#even forgot to eat the bread i bought yesterday as i got knocked out just after dinner and woke at 3 am

[nocylipcowa]

welp you either live lavishly or die

[newsiesobsessed]

Striker

Newsies fic: striker

Warnings: fights, some bad injures, abuse

Newsies fic with girl reader ( sorry boys ). I kinda went all out with this and it’s super long. Sorry This is my first newsies fic. I’m using the livesies. Enjoy

“Come back here” you yelled in your dream. You were dreaming that the Delancy Brothers stole your dinner money. It wasn’t a lot but you still needed to eat. You chased after them. “Hey that’s mi-“

“ Y/n wake up. Wake up I says!” You woke up to Jack shaking you violently. You tried sitting straight up but Jack kept you down. Still kinda asleep and annoyed you said “ Wha-“

”You was havin a nightmare” Jack chimed in before you could finish your question. You plopped your head back down on the pillow. It hurt when you head hit the pillow. You were Wondering why but then you remembered. Last night. You quickly pulled the sheets over your head and got completely under the blanket before Jack could see your cuts and brusies. “ Mind tellin me whys you is in the sick room of the lodging house?” You wanted to ignore Jacks question so badly but you knew you couldn’t. “ I don’t wanna talks about it”

Jack understood. “ Well come out if you want. Somehow we got a huge loaf of bread and some soup for breakfast and we ain’t knowin where it came from. “ You chuckled. Jack was almost out the door when you called out to him. “ Oi Jack? Can you gets Crutchie in here?” He smiled. “ Yeah sure,” he said as he walked out calling Crutchies name. Moments later Crutchie Hobbled in. “ You wanted me?” Crutchie looked at you a little worried because you was in the sick bed mad didn’t tell no one.

“ Yeah. You can just sit down here on the bed. “ You scooted over to the other side of the bed to make room for Crutchie. Still under the covers you asked “ So how does your leg feel today Crutchie?”

He smiled glad that someone asked him how he was. “ It feels good today! How about you? Your in the sick bed are you alright.?” He asked You slowly slid your face out from under the blanket. You felt comfortable telling Crutchie what happened last night. Crutchie saw your bruises and cuts. “ Y/N! What happened to your are you alright?! When did thi-“

“ Crutchie I’m alright. And last night. This happened last night. Earlier yesterday Me and my brother Jojo was selling in Central Park and the Delancy Brothers came over to me and Jojo. They said somthin to Jojo but i don’t know what they said. Next thing I know they pushed him in the fountain. I told them to buzz of and punched Oscar in the nose. It started to bleed. I could tell they wanted to pummel me but seeing as we was in Central Park he might have gotten himself in trouble. So he waited. Anyways I made a little extra yesterday so I decide to buy breakfast for everyone to have this morning. When me and Jojo was walking back to the lodging house I told him to go ahead that I was bringing a surprise back with me. He was hesitant at first but he went. I stoped by Jacobi’s and bought a nice long loaf of bread. Walking home with the bread out of the shadows the Delancy brothers knocked me down from behind. I tried to take the bread and run. But they caught me and starting fighting me. I tell ya Crutchie I fought as hard as I could. The end resulted in them stealing my bread and me passing out in the street. When I’s woke up it was almost dark. All the other newsies would have been asleep by that time. Blood dripping from my chest. Had a broken ankle Not able to walk Black eye busted lip, along with some other minor injuries, and my shoe was missin. My body hurt all over. I kid ya not Crutchie when I tells ya I crawled to the church and got the nuns to fix me up. I didn’t wants to bother you guys with patchin me up. It felt like hours. The nuns said that I should probably go to the doctors today. But all of us combined don’t have enough money for that. They gave me some soup and left over bread from their dinner that night. I took enough to feed the entire lodging house breakfast. Seeing as I was soaked real good I decided to sleeps in the sick room. “ having told my story I relaxed into the bed.

“ Oh my god. I- oh my god! How bad did they get you?!”

“Let me borrow your crutch real quick so I’s can stand and I’ll show ya.” You said with pain.

You took his crutch, and getting out of bed you stood up revealing what looked a human punching bag.

“ Stay here. But give me my Crutch first. “ Crutchie said hobbling as fast as he could to the fellas. “ Guys come here you’s have to see what the Delancys’s did to Y/N last night. “ Crutchie said with a hint of panic and worry in his voice. And with that the fellas came rushing into the sick room. As they all barged in at once you just stood there feeling embarrassed for not being able to defend yourself.

“ WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO YA! I KNEW I SHOULDN’T HAVE LEFT YOU BY YOURSELF!” Jojo yelled before running over to ya and making sure you was ok.

“ Well fellas. I think we’s got a nickname for her. Her new name is ‘Striker’!” Said Les.

“ Les not right now. she is in real pain. “ David whispered in Les’ ear. But there were murmurs of agreement. “ So Striker, what the hell happened to ya?” Said Race. You didn’t feel like telling the entire story again.

