#guys at this time next year i might just be talking to y'all from austin

[the-music-keeper]

Objective #15 is done. A half-hour meeting turned into an hour-long meeting, and I am positively speechless with joy over how perfect a fit this program sounds like it is.

[sagesolsticewrites]

Today Was A Fairytale | Austin x fem!reader

You decide to surprise your boyfriend in Australia on Valentine’s Day! ❤️ 

a/n: Happy (belated, oops) Valentine’s Day! This is a week late, I know, and I’m so sorry y’all! But thank you guys so, so much for your patience 🫶 I do have plenty more WIPs that I’m working on, and I hope to have those out sooner rather than later for y'all. And my requests are open if y'all want to send anything in! ☺️ For this fic, covid doesn’t exist for Plot purposes lmao

Word count: 2k (technically 1,999 but shhhh)

Warnings: some allusion to sex towards the end (might qualify as fade-to-black smut??), I think that’s it? As always, please let me know if I missed anything!

Please like/rb if you enjoyed! 🤍

Masterlist | add yourself to my taglist!

As you stand on the escalator, hands firmly gripping your carry-on to keep yourself from shaking with excitement, you scan the area near baggage claim as it appears bit by bit, keeping your eyes peeled for a sign with your name on it.

Your sweeping gaze finally snags on your name, the flimsy paper in the hands of an older, very fashionable woman, with a bright smile and cheerful eyes peering through cat-eye glasses. Your smile widens, and you wave to get her attention as you step off the escalator onto the polished concrete floor. You still can’t quite believe that Catherine Martin herself was the one meeting you here.

You greet her, a little starstruck, before she sweeps you into a hug.

“Darling! It’s so nice to finally meet you!” She smiles, “You know Austin honestly hasn’t stopped talking about you since we started filming,” she teases as you made your way over to get the rest of your things.

You laugh shyly, “Well, that’s very sweet to hear, and I apologize on his behalf.” Laughter fading, you continue in a more sincere tone, “And thank you so much for letting me come on set for a couple days, I can only imagine how complicated it must be to organize that.”

Catherine waves the compliment away, helping you get your suitcase off the carousel with ease.

“It’s nothing, sweetheart! It’s very sweet that you want to surprise him, and I’m so glad we could help.”

Catherine explains the plan in the Uber on the way to your hotel: take a few days to recover from the jet lag from the 19-hour flight, and on Friday — Valentine’s Day — you’d be taken to set to surprise your boyfriend. 

After Catherine makes sure you’re safely in your room and assures you that you can call her if you needed anything — “absolutely anything, darling!” — before tomorrow, you finally allow a grin to overtake your face as you collapse onto the bed. As Valentine’s Day gifts go, you were fairly certain this wasn’t a bad choice.

You and Austin had been dating for almost a year, since March of 2019. Originally just your childhood friend, a friendship born of proximity when your family moved next door to his, your feelings for each other had blossomed into what was honestly the healthiest relationship you had ever been in. You had been with him when he was auditioning, when he was cast as Elvis, you had watched as he practically lived and breathed Elvis in the months leading up to the moment he left for principal photography in Australia. He was crushed that your first Valentine’s Day together was doomed to be long-distance, and as he kept saying how much he wished the two of you could celebrate together, the idea dawned on you.

And now here you were in Australia, on the opposite side of the world from your home in Anaheim, getting ready to surprise your boyfriend who was currently playing one of the most famous men in history.

-

You spend most of the first couple days of your trip sleeping, your body insisting on ten-hour naps to recover from the flight through seven time zones. You’re able to pencil in some sightseeing, too, though by the time Valentine’s Day rolls around you’re even more anxious to see Austin; you’re the closest you’ve been to seeing him in a month but the distance between your hotel and his set seems impossibly far.

Catherine is your escort once again, and on the way to set she explains the plan to you, detailing the scenes they’ll be filming and where you could fit in, and making it incredibly clear that pretty much everything you’re about to see is strictly for your eyes only; they couldn’t risk a leak only a month into filming.

Admittedly, you’re a little starstruck being on a movie set, and it’s all a bit of a blur as Catherine rushes you over to hair & makeup to get you ready for the scene. The crew slips you into one of their many spare dresses, and they get to work making your hair and makeup era-appropriate. As one of the hair stylists — a kind woman whose name you learned was Gail — is in the process of getting your hair into pincurls, the door to the hair and makeup trailer sweeps open. Every eye in the room swings towards the motion as Baz steps inside.

As in, Baz Luhrmann.

Legendary, acclaimed director.

In the hair and makeup trailer.

And he walks right over and gives you a hug (as best he could with you in the makeup chair trying to stay as still as possible, at least).

“Y/N! Happy Valentine’s Day, we’re so glad you’re here.”

“Thank you so much for helping organize this, Baz!” You smiled. “I really hope I’m not disrupting the schedule or anything too much.” You had gotten to meet Baz a handful of times as Austin was prepping for the role, and he was one of the sweetest people you knew. 

“Oh, it was nothing.” He waves away the compliment, “I love a good surprise, and I’m glad I’ll get to see you two crazy kids back together. I just wanted to say hello and make sure you were doing okay. You guys take care of her, alright?” He directs the last part to the crew, and bids you farewell with a “See you on set!”

Soon enough, your hair and makeup are the best they’ve ever been, and you’re almost afraid to move for fear of ruining the gorgeous blue gingham dress they’ve given you as you’re escorted to set by an assistant.

You take your seat in the front row, trying your hardest to hide your excitement as you catch a glimpse of Austin talking with Baz just offstage.Your breath catchesin your throat as you take him in. After not seeing him for a month, seeing him in person is in itself a bit of a shock, but underneath the slightly baggy pink suit and effortlessly disheveled hair, you see the sharp focus in his eyes that's something entirely Austin. Time is a blur as the rest of the scene is set up, and the last thing you hear before Baz calls “action!” is his suggestion to Austin to find someone in the audience to focus on. 

You holdyour breath as he, Xavier, and Adam walk onto the stage, the smudged eyeliner bringing out the blue of his eyes as he scans the crowd. You fight to keep the smile from your face in anticipation as his gaze sweeps past you, then snaps back as he does a double take. The Elvis facade fades, the anxious fidgeting and nervous manner he’s put on entirely forgotten as he freezes, his eyes locked on yours.

“Y/N?”

You nod, unable to hide your grin any longer as you give him a playful wave, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Aus.”

In a flash, the guitar that had been looped around his shoulders is set carefully on the stage and he jumps down to the floor to greet you, the cast and crew cheering him on.

You let out a breathless laugh as you’re swept up in his arms and spun around in a circle, his grip strong and secure and safe as always. As your feet finally hit the ground, Austin’s gaze sweeps over you, taking in your light blue gingham dress and 50s pin curls, before his eyes meet yours again and you’re finally, finally pulled in for a kiss. 

It’s a sign of how much you missed each other that by the time you pull away your carefully-applied, no doubt expensive, movie-star-quality lipstick is smudged beyond repair, and Austin’s artfully disheveled hair is a mess. Some part of you cringes slightly at the thought of messing up the hair and makeup crew’s hard work, but a much larger, much louder part of you — the part that had been missing him since the second he’d left — couldn’t care less.

“I— Sweetheart,” Austin laughs with a tinge of disbelief, still holding you tight as though you might slip away at any second, “What are you doing here?”

“I missed you.” You say simply, grinning. “And I knew how upset you were that we’d be missing our first Valentine’s together, so I thought I’d surprise you.”

“You flew all the way to Australia to surprise me?” He asks, as if to make sure he was hearing you right.

You nod, cheerfully humming an affirmative.

He laughs, shaking his head in disbelief. 

“You’re ridiculous,” is all he says before pulling you in for another warm hug, lips brushing your ear as he whispers, “I love you.”

“I love you, too” you whisper back, tucking your face into the crook of his neck to hide your growing smile, toes curling at the familiar smell of his cologne — something warm and woody that you had gotten him for Christmas last year.

After what seems like not enough time at all, your very professional boyfriend regretfully pulls away — after all, he is here for a job. Baz is kind enough to let you stay and watch them film several scenes, but after seeing how distracted Austin is (he’s trying to stay professional, he really is, but you’re here and he’s missed you so much) he cuts the day short, offering everyone a chance to celebrate their Valentine’s Day properly. 

You’re glad you brought one of your nicer dresses with you, because that night Austin takes you out on the first non-Skype date you’ve had in a while. The two of you end up at a fairly nice restaurant, talking for hours as if you haven’t been apart at all. In lieu of the typical red roses, he gives you a paper rose to add to your collection back home; a tradition that began with your very first date, and one that you hope continues for as long as possible.

You spend a romantic evening together, followed by an even more romantic night, and the contentment you feel waking up the next morning in Austin’s arms is incomparable to anything else on earth. You don’t open your eyes at first, content with the feeling of your head on his chest, legs tangled together, his arms pulling you in closer, but you can’t help but smile up at him as you feel his eyes on you, and the softness in his gaze as you meet his eyes nearly takes your breath away.

Your hand, from its resting place on Austin’s chest, works its way up his neck to cup his cheek, almost as if you need to confirm that he’s really there, solid and warm next to you. You bite your lip to hide a smirk as your eyes catch on the marks scattered across his skin — proof of your, er, very enthusiastic reunion the previous night. He leans into your touch as you whisper a soft “good morning” to him, and he returns the greeting, mumbling it against your lips as you’re pulled in for a kiss.

He glances quickly at the alarm clock on the nightstand, making a note of the time: barely 9am. “What time is your flight, again?”

You mentally file through your sleep-scattered brain for your flight information. “My flight leaves at 1, but I wanna try to be at the airport around 11, maybe 11:30ish?”

He nods, seemingly incorporating that information into whatever idea he has brewing in his head. “I don’t have to be on set until noon,” he says, taking on a suggestive tone as he moves to hover over you, “Any ideas on how we could spend all this time?”

Grinning, you pull him down into a bruising kiss, making a mental note to send flowers to the hair and makeup crew as an apology for the marks they’re going to have to cover on him after this morning.

All in all, not a bad Valentine’s Day.

Taglist: @queenslandlover-93 @anangelwhodidntfall @austin-butlers-gf @butlersluvbot @killerqueenfan @kittenlittle24 @beauvibaby @kingelviscreole @sweetheartlizzie07 @coldonexx @londonalozzy @annamarie16 @adoreyouusugar @djconde58 @mirandastuckinthe80s @luke-my-skywalker @tubble-wubble @apparently-sunshine @kisseskae @whotfatemywaffles @gyomei-tiddies @friedwangsss @shynovelist @sassy-ahsoka-tano @she-is-juniper @hallecarey1 @adoreyouusugar @iheartcbe @nora-nexus-34 @finelineskies @dontbesussis @fangirl-imagines

[sara78]

Family don't end in blood - chapter 7

Summary: Things finally seem to look up for Y/N and she's looking forward to the little break from filming, she's closing in on the first semester and life is just good, but an unexpected appearance threatens to break down everything she's worked on the past months...

Pairing: Jensen Ackles x foster!daughter reader

Word count: very close to 5,000

Warnings: mentions of abuse, protective!Jensen, angst, so much angst, nightmares, Danneel is honestly the only sane person here

Transcription - Y/M/L - your mother language, Y/H/C - your home country

A/N: This is where things start to build up...

You were finally settling into the routine, the filming, school work, life in general. You finally found balance in your everyday life, and you can definitely thank Jensen for helping you with everything that came up along the way.

You were excitedly counting down the days until you get to go back to Austin and be there for the twins' birthday. You haven't been that excited about something in a long time.

But as of now, you, Jensen, Jared, and Misha are walking to get some lunch. Of course, Jared was being Jared and pulled yet another prank on Misha. And of course, taking in the fact how serious y'all are, Richard got sick and tired of y'alls bullshit and sent you to have some lunch and cool off before continuing with filming, for sake of his as much as yours.

"You are a monster!" Misha exclaimed, Jared laughing,

"I can't believe that what, 12 years later, you still fall for his stupid pranks," Jensen said, all three of you giggling as Misha groaned,

"I just might ask craft and supplies to buy me some popcorn for next time, cause you guys are my favorite movie to watch," you laughed, Jensen's phone ringing,

"Oh, it's Dee. Get me some steak and salad, kiddo. I'll catch up with you guys."

"I'm so gonna put something spicy in his meal," Jared giggled evily,

"Jared Tristan Padalecki woke up and chose violence," you said, Misha rolling his eyes,

"That's his default setting, kid," he stated, Jared nudging his arm playfully,

"Oh I love you too," Jared stated, taking his phone out, "I gotta check in with Gen. I'll take my meal when I make it. You keep a seat for me, kid," he said, ruffling your hair and drifting away as well,

"I'll just drop by and give Sarah my trench coat so that she can wash it up since this is not presentable anymore," Misha said, "Keep me a seat too! Preferably as far from Jared as possible," he called out from the distance, making you giggle as you showed him a thumbs-up, leaving to get some food.

While you were walking to the catering, you pulled your phone out to read over all the texts your friend, well, more sister, sent you. The time zones are kind of messing with your friendship but oh well, it's not like she's a night owl anyways, so you get to text very often. You caught up with all the texts from her and swapped to discord, where you had a group of close friends you'd study with whenever you needed company.

As you were walking you bumped into something, or someone. You immediately turned around after bumping into whatever it was, wanting to apologize for being a clumsy idiot if it was a person you bumped into.

But when you lifted your eyes up from the phone, you froze.

"Watch your steps, whore," a voice called you out, making you gulp. You swore you felt all will to live drained from your body and soul right there and now, as you stared at the person you'd never expect to see here. You were speechless, hands shaking as they put the phone back into your pocket. The person smiled at you evily, making your blood run cold, "Awww, what's the matter? Are you scared of your own mom?" you clenched your jaw, all the anger accumulating in you slowly but surely.

If she left from set without a bloody nose she should consider herself lucky. Everything was coming down but you still didn't know what to do. Do you attack, talk back, run away?

"Since when do you speak English? You don't even speak Y/M/L properly."

"I want to show you that everything is possible. Even me learning this filthy language," she began, "To prove you that you could have done exactly the same. You could have studied and become a scientist in Russia and-"

"Did you seriously travel for more than 30 hours just to tell me all of that shit over again?" you asked, huffing a laugh, "I can't believe this. You're still living in the past. I'm done," you pointed out, "I'm done being a puppet you control. I'm done being a punching bag you take all of your anger out on. I'm done being your daughter. I'm done being related to you. For all I know, I shouldn't be talking to a stranger."

"Drop the bullshit, bitch," she spat out,

"No, I'm not gonna drop it. I've had it up to here with you," you said, gesturing, "I'm done being manipulated and controlled, I'm done being beaten and hurt and called out. I don't deserve what you've done to me. You brought me into this world only to blame me for everything that has ever happened and to make me into this robot you control. I'm not supposed to be what you want me to be. I'm supposed to build my own future and make my own choices, whether right or wrong."

"I see you're still blind," she responded, "Me controlling you? How can you stay blind after all these years? I'm giving you a future!"

"A future?" you huffed, "This is my future. For the next few months, this is my future. My future is to finish high school, to make my own choices and be my own person. My future is to heal from everything you've fed me with. But then, you don't know of the term mental health, so you wouldn't know what I'm talking about."

"Stop being a bitch or I make you shut that filthy mouth of yours," she said, taking a step towards you, making you take a step back as you flinched,

"Yeah, that's how you deal with everything. Beat Y/N up. That's the only card you know how to play."

"You little blind bitch. I'm trying to secure your future, to make you successful!"

"And I can't do that by myself, in a branch I choose? I can't be a successful actress, or a video game designer, or a mathematician or a musician? It has to be medicine, biology, whatever the fuck the thing is on your mind? You are not doing anything but wanting to make me into this super famous person so you can show off to others how smart your daughter is. That same daughter you beat behind closed doors. Have you ever bragged about that? How gentle of a mother you are?"

"KIDDO!" Dean Winchester's voice in full swing echoed in the air and you felt a stone rolling off your heart as you saw him run towards you. He immediately grabbed you for your arm and pulled you aside. Though it was rough, it wasn't meant for hurting you, but for quickly moving you back behind him, where you were safe and out of reach for your mother,

"Oh great. The old fuck."

"Who the hell are you?" Jensen asked,

"Oh, you don't know!" your mother exclaimed, taking a step back. You grabbed at Jensen's flannel and pulled him three steps back with you. Jensen looked you in the eye and you must have had such a scared expression that he immediately dropped the attention on your mother and immediately turned to you,

"Kiddo, who is that?"

"My-my mother," you breathed, feeling your chest tighten up, "She's-she's my mother."

It took Jensen one swift motion to pick you up and settle you on his hip, same way Dean did to your character numerous of times before,

"You're safe. As long as my arms are around you, you're safe. I promise," he whispered.

You couldn't do much but lean your head against his shoulder as you tried to take deep breaths and not go into a panic attack,

"I want you to leave," Jensen spoke up, turning to face your mother, "You have no business being here. Go your own way."

"Oh, but she is my business," your mother spoke up. You shook your head and Jensen squeezed you tighter,

"Oh, look how gentle and soft you are with her. That's how you raise a whiny bastard. My methods haven't worked quite well, unfortunately, as she's still a whiny little bitch."

"Yeah, when you beat your daughter up with whatever comes to hand she craves for a soft touch, something that won't hurt her," he responded,

"What I was doing was raising a strong independent woman. Now, only thing I have left is to kick that bitchy attitude out of her and make her into a scientist so she can finally contribute to this family and be useful for once."

"Oh no, you're not coming near her," Jensen shook his head, "You aren't taking her anywhere."

"Oh sweetie, that's not your decision to make. Besides, I have no problem showing you a few moves I've used on her. I'm sure she'll obey after she revises them with me."

"No," you spoke up, Jensen still holding you tightly, "You're not going to hurt him."

"You be a grown-up and talk to your mother!" she exclaimed. You looked at Jensen, nodding. He gulped, letting you down but tightly holding you, your back pressing against his chest, "Now, about the parenting preferences. Don't you have three kids of your own? You should start using some belt on them if you want them to grow up strong and independent."

"Oh you don't tell me how to raise my children," Jensen growled, "I'm never going to hurt my kids. Whatever they do, I'd never hurt them."

"Oh, you're making a big mistake."

"Yeah, whatever makes you sleep better at night," he responded, "Children cannot in any way be responsible for whatever is happening in your life. Yes, they might break a glass, shatter a window, spill milk, crack their head open, but they are never doing things on purpose and when mistakes happen, you talk to them. You don't 'cure it' with a belt."

"Please, as far as I can tell, Y/N's grateful for my parenting preferences. Right?" you gulped,

"What's going on here?" Misha's voice rang, your mom groaning,

"You fuckers don't know what manners are, do you?" she asked, turning around to face Misha, "Don't interrupt a lady when she talks," Misha looked at her and Jensen was fast to drop on his knees and turn you to face him. You heard Misha talk back but all you were focused on was Jensen,

"Kiddo, hey, you're safe," he told you and you nod, "She's not gonna come near you. Did she hit you?" you shook your head, "You sure?" you nod, "Okay, that's good. How did she find you?"

"I-I don't know. I bumped into her when-when I was walking to-to get food," you stammered,

"Okay, we'll take care of it. Do you trust me?" you nod, "Good. Now, I'm here, and so is Mish, Jared will stumble up here as well. You're safe. We won't let her get you. Okay?" you nod again and he stood up, both returning to the pose you had before Misha showed up.

You could now tell Misha was in a heated argument with your mother.

"STOP!" Jensen exclaimed, Misha moving to stand right next to you. It seemed like he realized who she was and he took a protective pose in front of you as well.

"You know what, I should have hit you harder," your mother spoke, Misha gulping as he looked down to you for a second before looking back up,

"Yeah, mother of the year right here people!" he shot back,

"She's a sixteen year old child. She's got all the rights to be loved and to want a hug and to feel safe. Every single person, no matter their age, should be granted as much."

"She can't even do the right thing to save her life! That's where your gentle parenting bullshit leads. Now, I'm sure she's pretty useless here. Might as well hand it back to me."

"She's not an it," Jensen growled,

"Yeah!" Jared's voice rang and you turned around just in time for him to voluntarily pick you up and settle you on his hip, "She's our kid! So you might as well drop whatever plans you have with her because you'll have to walk over our dead bodies to get her."

"Wow," your mother huffed, "So despearate in need of a dad, you found three! But you never once cared about me, did you? I had to be alone for my entire life because of you! You drove your father away and I never got to be loved!"

"I was never responsible for anything that happened between you two," you yelled out, "Why didn't you abort me if he already didn't want me and you knew he was going to kick you out?"

"Well, I figured to make up for it by making you into a successful scientist and then we can go to him and-"

"So that is your brilliant plan? Rub it in? Do you understand that he has a wife and a daughter he loves. He doesn't care about you or me. And I'm sorry you went through that, but you had options and you chose to give birth to me. I had nothing to do with you and him. I was born and instead of being loved, I was all these years used as a puppet in your master plan of rubbing it in to him."

"What is it that you want?" Misha asked, obviously missing some context,

"Well, that idiot there is coming with me or she's going to suffer."

"I ain't letting her go," Jared spoke up, "So you might as well cross that off your to-do list and reschedule it for never."

"You've got a chance to fix all this," your mother warned you, "I won't beat you hard too."

"No," you spoke, "I'm happy where I'm standing right now and I'm not coming with you."

"Well, you had your choice. I can't wait to see you suffer," she responded, "The exact same way you made me suffer."

"She made you suffer? Because she wants to live her own life, make her own decisions? Or is it because she wants to be loved and cared for?"

"Don't you want what's best for your child?" she countered,

"We all do," Jared said, "But your definition of best seems to drift off from ours."

"We want our children to have a good life. But we don't dictate them," Jensen began, "We don't plan it all out for them. We let them be kids, let them play, learn, enjoy life, fuck up and slam against the wall and help them get back up. They are never going to have a plan they so blindly have to follow. What you wanted to do to Y/N, it's not fair. It's inhumane."

"Why won't you shut that ugly mouth of yours or I make you," she threatened, huffing, "No wonder you fit so well. Shit goes with more shit."

"You keep them out of your dirty mouth," you growled, "You wanna trash talk about me? Do it. Make the whole universe hear how bad of a daughter I am. But you don't dare talk about them like that. You don't know them."

"Oh, and you do? They'll just use you to get popular and then throw you out. That's when it'll hit you and you'll beg to come back," her mother began, "But I won't take you in then. You have one chance, and it's now."

"No."

Your mother gasped, fully not expecting the answer even though she's been given the same answer multiple times,

"W-What?"

"I said no," you repeated, "I told you I'm done. I'm not coming with you. This is where I stand, and I like it here. I'm done with you and your plans for me, for revenge on my father. It's over," you said, "We were getting lunch, guys," you spoke, the three nodding and walking away, brushing past your mother, but not without resistance. She jumped at you, presumably, but Jensen was in the way and had no problem grabbing her and pulling her away while Jared moved quickly, still holding you in his arms and Misha bolted, probably for security.

"You are not," he began, locking arms around her, her long nails scratching his skin, "Going to," he picked her up, "Come near my kid," he took a step back, "Ever again." he growled in her ear, dragging the two of them away, "You wanna make her suffer?" Jensen asked, letting her mother go and she immediately maintained a safe distance from him, "Huh? You wanna make a little kid suffer?" he repeated, your mother bolting to attack him again, long nails managing to get to his face before he grabbed her wrists, "Bad idea. Cause if you touch her, you have a lot of people breathing on your neck. And I am the first one," he said, going into her face. Only thing your mother could do is hysterically scream into Jensen's face until the security showed up and they dragged her away.

As soon as she's being dragged away, Jensen is running to you and Jared and you caught Misha with the corner of your eye. You couldn't be fooled, as all three had terrified expressions on their face,

"She's okay," Jared spoke up as soon as Jensen was within arms length. He took you from Jared's arms and hugged you tightly. You couldn't do much but return the hug and let both of you calm down from your high.

"How did she get through the security?" Misha spoke up,

"She-She probably paid her way in," you responded, going to hug Misha and then Jared, "I'm sorry for causing a scene."

"There's nothing to apologize for, munckhin," Jared shook his head as he squeezed you tightly, giving you one of his famous moose hugs,

"I scared you. All three of you," you responded, looking back at Jensen, "And she hurt you too."

"What's important is that she didn't hurt you," Jensen responded, smiling weakly for you, "Don't apologize. You didn't pick your mother."

"But still-"

"Don't," Misha shook his head, "We're all okay. And Jensen's right. What matters is that you're not hurt."

"What in the ever-loving fuck happened?!" Richard exclaimed as he walked up to you,

"My mother somehow managed to break through the security."

"She's fucking mental!" he exclaimed, "Are you guys okay?"

"More or less," Jensen responded,

"Oh man, get someone to clean that up," Rich frowned, "Listen, if she broke through the security that means we have a rat somewhere around."

"I'll fire the current security and ask Cliff to make me a list of most trusted ones," Jensen said, "I'll set it all up."

"But until that's set up, we're taking a break," Richard said, "I gotta look around people here too. I don't know who she might be working with. I'll need time."

"Guys, really, you don't have to-"

"All of our safety is compromised with that mental bitch loose. Yes, she'll be held for 72 hours or something, and yes we'll press charges, but whatever is the outcome, I have to go through all these people. I have to work with people I know are safe. I don't want insane parents breaking into the set and murders happening, and neither do Jensen and Danneel."

"But we'll fall back with filming," you pointed out,

"We'll be fine. Filming is postponed until February 1st. We have a few episode waiting for production. I order y'all to go home and take a break. You heard me kiddie?" you nod, looking down, not expecting Richard to come up and hug you, "Hey, I'm not mad at you. I can't be mad at you. She's the mental idiot, not you. I'm just glad you're safe."

"Thanks," you whispered, returning the hug,

"Don't thank me. Now go home, all of you."

The first thing Jensen did as he opened the door to his trailer was lead you to the couch and grab a bottle of water sitting on the counter, handing it to you. You took it quietly, your head bowing down.

"Kiddo," he whispered, crouching in front of you, "Kiddo, look at me," he tried but you shook your head.

How can I look at you? I put you in danger. I shouldn't be here.

