#i left early on monday cuz i was feeling like throwing up

[cicada-dyke]

alright so i may be paranoid but i’m starting to have a hunch that our homeroom prof talked to my classmates to be nice to me or some shit and i just want everything to stop

[the-firebird69]

Watch "The Sopranos Opening Credits Theme Song | The Sopranos | HBO" on YouTube

I'm a feeling it's Monday morning you can see the scenery it looks like Monday morning but real early and he says it looks like I'm driving around to get coffee and donuts and it might be and the idiots doing it later so what we know is they usually go in early and they try stuff they going again and they try stuff and we have to block it in this case we have to try and fight them off it's coming in a bad time tomorrow they won't be that many left up there in Jersey and we have an airport it's kind of our last area it's going to fill up with us and we're going to be fighting each other to bother another person who's kind of a rebel I don't understand what we're doing but it keeps happening

Tommy f

And your kids understand it that they're fighting you but I understand that does make sense for them to keep doing what they're doing is what you mean I believe he says yes and constant concentrating me and attacking me and things like that have not paid off for any reason and they continue to do it it's going to be learning experience for them tomorrow if they don't learn someone else will have an opportunity to learn after they're gone

Zues

As well said because this is becoming nuisance okay the medicine should never be administered to him and is required by a whole bunch of idiots now it's come up against it again and the idiots are not even here pretty soon. The ships have left and there's approximately 2.5 million octillion at the evacuation centers the rest of them are taking things to their own huge things and tons of stuff it's going to just get left there and they're calling for like five rounds of ships for all the stuff so he's sending giant numbers of ships and some of them are armed their escorts but mostly they're big ships and they're coming up right now and then it's not loading and then bring the rest of the people and the rest of the people is like 1 million octillion gathering up their stuff we're still coordinating Aries off with walls and we're watching and we have armament out and heavy and if they start to take the wrong stuff they're gone now they're going up to the upper Midwest too and actually they're taking chips down from the upper Midwest and they're trying to take stuff and we said no that's ours and we worked there and you wouldn't be with anything if you weren't there and you're you're a b**** and they want certain things and we're trying to figure out if we can let it go or not and if we should or not and while we're talking about it they start trying to take it and we cut them down and said we're talking right now the next group we're talking right now same kind of reaction and they're dwindling throw 150,000 octillion out there and now there's about 50,000 octillion and if they keep doing it they won't have any access we're hoping they do cuz we don't block them off but BJ is sending ships up fully loaded with people and some stuff and they want to try and take ships below and we said we don't think that that's possible but they're doing it anyways and there are several cities that have an emptied but we expect them to tonight serious is beginning today

Hera

I'm going to get my coffee I want a Newark Express they show some signs and it's what happens on Monday shouldn't things are closed certain things are opened they have to be around to understand it money is not a big day for work everybody's exhausted and they come in late and you can see that the lights are off on certain bridge items and offerings and on ramps are closed and certain tools are closed and that's what's going on and getting there is a pain in the ass and you have to know what you're doing they decide to show this in the video to show us concentrated and angry like a big boss it's really from the traffic and I don't know where to get the footage but you're driving around like a circle you can't access the point from the first segment where it is I have to go all the way around and you have to go on and off in some cases it is a living hell what these people are like to live with it's just a living hell and they do it because we're all lazy it only takes like 50 people but that's hardly anybody on the road and you can see why I sort of and they live in Access because it's usually people who are trying to grab things but that's why they did it the drunken cause problems off the highway so it's like that on Monday and I believe that's the day. It's decent insight people are saying.

Tony soprano

I guess I play the kid and I get shot a lot and people don't want me around but really they don't want Trump around so I'm taking a hit for him and they don't know who Christopher multicity is and I should probably try and figure that out it looks like it could be Terry she's been. I get why now it makes sense but who's the guy doing the hitting in the face is deplorable so we're going to have discussion I guess. And we're also fighting over the Walmart issue and a princess probably just go through and it's nonsense but so I'm laughing cuz it's probably a computer when you think people are doing it so I'm going to try and get to the computer and others are it doesn't care cuz he just arguing until just say he was off the meds for a while cuz he was trying to get the bills trained out I don't care either it's stupid doesn't care for the medicine is poisoning him and stunting is growth they ruined our plan and we kept ruining our plan we're geniuses he says absolute geniuses apparently it's not going that way

Dan

It's not me I assure you it looks like me at the end again who's the one who shot or shoots you if it's me wouldn't I be shooting you

The second time you get shot and you keep getting shot you're the one in the bathtub too cuz you f***** up a simple job it looks like Mark ruffalo you hit it was the hulk and I'm sure we'll have to face him later thank you very much just stay home

Terry c

There's a huge number of things going on I can't stand any of this. And now I'm working out okay I'm in my sweats I don't believe it I think that's me running away from them and it says he doesn't know he can't tell who anyone is finally. There's a very odd feeling I'm having everybody's waiting for this freaking series and I see why oh you get hit by him and he hits you and we can remember it if he doesn't know who people are. I guess it doesn't matter makes it worse for us he says they come back and hit you again cuz you're back well that makes sense. It's a few things I want to say we're trying to strip him of his money still and we're providing it and we're assholes. And it's real it's really bad what we're doing is stupid and self-deprecating. The second thing is we're moving out and we're getting our supplies and things and we have a lay down area that's next to theirs and the spot is for us to grab our stuff and he says no it's for both and to keep you out of the cities cuz you sit there pestering things it's true too the whole place is a mess trying to take steel from the lower level and here we go we have huge lots that are coming out and some huge ships are going out from us and we only have a few areas but we're taking it and we're not taking from our bases which is probably a mistake we're going to fight each other over them and it's going to be horrible and Star wars is beginning this movie series or television they're already up there and we're having a good time pounding around saying funny things in a fake Italian accent getting my restaurant going and it was on TV and my granddaughter was running the place she couldn't hack it so she left and I had to pick it up and later on she gets mad and they do a credit card scam and nearly ruins me and I crack open my skill my son's skull apparently if that's me but who would know and everyone examined it and said it was

Trump

This is what it's like they tell me that stuff and I have to try to do something which will probably trigger it but really you're such an a******

Dan

I can't wait for them to be yelling across the Italian restaurant when Dan is working for him that's going to be fun

Zues Hera

Yeah I mean on this too that's funny and it's Hera again

The whole world is going to be on its ear and you're going to crack my head open it doesn't look like it's on purpose it just cracks it's kind of weak it's not like it took a rock and smacked it a few times. But then my head gets run over so that's not the end of it. We move on to Goodfellas and it gets rolled over and they're playing this music it's like a friend and his girlfriend mop it's nothing to do with them and it's going through like the whole show I can't stand this is so weird who the hell is doing this stuff

Dan

We're both doing it and it's stupid supposed to blame him and it does not look like it happens at all he's not up in Jersey has hardly been there is life maybe twice and he thinks it's only twice he drove through both times oh three times maybe drove through three or so four times and stay there once and Rose's house and you should be ashamed of yourselves on the road says and Aunt Rose says and she was a good host and Mom had a good time and we talked and we had fun and she was worried about Frank I think and I said he was dead but I think he's around and it had an atmosphere of Hope and I found out he was around he's not one of the bombs bums it was a good time you said the bed was really poofy but he slept better on it his bed is a nightmare I see the thing says you can feel the wires it's a nightmare but really you guys don't slow down and you don't have lives at all you don't know anybody you don't say hello or take a moment and he starts talking to people and ignores you because you're sitting there seeing this s*** and threatening people you're horrible you wanted to join the club of being a b***** loser you should you should really feel bad for your selves because you're so bad at this Aunt Rose says and really it's what need to be said we're horrible but you know who knows what's going to happen we just keep doing probably

Trump

I've heard enough we're going up there they're going to try and get the money which we are taking supposedly he says let's try to think about something just putting it up there to take it here or something to blame us

Dan

[ehstarwar]

the gentler gamester is the soonest winner (1/4)

to sport would be as tedious as to work

"I have a seat thief.” Rey said, clutching the pen harder in her grip.

