#hannah took my lil idea and said “okay bet”

[coldshrugs]

i know how to stick honey this is it, we can be happy now

blessed by hydaelyn @harumeau with this jaw-dropping art of io and estinien 🥴💗 they are definitely in attendance at this formal gathering. absolutely not sneaking out. no way.

[highfivecalum]

Our Home Place {CH} 8

“WHAT THE HELL happened to you?” Allie asked with wide eyes as she opened the door to her house for her best friend. Natalie walked in, wordlessly, and laid down on the couch that Michael was surprisingly not on. Natalie hid her face in the throw pillow that was next to her and let out a loud scream that she was holding in the whole time she was walking to Allie’s. “How was last night?”

Natalie was going to walk home, but decided last minute to go to Allie’s, since it was closer and she knew Allie would call her later to ask about how the banquet went. So, she killed two birds with one stone, and showed up unannounced at her best friends front door. “You won’t believe it.” Natalie mumbled against the pillow, but it was so muffled that Allie couldn’t hear or understand her.

“What?”

Natalie huffed and pulled the pillow away from her face, hugging it instead, and frowned at Allie who was sitting in the love seat across from her, already looking at Natalie with an expectant expression on her face. Natalie bit her lip, deep in thought, and finally spilled the beans. “Last night was great. Amazing, even.” Natalie sighed as she thought about her and Calum slow dancing and sharing chocolate covered strawberries.

“Then why the fuck do you look so depressed?”

“Calum and I, we…”

Allie furrowed her eyebrows. “You what?” Natalie raised her eyebrows, giving her a look, and Allie’s eyes widened. She covered her mouth after letting out an incredulous laugh, which sounded much more like a scream, and quickly stopped laughing when Natalie’s reaction didn’t match her own. “You did not!”

“We did.” Natalie confirmed with a nod of her head.

“What’s with all the screaming?” Michael came down the stairs, rubbing his sleep filled eyes, letting out a ridiculously loud yawn. Allie’s lips turned up into a smirk as she gloated to her boyfriend.

“Oh nothing. Natalie just told me that she and Calum fucked last night.” Michael’s eyes widened in complete surprise. They were betting on whether or not Natalie and Calum would finally act on the sexual tension between each other, and Michael thought they definitely wouldn’t, while Allie thought they would. Although there was no money or prize involved in the bet, Allie just liked the satisfaction of winning and proving her boyfriend, who was always right, wrong.  “I told you they would!”

“Holy shit. Didn’t see that coming.” Michael laughed and pulled Allie up from the love seat, plopping down on it, and bringing Allie down with him. She landed on his lap and Michael rested his chin on her shoulder and Natalie scowled at the sight of how cute her two best friends were. “Well, how was it?” Michael pressed.

“It was…” Natalie groaned at the memory. “It was amazing. Fucking fantastic. Best I’ve ever had, honestly. Unfair how good he is in bed.” Natalie never held back when it came to talking about her sex life with Michael and Allie. Why would she? They were two of her closest friends, after all.

“Then what’s the problem? Why does it sound like you’re complaining about it?”

“This morning… he-he told me it should have never happened. That it was a mistake.” Natalie swallowed thickly and her best friends glanced at each other, their mouths pulled back into a yikes expression that Natalie didn’t miss. “Exactly.”

“Are you serious?” Allie scoffed. “What an asshole!”

“And then I left and walked all the way here.” Natalie finished the short story and Allie and Michael both frowned. They both knew how much Natalie liked Calum and Allie thought that for sure Calum liked Natalie back, but apparently, she thought wrong, and she felt bad for her best friend. Allie was rooting for her friend, telling her that the feelings were definitely reciprocated, and now that she found out they weren’t, she felt guilty in a way.

“That’s awful, Nat.” Allie frowned. “What else did he say?”

“Well, he told me that I was amazing, and that if I wasn’t Lily’s babysitter that he would have me in his bed again.” Natalie scoffed. “Like seriously? Why would he think that would be a good thing to tell me? He said he didn’t think it would work out with me being Lily’s babysitter and all,” Natalie rolled her eyes. “And then he finished it by saying that he didn’t want it to be awkward between us and he still wants to be friends.”

“Well, I mean, at least he still wants you to watch Lily, you know? It could have been much worse. He could have fired you.” Michael tried to think on the bright side, and although he was right, Natalie didn’t see it that way. “It’s good that he still wants you around. Right?”

