#i hope louis knows that there are so many people out there that care about him and only want his happiness

[1d1195]

Ding - Round 2

Read Ding here | ~6.2 k words

WARNING/spoiler there's a scummy guy in this part that tries to be forceful with our MC to go with him back to his place when she doesn't want to. Nothing will happen and nothing will be described in detail but be kind to your mind and heart ♥, trauma, anxiety, pining, and fluff.

From me: I actually know VERY little about boxing and even less about throwing a punch. I do however feel I'm well-versed in sprinkles so do with that what you will. Some parts of this got a little away from me again. I hope you like it 💕

Summary: Harry and Cupcake are both really busy and haven't seen each other in two months. But when Cupcake gets into trouble, she has no choice but to run into Harry.

Harry learned to fight when he was ten years old. He didn’t have his dad around much to teach him. Mum and Gemma may as well have been pacifists and as such, they weren’t much help when it came to defending himself. Harry watched his little girl friends get teased by boys. The same boys that told him he was weird for liking girls when they had cooties. Even if he didn’t (always) like them like that and was just merely defending them. Mum and Gemma may have been pacifists, but they taught Harry to be a respectful young boy. Especially toward girls.

One too many mouthfuls of sand at recess was enough to make him finally do something about it. He was angry. Angry because the girls didn’t like him because he was a boy (although they tolerated him since he was protecting them). Angry none of the boys in his class wanted to be friends with him because he was being nice to girls filled with cooties. Angry that he didn’t have a dad to teach him how to be a boy’s boy.

For a ten-year-old, he was really angry.

Mum took him to a gym—an introductory class to kickboxing. Just to get some of his anger out in an appropriate manner (and so he wouldn’t be sent to the principal’s office during recess again). Harry took a liking to the punching bag. He cried the first time he used it with the help of an older kid who was helping him learn to punch the right way. The poor teen watching him get so frustrated that his punches and kicks weren’t landing right—even though it was his very first time throwing a punch—saw something in him. Alerted his boss, encouraged Harry, worked with Harry every time he came in. He was a great mentor and even though he left only a couple years after meeting Harry to go to university and all that, Harry was forever grateful.

His first amateur match was at fifteen. Then there were only ten rounds at most, and he won by a landslide in five. By then he met Louis—someone who saw the same thing that teen kid saw in him and offered to be his manager. It wasn’t anything serious at the time. Harry was still in school and only using his time after school to get better at boxing. Louis was only a few years ahead but knew enough to help him be great.

By the time he turned eighteen, he had won three state-titles and people were watching him. At least in a way that those who cared about boxing did. Throughout university he trained and got better and won more and more.

Now Harry was twenty-five. He had to be nearing at least a hundred thousand punches since he was ten—eitherthrowing them at someone or at least in training against the punching bag he loved so much. Maybe more. He couldn’t even begin to think or count how he would figure out that number. Harry’s whole life was training, working, and fighting.

The only joys he had outside of boxing were his car and the sweet little niece that Gemma had kindly brought into his life—but that was only a recent change.

Only one other very recent change had left him a bit tongue-tied and flustered. Harry didn’t get flustered. Not since he was ten and knew he could beat the crap out of someone. There was no ringing bell to prepare him to make eye contact with a complete stranger and just feel like he had never ever felt before.

Was it love? Who could say, really. Harry had never loved anyone in his life that wasn’t his family or his friends. It made his stomach flutter like the first time he fought in a ring for something other than a trophy. A mere two hundred dollars on the line, all to get punched a whole bunch of times. Now he was still getting punched a few times over for a decent amount of money, but the thought of that pretty girl and her sprinkles made him unbelievably excited. Knowing she was there really made him feel different.

He knew next to nothing about her, but he was certain he was going to fall for her given half a chance. Even if she gave him a half a chance—a quarter!—he would do everything he could to have her in his life. If anyone else had damaged his car, he might have lost his shit, but there was something about her kind face, her doe-eyed expression in the rainy lamplight that made him rethink his entire life in the span of twenty seconds.

But whatever it was that he felt for her, he knew it started with her ringside. Beside his best friend waiting for the end of the fight that never seemed to end.

Normally, Harry’s matches finished in an average of nine rounds. But he was seated in the corner, sipping water like a hamster from the bottle, while Louis put Vaseline on his face where the cut on his eyebrow split between the tenth and the eleventh. “How you doing?”

“Is she impressed?” He asked.

“Who?”

“Cupcake. She’s sitting next t’Niall,” he was breathing heavy. Good as he was, it took a lot of energy to punch someone for a half hour as it was.

“Who?” Louis repeated, then thought better of it. He shook his head in frustration. “Can you focus on what you’re doing, Harold?!”

Louis didn’t get it. Harry rolled his eyes and sighed. To be fair, she was probably the reason it was taking longer than normal. Not that he minded. As long as she was impressed by the end, of course. Harry was on his feet, shadowboxing briefly with Louis, that boyish smile on his face. “What the fuck is your issue?” Louis hissed at him. “You’re acting like a lunatic!”

It seemed like a cliché to say he was in love, so he refrained from doing so. He felt it spared Louis further frustration as well. Cupcake, Cupcake, Cupcake. It was the only thing his brain could think. Fortunately, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of the next round and knocked a bit of the sense back in his head that had floated away from him on the thoughts of the pretty girl nearby.

His opponent was just as tired (although Harry believed his opponent was more so) as himself. He could see the exhaustion setting in as he held his gloves up near his face blocking a few jabs Harry threw to get the excitement of the new round going. He was waiting, searching, nearly taunting for a window of opportunity. Right as his opponent swung aiming for his face, Harry dodged his punch; smirking as he did. A blinding weak spot, his guard was down for only a fraction of a second but that was all Harry needed.

Poor guy didn’t stand a chance.

Ding.

*

Harry looked like he was going to fall asleep sitting there in the bakery kitchen. He was a bit cut up; his eyebrow, the corner of his mouth, and his cheekbone had little cuts. Soothed with Vaseline, but it didn’t seem to bother him. His eyes were droopy. “Is Niall still around to drive you home?” She asked.

He shook his head. “I can drive,” he murmured.

He wasn’t really looking at her, but her look and tone screamed skeptical. “You look too tired to drive.”

“Mm,” he hummed. She was busy bustling back and forth through the kitchen. Cupcakes were in the oven. She only made a dozen, but Harry didn’t seem to notice it was a small amount. He was sitting at the big table in the middle of the kitchen. A seat dragged in from the office. She had her laptop open in her office running the report she needed while Harry held his head propped in one hand. She busied herself with prepping dough for scones and pastries while Harry tried not to loll off to sleep. She smirked at him.

“I could call you an Uber if you wanted,” she offered. “You don’t need to stay with me.”

His eyes were hardly open. “I’ll get a second wind in a minute,” he yawned. “S’jus’ the adrenaline wearing off,” he explained.

“Does that hurt?” She asked gesturing to the cuts on his (otherwise really perfect) face.

He shook his head. “Stings a little.”

“Will you be sore tomorrow?”

“A little. Stiff really... Why y’want t’give me a massage, kitten?” He smiled flirtatiously. Maybe she should have felt uncomfortable, alone with a man she only just met. But honestly, she thought Niall might be her new best friend and if Niall could vouch for Harry, then she wasn’t all that worried about him. Regardless of him knocking out his opponent with one punch. Truthfully, it was nice of her to walk her to the bakery. It was later than she expected and while the town they lived in was pretty safe, the college safety tips of never walking alone flooded her mind each time she did walk alone. She blushed at his forward assumption, but fortunately she was prepping something and stuffing it in the fridge, so he didn’t get to see. Plus, his exhaustion probably made him even flirtier.

“Thanks for being m’good luck charm, Cupcake,” he murmured sleepily.

“I didn’t know you didn’t need one.”

“Can never have too much luck.”

She smiled, continuing her prepping quietly. Harry watched her for a while. Eventually, his arm dropped to the table, and he rested his head on it. After another moment, a soft snore escaped his lips, and she smiled a little brighter. Only for herself, really, since Harry was asleep. She continued working. She was used to late nights. Maybe he really was going to get a second wind—honestly, she couldn’t imagine boxing and punching someone for almost forty-five minutes with only one-minute breaks in between rounds. Sometimes while she was baking, she would try to do other tasks while the timer counted down to take the treats out of the oven. It always surprised her how long and how short a minute could feel in the same breath.

But while she worked, she was mindful to not make too many loud noises. Harry needed sleep it seemed. She prepped for nearly an hour while waiting for the cupcakes to cool long enough to scoop out the middle and fed the sugary raspberry filling into the empty space. Frosting a dozen cupcakes took all but ten minutes then she packaged them in two half-dozen plastic containers with A Pinch of Sprinkles label taping it shut. Gently, she put her hand on his upper arm, and she really shouldn’t have been so surprised by how taut his bicep was beneath her hand, but she was. He was unbelievably strong, and she was in slight awe and shock of touching him—and he wasn’t even flexing. But rather than be creepy, she gave him a gentle shake. “Hey, Harry... Uh...it’s late. I’m gonna get going,” her voice was soft.

Harry startled almost jumping out of his seat and rubbing his eyes with the heels of his palms. “Sorry, sorry. Wow,” he turned his neck to the left and then right. “M’sorry I dozed off there.”

She shrugged. “Probably needed it,” she assured him with a gentle smile. She pushed the dozen cupcakes forward, across the table. “For you.”

He blinked then looked up at her. “Did you make these for—”

“Well, yes, I made them. You were unbelievably kind to me even though I dented Clay. Plus, you won so it’s like a job well done, you know?”

“You made me cupcakes,” he repeated, his gaze unmoving from her face.

“We really need to work out this whole repeating what the other one says thing,” she felt her cheeks warm as he stared at her, but she smiled, only feeling slightly awkward.

He turned his attention to the two plastic boxes and tilted his head at them. They were identical. His fascination with her precision was immense. “What kind are they?”

“The raspberry filled ones. You said you liked them.”

His gaze went right back to her, and he felt hungry, but not for cupcakes.

Well, at least not the baked good kind of cupcake.

“Thank you, Cupcake. That was sweet of you. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

Her smile seemed to transcend to a feeling of relief. “Not even a little...um... I just have to grab a couple things. Would you... mind walking me to my car? Unless you need to leave right now. I know it’s crazy late. I’ll be okay. I walk to my car on my own usually but it’s always a little creepy. But I feel bad I made you—”

“’Course m’gonna walk you t’your car,” he rolled his eyes. “Besides I don’t want you t’ding Clay again,” he winked to ensure she knew he was kidding. Because yes, he loved his car.

But rapidly, when it came to her, the car didn’t matter in the slightest.

*

She hadn’t seen Harry in two months.

It wasn’t like she was avoiding him. Part of her knew he was a mere social media friend request away. In fact, she was trying her hardest to not stare at the pictures of him on social media, the PR plug for his matches, and all the things that she saw Niall, Louis, and all his other friends shared. But she didn’t want to come off too forward. It seemed weird to be so into a man she only talked to for no longer than ten minutes total.

Besides...she had her routines. Work, family, and more work.

Also, if Harry was really infatuated with her the way Niall alluded to, he knew where her bakery was—he easily could come and find her here. But she did notice there was a tag to her shop on Instagram with raspberry filled cupcakes in the picture. (All it would take is for her to press the Follow button and wait.) While she didn’t know Harry all that well, she assumed he was probably just as busy. Her brief cyber-stalking showed that Harry was often at the gym—although she wasn’t sure which one. He was also an amazing uncle. That much was clear. It warmed her heart, and she would never want to tear Harry away from that kind of time. Family was extremely important to her. She wholeheartedly understood how much his free time was probably monopolized by the little baby.

But it was so strange that she didn’t know him yet there was some part of her that wanted to see him. It was bizarre. She never got all up and arms about a guy. There was work and there was her family. That was it. That was all she could afford to balance. She didn’t need a guy to mess with her routines or upset the balance of her life.

However, every time she walked alone to her car at night now, she wished that Harry was with her to assure her safety—even though she had done it hundreds of times before. The night they met, he walked her in silence, opened her door and made sure she was safely tucked inside. “Good night, Cupcake,” he smiled almost dreamily.

“Good night, Harry. Congratulations,” she responded with a smile too.

Harry’s smile grew and he looked away briefly before patted the top of her car and turned to Clay, put his cupcakes on the passenger seat and moved to the driver’s side. He gave her a wave and pulled out of his parking spot.

It was two months ago.

But after just one month, it was hard to deny she didn’t miss him.

