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storiesforallfandoms · 1 year ago

Text

santa's sister in law ~ bernard the elf;the santa clause

word count: 4292

request?: no

description: in which he is adamantly against the in laws coming to the north pole, until he meets santa's sister in law

pairing: bernard the elf x female!human!reader

warnings: christmas fluff, sylvia sucking a little bit but that's just canon

masterlist (one, two, three)

Merry Christmas everyone! 🎄

a special christmas gift for @omeletdreamer 😌

Bernard was firmly against Carol's family coming to the North Pole. He liked Carol, don't get him wrong. She was a fantastic Mrs. Claus, and he loved her idea to start an elf school at the Pole. He understood that it was hard to adjust to life at the Pole, especially while she was pregnant. But bringing outsiders there was a big no-no. They were already pushing things by letting Laura, Neil, and Lucy in on the secret of Santa.

But all of his protests fell on deaf ears. Santa wanted Carol to have her family while he was going to be busy, and the other elves just wanted Carol to be happy. It was a thousand against one. So, Santa got into his sleigh and flew to get Carol's parents while the elves fixed up the Pole to look like Canada.

"This is never going to work," Bernard said to Curtis. "There's no way they're going to think this is Canada. Even if they believe these ridiculous store signs, they'll never believe Canada is inhabited by a bunch of children."

"Can you not be so negative for once?" Curtis asked. "It'll be fine."

"We are seriously pushing it with how many people know about the Pole and Santa. You can't blame me for being stressed out over it."

"Everything will be fine, Bernard. We have a plan. We got this."

Bernard huffed a sigh and walked away. He was tired of being brushed off like this. He didn't become head elf for nothing. He knew what he was doing. If only someone would just listen to him.

As he was walking away, he heard something in the distance. He looked up to see Santa's sleigh breaching through the entrance to the Pole. He couldn't see them yet, but he imagined Carol's parents in there, asleep from Sandman's magic, expecting to wake up in "Canada". He cringed to himself. There's really no going back now.

"I need a hot cocoa," he muttered to himself.

The kitchen elves were busy baking away when Bernard walked in. Carol had told them her mom's favorite cookies so they were hard at work making a batch to welcome Mrs. Newman. They were wearing comically large chef's hats pulled down to cover their pointy ears, which made Bernard glad his hair was long enough to do that naturally.

"Hi Bernard," Abby said, giving him a bright smile upon noticing him. "Want a hot cocoa?"

"I'd love one, Abby," he responded, sitting down at one of the tables.

She rushed off to make it for him. He picked up a cookie from a plate in the middle of the table to eat while waiting. Abby returned with his hot cocoa. He blew on it, disturbing the steady steam coming from the drink. He hoped that escaping to the kitchen would give him some time to prepare for Carol's parents.

He was taking his first sip of his hot cocoa when the kitchen doors opened again and in walked Santa, Mrs. Claus and her family in tow. Bernard nearly choked on his drink.

"And here's our kitchen," Santa was saying. "Oh, and Bernard's here too! Bernard is my, uh, he's my...assistant."

Bernard tried not to roll his eyes at the title.

He reluctantly stood and plastered a smile on his face. "Hi, nice to meet you...eh."

Carol's dad shook his hand while her mom pulled him in for an embrace. Bernard wasn't prepared for a third person to approach; a young woman with a smile so beautiful it left him speechless.

"This is my sister," Carol said. "We didn't know she was coming too."

"I'm (Y/N)," the woman said. "Mom and dad mentioned they were coming for a visit, so I asked Scott if it was alright for me to tag along."

"Of course it would be alright!" Sylvia cut in. "Scott's already had Carol from us for so long, he'd never say no to bringing Carol's loving sister with us to finally see her again."

Sylvia had a smile on her face but there was venom in her words. (Y/N) cringed and tried to ignore her mother's comment. "It's really lovely here so far. I'm glad I could come."

Bernard was still tongue tied. He kept opening and closing his mouth like an idiot trying to figure out something to say. (Y/N) was watching him, waiting, while Scott and Carol shared an amused look.

"Let's show you the rest of the place," Carol said, putting an arm around her sister. "We'll meet up with Bernard again later."

(Y/N) smiled and waved goodbye as the group left the kitchen. Once they were gone, Bernard felt like he was freed from a spell. He let out a long breath and slumped back down to the table. His hot cocoa had cooled down enough that he finished the rst of it in two gulps.

~~~~~~

Bernard was up late that night doing his rounds of the workshop. All the other elves had left for the night, but Bernard was often the last one up making sure everything was shut down and nothing was left out of place. With the in laws visiting, he was also making sure the workshop was locked up so no one would accidentally wander in and discover everything.

He was preparing to leave when he noticed the door to the kitchen was slightly ajar. He was sure all the baker elves had left for the night, but maybe someone had stayed behind. He poked his head into the room and almost gasped aloud when he saw it was (Y/N) who was leaning against the counter, a mug of hot cocoa in her hands. She was in her pajamas, clearly preparing for bed. Bernard was about to back away and leave her be, until she looked up form her mug and caught him. She smiled and waved to him.

"Good evening, Bernard," she said.

There was no escaping now. He stepped into the kitchen and cleared his throat, trying not to seem as weird as he had earlier. He discretely made sure his ears were tucked away under his hair.

"Hi," he said. Simple, easy. You can't mess up a "hi".

"What are you doing up so late?" she asked.

"I could ask you the same thing."

She giggled. "Touché. I was having trouble sleeping so I decided to come out for a hot cocoa. That nice baker, Abby I think? She offered to make me one before she left. I was told she makes the best hot cocoa in all of the town."

"Oh, she does. She's the one you go to when you want a good hot drink made."

"She works magic, I'm sure."

Bernard tried not to let his smile falter. "You have no idea."

A silence fell over them. (Y/N) softy blew on her hot cocoa before taking a sip from it. A small trail of foam stuck to her upper lip as she pulled her mug away. Bernard couldn't stop himself from chuckling.

"What?" she asked.

"You just...you have something..." He gestured to his top lip.

She ran a thumb along her top lip, only smearing the foam more.

"Here, let me." Bernard reached up and wiped the foam off with his own thumb. He was suddenly very aware of their closeness when he looked into her eyes. Any words he could ever say were stuck in his throat yet again and he could only imagine how insane he looked, staring at her with wide eyes.

"Thank you," she said. "And thank you for having us here, too. I know it's a busy time of year for you guys. We don't mean to impose."

It took Bernard a moment to remember the story they had been telling Carol's parents: that Scott was a toy maker in Canada and that's why he would be so busy this time of year and needed someone to be there with Carol while she was pregnant.

"It's not imposition," Bernard assured her. "If anything, I think it's going to make Sa - Scott feel better to have you guys here for Carol while he's working."

(Y/N) nodded. "It's very nice of him to have us here considering how my parents tend to treat him."

Bernard thought back to the comment Sylvia had made earlier. The strained relationship between Scott and his in-laws wasn't anything new to him. Scott had mentioned it a few times before, most recently when he was voicing his concerns about bringing Bud and Sylvia to the Pole with Bernard in private. It was evident that both Newman sisters also noticed how their parents treated Scott, and it seemed neither of them were too happy with it.

"I understand why mom and dad get upset," (Y/N) continued. "One minute Carol was a proud principal at the local middle school, and then the next thing we know she's writing us to tell us she got married to a guy we've never even heard of and moved off to Canada to be with him. I mean, even I was skeptical then. But when she'd write to me about Scott and about being here, it was clear that she was so happy and she found the man of her dreams. Who are we to judge the quickness that they got married? As long as she's safe and happy, which she clearly is. But mom and dad don't see it that way. Dad is still convinced that Scott is a cult leader who stole Carol away or something."

(Y/N) paused and looked at Bernard. He had been listening as she spoke, just nodding along and not saying a word. She chuckled a little and shook her head. "Sorry, I'm rambling on about my family drama."

"No! It's-it's fine. Trust me, I've heard similar stuff from Sa - Scott."

She gave him a look. "You keep stuttering on Scott's name."

"Yeah."

He couldn't think of a better explanation besides that. He felt an unfamiliar burning sensation in his cheeks. He wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or just from being so close to her that made him feel that way. She giggled, though; a sound more beautiful than any of the twinkling bells that were often heard around the Pole.

"I'm just glad to be here," she said. "And I'm glad mom and dad can be here for when the baby is born. Maybe that will help them be a little less harsh on Scott."

She finished what was left in her mug and looked around the oversized kitchen. When Bernard realized she was probably trying to figure out where to put the dirty mug, he said, "Oh, I can take care of that for you."

"Are you sure?"

"Of course. You're our guest, and I can handle this."

She smiled and passed him the mug. "Well, thanks for talking to me, Bernard. I guess I should try to sleep again."

"Goodnight, (Y/N)."

"Goodnight, Bernard." She started towards the door, but then paused to turn back to him. "I hope you're not too busy tomorrow. I'd like to spend more time with you."

His face was on fire as she left.

~~~~~~

For the first time in his thousands of years as the head elf, Bernard wasn't concerned with his head elf duties. Of course he was still there if Santa needed him, but he decided not to spend the entire day in the factory and to seek out (Y/N) to spend time with her. She was delighted to see him and was more than happy to accept his offer to show her around "Canada" for the day.

This became a regular occurrence for a few days. Bernard would make sure to check in often to see if he was needed, but if he wasn't he was with (Y/N). He would feel bad about taking her away from her time with her family, but it seemed her parents were more concerned with fussing over Carol than they were about all four of them spending time together. And (Y/N) also assured Bernard that she was making time for Carol and her family as well as spending time with him.

Bernard was more than well aware he was falling in love with (Y/N), and he was also more than well aware of how bad that was. Elves falling in love was nothing new; he had officiated quite a few elf weddings in his time. But falling in love with a human was out of the question. Elves were immortal, humans were not. Scott and Carol were different - upon becoming Santa and Mrs. Claus, their aging processes had slowed down considerably. They weren't completely immortal, but they weren't aging as fast as normal humans did. But that wasn't possible for a human that an elf fell in love with. Even if (Y/N) felt the same way towards Bernard, she would still continue to age while he would stay the same for the rest of time.

But he couldn't stop himself. He was falling fast and hard. Carol's due date was creeping closer, and once it came it would only be a matter of time before the Newman family would have to go back home, meaning that (Y/N) would leave and likely would not come back. That thought hurt Bernard.

Bernard was approaching where (Y/N) was staying one day when she slipped out of the house instead. He was surprised; she had never left before he had gotten there before.

As he got closer he realized that her face was tearstained.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

(Y/N) jumped and turned to look at him. "Oh, Bernard. Sorry, I didn't see you coming. Nothing's wrong."

He was about to point out that she was very obviously upset over something when the door opened again and Sylvia slipped out. She looked like she was about to say something, but she noticed Bernard and gave him a tight smile, one that he had come to learn was very much her fake smile.

"Hello, Bernard," she said. "I was just having a conversation with my daughter. We were talking about spending the day with Carol. We haven't had an all girls day since we arrived. So, unfortunately, I don't think she'll be able to spend time with you today."

"No mom," (Y/N) said. "I said I would join you later for girls time. Besides, you know Carol has an appointment with the doctor. She won't be ready till later."

Her mother was smiling but her eyes were glaring daggers into the younger Newman girl. (Y/N) held the glare before turning to Bernard and taking hold of his arm. She didn't say anything as she dragged him away. He followed anyways, wanting to get as far away from Sylvia as he could.

"God, I don't understand what is wrong with her," (Y/N) said, letting go of Bernard long enough to wipe the tears from her eyes. "I swear she just doesn't want Carol and I to be happy."

"What was she saying?" Bernard asked.

"Oh, she was going off about the fact that I spend so much time with you. Had her usual rant about Scott taking her precious daughter away from her and dad, and then said she'll be damned if she lets it happen with me too. Basically tried to guilt me into not spending time with you today by saying that Carol was upset that she didn't get to see me much, which I know isn't true because just the other day Carol was saying how happy she was that you and I were getting along."

She shook her head. "I'm so sick of it. It's like she can't wrap her head around the fact that maybe, just maybe, life is so busy here that Carol doesn't always have time to visit. It has nothing to do with Scott being manipulative or a cult leader or whatever conspiracy her and dad have cooked up on a certain day."

Bernard listened in silence. He felt bad that (Y/N) had to have these issues with her mother. Carol was hearing it all now, but he was sure (Y/N) heard much more of it when she was back home with her parents.

None of the Newmans could ever understand the way things were with Carol and Scott. They could never know why things were like this, but they likely wouldn't understand even if they knew.

Unless...

It was an idea that shocked even Bernard that he had it. Head elf of the North Pole, Santa's righthand man himself, considering such a thing? After being so against Carol's family coming to the Pole? It was preposterous. But his brain was so clouded by love for (Y/N) that he wasn't thinking proper.

"Come with me," he said. He didn't wait for an answer, just took hold of her hand and pulled her towards the workshop.

His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in hips pointed ears. He had to remind himself there was no going back. This was going to be huge, and it could likely get him into a world of trouble.

He opened the doors to the workshop and (Y/N) stepped in. She looked around in awe at the working elves, most of which were not hiding their ears as the workshop was supposed to be off limits to the Newmans. None of them seemed to notice the two of them enter, and if they did, nothing was said.

Bernard watched (Y/N), nervously waiting for her reaction.

"Is this...what I think it is?" she asked him. "No, it can't be. I must be dreaming. I fell and hit my head and now I'm in a coma having a very vivid dream that all of these small people who are supposed to be Canadians have pointed ears like they're elves."

When she looked over at him, Bernard had taken off his hat and allowed his ears to peak out from under his hair.

"I've lost it," she decided.

"You haven't," he assured her. "All of this is real. It's why Carol hasn't been able to visit as much, or why you couldn't visit until now. Look, there's so much to know about all of this. So much that I want to tell you but technically I can't because there are strict rules about humans knowing about the North Pole."

(Y/N) had another quick moment of shock that she was able to very quickly recover from. "Rules that you're currently breaking by showing me...Santa's workshop. By admitting that you're an elf, these are all elves...oh my God, my sister is Mrs. Claus."

