#i have class in literally ten minutes and my counselor SAID he was gonna call me

[todayisafridaynight]

cozy

[rami-hoe]

Confessions (Part five)

Pairing: Josh x reader 

Word Count: 2.3K 

Graduation was just around the corner, and as much as I wanted to pretend like I was cool about it, I was freaking the fuck out. After the prom everything became far too real for my liking. This was it. On June 25th, I would officially be a high school graduate with the diploma and the hat and everything. University, something that up until this point had seemed like some kind of mythical creature, was now only a few months away. I was finally starting to understand what people meant when they said “the end of an era.” People I’d known for years would disappear from my life. Most of them would never return to it. It’s not like we were all joined at the hip, but the idea of never seeing the people I’d spent six hours a day, five days a week with for the last 13 years again was a lot more frightening than I cared to admit. 

I suppose I was one of the lucky ones, though. I wasn’t going through my graduation freakout alone. Josh was right there, every step of the way. He already had his college plans lined up. He knew exactly where he wanted to go and who he wanted to be. I, on the other hand, wasn’t so sure. The idea that I had to decide what I wanted to do for the rest of my life right now was terrifying- I didn’t know how Josh did it. Truth be told, I envied him. I would give anything to be half as certain as he was. There was no apprehension with him, no doubt. He told me he’d known what he wanted to do with his life since the fourth grade. For him, graduation wasn’t a giant leap into the dark abyss that was the rest of your life- it was just another step forward on a path he was already sure of. 

I tried to avoid talking about graduation as much as possible, but it wasn’t exactly easy when Josh was so excited about it. It seemed like every time I saw him, he had something new to tell me about the grad party he was planning, or the program he was planning on taking in the fall. It was a film studies BA and he couldn’t be more thrilled about it. It was at a pretty great university too, and he hadn’t really expected to get in. When he got his letter of acceptance, he was over the moon. I wanted to be supportive and happy for him and all that, but whenever he talked about where he was going, I was reminded of the fact that I was standing still. Thankfully, Josh didn’t seem to notice. He was too wrapped up in his plans, and I was grateful for it. I didn’t really feel like discussing my complete and utter lack of direction with someone who had his plan written in stone by the time he was thirteen.

                                                      ♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️♦️

When the bell rang at the end of last period, I grabbed my stuff from my locker and hurried out into the parking lot. This week had been entirely too long, and I was looking forward to finally getting some time to relax. When I got to Josh’s car, I leaned against the passenger’s door and pulled out my phone. Beth and Hannah showed up just a few minutes later. “Where’s Josh?” Beth asked. I shrugged. “Probably just got caught up with Mike or something.” We were waiting there for about ten minutes before Josh stalked out of the building. 

“Took you long enough,” Hannah said. She was just teasing, but Josh shot her a glare anyway. 

“You don’t like waiting, you can walk,” he said. He unlocked the car and got in the driver’s seat. 

“Jeez. I was joking, take it easy,” Hannah mumbled as she and Beth scooted into the backseat. 

“You okay?” I asked quietly as I pulled my door shut. 

“Fine,” he replied. He wasn’t, that much was obvious. I’d learned to read him pretty well over the past decade or so, and on the Josh scale of pissed off, he was at a seven. Not good. But if he didn’t want to talk about it in front of his sisters, I wasn’t going to push it. If it were at a four or five, maybe, but not a seven. “Am I dropping you at home or what?” Josh asked, breaking the… Well, I don’t think you could call it uncomfortable silence since the radio was playing, but it was tense and no one was talking. 

“Nah, I’ll come back with you guys,” I said. When we got back to the Washington’s place, I followed my brooding boyfriend down to the basement. He grabbed two cokes from the mini fridge and plopped down on the couch. 

“You gonna tell me what’s bothering you now?” I asked as I sat next to him and claimed the second coke. 

“It’s nothing,” he said as he leaned forward to grab the remote. I snatched it out of his hand before he had a chance to turn on the TV. “Y/N!” 

“You’ve been in a bad mood since we left the school,” I said. “What happened?” 

“I just had a bad day, okay?” His jaw tensed as he spoke. Shit, we were moving into eight territory. 

“You were fine this morning, and you were fine at lunch,” I said softly. I didn’t want to fight him. If I got too pushy, he would just get more dismissive. “I just want to help. Talk to me.” 

Josh sighed and put his can down on the table. He didn’t use a coaster, but that table already had too many water rings to count. I was pretty sure his parents bought it knowing Josh would have it looking like shit in no time- it was the only cheap thing they owned. “It’s nothing,” he repeated. “It’s stupid. It’s just…” I didn’t say anything. It seemed best to let him get there on his own. “Ms. Larson stopped me after class today,” he started. Ms. Larson was his English teacher, and one he was none too fond of. “Said she was ‘concerned about me’ and wanted to know what my plans were for after graduation.” He scoffed. “So I told her what I was doing and she just looked so… Shocked. Like she couldn’t believe I actually had a plan.” 

I scooted closer to him. “She doesn’t know the first thing about you,” I said. 

“But she’s not the only one,” he argued. “Everyone- my guidance counselor gave me a pamphlet on exploratory studies before he even asked what I wanted to do. Jess is always making those bullshit jokes about how I’m gonna ‘drink my way through college. My fucking Aunt Lisa called to tell me how surprised and excited she and Uncle Bill were that I was going. Everyone thinks I’m just some stupid slacker who’s gonna mooch off his parents until they die.” 

“Then fuck everyone,” I said. “If any of them really knew you, they’d know there’s nothing to be surprised about.” 

“Isn’t there?” He laughed humorlessly. “I’m just some party boy screw up, right? People are probably laying down bets on how long it takes me to flunk out.” 

I grimaced at the harshness in his voice. Josh was always his biggest critic, and as aloof as he may seem, he took people’s opinions of him to heart. “Don’t talk like that, Josh,” I said. “Take it from someone who does know you- you’re a lot smarter than people gave you credit for. You know what you want out of life, you just aren’t afraid of having some fun while you work towards it. That’s not a screw up.” 

Josh tucked one leg under himself and turned to face me fully. “But what if they’re right.”

“They’re not-” 

“They could be! What if I get there and I can’t do it. I’m not like you, Y/N; I don’t have the kind of options you do.” 

I furrowed my brow. “What?” “I mean, you could do anything, and whatever you decide to do, you’re gonna be great at. You literally can’t choose a program because you have so many options. But all I have is this one thing I think I’m good at, and if I’m not… Then I’m just gonna be exactly what they all think I am: a loser.” 

It took me a minute to process what he’d just said. Was that really what it looked like from the outside? Like I just had too many options? I shook my head. “Josh, I can’t choose a program because I have no fucking clue what I want to do with my life. I don’t know what I love yet; you do. And that’s exactly why you’re not gonna fail,” I said. “You’ve had this passion in your life for so long; you’re not gonna give up on it until you’ve reached your goal.”

The faintest of smiles twitched onto Josh’s lips. “Is that what you really think or are you just saying that to make me feel better?” 

“I don’t know anyone more willing to put in the work to make their dreams a reality than you,” I said. “You’re gonna kick this program’s ass.” 

Josh leaned in and kissed me softly. “Thank you,” he whispered against my lips. 

I chuckled. “You’re welcome,” I said. “And if anybody else tries to tell you you’re not cut out for this, you send them my way.” 

“You gonna beat them up for me?” 

“What kind of girlfriend would I be if I didn’t?” He laughed, and I surrendered the remote I was still holding hostage and cuddled up to him. 

He turned the remote over in his hands a few times, but didn’t turn the TV on. “You know there’s nothing wrong with taking a gap year, right?” 

“I thought we were talking about your college problems,” I said. 

“We were,” he said. “But I didn’t realize you had college problems to talk about. And relationships are supposed to be, uh.. What’s that word? It’s like mutual but- oh- reciprocal!” He grinned proudly. “So we talked about my problem, now we can talk about yours.”  

I sat up. “It’s not really a problem,” I said. “I’m just feeling like I should have my shit together more than I do.” 

“I mean, how many people honestly have their shit together at eighteen?” he asked. “I don’t think it’s very many.” 

“It seems like everybody from where I’m standing,” I said with a sigh. 

“Nah,” Josh said. “It’s just a lot of people pretending to know what the hell they’re doing in life so the rest of the world doesn’t find out they’re scared shitless. Myself included. At least you have the balls to admit you need some time to figure it out. Plenty of people go to uni right out of high school just because they’re worried about what people will think if they don’t.” 

“I didn’t realize being aimless in life was such a courageous act,” I said sarcastically. 

“You’re not aimless,” Josh protested. “You want to figure out what you want to do- that’s an aim.” 

I snorted. “I don’t think that counts,” I said. 

“Of course it counts!” He argued. “What bigger goal is there than figuring out what you want to do for the rest of your life? It’s not a given. Some people never get there. You’re not taking a year to fuck off and do nothing- you’re taking a year to make a massive decision you haven’t had time to really think about yet. There is nothing wrong with that.” 

My gaze fell to the rings on the coffee table. “I hate it when you make sense,” I said. “It’s a lot easier for me to stay angsty when you aren’t being all sweet and encouraging.” 

Josh chuckled and kissed the side of my head. “Too bad. I don’t plan on stopping any time soon.” 

I smiled up at him. “I love you.” 

He ran the back of his fingers down my cheek. “I love you too.” 

“Can we watch something stupid now? I need to wash off all this coming of age shit,” I said with a grin. 

Josh laughed and turned on the TV. The sci-fi network came on; it was playing a marathon of the original Star Trek series. It took about five seconds to recognize the episode and gasp. “Oh my god, it’s Spock’s Brain,” he said. He turned his head towards me with this huge, open-mouthed smile. “If you want something stupid, this is the goddamn motherload.” He grabbed the remote, paused the show, and leapt up from the couch. “Hold on, I need to get some snacks. This is a masterpiece of the small screen- we need the full experience.” He ran up the stairs and into the kitchen. I wasn’t done laughing by the time he came back with a bag of Doritos in one hand and a bag of chocolate chips in the other. “We didn’t have any movie candy,” he said. “But these’ll be fine.” He sat back down, grabbed the remote, and looked at me. “Are you ready for the worst thing you;ve ever seen in your life?” 

“Hell yeah,” I said, and he pressed play. In that moment, watching Josh eat a handful of chocolate chips while this god awful episode played, it didn’t matter that I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with my life. I knew who I wanted to spend it with. And that was enough. 

[they-say-you-go-blind]

Close Around the Campfire | Jack / Davey Fanfiction

Davey and Jack were close. It was different, instantaneous kind of close that neither had experienced until this point. Did either of them intend to find the person they were meant to be with forever at counselor orientation day of a summer camp? Never in a million years.

———————————————

Davey had turned 19 less than a week ago. With one year of Political Science under his belt, but a hearty student loan to pay off, he was desperate for a job. With that first application, and a couple of phone interviews later, and he was set for the summer . However, now that he was pulling into the staff parking lot at Blockwood Summer Camp, he wasn’t so sure. He turned the keys of his beat up car and typed a text to Les.

I made it to camp safe. Going to do some counselor stuff for the next few days so probably won’t be able to talk much. I’ll see ya in a couple of weeks for A.R.K. camp.

He slumped in his seat. 10 weeks of leading campfire songs and doing archery and making sure a weekly rotation of kids stay alive... maybe he hadn’t thought about it enough. He opened snap and took a picture of his bags that were crammed into the back of his car. He looked at the photo for a second, captioned it with ‘I believe I’ve made a horrible mistake’, and sent it to the groupchat with his best friends.

He knew he had about ten minutes until he should start making his way to the Mess Hall, as it said in his Orientation Day email. His best friend, Katherine, was trying to call him and he nearly let it ring out. At the last second, he pressed answer and spoke,

“I don’t think I should be here.”

Katherine and Davey had been best friends since diapers. In Kindergarten, their teachers were convinced they were twins just because of they way they acted with each other (and their aversion to all others). In middle school, the two of them sang and did a choreographed dance number at the talent show. They were the Closet Gay prom king and Queen, most representation that their school had ever had. And now, going into their sophomore year of college, they were honest with one another about everything, could joke about anything, and be trusted with the deepest secrets the other had. It’s no surprise that Katherine blurted out,

“I’m sorry, have you seen your co-workers?!”

Davey was taken aback.

“How the hell do you know what they look like?”

Katherine blushed. Her secret was out.

“You gave me access to your email before you left, in case you got anything important.”

Davey nodded and and whispered out an ‘oh no’. Katherine started to send the screenshots as she spoke.

“I saw your orientation email... it wasn’t hard to find their socials from there...”.

Davey couldn’t believe it as he swiped through the profiles of the three other boys who were his new co-workers. Katherine started to narrate each of her discoveries.

“First off, is Harrison “Race” Higgins. Seems fun and all. Also, I’m sure you can see in the profile picture, but Rainbow Flag!”

“Ah yes, Christian church camp is where I’m going to find my b...”

Davey could barely get the words out. Katherine was the only person in his “real life” who knew that the “you two should just get married” comments about him and Kath would absolutely never happen. Katherine just giggled, like a schoolgirl keeping a secret.

“Just you wait, Davey.”

Davey pondered on Race’s profile picture. Seemed cute, a little goofy, a lot like a best friend. Katherine continued.

“Next is Zachary “Spot” Conlon. Don’t tell me why they both have nicknames. But he is...”

“He looks like he could beat me up with a glare.”

Katherine laughed at that.

“They’re dating, by the way. They give me forever together vibes.”

Davey swiped between the two profiles as she talked. She wasn’t wrong, forever vibes were There.

“Huh, noted.”

“And the last one,” Katherine cleared her throat.

“ and I’ll let you narrate this one yourself, is Jack Kelley.”

Jack Kelly was the most attractive boy Davey had ever seen. His profile picture looked like it was him in a painting class for University. He had a little bit of pink paint on his cheek and a beautiful smile. His eyes were the color of a clear blue sky. It looked that his cover photo was one of his paintings as well,... a landscape piece with the initials J.K. in the bottom right corner. His “about me” was a gold mine, and he would be sure to read every detail later.

“Dibs on this one.”

He told Katherine. It had been their thing, that once they’d both seen someone attractive, the first one to call dibs would have zero roadblocks to them. Davey was so enthralled. He just kept staring at the profile picture.

“He’s just...”

“Perfect? I know...”

She chuckled to herself.

“And, there’s one more thing you should know.”

She spoke and sent him the final screenshot. When Davey opened it, he was confused.

A picture of Katherine’s Facebook?

She nearly squealed, but kept composure to say.