“A what?”

“A seat thief. Someone who steals my unassigned-assigned seat. It’s been going on all semester in my night class. It’s very frustrating.”

-

Ben steals Rey's seat in class (a crime akin to high treason) and Rey refuses to go down without a fight.

-

Rating: Teen and Up

Word Count: 2K

Read on AO3

Notes: this is an experience dear to my heart and i hope all you fellow over-thinkers will agree with me. in fact, Rey's civility about this whole situation requires a lot of self restraint on my part. (so you're welcome, Ben ಠ_ಠ )

Chapter 1: to sport would be as tedious as to work

-

Rey glanced at the clock for the sixth time this hour. 

5:22. Still time… probably.

She didn’t want to seem impatient or like a bad worker, but there was only so much one could do at a coffee counter when no one has been in it for the last hour and a half. She cleaned the espresso machine twice, refilled the sugar packet and every size of cup, even swept behind the counter and in front of it. All of this was supposed to help the time pass until she and Kaydel could close up and head out for the evening, and yet, here she was, still eight minutes to go.

Kaydel glanced at her and pointedly looked down at the pen Rey was incessantly tapping against the register. 

“Everything okay?” Kaydel asked. Rey knew that Kaydel was polite and was probably asking this anticipating an ‘Oh, yeah, everything is fine’ then moving on from the conversation all together. But not Rey. She had a grievance to air and Kaydel had unwittingly opened the flood gates.

“I have a seat thief.” Rey said, clutching the pen harder in her grip. Kaydel looked back up at her with a very confused expression that makes Rey wish she had her phone out.

“A what?”

“A seat thief. Someone who steals my unassigned-assigned seat. It’s been going on all semester in my night class. It’s very frustrating.”

“Rey… its October. You’ve been fighting with someone, about a seat, for weeks now?”

Rey gulps. A downside to actually being able to get this off her chest is how unbelievably petty this all sounds out loud. 

“It’s a very nice seat; the perfect one! Front row, so I don’t have to worry about seeing the board, right handed table cuz getting stuck at the left handed ones are the worst, and it’s close enough to the door that I don’t get stampeded while trying to make it out in a timely manner. It’s the perfect seat and my seat thief continues to steal it from me because he’s a stupid… seat stealer,” Rey finishes. Kaydel is now looking up at her as if Rey is speaking in a foreign language. 

“Okay then… isn’t your night class right across the street? Don’t you get there like super early?” Kaydel asks. Rey throws her hands in the air.

“I do! I get there ridiculously early! But he’s even earlier. Because he’s a criminal mastermind, I assume.” 

The alert on Rey’s phone goes off indicating that it’s time to officially close up and head to class, so she works with a honed proficiency and is able to walk out of the doors exactly at 5:37. Rey fast-walks, but doesn’t run (she’s not that crazy) into the building and into the room, only to be met with his dark stare. 

Him.

Mr. Seat Thief.

Tall, dark, and criminal. 

They’re the only two people in the classroom and Rey wonders if he can feel the simmering rage rolling off her. She hopes he can. She hopes that he feels the daggers she’s throwing with her eyes. She hopes that he knows that, regardless of how stupid hot he is (with that luscious hair and hands that could cover her entire waist), that he is a thief and Rey has some very choice words for him that shouldn’t be spoken in polite society. 

His head nods to acknowledge her, and despite Rey’s slight urge to flip him off, she returns the gesture and sits her semi-official seat. It’s towards the back, with a pole obstructing the right side of the board, and one seat over from the furthest to the board. Rey tries to temper down her rage, but the silent class room eats at her.

She’s about to march right up to Hottie McSeat Stealer, but a group of kids file in the class, followed closely by Professor Tano. Rey thinks that yelling obscenities at another student wouldn’t give Professor Tano the good impression she desperately needs every authoritative figure to have of her. 

So Rey fights the silent war inside of herself and tries not to focus too much energy on hoping Seat Thief’s pencil breaks. 

-

“Rey, your class isn’t until six; why the hell would you leave now?” Finn asks, incredulous. 

“Rey is sort of fighting this dude for her seat. She thinks she has to get there an hour early to beat him in this game of musical chairs,” Rose’s voice is level and filled with none of the mirth Rey’s definitely would. She imagines that this is what it would feel like if she had a mother who was uninterested in her endeavors, but still knew enough about them to warn her father.

“It isn’t a game. I’m winning my seat back. I won’t be able to focus if I don’t,” Rey says determinedly. She wraps another scarf around her neck before turning to face her friends. Finn is giving Rey the same look Kaydel gave her last week. Rose is flipping through a text book and ignoring the inane argument that feels inevitable now. 

“Rey-Rey, aren’t you a little old to be fighting a boy about a seat?” Poe’s voice calls out from the bathroom. 

“Why don’t you pay more attention to the amount of gel you put in your hair instead of my battle,” Rey calls back. She hears an incredulous gasp from behind the door and smirks to herself. 

“Poe’s got a point. Have you considered talking to him and asking him to move before declaring all out war?” Finn asks. 

“And say what? ‘I know we’re both at the collegiate level, but please get out of my seat because I’m about to have a temper tantrum akin to a four-year-old who was told it’s time for bed’? The only way to fight this is like adults. Passive-Aggressive comments until one of us kill the other or graduate. And I’m unwilling to wait until May for this to be over so… passive-aggressiveness will have to do,” Rey stalks towards the door, ignoring the protest from her friends and heads out to her night class a while hour and a half before six.

It’s going to be a long night.

-

The classroom is blessedly empty when Rey arrives and she has the pleasure of taking her rightful place in her seat. She’d gloat to anyone who asked, but she was alone and not crazy enough to talk to people who weren’t there (in public at least).

Thirty minutes before the start of class, a dethroned, no-longer-seat stealer enters the door way. His eyes are wide when he sees Rey in (what he thinks should be) his seat. She’s got a shit eating grin, typing away on her laptop, and trying to repress the urge to shout ‘Ha! In your face!’

Instead of move his defeated self to the seat she now thinks of as the loser seat, he sits right. next. to. her. 

An empty class room. Roughly seventy-five seats.

Just them. Next to each other. 

Mortal enemies. Thrust into strangely intimate quarters.

It’s… a lot.

Rey thinks this would be easier if he weren’t so beautiful. If his hair didn’t fall so perfectly in his face. If his plush lips didn’t look like they could suck the life right out of her. Easier, Rey thinks.

