky doe legs. He’s snickering at you like some fuckboy while you’re struggling to get up so you can go clean yourself. The kind of heinous plowing that keeps your pussy drooling an hour after the dick appointment. She sputters and bubbles, forcing out fat strings of mixed cum and squirt to bleed a wet spot in your panties. The moment always carries him away, and you’re always the one taking the brunt of the punishment, letting him fuck you up because he feels how your tiny cunt clenches down on him, making sure he finishes the job.

#cw size kink #ch: jake s.#jake sully thought #jake sully smut #jake sully x reader #jake sully x fem reader #jake sully x you #jake sully x y/n #jake sully imagine #jake sully fanfic #reader insert

842 notes · View notes

alternia-for-real-justice · 1 year ago

Text

Oh I'm doing f>cking FANTASTIC. J>st join3d this blog, and I'm having a BLAST!

#mod jake #send kcs my warm3st r3gards!!!!!! kissi3s and h>ggi3s and h3art 3mojis and shit bc w3'r3 s>>>>>>>ch b3sti3s

5 notes · View notes

1donoow · 2 years ago

Text

STAR WARS REC PT.2

......

♡ - smut

...... Latest update; Edited; 03/30/25

obi wan kenobi

poe dameron

din djarin

·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·

@star-whores-a-new-hoe - the star wars boys with a s/o who struggle with physical affection

@feyre-darling92 - when they're jealous

·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·

obiwan kenobi

@ivorydragoness44 - imagine meditating with obi wan

@curiouser--and--curiouser - obi wan kenobi having a crush on you would include

- dating obi wan would include

@star-whores-a-new-hoe - mornings with obi wan

- snow day

- back rubs

@spilledkauffie - tender tension

- obi wan sfw hc

- obi wan kenobi soft hc

- dating padwan!obi wan hc

@moonlit-imagines - sending care package to obiwan while he's in tatooine

@scribble-dribble-writes - late night talking

- only you

- distraction

- socializing blues

@thequeerestmf -actions that show obi-wan kenobi that you love him

- obi-wan taking care of you when you get sick

- how are obi wan kisses like

@nanagoswife - monsters,hayrides and pumpkin patches

- Une Danse d'Amour Inconscient

@forever-rogue - ___

@bellarkeselection - I'll keep you warm

@panic-in-the-multiverse - attachment of the child pt 1 (child!reader)

·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·

poe dameron

@juno-eclipsee - starlight (first order!reader)

@mads-weasley - hope

@moonlit-imagines - poe being recruited by the first order, and you trying to get him back(skywalker!reader)

@agntofhydra - sawbones masterlist

@stormkobra-5 - the house of fett masterlist (mando!force sensitive!reader)

@noclue32 - new auras (jedi!pilot!reader)

@starryeyedstories - like husband,like wife

- black leader shutting up

@eyelessfaces - heal

@jake-g-lockley - I'm cold

@dailyreverie - kiss me I'm miserable

@chloe-skywalker - may the 4th be with you (solo-organa!reader)

@writefightandflightclub - you make me shy

@the-little-ewok - little help

·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·—·

din djarin

@januaryembrs - ad astra ch.7

@starryeyedstories - din djarin and flowers

@dinsverdika - soft din thoughts

@noodlesfics -You being a parent to Grogu involves

@funnylittlelad - a touch of humanity pt.1

@spctrsgf - irrevocably

@namjoon-koya - mando being overprotective father to the reader

- mighty heart ch.2 (dad!mando)

- dad!mando headcannon

@pedrito-friskito - uncharted territory ♡

@sofiaaaaaaaa03 - grogu's gift

@shangchiswife - maroon

@peterparkersnose - sucks to suck (senator!reader)

- after last night

@mandoalorian - borrowed time ch.1

#masterlist #star wars rec #poe dameron x reader #din djarin x reader #obi wan kenobi x reader

64 notes · View notes

earl-of-221b · 10 months ago

Note

Having just binged all of your fics available I am intensely craving more of your flair and style… just curious, do you have any favorite authors, fics, and/or books that you recommend?

I think you are into Noblesse - so here are some recs.

Noblesse:

Fleeting Vapor's 'Broken Glass' for a character-led, slowpaced and deeply introspective look into Franken and Rai's early days. This is a masterful character study, where every line matters. Hidden meanings behind everything. Keep in mind the author wrote this work before Franken and Rai's backstory was revealed coming up to ch 295.

Quarra and Xantissa's Right Here Waiting - a short, sexy character study with a really cool outsider pov. A Vassalord vampire tries to puzzle out - and appease - an ancient human. Frankenstein. Don't fear the new characters, the central themes deal with Franken and his relationship with Rai.

@laryna6's Bonded of Cadis Etrama di Raizel - all about building the world of Noblesse, how it works, how nobles came to be, how humans evolved, what the Union did in the background, and a nice found-family oriented drama with long discussions between characters. The entire Noblesse cast gets to shine somewhere - especially the members of the Frankenhouse.

For style:

Peradi's Have You Heard - the sense of scale, tension, unspoken realities, umcomfortable truths, all building to a powerkeg about to blow is such an arresting read. This is a Star Wars fic about normal people. Normal, umremarkable people in both the Empire and the Rebellion, who make individual choices that change everything.