“You really were not observant when you pulled into the parking lot. I expected better from you, Davey J.”

Davey was in shock. She couldn’t have made this up! He got so excited and nervous and relieved all at once. Looking around, he saw her car and waved.

“You’re not pulling my leg, right? This isn’t some twisted joke... really?!”

“Yes! Apparently one of the female counselors was Not who she said she was, so they called me last night and I am here for the summer!”

She spoke quickly, Davey could barely understand what she was saying.

“You’re literally my favorite person in the world.”

He spoke with sincerity. He couldn’t believe his best friend in the world would be spending the summer with him.

“I might have to become your second favorite. If I’m not mistaken, Jack Kelly just pulled in the parking lot.”

Davey turned his head to see him and couldn’t help but stare for a few seconds. Photos did not do Jack Kelly justice. Davey’s head was spinning. He didn’t know if he could manage spending five seconds with him. How was he supposed to survive the summer? Davey’s face grew red as he realized Jack was pulling into the spot next to him.

———————————————

“Kath, holy shit.” Davey blurted out as he snapped his head to the front. “Language, Daves. Christian children’s camp...”

Katherine snorted as she laughed at Davey, who was now flustered and red in the cheeks.

“What are we gonna do?”

He asked, his forehead falling on the steering wheel in defeat. Katherine pondered.

“We? No, you. You called dibs! I’m just along for the ride.”

“You’re an asshole. I’m actually going to die. He is... God Kath-”

Davey stopped mid-sentence as he heard a knock on his window. He lifted his head to see Jack Kelly.

“Good luck with that, babe.”

After making a frustrated noise, and trying to refrain from looking like an idiot, he hung up the call, cranked the window down, and smiled, waiting for Jack to speak.

“Hey there. You must be working here, too?”

Davey nearly combusted as Jack leaned back onto the passengers door of his car, which was nicer than his own. Did Davey care about that? Not really.

“Yeah, I’m David Jacobs. Most people call me Davey.”

“Jack Kelly.”

He stuck out his hand, Davey shook it through the window and chuckled. Jack continued.

“It’s nice to meet ya. You’re radiating ‘camp counselor’, but don’t wanna assume.”

Davey’s brain was all but melted. This boy wanted to talk to him. He got out of his car and made the effort to talk to him.

“Yeah, course. I- yeah.”

“What’s got ya so bothered you can barely form a sentence?”

“No, nothing it’s just- did they have other jobs? Not like I would want one but like-“

Jack laughed. This Davey kid was adorable.

“Sure they do, got my buddy Finch running around as a lifeguard, couple of others do maintenance, and I think they brought on Albert to be a ‘activity coordinator’. That basically means when we do archery, he’s in charge of us not shooting each other in the leg.”

Davey chuckled.

“So you’ve worked here before?”

Jack nodded and looked around. This place was a second home to him.

“My ma’s the camp director. Been goin’ here since I was like, 7 and workin’ for the past two years.”

Jack smiled wide and continued on.

“Speaking of workin, we should probably head in. I usually come early to help set up but she insisted I try to be more “normal” this summer. Famous last words, I guess.”

They both laughed quite a bit.

“You’re very friendly, Jack.”

Davey spoke, metaphorically walking on eggshells as to not mess up the friendship that he hoped was forming. He got out of his car and realized he was the same height as Jack, if only a little bit shorter. They were very close to each other.

“Why thanks, Davey. Tell her you said so...”

Jack laughed with him as they made their way to the mess hall. He explained to Davey the in’s and out’s of Blockwood. Most of the people who worked their had gone to camp in their teens and it was just natural to apply for a job there, too.

Before Jack walked in the mess hall, he turned to Davey. Jack had made eye contact every time he spoke with him. It was nice.

“Just double checkin, because ma ain’t always good with hiring ages, ya 18?”

“Oh, yeah. Just turned 19.”

“Good good. I’m about to turn 21, if that matters.”

“It’s good information to have, especially when we’re about to spend all summer together.”

Was Jack blushing? He didn’t know, and it was hot out. Either way, he didn’t care because Jack Kelly was talking to him and adorable.

“Yeah, Davey. For sure.”

Jack opened the door to see Race and Spot all over each other. He snapped his fingers at them and both looked towards Davey. Jack spoke up.

“Hey boys, we got a new one. Be civil, this here’s Davey.”

Race smiled, got up from his seat, and stuck out his hand.

“Name’s Racetrack. You can call me Race or Racer or Sweetheart. It’s good to meet ya, Dave.”

Davey chuckled and shook it. He really was late to the party. They all knew each other.

“It’s nice to meet you too.”

“That shortie there is my pal-“

Race shot a look at Jack, who shrugged. He continued.

“Sorry, are you?”

Race gestured to his rainbow friendship bracelet. Hoping that would be enough. At camp, they tried not to use the word. Some people had gotten very angry when their child had come home saying, ‘my counselor was gay’.

“No, no, no. I am. Not out, but, I guess I am, now. Yes.”

Race nodded and amended his statement.

“I gotcha, Davey. That’s my boyfriend, Spot.”

Davey gave a wave and Spot nodded and waved back. Had Davey really come out to people he met ten seconds ago? Jack looked surprised. At least you’re not obvious.

Katherine came inside soon after. She was immediately swooped up by Race and told to “lose the good girl vibe” from Spot. She laughed with them for awhile about the instant ‘Davey and Jack’ connection. It wasn’t hard to see for either of their friends.

Jack introduced Davey to the whole gang. Finch and Albert were in the corner trying to decide who was right about a candy from the snack shack. Sarah and Chutchie dancing to the approved “Camp Playlist”, and his mama trying to finalize a little bit of paperwork.

He got to Romeo, trying a pick-up line on Katherine, and stopped.

“Hey there, Miss. Don’t believe we’ve met before. My name’s Jack. Jack Kelly.”

He stuck out his hand and she shook it.

“Charmed. I’m Katherine, Katherine Plumber-Jacobs.”

Katherine and Davey smiled at each other and laughed. Jack looked between the two of them and his’s face was turning red.

“What... y’all ain’t married or something, are ya?!”

Davey and Katherine started to laugh without cease. Davey tried to explain through snorts.

“No... she just uses that line because she wants to be my twin. Kath, here, she’s my best friend.”

Romeo spoke up.

“Oh goodness. Well ain’t that the best of both worlds for ya, Jack?”

Jack narrowed his eyes and shot a glare Romeo’s way.

“Now that I know there’s two of ya, I won’t be so scared to let Davey wander. Thought I was gonna have to be glued to his side!”

“Don’t think he’d like me very much if you stopped leading him around.”

Davey was flustered, but Katherine and Jack laughed and laughed. She waved goodbye, going to talk to Sarah instead of interrupting their “together time”, as she called it while recounting the day with Davey. He tried to apologize to Jack.

“Sorry about her.”

“No way, she’s spunky and loud. She’ll fit right in.”

Davey looked around. He wasn’t wrong. It was chaotic and were Romeo and Race arm wrestling? Was Katherine really cheering them on?

“Yeah, she’s... great.”

“You’re great.”

Jack backtracked as his face grew red.

“Oh shit, um sorry about that. That didn’t-”

“Hey, it’s... you’re great, too. Just cut that language out before kids get here in a few days, Kelly.”

Davey smiled and Jack swears that if this was literally any other setting, he would kiss him or draw him a picture or do anything to see that smile every day. Unfortunately, Jack decided to revert to a Jack that didn’t like getting emotional in front of his friends. Chalk it up to force of habit.

“So, you enjoy it here?”

“Is that even a question? It’s awesome, Jack.”

———————————————

It had been a full day of training. Ms. Medda, as Davey had learned was Jack’s mother, and some of the more experienced staff got newcomers ready for camp. She explained how these first three days were training and that there were still things that needed to be done before kids came on Monday. Everyone did some basic first aid and some get-to-know-you games.

Katherine and Davey worked on learning names and people’s jobs. It seemed that when you thought you had it all figured out, Jack or Race would call ‘em a whole new nickname and the pieces would all fall apart. Maintenance (Elmer, Buttons, and Jojo) and lifeguards (Finch and Romeo) had a bit more training to do. Albert and Crutchie, outdoor and indoor activity coordinators, needed to organize some things for the first day.

That left the counselors. Davey, Jack, Race, Spot, Katherine, and Sarah decided to go on a nature walk. That group, of all people, would be spending the most time together. They took them through the woods, showed them the cabins, made sure that Davey and Katherine were somewhat oriented on the camp property. During the walk, Jack took the lead to explain where they were and what needed to be done.

• “Alright, adventure course- never go there without Albert... or me, I’m more fun.”

• “Cabins- good stuff. We can drive down the path to unpack cars later. But Ma’s got me on a tight schedule.”

• “Swimming house- also doubles as a bath house. None of us are going to smell particularly great until Off Days. But please, for the love of our Lord and Savior, make sure your kids shower.”

Race chimed in on this one, acting as if he were passing down an urban legend as Spot started to chuckle.

“They will try to persuade you, tell you they don’t need one. But they do.”

Sarah and Katherine had instantly been drawn to each other. Davey didn’t know how, but Katherine had already managed to be given two friendship bracelets. She would be just fine. He would be, too.

Jack sighed as the timer on his phone went off.

“Sorry gang, walk’s been terminated. But, now it’s time for my favorite part of camp.

Please don’t say hazing. No hazing.

“Building the campfire!”

Davey chuckled as the others wooed. Jack was the leader everyone needed.

———————————————

Over the past three days, Katherine and Davey had melded into this friendgroup seamslessly. They would roast each other and laugh and exist as a family. Neither were quite sure how they pulled it off. Each now had friendship bracelets from fellow counselors, and likewise made them for others. They had swam in the pool and laughed and sang and, Davey recounted, prayed together. It didn’t make sense how it could all be so perfect.

More than anything else, Jack had instilled the need in Katherine and Davey for a ‘Perfect Cooking Fire’. He knew that, of all things, this would have to be the thing they remember how to do. They built it well, only with a little help from Sarah, as Jack filed paperwork for him mom.

He would do that often. Disappear and reappear like a magician. He knew what needed to be done, and did it before his mother even asked. Davey had tried to offer help, but Jack just took out his reading glasses and said ‘No, no. It’s stuff I gotta do, Dave.”

The final night before campers were here, and all the college kids just wanted to drink in the moment. Race and Spot went to get the food for the “Last Supper” as they called it. Hot dogs, of course.

Davey was relived that Jack came to sit next to him after the food was done. The entire staff was sitting around, laughing and chatting and eating. Jack knew that he needed to talk to Davey, just not with everyone around. David blurted out exactly what was on his mind.

“I really like it here.”

“I’m glad, Dave. You did a great job with the cooking fore, too.”

“Thanks, I thought I wouldn’t. Ya know, in the car that first day, I was convinced that I made a horrible mistake.”

“I’m glad I knocked on your window then.”

“Why’d ya do that? Just to be nice?”

Jack looked around as he grew flustered.

“Can we, talk abou that later?”

“Of course.”

The festivities lasted until “Light’s Out” at 11pm. Medda suggested that everyone should turn in soon, as they would all have to be ready by 8am tomorrow. Race asked her, fishing for laughs, as she walked away-

“What if I just never got to bed, Miss Medda?”

“Then you would be unfit for the job, Mr. Higgins. Get some shut eye!”

The entire fire laughed at her retort.

The gang started to slowly disband. Katherine and Sarah were the last to go, hand in hand, except for Jack and Davey. Davey made a comment.

“God only knows what they’re off to do.”

“God is one lucky son of a gun.”

They both laughed at that.

They both sat there, next to the ashes of a once great fire.

Jack looked around and talked in a low tone.

“Davey.”

“Yeah, Jack.”

“I’m ready to talk about it...”

Davey gulped. This was it. He was going to tell him that it meant nothing that they always say next to each other. That talking until four in the morning wasn’t real. That these past few days weren’t an indication of anything.

“I, whew, that first day you were so nervous. Now look at me...”

Jack’s palms were sweaty and he wiped them on his pants.

“Hey, dude. It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it.”

“No, no I want to. We need to.”

Davey’s stomach turned and he closed his eyes.

“I- shoot. I knocked on your window, because you’s were the prettiest boy I’d ever seen.

Davey opened his eyes and looked at Jack, who was now near tears.

“God, I’m real emotional about this, sorry.”

Jack took a breath and looked Davey in the eyes.

“Just, you’re perfect. And, I know we just met and all, and it’s highly unprofessional to say this but... I really think these three days have been a dream come true.”

“Oh Jack...”

Davey held out one of his hands. Jack took it with his.

“Honest, ya know... I’ve got so many friends and they’re always dating and everything but, you came along and just...”

He put his head on Davey’s shoulder and kept going.

“You’re just really nice and kind and, I don’t know, make me feel a new sorta way.”

Davey couldn’t believe it.

“You, like me, Jack?”

Jack spouted off, sarcastically as ever.

“No, it’s all an act! I caught ya in a gay lie!”

Davey laughed as Jack lifted his head and squeezed Davey’s hand.

“Nah, I do. And, nothing’s gotta happen, tonight or this summer or ever, especially since there’ll be kids and it’s a Christian camp and-“

“Your mom?”

“She doesn’t care. You’ve seen the way some of ‘em hang all over each other.”

“I know that, just wanted to check.”

“Yeah, but- like, God. You’re perfect Davey Jacobs.”

“C-Can I kiss you?”

Davey didn’t mean to say it, but he did. And Jack did. His eyes lit up and he closed the distance. It was warm. Davey had never kissed a boy before. He was certain Jack had, though.

Jack hadn’t. Coming out to himself was one thing, his family and friends was another, but to kiss a boy next to a campfire when you’re about to spend all summer with him? No, he hadn’t. Kissing girls was one thing, but this? With Davey? Was something he could never compare anything to. Jack pulled away for a second, wanting to be frank with him.

“Did you like that?”

“Do that again, Kelly.”

Davey pulled Jack back in. And that’s how they stayed, for a while. Neither could tell if it had been an hour or just a few seconds when they finally pulled away. Davey wanted to be honest.

“I’m not, out-out yet, if that could be an issue.”

“No, nah... and it doesn’t have to, nothing’s gotta come of this, ya know.“

“I know. It’s, it’s nice, though. I want it to.”

Davey leaned on Jack’s shoulder. He was so hesitant, usually. Jack Kelly might’ve been the only boy in the world who could do that to him.

“God, I was so worried I was scarin’ a closeted catholic boy away.”

Davey laughed. Everyone seemed to get that vibe from him.