"It is all very complicated," he said. "But you deserve to know that Carol is truly happy here. She's not being held against her will, Santa isn't manipulative or holding her captive. He loves her so much that he risked you and your parents finding out about him - about us - so that all of you could be here for her while she's pregnant."

(Y/N) still seemed to be stunned. She looked around the bustling factory again, her eyes wide with wonder.

"Wait," she said. "But...if you all went through so much to make us think this was Canada, to keep who Scott is a secret...then why are you telling me now?"

Because I love you. Because I want you to stay. Because I want to be with you more than anything, even though I know that will never happen.

"Because I want you to know the truth," he replied. "About all of this. About...about me."

She was looking at him. He didn't know what else to say, so he just looked back. He waited for an answer. He willed her to say something, anything.

She didn't say anything, though. Instead, she leaned forward and kissed Bernard. It was quick, almost hesitant, and when she pulled away she looked embarrassed.

"Sorry," she said. "I...should I have done that? I should've asked first. Was it okay that I did that?"

He smiled. "It was more than okay."

"Okay. I'm...I'm going to do it again, if that's still okay."

Bernard chuckled and moved in to kiss (Y/N) first. He had only ever kissed one person before - when he was young one of the other elves had gave him a quick peck on the lips and ran away afterwards. Not exactly something glamorous or anything like that. So he was a little worried about whether or not he was a good kisser. Although, something felt so natural about kissing (Y/N), like he could never do it wrong even if he tried.

He paused when he realized a slight hush had fallen over the workshop. He and (Y/N) pulled away to see that all the working elves had stopped what they were doing to look at the two of them.

"Back to work!" Bernard commanded. They all quickly fell back into what they had been doing before. "Bunch of gossips, all of them. Everyone in town will know about this by nightfall."

"I don't blame them. I'd assume it's not every day that they see an elf kissing a human."

He chuckled. "No, I guess not."

They decided to step out of the workshop to talk more in private. (Y/N) looped her arm through Bernard's as they walked, a gesture that suddenly felt much more intimate than it had before.

"I guess it goes without saying that I can't tell anyone about this," she said. "Not even my parents."

"No. Which I know is a big ask, but we can't have the secret of Santa going around," Bernard explained.

"Not like anyone would believe me. They'd think I was crazy if I went home talking about how my brother in law is Santa and how I started crushing on one of his elves. They'd sent me to an institute for sure."

Bernard smiled at her word choice. So she had liked him this whole time, too. Had it been obvious? Or had she been trying to contain it just as much as he did?

"How...would things work...for us then?" she asked.

It was the question he was dreading. The one he continued to ask himself despite knowing the answer to: it wouldn't. He couldn't let (Y/N) hold on to him when she left the Pole. She'd likely never see him again, which was for the best.

Seeing the look on his face, (Y/N) stopped. "No, do not tell me it's not going to work."

"It can't work, (Y/N). There's too much complications between a human and an elf being romantically linked. It's never happened before, and for good reason."

"There's a first for everything."

He shook his head. "No, there can't be a first for this. I can't let you throw away any other romantic opportunities you have for me. We may never see each other after this visit."

"My sister is married to Santa. There's no way I'm not coming back after this. And besides, long distance relationships are a thing."

"This one would be...very long distance."

She slid her arm from his and took his hand in hers. "I'm willing to try. I like you too much to give up without a fight."

Every rational part of his brain was screaming for him to stop. He could not let things go further. It was better for her if they ended everything after that first kiss and went hteir separate ways.

But the less rational part of his brain was louder than the rest, telling him not to give up this chance at happiness outside of work. He deserved to love and to be loved, just like anyone else in the world. If it worked for Scott, it had to work for him too, right?

He sighed and squeezed her hands. "It won't be easy."

"I don't expect it to be."

"You won't be able to be here a lot unless you're willing to give up everything the way Carol did."

"That's fine, we can make that work."

"And if you do end up coming here permanently, you can't tell anyone who I really am, or who Scott and Carol really are. You'll have to lie to everyone in your life. Is that something you can be okay with?"

(Y/N) stepped closer to him so that their noses were nearly touching. "I'm already lying about Scott and Carol. What's one more lie about the man I love?"

Love.

It was enough for him to abandon all hope at resisting her. He closed the space between them, kissing her again so passionately that it made her head spin. She wrapped her arms around his neck to steady herself, while he wrapped his arms around her waist.

He could've kissed her forever. He could've stood there, wrapped around her and her wrapped around him, the cold nipping at them but barely bothering them, forever. He wanted to take this moment and freeze it, to never have to go back to his busy life as Santa's right hand elf ever again.

But she pulled away first, resting her forehead against his.

"I did promise my mom a girl's day," she said with a sigh. "And I think if I blow her off for this, she'll probably actually kill me."

"I guess I'll have to let you go then."

But he didn't, and she didn't let go of him. They laughed and kissed again.

It would be another several minutes before he would finally (and reluctantly) let her go.

#bernard the elf #bernard the elf imagine #bernard the elf x reader #david krumholtz #david krumholtz imagine #david krumholtz x reader #the santa clause #christmas #merry christmas #happy holidays #christmas imagine #imagine #one shot #fanfiction #fanfic #fandom

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listofwhyyouloveher · 2 months ago

Note

HELLO!

I had a thought for a fic and i needed to get it out.

What if Fem! Reader came home with a bunch of hickeys on her neck. It was Dallas’s doing, but they didn’t know about their relationship.

Summary: A casual hang-out turned rowdy because of something on your neck

Warnings: , kissing

Authors note: happy new years everyone I'm my bed listening to seasons by Sam Austin's kinda wishing I was out

You shuddered under your many layers, the thick yarns and knit sweaters did nothing from stopping the biting cold that snaked in through your clothing. Nevertheless, you continued walking alone.

A few nights ago, you promised the gang that you would most definitely attend their Christmas 'party', which Ponyboy later described as just a normal hangout to you in secret. You smiled at the thought and blew on your hands to make the frosted ends of your fingers melt a bit. Slowly, you approached the Curtis's when Dallas rounded the bend opposite to you and your paths connected.

You smirked at him but paid him no mind and walked past him, only turning when he grabs your arm.

"Where ya going, dollface?" He asked with a cigarette clamped between his sharp canines.

"Inside," You said bleakly, gesturing to the door of the Curtis's house only a couple paces behind you.

"Why?" He asked, confused. You'd usually to prefer to spend time with him and he knew it.

Your relationship with Dallas was surprisingly simple, a secret relationship. The emotions that came alongside however, were not so simple. Usually though, you and Dallas made a pretty cute couple.

"The Christmas party, dumbass." You stared at him blankly.

"Oh shit...that was today?" He asked. You chuckled in disbelief.

"Forgot what day Christmas was?" You laughed a little.

"Probably should get back to Buck's and get something together.." He mused, running a hand over his chin.

"Just a minute, Dally," You said, a pink dust coating your cheeks from not just the cold.

"You doing anything for Christmas?" You asked, voice a little meek.

"Look doll, I'm kinda busy and I've got other things to do," He said.

"Oh," You responded, dejected.

"I'm just kidding," He said, placing a hand on your waist, "I'll be there."

He pressed a kiss to jaw and then to your lips, slow and deep. Then his lips trailed down to your collar.

"Dallas, I should probably go in now," You said and he looked at you with a hint of annoyance.

"Whatever, just happy to leave that for everyone to the see," He said, pointing out the fresh bruise that was staring to form across the soft skin of your neck.

"Oh my god.." You looked at it with horror. You had nothing to hide it with, and talking with Dallas had made you late enough so walking back home to get something to cover it up with not an option. You bit your lip in frustration and brushed your hair around to make it hide the hickey. "I hate you soo much, Dallas."

"Sure, doll. Head up now, I'll see ya later" He grin and motioned you up the steps of their porch.

You went in before he turned and left. The house was warm and full of life, just like always.

"Hi!" You call and a chorus of "hello"s and "hey"s followed. They were in front of the the TV watching whatever was on.

"Want some hot coco? Darry made it," Ponyboy offered you a mug.

"Thanks, Pony" You smiled at him.

"Now that your here, we're just waiting on Dallas," Sidapop said, flipping popcorn pieces into his and Steve's mouth.

"Oh he won't be here for a while," You said, suddenly aware at how everyone was looking at you.

"Yeah, did you talk to him?" Two Bit asked leaning forward slightly.

"Yeah. How did you know?"

" You have something right here," Two Bit said, pointing at the same spot the hickey lay on your neck on him.

You had your face in your hands from embarrassment. Steve and Sodapop started chanting something obscene and Two Bit joined along.

"Jesus christ! Cut it out!" Darry exclaimed. "Let a lady have her own life!"

Johnny stopped sipping on his hot coco to ask, "was it actually Dally?".

You laughed, hoping it was a vague enough answer.

"What an answer," said Steve, folding his arms over his chest.

"It's ok, we'll wait until Dallas comes and we'll grill them both!" Two Bit grinned, sitting back against the couch.

Your ears burned red with embarrassment and you cursed Dally under your breath.

#shroomsroom #clara'sroom #the outsiders x reader #dallas winston x reader #dally winston x reader #sodapop curtis x reader #steve randle x reader #johnny cade x reader #darrel curtis x reader #darry curtis x reader #ponyboy x reader #ponyboy curtis x reader #pony curtis x reader #two bit matthews x reader #two bit x reader #two bit mathews x reader #soda curtis x reader #sodapop x reader

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two-entire-bits · 3 days ago

Text

Some thoughts and notes from tonight's show!!!

Act 1:

- Henry is the horniest Two-Bit ever:

- He thrusted his pelvis into the hubcap when he first entered, and then Steve, Soda, and Ace all mocked him and mimed it

- He took a handful of gravel and thrusted his pelvis into his hand & threw the gravel so it looked like he was jacking off on each beat at the start of GGAH

- He also moaned when he was grinding against Soda

- And he was just throwin that pelvis AROUND during his solo

- "Two-Bit, you got the grease?" "I might!"

- ARAMIE'S GGAH RIFF WAS DELECTABLE

- I just noticed only now that it's scripted so the audience never applauds after both RITF's

- When everyone walks into the Curtis house, Ace said "hi Darrel" and he responded "hey baby"

- Ponyboy had the most "my brothers talking to me about girls but I'm gay" look I've EVER seen during the anne margaret bit

- TWO-BIT BLEW A KISS TO MARCIA IN FATDI

- I'm not sure if he does this every show, but Brent was hunched over in the kitchen during Great Expectations, so he was resting his head on his crossed arms on the table, and it made him look so small

- Daryl plays Johnny SO WELL he goes from 16 year old kid to tough greaser in the blink of an eye

- AND HIS VOICE IS JUST SO DAMN GOOD. GOD.

- He was also playing with the gravel when he was sitting in the tire

- When Dally moved to go after Johnny's parents, Daryl put his fists up like he was gonna fight him off

- When Bob tosses his flask to Paul, Ryo rumbled it SO BAD

- JOHNNY AND PONY MOVING TO SIT WITH CHERRY AND MARCIA WAS SO FUCKING FUNNY I've seen Trevi and Sky and Brody and Sky before but Brody and Daryl??? Fucking UNMATCHED

- the way Daryl IMMEDIATELY ran to Pony after Darry hit him

- They were. um. They looked. Very caring. Towards each other. During FAFT

- Daryl sang "walking around the park" instead of "walking through the park" in Run Run Brother

- Daryl looked at the blood on his hands near the end of Run Run Brother and AUGH

- He also looked SO scared when Pony moves away from him on the "train"

Act 2:

- Aramie said "why don't you ask those socs why the line got crossed" instead of "ask the socs"

- Ryo flubbed the "you should be as mad as me" line in JFT

- Johnny's head was in Ponyboy's lap before, throughout, and after Throwing in the Towel

- Aramie and Brent skipped some lines in the scene before TITT and Brent just slowly walked toward Aramie and stopped, paused, and then said a line and you could see him figuring out which line to restart with

- During Hoods Turned Heroes when Darry lifted up Ace, Milena smacked Brent's ass

- Daryl's hospital gown is a different colour than Sky's? It was like, a muted darkish pink

- At the start of the rumble, a Soc yelled either "GET THE FUCK OFF" or "GET THE FUCK UP" to Two-Bit or maybe it was Soda? They were downstage left and I was back house left I couldn't see much)

- God the way Soda held Pony after Johnny dies...

- Some water from the rumble got in Aramie's mic during Little Brother and it made him sound all hollow and far away and it was really cool! He eventually tapped his mic and the water fell off but it was a really interesting effect while it lasted

- There was a BIG ass crash backstage when Cherry visits the Curtises before the finale (I think. It was somewhere around there)

There's probably some other things I forgot/missed BUT IT WAS SOOO GOOD Y'ALL and a Ponyboy cosplayer in the first row got the book tonight!!!

Oh also at stage door Renni complimented my hair and my outfit (and then he said, and I quote: "the fit is fitting!!") & said more people should dress up like I do when they see theatre, and later when he waved from his dressing room window he pointed at me and I don't think I'm ever gonna recover from that actually

And The Board!:

#they were with a darry and soda cosplayer too!!!!#they were soo fucking cool #also like 87 phones went off during the show #and there was a chick in front me who would NOT stop scrolling on her phone #two-bit talks #the outsiders musical #ponyboy curtis #sodapop curtis #darrel curtis #dallas winston #johnny cade #two bit mathews #steve randle #cherry valance #paul holden #bob sheldon #marcia meyrink

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specific-dreamer · 2 months ago

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“you’re not dad darrel and you’re not mom neither so stop trying to be”

thinking about how it’s canonical their parents weren’t exactly traditional back then; their mom was stricter while their dad was the more playful type. idk too much about parenting back then but the order interesting says it in its real interesting to me.

“you’re not dad darrel” darry who has his fathers name and looks identical to his father, darrel sr. darrel sr who was raising three kids but still found the time to take them hunting and bond with them individually and as far we know never once blew up or took his anger out on them. darry had a really good role model in his father so why isn’t he as good as him?