@yellowocaballero's Good Luck Jake. A very memorable thing that this Moon Knight fic utterly nails is how people, in real life, speak. Or - perhaps that's not right. It is stylised. The dialogue is the snappiest, wittiest, realist, uncomfortablest, most engaging thing ever. When people verbally fight, they fight. The story and characters - both emotionally devastating. The way this fic uses POV changes is astonishing.

Astolat's Royal Flush. This story is one of my fav's of theirs -- a Game of Thrones fic. It is always the Plot that carries every story from this excellent writer - complex character motivations, political machinations, machiavellian schemes - plot, plot, plot. There is so much plot to get through - and yet everything is paced LIGHTNING fast. It's incredible.

I trust you'll find any and all of these fics an excellent read. If you enjoyed these stories, please consider leaving a review for the writers.

#fanfic recs #If you are into Rurouni kenshin - get back to me #my posts

10 notes · View notes

fabesrutter · 6 months ago

Text

Get to Know Me

thanks to @monsterhunting for the tag :)

favorite color(s): lavender, dark green, pink

last song: lonely weekend by kacey musgraves

currently reading: a restless truth by freya marske

currently watching: arrested development (rewatch)

currently craving: the deluxe peanut butter cup cookie from insomnia

coffee or tea: coffee only if it’s iced and doesn’t taste like coffee actually <3

hobby i want to try: i’d like to get better at embroidery

currently writing anything?: i have waaaaaaay too many wips but my main ones rn are once upon a dream ch 6, love to see me from your point of view ch 2, a raffle fic, the divorce au, and a polin witch au

tagging @pensbridgrton @pensmoon @jake-amy

3 notes · View notes

callsign-magnolia · 2 years ago

Text

Undiagnosed // Ch. 7

Mature Content 18+

Jake Seresin x Neurodivergent OC

Warnings: Emotional abuse, trauma response, abusive parents.

Word Count: 7.6k

Chapter 6 | Masterlist

After a few days everyone agreed something was up. Katie never texted anyone, and she never responded to the numerous texts or calls. “We have to do something.” Jake said, pacing around his living room. “Babe. Stop before you run a rut in the ground.” Kelly said, grabbing his arm from the couch. “Maybe things were okay when she went home.” Kelly suggested and Rooster scoffed. “You didn’t see the bruises.” He said. “Or the way her father spoke to her.” Phoenix chipped in. “Okay, so do any of you know where she lives?” Kelly asked and Jake nodded. “I do.” She furrowed her brows at him. “That Saturday she was gonna come to the Hard Deck. She had a lot to do before that so I went over there to help her clean her fish tank, and her parents came home early.” Jake’s mind flashed to the memory of her getting thrown to the floor in the hallway. “Her dad beat the shit out of her when I left.” He muttered. “Okay, so you know where she lives. Why doesn’t Phoenix go over there and ask about her? You two probably can’t get close to the house so just send Phoenix.” Kelly suggested and immediately both boys looked over at Phoenix who had her legs pulled up on the couch.

“I’ll do it.” She said. “Whose car are we taking?” Rooster asked. “Mine.” Phoenix said and marched out the door, keys swinging on her fingers. “You two need to get in the back, if Commander or Mrs. Blair see you, they’ll know we’re up to something.” Both men groaned but crawled into the back of the convertible anyway. They were squished in the back while Phoenix and Kelly took the front seats. Jake gave directions and once they were in front of the house, Phoenix parked on the street. She got out, walking up to the front door, looking up at the large white house. She took a deep breath, knocking on the door. She adjusted her denim shorts on her hips as she heard loud footsteps in the house. Soon the door swung open to reveal Mrs. Blair. “Can I help you?” She asked, her voice sickly sweet. “Hi Mrs. Blair. I was on my way to dinner with a friend and wanted to check on Katie. You see, I’ve been texting her for a few days and she hasn’t responded.” Mrs. Blair nodded at her with a smile. “My poor Katie has been very sick lately, she only went back to class today. She stayed there late to catch up on work.” Phoenix nodded, not believing a word she said. “Well would you happen to know when we will be seeing her on base? It's nice having her around and a lot of us look forward to seeing her.”

