#i have been waiting literal years to see what Elsie would look like

[antiquatedplumbobs]

~an excerpt from Violet Sewell's private journal~

Winter 1914

I think it's always a bittersweet day when a mother realizes her little girl is well on her way to becoming a young woman. We recently celebrated Elsie's twelfth birthday and I hate to admit it, I found myself getting quite misty eyed when letting down her skirts for what feels like the fourth time this year. She's closing in on me heightwise and I swear just last year she was only at my elbow. She's looking so grown up even if she's still in short skirts and pigtails. Her hair has recently darkened to more of an auburn than the fiery red of her father. It's almost a combination of his and my coloring now.

I made a special birthday supper for her; she loves fish and Will was able to purchase a beautiful carp in town so we had that fried up with some tomato preserve. The real showstopper was dessert though, I made a coconut cake - a flavor none of us had had before. I had seen the recipe in my Ladies Home Journal and when I came across the coconut at Greenfield's it just felt serendipitous. They're ugly things and quite hard to get open, but the aroma was very pleasant. The cake turned out lovely, I even caught Charlie licking his plate, a behavior I strictly admonished. As a birthday treat, I wouldn't let her help a whit with the cooking or clean up, even if she has become quite a hand in the kitchen.

She's grown into such a responsible young lady, I am quite proud of her really. She's always quick to help and is quite accomplished with her embroidery and knitting. She can be a bit fanciful at times, no doubt encouraged by all the fantastical stories my father tells her and Charlie; I haven't the heart to tell them they're all embellished to high heaven or just pure fiction. The faith of youth is such a special thing and all too soon the world will feel more real. Time certainly sneaks up on you, I recently came to the sobering realization that I was only six years older when I married Hamish. It seems of late more and more of the young ladies of Brindleton have been finding beau's from further afield, Britechester or even San Myshuno. I can only hope Elsie won't stray so far when she marries.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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[bannanasrus]

Halloween Special (Blake and Cecil)

I really wanted to do a Halloween Special with these two idiots so here we are, Blake and Cecil go to a Halloween party and spooky vore related shenanigans (as well as really over the top silliness) occur

Contains M/M safe vore, belching, body worship, belly worship, silliness ect. Mention of M/M fatal vore

“Blake” called Cecil from the bathroom as he fixed his cape around his bulging shoulder “We need to leave, soonish”

“I’ll follow on after you” called Blake from their bedroom “I just need to put some finishing touches on my costume”

“Are you sure you’ll be ok making your own way down there”

“I’m perfectly sure” replied Blake “I’m more worried about you catching a cold in your costume”

“I’ll be fine” Cecil replied flexing his biceps in the mirror, hell yeah he was big, bigger than he had been before, he placed a hand on his thickened abs, Blake had knocked some assholes out who’d been bothering him on his way home from work and proceeded to feed them to Cecil. Blake had then sat on his lap and rubbed his distended gut until they were sludge being pumped around his body to make him even more huge. Blake was so very, very into his boyfriends size and his boyfriends muscles, in fact when he saw the costume that Cecil had decided on for the party (Hercules), Cecil could not help but see the slight look of what might have been termed pre-emptive jealousy, in his eyes. Sure the Hercules costume didn’t exactly leave much to the imagination, but Blake didn’t need to be jealous.

“If you’re sure… I’ll see you later, at Elsie’s”

“Make sure you get there safe - Love you”

“Love you too” Blake called back, the fondness in his voice setting Cecil back at ease.

He arrived at Elsie’s House which sat in the shadow of a large and ornate building. Her house was surprisingly cheap to buy, largely owing to rumours of it being haunted. Elsie, had immediately jumped on it, and to be perfectly honest the ghosts would need to be a bit more worried about Elsie than Elsie needing to be worried about them.

Cecil went up to the door and pulled on the chain, there was the sounds of feet and Elsie opened the door “Cecil Darling” she said as Cecil pulled her into a hug

“How are you” he asked

“I’m good I’m good, halloween’s my favourite time of year you know” she said cheerily. Unsurprising Cecil thought to himself - Elsie always loved the weird and wonderful - she was also a literal witch so that definitely contributed to it. No one had anything to fear from Elsie, unless they provoked her, or happened to be low flying aircraft. If Elsie’s boyfriend wasn’t already un-dead he might possibly end up dying again from the sheer panic of how terrible she was at flying her broomstick. “And how about you” she asked “and where’s your cute little cat” she said looking over Cecil’s shoulder

“I’m great” said Cecil “and I’m assuming you’re talking about Blake - he said he’d follow along”

“Well I hope he makes it here safely” said Elsie as she lead Cecil down the hallway and into the main room “Oh and we’re having some entertainment later”

“oh what kind”

“Oh well I can’t spoil it, but it’ll be great fun” said Elsie

Cecil circulated round the couples and singletons alike at the party, there was a fairly good mix some from the university some from the gym - still in gym clothes - his attention was however drawn by the elderly lady in the corner of the drawing room.

Done up like every stereotypical fortune teller, bangles dripping from her wrists, her hair curly and grey, covered by a long veil, shawls, long and flowing draped around her arms. She looked, Cecil felt like she belonged in a novel, or on a stage, but here she was in front of him reading fortunes of those who came by her table.

“Cecil” came her voice

“Sorry” he said “wait how do you know my name”

“I know everything” she said as he approached her. “It is my business to know” she gestured to her tarot cards and her crystal ball “for instance, you have a boyfriend named Blake, who works in Wrightman and associates and Wrightman - don’t forget about Wrightman”

“How on earth do you know that” said Blake

“Like I say it’s my business to know, but in this case I must claim that I would be predisposed to have such information”

“How?”

“I used to work at Wrightman and Associates and Wrightman don’t forget about Wrightman”

“It is a bit of a mouthful” said Cecil

“It is”

“Any idea why it’s called that”

“I think it was a typo” said the fortune teller

“Can you tell that from your crystal ball” asked Cecil

The fortune teller passed her hands across the object it question

“It was” she replied

“Ha” said Cecil as he sat opposite the fortune teller he noted that her eyes studied him scrupulously

“Do you not hold true the art of Scrying?” She asked

“Well” said Cecil “I suppose that I can be persuaded, though I hardly think it is possible to gaze into a crystal ball and see the future, like it’s a movie”

“Perhaps, but it is not to see the future as a movie that I scry, rather-more it is to see what possibly might happen”

“Do you mean you can see possibly futures?”asked Cecil

“I divine information from a variety of sources, take the rune stones when one is found face up the meaning of that stone takes its course, when found lying reversed…”

“the reverse occurs”

“Yes, perhaps, or perhaps the wrong question was asked”

“Forgive me but this seems to obfuscate the truth”

“which is what”

“That you seem to be a very observant woman who observes everything about someone before spookily telling them their fortune, in a sense you are a fortune teller who can see into the future and devine information but, I can’t see you doing it through supernatural means.”

“Indeed, well I do pride myself upon observation. But how about I tell you some things that I couldn’t possibly know”

“For instance?”

“The fact that you are concerned - mildly, for you know he has no reason to be - that your boyfriend is a bit jealous of you walking around in such a revealing outfit. He also might well be a little, though he knows equally that your heart and his heart are in each-others hands - and yes, I do see that he might…”

“How on earth do you know that” asked Cecil, “are you Martha?” He said very confused

“No my dear, Martha Oldcapple is a very sceptical person” said the fortune teller, “and in any case, how would Martha Oldcapple know about you fearing Blake was a bit jealous?”

He moved backwards as the Fortune Teller continued “Nothing escapes the Great Griselda” said Griselda spreading her arms wide “she sees all she knows all” she smiled in a grandmotherly fashion “would you like me to read your tea leaves dear?”

Somewhat later Elsie had dragged Cecil from a conversation he’d been having, to bring him to a back room of the house. The room had been turned into a temporary intimate theatre, staging had been set up and various mismatched chairs had been pulled to face the stage.

“I take it this is tonight’s entertainment?” Asked Cecil

“Yes” said Elsie cheerfully as more people filed into the room

“Is it everyone at the party?” Asked Cecil

“Not quite” said Elsie

“Huh”

“Oh just wait and see” said Elsie skipping away

The lights in the room dimmed and Cecil looked up at the makeshift stage as on to it came a number of people dressed in costumes, all were fairly skimpy, they danced honestly quite excellently and Cecil was enjoying himself until he suddenly realised that he hadn’t seen Blake since he left their flat. Blake was supposed to meet him here wasn’t he?

He looked back up on the stage as a third figure entered, small slight and wearing cat ears and a cat tail. Dark haired and grinning.

It was Blake, the feline in him being exemplified by his movements and of course the Cheshire Cat smile he had on his face, he blew kisses to the audience stopping at Cecil to give him a wink.

Oh you little brat thought Cecil to himself grinning genuinely impressed at Blake’s makeup and costume skills.

“Hello all you big handsome Gentlemen and Big Beautiful Ladies” called Blake from the stage, for being small Blake had a voice that carried “This man really wants a place to spend the night of all hallows eve in, after all tonight is when the spooks come out, and I don’t mind telling you, I’m scared to death!” He made an exaggerated gesture to raucous laughter.

“But I am not choosing just anybody” he said smiling “Whoever I chose needs to be able to be my hero”

A piano began to play in the corner of the room, as Cecil turned to look it was played by Elsie

“Where have all the good men gone and where are all the gods” began Blake dramatically passing his hand through his hair as he said the Hercules he winked at Cecil

Is he dancing in heels thought cecil as he realised the couple of inches of heel Blake had on his boot, he also noticed with some mild jealousy that Blake was flirting playfully through the song with a slender man with Sandy hair in the front row dressed in Ripped jeans as a cowboy. Then with a Bulky Man in the back row with Red hair dressed as some random horror movie character Cecil was pretty sure, he hated horror movies, but besides that, both looked like they wanted to devour Blake then and there and were practically out of their seats. Blake turned on the second “Larger than life” looking directly at Cecil and grinning again, challengingly Oh thought Cecil to himself that’s his game is it? Well if he wants to play the flirt to make me jealous, he’s got me jealous.

Cecil rose from his seat even as the two other men did the same hurrying to the base of the stage, he had no idea what was in his mind but whatever it was it excited Blake as he only continued to get more and more dramatic and flirtatious as the song, fabulously sung, came to its finale. As Blake delivered the Final “I need a hero” a few things happened number one the ginger man and the Sandy haired man both practically leapt for Blake and Blake who had done a spin on his last line overbalanced and toppled off the stage, right as Cecil stuck out his arms and caught him.

Blake breathed s steady sigh of relief and then, looking up into Cecil’s face brushed his hand along his jaw and smirked.

“Ladies and Gentlemen I hope you are good losers cause this man, this gorgeous hunk just won the right to eat me up tonight”

“Hey” said the Sandy Haired man “that’s not fair”

“Not it’s not” grumbled the red-head

“And I thought you were a primadona” said Blake

“Watch your tone Prey” snarled the Sandy Haired man

“Or what” said Blake smiling

He didn’t wait for an answer lunging for Blake instead, for his trouble Cecil promptly kicked him in the groin The red-headed man possibly sensing that he maybe shouldn’t be bothering either of them scarpered.

Blake and Cecil then headed out of the room Blake smiling gently up at Cecil the whole time. His cuteness and feline qualities only being exacerbated by his costume.

That soon changed into a frown when both became aware of the sight of a small man dressed in a tight fitting all black costume who stomped up to them and scowled up at Cecil

“Oh so you’re here with your boy-toy” he said glaring daggers at Blake though his question was addressed to Cecil

“Oh for goodness sake” groaned Blake hating the antics of Cecil’s Ex

“What do you want Beau” asked Cecil

“My name is Jett” snapped Jett

“Of course it is”

“Did you forget my name?”

“Well you wanted to be treated as food and food doesn’t need a name” replied Cecil, this might have been intimidating for someone who was normal but I am sure you’ve gathered that Jett wasn’t really normal

“Hmmmmph, I’m sure that he wants to stay with you outside your gut”

“Yes, but he also doesn't mind spending time inside it”

“Argh” snapped the angry little man again “I don’t get it, I would have been the perfect protein meal why did you never eat me?”

“Because against all conceivable logic I cared for you, even now I wouldn’t do that to you, I don’t eat friends or Boyfriends unless they ask me to”

Possibly out of frustration Jett made a swing at Blake who smirking swung back knocking into Jett’s jaw.

“That’s enough” came Elsie’s voice

“Come on you’ve had your fun” said Ezra Elsie’s Undead boyfriend who carried Jett out of the front door of the house

“I apologise for any Trouble Elsie” said Cecil

“No need to apologise” said Elsie smiling “I’m just Glad that the Plan worked out”

“What plan?”

“That little show, Blake wanted to do it for you as well as the little competition for who would eat him up tonight”

“Kind of an unfair one since I already decided the winner” said Blake

“Top of the stairs on the left down to the bottom of the corridor,” said Elsie

“Is what” asked Cecil

“Your room for the night silly” she said smiling

“Thank you, thank you so much, but-”

“No need to thank me” said Elsie “just enjoy yourself, its a nice and quiet room”

The two of them got up to the room and sat on the bed. Blake sat in Cecil’s lap.

“Blake”

“Yes Darling” said Blake

“Can I ask you a question?”

“Fire away”

“Were you jealous”

“Jealous of you having your muscles out for all the world to see”

“Yes I suppose I was a bit worried and then the great Griselda told me you might be Jealous”

“I don’t know who she is” said Blake “I suppose I’m not so much jealous as a bit possessive, I know I don’t have to worry but like, whenever I see you talk to Prey guys, I suppose I feel a bit like you do when I’m around Preds, like you’re mine stay right beside me”

“I guess I was quite jealous when you were flirting with those guys”

“I know, but I also know I don’t have a reason to be jealous whenever you spend time around other prey guys,” he smiled again “Besides I get to touch kiss and worship your muscles and they don’t get to do all that and don’t worry about me flirting with preds, I’m all yourst”

Cecil gently bit on Blake’s ear “Mmmm all mine”

“Oh yes, you were going to be getting your rewards for being my hero” said Blake grinning “Well first things first I and you have to get out of these clothes”

Quickly they began throwing off their clothes it didn’t take much for Cecil to get down to his underwear but for Blake it took a bit longer and thus he gave Cecil a bit of a show as he stripped off his top and moved to his high heeled boots.

“I gotta say” said Cecil as Blake deliberately turned round to show his ass to him “Those boots make your ass look fantastic”

“You really are a gem” said Blake

“You danced fantastically in them” said Cecil grinning

“Thank you” Said Blake “Though would you believe it, I nearly fell over multiple times when I first put them on!”

“I am not surprised” said Cecil “Though knowing how clumsy I am I would have fallen over even more”.

Blake fell atop of Cecil (deliberately this time) running his hands all over Cecil’s massive body. “You are so hot” he said massaging Cecil’s pecs and his Biceps

“It’s all for you to admire” groaned Cecil as Blakes hands gripped his thighs and quickly kissed his way down his torso

Cecil for his part also felt up his meal who was groaning at the feeling of his hands everywhere on his frame and eventually they broke appart.

“You are still sure you want to do this tonight?” asked Cecil

“As long as I get let out yes” said Blake kissing him

“Good” and then Blake became engulfed by his massive boyfriend whose Jaws opened wide to swallow his Boyfriends slender form down his gullet and into his stomach, a safe spot to spend the night.

“OUUUUUURRRRRRRRP” Belched Cecil feeling the meal he had consumed settling into his gut

His distended belly left him beached on the bed, but it wasn’t like his other meals and another massive “UUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRP” erupted from him. As with every time he ate Blake, it was a different feeling of being stretched out, this time it was a glutenous sated fullness. Blake curled in his bed for the night and Yawned

“Good night”

“Good-UUURRRRRP -night” belched Cecil rubbing his distended gut with both hands “You always fill me OURRRRRRRRRRRRPP - out so URRRRRRRRRRRRRP” well

His massive gut was gently massaging it’s guest for the night, not in the way in which it might normally have done for any of his other meals that were being sent on a one way trip, but rather gently and carefully. Blake was willing Prey, but more importantly, Cecil adored him and his body knew to be gentle and caring with this Prey in particular.

Cecil Lay back letting Sleep overtake him “Sleep URRRRRRRRRRP well my favourite meal” he said to his stomach. “OUURRRRRRRRRP, let my BOOOOOOOOOOOURRRRRRRRRRRP belly take goood URRRRRRRRP” care of you

“I love you Cecil” murmured Blake Quietly pressing a hand to the stomach wall

“I love you too Blake” said Cecil hiccupping and burping slightly.

Epilogue.

After rising in the morning and regurgitating Blake. Cecil and Blake went to Elsie to see if there was anything they could do to help her tidy up.

“You are very kind, but you need not worry” said Elsie “I’ve got everything under Control”

“I feel kind of bad, though said Cecil, like I’ve taken advantage of your hospitality”

“Good Gracious no, Blake provided the entertainment last night, and he wouldn’t have done that without you, and you helped rid the house of some very annoying house guests - so you absolutely are fine”

“Well I should probably go and thank the Great Griselda she was a very interesting lady and I wanted to talk to her again”

“The great Griselda?” asked Elsie confused

“Yes she did fortune telling last night” said Cecil “She had a Crystal ball and all”

“The only person who told fortunes last night was my Cousin Effie” said Elsie

“But she was there” said Cecil pointing to where her booth was to find no booth or even someone taking down a booth, but merely some glitter on the floor and a note written on blue paper he read it.

Many thanks for an interesting conversation, you have something special with your boyfriend. Treat him well and good things will come to you. You’re a lovely young man with a good kind heart so I know it won’t be hard, oh and say to Elsie thank you for the space to perform again and remind her to visit her aunty in Much Benning

The Great Griselda.

“How mysterious” said Blake

“I suppose we all have a fairy godmother” Said Elsie Dreamily

“A fairy godmother - she was a fortune teller”

“Yes but I mean someone who looks out for us” said Elsie “It’s a nice thought isn’t it”

“I hope to meet her again and I can introduce Blake to her” said Cecil

“Perhaps you will have to wait until next Halloween” said Elsie smiling

“Or it could be sooner than you think” said Blake smiling up at his boyfriend

“Who knows” Murmured Griselda to herself as she watched the two men hug their friend and her boyfriend before heading off “One things for sure, that’s a couple that’s staying together, I don’t need my crystal ball to tell me that!” she laughed and then vanished in a puff of smoke.