“ Long story short The Delancy’s was picking on Jojo yesterday in Central Park and I beat up Oscar for it. I didn’t mean to punch him THAT hard. Anyways I made a little extra money yesterday so I told Jojo to go backs to the lodging house and I would be back in about a hour with a surprise. He eventually left and as I was walking home with a loaf of bread from Jacobi’s bread the Delancy Brothers picked a fight with me. End result they took my shoes, stole the bread I bought for breakfast today, made me look like this with a broken ankle hence why I’m using Crutchies Crutch to stand, and cut me across my chest with a knife along with a few other injuries. They got so bad I passed out in the street. Woke up and it was dark. Late enough for y’all to already be asleep. Not being able to walk I had to Crawl to the church. I went there because I didn’t wanna wake you guys up and bothers ya with patchin me ups. Da nuns fixed me up and suggested I go to the doctors today. Which I’m not because I knows that all of our money combined isn’t enough for the fee and you guys need that money to eat and buy papes. Anyways they gaves me some soup and bread leftover from dinner. That’s how I got the breakfast this morning. When’s I gots back here I went to the sick room as to not wake anyone up. And that’s that”

“ So, you’s tellin me that the Delancy Brothers did this to you for beating up Oscar and for defending yourself in a fight?” Jack said sounding kinda suspicious.

“ Yeah.”

“ Well I say WE SOAK THEM!” Albert yelled.

“ NO.” You yelled. “I AINT LETTIN U GUYS END UP LIKE ME. IM GUNNA BE IN THIS BED FOR A WHILE. AND I DON’T WANT THAT HAPPENING TO THE REST OF YA“ You sighed. “ I only need one thing from you guys. I need just one person to stay here to helps me. Seeing as I can’t walk. I can barley stand. And then whoever stays the rest of ya devide their regular pape count between ya and sell them so we aint lose no money. “

“ So who do you want to stay with ya Striker?” asked Les hopin it was him. He looked up to you abs wanted to help. You knew this but if he stayed then David would stay. And that’s too many papers lost.

“ Lemme think. Not Jojo. Sorry little bro but yous gunna baby me if I choose u. Don’t even deny it. Not Jack, Finch or Albert. They are a little to uh- what’s the word? Oh yeah. Demanding” there were chuckles and a “ You can say that again “ from Mush. You continued “ I want to say Crutchie but he is our best seller besides Jack and Race. Which means that I can’t pick Race either. Not Les or David. Even thought David would take care of me just fine he has to take care of Les. So with that being out of the way I choose Elmer. “

“ Really? “ Elmer piped up.

“ Yeah. You are gentle and don’t push me to do stuff I don’t wanna“

“ Ok Elmer it is. The rest of us gotta be goin now. Feel better Striker. “ Race said. They fellas started running out the door and down the hall.

“ Oh yeah the reminds me. RACE”

Race poker his head in the room

“ Yeah?”

“ I needs to ask ya a favor. Elmer I know we ain’t supposed to use the tub much but can you’s draw me a warm Bath while I talk to Race for a minute?” And with that Elmer left the room.

“ So what’s you want to talk to me about?” Race asked

“ You sellin in Brooklyn today?”

“ Wha- I don’t sell in Brookl-“

“Race. It’s ok. I know bout you and spot and if you don’t want me to I won’t tell no one” You said cutting him off. A wave of relief washed over him. “ Yeah why?” He asked. “Well, I mean This in the best way possible. Spot has been in a lot of fights. He can fix bruises and shiners and cuts like magic. I would go to Brooklyn me self but I can’t walk. So if u could. Gets him over here’s or get him to meets me half way to help me patch up my br-“

“ Yeah. Sure” Race said. You thought you heard a little bit of nerves in his voice but then he softened. “ Anything else?”

“ Does you think you could find one of Crutchie’s old Crutches for me to use from when he was little?”

Race smiled. “ Follow me. “ So you started following him but you Fell. Race whipped around. “ Damn I forgot you can’t walk. Wait let me help you up. “ You almost fell again getting up but managed to get up on the bed. “ Ok so stay here. “ he went off and can back with 2 Crutches. “ Here. Use whichever one you is comfortable using. “

“Thanks Race. I owe ya. “

“ naw ya don’t owe me. You’s hurt. You don’t owe me “ race chuckled. Elmer popped back in

“ Tubs ready “

“ Thanks Elmer. Now Race get goin. You got papes ta sell” he winked at ya and with that he left.

You grabbed the shorter crutch and sent off the the tub. It was cracked and everything. Not a very sustainable tub. But it’s a tub none the Less.

“ Elmer listen to me. I already have Racer gettin spot to help patch me up. But I needs you to go to the Bronx and get smalls to come up here. She is like a sister ta me and I needs a girl newsies to help patch up my chest. And I trust her with my life. While you is getting her I’m gunna wash out the blood in my hair. As soon as you have her send her in immediately! You hear me?” Elmer nodded and off he went. Once you was sure he was gone you started washing your hair. You tried to patch yourself up but it was no use. Hopefully Spot knew how to tend to brass knuckle marks. After you washed your hair you went to get some food. There was little soup left and a piece of bread. You ate it and then decided to go up to Jacks penthouse in the sky to get some fresh air. It felt good to feel the cool breeze.The sun was staring to set. That meant that the newsies would be gettin home soon. Someone was climbing up the fire escape to the penthouse. But you didn’t pay no attention to it

“ Hey Y/N . Word is you was beat to the bone,” Smalls called out. You turned around and saw her standing on the ladder. You went to hug her but forgot about your ankle you were so excited and fell down trying to get up. Smalls let out a small gasp and rushed over to helps you up. “ What happened to you?!”

“The Delancy Brothers.” Smalls sighed. “ Figures. Ok let’s go get you fixed up. “ after a while she had fixed up your chest and gave you a new set of wraps. You thanked her and walked out of the bathroom to find Spot Conlon sitting in the sick room waiting for you. You saw him and gave out a glad sigh. He saw your crutch. And looked a little worried.

“ Damn. The Delancys have outdone themselves this time“ Spot chuckled. “ How ya doin Y/N?”