That had to mean something. Just one brief night—not even a date. Most of that night was spent with Harry in the ring or asleep at her kitchen table. Hell, she got to know Niall more that night. But it was Harry’s smile that plagued her thought—crooked and perfect. The way his eyes glittered as he convinced her to follow him with a picture of his niece.

“Are you baking something in here or burning in here?” Maeve asked.

Maeve was her best employee—her right hand nearly every day. More importantly, her best friend. Shaking her head of the thoughts surrounding Harry, she sighed and turned to the oven where her fudge brownies were surely overdone. “Shit,” she whispered.

“I don’t think you’ve ever burned anything. Are you okay?” Maeve asked gently. It was a loaded question. It took a lot of time to dig the answer out of her friend, but Maeve did. She knew asking if she was okay was probably the wrong thing to say.

But if it was, she didn’t mind. Of course she didn’t. Her very best friend was sweeter than all the treats in the display case. “Just a little distracted,” she mumbled grabbing the tray and setting it in the sink to cool off (and hopefully so she didn’t have to scrape the bottom of the tray later).

“Harry on your brain?” Maeve giggled.

She rolled her eyes but felt the way her cheeks warmed at Maeve’s (correct) assumption. Maeve was shocked to learn that her strong-willed friend was convinced by a stranger to go see a boxing match. She couldn’t believe it. Granted, once she saw the picture of Harry, she couldn’t disagree. I think I would let him punch me in the face if he wanted to.

She decided keeping Maeve as far away from Harry as possible was probably necessary.

Rarely did she and Maeve work together. As her best employee and best friend, it was like asking her to hold her child when Maeve was on shift. There was no one she trusted more. So, when Maeve wasn’t there, she often was and vice versa. But every so often, usually at the shift change, Maeve got to see her best friend in her element. “Well, the good news is, you can go think of him at home,” she winked at her.

She didn’t even look at her. “You’re disgusting,” she deadpanned.

Maeve snorted. “That’s not even what I was insinuating. Your mind went directly to the gutter. Good for you. I bet he thinks about you while he’s doing it too.”

“Jesus Christ,” she was blushing brightly now. “I just want to fix the display case and then I’ll go.”

“Any fun plans for tonight?”

She hesitated briefly. “Uh yeah...actually. I have a date,” she mumbled.

“Oh!” It was silent for a long beat. Rarely did she go on dates. There were only a few since she moved into town three years ago. Mostly because the bakery took up so much of her free time. The remaining bit of time she had and didn’t go on dates was because of the guilt she felt. Maeve’s surprise was palpable. It made her cheeks turn pink and she bit the inside of her cheek. “Good,” Maeve smiled encouragingly. “Online?” She asked.

She nodded. “We’ve been messaging back and forth for like...” she shrugged. “Two weeks.”

“Are you excited?”

No. “Yes,” she sighed softly. “Been a while,” she smirked. There was a huge part of her brain that told her she didn’t want to go because it wasn’t Harry. It was like a neon sign had been posted in her frontal lobe reminding her that it was pointless to even consider this date. She should have just requested to follow Harry and be done with it—he would probably drop everything if she asked him on a date. “Just...nervous.”

“It’ll be good!” Maeve said reassuringly. “Share your location with me and text me when you get to where you’re sleeping,” she wiggled her eyebrows suggestively.

“I will be sleeping at home,” she promised snorting through her laugh at her best friend.

Maeve smiled heading to the front and leaving her to finish with her burned brownies.

*

The front of the bakery was dark in color; she was aiming for warmth. The floors and baseboards were dark walnut brown. It contrasted sharply with the wall she wall-papered by hand with a white and brown marble pattern behind the display cases. It made the black chalkboard menus with the same walnut brown frames stand out. The lights were always set to dim when they were on. Her goal was to recreate the feeling of her childhood home—particularly the den where her father set up the most beautiful Christmases. The bakery lacked a fireplace (she joked with Maeve that it was an oven or a fireplace, and the oven did a better job at cooking croissants evenly).

The front of the bakery wasn’t massive. There were five little tables to sit and enjoy their treats if people wanted but it was really a grab and go kind of place. The back had more treats stored so the main room didn’t look overwhelming. The front display cases still contained more treats than anyone could think of eating. I wish I could buy one of everything was heard frequently from the line. Eventually she wanted to invest in coffee but for the time being she liked just her treats and was happy to recommend the coffee place down the road. If she ever got a hold of more space, then she would consider buying all the machines for coffee.

The bakery was honestly warmest when it was rainy. Which was frequent. She was reorganizing the main cupcake display, a tower of three tiers with one of each type of cupcake she made. The raspberry filled cupcake was the one that had been on top for the last two months. Each time it was bought, she replaced it with another. While people raved about her brownies, cakes, and even the croissants, it was the cupcakes that people came for; and so, she took care of the display as much as possible.

“Which one do you recommend?” She turned to the voice and saw a mom and little girl waiting patiently. She smiled fondly.

“Raspberry filled,” she pulled it from the top tier and handed it over. “Try it,” she offered.

“Oh, we don’t want to get you in trouble,” the mom said quickly while her daughter grabbed for it almost immediately.

She laughed. “Don’t worry, I know the owner,” she promised. “Maeve! I’m leaving!” She called but was delighted by the little girl’s approval. Silence, cake and filling on her cheeks immediately, and a delightful look in her eye.

“Have fun!” She called back.

“Enjoy the cupcakes. I also like the lemon vanilla ones.”

“I think raspberry filled is the winner,” the mom smiled.

She nodded, unable to keep herself from grinning back. “A fan favorite.”

*

She should have stayed home. The bad weather should have been an omen. But maybe it wouldn’t have been because she met Harry in bad weather, and everything was fine that night. It soured her mood and made her feel infinitely worse to think about the comparison.

I’m home. Not a great date. I’ll tell you later. She wished she had gone to Maeve’s. Maybe she would have doted on her. But she didn’t want to fall apart the way she planned on in front of her.

:( sorry babe. Sleep tight. Talk to you tomorrow :(

She locked her apartment door and checked at least fifty times that it was truly locked before she moved to her bathroom. Her heart was still in her throat and her eyes felt raw with tears. Maybe she was overreacting.

No.

The rational part of her brain reasoned against her handwaving casualness. She had good instincts. Obviously. If this same situation happened with Harry, then maybe she would have considered it her own poor judgment. It was more reason that someone as terrifying as Harry could have be sweet as her cupcakes that it was her good judgment that helped her get out of there tonight.

She hurried to get out of her clothes. Part of her considered throwing them away. She didn’t want them any longer. She wasn’t sure she would ever wear them again. She turned the shower on as hot as she could stand it and pushed it a little further.

He didn’t hurt her physically. He tried. It was obvious his intent was to force her into the car... or worse. Which was disgusting in its own right. Until that moment in the dark, rainy parking lot, it was almost identical to her moment with Harry. But it wasn’t. Harry didn’t make her feel unsafe. Harry didn’t make her feel threatened. Harry gave her an out even though he wanted to hang out with her. She knew she could leave at any moment and Harry wouldn’t have blamed her.

She rubbed her arm so hard with her loofa in the shower stream it burned for a new reason. Tears blurred her vision and she felt so stupid. So completely idiotic. How could she let it get that far? That was so dangerous. So close she could have been hurt in so many ways that she didn’t want to think about, ever again. She closed her eyes and let the water wash the night away, feeling completely alone and dreadful.

She never wanted to date again.

*

She finished her shower, sniffles plaguing her, and she got into her comfiest pajamas. Her heart was still beating too fast as she crawled under the covers. She felt so ashamed. It felt like her fault. All of it.

There was a tiny rattling in her brain that Harry could have prevented it all. She should have just requested Harry on social media when she met him. If she had, she would have had his number by then. He would have helped her for sure.

Without thinking, she scrolled on her apps, and clicked on the various follow buttons. Every platform she could think of to request his social media friendship—looking like a lunatic be damned. Almost everything had a phone call button now, she could use it as backup if she needed. For good measure she requested Niall too. It was nearing midnight, and she couldn’t bring herself to care. She was scared. Nervous. Heartbroken.

Yet, within moments, Harry returned the request along with a direct message in her inbox.

Thinking of me at midnight, hmm?  😉

She snorted despite her uneasiness. One sentence and she melted. But she couldn’t let him know that. 🙄 it was nice while it lasted. Just going to unfollow you...

Aw, c’mon Cupcake 🙁

Oh alright... No, not really... just can’t sleep. Popped up on my people you may know while scrolling. It wasn’t a complete lie, and she was glad she wasn’t having a phone call. He would have heard her sniffles and then she wasn’t sure she would have been able to stop herself from inviting a total stranger over. Right now, she didn’t trust her judgment fully.

Been dying to press that Follow button, Cupcake. Didn’t want to come on too strong after that first night.

She couldn’t help but smile. The contrast between the night she met Harry, and her present night made her sad but relieved at the same time. I see you enjoyed the cupcakes.

Louis made me run laps for two hours because of you. I ate all twelve in less than 72 hours. Do you put drugs in those? They’re addicting.

Lol, no drugs. Well... sugar. So, pick your poison I guess, right? 😇

Well, thank you, Cupcake. That was delicious. I hope you liked the match too. We didn’t get to talk much. I know I fell asleep 🤦‍♂️ I was really happy you were there.

Her heart felt so warm already. Despite how much she didn’t want it to. Thank you for inviting me. Because she was nothing if not polite. It was really exciting! I don’t know much about boxing. But it’s obvious you’re very good—not that you need me to tell you that. Were you really going to make me look like an idiot and not tell me you were undefeated?

You’ll make me blush, Cupcake. Didn’t think you’d come with me if you knew.

Sneaky... 👀

Just... wanted you there, kitten. I promise. Nothing more... I know I came off a little too strong and I know I was a little...pushy. I would have let you go to your store if you really wanted to... But...

The three dots on his message disappeared and reappeared a few times over.It was cute to imagine him holding his phone thinking about what to type, erasing it, typing it again.

I can’t explain it, Cupcake. I’ve been going CRAZY these last two months. Niall’s calling me a stalker and I haven’t even SEEN you. The sentiment doesn’t give her any bad feelings. Because despite how much she wanted to be guarded, especially after her evening, she couldn’t help but believe him. Trust him, implicitly.

I swear something in the universe pulled me to you... I woke up just in time to see you blowing up my phone tonight 😍😍

She snorted and felt her body warm with his kindness, his gentle adoration through her phone no less. You’re insane, Harry Styles.

About you 😍

Oh my God... Now she really was blushing, but she couldn’t help but notice she felt so much better chatting with him. Well... we can talk tomorrow if you want.

Oh?

I’m assuming you’re tired and I’ve already hogged more than enough of your time at midnight, as you pointed out.

Oh, no.

No way, Cupcake. I’ll stay up all night to talk with you ❤

Her heart felt so heavy. It was unfair. How could she be so stupid? Her dad would have killed her for being so naïve. It was his worst fear while she was growing up. It was everything he always talked her through when she was going through puberty and telling her about boys teasing her. Her dad reminded her constantly that a man has no right to make her feel scared or fragile.

But she could feel his grip on her arm trying to coerce her back into his car. She shook her head of the thoughts, refusing to let him poison any more of her time than he had. She was talking to Harry. She was okay. It was alright. It didn’t happen. She got in an Uber, and she’ll never see him again.

Harry was talking to her. Harry made her feel safe. Harry didn’t make her stomach unsettled with a bad gut feeling. Here’s my phone number if you want it.

Within moments, she had a new text message alert. This is better than an undefeated record 😍

*

The following morning, she felt less terrible about herself and her stupidity, but she never wanted to feel that way again. She was also so tired from texting with Harry for hours. It was nearly three in the morning catching up on all the things he did in the past two months before she wished him a good night. There wasn’t much to report about their lives. They both seemed to be workaholics, but he did offer her some really cute baby pictures of his niece (and a pretty cute picture of Niall falling asleep on Harry’s couch after an intense workout).

While she sipped her coffee—staving off the sleepiness, she Googled self-defense classes. Her dad would have approved. He wanted her to do it back when she was in college, but she refused for whatever reason. She regretted that too.

It was telling that she debated whether she was overreacting for several minutes. If she was overreacting, she would have brushed off the idea of self-defense classes like she did in college. But this wasn’t something to overreact about, right? Before she could overthink it any longer, she paid for the class. Honestly, in that parking lot she was smart to do this. Worst case scenario, for one reason or another, it was the smart decision.

She cycled through the next stage of grief feeling angry and bitter that he made her feel this way. She was incredibly lucky it was raining and slippery and she managed to get away from him in the chilly spring air. He left her so rattled. She was defenseless, so a class was needed.