As it stands, Seat Stealer opens his expensive laptop and Rey finds herself wanting to see what he’s typing. Just to see if he’s keeping a physical list of the times he’s won and the times she’s won, but that’s ridiculous. He is an adult and so is she and keeping a juvenile record of whose won would be insane. 

(Rey keeps her tally on the second to last page of her notebook.)

Instead, Rey hold steady, keeping her attention firmly on her own laptop and biding the time until class starts. Student begin to file in and it’s almost possible for Rey to forget the strange man beside her. 

Almost.

Because of course he smells amazing; like fancy coffee beans and soap products that Gwyneth Paltrow would rave about and warm. Rey doesn’t think she’s ever met a person who smells warm before, but he did. And it was unnerving and a little scary, so Rey really can’t fault herself for having to re-read the same sentence thirteen times. 

His hands are also massive and Rey is decidedly not going to think about what he could do with them.

Seat Stealer is stoic, dutifully typing away, none the wiser to Rey’s internal clusterfuck that is her brain. 

Dr. Tano comes in and starts the lesson, and Rey is finally able to focus on something other than Seat Stealer and she’s honestly considering writing the English department and telling them they need to give her a rise. While English isn’t Rey’s favorite subject, it’s the lesser evil of the humanities the university is forcing her to take and she actually finds that she enjoys it. The depth of the conversations, the possibilities within writing; it’s complex and individually based and a world away from the math equations that take up the majority of her civil engineering course work. 

Class is going perfectly fine, even better now that Rey is back in her seat until Dr. Tano decides to drop a little bomb on Rey’s seat-reclaiming venture. 

“As you all know, midterm grades will be released this coming Monday. I’m sure many of you will have questions about comments, and while I’m happy to answer any questions, I do ask that you contact my assistant Ben about more clerical information. He’s read quite a bit of my chicken scratch before, so I’m sure he could answer any question you have as well…” Dr. Tano moves her hand to indicate where Ben is, or rather should be, but is in fact occupied by Rey.

Seat Stealer (or Ben) raises his hand sheepishly to show that he is the one people should come to with question and no the red-faced, sweaty blob that Rey has devolved into. 

Dr. Tano wraps up class and students begin filing out the door, paying no mind that Rey was not the first one out despite her proximity to the exit, a once thought of benefit to this particular seat. She waits until the majority of students have left or lined up to speak with Dr. Tano, before she even dares to look at him.

Ben is packing up, placing his things delicately in a bag that probably cost the same as a semesters worth of tuition. Rey decides she must right this wrong. If she doesn’t do it now, she will absolutely chicken out and Hottie-Seat-Stealer-Ben will forever think of her as the poor girl who stole his seat on the wrong day.

“You were stealing my seat because your the TA… and TA’s sit up front…” Rey says to him. She would typically start with a bit more normal greeting (Hi! or Hello! or I’d like to see you shirtless or pant-less or both), but feels that their predicament merits forgoing that courtesy. 

“I’m sorry?” He says, looking over to her. God, his voice. 

“You were sitting her because you’re the TA,” She repeats. Ben shrugs as if to say ‘sort of’ before shaking his head.

“It’s really no big deal, it’s just convent for Ashoka- Sorry, Dr. Tano. I think she just got kind of used to me being right there. But, again, no big deal,” Ben says. She want’s to thank him for being so incredibly blasé about the whole thing, but Rey, being Rey, can’t let it go.

“You really should have told me to bugger off. I mean, I ended up being the Seat Thief I assumed you were! I really am sorry.”

“‘Seat Thief’?” He questions, lips upturned in the corner. “I don’t think you could steal something that doesn’t actually belong to me.”

Rey’s cheeks are red, she’s sure of it. “Well, regardless, I apologize. I completely relinquish all seat-beholden right to you. For the semester, at least,” Rey laughs nervously. The slight twitch of Ben’s lips have formed into a broad smile and Rey now regrets the silent time she’s wasted on him earlier. They could’ve talked and she could’ve heard his voice and maybe have even made him smile, but no. She spent it without doing any of those things and she wants to punch herself for letting that happen.

“I appreciate that. But I still don’t think I’d ever tell you to bugger off,” Ben says. 

“Well… good then. Thank you,” Rey says, looking towards the ground to hide the smile pinching her cheeks. “As an apology, I’ll save you seat for you next class. Make sure no other Seat Thieves intrude.”

“That’d be kind of you,” His voice is low and sweet and Rey wants to swim in it. “I’ll… see you around…?” Ben extends a hand towards her. 

“Rey… Niima,” Rey says, taking his hand. It’s large and firm around her and Rey knows why he smells warm; he is warm. Deliciously so.

“Ben Solo.”

[newcaptainofsquad9]

Oh my God, we’re roommates!~ Kate x fem reader (Tanner Hall)~College AU- Part 2

Here’s Part 1: https://newcaptainofsquad9.tumblr.com/post/185364926637/oh-my-god-were-roommates-kate-x-fem-reader

Pairing: Kate x reader

Summary: You and Kate go out for the night, and you can’t help but think of it as an informal date. Kate teases you like hell while getting to know you a little better than you did back in Tanner Hall. You both ended up at a party thrown by Dave and his acapella group.

Word Count: 1, 644

Writer’s Note: The long await second chapter is here guys, gals and my non binary friends! Again, tell me how you’re liking the series so far. Honestly I think it’s not that good, cuz I had to write something or this wouldn’t have happened so early so yeah here it is.

______________________________________________________________

I can’t help but stare as Kate whips her blonde curls around, singing rather greatly to Ariana Grande. The moment her eyes landed back on me, I quickly avoided contact. I need to be more discreet about it. If I’m not gonna tell her about my feelings, then I shouldn’t make it obvious. Kate chuckles as she turns the car onto a nearby Denny’s parking lot. 

“Y/N, wanna know something?” she asks cheekily. 

“W-What?” 

Kate’s grin widens and she leans closer while putting a hand over the back of my seat while backing into an available spot. I readjust against my seat-belt, it abruptly feelings a little tight against my chest. Could she park a bit faster? Once the car comes to a stop I reach for the belt, only for Kate to take my hand.

“Wait, I didn’t get to tell you,” Kate says lowly.

“Ok,” I chuckle and play along, “what?”

Kate’s voice grows low all a sudden, her eyes lower too. 

“You make me feel like God is a woman, you know that?” she asks.

My face grows hot, I try to slink away, but Kate pulls me closer and leans in. She pecks me on the cheek and giggles. 

“God, your face, “ she giggles.

“Why do you always play around like that?”

Kate says something but its muffled because I shut the car door on her. I start toward the diner. She’s at my heels in a moment.

“Y/N!”

I turn toward Kate. I wasn’t expecting an attentive gaze and an arched brow. 

“You all right?” 

I nearly lose it at her sincerity. She may have irritated me, but I don’t want her to stay like that. I’d rather her tease the hell out of me for the rest of my life than to see her down like this. 

“Yeah, I’m good it’s just–”

I pause and remember how intimate she seemed with Dave. We weren’t super close at Tanner Hall, I never heard anything about her liking other women or a hint at bisexuality or pansexuality. I’m not even going to try to ask her about my feelings, don’t want to ruin our relationship since we’re going to be living together for the next four months. 

