#i just texted this to melissa but now i have to share it with everyone

[sugarandspisces-writes]

Kiss It Better Pt. I

Pairing: Melissa Schemmenti x reader

Summary: Melissa engages in a game of kickball with her students and takes a nasty tumble. With the help of her colleagues, she makes her way to you, the school nurse.

Word Count: 4.6k

CW/TW: Mentions of hospitals and injuries

Although Melissa was a seasoned teacher, sometimes it was challenging to get into the swing of things after a nice vacation. While she was used to instructing two classes, the job still came with its fair share of tough days. The holiday break was much needed, considering it gave her time to recuperate from the first semester.

Originally, she hadn’t planned on going anywhere, and was fully content with spending two weeks at home with her feet kicked up. That was until she heard you complaining about the brutal winter weather. You weren't native to the north, and though you'd lived there for some time, you hadn't adjusted to the seasonal changes.

The more you mentioned it, the more she realized the feeling was mutual. She decided it wouldn't hurt to ring in the New Year differently, so the two of you brainstormed destinations and settled on a spur-of-the-moment trip to Florida. She had a guy who could get her discounted plane tickets and a hotel room for little to nothing. Before she knew it, she was getting sunkissed on Palm Beach. She’d be making a ton of ziti to return the favor, but the bottomless margaritas and adrenaline-filled nights at the casino were more than worth it.

It was now a week later and with her mind still on island time, she hoped for a relaxed first day back. The class was rowdy when they arrived, but that was to be expected. They were excited to be with each other after a couple of weeks away, but luckily they could themselves down without much of her guidance. So far the day was going well, and she was teaching her last morning lesson before recess.

The class was reading silently, making it the perfect time to catch up on some emails. Most of them were from parents, but she had one from Ava with the schedule of upcoming meetings for the remainder of the year. The first one was tomorrow morning meaning she had to wake up extra early.

She rolled her eyes, and the expression only intensified as she skimmed through the rest of the message. According to the principal, breakfast would be provided. However, the last time Ava promised to provide food, the “breakfast” in question was fun-sized boxes of cereal from the cafeteria. She would definitely need her extra-large Stanley Tucci mug to get through tomorrow morning.

She had one last email to read and was delighted to see your name attached to it. The message was marked as a priority, declaring the content to be urgent. It was a reminder for all teachers, asking them to collect and return the forms the students received before the break. As the school nurse, part of your job was ensuring that the kids had updated health records on file.

As for Melissa's class, just about everyone remembered to have their guardians fill out your forms, and she planned to give them to you later today. That prompted her to text you so she could see what your schedule looked like.

M: Hey, I’ll bring those forms to you during my planning period

↪ You sure? I don't mind stopping by your class later

You knew someone was bound to forget to deliver the forms, so you’d have to snag them at the end of the day.

M: I’ll bring them, hon. One less trip you’ll have to make.

Truthfully, the redhead wanted an excuse to see you, and her planning period conveniently took place when your day came to a lull.

↪ Thanks! You’re amazing!! 

Melissa’s lips curled upward at your compliment.

M: I might sit with you for a few when I come down. Is that okay?

She was considerate of your job, and no matter how much she wanted to see you during the day, she never wanted to interfere with your work.

↪ Of course that’s okay. You’re always welcome. Just let me know when you’re headed down

For the most part, your relationship was under wraps. Everyone who needed to know was informed, and everyone else was left to assume. And assume they did, because your affinity for each other was a hot topic around the school. Abbott loved to talk, but Melissa had eyes and ears all over–literally.

She’d become acquaintances with a couple members of the camera crew, and their knowledge combined with Barb’s allowed her to obtain information from virtually every square inch of the building. Just about everything that was said made its way back to the source. However, it didn’t bother either of you. If anything, it was amusing, and you found fun in keeping everyone guessing.

Engaged in her reverie, Melissa didn't notice the child standing directly beside her until the small voice spoke. “Ms. Schemmenti.”

Startled by their presence, she nearly jumped out of her seat. A hand clutched at her chest causing the young girl to laugh. “Jeez, Mya!” 

“Sorry.” She motioned toward the clock on the opposite side of the room. “Isn't it time for recess?

Melissa looked to where her student was pointing and saw it was 11:20 AM. Crap. They were supposed to be gone five minutes ago. She thanked the girl for telling her, then stood up to alert everyone else.

"Alright, my little eagles, it’s time for recess! We’re a little late because I got distracted, but you guys aren’t surprised, right?” A unison of “no” echoed around the room. “That was a rhetorical question, but thank you for the enthusiastic responses.”

She answered queries about the meaning of ‘rhetorical’, while everyone got their coats on. It was considerably cold, but not cold enough for the school to cancel outside activities. Melissa didn’t mind since this was her kid’s way of getting their energy out and she always made sure everyone had enough clothing on to protect them from the chill.

Once everyone was ready, they walked down the hall in formation. Melissa’s class was large, and while it could be hard to wrangle them all, they did a pretty good job at keeping each other in check. 

“I can’t believe we lost a whole 5 minutes,” Daniel whined from the back of the line. It was quiet, but Melissa still heard, so she slowed her steps to meet him once he strolled by.

She wrapped an arm around his shoulder and said, “I’m sorry, buddy. I’ll make it up to you, okay?” When he didn’t respond she spoke again. “How about this? I’ll do a class vote, and then youse can decide what I owe you.”

Even though the boy accepted her apology, he still hung his head low. Melissa squeezed his shoulder for good measure, then let him free as they approached the doors that led outside.

“Melissa!” Janine shouted, waving the redhead over to her. “I was looking for you guys. What happened?”

“Hey, kid. I was reading emails and lost track of time.” Melissa explained as she walked over to the second grade teacher.

“I had a lot of those too! Did you see Ava sent that one email, like, three times? It was so weird,” she laughed and Melissa agreed. “I bet your kids were sad about being late, huh?”

“You shoulda seen their faces when I told them they lost some time,” Melissa shared. “I might as well have told them Santa wasn’t real.”

Janine stuck her bottom lip out in a pout, knowing the exact look Melissa was referring to. “If it makes you feel any better, I’m still getting used to the flow of things too. The first day back is always a little rocky for me.”

“I’m usually okay, but I don’t know what happened today.” Melissa shrugged, looking off into the distance (Except she knew exactly what happened, and it was you).

“Well, they seem pretty happy now that they’re out here, so that’s good,” Janine noted.

“Yeah, but I’m sure I’ll be making it up to them for the next few weeks.” Melissa sighed and Janine nodded in agreement, knowing how relentless kids could be.

“Oh, one of your students is coming over here. I spoke too soon, it looks like he has a bone to pick with you.” She nudged the woman in her side.

Melissa narrowed her eyes before turning toward the student. “Hey, Daniel. What’s up?”

“Can you please play with us?” The little boy asked politely.

She looked across the playground and saw a group of students eyeing her expectantly. She couldn’t deny that it tugged at her heartstrings to see them so eager. However, playing with them wasn’t exactly on the agenda today.

“Oh, I don’t know, hon. There isn't much time left, and I’m sure you don’t want me slowing your game down.”

“Please, we really want you to play. And you said you’d make it up to us, remember?” He reminded her. 

This wasn’t her ideal way of making it up, but when Melissa looked down at the boy’s big, hopeful eyes, she couldn’t say no. She looked toward Janine and of course, she was looking at her with just as much expectation as the kids. The next thing Melissa knew, she was involved in a lively kickball game.

“Ms. Schemmenti, Ivy’s cheating!” Tyler yelled as soon as Melissa stepped up to the makeshift base. “I caught the ball, so that means she’s out!”

“I’m not cheating! The ball slipped out of your hands, so I’m still in the game!” Ivy yelled back at him.

“Cheater, cheater, pumpkin eater!” He teased. “You’re out!”

Melissa knew that it wouldn’t be an elementary school game if there wasn’t a little drama, but she had to hold her laughter back as she listened to their banter. “Okay, that’s enough, guys. Now, Tyler, tell me what happened again.”

“Ivy kicked the ball and I caught it, so that means she’s out.” He explained to her.

Instead of handling the situation herself, she decided to play the mediator. “Okay, How many people saw Tyler catch the ball?” Almost everyone raised their hand, so she turned to the girl to give her a sad smile. “Sorry, hon. You gotta follow the rules.”

“No fair!” The girl crossed her arms over her chest and began to stomp away.

Before she got far, Melissa gave the child a proposition. “Hey, how about I let you run the bases for me? That way you can stay in the game.” Quite frankly, she wasn’t in the running mood, and due to the cold, her joints were stiff. She also didn’t want the child to be in a bad mood for the rest of the day. This way, everyone got what they wanted.

“Deal!” Her mood instantly changed, and Melissa received a wide grin and a high five.

“All right, Ivy’s gonna run for me.” She announced to the group.

“I think that’s against the rules.” Someone piped up from behind her.

“Well, I’ve got a bad knee, so I ain’t running anywhere.” The teacher emphasized her point by wagging her index finger from side to side.

“Well, Ms. Schemmenti, you did say we have to follow the rules.” Ivy recited the woman's recent words.

Melissa closed her eyes and released a sigh at the girl's remark, now regretting using that exact phrase. “Alright, Alright.” The teacher relented. As much as she wanted to disagree with the girl, she was right, and it would be unfair to go against her word. “I’ll run, but go easy on me.” 

“Okay, everyone get into position!” Tyler yelled, alerting his classmates that the game was about to start. He rolled the ball down to the teacher, and the woman gave her best kick without using her full power. They were undoubtedly faster than her, but she was certainly stronger, and everyone needed a fair shot. 

She then ran to first base and was pleased with herself at how quickly she got there. She hadn’t played a game like this in a while, so it was gratifying to see that she still could. The confidence boost allowed her to make it past the next two bases. Tyler hurled the ball in an attempt to get her out, and she dodged it.

Melissa soon realized that was a mistake once she tripped. The heel of her boot got caught on an uneven patch of grass and she failed to regain balance. Her ankle rolled inward and she collapsed with a thud. A series of gasps filled the air, and within seconds she was surrounded by concerned children. They were too scared to touch her, but that didn’t stop them from getting help.

“Teacher down! Teacher down!” A shrill voice shouted at the top of their lungs.

While Melissa was thankful for the effort, she was unhappy about the attention she now received. Embarrassment was an emotion she rarely felt, but today it was warranted. Listening to her students' frantic chatter gave her something to focus on other than the blush burning her face. 

“Okay, let’s back up! Give Ms. Schemmenti some space, please!” Janine's voice of reason rang through all the chatter.

The kids inched away, but only far enough so Janine could have access. It was clear they were protective of their teacher, as they wouldn't take their eyes away for a second in case something were to happen.

Janine held her hand over her mouth as she kneeled in front of the woman. “Oh my God, Melissa! What happened? Are you okay? Can you get up?”

Once the crowd dissipated some, the woman felt she could move freely. She sat up, dusted her hands off, then brushed the debris from her clothes.

“M’fine,” she muttered in response to Janine’s frantic questioning.

“Are you sure? You fell pretty hard.” Janine noted her flushed cheeks and she could only imagine how she felt. Being that she’d embarrassed herself countless times, she had an idea, though she’d never been in this exact situation.

Melissa smoothed her hair back into place, ignoring the sympathetic look on the younger woman’s face. The expression made her want to crawl into a hole and never return. “Thank you for that riveting statement.” 

She reached out for Janine’s hand, a silent invitation for her assistance, and felt herself being tugged into an upright position. She hadn't felt it at first, but once she planted her right foot on the ground, a searing pain shot through it. Reflexively, her arm slung across the shorter woman’s shoulder to keep herself steady. She hissed, then hung her head low in an attempt to conceal the pain on her face. 

“What’s wrong?” Anxiety laced the junior teacher’s voice, but Melissa just ignored her, unable to simultaneously be in pain and answer questions. She took another step, thinking she could walk it off, but she was sorely mistaken. A groan slipped from her mouth and the sound shocked her as much as it did Janine. 

The latter's steps halted, almost causing the injured woman to topple over. “Okay, you’re obviously hurt. I think you should go see Y/N.”

At the mention of your name, the redhead straightened her posture. There was no way in hell she would go to your office and interrupt your day for something minor like this. She wasn't bleeding or dying, so she wouldn't have you fussing over her when you had students to care for. “I'll be okay. I just need to make it to my classroom.”

Janine bit the inside of her cheek, a telltale sign that her worry was increasing. “I don’t know, Melissa. I think you should let them take a look at it.” 

She tried to stand on her own to prove a point, but she simply couldn’t do it. The pain only grew with her efforts, and tears began to prick at her eyes. “Just let me sit down for a bit, okay? I’ll go see Y/N after lunch if it still hurts.”

Janine settled for the compromise and recruited a teacher to watch their kids while she got Melissa inside. It was a challenging effort, but miraculously, they made it back safely. They received a few strange looks from other staff members, but Janine warded their concerns away with a smile. Once they arrived, she helped Melissa get settled at her desk.

“Don’t worry about your class, I’ll bring them back,” Janine assured her. “Do you need anything while I’m here? I could get Barbara if she’s–”

Melissa immediately shook her head. The very last thing she needed was for Barb to find out. “That's okay.” 

Janine gave a wary look in return, as she wasn’t expecting her coworker to deny that offer. “Are you sure?”

She huffed, sick of the questions, and took a beat before answering. “Just bring my kids back, please. That’s all I need right now.”

She wasn’t in any position to argue with that, so she accepted the task. “Okay, I’ll have them back in no time.”

“Thanks, pipsqueak,” Melissa said, causing the woman to take on a disgruntled look. Though she wasn't happy about the circumstances, she switched her tone to show her true appreciation. “Really, Janine, thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” She smiled, happy that she could complete a good deed for the day.

Moments later, Melissa was reunited with her rambunctious class. They came pouring in, not even bothering to take their coats off as they filled the empty space around her desk. Despite the considerable change in climate, they were too invested in her situation to care. 

“We heard you fell.”

“Are the second graders in trouble?”

“Did you break your leg?!”

“Are you going to the hospital?”

“Who’s gonna take us to lunch?”

She broke her silence to address the last comment. “Really, Elijah? That’s what’s on your mind?” 

“I’m sorry, Ms. S, but I’m starving.” He rubbed his belly in broad strokes.

“Don’t worry, you’re gonna get to lunch on time.” While that was great news, it only answered one of their burning questions. They continued to stare her down and she caved at the sincerity. “I know I probably scared some of you, but I’m okay. My leg is not broken, and no, I will not be going to the hospital. Most importantly, no one is in trouble, capisce?”

When she received answers of understanding, she moved on to the next order of business. “Now, let me see who’s gonna walk youse to lunch.”

“Ms. Teagues can take us, or Mrs. Howard!” A student announced excitedly, waving in the direction of the door where both teachers were standing. However, Melissa was so focused on consoling her class and making sure they got fed, that she didn’t notice their presence.

She tried to roll toward the class phone, but it was on the opposite side of the desk. The feat was too large, so she grabbed her cell instead. She scrolled to Janine’s contact, internally swearing that this would be the last favor she asked of her. “Mrs. Howard might be busy, hon, so I think Ms. Teagues is our best bet.”

Elijah grabbed the woman’s attention again. “No, she's not. Mrs. Howard is right there.” He nodded toward the outskirts of the crowd. 

Barbara’s deep eyes shone with concern as they met Melissa’s, but the redhead could only scrunch her face in confusion. What the hell? she thought, but it all made sense once she saw Janine sporting a guilt-ridden expression.

Her lips thinned into a smile as she tried to keep her composure. “Ms. Teagues, do you mind taking them to lunch? I’d appreciate it so much.”

Janine knew what that look meant, so she was quick to speak. “Not at all! Come on guys, grab your lunches if you brought one today.” Once everyone was ready, they made a swift exit because she didn't want to face Melissa’s wrath.

As the last footsteps trickled out, quiet fell over the teachers. Barbara’s eyes never left her best friend, inspecting her from head to toe, watching as Melissa twiddled her thumbs. It irked Barb that she wasn’t paying the slightest attention and she would not tolerate being blatantly ignored. “Melissa Schemmenti! Are you going to tell me what's going on?”

Melissa proceeded to avoid eye contact. She picked up a pen along with a stack of papers as if she were about to grade them. Her petulance sent Barb over the edge. If she didn’t want to tell her, that was fine, but she was tired of this little game.

“You know, I was trying to give you a chance to tell me yourself, but it seems you would rather act like a child.” The woman smirked, knowing her next words would get a reaction. “Janine already told me what happened.”

“I told her to keep her mouth shut!” Melissa curled her hands into fists and banged them against the wood. “I’m gonna kill that girl!”

“Not with one working ankle, you won’t,” Barbara quipped.

“I'll find someone to do it for me.” She shot back, not in the mood for jokes.

Barbara just rolled her eyes, disregarding her friend's dramatic nature. “So what’s your plan? Are you going to roll around in this chair all day?”

“Just leave it alone, will you?” Melissa was getting tired of the third degree from everyone. If she wanted to sit in her room all day, why did it matter to them? It was her injury, not theirs.

“I will not leave it alone! Not until you go see Y/N.”

She looked the older woman directly in her eyes for the first time today. “I’m not goin’, Barb.”

“You will, or I’ll tell them to come to you. Better yet, I'll drag you to an urgent care.” Barbara crossed her arms and gave Melissa a daring look.

“Oh, now you’re out of your mind,” Melissa scoffed. Even though they were in her classroom, if she could get up and walk away, she’d leave Barb right there with her delusions.

The woman gasped audibly at the insinuation that she was crazy. “Trust me, you haven’t seen me out of my mind.”

“You sure? 'Cause that sounds pretty insane to me.” She twisted her pen in a circle near her head, showcasing how absurd the idea sounded.

“No, Melissa, what's insane is you sitting here with an injury, making no attempts to seek medical attention, when there's a perfectly capable nurse in the building!” Her hands moved fervently as she spoke, the pearls around her neck rattling from the action. “Since you won't go on your own, I’ll get someone to take you.” With that, she marched out of the room, having had enough of her obstinacy.

“Barb, don’t you dare!” She yelled, but there was no use as the woman was halfway down the hall due to the speed she was walking.

She groaned in frustration, not faring well with having one working foot. The dull ache was a constant reminder of what occurred, and though she knew it was in her best interest to see you, she wasn't in enough pain to seek your help. But leave it to her colleagues to put their noses into her business.

She reached for her purse and rifled through it before pulling out a compact mirror. If she was going to be seen in this state, she wanted to make sure she looked presentable. As she met her reflection, she frowned. Her hair was out of place, her eyelashes were wonky, and there were a few spots where her makeup had smudged. She fixed what she could, applying lip gloss to finish her look. As she ran a brush through her strands, footsteps approached her room.

“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.” She threw her head back as Gregory came through her door. “Why are you here?”

Gregory almost looked as confused as her, and as he prepared to speak, Barb cut him off.

“To escort you to Y/N's office.” She smiled kindly, directing her pearly whites in Gregory's direction.

