#i gave it 4 stars both times but honey no. the styling was awful the colors were off. the best thing about it was the performances.

[soldierandawar]

challengers keeps getting snubbed and ion like that.

[atalho-s]

Sweet Sugar

2 | Oh this town it's so electric

pairing: tom holland x reader 

warnings: swear words, underage drinking (not much tho, nothing descritive and nothing like “Skins” lmao), suggestive scenes in some chapters, not smut!! but minors be aware. Fluff/angst/drama/ Y/n and Tom being stupid teenagers with feelings.

words: 2.5 k

a/n: english it’s not my first language, sorry for any mistake!

Summary: Y/n has always been Harrison’s and Tom’s best friend. Since childhood they’ve always been close, but what happens if after a break up with her first boyfriend, she starts to feel something more about Tom?

PART 2! If you want to read Part 1 click here

Don’t forget to check out the playlist by @petesrparker​ created for the series! here

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It was almost 7pm on Saturday and I was almost ready to go meet Tom before we went to the party. I had put on a stylish shirt along with a skirt (a little shorter than i usually wore) and a sandal with a medium heel. After finishing doing my outline, I take the bag with the gift and went down the stairs.

The day before I had found something in the mall, a chain with an amber stone as a pendant. The attendant of the store had told me it meant protection and calm, which I thought was perfect to give to Tom as a way to show that I was there to comfort him whenever he needed it.

As soon as I went downstairs my mother was already waiting for me to fill me with accessories (she always complained that I didn't "dress up" properly).

- You look beautiful! - She said putting a bracelet on my wrist and two rings on my fingers.

- Aw, thanks mom!- I said giving a kiss on her cheek. - I have to go, because I'm almost late, I don't know what time I'll be back, probably before midnight.

-Okay, If you need anything calls us and we'll go get you. - She said and I nodded waving to my father who was in the living room. - Give my birthday wishes to Thomas and a hi to Haz for me and take this pie to Nikki. - She handed me a bag with a pot as we walked down the stairs from the front door.

- Okay, bye mom! - I said and waved down the street.

After walking for less than 10 minutes I was in front of Tom's house, took a deep breath, went up the stairs to the entrance and knocked on the door. I heard some screams to open the door from the inside and a "messy hair" Harry wearing striped pajamas answered me.

- It's Y/n! - He yelled to the side. - Come in. - He said as he gave me space and gave me a kiss on the cheek.

- Are you ready to sleep? - I said pointing to his pajamas. - Actually it's time to children to be in bed, you're right. - and Harry stuck out his tongue.

- So funny. Since we're not old enough to go to the party with you guys, me, Sam and Paddy are going to play video games and watch movies, you know, boys night. - He said as if celebrating, putting a fist up.

- Got it. In fact, what I really wanted was to be with you guys watching movies, much better than a party. - I said as we arrived in the kitchen, where Nikki and Sam were preparing cookies.

- I doubt it, I can't wait to go out and have fun at night. Harry said and I shrugged.

- What can I do? I'm a old lady... - I laughed and greeted Nikki and Sam with a hug.

- I wish my children like to stay in home like you. -Nikki spoke as she took the cookie shape out of the oven.

- Well Nikki, I've already tried to get them on the right path, but they're too rebellious.- I said and Harry and Sam giggled. - My mother sent you apple pie. - I put the bag on the counter.

- Yay, your moms apple pie is delicious!- Sam said opening the bag and taking a fork to taste.

- Teenagers....I don't know what I do with these pests anymore.- Nikki said putting her hand on her hip and watching Harry and Sam fight to eat the pie.

- Did I hear pie?- Paddy came into the kitchen greeting me with our handshake, which I taught him since he was practically a baby, Paddy and I had our little bond, I was his defender when the older brothers made fun of him.

He stole Sam's fork and ran off as he and Harry ran after him screaming.

-Oh God…I don't deserve this.- Nikki laughed. - Honey, Tom is there in his room getting ready, if you want to go upstairs.

- Okay, I'll hurry him.- I said and she agreed, laughing. - By the way, you look amazing! I loved your outfit.

- Thank you Nikki! - I thanked going towards the stairs.

Once I got to the top I walked until I reached the end of the hallway where Tom's room was, knocking on the door.

- Tommy? Can I come in? - I asked and heard a "come in!" from the inside.

I opened the door and saw Tom in front of the mirror finishing his hair. He wore a basic white T-shirt and black jeans, along with a black all star with white laces. He looks beautiful, which made me miss a few heartbeats for a moment.

- Did you like it? - He asked turning to me and opening his arms looking at himself and then at me again.

- Perfect! I loved the all star- I said and he smiled.

- You not looking bad yourself either... New skirt? - He said looking me up and down making me feel my cheeks burning.

- It's old, but I've never used it, I left it for special dates.

- I felt honored now- he said and I laughed.

-Hey happy brithday! - I approached and hugged him feeling his delicious and intoxicating perfume. - Best wishes, I hope all your dreams come true. - I said still hugging him tight and closing my eyes feeling him kiss my cheek when we let go.

- Thank you mate, you and Haz are one of the best thinga in my life. - He said and I smiled seeing him smile back, and what a smile... Damn y/n! Stop thinking things that shouldn't be thought!!

-I have a present for you!-I said, delivering my bag in his hands.

- Yay!! - He got excited sitting on the bed to open it like a child on Christmas Day. -Wow!- he said taking the chain out of the box. - It's beautiful... Thank you so much darling, I love it! - and obviously I blushed even more with the pet name. Tom called all the women closest to him darling or love, which was normal, but whenever he said to me, for some reason, I felt a warm feeling in my heart...

- You're welcome Tommy, it's an amber stone to bring you protection and patience.

- Perfect, everything I need - he looked at me - I'll use it right now! It even matched my outifit- he said putting the chain around his neck and winking at me right after.

- I liked it, it looks amazing. - I said looking at him and he hugged me from the side.

- Hey, we have to go if we don't want to be late.- he said getting up and giving me his hand to get up too.

- Right. - I said, following him out of the room and down the stairs behind him.

- Mom? We're already going! - he yelled, taking the keys from the counter and Nicki appeared approaching.

- You two are rocking huh? Both look beautiful! My baby is already so grown... - she said squeezing one of Tom's cheeks making me laugh and he rolled his eyes.

- Mom...

- Okay, go ahead, and don't drink! Especially you young man - she said pointing at Tom with her intimidating finger. - And don't come back too late.

- Okay mom. I'm responsible.

- Yeah... I'm just more relieved, because the Y/n goes too, she's the only sane one of this "impossible trio." - and I made a face of "proud of myself", puffing out my chest.

-Ha-ha, yeah sure...- Tom replied and I hit his arm causing him to rub it pretending he was in pain.

- I'm the oldest and most responsible, Nikki is absolutely right. - I said and Nikki laughed.

- You said like you're very old, but it's only some months... - He start saying and I raised my hand ready to hit him again, making him shrink with fear. - Okay, okay... Now let's go, because we're already too late. - Tom said opening the door letting me through and we waved to Nikki.

We took an uber and arrived in 20 minutes in front of the party. It was a really nice house, Tom’s friend welcome us on the front door and lead us to the backward, into what appeared to be a small wood structure with a big window at the front, but when Tom and I walked in after passing the door, the place was a lot bigger than it looked. It had a lot tables around like a big saloon even with a dance floor and seemed to be very cozy. When we walked in you could hear an indie song playing in the background, which I really liked as it's one of my favorite styles. Passing through the door we already saw some familiar people seated, including Haz.