“Y/N?” 

I blink and Kate’s hand brushes down my arm. It makes me bristle, in a good way. 

“Uh, let’s get pancakes, yeah?” I say and head to the door.

…

Kate and I both order two completely different dishes. I stick with a Denny’s staple: grand slam with two fluffy pancakes, bacon, eggs and grits. Kate ops for fish and chips, slathering her fries in ketchup and mayo. A disgusting combo if you ask me. 

“Why are you looking at me like that Y/N?” she asks obnoxiously.

She picks up a drenched fry and pops it into her mouth slowly. 

“Mmh, if you want one, all you have to do is ask,” Kate purrs. 

I shake my head before returning my gaze to the half eaten pancakes on my plate. Kate’s eyes are back on me as she whisks around the pieces of cod on her own. 

“What are you studying, Y/N?” she asks.

I sigh. Finally, a real question. 

“English,” I say, “taking a few creative writing classes as a minor.”

Kate perks up. 

“I’m an English major too!” she adds. 

I nearly choke on my bacon as she says that. 

“R–really?”

“Uh, yeah,” Kate declares, “Y/N, I may have teased Mr. Middlewood a lot, but I payed attention. Literature is so fascinating.”

“Have you taken American Lit yet?” I ask.

Kate shakes her head. 

“Nope, I have it ten a.m. Monday. What about you?”

“I have it Tuesday and Thursday, “ I say. 

Kate’s gaze goes down to my plate. 

“That’s a shame, we could have sat beside each other, pass notes and what not,” she says with a pout. 

“I mean, we can still study together,” I let out. 

I immediately regret it as Kate’s eyes flicker back to me as she bites her lip.

“Yeah? We could pull an all nighter some time, could be fun,” she suggests. 

I pick up a piece of my pancake with my fork and Kate reaches for a smaller piece left by it, eating it swiftly as our eyes meet again. 

“You have your fries, why don’t you eat them?”

Kate shrugs at my question.

“Maybe I just want to eat yours,” she says. 

God, I don’t know if I’ll survive this semester.

…

We get back to campus prior to nightfall. Kate raved the entire ride back about a small party Dave and the acapella group were throwing. I didn’t even know the school had an acapella group.

“Not really sure about this Kate,” I say, “how long have you known this Dave guy?”

Kate grins as she parks her car. 

“A few years, and Y/N there’s nothing to worry about. Not like they’re frats or sororities,” Kate says. 

“I’m still not sure Kate,” I whisper. 

Kate pouts.

“Why not? It’ll be fun. C’mon Y/N! Please,” Kate urges with a tug at my hand. 

I try to pull away, but her grip is tight. Her saddened face appears again and I can’t help but sigh in defeat.

“Promise you won’t leave me--alone?” I ask.

Kate narrows her eyes at me. 

“Never roomie. Plus, I’m your ride back to our apartment,” she says in a matter of fact tone. 

“That means you have to stay sober,” I declare. 

Kate rolls her eyes. 

“Fine, as long as you have fun. Doesn’t mean you can’t take a few drinks too,” she jokes with a quick smile. 

I roll my eyes this time and open the door. 

“Let’s just get this over with.”

...

Dave’s apartment is filled with lots of preppy looking kids, most of them talking in their own circles. Some say ‘hey’ to Kate and I but that’s mostly it. I let Kate lead me around with her hand encircled around my own. One girl stops us in our tracks, giving Kate and I a nasty glare. 

“You two don’t look acapella material, not even musical theater majors either,” she snarks. 

Kate lets go of my hand and crosses her arms, she gives the girl a hard look. 

“Does that matter?” she asks.

The girl lifts her head, as if trying to intimate Kate. 

“This is a party for majors and acapella club members only,” she growls. 

I put a hand on Kate’s shoulder, this girl looks like trouble. 

“Kate,” I warn, “let’s just leave.”

Kate rests a hand on my wrist. 

“No, Y/N. Let me handle this,” Kate returns her attention to the girl, “we were invited.”

“By who?” The girl asks. 

“Kate! Hey!”

Kate smirks as the girl and I turn to Dave. He holds his arms out with a toothy grin. Kate giggles as she rushes toward him, meeting him in an embrace similar to the one earlier. I glance down at my shoes as the girl seethes. 

“You know this girl Dave?” she asks. 

Dave nods as Kate wiggles her eyebrows at me while her arms snake their way around the back of Dave’s neck. God, I can’t take this shit right now. I stalk over to the kitchen where there’s a group around the punch bowl. I don’t need punch right now, something a bit stronger. My eyes go back to Kate, she’s still busy flirting with Dave and I need to sink my sorrows into something. Honestly, just half a cup. Maybe two. I’m not that much of a light weight. No matter what Rob and Jane say.

...

I don’t even remember the words to Imagine Dragon’s Thunder, but here I am flailing my arms around like an idiot.

“Thunder! Thunder! Lightnin and t-the--thunder!” I shout.

Most of the acapella people join in with twisted grins, egging me on and it works. 

“Yeah!” I shout into the mic, “Kate’s totally missing out!” 

There’s a whoo and a line of snickers. 

“Y/N!” 

I turn when I hear my name. Kate emerges from the line of aca-people with a frown. Why? She wanted me to have fun. 

“Yo, Kate! Come up, I’d love for a duet!” I shout through a fit of giggles.       

The aca crowd cheers and Kate purses her lips. 

“Y/N, not like this, “ Kate says, “how many drinks have you had?”

“I had two full solo cups--I think,” I reply.

Kate sighs.

“No wonder you didn’t want to drink--you’re a light weight,” Kate says as she takes a step toward me, “c’mon we’re going home.”

“Ah, man! Thought you wanted to have fun! I’m having fun!” I explain. 

Kate places an arm around my waist and my chest feels hotter than it ever has before. Something’s coming up too. 

“K-Kate!” 

She looks to me and my warning isn’t enough as I puke on her shirt. I’m never drinking again.

...

“I’m sorry,” I groan.

Kate helps with my shoes, they come off easily. 

“Y/N, it’s cool, it happens. Lay back and drink this water, ok?” 

She hands me the bottle with a tender glare. I take it and she walks away, slipping off her shirt. At this point, I still have some composure and cover my eyes. 

“I’m such an idiot, God I shouldn’t have drunk any in the first place,” I muffle into my hands, “all to impress someone who doesn’t even like me back.” 

“Hmm?” 

I remove my hands and there’s Kate, leaning over my bed and hovering over me with a very revealing tank top. 

“Kate?”

“Who’d you want to impress Y/N?” she asks again. 

“I-I-”

“You can tell me anything, you know that, right?” she whispers. 

Her hazel eyes darken and I open my mouth to tell her, but no words come out. It’s a short breath as I lean up, my mouth meeting Kate’s in a kiss.

[lovehugsandcandy]

Who Killed Jason Shaw? Chapter 4: Ximena (RoD, Colt x MC)

Summary: Ximena joins Ellie in scoping the crime scene.