“ Ya know just feel like I fell into hell and rose from the dead. Also it’s Striker now. Finally got a nickname!” You smiled having wanted a nickname for months now. He chuckled. “ So,” spot started. “ How bad is it and what does I need to do?”

“ Well Smalls patched up my chest already.” Spot stopped you. “ What do ya mean ur chest?” “ Oh Race didn’t tell ya what happened. Well The Delancy’s cut me across my chest with a knife. They broke my ankle hence the crutch. Gave me a shiner. And a few other minor injuries that I can’t fix.” Spot sighed.

“ Well come on. Into the bathroom. I’m gunna fix that ankle first Bc that’s the worst injury I know of. Then we’ll work on your face. “ you nodded your head in agreement. He wrapped your ankle and put a stick on it in place of a splint. Before moving on to the face he had you walk to make sure your could stand. Seeing that you could be moved in to your face. There was nothin he could do about yo ur shiner but he did fix you lip. Kinda. It was still a little swollen but he told you to give the lip time. He moved your hair out of the way trying to scrub your face and he noticed marks that were no doubt made by brass knuckles. . You didn’t tell anyone bout that one.

“ And what is this? Let me guess. Delancys. “ You didn’t say nothin.

“ Well that could leave a permanent mark. I need ya to let me touch them. Can ya do that? Am I allowed to touch it?” You wanted to say no. But you also wanted it fixed. “ I guess. “

He started gently rubbing a wash cloth over the marks causing you to inhale sharply. “ On second thoughts just leave it alone. “

“ Y/N I mean Striker I know it hurts. I got beat by brass knuckles once. But if you want it to heal you need to let me fix them. I’m gunna go slow and run some water over it. “ as he ran the water over it the pain started to go away. In a matter of minutes he stopped. “ Ok striker do you need me to do anything else?” You did. You needed your back fixed. You don’t know what they hit you with from behind last night but it hurt. But it could also be your marks from the refuge and your parents. And you didn’t want anyone to see them. “ No, you need to get back to Brooklyn. I can fix the rest myself. “

“ ya sure?” He asked. He knew there was more injuries but he didn’t want to push ya. And you was right about needing to get back to Brooklyn.

“ Ya. Thanks spot. Here, take this“ you gave him part the bread from breakfast. He took it and went on his way. You heard him say somthin the the newsies as he left. But you didn’t know what that was. You came out of the bathroom and climbed back up to jacks penthouse. He surprisingly not up there. You didn’t know when you fell asleep up there but when you woke up it was morning. When you woke up your shirt was off so you could your wraps. You always slept in your wraps and ya pants. The boys knew this. And they didn’t mind.

“ Ah. Your awake. “ Jack called out. “ I saw your back was bleeding through your wraps. I thought Spot And Smalls Patched you up?”

“ They did. But only where I told thems. “ you responded.

“ So why is your back bleeding and why didn’t you tell no one about it?”

“ Because Jack. I don’t want no one seein my back. It’s a disaster of scars. Some from the refuge. Some from my folks. “ the rooftop went dead silent.

“ I’m sorry. Do you want anyone specific to help patch them up today because there is no way we is leavin you alone. “

“ It doesn’t matter who stays. As long as they can keep a secret. “

“ Ok. I’ll go tell the fellas that I’m stayin home from work today. “

“ Jack you are the best seller. You can’t!”

“Striker yes I can. Do ya want any of the others fellas to know about this. Do you think any of them can keep a secret. Do you think any of them make enough money that they can miss a days pay. I’m stayin with you.“ Jack kisses your head to which you pulled back. He looked confused. That’s when you pushed up your hair and revealed your beat up forehead.

“ Anything else you wanna tell me?” He started making his way back to his side of the penthouse to get some rags for your back when you blurted out “ Jojo is adopted. My parents adopted him to replace me. And then we left them when he found out what they did to me. That’s why the Delancys beat me up. For leaving the family. “ Jack froze. He stammered. “ Wait. This means that your a-“

“ Delancy. Yes. Y/N Delancy. But they ain’t my family. I got no family. The only person besides Jojo that knows is Smalls. . “

“ Wow. Well come here. Let me clean your back off. “ you halfway undid your wraps so that your back was showing but your front wasn’t. The rough washcloth stung as it ran up and down your back. “Jack. Your not mad at me. Are ya?” He was silent. Then he spoke. “ No Striker I ain’t mad at you. Mad at your brothers yes. Mad at your parents for treating ya like this. Yes. Mad that someone as sweet as you had to go through this. Hell Yes. But your tough as nails. “ That last part made you smile. Jack finished fixing you up help you redo your wrap. “ Your going to get better Striker. This WILL heal. How about we go to Central Park just to get ya outside. No papes. Just to be outside.” You could tell it wasn’t a question and more of a command. So you went to Central Park and spent the day there. A nice lady gave you a quarter. You don’t know why. It was getting dark and you and Jack decided to head back to the lodging house. When ya got back to the lodging house the rest of the newsies welcomed ya in. That’s when ya realized that ya had a family. And in the family there were no secrets. So after dinner ya told the newsies the entire story. There was no way that the newsies were every leavin you and Jojo alone again.

That’s is I hope ya liked it.