- Finally! The birthday boy arrived!- Tuwaine, one of the boys' friends, who eventually became mine too, stood up greeting Tom with a hug.

- Thanks mate.- Tom said returning the hug and greeting the rest of the people who were at the table and I went after him greeting them too.

- Good to see you here Y/n! I know you're not a big fan of parties.- Tuwaine said as I sat between him and Haz.

- Well, it’s what we do for friends, right? - I laugh looking at Tom who was talking to some friends from the school.

An hour passed and everyone was drinking and talking happily. Tom sat at the end of the long table a little away from where I was with Haz and Tuwaine, so the 3 of us were talking nonsense and joking together.

Until a group of 4 girls arrived together, one of them I could recognize as being Gracie, a girl from the school, I didn't know her very well, we were classmates, we did math together, but we never talked. And another face I knew well: Meghan. A girl who do theater with the boys and who was everyone's crush. Tom and Haz were always talking about her, but I had never talked to her for a long time, just the times I would meet the boys at the theater, we would say hello and goodbye and that was it. The only thing I knew was that Tom was in love with her since he was a child.

Obviously that made me a little jealous, which was ridiculous, because I didn't even know her very well and even though I felt something different for Tom for the past few months, it wasn't right for me to be jealous, he was my friend, that's all.

The girls approached the table and Tom got up to greet them.

-I'm glad you came!-I heard him say as he kissed Meghan's cheek and hugged the others. I could see Gracie looking in Haz's direction and look away quickly, which made me raise a curious eyebrow.

They sat down and I saw Meghan walking to the bar with Tom as they chatted excitedly. I looked away picking up my glass with a drink I didn't even know what it was anymore, taking a sip. I heard someone approaching and when I looked up I saw Gracie.

- Hi Haz! Good to see you. - She said and I saw Haz turn a little red.

- Good to see you too Gracie!- he said greeting her across the table.

- Do you guys know each other?- I asked looking from one to the other.

- Yes we did English together. - Haz said.

- You are Y/n aren't you? Do we do math together? - Gracie asked.

- Yes we do! Do you know Meghan too?

- Yes, she is a childhood friend of mine, as she said she was coming on Tom's birthday and didn't want to come alone me, Beverly and Paige came to accompany her.

- Got it, do you want to sit with us? - I said pointing to the chair in front of us.

- I wish, but the girls are already asking me to sit with them, we haven't seen each other for a while, you know, don't you want to go sit with us instead? - She said pointing to the other table where the other 3 girls were looking at her, calling her.

- It's a good idea. - Haz said and looked at me and Tuwaine who agreed, getting up.

So Gracie went in the front with Tuwaine behind her and me and Haz got a little further back, where I poked him.

- Why didn't you tell me you had a crush? - I asked like a whisper so that only he could hear me.

- It's not a crush... She's just a nice girl from my class, that's all. - he replied.

- Haz I know you.- I said and he rolled his eyes giggling.

We arrived at the table and stayed there talking and getting to know each other. The girls were really nice and cool, which I ended up getting along really well with them, especially Gracie, which was funny because we did a class together and we never even said hello to each other. In the meantime, Tom and Meghan had already returned from the bar with their drinks, where Meghan ended up finding a way to sit next to Tom at the other table, which I thought was a little weird, but I ignored it.

After a few minutes Tom approached our table.

- Hey guys, we’re going to the dance floor, do you guys want to?- he asked leaning between my chair and Haz.

Everyone ended up agreeing, getting up and following him to the dance floor, where Meghan and a few others at the other table were already dancing. The song Juicebox by The strokes starts playing, and everyone sang loudly. I was a little behind as I hated dancing, but I also joined in the singing, because Strokes was one of my favorite bands.

Soon after, the song Glockenspiel song by D.I.D started to play. We got even more excited and started jumping singing. I saw Haz approach Gracie, which made me smile, they looked cute together. So, I looked around and realized that I was in a corner alone, Tuwaine had already left for the middle of the floor super excited and the other girls were on the other side, talking to Marcos and Julian. I kept looking until I found Tom and Meghan, they were dancing very close and talking talking into each other's ears, laughing.

(Oh this town, it's so electric Since I got the feeling I can't shut down)

I lowered my eyes finding the ground very interesting for a moment, but I couldn't stand it and looked up again.

(Oh this town, it's so electric Since I got the feeling I can't shut down)

Which I regretted, because now they were kissing passionately.

(We are a mess, we are failures and we love it)

I felt my stomach starts to hurt, and my eyes fill with tears. Why did I feel this way? It was ridiculous and immature. Tom had already hooked up with other girls in front of me, why was it different now? Not understanding my feelings, the only thing I did was run away, I went outiside and went to the front of the house, leaving.

Maybe it was the drink? But I sat on a low wall and lowered my head to my knees and started to cry.

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[papermoonloveslucy]

LUCY SHUNS AUDITIONS

July 21, 1950

[In the below article, reprinted verbatim, Johnson writes using a lot of imagery and insider jargon.  This sort of article was common in trade papers like Variety, but seems odd in a daily newspaper.]

Hollywood—(NEA) Lucille Ball slipped me the lowdown on her failure to pin to the canvas the dumb chick role in “Born Yesterday” and make it holler uncle. (1)

She’s got a touch of Francis the mule in her when it comes to auditions. (2)

Instead of scrimmaging for the role with Evelyn Keyes, Judy Holliday, Marie Wilson, Shelly Winters and Jan Sterling, (3) Lucille went bolting the other way. 

The “let’s-see-if-you’re-it” boys pleaded and cajoled. 

But Miss Anti-Auditions wasn’t having any of the competition, thank you. 

“I figure if they want you, they want you,” Lucille plainspoke it. If you’ve got to read and test for it, to heck with it.’

She isn’t chronicled in Hollywood history, but once, badgered by her RKO bosses, Lucille went tripping over to David O. Selznick’s office for a whack at the Scarlett O’Hara role in “Gone With the Wind.” 

That’s what curdled her in the first place. 

“It was awful,’’ Lucille shudders. I was shaking all over when I hit Selznick’s office. My knees gave way. I did the whole audition in scrubwoman position. Selznick laughs and says thanks a lot. (4)

Judy Holliday landed the junkman’s doll role and Lucille grabbed a railroad ticket for a personal appearance tour with hubby Desi Arnaz. She strutted to Latin rhythms, swung a glittering purse in a manner dear to runaway girls and wisecracked for the customers. (5)

MIMICS OSCAR WINNER 

At the last moment she nixed a dancing and singing routine. The star with the forest-fire hair shrugged: 

“I decided it would be silly to compete with Grable.” (6)

A lot of movie queens laid in fresh supplies of smelling salts, ice beanies and copies of “Release From Nervous Tension” when word got around that Lucille was about to whoop it up on the six-a-day circuit. (7)

She’s a blister-raiser from way back and the air was shrill with ouches about a year ago when she whipped up an impression of an Academy Award winner. 

But the girls can go back to worrying about other things—like shrinking from larger-than-life to television screen size. 

Lucille didn’t let any “furriners” see the routine. 

“It's for Hollywood only," she said. “I should take radio-active material on the road?” 

Her Oscar-grabber routine is strictly for unreal anyhow, she says. and no blood relation to Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Ingrid Bergman or any other Screen Duse. (8) She insisted:

“She's any movie star, even me. This character has to go up on that stage and act surprised. She’s only been rehearsing what she's going say flor eight weeks. So she says, ‘Ye gads, me?  But I’m so unprepared. Really, I didn’t dream...” Lucille is generally is as unflinching about the movie queen business as Pearl White was about onrushing trains. (9)

But her knees executed some wobbles that aren’t in Arthur Murray’s rhumba dance book when she checked into her first vaudeville dressing room. (10)

“Those stages—they’re so big.” she gasped. “Hey, I’d hate to get caught in the middle of one of those stages without bread and water.” 