“One, non-denominational. Everyone gets thrown off by that. Two, you’re not scarin me at all.”

Jack pressed a kiss to Davey’s temple and started to play with his hair.

“This okay?”

“Yeah, this is wonderful.”

They don’t know when they turned in for the night. But, 8am rolled around and camp was in session. Jack came up behind Davey, right before campers were about to enter and spoke calmly, putting his hand into David’s .

“It’s gonna be a good summer, Davey.”

“Yeah, it is, Jack.”

David gave his hand a tight squeeze as Jack walked away to unlock and the door. Upon opening the door, a boy, while looked to be no older than ten, ran to Jack and threw his arms around him.

“Cowboy!”

“Hey there, dude! How are ya?”

Davey smiled and looked at Katherine, who was standing by with the other counselors. He gave her a nod, and that was all they needed.

This summer is going to be great.

[hiddendreamer67]

Enemies to Lab Partners to Make Out Session Associates

This is a commissioned piece for @eat-moar-veggis for their sanders sides OC ask blog: @ask-villegas-sides . 

Summary: When Flint, the science teacher and also Beckett’s dad, paired up Beckett with Reese on a group project to help them ‘grow closer’, he never could have anticipated how close the boys would actually grow. Also featuring guidance counselor Lev.

Commission info available here! Commissions are open! :)

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“Dad, please, don’t pair me up with Reese.” Beckett begged, staying after class with his father, Flint, the high school Chemistry teacher. “He’s insufferable.”

“You seem to be under the impression that everyone is insufferable.” Flint mused.

“Well, it’s true!” Beckett said exasperatedly. “But he’s extra insufferable. No, he’s just extra, period.”

“Is that a slang term?” Flint asked, stacking a few student’s papers on his desk so it appeared more orderly.

“Yes, dad, it’s slang, and in this case it means bad.” Beckett groaned. “Reese is the epitome of everything wrong with the world. He likes crowds, and people, and things.”

“You like ‘things’, as you put it so delicately.” Flint was clearly fighting the urge to roll his eyes.

“Yeah, but not theatre things.” Beckett stuck out his tongue. “Or jock things. He’s probably gonna end up shoving the whole project onto my plate, and if that happens I’m not doing it so I need a new partner.”

Flint paused, putting a hand to his chin as if he was considering the proposition. “I always wondered what it would feel like to fail my own son.”

Beckett immediately paled at his words. “Dad, you’re…you’re not serious, right?”

“I’m always serious.” Flint assured him, gesturing to his necktie as further evidence to his serious nature. “Beckett, it’s a group assignment, not the end of the world.”

“Sounds the same to me.” Beckett muttered.

“Beckett, I will not be having any more disruptions in my class.” Flint said, his voice turning stern as he glared down over the bridge of his nose. “You and Reese have been solely responsible for three interruptions in my class in the past week. I will stand for it no longer. Pairing you two up is my last warning for you two to get. Along. If I don’t see the two of you growing close over this assignment, I will be forced to report your behavior to the school board and fail you both for this project.”

“Dad!” Beckett’s jaw dropped, shocked at how harsh his dad could be.

“My word is final, Beckett.” Flint gave a nod to the door. “I trust you heard my declaration as well, Reese?”

Beckett turned to see the theatre athlete standing in the door frame, looking as though he was about to knock. Reese lowered his hand, looking sheepish. “…clearly, Mr. Flint.”

“Good.” Flint seemed pleased with this resolution. “Then I trust you two will spend the rest of your study hall getting started instead of moaning to me about how unjust my decisions are. The library should be an ideal place to set up.”

“The library should be an ideal place to set up.” Reese mocked, only for his eyes to widen in horror as he realized he said that out loud. “I mean, uh, meet you there!”

“No running in the halls!” The counselor’s called from the hall, the sounds of frantic footfalls slowing only slightly on the tiled floors.

“Guess I better go after him.” Beckett muttered, shoving his hands into his hoodie pockets and trudging down the hall.

It wasn’t fair. His dad shouldn’t be able to force Beckett to behave with Reese as if he could just shove them into one of those two-person ‘get along’ shirts. This was totally embarrassing! Beckett didn’t even care about the stupid grade in the first place, having planned on bailing the second he figured out his partner, but now he had to actually make- ugh, an effort- so that he didn’t end up on the gallows in front of the entire school board.

“You’re late.” Reese commented the moment Beckett arrived, setting the teen’s teeth on edge.

“Well, you cheated.” Beckett growled. “And you’re a prick.”

“Ah, I see you’re just as pleasant outside of daddy’s class as you are inside.” Reese rolled his eyes with a smile. He held out his palm. “Give me your phone.”

“What the hell? No.” Beckett frowned, considering this to be the world’s worst mugging attempt.

“I’m not stealing it.” Reese rolled his eyes again. He seemed to do that a lot. “I’m just going to put in my phone number.”

“Why can’t I have your phone, then?” Beckett raised an eyebrow.

“Uh, and get your weird witchy cult vibes all over it?” Reese looked like he was pretending to gag. “No thanks.”

“You shouldn’t insult me if you want something.” Beckett argued.

“You walked in here and immediately called me a prick.” Reese deadpanned.

“Well, you said I was late.”

“’Cause you were.”

“Maybe you were just stupidly early.”

The two were quiet for a moment, irritated energy practically seething off of them both.

“A truce, then.” Reese decreed, pulling out a pen and paper. He wrote down his number, sliding it across the table to Beckett who typed it into his phone. Reese’s own phone dinged a moment later, and he pulled it out to check the message.

B: Hey stupid.

Reese rolled his eyes, not even bothering to reply as he tucked the phone back into his pocket. “I don’t just hand out my phone number to everyone, so treat this as a privilege. Don’t abuse it.”

Beckett raised an eyebrow, a silent challenge. “You got it.”

A moment later Reese’s phone dinged again, so he pulled it out.

B: Made ya look. ;p

“Oh, real mature.” Reese huffed, putting his phone back and not deigning Beckett with a response. Beckett seemed content to keep staring down at his phone, a series of chimes coming from Reese’s pocket again. “Beckett, I swear on Evan Hansen himself I will block your number.”

Okay, yeah, maybe Beckett was being a little immature. But watching the steam metaphorically blow out of Reese’s ears when he saw the stream of penguin emojis he kept endlessly sending made it all worth it. Who knows? Maybe messing with Reese wasn’t his dad’s intended goal of this pairing, but it was certainly a nice side effect. Eventually, Beckett stopped sending penguins long enough to agree on a time to meet up after class, the bell indicating their study period was over.

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B: You’re late.

Beckett tapped his foot impatiently, trying not to let his anxiety overwhelm him while he waited. This was where they always met, having started meeting up regularly a month ago. He had already checked, double-checked, and triple-checked their meeting spot twenty times on his phone in the last ten minutes. There it was, plain as day: Reese had said to meet at the library at 4:00 today. Now it was 4:20 (holla), and Beckett was considering ghosting Reese for the rest of existence.

But no, that wouldn’t work. With his luck Becket messed up which library they were supposed to meet at and Reese was going to be mad at him and then Beckett’s dad would think he wasn’t trying to make this work and they’d both fail and Reese would hate him forever-

…wait. Why did he care what Reese thought of him?

Beckett scrambled for his phone, hearing an almost silent ‘ding!’ in the foreboding silence of the library.

R: So sorry, practice is running late. Be there in five?

Practice? Practice for what? Beckett couldn’t even begin to guess. It seemed that Reese had a habit of signing himself up for quite literally everything the school offered. Beckett could never keep track of all that, and he never wanted to either; who needed all that unwanted pressure? High school was bad enough, thank you.

Beckett bounced his leg, nervously watching the clock count with agonizing slowness. It felt weird, just sitting here alone in the library where anybody could be staring at him. He knew the others were judging him. Beckett could feel their stares on the back of his neck, and took solitude in trying to distract himself with his phone. The battery was dying.

4:29. No sign of the jock in sight. Should he text again? Was that rude?

Beckett shook his head. This was ridiculous, he wasn’t the rude one. Reese had practically ditched him after making this plan in the first place.

B: You’re still late.

Even knowing he was in the right, Beckett held his breath as those three little dots appeared, indicating the thespian was typing.

R: Sorry!! This might take a while. Mind meeting me at the football field?

Yes, Beckett did mind; he minded very much. The football field was where kids like Beckett got beat up- not that Beckett went there often enough for that to happen, but cliché teenage Rom Coms never lie. Still, Beckett had nothing better to do, and he needed Reese to pull his weight in this project. It was with no small amount of grumbling that Beckett reminded himself that Reese was a… surprisingly competent partner. For a jock, anyway.

B: Be there in five.

Unlike Reese, Beckett actually meant it. His anxiety wouldn’t allow him to be tardy for fear of disappointing someone, even if that someone was a theatre kid with his gigantic head stuck in a football helmet.

He wasn’t going because he wanted to, in fact frankly Beckett would rather be just about anywhere else. Of all the activities he refused to participate in, sports was at the top. He couldn’t imagine exhausting himself, all eyes on him as he put his body through strenuous situations of his own free will. It was suicide. Not to mention, people got so invested in sports games; how did the players deal with all that pressure? If you missed the ball, you were letting the entire school down. And, even if you won (highly unlikely, given their football record the past few years), the opposing team would still hate you for making them lose. No matter what, you ended up sweaty and boo-ed. Yeah, no thanks.

But, as he turned the corner, Beckett’s eyes widened at all the muscled high school boys, realizing they were divided into shirts and skins. His heart rate increased, and he wasn’t sure if it was a good or bad thing that Reese was part of the half that was shirtless because on the one hand oh my god he’s so hot I’m too gay for this- and on the other hand how dare he look that hot I’m supposed to be mad at him.

…so maybe not all aspects of sports were inherently evil.

“Hey, Beckett!” Reese gave him a wave, jogging over to meet him with a smile on his face. Beckett’s own face flushed, and he burrowed further into his oversized hoodie. How did Reese manage to look so comfortable in his own skin when he was only wearing half his clothes?! Totally unfair. “I’m so sorry about all this, coach just wants us to run a few more plays before we’re done for the evening. But I figured it’d be best if you were here, so we can get started as soon as we’re done. Do you want to watch?”

I would like that very much. Beckett gave an awkward cough, shoving that thought into the far recesses of his mind. “Uh, yeah, I could do that, I guess.”

Reese gave a nod of acknowledgement, jogging back to his team as they did…a sports thing. Beckett couldn’t really comprehend what was going on, but the men seemed to be running back and forth a few times across the field.

Beckett looked up at the bleachers, deciding to take a seat while he waited. A few friends of the football players were up here as well, including a scattering of girlfriends. Beckett let them keep the front few rows and instead climbed his way to the very top where he could avoid having a social interaction ever.

The autumn wind was chillier up here, and Beckett pulled his jacket tighter around his chest. How was Reese not freezing out there? Granted, he was running around and sweating up a storm, but he was still shirtless. Why was the coach being so cruel? Would Reese catch a cold? That would be awful, especially since Beckett didn’t know how to cook soup to make him feel better- THE PROJECT! It would be awful because Reese wouldn’t be able to help him with the project. That was most certainly the only reason.

It was times like these Beckett truly loathed his dad for trying to force him to get along with the annoying hot popular guy. The world was already in love with Reese, so what did it care what Beckett thought? Beckett was nothing. He was the discarded gum that got stuck to the bottom of people like Reese’s shoes, only to be scraped off at their earliest convenience. People in high school shouldn’t be put up on a pedestal, and Beckett used to have no qualms about putting Reese in his place because Beckett was so low on the food chain he had nothing to lose.

Now, Beckett felt like he was on the brink of losing everything he had never gained in the first place.

“BECKETT!”  The emo jumped, startled out of his depressing thoughts when he heard his name being called. He glanced down, seeing Reese at the bottom of the bleachers, a towel wrapped around his shoulders. The idiot was still shirtless. “PRACTICE IS OVER!”

Did that mean Beckett should come down? He assumed so. Carefully he descended the stairs, feeling uncomfortable at the sensation of being watched. Reese was definitely watching, and a few other bystanders turned to give him curious glances as well. Beckett must be the first cryptid to ever show up to football practice.

“Put on a shirt.” Beckett muttered, not looking Reese in the eye when he finally got to the bottom of the stairs.

Reese blinked, seeming surprised by this statement as he glanced down at his bare chest. When he looked up, the smirk on Reese’s face made Beckett want the earth to swallow him whole. “Why? Like what you see? Is my herculean frame too distracting for your mortal presence?”

“You’re gonna catch a cold.” Beckett huffed, which only seemed to make things worse as Reese let out a sort of squeal.

“Aww, I knew you care.” Reese cooed, and now Beckett wanted to die on the spot.

“Yeah, because a dead lab partner doesn’t do me any good.” Beckett said defensively, his shoulders hiking up to his ears. “But a partner that ditches isn’t any better.”

Reese paused, the smile on his face quickly falling. “I- you’re right, I’m sorry-“

“Whatever.” Beckett cut him off. “Just get your clothes on and let’s go.”

Reese nodded, quickly pulling on his shirt and letterman jacket, red in an obnoxious way that made his eyes pop. He fell in step beside Beckett, the two walking in a tense silence as they headed back towards the building.

“I really am sorry.” Reese spoke up softly. “I wasn’t thinking, I forgot about practice, but I thought it’d be fast enough that you wouldn’t notice. I should have texted you earlier.”

“Yeah, I get it, you’re too busy.” Beckett shrugged, trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal.

“No, that’s no excuse.” Reese said firmly. “Your time is just as important as mine, and I wasted it. I need to make it up to you. Do you like coffee? I can take you out sometime.”

“What, like a date?” Beckett teased, trying to keep his tone light and not as hopeful as his traitorous heart would believe. “If you wanted to get into my pants you could’ve just said so.”

Now that was the wrong thing to say to your growing crush. Even worse was the way Reese froze up, his face turning brighter than a cherry tomato.

“No, that’s not-!” Reese stammered, looking offended, and Beckett’s heart plummeted at the thought of being rejected even in a joke. “I would never be so crass, or forward, especially without- I mean, your intentions are important too, I wouldn’t just force myself on you like that, I was trying to be a gentleman about it-“

“Wait, what?” Now it was Beckett’s turn to blush tomato red. “Are you- you’re serious? About the pants stuff?”