[thedeaconj]

A Cup of Sugar? Part 3

(Wow this story had a great reception! Please find parts one and two here: https://thedeaconj.tumblr.com/post/624650236299821056/a-cup-of-sugar-parts-1-and-2)

         That day, Sophie was so thankful not to be in work. The last two days wore on her so heavily that she could afford to get up a little later. Still, she did have some errands to run, and she still had to keep herself in shape. Sophie rose out of bed in her vest top and undies, ready to face the day ahead of her. Usually she’d put on her exercise clothes, but then realised the new benefit of her minimalist fashion style. She could simple exercise as she was, the clothes were going in the wash anyways, so why not? Starting off with her stretches and yoga, she found it as usual, sweaty work in her apartment. Her mind went to the thought of Mark’s cooling ceiling fan, how it span around and around, and made the whole place a lot cooler. Maybe it was thinking of the cool breeze, but the rest of her exercises seemed to fly by. She even admired her body a little in the mirror afterwards, a sense of pride washed over her. Sophie was on the verge of C cups, not that she was ever bothered too much by the size of her breasts. She also wasn’t too bothered about her butt, although today she gave the mirror a little wiggle, thought how cute it looked and then turned sheet white. What was up with her? Cute? Showing off in the mirror? She was independent, and proud, but was she really so vain to start ogling herself in the mirror? Sophie shook her head, she took a shower, then decided on her outfit for the day.

         Sophie decided to face facts, city life was hot, so she’d need to start dressing better for it. Her vest tops would no longer be hidden under jumpers and coats, although she wasn’t the type to have skirts or shorts available. Given it was her day off too that meant no heavy work boots, the thought of them on her feet was so uncomfortable to her. Instead, in a rather bold choice, she opted for flip flops. She also picked a grey vest top out, as she knew the forecast for today was hotter than usual, this was coupled with her usual choice of black jeans. Sophie ate a quick breakfast, then headed out of her apartment to get some errands done. She headed out and bumped straight into Mark.

They both fell back; Sophie was quick to apologise.

‘It’s fine Sophie don’t worry about it,’ he said. He looked her over and gave her an approving smile.

‘So, you’ve finally started to dress for the heat?’ he asked.

‘Well, I guess I have to adapt to city life sooner or later,’ Sophie said, she couldn’t help but enjoy him smiling at her. She supposed it was because he was a smart man, so she must have been doing something right to make him happy.

‘That’s true, Sophie, did you have any plans for lunch today? You mentioned it was your day off yesterday and that you’d be running around with errands, so if you feel yourself getting hungry please feel free to stop by,’ Mark said.

She frowned, when did she mention that yesterday? Still, he was just being nice to her, she wished she could give him something in return, when she realised, she actually could.

‘Your screwdriver! I totally forgot it’s still at mine, I’ll pop in and get it,’

Sophie went to turn, as Mark placed his hand on her shoulder. It felt firm, slightly cold, but soothing on her bare skin. A few days ago, if Mark did this she would have screamed at him, but today, it didn’t seem to bother her for some reason.

‘Please Sophie, you can drop it off when you stop by for lunch,’ he said.

Sophie looked back at him, he was smart, so maybe he knew what he was talking about. She’d usually grab some fast food from somewhere while out and about running errands, so she could save a little money too. She relaxed a little, not really noticing Mark’s hand was still on her shoulder.

‘Yes, alright, I’ll see you then,’ she couldn’t help but smile a little. Sophie then went off to do her errands, wondering in the back of her mind what lunch would be.

         After a while, Sophie found herself wandering into a place she didn’t think to see herself at in a million years. It was a clothing store, with a focus on pink, cute, girly clothing. Why was she here? It wasn’t like she could afford to get new clothes, and this wasn’t her style, was it? She was saving a bit of money though by not eating out, and there was no harm in browsing. For some reason, the place reminded her of Mark, no doubt because of that hot pink sofa. She couldn’t help but giggle when thinking about it, it may have been bought for him as a joke, but she could tell he kept it because it was so comfortable. It felt nice to lie on too, to immerse herself on that bed of pink, like Sophie was now as she wandered the store. That’s when she spotted it and couldn’t help but giggle some more. A skirt, the exact same colour as the sofa! It would be down to her knees, so still fairly conservative, but it was a little billowy looking, like it could spread up so easily. She checked the price tag out of curiosity, to find it was cheap! Sophie considered it for another moment, was she really going to buy it? It would be a big leap in her style, but maybe that’s what she needed. She could even wear it over to Mark’s later, as a sort of in joke. Sophie took a deep breath and took the plunge, a few moments later she walked out of the store, happy in her purchase.

Sophie headed back into her apartment, her stomach already beginning to rumble. She’d head over to Marks soon, but first she would put away her other shopping, and go get the screwdriver. After this, Sophie opened her bag from the clothing store, only to find an addition to the skirt in there. A pair of pink, cotton undies with a white frill. How’d they get in there? Were they in the bag by mistake, did they come with the skirt? Either way Sophie was pretty sure she didn’t buy them. She pulled them out of the bag, inspecting them. They were quite small, a good deal different to the underwear she’d usually wear. They did however, go well with the skirt, that she had to admit. Plus, they seemed to have been free. Maybe it was a sign, she thought, that her new way of fashion was already paying off. Sophie changed into both the skirt and underwear, once again admiring herself in the mirror. She did a little spin, seeing how this lifted her skirt up, and gave flash of her upper legs. Then, she lifted the skirt all the way up. Only to see how far it would need to go up to be revealing of course, she wasn’t checking out how she looked in her new undies. Even when she turned around and bent over, shaking her butt as she did. She couldn’t help but laugh at herself, why shouldn’t she after all, just because she was independent, didn’t mean she had to take herself so seriously.

         Sophie knocked on Mark’s door, as per usual he was right there, right on queue. Sophie held up his screwdriver, which he grabbed off her, but not before noticing the skirt.