Phoenix kept it polite but was a little startled when Mrs. Blair stepped out of the house and closed the door. “Katie doesn’t like being on base. So her father and I have decided that she can stay on campus and study. She was getting distracted by everyone on base and she thought it would be better to stay away from everyone.” Phoenix looked at her confused. “I’m sorry, it sounds like you’re saying Katie made the decision herself to avoid us.” Mrs. Blair nodded. “She did. She told us she didn’t like being around all of you so she no longer goes on base.” She smirked at me, stepping back inside the house. “Now please, don’t show up on my doorstep again.” She said before slamming the door. Phoenix was fuming, and it showed in the way she stormed back to her car. She got into the driver's seat, slamming the door. “What happened?” Rooster asked. Phoenix just drove off, heading out of the neighborhood. “Phoenix.” “She said Katie no longer wants to see us and she decided to no longer come on base herself.” She spat. “What a bunch of bullshit.” Rooster scoffed.

~~~

I was curled up under my covers when I heard a car door. I had been either laying in bed or leaned against my door for the past few days, begging for them to let me out. I got angry not long after they left me in here, beating on my door some more until they threatened to leave me in here without food. I knew they would go through with it, and they did. The next morning they gave me food but I felt like I was starving by that point. I knew I couldn’t let this go on, but I had to be smart about getting out. So when I heard the car door, I thought it would be my chance. I jumped up, placing my ear to the door just as there was a knock on the front door. I heard two sets of footsteps, my mothers who stopped and my fathers which grew closer to my room. Just as I heard the lock I stepped back from the door, watching as my father walked in. I couldn’t do anything before he grabbed me, one arm wrapping around my neck and his other hand covered my mouth. “You make a sound and it will be the last mistake you ever make.” He was nearly choking me as I listened to Phoenix’s voice just downstairs. She was less than fifty feet away from me. The thought made tears run down my face, soaking my cheeks and my fathers hand.

The voices disappeared for a moment before I heard the door a second time. After a few seconds I heard my mother come upstairs and she opened my door. “She’s gone.” No sooner did the words escape my mother’s mouth did my father toss me to the floor. “You’ve been talking to that dark headed girl? The pilot?” Mom asked. “Natasha Trace?” Dad asked and I nodded. “When I was on base.” It was quiet but my mother stepped closer and I backed myself into my dresser as she did so. “What does she know?” I shook my head. “Nothing.” She took my face in her hand, her fingers squeezing my cheeks. “If I find out she knows anything, it will be the end of you.” I nodded as she shoved my head back into the dresser, letting me go. I stared up at her as she turned her back to me. “So you’re aware of everything you’re doing to me?” I asked and she laughed. “Do you think we’ve done this for twenty-five years without knowing what we were doing?”

With that they left, leaving me alone once again. The click of the lock telling me they wouldn’t be back for a while. I decided I was done laying in bed for the day and decided to open my blinds, looking out to emptiness behind our house. I opened my window at one point and yelled, but that earned me a black eye and my windows nailed shut. I’m sure if we had a basement, my parents would chain me up in there and leave the lights off. I made my bed and sat on it, not knowing what else to do. I’m tired of reading and I’m tired of crying. So I opted to lay back on my bed and stare at the ceiling, imagining what my life would be like right now if I never left Jake’s. I’d probably be bored out of my mind, waiting for him to get home but that’s a million times better than being here. I can’t believe I was stupid enough to come back here. It was a mistake and one that I regret more than anything.

The week flew by and soon it was Saturday. I expected this day to be like any other, but I was sorely mistaken. Ten a.m. rolls around and my mother comes in. “Get up.” She said, ripping the covers off of me. I turned to face her, obvious fear in my eyes. “You need a shower.” She said, hauling me off the bed. I happily followed her, excited for a shower since I hadn’t had one since before I ran off to Jake’s. She stood in the bathroom while I showered and brushed my teeth, watching my every move carefully to make sure I wouldn’t run. She hauled me into her bedroom, forcing me to sit at her vanity so she could dry and curl my hair. We sat in silence as she did it before she told me to do my makeup. I quickly did it, not wanting to test her and soon I was done. “Back to your room.” I did as she said and she shut the door behind us, my dad locking the door as he walked by. She immediately went to my closet as I stood in the middle of my room, watching as she pulled out a white A-line dress with off the shoulders straps. “Get dressed.” Once again I did as she said and straightened out the dress once I had it on.

“You’ll wear nude heels.” She said and I quickly passed by her, grabbing them from my closet. As I stood I heard the door open and shut, the lock clicking again. “Am I not going with you?” I asked through the door. “No. But when we come home you better look the exact same as I left you. You have to look perfect for who we have coming over.” She walked away and I sighed, leaning on the door and sliding down it again. I tried not to cry, tried holding in my tears because god knows what my mother would do to me if I didn’t look perfect. Always perfect. I have spent my life being perfect and some days, I just want to be average, imperfect, flawed even. I sat against the door, listening to my parents walk around, getting themselves ready for wherever they have to go. “What do you think they’ll do with her once we hand her over?” My dad asked, my ears perking up at his words. “Once she’s out of my house, I don’t care what they do with her.” A shiver ran down my spine at her words. Who the fuck was coming over? And why were they talking about this person doing something with me? My thoughts raced to many things. Selling me off, marrying me off. I have no idea what the hell is going on and that scares me.

“We’ll be back soon. You better look the exact same as you did when I left or so help me god.” I didn’t say anything and she banged on the door, startling me. “Yes, ma’am.” I replied and I heard both sets of footsteps storm down the stairs. I stayed against the door, fear taking over my body. I couldn’t be here when they got back. I had no idea who or what was coming through that door but I didn’t want to find out. I stood, pacing my room trying to think of a way out. I tried kicking the door in the day they locked me in and that got me nowhere. My window is nailed shut, and I had no phone. I paced around for a minute before the tears hit, realizing I had no way out. I fell to the floor next to my bed, sobbing as I thought about what would happen to me. Horrifying images flashed through my mind. I sat up, wiping my eyes as I leaned my head back on my bed, lolling to the side.

But something caught my eye. It was a curled cord that was hanging out of my desk drawer. Then it hit me. I jumped up, rushing over and yanking the drawer open. Staring back at me was the old landline I used to have in my room, before I had a cell phone. I pulled it out, hope building inside me. I tossed it to the floor before jerking my desk away from the wall and there was the phone jack it used to be plugged into. I grabbed the phone, plugging it all up, staring at it for a moment. If this didn’t work I would have no plan B and I would be stuck here. After a few minutes I worked up the courage to pick the phone up from the receiver, lifting it to my ear. I could’ve sobbed when I heard the dial tone. It worked. “Thank god for older parents who don’t want new technology.” I said to myself before putting it back on the receiver. Who the hell would I call? If I called 911 they would just send me back to my parents. They’re so convincing and honestly would probably pay them off. I didn’t know anyone’s number by heart and I thought all hope was lost but then I remembered I had Jake’s number on a slip of paper in my textbook. I jumped up, quickly grabbing it from my desk. I flipped it upside down and shook it until the paper fell out.

I dove for it, scrambling to unfold it as I grabbed the phone. I dialed the number, terrified it wouldn’t work. But it rang. And it rang, and it rang until it went to voicemail. “No.” Tears streaked my cheeks. “No. No.” I chanted as I dialed his number again. What if he was angry with me and would hang up as soon as he heard my voice. It went to voicemail again and I dialed his number once more. After two rings a soft voice answered. “Hello?” It was Kelly and she sounded annoyed. “Kelly?” I squeaked out and she gasped. “Katie?” I nodded as tears fell. “Katie, sweetie. Where are you?” A sob escaped me and I had to calm myself. “My parents' house.” I cried. “Hang on. JAKE!” She screamed, startling me. I heard muffled conversation on the other side. “Katie?” His voice came over the phone and I immediately felt calm. “Jake, I’m so sorry. I never should’ve left.” I apologized through teary eyes and a broken voice. “Hey, no darlin’. It’s okay. Just-just tell me where you are and we’ll come get you.” He wasn’t angry. Thank god he wasn’t angry. “My parents' house.” I heard a jingle on the other end and a few more voices. “We’re on our way.” “Jake, there’s a key under a rock in the front flower bed.”

“Okay. We’ll be there soon.” I nodded and we hung up. I immediately got into my closet, grabbing my suitcase and duffel bag. I just started yanking clothes off hangars and out of drawers, stuffing them to the brim within fifteen minutes I heard a car outside. I froze. If it was my parents, I was done for if they saw the bags, but relief filled me as I heard the door open. “Katie?” I rushed to the door, beating on it. “JAKE! Get me out of here, please!” I heard the chain and the door handle wiggled but never opened. “Katie, darlin’. Get away from the door.” I nodded, rushing back to my bags to put space between me and the door. I flinched as something hit it. One more hit and the door swung open, the top hinge coming loose and flying across the room as a scream escaped my throat.