Melissa side-eyed the man, adding a mean mug to show her dismay. “But Barb, I don't need—”

“Ah, ah, no buts." She held a hand up to silence her. “Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go teach, but I expect you to have your injuries mended when you return.” She didn't walk away until she received final confirmation from Gregory.

“Oh, yeah, I'll make sure of it,” he promised. Though he was content with minding his business, he'd only agreed to this because Barb wouldn't take no for an answer.

Melissa sighed as the man moved to stand behind her, in preparation to wheel her out. She turned around so he could understand the grave meaning behind her words. “Just take me there. Don't ask any questions and don't tell anyone what you saw.”

“Oh, I already know how you roll.” After receiving another dirty look from the redhead, he noticed his poor choice of words. He tucked his lips into his mouth, then bowed his head before saying, “I'm sorry.”

You didn’t expect the first day back to be so crazy, but it had been jam-packed with injuries. Nose bleeds, headaches, fevers, stomach aches, you name it. You didn’t mind though because it made the day go faster. You had one more student to tend to before your break, so you decided to clean your office before their arrival. You disinfected the cots and countertops, as well as your little waiting area, and then you took inventory of your supplies and stocked up on whatever you’d need for the last half of the day.

“Hey, nurse Y/N!” Melissa’s student, Daniel, waved excitedly as he entered your office. He gave you a quick hug before retreating to his original spot.

“Hey, buddy! How was your break?” You loved hearing about what the kids did during their time off. He told you about the trip he took to visit family in New York, and how he got to spend the holidays with his grandmother who he hadn’t seen since he was a baby. He also mentioned all the good food he ate and the presents he received. “That’s awesome! It sounds like you had a great time.”

“Yeah, it was pretty great. What did you do?” The curious boy asked.

“I went to Florida,” you said casually, hoping to get a reaction out of him. When he gasped in shock, you flashed a grin in his direction.

“No way! That’s so much cooler than New York.” Daniel was infatuated with Florida, on the account of Disney World, and he made it known that he would save every penny ever given to him in hopes of being able to afford a ticket to the attraction.

“Don’t worry, I didn’t go see Mickey Mouse without you.” You knew the question was on the tip of his tongue. “But it was a pretty cool trip.”

“Ms. Schemmenti went to Florida too!” He informed you, still looking at you with stars in his eyes. 

You smiled as he told you the bits and pieces that Melissa shared with his class, minus the details of her gambling adventures. However, you weren’t sure she left out 100% of the details, because Daniel recalled her saying that she would incorporate some new card games into their math lessons to “teach them some new strategies”. Leave it to Melissa to teach her students how to outsmart each other.

“It sounds like she had a lot of fun!” You exclaimed, taking in the events as if you weren’t there to experience them firsthand. Her students were ridiculously smart, so you were ready for him to catch on to the similarities in your story, but he didn’t. 

You busied yourself with preparing his medication so he could make his way to the cafeteria. Daniel had cystic fibrosis, so he took pancreatic enzymes to aid his absorption of nutrients. He took them before every meal and snack, so he was a frequent flyer in your office. “Alright, dude, I got your pills ready. You just need to get some water.” He gladly accepted the paper cup from your hand and walked toward the water fountain. 

You looked around the room as he took his meds, and the absence of another child caught your attention. Normally, Melissa utilized the buddy system to ensure that her students made it to their destination safely. “Did you walk here by yourself?” 

“No, Ms. Teagues walked us to lunch today.”

You scrunched your eyebrows in pure confusion. “Why was Ms. Teagues taking you to lunch?”

“Ms. Schemmenti hurt herself so she couldn't take us,” he explained.

Hearing Melissa’s name in the same breath as the word ‘hurt’ made your heart rate pick up, but you kept a poker face. “Really? How’d that happen?”

A guilty expression crossed his face, and he released a deep breath before speaking. “Well, we were playing kickball during recess and she fell. It was kind of scary, but then she got up and everything was okay. At least I think she’s okay.”

“What makes you say that?” You tried to get as much information as you could before the bell rang, signaling that it was time for the younger kids’ lunch. 

“She told us she wasn’t in pain, but I don’t think that’s true.”

You hadn’t assessed the woman yet, but you agreed with his statement because you knew how Melissa was. She worked hard to keep up her tough persona, but even the students could see past it sometimes. “You guys really roughed her up out there, huh?”

The boy shrugged sheepishly. “We didn’t mean for her to get hurt. She’s one of our favorite teachers, and we just wanted to have some fun.”

You could see he truly felt bad, so you attempted to cheer him up. “It was very nice of you guys to include her. I’m sure she appreciated that.” You smiled. “Don’t feel too bad, okay?”

He nodded, and with that, the bell rang. You walked him to the exit and sent him on his way, but now without a hug goodbye. “Have a good lunch. I’ll see you later for a snack.” 

Once he made it down the hallway, you focused on the sight directly to your left: Melissa sitting in her desk chair with Gregory at her side, standing against the wall, as if he were her bodyguard (though that would be a pointless duty because everyone knew Melissa didn’t need a guard).

You motioned them into your office so they'd be out of the crossfire of hungry kids. The pair looked at you with blank faces, and you stared at them with your hands on your hips. “Well, what do we have here?”

A/N: Hey, how are ya? It’s been a while and I’ve missed writing immensely. I'm a little nervous about posting again, but I hope this was worth the wait. Let me know what you think, and thank you for reading! P.S. Special thanks to everyone who voted on the poll <3

[dopenightmaretyphoon]

Happy Birthday Hon

Authors Note: This has been a long time in the making, im sorry it's short.

Trigger warnings: one-sided feelings, bad mother?

If there was one thing you hated more than anything, it was your birthday. You had always had bad experiences, whether it be your family putting your twin brother first or yours, exs forgetting you just lost all hope in birthdays so you didn't celebrate it. You always woke up to half assed text from your mother reminding you that you're another year older without being married or having kids.

When you had first started at Abbott, Melissa was determined to learn everything about you. You were happy to answer most questions apart from when your birthday was, so in true Melissa Schemmenti style she stormed into Ava's office and demanded she told the red head when your birthday was. Ava gave Melissa the information not really thinking about anything.

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

The day of your birthday came quicker than either you or Melissa would have liked. Melissa had spent most of the night before setting up plans and making sure to get you new supplies for your classroom as well as a few things for yourself.

You woke and chose not to look at your phone, you got dressed and headed to work but unlike normal you are the first teacher to arrive. You never beat Barbara and Melissa, you shrugged not thinking much about it and head to the staff room, walking in you sat in your normal seat on the couch and finished off the grading you started last night.

Melissa woke up in a panic, she had slept passed her alarm which made her late. Not that she could be since her alarm would make sure she would be at work at least half an hour earlier than the other teachers. She sighed and got dressed making sure to pick up your presents and headed out.

Barbara walked into the staff room expecting to see you as she had seen your car in your normal spot. As she walked in, she found you curled up on couch reading a book

"Happy birthday sweetheart"

You nealry broke your neck spinning around to see Barbara stood at the coffer machine

"Uh yeah... thanks I guess"

You chose not to question how Barbara knew and went back to your book. 20 minutes later Melissa walked into the staff room and sat next to you.

"Happy birthday hon"

You had heard Melissa boots on the floor walking towards to the staff room so you had already put down your book and sat better.

"Thanks, what's all this?"

The red head looked at you confused

"Birthday presents, what did you think they were?"

You shrugged, looking a little confused, trying to think about who's birthday could be the same as yours

"I'm not sure, who's birthday have I missed?"

Barbara and Melissa share a confused and worried look, Barbara was the first to speak from the table

"No one's sweetheart, it's only yours today"

You looked between the women even more confused now, millions of questions went through your head. How could they have known? Why have they got your gifts? Is this some sort of prank?

"/n? Y/n?"Melissa saying your name snapped you from any and all thoughts

"Yeah? Sorry what did you say?"

"Are you okay hon? You seem a little out of it"

The read head repeated

"Yeah, I'm okay. How did you know? Why did you get me gifts? Is this some sort of prank? Where are the cameras?"

Once again worry and confusion is written across Melissa’s face

"Ava, we care about you, this definitely isn't a prank and the cameras aren't here yet"

You sat there for a minute taking everything in. Barbara walked over and sat the other side of you.

Barbara unlike Melissa had choice to keep a distance from you as the older women didn't want to confess feelings for you knowing her best friend had a massive crush on you.

"Sweetheart, it's your birthday. Everyone deserves presents and to be celebrated"

Melissa hummed in agreement, both women watched as you processed everything. You turned Melissa to face you and kissed her, it took Mel a minute to release what is happening but the second she does, the red head pulled you closer and deepen the kiss.

Barbara watched happy that her best friend and you were happy despite the aching feeling it gave her that you would never like her.

You spent your birthday happy for the first time ever, Barbara faked a smile the whole day and Melissa happily spoilt you.

[cerseis-fav-maiden]

A/N: I’m feelin some angst comfort today soooo I’m gonna write this tho no one asked for it lol

Oh ok….going home?

Melissa Schemmenti x FemReader

(Not my gif)

You and Melissa had been dating for about 5 months now but this was your first Valentines with her you were so excited you were gonna take flowers to her at Abbott and some pasta you made…plus you decorated the whole house…she always loved that you enjoyed cooking as well you get all dolled up and get onto your car heading to Abbott then you text her about your arrival because she hates surprises and she has a new kid who’s really rowdy so she’s most likely stressed

You: Hey mel I brought you lunch I’m almost there your in the kitchen right?

🩵mel🩵 : I am.

You: okie!!

You begin to think you shouldn’t have done this by her response..but to late now your already flowers in your purse and pasta in hand… you walk in immediately greeted by Barbara who adores you “awe you brought her food on Valentines how sweet y/n!” Melissa sits grading not even acknowledging your presence you really thought she’d be excited…you slowly walk over “hi mel…” you say timidly putting the Tupperware of food next to her on the table “hm?” She responds “oh thanks you gonna go home now? Cause I have my hands full right now and I don’t need you here right now” You’ve always been sensitive but that really hurt you you being to tear up “um yeah sorry to bother you” you practically run out of the room as soon as the door shuts behind you everyone’s eyes turn to Melissa

Then out of silence barb says “Melissa Schemmenti what in gods name is wrong with you?!” Melissa scoffs “nothing? Just busy why?” Barbs turn to scoff “PLEASE LIKE YOU DIDNT JUST ENTIRELY DISMISS YOUR GIRLFRIEND WHO DID SOMETHING NICE FOR YOU ON VALENTINES?!?” Melissa starts to think and goes “oh please I’m sure she’s fine” barb laughs “ok lemme call her” she calls me I answer clearly stuffy nose and wobbly voice “what’s up barb?” “Are you ok hunny?” “Sure, yeah it’s fine maybe she just didn’t want to talk to me on Valentines I get it it’s ok” I say crying again Mel tears up and signals for barb to hang up “ok well I’m taking her class for the rest of the day and she’s coming to you” Mel is quick out the door and in her car…

You meanwhile are at your shared home sobbing on the couch flowers on the floor in front of you you hear a car pull up and panic you don’t want her to be even more mad so you run and lock your self in the bathroom she comes in seeing all the decorations and she feels so horrible “where you at sweet girl!?” She yells into the house walking down the hall hearing you in the bathroom she stop’s outside the door “hun?” You choke out a response “yes? Are you ok?” She sighs “come out here please I’m sorry” you cry a bit “your not mad?” She tears up “no hun I��m not I promise I’ll explain I just want to hold you please I’m so sorry” you stand opening the door standing there shyly tear stained face and say “hi” she chuckles sympathetically “hi pretty girl” she reaches out but doesn’t hug you yet asking silent permission in which you nod she repeats over and over while hugging you “I’m sorry I’m so sorry” you pull away walking to the living room picking up the flowers and half heartily handing them to her she takes them “thank you baby” I smile lightly “um I hope you liked the pasta there’s more in the fridge” she tuts at you “nu uh dearie we are talking about this you can’t just let people hurt you hun” i sigh “I know Mel I just can we change into pj’s and lay on the couch first” she smiles brightly “anything you want darling”

We both change and I beat her to the couch she quickly follows pulling me into her lap “ok love I’m sorry I know I’ve said that a lot I snapped at you over stress at work something I should never do none the less on Valentines” I nod accepting her apology burying my head into her neck “ok so wanna bake together after a well deserved nap?” she asks trying to cheer you up “yes Mel that sounds perfect thank you!” You forgive her understanding her reasoning and the rest of the day is perfect…

[dontcallpanic]

Not-Wednesday WIP

@patolemus AND @gege-wondering-around were kind and sweet enough to tag me in a Not-Wednesday WIP (which is still mindblowing to me thank you SO much gorgeous people!) I was hoping to share a creepy bit from my Strange Town AU but my brain isnt working (as per usual) so have a bit of Stiles and his Dad instead (also yes, Stiles is meeting everyone BUT Derek so far in this slowest of slow burn stereks)

__________________________

“Jesus, kid, you nearly gave me a heart attack. Do you know how close I was to calling in a 10-65? You had minutes. Minutes Stiles.”

Stiles pauses and squints at the phone. “Do you even know where I am?”

“Oh please kid. Who do you think you’re talking to?”

“Well then… how can I be missing if you know where I am?” he says, figuring he can push his luck now he can hear his dad finally relaxing. Besides, there’s the tiniest of chances that if he can keep talking, his dad will forget all about the phone thing.

“Look kid, I’m not in the mood for a debate but as far as I’m concerned if you’re not here, you’re missing. That means, if you’re going to be gallivanting around god knows where, it’s my prerogative, as your father, to take certain precautionary measures.”

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Stiles shoots back. “Did you bug my car or something?

There is a lengthy pause on the end of the line.

“Oh my god! You bugged my car!”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I didn’t bug your car. I put GPS on my car which I then gave to you.”

Stiles splutters, stammering over his words in indignation. “Wha – Well, I – That… is a technicality. At best! And technically it was mums car.”

“It’s my name on the paperwork son.”

“Technicality!” Stiles shouts down the phone but he’s smiling now. He can’t even be mad about it. Okay, that’s not true. He’s a little mad about it – a lot really but he'll unpack that later. Right here, right now, after the night he's just had, he can’t help but be comforted that his dad cares enough to want to know where he is, that he is in-fact alive and okay - gross levels of intrusiveness aside. He just wishes he'd asked first.

“Some deputy you are,” he mutters but there’s no heat in his words. “Does the Sheriff know what kind of hardened criminal he has working for him?”

John snorts and Stiles counts it as a win that he can get a laugh out of him. He’s as good as forgiven.

“Some deputy I’d be if I didn’t know how to utilise the loopholes when it comes to looking out for my own son.

Stiles gives the phone some serious side eye. “You are spending way too much time with Melissa. This was totally her idea, wasn’t it?”

John huffs a laugh again. “I just worry about you son.”

And dammit! Because Stiles can hear everything his dad isn’t saying in those words. He can hear the stress he’s been under at work, the stress Stiles puts him through, even though he doesn’t mean it or just can’t seem to help it. He hears the exhaustion in his sigh, the double shifts, the overtime… the loneliness.

He can hear just how much his dad misses him.

How much he misses his mum.

Stiles slows his pacing and drops wearily onto the edge of the bed. He scrubs a hand roughly through his hair, sighing into the phone.

“I know dad,” he murmurs, grimacing at the twist of guilt he feels in his gut. It cuts him up inside, to know he left his dad behind. But the guilt is never quite enough for him to think about going back. Not right now.

There’s a million things left unsaid between them.

“Do you know when you’re coming home?”

“No. Not yet.”

He hears John give a gentle sigh. “Whenever you’re ready, son.”

Stiles blinks hard against the emotion pricking his eyes and feels an overwhelming rush of gratitude towards him. Gratitude and relief.

“I love you dad.”

“I love you too, kid.”

“I’ll check in tomorrow – even if it’s just a text. I’ll check in.”

“Alright.” They linger on the phone for a moment, unwilling to end the call, both needing the reassuring presence of the other on the line before John clears his throat and gruffly adds:

“Just charge your goddamn phone!”

___________________

Forever no-pressure tags, just for whoever wants to share at any time or at any point: @gege-wondering-around @patolemus @hellameyers

And generally anyone else who has something they want to share, please feel free to tag me because I LOVE to see what everyone's writing!

[tableintheteacherslounge]

Abbott Elementary S03E08 thoughts

Melissa schemmenti angry slut

THIS COLD OPEN I WAS CRYINGGGG

Barb’s protective goggles

“We gonna be down about $700

The squeeze my cheeks kid

Every one getting hit in the damn face

Ava pushing gregory

Greg vs tariq 🥵

Barb shooting in the wrong basket then saying “i’m carrying this team”

Gregory flipping the table

Just PERFECTION

“Why dont u look better” ava really says what i wanna say to people

What IS up with melissa to be snappy, always on her phone, hookups, staying out late

Heyyy manny 🤭 he’s foine I’m SORRY

But if Janine’s meant to be in once a week whys she not seen her abbott friends - not her and jacob not seeing each other ���

“Girl was there a fire?” See this delivery is why slr has an emmy

Ok I KNEW melissa would hookup with burt hummel. I cant deny the chemistry and at least he’s a better actor than g*ry, but lets keep it casual yeah?

RICHARD TYLER WILLIAMS 💀

The delivery on “interesting 😀”

Tariq hosting the panel?!? I love that for us

Badass janine get it girl! She is ON IT

Not ava and crystal speaking over each other 😭

“I don’t think this is on 🎤 “ “IT IS” ijbol 💀😭

Barb is stroppy and sad ☹️ but why wouldn’t melissa trust her! I get it! But also it’s casual so maybe I get not saying anything too! But barb is so sad (jealous) that melissa didn’t tell her (jealous)

CASUAL GHOST

No bc whys that ur face after ur friend tells u its just sex BARB? I get being upset at not being told but why are u upset its just sex … unless… jealousy

Why arent they clapping abbott 🙁

Why is tariq scoring 😭😭

“Give it some razzle For the love of god gregory give it some dazzle”

Janine just caring about the gossip she’s me

Friend of over 15 years!!! I appreciate the work wives lore but that is literally inaccurate I’m sorry

“Since your lips already touched” GASP (also br*no could never deliver a line like that I’m just saying)

The workwives having a marital spat while ppl are just trying to get their certifications

Is it different? Mmm lowkey bc melissa should know what’s going on in her house but also she can acknowledge that actually barb was validly upset but we know Melissa is stubborn sooo

On her roof? Ew! I dont need to know honestly

Janine not reading Jacob’s text 😖

MANNY CALLING JANINE BIG TEAGUES TEEHEEE 🤭 KICKING FEET TWIRLING HAIR

Gregory sit down 😭 honestly that speech alone could give tyler an emmy nom

MR BOHNSON FROM BABBOTT BELEMENTARY HELP

“You talked to me about gary” aww 🥺☹️

“Because that was a real relationship that YOU approved of” ok poignant emphasis on you - Barbara’s opinion is so important to her ��� that’s her number 1

“Awwwmygod congrats” “thank you baby”

Melissa’s true apology 🥺

MELISSA DRAGGING BARB CLOSER TO HER EVEN THO BARB WAS STILL MAD i feel like that was lisa and sheryl

“Look how coy this boy is” jacob always gets great ppl as love interests bc first zach and now i love this guy too “i even showed captain robinson” aw 🙁

Janine aced it! Quintas physical comedy is soo good

Wait is mr j wearing a jacket over his uniform 😭

Cancelling on the fireman for barb 🥺

I fear burt hummel doesn’t want it as casual as mel

“Ok did he just make me fall in love with him” 😭

BI AVA BI AVA!! Wbk but BI AVA (but yk im a hardcore barlissa truther so shipping them w ava makes me gag)

MR JOHNSON PANEL beep beep beep that to my face!!!