‘It’s a joke gift from me to me, it matches your sofa,’ she said.

Mark chuckled, which caused Sophie to giggle as she walked into the apartment. She took a deep breath in, smelling something wonderful cooking.

‘I’ve got a fondue going, it should be ready soon enough, in the meantime please take a seat Sophie,’ Mark said.

         He was wearing an apron over his usual clothing today, a novelty one with “Kiss the chef” written on it, Sophie smirked at it, and wondered how often that really worked. She took a seat on the sofa, and gasped. It wasn’t the footrest that got her by surprise this time, but just how good it felt on more of her bare skin. The fan was at a lazy pace today, but the cool, smooth feeling of the sofa more than made up for it.

‘Still not used to the footrest huh?’ she heard Mark call out.

‘Something like that,’ Sophie said, she writhed against the sofa, but then came to her senses a bit more.

What would Mark think of her if he saw her doing that? He’d think there was something wrong with her, so she stopped. Instead, she got a bit more comfortable, as Mark asked her about her errands.

‘Say, did you get that skirt at the place on Second street?’ he asked.

‘I did, how’d you know?’

‘I’ve walked past there before, it’s quite a change from your usual style, but I think you wear it well,’ Mark said.

Sophie did blush slightly, there was something about him complimenting her that felt good, but then he was so much older, it felt a little wrong to her.

‘Thank you Mark, I figured why not try out something new. Although I guess it does make me look young, which I already do anyways,’ Sophie replied.

As Sophie relaxed, she lay back fully on the sofa, uncaring about if her skirt hiked up a bit. She also kicked off her flip flops onto the floor beside her, although she wasn’t sure why. She looked up at the lazy, spinning ceiling fan, totally chilled out, as she smelt that wonderful cheesy smell getting closer. Mark placed the bowl of fondue on the side table, her view of the ceiling fan was replaced by a view of Marks face. Sophie smiled at him, was it just her imagination, or was he looking a little better these days? Maybe he’d scrubbed up for his gathering, which she really was thinking of going to.

‘That place down on second street is quite the walk though, especially in flip flops. If you like you can lie back and I can just lower the food into your mouth, no effort needed,’ he said.

Sophie thought it sounded a little weird, but it did smell so good, and he was right, the walk had taken it out of her.

‘Well, alright I suppose,’ Sophie said.

         Before she could think on it much more, a piece of bread covered in fondue was in her mouth. It was truly delicious, the taste felt incredible as it coated her mouth, a warm wonderful feeling that flowed throughout her. Mark fed her a few more pieces, as he saw her pupils dilate, her jaw go slack, and her entire body relax.

‘Are you getting full Sophie?’ Mark asked.

‘Uh huhh’ was all she could say.

Mark walked around the other side of the sofa, he looked over Sophie as she spread out on it.

‘Why not sit up on the sofa for a moment Sophie, I have an idea,’

Sophie did as she was asked, as Mark sat alongside her. Her head was swimming, she didn’t know why or really care why though.

‘Such a long day already Sophie, and it’s only lunchtime. Thankfully, I have a way to fill you back up with the energy you need,’ Mark said.

‘You do?’ Sophie asked, she stared directly ahead, but in her mind saw the ceiling fan.

‘Yes, just let me direct you for a moment, now please, lay back, head in my lap,’ he said.

Sophie hesitated for a moment, wasn’t this just a little inappropriate? But, still, she’d need the energy for the rest of the day, and what was the harm in it? Sophie fell back onto Mark’s lap, instead of looking up into a ceiling fan, she now looked up into those eyes. Those lovely brown eyes. He stroked her hair with one hand.

‘You have such nice hair Sophie, have you considered experimenting with it for your new look? Maybe a nice, cute blonde,’ he said.

Yes, a nice cute blonde. That would complete her look. Mark was such a smart man.

‘That would be nice, yes,’ Sophie said and smiled up at him.

‘Very good Sophie, now just relax, I’m going to get you up on your feet again shortly,’ Mark said.

With one hand, he grabbed just under her chin lightly, and held her head in place. With the other, he placed his thumb just on Sophie’s forehead. She offered up no resistance to any of this.

‘Now, fix your eyes up on my thumb Sophie, follow it for me,’ he said.

‘Okay,’

As her eyes locked onto his thumb, it began to move on her forehead in a slow, circular fashion. His other hand stroked just under her chin, which was such a comforting feeling. Sophie's eyes rolled around as she tried to keep up on following the thumb, the whole motion made her feel so dizzy. Despite what Mark said she wasn’t feeling full of energy just yet, if anything this was relaxing her further. The stroking under the chin didn’t help in that regard either, as his touch just felt so soothing on her face.

 ‘So, how’s your change of style going Sophie?’ Mark asked.

There was something about his voice now, she wasn’t sure if it was because of his thumb on her forehead, but it was like she heard it inside her own mind, as if she’d thought it, not even heard it.

‘Okay, I’m enjoying it so far, I don’t have much money though for new clothes,’ she said.

‘That’s a shame, if you need money for it then I’d be happy to help you out, was it just the skirt you bought then today?’

Sophie squirmed, the idea of him giving her money went against everything she stood for. She couldn’t just take money; it was a step too far. Everything else she could chalk up to neighbourly hospitality, even this strange but incredible feeling from Mark’s technique to get her up and running again.

‘I couldn’t take the money, and yeah just that,’ Sophie paused. She wasn’t sure why she told him what she did next.

‘Well, except I got home, and there were some undies in the bag too,’ she said.