“you’re not mom neither” darry’s who does not look like his mom but he sort of acts like her in every way that counts; he makes sure pony’s done his homework and has his coat so he won’t be cold when the sun goes down. he’s making sure johnny knows he can stay at there’s if he’s not at two-bits, he’s the first to make sure everyone’s alright after the rumble.(dally, who was pretty close with mrs curtis best, called darrel after the rumble. he asked for darrel specifically)

“you’re not dad darrel and you’re not mom neither so stop trying to be” he hadn’t realized he was. he was trying to emulate them yeah, why wouldn’t he they were pretty great parents in comparison to others, but he wasn’t trying to be them. even if he wanted he could never be them, the way he’s struggling to pay the bills proves that.

“you’re not dad darrel and you’re not mom neither so stop trying to be” he’s not trying to be them, hes only trying to do what they do

#darrel shayne curtis jr #they could never make me hate you #they could never make me think ill of you #the outsiders #outsiders musical #darry curtis #mrs curtis #darrel curtis sr

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sweater-daddiesdumbdork · 4 months ago

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random hoeing:

Curtis slowly standing up, stretching into his full, enormous height

Read Your Book

A Curtis and Honey Drabble

You were currently in one of your favorite spots. Well, maybe more like the second favorite. Your actual favorite place was under Curtis with your legs wrapped around him, but that just wasn't an option right now. So you lounged on the couch, your head pillowed on the arm while your nose was stuck in your newest smutty book that arrived in the mailbox today.

And you were so excited about this one, the ending of a duet, you had ordered this one midway through the first one, knowing you were gonna need to read the rest as soon as you could get your hands on it.

You hadn't moved from the couch since getting home after work, your eyes scanning the pages, filing away little clues and curiously wondering if you stumbled on a new kink that the story was heavily playing into.

It toyed with some dark little corner of your mind, wondering if there was something you should be worried about or should you embrace it?

Midthought, while still scanning the scene you were questioning, a hand appeared in front of you, gripping the top of your book and easing it down till you could see over the top into Curtis's face, a amused grin lifting on one side of his mouth and a teasing glint in his eyes. "Really into your book Honey?" You lowered the book to your lap, seeing him squatting down next to the couch, still in his work clothes, so you knew he just got home.

"Hey! I didn't even hear you come in." You said a bit sheepishly.

"I know, I called your name twice till I saw you curled up on the couch. What's got all your attention?" You turned the book so he could study the cover, his eyes gazing over the dark cover. "Hmm, looks like one of those fun dark romances you like."

"Yeah, I haven't put it down since I got home." You glanced over your shoulder to where the old clock sat among the books on the built in shelves. "And I should probably get dinner started." You flipped the book onto the back of the couch, letting it keep your page safe. Pushing to start getting up.

Curtis shook his head and he pushed up to lean over you, easily pushing you back to laying your head on the arm of the couch and staring up at him in surprise. "Nu-uh Pretty Girl." His arm braced against the back of the couch, his free hand ghosting down your side till his hand landed on the curve of your hip, giving a hard affectionate squeeze.

It sent a thrill through you, almost feeling like it was a possessive touch, the only man who was allowed to. You have had your head stuck into too many of these books you told yourself at your thoughts.

"Let me go get cleaned up and changed, then I will make dinner. You just keep reading your book Sweet Girl. Then you can fill me in on all the spicy details when we're in bed." He smirked at your widened gaze, wiggling his brows at you, which made you laugh at his playful attitude.

"And ruin the book for you?" You joked back as you sat back, tilting your face up enough to nip at his lips when he hovered in closer, sharing a kiss. He finished pushing up, and up, up, up. Your eyes roved up his tall body, feeling your mouth start to water at how damn good he looked. His arms stretched over his head, arching a bit to loosen the knots in his back that his previous squatting had caused.

Fuck he was tall, big, strong, his full height towering over you now given how you were laying on the couch and you had to tip your head back to look up at him. He always had that uncanny ability to make you feel small, a hard thing to accomplish since your past relationships you always felt to big, to much for your partner.

But not with Curtis and right now he felt so large, so powerful. You blew out a breath where you had been holding it. "You know I wanna know..." His hand came down to brush his fingers along your face till his hand snapped to your neck, circling his hand around your throat.

Your heart picked up speed, arousal making your thighs clenched, resisting the urge to rub them together, anything to relieve that sudden ache building between your thighs. "... all those filthy thoughts going through your mind, so we can discuss if we wanna try them out."

You gave a nod, a slight one as his large hand was still at your throat. "Good Girl." He rumbled out deeply, placing one last kiss on your forehead before leaving to go upstairs, calling down from the top of the stairs. "I saw the cover had a mask, you should really give that some thought. Maybe a ghost face... or I could borrow a motorcycle helmet if you're more into that Honey."

You were alone once more, fully letting out your breath in a whispy moan of want. "Fuck that man doing that to me." You muttered and at the end of the couch came a rather loud judging meow. Lifting your head, you spotted Binx giving you the most bored look, his gaze slowly blinking at you, as if he couldn't believe how you were acting. "Don't you even start with me Binx!" You grabbed at your book and shoved your face back in it, going back to reading and properly ignoring the cat.

#amber answers #Curtis Everett and honey #listen I'm obsessed with him and I love this bastard so much #fictional forever husband #life is short so make it sweet drabble #amber writes #sweater writes #Curtis Everett x Reader #Curtis Everett x You

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retrolvr4 · 8 months ago

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✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

Gal you’re on my mind

Darry Curtis x Female Reader

Summary: After spending the night with Darry, you help him make breakfast.

Warnings: implications of sex, some cursing, lots of fluff!

A/n Patrick Swayze is the loml 😩

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

You felt a soft kiss on your cheek as Darry pulled you in closer to him. Your eyes were still closed and sleep nearly overtook you again when Darry spoke tiredly

“Doll we gotta get up, I need your help makin’ breakfast and I can hear that everyone is up already”

You groaned and attempted to roll over but Darry’s arm wrapped firmly around you now wouldn't allow it.

“It's like 6 i'm not getting up this early on my day off” you grumbled

“It's like 9 miss grumpy, they let us sleep in” He mimicked you and poked your waist

You squirmed at the touch and smacked his hand away. “Darry I don’t wanna-” you started to complain but he quickly cut you off by rolling you over onto your back and tickling you. You shrieked through laughter as he lifted your shirt up and blew raspberries on your stomach.

“Okay, enough, enough, I'm up” you said through gasps and attempts to push Darry off you.

“Perfect, get up” Darry said and rolled out of bed, awaiting you to follow.

You crawled out of bed, still slightly out of breath, and dug through the drawer in Darry’s room that you had filled with your own clothes, since you began to sleep over so frequently.

You fished out a pair of shorts, having only worn one of Darrys shirts to bed, you needed pants.

“Those undies are cute honey,” Darry told you with a smile.

“Thank you, you told me that last night though” you smirked at him and a light blush dusted across both of your faces. The recollection of the events from last night crossing both of your minds.

You walked up to Darry and wrapped your arms around his waist, looking up at him “I’m sure everyone is starving, we should get out there”

The two of you walked out to the living room, greeted by a variety of good mornings and a “cute shirt” from Soda.

“What was Y/n hootin and hollerin about” Pony asked

You automatically assumed he was referencing last night and quickly uttered a “i'm gonna go make breakfast” and scurried off to the kitchen. Leaving Darry to deal with the situation.

“Well Pony, when two people really love each other, they sometimes-'' Darry started awkwardly, everyone's eyes now on him. But he was quickly cut off by Two Bit’s remark of “Damn Darry gets down” Followed by Dally hollering at you with a laugh and asking “is he any good y/n?”

“Yes, fuck you Dally” you yelled back from the kitchen.

“What- Christ- Ew, I meant like two minutes ago she was screaming and laughin’, I couldn't tell if you were trying to kill her or what' Pony cut in.

Darry’s face turned red over the misunderstanding “oh I was just tickling her trying to get her up so you hooligans can have something to eat” He desperately tried to change the subject, face burning from all the remarks, especially the one from you.

Darry cut his losses and walked into the kitchen, grabbing a pan and placing it on the stovetop then grabbing the carton of eggs from the fridge.

“I’m good huh” He quipped

“You know good and well you are” you said back in a hushed voice “I didn't know I was being so loud last night”

“You weren't doll, pony was talking about how I got you up this morning”

You worked on making pancake mix while Darry cooked the eggs. You hummed ‘corrina corrina’ by Bob Dylan as you whisked the ingredients together.

Darry watched you quietly, gazing with so much admiration for you. He loved every single thing about you. Body, mind, and soul. He knew how hard it was to only get occasional time with him due to his work, he knew he was stubborn and sometimes overbearing, he knew he loved you with everything in him. He loved how you were always willing to help his brothers and around the house. He didn't expect it of you but he always appreciated it. He loved the way you unconsciously swayed as you hummed, he loved how smart and how selfless you were.

“I love you so much my sweet girl” he said, still admiring you.

“Aw, Darry, I love you more” You cooed back and continued to hum.

“y/n, y/n, Gal you're on my mind” Darry sang out of tune, replacing Corrina's name with yours.

You gave him a crooked smile and flicked flour at him “you're a dork”

“Don't you start” he replied, moving over to you to give you a quick but loving kiss.

✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* ✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:

I apologize if this is bad, i haven’t written in a while and need to get back into it!

I will write for pretty much any 80s or 90s movie so feel free to leave requests. Cobra kai and Top gun Maverick I will also write for!

I’ve seen a lot of movies so if you’re not sure about requesting something just ask!

I also love Keanu reeves and Paul Dano so feel free to send in requests of their characters!

I will write smut but nothing too freaky

Please do not request anything involving self harm, ED’s, domestic violence, etc . I am not comfortable writing about that.

I’ll create another post with repeated and further information about requests. 💗

#80s #60s #the outsiders #darry curtis x reader #darrel curtis x reader #darry curtis #imagine #darry curtis x y/n #darry curtis x you #darrel curtis

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lizzy019 · 7 months ago

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PLEASEPLEASEPLEASEEEEE HEAR ME OUT

Ponyboy Curtis first kiss fluff..?

Js two little awkward 14 year olds PLEASEEEe🙏🙏

(Also i love your writing your awesome)

𝒯𝒾𝒸𝓀𝓁𝑒 𝐹𝒾𝑔𝒽𝓉?

Ponyboy Curtis x GN!Reader

cw -> none, just some kissing :)

Word Count -> 710

I'M SO HAPPY YOU LIKE MY WORK!! <333 Enjoy the very short fluff, anon :)

The lot was empty asides for the gushes of wind blowing around the small bonfire Ponyboy had lit up. It was peaceful in its own way, just you two watching the flames sway in the night's breeze while happily chatting about random nonsense.

“Dally blew out his budget last week and now he's crashin' at our place. I don't mind it, but Darry sure don't like feedin' him.” Ponyboy murmured, his head resting on your shoulder while he fiddled with your hand.

You took a soft drag of your cigarette as you listened to his mini rant, and you couldn't help but smile. Dally always did that, how was this time any different?

“Well, that's Dallas for ya. Poor fella's always blowin' out his money, maybe he should get a proper job.” You chuckled, not saying anything maliciously as your head rested gently upon his.

The fire crackled and swayed, emitting swirls of gray smoke and shooting them into the air, intoxicating the fresh oxygen the trees around you produced. It was calming in a way, hearing the breeze, the fire, Pony's breathing and his voice. It soothed you, lulled you back into a sense of comfort and peace.

Ponyboy chuckled when you said those words, nodding his head in agreement.

“Yeah, maybe then Dally could start payin' Darry rent for whenever he'd have to crash at our place.” He joked along, adjusting his face to press into your neck so he could smell your lovely natural scent.

You smiled at his little movements, adjusting yourself to make things easier on him while you stomped out your now useless cigarette. You giggled when his breathing began to tickle your neck.

“Stop! It tickles, Pony!” You cried out with giggles all in between your words, feeling him press a super soft kiss to your neck before pulling free.

You blushed a bit at the kiss to your neck, finding it to be a bold move in your young relationship, but you paid no serious mind to it. Instead, you simply pressed a loving kiss to his cheek, watching as his face went red too.

Both of you began to chuckle out of awkwardness, and it ended once you two locked eye contact. It was mesmerizing in a way, how Ponyboy looked at you so earnestly and so fully. Like you were a walking angel.

Slowly, the distance between you two gradually shrunk, and although you both knew what was coming, neither of you did anything to stop it from coming. Nervousness flooded your senses until the contact was made.

His warm lips pressed into yours so gently, you were sure it wasn't even him. But his hand gently came to cup your jaw and hold it in place while he tilted his head to adjust better. Your movements began to get more in sync, more relaxed and thorough until a sound from the distance had you both jolting away from each other like nothing happened.

The noise turned out to be Sodapop, finding you two all flustered in the lot watching the fire and he immediately knew what had happened.

“Superman's lookin' for ya, Pony. It's late, and dinner's gettin' cold. Getchur little hookup to go home too, don't end up like Dally or Two...” Sodapop muttered, shooing you away while he walked back home.

This had you both laughing with each other, and you poured the bit of water remaining to put out the fire before standing and grabbing your belongings.

“Well, I guess this is where we part for the night. See you tomorrow?” You asked with a calm smile, cheeks still a bit pink from embarrassment.

Ponyboy nodded, rubbing the back of his neck before he pressed one final kiss to your lips, rushing off right after to go catch up with Sodapop.

You were left now in the cold of the night, but it wasn't cold when you thought back to the previous few moments, the first kiss you shared, and the way he left you with a soft kiss in a form of goodbye.

So all while you walked home, your face pink from the interaction, all you could do was await tomorrow with excitement in hopes another little kiss would ensue.

#x reader #the outsiders #ponyboy x reader #ponyboy curtis #the outsiders ponyboy #fluff

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bigtreefest · 5 months ago

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Hello, sweet Essie!! So we’ve met bartender!Curtis 🫠

Any thoughts (or thots) on bartender!Ari meeting a gal that’s interested in more than just his fruity drinks or getting in his pants? 😏

Hehehe, hello! Bartender!Curtis was a secret sweetie, just like his best friend.

Why, of course we can hear about Bartender!Ari!! I think he has really seen it all, so something super out of the ordinary would catch his eye. Someone who isn’t interested in him. At least not on the surface.