Wish they ended on barlissa at the bar tho :(

Ok overall I honestly didnt love that ep at first

And the big reason is i didnt think the panel needed so much and i wanted barlissa to have more

Their conflict didn’t feel as real and earnest as other examples

It got wrapped up surprisingly quickly - they fell out more over safety scissors and ‘yous’

And I’d’ve liked them to share a vulnerable moment away fro everyone else.

It just felt eh

Also being away from school felt weird too

Based on teaser clips i thought it could be a lisa emmy consideration ep but no - could be for tyler though

Barbara’s jealousy is v v interesting tho 👀

After a few days I like it more

I still feel a bit confused tho

OH MY GOD I FORGOT TO MENTION KEEGAN MICHAEL KEY HELLO??!?? What a guest actor to get oh my god

[cdyssey]

MY DREAM “MOM” SCENARIO:

It’s close to Mother’s Day at Abbott Elementary, and the school has a brunch where students’ moms/grandmothers/female guardians can come and have a meal with their kids.

Mother’s Day is always painful for Janine.

Of course it is.

Still, she invites her own mom anyway.

Because of course she does.

She has always dreamed that her mother will miraculously take an interest in her job, or, well, literally anything else about her life one day. And when she finally wheedles a yes out of her mom that we either see via text or through a one-sided phone call, our protagonist is so unbelievably happy. She’d never thought her pleas would get this far.

(They never have before.)

And so she brags about it to literally everyone in the teacher’s lounge. Her mom is coming! You guys get to meet my mom! Isn’t that cool? Some teachers are genuinely happy for her. Others, remembering Janine’s various (and often disturbing) anecdotes about her childhood, frown in gentle concern.

(They can already see where this is heading.)

(The writing’s there on the wall.)

And yeah, it absolutely heads there.

Brunch comes, the analog clock on the wall ticks down, but Mrs. Teagues doesn’t show up. (She was never going to show up.) Janine’s optimism holds out ‘til the very last minute until she can’t reasonably cling to it anymore. Her mom isn’t coming. Surprise, surprise. She should have expected it.

She’s learned to never expect anything kind and decent from her mother.

And just as she’s about to hastily swipe away a tear away, just as her shield of a bright smile begins to crumble and crack into a million brittle pieces, a well-manicured hand lands on her shoulder, interrupting her total dissolution. She spins around and sees Barbara Howard there, smiling warmly and so gently.

So maternally.

“Listen, Janine, brunch isn’t over yet—how about you come and join Melissa and I for some tea and cake?”

“What?” Janine flushes immediately, twisting her hands together in front of her stomach. “Really? You mean it?”

Barbara and Melissa never allow anyone to sit with them, not even when they’re on lunch duty in the cafeteria and the round table at the head of the hall is meant for all teachers to share.

Screw everyone else.

Their space is sacred, and Janine has implicitly understood this since her very first day at Abbott Elementary. She’s admired their consummate closeness. She’s sometimes even been a little jealous of it—the way that they’re clearly set apart from the world, just the two of them together.

“Yes, really,” Barbara laughs because she knows this is thoroughly uncharted territory too. “But hurry. Melissa’s getting antsy because you haven’t eaten.”

“She noticed that?”

“We both did, sweetheart. Now quit questioning us and hurry along—we’ve saved a seat for you.”

And Janine feels the magnitude of this moment deeply, the profound gravity of what her beloved mentors are offering her.

Care.

Affection.

Mothering.

Because that’s clearly what they’re doing.

Barbara and Melissa are mothering her.

(She has always wanted to be mothered.)

(She and Ayesha have had to fight for scraps from their mother from the very start.)

She can’t exactly help herself then. She sniffs rather noisily. A tear leaks, unbidden and desperately unwanted, from the corner of her eye, and Barbara, without missing a beat, glances away long enough for Janine to take care of it.

“I’m sorry that she didn’t come,” she acknowledges gently, wrapping an arm around Janine’s shoulders. And she starts to steer her in the direction of Melissa and her crooked smile.

Melissa and the comically large slice of chocolate cake she’s holding up.

Melissa and the way she knows how to love best—through sharing food.

“Yeah, well, maybe things worked out the way they’re supposed to,” she returns, her voice a thousand emotions thick. She’s barely conscious of putting one foot in front of the other.

But she doesn’t particularly have to be graceful.

Not when Barbara’s here.

Not when Barbara’s got her.

Barbara’s hands are sturdy and practiced; they won’t let her go.

Janine leans into the kindergarten teacher’s embrace then—maybe a little too desperately to be allowed—but to her aching relief, it isn’t held against her.

That her innermost desire is to be unconditionally loved.

[britswriting]

Devotion C.B (1)

Welcome to book 3 of my unbroken series!

Series masterlist

Read on wattpad

*Leighton's POV*

I thought getting engaged meant you immediately opened Pinterest and started looking at wedding dresses, but it took me almost 2 months to even daydream about it.

The first thing I did was yell at Uncle Garrett for not telling me, Colby and I walking hand in hand back to the car, before I pulled out my phone and FaceTimed Aaliyah, showing her my ring, listening to her gasp then squeal.

"If I'm not your maid of honor bitch I swear!" She declared, making me laugh.

"You'll have to fight Logan for it!"

"Shit" She muttered and I laughed. "Wait! He would totally rock that though! WAIT WHAT IF HE WAS THE FLOWER GIRL" Aaliyah cackled. "Brock, I didn't think you had the balls to do it!" She called out and my eyes widened, bringing my finger to my lips since Gemma was next to me, falling asleep.

The day of my 24th birthday, we all (My dad, mom, aunt, uncle, Melissa, Colby, Gemma and I) went to the Mall of America, back to the rainforest cafe; Gemma losing her mind at all the animals.

"The last time I was here, you were in mommy's belly" I cooed, feeling weird seeing my two and a half year old sit across from me, in the same exact place where I didn't know if it would all work out.

Here I was two years later, engaged, sober and happy... It felt surreal.

The day before we had to head back home, Colby asked if we were going to publicly announce our engagement now that everyone important already knew.

"If you want to, we can, but I don't mind keeping it to ourselves. You're Mr. Social Media. It's your career. You can do whatever you want" I replied, and he sighed. "What?"

"You're important, you do know that, right?" he asked, confusing me. "I want to share you with people. You're a part of this decision"

"I understand, but it's your job. It's your name. If you want to tell your followers I said yes in some cheesy post, go right head, but I don't care"

"You don't care?" He asked and I shrugged, scrolling through my texts with my mom, trying to find a picture she sent, to send to Aaliyah. "Why don't you care?"

"Social media isn't my life Colby"

"I understand... but don't you want to tell people?" He asked, getting me to look at him.

"We did. We told everyone I want to tell. People who watch your ghost hunting videos don't matter to me. They're not in my life, they're not getting invited to the wedding, they're not someone I really think about. I'm not involved in that side of you, and to be frank, I don't want to be. That is your job. That's where you work. If you want to share that with them, that is your choice, it doesn't affect me"

"Leighton, it's more than just where I work. It's everyone knowing we're together. We're getting married. We're starting a life together" he tried to explain, seeming upset, which was confusing me.

"But we've already started a life together long before you proposed?"

"But I never shared that"

"So then why does it matter if you share that we're engaged?"

"Because..." He paused, letting out a deep breath, "Because you're a part of my life I want to share. I don't share because people have too many opinions and think they can control me... but why can't I have what Sam and Kat have? Why can't I post photos of us kissing? Why can't I share fun adventures we do, and show us doing couple like things, without getting yelled at? I want to share the proposal because it means you're staying. You're someone they have to take or leave. I already plan to marry you. Their voices don't matter anymore"

"Colby, if you want to tell people, then tell people"

"But you don't want me to"

"Oh my god! Colby! if you worked an office job, why the fuck would I care if you told your coworkers you were engaged? I'll more than likely never see them in my life. You're asking me if I want to post on social media about a life event they're not a part of? I don't use social media, I don't post on it, I barely type it into Google. Posting about an engagement isn't something that I have a desire to do, but I understand if you do. If you want to post a cheesy photo and say "She said yes" on your Instagram, then do that. Whatever your choice is, does not matter to me"

"I want it to fucking matter, Leighton!" He groaned, his hands covering his face.

I sighed, watching him run his hands over his face.

"Colby, baby, I love you and I support your decision if this is what you want to do. — Are you listening to what I'm saying? I said I don't care if you want to, or not. If you want to share me, us... do that. Do whatever will make you happy, but something as small as an Instagram post should not be controlling your life. I don't know why you're freaking out about this, when you barely use Instagram as it is. What is the real issue here? Why is this such a big deal to you, besides you wanting your fans to know we're getting married?"

"It's not controlling me! I just.. Why can't you care? Why don't you want them to know?"

"Look at me" I demanded, his face still covered by his hands. "Colby, look. at. me."

He removed his hands, his eyes glossed over as he stared at me.

"You are Cole Brock. A boy I met because I needed a place to live, and we just happened to bond and like getting greasy diner food together. You're not Colby Brock, the big YouTuber who has money and fame and followers. I don't give a crap about what your "fans'' have to say about me, or my life, or our relationship. You don't share things because you're insecure of losing people. Why are you so afraid to lose someone who's never supported you to begin with? If you're going to get hated on for falling in love, they didn't deserve you anyway. If posting this post is going to make you happy, post it. I'm not going to see the hate, or lose a wink of sleep over it, and you shouldn't either. If you want to keep it private, do that by all means. If you want to shout from the rooftops that you put a ring on it, fucking do that!" I laughed, seeing a smile crack on his face, a tear rolling down his cheek. "They only get to see what you show. You control how much you let them in, and how much you tell them. If you want the world to know, share it, and if you want it to just be us... that's perfectly fine too"

"I'm sorry" he mumbled, wiping at his cheek, and I leaned down to kiss him softly.

"I love you"

"I love you too, and we don't have to post anything if you don't want to" he said and I groaned.

"Oh my god! Just hit fucking post, will you?"

****

colbybrock: The start of something beautiful 

****

Life got busy once we got home, that logistics like "Now what?" never really crossed our minds. Sam and Colby got back into the swing of filming, and I got back into the swing of working, and visiting family and friends, April and Noel coming over here and there to hang out, that our one year anniversary really snuck up on me.

"I don't know what to do for it" I complained to Aaliyah, scrolling through pages of Google links.

"Have you heard from Colby?" She asked, tiredness worn on her face like she was ready to crawl into bed, even though it was currently 2:35pm.

"I mean, we FaceTime, but he's been so busy with work.."

"Ask him. No one says it has to be a surprise. You can plan things together"

"I just.. I hate that every time I try to do something nice for him, I fail. I can never get it to go to plan"

"Babes, that's just your life" She laughed and groaned.

"I know! What did you and River do for your first?"

"Honestly, we don't even know our anniversary. We know the month, and that's it. We sort've just picked a day and rolled with it and we've gotten to the point where we just make dinner and hang out for the night. It doesn't have to be something extreme, Leigh. It can be small simple things"

"But he likes the extreme things"

"Has he seen your bank account before he put a ring on it? He's going to need to like poor man's soup and a movie night cuddle if you two are going through life together"

"Hey!"

She laughed, "Leighton, be real. He doesn't care. He's happy you just said yes"

One way or another she was correct, and Colby flew in on the day of our anniversary, commenting about how weird it was to walk into the apartment and not have a toddler screaming at his feet since she was with Gabe for the next two days.

We stayed in our pajamas all day and hung out in my apartment, ordering in food and reminiscing on all of the things we did before we got together, Colby pulling up old explore videos, mentioning how they thought about doing more things like that, just this time actually getting permission.

"See, I'd be down to go for that. As long as you don't whip an EMF meter out of your ass, I'll go"

"Why do you hate ghosts so much?" he laughed, pausing the video.

"Because I have a hard time believing in the fact that once you die, your soul goes somewhere and can get trapped here, and you're still stuck here. I have a hard time thinking there is more. If I've lived so many past lives, why is my brain still confused?"

"If we're going to stay engaged, we are not walking down that road right now" He laughed and I rolled my eyes, snuggling more into my blanket.

"I understand you have your beliefs and you've seen some unexplainable things, hell, even I have. I still don't know what kinda bullshit that Amanda girl was on, but.. I just.. it's easier to block it out and pretend it didn't happen, then look it in the face. Maybe deep down I just don't want it to be real.. but because I think it's all bullshit, it's not fun going and I'm sure it isn't fun watching me be there. I'm glad you guys are getting to do crazy shit, but mostly I'm glad you have something to do with Sam, without me. I'm glad you guys get to spend time together like that"

The second week of September Colby and I somehow got on the topic of moving in together, and it wasn't like we didn't want to... but it came down to where, when and how.

Where would we move?

When would we move?

and how?

I can't just move us across the country, because Gemma see's Gabe every other weekend, or on weekdays. With our schedules being so crazy right now, I can't imagine possibly finding the time to do that, to which Colby claimed that we just make time.

Sounds easy, right?

"Would you want to move to Nevada?" Colby asked and without thinking twice I shook my head. "Why?"

"Because that's not home to me. I hear Nevada and I think Vegas strip, and that's like bachelor party or vacation time. I don't picture raising a family there"

"Families live there" he chimed back.

"I know, but I want to move more east... I just... I don't want to be away from my family, and asking them to follow me back home is a lot right now. I mean, my mom has all her doctors here. I can't just make it Leighton's world and ask everyone to move for me"

"But you also can't put your life on hold for your mom"

I rolled my eyes, walking down the hall, leaving him in my bedroom.

"Leighton?" He called, his footsteps behind me, his hand grabbing my shoulder. "Please don't"

I groaned, turning around. "I get that I can't put things off.... But I would rather live here, with them, and be able to see my mom whenever I want, then be in Minnesota and get the call that she died. I have literal nightmares about that. So I'm not moving. If you wanna live in Vegas, live in fucking Vegas, but I'm staying here"

"Why is this becoming an argument? Nevada isn't my forever place either"

"I'm not arguing. I apologize if it's coming off like that, it's just... I want you to know that I want to stay here, and why"

"But you shouldn't put what you want off. Your mom could live for 10 more years Leighton"

"And she could die tomorrow. I'm not negotiating and I'm not changing my mind, so can we drop it? If you want to live together, move back here, otherwise, stay where you are" I muttered, continuing my way to the kitchen.

I started cleaning up from breakfast, Gemma having made a mess of my floors and table.

"Leighton"

I mentally groaned, ignoring him as I wiped down the table.

"Leighton"

"What?"

"Can we please talk about this?"

"What is there to talk about? I'm staying here. So clearly, if we're living together, you're moving here. It's not like you hate California"

"That's not the point. You're brushing off an important conversation about us moving in together"

"You're literally here all the time" I motioned to my apartment, moving around Colby who was leaning against the counter.

"Leighton, I love you, but I don't want to live with your brother forever"

Oh.

Shit.

I looked up from the sink, Colby watching me, looking confused and frustrated.

"Leighton? Why are you shutting down on me?" He asked and when I didn't reply, I watched him get up and my heart dropped.

Was he leaving?

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath, only to feel his hands wrap around my waist, pulling me into him.

"Please don't shut down on me"

"I'm.. not"

I heard him chuckle, and felt his hands on the front of my hips before he had me turn into his chest.

"Why are you getting quiet on me? You only go quiet when you're insecure. It's just a conversation baby"

"I just.. I can't really afford a house mortgage" I admitted, hating how I feel like I'm holding him back.

I watched a smile crack onto his face, turning into a grin.

"What?" I asked, confused why he looked like he was about to make fun of me.

"It's always Leighton against the world, huh?" He teased me.

"What?"

"Why is it that I brought up us moving in together, and your brain went to some expensive house you can't afford? Do you really think I'm going to force you into a situation you're uncomfortable with? I already know you won't let me just buy us a house. We have other options, you know. We could do what you're doing now, but on our own" He said and I felt stupid.

"I'm sorry" I immediately apologized, wishing we could just restart this whole conversation over.

"I love you, you know that?" He laughed, my face becoming warm as I leaned into his chest, groaning.

He held me for a minute as I let my embarrassment rush through my veins, praying we can just pretend my stupidity never happened.

"What about Landon?" I asked, my words muffled against the fabric of his shirt.

"Leighton, he can't expect you to live with you forever? Especially now that we're engaged. Plus, he has friends, a boyfriend, I'm sure he'll figure it out. You need to stop worrying so much about other people"

"Well I'm not going to leave him high and dry!"

"Leigh, you're acting like we're moving out tomorrow with no warning. Do you just not want to live together, is that the problem?" He accused me, and I pushed away from his chest glaring.

"Why the fuck would I say yes if I didn't want to live with you? Do you think we were going to get married and we just continue to live in different states?" I asked, creating distance between us/

"Well you're not talking to me, and bringing up issues that aren't even issues yet! We've been engaged for three months, and we haven't even discussed it"

I took a calming breath, my head starting to feel fuzzy as I tried to pull my thoughts together.

"There are a lot of lives affected if we do that. What about Sam and Kat?" I asked, knowing that if we moved out, we were leaving a lot of people with unexpected changed lives.

"Sam and Kat are perfectly fine if I leave babe" he chuckled, yet again making me feel stupid.

I sat down on the floor, feeling overwhelmed and just wanted to be alone for a minute.

"Babe?" He said and I shook my head. "Leighton?"

I opened my eyes to see Colby sat in front of me.

"Can you please tell me what you're thinking about?" He asked and I groaned.

"It's dumb. I'm dumb. I'm sorry" I immediately spat out, going to stand up, only for Colby to grab my wrist and pull me back down to him.

"You're overwhelmed" he stated, and I just stared. "It's okay to feel overwhelmed, but can we at least talk about it?" He asked and nodded. "What is in your head right now?"

"Things are changing, and fast" I mumbled, feeling extremely pathetic.

He nodded, "They are, and that's not a bad thing"

"But... I finally got comfortable"

"Being comfortable is overrated" he teased, getting me to smile, shaking my head.

"Not when you're poor and stressed. You welcome comfort" I giggled.