I wish you a spooky happy Halloween may all your nights escapades go off safely and fun-ly and I will see you with another tale at some point in the future xxx

[shyvioletcat]

A/N: EDIT! So I uploaded this on my IPad because i literally couldn’t wait to post so now it’s all prettified and I’ve added the tags too. If you’ve already read thank you so much, if you’re reading it because of the tag also thank you very much. Based on this prompt from @rowaelinprompts  

~~~~~ It was just after lunch when Rowan got the call with a few good hours in the work day. It was coming from the high school his two eldest children attended and being in the middle of the day that was never a good sign. So he left the email he was working on half finished to see what kind of trouble one or both of his children had managed to get into.

“Hello,” Rowan said in his politest phone voice.

“Hello, Mr Whitethorn. This is Hazel calling from Orynth High School. I’m just calling to let you know that Elspeth isn’t feeling too well and it would probably be best if she was picked up.”

Rowan rubbed his forehead, it always stressed him out when any of his kids weren’t at their best. Aelin took a small amount of joy in pointing out his fussiness. “Okay, well my wife is at home. It might be best to give her a call.”

“Elsie has requested you specifically, and would very much like for you to be the one to come get her,” Hazel explained.

That made Rowan even more concerned. The high school had a strict no phone during school hours policy, and while he was on board with that action within the school right now he was resenting it. “Yeah alright, let her know I’ll be there in about 20 minutes.”

“Thank you, Mr Whitethorn. See you soon,” Hazel said and hung up.

Rowan took another minute or two to finish off the email on his screen, then he closed his laptop and slipped it into his bag. He sent a text off to Aelin letting her know that the school had called saying Elsie was unwell and that he’d text her with an update when he had it. For 16 years he tried his hardest not to keep his daughter waiting for him, and he wouldn’t be starting now. On his way out he stopped by his boss’s office and found Lorcan hunched over his desk, staring between a desktop and laptop screen. Rowan gave the thick wooden door a hard knock to get his attention. Lorcan looked up with his standard workplace scowl set on his face.

“Elsie isn’t well and needs to be picked up so I’m heading out to get her,” Rowan said.

Lorcan nodded, that scowl taking on a more parental quality. “She okay?”

“I’m not sure, they didn’t give me much information so she’ll have to fill me in when I get there,” Rowan explained.

“Let me know how she is,” Lorcan said, he’d always had a soft spot for Elsie. “Korby hasn’t been saying much lately, I think sports is picking up so they’re not spending so much time together.”

“Will do.”

After that it didn’t take Rowan long to get in his car and to be heading across town to the high school. Now that he thought about it Elsie hadn’t been looking well these past few days, she’d been pale and quieter than usual. That was mostly noticeable because her siblings had been a little more chaotic without her steady presence to calm them down. She hadn’t come to him, or Aelin for that matter, about anything. So it could be possible she was suffering in silence over gods knew what. The more Rowan thought about it, the tighter that knot of concern twisted in his gut. As parents he and Aelin had worked very hard to be open and honest with their children, they wanted them to know that they could come to either one of them with anything without judgement. If something was wrong and Elsie hadn’t felt that she could approach him about it…

With his parental instincts activated, Rowan had no time for hesitation when he arrived at the school. Yanking the handbrake up and getting out of the car was a series of fluid motions that had him moving as fast as he could. He headed to the administration building, his driver’s licence ready to show as proof of ID.

“Whitethorn, I got a call to pick up my daughter Elspeth Whitethorn-Galathynius,” he said as he laid the card down on the small counter. The woman at the reception took a look at his licence and then nodded.

“If you’d like to come through you can help her with her bag. She’s not looking well at all,” the woman said and pressed a button that released the lock on the security door.

“Thank you.” He was heading towards the door before the words had left his mouth.

The sickbay was just by the door he’d come through and Rowan readied himself to see his daughter. What he hadn’t expected was to find the room empty besides her floral design backpack. Behind him Rowan heard the sound of a toilet flushing and then another door creaking open. He turned, ready to move out of the way of whoever needed it, but found Elsie instead. She looked awful, her face was devoid of colour and she was slouched over herself like she could barely hold herself up.

“Elsie, love,” Rowan said softly, resisting the urge to sweep her into like he would have when she was little.

“I threw up,” she said, sounding as miserable as she looked.

“I’ll grab your bag and we’ll head home.”

He heard Elsie take in a deep breath. “They gave me some sick bags for the car, they’re on the bed.”

Rowan spied them and picked the few plastic bags up as he swung the backpack onto his shoulder. Elsie was leaning on the doorway, arms wrapped around herself. It made his heart ache to see his little girl in so much discomfort. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and let her lean on him. She almost gave him her full weight. Rowan wasn’t going to press her while they walked to the car, it was clear all her effort was going into keeping herself upright. When they got to Rowan’s silver SUV he opened the door and helped her in. Elsie managed to get her seatbelt on before she slumped in the seat.

His lips tightened, he was nearly biting his lip. She was seriously unwell.

Whether or not he should just take her straight to the hospital was rolling through his mind as he got into the driver’s seat after throwing the backpack into the back. Rowan knew he was jumping the gun and that he needed to talk to Elsie first before he made that decision. Hopefully she would be well enough to have that conversation with him. He started the ignition and Elsie groaned as the vibrations unsettled her, he needed to find out what was happening before he gave himself a brain aneurysm.

“I know you’re not feeling great, love,” Rowan said, “but I need to know if I need to take you to the hospital or not.”

“I don’t need to go to the hospital,” Elsie replied, sounding like she was about to cry.

“What’s wrong then?” he pressed, sounding entirely like the concerned father he was.

In response Elsie heaved, and Rowan blindly handed her the sick bags he’d stuffed into the centre console. She managed to sort it out before the heaving started in earnest. Rowan just waited, knuckles turning white on the steering wheel. When she was done Elsie grabbed a tissue to wipe her mouth, she chucked that into the bag before sealing it up.

“Elsie, love,” Rowan’s tone was near pleading now.

The first quiet sob shouldn’t have taken him by surprise, but it did. He risked a glance away from the road to see her with her face in her hands. Rowan didn’t want to push her but he was starting to panic. Something in his gut knew this was more than just a regular virus or a bug, and very honestly he was starting to have a suspicion and he was praying to the gods Elsie would deny it.

“Da,” the way she said that word had him bracing for impact, she hadn’t called him that in years. It reminded him of all those moments she had needed him when she was younger, when just the whisper of her voice and that single word would make him come running. Elsie took in a shuddering breath and said, “I’m pregnant.”

Rowan’s heart stopped in his chest. He’d heard her, but he couldn’t quite believe it. Elsie didn’t have a boyfriend, so if she was pregnant did that mean she had one but hadn’t told him? Had something else happened? If someone had hurt his baby girl Rowan might just be going to prison if he couldn’t get away with murder. That filled him with rage, so fast and fierce that he would need one of those vomit bags in a second. He’d skin whoever was responsible alive.

“Elsie, I know you’re feeling a lot and you’re probably freaking out right now, but I need you to tell me how this happened,” Rowan managed to get out as measured as he could. “I need to know so I can stay calm and do what’s best for you. You understand?”

“Yep,” was her simple answer.

“Okay, what I’m going to do is pull into that car park over there,” he nodded to the fast food restaurant just a little ways up, “and you can tell me everything and then we can go from there.”

There was a very loud sniffle. “Okay.”

Rowan nodded, bolstered with something to focus on. He’d once told himself that the first time Aelin went into labour was the longest night of his life, but as he cut through the traffic towards that car park this might be the new front runner. Five more minutes and he would have some answers, he could wait five more minutes. He’d waited hours and hours for Elsie to come into this world—this was nothing. The way his heart was pounding in his ears told him otherwise.

Pulling into a spot in the corner of the parking lot so they would be less likely to be disturbed Rowan turned the car off. He looked over at his daughter, her green eyes were still filled with tears and she was still looking deathly pale, but she looked a little better, like a little bit of weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now Rowan just needed to help her bear the rest of it.

“How long have you known?” He thought he’d start with something simple.

“About a week,” Elsie admitted.

Rowan nodded, his eyes focusing on nothing as he bit down on the reflex to ask exactly why she hadn’t said anything until now.

“Did someone…” Rowan swallowed as the words got caught in his throat. “Elsie, did someone hurt you?”

He watched his daughter intently, watching for even the slightest hint something was amiss. But Elsie just shook her head, her fingers absentmindedly weaving together.

“No one hurt me Dad, I promise,” Elsie said and looked up at him, the last bit of confirmation that told him she was telling the truth.

“So, there’s a boyfriend then,” Rowan theorised.

Elsie shook her head this time. “Not exactly.”

Rowan was taken aback by that answer. He’d expected an admission of a secret rebellious boyfriend. Teenagers were teenagers, and Rowan wasn’t ignorant of what they got up to. He’d been fairly mild himself but he had been privy to what his friends got up to in their spare time. Lorcan and Fenrys in particular didn’t hold much back in their storytelling. Elsie didn’t seem the kind for a careless fling, and yet here they were.

“Alright, not exactly a boyfriend. Who’s the—“ he literally stumbled over the word. This was a concept his brain was struggling to get up to speed on. And maybe he could do without knowing right now. “Can you enlighten me on the situation some more?”

Elsie’s fingers unwove, her hands were trembling a little.

“Elsie, what’s going on?” Rowan asked, his nervousness spiking again.

“I’m gonna tell you but you have to promise me you’ll let me get it through it all before you say anything, okay?” Elsie was sounding more herself so Rowan nodded. “It was a friends with benefits situation. We, ah��� it was a trust thing  to start with and then we decided that it was fun I guess. I’ve been—“ while she spoke her emotions had built up again and tears were falling onto her cheeks. “I didn’t know how to say any of this. I didn’t want you to be disappointed with me.”

“That’s not what I’m thinking about right now.” Rowan tried to keep his voice even. It was passable. “Does he know?”

“He doesn’t. Only you do,” Elsie said.

“Alright, okay,” Rowan muttered, then he put on his bravest face—the kind only a parent could summon when they were reassuring their child when they weren’t all that sure themselves. “I think I need your mother before we talk more about this.”

Elsie laughed, wiping at her nose. “You always need Mum.”

Rowan smiled. “That I do. But first do you need anything?”

There was a moment of silence where Elsie just looked downright confused, like maybe she had expected him to drill her for more information or scold her or maybe just brood in silence. While those options were tempting, that was not what his daughter needed from him in this moment. It was clear she was hurting and probably scared out of her mind. Losing it on her in any way would not be beneficial and Rowan was starting to feel out of his depth. It was time to regroup with Aelin by his side.

“We could take our chances and see if the ice cream machine is working,” Rowan jerked his head towards the fast food restaurant. Elsie’s eyes lit up and she nodded. “Let’s go then.”

Rowan spent the rest of the drive home expecting Elsie to hurl her guts up again. He hadn’t been able to stomach one himself but it seemed the frozen sugar filled dairy was in fact what she needed. Just like her mother when she was pregnant. That thought was jarring to say the least and Rowan tried not to dwell on it. He just concentrated on getting home and how they were going to explain this whole thing to Aelin. They drove up the driveway and he stopped outside the garage door. Elsie was looking up at the house with wide eyes.

“No escaping this one,” Rowan said. “We go in, tell your mother, and then we talk about this some more, okay?”

“Is she gonna be mad?” Elsie's eyes darted over to her father.

Rowan sighed. “Probably, it’s going to be a shock and we all know Mum doesn’t take surprises well.”

“Unless she’s the one springing them,” his daughter added.

Rowan huffed a laugh. “Exactly. But remember love,” he touched her cheek to get her attention. “No matter what, we’re on your side.”

Elsie’s lips twitched in a brief smile. “You always are.”

“Now give me that bag of spew and you start getting yourself inside.”

Rowan hadn’t cleaned up Elsie’s vomit in years and it was as gross as it had always been. Regardless he still did it, throwing it in the trash then following Elsie to the front door. She was moving slowly, most likely waiting for him so they could face Aelin together. Rowan understood her hesitancy, and was understanding why Elsie had asked for him to pick her up. Aelin’s temper ran hot and fast, something Rowan loved about his wife. But it was sometimes hard taking the brunt of it and he hoped today she had a saint’s patience to level it out. This would test her.

Leading the way into the house, Rowan announced their arrival. “Fireheart, we’re home.”

“Finally,” he heard from the living room. “You didn’t text me anything, I was getting worried.”

Elsie grimaced at those words.

Rowan walked into the living room just off their entryway. “I was driving.”

Aelin barely gave him a second glance before she rushed past him and had Elsie in her arms. Her hands were checking for temperature, her turquoise eyes running a scrutinising gaze over her. From how awful Elsie still looked it was very apparent that something wasn’t right.

“What is it, Elsie? What’s wrong?” Aelin asked when she came up with no conclusions of her own.

“We should sit down,” Rowan said and Aelin’s eyes narrowed.

Elsie ended up in the armchair and Rowan took Aelin to the long couch by the hand. They sat down and Aelin kept hold of his hand as she cocked her head at him.

What is going on? Her suspicious eyes asked him.

Rowan sighed, giving Aelin a look of his own. We need to listen to her.

“Mum,” Elsie said, her voice sounding so small, but it drew their attention. “I need to tell you something.”

Aelin looked between her husband and her daughter, knowing that she was the only one in the room without the vital information.

“I’m listening,” Aelin said.

“I’m pregnant, Mum.”

“You’re what?” Aelin’s voice was sharp and Rowan gave her hand a squeeze as a quick reminder to stay calm.

Their daughter took in a deep breath and Rowan knew she was about to divulge everything. “I’ve been sleeping with Korbin, it’s a friends with benefits thing and one time we got careless and I thought I was at the part of my cycle where I couldn’t get pregnant but I did. And I’ve only known for about a week and I’m so scared, Mum. I’m… I just…”

By the end of her little speech Elsie was crying again but Rowan didn’t see it, he was busy watching the reactions from his wife. Aelin’s jaw was tight and he was sure that if it had been any quieter he would have heard her teeth grinding together. Rowan knew she was weighing her words before she spoke. Rowan found himself reeling at that new little bit of information Elsie had just dropped.

Rowan’s brain went painfully still. Korbin. Korbin was Elsie’s best friend since she could walk. He was just a year older and nearly all their lives they had been inseparable. This was a development in their relationship Rowan was struggling to get his head around. Seeing them together there had been no hint of romance, not ever. Korbin Salvaterre had got his daughter pregnant.

“Korbin?” Aelin’s voice was a little too high, clearly struggling just as much as he was.

Elsie nodded.

“Does he know?” Now she was sounding more lethal.

“No, only Dad knows and I told him today in the car,” Elsie said.

Aeln’s hand went to her mouth, her eyes going a bit distant. Rowan wasn’t sure if that was just shock or if she was planning some kind of slow torture on the Salvaterre boy.

“Fireheart,” Rowan prompted.

“Hmm,” she hummed but didn’t say anything else for the moment. “He’s ah… he was your best friend.”

Elsie swallowed hard. “He still is.”

“Are you in love with him?”

The question caught Rowan off guard, so much so he nearly jumped. He looked over to Elsie to see her reaction, a new wave of tears had started and she nodded furiously before she buried her face in her hands.

Holy gods Rowan had missed that entirely.

“Oh, my little love,” Aelin said and then she was moving, squeezing onto the armchair beside her daughter and wrapping her arms around Elsie’s shoulders.

This was a development Rowan wasn’t expecting. Today he not only found out that his daughter was pregnant to the son of his best friend, but also that his daughter was in love with that son and yeah, maybe he was going to be a grandfather by the time he was forty five.

“Elsie,” Rowan said and two sets of eyes landed on him. “What do you want to do?”

“We will support whatever you decide,” Aelin added without missing a beat.

“I want to keep it, I think,” Elsie said bravely.

Something flipped in Rowan’s chest at that but it was Aelin who said, “Okay, we can work with that.”

Elsie turned and threw her arms around Aelin’s neck and let her mother hold her close for a long while. It was Aelin who eventually pulled back, brushing Elsie’s blonde hair away from her tear stained face.

“Why don’t you go up and have a shower and then we’ll talk about this a little more,” Aelin said softly. “Make some plans?”

Elsie nodded and left, Rowan blew her a kiss that earned him a sad smile. When she was gone from the room he turned back to his wife who was sitting very still. “Fireheart?”

That sprung her into action and she was on her feet, pacing in a way that could only be described as furious.

“Pregnant,” she hissed. “Our 17 year old daughter is pregnant. How did this happen?”

The shock was leaving him and it was being replaced by something that was suspiciously close to delirium. “Um…”

Aelin threw a silencing hand in his direction. “Do not try and be funny right now.”

Rowan kept his mouth shut. His wife paced some more before she gasped on hand on her chest. She looked horrified.

“I’m going to be a grandparent,” Aelin turned so she was facing Rowan fully. “Not only that but I am going to be a grandparent with Lorcan Salvaterre.”

She said it like her worst nightmares were coming true, it made Rowan chuckle. Which in turn earned him a scathing look.

“We’ll get through this, Aelin,” Rowan said. “We always do. To whatever end, remember?”

Aelin came over and flopped onto the couch next to him, sighing and staring up at the ceiling. “Our baby is having a baby.”

Rowan pulled his wife closer and kissed her forehead. “Yeah she is.”

They sat there for a long while, just processing everything. The reprieve was broken when the front door was thrown open and as if summoned by the talk of children their two youngest ran in. They both yelled their hellos before running up the stairs.

“Evalin! Adaira! Shoes off please!” Aelin called after them. At 9 and 8 respectively the shoes off at the door rule was sometimes overlooked.

Their middle child closed the door for his siblings and did indeed take his shoes off.

“Thank you, son,” Rowan said to Cinaed. “Can you give the little ones a hand? We just need a moment.”

He shook his silver hair out of his turquoise eyes. “Sure Dad.”

“The bus with the other one should be here soon,” Rowan said, returning his gaze to the ceiling.

Aelin sighed, sounding tired. “Let’s hope he’s a little more quiet than the others.”

Rowan hummed his agreement and was preparing a speech about leaving their eldest sister be for the rest of the Whitethorn-Galathynius children when Finnian walked in. That was expected, but Rowan wasn’t prepared for who he else had stepped under his roof. Both Salvaterre boys walked in behind their own son and Aelin tensed beside him. Rowan rested a hand on Aelin’s knee to keep her where she was. Seeing Korbin after everything they had learned today was like putting a finger on the trigger of a gun. One wrong move and the calm they had managed to keep themselves in would be lost.

“Hey Aunty Aelin, hi Uncle Rowan,” Eamon said. “Finn said there would be snacks.”

“Of course he did,” Aelin breathed. “Finn, can you go upstairs and tell Elsie to stay in her room for a bit?”

“I heard Elsie came home early,” Korbin said, dropping his bag by the door. “I thought something was up, she hasn’t been talking to me as much lately.”

“Is that so?” Aelin bit out, if the boy had been smarter he’d be running for his life.

Korbin’s dark eyes were darting between the parents in the room. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

Rowan thought he was doing a good job schooling his features. But now that he was a little more conscious of what he was doing he realised he was glaring.

“Finnian, now,” Aelin added when she saw that their son hadn’t moved. He groaned in that dramatic teenage way like he’d just been asked to run a marathon and loped towards the stairs.

Unfortunately, because he didn’t listen the first time, Elsie was halfway down the stairs before she saw who was in the living room. Her hair was still wet and she looked a bit brighter than she had before.

“Korbin,” she whispered. “What are you doing here?”

His face turned charming as he slid his hands into his pockets. “I wanted to see how you were. I heard around school that you were sick and I wanted to check on you. They said you threw up and everything.”

“Oh,” Elsie said, then her mouth clamped shut and tears were brimming in her eyes again.

The silence that developed was tense and Korbin moved towards the stairs, Elsie seemed frozen in place. Rowan was about to get up and step between them as his protective instincts rose to the surface but Elsie took her own initiative.

“I’m pregnant,” she blurted.

Korbin took a single step back.

“Oh, shit,” Finnian said, reading the room a little too well.

“Yeah,” Korbin said, sounding as though he was in a daze and scrambling back a few steps. “Okay, yeah.”

And that was all he said before he just turned on his heels and walked right back out that front door. Rowan was up then, not quite believing what he’d just witnessed.

Eamon was confused, unlike Finnian he hadn’t quite caught on. “What just happened?”

Elsie was looking towards the door, stunned and any energy she had recovered drained right out of her again. In that moment Rowan hated that boy, he hated that through a few thoughtless actions he had caused Elsie so much pain. The only thing stopping Rowan from chasing after that idiot boy and hauling him back by the scruff of his neck were the tears in his daughter's eyes. He could only watch as Elsie fled up the stairs and Aelin rushed after her a heartbeat later.  

“What just happened?”

It took little Eamon voicing his confusion to get Rowan moving and he was heading up the stairs, taking two at a time. Elsie’s door was half way closed, but Rowan stepped through the doorway into the room. The sight that greeted him nearly broke his heart. Aelin had her arms wrapped around Elsie in a hug, his daughter wept and Aelin had unshed tears in her eyes. His wife looked over at him, her face set in a determined fierceness that told him that she would defend Elsie’s fragile heart at all costs.

Gods help that boy when his consequences came chasing after him.