God, she missed her dad.

Fuck, she missed Harry.

She never wanted to feel that helpless again.

With the class paid for, she put an apron around her waist and headed to the front of A Pinch of Sprinkles and turned the closed sign to open.

*

The following Monday, after a full day of flour, sugar, and plenty of customers, she headed to the gym.

It felt awkward. She hadn’t been to a gym since her college days, and she was already frustrated from her horrific night out. She and Maeve told each other they would go together but they were terrible influences on one another and opted for shopping trips with the promise they would pretend their shopping bags were dumbbells.

When she arrived, she headed to the front desk and introduced herself. She even admitted she felt awkward and the woman behind the desk smiled encouragingly. “I’m Sarah. Let me show you around,” she came from behind the desk and headed toward the side room. “It’s safe here,” she assured her, like she knew. The assurance made her throat tight with emotion and she nodded stoically. “This is the locker room; you can change in here and you can leave your stuff locked up or in the front cubbies and I can watch it. Whatever makes you more comfortable,” she smiled kindly and glanced her up and down briefly. “Do you own that bakery downtown?”

She smiled and nodded, looking at the flour handprint on the thigh of her pants. “Thought I got all the flour off,” she brushed at it with a chuckle. “Yes, I do.”

“My husband is going to think I met a celebrity today,” she laughed. “We love your blueberry scones. They taste like heaven.”

“Aw, thank you so much, that’s so kind. I’ll bring some next time,” she promised.

“Oh stop, I’ll divorce him,” she laughed and headed back for the front desk.

She quickly changed, feeling safe and relieved once more. She brought her belongings to the front and sat in one of the seats across from Sarah’s desk. “Kickboxing is just wrapping up and your instructors will be right over,” there was a group of several other women milling about. Obviously, they at least knew how to be in a gym by themselves. A few came as a small group. Maybe she should have brought Maeve.

While waiting, she scrolled through emails from her landlord, her college alma mater group, and all the coupons she had ever subscribed to. “I have got to unsubscribe,” she murmured to herself. She scrolled through photos of the beautiful little area she lived in now, and as sad as it was to get here, it was nice. Her shop was nice. Despite how scared she was over the weekend, things were good.

The only thing that wasn’t nice was that stupid, awful man.

“Holy shit, he’s hot,” she heard someone whisper. It was peripheral. She didn’t even register it really because she was sending Maeve a picture of the sale that was happening at their favorite clothing store on Thursday. If she paid attention, she might have noticed sooner.

“Ladies, self-defense class, this way please!” The voice was familiar, but she couldn’t place it. Maeve sent about ten heart eyes to her, and she smiled, stuffed her phone in her bag, and waved to Sarah.

“Blueberry scones,” she repeated with a firm nod and followed the line of women. She sipped from her water taking in the banners around the gym and realized too late why Louis’ voice sounded so familiar.

He stood at the front of the room, along with another familiar face.

“Oh shit,” she whispered to herself and turned immediately back toward the desk.

She bumped into another woman who steadied her and kindly looked her over. “Sorry—are you alright?” she was nearly motherly in her demeanor and her head felt woozy. She couldn’t do this. Harry would know.

Why was Harry attending her self-defense class?

“Yes, yes, sorry,” she shook her head. “Wrong—”

“Hey,” Harry’s voice was right there. She stepped out of the room trying to get more air to her lungs and head.He wasn’t attending. He was teaching. This was his gym. The boxing rings in the main room should have been a clue. The sound of Louis’ voice. Oh, you stupid idiot, her brain scolded.

“Cupcake?” Her head responded to the nickname instinctively. Harry’s suspicious green eyes gazed back at her. “What are you doing here?”

--

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If you like this, check out my masterlist here

[reasonsforhope]

I'm sorry I'm sending so many asks. I've been struggling like this for a year now, and it's barely gotten easier, but you've often been a good help with my anxiety. I really appreciate everything you do. It's hard to have hope.

I've had a really bad moment again recently. I have to be honest, the worst thing, that makes me the most anxious out of everything else, is COVID. Because it feels like nobody is paying attention, and that there is no good news. There is never any good news. COVID is always the catalyst for the worst of my anxious slumps. It's really bad. COVID is very, very scary. If you somehow have anything for that, I'd be thankful. Often I've only been able to set my heart on nasal vaccines, or next gen vaccines in general, but they're not going fast enough whatsoever.

I'm sorry, again. I don't want to try and treat you like a therapist. I just trust you. If this is too overwhelming, you can just delete it, but if you do, I'd like to know. Just so I'm not waiting for it to be answered.

I just ravaged through someone's doomy collapse blog, again, after stumbling on it in my rising anxiousness, and it was not good. I think I'm clearly too open-minded of a person to some degree, and I feel so pulled around by information that I see. I don't want to be placated, out of the loop, or lied to, but I don't want to feel hopelessly depressed. Everything is too complex. I feel like I've been through this maze, top to bottom, over and over again, and again. I just wish I knew how much truth their words held, or anyone else's words held.

And I wish we were all masking, at the very least. I'm holding myself back from swearing. I don't know if you'd have a good way to counteract general "collapse" thoughts, either. But that's also a thing.

<3 I'm touched by your trust.

I just found some good news about COVID - the first genuinely good covid-related news article I've seen in a while, instead of all of the "ah but young abled people are fine!" bs - and remembered this ask.

"As new varieties of the coronavirus took center stage during the COVID-19 pandemic, the odds of developing long COVID dropped. Those who were vaccinated against the virus saw the biggest plunge over time.

For every 1,000 unvaccinated people, 104 developed long COVID up to one year after an infection during the pre-delta phase of the pandemic. That fell to 95 per 1,000 during the delta variant’s era and 78 during omicron’s reign. Among vaccinated people, just 53 out of 1,000 developed long COVID up to a year after infection during delta and only 35 during omicron, researchers report July 17 [2024] in the New England Journal of Medicine.

The study of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Health Care System data looked at people who had a COVID infection from March of 2020 — the month the pandemic began — to the end of January in 2022. The researchers, from the Veterans Affairs St. Louis Health Care System, compared the rates of long COVID during three phases of the pandemic among those who had and had not gotten vaccinated...

A comparison of omicron infections with infections from prior eras found that 72 percent of the drop in the long COVID rate during omicron was attributable to vaccines. The remainder was due to changes in the virus and improvements in medical care and the use of antiviral treatments during the omicron phase.

Even with the steep decline in the occurrence of long COVID for vaccinated people, there is still a risk, the researchers write. With “the large numbers of ongoing new infections and reinfections, and the poor uptake of vaccination,” they continue, this “may translate into a high number of persons” with long COVID."

-via ScienceNews, July 17, 2024

--

Masking continues to be important. The virus continues to be a problem. But especially given the decline in masking, I'm really encouraged to see this news. Because long covid IS scary. And I'll take any good news on this front that I can get.

It's especially encouraging because it shows how much staying on top of your vaccinations really does matter and really can prevent long covid.

I'm also really hopeful (though I don't have a related background and have no idea how realistic my hopes are) that this trend has been continuing past the end of the study (2022).

[charliedawn]

Hey this is some stupid fear I have but how would some slasher ( whoever you want. ) React to a nurse who is young like in 20s and isn't scared at dying at a young age or isn't scared of dying like any time, but it's scared to grow up? It's really a stupid fear I have personal.

P.S you don't need to do it tho.

( sorry for the bad Grammer, English is my second language. )

Pennywise:

"Yeah. Growing up is scary, kid. I won’t lie to you. But, guess what ? It is part of the process." Pennywise hesitated before patting your head. "Cheer up. Being mortal isn’t all that bad. Living forever is a bore honestly."

Pennywise’s throat tightened as he realised that you would grow up. He knew it was a process and that in the blink of an eye…You would be gone. He waited a few seconds before surprising you by pulling you into a hug. Your eyes widened as you realised that he was shaking.

"Pennywise…" You uttered in a whisper before sighing and hugging him back.

He didn’t say anything. Truth was ? He was scared too. But, he didn’t want to tell you with words. So, he hugged you and hoped you’d understand that he was scared too…but that he was happy that whatever little life you had left, he’d be right next to you until the end.

Penny:

Penny lost so many people in his life that he asked Pennywise to erase his memories of the people he used to love. When you shared your fears with him however, he tilted his head and seemed to ponder on it for a moment before shrugging.

"I could make you live forever. Would you be happier if I did ? Make you immortal ?"

You started thinking about it.

Living forever ? You smiled sadly and shook your head negatively.

"Thank you, Penny. But…I don’t think I would like to live forever. Life is meant to be precious…It is not meant to go on forever."

Penny tilted his head and looked puzzled, but he didn’t say anything. It was odd. He had never seen his life as precious when he was alive. But yours ? His jaw twitched slightly. Yours. He valued.

Vincent Sinclair:

Vincent is an artist. He sees beauty in everything.

When he heard that you were scared of growing up, he just started taking as many pictures as he could of you and showed them to you. He then told you in sign language that you’d live forever—in his camera.

And that if you were scared ? Well, you just had to look at the photos and remember that that was how he would remember you forever. He then started stroking your hair and pressed his forehead against yours to calm you down.

Vincent knew he would eventually have to say goodbye.

But, to him ?

You would always remain a masterpiece.

Five Hargreeves:

"Growing up is scary. But, being stuck as a child is even worse. Children never get heard. I would know. I was a child. Twice."

He said and looked down. So many years spent in solitude. So many years wasted. He lived for decades and yet, Five never thought that he was truly alive. He was feeling better with his siblings, but he never actually had any moment in his life that he could say that he felt like he was enough or enough. Sometimes, he even wondered if the world would have been better without him.

It was only when he was admitted in St Louis that he realised he wanted to be something more and make his life a good one. It wasn’t until he met…you.

He looked at you and smiled.

"You gave me a life. And even when you get older and start forgetting about how you changed everything for me, I’ll be there to remind you. Every single day."

Jason Voorhees:

Jason never had a real childhood. He was bullied as a kid and his overprotective mother never allowed him to get out of her sight. When she died, he had no one to look after him and felt lost and lonely. He tried to reach out to people, but he could never create attachment with anyone.

So, he just kept killing and making sure people stayed away, because it was better than to get hurt.

And then, he met you.

He started caring for you more than he’d care to admit and soon enough, he wasn’t feeling as lonely anymore.

Jason *hugs you tightly*

Jason started looking up to you and even though he was also afraid of what will happen when you get too old to keep him company, he still wanted to keep you close to him—no matter how sad he would be once he would have to say goodbye.

Brahms Heelshire:

Brahms looked at you and shook his head—as if he didn’t believe you.

"Y/N…Never going to grow old. Will stay young forever. Young forever with Brahms."

He hugged you and closed his eyes.

Deep down, he knew that you’d eventually grow old and disappear. But, in his mind ? You’d always be perfect. No matter how old you get or how afraid you get.

Brahms : "Don’t worry, Y/N. Brahms is here. Brahms will stay with you…"

He held back tears and just hugged you tighter.

Norman Bates:

Norman: "…Darling. Listen to me. I am the oldest slasher to have ever existed. I was born in 1932. I am old. Very old. But…I would give up a whole eternity just to be with you. So, it is not about having a long life, but a good one. A worthy life. And just meeting you made mine worth it. And if I was to die tomorrow ? I can say…I lived a good life." He smiled and stroked your cheek affectionately with his forefinger. "You should do the same. Stop worrying about when your time is gonna run out or because of the few wrinkles on your face. Just remember to have fun and enjoy your life. Take the advice of a man who’s seen it all."

He then put down a tray on the table.

"Now, tea ?"

Jack Torrance:

"Old ? Ah. Don’t you worry, sweetheart. You’ll be one hell of a cute old lady, if you get there." Jack never got the chance to grow old. He secretly misses being alive. He would have loved to grow old with his family and be a father to Danny. But, he never got there. He died—frozen and alone. He then came back as some sort of ghost who feeds on fear. So, no. Growing old isn’t something he would find scary, or losing you. Because he knows that when you do grow old and eventually leave this world, you will go to a nice place—unlike him. And if you don’t ? Well, you’d be trapped with him. Either way, he knows you’ll be alright. So, he isn’t worried.

"You’ll be fine. I know it. Now, stop worrying and come have a drink with me."

Hannibal Jr.:

"You will always be a Hannibal in my eyes. No matter how old or wrinkled you get…You will always be my beloved daughter." Hannibal Jr. told you when you shared your fears with him. He stroked your cheeks and smiled. "Always."