“I guess so.” Natalie shrugged. “It’s going to be hard to be around him now, though, after seeing every inch of his body naked. And feeling his mouth, and tongue, and-

Michael cut her off. “Okay!” He threw his hands up. “I know I asked you how it was, but I don’t need that much detail.”

Allie smirked. “I do.”

Natalie was glad she had Allie and Michael to talk to, because she knew she could tell her mother, but she didn’t want to be a bother. Natalie thought her problems were miniscule compared to mother’s; who was laying in a hospital bed with wires and tubes attached to her, dying.

❋ ❋ ❋

Natalie sat in the driveway of Calum’s house, her grip on the steering wheel so hard that her knuckles turned white. She didn’t want to go inside. Not after what happened the prior weekend. She was ecstatic that Calum’s sister, Mali, offered to watch Lily for a few days, so she could try to rid herself of some of the embarrassment she felt, but now, on a Wednesday afternoon, here she was, and still not completely over what happened.

Natalie finally grew a pair of balls and knocked her fist against the door. She felt like she did the first time she ever went to Calum’s house for the first time; nervous and racked with anxiety. Natalie knew she shouldn’t feel that way, but she couldn’t help it. She hated that she succumbed to her sexual desires for Calum and potentially ruined the friendship they had going, but when Calum opened the door, it didn’t seem like she had.

He was all smiles and, it in turn, made Natalie smile as well, and she felt her nervousness and anxiety fade away at the mere sight of him smiling at her, acting as if nothing happened between the two of them. It made her feel better that Calum wasn’t being awkward, but it also made her feel bad because he was acting as if it never happened, when that’s all Natalie could think of.

“Hey, Natalie.” Calum was going to hug her, but decided against it, and motioned for her to come inside. He was running late and still had to finish making his coffee and getting his belongings together. “Lils! Natalie is here!”

“Natty!” Lily raced inside of the kitchen, Duke following behind her, and wrapped her small around around Natalie’s legs like she always did. “I missed you so much, Natty!”

“I missed you, too, Lily.” Natalie crouched down to Lily’s level and smiled at the little girl. “How were your few days with Aunt Mali?”

“So great!” Lily gushed. Calum smiled at the sight of Natalie and Lily together and loved that Natalie looked genuinely interested in what his daughter had to say. Calum loved Natalie’s smile and he wanted to see it all of the time, and he wanted to be the reason for it, but he couldn’t be. He knew it wasn’t smart, wasn’t a good idea, no matter how badly he wanted her, he couldn't. “Aunty Mali took me to the zoo and then we went to get ice cream and then played on the playground!”

“Wow, Lily,” Natalie laughed. “That sounds like a blast.”

“It was!”

“Alright, girls,” Calum slipped his blazer on and interrupted the conversation that was taking place. “I gotta get going now. I’m already late.” Calum leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of Lily’s head. “Be good for Natalie today, okay?”

“I’m always good, daddy!” Lily argued.

Calum laughed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah.” He adjusted his tie as he spoke. “Text me if you need anything?” He spoke to Natalie who simply nodded her head with a small smile. Calum said his final goodbyes and exited his house, leaving his two girls.

“So, Lils, what do you want to do today?”

“I wanna meet your mommy!” Lily cheered.

Natalie furrowed her eyebrows at the girl. “My mommy?” Lily nodded her head excitedly. “Why’s that?”

“Well, you know my daddy, I wanna know your mommy!”

Natalie pondered over it for a bit. She hadn’t seen her mother in a few days and she did miss her, and she didn’t really want to be stuck in the Hood household all day, so Lily’s idea wasn’t sounding too bad. “Okay.” Natalie nodded her head. “You can meet my mommy.”

Lily helped Natalie set up her carseat in the back of her car, since she was clueless when it came to anything carseats, and buckled Lily up. Natalie started her car, but before going anywhere, sent Calum a quick text to let him know. She didn’t just want to take Lily to the hospital without him knowing.

Natalie: I’m taking Lily to the hospital to meet my mom. It was her idea. Is that okay?

She hated how formal she sounded over text, she never was formal with him in real life, well, not until they got drunk and ended up in bed together. Calum opened her text and responded right away.

Calum: Of course. Drive safe.