"Kiddo, this isn't on you."

You gulped.

Of course he knew what's going on in your head. Of course he knew you'd be blaming yourself. And you still couldn't wrap your head around the fact that nobody is blaming you.

But then, they might be as well lying to you.

"We're going back to Austin," he stated and you shook your head,

"I'm not going."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm not," you began, finally looking up, "She's going to be out in 72 hours. She's coming after me. Save yourself and go. I'll find a place here and keep quiet until we return to film."

"No," Jensen shook his head, "You're coming with me. You're way safer in Austin than here. Either we both go or we both stay."

"Jensen-"

"No," he said sternly, "I'm not leaving you here."

"Jensen, you heard her. Are you seriously willing to sacrifice the safety of your family just for one person?"

"Yes," he responded, taking you back with it, "Cliff is in Austin. I'll ask him to watch over our place."

"Jensen you don't know her and the lengths she's ready to go. Just let her have her way with me and she'll be gone when she's done."

"Not knowing how far she can go is the exact thing I'm scared of," he pointed out, "You're coming. We're gonna keep you safe, and we'll have fun and think of how to get rid of her, besides suing her."

"I don't want to sue her," you spoke up, Jensen now confused, "I just want her to go back to Y/H/C as soon as possible. Besides, she's most likely not going to show up at the court anyways."

"Okay, but Chaos Machine is suing her, so she'll have some problems up her ass," Jensen said, "Now, we'll go home and pack. We need time to figure things out and if nothing, I'll feel better if all my kids are within arms reach."

"And that's exactly what I meant when I said I don't want to come. I want you to be safe. I want them to be safe. Jensen, I can't afford to be close to you now."

"She can be the queen of England and I still wouldn't give a flying fuck. She's not going to hurt me, nor you nor anyone."

"Y-You can't promise me that, Jense."

"You're scared of her," Jensen sighed, "Which is completely okay. But you're forgetting something. That is, you have me. You have Jared, Misha, you have Dee and little ones back in Austin. We're not going to let her win, kiddo."

"She will win. I know she will. Jense, she has ways and mind twisted like no one else. How far she's ready to go to make someone suffer..."

"Well she isn't counting on you having us and she sure as hell doesn't know I'd go even further to protect you, so she can stick it up where the Sun shines," Jensen said, kissing your temple, "Let's just pack up and go home."

12 hours later

When you step out of the car you are greeted by Danneel's arms wrapping around you to give you a hug. Your brain is such a wreck that you don't even flinch. You just return the hug numbly, everything in your head just too much to handle. Jensen gets a hug as well and you follow the two to the living room where they sit you down.

"Honey, you're safe here. She's not going to come near you again," Danneel tried to assure you,

"I shouldn't be here," you whispered, "I should go to a motel or something. I'm putting you in danger. How can you not see?" you asked, looking up with tears in your eyes, "I don't want to put you in danger. I don't want to put the kids in danger. Why aren't you getting rid of me?"

"Because you're family," Danneel responded, "No matter what she does, we'll go through it together."

"I shouldn't have left you alone," Jensen murmured, totally out of the current conversation,

"No," you spoke up, standing up to go after him after he began walking up and down the room, grabbing his hand and stopping him to look at you, "You don't do that. You don't blame yourself. It's not your fault she's insane."

"It's neither of yours fault," Danneel corrected you as she approached you, "So stop blaming yourselves. She's her own person, she has her own brain with questionable thoughts in it and you cannot in any way make her do anything because she's calling the shots. Now you," she turned to Jensen, grabbing his other hand, "I know you'd probably wipe Y/N from her mother's memories if you'd had the chance to, but you can't. So don't blame yourself for something that you didn't see coming. You can't see into the future. And you," she turned to you, "You're just a child and you're not at fault for having a crazy mother. So don't eat yourself over what happened and don't think about what's to come either. Whatever happens has its own reasons why and we'll go through it together, like a family. Now, I think a nice, warm bath will help you relax. What do you think?" you nod,

"Thanks," you whispered, looking at Jensen who wore the famous 'Dean feels guilty for something he had no control over' face. You shook his hand and he looked down at you, "It's okay."

When you're done with your bath, Danneel was waiting for you with a cup of hot cocoa,

"Here's something to warm up a little before going to sleep."

"I can't sleep."

"I know. I think Jensen's right there with you," she responded, opening the door to their bedroom where Jensen was seated against the headboard, playing with the blanket over him, "How about you two have some alone time and in the morning you'll fill me up?" she said and Jensen nod, taking your hand in his and sitting you down next to him,

"Thanks honey," he whispered, Danneel smiling as she leaned down to kiss his lips,

"Don't thank me," she smiled, planting a kiss to your temple as well before walking away and closing the door behind her.

The two of you sat in pure silence. You didn't know what to say, what could you possibly say to make this whole situation better. You knew Jensen wasn't going to get rid of you, and as much as you appreciated it, part of you really wanted to go and keep him and his family safe.

And Jensen obviously had problems forming sentences since all he did was hug you tightly. And you'd lie if you said you didn't need it. Everything he did the past 24 hours, he and Jared and Misha. You didn't think a loving touch could make all the worst things hurt a little less.

You didn't even realize you were crying until Jensen shushed you gently, assuring you that it's okay to cry. You were so unaware of your own body, surroundings, everything. This all put you back to square one, at the bottom of the hill again. You didn't know how were you going to climb up to the top this time. You didn't think you had energy in you.

"That's what that feeling was," he murmured, "Like you felt her coming, but you didn't know it was her."

"I wish I knew," you responded, sniffling, "I-I wish I knew so I could have avoided her. I'm scared."

"I know, and that's completely okay. We'll keep you safe. She won't get you."

The very next thing you know is you're jumping awake from a nightmare, panting and sweating.

"Kiddo, you're safe," Jensen spoke up, making you whip your head around and gasp at the scars on his face, "You're safe."

"She-she hurt you," you breathed, "No."

"Kiddo, you gotta breathe," Jensen tried, getting ahold of your shoulders, "Look me in the eye and follow my breathing. In. Out."

After a few minutes you came down from your high, still staring at Jensen,

"What was it about?"

"She... She hurt you," you breathed, tears welling up in your eyes, "She-she hit you. Same way she hit me. And-and I was there but I-I couldn't do anything about it. I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything."

"Shit kiddo," Jensen breathed, "I'm safe. I'm okay. She didn't hurt me. It was just a bad dream. I promise I'm fine. Okay?" you nod, looking down, "Here, drink some water," he handed you the bottle and you gladly took it, downing the content in record time, "You need to take it easy these next few days, okay? No school or anything. You have to put yourself first."

"How do I do that?" you breathed,

"We'll do it together. We still have a few days before the twins birthday. We'll help Dee set it all up and we'll do a lot of movie nights and play and talk. Okay?" you nod, "I think the kids are up. Wanna go say hi to your favorite Ackles?" you smiled,

"Sure."

[sleekervae]

Past Lives [1.1]

Masterlist

A/N: Thanks for all the birthday wishes, guys! For those who are eagerly awaiting the next part of the Neighbour, it is coming. Slowly, but surely, it us under construction. Meanwhile, I have another indulgent piece for y'all to enjoy below 🥰

Warnings: smut ahead

The time had come.

With a listless thanksgiving come and gone and Christmas just around the corner, 2021 would be wrapping up with a bang for many and people were excited over future endeavours to come. The pandemic was almost over and a large amount of the population had been vaccinated. There was a renewed sense of optimism in the air, clouded just a bit by the uncertainty for more curve balls coming peoples' way.

Austin's flight had gotten in a few days ago, and he'd taken the time to readjust to the time change and his new, but familiar surroundings. He was in a new place in LA now, and just as before he had to get himself into some new habits. He was especially grateful to have the opportunity for a tearful reunion with his sister and his dad. In three tumultuous, truly tedious years, he was finally beginning to feel whole.

Jade however was still struggling, not that she would let anybody know.

The news had broke that she had signed a deal with Warner Brothers to produce part of the soundtrack for the new Batman movie, on top of that Cam was already speaking to press about the possible release of new music. There was a lot to look forward to for Jade, but there was also a lot of immense pressure that came with it. Arena tours and festivals, movie soundtracks, it was all a walk in the park at this stage in the game. It was nothing she couldn't handle, at least that was what she had been assuring herself.

Both Austin and Jade had a lot to look forward to, especially on that brisk Tuesday evening. California in winter was never truly cold, but there was a distinctive chill in the air, the change in season complimented by leaves turning from lush green to bold oranges and reds and the dreaded pumpkin spice latte was being marketed everywhere.

He tried to repress his nerves as he read the menu outside, then he flipped through his social media; that did little to calm his nerves of course. He wondered about what they might talk about, thought long and hard about what had been lingering in the back of his mind for months, though thought better than the chance that he might scare her away.

Around the corner, Jade's ankle boots clicked sharply against the pavement. She clung to her skirt to keep the gentle breeze from lifting it up, her eyes darting around until she spotted him, and she exhaled slowly.

He was leant against the wall outside the restaurant, a couple of building up from where her Uber had dropped her off, his figure and the way he held himself unmistakably Austin. At the mere sight of him she knew that even if she somehow forgot his face one day, she'd still be drawn to him beyond reason, she knew that no matter what she could never shake him.

It had been too long since she'd seen him, even by her own rationality and she let her mind wander back to the early summer, what he'd been wearing then, how he'd looked, what they'd promised each other. Joyful conversation, records on vinyl, books, deserts, pure, unadulterated joy after years of stress and fear. Smiles in movie theatres, hidden to the wings of stages. Dancing in the living room. Wine -- too much wine. Drunken, slurred compliments. His hips. Her lips. Touches. Softness. Intimacy.

She took a quick puff from her vape to settle her nerves.

As she found the strength in her legs to approach him, Jade realized that he looked a little tired; probably was tired with the filming of his project fully finished and the time change knocking him on his head. Nevertheless, he had insisted on them coming out together the first night that worked for them both. The jet lag and fatigue be damned. His hair was fluffy, locks of strands falling over his forehead and yet styled in a way like he'd tried just enough and his jawline was sharper than she remembered, only accentuated by the darkness. He was dressed with his carhartt jacket thrown over a black shirt, his dark jeans loose but accentuated his height and the shape of his thighs, his chelsea boots tapped gently against the pavement, his dark blue eyes reflective in the glow from the street lamp above. She never got tired of looking at him, watching him simply be.

Another puff.

Austin turned his head and when he spotted her, his entire face lit up, the corners of his lips turning up immediately.

God, she was beautiful.

Austin was walking to meet her halfway before he even thought to move, but he couldn't stop, didn't stop until he was stood right in front of her, his knees weak from how close she was to him after the countless days. He watched amused as she quickly buried her vape into her pocket, her lengthened hair falling just perfectly at the sides of her face.

"Hi,"

"Hi," she smiled back.

Up close, the details fell into place; the crease between her eyebrows when she concentrated enough, the freckles under her eyes, her chapped lips, old piercing scar in his nostril. The warm green of her eyes was familiar but he'd missed it so much it could've knocked him over.

"Hi..." Austin chuckled shakily.

She was wearing sheer tights and black boots, and a little black skirt and a green jumper. her hair feel in soft waves, now brushing across her shoulders, tamed just enough and her face had the natural flow to it he'd always known.

"You look..." he pursed his lips, shaking his head as he searched for the adjective to fit his declaration. There was no word that quite worked for her right now and he found himself rendered speechless, just like the first time in the park.

"... Bad? Good?" she laughed, the nerves clear in her voice at his silence, "Utterly unattractive or embarrassing to be seen with in public?"

"Wha -- no, Jade," he laughed off, "You look amazing," he took a single step closer, another deep breath in, "I mean, you always look amazing, but... you just do..."

"Well, it has been six months and some months," she simpered.

"Can I -- um, do we hug now or...?" she answered for him as she reached her arms out. He wrapped his arms around her tightly, pulling her against his chest and Jade held onto him in disbelief, the way his hands pressed against her back, the way his fingers stroked through the knots at the back of her head completely overwhelming, even the idea of him being her, in LA, with her, after years and year -- it was too much.

Her sharp, citrusy performed hit him forcefully, then became a comfort, "I missed you,"

"I missed you, too," she replied softly, his warmth flooded through her like a long forgotten memory.

Austin sniffled as they pulled away, his hands lingering at her waist before her buried them in his jacket pockets. Her mouth had never seemed so inviting, her lips a deep pink and he thought about kissed her with everything he had; though he thought better of it. He waited this long, he could wait a while longer.

"So, shall we?" he asked, motioned his head for the door.

Jade nodded with enthusiasm, her fingernails burying themselves in her palms as Austin led her into the restaurant, holding the door, the smile on his face aching.

The restaurant was fairly quiet, an upper scale place lit with candles and industrial looking overhead bulbs. They got a table in the back corner, secluded enough that it almost felt like they had the place to themselves. As they waited for their server to come he sat kitty corner to her and he felt his confidence waver, but then remember who he was, who she was, and basked in how good it felt to be here.

"You look great," Jade said suddenly, forcing him to lift his head to meet her faze, "I don't think I said... you look -- you look great,"

"Thank you," he smiled, raking his free hand through his hair, "Even with my eye circles?"

"Didn't even notice," she laughed gently and though Austin could tell she was lying, he was comforted by the sincerity of her previous compliment.

They ordered a half litre of wine to share and some snacks to nibble on for the first little while. He watched her lipstick leave a slight stain on the glass, noted the dark red polish on her nails and took a long sip of his wine, his ring clicking against the stem.

"So, what's been happening in your world?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, gently laughing at his attempt at small talk, "Nothing... and everything, I guess,"

"I heard, you've been very busy," Austin hummed, "When did this Batman thing come about?"

"Cam signed me for the deal last year; I didn't believe him at first when he brought it up," she shrugged.

He nodded, "And I guess your NDA finally ran out," he concluded.

"Which means now I can talk about it without fear of being sued," she chuckled, "You had to sign one for Elvis, right?"

"That and a whole bunch of other mumbo-jumbo paperwork swearing me to secrecy," he muttered, his fingers tapping against the table, "What kind of songs you have?"

Jade knew she was being evasive, but also couldn't help herself. They both knew bigger conversation Jason the cards tonight, inevitable, unavoidable and now that he was sat in front of her, shuffling closer between each sentence, his cologne pulling her in, she wanted nothing more than to skip to the good bit, "Emo industrial," she chuckled anxiously, "It's two or three songs, but a lot of them took influence from Nine Inch Nails and Nirvana. I hope they'll do well,"

"They will," Austin nodded, "You don't look convinced," he noted how she fidgeted as she talked about it.

She bit down on her lip, "I scream in them," she admitted.

"You scream?" he queried, "How do you mean, like --"

"Not like -- to the point where you can't understand, but -- yeah," her face felt flush, "Like My Chemical Romance, kind of screaming,"

He nodded, "Okay, I see. Don't take this the wrong way, but I cannot imagine you doing that," he smirked coyly.

Jade shook her head with a laugh, curls falling into face which she was quick to tuck behind her despite despite the obvious red glow in her cheeks, "Bet your ass I had to work on that," she said, "I was recording when Flo came home and she thought I'd straight up lost my mind,"

He scrunched his nose, the image of her doing such just barely weaving together in his mind, "Guess I'll have to ask her about that when I see her next,"

"Please don't," she giggled into her glass as she lifted her to her lips, "I traumatized her that day, she hasn't forgiven me yet," Austin pouted dramatically before his smile cracked at her laughter.

"I missed your laugh," he mumbled, unable to hold back his word, "And that smile..."

She inhaled, trying to even her breath at the sentimentality, "You saw both when he chatted last week," she pointed out.

"I know, but it's not the same," he rebutted. His eyes were shining brightly under the lights, his expression soft and she longed to reach out and touch him, stroke back the loose strands of hair that had fallen into his face, but took a sip from her wine to sedate her need.

"Anyway, your filming's all done?" she asked, swallowing hard.

Austin nodded, "Masters of the Air has officially concluded -- my parts anyway," he grinned, "My manager said to expect calls for reshoots in the new year,"

"Let's hope you can get away with those here," she said, "You've been looking after yourself, right?"

"I feel good," he assured, "A lot of that I owe to you,"

"Me?" she popped a brow, "What did I do?"

He shook his head gently, "I'm not sure... but in the two weeks I spent with you in June, I felt more like myself than I had in two and half years,"

She gave a smile and a nod, comforted by his answer but the sparkle in his eyes had her heart racing. She tapped indecisively at the stem of her wine glass, "Glad I could help," she inhaled slowly. Where she'd been so reluctant to rush before, the urgency was now uncontainable as she couldn't hold back any longer, "Austin..."

"Jade?"

"Should we..." she motioned at the small space between them, felt her bottom lip quiver when she felt his fingers nudge against hers, "... Should we talk about this?"

Austin swallowed hard and tried to hold her gaze, "This?"

She nodded gently, her head barely moving.

Austin sighed, "Tell you the truth, Jade... I'm fucking nervous..."

"Nervous?" she repeated, somewhat surprised, her cheeks flushing at the clear emotion in his face, "How do you think I feel?"

"Exactly," he chuckled nervously, taking a brief second to look down at the table, at their hands, before he could face the surreality of their situation, "We never talked about this when we were apart. I don't know why,"

"Because it didn't feel so real," Jade replied, more of an insight then a suggestion, "We don't have to if you're not feeling --"

"No, no, it's okay," he laced his fingers with hers, drew patterns up the side of her pinky finger with his thumb as he spoke, "I don't -- like I told you before, I'll move at whatever pace you're comfortable with. Because you know, we had fun in London but, I know it was a spur of the moment thing. And if you have regrets --"

"I don't!" she interrupted him swiftly, "I mean -- sorry..."

"It's okay, if you want to --"

"No, no. Please," she nodded, "Keep going,"

Austin dipped his head again, avoiding her gaze, the pine green evoking emotions he didn't know what to do with. He was too happy, too uncertain; every plan he'd had before she stepped back into his life had vanished.

"What I want to say is if you ever have regrets, or feel like this is getting out of control, or if you meet somebody else... we don't have to continue this," he motioned between them, "But, just know that I enjoy spending time with you, not just the physical aspect but all the ways we have, and I don't have second thoughts about anything,"

Jade didn't know what to do with herself. It wasn't as if she hadn't been expecting it, hadn't replayed versions of this conversation in her head over and over, but his words still affected her. Her jaw was locked with tension but a smile was twitching on her lips at the honestly and relief in his expression, "Fuck," she muttered, clutching her chest with her free hand. She parted her lips to speak, but all that came was her own relief as she scrambled for something of some intelligence to say.

"Are you... are you good?" Austin laughed, shifting closer to her side, his hand now resting fully on hers.

"I'm good," she admitted, pushing her tongue into her cheek to gather her thoughts. He was so close now that she was sure he could feel the racing in her chest, "I appreciate it. I..." she finally lifted her head again to the hold the intensity of his gaze, "I feel the same. And we can work out some more ground rules and boundaries later but... I agree. And no, I don't regret a thing, either,"

He let go of her hand and brought it up to her face, gently, tentatively, watching her eyelashes flutter as she fell into his touch, parted her lips in a sigh, shifting her flushed cheek against the palm of his hand.

When she found the strength to look at him again, his dark stare made her entire body shiver.

"What are the ground rules for this part?" he asked, his raspy voice falling into a low whisper.

She tilted her head, the intensity of his stare boring into her as her tongue tingled with the anticipation of what was to come, "Discreet, but blissful?"

"I can do that," and Austin's lips met Jade's naturally.

They were slow at first, careful, precise, every more anticipated and calculated, like retracing their steps. Austin worked his hips over hers gently, laced with need, kissing her just like he had in the elevator, in his living room.

Jade brushed his hair back form his face, sighing softly when his hand came down on her thigh too, the heat of his touch seeping through her tights. He filled her senses, his sharp cologne, his touch, everything seeking to remind her of how he consumed her.

As Jade began to draw away, Austin drew her in for another peck or two, smirking against her mouth, the two of them taking a deep breath to allow the gravity of the moment sink in before they opened their eyes to each other again.

They drank and dined merrily for the rest of the evening, catching up on the sporadic and they incoming ongoings they both had coming up. The trailer or photos for Elvis hadn't even come out yet, and Jade loved watching Austin talk about the project, even if it was just for a moment. There was this flicker of fear in his eyes, spawning form the fact that he prayed he did the King himself right, and yet that fear was intertwined by this bubbling excitement as he recounted some more onset mishaps and how -- surprise, surprise -- Tom Hanks was human, just like everyone else.

It was just before closing time the pair decided it was time to leave, heading out into the brisk, somewhat emptier street. Austin had his arm linked with Jade's, wandering aimlessly in front of the building as they waited for their Uber. Jade was leant up between the brick wall and Austin's shoulder, trying to will away her nerves that were evident in her constant fidgeting.

They took the car back to his place, he was closer than she was anyhow. It was a moderate house obscure enough that it wouldn't draw attention from any fan mobs or paps looking to make their next mark, but it was a beautiful Spanish style home with fresh white walls, rustic roof tiles, and a pool in the back discreetly hidden by the hedges and palm trees.

It was somewhere around midnight as they sat on the quaint back patio, the reflection of the aforementioned pool casting brilliant patterns across their surroundings. Another bottle of wine sat between them, only partially touched this time as they got lost in conversation again and again, regaining comfort around each other now.

"I'm thinking of adopting of a rabbit," she admitted.

"I thought you would have already?" Austin queried.

"Haven't thought about it much until now," Jade shrugged, "They're clean, they're good to travel... have I mentioned that?"

"Once or twice," he nodded, "I told you: a rabbit would suit you nicely,"

She smiled endearingly, looking out over the pool surface, "You want to get a pet?" she asked.

"I don't know. I used to have a dog,"

"I remember,"

"They're just a lot of work," he sighed, "I'm not sure I have the time to devote to one right now,"

"That's okay. You'll know when you're ready," she assured him, "Meanwhile... if you want to come down to the SPCA and pick out a rabbit with me...?"

He chuckled under his breath, "You know if I go with you, I'm gonna' see the dogs and I'm gonna' have to take one home," he pointed out.

Jade scoffed, "Like you with a puppy would be the worst thing in the world," she replied, "I'll help you take care of it,"

"Really?" he popped a brow.

"Sure. Only if you take care of my rabbit,"

"I'll take that deal,"

Jade's fingernails tapped mindlessly against the patio table, her dark red polish matched the varnished wood so perfectly. Austin watched her, still in somewhat disbelief that he was here with her, sitting in the patio with a pool he suddenly had and they rambled on about the most random things. It didn't feel real, but he felt so relaxed, so elated to have her back, even if it wouldn't be for too long, Austin knew he would take anything he could get.

She turned her gaze to meet his, blushing gently when she noticed him watching her, "What're you thinking about?" she asked softly.

He didn't want to tell her, he felt like he'd just be repeating himself over and over until she'd be sick of him. His gaze then turned onto the pool, an intrusive thought entering his head and suddenly inspiring him.

"I have an urge to jump into the pool," he remarked, "I haven't done that in a while,"

Jade simpered, "So, what's stopping you?" she asked.

"My overall dignity, I guess," he shrugged.

"Dignity is so 2019," and she nodded her head towards the pool, "You wanna?"

"Really?" he couldn't read whether she was being serious or not.

At that, Jade stood up, smoothing her hands over the wrinkles in her skirt, "Yeah. Why not?"

He stood up too and followed her to the pool, they kicked off their boots and stood at the edge. Austin glanced at her again, searching for either reassurance or a facetious smirk.

"You sure?" he asked again.

"We're only young once, right?" she replied, a coy smile at her lips now.

"She said to the thirty-year-old man,"

"You're not old. We'll go on three, okay?"

He stared down into the water, tantalizingly cool from the looks of it. He was suddenly filled with a rush of excitement, adrenaline searing through him as he was suddenly looking forward to what they were about to do.

"Okay,"

"One... two... three --" Austin leapt in before the last number could leave her. In an instant he was plunged into immediate cold, a shock to his system and sobering him up almost instantly.

He broke through the surface, snuffling water out of his nose and pushing his sopping hair back. However, he was perplexed when he rubbed the water from his eyes and saw Jade still standing on the edge of the pool, bone dry. He glared at her as she began to laugh.

"Okay, well what was the point in that?" he asked begrudgingly.

"I'm sorry," she giggled, though not seeming all that apologetic as she watched him tread water. He looked like a wet seal, pouting up at her with his big eyes, "I just... I had to. That was too fun to watch,"

"Jesus," he shook his head, muttering under his breath. He felt a little silly, but he couldn't complain that much either. After all, the view of her from the pool wasn't too bad, "Well, since I'm already here, would you like to join me or do I have to get out and throw you in myself?" he asked.

Jade giggled some more, stepping back shyly, and her hands came to pull up the hem of her sweater. His gaze was fixed to her, almost in disbelief as she shed off her clothes, revealing her beautiful skin and the contours of her body beneath, leaving her just in her bra and underwear. She maintained a calm exterior, though if anybody had asked, Jade was shaking like a leaf on the inside.

She took a running start before she cannonballed in, sending more water splashing over him though Austin didn't have a care in the world. She emerged a moment later, the shock of the water sobering her too just a little, though the excitement buzzing through her was too much for her bare. Nevertheless, she swam over to meet him.

"Hi,"

"Hi,"

"I'm sorry I tricked you," she muttered with a small laugh.

Austin hummed, amused with her wet hair, the droplets of water twinkling in her eyelashes. He could feel himself begin to pulse as his eyes traced every inch of her, from the freckles on her nose to the lacy green material hugging her hips.

"Mmm. You should be," he moved towards her teasingly slow, his voice dropping to that lower octave that had her head spinning, "But I could think of a few ways you could make it up to me,"

She couldn't fight the way his words made her chest flutter, how warm and inviting he was in spite of the water. Not to mention the idea of fucking in a pool excited her.

"Hm. So can I,"

It was had been six long months since she was before him like this, so vulnerable and tempting. She could pick out the contours of his broad chest through his shirt, she was anxious to pop those slippery buttons away and press herself against him. All either of them could do was float there, eating up the tension simmering, eyes locked together. It felt like an eternity almost when Austin began to move forward, his eyes slipping shut as he went to kiss her.