"Just because change happens, doesn't mean you're taking steps back. I brought it up because I come back here frequently anyway, plus we're engaged now, and I'd like to start the journey of fully creating a life together. I'm not saying we need to live in a mansion, I'm perfectly fine with us living in an apartment..... I just want to be with you"

It felt nice to be able to sit down and talk about our future, without being told that I'm wrong, or that my insecure feelings are stupid, even when I know I'm overreacting, or taking things out of proportion.

The two of us probably sat on the kitchen floor for an hour, talking about possibly moving into an apartment together and what that would look like, which eventually led to both of us sitting on our phones, looking at listings and just daydreaming a little bit about the idea of actually taking this step together.

"So would you say three bedrooms then?" He asked.

"Well.. we only need two? The more you add, the more expensive it gets"

"Baby, let's just put in our dream things first and go from there"

"But"

"Worry about money later" He stated and I frowned.

"That is a foreign concept, Brock"

October rolled around and we finally set up time to look at apartments, and a few small houses, but Colby immediately said no, not liking the neighborhoods they were in.

By the time we found an apartment we could both agree on, everything started to feel a little too real.

"Is this really happening?" I whispered to him, both of us reading over our renters agreement.

"You know what will be even more real?" He quietly asked.

"Hm?"

"When your signing Brock as your last name"

Oh.

I stayed quiet, pretending to be focused on the contract, signing and dating the few pages.

"I can't believe I'm legally bound to an apartment with you now... and my dad isn't a co-signer" I joked, Colby finishing writing his name down.

"I almost put Colby" he chuckled, double checking that he didn't miss anything. "We did it" He grinned, looking over at me.

"I can't believe you roped me into sharing an apartment with your annoying ass. I'm going to have to see your stupid face every day" I fake groaned, Colby grabbing my arms and pulling me into his chest.

"You signed it, no take backs! I can't believe we're engaged and renting an apartment together. It's almost like we're becoming real adults" He grinned, looking down at me.

"Gemma is going to love that she doesn't have to say goodbye anymore"

We decided to tell Gemma on her birthday, since we were going to be moving in on December 16th.

Colby and I sat her down in the living room and told her we had one final present for her, the now three year old not being able to sit still.

"Is it a puppy?!" She ecstatically asked, making a pit form in my stomach.

Ever since she got to hang out with Dakota, and Melissa teasingly told her to ask us for a puppy, she hasn't dropped it since.

We figured we'd give her a few weeks and she'd forget, but clearly we're inexperienced with little girls who want puppy dogs.

"So you know how Coco gave me a pretty ring and we get to spend forever together?" I asked her, Gemma fiddling with the stuffed cow she had gotten the year previous.

"Yes! He gives me ring too!" She showed me her hand, which proudly showcased the ring he had gotten her.

"Well Coco and I got an apartment together, like how me and Uncle Landon did, and you, Landon and I lived here" I motioned to the apartment, Gemma nodding. "Colby and I got one together, so you, me, and Coco can live together forever!" I exclaimed, hoping my excitement brushed off on her.

I watched a frown appear on her face, causing me to side eye Colby.

She pushed herself off the cough.

Was she not happy about this? Did she not want to move? Did I royally fuck up already?

She ran over to Colby, her arms wrapping around his legs.

"No lying?" She asked, looking up at him.

"I'm not lying. Are you happy bug?" He asked and I thanked God he did.

She quickly nodded, hiding her face in his legs.

"Then why the tears G?" He asked and I made my way over to them, crouching behind her, my hand rubbing soothing circles on her back, moving some of her hair out of the way, placing a kiss against her wet cheek.

"I dunno!" She cried, Colby chuckling and picking her up.

"Are you happy bug?" He asked and she nodded, hiding her face in his neck, melting my heart.

"No go bye bye" She cried.

I wrapped my arms around Colby's waist, sandwiching the three year old between us, and once she stopped crying, we started to explain how moving works and how she'll still be able to see her Uncle Landon whenever she wanted to and that she could pack up all her toys to the new place.

When move in day came, I was stressed out of my mind, and extremely thankful to April for offering to take Gemma off my hands for the day.

Sam, Kat and Colby were driving Colby's stuff from Nevada to California, leaving me to make all of the choices, which were surprisingly more overwhelming than you'd think.

Did I want that bookshelf in the living room? My room? The extra room? I don't know!

Sure the kitchen stuff went in the kitchen and the bathroom stuff in the bathroom, but what about Gemma's new doll house? Is that going in the living room, or her bedroom?

My dad and Logan brought in my bed, assembling it in the guest room whilst I started to unpack the kitchen stuff, Lexi and Landon working on the bathroom, wanting to get the most done in the least amount of time.

"The party has arrived!" Kat exclaimed, making her grand entrance into our new apartment. "Now where do you want Colby's box?" She laughed, shifting the box upward, struggling to keep her grip on it.

"In the living room is fine, Where is Colby?" I asked, not seeing Sam or Colby following behind her.

"They're working on carrying the bed frame up first"

Ah yes.

The bed Colby was so admit on keeping, and the reason that my bed was going in the spare room.

Colby and I treated our family and friends to some pizza and 20 bucks, the twins happily taking the cash, my dad and Logan refusing and Sam telling Colby that Colby paying for the road trip food was enough payment, Kat making a comment about how I needed the twenty dollars more than she did, which definitely felt like a low blow.

Maybe I just took it the wrong way?

I decided to let it go and work on getting Gemma's new big girl bed put together whilst Colby went to pick her up, but I caught myself wondering if I really was just in my head, or if she meant it the way it came across.

"Mommy!" Gemma squealed, running into her new room where I had just finished placing her brand new bedding on.

"Hi baby, did you have fun?" I asked which sparked her to go into telling me her entire time hanging out with Noel, followed by a load of "and then"'s causing me to get lost along the way.

Colby was put in charge of making our bed whilst I got Gemma ready for bedtime, Gemma being overly excited about taking a bath in the new bathroom.

"Bath toys?" She asked, pulling her top over her head.

"They're still on a box, I think"

"Oh.... but.... No new bath with no toys" She stated, frowning.

"Next time, okay?"

"Mommy!" She whined, the running water drowning out the pitch of her cry.

"Gemma, we have to find them. That's part of the moving process, baby"

"No ducky, no bath" She scrunched her face.

"How about we listen to some music?" I offered up, hoping I could prevent the brewing meltdown.

Thankfully she gave into the idea and even let it go that we didn't have bubbles, both of us singing along to one of my clean version playlists.

"Gonna go show Coco your cow towel?" I asked, Aaliyah having gifted her a towel that had a cartoon cow hood at the top.

I listened to her feet run down the hall, yelling "COCO! LOOK AT MY TOWEL!" as I drained the tub.

"Look at you, bug!" I heard him cheer, followed by giggles.

I slipped out of the bathroom, ready to brush her hair, preparing for the fight we were about to have.

I was nervous about our first night in the apartment, because even though it felt like when he'd sleepover... I knew it was permanent.

This is what my life looked like now, and that appeared scarier the more I thought about it.

I just kept telling myself that it was like any other day, but deep down I knew it wasn't.

I laid in Colby's... well, our bed, waiting for Colby to finish brushing his teeth, just staring at his pillow.

He had a permanent spot in my bed every single night now.

There was no, "Colby is coming over tomorrow, I need to change the bedding, buy food and do laundry" this is our home now.

I heard the bathroom door open, the light getting shut off as Colby walked into the room, tossing his clothes onto the floor.

I cleared my throat, getting him to look at me, "Once we have a hamper, you're not allowed to do that anymore. Do you know how many times my foot has tripped over your jeans when I got up to use the bathroom? I already have a toddler to clean up after. I'm not cleaning up after an almost 27 year old man" I warned, Colby nodding, crawling into bed.

"Promise?" I asked and he hummed, leaning over to kiss me.

"I'm so happy I get to be here, like this, with you, every night" I said softly, wrapping his arm over my ribs, resting under my boobs as he nuzzled into me.

The first week wasn't anything different then when he would visit, but as a couple weeks went by, things began to feel a little more complicated.

I caught myself snapping at Colby a few times, or arguing with him about household chores.

The closer we got to Christmas, and the more together our apartment was becoming, I wanted to put up Christmas décor, but when I brought up about us buying a tree, Colby shrugged it off, telling me "Maybe next year"

"What do you mean next year?! This is our first Christmas in this apartment as a little family!" I exclaimed, my voice raising as I watched Colby scroll through his phone on the couch. "Cole!" I snapped, "Can you listen to me please?" I asked, annoyed that his eyes were locked on his phone.

"What, Leighton? We spend Christmas at your parents house anyway. Why bother putting up the decor for 2 weeks just to take it down? we just got finished unpacking" He explained, and I could see the logical side of it, but that only pissed me off more.

"It's our first Christmas as a family!"

"Leighton, technically our first Christmas as a family was when Gemma was a baby"

"Ugh! WHY ARE YOU FIGHTING ME ON THIS?! We need Christmas décor anyway! What's so wrong about me wanting to put up décor for the holidays?"

"Because we're going to have to take it all down in two weeks, and we literally just got done unpacking all of our shit. I don't want to repack a bunch of décor in 2 weeks"

The tears began to well up in my eyes, so I walked away, taking a few deep breaths, but it only turned into a quivering lip as I held back my sobs.

Why didn't he want to celebrate Christmas with me? What was so wrong about putting up a few decorations together?

I felt a hot tear roll down my cheek, quickly swiping it away.

I expected him to follow after me, but when a few minutes went by, I only began to cry harder.

Did he not love me anymore?

Was all of this just one big mistake?

I dropped it for a few days, but whilst Gemma and I were walking through Walmart, we came across the Christmas décor and all of the cute ornaments and I was immediately pissed all over again.

Who was he to tell me I couldn't put Christmas décor up in my own home?

I'll just do it my fucking self, I don't need him!

"Gem, want to help mommy pick out a pretty tree?" I asked and she nodded, wandering down the aisle.

We picked out a fake green one, placing it in the cart before turning towards all of the Christmas tree décor, both of us wanting everything.

"Look mommy!" Gemma squealed, showing me a My Little Pony ornament.

"That's cute, did you see the farm animals?" I motioned towards the cow and sheep, a border collie figurine next to them.

"Puppy!" She exclaimed, jumping to point at the dog.

"There are other ones" I showed her a few different dog breeds, her eyes full of wonder.

"What's dat?" She asked.

"A begeal"

"What's dat?"

"A german shepherd"

We went on like this for a while, completely fascinated about how curious she was over the immense amount of decorations.

"Why put burger on tee?" she giggled, having looked at the big glittery food items.

"I bet if Nonna let him, Papa would put a burger on a tree"

"Burger no go on kissmas tee!" She snickered, the noise bringing the biggest smile to my face

"I love you so much Gemma"

We got home and Gemma demanded she get to carry the two bags if ornaments whilst I got the other two bags of decor.

"Coco gone?" She asked in the elevator and I nodded.

"He's working baby"

"Coco no elp?"

"He didn't want to"

"Oh..... why?"

I shrugged.

"No good" she shook her head, not bothering to wait for a reply when the elevator opened, running to our door that had the cartoon cow doormat, that way Gemma knew which door was ours.

"Urry ease!" She demanded, bouncing on her heels at the door.

I set the bags, down slipping off my shoes, "Gemma? Do you need to pee?" I asked her, trying to get her fully in the swing of potty training.

"I go pee all-eddy"

I took a deep breath, nodding.

"Next time you have to pee, tell momma okay? We need to go change your diaper now"

"No puffy?" She frowned and I shook my head. "No fair!" She whined.

"You get a puff ball in your jar when you go potty on the big girl toilet. If I gave you a puffy for peeing in your diaper, that defeats the purpose of the system bug" I laughed.

"BUT I NO GO PEE!" She began to cry, her face getting red.

"You just said you did"

"No I get puffy!" She cried, stomping her feet at me.

I rolled my eyes and led her to the bathroom, pulling a new pair of training underwear out of the drawer.

"Take your pants off please so we can change your diaper"

"I no go!" She wailed.

"Gemma, please"

"Puffy!" She cried.

"You can try again next time baby"

"But.. but... mommy!" She sobbed.

I hooked my thumbs under the band of her Jean's, dragging them down her legs, seeing she did indeed need a diaper change.

"I no need it!" She cried, shoving my hands away.

"Would you rather sit in your own pee?" I sternly asked, Gemma frowning and shaking her head, "Then let's change your diaper, and the next time you need to go potty, tell mommy and we can go. You're not in trouble Gemma"

"But no puffy?" She frowned.

"You can get one later baby"

"Now!" She whined, stepping out of the soiled training underwear, taking the wipe and practicing wiping herself before stepping into the new ones.

I ignored her demands, adjusting her pants, and felt her tug at my sweater.

"Puffy?"

"No Gemma"

"Mommy!"

"Your puff balls are for when you potty in the big girl potty" I explained again, starting to feel frustrated.

I called Logan, asking him to come over and help me carry up the heavy boxes tree, Logan bringing Harper for Gemma.

The girls giggled to themselves in the elevator, messing about before running out into the hall, squealing.

"Girls, indoor voices!" Logan called out, walking backwards towards the door, each of us having a side of the box.

"I elp!" Gemma called out, running over to her, her little hands barely reaching the box as she "helped carry" it.

Logan helped me set up the tree, mentioning how he just did this with Cynthia, asking me if Gemma was going to put the tree topper on.

"Can you reach it? I can't" I asked, fluffing out the branches.

"Yeah I can reach it, what topper did you get? Did you get an ugly angel like mom has?" He chuckled.

"Hey! Mom loves that angel! And tree angel toppers aren't ugly! Mom's is just old"

"Well... did you?"

"Yes" I shamefully admitted, Logan chuckling as I dug it out of the bag, showing him.

"I'm sorry but dolls are just creepy" he shook his head, hooking another ornament oh three.

"You literally have a daughter whose obsessed with baby dolls"

Not long after the girls came strolling out, wanting to help.

They put the decorations as high as they could reach, making the bottom of the tree cluttered compared to the top.

"Pwetty?" Gemma asked, looking over at me.

"It's very pretty lovebug"

"We-ah!" Harper yelled, showing me the chocolate lab figurine Gemma picked out. "Brown ike me!" She exclaimed, melting my heart.

"The puppy does have a familiar color to you, doesn't it? You know what else you have in common with the puppy?" I asked, "You're both so cute!" I squished my niece into a hug, loving her little giggle,

"Mama es I bown ike her! I no ow-n like emma!" She pointed at Gemma who was obvious to everything around her as Logan handed her ornaments.

"You are brown like mommy" I nodded, "Your skin is very beautiful baby. Mine is pale and icky" I wrinkled my nose, making her laugh.

"Am-ah eye me baby doll ike me!" she boasted, pointing at herself.

I loved listening to her talk, and watching her explore the world in her own way.

Harper was very different compared to Gemma, but they still shared the same curiosity similarities, just Harper was more tame about her findings, and it took a little more prodding to get a giggle or a flash of excitement.

"Momma? Etty ights ease!" Gemma asked, pointing at the tree.

I handed her the remote, letting her choose which color, when I heard the front door open, my whole body freezing.

"Coco!" Gemma shrieked, taking off toward my fiancée, my body cringing out of anticipation of his reaction. "Momma buy pwetty ights!" I heard her say and I wanted the couch to swallow me hole.

Fuck!

Please don't be pissed. Please don't be pissed. Please don't be pissed.

I saw him enter the room, his eyes widening as she turned on the lights, his blue eyes snapping to me immediately.

Shit Shit Shit Shit

I waited for him to speak, but he just headed down the hall instead.

Fuck.

"Are you staying for dinner?" I asked, Logan shaking his head.

"Gotta get back home to the wife. She's making this little one's favorite"

Logan and Harper big their goodbyes after I thanked them for their Help, Gemma informing me she had to pee.

I let her flush the toilet and she immediately asked if she could have a puffy.

"Yes G, but just one!" I warned, following her to her jar in the kitchen.

She dug out a purple one, throwing it into the jar of other purple puffs, claiming she needed to go in order by color, and that purple must go first.

Gemma helped me make dinner, and I still hadn't heard from Colby which was beginning go worry me.

Was he really that pissed at me?

It's a Christmas tree! Where is the harm in that?

Gemma out her silicone plate placemat on the table, climbing up into her chair as I dished out her food.

"Coco join?" She asked.

"I don't know baby"

"Why? Coco always eats with me" she frowned.

"I think he's moody baby"

"Why? I no do nothin" she immediately shook her head, making me smile.

"I know, just eat your dinner okay?" I kissed the top of her head, moving her hair out of her face.

The apartment was quiet, and I hated it.

It was too quiet.

The kind of quiet where you wanted to play noise just to fill the uncomfortable silence.

I picked at my food whilst Gemma gobbled hers down, asking for seconds.

I was scooping more food onto her plate when Colby entered the kitchen, silently opening the fridge.

I kept my back to him, hearing him open and close drawers.

"Leighton?" He spoke up, almost making me jump out of surprise.

"Yeah?"

"Where is the bottle opener?" He asked, getting me to turn around, my forehead wrinkling out of confusion.

"I don't know. You put it away"

"Well it's not there"

"Okay? So why would I know? I don't use it"

He gave me a look, one I've seen one too many times on my ex.

He didn't believe me.

"I'm not in the mood for your bullshit right now. Where is it?" he asked, shocking me.

"Language! Little ears!" I hissed, motioning towards Gemma who was watching us.

"Coco eat with me?" She asked, frowning when he ignored her, rapidly opening and closing drawers.

"Leighton!" He groaned, slamming a drawer shut, both Gemma and I jumping.

"What? I don't freaking know! You had it"

He rolled his eyes, opening the fridge and putting something back and walking out.

"Coco moody" Gemma muttered, pushing her food around.

When bedtime came, I threw stuff into the dryer, wiping down the kitchen counters and just trying to keep myself busy since Colby had locked himself in our bedroom.

Was he really this upset over a damn tree?

I was apprehensive to walk into my own bedroom which pissed me off immensely.

I walked into the room, seeing Colby laying in bed on his laptop.

"Are you going to talk to me anytime soon?" I asked, my arms crossing over my chest as I stared him down.

"You went behind my back" he muttered, not looking up from the screen.

Oh my god.

"It's a fucking Christmas tree, you scrooge! It's not hurting anyone! What's so wrong about putting up a damn tree full of fucking joy?!"

He looked up at me over his screen, "I told you I didn't want to do it, and you did it anyway"

"You didn't even have to help!"

"That's not the point Leighton!"

"What is so bad about me putting up a tree?"

"What if I wanted to help?"

"Oh fuck off! You didn't want to do one in the first fucking place! I'm so fucking tired of your pity party! I can't do shit without you moping around! Oh poor Colby, he didn't get his fucking way! Feel so sorry for him, OVER A DAMN CHRISTMAS TREE!"

"That's not the point Leighton! You went behind my back and did it anyway, instead of consulting me!"

"You already said no!"