Natalie didn’t bother texting back, not seeing the point in it, so she quickly pulled out of the ridiculously long driveway and drove the twenty minutes to the hospital. Her and Lily listened to Hannah Montana, Lily’s request, the whole time and Natalie wasn’t ashamed that she knew almost every word to almost every song.

Parking was a bitch, like always, and since it was so busy Natalie carried Lily on her back, in fear of a car coming out of nowhere, or not seeing the little girl, and hitting her. It was a bit dramatic, Natalie knew, but she didn’t want anything to happen to Lily because of her. And Lily loved being carried on people’s backs, so she didn’t mind.

“Hi Natalie!” Shelly, the receptionist, greeted her happily. “Who’s this?” She smiled at Lily who smiled back politely.

“This is Lily.” Natalie smiled as Shelly wrote her name down on a guest pass. “Can you say hi, Lils?”

“Hi!” Lily waved happily. Shelly handed her the pass and Natalie thanked her before she made her way to the elevator, with Lily still on her back. “Natty?” Natalie hummed. “Why are we in a hospital?”

“My mom is sick,” Natalie explained. “So she has to stay here for a little while.”

Natalie didn’t bother knocking before she swung her mother’s hospital door open, and smiled when she saw her and Dr. Irwin talking. “Hi, sweetie.” Michelle greeted her daughter. She was in pain and Natalie could tell, but she tried not to let it affect her mood.

“Hi mama. Dr. Irwin.” Natalie smiled and carefully dropped Lily from her back onto one of the chair. “This is Lily. The girl I babysit for.”

“Hi Lily,” Dr. Irwin smiled down at the little girl who was already smiling wide enough for all of them.

“Are you Natty’s mommy?” Lily asked Michelle.

“Yes, dear, I am. My name is Michelle.” Natalie’s mom smiled adoringly at Lily who was resting her arms and chin on the side of the hospital bed. Dr. Irwin excused himself, leaving the three together. “It’s very nice to meet you, Lily. I’ve heard lots about you.”

“You have?!” She excitedly jumped up on the bed and Natalie took her usual seat on the chair that was next to her mother’s bed. The three of them talked and laughed and for a second, Natalie forgot about her problems with Calum, and forgot that her mother was sick.

❋ ❋ ❋

Calum’s was on his way to the hospital, after texting Natalie and letting her know he was off work, she offered to drive Lily back to their house, but he insisted he would drive to pick her up. Calum didn’t want to make Natalie leave her mother, he already felt bad enough, so he told her he would pick her up.

He found a parking spot quite easily, unlike Natalie, and walked through the sliding doors. Shelly greeted him just as happily as she greeted Natalie and everybody else that came into the hospital. “Hi there! How can I help you?”

“Um, I’m looking for a room number?” Calum spoke.

“What’s the last name?” Shelly asked, getting prepared to type whatever name it was.

“Campbell.” Calum had to rack his brain to remember Natalie’s last name.

“Oh!” Shelly’s face lit up. “I know exactly who you’re talking about. Can you sign in please?” She pointed to the sheet of paper in front of Calum and he scribbled his name down and she wrote him a guest pass and told him what floor and what room number Michelle’s room was.

“Thank you.” Calum wanted to get in and out as fast as he could. He hated hospitals, absolutely hated them, and the last time he was in one his father died, so all he had were bad memories. He found Michelle’s room with little to no struggle and knocked lightly.

“Come in!” He heard Natalie’s familiar voice and slowly opened the door, popping his head in. Lily’s eyes lit up at the sight of her father, and his lit up at the sight of Natalie, Lily, and Michelle playing Go Fish on Michelle’s bed; Lily and Natalie both of opposite sides and the cards on Michelle’s lap. “Hi Calum.”

“Hi Nat,” Calum mumbled her nickname, and although he had said it before, it felt weird coming out of his mouth now. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe because he had seen her naked and made her come, twice, and now he wasn’t sure if he could be so casual with her, but the expression on her face didn’t change, so she didn’t seem to mind. “Hi Lils. You ready to go?”

“In a second, daddy! We’re not done playing Go Fish!”

Calum smiled, but nodded his head, and let the girls finish their game. “Oh, Calum, this is my mom, Michelle. Mom, this is Calum, Lily’s dad.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Michelle.” Calum smiled a genuine smile and Michelle returned it.

“You as well, Calum. You and your daughter make my daughter very happy.”