Jade however was still feeling a little playful.

Just as their lips were about to touch, she submerged herself under the water, swimming back so she was a few feet away. Austin's eyes opened as he was met with nothing, perplexed and still entertained to find her at the edge of the pool, an innocent gleam twinkling in her eye.

"What're you doing?" his voice was deep, curious, egging her on to play some more.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she shrugged back. After all, it was always more fun to make them work for it.

"Sure," he swam towards her, coming to the more shallow part of the pool so he could stand up, now towering over her, "Is this fun for you?"

She resisted the urge to laugh, almost mocking him as she pouted, "I seriously -- I don't know what you mean. I'm right here," she placed her hands on his chest, fingers toying wit his buttons to tease him further.

"Okay," he reached for her again, however she pushed off from the pool floor and tried to swim away again. She wasn't fast enough this time as he grabbed her by her hips and held her fast against him. She yelped delightedly as his fingers dug into her skin and he came down to whisper against her ear, "Behave yourself, or I might make you scream for real..."

With her last drop of courage hanging by a thread, Jade licked a long stripe up the side of his neck, "Try me,"

It was then the proverbial damn broke loose. Lips met teeth and tongue, hands found home wherever they were able to. The desire within the both of them was equally matched, neither one could bare to let go for a second.

Jade's fingers were plucking away the buttons down his shirt, pushing the material off and losing it somewhere in the water without care. His long fingers were at her hips, sliding down to grasp her butt as Austin took the opportunity to place sloppy kisses from the corner of her mouth, to her cheek, to her jaw, cascading all the way down to her neck, refamiliarizing himself with every crevice and freckle on her body.

She was already in bliss, his touches, his kisses were more certain, confident, reigniting the fire in her belly. She was at a loss for words when he started sucking at her collar bone, teeth biting down gently across her skin and she wrapped her legs around his waist, needing him to be closer than he already was.

The next thing she knew Austin had her sitting on the ledge, her legs spread so he stood between them. His mouth never left her chest and his hands slipped around her back to snap off her bra.

"Fuck..." he took a moment to breathe, to savour the moment, so purely captivated by how pretty she was, blissed out already and her radiant eyes were blown with lust.

Jade couldn't help the blush in her cheeks, her mind flickering for some semblance of sanity as she too savoured being here with him, so vulnerable like this but trusting him openly, "Take a picture, why don't you?" she teased.

His chuckle was dark as his hand toyed with her nipple, "Don't tempt me," and then his lips wrapped around the other, his deft tongue rolling the small bud around and around. Jade sighed, her chest arched forward and her eyes slipped shut. One hand was locked behind her, keeping her propped up while her other hand carded. through his wet hair, all she could feel was Austin overwhelming her like nothing else.

Meanwhile, his free hand came down to her hip, pulling away at her lace panties fervidly. He stepped back as Jade took the lead and slipped them off, now fully naked and beautiful before him. His cock was already twitching, the mere sight of her had him grasping hastily at threads of self control. She hadn't even touched him yet, not in the way he needed, anyhow.

She bit down on her lip, "Super random but... no one can see us, right?" she pointed to the wall of shrubbery to her right, "Like, neighbours or..."

"It's just us," he assured her, coming back to step between her legs, "Just you and me,"

She liked the sound of that, tilting her head up, "Just you and me," she nodded, "And maybe God,"

Austin always admired her sense of humour, no matter what circumstances they found themselves in. They didn't have to take themselves too seriously, and that took immense pressure off of his shoulders.

"I don't think God minds giving us a moment," with a lustful smirk hanging off his sassy retort, he slipped further down into the pool so he could slide his tongue up her slit. He was slow, calculative, ensuring he could taste every part of her first as he gradually sped up.

The arm keeping Jade propped up relented, sliding across the terra cotta tile until she was laying flat on her back. She could feel his fingers slip within her now, spreading her for him so he could find all of the sensitive spots, and she squirmed for him like a worm on the end of a fishing hook. He ate her like a man starved, she was a delightful treat for him as she withered and moaned, rutting her hips against his tongue.

"Austin -- fuck," she whimpered softly, whining and writhing as her only point of leverage was her hand scratching over his scalp, just egging him on more and more. His tongue slipped into her, picking up her arousal to spread over her neglected clit, and his licking turned to harsh sucking, "Fuck!"

Austin opened his eyes, seeing her now laid out before the heavens and stars. He couldn't resist pulling himself out of the water, still rubbing her clit at a steady pace as he crawled over her. He winced as some pebbles and flecks of sand dug into his knees, but right now he couldn't give a shit.

The cold water dripping over her was a shock, only adding fuel to the fire though as his tongue ran over her breast, sucking and marking before moving to her neck. His fingers were rocketing her to the limit, she was a mess of moans and gasps and watching her come apart for him was a pure fucking delight.

Jade couldn't form any words, pleasure skyrocketed up her spine and down her toes, the warmth in her stomach enveloping the rest of her body like an earthquake. His lips were on hers before she could comprehend, feeling her shake beneath him, further driving his own lust for her as he took her to her high.

She gasped as though air had been stolen from her, her legs shook, her wet hair tangled beneath her head as pleasure coursed through her body. Austin kissed her neck gently, his fingers ceasing their pleasurable torture, easing her back down to Earth.

Austin was at a loss, torn between wanting to fuck her himself or make her do that again. Watching her come apart, knowing he made her lose control so fervidly, it was addictive.

"Holy shit," she finally breathed.

Austin couldn't help but laugh, stroking his thumb gently over her cheek, "Are you okay?"

She nodded, pliant and breathless, though her own pleasure couldn't deter her from slipping her hand down to his pants and undoing the zipper, "You're overdressed again," she spoke softly despite her hazy smirk.

His eyes narrowed at her, amusement laced within, "My apologies," he spoke lowly, rolling off of her so he could slip his pants off. Jade rolled over onto her stomach and stretched out across the tile, almost cat-like in her movements. She watched him undress, pealing off his wet boxers and freeing himself and she blushed when she met his gaze.

Adorable, he thought, "Do I say it?"

"What?" she queried.

"Take a picture," he grinned mockingly.

Jade rolled her eyes, "Nope," she shook her head like a brat, "You're taking too long, though,"

Austin moved over her, tasting the hint of chlorine and sweat on her back as he ghosting his lips across her skin. His body was warm against her back, soft lips ghosting over her neck and his erection pressed into her butt. She yelped when he suddenly brought his hand down on one of her cheeks.

"Listen, if you want to act like a brat, then I'll treat you like one," he rubbed the sting out afterwards.

She was a little taken aback at first, though Jade couldn't deny she was intrigued by this side of him. She glanced at him over her shoulder, "Well, when you put it like that, I should do it more," she teased.

His instinctive rebuttal was a soft bite into her shoulder, gripping her hips firmly and slipping into her from behind, "Try me," he whispered in her ear.

Austin was a tentative little at first, rocking back and forth within her and building up his rhythm. She was tight and silky around him and he wanted to savour this as much as he could. They groaned out together, pleasure shooting between them, slick skin sliding against slick skin and cold tile. Their body heat was contrasted greatly by the soft breeze sending prickly chills over them.

"Fuck..." he grunted, adjusting his hands on her hips and sliding into her over and over again, his motion quick and sharp. Jade couldn't keep herself propped up, her nails scratched against the terracotta, the pressure that had fizzled out moments ago was building up within her gut again and it was coming fast.

The air around them filled with the sound of sex, the thoughts of neighbours about didn't occur to either of them as heavy pants and sweeter groans filled their ears. His cock slid in and out of her swiftly, leaving them both so lost in pleasure the rest of the world fell away. All Jade could do was take it, the pleasure overwhelming and making her head spin.

"Come with me, Jade," he grunted in her ear. He knew how close she was, hearing her whimper and gasp out -- whine after whine, and his hand slipped under her to find and play with her clit. He moved his fingers faster and faster, feeling her clench tightly around him, he only had moments to comprehend as he pushed deeper and deeper, and he felt her come around him. Her high was chased by his, his body shaking and his limbs becoming gelatinous as he thrusts became sloppy.

Jade collapsed beneath him; she felt like rubber and her body felt heavy. Tired, oversensitive, but Austin laid on top of her, still buried deep within and she felt so deliciously claimed. The stubble over his chin scratched pleasantly over her skin as he pressed kisses to her back, and their fingers were interlocked together on the tile as neither could find the energy to move.

[dulcewrites]

Thin line between love and hate

Pairing: austin!elvis x reader

Summary: You always thought Elvis hated you, and vise versa, despite your boyfriend’s attempts to create a bond between you two. But then again they always say the line between love and hate is thin (wc: 1221)

Warnings: Cheating, Jerry being a bad boyfriend

A/N: sort of just wrote this on a whim. hope y'all like it. please reblog, like, and follow if you do 🫶🏽

Masterlist

You’re a calm person. Even your mother said you were that subdued as a baby. Being able to quietly handle things and people life threw at you was a trait you had perfected. That being your said, sometimes your laidback nature comes off cold. Ice princess: you were used to that name being thrown around about you.

It was no different when you met Jerry. Your girlfriends dragged you out of the house a year and a half ago to see Elvis when he came to New York for two shows. You didn’t give him much to work with when he came up to you before the show, telling you he just had to speak to you. It wasn’t to be mean, it’s just how you are. But his sweet smile, and kind persistence was endearing. He, for reason, wanting to stay in touch after leaving was more that you expected.

And now here you are, in Vegas… living on a loop. Wake up, hang with the same men, meet the new girls they bring in, get all dressed up, and see the same show put on by the same man.

It’s hard for you to remember that time. Him taking breaks from the tour to visit you. The letters, the phone calls, and flowers. He was so sweet. What the hell happened? Where did that Jerry go? It’s hard for you not to blame him for your boyfriend’s behavior.

Elvis is like a supernova; he burns so bright and powerful no one can look away. But eventually every supernova collapses to a dull star. Or worse, they turn into black holes that suck the life out of everything. Being in his orbit was sucking the life out of you; you’re sure of it.

When you decided to move out to Vegas months ago, the relationship between Elvis and you started as polite small talk, then turned into passive aggressive moves. He makes a sly comment about being surprised you’re still around, clearly hinting at your boyfriend having other options. You decide not to come to one of the shows; a big no no for anyone in his circle. A game of cat and mouse. One day you’re the mean girlfriend that’s holding Jerry back from his duties, the next he’s the high maintenance boss everyone babies and coddles.

Maybe both assumptions you guys made about each other are true. Neither of you have played nice like Jerry pleads for you guys to do.

But something shifted after Priscilla leaves. You shouldn’t feel bad for him. You had seen first-hand how he is on the road and in Vegas, plus Priscilla had always been good to you. Despite that, you couldn't help the way your heart sank for Elvis when Priscilla confided in you about her unhappiness.

“I know I might not be the person you want to talk to, but I’m here if you need someone,” the words come out before your brain registers how it sounds. If it’s one thing Elvis hates, it’s pity.

But to your surprise instead of saying something that would lead to another standoff between you and him, he nods and gives your arm a squeeze. Since that moment, things have been different. Not perfect, but better. Well better between you and Elvis; you wish you could say the same thing about your relationship with Jerry. 

It gets bad on your birthday of all days. Elvis insisted on throwing a dinner party. At first it sounded like an excuse for the boys to drink and invite people you don’t know, but the earnest smile on his face makes you stupidly agree. You’re taken aback at how he takes care of everything including surprising you with inviting your friends from back home.  

Things are good and light, and you feel so pretty in your new dress. And then it hits your boyfriend is nowhere to be found. You try to ignore the extremely empty seat next to you, and the looks your friends give you. Or ignore the whispers between the rest the of Memphis Mafia, Elvis included.

You smile for the pictures the photographer is taking. You drink and indulge more than you have in a long time, you dance with your friends, and eventually you forget about how hours ago you were planning how to get the hell out of Vegas.

Elvis pulls you out to the balcony of the restaurant/bar after whispering in your ear he wants give you something. You find yourself trying not to stare at the sliver of bare chest you see under his suit jacket, trying to chalk it up to the glasses of champagne.

You blink slowly when he pulls a ring box out of his pocket. 

“I know things started off rocky between you and me. But I think have been changin’ and for the better,” he says softly, standing in front of you. “I know it’s not easy, but we want you here. I want you here.”

A lump grows in your throat. He knows about the problems between you and Jerry. If they weren’t obvious before, they are now. And he knows the type of woman you are. Disrespect is not something you just take. You suck in a breath when Elvis opens the ring box. A shimmering pure solid gold band, engraved with your initials on one side and TLC on the other side. It’s not the usual gaudy pieces of jewelry used to see him dish out.

You let him slip it on your finger and stare at it for a moment. It hits you all at once that you’ve been blaming this man on how your boyfriend treats you. When in all actuality, if Jerry wanted to do right by you, he just would. You feel his finger curl under your chin to lift your head up.

“When you’re one of mine, I’ma take care of you, and that goes for you too darlin’” 

You genuinely don’t know what to say to that. A thank you doesn’t seem like an adequate answer. You don’t know what comes over you when you lean up and kiss his cheek. And you surely don’t know what comes over him when he turns his head, his lips grazing against yours. One of you should pull away but it doesn’t happen. It’s fucked; you’re doing the same thing you suspect Jerry has been doing behind your back, and with his best friend.

But that idea doesn’t stop you from push your lips against Elvis’s. The kiss is sloppy and needy and it’s everything you haven’t been getting from Jerry. You feel one of his hands slide lower and lower down your backside. His lips move from yours to jaw, then right under your ear.

“Come to my room when we get back to the hotel.”

It wasn’t a question; it was an order. And with that, he just turns to go back into the building. You stand there, dazed and wondering what the hell you just did. You wait for the guilt to kick in, but instead you straighten your slumped shoulders to walk back into the room. The thoughts of Jerry slip away as they’re replaced of all the things Elvis could and will do to you. All the ways he’s about to take care of you. 

[elvisabutler]

i'm simply aware i'm hard to resist

summary: you shouldn't have asked baz to sit in on austin rehearsing the 68 special just because you wanted to force austin's hand on paying attention to you in person, but you like to think you have the upper hand anyway. you don't. relationship: austin x reader, elvis x priscilla, mention of past austin x vanessa rating: m. word count: 5301 warning: dom/sub dynamics, daddy kink, age difference of almost ten years, public sex, trailer sex, p in v sex, fingering, unprotected sex, implication of edging/orgasm control. i think that might be everything? author's note: hi. it's been a while. so i had this started for a while and then i got wrapped up in some real life stuff and writing a bunch of requests. but i see that i have almost 900 notes on the last part and it seems very cruel to deny y'all any longer. so hi. it's been a long time. a long time baby. also. not my favorite chapter, but, the next one, trust me i love that one so much it's a very good one. i hope you guys enjoy and i'm sorry if this feels like a letdown. promise i'll make it up to you. this is a part of the you read your lines so cleverly and never missed a cue series. specifically it’s the third. the first part is here and here is the second part.

"Still think I'm a sub, darlin'?" His voice slides easily into Elvis's accent and depth as he curls a finger inside your cunt. The noise it makes has you groaning against the headrest behind his head. "Still think I was a lapdog to Nessa? Still think I didn't have her on her knees when she asked for it like a good girl? When she didn't act like a brat?"

"You've got your fingers-" You take a shaky breath, trying to get friction against his hand that he won't move. "Why are you talking about your ex with your hand-" He cuts you off with a bite to your neck.

"To prove a point, Little Dove. You have to ask for what you want from me."

"And if I don't?" You almost snarled back because Christ did that bite hurt but it wasn't unwelcome either.

You feel him start to move his hand immediately after you ask that and you can't help the whine of daddy that escapes you unbidden. He stops at the word and smirks. "Then the little dove is going to go back inside wet and aching for her daddy. Unable to cum again. Not able to feel how hard she made daddy." He paused. "Could even make her have to watch daddy take care of what she did to him in the passenger seat. No touching of course. Because she won't ask."

"So what will it be, Little Dove? Am I going to hear how pretty you coo with my fingers in you today? See how your face looks when you're spaced out and fucking yourself on them?" His teeth pull in his lower lip, biting it along the way. "Or are you just going watch your daddy?"

"You're not my daddy." You responded before anything else. "But I'd like you to let me cum. On your fingers."

He grins and it is so strangely soft you swear your heart skips a beat. "Your wish is my command, Little Dove. Was that so hard?"

“Y/N?” You hear your name being called, shaking you out of the daydream you found yourself having. You look up and see your vocal coach looking at you with a raised eyebrow. “Were you listening?”

You want to lie, you probably should lie but Isabelle is nice and you need her help at least for now to learn how to have your own voice flit easily to Priscilla’s at a moment’s notice. “I’m- not in the slightest, sorry Isabelle, the time change is still messing with my head.”

A half lie, but a half truth. Your body still hadn’t quite adjusted to the time difference and you found yourself on more than one occasion waking up in the middle of the night or passing out in your trailer during lunch However, you’re also entirely aware staying up late talking to Austin might have also been the problem. Part of it was that his rehearsals were taking up a lot of time, trying to perfect the moves was taking so much of his time and that wasn’t even getting into his vocal work- of which you really didn’t think he needed that much, but you never had asked him how long he had already been working on it. But really though, you were daydreaming and you knew it. Honestly, this was beginning to become a problem with you and not being able to- act on your daydream. Austin seemed into you and yes while you had said that you wouldn’t be calling him daddy you hadn’t figured that was a deal breaker for sexual contact that wasn’t over text. 

From the way he was acting though, apparently it was. Apparently you were the bad sub who broke the rule and now you get this sad- attempt at attention. You want to pout about it, honestly, you want to march right up to him and ask if he gets off on leaving subs hanging. You thought he didn’t and yet here he was just leaving you hanging, wanting for more while not giving you anything beyond little crumbs. It was feeling like Papi all over again. 

“You’re lucky what I was saying wasn’t too important.” Isabelle shakes her head before sighing. “How about we try this again tomorrow? Hm? After you’ve gotten sleep and are focused on me and not- whatever else it is that has your attention.”

You have the decency to look a little guilty before you nod. “Probably for the best, I’m sorry, this- I’m usually much more of a professional.”

“I’ve heard. But Australia isn’t for the faint of heart. We’ll get you there.” She replies pointing to your lines. “But practice in the meantime. Get a partner if they don’t keep you awake too long.”

Your eyebrows wait until she leaves the trailer before they just raise up at her sentence. Telling you to get a partner to practice your Priscilla voice with. Yeah, that was going to end well. Honestly the only person you could think of doing it with was Austin because if anyone would know other than your coach how Priscilla should sound it would be him.

Come to think of it, maybe your vocal coach had a point about needing to practice with someone and honestly, you didn’t have anything pressing to do right in that moment. Where was the harm in maybe going to watch Austin as he rehearsed the 68 special. Where was the harm in maybe actually using it as a chance to talk to him in person afterward. He couldn’t very well ignore you if you were right there. You shoot off a quick text to Baz, asking if it’s alright for you to sit in on the rehearsal even though you weren’t necessarily in costume. His response was a simple yes with a picture of an empty spot right at the front of the stage. You couldn’t help but laugh a little as you walked to the sound stage. You had seen how Austin looked with his hair but you had yet to see how he looked in any of his costumes. In fact, you had heard that this particular one was a bit much probably due to the leather involved. Honestly, the part of you that respected the other side of the camera, the directing and the production side of it was just curious if Catherine had used actual leather. 

Hey. Baz said I could come by and watch you rehearse. Front row seat to how my Elvis looks all put together.

My hair isn't completely put together, Cilla.

Less of a hassle for hair and make up to put back together if someone messes it up.

Are you planning to? 

I mean I might not be wearing any panties under my skirt so maybe?

Jesus Christ, Y/N. Don’t say stuff like that. I'm in compression underwear but that can only do so much. Leather isn't that forgiving.

You don’t respond back with anything other than an angel emoji. Are you aware there is a possibility it might get you in trouble? Yes, you are but anything is better than the load of nothing Austin has been giving you. The walk to the rehearsal area takes longer than expected just because the assistant assigned to dragging you there is lost herself. Why you got one of the few assistants who don’t know their way around the set just yet, you have no idea but you’re stuck with her and it’s a little grating. You make polite small talk, all while trying to tell her that you go this certain way because you were paying attention the last time you had an assistant tell you where to go. Eventually you arrive and you smile before practically rushing the stage. Austin is nowhere to be found at the time, but still it doesn’t hurt to be in position for when he does show up.

Baz’s voice is what you hear before you see Austin show up, too enraptured in your phone but when you look up your jaw drops and you swear you hear yourself gasp. Intellectually you’re aware that Austin is attractive and intellectually you’re aware that the leather jumpsuit on Elvis is attractive. Somehow your brain didn’t combine both of these things together into one thought of Austin in Elvis’s leather jumpsuit would be as attractive as it is. It occurs to you in the back of your head that whenever he is completely in costume you’re not entirely sure you’ll be able to act like a professional without someone coaching you. Austin turns to see you before you have a chance to school your face into something more normal and he smirks like he’s less Austin Butler and more Elvis Presley and it shouldn’t turn you on but for some reason it does. Austin takes the long way around the stage, allowing himself to pass by you and have his fingertips graze your shoulders. You shiver and you know it’s not because of the cold air in the room. This is continuing to be a problem, oh this is going to become a very very big problem if he keeps this up. It takes him a second to get settled on stage, jumping around like he’s needing to adjust how the jumpsuit is gripping parts of his bottom half but when he does he looks at you and winks before launching into the scene he needs to rehearse. It’s been a minute since you’ve done extra work and this isn’t necessarily the full scene but you show your enthusiasm as you should at the right moments and if you didn’t know any better Austin appears to be feeding off your reactions, focusing on you versus Baz or Polly or anyone else. In a way it's flattering and your brain focuses purely on that and you feel almost like you do when you’re being praised before you’re brought back to Earth by the touch of Austin’s fingers near your chin. His grip isn’t tight but it forces you to look at him to see how his eyes- those blue eyes are looking like the beginnings of a storm at sea- dangerous but inviting all the same. Your breath leaves your body and you end up leaning forward just a bit before he drops your chin and stands back up with an ease you envy. You’re a professional but you swear you’re a little lightheaded. 

The thing was, it would have been one thing if Austin had just done it once, you could have handled that, brushed it off as Austin just wanting you to look at him just that one time, but he keeps doing it. The second you appear to be not paying attention to him and he’s on his knees in front of you he’s grabbing your chin. It should be less invigorating by now, less breathtaking but maybe it’s the combination of seeing him fall to his knees or maybe it’s knowing that he wants you to just focus on him and him alone but by the time Baz says something about taking a break you feel like you’re hearing him in a tunnel. You’re not, and you know you’re not in subspace but you still swear you feel your blood pumping through your veins, taking oxygen to where it needs to go. You realize that you need to get out of here, and you think you need to actually get Austin to come with you without anyone else accompanying you. It shouldn’t be too hard to do, just tell Baz that you two count as each other’s buddies and you’ll have him back within the hour. Thankfully Austin looks like he’s reviewing the footage with Baz as you get up and make your way to them, a smile on your face that betrays none of the problems going through your head right in that moment. 

“Y/N!” Baz exclaims, causing Austin to turn and face you. If he notices how you seem to stop breathing for a second when he looks at you he doesn’t comment on it, instead choosing to wrap an arm around your shoulder the second you’re close enough. In any other circumstance, with anyone else you would have already removed their arm with a sharp comment. The sharp comment is still on your tongue, but you let Austin keep his arm around you, enjoying the weight of it for once in your life. 

“Baz, that was amazing, I- if that’s just the rehearsal I think the actual scene is going to be amazing. Exactly what his special needs.” You pause, and look up at Austin through the corner of your eyes. “Can I steal my Elvis- your leading man for the hour? Or just a bit while everyone’s getting lunch. I think he needs to sit down- can’t have him passing out, am I right?”

Baz eyes both you and Austin curiously for a moment before he nods. “Only because I know you know as well as every assistant on this production that we can’t go around losing him. And I did see you try and shake off your own helper when you came in, I trust you know the way to his trailer from yours.” 

Your brain does not even process the words coming out of your mouth before you say them with a laugh. “Not intimately, but I do.”

Austin chokes on what you think is air at those words, coughing for a second as if to clue you in to what you said before he manages some form of composure himself. “Never intimately, because that’d be weird.” 

You wince with your entire body at that sentence, wondering what you were thinking saying what you said and what in the world Austin was thinking following up with that. “He-”

“Don’t worry, I understand. I’ll let you two “not intimately” find your way to the trailers.” Baz laughs quietly despite every part of his face saying that he finds the exchange to be the funniest thing he’s heard in a while. 

When Baz has turned and when Austin has started to turn with you still under his arm you let out a huff of air. “We’re never speaking of that again.”

“Agreed.” Austin quickly says before he looks down at you curled under his arm looking like you’ve always belonged there. “Did you like the show?”

The hum that leaves you is an attempt to buy you time, an attempt to make it so you can decide just how to answer that before you actually speak. You don’t trust yourself to go with your gut reaction. “It was- good.”

Good, you say like you haven’t been feeling half edged from Austin grabbing your chin while on his knees over and over again. Good, you say like you didn’t feel like every person from the 50s and 60s who felt some kind of way watching Elvis gyrate across the stage. 

Austin raises his eyebrows at you as the two of you exit the building, the sunlight temporarily blinding you both. “Just good?”

Your lips curl into a smirk. “Were you expecting a better answer? That it made me so wet you sticking your fingers in me would make a definite noise?” 

Austin forces both of you to stop and removes his arm from your shoulder and moves to stand in front of you. “Not that answer, but you’ve been chasing after my hand every time I took it away, Little Dove. Looking like a good girl wanting to have her daddy force her to look up at him.”

You hate how your height difference forces you to look up at him exactly like how he just described and you hate how you don’t stop his hand from moving under your chin as you do. Much like the weight of his arm against your shoulders, the grip of his hand against your chin feels like it should be there, feels comforting and in the back of your mind, you’re worried, you don’t know Austin well enough yet. You don’t know him well enough yet and- you know what happens when you give things up too fast, when you let yourself go too fast. 