“NO!” Reese’s shriek of indignation was so high-pitched Beckett could have mistaken it for a girl. “Certainly not off the bat. But- the ah, the date? I mean, maybe? Oh Lin Manuel Miranda, I never even asked if you’re into guys-“

“I am.” Beckett interrupted, a bit too suddenly for his own good. “Into you, too.” Was this a joke? Was Beckett being pranked? He didn’t exactly love the idea of a bunch of popular guys deciding to gang up and craft a plot to break his heart. Still, even as his anxiety tried to suggest such a nefarious scheme, Beckett couldn’t picture Reese being part of it, especially as the thespian had been reduced to a blushing, stammering mess at Beckett’s feet.

“Maybe…” Beckett swallowed, hoping he was making the right decision here. Good lord Romance was not his department. “Ugh, this is just… let’s start with coffee, okay?”

Reese visibly relaxed, as though a huge weight had been taken off his shoulders. “Coffee it is.”

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So, they had started with coffee dates.

And then coffee dates turned into regular dates.

And then came the hand holding, the soft kisses, and then… more.

Beckett wasn’t actually sure if Reese was his boyfriend, but there certainly should be a shorter title than Lab Partner who Occasionally Disappears Into the Back Room With Me For Super Hot Make Out Sessions.

Unfortunately, the privacy of the back room came with the unspoken caveat that while Beckett had access, it was truly his father’s prep room, and it was only a matter of time before they were caught.

“You know, while I did express that I wanted you two to grow closer as individuals, this is a bit closer than I anticipated.” Flint deadpanned, flicking on the light.

“Dad!” Beckett frantically shoved away from Reese, trying in vain to disguise the fact that moments ago his hands were wandering beneath the jock’s shirt while Reese ran his fingers through Beckett’s hair. (Beckett was pleased to note Reese’s chest felt as good as he imagined ever since that football practice).

“Professor Flint!” Reese said hastily, his face ashen as he looked like a frightened doe. Goodness gracious did Beckett just want to kiss that adorable look off his face. It was a pity his gay thoughts would not assist the situation at hand.

“Reese. Beckett.” Flint’s tone was eerily calm, the kind of scary dad tone that indicated he was about two seconds from blowing up. The teacher took in a long, tense breath, seeming to be calculating something in his mind. “I think you should both count yourselves grateful that I have discovered you on school property, and thus have an obligation to follow the necessary procedures.”

Uh oh. Beckett was tense, stepping forward to follow his father as he gave a wave of his hand. Reese moved to follow too, Flint pushing the high schoolers apart so that they stood on either side of him and had a few feet of separation.

“Where are we going?” Reese asked timidly, more nervous than Beckett usually heard him.

“The guidance counselor.” Flint’s tone was clipped now, clearly more annoyed at Reese considering he was the one discovered making out with Flint’s son. “You both have behaved wildly inappropriately.”

Reese and Beckett exchanged a glance, both thinking the same thing: We’re screwed.

Flint raised his knuckles, raping on the hardwood door. There was a pleasant “Come in!” spoken from inside, and Flint’s posture seemed to relax somewhat as he opened the door.

“Good afternoon, Lev.” Flint smiled, and Beckett found it strange to see his father acting so laid back in his greeting. Beckett didn’t know his dad even knew the counselor. Did they talk behind his back?

“Oh, heya Flint!” Lev, the guidance counselor, greeted him in turn. “Nice to see you too, Beckett. And who’s this young man?”

“This is Reese.” Beckett jerked his thumb towards the guy he makes out with sometimes.

“How do you know Beckett?” Reese blurted.

“Oh, he comes in here all the time.” Lev explained with a wave of his hand. “I love having him as company.”

Beckett shuffled his feet. “Lev helps with my anxiety.”

“Be that as it may, I think it will be more beneficial to get to the matter at hand.” Flint remained standing, watching the boys sit like two properly scolded school children. The analogy was quite accurate. “I have just apprehended these two boys engaging in… suggestive acts within my lab prep room.” Lev stifled a giggle, causing Flint to frown. “What’s so funny?”

“Sorry Flinty, I know this is serious.” Lev put on his serious face, making Flint’s lip twitch up. “Now boys, care to explain your side of the story?”

“No.” Beckett answered honestly, shrinking in on himself as he tucked his knees up to his chest.

Reese sent him a glare, which clearly was meant to say ‘Don’t you dare abandon me now, you traitor.’

“Ah…that would be an accurate description.” Reese conceded. “Beckett and I thought the privacy was, um, ideal, for… kissing.”

“Just kissing?” Lev clarified, immediately making everyone else in the room twice as uncomfortable.

“Yes, just- just kissing.” Reese looked ready to spontaneously combust. “With some touching, but clothed, and-“

“I do believe we have an accurate image of the event.” Flint raised his voice, cutting Reese off before the image could get more engrained into the poor father’s head.

“Yes, agreed.” Lev nodded. “Boys, I think you’re both smart enough to know that acts of PDA are not allowed on school grounds, especially to that extreme. Save it for when you get home.”

“Or not at all.” Flint couldn’t help but tack on. Beckett rolled his eyes, but this seemed to be a very poor choice as Flint gave him the dad glare. “Do you disagree, young man?”

“…no sir.” Beckett winced, his eyes soon staring down at his lap.

“With all due respect, I do disagree.” Reese spoke up, and Beckett’s eyes snapped to him instead. The jock had puffed out his chest, clearly acting with a confidence he didn’t fully possess. “I think I have a right to physically show my appreciation for my wonderful boyfriend, in moderation.”

Boyfriend. He said boyfriend. Beckett couldn’t help but grin like an idiot. His now-boyfriend was such an idiot, and Beckett loved him so much. Hopefully he wasn’t about to die by his father’s wrath.

The room was unbelievably tense, Reese and Flint caught in a staring match. Flint was cold and unyielding, while Reese was firm but polite. Jeez, what had Beckett ever done to deserve such a gentleman to stand up for him like that? Even if it was about something as trivial as steamy make out sessions, Beckett couldn’t help but feel his heart swell.

“They’re just kids, Flint.” Lev spoke up softly, going over to put a hand on Flint’s arm. Flint broke away from the staring match, looking into Lev’s eyes with an unreadable expression.

Lev turned back to the boys, giving them a small smile. “Now, since this is your first offence, only a verbal warning is required, so don’t let the two of us catch you making out in any more closets.”

“Yes sir.” Both boys spoke in unison, the tips of their ears turning red in embarrassment.

“Reese, I do believe the two of us will need to have a chat, off school grounds, about the nature of your relationship with my son.” Flint spoke up, in full dad mode.

Reese gulped, giving a stiff nod as now he was properly shamed. “Understood, sir.”

“Well, sounds like everything is working itself out!” Lev clapped his hands happily. “You boys are excused, have fun you too.”

“We will!” Reese assured him, flinching at Flint’s gaze. “Ah, an appropriate amount.”

Beckett hurried out the door after him, nearly missing the way Lev was asking Flint to grab coffee with him. Wait, was that a coffee date? Beckett definitely needed more details about that later. In the meantime, though, Beckett had a super hot idiot to thank for defending his honor.

Beckett fell into step beside Reese, slipping his fingers between his boyfriend’s and leaning close to whisper in the thespian’s ear. “Want to get off school property?”

“Sweet mother of pearl, yes.” Reese said breathlessly, the two racing each other to the door.

[lichlover]

If you’re taking prompts I’d love to know what you think would happen if one of the 100 worlds the seven birds went to was earth. Like how many milliseconds would it take lup and taako to get arrested/what would happen with magic/etc.

okay, so, admittedly i misread this, but it was already turning out in a super fun way so i just decided to run with it. have a little something from post-canon!

please consider donating to my ko-fi!

On the third ring, Joaquin has to step out of his math class, because whoever’s calling him is calling instead of texting and that means it’s serious.

All eyes are on him as he whispers an apology to his teacher and steps out into the hallway. He’s sure it’s not just because of the call; having magic powers tends to make him a target for people’s stares, nowadays. Unfortunately it doesn’t seem to have gotten him much else. An exemption from math class, for example.

The door swings mercifully shut behind him, and Joaquin presses the phone to his ear. “Uh, hi, whoever this is?” he whispers, because one of the hall monitors is a few doors down and eyeing him suspiciously. “This isn’t a good time.”

“Hey, kid! Am I on the right frequency?”

Joaquin freezes and cranks up the volume. “Uh, sorry… is this—”

“Taako,” the voice on the other end drawls. “Y’know, from TV? And also the end of the world, keep fuckin’ forgetting about that one. Uh… listen. I’ve got a bit of a—uh, we have a bit of a situation here, and—”

“Whoa, just—hold on a sec.” The hall monitor is definitely staring now. “Where is here? Where are you? How did you even get my number?”

“World savior privileges. So the thing is—”

Joaquin blinks. “Oh my God, are you… are you here in this world? Like, actually here?”

He can practically hear Taako’s shrug through the phone. “Near as I can tell.”

“Oh my God,” Joaquin repeats. He’s starting to feel a little faint, and he’s sure it’s not because of his late lunch period. “What are you doing here? I thought that was against the—the rules, or whatever? Are you gonna get arrested by the dimension police? Oh, shit—” He breaks off when the hall monitor’s glare intensifies, and continues in a lower voice. “Am I gonna get arrested by the dimension police?”

“Probably not. Uh, speaking of which! They told me we only get one phone call, so we really—we really gotta make this one count here—”

“One phone call? Oh, holy shit, did you get arrested?”

From a few meters away, he sees the hall monitor unclip a walkie-talkie from her belt. Why his school has to go so hard with hall monitors, Joaquin will never understand, but he has a feeling his time is almost up. “Okay, okay, just—how did you—no, nevermind, that doesn’t matter. Where are you?”

“Uh…” Taako’s voice jumps a good octave. The receiver crackles, and Joaquin can hear a muffled question, followed by a brief, snappish argument. “This fuckin’ guy, I swear to gods—uh, the Miami Beach police station? Whatever the hell that means. They got better room service in the Eternal Stockade, and that’s—that’s sayin’ something.”

“Miami Beach police station,” Joaquin repeats. “Okay, I’m on my way. Just hang in there, and, uh, don’t do anything stupid, I guess?”

A scoff fizzles through the phone. “You don’t halfta tell me twice.”

“Yes, you do!” comes another, more distant voice. One Joaquin recognizes.

“Is that Lup?” he says, and now his voice is about to jump another octave, too. “She’s there with you?”

“Yeah, she’s—hey, Fantasy Terminator, I’ll tell ya when my time is up, alright? Listen, kid, bring a taco or two with you, alright? It’ll be ironic, and also, I’m fuckin’ starving. Cool. Thanks. Bye!”

“Um, okay, I will. But—” The connection goes dead, which Joaquin will admit he should have seen coming. He shoves his phone in his pocket and flags down the hall monitor, who has the walkie-talkie in her hand and looks about ready to bring out the big guns. “Hey, hey, uh,” he says, trying not to think about how her walkie might be as intimidating as the Hunger itself. “I—um, I’m sorry to disturb the peace and, uh, all that, but I really gotta go.”

The hall monitor walks him down to the counselor’s office, and when the counselor asks him what’s wrong, his brain barrels past “family emergency” and goes straight to “world savior stuff,” verbatim.

It turns out to be the better idea, anyway. Not ten minutes later, Joaquin is standing at a bus stop with the scrapings of a fare in his hand.

It’s strange to be downtown in the middle of the day. He stops by a locally owned Mexican place, feeling guilty all the way, and picks up two tacos with all the embellishments because he had said he would. The police station is a short walk from there. Joaquin recognizes a couple of the officers from their off-duty stops at the taco truck, and they wave at him as he hurries past, but he’s a little too frazzled to offer them anything but a weak smile in return. This isn’t the way he’d supposed he would spend his Tuesday. Granted, his weekdays are a bit unpredictable now, what with the impromptu interviews and the press showing up unannounced to his actual, literal house, but still. This is a lot different.

This is interdimensional.

And yes, it’s a bad and completely baffling situation, but Joaquin can’t help but feel a tiny thrill at the thought. His problems are interdimensional now. How many high schoolers can say that?

He promptly forgets about the cool factor of his morning when the main floor comes into view. There are several desks and a few annoyed-looking detectives between them, but that doesn’t stop Joaquin’s gaze from instantly snapping to the two lounging figures in the holding cell.

“Holy shit,” he says. It’s a perfectly fair thing to say.

From behind bars, Taako, from TV and the end of the world, lifts a lazy finger in greeting. “Took you long enough, huh?”

A bright red jacket hits him in the shoulder. “Don’t be fucking rude,” says Lup, and waves. “ ’Sup, kiddo?”

It occurs to Joaquin just then that he can never, ever tell his friends about this, because if they find out he’s met two of the Seven Birds in person, he can forget about his world savior glory forever. “Uh… I’m good,” he calls, doing his best to ignore the outright stares he’s receiving from the personnel in the room. “All good over here! Yeah.”

One of the detectives comes around her desk and shoots a dubious look at the holding cell. “You called Joaquin Terrero?”

“Is that his full name?” says Taako. Lup’s jacket nails him in the arm again and he tries to snatch it out of her hands, to no avail.

The detective sighs and turns to Joaquin with something suspended between an apologetic smile and an all-out grimace. “They’ve been like that ever since we brought them in. Um, Mr. Terrero—”

“Joaquin is fine.” Ever since Story and Song, he’s been called Mr. Terrero or sir just about everywhere he goes. Weirdness aside, it makes Joaquin feel like he’s always at a parent-teacher conference. “So what, uh… what happened?”

Detective Alvarez, according to her name tag, motions for him to sit down. He does, and she takes a seat across from him, still eyeing the holding cell as Taako and Lup bicker. “There were a few misdemeanors,” she says.

Misdemeanor means not serious. Joaquin silently thanks his social studies teacher.

“The thing is,” the detective continues, “these misdemeanors weren’t standard. I mean—” She sighs. “For one, they just appeared in the middle of a busy street and scared several pedestrians half to death. They said it was thanks to those belts.”

Only then does Joaquin notice the belts. He’d lumped it in with the rest of the twins’ eccentric style, but there they are, silvery and slim and otherwise pretty innocuous. “And that’s how they got here?”

“It’s science, babe,” Lup interjects. “We got it under control.”

She hooks a thumb over her belt with a conspicuous wink, and Detective Alvarez turns pink and clears her throat. “Of course,” she says, hurriedly. “That’s just not the point.”

There’s a look of extreme discomfort on her face, and Joaquin doesn’t blame her. It had been enough of an ordeal getting a call from one of the Seven Birds, nevermind keeping two of them in a holding cell. (There’s a joke there about birds and cages that he’ll have to remember for later.) “Then they went to a restaurant and tried to pay for their food with… well, this.”