Lucille didn’t take any chances with out-of-town press interviews, either. “I once did a personal appearance tour with Maureen O'Hara and had to show up at a press party,” she grinned. (11)

My sinus - I just die from it - was acting up. The reporter next to me didn’t understand my puffed eyes and cold sores. He called Maureen a lady in his story. But he referred to me as a whisky tenor with red-runny eyes.” 

Lucille’s brain cells work on direct current and she’s not one to make with the figure eights when a straight glide to home base would get her there quicker. 

They still laugh about her exit line to Louis B. Mayer. (12) Mayer always referred to her as a thoroughbred and sometimes compared her to his famous horses. "Yes, and like your other nags, I'm leaving your stable," Lucille said when she decided to bow out of her contract. 

She has high hopes for her new picture “The Fuller Brush Man.” Not that she enjoyed it: (13)

“Honey, this ones that I don t enjoy turn out be the best ones.  This one put me in the hospital. My feet are still bandaged up. I’m a mess. No more physical-type pictures for me.”

#   #   #    FOOTNOTES FROM THE FUTURE

(1) The 1946 Broadway hit comedy Born Yesterday by Garsin Kanin was bought by Columbia Pictures. Things got complicated when its stage star, Judy Holliday, swore she would not do the film version. Columbia used this as fuel for publicity about who would win the role.  Naturally, Lucille Ball was considered a top contender.  As the article states, she was not eager, however, to prove her worth to the ‘let’s-see-if-you’re-it’ boys (aka producers).  There was talk of Lucille performing the play in London, or summer stock, but her film contracts would not allow her time off for a stage run. 

(2) Mules are supposedly notoriously stubborn animals - just like Lucy. Francis the Talking Mule was the star of seven popular Universal-International film comedies. The character originated in the 1946 novel Francis by David Stern III, adapting his own script for the first entry, simply titled Francis.  On “I Love Lucy” Fred Mertz sometimes called Ethel “Francis” to indicate she was being stubborn about something. 

(3) These were some of the Hollywood stars looking to play the part of Billie Dawn in the film Born Yesterday. Evelyn Keyes (1916 – 2008) was best known for playing Sue Ellen, Scarlett O’Hara’s kid sister, in Gone With The Wind (1939).  Judy Holliday (1921-65), changed her mind about playing the role she originated on Broadway, but by then the casting net was cast, and she was just another performer on the short list. She eventually got the role, which defined her career. Marie Wilson (1916-72) was a zany comedic actress in the style of Gracie Burns. She was widely known as the star of radio and TV’s “My Friend Irma”. Shelley Winters (1920-2006) would be nominated for an Oscar the year after this article. She was adept at playing drama and comedy, and had a long-lasting career in Hollywood.  She appeared on “Here’s Lucy” in 1968; Critics raved about her Jan Sterling’s portrayal of Billie Dawn in the Chicago touring company of Born Yesterday and Columbia brought her out to the West Coast to test for the film. At one point, she was actually announced to play the part but the role ultimately went to Holliday.

(4) Lucille Ball did indeed read (not screen test) for the role of Scarlet O’Hara, just like nearly all of the women in Hollywood in 1938. Ball told the story several times on television, each time with varying details, but probably most completely on “Bob Hope’s Unrehearsed Antics of The Stars” (1984).

(5) This is a vivid description of the “Cuban Pete / Sally Sweet” portion of Lucy and Desi’s nightclub act to convince sponsors to buy them as a couple. 

(6) Betty Grable (1916-73) was considered one of the most famous pin-up girls in history. In addition to her million dollar gams (legs), she could sing, dance, and act, too. She guest starred with her then-husband Harry James on “Lucy Wins A Racehorse”, an installment of “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” aired on February 3, 1958.

(7) “Release from Nervous Tension” was an actual best-selling book by Dr. David Harold Fink, published in 1950. Vaudeville and Burlesque shows were often known as the ‘six-a-day circuit’ because sometimes there would be as many as six performances of the same act in a day.  Naturally, this did not apply to Lucy and Desi, who were big film and radio stars at the time. 

(8)  These were some of Hollywood’s top-line dramatic actors. Bette Davis (1908-89) had won two Oscars, and was nominated for several others during her long career. She was supposed to guest-star on “The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour” in “The Celebrity Next Door” in 1957 but dropped out after a horse-riding accident, leaving the role to Tallulah Bankhead; Olivia de Havilland (1916-2020) had also won two Oscars, the second the year this article was published. She was best remembered for playing Melanie Wilkes in Gone With The Wind (1939); Ingrid Bergman (1915-82) was a Swedish-born actress, who, by career’s end, had scored three Academy Awards.  When Johnson talks about “any other screen Duse” he is referring to Eleonor Duse (1858-1924), an Italian-born stage actress known for her grand, dramatic style.  

(9) Pearl White (1889-1938) was best known as the silent film actress who was tied to the railroad tracks in “The Perils of Pauline” (1914).  

(10) Arthur Murray (1895-1991) was a ballroom dancer and businessman best known for the chain of dancing schools that bear his name. Murray was often a punchline on “I Love Lucy,” especially when the subject of dancing came up. The Rhumba was a Latin dance that took America by storm in the late 1940s and 1950. Desi Arnaz often called his orchestra a ‘rhumba band.’ 

(11) Maureen O’Hara (1920-2015) and Lucille Ball had starred in Dance, Girl, Dance in 1940. As a result, the two went on a promotional tour that took them to several US cities, including the nation’s capitol. 

(12) Louis B. Meyer (1884-1957), along with Samuel Goldwyn and Marcus Loew of Metro Pictures, had formed a new motion picture company called Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1918. Over the next 25 years, MGM was "the Tiffany of the studios," producing more films and movie stars than any other studio in the world. Mayer became the highest-paid man in America, and one of the country's most successful horse breeders. Both he and MGM reached their peaks at the end of World War II, and Mayer was forced out in 1951, just a year after this article was written. 

(13) Erskine Johnson gets the title wrong. Lucille had madeThe Fuller Brush Girl, a sequel to The Fuller Brush Man (1948).  The film was released in mid-September 1950. 

[angelfire115]

You swept me off my feet part 4

Charlotte woke up uncomfortable but slightly warm, she heard the birds outside sing which made it clear it was morning. She tried to move but she felt some weight on her. She opened her eyes to realize where she was. She was in the hall she remembered being in last night, where she had that terrifying encounter with a beast and a warm moment with Helsa. Speaking of which, Helsa was the weight she felt, apparently both girls fell asleep in the middle of the hall, wrapped in each others arms. Charlotte had no nightmares about last night which she swore she would have if Helsa wasn't there. Even as a kid, being in the arms of someone she knows and cares for, like her parents, always made her feel better.

Helsa groaned, slightly moving, then a huge yawn left her lips as her head slowly rose up. When the wieght on Charlottes head was gone, Charlotte also got up. Both girls stretched as far as their muscles could bare. Cracking sounds being heard from both. It took Helsa maybe 10 seconds to realise where she was. Helsa: "Wait, why did I fall asleep here? Especially with you?". Charlotte: "I-". Helsa: "Nevemind, the question I should be asking is why you were out here crying? And why do you have such a creepy cane?". Helsas demand for question was a bit mind boggling for Charlotte, would she even believe what happened last night?