She turned red, what was she saying? It was all getting too much, whatever his thumb was doing was making her forget herself, forget that he was this older man with her laying on his lap. He must think I’m some sort of pervert, she thought. Instead, Mark just chuckled, which led to Sophie giggling.

‘Please, I can see talking about this is a little strange for you, but it’s perfectly natural. My advice and what I’ve talked about hasn’t steered you wrong so far, has it Sophie?’ Mark said.

No, it hadn’t, he was right. His hands felt so very good and his words echoed in her mind, which made it so much truer.

‘No it hasn’t,’

‘Very good Sophie, so please continue what you were saying,’ he said.

         It was if her usual filter, her usual, natural inhibition was gone, as the words spilled out of her.

‘Well at first I thought about going back and returning them, but they just looked so cute. I had to try them on, they fit really well too, like my butt looks great in them,’ she said.

Mark smiled down at her, as he sped his thumb up. Sophie’s eyes could barely follow as the room span around her, she couldn’t really see, just relying on Mark’s voice to guide her along.

‘I bet it does Sophie, very good, body confidence is important, especially in such a hot city like this, there’s no harm or shame in enjoying how you look,’ he said.

Sophie felt compelled to agree, he began to talk some more but she started having trouble grasping a lot of it. No doubt it was about something smart, so she could just let it drift into her head. As her body went limp, she felt something by her lips, it was Mark’s thumb. Her lips parted as she welcomed it into her mouth, sucking on it hungrily. She didn’t know why she did it, just that it felt good, it felt right. Her eyes fully rolled up, she went entirely limp and fell into darkness.

 ‘Okay and up you get Sophie!’

         Sophie sprang from Mark’s lap to her feet, blinking her eyes. It worked! She felt so full of energy, so full of life now. She bent over to pick up her flip flops, wiggling her hips as she did, blissfully unaware of the show she was putting on for Mark. She slid them back onto her feet, and turned back to face him. Sophie looked again at the “kiss the chef” apron, she couldn’t help but smile. It was a silly apron, how funny would it be if she did kiss Mark, if she let his smooth hands explore the rest of her body like they did her face? She shook her head, snapping out of that daydream. It was a strange one for sure, but it was just her overactive imagination.

‘Wow I feel so alive and vibrant, thanks so much Mark!” she said.

‘Of course, anytime Sophie, although I did have an idea, if you’d hear me out,’

Sophie nodded her head eagerly, Mark’s ideas were good ideas, ones she should listen to.

‘You didn’t seem comfortable with the idea of me giving you money outright, but how about a bit of paid work? My place is still a bit of a mess and I’m useless at cleaning, so I could pay you for cleaning up the living room,’ he said.

Sophie looked around, the place was already looking better than it was, it wouldn’t be too much hard work to clean the place up a bit. She was free tomorrow anyways, so why not do it then?’

‘Sure Mark, I can come by tomorrow to do it,’ Sophie said, as she smiled at him.

‘That’s fantastic, well I’ll see you then!’

         Sophie was a little torn, she did want to stay with Mark for a bit longer, maybe to learn more from him, and he had surprisingly good style tips for a guy his age. Still, she’d get to see him tomorrow anyways. Sophie headed out of his apartment and back to her own, surprised by just how long she’d been in Mark’s as she read the clock on the wall. Time flies when you’re having fun, and Sophie did have a lot of fun there. With the remainder of her evening she decided to model some of her old clothes. To decide what to throw out, what to keep, what looked good. Some things she took a scissors to, cutting it down to size, to suit the city more. As she tried on each outfit, she couldn’t help but admire herself. She was just being body confident, which was important, she was a cute young lady who wanted to show herself off. Sophie giggled, wasn’t she just thinking how she weren’t vain? Maybe a little vanity was okay then, it was part of her new style after all.

         That night, as Sophie got ready for bed, she thought her vest top seemed awful warm to be wearing to sleep. Instead, she decided to just sleep in her new undies. Tomorrow she’d be off bright and early to clean Mark’s apartment. She visualised it now, her being bent over dusting something, or on her hands and knees, her butt waving side to side, the sophisticated and sorta handsome Mark, being a gentleman and trying not to look. Sophie giggled, it was a silly fantasy, but maybe she was a bit of a silly girl, and soon her daydreams faded, as she drifted off to sleep.

[opepin]

march: week 3

13: i was tired in the morning and it was cold T^T my coconut milk was also expired lulz. vivian left her water bottle and gbf and her were gone when i woke up. i almost forgot they slept over because they were such bums yesterday LOL. <3 i took a nap on the train and got to work a bit late, but apparently, everyone was a bit late this morning. i just started pumping out templates and then went into meetings -- i got so hungry during my meetings. i ran to use the bathroom and then microwaved my food and ate during one of my meetings haha. after all of my meetings, i packed up and left to work from home. i was crashing so badly. i timed the train this time and only waited a few minutes. when i got back home, i edited some videos, and then called it a day. i took a nap on the air mattress and realized that it was cold to sleep on because there wasn’t a comforter or anything warm on the bottom.

kevin came back from climbing, showered, and then i woke up. omg, i slept for like 2 hours. i must have been real tired. kevin cooked today (thank you <3) while i relaxed and dozed off. then i put away the air mattress, cleaned up the living room a bit, and then helped do dishes. i also made chicken nuggets and they were delicious. oh, i snacked a ton when i got home and both me and kevin were both feeling like eating junk food. xP we didn’t know what to watch but kevin gave me the option to choose a new series. we started watching, ‘how to get away with murder’ and now we’re hooked! we watched two episodes, kevin went to game, and then i did 60 minutes of hip hop cardio. then i showered, we brushed our teeth together, and then we went to sleep. well, kevin stayed up to watch some dota and play some pokemon. it was around 2 am.