Detective Alvarez opens a drawer, and Joaquin’s eyes go wide at the sight of several large, priceless-looking gems in an evidence bag. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out, save for an awkward-sounding croak. He’d known Taako was rich—not rich.

Speaking of which. From across the room, Taako cups a hand around his mouth and calls out. “Those the jewels? They’re my husband’s paycheck, for gods’ sake! Are you gonna—are you tryin’ to tell me Death isn’t legit?”

The look on Detective Alvarez’s face seems to imply they’ve had this conversation before. “You can’t pay for food with giant jewels.”

“You can if you’re not a fuckin’ coward,” Taako murmurs, and slouches back against the wall. He takes another jacket to the chest for that.

Joaquin takes a deep breath. “Okay. Uh, Detective Alvarez, I’m really sorry that these two caused a disturbance.”

“Listen, these aren’t—the misdemeanors aren’t serious. We won’t hold them, and we won’t fine them—I mean, they’re the Birds,” says Detective Alvarez. “It wouldn’t be great for the universe anyway. The precinct just wanted to make sure they have someone here who can…” She lowers her voice. “You know, keep an eye on them?”

“They’re not super great at being on Earth, huh?”

“No. Definitely not.”

“I’ll take care of them,” Joaquin promises. “I’m really sorry, Detective.”

Detective Alvarez offers up a weary smile. “You’re a good kid. Just get them out of here, okay?”

“I will,” says Joaquin.

He does.

They emerge into a bright, warm afternoon, and Taako hisses, yanking a pair of sunglasses over his eyes. “Sheesh. How long’s it been? A year?”

“An hour,” says Lup, checking her watch.

“Oh.” He plucks one of the tacos from the bag in Joaquin’s hand. “Cheers, kid. Not as good as mine, but it—it’ll do, I guess.”

“Thanks for bailing us out.” Lup nudges Joaquin and flashes a brilliant smile. She’s definitely more intimidating in person, and also a full head taller than him, which means he has to crane his neck and squint to see her against the sun. “So, you’re taking us on a tour, right?”

Joaquin blinks. “I—uh, I have school.”

Taako snorts, which, yeah, he deserves that. “That’s gotta be the lamest excuse I’ve ever heard.”

“Lame,” Lup chimes in. She picks the other taco out of the bag and says, “Give us the grand tour, kid! We’re only here for… uh, two more hours, looks like. Gotta make the most of our time before we head back home.”

“Oh, yeah, that—you never said what you were doing here?”

“Visiting you, duh,” she says. “Taako wouldn’t shut up about how he realized your potential, and—”

“Yeah, speaking of shutting up!” says Taako, his voice shrill. He takes an unceremonious bite of the taco and tugs the brim of his hat a little lower. “You gonna show us around, or what?”

“That’s not speaking of shutting up, ’Ko.”

“Don’t—you don’t get to lecture me on semantics—”

Joaquin bites back a smile and says, “You guys wanna see the beach?”

“Hell yeah,” they say as one, and high-five without having to look. Drift compatible, Joaquin thinks. It really is a perfect day, and a little magical—not in the actual sense, of course, but there’s something thrilling about knowing school will drag on without him. He’s got some world savior stuff to do; if showing around two of the Seven Birds counts as world savior stuff, of course, and he’s decided that it does.

Of course, that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences to his actions. But Joaquin’s pretty smart, and he’s already thought of a contingency plan.

“Um, hey, so,” he starts, as they set off down the street. “Lup, uh—I’ve got this friend, Stephanie, and she would kill me if I didn’t get an autograph, or something… do you have, uh, a headshot or something like that? Like, she’s been dying to know if you still have an undercut…”

[couldnt-think-of-a-funny-name]

pls expand on your ridiculous experiences during one semester at a fake college

okay I got a few asks about this so let me see what I can remember right now. These might not all be in chronological order

- At orientation, they were talking about the reservation near campus and all these pretty sites and this kid in the back of the auditorium goes “So uhh…heard this place might be built over a Native American burial ground?”

- The speaker: “…Let’s not think about that, okay?”

- The freshman were on campus alone for like a week and a half (other than the RA’s) before the other students and I just. The parties. Were out of control. An ambulance was called basically every night.

- I walked into the bathroom the first night there to find a girl literally dying because someone slipped something in her drink and she was having a Very Bad Reaction

- Sting- you know, the singer- ‘s son lived in my residence hall. This boy almost accidentally killed me on three separate occasions (while I was just trying to do my laundry)

- I told my family about this at Thanksgiving. Everyone in the room advised me to seduce him

- I ate breakfast in the dining hall exactly once. I got scrambled eggs. I noticed no one had brought out ketchup with the condiments and politely asked about it. I received glares from at least ten different people. Apparently people there don’t believe in ketchup on eggs.

- There were these two boys in my English class known as “The Lumbard Guys”. They didn’t live in my residence hall, but they would come over almost every night, start a party, and destroy part of the basement.

- At orientation this one kid got mad and set his shoe on fire to prove a point

- Also at orientation like??? My roommate disappeared???? And I never saw her again???

- Listen like…this campus just looked like the perfect setting for a horror film, but none of the people from the area got that. They all thought I was crazy until some comic from Comedy Central did a stand up act and said “Why the hell is this campus so creepy? I feel like I’m gonna leave here with someone else wearing my face!”. I felt way too validated.

- ALL OF MY CLASSES WERE SO FAKE

- My “math” class was actually a disguised home ec. course???? All we had were word problems that were incredibly detailed recipes or instructions on how to fix things. The teacher, who I swear to GOD was actually my Mr-Rogers-Wannabe guidance counselor from high school in disguise, spent more time trying to come up with names and backstories for the models in the text book than actually trying to teach

- I had to take a class called “first year seminar” because neither of my parents went to college. It was supposed to be teaching you about how the school works and stuff but SUPRISE BITCH WE’RE JUST GONNA YELL ABOUT RACISM AND PRIVELGE FOR AN HOUR.

- Literally that’s all we did. Just the whole class bonding over all these struggles we had gone through and getting fired up. Like, it was great, but I also ended up knowing very little about campus and school stuff bc that was the class that was supposed to be teaching me lmao

- My Psych teacher was fucking hysterical for the first few classes but then he just. Vanished. I had to drop the class

- My Fine Arts teacher just. Couldn’t stick to a teaching plan. Her entire wardrobe was scarves. She was very passionate about African masks. She had a flapper haircut. She spoke quietly, but with a marvelously forced tone of voice that I’m certain was her trying to sound impressive and hide a Boston accent. She didn’t seem to understand the year was 2014. She took us into the city to go to the Art Museum and we lost her in there, never to be seen again

- I’m not even kidding

- My “writing” teacher was my absolute fav omfg. She was this long grey haired hippie lady who worked as a nurse for the Grateful Dead and was still stuck there. She may or may not have hooked up with my uncle. I was her favorite student because one day I came in wearing a “HAIR” shirt. She wanted to take the class to England for the sole purpose of going on a Beatles tour

- But like…she did not teach a writing class omfg. She taught a social justice class. All we did was have informed debates about The Issues and listen to music and occasionally watch the Breakfast Club. Every time there was a big paper due on the syllabus, she’d just sit on her desk and go “I mean, I don’t have to cover anything, right? You guys know how to write!” Like I genuinely don’t think she knew what class she was teaching

- There was a boy who sat next to me in that class. He was deaf in one ear and used that as an excuse when he got caught blatantly not paying attention. It worked every time. But I was right next to him. I saw him playing Yu-Gi-Oh on some website on his phone under the table. One time we started talking about model cars and he pre-cummed.

- There was a boy who roamed the campus in a long black trench coat and a weird hat. I never saw his body and started to suspect he might not have one, just the theory of one. He took interest in me because I was the only person in class who ever got his Doctor Who jokes. He’d come up to me at dinner and blast quiz me on various nerd culture before running off and disappearing into the shadows. Just as I was starting to grudgingly accept I was probably going to have to eventually hook up with him for the greater good, I apparently offended him by saying I like Picard more than Kirk. He didn’t stick around to listen to my reasoning. Whenever I saw him after that he would loudly start talking about how great his girlfriend was. Everyone knew he was lying. I wonder if Kirk ever sucked his theoretical dick as well as I would have.

- I gave a football player a shout out on Yik Yak. He really appreciated it, and gave me some fries laced with weed as a thanks. That was such A Night ™ , I watched the Lorax and left the dimension.

- Every time we had dances, this creepy guy named Horace would find me and use my obvious discomfort to make me dance with him. He’d hold my wrists and shove his crotch on mine while vaguely swaying to the beat. I had to escape to the bathroom every few minutes. Finally the security just banned him from the events altogether. I can still see his face clearly in my mind.

- One night, I walked into the bathroom to find a perfect, untouched pizza laying on the floor…but not in a box. Someone literally just took it out of the box and laid it down. I’m still fuming.

- One time I was in the mostly empty library when I smelled something. I walked down the rows of shelves before rounding the corner, and found the President of the college hidden there, sitting on the floor, smoking, a bottle of vodka in his hands. We held eye contact for a solid minute. He slowly shook his head at me. I said “Sir, your house is like…literally across the street.” He shook his head more vigorously. I left the library.

- One night, I heard screaming. I looked out the window to find a girl in a giraffe costume scaling my building. People were throwing water bottles at her. I was concerned. I didn’t know who to talk to for answers.

- I was in line trying to pay for dinner. One of the lunch ladies climbed on top of the ice cream machine and refused to come down. Her friend came over and they started recreating the balcony scene from Romeo and Juliet. Very few people acknowledged it.

- Someone jacked up the soda dispenser so it was only dispensing beer. None of the staff cared enough to fix it.

- I caught my RA in the middle of a drug deal so she gave me a coupon for free ice cream

- Also side note: The soft served ice cream machine on campus was actually a frozen yogurt machine. I had no problem with that, but like, advertise correctly, you know? Nobody else seemed to understand my confusion. Nobody else seemed to understand that froyo and ice cream are two different things. What the hell.

- There were just…so many moths all over the campus. A terrifying amount. When it started getting colder I was like, finally, I won’t be attacked by moths anymore! Only for even more moths to appear. I asked a local about it. “Oh, those are the winter moths!” What the fuck are winter moths? What the fuck, Massachusetts? My friend back home grew convinced that Mothman was in the area. I was inclined to believe her. Sometimes I close my eyes and all I can see are moths everywhere, waiting for the moment to strike.

-  I’ve encountered deer many times in my life. I know how they act around people. But the deer on this campus were just weird. They’d run out at people all the time. One almost shoved me into traffic.

- My roommate gave my phone number out to literally anyone she found who mentioned they liked to read or liked Doctor Who. She was concerned I had no friends. No one ever called.

- I met a small Greek girl in my Fine Arts class. Our first day of talking, she made me climb a mountain with her so she could get to tutoring, even though I had no reason to be in that building. Her roommates kept mysteriously disappearing. She was late to everything. She’d call me randomly to get food at 1 in the morning. She kept somehow breaking phones and tvs and other electronics. When I asked her how they kept breaking, she waved it off with “Oh, I have OCD. You wouldn’t understand”. I have OCD, and I still don’t understand. One time she invited me out with her friends from high school. I waited outside her building for two hours, while the other friends waited in the parking lot for two hours, because we didn’t know how to find each other. She eventually came outside at 10:30 pm. We went to Friendly’s. She made us stop at her house so she could grab something. We pulled up a long, winding driveway and stopped in a parking lot. At the end of the parking lot were stone stairs that lead up to a mansion on a hill. She ran inside and the rest of us stayed in the car, listening to High School Musical and talking about Supernatural. When she came out 40 minutes later we decided to try and prank her. It went wrong. We almost ran over her friend’s sister with the car. They invited me to a pumpkin patch. When I started complaining about my roommate, she asked me to move in with her. I thought about the other three girls who had seemingly gone missing. I politely declined. Six months after I left the school, I received a text from her asking for notes for an exam, and radio silence after that. I can’t find her on facebook. I fear she might have gone missing too.

- One night, as I was standing outside huddled in the cold, a boy came up and offered me a cigarette to help me stay warm. I turned it down, but he stood around talking to me for a few minutes afterwards. I felt absolutely no awkwardness at all. He was a musician from Colorado. He sang a bit of one of his songs. He was dropping out of school to go to California the next week. He told me I had beautiful eyes, but his were the most alive eyes I’ve ever seen so I couldn’t believe the compliment. We talked for about ten minutes and I fell a little bit in love. He had to rush off to a club meeting, but he told me he’d rather keep talking. He gave me the sweetest smile before he left. I didn’t get his last name or number and I never saw him again.

- There was a dance on Halloween. I couldn’t think of a sufficiently slutty yet classy costume, so I just went as Osgood from Doctor Who. When I got there there was a huge crowd, but people quickly grew bored and started leaving. There ended up being six people left (myself included). We stayed because we could see the upset faces of everyone who had planned the event, but actually had one of the most fun nights of my life. We- myself, the girl from across the hall, Trench Coat Boy, his tiny friend who never spoke, and a boy and girl I didn’t know who seemed to be professional dancers- danced nonstop for almost three hours. The strobe lights and poppy music solidified an unspoken bond. I had never and to this day haven’t felt as free as I did that night. The tiny quiet boy’s smile could have lit up a city. It’s etched into my mind. We all left the dance talking about the surreal feeling in the air, as if something had shifted. None of us ever mentioned the dance again. It’s still one of my fondest memories.

- For a solid month, there was someone in a gorilla costume running around campus.

- There was a rash of sexual assaults on campus. A gang of boys kept jumping girls in the woods. The only thing the school board did was give out free rape whistles at lunch one day. I missed that day, making me one of the only students on campus without a whistle. Later that night when I ordered pizza, the delivery guy tried to start up a conversation with me about all the assaults. He blamed the girls. I took back my tip.

- Sometimes the showers just…filled up with black sludge. No one knew why.

- The girls in the room next to me were very bizarre. They always shot me odd looks and whispered to each other constantly. I couldn’t figure out if they were sleeping together or not. They never washed their hands when we were in the bathroom.

- The doors to each dorm were thick and heavy and required effort to push them open. My roommate and I made sure to lock ours every night, and would triple check it. It swung open by itself almost every night. The channels on the tv would change with the remote equidistance away from us. Sometimes I heard humming in the showers when I was the only one in there.

- My roommate…deserves a whole separate post dedicated to her, honestly.