You smiled at him and hugged him tightly. He returned your hug and whispered in your ear.

"You will always be part of this family." He then kissed your forehead. "No matter what."

Ghostface (Eddie Munson):

"…Don’t worry. We will grow old together. It will be less lonely." Ghostface told you and smiled at you. Unlike the other slashers, Ghostface can grow old. He is not exactly a slasher. It is more of a multitude of people taking the role with time. Eddie won’t be Ghostface forever. Once his mission over, he will start growing old as well until he just gives his mask to someone new.

Ghostface *scoots closer to you and wraps an arm around your shoulders* : "I bet we will be the coolest old people ever…" *smiles*

[theydopissmeoffavocados]

I NEED YOU AND YOU NEED ME HOW FUCKING NICE IS THAT - LOUIS TOMLINSON

it's your birthday louis william tomlinson, but you have been ours since the day you were born, 24 december 1991, you, the love of my life turn 32 today!! happy birthday sunshine!! happy birthday to the reason of my smile every day(if you see me randomly smiling it's because im thinking about you), to the sweeest little thing on the planet, to the recently turned 32 year old person who i will always call my baby tho im 17 years smoller than you, to the person who i constantly worry about, happy birthday sun if i could i would spin around you continuously and still not get tired. There are not enough words to describe you, sometimes i wonder how are you real and cry because you genuinely are a good person, literally an angel in person. I have never felt so connected to an idol other that you. The relationship between louis and louies is the best, we are "dedicated, crazy in the best possible way" about you, you are so gentle, honest and caring about us and im so happy it is a mutual feeling, and we won the best fandom award!!!!! I so happy to be there with you during your first world tour and to see you conquer this world with your you beautiful voice, always be yourself, don't change for anyone, we all love so much! smile because it literally lights up my life and nothing is more prettier than that and enjoy your life because you literally deserve every single thing in this universe, you are the sun and light up my and many other people's world, you are the reason many people are still alive (including me ig, i am going strong because of you luv!!!), "i would give up on everything but louis wouldn't let me" is the line that describes our relationship and you are a very important person to me i don't even know how i would live without you, you are the oxygen i need to survive, i hope you know how much you mean to us and how proud we are of you. I am so greatful that you exist, i thank the universe every single day that you exist and i am alive at same time as you. Thank you for everything you've done for me and everyone, my life has become so so so so much better after i found out about you and i don't know how else to sum it up cause words ain't good enough there's no way i can explain my love for you, i truly wish this year will be the best one for you yet and i can't believe how fast time is passing, i am proud of every big and little thing that you have achieved whatever makes you happy and whatever you want to do just do it! we are always here for you like you are there for us whenever we need you. I am so happy to be a part of this big beautiful family.

I am for every greatful for you and so thankful that i am able to call you my favourite man in the whole world. you will always be my #1 in my life. May all your dreams come true. and i love you for infinity, forever and always. HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOU!!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY CUPCAKE 🧁!!!! xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

always in my heart @ louistomlinson

[thefootnotes]

Do you read any one direction fic/have any recs?

*chanting* FIC RECS FIC RECS FIC RECS

as we know there are so many incredible 1d authors out there. first off, just any works by @enchantedlandcoffee (same url on ao3) are my favourites, as are the works of @louisthiccsexyglitteryass (again same ao3 url) who has also done some betaing for me.

i mean....i obviously write 1d fics if that floats your boat too......

but i've got some individual recs from authors who i havent read a lot of their work; some of these are long, some are quite short, all of them are good, and they're all on ao3!

COMPLETE WORKS:

No Good Deed (Goes Unpunished) - JasTheLarrie (168k, larry, enemies to friends to lovers, kidfic au.... just beautiful writing)

Heart Beat - @allwaswell16/same ao3 url (35k, larry, advent fic, kidfic au, harry's had a crush since they were in high school. very very good plot, a little angsty around the edges. great christmastime fic.)

Now I've Got You In My Space - unscattered_horizons (160k, ziam, my all time favourite fic fs. genderqueer characters, slow burn, college au.... enemies to lovers but beautifully done. angsty but not just about the relationship, and so well written. truly couldnt pick a flaw in this fic, i love it so much.)

Pieces Of You - JamieJam93 (280k, larry/niam, a pretty old fic. very much centred around eating disorders so take care. everybodys traumatised! we love it.)

i'll knock on your door, it will save me from calling - @hl-obsessed/same ao3 url (5.8k, platonic zouis, larry, very angsty. written for round one of zaynsalbumsficfest, based on good years. very poignant. lovelovelove.)

All In - series by JasTheLarrie (120k, larry, flower shop au where louis' ex is absolutely awful. lots of platonic zouis. very cute fics, angsty in parts)

Bloom - Goldenhazandlou (48k, larry, 1950s au where harry and louis were in a secret relationship, and louis' granddaughter finds old diaries and photos of them. beautiful and poignant and tragically sad. makes me cry every time i reread it.)

Fix My Heart - SchwarzwalderKirschtorte (6.4k, mostly gen but also larry. sickfic, zayn comes back to the band, lots of angst. touches on a lot of mental health stuff, so take care. probably my favourite ever one shot tbh.)

Stars over Amsterdam - @hellolovers13/same ao3 url (4.7k, larry, enemies to lovers. the BEST eras tour au i have read in this fandom. hands down. you don't need to be a swiftie to appreciate the storyline here (although i am!))

And I'm Okay (With What I'm Not) - red_panda28 (6.6k, larry. for the 1d aroace fest, a very beautiful work based around asexuality and the sexualisation of the industry. really kind of made me rethink the way i view aspec people, for the better. incredible read)

WIPs I LOVE:

Shout Out To The Old Me - Strawberries_And_Cigarettes28 (15k so far, larry, internalised homophobia, café au, involves gemma a lot as a friend of louis. angsty but also quite funny. awesome fic)

Meet Me In Montauk - series by make_this_feel_like_home (94k so far, larry, amnesia au. tragically sad, absolutely fucking broke me; happy ending though so.)

this is absolutely *not* all of the 1d fics i love - this is just a selection of my favourites, ones that i've found myself coming back to time and time again. i hope you enjoy, anon!!

[notwiredforthisworld]

Somewhere in 2012, a friend introduced me to a boyband she liked. I had no idea who they were. I hadn’t even turned 10 then, and I didn’t have social media. She played me a few songs, and I remember not getting it at first, and telling her that I didn’t like it. I loved music, but I never really cared too much about getting to know artists, so her obsession didn’t really make sense to me. But for some reason, when I got home that day I searched ‘One Direction’ on youtube. I watched music videos, interviews, fan compilations. I fell down a rabbit hole of fanmade lyric videos until I knew every single word to every single song, in a language that wasn’t even mine. I still say that I learned more english from one direction interviews than I ever did in school. I’m not sure where or why the obsession started. Maybe I just wanted to fit in, to like the thing that all of my friends liked. But somewhere along the line, it became so much more than that. It was their music, playing on a loop in my headphones, that helped me drown out everything wrong around me. One Direction was the reason I fell in love with music, the reason I joined social media, the first fandom I was in. It was the reason there were even others, the reason I met so many people. My best friends.

When One Direction announced a show in my country, in 2014, my friend went to see it, even though it was halfway across the country. I was 12 at the time, and I begged my parents to go. They said no. Their excuse was that I was too young, and neither of them understood a teenage girl’s obsession with a boyband, and if I’m honest with myself, I can now understand they probably couldn’t afford it. So they said no. And they promised me that next time I could go. A year later, I was leaving a music class with that same friend when one direction posted a statement about Zayn leaving. I cried the whole way home. I think that was my first heartbreak. The year after, they split up, even if 13 year old me would yell at everyone who dared mention it that it was a break, not a break up. I changed schools that year. I lost touch with that friend. A lot of things changed, but my playlist didn’t. It never did. 15 year old me started high school in a new place, listening to that same band, with the same posters hanging on the back of my door, just as excited for solo releases as I had been for one direction.

In 2019, when Harry announced a show in my country, that friend was the first person I called. The show was postponed, due to covid, but I remember 17 year old held on to those things like her life depended on it. I think in a way, it did. During lockdown, I got closer to the fandom than I had been in years. I was straight out of high school, I was lonely, and lost, and 18 year old me found in old videos and online communities the same sense of belonging she had found at 10. In 2022, me and my friend saw Harry together. I think a part of my teenage self was healed that day. So the year after, when Louis announced a show in the same place, 20 year old me skipped a uni class to buy tickets. It was the first concert I went to alone, and I sat on the floor of an arena during my favorite song, crying in the arms of a girl I never saw again. I hope she’s okay. That’s still one of my favorite moments. In 2023, Niall announced a tour without a stop in my country. 21 year old me drained her savings to fly to Ireland and see him there. When my mom argued, I told her she didn’t get to complain, because she hadn’t let me go to a show when they were still together, and if there would never be a next time, I would have to see all of them. Whatever it took. Until there was a next time. As I write this, the fact that there will actually never be a next time is hitting me like a brick.

Out of all of them, I probably resonated with Liam’s music the least. Right now, it’s bittersweet to realize I fell out of it, because of that and because of everything that came out after. Right now, 10 year old me is grieving. But so is 12 year old me, waiting up for music video releases. So is 15 year old me, going to high school with four playing on her headphones. So is 18 year old me, watching x factor videos when she got sad during lockdown. So is 22 year old me, coming to terms with the fact that one of the people she looked up to the most is… maybe not that good of a person.

One Direction has been a part of my life for longer that they haven’t been. I don’t remember a single moment, a single age, a single milestone, that they weren’t a part of, in some way.

So right now, I’m thinking of Liam’s family, of his friends, of his child. And I’m thinking of the boys, now men, that changed my life so profoundly, without ever knowing who I was. And on another note, I’m also thinking of Maya, and the women who came forward, and who will definitely feel the weight of this, even if they shouldn’t, even if it’s not on them, because that’s the way the internet works. I know that, because one direction is why I joined it in the first place. And it changed my life. To a degree, it changed my entire view of the world.

It’s a conflicting feeling. Grief usually is. But this type of grief… there’s no guidebook. How do you grieve someone who was never actually in your life? How do you grieve a face on a screen? A voice on a track? And specially, how do you do so while knowing so many things that you just can’t accept? Can’t support? That go against everything that is your beliefs? It hurts. It hurts that he’ll never get the help he so clearly needed. It hurts that the people who have always brought me the most comfort got their hearts broken in a way that was so drastic, so painful, so definitive. It hurts that it’s so definitive. So final. I think that’s the worst part. The little tiny part of me that has spent the last almost 10 years trying to believe it wasn’t final… just got told that it is. And it hurts that it feels like it’s not acceptable to be hurting like this.

I used to think about growing old one day, being in my 50s or 60s and having to read news like this one. But we were supposed to be old. We were supposed to have time. I wasn’t supposed to be 22, grabbing my phone to a text from my friend asking if I’d heard. If I was okay. I’m not.

I can’t listen to One Direction right now. But I hope 10 year old me can still turn the volume up when her parents are fighting in the next room. I hope 13 year old me can scream the lyrics to midnight memories at her friends’ houses. I hope 16 year old me can curl up in bed listening to made in the am everytime she needs someone to be there for her, like she always did. I hope 18 year old me, starting college alone in the middle of the pandemic, can rewatch San Siro and quote every line and find comfort in the nostalgia. I hope 20 year old me is screaming along at all the solo concerts. You’ll never see the 5 of them. I’m sorry.

In the end, my heart is with everyone who personally knew and loved Liam. And then it’s with us. The ones who grew up with him. The ones who found a sense of belonging in playlists, and stan accounts, and fanfics, and concerts. Because we’ll never get a next time. The boys will never get a next time. And I’m not really sure how to handle that thought, because there was supposed to be time, for all of us.

We were supposed to have a next time. Liam deserved a next time.

There was a whole lot of history there, after all.

[liampaynemysteriousdeath]

This is going to sound dramatic but I have cried about him dying. He just seemed so broken :( . The poor dude. There is one photo from Argentina when he’s with fans and he is smiling but his eyes are just so sad and gone. There is no light . There is nothing. I know he wasn’t the most innocent person and IF these accusations from the ex is true then he deserved to live , have consequences for his actions , take accountability and heal from his trauma. Grow to be a better man. He wasn’t this monster who was void of redeeming qualities. I don’t understand how people hate him. Liam was very honest about his demons he didn’t sugarcoat shit. I really hope his soul found peace

yes I've shed a few tears as well. Yeah he had his issues. I think I know what pic you're talking about where his eyes are red and glossy. To be fair, he was constantly complaining about how tired he was, so maybe he had sleep problems. Or maybe he was high in that pic. lots of artists like getting high.