"Exactly!" He exclaimed and I rolled my eyes, letting out a puff of hair through my nose. "You didn't take my opinion at all into consideration"

"YOU DIDN'T WANT TO DO IT!"

"But you did it anyway! If I knew you were going to do it anyway, I would've liked to help"

"Oh my god" I groaned, my head starting to hurt from his conflicting answers. "Are you pissed about the tree, the fact that I went behind your back, or the fact that you didn't get to help?"

"All of the above"

I took a deep breath, trying to gather my thoughts, speaking slowly, "I understand you don't want to unpack just to pack again, and if that's the only reason... I'll do it. It's not that big of a deal. I'm sorry I went behind your back and got the tree, but I really didn't see the problem in putting up a tree and I'm sorry I didn't include you in the process" I apologized, Colby shutting his laptop, swinging his legs off the bed and walking over towards me.

"I'm not a scrooge. I'm just overwhelmed, I'm sorry" he apologized, his hands slipping to my waist, leaning his head down to rest his forehead against mine.

"There are still some ornaments left if you would like to help?" I asked him, Colby cracking a smile on his face as he leaned down to kiss me.

"That sounds like fun, thank you" 

* * * * 

And so it begins! Buckle up ;)

Written on: January 20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th 2023

Published on: January 24th 2023

Word Count: 7018

Part two

[dee-lirious]

been thinking about how cool it would be to be cass wilson: like, for the last five years, practically as long as you can remember, your mom's been sad about her brother who died along with half the world's population (weird, sad, but that's just how it is you guess), and so you write in your little kid diary: "i wish i could meet my uncle sam, he was a superhero and best friends with captain america, sounds like he was real cool" and then IT HAPPENS

and THEN your resurrected uncle BECOMES captain america? and brings home some wild white dude with a metal arm and super strength??? and it's kinda gross that they keep kissing but the arm is very cool for sure

you're gonna make weirdo uncle bucky be in your tiktoks for clout and flex on everyone else at school, especially MARCUS who SUCKS and doesn’t know even ONE superhero

[amyscascadingtabs]

this is sappy but whatever. i wrote most of this before the season started (which is why i come off as reasonable and somewhat mentally stable about all of this) but felt appropriate to post it now as a thank you. ❤️

i have vivid memories from the night b99 was cancelled. the news came late evening my time, and i had been editing fic and checked twitter and there it was. loud and clear. i don’t remember which site it was but the picture was jake and amy with their wedding cake and that made everything feel even worse.

i remember freaking out even though i had been prepared, because those last days before the news hit on tumblr were... panicked. but i still freaked out to the extent that i ran outside in my pajama pants and hoodie and blue plastic slippers and called my mom, and then i walked up and down the streets where i lived in the darkness and cried in frustration as she tried to talk me down. i remember there were random guys with motorcycles out? but i was too hysterical to care. i’m pretty sure i screamed something to my mom about ”HOW CAN BIG BANG THEORY GET A BILLION SEASONS BUT THIS SHOW GETS CANCELLED????”

i know everyone who was in the fandom at the time has their cancellation story. what played the biggest part in mine was the fact that i felt like i hadn’t had enough time. really, i had only just become active in the fandom, only just started interacting with people on here and writing my first few fics, but i was absolutely loving it. it was giving me happiness again after a long period of emptiness and depressive feelings. when it was cancelled, what made me feel the worst was the fact that i’d had so little time – to make friends, write fic and react to episodes together. i felt deeply jealous of everyone who’d gotten more.

thinking about it coming to an end now has made me remember that night and those feelings of jealousy. because i did get more time. i got three more years. that night, i remember asking for just one, for a half, for anything, and i got three years.

and these three years have been a whirlwind of emotions and feelings and episodes and debates and discussions and gifsets and fanfic and asks and having this as my safe space while pretty much everything changed around me in the outside world, and i just want you all to know that i have never taken a single day of them for granted. this show could have been taken from me before i’d ever gotten the chance to grow with it and alongside it, and instead it was part of my life for three whole years.

i have a really, really good memory (four time quiz champion anyone? just me?okay <3), and i remember so much of it in such detail, and it's so weird to think about how long it's been when it also feels like yesterday.

i remember my first comment on peraltiago parenting experience, my first episode-related fic, the insane high after the renewal, staying up all night to watch the wedding live. i remember writing fanfiction on the beach while on vacation in greece, on a plane to berlin, at home on my parents balcony late late at night. i remember the honeymoon episode title being released, s6 starting filming again, the excitement over every little piece of news and finding about the cast directing. i remember labor fic and christmas fics and when i scroll back to pictures of my paris trip in january 2019 it's interspersed with a billion pictures of andy at the golden globes. i remember lighting my fairy lights in my little basement room and watching season 6 in bed at 2.30 am if it was a big episode, and watching it in the morning before fridays in high school most days. i remember writing post-ep fics during classes and on my phone on subways and trains. i remember the s7 news, and the casecation nerves and debates, and fucking kissgate. being named "the class amy santiago" by my friends when we graduated and getting a little silver paper plate to show for it. i remember the first fic exchange and inventing julian and simon santiago and i remember meeting @johnny-and-dora and eating wagamamas in manchester and talking about how simon santiago was DEFINITELY on the stairs and buying a little fake plant that i named andy plantberg (he's still in a box somewhere). i remember writing fic during slow hours in the ice cream shop i worked at. moving and putting up my framed b99 poster in my own apartment (very much still up). finding out about trying and everyone going fucking crazy. infertility fic. melissa's pregnancy news. s7 promo and standing outside my job the very first day and texting siân "AMY HAS TO PEE!!!!!???" because that was in the promo and we knew there were pregnancy tests involved in the first episode. the crazy happiness of s7 finally premiering. everyone going crazy about jake and amy deciding to start trying and how i could quote the scene verbatim the next few days. the week leading up to trying, what turned out to be the last normal week before the pandemic. the fucking MESS i was after that. the following week and ding dong and crying with happiness. being dizzy with hyperfixation joy the following day and barely feeling aware of the covid pandemic for the first few days because i was just thinking about jake and amy having a baby. getting through the first few weeks mostly because of b99. admiral peralta and finding out we were having a BOY and not even being disappointed even though the headcanon had been the opposite for years because it was perfect. the iconic b99 quizzes. lights out and mac being born. somehow managing 475 days before season 8, coping together when we got the news about the final season, watching the cast do their final day of filming. the first stream being interrupted by a storm warning and cutting out several minutes because of course. getting to see parents peraltiago and MAC and the insane speed with which those few seconds were giffed. more b99 quizzes. the vow renewal. the finale.

i remember all of it and so much more and as much as my heart is breaking, i’m trying to remind myself that i could have gotten none of this.

brooklyn nine-nine has been such an important part of my life. and it always, always will be, forever. i could have lost it all that night, and instead i got three more years. if i'd known that when i was walking the streets outside my house in the darkness in complete panic, i would have cried with happiness.

so thank you. all of you. for everything. ❤️❤️❤️ for the friendships, the joy, the asks, the debates, the fic response, EVERYTHING. whether we've shared three years or one or less, just know that i'm so grateful.

have some random pictures i found and screenshots from my private instagram (which is inactive so don't bother) from when i started this hyperfixation. jesus lmao 😭😭😭😭 i am less insane now. no i'm not. but i express it less on instagram.

[confusedwitch]

Witch-Related Books to Grab off Amazon: Masterpost Part 1

First off, I'll be sectioning this into different parts based off of what type of witch you are/want to be/want more info on, or what practices you wanna add to your craft :)

Green Witch/Magick Herbalism (a classic):

The Green Witch by Arin Murphy-Hiscock - $9.69 (Hardcover): This book had incredible reviews on amazon, and a lot of the written reviews said that the book wasn't specific to a religion and didn't try to push a religion on you, which is so wonderful because not everyone wants to be religious with their craft.

Plant Witchery by Juliet Diaz - $25.19 (Hardcover) $18.99 (Paperback): Again, stunning reviews, just a less popular book. This book isn't about general stuff, but instead it's more focused on mother nature and the useage of plants (non-herbal as well, so your houseplants might be mentioned too), which is great if you wanna center your practice around Gaia and the healing energies of the earth.

Herb Magick: An Introduction to Magickal Herbalism and Spells by Patti Wigington - $14.99 (Paperback): here's a review from a verified person- it explained this book WAY better than I ever could:

The focus of this book is on the folkloric and magical uses of herbs, rather than medicinal applications. It provides a few traditional uses of herbs, but the overall theme is knowledge of the plants and their associations, and incorporating them in your spiritual workings. This is an Introductory to Magical Herbalism.

The author's spiritual practice is rooted in traditional American and European Folk Magic. She is a licensed Pagan Clergy and is the founder of Clan Of The Stone Circle, a Celtic Pagan Tradition. (Funny, anything Celtic has been pulling my attention feelers lately, no wonder why I loved this book.) Her spells are derived/based upon the traditional folk magic practices of Western Europe and the British Isles, and the author's own experiences. They are positive spells for magical intentions of healing, love, prosperity, and protection. Baneful or negative workings with herbs are NOT used in this book.

The aesthetic of this book has my little, beginner herbalist heart gushing! The blue, green, and yellow earthy tones and hues used were perfect for the topic of herbs! The cover is GORGEOUS! It's so pretty and flowery, the illustrated pictures of the herbs were extremely helpful because I had never seen some of the plants before. This will make future identification much easier for me!

Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs by Scott Cunningham - $16.43 (Paperback): A couple reviews describe it as being in a cookbook format, and overall an amazing book, like most of Scott Cunningham's other works. Apparently the Amazon shipping was literal trash for a bunch of people and they essentially left the book loose inside the box to bang around and get all sorts of messed up :((

The Witch's Herbal Apothecary by Marysia Miernowska - $18.69 (Paperback): Described by reviewers as the PERFECT book for recipes and rituals, even one of Marysia's personal students spoke very highly of her, saying that she's the real deal. Other reviews state the book as being very beginner friendly, and beautifully written and illustrated :))

Blackthorn's Botanical Magic: The Green Witch's Guide to Essential Oils for Spellcraft, Ritual, and Healing by Amy Blackthorn - $15.79 (Paperback): again, phenomenal reviews, just a lesser-known book. Again, here's a review from someone who explained the book a bit better than I could:

This book is way more than I thought it would be. I thought it would be like a dictionary - you look up the essential oil and get the definition. It is that but it's also got a few introductory chapters about oils and products and rituals to give you a nice and concise overview of a lot of things you might need to know as a novice. I also like the way you can reference different oils in alpha order but also look up your purpose and find the oil you need.

From the looks of it, this book is specifically about Essential Oils. Is that still Green Witchery?? Lol I'm not sure, but i felt like it should go in this category.

Kitchen Witch (another classic):

Blackthorn's Botanical Brews by Amy Blackthorn - $14.49 (Hardcover): this is mainly a book of recipes for drinks and cocktails and stuff. There was one review complaining about how it didn't have correspondences, meanwhile the book is literally described as being a recipe book? It's an AMAZING book if you enjoy/want to start making homemade elixirs and cocktails :))

The Natural Witch's Cookbook: 100 Magickal, Healing Recipes, and Herbal Remedies to Nourish Body, Mind, and Spirit by Lisanna Wallace - $20.69 (hardcover): This is again just a book of recipes, and the reviews are really good. Here's one of them:

I wanted to write the review as soon as I got the book. I was not expecting this book to be so fantastic. The recipes are very nutritious and the names are very inventive, but I could see that before I tried the recipes. I held off on writing the review until I tasted a few of the recipes. Even my kids were very happy with the flavors of these recipes. They are mostly easy to make and they are very delicious. Be aware though that the food can only be as great as the quality of the ingredients that you get. These are not recipes that call for complicated or fancy ingredients, or even a lot of ingredients. As a result, you have to use the best that you can find/afford to get the best results you can. I did not use expensive ingredients, but everything I used was very fresh and it does make a difference on the outcome. Overall, the book have some great recipes, easy to follow and the end result does look like the ones on the picture.

The Book of Kitchen Witchery by Cerridwen Greenleaf - $12.89 (Paperback):

I am so pleased with this book. It’s so magical and warm. Sometimes the new age genre can be a little too technical or focus too much on religion or putting down particular religions... this was not like that. There are so many lovely tips and easy spells and recipes that are kept fairly light so you can make them your own. The book just makes me happy, it has an energy to it that goes right along with it’s artsy illustrations and at-a-glance format. This will be a great reference. Very grateful to everyone who made this book possible.

A former editor said that there were a few editing mistakes, but nothing too crazy. If that's one of your pet peeves, just beware when buying this book lol (btw the editor still have a 4 star review because they said the book is still very good)

Potions, Elixirs & Brews by Anaïs Alexandre - $12.79 (Hardcover): I just had to include both of these amazing reviews, since both said what the other review did not.

This book is so gorgeous and everything I have been looking for in regards to potions. I love her writing style and the way the book looks. Highly informative and I can feel her good intentions behind the book. She is very intelligent. I respect her and I am inspired by her! I found her by chance looking up books for potions, she also has Instagram! Very grateful, amazing book thank you:-) so happy to be the first comment:p excited to see what else amazing things come from Anais!

And

I adore this book. The art and setup is simplistic and beautiful. There is a system that tells you exactly how difficult each potion will be to make, whether or not it’s alcoholic, and what is the ideal season to make it in. The instructions are clear, the preliminary information is well done, and there’s even a section for brewing large batches which I LOVE. The weight of the book is nice and it feels of good quality. The papers are glossy and, I haven’t yet, but I feel like it won’t be a disaster If you get some of your creation on it. The book is separated into types of potions depending on your intent. This is a perfect book for anyone new to making potions or is interested in a magickal recipe book!

The Witches Feast: A Kitchen Grimoire by Melissa Madara - $35 (Hardcover): This book actually isn't out yet, but it'll be released on October 26th of this year (2021). It looks promising, which is why I put it on the list, and for that much money, it better be good lol

Lunar/Moon/Astrology Witch:

The Complete Guide to Astrology by Louise Edington - $9.49 (Paperback) $22.99 (Hardcover): There's amazing reviews on this book, and one of them said that she's been researching astrology for 23 years!! Here's the review in it's entirety:

I've been a student of Astrology for the past 23 years now, and have read most of the books on this subject that are considered foundational. Many guides to astrology that I page through in a bookstore are fine, but covering information I already know. What I so appreciated about Edington's new book is that she brings a new angle to even the basics of Astrology. Her book feels like a fresh update, more appropriate to our current time in terms of language and sensibility. There are no "evil" aspects or transits in Edington's view, no dark warnings of disaster; her evolutionary perspective encourages us to see the opportunity in even the most challenging times, what can be learned, what can be accomplished. As she says in her book, she doesn't look at the natal chart as something fixed, unchanging, rather a "blueprint rich in meaning and possibility."

I also admired Edington's extensive knowledge of the stories behind the names and symbology used in Astrology: sharing her interpretations of them, how they are useful, how they can be limiting. Concepts I thought I already understood have been unpacked in greater depth by the author, so that I see deeper layers.

This text is beautifully written, well-organized, offering a fresh update, as well as a deeper dive than many astrology texts. This book is an invaluable resource I'll be returning to, and consulting, with appreciation.

Moon Spells: How to Use the Phases of the Moon to Get What You Want by Diane Ahlquist - $11.35 (Paperback): This book is a bit older fashioned in the sense that it's VERY heteronormative, we're talking about love magick SPECIFICALLY for men and all about being a father, and a section of love magick SPECIFICALLY for women and being a mother. So if this gets on your nerves, then i wouldn't recommend this book. Other than that, the reviews are very good and they describe the book as being a must-have for lunar witches.

The Complete Book of Moon Spells by Michael Herkes - $13.49 (Paperback): Yes, this book was written by a man. If that's something that might make you not want to purchase, please look at this and also keep in mind that SO MANY of the most highly esteemed witches of the world ARE MEN. So if you wanna be closed off and refuse their help and their knowledge, go ahead sis, I'm not stopping you.

He's most definitely not just "some guy". Aside from that, this book has very good reviews. Some people called it "fluffy" and a bit less serious then they anticipated, but it's very good for beginner witches who are finally wanting to start doing spells. Here's a review.

In this book you explore ways to conjure the mysterious power of the moon to manifest your intentions to achieve abundance and balance in your life! Each chapter is devoted to one of the eight phases of the moon and includes various spells, tarot spreads, crystal grids and potions that reflect that phase of the moon!

This is an overall amazing book if you want to build a foundation of learning about the history of the moon, astrology, cycles & phases, ritual tools, crystals, herbs, and essential oils- as well as the moon spells and rituals.

This is one of my new favorite books! I feel so connected to the moon and this book is a great reference for learning the best rituals and spells to use for the different moon phases and energies surrounding them! It’s easy to follow and the lunar rituals, mystical spells and magical drinks are so vibrant, creative and helpful in my spiritual journey. I’d recommend this book to anyone that loves the moon like I do.

Moon Magic: A Handbooks of Lunar Cycles, Lore, and Mystical Energies by Aurora Kane - $19.99 (Hardcover, although there's only three left when I'm looking at it) $9.99 (Kindle):

One review said that the book much surpassed their expectations, and another review said this:

I absolutely adore this book.

If you're just a beginner and want to understand the different moon phases, this is the book to get.

The information inside was extremely helpful without being overly complicated.

Well worth the money spent.

Astrology: Using the Wisdom of the Stars in Your Everyday Life by DK - $14.59 (Hardcover):

I saw this in store and was immediately drawn to it's beautiful and shiny cover! But when I open it, the inside is just as beautiful! I love looking through the pages. I would say it is a very good basic astrology book, but I have another one that gives much more detail. I like this one for more of a quick reference kind of book. It's more of a bullet point style book, where it gives little tidbits instead of paragraphs going in depth. (Though some pages do have paragraphs) BUT, it covers just about everything including all the houses, moon signs, and ascending signs. It covers everything, but it just covers he tip of the iceberg. (In my opinion) I still absolutely recommend it!

Apparently this book is also available in Barnes and Noble, so if you have access to one, you might wanna look there for the book before purchasing off of Amazon :)

Misc Books (General):

The Spell Book for New Witches: Essential Spells to Change Your Life by Ambrosia Hawthorn - $10.19 (Paperback) $20.69 (Hardcover):

This book... It's a very good spell book, and is true in the spells it contains, but MY biggest problem with it is that it's V E R Y Wiccan, and seems almost preachy about the "Threefold Law" and what they like to call "karma". Choosing not to do dark magick is PERFECTLY FINE and being Wiccan is totally okay! But don't be like Christianity and rub it in people's faces, dude. The book talks about how you can ONLY practice "love and light". Other than that, this book is AMAZING and rated literally 5 stars with over 11K reviews. If you lean more Wiccan, by ALL means, buy this spellbook. It's the one for you.

Practical Magic for Beginners by Maggie Haseman - $13.49 (Paperback)

This book is fantastic for the witch who wants to learn more about her craft but doesn't know where to start. Each subject is broken down into easy to absorb bits of wisdom without being overwhelming. A great jumping off place to decide where to dive in deep next.