~~~~~

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[okskz]

Tell Me.

Elsy + Jackson

elsy goes over to jackson’s place and he wants to know everything that has been happening between her and jinyoung.

day 14 of 25 days of okskz! please feel free to leave some feedback because it is always appreciated!

[8th Member of Got7]

Elsy walked up to Jackson’s apartment, already taking out the spare key Jackson had given to her to keep for when safety. He mainly wanted someone to keep the spare for when he would travel overseas. And Elsy was one he could trust the most with it.

She had entered his apartment, only to be met with silence. “Jackson?” She said out loud. He didn’t answer to her, but the more Elsy walked through his apartment, she heard the shower running. “Ah.” Elsy sighed, plopping herself down on his couch to wait for him.

Elsy didn’t know as to why Jackson had told her to come over, him never giving her an actual reason. Only telling her he wanted to talk to her. But Elsy didn’t know about what exactly. With Jackson, she never knew what could come out his mouth.

She sat on his couch when hearing the door to his bathroom beginning to open. He had swung the door opening, revealing himself naked until noticing Elsy and he slam the door shut again. “Lee Jiyeon!” He screamed.

Elsy couldn’t help but laugh loudly as Jackson poked his head of the bathroom door. “A little warning that you’re here please?”

“What? Why are you acting shy now, I’ve literally seen half of you guys naked before when we used to live together.” She snorted. “This doesn’t faze me.”

“Well that was then, this is now.” He groaned, shutting the door. He came back out this time with only some sweatpants on.

He plopped down next to Elsy, getting straight to the point on why he asked her to come over. “Alright, we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“You and Jinyoung.”

Elsy gulped a little as she felt her heart racing. She even began to feel a little nervous as to what Jackson wanted to know about them. “What about us?”

Jackson stared back at Elsy. “What about us? Don’t play dumb with me. You guys have been going at each other’s necks every time you two are around each other.”

“Did something happen?” He questioned with concern.

Elsy hesitated for a moment. But if there was one other member besides Jinyoung that she trusted, it was Jackson. Not that couldn’t trust the others, it’s mainly because Jackson and Jinyoung always looked after her. “We had a small argument not too long ago.” She sighed.

“Small? I don’t think it was small. You literally threw a water bottle at him the day of MAMA.”

“Okay so it wasn’t small.” Elsy said. “But it was an argument.”

“About what?”

Elsy thought for a moment on how this was going to come about. She knew for a fact she couldn’t tell Jackson about the two of them hooking up. There was no way she could tell him that, but she was going to explain the other parts of what led to her argument with Jinyoung. “Mainly, because of Bang Chan.” She answered.

Jackson furrowed his eyebrows as now he grew even more confused. “Bang Chan? How could he possibly be the cause of your guy’s argument?”

“He found out, well actually, I told him that Bang Chan and I started to date- and well he didn’t take it so kindly.”

Now, Jackson was even more confused. “Why would he be upset about that? It’s just Chan. I mean unless-“

Jackson stared at Elsy, which caused her to be a bit frightened by his stare. Elsy knew what Jackson was implying so she quickly shook her head. “Definitely not what you’re thinking.”

“Awhile ago I had told Jinyoung that Chan and I had gotten into an argument.”

“You’re just arguing with everyone, I see.” Jackson chuckled a little.

“Stop it.” Elsy laughed, slightly slapping Jackson’s arm. “But anyways, I won’t go into detail but Chan ended up hurting my feelings really bad and I told Jinyoung about it.” She sighed as she thought about that day and what happened after.

“And then?”

“Well because of that, it made Jinyoung not like Chan- you know how protective Jinyoung is of me.” She said. Jackson nodded his head, knowing exactly what she meant. Jinyoung had always showed how much he favored Elsy throughout the years.

“And then recently, Chan and I began to talk again and well to tell you the truth, I had the biggest crush on him when we were trainees but then when I joined Got7 they went away.” Elsy said. “But then the feelings came back when him and I started talking again.” She confessed, a small smile creeping up on her face.

Jackson noticed it right away, pinching her cheek. “Look at you smiling, you must really like him, huh?”

“Oh, Jackson. I do.” Elsy pouted. “I really really really like Chan. But because of what he did to me, Jinyoung wasn’t too happy when I told him Chan and I were dating now.”

“To be honest, don’t listen to Jinyoung. If you’re happy with Chan then so be it. If you can forgive him for making you upset then it shouldn’t matter what Jinyoung thinks.” Jackson stated. “Because by the looks of it, you seem to really like Chan so don’t let anything ruin that, alright?”

Elsy nodded, smiling at Jackson. “Got it.”

“But.” Jackson began. “You and Jinyoung are group members at the end of the day. So you two definitely need to talk it out.”

Elsy sighed, knowing Jackson was correct. Her and Jinyoung definitely needed to talk things out. The two couldn’t go on with this. “You’re right.”

“I just still don’t understand as to why he’s so bothered about you two though.” Jackson said, staring at Elsy.

His stare began to make her nervous once more as she thought about her hook ups with Jinyoung. And for some reason, she wanted to tell Jackson the truth but then again, she didn’t want him to know either.

“You look like you want to tell me something.”

His words made Elsy mentally flinch but she tried to play it cool. “No, that’s really it.”

“Hmm.” Jackson nodded.

“Thanks for the talk though. I think I needed this.” Elsy hugged him. It felt good to her finally let it out and talking to someone about her and Jinyoung.

Even if it wasn’t the full story.

[bella-caecilia]

I just requested 22 for Chelsie but just saw you've already done that one with Cobert. If you're not doing duplicates of the prompts then may I please suggest a backup, #13 for Chelsie? :)

Thank you for your lovely requests for Chelsie 😊 After doing #22 (x) and getting so sweet response from you guys, I decided to do the other one too. I really enjoyed writing for Chelsie for a change :D I set this one shortly after the finale of the series. I hope you like it <3

13 – kissing someone’s forehead

A huff escaped him. Charles stood in his pantry and let his eyes wander across the familiar surroundings. The desk, the fireplace, the armchair. It had been his room, his place for years and years. Years on end, he had thought, but now there was an end. Charles would leave after today. It was his last day of working as butler here at the Abbey, and he couldn’t deny that he was feeling a trifle nostalgic.

He took the two steps towards his desk and his finger brushed over the tabletop. It was as clean and dust-free as ever. The drawers had been emptied earlier this day and only a few personal items were left on top of the desk. There was a picture in a frame Elsie had given him as a present once. The photograph it held, however, was a different one by now. It wasn’t the picture of Alice he had kept after all these years. It was photo of Elsie and him on their wedding day. Elsie had argued at first that she had given him the frame for Alice’s photo and her remembrance. Charles had assured her how thankful he had been and still was for that sweet gesture, but now something new had started in his life. Something he was very grateful for. It was only right to let her frame represent this. She’d smiled coyly and no more words of protest were heard.

Charles adjusted the frame on the desk even if he had to remove it in a few hours. He turned around and observed the room from this familiar angle, standing at his desk.

…

Elsie walked down the hallway with wide strides. She had been checking the maids’ work on the guest rooms and was on her way to find Baxter to ask a favour for some mending work when she caught a glimpse of her husband in his pantry. He stood there with a furrowed brow and seemed lost in thoughts. She stopped in her tracks and changed her plans. She would pay him a short visit before she sought Baxter. Slowly she approached his open door. When he took notice of her presence, she stepped into the room fully and closed the door swiftly behind herself. Her hands hold on to the door handle behind her back.

“Huh, Charlie? Brooding about your new life as a retiree?” she asked softly, tipping her head to the side.

“No, not really,” he answered curtly. His eyes scanned the walls beside her.

“You know? I think it can be really idyllic to spend your days at the cottage?” Elsie suggested. She knew that the change in his as well as in their life was also a chance. A new start for a new phase in life. That it wasn’t easy for him to leave Downton as a crucial part of his life behind was, naturally, clear to her. But it was not a goodbye. Charles and Downton would stay bound together. So Elsie tried to lighten his mood and somehow make this step easier for him.

“It is a wonderful cottage and we have an excellent garden,” she continued. Charles shook his head turned his gaze to her.

“I know, Elsie. But I don’t want to think and talk about what I might do with my life now. We have already talked about that, and there is plenty of time plan more after today,” Charles explained calmly. He sighed. “Right now, I only want to take mental pictures of this place. I don’t want to lose my memories of all that I’ve experienced here.”

Elsie hands sank from the handle. Her gaze was warm. She understood what he meant. She wouldn’t bother him with talk of the future. He should gladly take his mental photographs. She made a step towards him and her right hand reached out to pat his upper arm.

“Well, go on then,” she spoke softly. A tiny smile grazed Charles’ lips, but after a moment an expression of confusion appeared on his face as Elsie made no attempt to leave. She stepped to his side, with her hands folded in front of her. She seemed to wait for his next move.

“What are you doing?” he inquired.

“I’m watching you taking your mental pictures,” she explained casually. “Don’t mind me. I’m just standing here.”

“If you say so,” Charles relented and turned to his deserted armchair, looking at it and probably recalling countless moments that he had sat there. He seemed unbothered by Elsie’s continued presence, and he brushed the rest of the armchair with a faraway look on his face.

“Oh…” Elsie uttered, and Charles turned around, shaken out of his reverie.

“What?” he asked, as she was already approaching his armchair and sinking into the cushioning with a subtle grin on her lips.

“Take a picture!” she demanded while putting her arms on the armrests and leaning further back. She moved as if to make herself comfortable and gave him a warm smile.

“What?” Charles repeated.

“You shouldn’t go without mental images of me. Or do you think otherwise?” Elsie explained. She looked up expectantly into his slightly flabbergasted face.

“No. Of course I have memories here with you. Plenty of them. So I don’t have to take a picture of you exclusively,” he mumbled, but Elsie looked at him challengingly. His expressions softened and took his time taking in the sight before him. How relaxed she was leaning back in his chair and how amused she smiled up at him. His eyes traced along her fingers and round nails, which contrasted nicely with the material of the armrest. He observed how the fabric of her dress bunched slightly at her bent knees. His eyes found hers and he was sure that this image would definitely stay in his mind.

“Got it,” he whispered with a tiny nod. She rose and he could literally see another idea lighting up her face.

“One more,” she stated and went to his desk. She rounded it and sat down on his chair behind it with a straight posture. She rested her wrists on the edge of the desk and gave a him strict and serious look.

“This is my last chance,” she explained nonchalantly. “I’m sure Mr Barrow won’t tolerate it if he’d find me sitting at this desk in future.”

Charles chuckled lowly at her expressed thoughts. “Well, I tolerate it. So, take your time sitting there. I’ve definitely taken a mental image of that.” Elsie took in the items left on his desk. She smiled gently at their photo in the frame and picked up his favourite pen, playing with it lost in thought.

“Elsie?” Charles asked tentatively.

“Yes?” She looked up at him and when he didn’t continue, she stood up and went around the table. She halted directly in front of him and looked up at him with a questioning expression.

“Thank you,” he whispered. “Thank you for these nice images and for being by my side.” He took her face into his large hands gently. His eyes caressed her face softly.

“It’s alright,” Elsie replied in a hushed voice while Charles leaned forwards with pursed lips to press a kiss to her forehead. His lips lingered there a moment.

“It’s alright,” she repeated, but more in an attempt to reproduce the situation than to assure him. However, Charles decided to gently turn her head upwards and look into her greyish-blue eyes. With the loving look he gave her, she was just as pleased.

[keyboard-cowgirl]

Host, Interrupted - beta request

hey so, I'd like to a find a beta reader for my westworld, dolores/reader, wlw fic. It's been a million years since I've had a beta, but I really want one for this massive project. Let's see... you definitely need to be familiar with all three seasons of the show and comfortable reading heavyTM shit. I don't need much (if any) help with the plot. I need error fixes. I'm real chill to work with and I will happily assist you with any project of yours in return. My story is FINISHED. It's 170k words and the first work in a two-part series. Just to give you an idea of what my writing level is and what the story is about, here's the summary. The first chapter and trigger warnings for the entire story are under the cut. (Yes, my fic title is a play on the movie Girl, Interrupted. Yes, that is very much on purpose)

Non-con, suicide, death, murder, violence, gore, holy shit gore, depression, PTSD, self-harm, eating disorder, alcohol abuse, the works, it’s dark guys but *points at source material* *points at self*

Part I: The Devil is in the Details

 “Do you wake up as I do, having forgotten what it is that hurts or where, until you move? There is a second of consciousness that is clean again. A second that is you, without memory or experience, the animal warm and waking into a brand new world.” ― Jeanette Winterson

 Chapter 1:

 You have the whole train car to yourself. The magnet rail moves at amazing speeds with the kind of grace that feels like you aren’t going anywhere at all, but you are. You’re going to Westworld, the crowning achievement of the tech colossus: Delos Incorporated. The park put them on the map, quite literally after they bought an island in the South China Sea. Some 500 square miles of it is reserved for Westworld alone, the rest is divided between the other parks. You forget how big they are, but none of them are as large as Westworld. No matter how large it is and easy to get lost in, you aren’t going to up and forget why you’re here. You can’t. If you could, you’d have no reason to be on this monorail at all, relaxed into the pristine white seats, sighing at the darkened window.

Minutes pass, and your consciousness has gone somewhere you don’t have to think. A place where there’s no boredom and no worry. You snap to attention when the window lights up to show the interior of the train station. A melody of notes plays from the speaker above your chair. The voice is soft, feminine.

“Welcome to Westworld. Live without limits.”

When the doors slide open, you curl your toes and try to wake them from their fuzzy sleep. Your first steps are tired, unbalanced, and you cover your mouth to hide a yawn. As you walk off the monorail, you glance around the station. It’s just as bright as the train, and you pity the janitors for all the black scuffmarks they have to buff off the tile before you remember that the most tedious labor goes to the hosts.

The hosts – there are a dozen of them, evenly spaced out and waiting to help the guests. But there’s no one else coming off the train, just you. Dressed up and impossibly still, the hosts don’t even acknowledge you. It’s like they’re sleeping with their eyes open. They’re not here for you, but it’s weird that they’re here at all. You scour the area for a safe space when you find your welcoming committee near an escalator.

The two men stay put, but the woman gives you an excited wave.

“Harper!” Your name echoes through the station and you wish she hadn’t said it so loud. Still, you force a smile because this is a friend, and you are happy to see her. You’re happy. You’re happy…

“Hey, Elsie. How are you?” you ask as she crosses the floor to meet you. You barely have time to react before she wraps her arms around you. You can’t get your arms to hug her back, and you tell yourself it’s because she’s squeezing you too tight.

“I’m good, I’m good! How are you? I feel like it’s been so long- but it hasn’t. You lose track of time down here.”

Elsie is rambling, and you find it odd. Elsie isn’t the wordy type. She’s crass, direct, and extremely insightful, but this Elsie is stumbling over herself to make small talk. In a rare display of assuredness, you pat her on the shoulder.

“I’m alright,” you lie. “I didn’t think I’d see you today, but I’m glad you’re here.”

Elsie smiles bashfully, then turns as the others arrive. You recognize the pair she’s with – Bernard Lowe and Robert Ford. One is Elsie’s boss, the other is family.

Bernard adjusts where his glasses sit on his nose before he welcomes you. “Hello, Harper. I hope the ride wasn’t unpleasant.” You shrug. It was nice to be alone after your parents insisted on dropping you off. You can understand their concerns, but you’re not a child. Haven’t been one of those in a long time.

“I wish I could stay,” Robert suddenly interjects. Until this point, you’ve avoided looking at him. He’s an old man now, soon to face the trials of time that a mortal body can’t win. You wonder why he hasn’t died yet. A heart attack could do him in at any moment. Lucky bastard. “But there’s a project that requires my attention.” Go figure he’d leave at the first opportunity. He shouldn’t have come at all, but you let him speak. “I merely want to impart upon you how wonderful it is that you’re here, Harper. Don’t think of this place as a park or a game. It doesn’t have to be that. Westworld,” he raises his arms, displaying the pearly gates to the kingdom behind him, “can be whatever you need it to be. Here, you are awake in a dream.”

You manage a nod, and then his back is turned. His brown leather shoes clop across the floor as he disappears into a service exit between escalators. Seriously, why did he come at all if he was going to leave thirty seconds after seeing you? Maybe some things can’t be mended despite what your mom said.

You, Elsie, and Bernard stew in the silence left by one of the original founders of the park. Dr. Ford is an enigmatic man at the best of times. At the worst, he’s driven by a singular focus to achieve ever loftier goals. His ambition cost him his family once. Really, it’s a miracle you’re here at all, but other, more important people in your life have forgiven him.

“Come on,” Elsie finally says. “Let’s get you ready for your stay.”

As you weave between the sentinel hosts, the three of you leave the train station behind. Bernard takes the time to remind you the rules of the park. He doesn’t have to, you remember them.

“Now, the hosts can’t hurt you. In fact, they’ll do everything they can to keep you from true physical harm.” It isn’t the physical harm that concerns you about your stay here. “The guns are coded to differentiate between human and host. It’s going to hurt if you get shot-”

You clear your throat. “I remember, Mr. Lowe. The internship didn’t end that long ago.”

“Right, right,” he confirms. He plucks his glasses from his face and cleans his lenses as you guys walk into a large closet. Closet isn’t the right word. The place is more like a small storefront. Racks of clothes line the walls and accessories lay in display cases spread throughout. Everything is tailored to be exactly your size, but the collection isn’t fine-tuned to your taste. If it was, the vibrant, lowcut saloon style dresses wouldn’t be here. As you browse, aware Elsie is watching you choose, your mind travels back to the last time you were a part of Delos Destinations.

The internship…

The internship was a means to an end. Just this year, you worked with Behavior, you learned about host coding, and you met Elsie – who mentored you. For three months, you lived underground with the rest of the onsite staff. Everyday was a chore, but at the end of it your grandfather agreed to pay for your master’s degree. Now, you’re back three months later. You aren’t here to work, and you can’t leave until your stay is over.