Before another word could be said, the voice of Mary Von Eldritch rang through the house. She was calling for the girls, wondering where they were. Helsa gave Charlotte one more glare before getting up to see her mother. Mary: "Oh, Helsa, there you are, I was wondering if you and Charlotte could help me with something". Helsa rolled her eyes while Charlotte came around the corner. Seeing both girls awake made Mary surprised and suspicious. Mary: "Hmm, so what were you two doing this early in the morning?". Helsa and Charlotte looked at each other before looking back at Mary. Charlotte: "Nothing, just talking". Mary's face lit up in surprise but was happy the two were getting along.

Mary: "Anyway, I need both of your opinions on a dress I should wear at me and Arthur's dinner". Both girls looked at the woman, confused on why she needed them too. Mary: "Oh, don't you two listen, its me and your fathers anniversary tomorrow and we're going out". The conversation Mary and Arthur had about an anniversary date resurfaced in their minds. Before continuing up stairs, Mary looked at the girls attire. Mary: "Didn't you wear that dress yesterday Charlotte dear? And you too Helsa". They both looked down at their outfits, also remembering they fell asleep in them. Charlotte: "Oh well, I must have not realized I put it back on". Helsa nodded, going with the same arguement.

Mary hummed in response before heading back upstairs and too her room with the two girls following behind. A bunch of beautiful and elegant dresses where splayed throughout the room. Dresses of different styles, sizes, colours and more. Helsa and Charlotte awed in the amazement and beauty of the dresses and the amount of them. Charlotte: "There's so many". Charlotte spoke under her breath but the two ladies still heard her. Helsa: "I know". Mary turned to the girls, somewhat stressed. Mary: "Alright, now, you two will help me choose a dress, it has to be perfect". Helsa huffed in response while Charlotte got excited. She has done this many times with her mother so she was knowledgeable of fashion while Helsa didn't seem as interested.

Mary led the girls to sit at a couch that was placed infront of a dressing room. They sat there for over an hour going over dress after dress. Charlotte giving her most honest opinions while also giving advice which Mary was happy to hear. Helsa, however, only ever said "Looks great mum" to every single dress she tried on, making it obvious she didn't want to be here. After choosing a lovely dress, they moved onto accessories and hair styles. Charlotte contributed more then Helsa did, of course, not that anyone noticed. After an infinite amount of girl talk on hair and more, the day finally came to an end. The sun set and the sky became dark. Looking out to the darkness and the forest beyond sent an uneasy twang in Charlottes gut. She definitely wasn't going night walking on her own again.

As all the ladies went down stairs to attend dinner both Harold and Arthur were already there. Arthur: "Well well well, look who it is? The 3 beauties of the house now finally came to dinner". Mary held her hips and made a cheeky smug look at her husband. Mary: "I know, it's so difficult for you boys to do anything without us ladies". Everyone laughed at her humour, except Helsa who rolled her eyes and went to sit at a chair on one side of the dinner table. Everyone had their dinner as usual, chatting away the day they had. Except for Arthur who was too busy digging into a newspaper to pay attention. Mary: "Honey, it's dinner, you can read the daily news later".

Arthur noticed his wife talking and had a troubled expression on his face. Arthur: "Oh sorry my love, it's just the most strangest thing happened today, Old man Jenkins that owns that cane store was found dead this morning". Charlotte stopped her eating as she heard the news, the cane store? The same one that she went too? She waited to hear more. Mary: "How tragic, did he die from heart failure? That man was at that stage of life after all". Arthur's expression became confused and he hesitated to say anything else but after seeing the curious expressions on everyone else's face, he gave up. Arthur: "No, he apparently got murdered, pretty brutally actually, says here his blood was everywhere".

This made Charlotte's heart stop, the voices of everyone else, including Mary's rant on not speaking of something while having dinner faded away as she couldn't stop thinking of this event. She found the cane this morning, out in the garden, in the same spot and the old man, who had that cane, died. But not only died but was murdered and then the cane suddenly appears back into her possession and in extension, she got attacked that same night by an unknown being. This couldn't have been a coincidence, it couldn't have been, is someone trying to send her a message? Is there some kind of messed up plot happening? She didn't know, she didn't want too. All she wanted was to go home, forget about everything, the marriage, the strange cane and the strange and terrifying things that happened around her. She just, wanted to go home.

As dinner ended and everyone returned to their rooms, Charlotte sat on her bed, thinking again. She looked to the corner of the room, seeing the cane she left sit there, still in it's same position. She slowly got up and walked towards it, hesitant on touching it but picked it up in her hands and held it gently. She looked to the initials, A.R.D, what could that mean? And could whoever this person be, be the one messing with her? Doing these crazy events and scaring her? She didn't know.

She made her way out of her room and walked through the house halls, heading downstairs into the quiet living room. She looked around, she had gotten used to the walls and the atmosphere of the establishment but still, something felt off. She kept trailing around the mansion, walking as quietly as possible so not to disturb anyone. When she made it to the front door, she stopped, staring at the finely carved decorations before opening to feel the chill air. Carefully walking down the steps she stared into the night sky, it was slightly cloudy but she could still see the stars. She kept on wondering, letting her mind wonder as well. She didn't care where she was going, as long as she could think in peace, she didn't care. She thought about everything that had happened, the wedding, the day she met the Eldritch's, the day she found the cane, the day she met the old cane seller man, the day she had that terrifying encounter and more. It was a mixture of emotions, she loved it here, the family was nice even Helsa was but she had such a deep and terrible feeling deep in her gut that she ignored till now.

Her mind wondered more and she pondered each second she had while being here. After a while, she stopped her walking, suddenly questioning where she was. And then it hit her, she was exactly in the same spot she stood when she found the cane and met that beast. She looked out into the woods, a trickling of fear crept up her stomach as she remembered that night standing here and seeing those red eyes. But the fear was only minimum since not a sign of that thing appeared. She thought about going back inside but the air felt nice and cool and she felt that sense of freedom again. As she stood there, wanting too for just a bit longer, the slight breeze stopped, the sound of insects chirping stopped, its like time stood still, for those few moments, nothing happened. Charlotte thought now it was the time to leave, like the rest of the world told her to get back inside. Suddnely that forboding gut feeling came back, the same one she felt when she left the cane in that mans possession, she squeezed tightly at the staff as she tried to catch her breath. Her heart raced like she was having a heart attack, she thought she was till.....

"Hello Charlotte".

[alphacygni]

The Globe Theatre, London  1601

“The stench really is remarkable.” Aziraphale scrunched his nose at the masses teeming around them. He got that same look when Crowley mentioned some foul deed he’d perpetrated. Or when Crowley suggested pub food.

“You’re the one who wanted to make him popular,” Crowley pointed out as he leaned back to let the oyster wench pass. “And you could stop using the nose, you know, if it’s so awful.” Though Crowley’d long since grown accustomed to them, he didn’t see the point in most of these bodily appendages anyway. Toes, teeth, fingernails. And the bellybutton. He didn’t even bother manifesting that one most of the time.

The eyes, though—he liked the eyes. You could see some lovely things on this little world.

He glanced over at the angel and adjusted his sunglasses.

From somewhere Crowley hadn't caught, Aziraphale had produced a vibrant peach which he was now running under his nose. “If I turn of my sense of smell, I won’t be able to enjoy this.” A reverent inhale. “They’re perfectly in season at the moment.”

The bite was a pop of skin followed by an indulgent squish and a low, moan-shaped noise Crowley wished he could lie out on, languorous and warm as a rock.

That wasn’t an angel’s noise.

Sometimes, Crowley had to turn off a few bodily functions of his own.