Louis has come out and said he has had sleep issues as well( long term issues to this day).

There is an account on tiktok where an ex-cop poked holes in mayas story. She said how come there were no restraining orders or police reports? No evidence at all that proves her right. She probably had to self publish her book because she wanted to control the narrative.

And I'm not sure if you're aware all of the connections to maya and Roger that are happening. There's a years long history of maya and roger.

Either check this blog or go on twitter for all the pics showing roger is involved in this somehow.

((Also certain articles of roger have been shut down and/or deleted. And new flattering articles have been written about him, to paint him in a positive light. Certain social media accounts that mention roger are all of a sudden gone. The tiktok girl most recently apparently said that she got a phone call from a british man telking her to stop.))

Yeah Liam was getting hated on a lot on social media and I heard a rumor that ruth or nicola went on social media in 2020 to tell fans (well haters actually) to give him a break bevause his mental health was down.

Even lots of fans at the Niall concert turned on him, but someone said had he not interacted with fans, they would have hated him to. He couldn't win.

Liam was usually happy in general. His demeanor I mean, I'm sure he had his bad days or grumpy days, but everyone who knew him said he was a light.

Yeah poor liam. He was always real and very upfront about who he was. He had shortcomings l I ke everyone else. So many other celebrities try to hide their bedside. But liam was like "this is me". He was upfront about who he was. He had a huge caring ♥ tgat he looked out for other people. Theres cojntless screenshots of him giving back to people and the community. RIP liam

[nalyra-dreaming]

hello, I am in a deep spiral about the drop/the dv.

you are so right that so many things, such as the dragging/biting don't even add up with the clean Lestat landing in s1. And his clean face definietly doesn't add up with the beat and bloody face and clothes he has in 2x07. We have the coffin dent, but we have a clean faced Lestat in the whole scene in the sky??

We all knew since s1 that the fight was a bad choice, but we all still love the show. I guess a lot of us are trying to deal with this ooc thing in a show we otherwise really enjoy. It's nice to hear that Sam doesn't really like that choice either, from what I understand? With the revisiting in s2 during the trial, so many things still don't add up, so will we revisit the fight again? How do you think they could 'redeem' that whole shitshow in s3? Posession? Armand's meddling? (since it's almost a parallel to Armand and Lestat)

Idk, I just wish the writers understood that for a lot of us, the fight doesn't make sense and we need clear explanation bc it's a pretty heavy topic. They need to be consistent with this, maybe have a genuine talk with Louis and Lestat about this. Make us understand what really happened without any more twists. I love the portrayal of Loustat in this show, aside from this. Please give me some hope bc I am so deeply obsessed with this show it rekindled my VC era and I am thinking about this day and night

Oh yeah, the show did the same for me *laughs* Sam has stated that he did not like the DV added in episode 5 and he had hoped that AMC would at least add trigger warnings, which they didn't. He also obviously was not satisfied with how 1x06 wanted to set up Lestat's turning, so he added a line.

I do think they will revisit the fight again, yes. And the trial. There are a lot of hooks set up already, especially since they used the fight in the trial. They added deliberate hints and reactions, too.

I am not sure there is "redemption", or that there needs to be redemption. I think the show won't go for "redemption", not really. They expect us to "get it" when the tale shifts again I bet - given that the shifts in the tale right now have been missed by a surprisingly lot of people I am not particularly hopeful... but I don't think Rolin & co care much for that, because emotional uproar is... engagement. And engagement is always good.

Lestat as a fictional character does not need redemption either, not really. And, as a note, the "fight" portion of episode 5 is not the problem, imho. Louis and Lestat fought, canonically. Lestat had anger problems. That's in the book. All good. But to frame it as DV with a clear power discrepancy, and then use very charged racial dynamics on top of it is what made it so irredeemable.

And I don't know how they want to dig themselves out of this, not really. I mean, fandom != general audience. Watching reactions was a bit of a reality check here, because the general audience doesn't have that big of a problem with it all. Fandom does.

And the fandom got big white abuser™ Lestat for (almost) two seasons, in more than 2 years, with a big twist at the end that a lot seem to have missed. With a lot of insinuated meddling and mental influence of the tale. And in s3 they will go to his POV and leave the memory part a bit, by Rolin's words.

I think s3 will give us Lestat telling us of a kind of "black out" during the fight (outside)... and some kind of influence. Maybe he will know what it is, maybe he won't yet (namely Amel). I think he won't know yet. And I think s3 will show us the key scenes between Armand and Lestat... and Nicki. And if we're lucky they will make the echo/parallel there clear, namely Armand telling Lestat he waited for him, and then throwing Lestat off a height, in the book the tower.

We will see.

Given season 2 and the reveals they chose there and how they chose them there... I am not too hopeful they will spell things out.

I don't think they will care to spell them out, outside the episode insiders that is (they have been much more clear in those this season, granted). For them, it's irrelevant of the majority of the audience "gets" the hinted at parallels or reveals. The story will work "enough" with the basic reveals.

Still. Given who Lestat is for the chronicles? Given who Louis is? Given who they are?

Season 3 needs to land. Stick. Hit. And leave this ugly business behind.

And therefore... I hope it will be done then.

Whatever way.

I do think there will be more twists incoming... but I hope that we will be done with the shit pertaining to Louis and Lestat themselves. Given the structure of the books - and the show's - I have a careful hope that we might be soon.

Fingers crossed.

[alarrylarrie]

I don’t really have anywhere else to say this, so I hope it’s ok, but I’ve been taking Liam’s death really hard. I wasn’t a One Direction fan for all of my childhood, but they got me through my late high school and early college years. I loved Louis and Zayn and Niall and Harry all soooo much, but Liam and I shared a birthday, just different years, so I always felt a different level of connection to him. I don’t know much about the validity of zodiac placements, but as a fellow 8/29 baby, I’ve always been someone who chased the past and didn’t feel like I fit in and tried to do my best but failed and constantly compared myself to everyone else around me. And I see so much of me in Liam and who he was.

One Direction gave me the connection I desperately needed to get through my late formative years. I finally felt like there were other people who felt the same way I did. They gave me something to think about and laugh about and love and look forward to. I lost my mom this year, and its been awful and heartbreaking and the worst thing that I’ve ever gone through. She was my best friend. But lately I can’t stop thinking about how she would’ve lost me first if I hadn’t found One Direction. I wouldn’t have made it without them and the friendships I still have that grew out of my love for them.

I’m so sad that Liam never got his chance for a redemption arc and didn’t get the chance to show people who he could be. I’m heartbroken that he died alone, never feeling like he was good enough, and that he lost sight of the love that so many people had for him.

I don’t know how to cope with feeling like we all failed him, but I hope he’s at peace now ❤️

Oh my love. I’m so sorry for the loss of your mom. Grief can definitely compound, so please be extra gentle with yourself, okay?

Everything you’re feeling is so spot on and I completely understand.

The date of Liam’s passing is actually the anniversary of a dear dear friend I lost some years ago, to the same disease, nonetheless. Finding out Liam died the same day as my Jake - it’s been a lot to try and “handle”.

Here’s what I take some solace in, and I hope this is okay to say. I think about all of the people who loved 1D, or who knew those of us who loved 1D that have gone before us. And I just keep picturing this massive crowd of souls on the other side, all buzzing with excitement, waiting to tell Liam how he impacted their life or the life of someone they love. Maybe my Jake is in that crowd. Maybe your mom is there too.

If I could, I’d give you the biggest hug. Take care of yourself, muffin. I love you.

[manynarrators]

When I say this song has fundamentally changed how I hc the Devils Minions 70s/80s breakup to have gone down! I’ve been listening to it in repeat for days trying to figure out all my thoughts about it.

So I know as a fandom, the general thought is that Armand is the one to call it quits. Which, you know, makes sense as the person with the memory erasing powers. But if I may play devils advocate (yes, pun intended) what if it was Daniel to break up with him?

Hear me out, because I have logic, that also helps double as why I think the show making him a drug addict and not just an alcoholic is an absolutely inspired choice. It’s not even just the fun irony that Armand had the funky golden eyes. (Or the “then you wake up next to a monster” line being incredibly literal in his case!)

My first thing, is that Armand, historically, is never the primary driver resulting in major changes in his life. See: slavers, Marius, Lestat, Louis, Daniel in Dubai— so it makes sense it was Daniel back then too. If Armand had the prerequisite character development to make those choices on his own, it wouldn’t be Daniel in Dubai. Therefore, it’s logical to assume the same was true then.

But why, you might ask, would Daniel break up with Armand? Two interrelated reasons. Daniel is an addict, either with drugs or for vampire blood. It’s also really hard to get clean if you don’t change your circumstances in any way. The people are the same, the habits, the spaces… super easy to fall back into it.

Armand is both the toxic situation encouraging use, and also the drug itself. It’s enabling him, even if he does also try and take care of him. But how does he help? By giving him more blood because of its healing affects which just keeps the whole process alive. It feels good to be on it, and bad to be off, even if it is, ultimately harmful.

The breakup as Daniel attempting to get clean and turn his life around— and to do that, he can’t have Armand there.

If Daniel were the one to break up with him, it could also help explain why Armand’s emotions about him during the interview are both… characterized by the fond looks and attempts to soften some of the things Louis does (eg. the Parkinson’s moment) but also some more upset moments. This is someone who left him.

Armand, about Louis says he asked for his memories to be removed, what if it’s the same case here? Daniel asks for it, because he thinks it will be easier to get and stay clean if he can’t remember the addiction in the first place (it doesn’t work as well as he might hope).

Cut to Daniel being turned as falling off the wagon. Not only has he relapsed, but he, in some way, metaphorically overdoses. Vampirism does kill the person it’s given to, fifty years clean and he dies from it in the end.

Also, listen to the song and tell me it doesn’t work! Like there’s so many lines that are perfect, and if anyone wants, I would totally make another post just going through the song with a fine tooth comb as seen through a “Devils Minion breakup as getting clean” analytical lens. (I would be lying if I said I wasn’t working on a DM breakup playlist).

I am certain there’s more thoughts I am forgetting here, but tldr: Devils Minion as getting clean, and Daniel asks for Armand to erase his memories.

[kyleoreillylover]

Tiffany Stratton x Fem!Reader

Summary: What’s it like dating the Center of the Universe?

A/N: Why does no one write for Tiffany? I love her 😭😭 Here are some headcanons of her, hope you enjoy!

She’s very possessive of you, not in a controlling way but so everyone knows not to persue or mess around with you because you are her girl.

Loves PDA. Not just because it wards off people who try to get with you, but because she loves touching you. Constantly has an arm around your waist, your shoulder, anywhere she can hold. Makes out with you anywhere and everywhere, and doesn’t care who's watching. Why would she? They are irrelevant in her eyes, and if it bothers them that much they can look away.

Brags about you all the time. Aside from herself, of course, you are the best thing to ever happen to NXT in a long time. To her, you were beautiful, talented, kind, and miles better than all other these wannabes in this company. Why wouldn’t she brag about you?

If it isn’t obvious from being the Center of the Universe, she is the passenger and pillow princess in the relationship. Your love language is acts of service, so you loved to take care of her both in and out of the ring, whether that is being the designated driver, massaging her shoulders and running her a bath after each match, and planning cute little getaways whenever Tiffany was really stressed out.

That's not to say she doesn't spoil you either. She spoils THE HELL out of you. Only lets her baby wear the best of the best. Versace, Gucci, Prada, Louis Vuitton, you have a bunch of options as long as they are all designer. You feel bad because you don't want her to think you only are with her for her money. But she reassures you she'd never think that, and tells you that gift-giving is one of her love languages and it makes her happy to see you smile over something she got you. It was one of the first times in your relationship that she opened up to you, and your relationship became better because of it. After the talk, you put up less of a fuss about her buying stuff for you, feeling less guilty because you knew how happy it made her. Buys you gifts every week, sometimes it's something she knows you had your eye on or you'd love and is your style, but other times it's something like a new book collection or little trinkets that she knows you would love more than any designer brand. You are the only person she shows her soft side to, and you love that she feels so comfortable with you.

Definitely makes Shawn give you both your own private locker room because in her words, "We're the best wrestlers in NXT and deserve to be treated like stars instead of being in a room full of mouthbreathers and untalented hags."

You are not complaining when she drags you into the room after your promos to do some less than appropriate stuff ;)

But sometimes after a rough match you both just want to hold the other and cuddle for hours until you have to leave the arena.