You select a pair of grey breeches and find a muddy red, button up shirt to go with it. For shoes, you pick the comfiest looking boots you see. Most of your internship was spent in the workshops, but for the next few weeks you’ll be above ground, kicking around in the dust of the “Old West” as imagined by Delos. To hell with looks, you want to be comfortable. You imagine yourself not to care about your appearance, but you still pick out a belt with a holster that matches, and a leather jacket.

When you come upon a case full of guns, you hesitate. The selection of pistols is immaculate, like everything else you’ve seen so far. Everything is so damn clean, and it irks you. The more Delos tries to sell itself as perfect, the more you want to make a mess of everything. You lift the glass cover and grab a silver revolver. It’s heavier than you thought it would be, but it fits in your hand so well. That’s the thing about guns that’s always bothered you. You shouldn’t want to hurt people, and you don’t – for the most part – but every gun you’ve ever held feels like it was made for you.

Elsie and Bernard step out so you can change. When they return, Bernard is back on his tangent of explaining how this trip works. “Now, you’ll start in the center of the park. Sweetwater. Things are tamer there, but there will be plenty to see and do.”

The behavior tech raises her hand to cut Bernard off. “I got it from here, Bernard. I’ll make sure she’s good to go.” Bernard nods and wishes you well before he leaves. With that, Elsie takes a deep breath and adjusts your collar a little bit. “Finally, we’re alone.” You face warms, remembering your past with her. “I know how much you hate this place,” she states. “But I really hope you find some peace here, Harper. You’re gonna have the whole park basically to yourself, take advantage of it.”

You huff and take a step away from your friend. “The perks of being Ford’s granddaughter,” you muse.

Elsie folds her arms over her chest. “Yeah, and if our places were reversed, I’d be taking that old man for everything he’s got.”

You let that statement hang, untouched. “How is it I have the whole park to myself anyway?”

“Brass is going through their yearly audit, and they oh-so-graciously decided to give everyone a three-week vacation this time,” she mocks. “We’re running on a skeleton crew right now, but then the rest of us get to take our vacation whenever we want. I’m thinking Christmas or something else equally inconvenient for management. Maybe every Tuesday for the next 15 weeks. What do you think?”

“Hm, one week for Christmas and ten weeks of Tuesdays.”

Elsie laughs. “Oh, that’s devious, Harper. Love the way you think.”

She’s always been a bit of a flirt with you, but under all her jokes and bravado, you know there’s a brilliant but lonely woman beneath. Unfortunately for her, all you can be is a friend, and probably not even a good one at that. Like right now, how you’re not responding to her. What kind of friend just stands here in awkward silence like this? Where the hell is your mind today?

“I don’t know what all you’re going through,” Elsie muses a moment later, “but you’re not alone, okay? I made Bernard give me this assignment. He and Dr. Ford picked out a lot of the narratives and hosts you’ll come across, but they’re going to be too busy to watch you. I’ll be checking on you from time to time.”

Her sympathy doesn’t feel fake, and that almost hurts. This is the time to push a smile, but you can’t do it. “What hosts? What narratives?”

“I shouldn’t be telling you, but it’s gonna start with a bounty hunter. He’ll take you out to hunt down some bandits. From there, you’ll get the choice to side with the bandits and- and are you sure you want to know this? I feel like I’m spoiling the biggest Hollywood blockbuster of the century.”

You huff out a laugh. You don’t care about spoilers. “Stay away from the bounty hunters and bandits,” you list. “Got it. I’m just not interested in my grandfather’s games.”

Elsie straightens her blazer. “Yeah, but still try to enjoy some of it. Okay,” she tries to psyche you up. “You ready?”

“I hope you’re getting a bonus for this.”

Her hand rests on your back as she guides you forward. “The bonus is knowing I’m helping a friend.”

Your stomach drops. This definitely hurts.

--

You’re on another train. This time, the steel cage rocks beneath your feet and it’s not empty. Hosts are spread throughout the car, planted in their seats, or taking a drink at the bar. You don’t talk to them; you don’t even look at them. You know how real they seem, and despite what your grandfather has planned for you – you’re not interested in what Westworld can offer you. You’ve already got plans, big plans. You’re going to hole up in the nearest tavern and self-medicate until your three weeks are up. You don’t need Westworld to cure you of your ailments. Not that you aren’t sick, you just don’t think it can. Since a young age, the doctors said you had depression. Now that you’re older, 23, they’re not satisfied with the easiest explanation. Now you have another disease.

In a world surrounded by screens and pixels, the experts needed a new term for the bleak existence suffered by the modern man. They call it ‘Tech Fatigue’ but you’re pretty sure it was invented by the Delos marketing team. Medical professionals like to slap that diagnosis on anyone with a designer smart watch and dark rings under their eyes. Rich people – circling their second divorce and an equal number of midlife crises – seek out therapy inside one of the parks. Delos gives the doctors a fat kickback, and bam, the cycle is born. Tech companies like Delos make the problem, the solution, and profit off both. You don’t know that’s what’s happening, but it wouldn’t surprise you.

It’s ironic, really. In order to get away from a world of tech, internet, and social media, you’re taking the first train to the most manufactured place on the planet. In the mile of dirt below you, there’s a whole structure full of tablet-carrying technicians making sure the machines around you work flawlessly. Just because you can’t see the wires, doesn’t mean they don’t exist.

You wish you didn’t exist.

Suddenly, the train whistle screams. You’ve pulled up to the station in Sweetwater. As the locomotive comes to a halt, you get to your feet and grab your leather messenger bag. Nothing in that sack is yours. Except for the odd prescription, guests aren’t allowed to bring personal items into the park. You don’t have any medications because you quit all of those a while ago. Still, you need more than the clothes on your back.

You walk off the train between a flurry of host bodies. For the most part, none of them pay attention to you. They go about their loops, avoid you when you step into their path – all except for a man in a grey tweed frock. He tips his hat as he approaches you.

“Miss Harper? I’m Teddy Flood. Your grandfather paid me to keep an eye on you.”

So it begins. You look him up and down more carefully. He looks like he was plucked right off the cover of an old-timey, cringe-laden romance novel set in the Wild West with his chiseled features. But his eyes are kind, and you’re not sure how to ditch him yet so you play along as best you can.

“That’s me.”

“Can I take you somewhere? A hotel to find a room? I’ve got horses saddled for us if you-”

You hold up a hand. “Okay, I thought I could do this, but I can’t. Just… go away. Or whatever it is you do when you’re not with a guest.”

He tilts his head. “I’m afraid I can’t abide by that request, ma’am. I was paid to keep you safe, and I’m a man of my word.”

“Of course you are.” Your shoulders sag, weighed down by more than your luggage. “Fine, but we’re not doing any of your… narratives.” You should’ve asked Elsie for more details on what your grandfather and Bernard have planned for you so you could avoid it. During your internship, you worked in a different park. Park seven, the newest addition to six others. You don’t know the storylines of Westworld past what you know about old American history. Admittedly, it’s not much.

With a sigh, you press forward and walk right into another cowboy. The stranger grunts and turns, hand hovering over the pistol on his hip. Teddy steps between you two. When the guy sees that his assailant is a woman with someone to defend her, his hostility fades.

“Pardon me, ma’am.”

Though everyone so far has a very natural Southern drawl, the ‘ma’am’ thing is weird. You try to smile in acceptance of his apology, but you know your lips aren’t upturned. You used to be so much better at controlling your expression, your emotions, too. What happened to you?

Confrontation avoided, you continue into town. You almost ask Teddy where the hotel is, but as you become more aware of your surroundings, your question fades. The buildings on either of the dusty road aren’t chic. They aren’t glass and concrete monoliths reaching for the sky. In fact, most of them aren’t even two-stories tall despite the false facade that rises up from the roof like an ornate parapet. Here, everything is made of wood and clay. It’s painted in muted, earthy tones by hand, and it’s like stepping back in time. Horses of every color are hitched on posts outside, and now you kind of wonder where Teddy was going to take you on horseback. You’ve never ridden a horse before.

They’re not real horses, you remind yourself. Teddy isn’t a real man. And nothing in Sweetwater is natural, except maybe for the flies buzzing around a pile of horse dung. Surely, your grandfather isn’t crazy enough to have manufactured insects. Then again, the robotic horses are producing waste that truly, and disgustingly, smells like shit… so anything is possible.

You tell yourself that this whole experience is too much, and you’re going to find the nearest place you can have a drink before you have a panic attack. That place is the Mariposa Saloon. You push through the batwing doors, and Teddy catches them when they spring backwards as he follows you. You told yourself to be ready for the sensory overload you’d face inside, but you’re still slightly overwhelmed. Cigarette smoke wafts under your nose, people are muttering about their card game, glasses are clinking on the bar, and a piano is chiming away in the corner of the room without anyone sitting at the keys. It’s a lot. You can understand how some people would feel alive in a place like this, but it’s not for you.

Still, you push yourself to the bar. Bottles of tawny brown, gold, and clear liquor are calling you forward. You set your hands on the black counter, but the man with the twisted handlebar moustache is serving someone else first. You don’t know why you’re waiting. You’re the only person here who thinks for themselves. You can be as rude as you want to be, and no one would remember it once they were reset. You wait anyway, and one of the brothel girls see it as an opening to take a chance.

The woman’s dress is a deep ocean blue, cut so high you can see the tops of her thighs and the intricate stockings she wears to cover the rest of her legs. You hope she’s going for Teddy, but she stops beside you and grins.

“You’re new.” She reaches up and slowly caresses your face. Between the lace of her fingerless gloves and the warmth of her hand, you’re surprised at how real it feels. “Not much of a rind on you. I’ll give you a discount.”

Turning away from her hand, you clear your throat. “Thanks, but I’m just here for a drink.”

The young woman doesn’t seem too upset by your refusal. “What do you want to drink, darling?” She snaps her finger at the bartender. Throwing a towel over his shoulder, the man finally notices you.

You order a whiskey. When he asks you what kind, you fumble. Did they have different kinds of whiskey in the past? How are you supposed to know?

Teddy chuckles under his breath and answers for you. “Rye. None of that corn homebrew you try to pass off as liquor.”

The saloon girl looks past you and at your tall, handsome company. “Wise choice, Mr. Flood.”

He tips his hat, before glancing at you again. “Nothing but the best for my friend.”

You scowl. “Teddy, we aren’t friends. You don’t even know me.” This is too strange. The bartender sets out two small glasses and fills both halfway. You can’t pretend like this is normal when your normal is leaps and bounds different from the here and now. A drink at home meant serving yourself, and you poured your chilled, name brand whiskey to the top of your glass, then you drank it alone.

Teddy throws his shot back and swallows it all in one go. “I know you better than you think, and I’d like to get to you know more than that.”

You shudder. Oh god, did your grandfather put him for you to… For you two to… You can’t finish the thought. The idea of your grandfather interfering with your sex life is way more than you can handle. Before you even take your first sip, you smack your finger down on the counter – showing the bartender where he can put the whiskey when you demand it.

“Leave the bottle.”

The young woman beside you places a hand on your shoulder and you tense up as she whispers in your ear. “I’m here if you change your mind, beautiful. If I’m not your type, and neither is he, look around. Find something that strikes your fancy.”

You grab the neck of the bottle and pour another shot. Westworld is not for you, you’ve decided. It’s only three weeks you remind yourself. The hat you picked out is making your forehead itch, so you take it off and set it on the bar. Then you hear a loud pop. An older cowboy pushes through the batwing doors, a wash of red blooms across his vest as he stumbles into the saloon.

“They’re here,” he coughs out. “Hector… Escaton and his posse.”

More gunshots sound, and it’s like some miscreant lit firecrackers in the street. The saloon explodes with activity. Working girls scramble to hide behind tables. The bartender grabs a sawed-off shotgun. Teddy puts his hand on your shoulder and you jerk before he tells you to get somewhere safe or be prepared to use your weapon.

It’s only three weeks.

[clubdolan]

Military Brat -- G.D.

idk it was an idea and i couldn’t think of an ending but i wanted to get it typed up

Grayson stretched his neck out and looked at his alarm clock; 3:23 a.m. 

And no one was sleeping next to him.

“Bub, come on.. back to bed, you’ll wake up if he calls..” He grabbed her hand, trying to pull her from the couch. She sat in her pajamas, his clothes, phone in hand, zoned out at the television in front of her.

“Els, c’mon..” He tugged, forgetting the whole reason he was awake was to go to the bathroom. 

“He said yesterday or today, at his lunch time... which is eleven to one which is two to four in the morning here.” She gripped harder onto her phone, checking the screen for the thousandth time that night. “Thirty minutes.”

Grayson sighed, letting go of her hand, “Give me a minute.”

A few minutes later he was back with a bottle of water and a blanket from his bed. “Come on, lay down.”

“I can’t fall asleep.” Elsa groaned, checking her phone again. He pulled her back to his chest and the blanket over her lap, “Gray, I can’t.”

“I’ll stay awake, I’ll hold your phone, you need to go to sleep.” He pulled her head onto his chest and tried to grab her phone but she wouldn’t budge. He didn’t fight it, he just wrapped his hand around hers and pulled her tighter.

Elsa sat up quick, looking at her phone. “I missed it, I probably--

“It’s been fifteen minutes.” He rubbed her back, “I will wake you up if anything pops up on your phone, I promise.”

She leaned forward, her face in her hands, “He’s not gunna call.”

“He’s going to call, he still has ten or fifteen minutes.” 

Elsa held in her sobs, trying to hide her tears from him but he already knew she was crying. Her dad was an Army Major stationed in Germany and she hadn’t spoke to him in two months and hadn’t seen him for almost a year. Her mother had passed away from cancer two years ago and she followed her dreams and moved to LA to continue dancing, which led her to him.

She was a back-up dancer in music videos, at concerts, awards shows and more. Her Instagram had gained a following which led to modeling and sponsorships and now she was considered an ‘influencer’.

She kept her family life off of the internet. All that anyone knew was that her mom had passed from cancer. Of course Grayson knew every detail, every story she told him good or bad, every memory she could remember with her dad and mom in Germany when she was younger, at their first US house in Virginia, their second US house in Texas. He felt like he knew her whole family but in reality, he had never met them.

He continued rubbing her back until she turned around and dug her face into the blanket in his lap, crying harder. “Els, c’mon bub.” He pushed her hair from her face, “I know this has been planned for weeks, he hasn’t forgot. Maybe a meeting has gone too long and he’s taking a late lunch?”

“I don’t know.. I just wish I could text him.. or email him. Or he would let me know somehow.. I just wait and wait--

She went silent as her phone vibrated, a little tune playing from it, DAD going across the screen.

“Oh my god, hi dad.” She cried out, now tears of happiness were flowing. 

“Hi Elsie-bug, sorry it’s so late, a meeting went a little long...” Grayson heard a muffled voice and left her on the couch, pushing the blanket around her shoulders. “Fill me in on everything, I’ve got a while.”

Grayson fell back asleep, hearing her little laugh every now and then & as he woke back up at six, he was still alone in bed. 

Elsa sat on the couch, sun peeking through the windows, smiling down at her phone as she typed away. “Morning, Gray!” She spoke up, giving him a smile. “My dad has an email I can send things to right now, so I’m pretty much blowing up his inbox while he’s working, I don’t know when it’ll be shut down.”

“Breakfast?”

“Please.” She groaned, thinking of how empty her stomach was. With her head still down she followed Grayson into the kitchen, “Remember when we went to Universal and got stuck on The Mummy ride?” She laughed, attaching the picture to an email and typing a caption. “I just want to send him my whole camera roll.”

“Please don’t send him your whole camera roll or he will not let you date me.”

“He probably wouldn’t even let me have a phone.” They both laughed, “He doesn’t know if he will be able to come home in the next two months. It could be six months before he’s back.”

“That sucks, but at least you can email him now, keep in contact more often. Tell him how great I am before I eventually meet him someday.” He sat a bowl of oatmeal in front of her, “I will eventually meet him, right?”

“Of course.” She finally put her phone down and sat on the counter to eat breakfast. Grayson walked back and forth making a protein shake for him and a smoothie for her; both chocolate peanut butter.

“I’m going to go workout--

“I’m going to sleep.”

“You’re making me work out alone?” He groaned, “But.. fine.”

“Bring your sweaty, little body back to bed when you’re done.”

“I can’t believe you just called me little.” He walked towards her, standing between her legs. “My sweaty, little body.”

“Sweaty... little... body...” She poked at his chest, “The smallest I’ve ever seen. You say you drink protein? Do you even have leg day?” Grayson laughed as she pulled his shirt off of him, “You call that a six-pack?”

“It’s practically an eight pack” he leaned forward, pinning her between the coffee machine and himself. 

Elsa grabbed his arms, her nails scraping along the back, “Your arms are so small, do you work out or just sit on the floor in there? These are pitiful. I ca--”

“You can talk shit about my arms all you want but I know you can get off by just thinking about them, so I’d shut up if I were you.” He mumbled against her mouth, leaving a quick kiss before going to their gym.

Elsa kicked off her shorts and shirt, putting on the shirt she had just taken off Grayson as she buried herself in the sheets exactly where he had laid the night before.

@ElsaOwens: 6:45am = Perfect bed time.

---reply: No I wasn’t partying, I didn’t just get home, I finally got to talk to my dad after two months of waiting. #armybratproblems 

She didn’t even remember putting her phone down before she was woken up by a weight dropping down on her whole body. Without thinking she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed the side of his head, “I’m still sleeping.”

“Do you want me to order you lunch with mine? Sushi.”

“My usual please.” She kissed the side of his head again before unwrapping her arms, expecting him to get up. 

“I’m tired.”

“Take a nap.” She tapped the top of his head, beginning to play with his hair.

“I want under the blanket.” He whined, standing up on his knees to push the whole blanket back before he dove back on top of her, shoving his head into her chest.

“You’re ... damp.”

“It’s my sweaty, little body.” He mimicked her, “Cardio and upper-body today.”

“Fuck-yeah upper body.” She rubbed her hands around on his stomach. 

“Ohh, fuck yeah upper body.” He made fun of her, pushing his shirt up her body, “Your naked.”

“I’m naked.” She giggled, watching him lay his head back down on her chest.

“I’m happy you got to talk to your dad today.” It was a cute moment, really it was. Elsa watched his eye lashes flutter close and she knew he really meant it. Her whole attitude had done a flip in the best way possible.

“You can’t get all touchy with me and then mention my dad.” Her finger trailed up and down his arm, leaving goosebumps along the way. “That’s like me teasing you and then mentioning Eth--

“Don’t fucking say his name.”

“---than.” She finished, pausing her finger. “Ruins it, doesn’t it?”

“I’ll still fuck the living day lights out of you. I don’t give a shit about my brother.” He mumbled into collar bone, “I hope he hears every second of it.”

“He left before you woke up. Surfing with Kyle or something?” She flinched as Gray bit into her skin, “Ugh, fuck, Gray.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Grayson’s voice felt shaky and he wasn’t even talking. His phone screen was dark and he waited impatiently for it to light up, he didn’t have much time, Elsa would be home in almost an hour.

A foreign number popped up and with a shaky hand he slid the bar over and answered it, “Hello?”

“So you’re Grayson? The one my daughter won’t shut up about?” A man laughed on the other line, “It’s nice to... somewhat, meet you.”

“You too, sir.” Grayson had tried to prepare but he didn’t want Elsa to know her dad was calling him. He had snuck her phone, copied the address and sent a short email to him. Days later he was on the phone, soon talking to her dad like they were old friends.