He cleared his throat and his thoughts. “Look, angel, I don’t have time for your—“

“Oh, don’t start with that.” Aziraphale wiped a bead of juice from his mouth with a pout. “You’ve been in a foul mood ever since you arrived.”

“I’m a demon! Whad’dya expect me to do, giggle?”

But of course the angel was right. He was in a foul mood, and it wasn’t from the stench or the angel’s noises or the general fug of discontent he was meant to luxuriate in as an agent of the Dark Prince.

It was the play.

“Another tragedy,” he groaned.

“Oh, but this a marvelous one! ‘Two households, both alike in dignity’…”

“Load of melodrama if you ask me. How old are these kids anyway?”

The angel’s nose turned up. “Honestly, I’d think a demon would prefer tragedy.”

Crowley grit his teeth[1]. He wasn’t about to start trying to explain why the tragic story of two lovers kept apart by the feuding of their flawed and fundamentally indistinguishable houses really wasn’t his favorite sort of story these days. “Look, I’m not here for the entertainment. Did you tempt the man or not? I’ve got a report to write, and I don’t want—“

“I’ve already written it,” Aziraphale said, flat, drawing a scroll from, assumedly, the same place he’d kept the peach. The bow around it was crisp and black.

Crowley stared. He decided not to point out that Hell didn’t really go in for bows. “You…you wrote it already?”

“Had to do mine.” He shrugged. “Always best to do the paperwork when everything’s still fresh on one’s mind, I find.”

Crowley preferred to do his later over a glass of wine. Or three. Helped when he needed to embellish the details.

Scroll in hand, Crowley turned the thought over several times. His first instinct had been one of gratitude, but now…looking into the angel’s unmoving eyes, suspicion took its place. “How…how did you do it? The tempting, I mean.”

“You could read the report.”

“You know I’m not a reader, angel. Give me the highlights.”

Aziraphale shifted. “I…well, he was a strapping young man.”

“Right.”

“And…, I was tired and sore from the horse and ready to come home, so, I…I took the easy route, you could say.”

Crowley was afraid to guess what that meant. “The ‘easy route’?”

“Yes.”

Crowley blinked. “Do you…mean you…?”

The angel didn’t say anything and definitely didn’t look Crowley’s way.

“You…” He searched for a heavenly euphemism. “…knew him?”

The look of scandal on Azirphale’s face was frustratingly charming. “Absolutely not! Nothing so tawdry. Just a little…flirting. A challenge to his machismo. That sort of man will do almost anything to impress a young lady.”

“Young lady?” Crowley tried to be circumspect as he inspected the angel for any visible sign of the feminine. You really couldn't tell anything in those breeches. “You…changed?” He’d never seen Aziraphale take any other form. Didn’t even know he could. He’d assumed it was the sort of thing heaven would find a bit too flamboyant.

“Oh, not really. You know, a glamour here, a glamour there. Although I did put on enough to fill in the dress. And I plaited my hair.”

Crowley swallowed. It was no use trying not to picture it as the angel spoke. Shocking white plait, cinched waist, a swell here, a hint there. Satin or lace or, hell, rough-spun on pale skin. Crowley felt a little stutter as the image pulled into focus in his mind. He could only imagine what the poor man had suffered. Crowley might have stolen more than a few cattle.

“I do enjoy plaiting hair,” the angel went on sweetly through another bite of peach. “I could do yours sometime. If you like. Might look fetching.”

That was as much as Crowley could take. “Not really my style, angel…just…it worked, then? The…” He had been poised to say seduction but decided better. “The temptation?”

Aziraphale balked. “What do you mean? Of course it worked!”

“Don’t get your feathers ruffled. I’m sure it was a lovely…plait. I just meant that you…you did the job.”

A bite and a sigh. “I did.”

“And you wrote the report.”

“I did.”

“Well, that’s… thank you.”

“Oh, I don’t know about thanking each other. Makes it all sound a bit too…collaborative.”

Crowley grunted. A bit too collaborative. Yeah, he had been. And not nearly collaborative enough. “Right.”

Perhaps something had shown on his face because the angel’s expression softened. “Still, you should stay. We can…enjoy the play, can’t we?”

If there was one thing Crowley didn’t want from the angel—ever—it was pity. Pity was worse than revulsion. Worse than coldness. Pity was the pretty face the Holy put on disdain.

“Don’t see why I should sit through to the end,” he grumbled. “‘A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life’…gave it away right in the beginning, didn’t he?”

The angel wore his hurt the same as those ridiculous hose: a perfect fit and oddly flattering. “A story’s not all about the ending. You can know how it ends and still want to know how they arrive at it, can’t you?”

Crowley made a non-committal noise—the kind that wants to salvage anger even in the face of a better option.

“Oh, you are in a strop.” The angel pouted for a moment before some thought lifted into a smile. He held the fruit out in Crowley’s direction. In the muzzy light of the playhouse, the fuzz of its skin shimmered velvet. “Here. Have a bite. I challenge you to find anything tragic about it.”

Music strummed through the angel’s voice, and, though Crowley hadn’t bothered to eat since the first day of Creation, he found his lips wanted to part. His mouth flooded with saliva.

“Come on.” A wiggle of fingers. “A little taste will wipe that scowl right off.”

Crowley ran his tongue along the backs of his teeth.

On stage, the lovers clasped hands against the better advice of their elders. The sweetest honey is loathsome in its own deliciousness.

He swallowed saliva and the idea of honey as he stood to leave.

“You wanna make me smile, angel, invite me to something with a happier ending next time.”

[tialovestelevision]

Fool for Love

Huh. So, Angel gives us Spike’s killing of the Slayer in the Boxer Rebellion, and Buffy is giving us more material related to that.

1. After a Previously On, we get Buffy in a cemetery fighting a vampire. She.. just got stabbed in the belly by her own stake. That’s a bad moment. Opening credits. Still no Tara.

2. She’s certainly bleeding a lot… and pulled the stake out of the wound. Running away now, still bleeding. Vampire caught up to her. Vampire got the stake. Riley, out of nowhere, hits the vampire with a flying tackle and stun guns it, which chases it off.

3. Guest Starring David Boreanaz. Buffy and Riley at Buffy’s house… he’s bandaging her up. She passed out. Also Kristine Sutherland. Riley wants to send her to the hospital. Buffy’s off her game… she lost to one normal vampire. And Dawn bursts in, then Joyce. Joyce wants to talk about the grocery list. Dawn is helping cover for Buffy… that was nice of her. Buffy just was mean, then got nice again. Dawn’s going to help with household stuff, and Riley’s going to take the others along to patrol.

4. Cemetary. Riley’s sneaking. Signals to the others, who are eating chips. This is a little hilarious. Riley is sending the others to the Bronze. Riley wants them to ditch the chips. Willow wants to eat chips.

5. The Magic Box. They’re researching the deaths of Slayers. She wants to know what made their last battles different. Giles points out that when a Slayer’s been killed, nobody who was there will talk, and the Watches don’t want to write about the deaths of their charges because it hurts. Buffy just realized there is someone who knows.

6. Spike's crypt. Buffy wants him to show her how he killed the two Slayers he killed. According to Wikipedia, their names are Xin Rong and  Nikki Wood. Spike wants wings. And he just saw her injury.