Calum could see the blush on Natalie’s cheeks, but she didn’t make eye contact with him, and he didn’t expect her to, but Michelle’s confession shocked him. Did Natalie talk about him as much as he talked to Mali about Natalie? He only hoped.

“Your daughter makes us very happy as well.” Calum winked and Natalie’s blush deepened.

Calum couldn’t keep his eyes off of Natalie as she asked Lily for any threes in their game of Go Fish. Her smile made his smile grow and the insides of his stomach twist, but not in a bad way, no, in the best way possible. And in that moment, Calum knew that pretending nothing happened between them was the biggest mistake he could have made.

❋ ❋ ❋

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[inoahthingor2]

No Place Like Home

When: November 17th

Time: 10 PM

Noah wasn’t sure why he hadn’t resented his sisters, even though he had grown up behind all four of them. There were four different ideas about who a Nakamura was before Noah stepped into place, and sometimes, it was annoying. No, he wasn’t as good at maths as Lily, and no, he wasn’t interested in joining the drama club like Hannah had, and if one more person asked him if he had inherited any of Ryleigh’s affinity for public speaking, he just might tear his hair out.

But, he was still so proud of his sisters. Yeah, he had no clue what the hell an integral was, but Lily had gotten a full-ride to go study Statistics. And Noah was good at singing and dancing, but Hannah’s performance as the lead in The Sound of Music made him tear up. And you bet your ass Noah was the loudest one screaming after Ryleigh’s valedictorian speech.

And then Kelly.

Since Noah could remember, Kelly had been dancing. Uncoordinated and clumsy when she eight as she led him in circles with Ryleigh, her pointe shoes messily laced up. Noah, who was five at the time, was delighted by the clumsy pirouettes. Lily and Hannah watched with a mixture of caution and amusement from the side lines, only stepping in when he and Ryleigh knocked heads.

Noah watched as Kelly ditched her pointe shoes in favor of a leotard and chalk, and at age nine, he watched her land her first pike, and that was the exact moment he knew he wanted to be out there with her.

His other sisters seemed to share his sentiment, but not nearly to his degree. Lily like it because she thought it made her look elegant, Hannah liked it for the drama, and Ryleigh liked it because Noah liked it. But he and Kelly actually loved all of it.

They loved the rush as they bounded across the mat, making sure not to get lost in the feeling of flipping through the air so they had a clear enough mind to land each move. Loved the burn that came with holding their balance on a beam, forcing their shaking muscles to cooperate and keep them upright. Loved the way their pulse beat in their ears as the flung themselves off of the bars, that .2 seconds in the air before they were latching back onto the metal and throwing themselves around it once more.

Perhaps their coach had taken a shine to him, but in Noah’s eyes, Kelly was who really encouraged him to practice his heart out.

“I mean, I'm good Noah, don't get me wrong. But you… you could really go somewhere with this,” she had said as she gently bandaged their hands after a particularly rigorous practice. And with Kelly gripping his hands with her own dusty ones, he knew then that he was gonna go somewhere for the both of them.

Lily, Hannah, and Ryleigh all dropped it after a couple of years, but they never stopped loving the sport. They were there when Noah dominated State Championships, sitting in the front row with their parents, waving obscenely large signs and screaming his name. Kelly was standing with the rest of their gym on the floor, beaming up at him, and in that moment, behind the joy and adrenaline, he hated being up on that podium, because his victory was nothing without them.

So when he moved on to win Nationals, he yanked Kelly up on the podium with him and grabbed her hand with his own, pressing his metal into her open palm. She stared at him for a moment, before she burst into tears, quickly followed by Lily, Hannah and Ryleigh, who jumped from the stands to rush the stage almost as soon as Noah had reached for Kelly. Yeah, pandemonium was one word for the mess that broke out after that, but if that wasn’t the Nakamura’s, Noah wasn’t sure what was.

They stuck together. If you had one of them, you had all of them.

Which was why he should’ve driven back with them after that meet. He should’ve skipped the review session with his coach. He should’ve just left with his win. Left and eaten with his family, throwing ice at Ryleigh whenever their parents weren’t looking and stealing broccoli off of Hannah’s plate when she forgot to guard her greens.

But instead, while his family was sleeping, full and happy and still buzzing with Noah’s victory, Noah was being thrown about in a crushed car that wouldn’t stop rolling, the feeling of flipping familiar and horrifying.