“I’m exhausted.”

“You’ve been on the phone for thirty minutes, what’s that exhausting?” Ethan asked from the other couch, pulling his ear buds out.

“It was Elsa’s dad and I’m trying to plan a surprise for her to see him.” He sighed, “Well I think I just did plan a surprise for her to see him......” 

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 

They came up with a fake video idea so them filming with Kyle didn’t seem suspicious. Elsa tagged along as they ran a few places just wasting time until her dad had landed.

“Els.”

“I’m not in this video, I’m not doing it...... what?” She asked, holding her own Target bag in hand walking to Ethan’s Jeep.

Grayson took the bag from her and put it in the car, “We just have to run and get Ricky at the airport, Kyle forget he said he’d pick him up.”

“Okay?” She looked at him funny, as if they needed her permission to go somewhere. “I’m literally just here to be here. I have no plans.”

Over an hour later they pulled into the airport parking lot and got out of the car, “Can’t he just walk--

“No we’re going in to get him, it’s a foreign flight and he’s got like three bags and we want to embarrass him with a sign.” He held his hand out and she grabbed onto it, pushing her sunglasses back to hold her messy ponytail in place. 

It took everything in him not to shake as they walked towards the airport. He knew Ethan and Kyle were behind them, filming, knowing exactly what was going on.

They all stood at the foreign arrivals gate, Ethan handed a rolled up poster to Elsa and had her hold it up to ‘see if it would fit in frame’. With a lousy smirk she held it up, watching him and Grayson keep backing up until it was all in frame. 

“Perfect! Now read the sign!” Grayson yelled, pointing down. 

Elsa was ready to read something dumb about Ricky, see an edited photo of him or some practical joke pulled on her but her eyes teared up as she read out loud, “I’ve waited a year to see my dad and I have no idea he’s right behind me.”

Her body froze and she dropped the sign and turned around. Her dad stood before her, Army fatigues and a bouquet of flowers.

The next few minutes was a whirl-wind. She hugged her dad for as long as possible, she cried the most she had in months, she didn’t even remember they were in airport or in public or that she was being filmed until her dad sat her down and said they could probably, “get going now.”

As she wiped her face off she saw Grayson standing next to her dad’s bags, holding her purse she had dropped on the floor with a little smirk on his face. “No way... no... you didn’t...”

“Nice to finally meet you, Grayson. In person.” Her dad stuck his hand out and Grayson shook it.

“In person.. so... wait, what?”

“I’ve talked to him a few times.. on the phone..” He acted cocky for keeping the secret. “Ethan and Kyle went to get the Jeep and your car is almost here. You’ve got dinner reservations with your dad.”

Elsa turned to look at her dad, back to Grayson then back to her dad, “All his idea.” Her dad said, looking at Grayson. 

“I can’t believe you.” She hugged him, starting to cry again. “I wanna be mad at you for not telling me but I can’t.”

He squeezed her tight, he felt her cry again, he felt her heart beating fast and could tell it meant everything to her. “He had a week off so we figured something out, you’ve got things all week to do with him.”

“With us, you’re coming with us, right Grayson?” Her dad spoke up.

Elsa nodded her head quickly, “Yes, he is. If he can. Can you?”

“I have a meeting one day but I can probably work the others out.” Elsa squeezed his arm and dug her head into his shoulder, “But dinner tonight is just you two. It’s already paid for. It’s your favorite place.”

They walked to the black SUV waiting outside and talked about the upcoming week, “It’s like two worlds colliding..” Elsa explained, “A good colliding.”

She kept her goodbye with Grayson short and sweet, her dad had never seen her with a boyfriend, let alone one she had been with for a while or one that went to this amount of planning to surprise her.

Grayson went to shake his hand but her dad hugged him, “Thank you, Grayson. For taking care of her.”

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

At midnight Elsa came running into Ethan and Grayson’s house as if someone was chasing her. “Where’s--

“He’s working out.” Ethan mumbled through a bite of food. 

She dropped her bag, shoes and whatever she could before rounding the corner and bursting into their workout room. Music was blaring and Grayson was laying on the ground, eyes squinted close as she silently counted sit-ups.

He almost started throwing punches when a body was on top of him, grabbing his face and straddling his chest. “I can’t fucking believe you.”

“Holy shit, bub. I almost hit you.” He sighed in relief, relaxing his muscles as they fell to the floor. “I’m glad you were surprised, I thought you would have figured it out by now.”

“I had zero idea.”

“Good.” He laughed, “Why are you here so late? You have to be up early tomorrow to get--

“I couldn’t sleep.” 

“I didn’t want to sleep.”

“I just.”

“I wanted to come say thank you.” Her thumb brushed along his stubbly chin, “So, thank you.”

Grayson’s hands slid up her back and he pulled her down to meet him better, “You’re so very welcome.” 

Their lips pulled apart and she couldn’t stop looking at him. The love of her life, had taken his own time, his own money, to give her the best gift of all time. “I still can’t believe--

“Believe it.” He laughed, “None of this is fake.” 

Grayson groaned into her mouth as she kissed him again, sliding her body down his. “I know Ethan’s coming in here to run so please let’s go to my room or literally anywhere else but here.” He quickly said, sitting up with her on his lap. 

She didn’t answer, she kept kissing him and he kept kissing back. “You’re going to be mad....” He tried to talk, “If Ethan walks in here.”

“I don’t even care if my dad asks why I arrive to breakfast with you tomorrow or if I’m wearing your shirt as a dress, I’m staying here tonight.”

idk how to end this bye

[ificanthaveu]

Letters, Rivals and Cold Weather || The DropBack || Shawn Mendes

Description: As everyone preps for the game to determine who goes to the championship, you get the letter you’ve been waiting for.

A/N: This is kind of a filler chapter that’s prepping for the next chapter which will be a lot definitely. Kinda short, but just gets to the point of what the rest of the series will be based on. 

Word Count: 1.7k

This is part 6! Catch up before you read this: The DropBack Masterlist

“[Y/N],” you heard Elsie yell from downstairs.

“Upstairs!” You yelled back as you finished doing your hair before the game. Elsie came barging in, and you jumped back.

“Ok, so I noticed you didn’t grab your mail yet, so I grabbed it on my way in, and…” she trailed off as she held up an envelope. Your breath hitched in your throat as you read who it was from.

“USC?” You whispered quietly. She nodded her head as you pulled it out of her hands and just stared at it.

“Open it!”

“I can’t. What if it says no?” You start to panic as you pace back and forth and stare at the unopened letter.

“You won’t know until you open it,” she said as she rested her hands on your shoulders to stop you from moving. You took a deep breath before you slowly opened the envelope.

You slowly pulled out the letter and read and reread the first two sentences over and over again.

“So?” Elsie said carefully. You finally looked up at her.

“I got in,” you whispered. Before you could even comprehend what was going on, Elsie has her arms wrapped around you and was jumping up and down.

“USC, baby! You’re going to freaking USC!” She yelled as she shook your shoulders aggressively. “Call David!”

You grabbed for your phone and hit his contact. It seemed to ring forever until he finally picked up.

“Yes?” He said with slight annoyance in his voice.

“I got in,” you said as tears welled up in your eyes. “I’m going to USC.”

You had to pull your phone away from your ear as David yelled back at you.

“My baby sister’s joining me at college! I’m so proud of you, [Y/N],” he said as you could hear the joy in his voice. “We’ll talk later, but go call Mom and Dad.”

“Alright, alright, talk to you later,” you said before hanging up. You quickly called both your parents who were almost just as excited for you.

After that, you and Elsie sat in your bathroom, not saying anything.

“I can’t believe I got in,” you whispered to yourself.

“This is all becoming a little too real,” she said from her spot on the floor. You glanced over at her, and she looked like she was about to cry. You held your hand up.

“Nope, not happening, you’re not allowed to do that right now,” you said through a laugh. “We’ve still got most of our senior year to get through. You can’t cry, yet.” She shook her head and wiped underneath her eyes quickly before standing up.

“Ok, fine, I’ll save it. Finish getting ready, so we can go,” she said as she leaned against the doorway. “Can’t be late for this one or we’ll never get a spot in the stands. Plus, an hour drive-“

You cut her off before she could finish, “I know, I know. Big game. How’s Matthew?”

“He’s freaking out.”

“Yeah, same with Shawn.”

“If they lose this, I almost don’t want to see Matthew after because it breaks my heart when he cries since he never does it,” she said as she sat up on your counter.

“They could be going to the championship, El. The first time in seven years,” you said. “I think they have a really good chance.”

She sighed as she leaned against the mirror. “I want to believe that they can do it, but at the same time, I don’t want to get my hopes up.”

You nodded your head at her and took a deep breath.

“It just all depends on how they’re doing today. Tonight is all that matters, and it sucks. It doesn’t matter that they’ve crushed it all season. They could have one bad night, and they’re out and the season’s done,” you said quietly.

“You’re making me sadder than I was when we were talking about college,” she said before hopping off the counter. “Let’s go.”

You finished with your hair and quickly threw on Shawn’s jersey that was laying on your bed and you were out the door.

—

“Have you found out about UCLA yet?” You asked Elsie once you were on the way to the football game.

“Nope,” she said shortly.

“Has anyone else gotten their letters yet from early admit?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “Not that I know of. Honestly, I’m just hoping I don’t get denied. Like at least just put me on the waiting list.”

You nodded your head as you looked out the window.

“You think we can handle being rivals?” you asked her with a sly smile.

She laughed at you before shaking her head.

“USC may have beat UCLA this year, but since we know I’ll obviously be the good luck charm, we’ll crush you,” she retaliated.

“Don’t be so sure,” you paused. “Are you really going to cheer against David? He’d be so disappointed.”

“I can cheer for David, but against the rest of the team. How does that sound?”

“Sounds perfect,” you said as you smiled at her once more.

“Do you know where Shawn’s applied?” She asked after a moment of silence. You sighed and ran a hand over your face.

“He never talks about it,” you said quietly. “I have absolutely no idea what he wants to do or where he wants to go or where he applied. He hasn’t told me.”

“If you could guess, what would you guess?”

“Only place I think that maybe he applied to is Notre Dame and maybe Penn state. He’s mentioned going to Notre Dame games before, and he moved here from Pennsylvania. But those are complete guesses,” you said as you glanced over at her, and you rested your head against the window. “I can only hope that he applied to USC since we’ve been spending so much time there.”

“Well, some people just don’t want to tell anyone because they’re not sure where they’ll get in. Don’t want to disappoint anyone,” she reasoned. “And USC is hard to get into. You’re smart as hell, and you had legacy. You were a shoo-in. Shawn might not be, especially with how he’s been struggling in physics.”

“Yeah, I guess,” you mumbled as she pulled into the parking lot. You were there early for once, so you took your time walking towards the stands to secure a spot. You couldn’t stop thinking about Shawn. When did you tell him you were going to USC? Do you just tell him after the game or wait until another time? Do you not say anything unless he brings it up?

You must have been lost in your thoughts because before you knew it, the game had started.

Shawn was on top of his game, doing even better than usual as he seemed to take over the entire field.

“Damn, what’s up with him?” Elsie said as she nudged your arm.

“No idea, must just be having a good day. And the perfect game to have that.”

Monroe won by a landslide, solidifying their spot in the championship in two weeks. You could practically see Shawn’s smiling radiating through his face mask during the final play.

You and Elsie were waiting at the gate, bundled up in sweatshirts with blankets wrapped around your shoulders for a particularly cold night in California, but that didn’t stop you from sprinting into Shawn’s open arms when he walked out.

His arms wrapped around you, but underneath the blanket as he buried his head into your neck. You could feel his cold nose pressed against your neck.

“You’re so warm,” he mumbled into your shoulder. You ran your hands up and down his back, attempting to warm the both of you up. “I literally grew up in Canada and Pennsylvania. How am I cold when it’s barely below sixty degrees,” he mumbled as you could feel him laugh as you did the same.

“You killed it out there,” you whispered into his ear as he chucked against your shoulder again.

“I just had such a good day. I guess it showed,” he said as he finally pulled away and smiled at you. Before you could ask why, Matthew and Elsie were coming up from behind Shawn, and Matthew swung his arm around him.

“Best game of the year, easily!” He yelled just a little too loud as Elsie cuddled farther into his side.

“Can we please leave? I’m freezing,” Elsie said as she looked at you. You nodded before looking over at Shawn.

“Yeah, I’ll meet you at the car,” you said as you gave her a look. She nodded her head and nudged Matthew in the side.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll see you in the locker room, Shawn,” he said before walking away with Elsie.

“You gonna walk me to the locker room?” He asked as he slung his arm around you.

“Of course,” you said quietly.

The two of you began walking in silence toward the opposing team’s school.

“So,” you started.

“So?” He mocked you before you elbowed him in the side. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, what is it?”

“I got my USC letter today,” you said. He stopped in his tracks and held onto your shoulders.

“And?” He almost screamed with anticipation written all over him.

You couldn’t contain the smile, “I got in. I’m going to USC next year, officially.”

Shawn had his arms wrapped around you and swung you around as he repeatedly said how proud he was of you. He finally let you down, and his smile said everything you ever needed.

“I’m so damn proud of you, honey. That’s insane! USC!” He said as he shook your shoulders again. “Did you tell David?’

“First person I called. He nearly made my eardrum burst,” you said through your grin. Shawn scooped you up into another hug as you cuddled your head into his chest and couldn’t wipe the smile off your face.

He finally pulled away after a few moments, and the two of you began walking toward the school again.

“I actually have good news, too,” he said as he glanced down at you.

You gave him a confused look, “What is it?”

“I got accepted to Penn State. I think I’m going to commit.”

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[swearronchanel]

9.08

wow i cant even think too busy crying

Reggie and Fred 🥰

Ok but is setting all this shit on fire in the middle of the street not some barbaric ass move or is it just me LMAO?

Trixie looks great as always, I still want the white hoops

NURSE CRANE AND THE WRESTLING LMAOAOAO GET OUT LOVE IT

that’s a pretty veil

Shot gun wedding time

This guy is hella familiar ?? Was he on Downton or something?

Poor Elsie

Val giving me sailor vibes lol

Phyllis gives me the vibe of older lady’s who chug beer and yell from the nosebleed seats at baseball games aka me in 40 years

How dare you say Nonnatus’ is unimportant mr tight vest LMAO

I love that Phyllis is making him a sweater LMAO why is it so funny to me

DISCOTECH, Sister Hilda is deff the “cool” nun

You’re telling me that poplar will throw a fundraiser/charity sale thing  for anything BUT to save their building??

Sister J’s voice breaking 😢

SAVE NONNATUS 1k65

THEY NEED RENT MONEY

Oh noo they’re gonna kill Elsie off today huh

I forgot Phyllis is a vegetarian, good on her I could never lmao

“Don’t go crying, not in all that eye black” 😭

Throwing up blood oh shit not good

Omg cancer of the esophagus? Jesus

WAIT HE HAS TWO BABY MOMMAS??? BIG YIKESS

SISTER HILDA SHOWING MCNULTY HOW TO DANCE LMAOAOAOA why do I love this?

SISTER PJ’s PAMPHLET “HOW TO DANCE SOCIALLy” LMAOO

“No one wears plimsoles to the discotech” 😂 plimsoles are like white sneakers right?

you really have to be an addict to wanna play with needles and inject yourself all the time 🥴 Issa no from me

The midwife with the curly perm 🤣

Ok I agree sister Hilda deff has a soothing voice. Her accent is very velvet-y

Poor Val this is so heartbreaking 💔Let me call my grandmas after this

Wow there goes my stream 🤬🙄

ok I’m back

“Every land mark I ever knew seems to be falling down” 💔

Sister J and Lucille comforting Val ugh this is too many feels

I can’t wait till this cheating ass mf gets caught LMAO

OFC Phyllis would be the one to notice the missing drogas

Fred checking his watch is a mood like he does not have the time for this shit LMAO

Councilor Buckle you better step it up LMAO

TELL HER PHYLLIS!

Sister Hilda’s voice is actually calming me rn LMAO ((my laptop has been stressing me out all day))

LMAO THIS IS IT OMG

HE CAUGHT

SMACK HIM UP MOMMA!!!!

HE DESERVES MORE THAN A HANDBAG TO THE HEAD HE NEEDA CATCH THESE MF HANDS LMAOAOOA

Phyllis is like what the fuck is going on here today??🤦🏼‍♀️😂

Elsie coming home 😢my freaking heart

Now they’re both gonna be in the maternity home OFC

Ugh I cant deal this hits too close

LET TRIXIE SPEAK

ALSO LET ME SIGN THE PETITION

“Oh no” LMAO ofc they’re put next to each other

NOW EDDIE SHOWS UP OMG GET OUT LMAO

“You’re loving her. That’s the only medicine she wants” stop omg my heart 💔😭

CTM don’t you dare make me feel bad for this guy lmaoo

Sister MJ 🥺 angel on earth

“The good stuff” is that not suspicious to anyone who doesn’t already know?

“She was here the night you were born. I recollect her” Ok I’m hysterical bye

Sister Hilda is underrated and I’ll keep saying it lol

Eddie with the 2 bouquets 😂

“I grew up arching women brawling in the street...but I’m not gonna fight you for him.” Remember the brawl from the pilot ep

YES TRIXIE YOU SPEAK!!!

“They gritted their teeth and that’s just what I’m doing now” ugh this is too much

I won’t ever have a baby bc Phyllis Crane can’t be my midwife so why bother LMAOO jkkk

poor Petra tho :((

“A memory like a firework exploded in my mind”

GRATITUDE LETTERS 🥺

GOD D*MN IT SISTER MJ HAS DONE IT AGAIN

“I was never more proud of you when I saw you wearing that [nonnatus uniform]” 😭😭😭

I am in actual tears and I can not deal

And McNulty is down

GOD SISTER FRANCES WHERE IS THAT VOW OF SILENCE BC UR NOT HELPING LMAO

The community rallying for Nonnatus we STAN 

ARE THEY SAYING “PISS OFF OF OUR MIDWIFES” LMAOO I CANT HEAR AND HAVE NO SUBTITLES RIP

“I prefer to be referred to as NURSE Franklin in a professional setting” YES MY QUEEN !!! TELL HIM

NURSE BEATRIX FRANKLIN SAID DOWN WITH THE PATRIARCHY!!

THIS IS THE MOMENT I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR !!!

“YOU HAVE NEVER ONCE CALLED US BY OUR NAME!! BUT DO NOT THINK WE WILL NOT BE MISSED IF YOU WIPE US OUT COMPLETELY” YOU FUCKING GOO BEATRIX OMGG WHAT A DAMN GOOD SPEECH!!!

BUDGET FUCKING RESTORED HELL YEA

for 12 months is that catch but you know SCREW YOUR CATCH, Nonnatus will go on somehow as long as NURSE Franklin has a say!!!

I mean at least for series 11 they have to make do somehow? We’ll see

NOOO OMG ELSIE CAN’T DIE WHILE VAL ISN’T THERE

I’m literally drowning in my own tears Oh my god

now they’re singing Amazing Grace might as well just rip my heart out with your bare hands 💔😭😭😭😭

Val with the ice cream cone ugh 😢it’s so sad

Reminds me of how I missed my abuelo passing by literally 7 mins. After a 5 hour drive, legit 7 mins late...