Here’s what I’m thinking. This…got away from me🫣 so it continues under the cut:

It’s a Thursday night, so the bar is buzzing a little, but not so much that it’s impossible to find a seat. As Ari’s topping off a beer, he sees you walk in, but when you make eye contact with him, there’s no smile, no nervous, bashful giggle. You don’t light up like most do when they see the Adonis. Instead, you just continue to drag your feet to a bar stool in between two regulars. Both hardly spare you a glance and Ari bars Curtis from walking over since you’re technically in Curtis’s section.

He makes his way over, setting a glass in front of you.

“On the house. You look like you need it”

But the thing is, you’re in no mood to accept his handout. Your voice is sharp when it comes back at him.

“What’s up with men and them thinking they know better than me!?”

You can see the shock on his face as he’s taken aback. His eyes widen, showing just how blue and surprisingly soft they are. There’s no hint of cockiness in them, at least not anymore. And that’s when you realize that you just snapped and feel terrible about it. The two big men on either side of you were startled, too.

“I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. I really appreciate this, I’ll pay to make up for that. It’s just…*sigh* never mind. I’m not gonna burden you with that”

Ari’s brow furrows. You’re a little dressed up, maybe for a casual date, but your face doesn’t show the excitement he knows Curtis had for his last one.

He gives you a tight-lipped smile as he spots someone else come up to the bar out of the corner of his eye.

“Hey, no worries. But you should know it’s literally in my job description to listen if you need it. I’ll let you have a second and then I’ll come back, okay?”

You just nodded, looking down into the double shot of whiskey over the rocks he had given you. You weren’t normally one for hard liquor straight, but after tonight, you might need something to match the bitter taste in your mouth, and you applauded the bartender for recognizing it.

You skeptically took a sip out of the glass, expecting it to burn, but it was surprisingly smooth and pleasant. The corner of your lip upturned at his gesture and you looked up to see his longer hair swaying with the breeze as he walked back over to you.

He gave a tentative smile, seeing you had calmed some and you returned it. He reached out his hand over the table.

“I’m Ari, this is my place. Well, mine and my buddy’s at least.”

You shook his large hand and introduced yourself, mind stuck on the feeling of his warm, callused palms. His firm, strong, yet gentle hold.

He leaned over his elbows on the counter.

“So penny for your thoughts?”

You scoffed as your finger danced over the rim of your glass.

“I’m not sure if you want them. They’re mostly about my disdain for men. Are they all so terrible?”

He blew out a breath and pushed back off the counter.

“Well, in what sense? Because as I guy, I want to say no, but as a guy who considers himself pretty reasonable, the answer is probably yes.”

You shrugged and shook your head. “Bad date.”

You talk with Ari about it the rest of the night until he walks you to your car. But the thing is, you keep coming back. Bad date, after bad date, and he’s always there to make you feel better.

Ari is doing everything to make the time to talk to you. He’s making Curtis save your seat, he’s hasty with everyone else who comes up to him. As much as he hates seeing you torn up over guys, he’s desperate for your visits. He tries to deny it, but Curtis isn’t blind. So he finally convinces Ari to ask you out. And oh man does Ari get an earful of “see? Not so easy when you’re on this side of it, buddy.”

Ari builds up his courage, and another Thursday night rolls around, and you’re nowhere to be seen. And then another one, and another one. Before he knows it, it’s been a month. Ari thinks he lost his chance. He’s devastated. He doesn’t want to bounce back with another girl he knows he could easily get. He just wants you.

On a Sunday afternoon, he’s doing inventory in the bar while they’re closed. He hears a knock on the front door and just thinks Curtis locked himself up on the roof again, so he had to climb down the ladder and come in the front. When it swings open, though, there’s no broad guy with a beanie on. It’s you.

EEK!! Do I need to make this into an actual fic? A clueless pining Ari?🫣

Taglist: @hawkeyes-queen @ronearoundblindly @mercurial-chuckles

#bartender!ari #bartender!ari Levinson #Ari Levinson #Ari Levinson x reader #Ari Levinson x you #Ari Levinson fanfiction #bartender ari #bartender ari Levinson #Essie answers #thanks for dropping in #yenzys-lucky-charm

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msshadows97 · 1 year ago

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Season 2 episode 5/6 spoilers (before the episodes even comes out

I didn't know the episode names but we get to see Betty this episode!! Her short stint in New York wasn't enough I want my girl to save the day

#the santa clauses #santa clause #the santa clause #santa clauses #betty #i still want to see my baby Chet #betty is honestly goals #betty and bernard are chef kiss #sorry curtis #but you blew up before i could actually like you #to many rules #noel needs some CLT #or just weed #can elfs get effected by cat nip?#or do they snort smarties?#they get drunk on sugar #oh my god imagine santa walking into elfs partying snorting smartie dust

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 15 days ago

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M. Wuerker

* * * * *

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

February 5, 2025

Heather Cox Richardson

Feb 06, 2025

Five years ago, on February 5, 2020, Republican senators acquitted then-president Donald Trump in his first impeachment trial. Trump immediately vowed retaliation against those who tried to hold him accountable before the law for his actions. “It’s payback time,” one Republican said. “He has an enemies list that is growing by the day.”

Now Trump is back in office and purging the government of those he perceives to be his enemies. His administration is purging the Department of Justice, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and the civil service of anyone deemed insufficiently supportive of the president.

But it is not clear that the 78-year-old Trump is the one calling the shots. Although Trump maintained during his campaign that he had no idea what the right-wing Project 2025 was, multiple media outlets have established that most of his flurry of executive orders appear to have been lifted from the 922-page document. That document is the product of a group of far-right organizations led by the Heritage Foundation, which has ties to Viktor Orbán’s Danube Institute.

This week’s threatened tariff war blew up in Trump’s face. After his vow to put tariffs of 25% on most products from Mexico and Canada sent the stock market plunging, he was left declaring victory over Mexico and Canada after they essentially assured him they would do things they are already doing. In the meantime, as Carl Quintanilla noted today, Trump’s tariffs on products from China are increasing prices in the U.S.

Last night, Trump horrified even his own advisors by saying that the United States would take over Gaza and turn it into a resort area. Jonathan Swan and Maggie Haberman of the New York Times reported today that Trump’s team “had not done even the most basic planning to examine the feasibility of the idea” when Trump blurted it out. “[T]here had been no meetings with the State Department or Pentagon, as would normally occur for any serious foreign policy proposal,” Swan and Haberman wrote, “let alone one of such magnitude. There had been no working groups. The Defense Department had produced no estimates of the troop numbers required, or cost estimates, or even an outline of how it might work. There was little beyond an idea inside the president’s head,” an idea his own officials considered “fantastical even for Mr. Trump.”

Trump’s comments were so badly received in the Middle East that Matthew Gertz of Media Matters wondered if Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ordered additional security for the U.S. diplomatic facilities there.

Today, Trump praised Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) for coaching Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in college, although Mahomes arrived at Texas Tech after Tuberville had already left.

In his important piece “The Logic of Destruction and How to Resist It,” published February 2 in his Thinking about…, scholar of authoritarianism Timothy Snyder reflected on the president’s multiple photo ops signing executive orders to, for example, blame former Democratic presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden for a plane crash that happened during Trump’s term. Snyder referred to the president as “a befuddled Trump signing ever larger pieces of paper for the cameras.”

Today journalist Gil Duran of The Nerd Reich noted that a thinker popular with the technological elite in 2022 laid out a plan to gut the U.S. government and replace it with a dictatorship. This would be a “reboot” of the country, Curtis Yarvin wrote, and it would require a “full power start,” a reference to restarting a stalled starship by jumping to full power, which risks destroying the ship.

Yarvin called for “giving absolute sovereignty to a single organization,” headed by the equivalent of the rogue chief executive officer of a corporation who would destroy the public institutions of the democratic government. Trump—whom Yarvin dismissed as weak—would give power to that CEO, who would “run the executive branch without any interference from the Congress or courts.” “Most existing important institutions, public and private, will be shut down and replaced with new and efficient systems.” Once loyalists have replaced civil servants in a new ideological “army,” the CEO “will throw it directly against the administrative state—not bothering with confirmed appointments, just using temporary appointments as needed. The job of this landing force is not to govern.” The new regime must take over the country and “perform the real functions of the old, and ideally perform them much better.” It must “seize all points of power, without respect for paper protections.”

Duran noted that Vice President J.D. Vance has echoed Yarvin’s prescriptions and that Trump sidekick billionaire Elon Musk appears to be putting Yarvin’s blueprint into action. “Musk is taking a systematic approach,” Duran wrote, “one that has been outlined in public forums for years.”

This morning, Anna Wilde Mathews and Liz Essley Whyte of the Wall Street Journal reported that Elon Musk’s team has accessed payment and contracting systems at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). Mathews and Whyte note that CMS sits at the center of the country’s healthcare economy. In 2024, it disbursed about $1.5 trillion, or about 22% of the total amount of the federal total.

On X, Musk said “this is where the big money fraud is happening.” But, in fact, CMS is not operating without oversight. The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which operates out of the Department of Justice, investigates healthcare fraud. In June 2024 it announced criminal charges against 193 defendants across 32 federal districts who allegedly participated in healthcare fraud schemes that involved about $2.75 billion in intended losses and $1.6 billion in actual losses.

Indeed, as Eric Levitz of Vox pointed out, “DOGE has not presented evidence of ‘fraud’; they have highlighted millions of dollars worth of spending that Musk considers wasteful. By contrast, the [General Accountability Office] identified $233 billion of fraud in 2024. We don’t need to let a billionaire ignore federal law to do government oversight[.]”

“It is extraordinary how much access Elon Musk and his sort of creepy 22-year-old henchmen have to all of our data,” Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) told MSNBC today. “They have information that would allow them to shut down your tax refund, your Medicare payment…. Potentially, they know everything about you and your family, and the reality is that this could get dystopian very quickly…. If you were to start speaking ill of Elon Musk on social media, Elon Musk might be able to stop or delay your tax refund, or your mom's Social Security benefit, in part because we have no window into what's happening inside the Department of [the] Treasury right now."

While Murphy didn’t say it explicitly, control over such information also gives Musk power over business rivals and political leaders. When Musk’s team went into the Department of Labor today, Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) noted that “[h]e could manipulate quarterly job numbers and much more. We are talking about MARKET MOVING INFORMATION! Do employers want Musk to have access to any of their confidential data?”

Today, when asked about Musk’s conflicts of interest as he reviews federal spending while also receiving more than $15 billion in federal contracts, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that Trump had already promised that “if Elon Musk comes across a conflict of interest with the contracts and the funding that DOGE is overseeing, that Elon will excuse himself from those contracts.” Donald Kettl, a scholar of public policy, told Dana Hull of Bloomberg: “I don’t know of any other case, anywhere, in which an individual could determine for himself whether he had a conflict of interest. In fact, self-determination of a conflict of interest is itself a conflict of interest.”

In a shocking attack on the intelligence personnel who collect information around the world to keep Americans safe, today the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) sent a list of all employees the agency hired in the past two years to the White House, sending the list by unclassified email. Hugo Lowell of The Guardian reported that a former CIA agent called the reporting of the names “a counterintelligence disaster.” Lowell also reported that Representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement that he understands that the White House “insisted” on the list coming through unclassified email.

Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, posted: “Exposing the identities of officials who do extremely sensitive work would put a direct target on their backs for China. A disastrous national security development.”

Today, protesters gathered across the country to protest the takeover of the U.S. government by Musk and his cronies, and Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) noted on Facebook that the U.S. Senate phone system has been overwhelmed with around 1,600 calls a minute, in contrast to the 40 calls a minute it usually receives. Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) announced he would introduce the ELON MUSK Act—the Eliminate Looting of Our Nation by Mitigating Unethical State Kleptocracy Act—which would ban federal contracts for Special Government Employees, similar to the bans for members of Congress and other federal employees.

Opposition might well continue to grow, as the bite of the cuts the Trump administration and Musk are making to the federal government is only beginning to be felt at home (the collapse of USAID is already an international crisis). Those cuts are poised to hurt Trump’s own rural voters worse than they hurt Democratic areas. In Virginia, about 400,000 people in rural areas receive healthcare from federally qualified health centers; half of these centers have lost their federal grants and are stopping some services or closing. Trump is currently planning to eliminate the Department of Education; the top six states that receive grants under the department—Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Nevada—all voted for Trump in 2024.

Tonight, Democratic senators, led by Chuck Schumer (NY), Jeff Merkley (OR), Patty Murray (WA), Gary Peters (MI), and Brian Schatz (HI), will hold the Senate floor all night in a filibuster to stop the confirmation of Russell Vought, a key right-wing author of Project 2025, to direct the Office of Management and Budget. “Vought’s proposals to slash federal funding will threaten Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security,” the senators said. “Vought will also continue to carry out President Donald Trump’s illegal federal funding cuts, stopping taxpayer dollars from supporting local schools, police departments, community health centers, food pantries, firefighters, and other vital programs.”

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Heather Cox Richardson #Letters From An American #OMB #Vought #US Treasury #Red States #history #American History #impeachment #Gaza #Canada #FBI

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princessconsuela120 · 2 years ago

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☁ FEARLESS ☁

— ☁

Summary: as the Curtis sister its practically known that you're off limits. However, Dallas Winston was never one to follow rules. Or in which your brother gave you a strict set of rules to stay alive in Tulsa, and you have done amazingly well at breaking all of them.

Warnings: I guess angst? Cursing

Author’s Note: rekindling my love for the Outsiders recently so if any has any other requests send them in!

— ☁

IT WAS ALWAYS A MATTER OF PRIDE WHEN IT CAME TO YOUR BROTHERS. You weren't too fond of that fact that you have been single for the past 16 years of your life was something they were proud of. They were your protectors, and it seemed as if all of Tulsa was aware of that. Though your oldest brother, Darry, would never fail to remind you that these were your wishes. Of course, the wishes you made when you were 9 and didn't know there were boys who existed besides your brothers. Ever since your parents passed, your oldest brother Darry was pretty much your dad. He was doing the best he could, and you knew that, but he couldn’t help but be protective as he is, now that his baby sister is all grown up. Now you were far from being a baby, which is were the Curtis brothers long list of rules came in.

number 1 - NEVER walk anywhere alone; there are thousands of greasers in this town, you are bound to find at least one who will take you home.