- She would call her mother and have her do her homework for her. She blasted music constantly, and it was either country or hard rap, nothing in between. She sexiled me constantly. I once walked in on anal. She’d meet guys on Tinder, fall in love with them after a couple of days, and then bring them into the school and into our room like it was no big deal. One of them made it clear he was a budding serial killer. She was in a new drama every week. One time someone called her a dilf on Yik Yak. She was firmly convinced her cousin was blonde because her aunt dyed her hair when she was pregnant. She tried her hardest to get me laid by a football player. She was the loudest drunk I’ve ever encountered. Honestly there’s just too much about her for this omfg

- John Zaffis, the famous paranormal researcher, came to the school on my birthday. I went because I’m a loser who’s been watching shows with him since I was a kid, and I was having a bad day so I decided it could be a treat. I sat in the front row. He held an uncomfortable amount of eye contact with me the entire presentation. He was impressed with my questions. He lamented about the fact he’s always cut out of movies or replaced by priests that look like him. He apparently came to the school every year around Halloween to do a ghost tour around the campus for the students. A girl allegedly killed herself in my floor’s bathroom. He apparently always got a lot of activity around the campus. Everyone in the freshman class started wondering if the rumors about the Native American burial ground were true.

- One time in “writing” class the teacher gave us a number and then whatever song came up as that when we put our music on shuffle we had to play for the class. I ended up with “Touch Me” from Spring Awakening. Midway through the song, the teacher from another class came to complain that they could hear everything. My teacher tried to defend that all music has an important message. “Molly, dear, tell her the message in this song!” I looked around the room and at the other teacher. “It’s about sex,” I said quietly. She stormed out of the room while the class started laughing.

- There was this girl that just had the natural ability to make anything boring. I feel bad saying that, because she’s such a sweet girl, and she’s smart, and she’s gorgeous, and she’s talented, but just…every time she says anything, it’s boring. I’m still friends with her on facebook, the talent transcends to writing as well. You could be having a fun, lively conversation and she could say something completely relevant to the point and yet it would still just be boring. It’s a baffling talent, I still don’t understand how she does it.

- There was a boy who’d come into my room. He lusted over my s’mores poptarts. He kept trying to hit the high notes in Broadway songs. He didn’t understand my sense of humor at all, so we both were constantly worried we were offending each other. He cried about Selena Gomez a lot.

- The dining hall only offered horrendous food. I had pasta almost every night because it was the only thing remotely edible. If you wanted good food, you had to go to Late Night, which was between like 10:30 and 1 I think??? They set it up specifically for stoners and people leaving parties. I was frequently the only sober person there. Except for the moths.

- The chief at the pasta place found out I like theater and got like…weirdly passionate about it. He kept telling me about different theater groups in the area and wanted to know if I was in the school musical. He asked me every time I went up for food.

- There was a disproportionate amount of large black birds to trees. It wasn’t hard to figure out why we so rarely saw smaller animals

- When I told my advisor I was thinking about leaving (mostly for financial reasons but also the fake classes were preventing me from getting an education I wanted, you know?), this little old man looked around his office as if checking for people listening in, then put his hand on top of mine, leaned in close, and whispered “Oh, you sweet little girl. Run as fast as you can.”

There’s definitely more but listen. This school was weird and fake and vaguely surreal and off-kilter. I am fully afraid that one day, years from now, I’m going to be driving through the back roads and pass the place where the campus should be, only I won’t find anything there at all, and won’t be able to find any trace of it ever existing. I won’t be able to find any record of it. I won’t be able to find a record of any of the people. Every time I think about this place I just get a weird feeling, like I somehow managed to escape the Twilight Zone but left a part of me behind in the process. Be careful when applying to college, kids.

[korracrat]

Story under the cut, I am pissed. If you are on mobile, apologies. There’s talk of a lot of breakdowns and possible triggering content.

So, y’all remember when my head got between a 135 lb German sherpard puppo and a fence? You know the one that resulted in me having a concussion? Yeah I’m still dealing with shit from that time.

As you know, or might not, I am an arts major. That means that most of my finals that deal with my major are actually months long projects unless I take a course out of my discipline. I took a criminal justice course through the IU system, meaning I was taking it at another IU campus while still being on my home campus. I got put in my hometown campus class and I had a feeling it would bite me in the butt cause I moved 4 hours away to another IU campus to avoid going there. 

Basically the teacher, if I can even call her that didnt know what the fuck she was doing. She gave us shitty assignments, assignments for a 100 level course and decided to grade them at a masters level becasue “tahts what she was going through so shed hold us to the same expectation” Basically an essay that shouldve gotten me at least a 50% at the 100 level got me a 20%. When I asked for clarification as to how to fix it she called me where 25 minutes of it was her bitching about how it was her first time teaching and ASKED ME FOR TIPS ON HOW TO TEACH BETTER and about 5 minutes on how to fix my paper. Becasue I was still having issues, I worked with my academic counselor to ask for a better rubric written out and break down of what i need to do. What did I get? I GOT A FUCKING TWO SENTENCE PARAGRAPH ON A TEN PAGE PAPER IN THAT WAS WRITTEN IN 11 POINT TIMES NEW ROMAN FONT WITH ONE INCH MARGINS(basically gave you that to understand how unacceptable it was what she sent me). Also did I mention it took her two weeks to send that to me? Originally I had a month to do the original assignment and a month to redo it, but GUESS WHAT HAPPENED? THEDOG THOUGHT I WAS A GIANT PUNCHING BAG AND GAVE ME A CONCUSSION. I was not able to do that assignment because the concussion hapepened two weeks before it was ue and I dont know if youve had a concussion before but it often lasts for a couple of weeks till a month . I informed her that i needed to an emergency drop of her class. SHE SAW THE EMAIL AND LEFT IT INTHEIR UNTIL IT WAS TOO LATE TO SUBMIT IT THUS RESULTING IN ME FAILING THE COURSE. I KNOW SHE SAW IT BECAUSE SHE WAS SENDING EMAILS AND MENTIONED IT TO ME WHEN SHE FINALLY FORWARDED IT ON.

Fst forward c ouple of weeks, my computer is broken thanks to a windows update that fucked my software up so bad it crashed the hardware. I have since put ina grade grievance and basically just giving people who dont like to work something to work on. I get an email from an adimistrator from the teachers campus saying THAT I HAD TO TURN IN THE PAPER IN TWO WEEKS despite the fact I didnt have working compute,which he did not believe, despite the fact that in the original email that he said the teacher and i could work it out and in the meantime I have had several breakdowns this week not only over this issue but the fact that I do not have a working computer, that I am using my computer rom high school that takes 2 hours to load a 15 minute video for my actual summer course and i am currently renting out my boyfriends moms computer to do some assignments and thats how im posting this, and mostly it is from this goddamn administrator whos like look youre gonna do it here and now even though i said i would give you options I dont care right now because i literally do not want to do the work it takes to properly clear this out. My boyfriend is very close to putting me in the hospital because it has gotten so out of hand, which is why you guys have seen me posting more about him. Now I have a paper that’s due on june 6th that i cant do, that honestly this all could have been solved if she had given me that option to turn it in later, likemy other classes did (i have one due at august 1) but no i had to get admin involved and now they are trying everything they can not to do their job. Heres the admins reply:

Ms. Printup(now my iu campus respects peoples gender preferences but again the iu campus that this one is from is a community that celebrates the kkk and several other nhomophobic groups so of course they would use this)

Prof.  forwarded me your recent correspondence regarding your make-up assignments and grade. Concentrate on the final project. Prof.will weigh that assignment more heavily when calculating the final grade. It is inappropriate to “participate” in Discussions after they have closed.(Funny not all of the assignements that I missed due to my concussion were quizes and iother smaller sassignments but no i cant make them up because theyre disussions) Also, you must submit your final project by June 6, as indicated by Prof. (this is very misleading because he said we could work it out, she said we could work it out but then i mention i need to work it out due to extenuating circumstances it becomes nonnegotiable despite earlier communications). That is more than enough time. As far as your “computer issues” go, you can surely access a reliable computer within that timeframe. We look forward to the resolution of this matter and your successful completion of the course. Take care and good luck.

And this is my response that dont worry i didnt send it to him, I sent it to my academic counselor who is fucking amazing and has saved me from several breakdowns over this class and at this point is kind of used to my rants and is a very good mediator (also I sent her several but this is the major general one combined with some):

(1)

Again, as I've stated in things forwarded to you, this is not an option for me in this time frame. Not only A) do I have work B) don't have a working computer and C) have another class going on with more assignments that trumps this. I garnered no response with her when I tried to explain that my computer is literally in the shop and I have had to send it back it twice. I'm working on borrowed computers that I only have for 2 hours a day. This is basically just not possible for me in this time frame without me having a mental breakdown. I have almost been hospitalized three more times since my head injury thanks to pressures like these and the complete lack of understanding I have. They are not trying to work with me but bully and I've about had it.

(2)

You cannot hand someone a major assignment that normally took a month for others to complete on a shorter time crunch and expect them to turn it in. I will literally have a breakdown and need to be hospitalized, my relatives and roommates have threatened it multiple times this week because of this issue and sheer bullying the administration is doing here and will being seeking damages if they continue to push this, you know how many times I have had a breakdown over this stupid class and how they are relentless here. I have explained as nicely as I can that what they have suggested does not work, as the original comment and suggestion was WORDED as a suggestion for something Ellen and I to work out, which did not happen. The time frame does not work for me, WHICH IT SAID IN THE ORIGINAL THAT THEY COULD WORK AROUND. I am literally sitting here having a breakdown over this shit that I cannot control while my future weighs in on it ALL BECAUSE SOMEONE DOES NOT WANT TO DO THEIR JOB AND FIX IT (not you of course, but the people who just shrugged it off and are sending me down the line). I still do not have the necessary items to fix it, such as that rubric I never received from Ellen. How can I redo an assignment from just a two sentence email on a project that is over 10 pages? Also some of the assignments I had were take home quizzes, something that can be redone and does include group discussion, but apparently someone doesn't want to do her job oh well if only she was paid to do so and that payment wasn;t coming out of my tuition! And for those computer "issues" would the "worker" like a copy of my receipts from Geek Squad that literally show that I do not have a computer to work on right now? I know there are library computers but would that "worker" also like the schedule I have at the library that shows me working a majority of the library hours? No this does not work. I see it as a desperate attempt from administration trying to hide the fact that they do not have competent workers and are taking it out on the student. They can shove it right back up their asses cause they are not getting that assignment in under two weeks. Sorry you had to hear that but I felt it had to be said,A very pissed off Printup

(3) 

Like I honestly would love to work this out, but given the circumstances I don't think that is an option. I'm not trying to make up all these excuses I would love for this to disappear as much as you but goddamn it. Just I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Like I want to do the assignment, but given that I still don't have the rubric and it's on this time crunch, it's not possible. It's not. I don't care if this makes me ineligible to take it to our counsel, but it's a reality of the situation. I have other commitments (like my current course that I have a 91% in) that come before this, just because it is summer does not mean I can bend over backwards for them. I'm sorry that you have to hear my frustrations like this but it's the truth. 

So if you don’t hear from me for a while and just see my queue and not my work queue there is a very good chance I have been hospitalized for my breakdowns and I wanted yall to know why. I’ve started self harming again over this shit and Im just done and reached my limit and its not cool. I havent self hared since aroudn seniro year of high school and im entering my junior year of college

[deafwestnewsies]

Camp Larkin

chp 3 - blink looooves mush

cross-posted to my ao3! 

The main group was focused around the firepit placed in the middle of the square, where a group of boys were each holding a hand of cards. A girl stood outside the group talking to a boy with an eyepatch, rolling her eyes and popping her gum. Every once and while, a large “Oh!” would erupt from the group and it would go back to slightly tense silence. Sarah zeroed in on the girl, walking toward her. Davey dragged his foot slightly before hesitantly following her.

“Hi!” Sarah smiled brightly. “I was wondering if you knew when orientation is going to start?” The girl looked her up and down for a second, before splitting into a warm grin.

“We’ll probably start in about fifteen minutes, we’re still waiting on a couple people,” She looked around at the group of boys, tallying them up in her head. “Two of them, actually.” She peered behind Sarah, and shot Davey a quick smile. “I don’t think I caught your guy’s name?”

Sarah flipped her hair behind her shoulder, and Davey suddenly realized what was happening. He sighed and let his shoulders sag as Sarah said her name and what she would be working as all summer. Of course Sarah had taken a liking to the one other girl at camp who seemed smart, powerful, and everything else Sarah was.

“David?” Sarah asked, nudging his arm and pulling him out of his thoughts.

He shook his head and cleared his throat. “David,” he stuck out his hand. “I’m the newspaper staff and creative writing counselor.” The girl widened her eyes for a second and smiled slowly.

“Kath.” She said, taking his hand and shaking it with the rigor he expected from a girl like her. “Though you should call me Ace in front of the kids. I’m the theatre counselor.” Davey smiled awkwardly.

“Why did you look at me like that when I said I’ll be running the newspaper?” He spat out. Sarah scoffed, elbowing him for being rude.

Kath laughed, trying to seem casual as she touched Sarah’s arm. “It’s nothing bad! It’s just that… the newspaper kids are a small and elite group. Not many campers want to spend their days inside, using our old printing press.”

This caught Davey’s attention. “A printing press? Like, a real one?” Kath nodded her head, and Davey fell back into the daydream he was in before. A real printing press. Davey had been interested in journalism and writing ever since he could remember. There was home film following Davey toddling around the house with a learning pencil and a piece of paper clenched in his fists, blathering on about things only he understood. In the third grade, he had won a creative writing contest that spurred him on to begin his first great novel, which was abandoned for the Harry Potter books four days later. Ten years later, Davey had finished high school with an A in his AP Literature class and an acceptance letter to Columbia University, where he would be surrounded by people just like him. He had never had the opportunity to try a printing press, and he was already fascinated. When he came out of the trance, Kath had pulled Sarah away and they were talking over by the coffee shop.

He sighed, knowing his only option was to go talk to the group of boys playing cards. Davey slowly started to make his way over to them, but the loud blowing of a whistle saved him. His head snapped up to focus on two boys, dressed in matching t-shirts and khaki pants.

“Alright, dipweeds. Head over to the Dove House, where we’re gonna start orientation. Five minutes.” Davey raised his eyebrows at the rude announcement, but looked at the map pasted on the side of the coffee shop. He started walking in the direction it pointed them in, before another voice broke through the quiet chatter.

“Who let the rats be in charge this year?” A boy called out, and chuckles were let out by the other boys. Medda came out of the building next to the coffee shop, and raised her hand, quieting the laughter.