They tried to make McNulty go to rehab but he said no, no, noooooo

IM SORRY I NEED TO MAKE MYSELF LAUGH BC IM LITERALLY A SOBBING MESS

I wonder why they never bring up Patrick’s mental health anymore?  like he wan’t magically cured for life 

the “for now” sign on Nonnatus omg

LMDOAOAOA THE FIREWORK OMGGG

FRED THANKS FOR EVERY LAUGH

TRIXIE LOOKS GREAT AND HAD THE RIGHT IDEA LMAO

“I love you Nurse Anderson” MY HEART MAY BE REPAIRED, GIVE ME A WEDDING

Petra lost the baby aww poor gal

wow i’m emo but they all look happy during the bonfire 🥺

Poor Val is breaking but at least she’s got her gals

“Welcome the darkness, embrace it as a canopy from which the stars can hang, for there are always stars when we are where we ought to be...The darkness is beautiful for how else can we shine?”✨✨😭😭😭

She said more that I loved but couldn’t hear it all over the sound of my UGLY CryING

This reminds me of what Sister Hilda said a few eps back ugh I’m having too many feelings let me log off until Christmas 

[shyvioletcat]

I think Rowaelin should be blessed with 25. Troublesome twins 😁

Blessed you shall be, also thanks to the anon who sent this too with the addition of a little twist. 

~~~~~

Rowan loved his children, he really did. They were the light of his life, the apple of his eye. But sometimes he just wished they would stop, be still, be quiet for a little while. His two year old twins were a force of nature. If one was settled the other wouldn’t be, then it would end in both of them causing chaos together as they played off each other. Aelin mused that this was her punishment for what hellions she and Aedion were as children. Rowan didn’t doubt her.

Today was no exception. Elsie had decided that her bedroom wall was the perfect canvas for her crayon artwork, while Finn had unpacked all the kitchen drawers — Aelin catching him just before he got to the knives. Today wasn’t a play together day either, when they had been making towers it soon became a mean game of who could have the most blocks and Rowan had to physically separate them before they started a full out brawl in the living room. Even Fleetfoot had run for cover for most of the day, and she was usually the third comrade in their antics. So today there had been one parent per child just to make sure everyone was safe and happy.

But when bathtime rolled around, everyone was friends again. And despite the amount of bath water on the floor the bedtime routine had gone smoothly, so much so Rowan was able to get most of it done by himself. Once they had settled into bed Rowan read them two stories and turned off the light, the room still illuminated by the night light in the corner. He prayed that tonight they’d both go to sleep without any trouble. It was a divine blessing that they both were decent sleepers.

Easing the door closed, Rowan let out a heavy sigh of relief then he went in search of his wife. He found her sitting at the kitchen bench, scrolling through her phone and eating something he couldn't see. On his way into the kitchen he stopped to give her a kiss on the head before making his way towards the fridge to get himself a drink. Glancing over he saw her choice of snack, slices of apple that she was dipping into a jar of raspberry jam. Rowan didn’t know how she could handle all that sweetness.

“Apples and jam, huh?” Rowan said, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

“Mmhmm, just felt like it,” Aelin replied, biting into an apple slice.

Rowan chuckled. “You aren’t pregnant, are you?”

Apple and jam was all Aelin had lived on for months when she was pregnant with the twins. Seeing her eating it again was bringing back some memories.

“Of course not,” Aelin scoffed. But then her brow furrowed and she was picking up her phone. “No. Nononono.”

Rowan had been about to take a sip from his bottle but it had frozen in place halfway to his mouth as he watched Aelin frantically tap at her screen. Then she stopped, putting her phone face down on the counter, rubbing her face with her hands. The entire house was silent as he waited for her to say something.

“I’m late,” she breathed.

Rowan blinked. “How late?” A few days would be nothing, even a week.

“Two weeks.”

That wasn’t good.

“Um, well…” Rowan started but Aelin was already moving, practically running down the hallway.

He followed and found her rummaging through the bathroom cupboards. She pulled out a box, a box of pregnancy tests.

“Alright, get out,” she said to him, and Rowan just nodded and closed the bathroom door behind him.

It wasn’t long before Aelin came out, immediately going to him and straddling her knees either side of his hip as she settled in his lap from where he sat on the edge of the bed. She curled into him and Rowan held her.

“What if it’s positive?” She asked, then her tone steadily grew more panicked. “A baby plus those two terrors. How are we supposed to do that? Oh gods, what if it’s twins again? Is that a thing?”

“Well,” Rowan said as he ran a hand over her back. “I guess we ask your mum to move in for a few months.”

Aelin let out a dry laugh at that. “I… I kinda hope it is. Positive I mean.”

She peeked up at him, those stunning eyes shining. Before Rowan could say anything the alarm went off and Aelin went back into the bathroom. All Rowan could do was wait and when Aelin reappeared in the doorway her eyes were brimming with tears.

“You’re pregnant,” Rowan breathed, feeling a gentle smile spreading over his lips.

Aelin nodded, her eyes closing making the tears run down her cheeks. “I’m pregnant, Ro.”

He held his arms out to her and she resumed her position in his lap as she kissed him. “But I swear if you’ve knocked me up with twins again I may literally castrate you to prevent it from happening again.”

Rowan laughed, still a little shocked, but so, so happy. “That sounds fair enough, even though I think there’s an operation for that. A lot less painful.”

Aelin fixed him with a look. “You want to talk to me about pain right now? You realise what I’m going to do in 8 months, right?”

She had a point and Rowan nodded solemnly. “Castration is fine, dear.”

Aelin just laughed and kissed him again.

~~~~~

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[okskz]

Old Crush.

Elsy + Mia

mia celebrates her birthday with elsy and finds out about elsy’s old crush.

hehe, things are just gonna look great from here. hope you guys enjoy and please let me know your thoughts. feedback is always appreciated!

[8th Member of Got7]

“Oh wow.” Elsy gasped at Mia as the younger girl stepped into the living room. She was wearing a rose gold shimmer skirt with a white lace crop top. “You look so-“ Elsy stopped herself once eyeing Mia’s choice of footwear. “You look great but those shoes have to go.”

Mia looked down at her shoes, they were white slip on. “I think they look great.”

“The heels would be better.” Elsy said, pushing Mia back into her room. “Now go change them, you don’t have a choice.”

Mia groaned, going back into her room and switching her shoes to the heels. She definitely felt a bit taller when wearing them and heels were something she didn’t wear just for fun. So she definitely gave props to Elsy for always having them on.

“Much better.” Elsy smiled once Mia came back out the living room.

It was Mia’s birthday and of course Elsy had to take her out. And she decided on a fancy restaurant so the two could dress up. Elsy wearing a white silk dress.

“Wait, before we enter the restaurant, take a picture of me with my car.” Elsy chuckled, handing her phone to Mia. She stood next to her car, turning to the side and lifted one leg back. Mia took the photos, in every angle that Elsy did a pose for.

Grabbing her phone back, Elsy looked at the photos, smiling to herself. “Wow, I look hot and my car makes me look hotter.” She giggled.

Entering the restaurant, the waiter took the two to their seats by the window where they could see the city. Mia had placed her headband on that said happy birthday and began smiling when Elsy started snapping some photos.

“Thank you for taking me out.” Mia grinned. “I’m really loving tonight already.”

“It’s no problem.” Elsy chuckled. “Since you’re with me I just had to take you out. Especially since we never celebrate our birthdays together. Plus another girls night!”

“We have those a lot already.”

“Yeah but we get to dress up today!” Elsy looked up when the waiter came back with their drinks and after he left, Elsy smirked at Mia. “He’s cute. Get his number and maybe he can be your new boyfriend.”

Mia narrowed her eyes at the older girl. “Too soon?” Elsy questioned.

“Very.” Mia replied. “But maybe you should do it.”

“Uh, no.” Elsy chuckled.

Before Mia could ask Elsy a question, the waiter stopped by again, this time to hand them their appetizers. So she tried again. “Have you ever liked someone though? You always say you haven’t or you don’t so I’m just curious as to know.”

“Uh.” Elsy bit the inside of her mouth nervously. “Yeah.” She said. “Nichkhun-“

“Okay, that’s a celebrity crush you have on him. I’m not talking about that.”

“It’s practically the same thing!”

Mia gave Elsy a look as she snorted. “Now, Elsy. I think we both know that’s not the same.”

Elsy chuckled at her words. She knew Mia was right. But then suddenly the girl began to feel nervous. But she knew there was no turning back once Elsy began talking. “Okay, it’s not the same. But there was a time where I did like... someone.”

“Say what!? The Lee Elsy liked someone?” Mia joked.

“Believe it or not, yes I did.” Elsy smiled. “It was back when the both of us were trainees.” She said, hoping Mia could get the hint, which she didn’t get.

“Oh wow, really? Do you still know the person?”

“Yes.” Elsy breathed out, beginning to make herself more nervous. Mia could see it as well that Elsy was beginning to act different. Elsy never told anyone about her old crush and has always kept it to herself so it took her a moment before saying his name. “It was Bang Chan.”

As Mia was taking a sip of her drink, she began slightly choking when she heard Chan’s name. She looked at Elsy wide eyed and the girl looked anywhere but at Mia, feeling even more anxious than before. “Bang Chan?”

“Yes.” Elsy nodded. “Him.”

“How did I not get this from the start? Chan was literally your only friend.”

“Hey, I knew other guys!”

Mia snorted. “But they were no Bang Chan.” She said. “Wait but he also had a crush on you when you two were trainees. How come you didn’t say anything either?”

Elsy groaned as she rubbed the side of her head. She knew now she had to tell Mia the whole story now. “I was going to mention it to him but then I joined Got7 so I knew it would have been the wrong time to tell him. Plus it made me realize that I didn’t want to ruin our friendship.”

As Mia listened to Elsy, she realized how familiar both Elsy and Chan’s situation sounded when it came to confessing. “You two really are the same.” She laughed a little. “But wait, he confessed to you. If you liked him, why did you decline.”

“Because my feelings for him did vanish once I joined Got7 so when he confessed, I didn’t feel the same at that time and like I said before, I don’t want to ruin our friendship. Even though it basically kind of is.”

Mia saw the way Elsy’s head hung low from saying her last sentence. It even hurt Elsy to say it. Her and Chan have definitely come a long way for their friendship to just end out of nowhere.

“You just said at that time, are you implying that-“

“I still like him?” Elsy finished for Mia. The younger girl nodded her head, causing Elsy to let out a sigh. “I don’t know. When Chan and I stopped talking I was hurt because we’ve been friends for ten years, but the other day we hugged and it made me realize how much I’ve missed him.” She paused for a second. “And it brought back some old feelings I had for him.”

Mia slightly gasped, smiling at Elsy. “Aw, Elsy!”

Elsy grinned a little. “I don’t know if they’re genuine feelings that I have for him or if it was just in that moment that I started feeling something for him again.” She hummed.

“Try talking to him again.” Mia suggested. “See where you guys stand and maybe also tell him.”

“No way! I can’t do that.” Elsy shook her head. “He probably doesn’t even feel the same way for me anymore after I declíned his date.”

“I highly doubt that.” Mia said. “I know there’s still a tiny part of him that still likes you.”

Maybe Mia was right. Maybe Chan still liked her. And Elsy knew she needed to find a way to see if she did in fact have feelings for him again. As well as Chan to her. She just didn’t know how. The situation also made her a little worried. Was she ready to put her friendship with Chan to the side and actually date him? It’s a risky move, but it wouldn’t hurt to do it.

But not only that, was Elsy herself even ready to be in a relationship? She’s always been all about her and the thought of a relationship was nowhere near in mind of something she wanted. Just the thought of it scared her.

And lastly, what about Jinyoung? She thought. How were things going to be between them now. This was all too much for Elsy. Sighing as she shook her thoughts away, the girl looked up to smile at Mia.

“Enough about me, it’s time to celebrate! Happy birthday, my love!”

[disgruntledkittenface]

Hiii here’s some of the fics I’ve read and loved this month (some new, some new to me). Enjoy, and show the authors some love!

🌿 Lend Me Your Hand by @becomeawendybird 

Society has long since decided that the soulmarks everyone is born with are entirely unfashionable. They're just another way for people of a lower class to scam their way into marrying above their station.

Lord Louis Tomlinson, Viscount Loring, on the other hand, has always believed that he will find his soulmate one day. Despite preparing for a match his whole life, he is entirely unprepared for the arrival of Gemma Styles' younger brother.

Harry Styles has been traveling and away from society for over a year. Coming back, he intends to spend time with his sister, and slowly reacquaint himself with life in town. He doesn't need to wait around for a soulmark to determine how his life will play out. (63k, M)

🌿 Treat Mothman With Kindness by @lesbianiconharrystyles

“Does anyone else ever think mothman is... Kinda hot?” “No?” Zayn squinted, frowning. “Louis? The fuck?”

In which Louis, Liam, Niall and Zayn are amateur cryptozoologists and Harry is the creature they find in the woods of a small north-western town. ft. lots of glitter and shrieking and a whole shed full of lesbian cats. (16k, T)

🌿 Glitter Bomb by @fullonlarrie

After a spectacularly awful date, Harry decides a little petty revenge will make him feel better. Things don't work out quite the way he plans. (7k, T)

🌿 Staring Across Barcelona by @allwaswell16

From his first day working at the New York Public Library, Louis has pushed Harry’s buttons. Now that they’re in love and living together in Harry’s tiny NYC apartment, he pushes his buttons in a much more enjoyable way. Harry is ecstatic to go on their first romantic vacation together to Barcelona to see the sights and all the amazing art. It’s also the perfect time for him to propose to Louis. However, everything may not go quite according to Harry's plans…

A sequel to Staring Across the Room from The Library Universe. (7k, E)

🌿 There’s Such a Lot of World to See by @crinkle-eyed-boo

“Why do you keep looking at me like that?” Harry asks, thumbing at Louis’ hip. “Like what?” Louis asks breathlessly. “Like you’ve seen a ghost or summat,” Harry muses. “You did it all the time the other day and you did it just now.” Louis swallows hard, studying him intently. “You remind me of someone,” Louis says softly, tucking a curl behind Harry’s ear. “Someone I lost.”

Louis has seen a great many things throughout his travels in time and space, but only one he can’t explain: He keeps meeting the same boy, who says the same thing to him each time. The boy should be impossible.

Maybe he is.

A love story that defies the boundaries of space and time. Doctor Who AU. (125k, E)

🌿 Lambing Season by @helloamhere

“Shut up,” Louis says, an involuntary grin tugging at his mouth. It’s not every boy who will stand in the middle of a cold barn in a suit and play musician trivia. “I’m Louis.”

//lambing season brings sleep deprivation, noisy alarms, cold barns, demanding animals, and warm strangers. (24k, M)

🌿 All I Want is Everything by @phd-mama

As first dates go, it's a good one. (7k, E)

🌿 If I Loved You Less by @allwaswell16

Beautiful omega Louis Tomlinson is set to make his come out in London society and determined to find a mate in his first Season. With the help and protection of his oldest friend, Lord Niall Mendes, he takes Society by storm.

Being a wealthy and titled alpha means Lord Harry Styles has grown used to avoiding unmated omegas...until now. This Season he finds himself at every Society event just for a chance to speak with the omega with the flashing blue eyes.

Louis has the aristocracy at his feet and all the suitors he could hope for, but his secrets may ruin his chance at a love match. (36k, E)

🌿 (That’s Just) The Way I Am by @lululawrence

There was no way Harry would want to bring anyone out for an introductory trip like this. The fighting between himself and his father was sure to be be worse than usual and father still hadn’t accepted Harry’s pansexual identity. Harry wasn’t dating anyone at the moment, but at this point he almost wished he were dating a man just so he could incense his father.

The door jingled, pulling Harry’s attention away from the window and to the man who had just walked into the cafe.

Now that was exactly who Harry should try bringing home. The man was dressed in ratty black skinny jeans and what was obviously a self cut tank top that used to be a Stone Roses t-shirt. His black chucks had holes in the canvas, indicating exactly how old they were, and his maroon beanie wasn’t in much better shape.

The more Harry studied the man’s smoky eyeliner rimmed eyes and the lipstick he had swiped on to match his hat, the more Harry started hatching an idea. What if Harry really did bring this man home? (17k, NR)

🌿 Crystal Ball on the Table by @becomeawendybird

Harry Styles is just an ordinary witch from an old-fashioned Boston family trying to survive in her regular job as the fiction manager at a local bookstore and café. Her magic isn't exactly something she advertises when looking for potential new girlfriends, so when Louis Tomlinson arrives in her life like a breath of fresh air, she tries her best to hide how strongly her magic is reacting to Louis' presence. (12k, E)

🌿 i can’t help myself from how my heart is racing by @flicker-album

Louis is just trying to be a good friend by working out at the gym that Liam owns. He never expected to (quite literally) run into Harry, the hot boxer who sings embarrassing songs in the locker room showers. (13k, E)

🌿 A Light Illuminated (Calling You Home) by @londonfoginacup

Louis has inherited a farm from an uncle he barely knew. It's not in the best state, and he's facing the reality of having to let some of the workers go if profits don't drastically improve. It's not a nice idea.

Then Harry comes into the picture. A prince in need of a place to lay low for a while. It's a little awkward, and a lot unconventional, but he's paying well and Louis can't turn down the opportunity.

If only he didn't give Louis such conflicting feelings. (14k, T)

🌿 Chestnuts Roasting... And All That by @elsi-bee

Louis is apparently the only person at his new job who is single as can be. It’s not a big deal to just tell his new colleagues that he has a boyfriend, right? Until he has to make this imaginary boyfriend magically appear at the office holiday party. Cue fake relationship antics with a certain someone who is more than willing to play along. (46k, M)

🌿 Take Me Back to Where We Started by @amories

Harry and Louis haven't spoken since they broke up four years ago. As boarding school sweethearts they once spent every waking moment together, but now they can hardly stand to be in the same room. When their five year class reunion comes around, both boys decide against their better judgement to return and (hopefully) have a good time.

The only problem is, they're both still hopelessly in love.

Starring Harry as the petty ex, Louis as the new James Bond, Niall as a boy genius and fake boyfriend extraordinaire, and Liam and Zayn as two friends just trying to make it out of this weekend alive. (27k, NR)

🌿 The light to guide me home by @tommosgun

the one where Harry and his friends hit Vegas for post Uni blow out, he meets a bar owner called Louis who rocks his world. Pure lust overtakes them both but it's more, it's just so much more than that.. (65k, E)

[how-manygalileos]

Yes, Minister - A BoRhap Politics AU

//Chapt 1//Chapt 2// Chapt 3

A/N: me and @rachelweiszs-areawoman finally got another chapter done! between uni deadlines another shit, but here it is, there’s a fair few juicy developments in this instalment  👀👀👀👀👀

Word Count: 2315

Chapter 4

“Refugees are moving across our continent on a scale we have not seen since the second world war, with a third of a million trying to cross the Mediterranean this year, many ready to pay their life savings to criminal gangs who board them on to overcrowded boats and then leave them to drown. Fifty-two people were found dead in the hull of a boat. They had been forced into an airless hold, forced to pay to come up to breathe, and those who could not pay suffocated to death. The pictures of Alan Kurdi have moved a continent—the image of a three-year-old on a beach, a picture that should have been full of life and joy and instead was a tragedy.” (from Yvette Cooper’s speech of 8th September 2015)

Gwilym watched in awe as Kick passionately argued with a member of the opposition. He didn’t know what to think.