~~~

“Who was that?” Phoenix asked a flustered Jake. “Katie.” Phoenix immediately jumped up from her seat. “Where is she?” She asked. “Her parents' house.” He said before rushing outside to his truck. “We’re coming with you.” Rooster said, Phoenix hot on his heels. Jake saw no reason to complain and allowed them to join. Phoenix slid in the front seat as Rooster climbed in the back. Jake threw the truck in reverse, about to gas it out of the driveway when Kelly sprinted out of the house. “You’re not going with us.” She shook her head, standing on the running boards. “I know. Call me if you need me and I’ll let everyone know where you went.” He nodded, kissing her quickly before she got down and watched the truck speed down the road. Her heart was in her throat, just thinking about the hell Katie had probably been through.

It was a quiet ride to the Blair home, but Jake pulled right into the empty driveway, not even turning the truck off as they all jumped out. “There’s a key under one of these rocks.” Jake said and they all immediately flipped over the large stones in the flower bed. “Got it!” Rooster yelled, rushing to the front door and unlocking it. “Katie?” He asked as Rooster turned to Phoenix. “Stay down here, let us know if they get back.” Phoenix nodded as the two men rushed up the stairs. Both men were angry at the sight of the locks on the outside of the door. But Jake was raging as he pulled the chain loose and attempted to open the door. “JAKE! Get me out of here, please!” Her cries for help broke his heart, the thought of her being locked in there for who knows how long was enough to make him kick the door. Once, twice and it blew off the frame. He peeked his head in, looking to the right and seeing her backed into the corner. His heart shattered on the floor, watching as she shook, the fear evident in her eyes.

~~~

“Katie?” I saw Jake’s head and when he saw me cowering in the corner he rushed over. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.” I cried as he took my face in his hands. “Sh, no. Don’t apologize. You thought you were doing the right thing.” He said as he pulled me into him, hugging me. “How long have your parents been gone?” I heard another voice and looked past him to see Bradley. “They’ve been gone for like twenty twenty five minutes.” I said and immediately shoved my last few bras in my bag before zipping it shut. “Just these two?” Bradley asked and I nodded. Him and Jake grabbed one each as I slid my shoes on. “Go!” I said, shoving them out of the room. They rushed downstairs, me behind them. I snatched my purse off the table next to the front door, tossing my phone out of it before rushing after them. “Close the door.” Natasha did and locked it before putting the key back under the rock so my parents wouldn’t know right away. She turned to me and we sprinted for the truck.

It was like time slowed down. I was seconds away from pure freedom and the clicking of my heels on the pavement reminded me of that. I was so scared that my parents would pull up as I was getting into the truck, but Bradley held the door for me and I all but dove into the truck as he got in behind me, slamming the door shut. Jake backed out of the driveway and tore off down the road. I sat in the middle seat next to Bradley and everything caught up with me. It felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest and I was trying to catch my breath but I couldn’t. “Katie. Katie, breathe.” Bradley said and I couldn’t. So he pulled me into his chest, squeezing me as his heart beat thudded in my ear and the rise and fall of my chest evened out with his. “How did you know to do that?” I asked, continuing to lean on him. “I’ve had my fair share of panic attacks. It’s what my mom used to do for me.”

“Thank you.” I said, sitting up and wiping the tears from my eyes. “How long were you locked in there?” Jake asked, looking at me from the rearview mirror. “Since I left your house.” It was a meek answer. “Have they let you out at all?” I shook my head. “Only today. Mom made me shower and get ready.” I said, my attention drifting down to my fingers, playing with them. “Why was she making you get ready?” Natasha asked, turning around in her seat to face me. I bit my lip, scrunching my toes up in my heels and releasing them. Bradley must’ve sensed my nervousness and tossed his arm around my shoulders. “I don’t know. She just told me I had to look perfect for whoever they had coming over. When they were leaving I heard them talking though.” Bradley squeezed my shoulder. “What’d they say?” She asked. “My dad asked what he thought ‘they’ would do with me once they ‘handed me over’.” She furrowed her brows, meeting Bradley's gaze. “My mom said she didn’t care what they did with me.”

“Any idea on who ‘they’ might be?” Jake asked and I shook my head. “No idea.” The ride was quiet the rest of the way to Jake’s house. But my emotions still caught up with me occasionally and Bradley would give my shoulder’s a squeeze. Finally we pulled into Jake’s driveway and the truck came to a stop. I took notice of all the other cars in the driveway and looked around confused. “Why are so many people here?” I asked as Bradley got out, holding his hand out for me. “There’s a Phillies game this afternoon, Hangman invited us all over to watch.” He said, going around and grabbing my suitcase and Jake grabbed my duffel. “Oh.” I said quietly. I feel bad now. They all got together to have a fun and relaxing evening together and I blew that up. “You okay?” Jake asked as he stopped next to me. “Yeah. I just- I’m sorry for ruining your evening.” He shook his head. “You didn’t ruin anything.” He said, his hand falling to my upper back and guiding me around the truck and up to the front door. Phoenix held open the door and once inside I turned to Jake. “I can take that upstairs.” I said and he shook his head. “No, I got it.” “Jake.” I complained and he just smirked at me. “Go get some food. I’ll be back down in a second.” He said, starting up the stairs just as Bradley came down them.