And then he was… broken. Broken, and all he could think about was how much he was hurting, how angry he was, how heartbroken he was. He couldn't think of anything else for those four years. But, he had forgotten that Nakamura’s shared everything.

He didn’t get to see Lily ripping his coach a new one with Hannah holding her back by her coat, begging her not to get arrested on top of everything. He didn’t see Ryleigh straightening out his hospital sheets, crying and crying but trying not to be loud in case her grief was strong enough to wake him from a medically induced coma. Nor Kelly, gripping his Nationals medal that he had given to her tightly in her hand, holding it to her forehead before throwing it in a fit of rage at the wall. The dent was still there.

No, Noah hadn’t seen any of that. Instead, he saw his future in ruins, his family disgraced, his uselessness. Every time he looked one of them in the eyes, that’s all he saw. Pity or disappointment. He couldn’t see the fondness in Lily’s eyes when he playfully tripped her with his walker on one of his better days. He didn’t see the adoration in Hannah’s when she presented him with a knot blanket for his legs, nor the relief in Ryleigh’s when he opened his eyes for the first time since the accident as she stood in the corner in order to allow the doctors to work. And he certainly hadn’t seen the pride Kelly felt when Noah took his first wobbly steps by himself before he collapsed into her arms.

He couldn’t.

Which was why when his phone buzzed, he didn’t answer it. He watched Kelly’s face flash on screen until it dimmed and the vibrating faded. There was the missed call notification, then a voicemail notification, and finally a text message. He clicked on the text, already knowing he was going to delete the voicemail. He couldn't handle her voice yet.

Kelpy: Answer one of us, you asshole. We miss you

Noah shut his eyes and sighed through his nose, before finally taking a look at all of the other texts from his various sisters that he had muted.

From Lily;

Lil: how’s college, college boy? Meet any hotties yet?

Lil: let me know if u need help with ur math

Lil: r u seriously ghosting your whole family u dork?

Lil: R u coming home for thxgiving?

Lil: I’ll give u 5 bucks and some graduate school gossip if u do

Lil: hey, give mom a call soon, will ya? You know how she worries

From Hannah;

Bananah: hey, let me know how ur first day was when u get a chance!

Bananah: are your midterms soon? Call me if you get too stressed!

Bananah: stay warm, okay? I know it’s warmer there, but still. If you tell me ur dorm room number, I’ll send you a scarf!

Bananah: audio.mp3

Bananah: “this is my audition for a Christmas musical! Let me know how it is!”

From Ryleigh:

Rye: I can’t believe you went to college so far away fucker. I was looking forward to dipping ur hand in cold water when ur passed out drunk

Rye: bro, wtf r u gonna be for Halloween? If u don’t send me a pic, you’re disowned

Rye: image.png

Rye: I went as Columbia from rocky horror

Rye: woooow silent treatment?

Rye: if u don’t come home for thanksgiving, I’m gonna convince Hannah to help me kick ur ass

From Kelly:

Kelpy: dominate this school year noah! We’re all rooting for you!

Kelpy: image.png

Kelpy: I got a dog. Help me name him?

Kelpy: I named him pudge.

Kelpy: hey, call me? We should catch up! I wanna know how school is!

Kelpy: Hey noah, we’re all kinda worried about you. We’re trying to give you space, but we’d really like to hear if you’re okay

Kelpy: mom and dad almost drove up to surprise you, but I convinced them not to. Just answer us noah. We miss you

And then the text from today

Noah pressed his phone to his forehead, his brows furrowed. He should go back. He knew he should. He missed his family, as much as he tried not to think about it. But it was going to be so hard going back to a place where everyone knew how much better he used to be. They were gonna ask him what he was doing, and he couldn’t just not talk about the Vixens. But he wasn’t ready to share. He just… couldn’t. He wanted to stay in this space where he was just Noah, the energetic Vixen. He was scared if he looked away, the illusion would break.

But they deserved to hear him say he wasn't coming home.

So naturally, he texted it.

N: srry for the radio silence Kelly! I’ve been sups busy! I can’t make it back for Thanksgiving; I’ve got something I need to do here. Give everyone my best!

Kelly answered almost immediately, but he was already tossing his phone in his gym bag and getting ready to head to the Court. The sooner he improved, the sooner he could feel comfortable going home.