14: it was a nice wfh day. it didn’t look like it was snowing a lot but then it started and i was glad i was home with kevin :3 we got free bagels and hot chocolate from deco and got started on work for the rest of the day. we fit in an episode of ‘how to get away with murder’ during lunch and then i went back to work. kevin had a pretty lax day. kevin had the chance to braise our beef for a delicious dinner~ we watched a good amount of episodes and then i did laundry and we ate dinner while watching more. we stopped for a bit so that i could make oatmeal raisin cookies and then we continued while eating the cookies. after our mini-marathon, kevin washed the dishes and i helped clean up. then he went to game while i did some kickboxing. i showered and then brushed my teeth, finished watching a youtube video and then ko’d before 2 am, which is good considering my sleep schedule this week LOL.

15: i woke up and had a bit of a headache, the roads were icy, and so i worked from home again. these cookies are so good but so bad for me. i need to stop snacking! i will bring some of these to work so it’ll be ok by tomorrow ;D it’s been hard being productive this week because of the weather and just working from home. i had a good number of calls and then worked on tutorials. i tried ordering new sports bras from aerie but they had a gift card error so i rq’d... i ended my day with a call and got two one pagers done so i felt semi-productive. after work, i washed dishes and put the drying rack away. then i picked up keys from rachel for the guest suite this weekend ;D so excited. then i started making banana bread! i forgot to soften the butter and then i forgot to defrost the bananas. i don’t think i like banana ice cream... anyway, i somehow got them to thaw and then put that in the oven. i also spent some time defrosting chicken (we forgot to take it out).

kevin got back late due to train problems and then we checked out the guest suite. it’s $200/night and it’s pretty nice! it’s decorated in very contemporary modern style haha. then we went down, kevin cooked, i ran around and watched some videos, did some exercises, and then ate dinner (delicious chicken and bean sprout and veggie stir fry) while watching ‘how to get away with murder.’ we watched two episodes and then spent like 2 hours talking (: hehe it was really nice <3 then kevin went to game, i finished up working out, showered, dried my hair, and ko’d. i wanted to sleep before 1 am, but i slept at like 1:50 am...gg me.

16: i was ready to go to work but i was still sleepy. i went downstairs to see what the free food situation was all about but there were people down there so i just went back and got my jacket and got on the train. my bag was full of goodies: banana bread, oatmeal raisin cookies, and meltyblend chocolate. it was nice seeing everyone again, but everyone seemed pretty heads down in work. i ate lunch during the hour of tech and watched some youtube videos and then launched into 2 hours or so worth of meetings T_T i was dozing off so i had to stand up and move around and also cole gave me gum to keep me awake. thanks, cole! i was kind of counting the hours until work ended because i was so tired lol. i did get a good amount done though. everyone ate all of my baked goods by the end of the day. i had to get cole to take a bit home, but i competed against doughnuts and i won ;D anyway, i went to the chocolate store with cole and he bought white chocolate peanut butter cups and more pear jelly beans, and yeaaah. i didn’t buy anything because i am sick of sugar at this point. my skin is breaking out because of it too :(

we walked to south station and then i waited for kevin for a bit. he left when i got there? LOL so he took the silver line and with our luck, it was 15 minutes until the next train came so we waited together. lol the train was packed for some reason? it was 6 pm... and i kind of pulled a girl’s long hair when taking off my backpack ;( sorry girl! this is why i don’t have long hair anymore haha. we got home and we finished eating all of the banana bread and cookies and then ate some all-dressed chips. then i started playing pokemon again. i need to catch all of the pokemon!!! i ko’d on the sofa while kevin cooked dinner... he woke me up and we ate dinner, watched ‘how to get away with murder’ and played pokemon. i caught both celesteelas with p good IVs. then kevin washed the dishes and gamed while i did 60 minutes of kickboxing to try and get back on my fat burning grind. omg, i ate so much sugar and fat T___T then i showered and we both hopped into bed before 1:30 am. i ko’d while kevin played pokemon.

17: i think i was well-rested today. i’m trying to get back to 6 hrs and 30 minutes of sleep to 8 hours of sleep. i took my time getting up in the morning and then got to work and it was only me, dave, and jim in the office -- the product team. it’s nice being in an empty office :P i’m glad i went to work today. i was very productive in the morning and there were leftover munchkins from yesterday. the coconut chocolate one is pretty good! i was in standup for a bit too long, but it had to do with a long discussion about something very important and i am excited about it. i ended the day with that meeting. dave left and then i packed up and got on the train where a lady pushed passed me and then said ‘you don’t have to push.’ maybe i got on the train a bit too eagerly? anyway, i got home and it was sooo nice outside! it was bright. so i whipped out my yoga mat and did abs and hiit workouts. kevin came back from climbing early because he thought he was straining one of his wrists too much. so he came back home and ran on the treadmill instead. 

i got my ae sports bra purchase today and tried them on. i wasn’t sure if they didn’t fit so i had to get second opinions. i’m keeping them both now ;D i love the zipper in the front! i showered and then started cooking dinner ... pretty frantically because i didn’t prep correctly. i didn’t wash dishes because i didn’t think i would need to and then the recipe called for making the noodles and heating up chicken stock at the same time so that everything would still be hot when served. @_@ so i frantically cooked and tried to keep the noodles warm while cooking the egg and tomato. it turned out pretty good though! it really was a simple recipe and i just should have prepared better. kevin and i ate dinner while watching an episode of ‘how to get away with murder’ and then we booked our tickets to stockholm! we’re planning to fly to copenhagen right after and then fly back~ we did that and made a list of to-dos for the rest of the planning since we’re not going until summer.