He motioned me to follow him and I did. He walked into the kitchen where I saw Kelly and an older woman. “Kells.” Bradley said to get her attention and she turned. She smiled as she saw me, coming over and pulling me into a hug. “You’ve had us worried sick.” It took me a second but I eventually hugged her back. “I’m sorry.” I said in return. “No need for apologies.” She shifted her gaze to Rooster. “Mav is almost done with the burgers.” He nodded, turning and going out the back door. “Katie, this is Penny. She owns The Hard Deck.” She smiled at me, holding out her hand which I shook. “You’ve had part of this team torn out of frame lately. So much so they haven’t been spending their entire paychecks at my bar.” I knew it was a joke but I still felt bad. “Katie.” I turned to see Jake. “Come on, I’ll introduce you to everyone.” I took a deep breath, following him outside. “Guys, this is Katie.” I gave a small wave as all eyes were on me. Some were familiar and some weren’t. “You know Mav, Rooster and Phoenix. But this is Coyote,” A taller man with wide set shoulders waved at me. “Payback,” The man next to him waved as well, my eyes immediately falling to the mustache that was slightly similar to Rooster. “Fanboy,” A shorter man with a buzz cut smiled at me. “And Bob.” He gave me a small wave. “I’ve met Bob before. He helped me with some homework one day.”

The memory seemed to hit him and he remembered that conversation. He never said anything negative about me but he did tell Bob not to argue. It seemed that everyone sensed the awkwardness and Payback cracked a joke. “So why the fancy white dress? Run away from your wedding or something?” My cheeks shouldn’t have burned the way they did. But with the way my parents were talking, that very well could’ve been the case. “Leave her alone. Why don’t you sit down?” Jake guided me to a seat next to Natasha before going back inside. “You okay?” She asked and I nodded. “I think I’m still trying to wrap my head around everything.” She nodded, smiling at me. “Food’s ready!” Mav called and not a minute later, Kelly, Jake and Penny were carrying out food from inside. They set the food down and Jake came over. “Want a burger?” I could only nod, feeling very out of place with this group of people. Mav sat on my other side as Jake held two plates, he placed one in front of me before giving the other to Kelly, kissing her head as he did so. “Good to see ya, kid.” Mav said, patting my back gently. It oddly felt nice. Everyone made conversation while they ate, but I was happy to sit in silence just listening. Once the food was gone, everyone moved inside for the game.

I sat between Rooster and Jake, Rooster being fully engrossed in the game, but my eyes were locked on a spot just below the tv. I just stared as my mind reeled. I thought of every possible scenario for how this could go. It mostly ended with me back in my room at my parents house, locked behind that door again. “Hey? Katie?” Rooster asked, waving his hand in my face and breaking my concentration. I blinked rapidly before looking at him. “You okay? You haven’t blinked in like twenty minutes?” I nodded. Then I noticed everyone looking at me. “Um, yeah. I’m fine.” They didn’t seem to believe me but nodded anyway. I sat there, pulling on my thumbs as I watched everyone watch the game or have their own conversations. It was so much I couldn’t even hear my own thoughts. I didn’t want to get up, because I didn’t want anyone to think I wasn’t okay. But everything in this room was becoming too much. So I worked up the nerve to slowly stand, Jake immediately catching my hand. “You okay?” I nodded. “I’m fine. I just need a minute.” He nodded and I walked away, heading upstairs. I stepped into the guest room, immediately feeling like I could breathe again.

I sat on the bed, taking deep breaths to hold back my tears. But it was pointless. I was tired of crying, so tired of it. I immediately got up, going over to my suitcase and rifling through it before moving to the duffel bag. “Dammit.” I muttered, realizing I only grabbed clothes. No makeup wipes, no toothbrush, no toothpaste, no toiletries of any kind. I huffed, kicking off my heels and leaning against the end of the bed. I leaned my head back on it, tears falling down my cheeks. I took deep breaths, relaxing and almost falling asleep until there was a soft knock on the door. I opened my eyes and looked over to see Kelly standing in the doorway. “I figured you’d be in here.” She said, walking over and sitting on the bed. “I just got so overwhelmed around everybody. I needed a minute.” She nodded. “So why are you crying then?” I shrugged. “In all honesty, I couldn’t tell you. I’m relieved to be out of that house, but I’m still scared I guess.” She hummed, nodding and sliding into the floor next to me. "Jake was terrified when he woke up and you were gone." Immediately tears filled my eyes. "I never meant to scare him or make him feel bad. I just didn't want to be the reason he lost everything. I don't know if I could've lived with that."