She gets jealous very easily, and if anyone tries to flirt with you they better run away immediately if she tries to confront them. An angry Tiffany is not one you want to deal with.

Is very protective of you. Does not take anyone hurting you lightly, even if it is a joke. No lowlife trash should even have your name in their mouth. You’ve had to pull her apart from beating the hell out of the other girls after they kept running their mouths.

Loves having spa days with you on your days off and splurging on the best facility and skincare so the both of you can relax after hectic work weeks.

And also loves getting matching mani and pedi’s with you :)

You guys def have matching gear, not just ring gear but during promos too. Tiffany picks out the outfits, you’re just her beautiful model.

You give each other good luck kisses before one of you goes out for a match.

When Tiffany won the NXT Women’s championship, you were the proudest and the loudest one in the arena. You gave her the tightest hug ever, just so freaking proud of her, and the look you gave her made her heart melt. She waited until everyone was done hugging and congratulating her to let herself cry tears of happiness, picking you up and crying into your neck. She had the best thing in her life in her arms, and the second best thing around her waist, and she couldn’t be more happier.

You guys won the NXT Women’s Tag Team championships shortly after, which just made it all the more sweeter. You both were on top, had all the gold, and most importantly, had each other.

Tiffany may be an arrogant rich bratty girl to others, but to you she was the sweetest, softest, attentive and most loving woman you ever met and had the privilege of being with, and you couldn’t feel luckier knowing she was yours every single day.

[louisisalarrie]

okieeeeee dokie. I have gotten several messages about the F jerseys and whether or not louis is giving up larry and whether or not we should just step back because he’s still pushing the narrative and just people being sad in general about all this thinking he doesn’t care about us.

SO instead of replying to you all individually, this is the last im gonna comment on this bullshit unless something massive happens. I hope I can comfort y’all and just overall make this feeling of doubt and grossness and turn it into the fight that we’ve been fighting for 14 years and remind you all to stay strong.

Multiple anons, and anyone else interested, welcome to the show.

So, to start this off, im gonna provide you all with some links, to remind you of just how orchestrated bbg and all of this is. This will preface this conversation with a much stronger tone because well… you have to remember how fucked up this stunt is and how poorly it was conceived (pardon the pun).

Links here, here, here, and here

Okay. So. BBG is the biggest load of bullshit I’ve ever heard (reference fully intended). This shit was so poorly done, with so many mistakes, and so many things that didn’t add up. All on top of a young dude who’s meant to be marketable to the masses as attainable, to provide more sales etc., and not a bad boy that fucks multiple women and gets one of them pregnant. That’s just… not good PR, first of all, and also negatively affects not only him, but the band as well, regardless of them going on break. Why not just have Louis single and attainable? Market him as a bit more charming and sexy and maybe doing the Harry thing, to ensure more promo?

Well, because Louis was the punching bag for SC and friends and they didn’t want him to take the limelight off Harry for a solo career, and needed to be as far away as possible from each other to ensure Harry’s coming out. ANYWAY you’ve heard me talk about this shit before yada yada yada. So, im gonna chat about what’s happening now instead.

For the last little while, Larries have been given small sips of water while being stranded in the desert, is kinda the best way I can describe it. We’re only getting content from Louis, also, which is something to remember. We’re not getting double the content from Harry so it’s been fairly quiet. Anyway. We’ve gotten green and blue lights, coded clothing, 7, gazing and pointing at the ceiling/boxes, all that stuff, but really, it’s no proof. It’s little tidbits in the grand scheme of things, and unfortunately in this grand scheme of things, exists bbg.

Louis has been single for a long while now, and his dating life doesn’t get traction in the press. Neither will these jerseys or really much else he does. Unless he were to be tied to a major artist/actress who’s super famous, he’s not gonna get any further press outside of the realm he is currently in, unfortunately. And I think perhaps that is something he tends to reference when he’s on stage. The whole “we did this together, we need each other, we didn’t need anyone else’s help, im so lucky that you accept me as I am” etc, because he’s not been stunting to up his market value. He’s just… doing well with the fans. It’s lucky he has such a dedicated fanbase. Artists don’t have this all the time.

Now, idk why tf LATAM has brought on so much F content with these jerseys, and I don’t know who in their right mind is actually spending money on this shit to gift to Louis (particularly in an economic cost of living crisis), but it’s truly bizarre. If I believed in bbg, I wouldn’t be giving him gifts for his kid, and I could’ve done it quite easily backstage by getting someone to leave it in his dressing room or whatever. But it’s weirddddd and a waste of moneyyyyy and doesn’t make him love you any more than other fans. Is it like a weird anti power play or something? Idk. But what I do know, is that these jerseys have had a very clear narrative.

Idk if something is coming or Harry is gonna come out or whatever, but Louis is doing his pretty little barely smile and wave and glancing at these jerseys before popping them on the stage. He doesn’t seem to look particularly over the moon with them, does he? He’s just like “oh okay thanks” and slaps the hell out of his chest and goes back to doing whatever he was doing. If he loved getting gifts from fans for F all over the world (and didn’t think it was weird nor was it a setup), I imagine maaaaaybe he’d show it off to the crowd a bit more? Maybe a “this is great, thank you! Everyone look at this sick jersey for my little lad! He’s gonna love that” because Louis is SO proud of that kid and loves that kid SO much and I just feel like he’d be more excited about it.

If bbg was real and he found it weird, he’d still probably smile a little more and be a little more into it than what he seems to be. This second time round was a bit more of a grimace and I just don’t see him being stoked about it. But let’s talk about that… why has there been two fucking jerseys for “his” kid given to him in very close succession? wtf is going on?

well, one of those times, apparently the Louis jersey was gifted to him backstage, but they saved the F jersey to give it to him on stage. Personally, idk, if I was a fan and brought these jerseys and got to go backstage (?????) to gift him them, I would probably give them at the same time. Because that makes sense. Because otherwise you need to carry it around and also try and get his attention from the crowd and it just seems surely like more of a fuck around. It’s weird, weird, and weird, and feels like way more of a set up than usual.

Because, it’s just a little reminder for everyone about bbg, and that it exists. It’s a good little thing to just upkeep that narrative without having to DO anything. It’s easy. But also interesting timing, and why now?

Harry’s coming back on the radar slowly, after a BUA, and so perhaps there could be a coming out in the near future that would encourage Louis to continue to look hettie af. Perhaps it’s to distract from any larry stuff that may happen or has happened around this time. Maybe it’s a good little way to upkeep the narrative if Louis and Harry start forming a friendship or liking each other’s photo online or SOMETHING. it can be for so many reasons. But, the main one isn’t to get rid of us. I promise you that.

Louis’ fandom, while it slowly continues to develop and grow, is majority larries. It’s just a matter of fact that more Larries flocked to Louis when Harry started getting a fucking crazy fanbase and started doing a million stunts. Louis felt safer, and continues to feel safer. Don’t get me wrong, still a huge amount of harries are larries, but as it stands, Louis has a very strong amount of us on his side. And he’s not an idiot, he knows that. He knows his demographic, he would be updated about that by PR, and they would analyse it too and see what needs to be damage control, what the age ranges are, what the social media content is between the fans, and how they view louis. All very basic stuff, and so he’d know. Hence the “so be it” comment. He knows that without us, there was a larger potential he could’ve flipped and would be playing theatres as opposed to arenas. He could’ve pushed us waaaaay further away than what he has with his weird little denials and F comments, he could have that kid at more shows and be flaunting him on Instagram, and could be actively trying to really squash it. But he doesn’t (some people say it’s because being linked to Harry gives him promo but that’s another conversation for another time so don’t bring that up please haha).

He states, very loudly and clearly, that he appreciates and loves every single one of us. He doesn’t make snide comments, he doesn’t say this kind of dismissively, he makes a point to say he loves all of us no matter what. He pointedly said that he thanks us for accepting him. And quite frankly, if I was in his position, I’d probably find a better way of saying that if I wanted to dispel the rumours.

These little jersey setups (which I believe one person has started and others have followed giving a great little way to remind us of bbg from louis’ team and UAs), are awfully staged and just cause fights within the fandom. It’s not ideal, but hell, it beats seeing him with that kid everywhere. And these days are very interesting with how fans get their information. Years ago, while we had groupies and insiders, update accounts weren’t manipulated the way they are now. We had blind items, sure, but anyone could write into that. We had receipts, and while many were real, many also weren’t. But now… with how big fanbases are online, the best way to communicate narratives are fan to fan, as opposed to media to fan. It seems more genuine. It seems less fake like media items are. It looks real.

So with these jersey incidences and UAs blabbering on and posting pictures of jerseys before the show and saying how much Louis loved them and all that, it’s manipulated as more real than what it is. You can’t write an article about everything, but you can tip off UAs or Deuxmoi with a fake name to get them to post shit for the fandom exclusively to see. It’s simple, but very effective. And it’s just… pure marketing, and encourages artist to fan interaction (which should be supported online but the boys can lack that these days which is shit on their behalf), and helps dispel the rumours within the fandom.

Wow okay. This turned into an essay and im not actually gonna reread it because I don’t have time but if you’ve gotten this far in my rambling, kudos to you. My main points are:

- no matter how many jerseys louis gets for F, he’s still not a dad

- those jerseys will not magically make him a dad

- these stunt narratives are sooooo see through and boring these days I just roll my eyes at it but thank god it’s a lot more lowkey to what it could be

- Louis loves us and wants us here bc we pay his bills and also accept him and support him and we’re on whatever journey he wants to take together

- these little ongoing narrative pushes can be the preface to a coming out on Harry’s side/reconciliation between the boys

- keep an eye on body language throughout these interactions

- giving gifts to ur fave relating to their kid no matter what you believe is creepy and weird and a lot of us seem to be in agreement on that

- this shit isn’t louis’ fault

- don’t believe everything you read on Twitter

- they missed the boat on ending this stunt years ago and ending it now is gonna be very fucking hard

- it’s easily arguable that even if Larry wasn’t real, Louis’ still not a dad

thanks team!

[charliedawn]

Hi! I have a request! (I won't be mad if you choose not to write it, you do you)

Since the slashers can't leave the facility, how would they take you on a date? I feel like Freddy would take you on a date in your dreams, etc. Please include Penny! He's my favorite!!! Love your work, and hope you have a blessed day! ❤️

Penny would make a whole world appear just for you. He is not as powerful within the hospital as he’d normally be, but he could still make a pretty good illusion for you.

He’d probably make you see what you want and make sure you have as much fun as possible. He’d dig into your head for all of your most personal desires.

He’d also take as many opportunities to know you better and satisfy his curiosity as to why you’d ever want him too.

Penny *tilts his head curiously at you* : "Humans are so odd. Your hearts beat so loudly when you are afraid…But, yours has a different sound to it."

You *surprised* : "Really ? How does it sound ?"

Him *presses his ear against your chest to hear it closer and closes his eyes* : "…Different." *giggles* "Good different."

Arts and crafts. Jason love carving wood and making bird houses. He brought his passions with him when he first entered St Louis. He’d be excited to show you his masterpieces and show you how to do it.

You’d be sitting side by side while using your hands to try multiple different shapes, but would be careful as to not let you get hurt with the knife when you’d try to carve things.

Jason *smiles proudly while showing you his last wooden piece of work*

Jason isn’t comfortable sharing anything about himself so…It’d be a huge honour. He’d also show you his collection of frogs and let you pet them if you want.

He’d also hold your hand and show you his face if you’d want.

Jack is a pretty standard guy when it comes to dating. He was kind of the popular kid and did date a lot in his younger years.

He’d normally go for the classic cinema and restaurant. But, as he is trapped in the hospital…He’d do with what he’s got.

Netflix and chill.

He’d ask the other slashers not disturb the both of you as you take over the TV room and eat snacks together.

Jack *pretending to be yawning before lowering his arm over your shoulders to caress the skin with his thumb*

You *smile knowingly* : "Really ?"

Him *smiles and shrugs* : "…Hey. Am a big fan of the old technics…is it working ?"

You *smile before leaning back against him* : "~Maybe."

Pennywise would let you drag him anywhere, but he’s the type to not like big crowds so…the fact that he can’t go out won’t really be a problem.

He’d be just as happy staying inside and have some time with you. But, don’t expect him to have many date ideas.

Pennywise never dated anyone before, so he’d just let you decide or let you sleep on his lap. Tops.

However, he may sing you to sleep.

And his voice is really soothing when he hums while rocking back and forth on his rocking chair.

Pennywise *starts humming while holding you close and stroking your hair*

You : "…I thought you didn’t like people touching you ?"

Him *smiles* : "Guess you must be the exception, huh dollface ?"