Rating: R (discussions of death)

Pairing: Colt x MC, RoD

Length: ~2200 words

Ellie walked downstairs to the smell of coffee and sound of grease splattering on the range. No nightmares, again; maybe she was turning the corner. She was so sick of Shaw haunting her dreams, taunting her, threatening the people she loved. Maybe his death had freed her too.

She didn’t even need to say hello before her dad turned at her footsteps, plate in his hand. “Time for breakfast with your old man?”

“Always.” She followed him into the dining room to dig into the Ellie Special. “So...how’s work going?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Fine. Busy.”

“Busy with anything in particular?”

“Are you fishing for information?” His eyes narrowed.

She hung her head, contrite. “I wanted to know about Shaw, of course.”

“No news. ME thinks they can have a cause-of-death before the weekend, probably Friday.” Her stomach dropped. Three days. Three days to investigate. “If one of those punks did this, they’re going down.”

“Dad, they didn’t do anything!”

“Really.” Her dad dropped his fork onto the table. “You expect me to believe that a crew of known criminals, thirsty for revenge, didn’t take the opportunity to take him out?”

“They didn’t do it, Dad.” She leaned forward to glare at him; he peered back. She met his eyes head on, not daring to blink.

“Ellie....Have you- You’ve been investigating them, haven’t you.” It wasn’t even a question, a pointed statement that he spit in her direction.

“I have.”

“I told you to stay away from them! What are you think-”

She pushed her plate away, appetite vanishing. “And do you know what I’m finding? A bunch of teenagers who were targeted by a corrupt LAPD, half of them in hid-.”

“The Kaneko kid’s twenty, not a teena-.”

“I know damn well how old Colt is!” She pushed her chair back, the screech of tile loud in the room, and stood, eyes narrowed venomously at her dad.

He stared right back. “Is that where you’ve been going when you’re not here?” She froze. “When you leave when I head out on shift? When you say you’re sleeping over Riya’s?”

Ellie swallowed.

“Dammit, Ellie, he’s a criminal.”

She blinked back the tears behind her eyes. “He didn’t do this.”

“Then who did?”

“Isn’t it your job to actually find out? And not rush to judgement?” She left the rest of her breakfast uneaten as she fled, feet slamming on the stairs, back up to her room.

~~~~~

After her dad had left and she had finished her brooding, she headed out, driving down roads she had only been down a few times before, stopping on a deserted side street. She made sure to lock it and walked the few blocks, passing liquor stores and check cashing services before seeing the dim tattoo parlor, sandwiched in between a wig shop and an abandoned storefront, iron bars rusting in the windows.

Unlike the surroundings, the parlor looked neat and clean as she ducked in, bell cheerfully ringing above her head. “Hello!”

“Hi, sweetie.” A familiar voice called from the back and, after a few seconds, its owner emerged with a wide smile from down the hallway. Ximena was a sight for sore eyes, a towering gentle giant clad in a black tank; it was almost like no time had passed at all and Ellie was still a naive high schooler getting in over her head.

“X.” She couldn’t stop the smile from spreading ear-to-ear as she was bundled into a signature hug. “How are you?”

“I’m great. You? How’s school?”

Ellie could feel the tension in her shoulders lessen. “Good. I’m good.”

“Are those....” Ximena took her palm, carefully rotating her hand in careful fingers. “Are those tatoos?”

“Oh my God, no.” Ellie laughed, pulling her hand back and stuffing it in her pocket. “Temporary. Riya wanted to experiment; I think she’s jealous of the feather you did on me.”

“Ok. Because this is my full-time gig until Colt has the shop is up and running; you know you need to get all your tats from me!”

“I would never cheat on you, I swear.”

“Good.” Ximena’s face dropped in concern. “You know, I talked to Toby. He told me your dad thinks one of us killed Shaw.”

“Yeah.” And, the tension was back, fear creeping into her spine. She wasn’t a naive high schooler after all; a year later, she was in too deep. Again. “X, I’m scared.”

Ximena turned to her, eyes questioning in the bright light of the shop. “Of what?”

“What if-” Ellie let her breath out slowly between clenched teeth. “What if one of the crew goes down for this?”

“Oh Ellie...” She swept Ellie into her arms again, hands running comforting circles down her shoulder blades. “Do you really think one of us did it?”

“No. No no no but...”

“But it’s not the first time the cops lied to you?”

Ellie’s face fell. “Yeah.” She looked out the window, neon lights casting an eerie tinge on the pavement. “Exactly.”

“Do you trust your dad?”

“I trust that he will investigate to the best of his ability.”

“Then I think you need to trust that it will all work out.”

Ellie sighed. “Easier said than done.”

“Have you seen everyone else?”

“Not yet. I saw Colt and Toby already. I’m going to see Mona tomorrow cuz I need to return her car and Logan after that.”

“You borrowed Mona’s car?”

“Yeah, my dad’s crappy-”

The ringing of the phone interrupted the her sentence and Ellie mouthed an apology, grabbing her phone. “Hey, Toby.” 

“Ellie! I am amazing! I am the Aragon of the internet! The Khaleesi of dragoning! The Bruce Wayne of-”

“Huh?” At Ximena’s confusion, she put it on speaker. “Toby, I don’t know what you’re talking about. And X is here.”

“Hi, X! Listen listen listen both of you...I was able to get into Jason’s bank info!!!” 

Damn. Toby could get a spot on the force if he kept this up. “What did you find?”

“Listen, the night he died-” She could hear Colt in the background, voice raised. “The night he died, he was at the Tattle Tale. 

“What? What? time?” 

“Late. Looks like a little after midnight.”

“Police report said the crash was right after that, before 1.”

“Maybe he was drunk? Maybe-” There was a scuffle, a few curses; Ellie grimaced.

When she put the receiver back to her head, it was a new voice on the line. “Hey, El.” 

“Hi, Colt.”

“Listen, you know how expensive drinks are there. There’s no way he was drunk off one beer.”

“Ok...”

“I think he was meeting someone.” 

“Are you playing detective again?” She rolled her eyes. “I wanted you to stay out of it.” 

Colt continued. “But if we could find out who he was meeting, then we have a lead.”

“We?” She furrowed her brow. “But you’re not-”

“Ellie, this could be your break! Don’t you want to see what we can dig up at the bar?”

“Urgh. Ok, Detective Kaneko. I’ll let you know if I need backup, partner.” She hung up the phone with a sigh and hung her head; she couldn’t help but feel like she was involving the people she loved further and further into this debacle.

The excited voice in front of her added to the feeling. “We should go check it out!”

“What?”  Ellie’s face fell as she turned to Ximena.

“Let’s go to The Tattle Tale! I can take lunch now and we can head over and look for clues!”

“X, this isn’t a game!” Her voice was harsh, unexpectedly so judging by the way Ximena recoiled. “I feel like everyone isn’t taking this seriously! Someone could go to jail!”

X put her hands up placatingly, then moved closer to rub Elle’s arm. “I know, sweetie, I know. But if no one in the crew did it, then we should try to prove their innocence as best we can.”

Ellie blinked and nodded, slowly. “Ok. Let’s go.”

~~~~~

It was deserted when they pulled into the parking lot of The Tattle Tale and Ellie clambered out of Ximena’s electric car.

“No lights in the parking lot.”