“While I’d appreciate you not calling Oscar and Morris rats, Mr. DeJesus, I’d also love to refrain from calling your fellow counselors ‘dipweeds,’ Mr. Delancy.” She shot the boy who had made the rat comment a look, where he ducked his head in embarrassment. “Now, please head up to the Dove House! We’re still waiting on,” She scanned the crowd and frowned. “Jack and Anthony, but they know everything anyways.” As Davey walked with the crowd of people, he heard bits of conversation.

“They’re always late.”

“Dude, Jack graduated yesterday. He was probably packing when Tony pulled up.”

“Jack graduated? What a feat!”

“The bigger question begs, how did Nico finish high school still single?”

After that comment, someone got pushed over by the boy who had made the ‘rat’ comment. There was some slight roughhousing, but he finally realized they were in front of what could only be described as a cabin meant to hold five hundred people. They all crowded into a small lobby with a foldable table and began to look at the multitude of papers before heading into the main area. Davey was one of the last ones to see everything, alongside the boy with the eyepatch. He looked at up at Davey and smiled quickly before turning back. Davey nodded slightly, but began reading the first clipboard. ‘Cabin Assignments. Cabin A: All boys. Cabin B: All girls.’

He cocked his head slightly, confused. “Did… Did I read this right?” The boy glanced at the form, and chuckled.

“Yep. The boy’s cabin holds almost all of the recreational staff, because it’s huge. Used to be the original meeting hall, then this one is built. The girl’s cabin is normal, but it was built in a weird and secluded area, so it can’t be used for campers.” The kid nodded and looked at Davey again, realizing that he didn’t know him. “Who’re you?”

Davey awkwardly held out his hand, and the kid took it. “David. Jacobs.”

“I’m Blink. Well, my actual name is Andy, but I’m trying to break back into my camp nickname.” Davey widened his eyes incredulously, and Blink laughed again. “And no, it’s not because of my eyepatch. The only one like that is Crutchie. And we’re pretty sure he gave it to himself.”

Davey nodded, clearing his throat. He stood awkwardly for a moment until Blink laughed for the third time, making Davey incredibly self-conscious. “You don’t get around much, do you?”

Rolling his eyes, Davey scoffed. “How can you say-” He stopped once he saw Blink giving him a pointed look, and let his shoulders sag. “Is it that obvious?”

Blink smiled and nodded, clapping Davey on the shoulder. “We’re going to make you some friends, David.”

“Well, I’ve already met some people-” Blink stopped and raised an eyebrow.

“Who?”

“Um… Crutchie, and Kath- Ace, Medda… Mush,” Davey tried to rack his brains for other names before Blink cut him off.  Again.

“Mush?” He asked, brightening a small bit. “I love him!”

Davey laughed slightly but stopped once Blink kept smiling. “Oh. You like, really-?”

The smile suddenly vanished from his face, replaced with a very serious look. “He’s my boyfriend. Got a problem with that?”

Davey started to sputter, taken aback. “W-What? No! I don’t- I wouldn’t- My sister and so many of my friends are- Homophobes are gross!” Blink visibly relaxed, shoulders sagging.

“Good. Because the rats are homophobic, and that about as much hate as we can handle here. We’re all pretty much on the spectrum here.” Blink said casually, turning back to the papers.

“I assumed so,” Davey answered, “When the website said this camp was LGBTQA+ friendly. Which seemed like a strange thing to put on a camp website.”

Blink nodded, not looking up. “Yeah. It’s cause a lot of the kids that come here are kids that Medda helps during the school year, and they get a lot of shit at home.”

“Oh.” Davey spoke quietly. They sat in silence for a second until the cabin door slammed open and two boys walked in.

Davey was pretty sure that his jaw literally dropped when he looked up and laid eyes on the boy with the muscle tee and khaki pants. This boy had a jawline that could cut him into pieces, the most beautiful golden-brown eyes Davey had ever seen, and arms that seemed to have more muscle than what was in his entire body. Overall, this boy could probably get Davey into bed. Which was a major twist in Davey’s summer plans.

i’m calling every1 a dipweed from now on

[crazygingerwitch]

The Curse of Magic Pt.1

Rating:PG-13 Language, Abuse, Inappropriate Relationships, Mentions of Death, Goriness

Word Count: 2,733

Pairings: None, just good old family bonding time.

Hello everyone! This is my first fic ever, so I hope you all enjoy it. This is supernatural themed, but there will be no pairings. It is set in season 11 between episodes 7 and 8. There should be at least three other parts to this. Feel free to like, comment, and re-blog everywhere!

-----------------------------------Third Person POV------------------------------------------

Boring.

That was the one word that could be used to describe the bunker lately. Ever since the case with Sheriff Donna, there had been absolutely nothing to do. All the cases Sam had found had been a few days away, and some other hunter was always closer than them, which of course meant more people saved, but it did not help with the cabin fever of Team Free Will. And there was still no headway on the Darkness, except for Sam’s ever increasing dreams. They had been like this for a week, until Sam came bounding into the kitchen.

“Hey Dean, so get this. In Sturgis, South Dakota there has been a few grizzly homicides, no broken entries, no suspects, and they are all young single men in their early twenties. Sounds like a case to me. Maybe a vengeful spirit, witch, or demon. What do you think?”

“I don’t care.” said Dean, with a  mouth full of bacon “It sounds like a case so I’m gonna take it.”

Sam shook his head, an amused grin on his face, “When should we head out?”

Dean jumped up, “Right effing now.”, he said, striding out of the room. Sam counted to five in his head before Dean came bounding back in “Almost forgot my bacon.” Dean shoved the rest in his mouth and grumbled out “Now we can go.”

The boys rolled into town around mid-afternoon, Dean’s eagerness for a case getting them there in a record eight hours. They walk into the Sheriff's office with their FBI suits. It takes a little extra persuading to let them look at the case files and bodies, but they get around to it. Each of the young men had their chests ripped open, and their hearts literally torn in half while it was still pumping.

“You mean that these kids were still alive when this happened?” Dean inquired.

The coroner nodded in agreement. “Whoever did this, really wanted them to hurt before dying. We found a lot less blood than normal outside of the actual bodies, implying that the killer kept the wounds closed up enough for them to keep living and hurting. These boys were awful, but no one deserves that much pain.”

“Awful?” Sam asked, “From what the police have told us, these boys have no known enemies.”

The coroner sighed, his shoulders showing the weight he carried. “Listen, this breaches my code of confidentiality, but with these guys dead, I think the rules need to be bent. With a town this size, it’s rather obvious that coroner is not my full time job. I also double as the high school counselor. I have had at least six girls this quarter come in and confide in me about their ‘secret relationships’. They would tell me about how they were in love with this older boy that their parents wouldn’t approve of, but in their words, these boys were sweet and made them feel special. As far as I could tell these boys weren’t hurting them, and they weren’t having sex, so nothing illegal was happening.”

Sam narrowed his eyes, “You said that they weren’t having sex or hurting them. Did that change?”

The coroner slumped in a nearby chair defeated. “These girls wouldn’t tell me anything. Eventually, they would come in with tears in their eyes, saying that these men broke their hearts. A few of these girls even said that they had given everything to them. When I asked them to elaborate, they would clam up and say some cheesy crap about how they had given their heart completely. A few of them spiraled down a dark path. One of them hung herself three weeks ago. Seeing her on my table was the worst thing I had to do in this job. Now, I’m not saying that these girls did this crime, nor that these boys deserved it, but I am looking forward to the day when the other two boys are put behind bars, or at the least,” he concluded, with a glare to the medical table, “on my table.”

Sam nodded, “I understand that these boys deserve some level of pain, but personally, I would rather have the suffer for years in jail, than for a few hours by a psychopath. I understand if you can’t give us the names of these girls, but if you could tell us who these other boys are, we could connect the dots, and stop anyone from ending up on your table again.”

The coroner rubbed, his eyes, and nodded reluctantly “I’ll give you all of their names so you can stop this as soon as possible. Just give me a moment.”

Fifteen minutes later, the brothers walked out of the coroner’s office with a full page of names. “Sammy, this case is literally in the bottom ten for  most depressing. Although I have to wonder, why did you want that list? Isn’t it kind of obvious that the suicide girl is the one causing all of this? Her death works with the time frame.”

Sam rubbed his forehead, “I know. But if it isn’t her, then we at least have a list now so we can work ahead of the curve. What’s our next step? Do you think we should head up to the high school, interview some of the students?”

Before Dean could reply, someone tapped him on the shoulder. He whirled around and came chest-to-face with a 20-something year old woman, with big, curly red hair and eyes that were so blue they looked almost purple. She was dressed in a button down flannel, a smart grey jacket, and black skinny jeans. Her ears, neck and wrists were adorned with different kinds of charms. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I heard you were heading up to the high school, and my car broke down. I need to be there in the next fifteen minutes, or my sister will be kicked out of volleyball.”

Dean looked at her like she was crazy. “Do we know you?”

The lady shook her head. “No, but I heard there was FBI in town, and you guys look it. Besides, I know plenty of self defense, so I can handle myself. So please may I have a ride?”

Dean and Sam looked at each other, communicating through facial expressions before Dean turned back to her, and agreed. “Thanks!” She cried. Dean gestured toward the backseat, and she hopped in.

While the Impala roared down the roads, they had some idle chit chat. The boys figured they might as well get some info about what was going on at that high school.

“So I suppose you boys are in town about the heart breaker?” After the blank looks, the young woman said “The serial killer? The one who tore those boys’ hearts in half?”

“How did you hear about that?” Sam inquired. “From what we understand, the police are trying to keep the investigation as private as possible.”

She rolled her eyes, “Three gory murders in a town like this? Word gets around pretty fast Agent Smith.”

Dean glanced at her “When did we tell you our names again?”

“When I first got in the car amnesia man. And I take it you forgot my name as well?”

“Maybe.” Dean mumbled.

“Well it’s Minerva Heflin. But you can call me Minnie. Everybody does. How in the world did you forget my name so quickly?”

“Forgive my partner, MInnie,” Sam interrupted, “He’s a dunderhead. I was wondering, with your sister in the high school, could you tell us a bit more about the recent suicide. We think that someone is out looking for someone to blame, and is taking it out on these young men.”

Minnie shrugged, “My sister is seventeen years old. She doesn’t tell me much of anything. But you can ask her in a few seconds.”

“A few seconds? We’re at least a few min.......” Dean trailed off. There on their left was the high school. “Wow. I must have been going faster than I thought.”

Minnie hopped out of the car. “Just a minute gentleman. I’ll get my sister, and if she agrees, you can question her while you give us a ride back to my home.” She walked off in search of her sister.

Sam looked at Dean, “Think it’s worth it? Or is this just some dead end?”

Dean shrugged, “We can maybe learn something, and besides, might as well help these damsels in distress. Here they come now.”

It wasn’t hard to spot Minnie, with her fireball of hair. Next to her was a petite, tan brunette, about half an inch shorter than Minnie. They looked nothing alike at first glance, but taking a closer look, you could see the same facial structure, the shared crooked smiles and tiny dimples. And just like Sam and Dean, they had an undeniable bond between them that everyone could see.

“Hello Agents. This is my sister, Diane. She agreed to ask some questions as long as you don’t tell anyone else in town.”

“Hello.” the younger girl said, quiet where her sister was loud.

“Hop in the back ladies, and we’ll take you home.” Dean said, gesturing to the backseat.

Once Minnie gave some initial instructions, Sam started the questions. “So Diane, could you tell us a little bit about Taylor, the girl who hung herself?”

Diane thought, “We share an AP Lit class, and a lunch period, but we barely talked. She was a cheerleader, and she had some friends, but the few weeks before she died, everyone could tell she was changing. She started to sit alone, our teacher had to take her outside of class for mouthing off, and she quit the squad.”, she sighed obviously saddened, “A few days before she died, I walked on on her cutting herself and crying in the bathroom. She begged me not to tell anyone, and I agreed. She said that she was getting better and that she was talking to people about it. I guess I was wrong. When I heard the news, I wished there was something I could’ve done, but I don’t have any magic powers to make everything better. I’m just glad that those stupid jerks are getting what they deserve.” Venom began to fill the young girl’s voice.

“Those boys are bastard heart-breakers, and I think they have earned every punishment they have received. I just hope the other two suffer just as much.”

“Diane!” snapped Minerva, “You take that back right now.”

“No!” cried Diane, “Those boys hurt at least half of the senior girls, and I know for a fact that Taylor wasn’t the only one to start cutting because of their cruelty. I’m just glad justice is finally being served.”

Sam cleared his throat, “You do realize that you’re not helping yourself here? I don’t think you committed these murders, but other people will think differently. So please, can you tell us if anyone at the school would have acted on Taylor’s suicide? It would really help the investigation.”

Diane huffed, “Fine. I don’t think any of the people at school would have done anything like this, but I know that everyone single one of the girls at school are happy that this is happening. They deserve it after what they did to me!”

Diane stopped short as if realizing what she just said. “I don’t mean me, I mean, uh,..Well look at that we’re home. Have a nice day agents!” With that, she ran out of the car and into the run down apartment building.

Minerva was still in the car shell-shocked. “My sister...she was hurt by those bastards?” She started to shake, and hurriedly unbuckled, “I’m sorry gentlemen, but if you wish to speak with us again, you’ll need a warrant. Good luck with your investigation.” She left quickly, her hair bouncing as she ran after her distressed sister.

After much deliberation, the brothers decided to salt and burn Taylor’s body. If the information from Diane was correct, nobody from the school would actually have the guts to do these grizzly murders. The next day, they learned that they had gotten muddy for nothing. One of the last two boys had gotten the same treatment as the others.

“I just don’t know man”, said Dean, “I really don’t think any of the girls would have the guts or means to do this. And if they did, it probably wasn’t a demon or witch, since they don’t think they exist.”

Sam rubbed his eyes, “I know that these guys are jerks, but the police aren’t going to catch the killer, even if they are human. I think our best bet is to check out this Diane person. She wasn’t on the coroner’s list, and she said that at least half the girls in the senior class were hurt by these boys. I think we should check her apartment for any demon or witch activity, and see if we can’t find out more about these girls.”

And so they did. That night, the brothers sneaked into the apartment after the lights were out, around 2 AM. It was going pretty well, until Dean walked into the kitchen and stumbled into a kid.

The little girl was looked to be about ten years old, with dirty blonde hair, sky blue eyes, and a chubby face. There were a few seconds of silence before she opened her mouth and screamed louder than a siren.