"Ya know, his call sign is Hangman, but he's fiercely loyal. That's something I've learned over the course of our relationship. So if he lost everything because he was helping you, he would've accepted that." I nodded. "But I wouldn't. I've been a burden most of my life, and I don't want to be anymore." She nodded. "That's understandable. But Katie, you're not a burden. If you were Jake wouldn't have taken you in. Now Rooster? That man burdens Jake just to piss him off." We both laughed lightly at that. "Hey, everyone else is leaving." Natasha said as she peeked her head into the guest room. "Wanna go say goodbye?" I nodded and she helped me stand. I slid my shoes back on and followed her downstairs. She immediately hugged Coyote who lifted her off the ground and shook her a little. Once he put her down, he came over to me. He was absolutely huge when he stood and that made me a little nervous. But he must've picked up that I wasn't one for hugs and just gave me a gentle side hug, which I could handle. Soon we said goodbye to everyone and I was only left with Jake, Kelly, Natasha and Bradley.

"Now, let's talk about you." Jake said as he turned to me and my face immediately flared up. "What is there to talk about?" I asked and he motioned me to sit on the couch. I did and He sat on the coffee table across from me and everyone else sat around me. "Do you want to press charges on your parents?" My eyebrows flew up in shock and I stuttered over my words. "Wh-why-what? What m-makes you think something like that?!" He seemed surprised by my response. "Katie, after everything they've done to you-" "What makes you think I could face them in court? I can barely speak to them! There's no way I can get in front of a room full of people and talk about everything they've done to me, with them in the room." My knees immediately folded into my chest and I pulled on my thumbs, my eyes drifting down to them. "Besides, they'd win anyway." I felt a hand on my arm making me turn to Natasha. "We've all witnessed the things they've said and done, Katie. You wouldn't be alone." I shook my head. "No. No I can't do it." "Katie-" I shook my head as tears fell down my face. "Please." I sobbed. "Don't make me do it." I begged. "Okay," Jake said, sitting next to me as I leaned into Natasha. "I'm not gonna make you do anything you don't want to do." He said as he rubbed my back.

"Look, how about tomorrow we go out and we'll get you some things you need? Then we'll all go get dinner somewhere." I sniffled, calming myself down. "You guys don't have to do that." I said and Kelly shook her head. "We're going shopping tomorrow whether you like it or not." She said with a wink and I caved. "Okay. I'll go." She smiled at me before standing straight and looking g at her watch. "Oh shit, I've got two hours before I have to meet my parents for dinner! I have to go home and get ready!" She rushed and grabbed her purse, before leaning down and kissing Jake before rushing to the door. "Jake give her my number!" She yelled and I laughed. "Guess she didn't realize I left my phone at my parents house." Jake laughed as well. "We'll get you one tomorrow." I shook my head. "No you won't!" I said and he narrowed his eyes at me. "Fine, you win." He said as hebgot up from the couch. "Oh, does Kelly happen to have any makeup wipes here or anything?" I asked and Jake nodded. "Yeah, I'll go grab them." He said as he rushed upstairs. "Can you two stick around for a minute?"

They both nodded as Jake came back, a pack of makeup wipes in hand. "Here." I took them from him, taking a deep breath. "I figured, since you guys helped me, I should be honest with you." They all looked at each other confused before Jake and Rooster took a seat on the couch. I grabbed one of the wipes, swiping at my entrance eye gently. I winced at the pressure but kept wiping away the makeup. A hand grabbed my wrist, startling me. "Did your dad do this?" I nodded as Jake took a closer look. The swelling went down a few days ago but it was still tender. "What else did he do?" He asked, and I could see the anger in his eyes. I grabbed another makeup wipe, cleaning off the rest of my face and neck, revealing some fading bruises. A few small ones on my face and finger shaped ones on my neck. "There’s also some on my back and thighs from his belt." I said, my voice was small and I wanted to shrink in on myself. "But if I just-" "Stop. Even if you did everything they wanted, they still would've done it." Natasha wiped my eye, smiling at me. "Katie, why don't we take some pictures?" I looked at her confused. "If, somewhere down the line, you ever decide to take your parents to court, these can help you." I shook my head. "No. I already said-" "We're not gonna make you do it. But what if ten years from now you want to? You will have no evidence and it will just be your word against theirs."

I'd love to think that one day down the line I would be brave enough to do that. But I don't think I ever will be. "Katie. Even if you decide to never do it, you'll know you were ready if you ever did." Bradley said, catching my attention. I looked down at the pile of makeup wipes in my lap, biting my bottom lip. What if one day I do decide to do it? Could I really let the truth slip through my fingers like this? "Okay." I whispered. "You sure?" Jake asked and I nodded. "You're right. It's better to be prepared than not prepared." He nodded and I stood as Bradley turned on the ceiling fan light in the living room. "Close your eyes." Natsha said as she pulled out her phone. I did so and could see the camera flash behind my eyes. A few more flashes and a gentle hand tilted my head back so they could get a picture of my neck. "Okay, let’s open the back of your dress." She said. "Do you have a hair tie?" I asked and she nodded, pulling on from her wrist. I used it to tie up my annoying waist length hair, getting it out of my face. I've never been aloud to cut it and my mother never let me pull it up so it was nice to get the weight off my head. Natasha unzipped my dress and I blushed when I realized that Jake and Bradley were still behind me. Natasha struggled with my dress for a minute before huffing. "Will youguys hold it so I can take a picture?" She asked and I felt their hands on my skin. The left side felt like my skin caught on fire with how hot it was and I looked realizing that was the side Jake was on. "I'm gonna unclip your bra okay?" Natasha asked and I nodded, bringing my hands up to hold my breasts.