“What?” Ellie looked over at her before glancing around. There were no light poles here though, at midday, it didn’t much matter; the sun shone so blindingly overhead, Ellie needed to shield her eyes to see.

“Well, Toby said he was here at midnight, right? It would have been dark in this parking lot.”

Ellie stared at her, eyes wide.

“Oh come on.” X groaned at her. “It’s not the first time I’ve cased a joint.” She took a few steps away from the car, turning in slow circles to see. “It’s only open for dinner apparently, but he would have come out here to get in his car and then....” She trailed off, looking at the road. “Where did he crash?”

“The 405. North of here.”

“On ramp’s right there.” Ximena pointed, curve of the pavement rising above the ground only blocks away. “So he drove over there, got on the highway, and crashed?”

“I guess?”

Ximena surveyed the ground around them. “When was the crash?”

“Early Monday morning? 1am?”

“Probably nothing left here then. Let’s walk over to the highway.”

“X, we don’t need to do that.” Ellie edged back to the car. “We really don’t need to...”

But Ximena was already heading out of the parking lot, calling out over her shoulder, “What could it hurt?”

Ellie threw her hands in the air before following, breaking into a run to catch up to the long stride. “What in the world are we doing?”

“Humor me.”

“Is everyone trying to be a detective?”

Ximena smirked. “I will if it will keep us out of jail.”

“X...” Ellie took a deep breath. “I have to ask...”

“I didn’t kill Shaw.”

“Do you have an alibi?”

“Sunday night? I was working late at the shop, a complex sleeve on a regular client. It was the third session; he’d vouch for me.”

Ellie’s shoulders dropped in relief as they neared the overpass. One less person for her dad to target.

“Look over here!”

“What?” She followed X as she walked over to the concrete barrier, pale concrete supports of the overpass towering over them. “What is it?”

“Look at this junk!” X stared down. “it’s like everyone who drives by just throws their litter here. Don’t they care about the environment?”

Ellie looked down, skeptically; it was a mountain of trash, an ocean of paper and plastic bags, cascading in waves behind the concrete. “Yeah. Apparently everyone who drives by eats Big Macs.”

“Oh my God!” Ximena grabbed her arm.

“What?”

“Sorry, I...” X threw her hand to her mouth to cover the giggles. “I saw that black hair and thought it was a dead body. But it’s a wig.”

Ellie blinked. 

“There’s lots of random stuff over here. Lots of trash, ew, needles. Clothes....oh my God, why would there be clothes here?”  Ximena wrinked her nose. “Oh, look, an old stop sign! I can add this to the decor at the shop!” She leaned over, peering intently at the mess.

“How do we know what is pertinent? I feel like this is just junk.”

“I have no idea.”

Ellie raked her eyes over the side of the road before looking up at the overpass, traffic booming overhead, road above her vibrating with the weight of the tractor trailers whizzing by. “You know what is actually pertinent?” X raised an eyebrow. “The LAPD didn’t come by to pick up any of this stuff. It’s not evidence.”

“True...”

“It’s just trash, isn’t it?”

Ximena laughed. “One person’s trash is another person’s treasure.”

“You’re taking that stop sign, aren’t you?”

“...yes.”