A loud crash was heard in a couple of places, which was soon accompanied by Minerva and Diane running through one door, and Sam by the other. When their siblings appeared, they both retreated to their respective family.

Minnie stepped in front of the two younger girls protectively, “Listen, I swear we don’t have anything valuable here. Just leave before we call the real police okay?”

“Shut up witch!” cried Sam, “I saw your supplies in the living room, don’t pretend.”

Minnie straightened, obviously startled. “Gosh, I knew you weren’t real FBI, but hunters!”, she shook her head, “This is bad. My warning stays the same, leave before I charge you with breaking and entering.”

“Yeah right”, said Dean. “We’ve dealt with too many witches to leave you alone. Now if you burn all your supplies and turn yourself in, we’ll leave your sisters alone.”

“No!” cried the little blonde. She began to run straight at Dean, fists raised in anger. “Leave my sister alone! She’s a nice witch!”

“Sammy, NO!” Minnie threw her hands forward, sending Sam and Dean crashing against the wall, breaking a few chairs on the way. She grabbed her little sister and handed her to Diane. “Leave my sisters alone! I don’t know what you think I did, but I only use my magic for protection. I swear. Please just leave us alone.”

Tears were streaming down the blonde’s face. “You are mean, mean men. Leave us alone. She’s a nice witch!”

Sam stood up on shaky legs. Something about these girls made him think of his brother, and he knew that Minerva would do anything to protect her sisters. It would be best to act nice for now. “We won’t turn you in okay. I believe you, but that doesn’t mean we trust you.”

“Sam!” snapped Dean, “What the hell? She’s a witch. The less of them on this planet, the better.”

“Shut up Dean.” hissed Sam. “Listen lady, how about we put our weapons down, and you can tell us what’s going on here, okay?”

Minnie slowly lowered her hands. “Fine, but Diane gets one of your guns, and Sammy goes upstairs. Okay?”

Dean looked puzzled “Why in the world would my brother go upstairs?”

Diane rolled her eyes, “Our sister dummkopf. Her name is Samantha, but we call her Sammy.”

Samantha added, “And I don’t like it”

Sam snorted, “That makes two of us kid. And we accept you deal.”

After exchanging guns and dragging the little girl to bed, it was time to get down to business. They all stood there, waiting for the other to do something first, the silence thickening like a dense fog.

Finally Minerva broke the silence, “So, are we gonna get this party started or what? Have a seat boys.” With a wave of her hand, the chairs that broke on the Winchester’s landing repaired themselves. “We have a long night ahead of us.”

Continued in Part 2. Don’t forget to re-blog and like!

P.S. Dummkopf means stupid-head in German.

[happypillfanfic]

CHAPTER 15

Sky:

I literally cannot process the attitude I have flowing through me right now as I sit here being forced to pee on a stick. And, the fact that I hear him pacing just outside the door, yeah, that’s definitely making things worse so I decided to take my sweet time and let him sweat it out. I mean, come on, I don’t need this stupid stick telling me something I already know. After wasting about ten minutes, I flung open the door and stormed past him leaving the results on the sink for hm to see himself.

“Oh, and I’m ready to go home now, thanks.” I sassed

“Baby.” He sighed walking after me “My bad, alright? You just been acting kind of weird and after a few drinks, Rodney had me thinking a little crazy.” He admitted rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

“So why not just ask?” I snapped “Jesse I would tell you if I thought we were having a scare. And, as for acting weird, I’m pretty sure I tried explaining to you earlier that my birthday was coming up and it puts me in a not so good head space. Oh, also... if we’re talking about possible babies, why aren’t we knocking down kendra’s door to make her take a test?” I griped putting my hand on my hip

It wasn’t really my intentions to throw that in his face but I was so hot about this situation I just blabbed whatever I thought would piss him off in the moment, and I could definitely see that I had struck a nerve... but, come on, it literally was just a few months ago that she brought her possible pregnancy to him and I haven’t heard a word about it since.

“Alright,” he nodded narrowing his eyes at me “You really foul as fuck for that one.” He muttered “Seriously?”

I rolled my eyes at the back of his head and followed him outside to the car. Well shit, if he wanted to have an attitude, then I was damn sure gonna have one too, so you already know I made damn sure to slam the door hard as I slid back into the car.

“Watch my shit.” He hollered

“Fuck your shit, and fuck you too. Take me home!”

He sucked his teeth and let his head fall back against the head rest. I could see the defeated look on his face, but it wasn’t fazing me. I might be foul for what I said, but he was just as foul for forcing me to take that test without even saying a word about it to me first. Two can definitely play that game.

“Baby.” He spoke up softly “I’m sorry. I really don’t wanna fuss with you.”

“Jesse, just take me home.”

“Na. For real, you not going no place until we straighten this shit out. I care about you way to much for all that.”

“Who are we kidding? I’m too fucked up in the head to try and be in some relationship. I seriously just can deal with all of this right now. You’re better off without me- you and I both know that... and you know what, I’ll just walk home.”

“Hell na. Get your ass back in thus car.” He demanded as I attempted to walk off

I didn’t get but about ten steps before he was on my heels. I hadn’t realized that I was crying until tears had fogged up my eyes. He kept trying to wrap his arms around me to offer some comfort but I just kept pushing him away until I could bare it anymore and we both fell into the grass beneath us as I now sobbed.

“I told you, I told you! I’m too broken... just let me go.’

“I can’t do that Sky.” He said calmly “I’m not leaving you, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Well if you won’t, then I guess I will.” I said finally cathcning my breath “I need to fix myself first. I can’t do this with you anymore.”

“Sky, please don’t do this. Over one little argument? Really? I said I was sorry.”

“It’s so much more that that. Mentally, right now, I can’t handle being in a relationship. As much as I care about you, this is just something that I have to do.”

“Sky...”

“Please take me home now.”

Without saying another word, he stood to his feet and helped me up. He held my hand tightly as he walked me back to the car and dimly smiled at me as he closed the door. I seriously wanted to scream the entire way back to my house, that’s just how horrendously quiet and awkward the space in the car was between the two of us. I was hurting so bad I had to force myself to focus my gaze out the window. I was afraid that if I looked at him I would cave in go back on everything.

“This... this isn’t for good right, Sky?” He asked as we pulled up in front of the house.

“Goodbye Jess.”

I slipped out of the car quickly and rushed inside. Once I was finally behind the closed door, I knew I was safe to break down freely once again. I felt so hurt, and so wrong to sit there with tears running down my face, but I know deep in my heart that I am doing the right thing.

“Honey, what’s the matter, are you alright?”

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you- I’m fine. I promise.”

“Doesn’t look like it. Come here.”

She hugged me briefly before walking me into the living room and sitting us on the couch. I could see in her face that she wanted to pry but she just stayed quiet and waited for me to make the next move, and I have never appreciated anymore so much. Considering most of my life has been giving statements and therapy sessions, it was... relaxing to know I finally had control over the situation.

“I’m alright, auntie.” I assured her “It’s just been a seriously long night and I was put in a difficult position and I’m pretty sure I broke Jesse’s heart. It’s just that I’m kinda struggling mentally right now and I can feel it affecting out relationship so I let him go...”

“Well I appreciate that you shared this with me, and I can understand that you’re struggling, but with everything you’ve been through, it might be crazy to not be struggling. I know how much you two cared about each other so I’m sure he understands- even if it’s just a little bit. I’m proud of you, honey.”

“Thanks auntie. I’m gonna get some rest. I definitely need it if I’m going to have any chance at passing these tests tomorrow.”

“Come knock on my d or if you need anything, okay?”

“I will auntie. Goodnight.”

I laid in bed with a heavy heart and a heavy mind, but I knew it was going to be alright. If Jesse and I are going to have any chance at being happy together I have to work on myself and get back in the right headspace... but, first things first- finals.

Jesse:

I slept maybe like a total of three hours, and it was safe to say that I had no chance at passing any of these bullshit tests today. They were on the back burner right now, all I cared about was seeing Sky, even if it was for only a brief second but after my first three classes had passed without any sight of her, I was thinking that was out of the question.

“Where’s Sky?” I asked sitting down at the lunch table next to Jae. “I haven’t seen her all day and I know she cares about her grades way too much to just ditch these stupid ass tests.”

“Oh, yeah... she came in early and took all of her tests in the guidance office with her counselor. She’s already done and headed home now. She wasn’t in a very good place so mom called in to make things a little easier for her. She was up all night having these weird episode.”

“Episodes?” I asked raising a brow

“I shouldn’t be the one telling her business like this, but, she came home really upset last night and all throughout the night she kept having these really insane panic attacks. Like, I’m talking fine one second and the next she was bawling until she couldn’t breathe and she couldn’t catch her breath. It was so scary. Mom had to stay in the room with her over night so she wouldn’t hyperventilate. It’s all normal with her bi polar depression, mom said sometimes stress or overwhelming situations can trigger them.”

“It’s all my fucking fault.” I sighed rubbing my hands down my face “It’s all because of me...”

“Not even. With Sky’s condition, she actually needs meds and-“

“Na, Jae... you don’t understand. I made her take these pregnancy tests and-“

“Woah, hold it. Did you say pregnancy tests?” She muttered low interrupting me.

“They were negative...” I sighed shrugging

“Jesse, what the hell?”

“It just... Man, I don’t know. It just happened. She was fussing at me about making her take it one minute, and the next she’s bawling telling me that she’s broken and shit. I didn’t understand it really but she said she needed some space to fucking fix herself or whatever... but she never seemed broken to me... I just miss her already....”

“Jess I’m so so sorry. Well, her birthday is literally tomorrow, why don’t you help me set something up for her. I’m sure she could use a little pick me up, I mean shit, she’s obviously hurting too ya know?”

“Yeah, I feel you.”

“Oh, looks like you have a visitor.” She muttered nodding over to Kendra who was standing just behind me

“Not now.” I barked shaking my head at her. “I can’t deal with you right now.”

“You don’t look too busy to me with your little girlfriend MIA and what not.” She snickered

“Don’t get hit in your mouth today.” Jae warned

“Whatever. I’m just saying, do I need to remind you why you stayed in my line?”

“Just back off. Do I look interested in your used up shit right now?”

“When you miss how I taste you know where I stay.”

Jae went to get up after her as she walked away but I quickly stopped her and sat her back down. I’m done entertaining her ass and Jae was not about to give her the attention she was fishing for, fuck all that.”

“You better handle that.” Jae snapped “Before I do.”

“Get real Jaedyn, you know I don’t want anything to do with her.”

“Wassup wassup.” Rodney said announcing himself as he took a seat next to Jae, greeting her with a kiss “Aight, so, one why I just see your girl ducking out early she ain’t eating with us? And two why was Kendra’s nasty ass over here?” He asked

“First off, fuck that bitch she’s irrelevant and secondly, mind your business.” I muttered “But we’re just taking a break is all.”

“Oh shit. My bad, my bad.”

“It’s good. You guys do your thing. I’m gonna get out of here.”

I slipped out the front doors of the school and hurried over to my car before the security could stop me. As I hopped into my car I heard the passenger side door open and my eyes went wide... I must have looked at this bitch like she had three heads.

“Yo, get the fuck out of here.” I shouted “Why the fuck did you follow me Kendra?”

“What? Don’t act like your’re not interested. After all, I don’t see Sky around so?’

“You are so fucking foul! Leave me alone!”

I knew she wasn’t going to move her ass so I quickly texted Jae and told her to hurry to my car and thankfully she was there in less than a minute.

“What’s going on?” She asked raising a brow while Kendra just laughed

“Yo ge this bitch out of my car!” I hollered

“You can either leave on your own terms, or I can make you leave. You chose, and you better hurry.” Jae warned

“Whatever. You’re just mad that I got to him first... again.” She snickered “Get real. Acting like your panties haven’t been wet for him your entire friendship. Jealous ass bitch.”

Jae flew over to the passenger side door and yanked that bitch out to the ground by her hair. The whole time she was screaming but I let Jae have her moment. Kendra was too bold for her own good, and I mean, Jae did warn her. Once enough was enough I hopped out and pulled Jae off of her and tossed her in the car.

“So.. them panties stay wet for me huh?” I asked chuckling as we pulled out of the school parking lot

“Fuck off, no. I don’t even know what that crazy dumb bitch was talking about.”

“Quit playing me Jae.” I teased

She stayed quiet for the rest of our drive but I could see how red her cheeks were, and I was definitely getting to the bottom of it. As soon as we pulled up in front of my house she yanked the keys from my hand and rushed in.

“Okay, Jae.” I shouted walking in. “I knew it.”

“Knew what?” She questioned plopping down onto the couch “That you’re full of shit? Yeah, I’ll second that one.”

“I don’t want you, drop it” she sassed folding her arms over her chest

“Prove it.” I challenged taking the seat next to her

“Prove it? Prove it?” She laughed “And how would I do that?”

I pulled her into my lap and kissed her lightly. In all honesty, it was completely innocent but it was escalating too fast and before I knew it she was letting out a soft moan against my lips.

“Stop, stop.” She muttered lowly pulling away from me “What the hell was that?”

“Calm down Jaedyn we was just fooling around. It definitely not that deep.”

“But... what about Rodney? My boyfriend, your best friend?”

“Quit buggin. Don’t be mad because Kendra outed your ass.” I teased

“You know what, fuck you. Why would you even believe anything that bitch says?”

“Cause ya’ll used to be close friends.” I shrugged

“For your information, after being dogged out by Kaleb for some south side bitch at a party an hour away I got faded, and yeah I confided in her about your dumb ass.”

“Mhm.”

“Not about that. I told her that if you weren’t such a hoe I could definitely need someone like you in my life, but little did I know already had your dick was already well acquainted with her. I never once claimed to want you. And even though me and Rodney just kinda fell into place, I really care about him and our relationship so that’s why I’m buggin.”

“Ya’ll need to fuck already or something man.”

“That is definitely none of your business... but, we are.”

“False.”

“And how do you figure?”

“Jaedyn, if ya’ll are fuckin something just ain’t right cause my ass definitely just had you moaning after on kiss, so it’s one of two things either he ain’t doing you right, or he ain’t doing you at all.”

“What the fuck ever. It’s just a little awkward between us is all... our first few times didn’t go so well and he’s been a little nervous about it all.”

“Word? What happened?”

“I’m just not as experienced as he is so..”

“I hear you, I hear you.”

I was ragging her for buggin, but I guess it was me who was really buggin. Thes past couple of months Sky has been attached to my hips and it’s really killing me that I haven’t seen her all day... I’m so worried about her... this is so much harder than I ever thought it would be...

-