A few flashes went off and Natasha clipped my bra back and zipped up my dress. "Pull your dress up and I'll get a picture of your thighs." I nodded and reached down when I remembered Jake and Bradley. "Um, I hate to ask but can you guys go into another room for a minute?" They stared at me for a second. "I'm sorry. It's your house and I shouldn’t have asked-" Jake grabbed my wrist and squeezed gently. "No, it just took my brain a second to catch up. Don't apologize for making yourself comfortable." We locked eyes for a moment before I nodded. "Okay." I whispered and he and Bradley disappeared into the kitchen. Natasha took the pictures before standing and showing me. I knew they were bad, but a lot of them looked like they bled. "So a few of these look infected." She said, pointing to a few just under my butt cheek. "I'll help you clean it before I leave." I nodded and we met the guys in the kitchen. "All done." She said. "What do you guys want for dinner?" Jake asked as he pulled himself up onto the counter. "Well I have chicken thawing out at home that I'm tossing on the grill. You can come over if you want." Bradley offered and Jake shook his head. "No thanks, I think I'd just rather have something delivered." Bradley nodded and Jake turned to me. "What do you want for dinner?"

"Uh… I don't really know." I said. Truth be told we didn't eat out a lot. Mom constantly cooked. "What's your favorite food?" He asked. "I'll be honest, I've never really eaten out and my mom constantly cooked at home." Bradley seemed shocked. "So you've never had Mexican food?" I shook my head. "Not from a restaurant. I think my mom made tacos a few years ago, and they were good but my dad complained and she never made them again." They all seemed surprised. "How about chinese?" I shook my head. "Never." "Italian?" Natasha asked. "One time in a restaurant and mom made spaghetti frequently." They were looking at each other all confused. "But if you wanna order in, I'm more than happy to try anything once." Jake nodded. "I've always wanted to try those huge burritos you see in restaurants anyway." They all laughed which made me feel a little better. "Well, we're gonna get home." Bradley said, gathering his keys. "Oh, let me help her real quick." Natasha said and dragged me upstairs to the guest bathroom. As soon as we stepped in she shut the door and pulled a brown bottle and some cotton balls from under the sink. "What's that?" I asked. "Hydrogen peroxide." She replied as she poured some on a cotton ball. "Stand still." She squatted down behind me and lifted my dress just enough to dab the cotton against my skin.

Immediately a stinging sensation crossed my skin making me gasp and grab the bathroom counter. "God that burns!" I yelled out as she continued to clean my leg. "I'm almost done." She said and within a second she was. She put everything away before putting some gel of some kind on it. "Give that some time to dry before you sit anywhere." I nodded. "Natasha?" I asked, stopping her from opening the door. "Thank you." She smiled at me. "You're welcome." With that we walked out and went downstairs. "You good?" Jake asked and I nodded. "I'm good." "Ready?" Bradley asked, looking down at Natasha. "I am if you are." She said, smirking at him. With that they said goodbye, both hugging me before walking out. "Are they?" I asked, pointing at them as they walked towards Bradley’s bronco. "We can't figure it out. They're either dating or fucking." Heat flared up my neck at his words. "I think they're fucking but Coyote swears up and down they're just friends. The only person who would really know is Bob, but that man is the world champion at keeping secrets." I nodded as he walked away from the window by the front door. "So, dinner?" He asked and I shrugged. "I'm up to try anything." He nodded. "I can't choose between Chinese and Mexican." I gave him a look telling him I didn't know what to do. "How about we both think on it while I shower?" I nodded. "I can do that." I made my way to the couch, sitting on it as he walked past.

"You can turn the tv on if you want." He said and I looked down, grabbing the remote and turning the TV on. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Jake stop at the staircase, looking at me. "Hey Katie?" I looked over at him, a look of concern gracing his normally handsome features. "You'll still be here when I get out won't you?" I pursed my lips, feeling bad. "Yeah. I'll be right here." I sent him a small smile and he nodded, returning it. "You better be, or I'm breaking the front door down this time and kicking ass." I couldn't help but smile widely this time. "I promise, Jake. I will be in this exact same spot on this couch." He nodded, making his way upstairs. I sat back on the couch, my knees pulled into my chest as some show I had never seen played. In fact, I haven’t watched much tv in my life. My parents never had a tv in the house, so the only time I ever saw any was in school. I grew comfortable on the plush couch, leaning back I felt like I was sinking into it and soon my eyes drifted shut.