This book is very comprehensive, and is a great reference guide for beginner witches, or witches looking to add another book to their collection.

Candle Magic For Beginners by Mystic Dylan - $10.86 (Paperback) $21.99 (Spiral bound)

This book is a must have for anyone looking to deepen their connection with the magical element of fire, ritual, and spell work through candle magic! Dylan not only teaches you how to use candle magic for things such as protection, abundance, love, healing, and more, but takes you through the fascinating history of the power of fire & how to properly charge, cleanse, and consecrate your candles to begin manifesting your deepest desires!!! Overall, the book is beautifully written with gorgeous illustration and will hook you from the start!!!!!!!

This book is perfect for beginners to candle magick, or beginners to the craft in general. I personally LOVE candle magic because I've always been attracted to fire. I could void out and just stare at a flame for hours on end lol

Crystals for Beginners by Karen Frazier - $8.99 (Paperback) $20.95 (Spiral bound)

Absolutely love this book!! It’s so informative! I am a beginner and this book explains a lot. Everything a beginner would need to know about crystals is in this book. I am so pleased with it. Best purchase of the week! Definitely worth it. The author explains crystals, chakras and energy so enthusiastically and in a way that is easy to understand. At the end of the book, is a “resources” page with all the websites, books and apps that the Author recommends.

Again, very beginner friendly, but this time it's not spells, it's crystals and such. I've personally been wanting this book for AGES

The Crystal Bible Series by Judy Hall - $38.99 (Volume 1-3 shrink-wrapped set, paperback):

This is my first purchase of the three-part series by Judy Hall. Volume 1 covers over 200 crystals! I can already tell you I'll be purchasing volumes 2 and 3 (each of which cover 200+ MORE crystals/stones, not included in volume 1) I love how each crystal description includes photos to further help in identification. I also appreciate that rarity and sources were included. Information about the spiritual and physical impacts of crystals on the body is in there as well! This book is loaded with a lot of great information and is the perfect quick reference. It's also small and fits easily in my hand. I highly recommend it for beginners.

This is a review from just the first book, and it's from a verified hauler/buyer :)) these aren't exactly newbie friendly, and some people say they're a bit harder to understand.

[dopenightmaretyphoon]

Why didn’t you say?

Authors note: this is a part 2 to “Happy birthday Hon”

This isn’t great by any means

Trigger warnings: comments towards sex, I think that’s all

Dating Melissa is pure bliss, great food, great conversation, great sex, the only down side? Barbara seemed to have pulled away from both of you, the older teacher was a dear friend to both you and Melissa yet now she seems to not want to even look at you.

Barbara is happy for her friends but also heartbroken, of course you would never chose her, it was silly of her to even think you would but seeing you have a relationship with Melissa hurt. She hid her feelings the only way she knew how, putting distance between you and her.

The lunch table that was once for the three of you now only held you and Melissa. Barbara chair was always free if she wanted it but instead she stuck to the couch. Melissa had tried to talk to Barbara, to find out the problem but she was always shut down.

Currently you say in the teachers lounge reading over your students work when Barbara walks into the room. Pulling your glasses from your face, you smile

“Good afternoon Ms Howard, it’s a lovely day”

“I guess it is, don’t worry I won’t be in your hair long. Just wanted some coffee”

Barbara internally cursed at herself for not remembering it was your free period, your kids were in gym while hers were in art. Try as she might but the brunette couldn’t stop her eyes from wondering over your outfit, Melissa walked in making Barbara snap her eyes back to her coffee mug.

Mellisa locked the door the click being the only noise heard, Melissa knew of your feelings for Barbara, you had once told her after one to many glasses of wine. Of course Melissa told you she felt the same but had never had the courage to do anything about it, that was when you two decided that you would be the one to tell Barbara. You had a plan, of course, you were going to just straight up ask her out but then the older women started ignoring you and you weren’t sure what to do.

Melissa sits on the table, feet moving to a chair

“Barb, we need to talk. Why do you keep avoiding us?”

Not looking up from her coffee cup, Barb shrugged her shoulders

“Does it matter? You have each other so everyone is happy” apart from me, she left that off the end but the look, she didn’t see you and Melissa shared, knew what she wanted to say. Letting out a breath, you stand up and move towards her. You gently turn her so she is facing you both

Melissa moved from the table to stand infront of her

“Why didn’t you tell us?”

“Tell you what?”

“Please Barb”

The look the red head gave her, broke Barbara’s heart

“If you know then why do you let me avoid you?”

Confusion ran across your face

“Let? Barbara we have tried to talk to you day after day, you ignore our calls and texts. What else were we meant to do?”

Looking down at her feet, reminding herself of her students who just got in trouble, she let a tear run down her face

“I have feelings for both of you, Mel I’m sure you’ve been aware of them for years but you started to have a crush on Y/N so I thought I’d let bygones be bygones. Clearly that was a bad idea as I have hurt you both. Y/N you’re amazing but so much younger than me and I feared I am too old for you. Both of you deserve the world and you have found that in each other, I’m happy for you”

Sharing a look, you nod at Melissa, who walked the tiny gap between her and Barbara and pulled her in for a kiss that the older women will never forget, pulling back for air Barb looked at you not sure what she was expecting to see but it definitely wasn’t love. Stepping away from the red head, she pulled you into a heated kiss, much the same as the one she had with Melissa

“I’m sorry I hurt you both”

“That’s ok hon, just please don’t do it again”

Nodding you grab your papers, heading for the door

“I’ll see you both at home tonight, oh and Barb make sure you bring clothes for tomorrow as you will be staying over, you won’t be doing loads of sleeping though”

The suggestion of what was to come quickly put a wet spot on Barbara’s panties, which she knew she would need to change.

Seeing Barbara’s reaction, Melissa smirks

“If just the suggestion of it gets you wet just wait till the real thing”

When your next birthday comes around, you wake up a lot happier spooned between the two women you love the most. Feeling a kiss on your cheek, you smile at Barbara

“Good morning sweetheart, happy birthday”

“Thank you, I’m already looking forward to it”

After a day of surprises and presents, you finally lay in bed moaning your lovers names. Cuddling into them that night you, you thank your lucky starts for everything that has happened

[fanfics-for-the-hockey-fan]

A Lie to Love - Nathan MacKinnon

This is for @antoineroussel Summer Fic Exchange. I had the wonderful @broadstbroskis!

I had so much fun writing this fic and reading everyone else's work, I love getting to see so many great writers sharing their work on this site. This is also one of the longest pieces I have written in a very long time, as I was writing this I had a million other fic ideas pop in my head so many those will get written some time soon.

***

I just sat down on my couch, just getting home from work when someone started knocking on my apartment door. I was hoping to ignore it and it would go away, unfortunately they kept knocking. I groaned as I got up, decided how much I was going to curse this person out. “What-” Right behind the door was Nate, giving me a nervous smile.

I had met Nate through his teammate Gabe, I babysat for Gabe and Melissa on a regular basis. Nate showed up one night that I was watching their daughter looking for advice from Melissa. I was able to help him then he hung out with me until Gabe and Melissa came home. Since then I could expect him to show up at my apartment at least once a week for dinner, and we were close friends after I had to save him from a laundry emergency that first night I met him.

“I’m so glad you’re home. I need a huge favor.” Leaving the door open I headed back towards my couch, I knew Nate would follow me and close the door behind him. Once I was sitting on the couch again Nate pulled my legs onto his lap.

“Last time you asked for a favor I ended up with the flu.” Which was true, he had asked me to help out at a learn to skate event that was outside in December. It had been a cold and foggy day, and two days later I was down for the count.

“I brought you soup! And tissues for we left for that road trip.”

“You brought me one box of tissues and two cans of tomato soup.” Nate raised an eyebrow like I had proven his point. I threw a pillow at his head before speaking again. “I’m allergic to tomatoes!”

“Oh, I’m an idiot. Sorry. But I still need a favor.” I really wanted to just say no, ask Nate to leave and go to sleep until I had to go into the office tomorrow. But I knew I was going to say yes before I even found out what he needed. “Please Ruth.”

“What is this favor?”

“I need you to be my fake girlfriend.”

“That was not what I was expecting you to say.” That got a small chuckle out of Nate but he also looked nervous. “Why do you need a fake girlfriend?” Nate was in a ‘single and loving it’ stage of life, he just wanted to play hockey and hang out with his teammates.

“An executive on the team has been talking up his daughter for like the last two years. I’ve been able to brush off the hints he has been throwing at me, luckily she doesn’t live here. Today he came up to me when I was heading out for the day, talking about how his daughter is coming into town and how we should get dinner together so I can get to know her. I thought I could brush it off as a one off dinner, say we there was no connection and then she would be gone. Easy, ya know?”

“Not really. But continue.”

“Apparently this isn’t just a visit for her, she is moving here. And going to work for the team on the social media team.”

“That must have ruined your plan.” Nate nodded and I knew I was going to agree to his crazy plan. “So how did all this lead to me needing to be your fake girlfriend?”

“I panicked and said I had a girlfriend.”

“And I’m the only girl you hang out with that isn’t related to you or in a relationship with a teammate.”

“You are also one of my best friends and the one person I trust every part of my life with. I know this is a lot to ask, I know this is bigger than asking you to help with a skating event. This is a change to every part of your life, and lying to a lot of people.”

“I’ll do it.” Nate’s jaw actually dropped like he couldn’t believe I was agreeing to do it. “Just tell me what you need me to do.”

“Thank you, thank you so much. I know this is a huge ask, I really do.”

“Before we talk about details, I need food and wine. Not necessarily in that order.” I ordered food and pulled out the biggest wine glass I had. As we waited for the food, we came up with a plan and story to tell everyone. We decided to stick with the cliche story of best friends who decided to fall for each other.

“Um, what about kissing? And other PDA?” Nate’s cheeks flushed as he asked the question and I knew it wasn’t from the wine. “I don’t want to do anything you are uncomfortable with.”

“Let’s just start with hand holding and that kind of stuff.”

“Yeah, okay. That sounds good.” Our food was delivered then, Nate going to the door and coming back with the bags of food.

“How much do I owe you?”

“Don’t worry about it, you can think about it like this is our first date.” I nod and start eating once we decided on something to watch. This felt normal for us, eating take out and watching whatever hockey game Nate was able to find. After we finished eating Nate helped me clean everything up before he got ready to leave. I walked him to the door, hugging him tightly as he let out a sigh of relief. “I don’t think I will ever be able to repay you for doing this. Thank you so much.”

“Don’t worry about it Nate, I’ll always be there when you need me.” I closed the door behind him, hoping that I wouldn’t regret agreeing to fake date my best friend.

Nate’s pov

I had been ignoring my phone since I pulled into the parking lot at Ruth’s apartment building, knowing that asking Ruth to do this would make or break our friendship. When I left her apartment I was hopeful that this wouldn’t be the end of our friendship. But I also knew it was only going to make my feelings for her grow. I realized within a month of knowing Ruth that I had feelings for her, and I had almost told her a dozen times a year since then.

I checked my phone when I got home, I had four missed phone calls from my captain and nearly a dozen texts. I skipped over looking at all the messages and just called him. “Nate, why did I hear you say that you are dating someone? Mel has been questioning me since this afternoon because she heard you say to someone that you are in a relationship. She is pissed that I didn’t tell her about it. Which is hard to do considering I had no clue.”

Before I could answer I heard Mel’s voice. “MacKinnon, you better tell me who you are dating.”

“Uh, Ruth-” There was a loud squeal on the other end of the call and then I heard Landy trying to shush his wife.

“When were you going to tell us this?” Gabe asked after it got quiet. I wanted to tell them the truth, we had talked about it. We eventually decided that we wouldn’t tell them the truth because Gabe was the worst gossiper on the team.

“It’s only been about a month, we wanted to make sure this was going to work before we shared it with anyone. We wanted to wait even longer but one of the executives was trying to set me up with his daughter.”

“Alright. I guess that is enough information from now. We can always ask more questions at that fundraiser on Friday night.”

“Oh shit.” That caused Gabe to laugh at me.

“You didn’t tell her about that yet?”

“No, we weren’t going public yet so I figured that I would just go by myself. But I guess I need to tell her about that now and see if she is willing to come with me.”

“That is a big first outing, good luck with that buddy.” Gabe hung up and I knew that I needed to tell Ruth about Friday but when I left she had mentioned she was going to crash as soon as I left. I figured I should go to bed now and deal with everything tomorrow.

***

I was getting ready to knock on Ruth’s door when it flew open and Ruth was standing there looking shocked. “Nate! What are you doing here?” Her eyes then looked at the coffee cup I was holding, one that I had brought for her. “Oh, what’s wrong?”

“What do you mean?”

“You only ever bring me my favorite coffee order when you have bad news.”

“I-Landy reminded me last night that we have a black tie fundraiser on Friday night.”

“And now that our supposed relationship is public, you are expected to bring your girlfriend with you.”

“Yeah. I am sorry, I never meant to make your life this complicated.” Ruth took the coffee from me, taking a sip before locking her door.

“I know what I signed up for Nate. I need to get to work, walk with me to my car.” I followed her through the hall of her apartment, waiting for her to yell at me. “What is this fundraiser for? And what kind of dress do I need?”

“It’s for the children’s hospital. We do it every year, they book a huge ballroom and it’s a lot of rich people. The Avs don’t run this fundraiser but all the sports teams in town donate a bunch of stuff to them to auction off and the team likes us to go so the people are more willing to open their wallets.”

“And yet that doesn’t tell me what kind of dress I need, or what time this thing is. Or any of the other million things I need to know to get ready for this thing.”

“I’m not sure about any of this, every year I go by myself. I can have Mel call you?”

“That sounds good. I have to go now, I have a project that was assigned to me yesterday that is way behind schedule. So thank you for the coffee and I’ll see you later.” I watched as she got into her car and drove away.

Ruth’s pov

By the time lunch came around I was buried under a pile of work, I hoped that if I could work through lunch and stay a little late every day this week that I would be caught up by the end of the week so I could focus on the lie at this fundraiser. So when I saw that Melissa was calling me I knew my plan was about to be derailed. “Hey Melissa.”

“I am going to ignore the fact that you didn’t tell me about you and Nate. And I am also going to save all of my questions for later, Nate told me that you need a dress for Friday. I can be at your office in 10 minutes, we can go shopping during your lunch hour.”

“I am so behind on a project that was just given to me this morning and it was already so far behind because the guy who was incharge of it before me was an idiot. I don’t have time to take a lunch break this week.”

“But Nate gave me his card to buy your dress with.” I knew I would regret what I was about to say but I didn’t have another option.

“If I tell you what size I wear, can you just get me something?”

“Absolutely!”

“Thank you. As much fun as I think shopping with you would be, I just can’t leave right now.”

“I get it. Send me a text with your sizes and I’ll find you the perfect dress.”

“Because my brain is a mess right now, I wasn’t supposed to babysit on Friday right?”

“No, my parents are in town this week. They are watching the kids. There is no way you are getting out of this event.” A part of me was hoping that I would have that as an excuse to not go but with that option gone I started to mentally prepare myself for Friday night.

***

“Thank you for letting me get ready here.” I said to Nate as he let me into his house. “And thank you for letting me crash here tonight.”

“Of course, it makes more sense this way. I also have your dress, Mel wouldn’t let me look at it when she dropped it off on Tuesday. I figured you can use my room to get ready, it has more counter space for whatever you need.”

“I’m not kicking you out of your bedroom and bathroom.”

“It’s not kicking me out when I volunteer to use the guest room. C’mon, let me carry your bag.”

“How long until we need to leave?”

“I have an Uber scheduled for 75 minutes from now.” I nod, knowing that I could make that work without having to rush too much. Once Nate headed into the guest room I started to unpack what I would need for now. Grabbing a towel before going to figure out the shower, which was far more high tech than anything I had ever seen in a shower before. I wrapped the towel around myself and went to find Nate. “Nate?! How do I work your futuristic shower?” I only stuck my head out in the hall to yell and luckily he heard me from the guest room he was in. A few seconds later he came out in only a loose pair of shorts, laughing at me. “Don’t laugh at me, your shower has a computer screen!” I opened the bedroom door so he could come in, watching his eyes widen when I saw I was only wearing a towel. As he came in to turn the shower on for me I took the time to look over him. When he turned to show me how to change the temperature and turn it off I knew he caught me checking him out. Nate was such a beautiful person, inside and out. I knew that fake dating Nate had the potential for my true feelings to come out and I was trying to convince myself that this wouldn’t end with the death of our friendship.

“Need anything else?”

“Nope.”

Nate’s pov

It took every ounce of willpower to not kiss Ruth when I saw her standing in my bedroom in just a towel, and then when I caught her checking me out I was really tempted to tell her the truth. I knew that this fake dating would just cause more pain for me but there was nothing I could do about that now. I took a colder shower than I had originally been planning to take but after that was done I got my suit on, just a dark grey suit so that hopefully I wouldn’t clash with whatever Ruth was wearing.

Just as I finished getting my shoes on there was a knock on my door. I opened it and was immediately speechless. The deep green dress looked amazing on her and I am pretty sure that my jaw was on the floor. As she moved in the dress I saw the large slit on the one side that showed a lot of her leg. “Can you zip my dress?”

“Y-yeah.” Ruth turned so her back was to me, pulling her hair to the side so I could tug up the zipper before whispering. “Perfect.”

“I should be ready in just a few minutes.”

“Yeah, I just need to come grab a tie. I wanted to wait until I saw what color your dress was.” Ruth nodded as we both heard into my bedroom, I headed straight for my closet and by the time I came out with my tie on Ruth was standing at the end of my bed smiling. “You look amazing.”

“You do too.” I walked over to Ruth, both of us looking at our reflection in the mirror. “We make a good looking couple.”

“I don’t think I can do this.” I froze after those words came out of my mouth, Ruth looking at me with wide eyes.

“O-okay, um, I’ll go grab my stuff and get out of your hair.” Ruth went to turn and walk away from me, but I gently turned her around so I could tell her the truth.

“No, that’s not what I meant.” I cupped Ruth’s cheek, locking eyes with her. “I have had feelings for you for so long. Probably since a month after I met you but I was scared to tell you. And then we became friends and I didn’t want to make things weird, so I kept it a secret. But I also fell for you more as we became closer friends. So I think a part of me decided to say I was dating someone because I want to be dating you. For real.” Ruth didn’t say anything, just took a step closer and pressed her lips to mine. “I, what just happened?”

“Everything you just told me, I feel the same way.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Now kiss me for real.” That I could do, I kissed Ruth like I had wanted to do for years. We only stopped kissing when a car horn sounded in my driveway. “I think I need to fix my lipstick.”

“I would say sorry but I’m not. I’ll go to the car if you want to fix your lipstick.” Ruth nodded, stepping back while smiling at me. “Just so you know, this isn’t our first date. I will be planning that for next week and it is going to knock your socks off.”