7. We flash back to a human William, writing poetry. Badly. Very badly. A woman comes downstairs… Cecily. I think he’s writing his poem for her. It’s 1880 in London. There’s a rash of disappearances, but William would rather not think about it. Someone grabbed his poem. He’s very embarrassed. Cecily just stumbled away to escape the poem. “They call him William the Bloody because of his bloody awful poetry.” “It suits him! I’d rather have a railroad spike through my head than listen to that awful stuff!” Then why’d you READ IT ALOUD, asshole? William found Cecily. She doesn’t want to talk to him. But he’s sitting down anyway… she’s going to ask him a question. She’s asking if his poems are about her. He says they are. She’s horrified. He says he loves her, and she’s even more horrified. He’s… William: “I may be a bad poet, but I’m a good man, and I only ask is that you see me…” Cecily: “I do see you! That’s the problem. You’re nothing to me, William.” News flash: That you want to be in a relationship with a girl does not mean she has an obligation to be in one with you. William is on the street, now, and just ran into Angelus and Drusilla and Darla. He’s going through a gate, into a stable, where he’s tearing up his poem. Drusilla just showed up. Called William a dashing stranger. William says he wants to be alone. She says he’s surrounded by fools who cannot see his strength, his vision, his glory. Another hint: If you have accomplished nothing of note and someone comes to you and calls you glorious without actually getting to know you, they’re probably there to take your soul. They’re a vampire, or a con artist, or Donald Trump, but I repeat myself. William thinks Drusilla is there for his purse. He says his  mother is expecting him. And now he’s being turned… and complaining about the pain of it. Rather a lot.

8. Riley just found the vampire who stabbed Buffy. They move in, then Riley approaches. It just went into a crypt. There’s voices inside. It’s a whole nest. They’re not going in.

9. The Bronze. Spike is talking about what it’s like to be a vampire. “Getting killed made me feel alive for the first time.” Now it’s 1880, and Angelus is threatening Spike. Spike has them in a mine shaft, because Spike likes reputation. I love Dru’s crazy. Spike likes fights; Angelus likes to hunt. Now Angelus is threatening to stake Spike. “If I can’t teach you, some day an angry crowd will. That… or the Slayer.” Then Spike wanted to fight a Slayer. “Lesson the first: The Slayer must always reach for her weapon. I’ve already got mine. Good thing, too… become a vampire, you’ve got nothing to fear. Nothing but one girl. That’s you, honey.” Now we’re introduced to Xin Rong.

10. 1900. Xin Rong is fighting Spike. That’s… I think a Boxer fighting style. Meanwhile, there’s a crowd of people fleeing the fighting. She doesn’t have a sword, now. But she’s still kicking him, and he’s kicking her. She had a stake, but he disarmed her. And… bite. She asks Spike to give a message to her mother, but he doesn’t speak Chinese.

11. Drusilla finds Spike with Xin Rong’s corpse. She calls him naughty and wicked and looks very turned on. They’re going to have sex right there. The temple’s burning… Spike… Dru… fire? They’re out of the temple, now, and Angel and Darla found them. That whole bit was in Angel, but from a different perspective.

12. Back to the Bronze, with Spike saying it was the best night of his life. Spike points out that all the vampires need to take a Slayer out is for one of them - any one of them - to have one good day. They’re going outside.

13. Riley is on his way to the vampire nest. He’s challenging them all to a straight fight… and killed the one that stabbed Buffy. And leaving a grenade on the ground. He just blew them up.

14. “Lesson the second. Ask the right questions. The question isn’t how did I win. The question is why did they lose?” We’re getting Spike vs. Nikki Wood in 1977 New York. They both look exactly right for the time. Fighting in a subway… he disarms her and pins her to the door, but she fights back. He got a piece of pipe. “Death is on your heels, baby, and one of these days it’s gonna catch you.” Darkness for a moment. “And now, you see, that’s the secret. Not the punch you didn’t throw, not the kicks you didn’t land. She really wanted it. Every Slayer has a death wish… even you.” Huh… he didn’t eat Nikki. “The only reason you’ve lasted as long as you have is you’ve got ties to the world.” “Here endeth the lesson.” And Spike burns the cool of this by trying to kiss her. Also, he’s wearing Nikki’s coat. Buffy gave the same line to him before leaving that Cecelie did… “You’re beneath me.” And now he’s sobbing. And now he’s angry.

15. Spike just got a shotgun out. “Hasn’t got a death wish? Bitch won’t need one.” And we’re in 1998 with Drusilla chewing Spike out over his obsession with Buffy. Now we’re at Joyce’s house… Joyce can’t find her conditioner, and is packing. She’s on her way to the hospital, because whatever is going on requires observation and a CAT scan. It’s a tumor… they’re worried about a tumor. Buffy is outside, in back of the house, and sits down on the steps to cry. Spike comes into the yard, sees her there, crying. She asks what he wants now. He asks what’s wrong. She doesn’t want to talk about it. He asks if there’s something he can do. Then he puts the gun down and sits next to her. And pats her back. And… they’re just sitting. Episode ends.

Overall: The stories about the killing of the two Slayers are the stars here, though I wish Xin Rong and Nikki Wood got time to be characters instead of just being there as pre-corpses. Spike’s conclusion implies, basically, that a vampire can’t beat a Slayer, at least not an experienced one - a Slayer can lose to the vampire, because she’s run out of fight, but if a vampire faces a Slayer who still has fight in her the vampire will get killed. That doesn’t quite track with what we’ve seen, though… Kendra was immensely powerful and still had fight, and Drusilla managed to kill her. Still, Dru is herself a bit of a special case… her oracular powers and hypnotic abilities set her aside from every vampire we’ve seen with the exception of Dracula.

I also don’t quite understand how the loss of the soul works. I’d think Spike incapable of selflessness, but he puts aside his desire for revenge here to sit with Buffy, who’s in pain. That could be obsession, but if so, vampiric obsession is a very complex thing that doesn’t produce predictable behaviors. I’ll have to think about that one.

Good episode, on the whole. Until the scene on the porch, it felt like it had overstayed its welcome - the stories were done, but we had this weird stuff with Spike and Harmony and the gun, then Joyce’s tumor. But it all did get tied together on the porch.

I still don’t like the Spike/Buffy pairing.

[citruscisco]

Proposal

     So a little back story on this, I’m taking an Honors English class and we have 5 essays due this up coming Monday. I just finished my last one, and it’s a narrative. The prompt was that I was supposed to create a scene with a creative proposal or something. Little does she know it’s secretly fanfiction about Ben Hardy, but I just changed his last name. Also  speaking of the female character in the story (I know I didn’t speak of her before), I kinda pictured her as having Charlie Bradbury’s personality, but a bit more confident and flirtatious. Anyways, enjoy! Also I’m sorry if this is bad, I wrote this from 10 AM to 4 PM, I think!

     “Here, let me help you,” a deep voice chimed in from the doorway of the bedroom. The freckled, hazel-eyed girl spun around at the sound of his voice and smiled shyly. She fiddled with the golden locket in between her pale, slim fingers that held a picture of them both. The blond had been watching in amusement as she struggled to put on the necklace – which he had given to her – and finally decided to speak up. The girl nodded slightly and turned back to face the mirror, holding the necklace in one hand and using the other to hold her flaming locks of auburn hair. The blonde walked up behind her and grasped onto the locket from her much smaller hands, gently grasped it from her fingers and began clasping it on.

     It had only been 6 years since Ben Johansson had met Serenity Geist, one of those years had been spent as staying friends, while the rest had been spent in a loving relationship. Ben had the opportunity to move to the states from his hometown in London at the ripe age of 22, both for a better education and more job opportunities. He had been working at a Barns and Nobles that was a block away from his university the day he had met her, and Serenity just so happened to be a visitor at the books shop. The two of them can remember that day oh-so clearly.