Ellie couldn’t help but join her laughter. “You do you, X. You do you.”

~~~~~~

By the time they made their way back to Inglewood and Ellie said her goodbyes, a huge hug and promise to visit during summer vacation, it was late afternoon. She sat in her dad’s car for a while, windows open, thinking, watching the sights and sounds of the city from her driver’s seat when the phone rang.

“Hey...” She couldn’t hide the fondness from her voice.

“Hey, troublemaker.”

“How are you?”

“A little disappointed that you have been visiting everyone but me, but I’m good.”

She laughed. “Who have you been talking to?”

“Toby.” His cough was strained over the phone line. “He filled me in. Ellie, you have to know that I didn’t-”

“Stop.” She looked out the window, past the storefronts, barely seeing them. “We shouldn’t talk about this here.”

“Ok but Ellie...you know I have all the motive in the world. But it wasn’t me!”

“I know, Logan. I know.” She brought her hand to her face to gnaw on a fingernail. “I’ll come see you, we can talk in person.”

“Ok...” He sounded dejected. “Stop by the shop on Friday.”

“Will do.”

Once she hung up and was alone with her thoughts, her mind wandered, away from her investigation, away from the detective work, to the past, thinking about all that she had gone through with the crew, all Jason had taken from them, all they had taken back. When she shut her eyes, she could almost see flames licking the sky and had to blink before they consumed her too.

[isolated-loser]

Drunk again. It's pretty much the only way I post here.

So I want to get vaccinated. & My partner fishy, says if I do he will not be seeing (not breaking up but like not physically seeing me) me, for two weeks after I get it, because he's heard bad things about the vaccine. Not to to protect me, but because he doesn't want to get sick, even though he won't wear a mask.

I do know if when I do this Friday, I'm going to break up with him, because that's some bullshit or if I'm just not going to tell him I'm getting it done.

Frankly I kind of just wish I hadn't have mentioned that I was going to want to get it done sometime soon.

If he didn't sound like he was threatening me when he said he didn't want to see me for two weeks afterwards I might want to actually respect his feelings. The truthfully the way he was speaking said that he wasn't going to be seeing me for two weeks after I got it. It really did sound like he was threatening me

Which me being me I do not like being threatened.

At the time my brain was just kind of like what, so I wasn't processing but after a few hours I started getting angry.

& I don't want to get angry without justification.

But speaking truthfully. Just the feeling that he was threatening me makes me want to break up with me. The thing is I love him. So I don't want to have him not in my live.

His far from perfect. Like. He doesn't share all of my views. And the kind of comes off as a trump supporter even though he doesn't say he is. I would care if you was a trump supporter if he actually voted, but he doesn't vote, so I don't know if I really care.

Then he want kids at some point. Like I don't want kids I'm not mentally capable to handle them. But of I was I don't think I would want to raise kids with him. I'm 100% positive you would be a shit father. Like I get to choose the father of my children, he's not what I would choose. Like at all.

He would be a great husband. Just not a father. He's a good partner. Fuck he tries for me. Which is more than I can say about a f*** ton of people I've had to deal with my entire life.

I want him in my life. Just like he doesn't want kids now cuz of the world is f***** but it's not getting any better. I don't see it getting better ever. I wouldn't want to bring kids into this worl,d nor am I mentally capable of handling them. But even.

I just texted him that we need to do like we did on our first date magic (the gathering) in 20 questions.

But like. Really I don't know what to do. I don't want to make him any more insecure than I already do I don't want to just break up with him. Cuz I left it and I really would want to marry him but I don't know if the s***'s going to really work out considering we have different life goals.

We get along so well so we'll from what I can tell. & We been together for almost 2 years. I really would have a hard time telling him to no if he asked me to marry him. But I don't want to keep playing loving couple if it's really going nowhere.

I really do love him. Unlike the last f***** I was with. He's one of the first things I think about in the morning, is one of the last things I think about before bed, I make him a priority, fuck I want to make him a fucking knitted blanket.

I don't know if he actually loves me like I do him. He doesn't say I love you. He says he doesn't like the word love. Do he pays for everything by choice, he'll chew me out (not like aggressively, but he really wants to do it) if I try to pay for shit. I'm sure he's spent a few thousand on me at this point. Which for me is a fucking lot. He wants to help me with so much. He does more then I would expect. He spends Friday night to Sunday afternoon with me every week. And he works from 7:00 to 7:00 Monday to Friday. If not more. (Though he gets off early regularly and doesn't come see me) but I don't ask for much, cuss I'm too traumatized task for more than the bare minimum. Which he exceeds in most capacities.

Then there are important areas we can't even tell me no, like if I ask if he wants to have sex he won't tell me now but he'll just ignore the f****** question. I can handle not having sex. I can't handle a lack of a no when he does want it.

He not good at showings emotion but.

I don't want to throw something away for no

[softboywriting]

Heal Me // Doctor!Shawn (A Soulmate AU) Part 4

Part One | Part Two | Part Three

“Why didn’t you go to your appointment today?” Shawn asks as he walks into your bedroom. No, it’s not yours. It’s the guest room. You were his guest. “I asked if you needed a ride and you said you had one. Why didn’t you go?” He sounds angry? Concerned? Upset?

“My ride fell through. I was going to reschedule but-”

“You didn’t reschedule right away? Did you call and say you weren’t going to make it?” His arms are crossed and he’s standing, weight shifted to the left, a very defensive pose. Why was he getting all upset? It wasn’t as if you weren’t living with a medical professional who kept tabs on you every day. It wasn’t like it was a big deal that some other doctor didn’t get to look at your leg. Shawn was more than enough, you thought.

“Shawn, I called but they had no openings this week. I said I would call back tomorrow after I found out when you would be available to take me,” you speak calmly, voice soft and level as to not irritate him any further. “My sister’s car was hit by a snow plow. She won’t be taking me anywhere for a while.”

“Oh,” Shawn runs a hand through his hair and sighs. He paces just inside the doorway, worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. “Sorry I snapped at you. It’s been a long day, I shouldn’t make excuses though. I should have let you finish talking.” He looks over at you and you just smile a little at him. It was interesting, getting to see what he was like when he wasn’t actively trying to be perfect. “I can take you whenever. I don’t have any meetings and I’ll just be doing early morning rotations in the ER on Monday and Wednesday. The rest of the week I’m going to be working over nights as a back up in the trauma ward.”

“I hate over nights,” you mumble.

Shawn smirks and takes a step toward you. “You hate overnights because.....?”

You shrug. There was no way you were going to tell him it was because you hated being alone in his house at night. That you would miss him making you tea before bed and watching Cake Boss reruns until it was after midnight. Because that was becoming a thing you really enjoyed. “They just suck,” you say and he laughs.

“You’re not the one that has to work them!” He comes over and sits down next to you on the bed. “I think you hate them because you’ll miss me.”

“Yeah right.” You roll your eyes. The pink tint to your cheeks gives you away though. He knows you like him. “What is there to miss?”

He looks appalled. “Uh, excuse me, I am very missable.”

“Hmm, I don’t see where.” You look at him and then look around him and laugh, “Yeah, you’re too big to miss.”

“Not what I meant,” he groans and you giggle, knowing you’re getting under his skin. “You’re such a little shit.” You smile big and he pushes you back on the bed, falling back to lay with you. “For real. Why don’t you like my overnights?”

“It’s weird being alone in a place that isn’t mine.”

Shawn looks over and you’re looking up at the ceiling. He bumps his hand against yours and you clench your jaw, tamping down a little squeal of excitement that nearly escaped you. “It could be your place. If you wanted.”

“Are you asking me to move in?” Your heart is racing. This is a little crazy. No. This is a lot crazy. Sure, you really liked Shawn’s place and you really liked spending time with him and talking to him. But moving in, like for real? That was some advanced relationship level stuff. Not two and a half weeks stuff. The idea seems crazy logically but your heart says it’s perfect and you want nothing more than to wake up and see him every day. You think it must be because you know he’s your soulmate and you must be projecting your dreams on to him. This sort of thing doesn’t happen and doesn’t work out. You realize he hasn’t replied and you’ve been lost in your own thoughts. “Shawn?”

“I shouldn’t have said that. I don’t know what I was thinking.” He covers his face with his hand that isn’t touching yours.

You hook your pinky finger with his and he lifts his head to look down at your hands together. “It’s okay. You just got caught up in the moment.”

“Isn’t that when the truth really comes out?” he asks quietly.

“Might be.” You look over and he’s staring at you, a smile on his face. He looks so cute like this, so boyish, not at all like the grown ass drop dead gorgeous doctor he really was. It makes you feel like you have butterflies in your stomach, knowing that this was something you would get to see as often as you liked if you were a couple.

Shawn curls his pinky into yours and says, “We should take a look at that leg, since you missed your appointment and all.”

You wake up in the middle of the night a few days later. The power is out and you can tell by the eerie silence in the house. No background hum of the furnace, no quiet hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen, nothing but dead air filling every room. It’s strange, the noises you are used to hearing when you think things are actually quiet. You sit up and look around the room, it’s dark but not pitch black, the lights outside reflecting off the snow outside creates a dim glow about the bedroom. There’s a storm going on and it’s loud. The winds practically roaring around the trees and homes, snow flying every which way. Whether it's falling from the sky, being kicked up off the ground or falling from rooftops, you couldn’t tell. Everything was white as far as you could see out the window from the bed.