He’d thought she was incredible since he’d met her; now, with this speech, she proved him right.

He’d thought she was beautiful since the dinner at No. 10. The dress she was wearing, standing up and arguing her point, was a knockout.

But now, now he thought he might be falling in love with her. Her compassion, her intelligence, her beauty, they all made him fall for her more.

In fact, he knew he was in love with her.

He was, to paraphrase Jane Austen, in the middle before he knew he had begun.

All Gwilym knew, in that moment, was that he needed to be with her.

Gwilym practically ran out of the House of Commons after Kick at the end of the day’s sitting. He caught up with her, and found himself tongue-tied.

“Hello Gwilym” Kick said as they walked through Central Lobby towards the House’s coffee shop.

“H-hi Kick. Look, um, you were fantastic in there….really phenomenal” He said nervously, quickly buying a coffee for him and Kick.

“Thank you, though I’m guessing there’s an ulterior motive to buying me a coffee?”

“Well, um, would you like to go to dinner with me? As- as a date?” Gwilym asked, quietly. He was sure she’d say no.

“I’d love to” Kick replied as they exited the Houses of Parliament and jumped into a cab. Gwilym smiled down into his coffee for a moment.

“Shall we call this our first date, Gwilym? Pick me up at 7 tomorrow for the second?” Kick asked. Gwilym smiled at her.

“See you then” He said as he kissed her cheek, and jumped out of the cab.

-- Joe sat at his desk re-reading Elsie’s column. Even though she had written a whole piece tearing him and his family to shreds, he couldn’t help but be charmed by her. She knew he’d read this. She must have wanted him to see it, she knew he’d read her column after all. Maybe she wanted his attention, maybe she liked his attention and maybe she hadn’t realised that yet. Logging in his computer, he opened up Twitter and typed a name into the search bar. He lingered slightly before pressing enter on the keyboard. He read the most recent tweet to himself.

@elsie_stew Honoured and excited to be speaking at @univofstandrews tomorrow afternoon, open to the public as well as students! More details on the SU website, see you there!

St Andrews. That’s west Scotland. Joe checked the calendar on his phone, he had a free day tomorrow, he could make it. He just wanted to talk face to face, not through Twitter, not through a series of op-eds and public statements; but in person, preferably when she wasn’t chained to a statue of some sort.

“Natalie!” Joe called his assistant into his office, “Could you book me a flight to Edinburgh for tomorrow morning?”

“Of course, Ambassador Mazzello.” she responded, “Can I ask why? - for the accounts” Joe smiled slightly at her curiosity.

“It’s… a personal visit,” he said, not really sure how to define a flight needed to surprise the woman who’d been slamming him in the press, as of late, at a lecture she was giving at a university. Natalie raised an eyebrow, slightly confused, before nodding and walking back to her desk. Joe then turned back to his computer and liked the tweet, thinking this might give Elsie some prior warning for his appearance.

Joe sat back in his chair for a moment and replied to a few emails before taking a some time to look out the window at the London skyline. There was an abrupt knock on his door.

“Come in!” he called, Natalie poked her head around the door.

“It’s Minister Lee for you, sir.” she started, “he says it’s an urgent.” Joe stood up, slightly panicked. What could it possibly be?

“Of course, please send him in.” he responded. A flustered Gwilym rushed into his office, not really making eye contact with him.

“Gwil, what is it? What’s the emergency?” Joe said walking towards him.

“Uhhh - I asked Kick out. Kind of on a whim.” Gwil rambled out, “But she said yes, and now I realise have literally no plans. So I thought ‘who’s got the best reputation with charming women?’ and now I’m here.”

“I’m flattered, Gwil, I really am.” Joe chuckled in response.

“Joe, I really need your help.” Gwilym pleaded.

“Easy.” Joe started, “drinks, dinner, dessert with two spoons. Then of course you make sure she gets home safe.” The panicked expression left Gwil’s face.

“That’s actually great.” Gwil said, Joe nodded knowingly in response, “But where do I take her? I really need this to be special.”

“I could get you a reservation at the Criterion, Marco Pierre White’s a friend of the family.”

“Oh my god, Joe! That would actually be incredible” he knew it was maybe a little much for a first date, but he really wanted it to be special.

“Anything to help a friend.” Joe said smiling.

---

Gwilym jumped out of the cab and asked the driver to hold it. He walked up to Kick’s front door and knocked, nervously straightening his jacket as he waited. She opened the door, and metaphorically knocked him off his feet. The silver and gold dress trailed behind her as Gwilym helped her down the steps from her front door and into the cab, the beading overlay sitting perfectly on her chest. Gwilym could hardly speak. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen.

Kick couldn’t keep her eyes off Gwil for the whole drive to the restaurant. She didn’t know where they were going, but she hoped she wasn’t overdressed. Guessing by Gwilym’s three piece suit, she wasn’t.

The cab pulled up outside the Criterion restaurant in central London. Gwilym hopped out, and almost ran around the cab to open Kick’s door. He paid the driver and offered Kick his arm. She took it, and they walked in together, praying that no photographers were around.

“This is very fancy, Gwilym. How did you get a reservation at such short notice?” Kick asked as they were seated in the corner.

“I...have my ways” Gwilym replied, perusing the menu and wincing slightly at the prices. It was worth it though. Kick would always be worth it.

Kick looked up at Gwilym as their spoons clashed. They shared a white chocolate and marron glace mousse as a dessert, just as Joe suggested, and it seemed to be working a treat. Every time Kick looked up at him through her eyelashes, Gwilym swore his heart would beat out of his chest.

The air was chilly as they left the restaurant, and Gwilym draped his suit jacket around Kick’s shoulders. They hailed a cab and made their way out of central London.

“Come to mine for a nightcap?” Gwilym asked, looking over at his date.

“I’d love to” Kick replied, resting her head on his shoulder.

20 minutes later, Kick found herself sat on Gwilym’s sofa, feet tucked underneath her, with a cup of tea in her hands. Gwilym sat down beside her.

“Thanks for dinner, Gwilym” Kick whispered. It all felt a lot more real once they were back at Gwilym’s house.

“It was my pleasure, Kick” He replied, laying an arm gently over her shoulders, sipping his tea.

“That was one of the nicest things anybody’s ever done for me” Kick said, placing her mug down on the coffee table.

“You deserve to be treated” Gwilym replied, doing the same and looking into her eyes. Kick placed her hand on Gwilym’s thigh as an invitation, and he crashed his lips to hers.

--

The following morning, Joe stepped out of his front door and stepped into the car waiting for him out front.

“Where to, Ambassador Mazzello?” the chauffeur asked, smiling at him politely.

“London City airport, please.” Joe said, returning the smile, before going to check his phone.

“Going anywhere nice, Ambassador?”

“Just visiting a friend in Scotland.” Friend. Was Elsie a friend? Well, no. But he couldn’t exactly tell his chauffeur that he was paying an unannounced visit to a woman who doesn’t like him but he felt drawn to in an unexplained way. That would make it sound like he intended to kill her.

He arrived at the airport and boarded his flight. It was a reasonably uneventful flight, he had at one point gotten talking to an older gentleman who recognised him. Putting his copy of the Financial Times down for a moment, the man had asked what was bringing Joe to Edinburgh. He gave the same response. That he was visiting a friend. The term friend certainly wasn’t the correct term for Elsie Stewart, but then neither was enemy. He’d work out what to call her eventually, for now ‘friend’ raised the least suspicions in from any angle.

On the car ride from Edinburgh to St Andrews, Joe found himself browsing bars and restaurants in the area. He could take her for a drink, just to talk… it wasn’t like he had an ulterior motive. Thanking the driver, he stepped out of the car. He took in the scenic campus for a moment before walking to the lecture theatre Elsie was speaking at, it was due to start reasonably soon.

Trying to keep a low profile, Joe took a seat towards the back of the theatre amongst the students and members of the public also in attendance. Elsie walked to the lectern and began to speak. Public speaking was something she had always excelled in, even in primary school. She was passionate and articulate, and Joe could see that. He might not have agreed with what she was saying but he found himself almost persuaded, just for a moment. About an hour passed with Elsie discussing political theory and social issues, in her peppy and yet occasionally sarcastic tone, Joe sometimes getting a little distracted by her accent and the way it wrapped around the words leaving her mouth.

“Any questions?” she said to the lecture theatre, scanning the faces that stared back, some with raised hands. She selected a student in the third row as he asked his question.

“What advice would you give for discussing politics with people who don’t agree with you?” the young man asked, Elsie continued scanning the room. Her eyes met Joe’s, he gave her a coy wave and she subtly raised an eyebrow in response.

“Great question,” she began to respond to to student, “When you cross paths with a person who opposes you it’s important you keep a level head, they’re certainly not going to take in anything you’re saying if they see you as a member of the ‘hysterical, intolerant left’. Also don’t be afraid to acknowledge the negatives in political systems you support, no political system is perfect after all.”

Elsie continued to answer questions for another 20 minutes before being urged to wrap things up by one of the political sciences professors. As the audience were filling out, Joe walked down the stairs to where Elsie was packing her notes back into her bag.

“Can I help you, Easy Street?” she didn’t even look up from her bag, Joe smiled slightly at the nickname.

“Nothing specifically, just thought I’d let you know how much I enjoyed your most recent piece.” he stepped closer towards her as she put her coat on. Elsie raised her eyebrows at him, slightly urging him to continue his point before starting to walk up the lecture theatre stairs to the door.

“I particularly enjoyed the way you implied that i bought my way to my position,” he started, following her up the stairs and out of the lecture theatre, “and said, and i quote ‘Staff Sergeant Mazzello and, by extension, the entire Mazzello family, unashamedly and grossly benefit from the very systemic injustices that they claim to oppose’... I’ve gotta to say Miss Stewart, you’ve really outdone yourself”

Elsie stopped walking and turned to face him, smirking slightly, “And you’ve committed it to memory? Easy Street, I’m impressed.”

“Well I do try.” he said with an air of cockiness. Elsie laughed a little, somewhat surprised that he was still attempting to charm her.

“Now, if you excuse me,” she said looking at her watch, “I have a train to catch.” she began to walk away but a warm hand grabbed her wrist, she turned to face Joe, she wasn’t going to shake him that easily. Not today.

“Are you going via Edinburgh? I’ve got a car waiting if you want a ride, maybe we could get a drink.”

Elsie rolled her eyes, was he really going to do the whole prince charming act? She thought for a moment… a drink did sound good, and she couldn’t pretend that she didn’t have questions for the ambassador.

“Alright then, just one drink.” Joe was taken aback slightly, thinking he might have had to try a little harder to convince her.

[migleefulmoments]

Is Darren’s watch gay?

Today the CC fandom has a theory that Darren wore his PINK and blue watch because it’s a “gay” watch or a symbol of his queerness.... because PINK obviously means gay, right? 

The watch has the added advantage of being both pink and blue ...therefore it’s a solid representation of both Chris and Darren -at least according to the CC belief that blue represents Chris and PINK represents Darren, like DUH! For anyone new, the color symbolism is something the CCers have long believed....I mean, that is something normal adults do right? Assign colors to their OTP or even better, to themselves and then actually wear those colors once a year to send a secret “high-five” to those fans who are paying enough attention to “get it”..I mean it’s totes normal, right?  

Anonymous asked:

hello love! i hope you’re doing well! i know this doesn’t mean anything but i saw the thumbnail for the interview you linked of d saying he doesn’t know who he came out straight to and he’s wearing a watch with a blue band and pink face and i noticed he’s wearing either the same or a similar watch when rehearsing in lsb! but then his watch changes and i thought it was weird,,, anyway sorry for the ramble!!

ajw720 answered:

Hello nonnie!!!!  Excellent observation.  That is a watch he has had for years, He used to always wear it, now much less, likely not approved by his team, plus often the watch he wears now is a paid endorsement.

But the pink and blue watch, that is genuine D and what he loves.  Add pink is D and Blue is C and those colors have been associated with their relationship since the beginning.

I always smile when he wears that watch. I think it is very special to him.

LSB rehearsal 2019. He clearly looks happy and like his watch is “special to him” and we all know that photos (and screen grabs) are PROOF of Darren’s emotions. 

LSB BTS package 2019. He’s MUCH happier here. 

George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight 2012 

Apparently, Darren hasn’t worn the watch much -not something I have ever paid attention to- but it was spotted on his arm during rehearsals for LSB. It’s clearly not the same watch as the band is teal in the 2012 screen grab and blue in the more recent one.  

(I posted the comments out of order so ya know go read the original if you want a more accurate reflection of their thought process).

Sometimes the CC Conspiracy Theorists catch the fact that the items they are matching- don’t actually match....

souly

If I remember correctly, this is not the original watch though. I don’t remember what he said about the original one, but he stopped wearing it for a while. At the first Elsie (or was it the second?), a fan gave him the new watch. There was a post about it back then, but I don’t know if it’s still around.

Anyway, I do believe though that he loves this watch for what it stands for - the original and the new one - so it always makes me smile when I see it!

(Plus, these BTS videos made it obvious that he is wearing the silver one for promotion and prefers the other one in private. And now look at the paps shots and so-called “private outings with friends” again and look at the watch he is wearing there.)

flowersintheattic254

I’m happy that at least he can wear something that’s special to him personally. Even for a short time.

There is always a “no longer available” post to explain CC Confirmed. As for whether it is special to him? Darren has never indicated that the watch is special to him. That is called MAKING UP A STORY. But from this day forward the fandom will believe that this little queer watch is meaningful to Darren. 

The watch is a sporty, more causal-and presumably less expensive- than the watch he has been wearing.  Wearing a less expensive, more casual watch while exercising isn’t logical CC reasoning, noooooo, logical CC reason is of course that his team WON’T LET HIM wear it. He has to be sneaky when he wants to express his sexuality through accessories. Also, they claim that he is forced to wear a “paid endorsement” watch most of the time.. 

ajw720

@flowersintheattic254 it has been almost 5 months since the JH promo began and they essentially stripped him of the rings we know mean the world to him (absolutely intentional, M and RR knew precisely what they were doing when they got that campaign, it was about much more than a free trip to Bali).  So I agree, it is good to see him supplement an accessory here and there that is actually meaningful to him.  I cannot wait until he is free to just be himself.

Sooooo, I’m not entirely sure why she brought up “JH promo” here, but I read it to mean that the watch that he normally wears is promotion for John Hardy. They have obsessively raged about the John Hardy jewelry since his trip to Bali in September. Yes, I am sure that was a promotional trip. Who cares? He got to spend a week in Bali and all he and Mia had to do was wear some jewelry. Darren seems to enjoy the designs as he has worn them quit a bit since then- UNTAGGED. I honestly never pay attention to these things but the CCers always comment. The thing is, something is only “promotion” on social media if it is tagged. Wearing an untagged ring or bracelet isn’t in anyway promoting the item. Only the most diehard, rage-filled fans recognize the untagged John Hardy pieces. The idea of promotion isn’t simply to get free stuff and wear it on social media, it’s to drive traffic to the John Hardy website and them to get people to actually purchase the pieces. Wearing them untagged doesn’t serve this goal. 

But back to the watch...is Darren wearing an (untagged) John Hardy watch as per his endorsement deal?

Uh, NO.  There are no John Hardy Watches. If he is wearing a promotional watch for a different brand-he really sucks at it.

Some thoughts on other CC comments:

...they essentially stripped him of the rings we know mean the world to him (absolutely intentional, M and RR knew precisely what they were doing when they got that campaign, it was about much more than a free trip to Bali).  So I agree, it is good to see him supplement an accessory here and there that is actually meaningful to him.  I cannot wait until he is free to just be himself.

So let’s analyze the facts: 

Chris gave him ring(s)? The CCers have long claimed that Chris gave Darren a ring, a ring he often- but not always-wears on his right hand. Over the years, there are I believe, 5 different rings that Darren has worn and all were attributed to Chris until the John Hardy rings were added in September. Why were they attributed to Chris? Literally NO reason whatsoever other than their fantasy.  These same people have raged over their claim that Mia has sported 5 different engagement rings in the last year. The rings all look to me like the same diamond ring with other rings added when the mood struck her. CC Mia is horrible for caring so little about her Engagement Ring that she would wear 5 different rings, but Chris is romantic AF for giving Darren 5 rings. 

The rings are meaningful to Darren? Darren has NEVER said the rings hold any meaning for him or who they are from that I am aware of. He doesn’t wear them consistently. Seems to me that they are fashion accessories and nothing more. He’s worn the John Hardy’s rings quite a bit since September.  Clearly, the CC fandom couldn’t claim the John Hardy rings are from Chris, so they fell back on their favorite excuse: his team “forced” him to wear the rings. I’m never sure exactly how one “forces” another adult to do something. I’ve been married for 24 years, if someone can tell me how to “force” him to do my bidding, I would love it.    

One final CC comment on this topic- The Impossible Dream comment

bjpb08

Concur @ajw720. The thing is D has always found a way to fight back, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly. We have seen it on the frontline, we do not see behind the camera or in the soecifics of his life. Sometimes I am sure he has sat it out, waiting. D has said too many times he is private, social media is not his way of communicating. He seems to pick whatever means he is afforded. Glimpses that we see, I love…it reminds me he is fighting and still remains the human being I so love and support. He is Dar/ren Eve/rett Cri/ss first and formost a son, brother, uncle, cousin, but first and formost a partner to one Chr/is Col/fer. He will do what he needs to do for those he loves. And that includes fighting a foe that we will never know the depth of.

To dream the impossible dream

To fight the unbeatable foe

To bear with unbearable sorrow

To run where the brave dare not go

To right the unrightable wrong

To love pure and chaste from afar

To try when your arms are too weary

To reach the unreachable star

This is my quest, to follow that star

No matter how hopeless, no matter how far

To fight for the right

Without question or pause

To be willing to march

Into hell for a heavenly cause

And I know if I’ll only be true

To this glorious quest

That my heart will lay peaceful and calm

When I’m laid to my rest

And the world will be better for this

That one man scorned and covered with scars

Still strove with his last ounce of courage

To fight the unbeatable foe

To reach the unreachable star

Songwriters: Joe Darion / Mitchell Leigh

The Impossible Dream lyrics © The Bicycle Music Company, Helena Music Company

I believe D would not agree. This song always comes back to haunt me in relationship to D. He lives it, he breathes it, he feels it on a daily bases. Soon he will find he will reach the reachable star.

D has always found a way to fight back, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly? Yes, because the CC fandom literally fabricated all of these things he did to “fight back”. The things are “subtle” because the fandom made them up...they are overt because they made them up.  As long as CCers continue to make up claims about what he is doing and how it represents a ‘fight”, Darren will continue to “fight” back in ways that are asinine. He will continue to hide deep In the closet while sending the CC fandom subtle messages of his “truth”.  He will continue to walk the red carpet with Mia and take her to awards shows where he says nice things about her. He will continue to be a straight bro, to wear John Hardy jewelry and play piano at Tramp Stamp Granny’s BECAUSE THAT IS WHO HE IS. The CC fandom will continue to claim that everything he does that we see and everything he says that we hear- is all fake or forced upon him by this team while he lives a secret queer life with his husband Chris Colfer. A life we cannot see or hear BECAUSE IT ISN’T REAL, it’s pure CC fantasy. And his story will continue to be something only they are paying enough attention to see it because they are the ones writing it.