Norman is a gentleman. He’d be holding you and gently swing you back and forth in his arms.

He’d be dancing a waltz with. Or cooking you a good meal. His mother taught him how to be a good cook and to always be as respectful and nice as he can be.

So, he’d also be the type to buy you dinner and buy scented candles and roses for the occasion. And he’d always ask you if you’d had a good time at the end.

Norman *holding you close* : "Was it alright ?"

You *smile and wrap your arms around his waist* : "Perfect."

He’d then smile and let out a relieved sigh.

Norman was taught to be perfect. He would be devastated if you didn’t have fun or didn’t enjoy your time with him.

Freddy can date. But, the dates he went on in the past weren’t exactly heartfelt. He just never got emotionally connected with someone enough to care.

So, he’d try simple at first.

Freddy would either invite you to get a drink or offer to take a look at his garden. Let’s not forget he used to be a gardener. So, he does love flowers.

He’d then wait until it gets dark to ask you if you want him to try something on you.

Freddy never used his powers for anything else than pain or to kill. So, he’d be nervous when first trying to think of the perfect dream date.

Freddy *smiles nervously before taking your hand* : "Trust me ?"

You *smile back* : "Always."

He’d then get inside your head and put his plan into motion. He’d be careful not to hurt you of course and try to make it as perfect as he can.

Because he knows you trust him. And that is something Freddy never got from anyone but the kids he used to love…before they betrayed him.

Bo : "…Beer ?"

Bo is a simple man. It’d normally be a truck ride and drinking beer while looking at the sky, or at whatever is around.

But, as he can’t really leave the facility…he’d just ask you to join him in the courtyard of the hospital to have some s’mores and look up at the sky.

No conversation necessary. But, he’d be happy either way.

Bo : "Thanks fer…Ya know…Sayin’ yes to the whole thing…"

You *smile and shrugs* : "No need. Believe it or not…I like hanging out with you, Bo."

Bo *is stunned before chuckling and handing you a cold drink of your choice* : "Whatever you say, darlin’…"

Bo would be happy to hear it, even if he wouldn’t believe it at first.

Because Bo has always been the failure of his family.

So, why would you ever like his company ? But, he’d let himself dream for a bit. Just for a moment.

Brahms would give you his favourite toys and ask you to play with him. He’d also share his favourite snacks with you and watch cartoons with you.

Brahms is a child at heart and he’d be happy to do anything with you, as long as he spends time with you.

He’d also insist on staying with you for the night.

Brahms *holds you close and starts breathing deeply* : "Nice…day ?"

You immediately understood what he was asking and hugged him back.

You : "Yes. I had a great day. Thank you, Brahms."

He was very happy to hear it and cuddled you closer—even letting you take a peek at his face. He’d become very clingy very quickly.

Brahms has a big fear of being a disappointment and abandonment. So, once he knows you like him ? There’s little chance he’d ever leave you alone.

Michael *A…date ?*

He’d be surprised and even a little nervous at first. Love is a tricky business for Michael, since he technically killed all of the people he ever cared about.

So, he’d be a little worried you’d end up with the same fate.

So, even making him agree to go on a date with you would be tricky.

Michael *frowns and sighs before taking your hand*

You *smile hopefully* : "Is that a yes ?"

Michael *nods after a while*

He’d then lead you to the kitchen and have a little cooking date with him. He knows how to handle a knife and was advised early on to find an activity which would soothe him. He found cooking.

But, cooking with you was different. It felt…better.

Seems like the bogeyman can get lonely too.

Unfortunately, Hannibal Sr. is considered too dangerous to leave his cell most of the time, as he arrived after all the others to St Louis.

So, he’d be either asking you to put on some music for him or to read to him. Two of his favourite things.

Hannibal Sr. *smiles as he tilts his head left and right to the music*

You *smile as you silently observe him* : "Tell me…Why did you ask me on a date ? I mean…You’re always in there. It seems pointless."

Him *stops tilting his head before opening his eyes slowly and smiling at you* : "But, that is precisely the game, my dear. Anticipation makes the deal all the sweeter…"

You : "So…You would rather wait and watch me all day rather than going out on an actual date ?"

Him *chuckles* : "Of course not, my dear…But, even if I never was set free…Spending a lifetime just watching you would be enough for me."

You stared at Hannibal Sr. for a while and he didn’t break eye contact for a second. He had just confessed that he’d be okay with just watching you until the end. And somehow, you believed him.

[murfpersonalblog]

IWTV S2 Ep8 Musings - Loumand (Spoilers)

This was so effed up, wow; I'm FURIOUS with Armand, even though I've been expecting this from him since Season 1. Cuz the ish he said just never lined up right; the most unreliable narrator's been Armand the whole time! Louis' brain is scrambled, but at least he's SINCERE. But THIS mofo has been deliberately LYING since JUMP.

Longest divorce proceedings ever--took 77 years, dang. Armand said it was the night Madeleine was turned--Mr. They Gave Me A Choice. I Chose. But that's a effing lie, too!

Cuz in Ep6, BEFORE Louis even told Armand he was gonna turn Madz, Santiago was busy committing all those "strange crimes reported;" climbing the Eiffel Tower to wake up Lestat, and breaking into cinemas to steal their color film reels for the Trial's projector.

They threw Sam under the bus as if HE wrote effed up Trial script--but THIS was when they actually started writing it--with ARMAND's input & direction.

But I'm jumping ahead.

WTF is going on here?! O_O Is this a human the Theatre keeps around for the plays, zoned out so they stay alive until they're on stage? So Armand's punishment is the shame of having to feed the "cattle"? And HOW MANY nights was Lou in there? :(

Louis was locked up for over a MONTH!? 😨 While Armand just SAT THERE?!

Lou's not screaming from starvation, MORON--he starved himself for YEARS. His DAUGHTER is DEAD.

The frame of Paul is wild--Louis was ready to end it all. U_U He didn't want to be "rescued"--he wanted his baby girl back. "What was left to endure for?"

Man's a consummate actor--everything you're about to see is FAKE.

A "sacrifice" for the "god" Armand serves, eh? (AMC got my guy out here sucking on rocks, omg. XD I hope they taste like chips or popcorn or something.)

Louis CONSTANTLY shushing people on this show, I love it!

LIES. Lou's WAY too good for Armand; I'd've been like SURPRISE! 🔥 "My rage and madness were asleep--" chile. You loved Armand, and thought he'd cared enough to save you, which is why you were able to swallow that weak AF I Could Not Prevent It excuse from a 500 yr old vamp.

Daniel is on the hunt! I LOVE how they're introducing Raglan like he's just some kindly ole assistant/researcher/editor. Honey, you've got a big storm coming! "Reciprocation"--Daniel's a vampire now, so you KNOW Raglan's gonna start cashing in them I-O-Us from Dan! 💀

77 years later.... 😬

200 years is a mighty long time to maintain a relationship built on death threats, power imbalances, and lies.

Lestat was right--even 77 years was a effing miracle--extra time bought at the price of Louis' memories being oh-so-conveniently erased.

THEY rehearsed it--LIE. There Armand goes, deflecting culpability.

Louis sleeping in Claudia's coffin, stop, my feels. U_U

Omfg Armand; of COURSE you don't remember the last thing y'all said to e/o in Paris b4 y'all left Lestat to travel Egypt--but you can "remember" alllll this other bullcrap, eh?

So they've already done Trinity Gate?

BY ALL MEANS. EXPOSE THEM.

Not Sam being in Daftpunk, y'all need to stop IMMEDIATELY. (But now I know wtf was going on in the Season 3 announcement--I was so confused why they were mentioning Sam!)

ARMAND told the coven to let the audience read Claudia's diaries and VIOLATE her body (of work), omfg 😱

Mr Frankenstein disrespected her at EVERY turn!

I could forgive spitting over "Come to Me" and how Loustat met in NOLA, but I draw the line at spitting at adding the animation of Lestat killing that dear sweet racoon! XD

Armand had the NERVE to look away when they bum-rushed Claudia & Louis with the Mind Gift.

"It's their turn to hurt--" ARMAND said he didn't think Louis would love him for 200 years, so he SOLD THEM TF OUT--to DIE.

They were HOBBLING AROUND WITH GASHED ANKLES, LAUGHED at, and stuffed in RAT BOXES! And ARMAND was in on the whole thing!

This is WILD, AMC, y'all are sick for this, but I love it!

Is DANIEL using Armand's "slave name" and abusing him, y'all? HUH? It's all BULLCRAP--Armand's BEEN in control, with all the real power the WHOLE. EFFING. TIME.

EFF what you call him, or whatever kinky ROLES he PLAYS.

ARMAND decides who lives and dies, as THE coven master--eff who's called Maitre!

Armand was gonna let Lou DIE. "He just took credit for it when the opportunity presented itself." Wow.

He let Louis suffer in that crypt for over a MONTH before he FINALLY had a change of hear/conscience and pulled him out!

And even then he wasn't gonna go WITH Louis--he expected Louis to flee Paris! ALONE.

He stayed with Louis cuz Louis destroyed his whole effing coven! Who else did Armand HAVE but Louis after that? HE CHOSE THE COVEN.

Poor dear; he wasn't held enough between ritualistic fledgling executions. 🙄😒 "We are teachers of one another! Louis, everything that gives you happiness gives me...." WHAT? What does it give you, Armand? (I cannot WAIT for S3 to do more DM, cuz I've been HATING Armand connected in any way to Louis & Claudia. I don't like not liking Armand; he's my fave book character! But AMC's bound & determined to make me spit every time he starts talking.)

Excellent grounds to get the house, the dog, the Farm, Damek, AND Rashid in the divorce! XD

And this gremlin's got the audacity to STILL be lying, even when caught LITERALLY red-handed with his notes to Santiago in the effing margins--meanwhile CLAUDIA was CONDEMNED TO DEATH for premeditating Lestat's death in HER written diaries--which ARMAND had passed around like candy at his carnival of horrors!

"An insignificant detail delivered by an insignificant mortal"--Rolin must hate Armand, he's not giving this dude an INCH. XD And SAM delivered it, not Daniel. SAM snitched on the coven. (WHEN?! And WHY?)

I don't like the whole "you should fear the other one--" only for Raglan to be like SOS GET OUT OF THERE NOW. Didn't Raglan know Armand was lying his arse off? Or was it misdirection--fear Louis' retribution when he busts a cap in Armand's lying arse?

DanLou nation RISE! ^0^

This was beautiful; I'm so happy for them. They started off TERRIBLY, but look at that bond just blossom like a magnolia tree Armand tried to clip and prune and graft and manipulate--only for it to flourish wild and free!

[supercap2319]

Beauty within the Beast

Tyler Galpin x Male Reader

A/N: I have no idea why I made this.

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Y/N?” The sounds of leaves crunching underneath shoes could be heard as Y/N led Tyler deep into the forest behind his house. They were out here to conduct an experiment. Hopefully, if all goes well, they will succeed.

Y/N turned to the other boy, a childish like smile on his face. “Of course it is. My dad let Eddie and me play in these woods all the time. Especially at midnight when the killer spirits come out to play hide and go death.”

“That’s not what I meant.”

“I know, but trust me. With all the knowledge my grandpa gave me about Hydes, this plan will work.”

Tyler’s ears picked up at the note. “Really? What did he say about them?”

“That apparently Robert Louis Stevenson wasn’t crazy. The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde wasn’t just a short story or a nightmare he experienced. He was real. And apparently Edward Hyde and my grandpa were good friends back in the day,” Y/N said. “He’s your ancestor, though his mutation grew into a more beastly form that he passed down to his descendants. Passed down to you.”

Tyler tried to rack his brain around this new information. So, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde were real people and apparently he was a descendant of the original Hyde. “So, I’m a descendant of them? And my mom was too?”

“Yup. But the good thing about my grandpa being friends with benefits with Mr. Hyde.” Y/N smirked at that. “Is that a person can learn to control their Hyde form and even use its strength in their mortal form.”

“So, I can learn to control my beast-like side?” Tyler asked. It seemed too good to be true.

“Yeah, but the only way for you to control it is to own the darkest parts of yourself. Your hidden desires and wants.”

“I don’t know if I can,” Tyler admitted. He’s made so many mistakes that it seemed impossible for him to be brave enough to control this side of himself. “I don’t know if I’m strong enough.”

“Tyler… I know you can control this…” Y/N got closer to the other boy and put his face in his hands as he leaned forward and placed a chaste kiss to his lips as the other boy blushed red. “I believe in you.”