Now, this rule was ultimately demolished one day you failed to find someone to walk you, and had single handed lay taken down five socs alone with your switch blade. This seemed to scare your brothers more than the socs you took down, and ultimately the rule was no longer there to be followed.

number 2 - curfew is 9:00 no later.

though you would always argue with Darry, in a town as dangerous as Tulsa was for us greasers, 9:00 was a reasonable curfew. But, this rule was ultimately outlawed the second you start your new job at the Dairy Queen, where for whatever reason you wouldn’t arrive home from your shift until after 10:00. Now this was ruled by Sodapop as strictly for your job, but Darry seemed to know better. Turns out your shift at the Dairy Queen ended at 8:30, which only peaked your brother curiosity as to where the hell you could have been for the hour and a half that followed.

number 3 - always wear your helmet while riding you bike birdie, I can’t believe I even have to tell you that.

Though Darry was reluctant to even make this one a rule, seeing as it should be common sense, after a near death motorcycle accident, it seemed important enough to mention. Sometimes having a rebellious sister was fun for the boys, and other times it ended in nights in the hospital due to motorcycle accidents. What can you say, you liked the way your hair blew in the wind, and absolutely hated helmet hair.

number 4 - whenever you are home alone all doors and windows must be locked and shut.

the boys always tried to do everything in their power to make sure you weren’t ever home alone, but there were circumstances that couldn’t be avoided. Like when pony boy had school, and everyone else was working. Like Sodapop you had also dropped out of school early, to save the money. Now, if it ever happened you were home alone, let’s just say you found a way to not be.

number 5 - no pets, you can barely take care of yourself.

another obvious one in Darry’s opinion, and also Ponyboy’s least favorite rule. The two of you had been begging Darry to buy a pet for two years now, and every time the answer was the same. No. Sodapop was allergic to dogs, so that was ruled out, and you could barely take care of yourselves let alone a pet. However, after one particularly long ride on your motorcycle, you discover a tiny kitten who had been sneaking shelter in you bike’s motor. Something you had never seen before, and when you arrived home with the tiny blueish grey kitten, not even Darry had the heart to tell you to put it back. Harley, as you decided to name him, for obvious reasons, had become your new best friend. He was practically attached to your side, and turns out taking care of him was easier than taking care of yourself.

number 6 - tell your brothers where you are going before you go out, so if anything happens we know where you are.

you had argued on many occasions that this one was a bit much. You were 16, and perfectly trustworthy. There was no reason why Darry had to know where you were at all times, in a town that you could yell in the center and be heard in every corner. Now, seeing as phones weren’t as accessible as Darry had hoped, this rule was quickly abolished when you had gained a habit of taking Ponyboy out for rides on your bike, which never consisted of specific locations to track.

number 7 - no sneaking out, once you are in for the night you’re in.

Even though your room was your favorite place in the world, you couldn’t help but have a rebellious heart like the other greasers. With a curfew of 9:00, and daylight savings where the sun was still out and you weren’t, you started a habit of watching the sunset. Now, you had a rule for this and your brother didn’t. It was ruled unfair by yourself, when both you and Ponyboy started getting caught together, sneaking out to two completely different places. Poor Darry was bound to get a heart attack from you two.

number 8 - nothing illegal, this should be a rule of life not of the house, but if you go to jail I will personally lecture you myself.

Now, this one was a special occasion rule, added after a particular series of events. It was your first time ever doing anything illegal, and of course you got caught. Even though you had your best interest at heart, the police didn’t see it that way. It was your’s and Soda’s birthday, and you felt awful that the poor guy had to work. So you went to the store, and looked around for a record to buy as his present. Stevie Wonder, you and Soda’s artist, he pretty much represented your relationship with him. But when the time came, you realized you didn’t have nearly enough money to buy it. So you tried to sneak it out of the store. Of course, hiding a record that was wider than you under your shirt isn’t the best idea.

number 9 - keep your distance from the socs, we have enough beef with them, they would love to get their hands on the Curtis sister.

This rule was a follow up rule of almost every rule before it. The Socs were the center of all evil, and it was almost impossible to avoid them. It became its own separate rule after a particularly difficult run in. You tried, you really did, but it just wasn’t a fair fight. 6 against one, and you had left your blade at home. Two-Bit had found you while he was walking home the next morning, your brothers hearts each broke when they saw how beaten up you were. Darry wasn’t mad at you, he was mad at himself. So he made it a new rule.

number 10 - no rumbles, I don’t need any broken bones.

as a greaser, rumbles were basically inevitable, it was a part of life. Knowing you, you loved to give your brothers heart-attacks, and a rumble was no different. Every rumble before this one was fine, but this was a particularly rough patch. Everything was fine, and fair, and good. Until the damned Soc pulled a knife on you. Cut up y the bridge of your nose so bad, it left you with a nasty scar between your eyes. You loved it though, though it made you look tough. Darry however hated it, it was just a reminder that you weren’t as tough as you convinced him you were.

number 11 - no, and I mean absolutely no boys. You have three brothers right here at home and enough boys in the gang to be your family. You’re too young for a boy who will just take advantage of my beautiful baby sister anyway.

this was the important one. All other rules held less importance than this one. This is the ultimate, final rule. For as long as you were brown, Darry had made a promise, to himself and to you. He would protect you, and care for you, and never let anything hurt you. Now if that meant you would be mad at him for it for your entire high school life, he was fine with it, as long as he protected you. Now, the entire gang knew this rule and helped you to follow it. But we all know how Dallas Winston feels about rules.

#dallas winston x reader #outsiders x reader #the outsiders #darry curtis x reader #sodapop curtis x reader #ponyboy Curtis x reader #Curtis reader

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cher-rei · 8 months ago

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afterglow- pt 10 [ T.A.A ]

pairings: trent alexander arnold x fem!reader

summary: young and aspiring marketing and business major jamie carter (you) is privileged with working alongside the liverpool marketing and public relations team while also getting entangled with their star player and right back, trent alexander arnold.

genre(s): friends to lovers, fluff, slowish?? burn

[w.c: 5.6k] [part 1] [part 2] [part 3] [part 4] [part 5] [part 6] [part 7] [paet 8] [part 9] [part 11] [part 12]

notes: another reallllllyyy lengthy chapter

it was still 0-0 at half time despite the amount of action that has taken place. arsenal had 13 shots on target but none of them hit the back of the net which was insane. and you guys a good few opportunities as well but none of them were good enough unfortunately.

so as the half-time whistle blew, jurgen was already halfway down the tunnel and darting for the dressing room as usual. you stood with your hands on your hips as you watched the boys come off the pitch, heaving and frustrated. you pat jarrel lightly on the shoulder and shot him a small smile.

"are you okay bud?"

he let out a breath and nodded, accounting for the small fall on his ankle earlier. it had you worried but he managed to get up again and played on without any issues.

when everyone was finally in for the break, you gestured to clara that you were heading up to the booth to check on the media team who were handling the team's social platforms. just as you entered the corridor, your phone buzzed in your pocket, and funny enough, it was from laura— one of the team members in charge of monitoring the media feedback.

"yep, I'm on my way," you answered and continued up the flight of stairs, ending the call soon after as you entered the room where the team's staff was set up.

"feedback is looking great," laura said and spun around in her chair to look at you, her hand gesturing to her laptop screen that had the twitter feed open.

you leant over her and scanned through the hashtags. it was better than you expected, but unfortunately for arsenal it was the opposite. but a part of you couldn't help but be slightly rejoiced, and it definitely had to do with the fact that michael and kelly were here.

when you made eye contact with him earlier you tried your best not to show any reaction despite the bitter taste on your tongue. you wondered if he knew that you were going to be here, and if he came just to spite you. but you pushed those thoughts aside, and tried to focus on literally anything else.

your main issue at the moment— trent coming over to your apartment. that didn't seem to calm your mind either, instead, it filled you with more anxiety because you didn't know what you two were going to do.

clara suggested that you watch a movie and chill, and though it seemed like a great idea you didn't know which movie to watch. what if your taste in movies was completely different to his? heck, what if he didn't watch movies at all??

the anxiety settled in your stomach and you needed fresh air. "thanks for the updates laura. do me a favour and get an idea of who they're interviewing after the match besides trent."

laura gave you a thumbs up. "yes ma'am." and you were off again, just in time for the second half to begin. you were practically rushing through the corridors, funny enough to meet both teams lining up halfway, chatting among themselves.

you were greeted with a few polite "hello"s and waves from the home side to which you returned, as opposed to the visitors of today's match who were yelling at you for completely different reasons.

"jamie!" your attention was caught midway by curtis and as much as you wanted to leave him hanging just for the fun of it, you gave in.

"hello to you too," you greeted sarcastically and he faked a laugh.

"I need your help with the interviews. not today, I can't answer those questions today," he pleaded desperately and you nodded, telling him that you were already on it.

just as you were about to leave again, you were pulled back by someone else. only this time, you didn't mind. you happily obliged and turned to look at trent, struggling to breathe a bit. you've told clara this before, but him in the purple away kit had you on your knees.

maybe it was the lighting, but he looked breathtaking.

he smiled at you softly. "are you okay?" he asked loud enough so that only you could hear. the question was strange but you nodded regardless, and asked why he was wondering.

"you kept on looking over your shoulder," he said and your stomach dropped. "and you looked stressed."

there was a genuine look in his eyes and you wanted to tell him everything, mentally cursing yourself for feeling this vulnerable with someone who probably couldn't care less. but you swallowed your pride and gave him some explanation.

"michael's here," you whispered. trent was taken back by your answer and suddenly he stood up straight with his eyes wide in shock.

"he's here now? is he alone?"

you tried to shush trent but that got the rest of the team's attention, and if it was one thing that you knew then it was that they were one nosy group of men. trent flashed an apologetic smile as the others leant over to hear what you were talking about.

"who's here?" dom asked with a cheeky grin and trent nudged his arm, only for a few more questions to be thrown into the air in the middle of the tunnel with seconds until the second half began.

you managed to break free from the huddle, and apologised despite their pleas for an answer. "you guys should be focusing on the match you know? good luck!"

the group of men watched as you left, annoyed groans leaving their mouths as they got ready to leave, only to earn them a few very confused looks from the arsenal squad who watched the entire interaction.

joe took the liberty and chucked awkwardly. "we love her around here."

harvey was quick to interject, "who's we?"

"how has no one scored yet?" it's jota who spoke up at the 50' minute, reflecting everyone else's thoughts as they watched from the side. the ball would just not go in. no matter how well the passes were made, no matter how far into the penalty box they were— the ball was in a mood today.

it's not long after his comment that jurgen told jota to start warming up, and the squad member happily obliged with a muffled "finally" that made you and clara laugh.

not much happened after that, other than even more frustration and missed opportunities to score for both sides. everyone began to grow agitated, and you couldn't blame them. you got up from your seat for a bit, just to loosen up some tension.

jurgen stood just centimetres from the touchline as usual, his arms crossed with a snarky grin on his face. he waved you over, and you knew what was coming. if there was one thing that this man could do, then it was complain and rant. but you didn't mind, because you just so happened to be a professional in both of those departments.

he went on for a bit and you agreed with him, and suggested that maybe some changes would do good. just to flip the dynamic a bit, seeing as they were getting nowhere. jurgen nodded, looking down at his watch now that arteta was making his substitutions.

funny enough harvey had just gotten booked for dissent, and that pretty much summed up everyone's frustration. you felt a light pat on your shoulder. "get the kids ready for harvey and curtis."

you left without any hesitation while jurgen went over to talk to pep about something. there was a smile on your face as you called on conor and bobby who were watching the match eagerly, their eyes lighting up in disbelief when you told them to warm up.

the board went up and you wished them luck but there was a sly smirk on your face as harvey and curtis came to sit down. "calm down tiny." harvey stopped to look at you with a hardened expression. "I can see the fumes coming from your ears."

the rest of the bench found your comment quite funny but that prompted harvey to throw his water bottle at you, but suddenly you jolted in your seat at the roaring sound of the away fans. in frantic you turned to the pitch, only to see that arsenal scored an own goal thanks to trent's free kick.

the stadium was alive again, the supporters began to sing and chant again and you were filled with hope that arsenal wouldn't equalise. 88' minute rolled around and you were sitting back in your seat, chatting with clara while your eyes subconsciously followed trent until you caught something.

not sure if you were being paranoid or not you leant forward in your seat to get a look. he did have a fall a few minutes earlier and even got booked for the tackle but it didn't seem that serious. "he's limping."

"who? trent?" clara asked, slightly confused but you remained silent. you watched as he went behind the goal line to grab the ball for a throw in, a slight hop in his step that had him scrunching his face in pain.

nobody else noticed the way that he bit his jersey to contain the pain, the captains armband holding much weight for him at that moment but he carried on. you made an appeal to pep, bringing his attention to the right back who was clearly not okay.

it was rolling into the 4 minutes of added time but you were extremely uneasy. yeah sure you had feelings for him and you were aware of them, but this amount of worry was a little weird. there was seconds left on the clock and lucho managed to score the winner, but you weren't able to rejoice.

the full-time whistle finally blew and the players stood on the pitch for a bit as usual but the minute to saw trent alone, you waved him over and walked with him to the dressing room.

"a normal person would've asked for help if they felt that they were hurt you know?" you said and hooked your arm into his for stability, just in case.

trent let out a scoff, fighting back the pain shooting through his leg. "there was 5 minutes left so it didn't matter. and," he looked pat the captain's armband. "I had a role to play."

there wasn't any point in arguing with him, so you just rolled your eyes. "okay, captain fantastic."

when you got to the dressing room, he sat down with a heaved sigh and just in time, the medics arrived. they couldn't do much at that moment but it was bad enough that he had a physio assessment the following day. the medics left shortly after, and you stood in the middle of the dressing room with a look of pure fear.

a smile tugged at trent's lips as he watched you, not being able to help that he found your concern for him endearing. "you're more stressed out than I am. and I'm the one that's injured."

that didn't help you at all. just the mention of an injury made you upset. there was a moment of silence before he spoke up again, leaning his head back onto the locker. "so what are we doing tomorrow?"

we??

you shook your head at the question. "no there's no we. there's only you, who's going to go home and rest because you need it."