"Maybe if my daddy had done something to me in person his little dove wouldn't be like that." You shrug and realize you called him daddy but you find that you don't mind necessarily. It felt like it was needed in this instance, like maybe Austin needed to hear you say daddy to get your point across. “I wouldn’t want to have daddy’s hands all over me. I wouldn’t have to put myself right in front of him to get his attention. And he still doesn’t get it.”

There’s a moment where Austin’s eyes darken just a hair and his pupils expand a little. It’s then that you know you chose the right path in saying daddy. He tilts his head and his grip tightens just a little. “What happened to not calling me daddy? Or did you lie in that text message? Too fucked out to realize what you were saying?”

Your hand finally wraps around Austin’s wrist and you find yourself tapping once while looking him dead on, not a hint of submission in your eyes. It’s not an answer to his question, it’s merely you telling him to remove his hand. Almost as if he’s been burned he lets it drop to his side and you hum in appreciation before starting to continue your walk to his trailer. "I just saw you fall to your knees in leather in front of me more than ten times in an hour. I'm only human, Butler." 

Austin doesn’t immediately follow you, allowing there to be a small amount of distance between the two of you and you realize it about the time he decides to catch up to you right about the point you get to his trailer. You realize he’s caught up to you when you feel the heat of his body against your own and his breath against your neck and against your ear. “Remember how I told you all you had to do was ask when it came to what you want, Little Dove. You haven’t been. We’ve- talked over text but you haven’t asked me once. I was leaving you be-”

Turning around is a bad idea, you know this, you know you’re going to get caged in but hearing Austin’s whispers lights something within you, makes you mildly furious to the point where you instinctually turn around to defend yourself, spitting like an angry cat. “Leaving me be to what? Crawl after you like some pathetic girl who needs you? Needs your validation? Just because I let you dominate me doesn’t mean I need-”

Austin silences you with a look. A look of intention as he opens his trailer door. A look heated enough that you realize you might have overstepped saying that. He is not your dom, you have not given him consent but that look, that look where his eyes have become as dark as a stormy night has you pausing even though your natural instinct is to be more of a brat. The moment the door is fully open he exhales. “Leaving you be to choose if you wanted to fool around. I just got out of a relationship that lasted almost all of my twenties, I don’t- I don’t need this. The ball is in your court and I wanted to respect it.”

“What?” Your voice sounds softer than you realized it could be and sounds younger than you mean to sound. 

If Austin’s taken aback by how you sound he doesn’t show it and instead his hand moves to brush a bit of your hair out of your face before once again grabbing at your chin, “You can walk away from this right now. I’ll still be your costar, maybe your friend if you like talking to me enough. I don’t- It could be those two times as a fling.”

He is giving you the option to just throw this whatever away, giving you the option to not have to do anything to just have enjoyed him twice and then the two of you could just remain professional. It’s- you don’t sleep with every single one of your costars, but when you do it usually- you’ve always felt like you might not have had as much of a choice as Austin is offering you. You had already made a mess of things, you needed to stick with it. Between père and Austin- this is nice, you should just tell him that yes, you’d like to just ignore this and write it off as fling but you don’t want to. You want to see where this goes, if it ends poorly or if like père you can just- exit stage right so to speak with your dignity intact.

You don't trust yourself to say this. You don't trust your tongue to not trip over what you want to say because having this choice is a heady thing. Instead you close the distance between the two of you, kissing him with all the fervor of a woman dying for even a trace of water in the desert. You feel a growl against your lips or maybe it's in your soul because you swear things are just narrowing to you and Austin the more you kiss him, the more you feel his tongue against your own. Both of you are aware anyone can see you but Austin doesn't seem to care, choosing to somehow use leverage you hadn't quite realized he had to lift you up as your legs move around his waist. His grip on your thighs has you grinding just a little as you pull away, knowing you two cannot do this out in the open and you're right by the trailer.

"Trailer, daddy?" You practically whimper, your voice betraying just how much you want Austin and how- him telling you that you could easily walk away made you feel. 

His lips had moved to your neck in the short time you had separate and you hear a groan as he pulls away to grab at the handle of the trailer, almost throwing it open, not letting go of you as he almost stumbles into the trailer, finding the bed in what you feel is record time and dropping you on it. “Calling me daddy after all that talk about not wanting to. Aren’t you just daddy’s good girl, Little Dove. Get out of the skirt.”

Your lips curl into a bit of a smirk even as your chest heaves a bit at the praise and the order. It doesn’t take you that long to get out of the skirt, making sure to be careful with it lest Catherine get onto you for ruining a costume. You are wearing underwear, a lie that you’re sure Austin is going to note, but you find that you’re not entirely sure you mind all that much. “Daddy seems to be the only way to get you to do what I want, Austin. Still don’t think you’re my daddy. You haven’t-”

Your response is cut off with another kiss as Austin presses his lips against yours, his body pushing you against the bed while his hands move to grip your hips. “I haven’t what, Little Dove? What do I have to do to prove I’m worthy of you calling me that?”

His grip on your hips has you arching your back without meaning to and while he lets you arch just a little he stops you before you have a chance to cause any real friction. You groan in frustration, this was going to be the car all over again. “Not this-” You try and arch again but Austin’s grip forces you to stop. It doesn’t hurt and you’re okay with it despite your frustration. “I’m not going to tell you, that would make it too easy for you. You wouldn’t earn it.”

That might have been the wrong thing to say as Austin uses the grip he has on your hips to allow himself to slide your underwear off, exposing your cunt to a rush of cold air as it tries to clench at nothing. You’ve been wet since the second you saw him in the suit and here he is still in it on top of you pulling your panties down like it’s nothing, you shut your eyes, trying to escape the image for a moment. In your mind you see Elvis doing this to Priscilla and it makes you pause and your eyes shoot open before noticing that it’s Austin- you’re here with Austin and he looks like he’s going to eat you alive. He hums as he finally finishes taking off your underwear, balling it up and tossing it above your head. You think he’s sizing you up and it makes you squirm despite your best efforts to not. “I wouldn’t earn it.” He leans over you, his mouth placing soft kisses up your neck as he removes one hand from your hip to unbutton your shirt. “You’d know all about not earning things, Dove. You want to play at being a brat when all you want is to be someone’s good girl.” He finishes the last button and slides the shirt off enough to expose your chest and your bra. His fingers are gentle, a feather light touch that has your breath catching in your chest as you look at him. 

“You don’t- Austin- don’t.” Don’t tease, not when you’ve been wanting this every time you’ve seen him lately. Not when your daydreams are haunted by the feel of his cock and the feel of his fingers inside you. “Another time.”

He stops his touch on your skin and lets go of your hip. “Later.”

You look at him and frown. “Fuck me. You’ve got an hour, Austin and I’ll- consider it.”

“We’re going to be late.” He says as an answer, placing a series of kisses against your chest, nipping just a tad as he unhooks the bra. He needs to get out of his jumpsuit, he knows this, but he wants to see your chest heave for him, see how he’s affecting you in this suit. Still, he moves just enough for you to get your shirt off and your bra. 

“You’re overdressed.” A pause as you clench your thighs together. “Daddy.” 

The look Austin gives you is downright evil for a moment until he stands up and gets out of the jumpsuit quicker than you’d have thought was possible. The second he’s out of it and it’s folded- a little sloppily- off to the side, he’s against your body, his hand moving to cup your cunt. One of his fingers slides between your folds. “So fucking wet for me, so fucking wet for your daddy.”

You should correct him but he’s touching you and you can’t help the way you keen just a little. It’s embarrassing but his fingers are bigger than yours, feel thicker and you missed feeling them even after that one time. “Austin. Don’t tease, please, just- I want you to fuck me, please.”

“You learned.” He chuckles, removing his finger and pushing your legs apart so he can settle in between them. “You ask and I’ll give you everything you want, Little Dove.” He leans over you to place a gentle kiss on your lips. “Good girl.”

Your toes curl as he enters you slowly as can be. It’s an adjustment but you’re honestly wet enough that it doesn’t hurt, it just feels like a pressure that threatens to overwhelm you. You exhale softly, before you bite your lip, trying to remain quiet as your hands move to his back gripping it and you swear you feel as if you might be drawing blood when you do. Austin isn’t complaining as what sounds like a growl and a groan leaves his lips. You both don’t move for a moment until you speak. “Go on, fuck me Austin. Time’s wasting. Professionals aren’t late.”

That spurs something in Austin, has him thrusting slowly at first, watching your face to see what you’re enjoying as if he’s forgotten since you both had sex in the car. The second your hands move to his hair he speeds up, his body taking your hair pull to mean it’s alright to fuck you harder. Maybe it's the fact that you were already turned on, the fact that you’ve been wanting to feel him again but it almost feels too overwhelming. You’re not- you’re in the moment feeling the stretch of his cock, every vein, every slide of your skin against his. It’s- you don’t know how to describe the feeling to yourself or to Austin. You like to think it’s written on your face from how Austin looks down at you as he thrusts, it’s not with love but it’s not lust it’s something in between, something you can’t put a word to but it’s new. You want to chase it like you’re chasing your orgasm, but you know your orgasm will come quicker than a concrete definition of that look. 

You hear Austin murmuring things against your neck as he kisses a line up to your jaw and your lips and the second he’s close enough you can’t help but bite at his lips, trying to make him make some sort of noise and you’re rewarded with another groan into your mouth. You lose track of the time, your world narrowing to his lips and his cock and his arms- and everything that’s just the two of you and this bed and this trailer. Austin stills for a moment and groans into your neck you feel the warmth of his come before you follow him for what you’re pretty sure is your second orgasm.

“Aus-” You whisper trying to catch your breath. 

“Y/N-” He collapses next to you before flopping onto the bed and pulling you to his chest. “We- We’re gonna lay here and we can go again in a second.”

“We don’t have to- I came twice.” You look up at him, nuzzling at his chest. “Can we just lay here, you’ll need your energy.”

“Okay.” He answers, kissing the top of your head. “We’ve got about 15 minutes. I’ve got some nuts on the vanity.” 

You snort before you have a chance to stop it. “I’m glad you specified the vanity, because I know you have some nuts over here.”

Austin doesn’t speak for a good minute before his body shakes with a full body laugh that shakes you and the bed. “A nut joke.”

You start giggling, running your hand over your face. “A nut joke. Perks of fooling around with me.”

He takes a moment to catch his breath, moving his hand underneath your chin to pull you in for a soft kiss. “Great humor and you’re a brat. I won the lottery, didn’t I?”

You shrug. “I’ve heard I have a pretty good pussy too.”

“Careful, I might need to test that out again. With my pretty good dick.”

You try to respond but are overtaken by your laughter that feeds into his own and you find yourself thinking you could get used to this. This is a big opportunity for you and Austin but that didn’t mean that you both couldn’t enjoy yourselves while you were filming. Besides, what was the harm in being method to a point with Austin. It made sense for the two of you to be together onscreen and off. Filming would only be half a year anyway, nothing too serious. 

If only you had known.

taglist: @mesbouquins, @floralcyanide, @she-is-juniper, @butlerstyles, @elvisstyles i literally lost my taglist for this beyond what i had for last chapter and like one person i can remember offhandedly i think. so ask and i'll tag you for the next part.

[heyheshi]

Mirror Selfies, Fake Hickeys, and Cheetos... And Lots of Make Out Sheesh

3.3k words

written and uploaded: August 27, 2020

🦋 - fluff

🌙 - angst...? Idek now honestly lmao

💎 - smut, well just lots of make out sheesh

Please like and reblog! Also please don't post my writings anywhere!

Have y'all heard "Half The World Away"? This piece could have been a song fic since it's about being best friends but I've already wrote like half of this when I got the idea and this is in your POV so I'll be doing a song fic soon! And it's about HTWA! in Harry's POV on my 2nd month!

Masterlist

_________

You checked out your outfit one last time in front of your full body mirror - smoothing out those little wrinkles and making sure that your chosen clothes emphasizes your body in the most flattering way. My butt's poppin!, you thought to yourself.

The attire of your choice wasn't entirely revealing, wearing a white sailor pants with eight gold buttons in front - four on each sides, a sheer laced white sleeveless bodysuit that plunges just enough to show a bit of your cleavage, and white pumps. You look elegant in your opinion but not elegant enough to not get hit on in a club.

You're not trying to empress anyone but you also don't wanna look like you just got out of bed on your cousin's party. You decided not to wear any makeup - just some eyeliner and lip gloss, your hair parted in the middle in a low tight ponytail. You added a few gold accessories to accent everything.

You're sure that the club's packed and you're gonna get sweaty, you don't want any makeup to ruin your white clothes. Keeping your fingers crossed that you can keep everything clean and intact throughout the night.

Natural and elegant. Keep it natural and elegant, your mums words keeps replaying in your head.

You took your phone out from your purse that's laying on the dresser - opening the camera app and posing for a couple of mirror shots but only having three of your favorite - one doing a very cheeky pose by smiling big at the mirror while winking, your other hand doing the 'gun'; one looking sweet and shy, looking at the mirror with your eyes wide while holding a strand of your hair as if you're a child being handed your favorite sweet treat; and one looking sexy and seductive, putting your pointer finger on your lip as if biting on it as you look straight into the camera through your mirror.

Giggling to yourself after checking out the photos, you opened the messages app next and clicked on your conversation with your best friend Harry.

"Think it passed the "okay" looking?", you typed...

And sent!

You found him attractive but vowed to not cross any lines but you're feeling extra brave tonight so you also sent him the one where you looked really really hot - in your opinion.

Honestly, you'd say you're tall but not tall enough to rock a sailor pants the way Harry does but to your surprise, you looked rather ravishing tonight.

Your best friend of 2 years gifted you these pants as a joke as you always teased him about wearing one so one night he brought you these pants and said, "you better at least look okay in it" but now jokes on him. You thought that those three pictures will do the honors of mocking him.

As you're locking your front door, you hear your phone notification - a new message from "Sugar Baby :<", an inside joke that you used as Harry's contact name.

"Who was I kidding, you look good in anything. Take care and don't forget our plans tomorrow!", the message said, quickly responding with two frog emojis, you locked your phone.

---

The club really is packed but your cousin had this private booth for everyone so it's all good. You partied like a college student with your cousin and her other friends, managing to not ruin your clothes despite of everyone's clumsiness.

You don't remember much besides drinking and dancing and talking and laughing and kissing this guy - Austin. He was one of those guys that looks like they modeled for some clothing magazine - an underwear apparel perhaps.

It didn't get far with Austin, you mostly just danced and made out but you're also not sure since you're too drunk to comprehend anything. The last thing you remember was you saying goodbye to your cousin and Austin getting you a cab then you're back to your house.

You didn't remember if you paid the driver more than the real rate but you didn't care, you're too excited to try this hairstyle you saw on one of your cousin's friend.

Opening your front door and locking it after you got in, you kicked off your heels and got a bottled water on the fridge to bring to your room. Everything looks blurry but the digital clock on your bedside table reads 2:13 AM.

The last thing you remember was removing your almost non-existent makeup after changing your clothes and sitting on your dresser.

---

You woke up on your bed feeling light-headed but at the same time feeling like you have 10 pounds of rock on top of it. You noticed that you're laying on your bed wearing your worn out college shirt, some underwear and a tiny pair of shorts. Your blinds shut all the way and your clock reading 9:48 AM.

Freaking out, you remembered your plans with your best friend today. Scrambling out of your bed to your bathroom, you brushed your teeth and washed your face thanking the heavens for giving you enough time to change out of your clothes last night - which is now on your hamper near your bathroom door - and cleaning your face properly.

You also noticed that your hair is properly styled - your hair's upper half's sectioned into three then braided to meet in the middle, while the half down's curled into waves.

You left the bathroom and went to your dresser to check your phone. You saw that your hair curler is still plugged but turned off - quickly unplugging it - and your other hair styling supplies laid on your dresser.

You head is still pounding as you look through your messages and missed calls. None of them from "Sugar Baby :<". Sighing, you racked your mind as much as you can to remember why your hair is styled this way and why hasn't your best friend called, maybe he got called in the studio last-minute, your mind told you.

Shaking your head, you slowly opened your door to strut down to your kitchen to eat some breakfast and take some Advil to at least ease your headache.

You were about to put some cereal on your bowl when Harry appeared out of nowhere startling you, a few bits of your corn flakes now scattered on your table.

"Mornin' sleepy head", Harry chuckles, greeting you with a teasing smile as if to mock you for mocking him last night when you're the one who's hammered right now. You looked at him with scarred eyes then pulling your eyebrows together as if questioning him.

"You gave me a spare key, remember. Knew you'd be hung over so I didn't woke you up, just let myself in. Was in the washroom when you got down.", he said answering your unvoiced question, "oh I also got you some waffles from your favorite diner, it's in the living room.", you only smiled at him as a sign of gratitude.

You started cleaning up your mess when you heard him speak once again, "wild night huh?", Harry teases you.

You looked up to meet his eyes, "Huh? What're you talking 'bout?", you asked in your morning voice, only having to talk right now for the first time.

"Huh? What are you talking about?", Harry failed miserably on trying to copy your voice, you only laughed at him. "C'mon love, don't be shy now!", he added.

You shake your head at him and looked down, "I really don't know what you're talking about...", you kept your head down as your tried to think of everything that happened last night that might connect to what Harry was saying.

"So you're telling me nobody tried to hit on you with THAT outfit last night?", he joked.

"Uh well someone did but nothing happened, I swear, so please just tell me what is it. My head hurts when I try to think."

Harry took his phone from his pocket and gave it to you, the camera app opened. You can see your tired looking face on the screen, "look at your neck, you got three.", Harry explained.

Trying to find what he's talking about, you moved your hair away from your neck and saw it. Three bruises on your neck, a hickey perhaps? One below your right ear, one just above your left collarbone, and one in the middle of your neck.

"Oh...", was the only thing you said as you further examined the bruises and giving the phone back to Harry. You're sure that Austin didn't leave a mark then you realized something.

At first it looked like a love mark but when you looked closely to it, you'd realize that it's a burn - your hair curler burn. After realizing it, the events after you went home last night came rushing back making you hold your head.

You remember everything from changing your clothes, to removing your make up, to sitting on your dresser and clumsily trying this hair style you saw on the party and managing to burn yourself more than usual as you curl your hair, then going to bed after you gave up by turning off the curler.

Looking back at it, your hair style and burns doesn't look that awful for some drunk fella doing it. And for some reason, you don't want to tell your best friend the truth so you just shrugged it off as you finished cleaning up your mess.

You can feel his eyes burning on your neck as you rounded the table and giving him a hug, "thank you for the food.", you said and went to plop down on your couch in the living room, leaving H astounded and confused.

You started opening the take out boxes that contains your waffles and some other breakfast as Harry opened your T.V. and launched Netflix.

The silence was nice for your head with only a few laughs here and there as you both watched and eat some breakfast but Harry was unusually very quiet, not making any remarks at all.

You decided to ask him later and finished off your food, Harry already done with his a few minutes ago. You stood up the couch and took your trash to the kitchen then taking some pain reliever for your head before going back to the living room.

When you went back to Harry, he was just looking absent-mindedly on the television so you sat really close to him and took his right arm so you can tuck yourself beside him, bringing back his arms but this time around your body.

"What's the matter?", you asked as you looked up at him, the medicine already taking its effect making you less dizzy.

"Just tired love.", he said not looking down at you. You only nodded and never thought much about it and looked back to the show you both were watching while caressing his hands that's laying near your tummy.

A few more minutes on the movie, you called out his name, "Harry, I can tell something's bothering you...", you whispered.

Harry being Harry, whipped his head so fast that your lips accidentally touched in a peck. Sighing, he moved his head away from yours, "later.", was the only thing he said, not giving you any explanation.

You knew that the sigh wasn't because of the accidental kiss. You've shared a kiss or two before when you were both drunk or accidentally kissed like this so it wasn't new but it didn't stop you from running your tongue throughout your lower lips when he wasn't looking.

He was acting really strange. He's always really affectionate and flirty when it comes towards you so - always mocking you or telling you jokes and distracting you most of the time by tickling you as you cuddle with him - so you know that something's bothering him right now.

He looked at you when you started to move away from him, only for you to straddle his lap and hug him, something you usually do when he's feeling down.

Yes, it doesn't look like something best friends would do but you both became really comfortable enough around each other to do this.

The show long forgotten as you tended your Harry, running your hands through his hair as you pecked his hairline repeatedly. Harry had his head on your neck as he holds you tight against his body, his two big hands covering almost all of your back.

You don't know how much time has passed but you didn't mind until you felt Harry's hand going at the back of your neck, finger tips felt like he's tickling your skin but you didn't make a huge deal out of it.

Your legs now feeling a bit numb so you adjusted yourself on his lap, Harry's head snapping back to you, "stop moving, Y/N.", he said sternly and you whispered an apology. You knew how much he hated it when you two cuddled and you can't stop moving.

He just put his head back to your neck again and for a few minutes everything is peaceful until you felt ticklish on the spot where Harry's head's placed but you refrained from moving, not wanting to upset him any further.

The movement was barely there for a few minutes until you can firmly feel his lips kissing and licking your neck, "H-harry, wh-what are you d-doing?", you tried to push him away but he only hold you closer, your moans threatening to spill as he continues his movements.

You then felt him suck and bit on your neck, a movement you knew will give you a mark - Harry's mark, and then you realized that where he's doing it is the spot where you burned yourself.

You cannot stop yourself from finally gripping his hair to push his head more towards your neck, both of you moaning a bit.

"What're we doing?", you panted heavily as Harry moved his head, probably heading towards your other burn below your ear.

His mouth working deliciously on your skin making your stomach churn and making you grind on him in return, moaning in delight.

"I'm just making sure that those marks are now MY marks.", Harry looked up to you with droopy eyes then went back to marking you.

"I- bu-", you couldn't form any coherent word, let alone a sentence so you just let your best friend mark you as much as he wanted.

You know it's wrong and that you vowed not to cross any line but his lips just felt too good on your skin to stop it.

You gripped his hair tightly making Harry moan as he marked you on the thrid spot, the middle of your neck, one of your sweet spots - and you think Harry noticed as your moans and whimpers of his name got louder making him suck harder.

You grounded you hips on his, feeling him get hard. You yanked his hair away from your neck and met his lips in a hot steamy kiss. His hands now on your hips, helping you move your hips against his.

Moans, pants and whimpers was all you can hear around the living room until you pulled away.

"I- Harry what are we thinking?!", your frustration is heard and can be seen on your face, your lips swollen and your neck red and starting to bruise from Harry's earlier assault.

Harry throw his head back on the couch, "fuck! 'M so sorry love! I- I always- fuck! I just, was so jealous of the guy I couldn't contain my possessiveness and you're not even mine!"

You only looked at him surprised, "I-", you didn't finish your sentence as you went back to kiss him again which took Harry by surprise but eagerly kissed you back.

"It was a burn.", you panted against Harry's lips.

He pulled away, looking at you confused, "what?".

"Nothing happened last night, we only made out, it wasn't hickeys, it was hair curler burns...", you explained blushing.

He put his hands on your arms, caressing it lightly, "why didn't you tell me?"

"Dunno", you shrugged, "guess I wanted to know how you'd react, make you jealous maybe...", you looked down ashamed of yourself, feeling so small under his gaze.

Harry only laughed as he run his fingers along his marks, "well it worked. Got really jealous, love.", he said and angled your face to meet his eyes. "Liked you since forever and I was jealous, thought he got to take THAT outfit off of you last night...", Harry murmured, his ears looking red out of embarrassment making you feel a bit better.

"Liked you since forever too... and good thing I went home alone, huh?", you teased Harry, ruffling his hair a bit and putting both of your hands on his shirt clad chest.

"He still got to kiss you..."

"Well then guess you got a lot of making up to do!", with that you kissed him again, hungrily. Until he pulled away.

"Cheetos.", Harry said then went back to kissing you again but you're too confused to continue.

"H, what?"

"Those three pictures last night...", he kissed down your neck as he continued, "Cheetos, salsa-queso for the one where you looked cute and cheesy...", slowly going back up, "the sweetos Cheetos - the cinnamon sugar puff ones - for the one where you looked like a child...", he pulled away at last making you breathe out finally, "and flamin hot Cheetos for the one where you looked really sexy.", Harry smiled cheekily at you as you pondered on what he said.

"You couldn't have thought of something better to compare me to, huh?", you laughed at him but you think it's sweet, really.

Harry played with the tips of your hair and said, "I bet you fifty bucks that you sent that last picture just to seduce me."

"Well Mister Styles you're right!", you laughed, "why? Are you mad?"

"Mad? That outfit made me lose control, really thankfully it led to this."

You pecked his lips once more, "hmmm, you're right... so what now...?"

"Well for starters, you could've called me to take care of you last night...", his sweet words ran through your head until he continued, "and well you owe me...", he did this cute thinking face that you love, "you have to wear it again, this time, with ME beside you, want us to match too!", you giggled at his childishness but let him continue.

"That's just an excuse to take it off of you the next time around!", he overexaggeratedly winked at you, letting you know that he's joking - maybe not but honestly you don't mind!

You sighed then smiled, "that's it?"

"Well you do owe me a date, miss."

You removed yourself away from him and stood up, "is that so? You gotta call me SUGAR MOMMY first!", you teased him.

"Stop! Come back here!", Harry made a grabby hands at you while jutting out his lips.

"Okay, just tell me when and where!", after that words came out of your mouth, Harry quickly went to where you're standing and kissed you for a few seconds before carrying you to your bedroom where you spent the rest of the day kissing and laughing and planning for your first date. Making a mental note to buy those Cheetos to bring along to your date.

Your headache long gone and the both of you not feeling any hunger as long as you got each others lips. For the first time in months, you felt really happy, now you wouldn't be jealous of Harry being with other people, and him to you but the thought of putting your friendship with him at risk scares you to death but with him beside you, you knew that it'll all work out in the end.

_____

[sweets-fanfics]

Retribution 2

Title: Tumbleweed

Wordcount: 4174

Warning: violence, slow burn

Tags: *crickets*

AN: I love my OC you can’t stop me.

)___________(

I shot up in my cot covered in sweat. The breeze flowing across the Heartlands where the camp was set up felt cool and instantly began to calm me. I ran my fingers through my hair trying to forget the nightmare I had just had of that night. The sun hadn’t risen yet but it had to at least be right before sunrise. 