     November 19th, 2014. Ben has been sitting at the front seat that chilly morning. He wore his usual white T-shirt with a red and black checkered flannel. His feet were propped up on chair across from him as he watched a movie on his phone. Ben want much of a reader himself, which is quite ironic considering where he works. He held his head up in his left hand, which was propped up on the table. It had been a quiet morning, thankfully. Ben wasn’t much of a morning person anyways. There were no customers in sight. Just people walking by the front door with their cups of coffee in their hand and a cell phone in the other.  

     His head perked up at the sound of the bell at the front door ringing, meaning a customer is here. At the gust of cold air let in, he suddenly wished he wore better pants than a simple pair of khaki jeans. Ben’s green eyes scanned over the room, looking for the customer. His heart nearly beat straight out of his chest at the girl before him. There in the fiction section of the library stood a girl with wavy auburn hair and pale skin. She wore a simple pair of black leggings and a cream-colored sweater that practically swallowed her small frame. She too wore a pair of Converse that matched his own. Her wide eyes scanned over books of all sizes and colors with a look of curiosity and awe in her eyes. He didn’t know why he was feeling this way, but the sight of her was enough to turn him back into the nervous, scrawny teenage boy he once was. His palm started to sweat, and his heart was beating just a tad bit faster than before.

     He switched off his phone and began to walk over when noticed how she was struggling to reach a book on the very top shelf. He chuckled to himself as he watched in amusement as she jumped up and down while trying to snatch the book off the top shelf. He walked up beside her and reached up for the book, now noticing how his tall, fit frame practically towered over her. ”Here, let me help you,” he spoke softly, not wanting to startle her. She stopped her attempts at reaching the book and smiled wide as he handed her the book. She looked up at him and he could now see that her eyes were hazel, and her face had millions of freckles scattered across her nose and cheeks. She looked around his age, possibly a bit younger, but still over 18.

     Serenity Geist was only a year younger when she met Ben. She had just moved into the area a week ago and was still trying to figure out her way around town. On her way to a coffee shop she was suggested to visit by her neighbor, she stumbled upon the famous book shop, Barns and Nobles. Serenity figured it wouldn’t hurt to delay her trip to the café, for maybe she would find a book she liked and could read it as she sipped her coffee. She was quite the book worm after all, as well as a coffee addict. She gently pushed open the door to the book store and her eyes widened at the millions of books that laid right before her very eyes. There were hundreds of shelves filled to the brim with thousands of books of all colors and sizes.  

     Serenity stepped into the shop and it seemed as if her legs moved on their own, taking her straight to the fiction section, for it was her favorite genre to read. She slowly walked along the beginning of the shelf and glanced at each book there, yet she stopped when a certain book caught her eye. It was a thick, green book on the very top shelf that read Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince. Serenity needed to have that book. It was the only book she didn’t have in her Harry Potter collection. Being the stubborn and ambitious person she is, she didn’t bother asking around for help and began to jump up and down all the while trying to snatch the book off of the top shelf. Curse her parents for giving her the short genes.

     Just when Serenity was about to give up and go look around for a stool of some sort, she saw a hand reach up and grasp the book for her. ‘Oh god, I probably looked like an idiot,’ she thought to herself, feeling embarrassment creep up her spine and a blush form its way onto her pale cheeks.

     “Here, let me help you,” a deep, British voice spoke. A voice low as a bassoon, yet sweeter than honey. It was the kind of voice that you would hear on the radio. Serenity looked up and it felt as if her embarrassment worsened. ‘Oh no he’s British and attractive,’ she thought awkwardly. She was never good with talking to people she found attractive. Scratch that, she’s not great with talking to people in general. Maybe it’s from her anxiety, her awkwardness, or she didn’t want to express how much of a geek she truly was. She didn’t want to bore or annoy anyone with her constant rambles of how the books and movies of the Harry Potter series were different, or how she thought Star Wars was better than Star Trek.  

     She grasped the book from him and smiled shyly up at him and tucked a strand of her auburn hair behind her ear. “Thanks, uh sorry you had to see that,” she spoke awkwardly, still trying to appear confident. Yeah, that didn’t work. “Unfortunately for me, I got the short genes of the family.” The blond laughed at her comment and shoved his hands into the pockets of his khaki jeans.  

     “Well, I can’t and never quite have understood what it’s like to be short, but I can someone relate to your pain. I’m too tall to sit in the back seat of some cars. My legs are too long, and in the end my legs are scrunched up against my chest. You know what I mean?” he asked while scratching the back of his neck, hoping that he chose the right words to say and didn’t seem like an idiot. He was relieved when he heard her angelic laughter, which sent his heart soaring. Not only was she cute physically, but she had an amazing personality – from what he could tell – and an amazing laugh.

     “Yeah, I know what you mean...” She paused, furrowing her eyebrows when she realized she didn’t even know his name. She scanned his upper body, hoping that she would find a name tag of some sort. Serenity’s eyes seemed to roam a tad bit longer, gazing at his nicely built chest. She quickly through those thoughts out the window when she heard him speak. Ben seemed to notice how she paused and the way her eyes scanned his shirt.  

     “Oh! How rude of me! I’m Benjamin, but just call me Ben,” he spoke with a grin and stuck out his hand for her to shake. Serenity grinned up at him and grasped his larger hand with her smaller one.

     “Greetings and salutations, call me Serenity.” She sent him a playful wink – which was totally something she wouldn’t do considering the fact she’s horrible at flirting. His eyebrows furrowed and the corner of his plump lips turned up into a smirk.

     “Was that a Heathers reference?”  

     “You ‘betcha it was!” At that moment when their hands touched, both of their hearts soared high in the sky, and a beautiful friendship had been born. Serenity ended up staying at the book shop until Ben’s shift was over, reading her new book to pass the time. The two then went down to the café Serenity was originally heading to, and the rest was history.

     Ben gently wrapped his strong arms around Serenity’s waist, smiling at the memory of how they first met. She noticed this in the mirror and placed one hand on the locket and the other on top of his arm lovingly. She raised an eye at him through the mirror, “Whatcha thinking about?” she asked while resting her head against his chest. This only made Ben’s smile grow into a grin. He placed a gentle kiss to her temple and tightened his arms around her waist.

     “Just thinking about how beautiful you look.” Of course, that’s not what he was thinking about, but it was no lie that she looked stunning in the dress she wore. She wore a dark red dress that matched her dark red flats. The dress itself was a vintage style dress as well as an A-frame dress, meaning it went out at her hips and gave her an elegant look. The top of the dress was lace around the sleeves as well as around the neck line. The neck line was also off the shoulders, showing off her collarbones and shoulders nicely. The golden locket gave a nice touch to the outfit overall. Ben always loved the outfits she chose. They were always different depending on her mood. Some days she wore sweatpants and a hoodie that was tied together with a messy bun in her hair, for those outfits were for days she felt like she wanted to be lazy. However, times like these called for a beautiful dress and shoes. Times like these are special times, times when she wants to dress up. She wants to feel beautiful, then again, no one wants to feel ugly.

     Ben wore a simple black button up shirt, black dress pants, fancy, black dress shoes, and a light brown jacket. The jacket itself was made of leather and had a viscose lining, a snap tab collar, and a zipper style closure. It also had open hem cuffs and two waist pockets and inside pockets. It was something so simple, yet so attractive on him. Over the years of knowing each other, Serenity had helped him expand his sense of style. When she first met him, she was horrified to find that his drawers were only filled with khakis and flannels.

     “We should probably get going, don’t wanna be late for our reservations. Plus, I'm starving!” Serenity spoke, breaking his train of thought in the process. Ben pulled his arm away and grabbed his keys and wallet, yet Serenity was quick to snatch the keys from him. She insisted on driving, which causes Ben to pout because he desperately wanted to drive the new car he bought. It was brand new and shiny and he wanted to drive around showing off his prized possessions. His car and the love of his life.  