"I can just rest at your house though?" he shrugged his shoulders, clearly not understanding the depth of the situation and his potential injury.

you seriously tried to fight him off, urging him to go home and rest, and that you'd pick up your hangout another time. unfortunately for you, this man was stubborn beyond comprehension. he would not back down without a fight and insisted that he needed the distraction anyway.

when you finally gave in, he was more than happy, which left you slightly annoyed. but at least that meant that he actually enjoyed your company so it was a win win situation... kind of.

when you were done wrapping up your work and bidding everyone goodbye, you took a stroll to your car with clara, who was conveniently parked next to you. of course, the first thing she asked about was if trent was still coming over, to which you nodded with an eye roll.

it was safe to say that she was more excited about tomorrow than you were. at least you had some time to prepare because trent still had to go home and freshen up. you offered to drive him but he said that his brother would probably drop him off since he couldn't drive.

all of that was extremely convenient, but there was still a small amount of fight in you that told him to cancel and rest at home. which didn't make a difference at all, but there was no harm in trying.

"yeah and then we're going to..."

clara trailed off with her sentence, her lips parting at the sight in front of your car. your breath hitched at the sight of michael with his hands in his pockets, his attention focused on the floor.

shit.

kelly was nowhere to be seen so you assumed that he told her to wait in the car or something. there wasn't much you could do since he was in front of your car, so you took the last few steps and he lifted his head to look at you.

he straightened his posture and took a quick glance at clara who was staring daggers at him which made him visibly uncomfortable. you pursed your lips to stop a laugh from escaping and gave a light squeeze to clara's hand, indicating that you'd be okay.

she wasn't too keen on leaving at first and pulled you in for a quick hug. "call me when you get to the hotel okay? drive safe."

"you too, angel." you waved her off, watching as she safely excited the parking lot.

the second she was out of sight, michael cleared his throat and took the liberty of taking a step closer. you swallowed the lump in your throat and tilted your head at him, urging for him to speak.

he licked his lips and cleared his throat. "this brings back memories, how ironic." there was an awkward smile on his face and it took a moment for you to realise that he was talking about your outfit.

you looked down at your liverpool jersey and back to his arsenal jersey with a bitter taste in your mouth. nothing came from it though, and you stayed silent. you didn't see any reason for you to respond, having more important things to do.

"I uh..." michael rubbed the nape of his neck. "I wanted to say hi since it's been a while. how are you?"

is he being serious right now?

the chill of the evening air was starting to pick up, a few goosebumps rising on your arms. "I'm great." you crossed your arms for some warmth. "how are you--" your nose scrunched, an irritated smile tugging at your lips. "--and kelly?"

a flash of hurt struck across his face and you relished in it. what gave him the nerve to talk to you after everything? that was the question plaguing your mind at the moment, you weren't even mad— you were just really irritated.

it took him a moment to come back from that but he simply nodded. "we're okay. I don't think she knows you're here by the way an--"

you sighed and checked your watch for the time. "yeah, let's keep it that way." it was nearly 9 and you had to get home. "michael, can we please speed this up, I need to leave."

"oh?"

you narrowed your eyes at his answer and it was clear to him that he wasn't going to get the light of day, definitely not from you. "I mean, yeah, sure," he hurriedly corrected himself, putting out his hand but quickly retracing it.

he noticed that you were growing impatient, and checked over his shoulder for a moment. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry jamie."

you were barely listening, and instead began fishing for your car keys from your handbag, not wasting a second to move him out of the way and unlock the door. "aw, good for you buddy."

your answer caught him off guard. this wasn't how this interaction was supposed to go apparently but you couldn't care less. it was water under the bridge and you didn't have the energy to worry about it, but clearly he thought otherwise.

just as you were about to get into the driver's seat, michael put his hand on the door to stop you. your eyes shut in annoyance, and you had no choice but to look at him and the pitiful look on his face.

"michael, what do you want from me?" you asked, the anger slipping out in your tone. "it's been a year, we've both moved on and there's nothing we can do. so why are you talking to me right now, please enlighten me?" there was some mock in your voice because the situation was genuinely amusing.

"I'm here to apologise, and you're not listening to me," he answered in offence but you only rolled your eyes.

"I don't need an apology." you moved his hand away from the door. "I need to get to the hotel because my bus leaves in 40 minutes."

"jamie!" he raised his voice this time but you weren't fazed, only reflecting his energy.

"what michael!?"

he ran a hand through hid hair in frustration. "I'm trying to be decent and set things straight and you're acting childish."

"no, what you're being," you dropped your bag in the passenger seat and glared at him. "is an inconvenience. I don't want you to apologise because you were supposed to do that before I fucking left london."

of course, his apology wouldn't have made a difference back then and you still would've left but at least it would've been something. but you moved on, you got your life together and buried that part of you.

the emptiness of the parking lot echoed its silence as you stared at each other. your eyes filled with hatred and his with something you couldn't care less about. the moment was thankfully interrupted by the sound of a woman calling his name, and for the first time in a while you couldn't have been happier to see kelly.

"babe, hurry up we need to get home."

a smile crept to your face and you waved to kelly who was approaching, watching as she stopped dead in her tracks. "your girlfriend is calling you and I need to leave."

you shut the car door in his face and drove without looking back. this was your last goodbye to whatever part of you was left in london and you intended to keep it there.

when you got home a little after 12, you didn't say a word. even on the bus you sat in silence with clara holding your hand the entire ride. her understanding was seriously appreciated and that was all you needed, some emotional support.

sure, you didn't sleep as well as you usually would but when you woke up you were back to normal. the surprise encounter was water under the bridge once again and you had no reason to think about it. for your off day however, there wasn't much to do except having trent over.

he had his physio assessment earlier that day so he'd be over after 3 which gave you enough time to prepare. there wasn't much on his injury yet but it was practically confirmed that he'd be missing his match against fulham on tuesday, which he was immensely upset about of course.

so that was your plan today. to help him relax and distract him from the setback. since he couldn't walk, you set up a few things you could do at your apartment which was ideally your ideal idea of a date. not that this was a date! it was just a friendly hangout and nothing more.

anyway, you'd start the afternoon with an icebreaker. not just any icebreaker though, no you'd be building a puzzle. although it might've seemed strange, but just as you told clara, "trust the process." your friend wasn't too convinced by your answer but she went with it nonetheless.

after that, you'd have a few movies lined up. (5 of your best recommendations) after the movie and lunch you'd head to the kitchen for a little baking activity. and to wrap the evening up, you'd play a few games and just hang out.

it was perfect.

and by the time you were done with most of the setup, there was still enough time for you to make a quick stop. it was the christmas present that you'd gotten for yourself a while ago, but you were only allowed to pick it up today.

the drive to the shelter was a quick one, your excitement and eagerness for the long-awaited present pumping your adrenaline. you don't even remember properly stopping the car before you were at the reception and signing in.

you were led to a room on the far end of the building, where a litter of puppies were happily wandering and playing with each other. your heart nearly exploded in your chest, and you carefully stepped into the pen to tend to them.

"unfortunately their mum didn't make it, so I'm glad that we're able to find at least one of these babies a home," the employee who helped you said with a lopsided smile.

they were the most previous litter of golden retrievers you'd ever seen, and you couldn't have been more grateful that your complex allowed pets.

in no time you chose one of the pups, and were at the reception once again to finish up some paperwork. she fit perfectly in your arms and not to be emotional but you felt like crying.

everything was already back at your apartment— her toys, her food and water bowl and her bed. it was just a matter of finally welcoming her home, which wasn't much of a problem.

"come here bubba, " you called with a smile as you sat on your living room carpet. the golden retriever was a but hesitant sr first, tilting her head to the side before slowly approaching you until she took refuge in your lap.

your heart swelled in your chest and you pet her gently and took a picture for your instagram story.

spamjam._. added to their story

it wasn't long after you uploaded your story that your doorbell rang. honey, who wasn't familiar with the sound jumped up in fright which caused you to laugh. you picked her up, cradled her in your arms and opened the door.

on the other side, stood trent with his hands in his pockets. he flashed a smile, one that had your breath hitching but you managed to compose yourself and let him in.

"and who's this angel?" he asked and bent down to look at honey, who was more than eager to accept his ruffling of her fur.

you watched with a smile as he interacted with honey, taking her in his arms and baby-talking her. it was genuinely the most heartwarming experience, seeing him be so gentle and bashful with your puppy.

"this is my baby and the new addition to my family," you answered and sat beside him on your couch enough space between the two of you for the puppy. "she's a little christmas present from myself."

"well she's absolutely gorgeous," trent complimented and kissed the side of her head. he lifted honey in the air to get a better look and took a quick glance at you, the smile on his face not faltering. "you definitely take after your mother."

your heart stopped for a moment, unsure if you heard him correctly or if you misunderstood what he said. when he saw how you froze trent was quick to interject with a teasing scoff. "I'm sure you're used to compliments by now. unless mine just make you flustered?" his eyebrows raised with a cheeky grin.

all you did was roll your eyes to hide the fact that you were flustered. by now it was obvious that he knew that you had feelings for him, and some part of you felt that he felt the same way. so if this hangout went well, then you were on the right track.

after a few more minutes of chatting and getting comfortable, you started the first part of your dat-- hangout! the puzzle wasn't anything too crazy, just a picture of some aesthetic scenery. you'd been meaning to put it together for a while now, but there was never time.

you set it down on the coffee table along with some snacks. both you and trent took your seats on the carpet, side by side, but you made sure that he was comfortable. he had a knee brace on at the moment and was still limping.

the conversation between the two of you picked up quicker than before, there was no tension in the air or the need to hold back on saying something. everything just felt so free and light. there wasn't a moment where either of you wasn't laughing or bickering with each other, and that made it all the more fun.

the conversation sprung from topic to topic with ease. at some point it got to your family dynamics and the relationships between your parents and your siblings. you asked about how it felt to be the middle child, and why he was the only one of his two brothers that pursued his football career.

"I mean tyler is my manager now so he's still kind of in it, does that make sense?" he asked, more to himself than you and you nodded. "and marcel..." he paused and looked up for a moment, not knowing what to say. "he's just marcel. you know how younger siblings are."

a scoff left your lips as you scavenged across the array of puzzle pieces in front of you until you found one that might fit. "I am the younger sibling. unless alex counts then all the knowledge I have is from the word of mouth."

"yeah, you're privileged. younger siblings are such a pain."

it took him a while to realise what he said, and by the time he turned to apologise, you were already glaring at him. in an attempt to fix the situation, he held his hands up in surrender. "every younger sibling except you of course."

your eyebrows quirked. "uh huh? and why's that?"

trent's lips tugged up and he eased back down at the sound of your teasing tone. his eyes flickered between your lips and your eyes for a moment, but not long enough for you to realise. "because you're just the sweetest person ever. genuinely such a pleasure to be around, with all your screaming and laughing--" he put his hand on your shoulder. "--and not to mention your constant complaining."

your lips parted at the way he was mocking you. "oh, that's how it is?" you slapped his hand from your shoulder but he continued to ramble on jokingly, despite your protest.

"but I'd listen to you complain and scream any day, trust me."

your nose scrunched at his answer. "and the laughing?"

it felt like the space between the two of you had decreased a significant amount because your knee was touching his thigh. his doe eyes caught yours for a moment and you reminded yourself not to do anything rash.

"it's like music to my ears," trent answered in a mote gentle tone. and once again, you couldn't tell if he was being serious or not.

the moment was interrupted by honey barking, probably because she was hungry. you cleared your throat and got up to tend to your puppy and trent's eyes remained fixed on every movement. the way that you gently cradled honey and spoke to her, the way that you tucked a strand of her behind your ear— the strand that always seemed to bother you.

it was all so miniscule but he couldn't look away or ignore it. not when there was a reoccurring tightening in his chest whenever you were near him.

after more than an hour, you had finished about half of the puzzle and it was time to eat and watch one of the movies you'd picked out. now usually you'd just order a pizza or some sushi, but for some reason you felt like cooking for the occasion.

you plated the fettuccine alfredo and got your drinks out. it wasn't too dark outside yet so you left the lights on and got comfortable on the couch with the remote in your hand.

"okay, so I have no idea what you're into," you sighed truthfully and held up your finger. "but I have movies that everyone should like."

"and if I don't like them?"

you shrugged at his answer. "then consider our friendship over."

"jamie, that's just unfair," trent protested and turned to look at you but you weren't paying attention and settled on a movie.

you sat back and got comfortable, waiting for the movie to start. the familiar soundtrack sounded through the living room which caused trent to stop eating immediately.

"are we watching karate kid?"

when you looked at him you had to bite back a laugh and simply nodded. "It's one of my favourite movies. play it at funeral."

it was about 15 minutes into the movie when you both finished eating, and you were quick to take your dishes in while trent went to the bathroom. you washed the two plates and left them on the drying rack and quickly got back to the lounge.

trent was already huddled comfortably beneath the blanket with his legs spread out in front of him on his side of the L-shaped couch. the lights we all off now except for the t.v, and you couldn't explain a more relaxing feeling.

"come here, my angel," you said sweetly and placed honey on your lap.

after a bit, you felt the need to stretch your legs since they had been crossed for so long. the only issue was that trent was there, and if you put your legs on the couch, it would stretch over his lap.

for a few minutes, you mentally debated with yourself and endured the sharp pains shooting through your calves. trent must've noticed, you're not sure how, but he just did.

he caught your attention by tapping his lap lightly, giving you a look that said "I can see that you're dying". you declined of course and as usual, it was a back-and-forth about your comfortabity.

he won though. but it was by force. he literally leant over and grabbed your legs and put them across his lap, shushing you whenever you wanted to say something.

it was difficult to pay attention to the movie, seeing as all you could concentrate on was the feeling of his fingers trailing along your shins. you felt yourself drifting off to sleep at how comfortable you were, but you fought it off.

instead, you both basked in the atmosphere and the other's company. even if it was silent for most of the movie, the presence of each other made a significant difference. even if your feelings for each other were up in the air at the moment, something was bound to happen.

"we should do this more often."

you perked up at his sudden retort, and unbeknownst smile crept onto your lips. "just say the word and I'll work something out."

there was a beat of silence.