Birds chirped in the trees nearby. I glanced over my should through the planks of my camp to look at the overflow our camp was situated by. I took a long sigh as I regained composure and figured I wouldn’t be getting much sleep anymore and got up for the day. 

Cripps who never seemed to sleep already had coffee brewing by the fire inviting me to take a cup for myself. He talks a lot, but not in the mornings. Cripps simply smiles and goes about his business. 

I smile at Buster as he walks out from his spot under the wagon and stretches before walking up to me. “Buenos Días, mi amor.” I hum to him softly while scratching his favorite spot on the top of his head. The American foxhound bounced back and forth as is rubbed his head. He let out a small bark when he had his fill and went to go do whatever it is he does. 

After enjoying my coffee the sun starts to peek over the hills that surround this valley. I looked around seeing that my campmates have not come back yet. I see movement in one of the tents and Hair climbs out and stretches.

“When did you get back...?” I blank again on her name but don’t want to be rude. 

She sighs, “Yakira.”

“I was just about to say that.”

“Uh-huh. I got back maybe an hour ago. I couldn’t sleep.”

“You didn’t bring the other two?”

Yakira shrugs, “They were gone.” 

I groan and start to grab my bag. “Well now I gotta go look for two middle-aged men,” I think for a moment, “Mr. B will be fine I just need to find Irish before he picks a fight. Stay in camp in case Irish comes. If he does just send Buster to get me.” She nods and goes to get coffee as I climb on to Willa and take off for Valentine.

The ride through the Heartlands is always beautiful in the morning. Pronghorn and Deer run past when I spook them from being to close. Buffalo glance as I ride past but stand their ground. Even the rabbits and squirrels seemed up an awake. I ride into the dusty town of Valentine in search of a certain Irishmans horse. I see the horse hitched at the saloon. 

I stop and hitch Willa next to the big Shire, Irish unfortunately named “Riggy Tony” after his strange obsession with Italian food. He had once met a man from Italy who showed him this kind of food and now he names everything after an Italian dish. But seeing as I’m still teaching him to write he spells it all phonetically.

I give Riggy a pet as I step into the saloon and see the mess before me. The entire saloon is a mess. Chairs are thrown and broken. The mirror behind the bar is shattered. The bartender looks up from where he’s sweeping and his face gets red. “Oh no. No no no, You’re guy did enough mess.”

“What happened?”

“The Irish guy started beating some guys up-” 

Before he can finish there’s a groan from upstairs and a body slams into the ground at my feet. “Oi, you think you could win a fight against me?”

I let out a long sigh. “Irish, we can’t keep doin’ this in every town.”

Irish appears over the banister directly above me and gives me a giant smile. “Josie!” He pulls back and begins his long journey to the stairs. His face is bright red from the alcohol and he’s barely walking and more like limping as he goes. “This wee lass in my boss!” He points to me and smiles at the bartender who is not impressed. “This little girl here is going to take down the O’Driscols with me and I’ll…” He stops to burp, “I will help her kill that damn Mexican gang.” 

“Dear god, Irish, let’s go. We have ruined this man’s building enough.” I start to move him towards the door when I hear a loud punch sound and suddenly the overweight Irish man falls back trapping me under him. “What the fuck?” I somehow get myself up and see a giant angry man standing above me with a red face.

“Who the fuck are you?” He asks me. 

“I feel I should ask that you jackass.”

“This low life tried to pickpocket me last night.”

“I’m sure he was probably going for your beer.” I try to calm him down before patting Irish on his forehead to wake him up.

“If he gets up again I’ll kill him.”

“For… pickpocketing?” 

“He’s a garbage theif. You probably are too, you dirty greaser.” The insult wasn’t anything new. I’d been called it so many times before. Especially when I still ran with the Del Lobo. And wearing my mother’s white and blue blanket poncho across my shoulders probably didn’t help either.

I slowly stood up and dusted off my pants before calmly looking at the asshole and socking him so hard in the face, that he falls out of the saloon, down the two steps and into the dirt. Everyone near the saloon stops and walks over to see the commotion. And since the saloon is in the middle of town I’m pretty sure all of Valentine was about to see this man get his ass handed to him by a young girl. 

“You dumb bitch.” He grumbles as he begins to get up and rub his nose. “You broke my nose.”

“Imma bout to break more you son of a bitch.” I threaten as he stands up and towers over me. 

“Kick his arse.” Irish slurs from somewhere behind me. I roll my shoulders back and try to hold myself up more like I will kick this guys ass. I mean… I probably could.

He swings towards me and I duck and punch his jaw making the crowd cringe. A few more punches and I start to realize he might not hit me. Admittedly I get a bit cocky and punch him in the gut before turning and smiling at the crowd. As I spin around and wave I spot a familiar smirk amongst the crowd that distracts me long enough for the guy to grab my arm.

“Uh oh,” I mumble as the man turns me to face him.

“Got too cocky didn’t ya.”

“I mean… yeah, I’ll admit it.” 

Just as he raises his fist another hits him knocking him out. I turn around to see Irish, still drunk, pat my shoulder before passing out. “Irish not again!” I groan and try to catch him only to have him slip and fall in the dirt. 

The crowd begins to disperse as I struggle to wake Irish up. “Mrs. Espinosa?” I look to my left and see Arthur giving me a sympathetic smile. “You seem to need some assistance.” 

“I don’t….” I look at Irish, snoring on the ground. “Yeah. Just to get him on the horse.”

Arthur smiles and grabs Irish’s shoulders while I grab his feet. “Your gang seems to have a lot of fun getting into trouble.”

“I didn’t think he’d get drunk on his way back from getting drunk.” I struggle to say as we put him on the back of Willa. She wines a bit but I give her a sugar cube and calms down. “What are you doing so far North?”

Arthur reaches into his bag and hands me a piece of folded up paper. “From Hosea, says you would know what it is.”

“You didn’t peek did you?” I give him a suspicious look as I unfold the paper and see the name of the marshal he had talked about. And a list of towns he frequents. 

Arthur holds his hands up, “Ain’t my business.” I smile and put the paper in my bag. “However,” He starts, “If it’s about revenge… I don’t think it’s the best idea.”

“What do you know?” I say a bit too bitterly and instantly regret it. “Sorry, Mr. Morgan.”

“Don’t be. You’ve gone through a lot last year. It’s okay to be angry, but revenge is past anger.” He awkwardly pats my shoulder but I can tell it’s an attempt at comforting.

“I’ll do what I must, Mr. Morgan. But I’ll think about your words. Tell Mr. Matthews thank you for me.” I climb onto Willa.

“You gonna need help with him?”

“Nah, I got help at camp. Hey, is Dutch sure about Micah?” 

Arthur shrugs and scratches his chin, “You know I always agree with Dutch… But I don’t know about Micah. Why?”

“I kicked him from my gang after a week because he had an issue with my authority. But also because he would always come back with stuff for the camp that was suspicious. I didn’t like the idea he might be killing folk. Just keep an eye on him. Especially since you have Women and Jack in camp.”

“I’ll do my best.”

“Oh, also, I’ll be moving camp down near tall trees while I do a job. In case y'all need me to steal a score from ya again.” I wink jokingly as he rolls his eyes.

“Yeah, yeah.” He waves me off as I ride down the road and out of Valentine towards camp.

____________

As I stopped in camp Cripps sighed and tried to help with Irish. I stopped him and smiled. “I got this.” 

I pushed Irish off of Willa making him fall into the mud from the overflow. Irish yelps and sits up looking around scared. “What the hell was that?” 

“You dumbass. Cripps, grab me a bucket of water.”

“Uh… Josie?”

“You heard me.” Cripps sighs and walks away. Irish and I continue to stare each other down until he returns a minute later. 

I take the bucket and pour all the water over Irish who cringes in disgust. “How dare you? I have been goin’ four weeks strong without baitin’...” He’s cut off from me chucking the bucket at him.

“Go wash and sober up. The camp is gonna move temporarily.”

Both Irish and Cripps look at me with a mixture of surprise and annoyance. “Are you wanted?” Cripps asks.

“No. I have some work to do down in New Austin and I’d rather bring you all with me. We aren’t doing anything right now anyway.” I think for a moment, “We can set up near that big ranch down there. Mc… something.” 

Cripps sighs but starts getting camp taken down. Irish is still sitting with the bucket in his hands. “But.. that one new lady is gone..”

“Jen has been in the gang longer than you. And knowing her, she’ll find us.”

Irish grumbles on the floor a bit longer before getting up and going to his work to help us move. 

____________

The move was easier than I had expected. Next thing I knew we were set up northeast of the big ranch. Irish and Yakira were a great help for once and with their help, we were able to be done by nightfall. 

“I’m going to ride to Tumbleweed, see if I can find who I’m looking for.” I walk out of my tent in my white button-up tucked into me black tight pants and Pedro’s worn Gambler hat and brown leather coat with sheep wool on the collar. Sometimes I swear I can still smell his cologne.

“I would feel better if you take someone with you,” Cripps says, looking up from his work.

“I don’t really need those two to go. They are probably exhausted.”

“Well, take someone.”

I sigh and look around the camp. I see Jen’s Shire named Thena and smile, “I’ll take Jen.” 

Jen peaks her head out from behind the wagon and frowns. “What?”

“Let’s go cause trouble.” I smile.

She thinks for a moment before sighing, “Fine.” 

Cripps sighs, “At least I know she’ll have your back.”

We hopped on our horses and started for the small town in search of this Marshall. Jen is usually the quiet type. Despite no accent, she’s from France. Her Dark hair is always braided behind her back. She towers over me and like most of the gang is older than me. I wanna be tough like her one day. But I know I have a long way to go.

I met her right after I started my gang. It was just me and Cripps until one day when I was out somewhere alone. I had been searching for a certain elk to hunt for Cripps when A grizzly found me instead. I had thought I was going to be gutted right then and there but at the last moment there was a shot and the bear dropped on top of me. 

When the bear was dragged off of me that’s when I met Jen. She didn’t say hi when she met me she immediately scolded me for not looking at my surroundings. I call her my best friend, but I’m pretty sure she’s just worried I’ll get myself killed. She’s been with the gang ever since. As I thought back to how we met I accidentally stared at her which got me a “The fuck you do now?”

I blinked and shook myself out of it. “Oh, sorry. I was thinking about the day we met.” 

“Yes, the day you were almost killed by a bear.”

I chuckled, “Yeah, that.”

“It’s very strange to me that you were once married and a mother.”

“Well I’m still a mother, and my late husband and I were only married for maybe eleven months before he was killed. I know marrying at 17 probably isn’t the best idea in the world. But at the time it seemed right. We both wanted to get out of Del Lobo and we thought, why not together?” I looked down and petted Willa.

“I’m sorry if I made you sad.” I hear her mumble.

“You didn’t. It’s been almost two years. I’m 19 and very mature.”

Jen rolled her eyes. “No, I can guarantee you are still an immature, short, brat.”

We stopped our horses out said of Tumbleweed as I looked at her, “You just like insulting me sometimes.”

She shrugs and smirks at me hopping off of Thena. We both walk under the beating sun into the dusty town. There are about two clumps of small rectangle buildings and then the big saloon in the corner. A butcher stand is set up in the middle town where a butcher is chopping on a giant piece of meat. I walk up to him with some fake confidence and smile. “Hello sir, I’m looking for a Marshal Tom Davies?”

“I don’t know none of that. Might wanna ask the Sheriff.” He points his thumb behind him at a standalone building with the word ‘Jail’ written on it. 

“Thank you, sir.” I smile and walk over with Jen behind me.

“You almost looked actually confident that time.” She jokes on the way.

“Har har.” I roll my eyes.

I open the door to the building and here a man yelling. “Please! You’ve got to help me.” The man begged.

“I can’t help you, mister. It’s way outta my jurisdiction. My job is to stop folks from getting shot on these streets, you know that.” The sheriff replies. I stop a moment in a happy shock of seeing that the sheriff isn’t a grumpy old white man.

“But… but she’s my wife.” The old man says again, “She’s my goddamn wife. They’ll do terrible things to her, you’ve got to help me.” 

The sheriff eyes Jen and I and gestures to us, “Well maybe these two can help you.”

“Oh, sorry I’m just looking for…” I begin to say before I’m cut off.

“What can these two girls do?”

“They got guns and don’t have a badge so they can probably do more than me or you.” The sheriff jokes. “Besides, why not? I’m assuming they are bounty hunters.”

I glance at Jen before we both nod. “You’ll help?” The old man asks. “I’ll pay… handsomely.” 

“Uh… sure, why not.” I give in.

“Thank you. Allison is a wonderful girl. Quite a bit younger than me, you’ll see. But better that way for wives I’ve found.” Jen and I both look at him unimpressed. “Anyway, outlaws took her I believe. Towards that way.” He points out the door as he opens it. 

“Alright, we’ll go have a look. But first… Sheriff..”

“Freeman.” SHeriff Freeman answers.

“Yes, I’m looking for a Marshal Tom Davies?”

“He is in another town on business. He usually comes threw town tomorrow. But for now, help this man out.”

__________

“I hope that man’s wife isn’t as creepy as he was,” I say to Jen as we near a tiny pueblo styled ranch. “There are so many men here for one girl.”

We hop off our horses and walk up to the guard. “Get outta here!” He yells.

“You guys kidnap a girl named Allison?”

The reply I got was a shotgun fired in the direction of my head. Only Jen pulled me out of the way and shot him with her pistol. Probably proving my theory of why she sticks around. I pull out my repeater and get to work while Jen uses both her pistols. We shoot our way through at least 30 men before we are at the doors to the small farmhouse. 

“Hello? Is someone kidnapped in here?” I say as I open the door with my sawed-off out. 

“He sent you didn’t he? He sent you. Well, I’m not going back to him. I can’t” The blond lady says as she hides behind a man with orange hair the goes to his shoulders with matching orange facial hair.

“We’re in love.” He says to us as he holds a hand up. “Leave us be. I’ll give you all we have. It ain’t much but it’s somethin’.” He walks forward and I’m able to see his kind face better and his blue eyes begging Jen and me. “Help us escape. Please.”

“I’m not going back,” Allison says pacing the floor. “Cliff, you swore. You swore I wouldn’t have to go back.”

“They’ll have to kill me first,” he says to her calmingly. “Come on ladies, have a heart.”

I sigh and put my gun back in its holster. I can hear Jen follow suit. “We better hurry then.”

“Oh, thank you.” Allison cries.

“Let’s go. There is a carriage and money outside.” Cliff grabs her hand and leads her out.

“He would have sent men to follow you. They’ll know you’re trying to help us.”

“Well, then we better be quick,” I say as I hurry after them. “I’ll ride with them on the wagon, Jen, follow on the horse just in case.”

“Oh god, it’s a massacre,” Allison says, glancing at all the bodies. I pretend to not pay attention. “This is all my fault, I’m sorry.”

“Don’t think about that now.” Cliff urges her. “They knew what they was gettin’ into.”

We see a handful of men riding over the hill towards us with their guns out, “That’s my husband. Sending killers after killers.” Allison says in anger.

“I ain’t too sure what you saw in the man.” Cliff jokes.

“Very amusing.” She hums back. 

We rode past Tumbleweed and up to the train tracks where a train was passing by. “Come on. We gotta get around this train!” Cliff yells.

I pull out my repeater and start taking out as many men as I’m able while Jen gets the others. Cliff is able to make it around the train and we are able to get away and shoot down the rest of the men chasing us.

Cliff stops the cart and groans, “How many more of them will we have to kill.” He climbs into the back of the wagon and pulls out money.

“He won’t stop. He’ll keep saying you kidnapped me and soon some other sucker will come and kill us.” Allison sighs.

“No.” Cliff turns on his heels and takes the woman’s hands. “We’ll go… somewhere hot. Like Columbia, or Australia.” 

He hops off the wagon and stands before Jen and I. “Here. Thank you.” He says handing me the small wad of cash. “Tell him we drowned, or got hit by a train.”

“Tell him to go hang himself,” Allison yells to us as Cliff climbs up to the wagon. “Tell him to leave us alone.” She takes her loves hand and smiles at him, “Cliff, isn’t all so romantic?”

He smiles at her before yanking the reigns and making the wagon move.

Jen rolls her eyes at them as I hand her share over. She looks at it and walks to Thena without taking it.

“Wait, Jen…”

“Keep it. You’re saving for the boy’s birthday aren’t you?” She gives me a warm smile. 

“Thank you,” I say softly. I put the money in my saddlebag and climb onto Willa. “Let’s go rent a room at that saloon. We can corner the Marshal tomorrow.” She nods and we ride off down the desert.

_____________

I clutched my mother’s letter tightly as I sat in front of the Blackwater dock. I had just gotten off of the boat from Saint Denise where I had come in on the train from New Mexico. The rain fell hard from the sky and I was barely able to fit under the small overhang by the town sign as I tried to figure out where to go. The town wasn’t quite as populated as Saint Denise or Santa Fe but there was still a good amount of residence. There seemed to be a camp towards the edges of town that looked pretty crowded as well. I wondered if they were a gang or more like a family. They seemed happy and kept to themselves. Even in the rain they laughed and chatted with one another. 

Thunder rolled across the sky suddenly making me lookup. I sighed tugged Pedro’s coat on a little tighter.

“Not a fan of thunder?” A gruff voice with a western accent asked from my left. I spun my head to face him quickly and began to reach for my pistol which he noticed. “Shit, I’m sorry.” He held up to gloved hands.

 He was a tall broad man. He had blue-green eyes and sandy-colored hair. His cheeks and chin were covered by some scruff with a small scar on his chin. He wore a thick blue coat and funny enough, had on basically the same hat I wear that belonged to Pedro. “I didn’t mean to scare ya.” He grinned.

“You… didn’t. I was just thrown off.” I say before looking back at the map.

“You’re carrying a lot of guns.” He gestures to the bolt action rifle and pump-action shotgun on my back. Along with my pistol and sawed-off in my gun belt. I smile since he might even see the more guns I have on Willa. “You steal ‘em?” He smirks.

“I earned these if you must know.”

“How old are you?” He leans on the map board and crosses his arms. Droplets roll off the edge of his hat.

“I’m almost 18,” I say proudly. “I’ve come to start a gang.”

He huffs a laugh. “18 and already starting a gang, huh?”

“Wouldn’t be my first one.”

He gets serious and looks at me. “What?”

“I was raised in a gang. I’ve returned to kill them.” Why was I so openly telling my plan to this guy? Maybe it was his kind-looking eyes. Or the way he really is listening to me. 

“What they do to ya?” He asks in a sincere tone.

“They killed my husband and my father.” I look down at my shoes. 

“Bastards.” He huffs. “Hope it ain’t my gang.” He says trying to lighten the mood.

“You’re Del Lobo?” I ask.

His eyes get a bit wide at the name. “Wait a second. You want to take out Del Lobo? Alone?”

“Of course not alone. That’s why I’m going to make a gang. A gang of the strongest people to help me on my quest.” 

The man smiles at my enthusiasm. “Well, ya got spirit. People will follow that.” He stands up straight and puts a hand out towards me. “Name’s Arthur Morgan.”

I grin and shake his hand, “Josephine Espinosa. But just call me Josie, white people tend to pronounce my full name wrong.”

He laughs as our hands shake for a bit too long. “Great to meet you Josie.”

[modernsocialmediaau]

don’t wanna dance alone

First show done. Moments after the girls bow, they all say goodbye.

" Thank you so much San Francisco! " Lauren screams and waves to the fans as she waits for the girls to say goodbye. Lauren signs a few more autographs and took a few more selfies while she waits

" You rock San Francisco! " Normani adds, jumping up and down, then joins Lauren with the whole autographs and selfie session.

" We love you San Francisco! " Camila shouts while picking up the things on stage that the fans have thrown.

" Goodnight San Francisco! Lemme here you again Bay Area " Dinah screams blowing kisses at the fans making them cheer louder.

" Thank y'all so much for coming to our first show! Y'all been great! We love you! " Ally finishes and the show is over. The girls run off stage trying to quickly remove their ear pieces while carefully placing their mics . After placing their mics they immediately run to their dressing rooms while giving high fives to those that cheer and saying good job on the way. The idea of performing is always so exciting, it's just such an adrenaline rush for these girls.

" --Jam session. " Camila shouts say taking Lauren out of her head.

" I feel so blessed doing this with you guys. " Ally coos trying to remove her costume, well struggling to remove her costume.

" Aw. Ally. " The girls all irrupt and look at her  

" Alright girls great job! Congrats on the first show usually we'd go out or something but sadly not tonight seeing that we have to be at our next venue before 7 to get everything set up. So we need to able to leave here by 1 am. Is that possible? I promise you we will celebrate tomorrow night. " Janelle their manager asks popping into the dressing room. The girls give her a simple yes and tries to get everything done and be on the bus by 1 .

" Lo! " Camila says catching her attention again, Lauren even has one of those;   ' who me? ' moments.

" Yes? " Lauren turns around, finally answering her. She reveals a smile before saying;

" You're phone, " she shook her phone in the air indicating she had found it.

" Can you throw it, " Lauren simply asked getting ready to catch the phone.

" No!- I'll just hand it to you, " Camila scolds holding the phone close to her

" Alright, " Lauren turns back around to what she was doing, and decides that she'll grab it before she leaves.

Lauren is much calmer now, and the idea of Camila knowing no longer weighted on her shoulder. Mani is right she doesn't act suspicious nothing will happen. If anything this might just be a stupid crush anyway.

" Here you go, " Camila comes up behind Lauren and wraps her arms around her waist trying to place my phone in the bag. Which made Lauren uncomfortable, but she has to remember to act normal, but none of what Camila is doing is normal. Acting as if she can just pick up where she left off. But instead of moving away Lauren places her cheek with hers awkwardly. " Thanks. " Lauren fakes a smile. Mani looks at them for a moment and gives Lauren a sympathetic smile with a hint of ' I told you so '.

" Here we go, you're back " she moves from behind Lauren to next to her

I'm back really? Wow! Fuck I didn't even know I left. Lauren thought to herself, but immediately tries to shake off the rude remark and get back to replying.

" I told you, I was just nervous, " Lauren smiles through her teeth trying to hold the hurt in her eyes,

" Alright girls, you ready? " Janelle popped in again

Normani and Lauren say yes while the rest said no. So they decide to head to the bus first.

" Do you feel better? " Mani ask while they put their things in their bunks

" Yes actually, " Lauren sighs in relief

" Good, " she stops putting her things in her bunk and hugs me

" Okay. " I answer

" Ah, alright here's the thing, " Lauren stops and look at her

" What? " she sighs and grabs Laurens hand and they walk to the back room

" You need to talk her. " Lauren stands there not knowing if she heard that right or she's about to go crazy. Normani can't be serious about this, Lauren is going crazy enough just trying to keep this between themselves.

" Mani we already talked about this, I can't and you know that. I literally just got over that fact that she iced me out for a year just so she can have a relationship with Austin or whatever she'd like to say. "

" Laur you're never gonna shake this off, an- "

" It's just a cru-"

"Stop lying to yourself! " Normani huffs shocking herself, she knows it wasn't like her to raise her voice at anybody like this.

" Lauren, you and I both know you are in love with her. No matter how many times she breaks you, you still get up and fight for her and the only way to get over this is to tell her or do something other than watching from a distance slowly dying. " she adds

" So what? I can be heartbroken again. So I can learn from putting myself out there, or so she can ice me out again. Maybe she'll do it for 2 years if I'm lucky. Yea, no thanks I'm good" Lauren sarcastically answer

" No, so you can stop suffering, it's killing you, "

" I will never win. Whether I talk her or not I am still going to get hurt. " Lauren explains to her

" Lauren you can't live a life of fear, " Mani continues

" Mani, I can't. And it's not even about fear anymore it's more about me protecting myself. " Lauren starts to cry again

" I'm sorry honey c'mere" she gave me another hug

" I know you mean well but I can't do much. "

•••

" Are we? " Lauren questioned trying to hold the melody of sobs ready to come out,

" Of course, you guys are like friendship goals. You guys are practically dati- " before she could finish Lauren sobs abruptly interrupted her

" No?! We're not! Last time I checked when you date someone you don't shut them out. You don't ignore them. You don't Mani you just don't! Especially over a fucking guy! Who doesn't even deserve her! " Lauren huffed getting out of Normani's hold, and began pacing the room balling her fist slowly.

" Woah. I thought you liked Austin? " she wondered, making Lauren laugh in disgust.

" Ha! Your funny Mani. There are a billion nerves in my body and every single one of them cannot stand him. He doesn't deserved her! She could have somebody so much better than him! " Lauren groaned walking to her bed and fell faced down onto a pillow, letting out a rather frustrated scream.

" Okay if he doesn't deserve her then who does? " Lauren looks up from screaming and saw Normani smirk.

Shit.

" I-i don't know, it doesn't matter. He just doesn't deserve he alright. " Lauren answered looking her as seriously as possible

" I still don't understand why you don't just ask her what's happening? " Normani shrugged

" Don't you think I've tried? Mani? But she shuts me out, acts like I'm crazy. " Lauren sobbed again,

" Well- " she begins

" What Mani? What did I do to her? I want to fix it. " Lauren cried

•••

" It's alright, let's get you fixed up before questions are asked. "

" Mani? Laur? " Ally says catching the two girls attention

" Shit well we don't have much time but stay in here while I distract them, maybe I can put them to sleep or something. With one of those pressure point thingys. " Mani says

" Mani we are not spies, " Lauren chuckles at her crazy idea.

" But we could be though, " she smiles sheepishly and left.

Lauren closes and locks the door so she can fix herself up, while fixing her mascara she overhears their conversation. Most of them she couldn't make up, but then she heard them all ask where Lauren was. This is what Mani comes up with,

* She's talking to her mom, *

* Oh I want to say hi, * Camila says clapping her hands

* You can't! * Mani yells and Lauren couldn't help but chuckle.

* Why not? *

* She said it was pretty personal, *

* Shoot how personal could it be? * Dinah laughs

* It's kind of family matter, * Mani continued

* Is she alright? * Ally questions letting out a little laugh at the end.

* Yea. Why don't we play never have I ever or something, * she says getting them all walk in front of her

Lauren no longer hears them in the bunks, taking it as a sign to walk out to where they were. On the right side of the living area sat Camila, Ally and Dinah, while Mani sat on the left.