     “Darling you can barely even reach the pedals!” he called out to her as she was already making her way down the stairs.  

     She stopped at the door and turned around to face him, “Of course I am! Besides, if I’m not I can always just grow another leg or two, plop that onto my current leg and boom! I’ll be able to reach the pedal!” His eyebrows furrowed at her words. This isn’t the first time she’s said something this weird. Was she already tipsy?

     “Darling that doesn’t make any sense.”

     “I am under no obligation to make sense to you!” With that, she walked right out to the door and to his car. She still didn’t get to drive.

     It was their 5-year anniversary today, and Ben – like every year – is planning something special. Serenity constantly tells him that just being with him is the best present she could ever ask for, yet he insists on spoiling her. The restaurant this year had been the first restaurant he had taken her to their first date. Nothing too fancy, but nothing too casual. The two sat down across from one another, and a bottle of her favorite wine was brought out without needing to be asked. Serenity raised ab eyebrow at him from across the table.

     “You have something planned, don’t you?” Her tone was playful yet serious. She has always been observant from the day she was born. Surprisingly, Ben was quite calm and let out a small chuckled and smirked while sipping the glass of wine.

     “Only time will tell, my dear.” His words sent a wave of excitement down her spine and caused her heart to beat a bit faster. She said nothing and sipped her wine as well, wondering what he might have planned. Was he planning on taking her somewhere for vacation? She frequently mentioned how she always wanted to explore New Zealand. She’s already visited London to visit his family, so that’s crossed off the list.

     Ben set down his glass and reached down under the table and pulled up a small white box that looked around the size of a picture frame. It had a small red bow resting on top of it as well as a tag with her name on it. Ben sat the box in front of her, but Serenity didn’t touch it. Ben could tell she was eager to rip the box in two and see what laid inside of it. He chuckled and nodded, silently saying she could open it. “Go ahead,” he spoke, feeling himself grow anxious as well.

     Serenity grinned wide and grabbed the box but stopped. Her grin faltered into a pout. “You didn’t have to get me anything, and I didn’t even get you anything,” she pouted, suddenly feeling upset. He laughed and shook his head at her words, reaching across the table and gently grasped her soft hand with his rougher one.  

     “You didn’t need to get me anything. Your love and happiness are the best gifts I could ever ask for. Now open the box, I’m getting impatient!” She rolled her eyes at the last comment he made and did as she was told. The grin was back on her face and was even wider than before – if that was even possible. In the box sat a book. It was a book she never heard of before, but they both knew how much she loved books.  

     “Aw, Ben, you didn’t have to!” She exclaimed, feeling her heart flutter as she pulled the sticky note that sat on the book, which read, “HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!”  

     “You’re right, I didn’t have to, but I wanted to. Read it.” She looked up at him then down out the book, but was puzzled to find that the first page, the second, and what seemed to be 100 pages were glued together. It was as if it was a box. She opened the book and her breath hitched as she saw what was inside.  Inside of the book was a highlighted paragraph, a small box carved out of the pages that held a diamond ring with a silver band, and in big, red, bold letters above the box were the words, “MARRY ME?” The paragraph read, “I’m in love with you...I am... I’m in love with you, and I’m not in the business of denying myself the simple pleasure of saying true things. I’m in love with you, and I know that love is just a shout into the void, and that oblivion is inevitable, and that we’re all doomed and that there will come a day when all our labor has been returned to dust, and I know the sun will swallow the only earth we’ll ever have, and I am in love with you.” Tears were now streaming down her face. This was paragraph was from her favorite book, The Fault in Our Stars. Ben’s hand reached out and gently grasped the ring from the book.

     “Ignoring everyone in the room is my favorite part of this tradition,” Ben laughed out as he held the rink in one hand while the other one was held out to her. “Take my hand.”

     “Why?” She asked, laughing through the tears of happiness in her eyes.

     “I’m trying to ask you to marry me, to take my dang hand!” He demanded while laughing as well. Their laughter blended together, creating a sweet harmony that made the people around them smile at the couple. “Serenity, when we were friends, I was just kind of hoping that you’d, y’know...fall in love with me.” Tears now started to brim his own eyes. “You don’t know how hard I tried not to fall in love with you, I really did...but I did anyways. It scares me. I think – no – I know I’m in love with you, and that...and that scares me. It scares me to death.” a tear fell down from the corner of his eye as his bottom lip trembled. ‘God I’m being such a crybaby today,’ the thought to himself. “I’m scared to death because I have this irrational fear that someday you’re going to leave me. Whether it be before me due to an illness, or you leave me for another man. I just hope you know that I’ll be with you until the end. I'll be by your side through the 9 months of pregnancy, childbirth, sickness and health, and whatever life throws our way. So...will you marry me?” His voice was shaking with the last three words and his heart bounded as he waited for her response.

     Serenity’s hands were covering her mouth, but they couldn’t hide her sobs throughout Ben’s whole speech. As soon as his speech was over, she screamed an incoherent yes, practically tackled him and slamming her lips against his. The people who had been watching the scene began clapping and cheering for them. What a beautiful scene it was indeed. Ben held her tight as he stood up, practically holding her up off the ground with their lips still attached to one another. He set her down and slipped the ring onto her ring finger on her left hand. Ben reached up and wiped the remaining tears away from her face with his thumb. Serenity grinned at the gesture and reached up to his face and did the same, making him smile softly. “You scream like a girl by the way,” Ben laughed out, wrapping his arms around her waist. Serenity rolled her eyes and wrapped her arms around his neck, standing on her tip-toes to do so.  

     “Okay, first I am a girl for your information, and second I do not scream like a girl,’ she defended.

     “Well you sure did a high-pitched scream.”

     “I did not scream!”

     “Oh yeah, so what did you do?”

     “That was merely me trying not to have a heart attack with a little dignity.” He rolled his eyes at her comment and decided to drop it.

     “So...what’s our plan for tonight?” He asked while they both sat back down. He smiled politely as a thanks while people would walk by and congratulate them on the engagement.

     “We do not have a plan –”

     “Well let’s make one!”

     “– I have my own plans that don’t include you.”

     “Oh yeah, what’s that?” He chuckled out in amusement.  

     “Well, my plan includes me going home, running a bath filled with bubbles and soaking in it as I drink some champagne, and I plan to do this by myself. Alone.” She leaned back in her chair while sipping her wine, glancing over at him with a hint of playfulness in her eyes. He placed his hand on his heart and his mouth dropped open a bit, acting as if he was offended.  

     “I thought we were a team!”

     “We are, which is why I need a break.” He raised his eyebrows at her words.

     “You need a break from me?”

     “Yes...so I’ll still like you in the morning.” Ben held back a laugh while Serenity bit back a smile. They both had progressively leaned forward, so far that their faces were inches from one another.

     “Wow, I’m that bad, huh?” He reached out to cup her chin, resting his thumb on her bottom lip and gently running it over the soft skin. He flickered his gaze from her eyes, down to her lips, then back up to her eyes. Serenity smirks and reaches up to cup his cheek, running her thumb over it.

     “Yep.” With that she presses her lips against his. It felt as if fireworks went off every time they kissed, and it never gets old. You can picture what happens next, but all I can tell you that both Ben Johannsson and Serenity Geist – now Serenity Johannsson – lived happily ever after. I can’t say that there is such a thing as true love, for I don’t believe in it. However, one thing I do believe is that Serenity and Ben were meant to be together