“As long as you are there, I can’t wait.” I kissed Ruth one more time before healing downstairs to tell the driver we were almost ready. I also couldn’t keep the smile off of my face, I couldn’t believe what started out as a panicked lie turned into a chance to date my best friend for real.

[chimnevhan]

Mystery Man: Luke Alvez x Female Reader

Prompt: The reader has to go to a wedding and tells her mother she is bringing her “boyfriend” that doesn’t actually exist, so Luke volunteers to go.

Words: 4.7k

Notes: This is my first real fanfiction I have written in about a year! I hope you enjoy

~~~~~~~~~~~ Y/n woke up to the sound of her phone ringing. She checked the caller id to see that it was her mother. She answered the call and her mother began to yell in her ear.

“Y/n this wedding is in two weeks, and you said you were going to rsvp last week. You are cutting very close to the deadline and you know your cousin hates it when you do that. Also, are you bringing that mystery boyfriend?” Y/n’s mother yelled through the phone. 

“Good morning to you to Mother. I know I said I was going to rsvp last week, I just got busy with a new case. I will put in for the time off today and talk to my boyfriend and see if he wants to come with.” Y/n said as she started to stress over how there was no mystery boyfriend. She made it up to please her mother. 

“There is no seeing if he wants to come with Y/n. He is either coming or you are not coming at all. I can not have my only daughter come without her boyfriend. The family will think I raised you to be a joke, which I did not. Do you understand me? Send in your rsvp today and I will talk to you later.” With that, her mother hangs up leaving y/n speechless as she lay in her bed. Y/n looked at the clock and realized she was going to be late for work. 

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

As soon as y/n sat down at her desk, Luke could immediately tell something was off about her mood. It didn’t take a profiler to tell she was upset about something. He was about to get up to ask her what was wrong but before he could Emily called the team into the briefing room. Luke walked with y/n to the briefing room. 

“Hey, do you want to talk about it on the jet?” He whispered in her ear as they walked up the steps. She nodded in response as she walked into the room. Luke took the seat next to her and opened up his tablet to see what the case was about.

“We have a case in Lewiston, Maine. Four women have been tortured and killed in the last 4 days. The local police are calling us in due to the connections each of the victims have. They are all between the ages of 21-25 and were all last seen leaving local bars. Alright, we will discuss more once we get there. Get your go bags and then wheels up.” Emily stated as she turned off the board and walked out of the room. 

Y/n and Luke grabbed their bags from under their desks and headed to the elevator. Once the elevator doors shut Luke looked at his sad coworker. 

“So what is going on in that beautiful head of yours?” Luke asked as he put his hand on y/n’s back. 

“Oh my cousin’s wedding and just me disappointing my mother again. How does she expect me to have a boyfriend with the job I have? I honestly do not understand how JJ and Will make it work. I mean they even have kids too.” Y/n said with a sigh as she looked up at Luke.

“So what about the wedding. Are you going? It will be a good chance to get out of work for a week. You do need a break.” Luke said, trying to comfort her. 

“I want to go, I think it would be nice, but I don’t have a boyfriend. I told my mom I had a boyfriend about 4 months ago. Yet I don’t, and she said if I don’t bring him with me, I am not allowed to go.” 

“I will go. You know, if you want. I mean come on. The team already thinks we are dating. We spend almost every day together, we share rooms on cases, how hard could it be?” Luke said with a smile as the elevator doors opened. 

“Luke, are you sure? I mean. It is a lot more than what we have now. You know my family.” Y/n said as she got into the passenger side of Luke’s car. 

“I am sure. I have a suit and everything. Just let me know how many days and I will request off. I have as many vacation days as you if not more. I am sure Garcia would be more than happy to watch Roxy while I am gone.” Luke replied as he started the car. “Plus, it will get you a break from your mother hounding you.” 

“Well, I guess I will send in the rsvp,” Y/n mumbled as she took out her phone. With a click of a button, she was in. “No backing out on me now Alvez.” Y/n said with a smirk on her face. 

They arrived at the airport in no time and met the rest of the team on the jet. As they walked in they received smirks from the rest of the team. 

“There are the love birds.” Rossi said as Luke and y/n sat down on the couch. Everybody laughed and received eye rolls from the pair. 

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

 The flight wasn’t long and the team was in Lewiston within 2 hours. Emily assigned everyone to go to different offices, pairing everyone up. Reid and Simmons, Tara and Rossi, Her and JJ, and Y/n and Luke. 

On their way to the corners, Luke asked Y/n about what he should bring and what he should be expecting at this wedding. 

“Well it is in the Bahamas so bring a swimsuit, and nice dress clothes. Honestly Luke, just be yourself. My family will like you more than they like me anyway.”

“Oh, Y/n that isn’t true. I am sure they all love you very much.” Luke comforted her with a soft smile. 

“Well. We will be sharing a room, but that shouldn’t be a problem, since we do it all the time. Basically, act as my boyfriend. Kiss me every now and then, hold my hand, tell me you love me. I will play along. No one there will notice a thing, they didn’t go to school to be a profiler. They don’t notice the little things like you and I do.” Y/n told him as they pulled into the corners parking lot. 

“So you wouldn’t mind if I just-” Luke grabbed y/n and kissed her. 

“LUKE!! Oh my god- WE ARE WORKING!!” Y/n screamed as she pulled away. “But yes, do that, except when we are not working!!” As y/n got out of the car, Luke sat there in shock. After a few seconds passed he got out of the car

The two of them walked into the coroner's office, silently. Y/n was still shocked that Luke would kiss her in the middle of a case. They met up with the medical examiner and went back to the morgue. The bodies laid covered on tables throughout the room. 

“Which is the first victim?” Y/n asked the medical examiner. 

“This one over here.” She replied, leading Luke and y/n over a body. “Her name is Melissa Vernon. She is 23 and her cause of death was a gunshot to the head.”

“Was there any signs of torture to any of the victims?” Luke asked.

“No sir, they seemed to be tied to a chair, shot in the head, and then left to be found.” 

“Alright, thank you. Give us a call if you find anything new.” Y/n said as she followed Luke out of the morgue. Luke and y/n walked out to the car and headed back to the station.

“Something seemed off about the victims.” Luke mentioned to y/n while they were driving. 

“What about them?” Y/n answered. She was confused about what he was trying to say.

“None of the victims were drunk when they were abducted nor poisoned.”

“You are right, so either they all knew the unsub or he was able to seduce them to want to go home with him.” Y/n said as she took out her phone. “I am going to ask Penelope to look into the background of the victims more. Have her check past history with the victims.” 

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

Once back at the station Luke filled Emily in with the information they gathered while y/n was on the phone with Garcia. 

“So according to their cell phone records each victim had a 2 minute phone call with the same number 5 minutes before they were abducted. Garcia tried to find the owner of the number but it was on a disposable phone, but based off of the towers the phone pinged off of. The unsub was in this area during the time of each call.” Y/n said as she drew on the map on the whiteboard. 

“If we spread out, tonight we might be able to catch him if he is around. I am sure with his killing pace, one victim a night, he will strike again. I think it is time to give the profile.” Emily stated as she texted the rest of the team to get back to the station as fast as they could. 

When the rest of the team arrived at the station, they gave the profile. 

“Alright, everyone go back to the motel, freshen up. Get some lunch and then meet back around here by 5 pm.” Emily told her team. As everyone left Luke and y/n stayed behind. 

“Hey Prentiss, I have to talk to you.” Y/n stated as she sat down at the table Emily was sitting at. 

“Alright, Luke, wait outside.” 

“No Emily, he can stay.” Luke shut the door and sat down at the table with the women. “In two weeks I need to take personal time for a week, and so does Luke.” Y/n said to Emily as she fiddled with her hands. She looked up to see that Emily had a grin on her face. “No Emily it’s not-”

“No need to explain y/n whenever we get back to Quantico I will put in both of your personal days.” Emily said as she got up from the table and led the two out of the room. 

“Do you want to go get some dinner since we have an hour to kill?” Luke said as he opened the station door so y/n could walk out of the building. “You could also tell me more about what I am getting myself into going to this wedding.” 

“Yeah, we can do that. I am starving.” 

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

After they sat down at their table, Luke noticed something off about y/n as she looked around the restaurant. He looked around to see what she was looking at, but then suddenly her head snapped back in his direction. 

“Y/n what is the matter? Tell me what you see.” Luke questioned her. 

“Something seems off about the guy in the corner, but I am probably just over reacting. Anyways, what do you want to know about my family?” Y/n answered as she drawed all of her attention back to Luke. 

“Well I know you have one of the richest families in the Quantico area. Anything I shouldn’t say or watch what I say around them?” Luke asked as he took a sip of his lemonade. 

“Well, don’t make smart ass comments, don’t be loud, just act like my mother but in Luke form.” Y/n began. “Wait, do not act like my mother, don’t be a bitch. Basically if you just stand there and nod your head you will be fine.” Y/n laughed at the comment she made about her mother, receiving a laugh from Luke as well. 

“Alright, I won’t act like your mom. So, how long has your cousin and her fiance been together?” 

“Oh, they have been friends since highschool. They have probably been dating for years by now.” Y/n said with an eye roll as the waitress brought over their food. While eating y/n saw the strange man from the corner exiting the building. “Luke, he has a gun.” 

“Well, y/n so do we.” Luke said as he took another bite of his lo mein. 

“Luke, he has it hidden in the back of his shirt, and it is the same gun used in the murders.” Y/n said as she got up from the table and Luke followed. “Luke tells the waitress that we will be back in to pay. I am going out to talk to the guy.” With that she walked out of the building to see the man leaning against the side of the building smoking a cigarette. “Hey, do you have a permit to be carrying that firearm sir?” 

“Well hello there pretty lady.” The man said as he put out his cigarette. Luke walked out of the building right as the man drew his gun and aimed it towards y/n. Luke walked up slowly behind y/n and pointed his gun at the man. “I can take you both out in one shot, now I suggest you let me leave peacefully if you want to get back to your little date.” Both Luke and y/n lowered their weapons and let the man go. 

“If we see that man again. I-” Luke began before y/n cut him off. 

“You won’t do anything.” 

“Y/n he drew his gun on you for asking a question. You expect me to just let that happen?” 

“No, but I had it under control Luke. I am going to go pay the tab and then we can head back to the station to meet with Emily and the team.” Y/n said as she walked back into the restaurant. 

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

The car ride back was silent because y/n was taking a short nap. Luke was going to be honest with himself. He was glad he was going to be spending the week with y/n down in the Bahamas. Maybe she will get the same feelings that he has for her while they are fake dating.  

Once at the station everyone headed out to their designated destinations. It was getting dark and the unsub should be making the call soon. Penelope was on the phone with the team and was keeping track to see when the phone would ping. Y/n was standing next to Luke when she noticed movement in a car. The car looked just like the car they saw the strange man get into at the restaurant. 

“Luke over there. Penelope, have you got anything yet?” Y/n whispered as she crouched down behind a bench as she moved closer to the car. 

“Y/n that is him. Be safe my angels.” Penelope said before she hung up. The team slowly moved in and circled the vehicle. 

“FBI get out of the vehicle and keep your hands in the air!” Luke yelled as he moved toward the drivers side of the car. The Unsub jumped out and took off in a sprint. Luke followed him down the street. 

“Agent Alvez I have a clean shot. Do you want me to take the shot?” One of the sharpshooters asked Luke. 

“No don’t shoot, I repeat Agent do not shoot!” 

“Agent Alvez are you sure?”

“Yes.” Luke groaned as he caught up to the unsub. The unsub had nowhere to go; he ran into a dead end alleyway with no escape plan. Luke knocked the guy down to the ground and cuffed him. Y/n caught up and helped Luke put the man in the car. 

“I figured I would see you around again pretty lady.” The unsub said as Luke shoved him into the back of the officer’s car. Y/n shivered over the fact that this awful man called her a pretty lady. 

“Hey Luke are you okay? That was a rough fall to the ground.” Y/n said as Luke walked over to where she was standing. 

“Yeah. I will ice it when we get back to the motel room. Speaking of the motel room, do you want to head back now? It is getting late and Emily wants to leave before 7 tomorrow.” The two of them walked over to their vehicle and drove back to the motel. Y/n asked Luke if he wanted her to drive but he insisted on driving. 

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

Two weeks had passed and the team had been fortunate to have been doing desk work since the Lewiston case. Today was the day y/n and Luke were leaving for the wedding. They face timed the night before so they could make sure they had everything they needed for the trip. Luke arrived at y/n’s house earlier in the morning so they could leave for their flight. Y/n was tired and slept through her alarm so she didn’t hear Luke knocking on the door. 

“Y/n we are going to be late if you don’t hurry up.” Luke said as he stood outside of her door. A few minutes passed and she still didn't answer, then he remembered that she gave him a key to his apartment. “Y/n, I am coming inside.” Luke announced as he opened the door. He saw her bags on the floor in the living room but didn’t see her anywhere. He walked around for a bit looking for her, until he found her sleeping in her bed. He has seen her sleeping many times before but never in her own bed. He couldn’t help but smile. She looked so peaceful and he hated that he had to wake her up. He walked over to the bed and crouched down next to it. “Y/n we have to leave.” He said in a soothing voice trying to wake her up. It worked and she sat straight up. 

“Oh god, I slept through my alarm. Let me brush my hair and we can go. I am so sorry Luke.” Y/n groaned as she got out of bed and ran into her bathroom. 

“No no take your time, I figured we could stop and get coffee before we leave anyway, so no rush.” Luke said as he walked back into her living room. “I am going to take your bags down to my car y/n I will be back up then.” 

A few minutes later y/n met Luke down at his car. She helped him load her bags into the trunk and backseat of his car and then sat in the passenger seat. Luke readjusted some things in the trunk and then joined her in the car.

“I am so sorry Luke, I really didn’t mean to oversleep.” Y/n sighed as she rested her head against the car window. 

“Hey Y/n it is fine, really it is. You can sleep some more, so you will be rested for the trip.” Luke said with a smile as he rubbed her shoulder. The touch of his hand caused y/n to blush. She was so glad to have Luke as her friend, but she didn’t want to admit to herself that she had some feelings for him. 

“Alright, thank you for coming Luke. Honestly, what would I do without you?” Y/n chuckled as she shut her eyes. Luke laughed with her and continued his drive to the airport. 

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

Thirty minutes later Luke pulled into the parking lot at the airport. Their flight would leave in about twenty minutes. He figured he would let y/n sleep for about five more minutes so she would be well rested for their long flight. 

“Hey y/n we are here.” Luke said softly as he opened the passenger door. Y/n stretched her arms and yawned. Luke didn’t know if he had ever seen something so beautiful before. The way the sun shined in her tired eyes and her smile. He wished she felt the same way about him as he felt about her. Y/n got out of the car and grabbed her bags from the back of the car. She noticed someone standing outside of the airport, someone familiar. As they got closer she realized it was her mother. 

“Oh my god, Alvez hold my hand.” Y/n mumbled as she reached for his hand. He accepted her urgent offer and took her hand in his. “See that woman standing over there. That is my mother.” Luke nodded his head in response to her statement. Once they made their way over to the front of the airport y/n’s mother greeted them with a smile. 

“Hello dear, you must be the mystery boyfriend, my daughter has been talking about for a while.” Y/n’s mother said as she gave Luke a hug. Y/n just rolled her eyes. “What is your name, darling?” Y/n’s mother asked as she started to walk into the building.

“My name is Luke, it is a pleasure to meet you. Y/n always says such nice things about you.” Luke answered with a smile as he opened the door for y/n and her mother.

“Wait, you are Luke? The one that works with my daughter?” Y/n’s mother said in shock. Luke nodded in response. “Wow, whenever she is over she never stops talking about you. I was going to be a bit upset if you weren’t the mystery man.” Y/n’s face got bright red and she looked down at the floor of the airport. Luke gave y/n a soft grin to let her know it was okay. “Well, Luke, I apologize you couldn’t bring your dog with. Roxy is her name, correct?” Luke was surprised, y/n did talk about him a lot. 

“Yes ma’am that is her name. It is fine, she is being watched by one of our coworkers while we are away.” He answered with a smile as he loaded the bags into the bag cart. After some more small talk with y/n’s mother they all boarded the plane and they were off to The Bahamas.

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

Six hours later the plane landed in The Bahamas. Half way through the flight y/n had fallen asleep on Luke’s shoulder. He saw her mother taking photos of them, and to be honest he didn’t mind. Luke was glad to see that y/n was finally getting some rest, since their job didn’t allow a normal sleep schedule. After they got off of the plane they received their bags and headed to the hotel room. 

After they got to the hotel Luke helped y/n’s mother take her luggage to her room, and then joined y/n in their room. When he entered the room he was surprised to see her nowhere in sight. He laid his bags on the bed and that is when he noticed she was standing on the balcony. He sat on the bed and took a photo of her. He figured he would use it as his wallpaper while they were on vacation. Y/n’s skin glowed in the evening sunlight, her hair was moving with the wind, she was honestly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. He got up out of bed and walked out to join her. 

“Hey sunshine.” Luke said as he hugged her from behind. Y/n lifted her head up to look at him. 

“You know you don’t have to be so nice to me when my family isn’t around.” She muttered as she turned to face him. 

“I know, but how could I not be nice to you?” He said with a chuckle. Y/n punched him on the shoulder and walked back into the hotel room and flopped on the bed. 

“Well “babe” what do you want to watch on tv?” Y/n asked him sarcastically and patted the spot next to her on the bed. 

“Whatever you want to watch is fine, and I am not Roxy, you don’t need to pat the bed for me to come over.” Luke replied as he sat down next to her gently. She smirked at his reply and started to look for a channel on the tv. “So y/n, what does your dress look like?” 

“It is a tea length lavender dress, with a lace pattern on the front. I hope whatever you chose matches well.” Y/n said as she laid back and rested her head on Luke’s chest. Luke felt his face getting hot and he could tell it was most likely red. He never imagined that y/n would use his chest as a pillow. “Well there is nothing good on tv. I think we should just go to bed because we have, well at least I do, a long day tomorrow. My cousin is already mad I didn’t come to the rehearsal tonight.” She said as she turned off the tv. Luke yawned and that was their que that it was time to get some real rest.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke awoke to the sound of y/n moving around the hotel room. He laid there and watched her move in and out of the bathroom. She eventually noticed that he was watching her. “Do you like what you see Alvez?” He nodded and sat up in the bed. “I am going to need your help then.” y/n said as she grabbed her dress and walked back into the bathroom. After she shut the door Luke got up and got on his suit for the wedding. He left the tie in his suitcase and kept the top two buttons on his dress shirt open. He turned to look in the mirror and caught a glance of y/n as she opened the bathroom door. She glared at him and waved for him to come over. “Keep your mouth shut Luke. I know what you are going to say. Now can you help me zipper the back of this thing.” 