" There she is, " Mani says grabbing Lauren and pulling her to her side, using Lauren as some sort of shield. In reality the questions got a little too intense for Normani.

" So whats going on? " Lauren sings trying to act as casual.

" Mani wanted to play a game, " Dinah replies looking up from her phone and pointing at Mani, she added a quick pause before continuing her sentence.

" Girl it's not like we just performed a 3 hour set, or have been up since 6am " Dinah sarcastically counter, laying her head on Ally's shoulder.

" Alright I'm in, " I shrug, slowly nibbling on my lower lip.

" Sorry guys, I'm really tired. Night." Camila sighs, grabbing her phone and waits to see if anybody else would go to bed.

" Yea ya'll crazy. Later. " Dinah nods in agreement and off they go.

There's an awkward silence for a good 5 minutes before we started a game. Most of the questions were common and nothing unusual " have you ever been drunk, or are you still a virgin things " between those lines.

" Mani girl this isn't really fun, " Ally complains putting her hands back down to her lap

" Alright what do you guys wanna do then? " Mani question crossing her arms

" Let's talk secrets, " Ally says making Mani and Lauren exchange looks. Secrets are something rare between the girls but Lauren thinks she can make an exception for this one.

" And by the looks of it, you guys have some juice, " she laughs

" Truth or dare, instead? " Lauren practically jumps, hoping it could stop the shorter woman from squeezing the information out of them.

" Alright, but one way or another I'll get y'all to spill. " Ally smiles sheepishly

" Right, " Mani laughs, nervously playing with her sweaty hands

The truth or dare isn't interesting at all. The game is fun for a couple of turn, especially when Mani told Ally to put toothpaste on her lips for the rest of the game. Lauren didn't see the significance, until a minute later Ally started fanning her lips saying it stings. And of course the girls couldn't have been mature about it, so Ally dared Mani to do the same thing only with horse radish. Lauren knows that at some point in the night the two will catch on at the fact that she hasn't asked for one dare and will ultimately be called a pussy. And Lauren Michelle Jauregui is no pussy.

" Well Lauren? " Ally says

" Dare. " Lauren smirks

" Go up to the bus driver, and ask him to borrow his radio and say * everyone Lauren Michelle Jauregui needs to take a shit.* " she says gaining a high five from Normani

Lauren glares at them both, but Lauren know it has to happen and it's not like it's the worst she's ever done. Lauren walks up to the bus driver and turn back to the girls. Only to earn a gesture of "go-on".

" Listen man, I'm about to do something and I will not be proud to do said action. So I ask you to not judge me. " he gives her an odd look but then focuses back on the road.

Lauren picks up his radio and gets herself ready. Not only will the people on his radio hear it but so will the bus. Lauren sighs and took a big breath and says

" Lauren Michelle Jauregui needs to take a shit. " Lauren say onto the radio making half of the staff run to the front and look at her

" Lauren." they all scold at once while the girls laugh

" It was a dare calm down. " Lauren put the radio back and pats the bus drivers shoulder

" Thanks, " Lauren whispers and sits back down on the couch

" Happy? " Lauren asks

About 2 hours into the drive our energy dies down. It's gotten to the point of the conversation where the girls are just asking each other questions.

" Truth, " Lauren answers yawning

" Uhm okay how's it going with Luis? " Ally asked making me choke. Sure after the tour they got back together but before Lauren left for this one they broke up again.

The only one that knows about their break up is Normani. And no it isn't because Lauren likes Camila. The break up has mutual feelings because Luis explains that, he can't be waiting for Lauren forever and she couldn't agree more. Lauren doesn't think it would have been fair to just keep him waiting. Or to expect that he would still be waiting for Lauren, not with all the touring she's been doing for 2 years straight and the future. We agreed to be friends and frankly nothing has changed. Besides their relationship has been through a lot, but she's thankful because now they are in a better place.

" Oh he's great you know college and stuff. " Lauren lies

" That's good, I envy you guys getting through all this stuff. Long distance A plus girlfriend. " Ally adds and Lauren nods

" You've got Troy, " Mani laughs

" I'm getting really tired, I think I'm gonna go to sleep. " Lauren stands up and give them each goodnight's before disappearing into her bunk.

Just the thought of Luis made Lauren want to talk to him again. Last time Lauren saw him was when they had coffee before Lauren left for LA. That was also the same day we agreed to break up but we still went out as friends.

Lauren decides to pick her phone and text him.

Lauren lays in her bunk pondering things in her head until he responded.

Lauren is starting to regret texting him, not only did he sound like Normani but now her eyes are so weary and tired she'll fall asleep soon enough.

But before Lauren could answer her eyelids were too heavy and she falls asleep.

-- February 28, 2015

Next Morning..

Seeing that Camila is able to a lot longer than the other three girls she put it upon herself to wake everyone up. Lauren is the last one she's yet to wake up everybody else, is in make up. From the past Camila knows how much Lauren hates being woken up especially when the lights are brought into it, as well as pulling blankets and noice. Camila hits all three when she goes over to Lauren's bunk. Camila pushes Laurens bunk curtain, letting the light in and slowly pulling on her blankets.

" Lauren? " Camila whispers, Lauren groan in response

" No Mani, "

" Lauren, " Camila continues

" Shut up Mani and let me sleep, "

" Lo, " Lauren hasn't heard that familiar voice waking her up since the end of the Harmonize America tour.

" No, "

" Lauren, " Camila fully strips her of the blankets and start shaking her

" Later, " Lauren groans pushing Camilas hands off of her, and closing the curtain

" Lauren we have an interview in 2 hours c'mon. " Camila opens the curtain once more. Lauren this time is facing the wall, Camila know she's got to think fast because they are leaving soon.

" Fine. " Camila climbs onto Laurens bunk and nuzzles her face into Laurens neck

" Yea well I'm up. " Lauren turns around and pushes her onto the floor

" Ow Lauren, aren't you going to help me up? " Camila complains and stays on the floor.

" Sorry Camila we've got an interview remember, " Lauren playfully smirks and walks to the bathroom

[dfnews]

Episode Recap of "Make Room for Baby"

Aired August 6, 2018

1. Jessa babywears Hank correctly as she and Jana survey the work being done on Joe and Kendra's gifted house. I really don't believe Joe cool is doing that work himself with just a couple of guys here and there. Duggars are not workhorses. In this scene they overuse the words "whenever", "y'all", and amusingly stick to calling the tin mansion, "the big house". A perk of living on Duggar land as mentioned in the show is lots of nearby helpers on call. A young couple surely can't handle things on their own with just one baby so send in the cavalry. Good reason for birth control if you need helpers on call when you're that young and healthy. Bad reason to be located too close to the Godbobber, little godbobbers developing the illegal habit of becoming perverted peeping Toms. I suggest an electric fence if they feel the kids don't have the self-control, moral integrity or common sense to not peep into windows. Joken announce to Jessa and Jana that Kendra is expecting a honeymoon baby and the girls act surprised and are quickly assigned the mission to design a nursery.

2. JinJer go on their weekly mission trip together for the cameras. Last week it was art class for the Lord and this week piano shopping with the angels. Too bad she didn't want a harp. The pianos were very expensive and Jinger was pretty freaked about the prices but I'm sure advertising the music shop, putting the owner on camera, and TLC chipping in, got them the piano Jinger wanted for her anniversary. But the only thing they went home with on this trip was a snot filled nose flute.  

3. Josiah is attempting to cook up fajitas for a date at the penitentiary with Lauren. He asks little Jordyn's help to determine if some guacamole is spoiled. Jordyn, Jenni and Hannie are the chaperones for the evening. Lauren is allergic to gluten so why is she putting her gut health in danger and allowing a misogynist in training to cook for her? In the talking heads, it seems Ben and the other Duggars kind of blow off gluten sensitivities because we all know they are experts in everything medical. Just as they need to get to know some transgender people and their struggles they also need to get to know some people who suffer from Celiac Disease. It might make them look less stupid and insensitive if they did. Talking heads happen when the couples talk about courting standards. Jeremy says they wanted to "maintain their purity" before marriage. I'm pretty sure Jeremy wasn't "pure" when he married Jinger. He must mean the couples purity and Jinger's purity. His own purity was sold to the devil long ago. I'm glad John, who is younger than Jeremy, kicked the chaperones to the curb. But trust me, when Jana courts again, she will be chaperoned! She's an untrustworthy fundie girl.  Oh, I heard from a friend of a friend of a friend, of a Duggar insider, that Jana was promised to a boy many years ago. The boy called it off which may have hurt Jana deeply. That's all I can say for now. I have a lot of old Duggar secrets waiting to come out but they must remain private for now. When the time is right, I will spill my guts. Back to cooking...Josiah finds somebody's leftovers from a restaurant and throws it into his cooking. It included rice which could have gluten in it. Lauren is grossed out by the old guacamole but she is sweetly amused at his attempt to kill her with his cooking. She eats his mess and I really hope she didn't get sick afterwards because she didn't want to hurt his feelings. They play a little game as a way to get to know each other better because the best way to learn about each other for marriage is by playing twenty questions. What they were playing is what I have done during staff meetings as a way to get to know coworkers. Not once did I ever feel it would lead to marriage. Josiah does his "mission" work by explaining courtship rules to the audience AGAIN but tries to be hip this time. He says, "It's not dating for the purpose of a one night shag." Has Si been watching Austin Powers? Yeah, Baby!

4. Joy is still pregnant and meeting with a midwife I haven't seen before. The other midwifes, including Jill, haven't had much luck delivering Duggar babies. Joy is found to have elevated glucose even though she says she didn't eat that morning which means it could have been much higher. Austin shows some sense in saying they want a home birth but they don't want to risk mom and baby's lives. In the end, they did risk their lives because it was a large baby, Joy had gestational diabetes and the midwife ended up not being able to tell the baby was breech. The Duggar mission to endorse home births failed again. Let's hope Jill, Jessa and Joy learned from Jinger's birthing episode and will get induced and have an epidural for their next babies. A study came out just this week about induced pregnancies being as health and maybe even safer than not inducing. As long as you are not inducing too early.

5. The mission on this day is moving a ton of stuff into Joken's house. I'm guessing the Godbobber hit the auctions for all that dusty furniture.  Jana takes charge of the landscaping because her idiot brothers are absolutely worthless. I wonder if they just act that way to get Jana to do things for them or are they really that challenged. Jana plants a tree in the cold ground before Jason could get his finger out of his nose. Jessa tries hard to sell Jana to some prince charming. She thinks guys are intimidated by Jana because she is a capable woman. Jana has had to be a "Jana of all trades" because her family are all helpless idiots. Maybe guys are scared off due to her lame family. Jessa and Jana then move inside to build a crib and hang shelves in the nursery as the boys stay outside and lick their boots.

6. The big finished house reveal. Two huge vans arrive at the house that sits on Duggar property. Of course they couldn't bother to walk across the lawn. With the entire Duggar clan, minus Josh and Anna and Jill and Derick, and the entire Caldwell clan in the house, I start feeling claustrophobic. It's amazing the floor boards didn't crack or a sink hole didn't open up and swallow them all. Pastor Caldwell makes it his mission to make a sexist joke asking if Joe made the bed or Kendra? That means he doesn't think men are capable of making a neat bed. Sexist! They are all led into the nursery and barely act surprised at the news of Kendra expecting. I think new babies are now old news in Duggarland. It's so common that nobody blinks an eye anymore.

OMG! There was another hour long episode after this one? Since when do they air two new hour long episodes in one night? Are they trying to break me? I'm guessing this season will be very short since they are doubling up episodes. Weird!

[hahahafangirl]

To My Muse - Ch. 5

Ch.1 - Ch.2 - Ch.3 - Ch.4 To my AO3: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15078014/chapters/34958786

Summary: At this point, all Nico di Angelo wants to do is to finish the draft of his final book. Also at this point, all Will Solace wants to do is works through the summer to stay alive. Perhaps there are many things else that they also need, but they aren’t aware of them, yet. Okay, maybe they just need to do it step-by-step, and thus that first step is at The Flying Ship. ————————————————————

5. Seven Steps Toward Summer

It was Wednesday. Good ole ordinary Wednesday, who endearingly visits every week only to leave in the span of twenty-four hours; just as an old friend that seemed to be ageless in that her existence is unforgettable. Perhaps, it was because her visit is periodical and frequent, that the same sanguine signal followed her voyage: the next day was his "weekend". He loves his work schedule in that his holidays are two days before other most of others'; especially in that the aspect that everywhere he visits are usually void of the crowd - as everyone else is hard at work, he gets his meritorious break. Coffee shops are sprinkled with scarcely a crowd, the pastries at the bakery are more punctiliously made, the silent air of the library circulates more gently. Yet, best of all, he could use the excuse "But it's not the weekend!" to stay inside and "be productive", as he preferred to describe the seemingly dull and insipid activity of working on his school works.

All right, so perhaps he only loved Wednesday because technically it was equivalent to normal people's Friday, but what difference would it make? Why couldn't he still rightfully wax poetry about his favorite day of the week?

Still, to be fair, the last time he dares to portray his day as ordinary or habitual, an utterly momentous event happen: an unreservedly charming man stepped through The Flying Ship's door, eyes fixated at his face. Will Solace might or might not felt ardor blossomed within his ludicrously earnest heartbeat. The other guy - Will reminded himself not to get ahead of himself - might or might not reciprocate such ardent desire. Nonetheless, they befriended; the guy even recognized Will's favorite band! The idea seemed absurd in the past - like a fantasy that kept replaying in his head instead of jumping out and transform into reality. And now, it finally came true. Not just the "recognizing his favorite music" part - the entire ordeal seemed fantastically dreamlike.

Nonetheless, he loves the normalcy of life - the unremitting beat of motion and activity, the perpetual cycle of monochromatic daylight and kaleidoscopic bulbs enlightens the city, the perennial tidal masquerade of the waves - that were law-abiding and sober, yet its heart was sculpted by enchantment, the sleeves still the fabric of charm. Its tricks are just illusions cloaked under its velvety pretense mayhaps, yet what is life but conundrums and secrets? In the regularity of life, the magic is kept to the minimum and logic dominated, most of the time, though, with his mind deluded by its steady, conciliating rhythm, Will won't recognize any hidden variables installed in place. Just as this instance, was it logical or was it magical that Kayla and Austin called him, together, urgently, in the middle of his shift? Especially if he weighted in numerous, countless elements involved

"No, Kayla. As I emphasized, again and again," Will huffed, his eyes comically widen and his eyebrows raised in desperate exasperation - the emphasis on the word "emphasized" weighted like an annoyed grunt "We're not dating. We're friends."

"Good grief, William," Will could practically hear the noise of Austin's eyes rolling in its socket; the boy has made an irksome habit of calling him every possible name that could be shortened into "Will" - except for his actual name, of course, just for the sake of ticking off the older brother; "Sure, just a friend, you know, who came to the shop every single day since the day he practically eat you up by his eyes, that blushes and dumbfoundedly stare everytime you pull up your sunshine smile, and..." Nothing good would ever come out, every time Austin did such dramatic pause "... a friend sooooooo important that you couldn't help talking about him with Drew every single day."

Will could hear Kayla whistling from another end, but perhaps Will's choking noise was even louder - yet neither of those actually helped to amplify the situation, honestly, for the rosiness in Will's cheeks had already gone blood-red five minutes ago, since the first mention of Nico. His gauche "That's not how it is..." barely came out as a suffocated whisper.

"Oh, Will. Oh, Will," Kayla had snatched the phone from Austin's hand, it seemed, her voice theatrically deriding "Finally, don't you see, Austin," she turned to the "sport-announcer" voice now "Our most gracious, devoting, work-a-holic single-mom had found the love of his life now, in his workplace. A coffee shop, you say? What kind of romantic K-drama is this? How much shoujo manga material is loaded into this love-life?-"

"Sickeningly cliché is it, my dudess, yet so heartwarming," Austin added in his two cents in the background

"An overworked mother found her hope in love again after seeing a handsome man in black? Oh goodness, I understood why Drew was so hyped-"

"Now, pause for a second, would you-" Will pleaded

"You know what she said, Wilfred?" Austin's enthusiastic voice came on crystal clear, from either extreme shouting or regained control of the phone, "'Oh my gawd, haven't you children heard? Will was absolutely smitten, I'm telling you. That unromantic boy finally sounded like he is capable of scoring himself a boyfriend.'" It, apparently, didn't matter that Drew was one of his closest friends, seeing that Austin had no problem ridiculing her voice with his absurdly sweet mocking-tone. Kayla's laughing noise was stifled from Austin's end.

"Drew told y'all all of this?"

"Of course, she's... well, our most trusted secret agent out there." Kayla was back on the phone now, practicing her "government-official" voice.

"But, seriously, Wilston," As always, Austin's tone turned solemn, his maturity found its way to outshine his mischievous-loving facet, "Take your chance, dude, I couldn't care less about how slow it's gonna be. Be friend first, then close friend, then best friend, whatever. You finally quit over-worrying about us and get out of this town-"

"That was five years ago, Austin-"

"And you're still a worrywart." Kayla's joined in, her voice earnest, "And I know that you'll always be, Will. But, gods, just... stop. Don't tire yourself out because of us. We're not kids

anymore."

"I'm overdue for being an adult now, Will." Everytime Austin called Will by his actual alias, the conversation became genuinely heartfelt. That sentence was not new - in fact, lately, it seemed that their conversation would always head toward this direction.

"Plus, I'm going to university next fall, Will. There's absolutely no need for you to worry about us, both economically and, well... everything else-y." Kayla tried to assure him, the words started as solemnly yet became light-hearted, almost humorous, at the end "Just, take care of yourself. Medical school is a fucking mess, so at least try to enjoy your summer..."

"Summer, you say, hm?" Will absentmindedly muttered, his eyes pensively gaze over the street outside. A brooding sense of vagueness engulfed his thought; like a hazy, misty cloth, it suddenly overpowered his eyesight, turning the scenery outside the window distant and detached from his reality, his own universe. For an unknown reason, if there is actually any, the idea of "summer" seemed such a faraway reverie, as if the word deepened in itself a concealed, abstract meaning besides a name of a season. Not necessarily anything that could be associated with summer - the minuscule waves of the butterfly inside his gut was a notional feeling - it wasn't the beach, the heatwave, the ambrosial smell of fruits, nor was it the rush of vacation. That's to be said, there was a hint of liberty in such feeling (No, it was not related to the Fourth of July), not the freedom from the hellscape that is medical school, the freedom from the responsibility of an adult, nor freedom from any physical constraint. It was more of that his heart is free - unbound from any burden, from the invisible weight that he has no idea why, when, and how it got there.

Still, that was just a reverie - a daydream he could sacrifice time to live in, yet, nonetheless, it was anything but a minute of his soul wandering outside of this realm.

"Yeah, Will, and you should come back home sometimes-" Will realized that he must have spaced out for a pretty long while, as the conversation had spiraled out of his mind yet again. Before he could panic and try to follow up on the dialogue, the familiar chimes resonated, pushed through the air and rushed toward his eardrums, for the fourth time in his shift. Which was not a lot, but one had to consider that today was, again, still a weekday. Out of a corner of his eyes, a familiar strand of messy, charcoal hair casually bounded its way into the shop. "-expensive, but Minnie missed you a lot-"

"Listen, kids, I would love to keep talking and listening to y'all complaining about my lack of presence at home, and I'm honestly very sorry about that, but right now I'm still in my shift and-"

"Did Nico just come in? I swear I heard the bell rings!"

"It's definitely Nico, isn't it?" Kayla excitedly followed, then unceremoniously shouted, the phone still directly in his ears "HEY, NICO! HOW ARE YOU DOING WILL LOVES TALKING ABOUT YOU SO MU-

"Bye!" Will briskly shouted a curt goodbye to the phone, which was clutched tightly by two hands, the screen shined its light directly in front of his mouth - the immediate result of having Kayla's booming voice aimed toward his myringa. How he hoped the kid hasn't announced her presence aloud from the phone for the entire West Coast to aware. How he hoped Drew hasn't told them about his new friend. How he hoped he hasn't told anyone about said person.

And oh, how he hoped, dearly, desperately, perilously hoped - because this is one wish in which time-traveling is not involved - that whoever just stepped into to shop (he knew it was Nico, but-) has not paid enough attention nor their hearing was not so exemplary that every single word that bounced out of his phone was heard. Gods, he hasn't even put his phone on speaker.

Still, before he had time to reconsider about every decision he took in his twenty-three pathetic years of exchanging oxygen through the trillions of cells in his body, his obligation toward this job made him tilted his head up and look at the individual that has been so promptly ignored, despite the fact that they had been here for at least three minutes, and probably just hoped for a nice cup of coffee, and not his personal nor familial information. As he expected, Nico di Angelo, his new friend - f.r.i.e.n.d - stood awkwardly in front of the counter, his lean, tiny figure forced him to tilt slightly upward toward the barista. Before Will had time to dreamily gazing over the guy's drastically improved appearance - suddenly, it seemed as if he hadn't had enough time for frankly, anything, lately - a curbed giggle wriggled it way out, through the crevices of Nico's healthily defined, lean and elegant fingers. His eyes curved into crescents, the moonlit surface dotted with the same tenebrous iris, now illumined by the warmth his smile radiated. Was it atypical for Nico's facade to be inundated and enlightened by a sheer jubilant curve of his lips? Will caught himself asking, for how divine and beauteous the other man's joy seemed, the sight graciously, tacitly extricated his soul from pure allure. The melody of his laugh did nothing to lure Will's back from his cherry-blossomed reverie; the angelic harmony danced around his ear, fleetingly fondled his hearing just to dissolved into air. The stifled noise was nonetheless childish and gay, faithful to the depiction that was of a cherub giggling at an embarrassing sight; which is quite accurate, if the rising warmth in Will's cheeks and his ridiculous position whilst held the phone was anything to go by.

"Now, who is the lame one, staring at the other's smile?" Nico smiled yet again, his lips curved into more of a teasing smirk

At this point, Will didn't even bother looking for a retort. He had felt the blood rushing to his face, more clearly this time. The only course of action his brain registered was to jerkily straighten his frame, hastily slam his phone into the counter, hope that the screen won't crack, and hopelessly directed his stare elsewhere - anywhere but the exuberant sight that is Nico di Angelo.

"Wo... wh... what would you like to o... order... today?" He finally breathed out, the supposedly monotonous greeting got stuck on the roof of his mouth

"The usual, if you please." Nico smirked again, this time even more devilishly pretty "So, what was that whole... staring ordeal about?"

"Can't imagine, finally, it came, the day somebody casually said 'the usual, please.'" Will ironically wiggled his head side to side. He heard the second comment about the "staring ordeal", yet had elected to ignore it.

"Uh huh, and it's sure to stay for a while." The smirk still hadn't left Nico's lips "Was that your sibling?"

"Sure. Whatever. What kind of diabetes-inducing treats would you like today?"

"Oh, I'm pretty sure that wasn't something you ought to say as an employee here." Nico glanced toward the glass display "Mango cheesecake, please. At least I'm going to get the fruit required in my diet at once."

"Moral obligation as a medical student, if you don't mind." Will smiled. "That would be $13.67."

Nico handed him the cash, his olive-skin warm and slightly sweaty, "Sure, but right now you're still a barista. Gotta enjoy your summer without such... obligation."

"Who knows, it already invaded my bloodstream." Will handed him back the coins. Nico left for his usual table, bounced jejunely on the ball of his feet, obsidian irises still rested on Will's face

"Maybe lame-ness and boredom had, too, you know. Lucky for us this isn't a Starbuck, or else someone would have to decipher your handwriting."

"Ha, ha, funny little jokester, you truly are." Will rolled his eyes, hands moved to make the macchiato that his muscles had grown to be familiar with.

"See, at least I don't have lame replies to jokes."

"Oh, see, that's because my so-called 'lame replies' are at least humorous enough for everyone to be able to generate a decent reply." Will's eyes were fixed on the cup of coffee, for which he regretted not being able to observe the other man's immediate facial responses.

"If you need to believe so in order to console yourself, go ahead." Nonetheless, Will could imagine Nico dramatically rolled his eyes, again. "Still, you haven't answered my question: Was that your sibling?"

"Yeah, both of them were on the phone, really, but lucky for my ears and dignity that only one of them has the nerve to yell." Will's mind drift about what image should he draw today for Nico's cup

"Bold of you to assume that you have any left after that shout, though." A fox, maybe. A sassy, milky white fox. Perhaps he would let the coffee blend-in enough for the fox to had brown fur.

"Bold of you to assume that you still have any, quoting a meme."

"Hey, one got to catching up with slangs these days, you know. Unlike some cranky old person."

"Whatever ya say, tiny." Will glanced toward the said person, who already brought out his laptop and seemingly about to start typing

"Sure, William, I noticed the floors up there is at least five inches taller than the ground."

Will didn't even bother to correct the name, "I mean, the last time we met outside of this shop, you were still shorter than me."

"Shut your trap, Wilston, I was sitting down." It seemed like Nico somehow knew about the fact that his name really was not William (Will blamed Annabeth. Wasn't she the only one who could disclose that information?) and as of now, just tried to use random names to get a response out of him. Will couldn't stop his laughter this time; he let loose the airy, funny laugh from his lungs. "Why are you laughing?"

"Nothing, just that you're playing the exact game my little brother is playing. Except that he actually knows my name, and just want to mess around." The brief laughter died off, yet its corpse remained in the form of a smile on Will's lips.

"Oh."

"And to give more details on your questions. Yes, I have two younger siblings. One male and one female," Will might or might not forget to mention his two older brothers, but that's a story to be developed in later days. A half-covered truth, in this situation, for Will was not a lie. "His name is Austin, and her name, the one that was shouting, is Kayla."

"A handful, they seemed." Nico ruminated

"Well, generally speaking, they're good kids. But yeah, the pranks drove me insane sometimes. Lovely kids, nonetheless." Sometimes, it concerned him how much of a mom he sounded like - how much of a mom he was to them in the absence of their mother; but he didn't utter anything. It wasn't time, yet. "You got any siblings, though? Enough about me."