“Why would you help me, Y/N? After all the pain I’ve caused you, I don’t deserve your protection or your help.” He began to cry as he looked so broken and full of remorse. All the terrible things he did. All the people who he hurt and killed. He was a monster and deserved to be put down.

Y/N gently brushed his boyfriend’s tears away as he gave him a small smile. “Tyler, I chose to help you because I love you. Because I know that it wasn’t your fault for what happened. It was Ms. Thornhill’s. If anyone deserves to be punished, it’s her. For using a young man’s trauma and the need to know about his mother against him.”

Tyler hiccuped as he looked at Y/N with sad, wet eyes. “Really?”

“Really. Despite everyone saying not to, I don't care. All I care about is helping you.” He hugged him and that filled Tyler with warmth and hope. Hope that he can do this. “What do we do first?”

Y/N moved away from Tyler and looked into his baby blues. “We give you a moving target.”

“A target?”

“Right. If you can successfully catch the target and manage to control your killer instincts, then it means you’ve gotten control,” Y/N said.

“Who’s the target?” Tyler asked, but he had a sneaking suspicion of who it was.

“You’re looking at him.” Y/N pointed to himself. “If you can catch me and manage not to tear me limb from limb, then it’s worked. You’ve owned the darkest parts of yourself.”

“Wait, Y/N, I don’t think this is a good–”

Whatever Tyler was going to say was cut off by a punch to the gut from his boyfriend. Tyler keeled over in pain. He looked up at Y/N in shock. “What are you doing?” Tyler groaned.

“Sorry, Puppy, but I need Mr. Hyde right now. Not Dr. Jekyll.” He punched Tyler in the face, minding his Frankenstein’s strength and not breaking Tyler’s nose or his bones. Tyler groans as he looks at Y/N, as his breathing becomes heavy and rapid and when Y/N sees Tyler’s eyes bulged out, literally, he knows it’s time for him to run. And fast.

He vamp speeds out of there, as he can hear Tyler’s inhuman roar as he begins to transform into his beastly side. His clothes tear off as he grows sharp claws until he stands about 10 feet tall. The Hyde roars and as soon as it catches Y/N’s scent, it begins to give chase.

Y/N speeds through the forest as he tries to put some distance between himself and the Hyde on his tail. It would have been easier to fly away, but unfortunately, he needs to be on the ground for this plan to work. He continues to speed run as he can hear the Hyde’s thunderous steps closing in on him. He stops just short of the gates of the local cemetery as he turns and waits for the inevitable. Not a moment later, the Hyde crashes through the trees and roars loudly, not a moment later he’s down on his back with the Hyde’s monstrous hand pinning him down.

Y/N looks up at the creature’s red, bloodshot eyes instead of Tyler's clear blues. They were wild and unfocused, with the only objective on the Hyde's mind was to capture its prey and mutilate it. Y/N wiggled a bit as the monster tighten its grip on him as it dug its claws into his sides. The young hybrid hissed at the pain of Tyler's claws digging into his skin. He locks eyes with Tyler's other self. “Tyler, if you can hear me, fight. I know you can control this. I love you.”

Meanwhile, in the dark recesses of his mind, Tyler watched the scene play out like a movie. Like he was merely an observer looking out into the film and he had no control over his actions. There was a dark chuckle as Tyler turned to see a doppelgänger of himself, but this version of him had black hair and bloodshot eyes. He smiled at the scene of Y/N pinned helplessly to the ground.

Tyler called him Dark Tyler. A more malevolent version of him that enjoyed the chaos and bloodshed. This was the darkness that Y/N said that he had to own. If he wanted control of himself; he needed to learn to accept his dark side. “Pathetic. He thinks love can save him?” Dark Tyler laughed. “I can’t wait to rip him limb from limb. I bet you he likes to get loud. I betcha he’s a screamer, eh, Ty?” Tyler looks at his evil counterpart, who has a filthy smirk on his face as he raises his right arm and Tyler sees the Hyde do the same thing in reality.

Tyler grabbed his arm before he could put it down. “I’m not going to let you hurt, Y/N,” Tyler protested.

His doppelgänger frowns at him. “And why not? Because he loves us?” Dark Tyler mocks. “You and I both know no one could love a monster like us.”

“Y/N did. He believes in us. Believes in me. And I’m not going to let you kill him.”

“Oh, so little boy, Galpin, has finally grown a pair and decided to man up.” Dark Tyler got close to his good side. “What are you going to do, Tyler? I’m the best version of us. The version that Ms. Thornhill brought out. I’m the stronger one. I’m the smarter one. I’m–”

Whatever he was going to say was cut off as Tyler jammed his fist into his chest and grabbed his heart. Dark Tyler looks up in shock as there was a fire in his doppelgängers eyes. His blue eyes were cold and fierce. “I’m done letting you take control and ruining my life. From now on, I’m in control!” Tyler rips the heart of Dark Tyler out and drops it to the floor beside his fallen lookalike as a sudden switch goes off inside his head.

Instead of just seeing Y/N. He could feel his body underneath his hand, his claws. He could feel everything in his Hyde form right now. He was no longer a mindless killing machine. He’s finally learned to control it, and somehow Y/N knew it too as he looked into Tyler’s eyes. “Puppy, is that you?”

Tyler felt himself shrink down to his human side as he willed his transformation to end. His claws came out of Y/N’s body as the young man winced as Tyler became human once again. A very much naked human. The Galpin boy looked at Y/N. He quickly got off him and tears formed in his eyes. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Y/N got up and hugged Tyler. “It’s okay, Tyler. It’s alright now. Because you did it. You took control.”

Tyler looks at him. “I did, didn't I? I can’t believe I did it.”

“I can. I told you you were strong enough to do this, and I was right.” Y/N smiled.

Tyler smiled back. “I love you, Y/N Munster.”

“I love you too, Tyler Michael Galpin.”

The two share a passion kiss that was much more heated than the first one as Tyler groans as Y/N pulls away when he feels something hard poke him. He looks down and smirks as he looks at Tyler. “Someone’s excited.” He points to Tyler’s hard on as the other boy blushed.

Y/N giggled. “Tell you what, for being so brave, why don’t you and I go all the way today?”

Tyler looks shocked. “Really?”

“Yeah, my dad says there’s no better or more romantic place to lose your virginity than in a cemetery. Especially if you do it on a gravestone.”

Tyler just chuckles as he kisses his boyfriend once again.

[fallingforel]

“Drop the attitude” prompt with frat harry please? x

a/n: sorry for the M.I.A for the past few days have been going to arctic monkeys getting ready for it and getting over it but it's here and I hope you enjoy! As always my blog masterlist is here and this will give you a prompt list and any existing prompts that have already been made, anywhooo lets get on with the show

warnings: cursing, smoking. If there's any others please let me know.

none of my work is proofread, so please let me know of any errors and I will correct them.

words:1,522

in which you're one directions tour manager and Harry's friend with benefits

It was a slow day at work, travelling to the next city. not much was to be done other than making correct calls with the next venue to make sure there was enough space for buses to park round the back and to make sure that there was extra security, which there wasn't. So that made you even more stressed, than you already were trying to make the boys concentrate on what the layout for Tommorow was and whether or not they knew exactly what city they were in, which was hard to do when all they wanted to do was play video games and prank wars on eachother, they were still teenagers so there wasn't a lot you could do to keep them concentrated.

And it was safe to say it was pissing you off to no end, it was really hard to keep teenage boys attention for a matter of minutes before they find something else to do. So you had given up and gone to your bunk to finish the calls off to the appropriate people: one to the boys manager back home as a routine to make sure everything was going smoothly, you had been trusted with taking them from place to place setting up the venue, making sure soundcheck was good making sure none of them were injured; on your own as a 19 year old because you had been given such a good placement year for your second year and you weren't going to let it go at least not yet so you lied the best way you knew how since being in customer service roles since you were 15 had taught you, and you weren't going to let 5 short attention spanned boys let this slip through your fingers.

The other calls you had to make was a breeze, just making sure that extra security had been put in place for the next place you were about to pull into, it was needed for the morning not now as no one was around and you had triple checked.

It didn't take you long to pull into the venue, the other 3 tour buses pulled in and you had gone to check if the stage hands knew what they were doing what time soundcheck was and if they were all prepped before you sent them on your merry way to go and get some rest before heading to the last tour bus which was full of equipment to make sure that nothing had been damaged or lost in transportation to the new venue. After you had gone back outside pulling out a cigarette, because the stress had gotten too much for you, the constant shouting and screaming of the fans as well as the boys.

"you shouldn't smoke it's bad for you, how many times have I told you?" Harry said from behind you, not scaring you because you could hear footsteps getting closer to you. "You really think I care? Besides, your bandmates smoke so what's it to you?" "nothing. Don't care about them like I care about you sweetheart" he says before coming up behind you to hug you which you shrug off, beyond pissed at him for not paying attention to you when it was needed the most. "WOW, you don't even care about us?" Louis pipes up from beside him clearly overhearing what had been said between the two of you. "of course I care about you you dick" is all he says before running off to tussle with his bandmate. "don't care about me though, just a pitiless fuck to you." you say in a quiet whisper. Which unfortunately for you Paul overheard "oh Y/n love are you okay?" is all it takes to get you sobbing, which earns you a hug from Paul.

You two stay like that for god knows how long, "you gonna tell me what's going on kid?" Paul is the first to break the silence you two were in while you finished your cigarette. "It's just all so hard you know? I mean how am I supposed to maintain a career and a boyfriend who I manage as part of that career. Not to mention it is so hard to gain his attention, all the time whether it be just us two to get out our needs or to get the whole bands attention for an opinion on what songs they want to sing that night, or what they want to wear or what they-" Paul cuts you off clearly knowing that you were going to break down again

"yes, it is hard I get that, but what you have to remember is that they are teenage boys who got put into a boyband so young, Harry the youngest, who have never known what it's like to endure this. This is their second time doing this so they haven't got the grasp of it fully. But, they will. As for your's and Harry's relationship, I can't speak on, but what I do know is that you can't juggle both, so it's either, you make it a full time thing between you trying not to blur the line, that is so hard to find, between your jobs and your relationship or you cut ties before one of you gets hurt."

"thanks Paul, you always have such a way with words" Is all you say before he is needed elsewhere and he's giving you a wink and standing up from the curb and leaving you.

Lou, then comes over. "Are you okay, darling? I know how challenging these lot can be trust me, try getting their attention to stay in a chair for an hour there's always one that doesn't want to co-operate but trust me you will find a way y/n" and that got you thinking over ways to make them have your undivided attention, before finally heading back to your designated tour bus bunk to get some shut eye.

when you got into your bunk after getting ready for sleep, Harry was waiting opening the covers for you to clamber in which you didn't instead you turned around going into the back of the bus and settling down into the sofa, it was a few moments until the door burst open and Harry came clambering in and sat on the sofa beside you.

"What the fuck Y/n?"

"get lost Harry, I don't want to speak to you right now. Certainly don't want to be in your proximity, now leave so I can go to bed."

"drop the attitude Y/n, I've been nothing but nice to you these past few days, now tell me what I've done to make you a sour headed bitch today"

"Nothing but nice?" you say with a sarcastic chuckle. "let's see first off you just ignore me when I'm trying to get you to concentrate on your job, figuring out what your wearing if you know where to get on and off the stage, where the stage is. Hell, what fucking city your in. least you could do is answer me when I ask you questions, but instead I'm met with yeahs which doesn't answer my questions it literally doesn't take you that long to answer me. The second thing, what the fuck was that smoking thing, we are not in a relationship so you don't get to talk to me like that. I think we have got the lines blurred between our jobs and our relationship, that we're not even in. so I think it's in our best interest to cut ties while we still can and no one gets hurt, just while I'm here being your tour manager but when I go back to University and you go back on your next tour we can see if something is still there."

"lot to unpack there. Look I promise you, you will have my undivided attention from now on and I will try to get the others to concentrate. as for the smoking thing, I'm sorry. It's just I care about you a fucking whole lot, and yes I shouldn't even have said it especially while we're not even in a relationship, but that's just the thing y/n I wish we were, I hate this friends with benefits it makes me seem just like the womaniser the media portray me and you know how much I hate that image. It fucking kills me that you don't want to continue whatever we have right now, but I understand your doing your job and you don't want to blur anymore lines between us so, I promise you this Y/n, I will wait for you however long it takes for you to come around and back to me, whether that be after you have finished your placement year, while your still our tour manager, when you have graduated from university. However long it may be, I'll be here waiting here for you Baby."

"Thank you Harry. Friends?" you ask with your hand held out as a peace offering for him to shake.

"Friends." he agrees shaking your hand.