“Y/n… You look beautiful.” He said as he zippered up the back of her dress making sure she didn’t get any of her hair in the way. 

“Well, this will be the only time you ever see me in a dress because it never happens.” Y/n told him with a chuckle. “Well we better get going, I don't want to tick off my cousin anymore than I already do.” Y/n grabbed her bag and headed to the door. Luke was so glad that y/n chose him to be her fake boyfriend and not anyone else. He was glad that he was able to have some alone time with her and was going to be able to treat her like he has always wanted to, plus he figured there is no one on their team here to make fun of them. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

Y/n’s mother met them in the hallway and her jaw dropped as she saw Luke and y/n standing together by the elevator. Luke heard her mother approaching and figured now would be an appropriate time to kiss y/n. 

“Y/n, can I kiss you?” Luke asked quietly so her mother wouldn’t hear. Y/n could feel the heat from her stomach rising up to her chest, she could feel Luke’s lips getting closer and closer to her’s. She knew her mother was standing behind them watching their every move, but she didn’t care. Kissing Luke was the only thing on her mind. The moment his lips touched hers y/n felt a sudden feeling of relief. This kiss lasted a lot longer than the one in the car outside of the coroner's office. When Luke pulled away y/n was a bit upset, but she knew there was more to come. “We will finish that later.” Luke whispered in her ear before he hit the elevator button to go down. 

“Yes, yes we will Agent Alvez.”

Taglist- @scandinavian-punk @hotchsbabygirl @haleymalaffey @queer-rambling @gravelyhumerus @luke-alvez @thelukealvez @sunlightgalaxy

[elspethc22]

Never Again

Sciles Week Day 2: Sleep Intimacy

Pairing: Scott/Stiles

Word Count: 1969

When Scott had asked Stiles at the school if he wanted to split up to investigate the train tracks and Stiles had responded ‘never again’ he’d meant it very literally. In the weeks since they’d defeated the Wild Hunt and its wannabe rider the Nazi, Stiles had spent a total of one night in a different bed to Scott. And that night hadn’t gone too well.

The first night, everyone had seemed to just accept that Scott and Stiles weren’t being separated so soon after getting Stiles (and everyone else) back from the Wild Hunt. With everyone suddenly back, both the Sheriff and Melissa had ended up being called back in to work as people tried to deal with, and once again try to explain away, the recent events.

Scott knew Stiles was going to want to go home, to see his house and his room and be in those familiar surroundings after so long, so it wasn’t even a question when he followed his best friend home that night. Like Stiles, he couldn’t bear to separated again so soon, not after so many months and not knowing who Stiles was, what he was missing, and then knowing and struggling to get him back.

When they reach the Stilinski household, Stiles parks the jeep and they hop out. Scott follows Stiles up to the front door, and then pauses when Stiles does, watching as Stiles just stares at the door.

‘Stiles?’ He prompted after a moment, and Stiles nodded, unlocking the door and letting them inside. Scott wondered if he should ask Stiles about eating – did things like that matter in the hunt? But he could tell from the slump in Stiles’ shoulders that he was exhausted, so he let Stiles lead them past the kitchen and up the stairs.

They changed into comfortable clothing and then settled into Stiles’ bed. At first they just lay there, side by side, just far enough apart that Scott could feel the distance.

‘Stiles, are you ok?’ He asked gently after they’d laid there in silence for a minute. Stiles turned his head, then rolled to face Scott. Scott did the same, so they lay staring at each other.

‘It’s just… I have to admit, there were a few moments there when I really wasn’t sure I was getting back here. It’s just…’ He trailed off, and Scott scooted forward, wrapping an arm around Stiles’ waist and pulling him forward, shifting his own body slightly so he could pull Stiles up next to him.

‘I get it. Right after you disappeared, Lydia was so adamant that she’d forgotten something, that there was something we were forgetting or missing, but none of us could really understand what she meant at first. Then, the more she talked about it, that feeling, the more I felt it creeping in and started noticing things. Like an empty space in a photo, little gaps in memories that just didn’t quite make sense, like why I would go looking for a body in the middle of the preserve.’ Scott paused, looking down at Stiles who had tilted his head up and was watching him.

‘Then, when I remembered you – when we heard your voice through the radio, I couldn’t understand how I ever forgot you. When we were using the machine to try and bring you back with our memories, it was so overwhelming, I couldn’t focus and now I think I know why – because you’re there in almost all of my memories, all the important moments in my life since we met. There were too many and I couldn’t focus it down, couldn’t pick just one that was important because they’re all important. Because it’s you. But I still couldn’t bring you back.’

That last bit was whispered, but Stiles clearly heard it as he suddenly sat up, holding Scott’s face between his hands to force him to look at him.

‘That’s not your fault, Scott. I don’t know everything, but I got enough from my dad to know that Lydia bringing me back has to be because she’s a banshee. He said that they never tried to come for her, the riders, and about that other town with the only person left behind being a banshee. So it’s not because you failed, Scott.’ Stiles told him, and continued to hold Scott’s face still and stare at him until Scott nodded.

Then Stiles nodded, clearly happy with Scott’s acquiescence, and laid back down, snuggling in close to Scott once again. Scott brought his arm back up around Stiles’ waist, and let himself settle in a bit more.

‘I’m so glad we got you back, Stiles.’ Scott whispered into the silence in the room after a few minutes.

‘I’m so happy you got me back too.’ Stiles whispered in return, then they both lapsed back into silence, and slowly started to drift off to sleep.

They woke the next morning when the Sheriff finally returned home from the station, popping his head into the room very briefly to check his son was really back and then tell them he was getting some sleep.

The sound of his dad woke Stiles, and he lifted a hand in acknowledgment, listening as his dad shut the door behind him. During the night, they had shifted so when they woke they were pressed Stiles’ back to Scott’s front, spooning together with Scott’s arm keeping them firmly together.

Stiles had a fleeting thought regarding his continual position as the little spoon before he pushed that aside and pressed back slightly, into the warmth of Scott’s body, feeling Scott’s arm tighten slightly in response. Stiles smiled, and let himself drift back off to sleep.

***************************************************************************

The second night, Scott had returned home to be with his mum and Stiles stayed home to spend time with his dad. When Stiles made his way up to bed, he went through the same routine as the night before, the same routine as always, getting into his pyjamas and crawling into bed.

He then proceeded to spend the rest of the night tossing and turning, waking every hour or two reaching across the bed for someone who wasn’t there, feeling cold and unable to get warm or with his heart racing as he thought he heard horses and whips. When his dad came to check on him in the morning, he was curled up on his side, staring at his phone trying to decide if it was too early to call Scott.

The decision was made for him when his phone suddenly rang, Scott calling him. He hurried to answer the call, holding the phone to his ear.

‘Scotty?’ He breathed into the phone, and heard a responding sigh.

‘Hey Stiles. Sorry if I woke you – ’

‘You didn’t. I uh, I couldn’t really sleep last night.’ Stiles admitted softly.

‘You either, huh?’ Scott asked and Stiles nodded even though Scott couldn’t see him.

‘I kept reaching for you, and you weren’t here.’ Stiles admitted in a low voice, knowing Scott would hear him.

‘Same.’ Scott whispered back, and Stiles closed his eyes.

The Sheriff stood in the doorway listening to the conversation, and was torn between being worried about Stiles’ inability to sleep apparently coming back, and being so happy to have him back and be able to listen to him talk to his best friend even if the topic wasn’t fantastic. With a silent signal to say he was heading to work, the Sheriff left his son still talking to Scott.

He wasn’t surprised when he got a text later that day from Stiles saying he was spending the night at Scott’s.

From then on, the boys alternated their nights between the Stilinski and McCall households, and either the Sheriff or Melissa lost track of the days, well if the boys weren’t at their respective houses they just made the assumption they were at the other house, and they were correct.

They both also assumed that after a few weeks, once everything started to settle again, they would slowly stop this and go back to what it had been like before. This assumption was not correct.

***************************************************************************

One month after Stiles’ return, the Sheriff went to wake his son for his graduation ceremony. After everything that had happened at Beacon Hills High School over the last few months (years) the ceremony had been slightly delayed. As the Sheriff opened the door, he bit back a sigh as he was once again greeted with the sight of Scott and his son curled up together in Stiles’ bed. He had really hoped that now that some time had passed, their shared need for each other to be able to sleep would fade, but that did not seem to be passing.

This morning, Scott was curled up on his side, facing the wall, and Stiles was curled around him, one arm slung across Scott’s midsection, holding him close. They’d often shared a bed as they’d grown up, a closeness forged from a shared grief of losing a parent (albeit in different ways), of being different from their classmates due to asthma and ADHD and being each other’s only real friends for so long. But this was different, this was a new type of closeness and the Sheriff wasn’t quite sure what to make of it.

He also worried that now that school was over, and the future upon them with college and who knew what else that this co-dependency for sleep would not end well for either boy. But he knew that saying that to them wouldn’t help, at least not saying outright. Perhaps it was time to talk to Melissa.

He cleared his throat, knocked a couple of times on the door and spoke.

‘Boys, time to wake up – graduation day.’ Stiles stirred first, surprisingly given Scott’s werewolf hearing and reflexes. He turned his head towards the door and gave his dad a smile.

‘Morning dad.’ The Sheriff smiled in returned, then nodded towards Scott.

‘Wake Scott up, get dressed and come down for breakfast. Melissa will be here to join us in half an hour.’ Stiles nodded then turned back towards Scott. The Sheriff stepped back, but then paused, watching his son gently shake Scott.

‘C’mon Scotty, time to get up. Big day today.’ He said, hand on Scott’s shoulder. Scott mumbled and then he brought his hand up to wipe at his face then turned to face Stiles without dislodging Stiles’ arm from his waist.

‘Morning.’ He said lowly, his voice still think with sleep.’ Stiles smiled at him.

‘Can you believe it, Scott? Graduation! We made it – we actuallymade it.’ Scott grinned at him, then his smiled softened slightly.

‘I couldn’t have made it without you.’ Scott told Stiles, who ducked his head. Scott lifted a hand and tilted Stiles’ head back up to look at him. ‘I mean it. No way I’d be here if it wasn’t for you.’

‘Same, Scott. You’ve saved me more times than I can count. And I wouldn’t want to be here without you.’ Stiles admitted and the Sheriff closed his eyes tight. He didn’t want to believe the sentiment but he heard the truth in his son’s voice.

‘I wouldn’t want to be here without you either.’ Scott responded, and the Sheriff heard the truth there too.

When he let his eyes open again, Scott had wrapped an arm around Stiles’ waist, and the other had worked its way up between them to hold Stiles’ cheek, and their foreheads were pressed together. Stiles’ eyes were closed, and Scott was watching him.

Maybe he did know what to make of it after all, although he did wonder if the boys had realised yet. He’d have to let Melissa know this wasn’t going to be stopping any time soon.

[wardlowsbabydoll]

A Wedding

FOUR YEARS LATER

Everyone was rushing around doing last-minute preparations, wanting everything to be perfect.

Melissa and Finn haven't seen each other since the day before. They were both extremely anxious but excited.

They had decided to take their relationship slowly, but after dating for three and a half years they decided to get married.

Melissa was sitting in a chair having her hair and makeup done by her two nieces, sister, and best friend who also happened to be her bridesmaids.

Jupiter however was sitting at the behest of the other women since she was heavily pregnant and they didn't want her to hurt her back.

As she was about to protest she saw the look her mother was giving her and backed down. If there was one person you never want to argue with it's Abigail Ford.

"Are you excited Aunt Mel?" Sophie asked as she curled her Aunt's hair.

"I'm excited, but also nervous. What if he changes his mind?" Melissa began to worry.

"Kol just texted me and said Finn is worried that you're going to run. Finn says he loves you." Davina told her best friend who sighed in relief.

"Mommy!" two voices called as they ran into the room. Everyone's smiles brightened at seeing the twins, Diana and Kol running towards their mother.

"My babies. Don't you two look nice." Jupiter said as the two tried to clamber onto her lap.

"Be careful," Sophie said as she helped them get on Jupiter's lap carefully to avoid her bump.

"Thank you, Auntie Sophie." They chimed together.

"Your welcome." She told them before she went back to help Melissa.

"You look like a princess Auntie Mel," Diana said as she watched her great aunt's make up get done.

"I haven't even put my dress on yet, but thank you Di." Melissa thanked the two and a half year old.

Diana was a spitting image of her father Spencer. They shared the same hair color and facial structure but she had her mother's eyes.

Kol looked like his mother but had his father Derek's caramel skin tone. His hair was a dirty blonde that in the sun looked brighter.

The twins were a shocking but welcome addition to the family. Even though Melissa and Samuel weren't biologically related to them they both spoiled their grandchildren.

"Alright, mommy has to get up. She has to use the bathroom." Jupiter said and they both hopped off their mother's lap so she could go to the bathroom.

She came out a few moments later and it was time to get their dresses on. Jupiter had a bit of trouble but her mother thankfully came to her rescue.

Diana wanted to help so Melissa let her put the white flower crown on top of her head. "Now you look like a real princess." Diana cheered.

"Well it's all thanks to you," Melissa said and kissed the two and a half year old's head.

"Hey, ladies it's time." a male voice called and the toddler's head snapped in that direction so quickly they could get whiplash.

"Daddy!" They cheered as the ran over to their father, Derek.

It was no surprise to anyone when they found out that both Diana and Kol had inherited their parent's intellect. Diana from her father and mother while Kol got it from his mother. He also inherited his father's athletic ability, while Diana thankfully (according to Spencer) inherited Jupiter's athletic ability.

"Hey, you two. It's time to go. You remember what to do right?" Derek said as he scooped up the kids.

"Uh-huh! I have the rings and Diana gets to throw the flowers!" Kol said excitedly.

"That's right. Hey Love." Jupiter said as she walked over and kissed Derek's cheek.

"Hey baby girl. You look beautiful." Derek complimented his mate and kissed her on the head.

"Jupiter, you're uncle's freaking out, they're looking for you. Hey Diana." Spencer said as he walked towards his mate and took his daughter out of Derek's arms.

"Alright. I'll go calm him down." Jupiter sighed and said goodbye to the other women to go calm down her uncle.

Derek and Spencer watched their mate walk away with dopey smiles.

Walking into the men's hotel room Jupiter giggle slightly seeing everyone looking so disheveled.

"Oh thank God! Mars is here! She will help solve our problems!" Kai cried dramatically.

"What's the problem?" The blonde Ford daughter asked as she began to help tie the guy's ties.

"Well the main problem is that Finn thinks Mel is gonna run, he thinks he isn't good enough for her," Sam said as he smiled at his youngest daughter.

"That's silly Uncle Finn. Aunt Mel loves you more than anything. If anything she was afraid that you are going to run. She loves you, Uncle Finn. You deserve happiness." Jupiter said as she began to tie her Uncle's tie.

"Our darling niece, as usual, is right. You truly deserve happiness brother." Kol told his oldest brother.

"Alright. It really is time to go so everyone out the door!" Jupiter said and rushed everyone out.

The rustic looking barn that Melissa and Finn had decided to get married in was decorated beautifully with maroon and champagne color schemes with grey.

"You alright Jupe?" Daniel asked as he and Jack linked arms with their blonde best friend.

"I'm alright. Just a little dizzy. They've been siphoning a lot. I'm having to almost triple my intake on everything." Jupiter said as she looked down at her rapidly growing bump.

Alexander and his fiancé Levi had wanted to have a child and so Jupiter jumped at the chance to be their surrogate. She was pregnant with Gemini twins, and at least one of them if not both of them were siphoners.

"Well you have two witchy twins growing inside you. Try not to drain anyone today." Jack joked and the blonde glared at him, the glare having no heat to it.

The doors opened and it was show time.

Jupiter walked out first with Jack and Daniel, smiling at everyone and winking at her mates before breaking off from the boys.

Next down the aisle was Sophie who was being escorted by Kai and Alexander. 

Kol and Davina followed after and Kol had a smug grin on his face. Davina had a smile on her face.

Abigail was the next one out the door and was being escorted by the groom, who still looked nervous.

Finn stood there trying not to pass out as he saw little Kol and Diana walk out. He saw Jupiter take their hands and guide them to their seat and then Sophie helped her back onto the stage.

Finally the bridal theme sounded and Melissa and Samuel walked out. He had offered to walk his sister in law down the aisle.

Jupiter watched as her uncle teared up at seeing Melissa and it made her smile widen.

The ceremony was absolutely beautiful.

Jupiter sat with her mates as she watched their children dance together. It never failed to make her smile.

Although she had a smile on her face, worry plagued her mind.

She had a feeling something was about to change and unfortunately it wouldn't be for the better.

[stevenbasic]

“Haha you can not send him that one!” Melissa laughed, on the phone with her friend, Shanette. They’d known one another since High School and though they didn’t talk as much since Melissa had left the car dealership to take this new position, it was still an easy relationship between the two....

“You’re the one who said he has mommy issues..!” Shanette replied, laughing herself, “And I really want the job. I hear from Randi what’s going down at that place, all that hot-girl shit. I want in!”

“Yayyyyy!” Melissa cheered, thrilled her friend had finally decided. Shanette made good money selling cars at Wellspring - the body certainly helped - but hopefully Melissa could at least match her pay here. “So happy!! You mean the study?”

“Yeah, Abby told me everything. The new drugs? You all are cutting edge,” Shanette said, “When things start going down next month it’ll be the place to be.”

Melissa could not argue with that. If the elections went the way she was being told they would, Far Horizons would suddenly become a very important place. The thought made her giddy: her, skinny little Missy Monroe, the girl who struggled with basic arithmetic and couldn’t spell to save her life, now in charge of such a crucial thing, so important to the plans for the new world that was coming. At least, that’s what they told her...

“And, plus,” Shanette continued, “since you moved on, moved out, I don’t have that sweet sweet Melissssy effect no more. I’m missing out!”

Melissa laughed. “Oh, no worries, you’re basically already hired,” she assured her, “I look after my roomies. My girls from the Hoot.”  Admiring her friend’s figure, swiping through the series of pictures Shanette has texted over for approval before sending them to him, Melissa giggled when she imagined how he’d react...

“But, remember,” Melissa added, “I’m supposed to be the one with the big boobs around here.”

“Omigod don’t even,” Shanette laughed, “those days where we could share bras? Long gone. I see how big you got.”

“Haha stopppp…” Melissa conceded, glancing down proudly at her own chest as she spoke, brushing away an invisible something.

“But watch out sister-” Shanette warned, “Randi told me how the Missy Effect is working on everyone there. I want in again! Mama needs a new cup size.”

“Omigod It’ll be so fun, just like at the Hoot, at Wellspring, all of us together again!” Melissa sang, her smile so wide her cheeks were actually starting to hurt, “We’ll get you in, soon. Just keep sending pictures...and no mommy stuff yet!”

“Okay hun you got it,” Shanette agreed, “Now, I gotta go sell a car to another freakin simp. Make sure he sees me.”

“Oh, I will,” Melissa promised, “and he is going to love you…”

=================================================

Next post up and running, along with some bonus material, at my Patreon.