In a fleeting second, Nico surprised gaze was frozen in place, stilled against the flow of time. He quickly diverted his gaze toward the streets outside, his inky pupil melancholically straitened. Ironically, perhaps, a tint of blue from whatever sign out there reflected its color on his forlorn orbs, then the guy's breathing gradually slowed. Will wondered if he asked the wrong question. Guilt engulfed his gut, sent through his spine a spark of ice, his sense tingled for him to apologize, yet his eyes and soul could not utter a sound, for Nico's woebegone beauteousness was whittled out of glass - elegant yet fragile, merely for eyes to touch yet not for caress to see - and was it a tragic piece of art, for miseries were the element of its painstakingly exquisite portrayal, a burden so cumbersome, yet bleached with tears and bloodshed into a pulchritude. Was it so heartbreaking that this crestfallen beauty required breathing, required blood to stream through its vein, required neurons to send flares of sorrow throughout his body? There would exist neither pain nor beauty without the rushes of life prodding through human's veins, yet such grace was inflicted upon unfeeling woods, and not another beating heart. Was it fair for the universe to sculpt a life into a living art? Was all that was at stake worth the torment to form such transcending elegance: ichor surging through a sculpture of agony, living force pounding against the hewed claw marks? Perhaps the only path to truly touched human's heart through art was to whittle such art upon living beings, for cruelty was only acknowledged after a costly disaster.

Nico suddenly seemed so small and fragile against the friction of time. As if after all those adorned embellishments were peeled away, only the broken, terrified child remain. A child so young yet had already felt such immense sufferings. His stature stiffened, eyes still not dared for any being to see, yet Will had found the scarred child deep within.

Would he shatter if a sound dared to intrude this coagulated silence?

And for Will acknowledged that the man there was human, that life thrived within him unconsciously, he spoke. His voice trembled more than he thought it would be, the agony he felt more than his conscious mind was aware of.

"It's okay if you don't want to talk about it. I'm sorry if... the subject is sensitive to you."

Will saw the surprise jerk of Nico's shoulder; as if the air his words resonated suddenly shook him awake from his dream. Eyes still lost in the crowded world outside, Nico gently whisper, barely enough for Will to catch

"It's alright..." There is a pause, before his wavering voice steadied itself, "I have a half-sister, Hazel, you probably didn't notice her from the karaoke night."

Something was hidden within such curt and simple reply, yet Will didn't probe. Didn't dare to, and didn't want to. He respected the guy's secrecy, and since there were hidden words in his sentences earlier, it was not fair to further provoking Nico's woe. He brought the cup of coffee and the cake to Nico's table himself this time, the sudden clicks of porcelain against wood once more shook the ebony orbs out of their pondering.

"See, you're not that much taller than me." Nico tried to make a joke, tried to smile instead of a grimace, yet the dusky-colored air around them had yet to fade away. Sorrow clutched into the air, not quite ready to part yet.

"Whatever, kid." Will so desperately wanted to ruffle his hair, to run his calloused hands through Nico's soft onyx locks, like how he often did to console Kayla and Austin's tears, yet found himself not able to. For some reason, he sat down, opposite to Nico, the laptop stood between them like a barrier.

Nico did not comment. His eyes betrayed his defensive stature; they longed for Will to share their pain, for Will to deepened his light into those impossibly dark pits.

"I had a bigger sister, too" was all Nico muttered, the sound waves emitted were so tiny against the movement of air. Will thought he had misheard his words, but beside the quiet, foggy voice, each consonant was clear and void.

Unconsciously, Will's palm reached the other's trembling hand, the quiver so negligible that it was almost impossible to felt. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 taps. A pause. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, again. The steady rhythms gave them something to focus on.

Outside, a summer rain merrily marched its way through the town.

-------

That day, Nico barely got anything written in the shop. First was the mention of his... family, then it was the persistent tapping of Will's gentle fingertips against his hand. The sunlike warmth of his palm left a burnt imprint on Nico's olive-skin. Not that at that point, his brain was in the shape to get anything done.

Honestly, he didn't blame Will. It wasn't like he was a seer or any of the like; the guy didn't know how sensitive he was to the slightest allusion toward Bianca, and it wasn't his fault that their conversation was about siblings and family. If it was anything to go by, in the end, Nico still disclosed the fact that Bianca existed.

Existed. Exists. Existing. Existed.

He no longer sure if it would matter if Will knew about the incident.

--------

"A thickened air of tense quietness embraced the pair before Mei could bring herself to glanced once more into Songoro's eyes. The ambers that she had grown to trust upon were fogged with inquietude and hesitation. The taut, soundless atmosphere felt like extreme humidity; as if every particle in the air was gravitating toward their inner battle, ravenous for the taste of their struggle on some quantum-scaled tongues. The room temperature seemed to drop, the esurient air besieged their breathing, hindered the oxygen exchange. Right, Mei felt suffocated, purely from tense uncertainty and anticipation - suspense for whatever decision they were going to make.

The burden of the world had mushed their lungs together, flat, voided of life.

And thus, so was the plan they schemed. Voided of humanity and compassion, void of empathy and moral. And soon, voided of breathing being.

There was too long yet too little time for Mei to decipher the lines embarked on Songoro's face. Too long the days they spent staring into papers, scheme, and strategies; too little the hours they spent to know the hidden anxiety, the turbulent emotions within their hearts.

Mei was aware of how Songoro often stared into her eyes, discretely, from a respectful reach. Not the way another general drilled into another, piercing his way through her armored arguments to find a sophistry; his gaze was compassionate and empathetic, the very way opposite with the nature of their incoming work, yet she won't complain. They were human, after all, she reminded herself. But the way she remembered the moments when Songoro's ambers were limpid and sharp made it hard to be so, as of right now.

She knew what his eyes meant when he stared at her like that. As if he was trying to decode the misery in her eyes, then gave up and lured himself into a still observation. She knew the poetic way he was assessing her pain. It was ludicrous. She knew that he tempted to convey the torment in her eyes into some crudely stunning arts. That whatever scars and marks were indented on the mahogany of her skin, that he would sketch them as adornments for his sculpture. As if sorrow was exquisite and her body was the gold-varnished embodiment of despair. As if the ichor rushing through her veins and her scars coalesced into diamonds. It made her conscious, now, when the gloom had melted away from her heart. Songoro meant well, Mei reminded herself, despite the inner protest of her mind. How tired she was of compassionate eyes throw their gazes toward her direction -  as if the woe within her was a black hole, gluttonous for empathy. Mei was not craving for their silent consolation, still, the rain of their collective guilt over her past drenched her lungs.

But Songoro was a man of action, one of the only people whose next step was not away from her to nurse their own tears, but toward Mei in her forlorn expression and awkwardly tried to console her. Her mind suddenly drifted toward the steady beat of Phoebe’s fingers against her skin.

Of course, she noticed the hurt in his eyes, too, as it emerged from the ocean of amber he desperately drowned it under. Mei noticed it before, and it was here, at that very moment, as they decide if the sacrifices were going to worth the chance. She saw the perturbation threatened to emerge and devastate his mind; a burden handled so immaculately at the first sight that no one bothers to lingered a bit longer, to see that his barricade was about to shatter into pieces just as glass. There was an invisible responsibility in his shoulder and the weariness it inflicted upon his darkened eyes, a strain that ruptured the gemstones that were his eyes, his dam, his panoply. Mei wondered if there was something else hidden in his silence; a thought so personal and unfathomable that no one could reach into. Countless times she heard the quietest of audible noise escaped his thought before sound succumbed to the roaring silence of their own awkwardness, speechlessness, and guilt. Mei could understand, yet not truly feel, how onerous and harrowing the plan was going to be for Songoro - if there was an unspeakable cause of his hesitancy. Yet, one thought she was certain of amidst the grueling nature of this moment, was that sooner or later, they would need an immense resilience to accept that this was the best they could think of.

The only strength they need was the strength to admit that someone's blood would be on their hand. And that there was no other way.

Thus, Mei squeezed his hand. Firmly. Twice. So that their ideal was spared a chance to blossom."

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Hi, finally I’m back with... this kinda slightly longer than before chapter. Thanks to @fififerielb and everyone that enjoyed my previous chapters :3 So sorry this took so long, but life and writer’s block are apparently a thing so..... :cry:

[survivormagictreehouse]

Episode 1: “Why is my tribe all these musty men and Ruthie?” -Ali

-I'm writing this pre-cast reveal and I'm scared shitless. Dear future Jess, Don't puke before tribals because of anxiety. Don't let the m*n tell you what to do. Don't get in your head and trust your gut. Sincerely, Pre-Cast Reveal Jess.

- Now where do I begin.... It's day 2? I believe.... in this game and I've already spiralled and showed the signs of a future crackhead. In all seriousness though, I've calmed down and the initial shock of cast reveal has worn off. I was a bit shook seeing some of the people in this cast playing. I've literally hosted a large chunk of these people so I REALLY HOPE NONE OF THAT COMES TO BITE ME IN THE ASS (I don't think it will). I hope people realize I wasn't really paying close attention to their games when hosting.. and if I was... I have the memory of a pebble. I'm sure none of that will have an impact on anyone besides maybe Ali. BUT ALI IF YOU ARE READING THIS.. DAY 2 JESS REALLY WANTS TO WORK WITH YOU! Now lets talk about my tribe: - We got Rachael/Zach who are super close or at least have some sort of connection through his sister. - We got Birch/Keegan regardless of whatever they are pushing about doubts with each other I can see them cleaning that slat in the name of numbers. - Me and Gavin because I'm the only one he knows in this game. - Possibly me/Timmy if he wants to work with me. - Possibly me/Chips hoping he remembers I did show how blindly loyal I was to him the last game we were in.... - Bodhi might be in with people like Zach (who he was hosting) and Rachael. - John honestly... I have no idea about. He's such a wild card for me. My overall thought process and game plan right now is... BLUID THOSE RELATIONSHIPS! I think I proved with my challenge performance I am an asset to this tribe but I want to show people I can be an asset to them. I can see us swapping at 16 so I'm going to be around this tribe for a bit so I need people to want me around. So far I'm getting along with Keegan he seems like a cool cat. I'm also aware he's probably a cool cat in everyone's eyes but for right now.. I really like him! Birch is definitely a social beast. From what I remembered they were an extremely social player in the season I hosted them but they are very transparent with their information which does scare me. For the time being though, I'll attempt to work my magic with them and build that trust so the information spills to me.. Rachael is a queen. I really want to work with her because I do see similarities between our playing style which is something I always gravitate towards in games. I'm naive and I do know she has other people higher up on that trust-ladder based off of initial relationships but I do hope to somehow climb that. Although I do know she will be a power play in this game, I know I'm going to need other power players around me to ensure there is a target ahead of me. She also brings connections which typically brings in information. So rather than be a crackhead and go for her (which is what cast reveal night Jess thought about) I'm going to try and work with her. Zach.. honestly, I don't know how much I have in common with a teenage boy so that might be a road block between us. He is one of those key-relationships I hope to build off of through Rachael. I will also die if Rachael/Zach aren't that close and I'm just rambling shit right now. Gavin is one of my FIRST ORG friends and I'm SO HAPPY TO SEE HIM PLAYING THIS GAME. I don't think anyone right now knows we are close but I'm not afraid to cut him if it means I go further in this game. I'm not really sure about my tribes chances for this first immunity challenge. Everyone aside for a few people on this tribe seem like they have their shit together in this challenge. I know the "movie trivia" crew snapped hard and my back hurts from carrying my tribe but.... our chances of winning rely on Timmy (who is on vacation), Gavin who is probably working or something, and Bodhi who is hosting currently. So to say I'm confident.... would be a giant ass lie. I'm excited for the idol search to open up SO BAD.

-Cast is revealed and game starts in a half hour. I’m feeling excited. I hope I do better in this season than the game I did last, 17th. Ughhhhhh, grosss

- I’m having fun doing the quotes, it’s interesting. I feel like I’m getting along well with everyone. I’m trying to talk to them all and interact. If I’m amusing they won’t get rid of me. Right? Right? Somebody tell me I’m right

-Okay tea time!  I'm really excited. I had to add A LOT of people I have never talked to before and I always like doing that because I LOOOOVE playing with people that don't know how I play and also getting to know clean people and starting with a clean slate! The only people I had added on my tribe are Jay and Ali and I LIKE that!   I'm excited to talk to people, scope everyone out a little and see what I need to do.  This game and the theming is SO CUTE and I can't wait to see what all happens next!

- https://youtu.be/MY-s5k1n7sI

why is my tribe all these musty men and ruthie what did i do to deserve this.

https://youtu.be/LPxSC_ZjZIc

https://youtu.be/ojw9T8GsbaA

-That 36 person cast twist not being real...big disappointment, I was hoping for a huge mess where someone cries. But 20 people, good size. My tribe seems like good people so this should be exciting.

- So we lost the first immunity challenge. Seems like it’s unanimous for John to go. Works for me as he is who I wanted out when I woke up this morning since we hadn’t spoken. He keeps saying he wants someone who was weak in the challenge out and didn’t tell me a name but told Rachel, Bodhi. Funny thing is, John did worse in his challenge than anyone in the quotes group so therefore his own logic can be used against him.

-AHHHHHHHHHHH MY PEOPLE ARE HERE I DON"T KNOW WHO I WANNA WORK WITH. There is king ali, my bae Austin, bestie jay, and really old time friend Collin in this one tribe. I'm not even counting people on the other tribe. I'm gonna lose so hard. I'm crying tho

-When I was meeting my tribe for the first time I was thinking that we have a very good group here. I'm glad to see Bodhi again cuz I haven't seen him since Trinity: P&P a few months ago. I think that with the additions of Birch and Keegan to our tribe I think we're gonna win some challenges. So I'm hoping for the best and not the worst for this team.

- So we're all waiting for the results of the 1st challenge, and I'm feeling a little nervous that my tribe may lose, but I'm hoping that we do win because I want this season to start off on a good note for my tribe. I'm just hoping that we pull this off and not blow this.

-the way i was offered a final 2 within minutes of joining the tribe chat. hopefully this ages well and you get to see me and bodhi succeed :)

- John is too damn messy and has got to go. PERIODT.

https://youtu.be/L1-ZBhnUQ7U

-I love my Tribe!! I'm super excited to play with Keegan and Timmy again! I'm trying to get closer with everyone else since I haven't played with them before. I'm also kinda nervous for the challenge. I have a weird taste in music so we will see how this goes. I really hope I'm not first boot. I haven't had good placements in my last couple of games, so I'm hoping for better this time! This cast is iconic.

-So my mom got my drunk before the challenge and then tried guilting me into not doing the challenge. we flopped anyway. we are currently pulling ahead in the Movie challenge but it's still early so idk. I really hope we can get the next 2 challenges. I don't wanna be first boot.  

- Ahoy matey! me got cursed t' only talk like a pirate in thar tribe chats n' me alliance chat. So me’m doing dis confession like a pirate. So anyway. me’m in a alliance Wit' Keegan n' Jess. As far as me know our jolly crew only verily talked t' each other. So dis works out. Our jolly crew also lost which SUCKS. me verily hope me’m nay first boot. me might sail after John. All me conversations wit' him be painful. So that’s fun. me like all hands so dis will hard. But let’s see what happens! Birch signing off.

- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1Iq3ANGs8M&feature=youtu.be

- Here’s the Tea Link: https://youtu.be/X3J2e4ffmiY

- https://youtu.be/Q80k6g4QUIk

Kinda bummed the movie challenge didn’t go so well hope we don’t have to go to tribal this early

-Hello hello! I am SO happy to be back in atomic Survivor! I feel like things are off to a really nice start and I'm hoping that will continue. For now I'll do a little assessment of my tribe before we find out results for the first challenge. Ali - I've seen him around in the community a lot for years, im pretty sure I was around when he played his first game. But I don't remember if I've ever had the chance to actually play WITH him. He's such a nice guy I've loved talking with him so far Austin - Lmao the funny thing is I actually talked to him for the first time ever like a week ago. A real lucky break that he and I were both part of this casting twist. We immediately started talking and agreed to look out for each other. Cindi - this is my first time meeting her ever! She seems really rad and we've just been talking about life and tattoos and shit lmao. I can definitely see myself working with her in the future. Collin - y'all I LOVE Collin. I just played with him in Mesopotamia, and even though he voted me out I never had any bitterness towards him cause he's just that nice. He's definitely been the person I've talked to the most so far. We have a lot in common and I really want to trust him. But I am still a bit wary bc of Mesopotamia. Czern - I don't really have a read on him yet. Haven't spoken to him too much. Dan - Same as Czern but I haven't spoken to Dan at all Vi - Vi is such a ray of sunshine, I've loved her ever since I met her in Tashirojima. In fact my biggest mistake in that game IMO was voting her out. I'm 100% working with her this time. Ruthie - It's been so long since I've talked to Ruthie and I'm so glad that this game gives me the chance to reconnect with her. An absolute legend and one of the nicest people I've ever met. I haven't talked strategy with her yet but that'll come soon lol Timmy - Yo he DESTROYED that music challenge and I'm super grateful for that. I've talked to him a little bit and he's pretty nice but I don't really have any further opinions on him lol

- Reallllly glad we didn't have to go to tribal tonight. I've been really busy today so it would've been a really rough time. But instead I got to enjoy my day, but of course I socialized with my tribe. I feel really close with Collin, Ali, and Ruthie. Granted those are relationships that started outside of this game, but they're relationships nonetheless. I really vibe with Austin too, even though I talk to him a little less, we're bonded through that opening twist. And the best thing is Austin mentioned vibing with all those people + Vi (who's great as well, I just haven't talked any strategy with her yet) so I smell an alliance starting sometime soon. I just feel really well about the start of this game and im hoping it can last.

-First confessional of the season! I debated making a video but then I realized that's a lore more work and harder for me to have actual organized thoughts. Going back to the start of the game: I know RACHAEL, BIRCH, CHIPS, JAY, VI, CINDI, DAN and RUTHIE. The only person I don't know anything about is CZERN. So I've got a pretty stacked cast of people I can potentially work with moving forward. But I currently have three goals for this season: 1. Make the merge or swap so I can play with VI. Even if we don't work together, I'd love to play with her! She rules! 2. Make sure JAY gets voted out before myself. As a fellow winner, THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE. 3. Make sure DAN gets voted out before myself. He's a sneaky snake and I won't ever trust him after Nova Scotia. First off, I'm in an awesome alliance with BIRCH and JESS. It's only three people so it's not a clear majority but it's a good start. We formed this literally 10 minutes after the challenge had ended. Speaking of the challenge, it was a fun challenge but we did lose. However, JESS, RACHAEL, CHIPS and myself were the only ones who won our portion of the challenge, so I've been subtly hinting that I wouldn't feel right if any of us were voted out. GAVIN told me that TIMMY and BODHI didn't contribute much of anything to their part of the challenge, so that's a possible decision when it comes to this tribal. However, JOHN has been very difficult to have a conversation with and I've been told that him and BODHI won't vote for each other. So right now it's just working with JESS and BIRCH to determine what the best option is moving forward. I'm thinking I can get RACHAEL, ZACH and GAVIN on board with whatever we decide. Tune in later for some more thoughts.

-I wanna say it’s be super eventful but not really. Just a few small things: CHIPS has been telling everyone everything. He told JOHN he was the vote. He told JESS about the GAVIN thing. He needs to learn to keep things to himself if he doesn’t want to be gone next. JOHN tried throwing ZACH under the bus for not being good in challenges. I had a call with BODHI and apparently ZACH is a comp beast. So that’s not happening. If everything is as planned JOHN should be the unanimous vote. I might throw a stray vote on CHIPS just in case of an idol play but I’m undecided.

So this round I got super close with Austin and Collin, and close with cindi, and okay close with everyone else. I killed it in the music challenge because I  did not feel confident I wouldn’t go home if we lost. I need to tighten my bonds and hopefully make a solid group before the next round. I have no real targets atm but Ruthie and I have yet to speak so that’s awkward. I kinda wish I was on the other tribe because I feel like I’d vibe with them better. I had to make sure I was the first to go into the treehouse because I wanted to be open and transparent about what happens in there and make sure that nobody else got to go in and change what actually happens. I’m very excited for the next few rounds tho!

https://youtu.be/e_oVLgNr4ro

Okay so first round is going pretty good so far . I cant believe they put me on a tribe with vi which is amazing bc ride or die right there. I know ali vi collins and jay are def ppl I wanna work with in this game . I mean my whole tribe is great . Dan I know is a wild card and he seems like he wants to work together but I'm not sure if I can fully trust him since he did vote me out last seasons with telling me a damn thing . Cindi was almost in my duplicity season I'm on production for so I know her a bit as well. I know she would probs go with Rachael at a swap or merge which is dangerous .THANK GOD we won the first immunity and I dont have two sorry about a vote bc if I'm honest it would be HARD to decide on a name . Let's see what happens tho I'm ready to play and ready to win

Honestly it seems pretty slow starting. Just working on getting to know the tribe at this point. I really like Collin and Ali but beyond that I'm not getting like amazing vibes from the others. I'm not getting bad vibes either though, just neutral positive vibes if that makes sense

okay, so i have been focusing on getting to know my tribe-mates the past few days because in this game, connections are your lifeline. but, i also didn't want to come off too strong and be perceived as "too social" from the get-go *cough* keegan the snake *cough*. so, i laid back, talked to people (some more than others), and tried to focus on winning immunity. unfortunately, when immunity slipped through our fingers, i quickly got to work socializing and making sure i wasn't the one to be blamed for our loss in our challenge. i felt that i contributed a lot and tried to start discussions and debate about our quotes, and felt as though i didn't get much back from my team. so, i made sure that people knew my group wasn't very communicative and had they communicated more, we could have totally won. i didn't push for a name to begin the round, but i did make sure to let people know who i hadn't talked to in hopes of getting one of their names on the chopping block this round. i made sure to reach out to everyone (even those who didn't reach out to me or seem invested in the game, nor our conversations) because i don't want someone to spread my name as a result. then, it seemed to narrow down to john and timmy. also, it was obviously leaning towards john leaving this round. however, it was not until about a few hours before day change that john had FINALLY heard that his name was going around due to the fact that it was TRULY IMPOSSIBLE TO TALK TO HIM. funnily enough, this information came directly from chips--someone who i haven't talked to much. thankfully for me, john decided to tell almost everyone exactly what chips had said and no one was pleased to hear that. so, i worked my magic and made sure people were upset that chips tried to throw us all under the bus--because i need to make sure there is a target for next round that isn't me... DUH! later, i asked john what he wanted to do, and he sat there completely clueless. i was completely dumbfounded at his reluctance to say a name when his ass was CLEARLY on the line. eventually, i worked a name out of him, and he said bodhi (who was the only one who wanted to keep him earlier today)... so i obviously went right to bodhi and made sure he knew so i could build some trust with him going forward in this game since talking to john literally made me lose brain cells by the minute, i wanted to make sure he was the one leaving tonight. so, i am hoping everything goes according to plan at tribal tonight, but as long as i don't leave, i am golden with whatever. until next time... xoxo, gossip girl

So basically I'm not in town right now... and IbhopenI can trust people not to vote me until I get back and am less busy. I really bombed the challenge by getting 0 points for my tribe but we won that part... because the other people carried. Good stuff. Anyway we are voting John because he doesn't communicate well and has kind of mansplained the potential different vote? If its true then woohoo I got another round. Also! I got am advantage from idol hunt and thats nifty. 

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Click HERE to watch both out PREGAME and ROUND ONE cast assessments!

[travellers-survivor-old-west]

Episode 2.0: "I ate a Bagel and we SNAPPED" - Eve

After the “Ginger Curse” met its next Travellers Survivor victim....... 

Whew okay so I don't know anyone on my tribe (kinda) which is good but also a bit scary since its just 6 of us. Overall, I feel like everyone's a bit quiet and not too talkative. That being said, they might be talking a bunch in PMs. Right now, I am trying to stay under the radar and just be friendly with everyone. I really like Austin, Eve and Patrick right now. Keaton and Isaac are nice too but I dont really talk to them as much. If we would have lost this first immunity challenge I would have definitely wanted to vote for one of them. No official alliances yet but its still early so I think its okay. THANK FUCKING GOD WE WON. Okay well, we got 2nd but thats a win in my eyes. I just really hope I make it to jury and I will be happy so not being first boot is GREAT. Im trying to get this damn idol but I cant catch a fucking break and my ass keeps getting zapped... I dont think anyone has gotten the idol yet so I hope i get lucky and somehow get to it first. Here is how I see everyone as of right now: Austin: Probably my fave right now and hoping I can get into a f2 with him. He's funny and sweet and I feel like we get along and its pretty easy to talk to him. Eve: Eve is iconic! Want to work with her but I feel like she is really social so she might be a threat later on. Pat: Same as Eve, even though I just met him, I actually have known about him before since he is friends with some of my friends. I know he does good in games so he is someone I would like to see leave a bit sooner since I think he will be hard to get rid of later. But hes amazing and his video for the music video was ICONIC. I can see him and I becoming friends for sure. Keaton: Not much to say, I do know keaton from playing a game with him in the past but he was voted out first I think and then I hosted him in HOS but i wasnt super active in that one :) Anyway, I feel like we dont have much to talk about so I need to make more of an effort with him. I really wouldnt care to see him go tbh but who knows, this can definitely change if we start talking more. Isaac: omg okay so night one I go into everyones PMs to say hi and i notice that I already had messages with him which I found super weird because I didnt know who he was but I guess we kind of got into it like 3 years ago??? I told him I didnt remember this but i do. He was basically an asshole to me for no fucking reason. But this was 3 years ago so i really dont care so I hope he doesnt try to target me over it. He seems nice I guess but I havnt really talked to him much. In his defense he has been sick apparently but if we would have gone into this first TC I would have wanted to see him voted out first for sure.