"word."

you rolled your eyes with a hearty laugh. "oh wow, you're hilarious."

the evening continued and came to an end quicker than you liked. you could hear in trent's voice that he wasn't too happy about it either, glaring at the text from his brother saying that he was outside.

you didn't know how to say goodbye. were you supposed to just wave? were you on hugging terms? like you said earlier, it was all up in the air. just floating around.

you stood awkwardly at the front door and bid him goodbye. and just when you expected him to then around and leave, he pulled you in for a hug and placed a gentle but quick kiss on your cheek.

and when you finally processed it. he was gone, leaving you alone in your doorway with a pounding heart and a feeling of slight emptiness.

trentarnold66

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trentarnold66 best way to fix my leg 🥱 [tagged: spamjam._.]

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spamjam._. your welcome 🙄

→ trentarnold66 I can hear you smiling

→ spamjam._. bro get a life [liked by trentarnold66]

user uhm what is going on in the house of commons???

user the math isn't mathing, but at the same time it is???

clarashaw someone stole my bitch 🥲 [liked by trentarnold66]

szoboszlaidominik 😟💔 [liked by trentarnold66]

judebellingham when my two worlds collide but I'm in another country 😃 [liked by trentarnold66]

→ spamjam._. tell jobe to change the netflix password back

→ jobebellingham I didn't change the password ?? 😭

→ spamjam._. @judebellingham kys.

→ judebellingham tehe 🤭

user WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THESE COMMENTS???

user this is the first time this man has posted in months and ya'll are worried about the comments 😭

user are they a thing??

→ user nah they're just friends, there's been rumours about trent and some other girl. iris I think?

#cherrei writes #afterglow trent alexander arnold #trent alexander arnold fluff #trent alexander arnold x reader #trent alexander arnold #liverpoolfc x reader #liverpool fc #footballer x reader #footballer imagine #euro 2024 #jude bellingham

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delilaha · 9 days ago

Text

In another universe, where Ponyboy is a girl, it's not exactly socially acceptable for girls to go around beating up others, nevermind the socs. But that doesn't mean she can't get them back.

————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————

If you asked Penelope Curtis what the worst day of her life was, she'd give you three answers: the night her parents died, the day of their funeral, and the day Sodapop's best friend carried him into their house, unconscious, all but collapsing under his weight.

She remembers it so perfectly; the agonizing groan Soda let out at every poke and prod, the way Penny and Steve practically shouted at each other because they couldn't agree on how to treat him, how scary it all felt because Darry wasn't home to help. And when he did come home, it was still a shit show. She tried to ignore the way he blew up at Steve, how his voice rose with every question and how she just wanted him to stop because Soda's wince kept getting more defined with each syllable. How she had to keep pressing towels to the cut on his temple because it just kept perpetually bleeding, and how it all haunted her dreams when Darry finally convinced her to go to bed.

She made Darry let her stay home the next day so she could keep watch over Sodapop because he couldn't, telling him that she'd deliberately fail all her tests and quizzes that day if he made her go in. Although Penny knew she was only a bother to Soda because all there was to do for him was to wake him up every ten minutes or so, so scared to death that his concussion got the better of him while she was occupied with something else. She remembered when Johnny came a little later that morning, and how he paled when he saw Soda laid up on the couch, knowing that all he could think about was his own jumping less than a year back. He really tried to help Penny out, but it looked like he was about to either throw up or cry, or both, so she gave him two dollars and sent him to the corner store a few blocks away to get another bottle of Aspirin.

She remembered how the gang came over later that day, the house stiff with talks of a rumble from Dally and Steve, Two-Bit's less than effective attempts at cracking jokes, Johnny's terrible nail-biting habit as he stood off to the side, and Darry's tense form hovering over Penny, who was kneeling by the edge of the couch, helping Soda eat some chicken broth and crackers. That was probably the only good part of her day, too, to see Sodapop perked up a bit, just enough to eat. He dozed off pretty quickly afterwards.

That was a week ago. Now, as Penny sat in her eighth period physics class, all she could think about were the events to come. They were supposed to be rumbling tonight, her brother's jumping supposedly being the last straw. She desperately wished she could join them, but let's be honest, she knows she'd get absolutely bodied out there. Hell, she could hardly beat Johnny in a wrestling match, and she's pretty sure half the time he's going easy on her. She's no match for a bunch of 15-20 year old boys and they'd have her down for the count in a matter of minutes, but that doesn't mean she doesn't dream of knocking them out and spitting on their torpid bodies.

Soda wasn't too happy when he figured out he wasn't gonna be fighting, either. He's a million times better than he was when he was first brought home and the days following, but according to Darry, he's healing a little too slowly for his liking. He hasn't been able to go back to work yet, and mostly whenever Penny sees him, he's lounging on the couch taking a nap or watching the tv because it's all he could really do. He still has a slight limp from the massive bruise trailing down the side of his leg where the socs kicked him real good, and his headaches have yet to cease. So Penny was supposed to be keeping company with Sodapop tonight while everyone else fought for him at the rumble.

"How's everything going, guys? Anyone need help?" The physics teacher, Miss Austen, called from the front of the room, snapping Penny out of her deep thought. She whipped her head up, then looked back down at her worksheet in front of her, groaning quietly when she saw she had only answered two questions and filled the margins with doodles. She tucked a piece of hair behind her ear, grabbing her pencil again, and attempted to answer the third question.

"Need help?" Another voice spoke, and Penny turned her head to see her desk neighbor, Chrissy, had asked her.

"Oh, no, sorry. Just thinking," Penny told her, resting her head in her hand, sighing. She saw Chrissy nod and turn back to her work out of the corner of her eye, and thought that was the end of it, but she continued.

"How's your brother doing? Any better?" Chrissy asked, not looking up from her worksheet.

Chrissy was a nice girl. Well, nice is not something many people would agree with, based on the amount of times she's had detention because of one hallway fight or another, but she was real good at science and always helped Penny when she needed it. Penny noticed Chrissy didn't really open up to many people, but they never seemed to have trouble talking to each other.

"Yeah. He'll probably go back to work tomorrow." Penny responded. Chrissy looked up from her worksheet with a wince.

"Damn, after a week? They must've gotten him good, huh?" She asked, sincerity in her voice. Penny's smile faded and she looked back down at her paper.

"Yeah. It wasn't pretty," She told Chrissy, picking at her nails.

"You know, I remember when my brother got jumped too," Chrissy said, when she suddenly leaned in and said real quietly, "And I don't know how you're not busting at the seams. My brother wasn't half as bad as yours and I wanted to strangle someone."

Penny snickered at this. "Oh, trust me, I do, too. But I'm gonna do something tonight."

"Whaddya gonna do? Rumble?" Chrissy asked, her voice still just above a whisper.

"No. I wish. My brothers would lock me in my room 'till I'm thirty if I ever even mentioned the idea." She mumbled, running a hand through her hair. "I don't know what I'll do yet. I have to think about it."

"You know what kind of car they were drivin'?" Chrissy asked lowly after a moment, still leaned in.

"Uh, a light blue corvette, I think," P thinks she may remember S saying something about a blue corvette when they asked him one night. "How come?"

Chirssy's mouth then turned up into a smile that meant no good. "You could wreck their car."

Penny's head snapped up at this, looking at Chrissy incredulously, thinking she was joking. But her blue eyes held a cold seriousness to them and it left Penny thinking for a minute.

"Sneak out tonight to the rumble. Take a bat with you, find the car, and just go ham on it. No one's gonna hear shit over the fight." Chrissy continued, almost under her breath. Penny nodded, gnawing at her fingernail.

It's true, it could work.

See, recently Darry's been making Soda take a cup of Nyquill every night at 10 to help him fall asleep quicker and longer. It's a remedy their mother insisted on any time one of her kids were sick or hurt and had trouble falling asleep because of it. It worked like a charm every time Darry got hurt from a football game, all the times Penny got sick with a cold or flu, or when Soda got into the usual shenanigans he would as a kid and got himself hurt. And eventually Sodapop was lucid enough to realize that it was hard for him to fall asleep because of the pain, and Aspirins didn't take much of an effect on him. But Nyquill? Oh boy, does it knock him out.

And tonight, the rumble is scheduled to start at 10:30. These rumbles have begun to start later and later because the fuzz are catching onto them more and more. Johnny says sometimes he sees their cars are hanging out by the lot on random nights, and there was a smaller rumble, on the other side of town not too long ago between a few other gangs that didn't include their own, that was shut down within fifteen minutes of it starting by the cops.

So the rest of the gang will probably leave at 10:20 the latest, meaning that Darry'd be home to make sure Soda took his routinely Nyquill, and he'd easily be conked out, or at least close to it, by the time the rumble starts. And then, Penny could strike.

"I like that idea," Penny responded, a smile forming on her lips.

"You just gotta make sure you don't get caught. God knows what'd they do to you if they did." Chrissy advised, and Penny nodded silently. They'd get the cops involved so fast it'd make her head spin, despite the fact they'd have no trouble paying to get it repaired with their mommy and daddy's money. But it's not like they'd jump her, no way.

Right?

Suddenly the bell rang, snapping the two girls out of their conversation with a jolt. They packed their backpacks to go to their last period, and while Penny was hauling her bag onto her shoulder, Chrissy spoke up again.

"But hey, if they do catch you, I was never involved, got it?" She told Penny, with a joking grin on her face. "Good luck if you follow through."

"Sure, Chrissy. Thanks," Penny said, returning the smile. Chrissy swiftly left the room and Penny adjusted the straps to her bag, turning to leave when he accidentally knocked shoulders with a soc girl behind her.

"Oh, sorry," Penny mumbled. The girl didn't respond, but Penny didn't notice the knowing, suspicious stare as she walked away.

—-------------------------------------

"About time, thought we were gonna hafta' go back in there to find you," Two-Bit joked as Penny approached his old, beat-up truck. Steve rolled his eyes, then trudged into the passenger's seat, looking as if he'd been waiting years to finally go home. Johnny stood up from where he was leaning against the truck and gave her a smile. "What were you doing in there?"

"I had to go back to my fifth period class to get my notebook. Sorry," Penny answered, opening the back door and throwing her bag inside, climbing in, Johnny following suit.

"Did anyone say anything about tonight?" Steve asked from the front seat once they began to drive out of the parking lot. Penny almost said something about her and Chrissy talking about it, but stopped herself. She didn't need them to ask too many questions about what they were talking about and accidentally let her plan slip. So instead she just bit her tongue and looked out the window, but Two-Bit spoke up.

"Well, it's fists only, but we knew that. But the guy who was driving the car when they jumped Soda, Scott Whats-His-Face, he's in my math I think, and I heard the guy talking about how excited he was," He said, with an incredulous smile. Steve let out a loud groan from beside him.

"For what, the face pounding he's gonna get?" Steve grumbled, and the other three snickered. Penny had no doubt Steve was gonna mess that guy up. She almost felt bad that he'll have to crawl to his car afterwards, only to find it to be wrecked. But the feeling vanished just as quick as it came and her mouth formed into a smile.

They continued to talk about the upcoming rumble for the rest of the short ride home, mainly between Steve and Two-Bit ranting and joking in the front seat with Johnny every so often giving his input. But Penny kept quiet, listening in occasionally, but mostly thought about her own plans. She thought about what she'd have to bring; a bat, a black hoodie to hide herself, and maybe a blade if things got sticky and someone caught her. But she'll have the bat, so worst come to worst she could just wack the attackers in the head, and they'll already be pretty disheveled from the fight, so-

"Kid! We're here! You gonna come inside or stay in here all night?" A voice spoke, and her eyes snapped over to see Two-Bit twisted around in the front seat to get a look at her. Johnny was looking at her worriedly, and Steve was already climbing up the porch steps, probably not having the patience, but then again, when does he ever?

"Oh, sorry, just thinkin'" Penny mumbled, and Two-Bit huffed. The three of them then climbed out of the truck, and Two-Bit ruffled her hair.

"Always got your head in the clouds, don't ya?" Penny giggled, slapping Two-Bit's hand away.

Once they were inside, Penny was a little surprised to see the couch vacant. That was, until she heard talking coming from the kitchen. She walked into the room, abandoning her bag by the door, as she walked into the kitchen, while Two-Bit planted himself on the couch, and Johnny walked to the bathroom. Penny walked into the kitchen, following her brother's laughter, and was pleased to see him up and about the kitchen, seeming to have something in the oven. She smiled, knowing how better he was feeling. He always liked to bake something when he had nothing better to do, and by the smell of it, it was one of his famous chocolate cakes.

"Hey, there's my favorite little sister!" Soda exclaimed with a beaming smile when she walked into the room, and he approached her, locking her in a light headlock and rubbing the top of her head.

"I'm your only sister!" She laughed, as she tried to get out of his grip. Eventually he let go of her, retreating back to the counter and grabbed a bowl full of chocolate frosting.

"Here, try the frosting. Stevie here said it was too sweet, but I don't think it's sweet enough," He rambled, holding out a spoon covered in chocolate frosting for Penny to try. She took it, almost hesitantly, because nine times out of ten, the frosting he made was so sweet it felt like it would rot her teeth off if she left it in her mouth too long.

"Well, it definitely doesn't need anymore sugar," She said, trying to hold back a grimace. Sodapop rolled his eyes and yanked the frosting covered spoon back.

"Ugh, why is everyone in this house practically allergic to sugar?" He griped, dropping the spoon back into the bowl.

"Nah buddy, your taste buds are just messed up. It's not an us problem," Steve argued back,a mischievous smile playing on his face as he leaned back in the kitchen chair.

"Wow, saying that to your injured, hurt friend, is just... wow," Soda said in an offended voice, putting his hand over his chest. Penny rolled her eyes with a smile, grabbing the pack of cigarettes she left there the night before off the table, leaving the two to argue as she walked out to the porch.

She lit the cigarette as soon as she stepped outside, desperate as she hadn't had any yet. She collapsed onto the porch swing, hardly having taken a full drag yet before the front door opened up again. She turned her head to see Johnny walking outside, who silently sat down next to her. She wordlessly handed him a cigarette, knowing he'd ask, and he muttered a thanks.

"So, you okay?" Johnny asked as he lit his cigarette.

"Yeah, why?" Penny responded, a little surprised at the question.