~~~

It was the quickest shower of Jake’s life. He rushed through it, not even sure he was completely clean. But he couldn’t give Katie a chance to run again, because this time he wouldn’t wait days to do something about it. Jake finished his shower, slipping on some gray sweatpants before he headed downstairs into the kitchen. "How do you feel about mexican for dinner?" He yelled out as he pulled a menu from the cabinet above. He stared at it for a moment before realizing he never got an answer. He furrowed his brows, walking into the living room and spotting the back of Katie's head. "Katie?" He asked before walking around the couch. Her head was resting against the back of the couch as her legs were pulled up to her chest as she held herself. This was the most relaxed Jake had seen her since they met but she obviously couldn't sleep like that. He grabbed a blanket from the linen closet before sitting on the other end of the couch. He reached out to Katie, gently touching her back, causing her to immediately tense up. "Mm." She moaned as he flattened his hand along her back. He managed to pull her back, resting her head in his lap as he laid the blanket over her. He gently pulled her ponytail holder from her hair, running his fingers through it as she relaxed again. He played with her hair as he looked over the menu, deciding he would let her rest as he called the order in. Katie snuggled into him as he ran his thumb along her forehead. Jake knew once the food arrived he would have to get up and disturb her, but he would worry about that later.

After half an hour the doorbell rang and Katie jumped up in fright. “It’s okay. It’s just the delivery driver.” He said, laying a hand on her shoulder. “Are you sure?” She asked, her voice shaking. He nodded, getting up and walking towards the door as Katie pulled the blanket closer. Jake paid the delivery driver and brought the food in. “See? Just some amazing Mexican food.” He said with a smirk. They sat at the table and Katie stared at the giant burrito in front of her. “I know I only said something about it a few hours ago, but you remembered?” He nodded with a grin. “Of course I did. Now try it, it’s amazing.” Katie raised a skeptical brow, but took a bite anyway, and felt like she was in heaven. “Holy shit.” She said, moaning in delight. The sound made his blood rush and he tried his damndest to push it to the back of his mind. “You were right. This is amazing.” They went through dinner with laughs and soon he could practically see her eyes rolling back in her head. “Go get changed. I got this.” He said. “No, I can help you.” He shook his head. “You’re exhausted and I’m just throwing this away. Go.” He was a little more stern, but not harsh and she nodded, slowly making her way upstairs. Once Jake was done cleaning up, he double checked that the front and back door was locked before turning off all the lights.

Once he topped the stairs he peeked into the guest room, expecting to see Katie awake. But she wasn't, she was under the covers, already fast asleep. Her breathing was even and he watched her for a minute, worried she would leave again. He was half tempted to sleep on the guest room floor, or in the hallway right outside. But he wanted to give the benefit of the doubt, so he made his way to his own bed. He usually closes his bedroom door at night, but he left it open, wanting to hear if she got up. He also faced the door, something he doesn’t usually do either, but even in sleep he wanted to be tuned in to her movements. So he laid there, listening with his eyes closed, hoping to hear if she got up. But soon sleep came for him too, and he drifted off. But he wasn’t in deep enough sleep, because he immediately jumped up at the sound of a blood curdling scream at the end of the hallway.

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

Taglist: @wkndwlff @alltimereverie @cherrycola27 @daisydaisygoose @rosiahills22 @deanoheartspie @cornishkat @high-speed-r @fogle97 @mygyn @ohgodnotagainn @emma8895eb @senjoritanana @genius2050 @sandaltoesocks @mayhemmanaged @dempy @itsdesiree86 @callsign-athena @jstarr86 @brooke-stinson @rachkon @topguncultleader @bethbunnyy @topgun-imagines @clancycucumber230 @seitmai @kkrenae @djs8891 @shanimallina87 @wildxwidow @eugene-emt-roe @hisredheadedgoddess28 @littlewhiterose @formulapierre @wade-wilsons-chew-toy

#undiagnosed #top gun maverick #jake hangman seresin #hangman #hangman seresin #hangman fanfiction #jake seresin #jake seresin top gun #jake seresin x neurodivergent oc #ADHD OC

262 notes · View notes