We won thanks to the combine efforts of Nick, Chloe, and Aidan. All kings and queens! I probably should say something about the vote switch last time. Yeah that happened. Didn’t even realize cas was part of the tribe. Great social game 10/10. So sorry Payton <33. Now we wait to see who goes but so far I quite like nick, Chloe and Aidan. Idk if I can take Chloe that far tho. I feel like she’s gonna get targeted by the other tribes when we merge if we survive that long anyways. I feel like out of our tribe, Nick has the best change of making it to f4 but I’m not sure he’ll be able to win. Payton has a job that takes him away so :/ if we lose again, he’s probably gonna be voted out next. I mean if I’m taken out of the picture. I’m pretty sure the tribe thinks I’m hella annoying but they need me on their side for now. :^)

Lmaoooooo well thank fuck we won because my ass was on the chopping block lmaoooo. My ass didn’t volunteer to do the challenge either because I fucking suck at memory so mfjrkjskfks lmaoooo fuck me man. I’m barely scrapping by but here I am

So happy we are safe again! I'm so use to going to tribal everytime lol. I think now would be a good time to get ashley eve and isaac all together on the same page with me for some kind of alliance

What's up though? Here we are in Survivor: Old West, losing the second immunity challenge and we have a specific reason to point to in Xander. I'm sure he tried his best, but when it came my turn to answer the questions I was only able to give correct answers about the information he gave me. I personally think he is the person that is going to help us the least, but Sammy was not in that challenge. In the challenge that Sammy mainly participated in, Nicole was the person that made things difficult for us. That brings us to late last night where Sammy decides to be the first person to throw out a name and pick Nicole, gives his reasons, and that's it for me once the name is said and agreed upon in my alliance, it's done that's the plan. Now all there is to do is see what Xander and Dylan say, and we're done. I hope so anyway, I could sit here and ponder if Sammy had ulterior motives or if this is a good move for me but at this moment I don't want to overthink anything, so we chillin' --- Oh as I was writing this I found a Vote Reveal advantage on space 25 on the railroad, which I am guessing means there are more things on 50 and 75. Vote Reveal is a bit useless but maybe there will be a specific situation where it will work out.

So so happy our tribe won that challenge. Honestly idk how to feel about this game. Im trying really hard to be social with people so IF we lose im okay but I feel like everyone except Austin is actively reaching out to me. I basically start all the conversations. So to me either people are a bit inactive in this game/ dont care about the game or theyre already forming alliances and dont really need to talk to me. Im really hoping its that theyre inactive. Right now Isaac and Keaton can go, they literally just leave me on read and dont try to talk to me. I had a good conversation with austin WHO I FUCKING LOVE IM SO GLAD HES HERE and he wants to start an alliance soon. We both agree Eve would be a good option but he also mentioned that he would like isaac or pat to join it. This lets me know he likes isaac so they must be talking so idk why he isnt talking to me but whatever. Anyways.. I would love an alliance with Austin, Eve and Pat but a four person alliance when theres only 6 of us can be scary. Luckily our tribe has been doing well in challenges so far but we will probably have to go to TC at some point and thats when shit is going to go down. I can def see people possibly wanting to vote me so im going to start being even more social and get that alliance going with Austin. I wouldnt mind seeing Isaac or keaton going if we do go to TC next round. I doubt anyone has the idol yet and holy shit im so bad at this i always get zapped. I need Jess, Micheal or Alyssa to rig this shit for me please

The challenge involved having people active on call.... And to be honest I didn't want to do it for us. But I offered because I don't want to be that guy. Anyways. We lost but barely. Got our hopes up saying 8/10 if only Michael could count. Makes me wonder what's really going on up there in his head. I'm just glad the votes seem to be off me this time. But we can only hope. I did my part of the competition. So they can't entirely fault me.

Okay so I’m in an alliance w Jared and Owen and I think I mentioned that. I honestly wanted to sit out of the challenge bc I just needed a break. However, we lost and in my head I immediately thought to vote Nicole. She really hasn’t put in too much for these challenges and I know she’s on vacation. Xander would be my next choice just because he is short on responses and I feel like he would vote me out over Jared or Owen and a i assume he’s closer to them after the challenge. I’d like to work with Dylan on the side if possible. I’m just chillin hoping this first tribal isn’t a blindside and if it’s against me then hoes ain’t loyal and that ain’t very western like. I don’t think they would betray me this early tho and I have faith in my alliance.

I feel like these people are carrying me at this point and that is A okay with me. I’m running the Iditarod and they’re my dogs

OKAY WOW PAT EVE AND I POPPED THE FUCK OFFFFFF we did everything we needed in life and it was beautiful. I'm not really doing alot in this game I'm just floating along woooo

Welp it's been real y'all. No one had talked to me since the challenge much and only sammy has said maybe it's me and Dylan says it's definitely me.

Hi welcome to my lifeeeeeee today i ate a bagel and we SNAPPED in the immunity, I FUCKING KILLED IT, (thanks keaton!!!!!) HEHE HAHA IM SO CUTE Waitin for this Alliance to be made tbh but what do i know, we're gonna keep SNAPPING so whatever ladies xoxoxoxoxox

[themaninflannel]

Maybe Bars Aren’t So Bad

Summary: reader goes to a bar to get away from the fighting at her sister’s place and who might she meet there but Jensen Ackles. this is an AU where no one is famous and Jensen isn't in any kind of relationship with the amazing Daneel.

Warnings: Smut, drinking, fighting(not Jensen),

Word count: ~1800

A/N: feedback would be greatly appreciated! I'm still iffy on my smut writing skills and its my first Jensen fic so i hope yall like it!

It was supposed to be a fun vacation to see my sister and her kids in Austin, but her ex-husband- or soon to be ex- showed up and the fighting started. We were all settled on the couch watching a movie that my nine-year-old niece wanted to watch, some Disney movie I think, when we heard a pounding on the front door of my sister’s apartment. She got up to open the door to show a very drunk ex-husband named Dylan. 

“Go away, Dylan. You’re drunk…as usual” she tried to close the door in his face. 

“No, please! don't shut me out! We can fix this!” When he started shouting I shooed the kids into my room, I knew it might get ugly and children shouldn’t have to hear their parents fighting. Once they were in there i closed the door and went back out to tell him to leave.

“Dylan. you need to choose a different time to do this. A time when your kids can’t hear you, that goes for both of you. But I’m not going to make y'all do anything. I’m going to put the movie on in my room and make it loud so that the kids can’t hear you guys. And then I’m going to go find a bar for a few hours. Get your shit together, guys. be adults.” I scolded.

“Oh, fuck off! You’re always trying to get in the middle! You can’t fix everything for her all the time! Just because you have no one doesn’t mean you need to make everyone else as miserable as you!” Dylan shouted at me. With that, I flipped him off and walked out the door, leaving them to shout at each other. 

I walked to the nearest bar and ordered a beer, I wanted to be there for a while and I wasn't looking to get shitfaced right away, I hated bars but it was better than being where the fighting was happening. 

While I sat there I watched the people; the couples on dates, the women having a girls night out, the singles clearly looking to hook up, and the people like me: the ones that just wanted to be somewhere else and the bar just happened to be that ‘else’. So I noticed when people came or left, especially the attractive ones. 

After a while, I noticed two tall attractive men walk through the front door. One of them had longish shaggy hair and the other was a few inches shorter and much more bowlegged than the first. They walked up to the bar next to me and ordered, as they waited they talked and I overheard some of it. On accident. Totally on accident.

“Jared, dude! I’m so happy for you! I can’t believe Gen's pregnant!” The shorter one said, clapping the other on the shoulder.

“It’s so crazy Jensen, I mean we've been trying for what feels like forever and it finally happened!” I ordered another beer and watched these two happy men. Or I thought they were both happy until the taller one-Jared I think- left. When he was alone the other-Jensen- downed his scotch in one gulp and ordered another. The happy look slid off his face.

“Not so happy for your friend after all, huh?” I asked him, the alcohol in my system may have given me some confidence.

“Ha. That easy to tell?” 

“How bout I buy you your next drink, and you can bitch about it to your heart's content.” I motioned the bartender over.

“Arent I the one that’s supposed to buy the drinks?” he chuckled, taking a sip from his new drink.

“You can buy the next round, then” I raised my glass towards him and he brought his up to meet it.

 "Deal.“ 

"So, are you gonna tell me why you're pissy?”

 "Pissy?“ He snorted

 "Yeah, with the face and the fake happy and the downing your drink in one gulp!” I teased him. I don’t know why, I just met the man. 

“Fine. Maybe I’m a little pissy,” He took a sip from his drink. I didn’t say anything, hoping he would continue. After a minute he did, “It’s just, his life is so perfect right now! He’s married to someone who loves him. And he’s about to bring a child into this world!”

 "And that’s a bad thing..?“ I was trying to get him to talk more, he clearly needed to get it off his chest.

 "No. no. Not for him. For him it’s great. It’s the best thing ever. It’s what I want." 

"Ah, not I get it. You're jealous!”

 "No! I’m not….I’m not jealous. I just want-ok you know what. Fine.“

 "Knew it,” I downed my drink. 

“Don’t.” He seemed to get a little defensive and almost insecure.

“Ok. I’ll shut up.” I raised my hands in surrender.

“It’s-he has this perfect life! With everything he’s ever wanted! And what do i have? Nothing. I haven’t even gotten laid recently! And he has a freaking baby on the way...” He sounded frustrated, I was a horrible person because the only thing I could think about was how he could sleep with me to get out of his rut.

“There might be a solution to that particular problem,” I jokingly winked at him before continuing, “I mean; you’re and attractive man, sitting in a bar full of women looking to hook up…” I spun around on my bar stool so I was looking to the rest of the room.

“You think I’m attractive?” He asked incredulously. 

“I have eyes, ya know,” That made him laugh. It was good to see him laugh, I could tell he needed to.

 "Ok, so. Who?“ That made me laugh.

"That’s totally up to you! Pick a chick you think is hot, go over to her, buy her a drink, and chat her up. Easy.”

“Easy?!" 

"Ok, maybe not easy. But definitely possible,” I started scouting the bar for potential hookups for this man I just met, “alright. I’ll play wing-woman," 

"When did you decide this was actually happening?”

 "Well, do u want to go home with someone, or do u want to spend more time at hand-central station?“

"Fair enough.” We sat and chatted and I pointed out women and watched his try to pick them up and fail.

By the end of the night, we weren’t drunk anymore, just a little buzzed, and he had crashed and burned with every woman he talked to. Somehow over the last few hours, we became good friends. I still thought he was incredibly attractive, but I also saw his goofy awkward really bad with women side too. And unfortunately, that only made him more attractive. 

“We should get out of here, it’s like 2 am.” He pointed out. I knew we had to leave but I really didn’t want to go back to my sister's place. I was sure she and Dylan were still fighting. Either that or they were having angry sex. I just didn’t want to be there. 

“I knew we don’t know each other very well, but I don’t really want to go back to my sister's place. Do you have a couch I could crash on?" 

"Yeah, come on. Let’s go catch a cab. We’re still too buzzed to drive,” somewhere between getting in the cab and getting to his apartment our lips found each other’s and didn’t separate anymore than we needed to.  

We burst through his door, my legs around his waist, his hands on my ass holding me up. He pushed me against the wall and tore my shirt open, revealing the comfortable old T-shirt bra I was wearing. “Sorry. Wasn’t …..expecting ..this…” I gasped out between open mother kisses. 

“No ….don’t. …it’s cute.” He moved his hand from my ass to my hair, using his hold on it to tilt my head so he could get easier access to my neck. He peppered open mouthed kisses along my jaw and down my neck to my collarbones. After a minute of his mouth on my skin, he shifted us so that we were on the couch.

 "Are you sure...we don't have to....?" He paused and asked, his face flushed. He's gorgeous lips parted, drawing all of my attention. 

"Yes dumbass. You were the one that needed to get laid so: yes I want to do this," I pulled him back down so that he was practically laying on top of me.

I could feel his hardness against my leg, making me even wetter. I ground into his thigh making us both moan. By now he had his hands and his mouth on my boobs. One hand twisting and flicking one nipple while his mouth played with the other, drawing noises from me that I didn't know I could make.

 He moved down and undid the button and pulled the zipper on my pants, pulling them and my underwear down and off my legs. he started on my hips, kissing around my hip bone. Then he made his way down my thighs and back up to the other hip. Only when I was practically begging for it, he finally sealed his lips around my clit, sucking and flicking. He dipped his tongue down into the heart of my wetness, followed by a finger. Then another. He curved them up and perfectly hit my G-spot making me whine needing more. He added another finger and kept curling them and with his mouth on my clit, I could feel the pressure rise. He kept going until all of the pressure released, through my whole orgasm he kept sucking on my clit carrying me through. 

He came back up and I pulled him into a deep kiss, deepening it as my hands roamed his body. I could feel the head of his cock pushing against my pussy. I reached down and slid it into myself, just a little at first letting him be in charge. He slowly pushed until he was all the way in a loud groan escaping his mouth and his head fell onto my shoulder after he let me get adjusted he started pumping in and out using his hips in ways that have never felt so good. 

We became one being, moving together, breathing together. Feeling the crests and falls, for what felt like hours until we had our final synchronized release. We lay there in sweaty exhaustion until we fell asleep. 

Maybe bars aren't so bad after all.

[petersasteria]

Dreams That Came True Without You - Drew Dirksen Imagine

Requested? Nope.

Pairing: Drew x Reader

Warning: None

This imagine is based on a line. I guess it's a one-liner so I hope y'all enjoy it.

The italicized one is the line this imagine is based on.

* * * *

"It's unfair for you to live out your dream and I'm just here waiting for you to come home"

Your P.O.V

When I was a little girl, I've always wanted to be somebody. Whether it was a ballerina or a reporter, it's fine as long as I get to be one. In my whole life, it all came down to two big dreams of mine: becoming Miss Universe and a famous writer/author.

People tell me it's impossible for me to be Miss Universe, because I don't have what it takes. They also tell me that being a writer/author won't do me any good, because I won't get to do anything.

The reason why I want to become Miss Universe is because I want to show the world what I can contribute and I want to be a writer because J.K. Rowling inspired me to write about things out of the ordinary that made people like me change the way we view things. Like how a normal column/pillar at the train station could be something we can run into in order to get to Platform 9 3/4.

My boyfriend of 3 years, Drew hasn't been really on my side. I brush it off and think nothing of it, but now I think it's unfair.

It all started when we started dating back in 2014. He said he wanted to be in a band that would go places. Of course, I supported him and he asked me what I wanted to do. I'm the kind of person who gets excited when it comes to talking about my dreams so, I kinda got upset when Drew told me that my dreams were rubbish. That didn't stop me, though.

Fast forward to 2017, Drew managed to slightly change his view on my dreams. He said that I should just keep dreaming. Although it sounded sarcastic like, "yeah sure, keep dreaming".

I'm getting kind of tired just waiting for him to come home from tour. So I make sure to keep myself busy by writing a book and joining some small pageants. Drew's fans haven't been really supportive either. Of course, why would they support me in the first place? All they support is Drew and the rest of the lads. They don't give two shits about the people around them. Drew defends me, though. But he can't keep doing that forever so, I told him not to bother anymore.

Drew's coming home today from tour and to be honest, I'm really nervous. I know that he's tired, but he has to know what I'm truly feeling. It's not that I don't love him anymore, it's just unfair already. I feel like I haven't been treated fairly in this relationship.

I was sitting on the couch when I heard the door open. It's him.

"Hey babe! How're you?" Drew greeted cheerfully and kissed your forehead. I smiled slightly and looked at him. "I'm good. How're you? How was the tour?" you asked as he sat down next to you; not bothering to put his suitcase in your shared room.

"Tour was amazing! I had the time of my life. I wish you were there, Y/N. It'd be more fun with you! The boys missed you too...not as much as I missed you, though." Drew cheekily smiled.

"I missed you too." I said. Here it goes. I packed my things a few days before and I'm going to move back to my parents' house for awhile. "Drew, I need to tell you something."

"Okay what is it?" Drew asked. Thank goodness he knows when it's time to be serious.

"I don't think there's any nice way to say this, but I'm breaking up with you." I said. After saying that, I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Why? As far as I know, there's nothing wrong." Drew said softly.

"Actually, there is. You're just blind. You don't see how long you've been hurting me." I said loudly.

"What do you mean 'hurting you'?! I never hurt you and you know that! Heck, I know that! What's this bullshit you're saying?!" Drew shrieked.

"The bullshit I'm saying is you not being here!" I yelled. From this point I knew that I just sparked up something in Drew, because I knew that we're going to start yelling at each other.

"What do you want me to do?! Quit the fucking band?! Let me remind you that I'm working for the both of us! You wouldn't know, because you don't work at all!" Drew yelled and kicked the side of the couch.

"I never said that you should quit the band! And you should know that I would never tell you that, let alone suggest it! I know how much you love that band, Drew! You've always wanted that and I want you to be happy!" I yelled back.

"Then what're you trying to say?! Stop being so childish and get straight to the point!" Drew yelled and ran a hand through his hair in frustration.

I opened my mouth to yell again, but what's the point? Instead I said what's been going through my mind for the past 3 years. "You know what? This is unfair. All this time I've always been here to support you. I supported you and adjusted to give way for you to make your dreams happen. What about my dreams, huh? What about my dreams, Drew? You never supported me in anything. You're being selfish. Just because I'm your girlfriend who's willing to stick with you through all this, doesn't mean that I don't have dreams. I'm human and I have dreams too, Drew." I said calmly and went upstairs to get my already packed things.

Drew sat down on the couch; not believing any of this and sighed heavily. He looked at me as I descended the stairs with all of my things. All the color drained from his face when he saw all my things.

"W-Where are you going? We're not--we're not done here. Y/N, please there has to be another way." Drew shakily stood up from the couch and walked to me. I just kept walking until I reached the door. I put my hand on the doorknob and looked at him one last time and gave him a curt nod and left his life forever.

When I got to my parents' house, Drew kept tweeting about his misery.

@TheTideDrew: I honestly didn't know that I was hurting you until you left.

@TheTideDrew: Back to square one; cuddling with my pillow.

@TheTideDrew: I'm so sorry.

@TheTideDrew: It's funny how yesterday we were together and happy, but now we're not.

I decided to tweet indirectly, because his fans wanted to know and they kept bugging me.

@Y/T/N: All I'm gonna say is that I've been treated unfair. There, I've set my peace.

I clicked "tweet" and before I knew it loads of his fans were "shookt" and kept tweeting me. I yawned and head to bed.

-one year later-

Drew's P.O.V

It's been a year since we broke up and the situation is still eating me alive. I honestly didn't know that I was being selfish. I feel like a jerk.

Today the boys decided to hang at my place and chill. We needed a break from writing and recording and we wanted to just stay in and watch tv.

Austin was flicking through random channels and stopped at a beauty pageant. "Guys, who's down for watching Ms. Universe?" Austin asked, his eyes not leaving the tv.

"I mean, there's nothing to watch so might as well watch this." Levi shrugged and put his feet on the coffee table.

"Drew, remember when Y/N said it was one of her dreams to be in this?" Nate asked. He didn't know that it was still a touchy subject so, I forced a smile on my face. "Yeah I did." I said softly.

"Wouldn't it be crazy if she actually joined?" Nate wondered.

"Speaking of, look at candidate number 10." Levi said. I didn't know he was listening to Nate and I.

Nate and I fixed our gaze on the tv and sure enough, candidate number 10 is Y/N. Wow. She really is serious about this. I pulled out my phone and opened my Twitter. My notifications have been blowing up than usual and I checked some of them.

(a/n: these are all made up fan accs and if it's the same to any real fan acc, it's a coincidence.)

@drevisbutt: @TheTideDrew watch Ms. Universe you little shit

@DrewIsMyHero: @TheTideDrew *cough* candidate #10 *cough*

Even some people I personally know are tweeting me about it.

@TheVampsBrad: @TheTideDrew #MissUniverse candidate #10 looks familiar...oh yeah you used to date haha x

@NewHopeGeorge: Candidate #10 looks gorgeous! I don't want to break the bro code bc @TheTideDrew dated her oops

I decided to tweet a picture of the tv showing Ms. Universe.

@TheTideDrew: Yes I'm watching #MissUniverse right now. Calm down guys hahaha

I liked some of the fans' replies but one reply caught my eye. (a/n: holy crap I rhymed again. I've been rhyming a lot this year.)

@levischarmandertattoo: @TheTideDrew who are you rooting for? ;)

I quoted the tweet and said: "Candidate #10 of course! USA all the way."

Of course a lot of people reacted and freaked out saying that I still love her and care for her. They're not lying. I'd be lying if I said it's not true.

A few hours later, it was now time for the question and answer portion. Yes, Y/N made it until the top 3 thing. It's now her turn to be asked and she looks absolutely stunning in her gown.

"She's hot." Austin said, staring at her in awe. I would've smacked his head, but we're not together anymore. We all just agreed with what he said, because he's right.

(a/n: I can't pick a gown so just pick one. Comment what you picked!)

"Good evening, candidate number 10!" the judge, Ellen DeGeneres, smiled at her.

"Good evening, Ellen." Y/N smiled that perfect smile of hers that I've grown to love more and more.

"How are you?" Ellen asked. "I'm okay. You?" Y/N said.

"I'm good. You look gorgeous tonight!" Ellen complimented.

"Thank you." Y/N lightly blushed.

"Okay. So, young people today are much more diverse and open minded than the past generations that came before them. My question is, how can you encourage the youth to promote acceptance of all genders and sexualities?" Ellen asked.

Holy shit. I personally think it's a difficult question.

"I'm so nervous for her." Nate said, holding his breath.

"She can do anything." I whispered, thinking no one would hear me. I was wrong. Levi heard me...again. "Yeah, she's smart. She can do anything." Levi said with his "game face" on.

"Thank you for that wonderful question." Y/N began. "I can encourage the youth by promoting awareness through the media and encouraging well known brands to showcase models that have different gender identities. Same with tv shows so that the youth can be more open minded and be able to identify with themselves more and when more people get used to this, they will find it normal. The youth will no longer be scared to express and be themselves whether it's identifying one's sexuality or merely being a supporter for the LGBTQIA+ Community. Thank you." Y/N answered and ended with a smile. The crowd was cheering her on and so were we.

"I know that Y/N is smart, but I never knew she was THAT smart." Austin grinned. Nate pulled out his phone and immediately tweeted.

@TheTideNate: @Y/T/N is one of the most intelligent people I know. So proud of you, candidate 10! #MissUniverse

I liked and retweeted it and so many people have been tweeting about her answer.

"Guys, Y/N is trending number 1 worldwide!" Levi said with wide eyes. Wow. She did all that without me in her life. I guess I've just been holding her back from what she can do.

A few minutes later they're announcing the winner of the pageant. Y/N and the two other girls held hands together and looked at the crowd. All of us were at the edge of our seats as well.

"Second runner up is, Ms. Colombia!" the host said and Ms. Colombia got her sash and flowers.

Y/N and the other girl are facing each other, smiling and held each other's hands.

(a/n: take note that I clarified that it's set a year later so don't kill me)

"Finally, the moment we've all been waiting for. Ms. Universe 2018 is...Ms. USA!!! Congratulations! Ms. Philippines is our 1st runner up." the host said.

We all cheered and Y/N cried tears of joy as they crowned her, gave her flowers, and the sash.

"Ms. USA, you may now take your first walk as Ms. Universe." the host said.

With that, the pageant was over.

Everyone was tweeting Y/N.

@TheTideAustin: @Y/T/N I'm so proud of you! *cries* Congrats!

@TheTideLevi: @Y/T/N remember when you & I used to ask each other difficult questions? I never knew you wanted this and now you won! You're the OG. Congrats!

@TheTideNate: @Y/T/N QUEEN. THAT'S ALL. QUEEN. #MissUniverse

@NewHopeReece: Congrats to our new #MissUniverse ! @Y/T/N don't forget me haha xx

@NewHopeBlake: My best friend @Y/T/N is the new #MissUniverse. That's right be jealous hahaha

@NewHopeGeorge: @Y/T/N is officially my celebrity crush. She's gorgeous & intelligent. How can someone be both? *heart eyes* Congrats, love! #MissUniverse

I decided to tweet too.

@TheTideDrew: @Y/T/N congratulations on winning and making your dream come true! :)

The haters are gone now. Everybody loves her.

-a few months later-

The lads and I are here to perform at this charity event. We've never done anything for charity before. Needless to say, we're so excited to perform.

"Guys! Guys!" Nate said pushing through the crowd to join Levi, Austin, and I.

"What?" Austin asked.

"You'll never guess who I saw." Nate said.

"Who?" I asked.

"Y/N. She's here! Turns out, this is one of her projects as Ms. Universe! Small world, huh?" Nate smiled.

Yeah. Small world.

"I heard she's dating that actor..." Levi trailed off in deep thought as to who that actor is.

"Well? Don't leave us hanging!" Austin chuckled.

"Ahh! Cole Sprouse! Such a great actor. He's everyone's bae." Levi said as he drank soda.

"Go talk to her, man." Austin nudged me.

"What? No! She's dating someone else. Plus, she probably hates me." I said. She's doing fine now. I don't want to ruin that for her. She's also in the process of writing her biography. She's come so far and I'm so proud of her.

"You'll never know until you try." Austin said with a shrug and talked to Levi and Nate.

I walked up to her when she was finally sitting alone and tapped her shoulder.

"Um, hey Y/N. Long time no see." I casually said, trying to act cool.

"Hi Drew. I'm excited to hear you boys perform today." she smiled.

"Same here. Um, listen. I'm really sorry for doubting you and ignoring your dreams. It's just that I've been so focused on mine that I never got to support you. Like, I didn't know you and Levi kept asking each other difficult questions, not because you find them fun but because you're preparing yourself in case you're serious about joining Ms. Universe. I'm so sorry. I really want you back in my life, Y/N. I really do." I said, pouring my heart out.

"I want things normal again. We'll be civil about this, okay? I forgive you, but that doesn't change what you did. It's too late to realize that you've been selfish throughout our relationship. It is, and always will be, unfair. I'm going to be honest, even being friends with you right now won't help. Let's start again as acquaintances. Then we'll see. If I act like how I used to towards you, that means we're friends. Deal?" Y/N suggested. I mean, I do want her back in my life..and arms. If this is her only offer then I'd take it.

"Deal." I smiled.

"Okay. I have to meet Cole by the entrance." Y/N said, standing up from her reserved seat. She looked so good especially with her crown on. "Good luck on your performance, Drew. You'll smash. I know you will." she smiled before leaving.

I don't know if I'll ever find someone like her. Cole is very lucky.

* * * *

Lmao reblog if you liked it.