D has said too many times he is private, social media is not his way of communicating. He seems to pick whatever means he is afforded. This is literally an argument for why he isn’t secretly communicating with the CC fandom via social media. 

Isn’t it convenient that “he seems to pick whatever means we fabricate he is afforded”? He will always “conveniently” do whatever fits the CC fantasy...that is how it works when you are writing the fanfiction as you go.

Is Darren’s life The Impossible Dream? The CC fantasy about love conquering all and CrissColfer being “a love for the ages” is how tweens and young teens believe love works. It is fodder for fanfiction and the best rom-coms, Twilight and Disney Princess-esque romance novels, but it isn’t real life. Real life is messy and hard. Love rarely survives even the most mundane stressors of life, it would never survive

9 years of hiding from the world while the spotlight is focused directly on it

9 years of being apart and pretending to love someone else 

9 years of overt lying about Darren’s sexuality and his life

9 years of traveling with someone else and sharing his life with Mia with the world

9 years of mundane real-life stressors while hiding

Add on Chris’s mom’s death, his dad’s remarriage, his sister’s illness,  Chuck’s divorce, and all of the things we don’t know about

Love doesn’t save people from life’s difficult moments. Love certainly doesn’t excuse deception and lies. Darren isn’t gay because he wears a PINK and blue watch. 

[souly]

I told myself I would not comment on the mess from last night. But sometimes it’s easier said than done. Reading all those different posts during the day so far made me realize that I do have to say something. I won’t keep all of this inside of me, because it would only get worse - and then I won’t be staying nice anymore.

Now, I’ve said it before, but it still counts. During the past few months, we’ve seen how tired and physically exhausted D has become. At first, it was only in about half of the pictures/videos that we’ve seen. By now it’s easily 90% of them - if not more. He is working on ACS a lot and doing countless other things on the sidelines. Sometimes it seems that he barely gets a day for himself to just relax and breathe for a minute. He is constantly busy with his own work. But then there is his incompetent team and the hangers-on and others who decided that they need to monopolize the rest of his time for their own selfish reasons. So, he is literally only working and catering to the wishes of all these people and that’s it. I wonder when he gets to rest in the midst of all this, but judging from the way he looks and the expression in his eyes, I doubt he gets much rest at all. Does anybody around him care? Doubtful. Not that it surprises me. If there’s another event or party or outing, they will just send him there to be seen. No, wait. Let me correct that. For her to be seen, because apparently she is the important person in all this and has all the success.

if anybody ever doubted that D was happily playing along, I want those to please take a look at his face lately. He is simply done with this. He stopped trying to even act like he cares. There’s hardly a fake smile on his face any longer and he is now only looking miserable or annoyed - especially when certain people are around. I don’t blame him at all. He might be still playing along with whatever they tell him to do, but he clearly doesn’t like it. And before anybody starts yelling at me that it was only one picture or one event:.. It was not. It was so many times over the past months that everybody should be able to see it.

As for yesterday... How many Halloween parties are there going to be this year? How many pictures and videos are going to appear on Snapchat from all of these parties? How does somebody have enough time to plan several different costumes for more than one person? If you’re working a real job, you don’t have that much time - and party every night, which ends with her being drunk once again. Apart from this being the opposite of what a responsible adult should be, this is not the image of a hardworking woman these days. And to think that some people think they have to look up to her for whatever twisted reason... It is a scary thought.

I’m mostly going to refrain from commenting on the costumes from yesterday. Just this much: D’s costume seemed very much like an afterthought and quickly thrown together. Yes, I know it’s a pun. Yes, I’ve seen the movie more times than I care to admit when I was younger. And that is exactly why I see this costume the way I do. There are way more interesting characters in it, JS.

One more thing... I know that not everybody is going to agree with me on this, but I do worry about D a lot more lately. He not only looks tired and completely exhausted, he has also lost weight, which some of us tend to do for reasons like being in stressful situations for a longer time. Many people around me are constantly commenting on how I am too thin and that I should eat more because it’s not healthy etc. I realize that, but due to my medical reasons, simply eating a bit more won’t do anything. My body literally needs more calories to create more blood cells - and there’s only so much I can eat per day. Add to that all the other stress that I’m dealing with constantly and you can imagine why I can’t easily gain weight. So, back to D. I’ve seen it before in person and in pictures how he was too thin, but I never realized how bad it has become - until Elsie. When you hug someone and you can actually feel the other person’s ribs clearly on their back, then you know it’s bad. Not everybody notices these things, I realize that. But I do, because I’ve been confronted with that topic for years already. There is a normal feeling and there is too much. We’ve crossed over to the latter by now. So, yes, I do worry for good reason. This is not the only thing I worry about here though, but the only thing I’m going to mention now.

[ificanthaveu]

Car Rides, Middle School and Older Brothers || The DropBack || Shawn Mendes

Description: Shawn and [Y/N] get to know each other a little deeper than intended on their long car ride to see her brother

A/N: Part 2 baby!! honestly the more i write parts, the more parts i come up with soooooo idk how long this’ll actually end up being. Get ready to learn what makes your character the way she is, also, hella foreshadowing as to how this is going to affect her in the future which we’ll actually delve into in a few parts.

Word Count: 2.9k

The DropBack Masterlist

Waking up at 6:00 am was never ideal, but it certainly wasn’t when you had to do it on a Saturday. USC was a two-hour drive, and Matthew insisted you all leave at 7:00, so you all had time to walk around and explore. Matthew also insisted that he get to drive. 

“Are you nervous?” Elsie asked you as you finished getting dressed, throwing on your brother’s USC jersey with a pair of shorts. 

“Why would I be nervous?” You asked.

“Because it’s the first time your brother is starting,” she said as she waited for you at the end of your bed.

You simply shrugged your shoulders.

“David’s going to do great. I know he will. He was literally born to do this,” you paused for a moment. “Yeah, it sucks neither of my parents can go, but you and Matthew will be there and you’re basically like his siblings.”

“And Shawn. Shawn’ll be there.”

“Well, yeah, but he hasn’t met Shawn.”

“Will he think something’s going on between the two of you? Like this is some double date?” She asked. You hadn’t really thought about it that way, but now that she mentioned it, you could see it a little bit. 

“I’ve known him for a week, El. If David thinks something is going on this quick, then that’s his own deal,” you said as you quickly finished getting ready and checked the time on your phone. On cue, Matthew’s name popped up with a text saying him and Shawn were out front.

“Did Shawn stay at Matthew’s?” You questioned. Elsie nodded her head.

“Yeah, they’ve become pretty close. Perfect since you’re going to fall in love with him.”

You rolled your eyes at her and gave her a look, but all she did was smile back at you.

“I barely know him,” you said as you both started walking downstairs.

“Well, today’s the day to do it,” she said as you walked outside where Shawn and Matthew were waiting. Elsie slid into the front seat, and you hopped into the back with Shawn. 

Everyone said quick hello’s before Matthew started driving. You looked over at Shawn, and he was frowning at your shirt.

“What?” You asked as you glanced down at it.

“Not 55?” He asked. You shook your head.

“Nope, he’s 39 for USC. Guess I won’t be repping both of you today,” you said back to him.

He gave you a frown as he placed his hand on his heart.

“I don’t know how I’ll get through this.” You lightly pushed him as you pulled your legs up onto the seat and faced him. He followed suit. 

“Where are you from, Mendes?” You asked.

“We’re getting right into it then?”

“Well, you’re meeting my brother today, and I don’t know anything about you,” you said as you slightly shook your head. Shawn’s eyes nearly bulged out of his head.

“I’m meeting your brother?” He said just a little too loudly. Elsie glanced back and laughed.

“Did you think [Y/N] was going to her brother’s game and wasn’t going to see him?” She asked as she turned around to look at Shawn.

“Well, I thought just she would see him,” he rationalized. 

“I love David about ten times more than I love [Y/N]. If she didn’t let me see him, I’d combust,” Matthew chimed in. 

“Were we just going to wait in the car while [Y/N] spent time with her brother?” Elsie asked Shawn.

Shawn looked flustered as he thought this through.

“I didn’t think that far,” he mumbled. You shook your head again and patted his shoulder lightly.

“You’ll be fine. Worse thing he’ll do is try to embarrass me,” you said with a shrug. “But we’re done thinking about that. Where are you from?” You repeated your question from earlier. Shawn took a deep breath before answering.

“Originally Canada, but I moved here from Pittsburg,” he answered as he faced you again. 

“Canada? I had no idea you were Canadian!” You said with a little too much excitement. 

“I moved when I was eight, so I don’t remember a ton. I came to Pittsburg right before second grade and didn’t know anyone, so flag football was the perfect thing for me to meet people,” he answered. “We go back to Canada like once a year, but it’s hard with my football schedule.”

“That’s how it was with Dave. Football is pretty much a year-round commitment, especially when you’re good, so family vacations were always out of the question. Unless it was for a football camp at some college in the country, then we’d just make it a vacation. My mom or dad would take me to do touristy things while David was at his camp,” you said. 

“I don’t want to hear about your brother. I hear that enough from Coach. No offense,” he quickly corrected himself. You laughed at him, so he knew you weren’t offended. 

“None taken. My whole life has pretty much been about my brother, so I’m used to it.”

“Do you have any other siblings?”

“Nope, do you?”

“A younger sister. She’s in eighth grade at Monroe middle.”

“Why’d you choose Monroe?” You asked him. He paused for a moment to think about it.

“I wanted somewhere that had a good football program, but also a good education. This was the best one in the area that was also public. My parents let me make the decision since it’s hard enough being uprooted right before your senior year of high school,” he said with a sad look on his face. 

“Well, at least you found us,” you said with a big smile on your face. He finally smiled and lightly shook his head. 

“You diverted my question. I want to get to know you, too,” he said as he pushed your knee. You could feel his hand there even after he removed it.

“I told you David’s my only sibling.”

“Riveting,” he said with sarcasm laced in his voice. You rolled your eyes at him as he laughed at you. “I wanna know the good stuff.”

“Alright, ask away. I’m an open book,” you said while leaning back against the window. Instead of looking at you, he turned forward again.

“Matthew?” He asked. 

“Yeah?” He said as he looked through the mirror. 

“What was [Y/N] like in middle school?” 

“No, Matthew, if you answer that I’ll wring your neck and won’t let you see David,” you scrambled as you hit him on the shoulder. He continuously pushed your hand away until you gave up and leaned back in your seat. 

“Well, Shawn, [Y/N] was a handful in middle school,” Matthew started as you rolled your eyes and pulled your knees up to your chest. 

“Really?” Shawn was intrigued. 

“Yep, she was the most dramatic bitch I’d ever met.”

“Everyone’s dramatic in middle school,” you chimed in. 

“Well, yeah, but you were that times a million. Remember when Jack didn’t want to dance with you at the middle school dance?”

“Don’t remind me,” you said as you banged your head on the back of the seat. 

“I think you cried for a month,” Matthew said as he tried not to laugh. 

“Matty, please stop talking,” you begged. 

“Don’t call me Matty,” he whined. 

“Then don’t talk about middle school,” you countered. 

“Fine, I’ll cut you a little slack. Middle school was hard for you,” Matthew said as the car went silent. You could tell Shawn could only wonder why. 

“My parents got divorced when I was in seventh grade,” you finally said as you looked down at your hands. “David was just starting high school, so he threw himself into football. I handled it by being dramatic and doing a hell of a lot of writing.” 

“You write?” Shawn asked. You nodded your head as you looked back up at him, thankful he switched the topic.

“Yeah, mostly poetry. I call that period of writing ‘The Dark Ages,’ since all of it was incredibly depressing, but I swear it’s a lot happier now,” you said through a giggle. 

“I want to read it,” Shawn stated. Elsie laughed from the front seat. 

“Aw, Shawn, that’s cute. [Y/N] doesn’t even let me read it,” she said as she continued her laughter. 

“Why not?” He asked the car. You shrugged your shoulders.

“I always feel like they aren’t complete, and I only want people to read something if it’s 100% done.”

“Well, you still sent them to USC even if they weren’t ‘complete’,” Matthew mocked from the front seat. 

“You want to go to USC?” Shawn asked. You nodded your head. 

“Yeah, it’d be nice to be around David. I’m trying to get into their creative writing program, but it’s tough.”

“I’m sure you’ll get in,” he said as he gave you a look.

“You haven’t even read anything of mine. I could be a shitty writer,” you said. 

“I’d like to believe you aren’t,” Shawn replied. 

The rest of the car ride was filled with a continuous back and forth between you and Shawn, trying to get to know each other in a two-hour time span, with Elise and Matthew occasionally chiming in. By the time you were parked a few blocks from the stadium, you knew just about everything about Shawn. 

You knew he could play the guitar and the piano and loved to play them in his spare time. You learned his favorite book, movie, artist and more. You learned about his best friend Brian he had met in Kindergarten and had somehow stayed friends with. He told you about his little sister and the struggles of moving. You knew it all.

You also knew David was going to love him. 

You and Shawn walked a few steps in front of Elsie and Matthew as you made your way to the stadium. 

“If it’s not too sensitive, why couldn’t your parents come?” Shawn questioned carefully.

“If Mom’s going somewhere, then Dad doesn’t want to be there and vice versa. My mom planned ongoing, but she had a last-minute work trip. And my dad had already made plans. So it’s just me,” you paused. “I’m used to it though. I guess David and I are just so close because during the divorce they never wanted to see each other. It was always mom or dad, or neither, not ever both mom and dad, but I could always count on David being there, and he could always count on me. The divorce was hard on everyone, but I definitely took it the hardest since I was a preteen girl. David was always protective of me, but it definitely exceeded once that all went down,” you explained. 

Shawn nodded his head as he glanced down at you. He smiled sympathetically at you as you returned it. 

“I can’t wait to see him play,” he said. 

“He’s pretty good, Mendes. You might be intimidated,” you taunted him. Shawn rolled his eyes at you. 

“Maybe I could learn a thing or two from him,” he said as he hit your shoulder against yours as you handed the people at the front gate your tickets. 

You practically skipped into the stadium, not having been there since last season. Elsie was right behind you, also practically jumping as Matthew and Shawn trailed a little bit behind. 

“Breaking out the divorce story on day one? Are you in love with him already?” Elsie whispered as she bumped into you. You shoved her back, and she laughed as she grabbed Matthew’s hand and followed you to your seats.

“Is this your first USC game?” You asked Shawn as he walked beside you. 

“Nope, I saw them play at Notre Dame last year.”

“Don’t tell me you’re a Notre Dame fan,” you asked as you waited for his answer. He laughed at you and shook his head.

“I don’t really have a favorite team, but I have a feeling it’s going to have to be USC if we’re going to be friends?”

“You already know me too well, Mendes.”

You rounded the corner into your seats in one of the middle rows on the forty-yard line. 

“Can’t wait to see [Y/N] go crazy again,” Matthew said as he rubbed his hands together and looked at you. You rolled your eyes at him before he continued. “Shawn, I wouldn’t sit by her if you want to keep an arm. She grabs whatever’s closest when she’s mad.”

Shawn feigned hurt and grabbed his arm that was closest to you. “Not my throwing arm.”

“You’re not even a quarterback.”

“Still. I need my arm,” he said all too seriously.

“Matthew’s being dramatic,” you reasoned.

“No, he’s not,” Elsie chimed in without even looking up from the field. 

The next few hours were spent talking football and walking around the stadium before kick-off. You were sat between Elsie and Shawn, and you and Elsie gripped hands and cheered as loud as you could when David ran out onto the field. 

Matthew was definitely right. Any time David did anything at all, you gripped onto Shawn’s arm or Elsie’s hand. 

“You have a tight grip for such small hands,” he said as he picked up your hand during half time. “You might have bruised my arm.” 

You laughed at him and pulled your hand back since you knew you wouldn’t be able to respond to him if he kept holding it. 

“He’s doing really good,” Elsie said. You took a deep breath and nodded your head. He was doing good. For being a sophomore and it being the first game he’s starting, he was doing remarkable. 

You should’ve known that would jinx it. 

Two minutes into the second half, and David was tackled so hard that even Shawn flinched. 

“Shit,” you mumbled as all the players kneeled and medics came out to see if he was ok. You chewed nervously on your thumbnail, a nervous habit, and debated on when was the best time to tell your parents if he ended up having to go to the hospital. 

Elsie gripped onto your hand, and Shawn had his arm around you, holding you close to his side. You breathed a sigh of relief when he stood up and was able to walk to the edge of the field. You rested your head on Shawn’s shoulder for a minute to catch your breath. He rubbed your shoulder comfortingly and gave you as much time as you needed. 

“You ok?” He asked when you finally stood back up completely. You nodded your head and smiled over at him.

“Yeah, thanks,” you said quietly.

The rest of the game flew by since you really weren’t interested if David wasn’t in. You left early to make sure you were at the exit when David got out. 

David walked out slowly, looking around for you. You walked up to him quickly and hugged him carefully since you didn’t know what actually happened. 

“Are you hurt? What happened? Was it your hip again?” You asked a million questions. He brushed off your questions by just one look. David may be protective over you, but it was definitely a two-way street. 

“Yeah, my hip just cramped up. I’m fine. Just have to keep doing my physical therapy again,” he said, all while giving you that look that always made you shut up. 

Matthew was next in line and gave David a big hug and couldn’t stop talking about his big play. Elsie gave him a hug quickly, too, before Shawn walked up. David gave you a quick look, and you shook your head. 

“This is our friend, Shawn. He just transferred to Monroe this year, and the best part, he has your old number,” you introduced. 

Shawn stuck his hand out and shook David’s hand. 

“Bet that was an awkward first game?” He asked you. You nodded your head.

“Yeah, a little bit, but we’re good now,” you said as you and Shawn looked at each other. 

“You any good?” David asked Shawn. 

“I mean, yeah, I think so,” he said back to David as he rubbed the back of his neck.

“He’s amazing. He scored three touchdowns against Lincoln last week,” Elsie chimed in. David looked impressed.

“That’s insane, dude. Lincoln’s hard to beat,” David said as he looked in-between Matthew and Shawn. 

“And we crushed them,” Matthew cheered as he high fived Shawn and then David. 

“Well, I gotta get going,” David said after a few minutes of talking. You gave him a big hug this time since you knew you wouldn’t accidentally hurt him. “Are we still doing dinner on Thursday?” 

“Of course, I’ll be here by five.”

Matthew and Elsie both hugged him before Shawn shook his hand again. 

“I hope I’ll see you at another game?” David asked. Shawn nodded his head and smiled at him.

“Yeah, I hope so.” You waved your final goodbyes as the four of you started the walk back to the car. 

“I really like your brother,” Shawn finally said. 

“Everyone likes David. He’s just got that type of personality, but thanks. I’m glad he liked you as well,” you said as you glanced over at him. 

“So, he wants me at another game...” He trailed off as he gave you a look. “Guess you’re going to have to keep bringing me,” he said with a big, cheesy smile. 

You shook your head as you laughed at him.

“Yeah, I guess I will.”

PART 3: Physics, Baby Blue and Homecoming Dates coming next Sunday!

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