"You seemed a little zoned out in the car. I know you're tired an' all, with Soda and everything, but just wanted to make sure," He told her, holding his cigarette between his fingers. "Worried about tonight?"

She took a deep drag of her cigarette, wondering if she could tell him about her plans for the night. Johnny's her best friend, she could trust him, right? It's not like he'd be blabbering about it like Two-Bit would. Plus, maybe it'd be good if someone knew where she'd be.

"If I tell you something, you gotta promise not to tell anyone. Got it?" She said somberly, keeping her voice low and leaning in a bit. She knows how easily people could hear onto the porch from the inside of the house; she's heard countless things happen on this porch that she'd love to unhear. Johnny nodded, looking a little alarmed at the sudden seriousness.

"I'm gonna sneak out while y'all are rumbling and take a bat to Scott Lawerence's car." She confided, her voice practically a whisper. Once it was out, she looked behind her to the window to see if anyone was peeking through the blinds, relieved when she didn't see anyone. She turned back to see Johnny staring at her, dark eyes wide and perplexed.

"What... Why would you go and do that? Are you looking to get arrested? Or killed?" He whispered, his face wearing a look that said "are you ridiculous?", but to his credit, his voice stayed quiet.

"You were there that first morning, Johnny, you knew how he looked. I'm not just gonna sit on the couch while the rest of y'all are fighting, I'm sick of it. I'd set their houses on fire if I could." She spat out, her cigarette almost being crushed between her fingers. She took another deep drag, trying to calm herself down. She wasn't mad at her friend, and she hoped it didn't come off as that as she slammed her arm back down from where she was holding the cigarette to her mouth. She was just so fed-up.

"Alright, I get it. And I'm not gonna tell you not to. Just... I ain't gonna lie to you, Penny, if someone catches you or finds out it was you, I don't think they'll be afraid to jump you or somethin'. They're gettin' real risky lately. They messed with a middle class girl a few weeks ago, and she didn't even do nothing." He told her, running a hand through his black hair. Penny nodded.

"I know. I'll be careful." Johnny smiles and nudges her with his elbow.

"You better, or I'll skin ya."

—-------------------------------------

"Alright, you two take it easy. We'll probably be back in forty-five minutes or so." Darry said as he yanked his boots on by the front door.

The rest of the guys were out in the front roughhousing, while Soda and Penny were lazing on the couch. Or, at least trying too. Penny was trying to hide her anxiousness from her brothers, and Soda was sick and tired of being pent up for the past week. He tried his hand at getting Darry to let him fight, multiple times actually, but he was stubborn and still wouldn't let him out of the house. Plus, Darry made him take his routinely Nyquil, because as much as he tried to hide it, his leg and ribs seemed to still be aching, so he couldn't get up to fight if he tried.

Soda lifted his hand to give a lazy wave while Penny verbalized a goodbye.

"I know the two of you are upset you hafta stay home, but don't worry. We'll come back with ice cream." Darry winked, and once he finished tying his second boot, he stood up. "See y'all later," And with that he left through the front door, bounding down the front steps to join the others.

"I think Imma just go to bed, Pen'. This stupid medicine makes me so damn tired," Soda said, pulling himself off the couch and running a hand through his hair. Penny nodded, pulling her legs up to her chest and hugging her knees. Sodapop ruffled her hair as he passed by.

"Goodnight," She called after him, and she thought she might've heard him say goodnight back, but she couldn't be sure.

She waited a couple minutes after the creaking of the wooden floorboards in his room stopped, giving him some more time to fall asleep before she got off the couch herself. She glanced at the clock, seeing it read 10:29; and stealthily creeped down the hallway to her room, being sure to avoid all the creeks in the floor on the way there. Once in her room, she pulled on a black hoodie and went over to her closet, pulling out her father's old wooden baseball bat from the days where they'd play together when he was still around. She opened the drawer to the nightstand on her desk, and pulled out the blade Johnny gave her that night. He promised her that he wouldn't tell anyone anything under one condition: that she carried a blade with her to defend herself if she needed to. She slipped it into her back jean pocket, and tied her hair up with a rubber band, before pushing open the window.

She pulled her hood up and had a leg halfway out the window when she stopped.

Did she really want to do this?

Johnny wasn't wrong when he said that socs were getting more risky with the people they jumped. And neither was Chrissy when she said she didn't know what would happen if they did find her; they're so unpredictable.

But then she thought about the nights she'd wake up to go to the kitchen or bathroom and see Darry asleep in the arm chair in Soda's room, or when Soda was still pretty badly concussed and didn't want to be alone without his sister or brother with him.

So yes. She really wants to do this.

She proceeded to climb out of the window, climbing down onto the ground beneath it and slid it closed, but not fully so that she could get back inside without having to use the front door later.

Penny weaved through the streets quickly, eager to find the car of the guy that fucked up her brother. Once she reached the lot, she had to hide behind various trees to stay out of the line of sight of anyone, even though she doubts she could've been seen thanks to her black hoodie and the darkest colored pair of jeans she had. At one point, she heard Two-Bit's booming laugh beyond all the chatter going on, since they hadn't started fighting yet. Her heart just about leaped from her chest, but she breathed a sigh of relief when she realized he was somewhere among the large congregation of greasers in the lot, the socs having their own cluster across from them.

Eventually, she was able to crawl over to the area where the soc cars were parked. For a scary second, she heard a few socs who hadn't joined the other in the lot talking by one of the cars, and she needed to hide behind one of them for a minute or two, but they were quick to leave and Penny soon spotted the light blue corvette a good twenty feet away. But she decided to wait in her spot for another moment while the boys walked over to their group, before crawling through the lot of cars to her 'victim'.

Once there, she sat up against the tire, breathing a sigh of relief that she made it without getting spotted. She heard the chatter of the people in the lot stop. She peeked over the hood of the car, seeing the guys have some sort of stand off with each other.

She remembers being told countless times what the beginning of rumbles looked like. They'd stand facing each other for a few awkward seconds, staring each other down, until someone grew the balls and pounded someone else in the face. She never expected she'd be able to see it, but somewhere in the crowd there was a sudden flash of movement and in what seemed like less than a second, the fight was on.

After waiting a few extra seconds to ensure no one would notice her, Penny picked herself up and walked to the front of the car, thinking for a second where she should strike first before she whipped the bat into the right headlight, a satisfied smile twisted onto her face as the glass shattered and flew. She did the same to the left one, and slammed the head of the bat into the front of the car, denting the hood and lifting it slightly. She ran around to the back and striked one of the taillights, and kicked the other one out with her foot with a grunt. She kicked the bumper of the car a few times as well, letting out a triumphant laugh as she saw the dents it left behind. She continued to kick other parts of the car, hit the doors with her trusty bat, but refrained from hitting the windows as much as she wanted to. That would make a huge shatter and someone was bound to hear that.

She proceeded to pull out her blade, scratching the sides of the car up and ruining the paint job. She went back over to the front of the car, and let her anger out on the hood, stabbing the blade into it over and over again with swift swings.

Once her arms felt like noodles from doing that about ten times, she kneeled down to one of the front tires and stabbed into that as well, hearing the satisfying rush of air come out when she yanked the blade out. She wasn't sure if it would do terrible injury, but this is the first time she committed property damage on a car, so what would she know? Too bad Dally wasn't with her at the second, he'd know how to do a number on these tires. But either way, the fight was beginning to get more and more sluggish, and she knew she'd need to book it sooner or later or else she'd be in deep trouble.

She stood up and admired her work for a second, before spinning on her heel and running away, not even bothering to crawl away. She ran all the way home, and when she finally reached her window she leaned against the side of the house, catching her breath and willing her heart to stop pounding so fast. After a second, she hoisted herself back into her room with aching muscles, realizing how inviting the idea of going to sleep was.

Her feet landed onto the ground and she let out a sigh, but she soon realized the light was turned on. But... didn't she keep it off?

"Where the hell were you, Penelope?"

#the outsiders #ponyboy curtis #sodapop curtis #darry curtis #fanfic #female ponyboy ❤️#posted on ao3 #this wasn’t the 6000+ word fic i was talking about before btw #i’ll trying to finish it I SWEAR

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wasawattpadkid · 2 years ago

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Idk really how to ask for a request but could you maybe do a randy × reader at some point. Fluff, Smut idc i just love him and theres not enough fics of this man

There really isn't enough fanfiction for that boy so I'm happy to help! Hope you like it 💕

Be Kind, Rewind

Pairing: Randy Meeks x reader

Warnings: none just fluff

"Back again I see," Randy said happy to see your face. You pursed your lips handing him your tape. "Did you remember to rewind it this time?" You huffed leaning on the counter. "Yes, smartass." He smiled setting the tape on the return cart. "Well don't keep me waiting." Randy had been waiting all weekend for you to come back to give him a review on his movie. "I hate to say it but you missed with this one."

"What! Prom night is a classic." His voice was loud making the store look at the both of you. "Sorry." You mouthed to the people around you getting embarrassed by the man. "It was a total Carrie rip-off. I like Jamie Lee Curtis as much as the next person but that movie blew." Randy plugged his ears walking around the store humming so he couldn't hear you. It was a childish move. You laughed following him around. "I can't believe this right now. I thought we were friends." Randy was dramatic and only part of it was acting.

"We are! What'd you think about the movie I gave you?" Hearing that he stopped in his tracks turning to face you. "Career Opportunities really?" The tone of his voice let you know that for the 6th time in a row, your hints went right over his head. You sighed as Randy prepared himself for a rant. "I don't understand how you can watch that crap. It's not realistic. A nerdy loser never has pretty girls pining over them. It's just a trope in romantic comedies to get men hopeful that some babe would ever like them back."

You pursed your lips with a nod. "Guess that means I'm not pretty." Randy grabbed a handful of returns putting them back where they belonged. "You're beautiful I've told you that. Why would you say something like that?" You could laugh at how oblivious he was. Sometimes you wish you were some cheesy horror babe in a movie so he'd actually understand you for once.

"You said, "nerdy losers never have pretty girls crushing on them." So that must mean I'm not pretty." Randy's brain malfunctioned as he replayed your entire conversation. He didn't understand what you were getting at.

"Randy you geek, I like you. God, do I have to spell it?" The poor boy froze as a woman walked up behind him. "Excuse me sir do you know where the Clint Eastwood movies are?" Randy didn't respond. "Um, they should be over in the western section." You walked the old woman over to the aisle. "You like me?" Randy shouted causing the whole video store to go silent. Every customer in there looked at the crazed teenager. "Here you go, ma'am." You ignored Randy pointing towards the movies.

Your friend ran over to you not paying attention to the newfound attention. "Thank you, sweetie." She replied quickly getting away from Randy. "You like me like a brother right? I've gotten that a lot over the years." You shook your head letting him figure the rest out on his own. "A cousin then? Maybe even a step-sibling?"

The questions made your nose crinkle. "Ew no." Randy still needed to narrow it down. "You like me like a best friend then?"

"Are you brain dead? She has a crush on you." A random customer chimed in annoyed with the boy. You laughed at the bystander. Randy just stood there bewildered. "Wait so I'm a nerdy loser?" Confusion washed over your features. "You said that I said, "nerdy losers never have pretty girls pining over them." So what I'm some nerdy loser?"

"Do you seriously want me to answer that Prom Night?" Randy gestured with his hands as he spoke. "It's a classic ask anybody!" You simply squinted saying everything you needed to with your eyes. "Okay maybe I am a nerdy loser but what does that make you for liking me?"

"According to you, it makes me ugly." You laughed setting the poor boy up for failure. "N-now that's not what I meant. I didn't know you liked me when I said that." Your hand covered your chest. "Does that make me the exception then?" In movies, there were rarely exceptions to the rules. They were plain and simple. In romance movies, the ugly chick never gets the hot guy. The exception is if she has a makeover that removes her glasses and straightens her hair. In horror movies, there can only be a final girl if she's a virgin. The exception in that scenario is if the movie has laid out basic rules just to show the audience they can break them.

In this case, however, he could make an exception to make an exception. "I'm not sure. It makes me the luckiest nerdiest loser ever I know that much." You leaned forward pressing a quick kiss against his lips. His eyes grew wide as you pulled away. "You're going to kill me aren't you?" He said breathlessly.

The bell on the desk rang grabbing Randy's attention. He walked over helping the customer with their tapes. "Do you want me to kill you?" You asked with a laugh not worried about the customer overhearing your conversation. "I would say I have so much to live for but your just about all I have so it's up to you." The guy at the desk rolled his eyes as he grabbed his things. "I think that's romantic." You walked away from the desk making Randy follow you.

"Are you being serious about liking me?" Unfortunately, Randy has been played before. Stood up just for others' entertainment. You two had been friends since you were kids and he didn't expect you to be that way. That being said the alternative made less sense. "I literally just kissed you." Randy thought about that for a second. "Can you do it again just so I can make sure?" It was a pathetic attempt at being smooth but Randy made it work. You cupped his face in your hands taking your time to kiss him. His eyes closed focusing on your lips.

"Randy!" His boss barked making the two of you jump. "Don't make me fire your ass again. I don't pay you to make out with customers." You smiled at the man earning a dirty look in return. "Y-yes Sir." He stuttered out in fear.

"We can talk about this later if you want?" Randy shook his head. "I get off at seven could I pick you up at eight?" Neither of you had discussed what movies you'd watch. "I don't have any new movies at my place." Usually when the two of you hung out you'd force each other to watch movies you both picked out. "I was thinking dinner." He said almost nervous. You could tell him a million times you liked him and he would never believe it fully. You were way out of his league.

The idea of a date made butterflies hit the walls of your stomach. "I'd like that but we're seeing the new Robin Williams movie afterward. You pay for tickets I'll pay for snacks." Normally he'd argue about your choice in movies but this time he was over the moon. The bell rang once again making Randy regretfully walk away. You followed him walking in front of the counter. "I'll see you at eight for our date." It was adorable seeing the way he lit up at the word "date."

"I'll see you then Y/n."

#scream #scream fanfiction #scream fanfic #scream x reader #scream x yn #randy meeks #randy meeks x reader #randy meeks fluff #scream randy meeks #fluff #fanfiction #scream x y/n #scream x you #randy meeks fanfiction #randy meeks fanfic #randy meeks x female reader #randy meeks imagine #scream 1996

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