then we packed some things up and headed over to the guest suite! they couldn’t fix our shower tile this weekend so we rescheduled to monday and tuesday and rachel let us keep our stay in the guest suite for this weekend ;D so we got there and then i got to use the bath bomb! it was so cool! the tub might not have been completely 100% clean though. hmmm. i’m probably not going to take baths ever again unless i know the tub is super clean / i cleaned it very well. we had a super relaxing evening together and it was so nice :) the bed was comfy but the pillows were a bit too much. we ended up knocking out while cuddling and woke up grumpy because our skin was so dried out by the heating in the room. .___. so i put lotion on my body and kevin did too and then we brushed and ko’d so that it would stop bothering us LOL. i would rate this room like a 3/5 (if it was me staying here as a guest). they didn’t have any shower stuff, no water filter, and the tv didn’t work. oh, also wifi didn’t work. so hmmm.... the guest suite isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be. we still had a great evening together though ((((:

18: kevin got up so early today. .___. like possibly at 8:30 am or 9 am. we were both really dried out from the guest suite’s heat. i stayed in bed a bit longer with kevin until we both got hungry. we brushed up, packed everything except the bath stuff and toiletries, and headed back to our apartment. it smelled like leeks and cabbage and potstickers in our apartment for some reason. kevin made us potstickers, we played some pokemon and then headed to our massage. there was traffic on the way there but we got there only 5 minutes late. we had guy masseuses today. mine was gentle and apparently, they both used interesting techniques and focused more on other parts of our body instead of the back. i’m still a bit sore, but i would rather have the ladies work on me from now on. anyway, we got stuck in really terrible traffic for like 2 blocks because of construction. i played ‘i spy’ with kevin in the car and we just messed around.

he dropped me off and i baked some chicken nuggets and made some rice. he went to get bubble tea but the store was closed ;( so we just ate nuggets, i did internet errands and kevin played some overwatch. then we ate leftovers for the rest of lunch. we played pokemon until it was time to leave for our reservation at o ya! the train had a mechanical malfunction and all the passengers were kicked off and we had to wait for the next one. i freaked out because i thought we were going to be late (we were) and it was rude because this is a high class af restaurant. kevin calmed me down and we got seated and then it was time to order, cry, and eat. cry because everything was hella expensive, but we really wanted to eat here. it was a great first time experience and we had a lot of fun. we ordered 13 items, got roasted green tea (in love), and ordered 2 dessert items. we loved the uni toast, the coconut tapioca dessert, the pork belly, and the mushroom nigiri. i loved the eel nigiri of course. the dessert was my favorite. we also ordered $70 wagyu beef with potato confit and it was on point, but probably wouldn’t get again. the potatos were cooked amazingly.

they even had sewing kits, lint rollers, iphone chargers, etc on hand and you could get them from the host if you needed it -- fancy. the crowd was older people and a good amount of business men. it was a $400 meal and we’ll definitely be coming back for celebrations and whatnot. sumi will always have a special place in my heart though. i think that’s when i really started appreciating japanese food more. anyway, we took the train back (btw, o ya is like on this small hidden side street near south station and it’s so low key but highly rated) and kevin gamed while i watched soem youtube videos. he gamed a bit too long and i got upset because we were supposed to spend more time in the guest suite. i got over it after showering and then we went up there and i got to use my oatmeal luxury soap from lush and the rub, rub, rub bar. the water was much warmer and i think it was bad for my nerves because i went to sleep with the tingly nerve sensation. oh well, it will be my last time bathing for a while. that was good way to end the night :) it was another relaxing and fun time with the bear in the guest suite~ so grateful for this awesome week and i never want it to end, and it probably won’t because it was just spending time experiencing new things with kevin that made it great. <3

19: so we slept at like 3 am and we woke up at 12 or 1 pm. we were dead. we made potstickers and chicken nuggets for brunch. i was cramping a lot. T_T so i took it easy and just did laundry, which was smaller than usual? and then got my gleener (sweater fuzz remover) and tried it out on my leggings... it ended up ripping a hole in them T__T or rather maybe it was the dull razor i was using? the razor did a better job btw. so then i filed for a return, contacted bombas because there’s already a hole in my socks, and then looked around the apartment for thread? ugh, sad that i didn’t ask for a sewing kit in o ya now. i was a bit bummed out by all of these events and my stomach and cramps didn’t help either. i also have a terrible throat/ear pain. :/ sigh. we planned meals for the week earlier in the day so then we just changed and went to get groceries.

we got everything we needed at kam man but some items weren’t the freshest. we couldn’t find my coconut milk or any croissants left at bj’s. we have to go grocery shopping a bit earlier now :( haha. i like going late to avoid to crowds though. so we left bj’s with orange juice and some english muffins. we got back, i folded the laundry, helped cook noodles, and then we watched ‘it follows’ for our movie date because we didn’t want to go out and watch ‘logan’ or ‘get out’ or ‘beauty and the beast.’ it was a pretty good movie -- kevin got scared ;P it was a different kind of horror film. kevin cooked lunch while i exercised for a bit. then he vacuumed and showered. then i showered and we made the bed together and i went to sleep. zzz. i went to sleep before 1:30 am!! woot.