“Are you awake?” you hear Shawn ask from just beyond your door. He pushes it open and walks in, careful not to trip on his own two feet. “Do you know how long it’s been out?” he asks.

You shake your head. “I just got up. I think the wind woke me up.” The window rattles violently and you jump, gripping the blankets, eyes snapping to it. Shawn walks over and makes sure the lock is tight, pushing it in hard and flipping down the little locking mechanism on top. The last thing anyone needed was a window blowing open in a storm like this. “Do you think the basement would be warmer?” you ask as he turns to you.

“Definitely. We should get down there before it gets too cold up here. The couch has a pull out bed in the den,” Shawn says and comes to stand beside the bed. “I’ll have to carry you down.”

“O-oh. I’m sure I could make it if I scooted down the steps?”

“I am not letting you scoot down the stairs in the dark. Speaking of which, I need to get some flashlights for us, my phone isn’t bright enough. Stay here.”

You laugh and throw your hands up comically, “Oh yeah, cuz I’m gonna get up and walk away.”

Shawn laughs and leaves the room to go get some flashlights from a utility drawer. He returns with a bag of candles and a single flashlight. “I swear I have five flashlights somewhere but of course I can only find one.” He tosses it to you and you flip it on. It’s one of those really bright LED bar light kind. It illuminates a good portion of the room. Shawn hands you the bag of candles and stands beside you.

“Are you going to be able to lift me?” you ask nervously as his arm comes around your back. “I’m not like super light or anyTHING!” He lifts you up with ease, surprising you, one arm around your back and the other under your knees. You’re pressed against his chest and holding the light down against your stomach. You lay your head against his shoulder. It feels so intimate and you lose yourself in the moment until-

“The light, honey,” Shawn says softly and you lift the light up. “Thanks, wouldn’t want to accidentally drop you.”

“Y-yeah.”

Shawn carries you out of the guest room and to the living room where the door to the basement was. He’s careful as he steps down each stair and you hold on to him, arms around his neck, fearing he could accidentally lose his footing at any moment and send you sprawling. Twelve suspenseful steps later and you’re in the basement. It’s still very warm and from what you can see it’s spacious, fully finished, and it looks like another living room but slightly smaller. There are two doors on the left of the staircase and another along the far wall. “There’s a bathroom down here, so we don’t have to worry about making a trip upstairs for that,” Shawn says as he carries you into the room.

“I hope the storm passes soon,” you say as Shawn lays you down carefully on the couch. He hums in agreement as he starts setting up candles all over and lighting them with a lighter he had in the bag as well. Soon the room is bathed in a soft orange glow and Shawn turns the flashlight off, setting it on the coffee table he dragged aside so he could pull out the bed from the secondary couch.

“Do you mind sharing the bed with me?” he asks as he locks the legs of the fold out bed in place. He goes to one of the doors beside the stairs, a closet it seems, and pulls some blankets and pillows out of it.

“I don’t think so? Why would I?” You are glad he can’t see your face as you say this. It would have given you away so hard. Of course you would mind. He was huge and cuddly and he smelled good and he was everything you ever dreamed of. How could you not mind?

“You’re not worried about me bumping your leg?” Oh. There was that. He comes over to you after a moment and squats down in front of you on the floor. “I wouldn’t want to accidentally kick it and have you be in pain.”

The way the light reflects off his skin makes him look otherworldly. He’s all soft looking with his dark eyes, tousled dark hair, and cute concerned look upon his face and he stares up at you. “I think I’ll be alright. You wrapped it really well. I haven’t had any problems.”

Shawn nods and hums. The next thing you know he wraps his hands around your thigh, well, mostly around your thigh, and he’s looking up at you. “How’s it feel?” he asks and you can almost see his cheeks flush bright red as he realizes what he’s said to you and how suggestive it sounded. “I mean your leg. Is it cold?”

You wiggle your toes a little, trying to get a sense of how it felt. “Um, I’m not sure? I’m a little chilly all over?”

“Do you mind if I-” Shawn lifts the hem of your borrowed sleep pants. They’re a pair of his and they’re really loose around your legs. You nod, letting him lift the pant leg up over your cast, bunching it up around your mid thigh. He slides his hand over your knee and cups the bit of your calf that isn’t covered with bandages. “It’s pretty cold. Do you mind if I try to get the blood circulating a bit?”

You aren’t sure how much blood he’s going to get to circulate because you’re pretty sure it’s all run to your face and between your legs. The way his hand was resting on your thigh and the other one around your calf had you so turned on you couldn’t think straight. “Can it be cold?”

“I would prefer it wasn’t. I don’t want to have any circulatory problems with it if it gets too cold. That’s the last thing you need. I asked if you wouldn’t mind because what I want to do may seem a little intimate.”

“I- uh...what are you going to do?

Shawn slides your pant leg back down over your cast and then puts his hands on your leg. “I’ll need to massage your thigh, stroking downward toward your knee. I might massage up here too,” he touches your hip and the side of your pelvic bone,” I promise, no funny business.”

“I know. Alright, go ahead.”

Shawn picks you up bridal style again and moves you to the couch bed. It’s almost like a dream the way the candles are lighting up the room, Shawn is laying you on the bed, his hands soon to be all over you. If this was your honeymoon, you might have died. But it wasn’t. It was a snowstorm and your leg was getting colder by the second. “Let me know if I hurt you,” he says, kneeling on the bed next to you and putting his hands around your thigh. He strokes downward, applying light pressure and then goes back to the top and starts again. He does this over and over again, his fingers coming close to the heat between your legs. There is no way he doesn’t feel how hot you are for him.

“Does it feel better?” he asks.

“Y-yeah?”

Shawn slides his hands up, fingers rubbing gently down your hip and your groin to your leg. You let out a soft moan and he freezes, hands on your hip. “Did that hurt?”

“N-no. I think it’s fine. You can stop.”

“Oh,” he says and you can hear the smirk in his voice. “Oh I see. I’m sorry I should have realized you might get turned on.”

You flush red with embarrassment. He can’t tell in the dim light, but you hide your face anyways. “I should get some sleep,” you mumble into the pillow you’ve put over your face. “Goodnight.” You roll on your side and try to ignore Shawn as he crawls to the other side of the bed and pulls a blanket up over the two of you. He chuckles and you groan softly into the pillow.

[thatmatterstome]

So my best friend has been kinda dating this guy for 2 years. He is separated from his wife and is really messed up because of somethings she did/said to him.

When my best friend starting seeing him it was just sex (they met on tinder) one of the times that she went to see him (he lived about 2 hrs away) they rented an airbnb (well she rented he had no money) but they got kicked out of it. So they just decided to drive around and my friend was drunk and he said he wasn't. Well he flipped the car ( she later found out that he had taken a handful of ecstasy before he started driving and didn't tell her). Her car was totalled. She has insurance got a new car (a piece of shit cuz she rushed and she wanted one to be able to drive and see him).

They still saw each other her usually going up there, some times he came down her, but during that time he was slowly getting addicted to meth/ heroin. In January of the first yr he cheated on her. They stayed together and he got kicked out all the places he was living cuz  was using drugs like crazy stealing stuff from people (he stole my best friends car while she was up there at one point) and one of the times that it was really bad he convinced her to bring him down here to stay (after a person he hung out with (not a friend according to him) stole her phone from her at knife point) and he came down and it was a disaster.

He destroyed the apartment, got drunk on the street, passed out on a bench, got in fights with her room mate, stole stuff from HER and her roommate, they fought constantly ( he seemed manic like you couldn't talk to him) and she was like threatening to kill herself if he didn't stop being like that and his response was basically kill us both. So I went up with her to drop him off and came back with her and she found out after that he was texting girls (mostly for drugs but still) like right after he got home. So she started sexting his friend that he was staying with. They fought a bunch finally he got forced to go to treatment. He got better they talked everyday ( She is a nanny for her sister so I was kind of like well you're probably the only person that's available to talk to him all day) it was time for him to get out and she was going to go pick him up. He left treatment early to go get drugs. She forgives him. They talk she still goes up there. (One time I literally cried begging her not to go because I was scared) things were OK he was like staying at a halfway house (still doing drugs). 

In May his time there was up and he didn't have any place to go so she brought him down here again.  Her roommate refused to allow him in the house so they were sleeping in her car and she's snuck him  In and of course the roommate found out And then he started being manic again or what she thinks is manic he cooked everything in her fridge (like even rotten food) he clogged her drains with shit 'cuz he said he was 'cleaning' he wouldn't stop talking, he was laughing and crying at the same time she had some acid and he took it. like it was so bad he was throwing like glass bottles at her  It's like she'd call me and just have me be on the phone not even talking to me just so I could listen in case something happened and she finally told me to call the police on him and that's when he. And he broke her oven door cuz he throw something and when she freaked out about that he ran.  And he started a fire in the woods near her house after he ran and he admitted it was like to get her attention but I told her to not go to it and all the neighbors called the cops and he ran But then we found him and we drove him backup to where he lived and we had to drop him off at a casino there because he didn't have any place to stay and he got arrested for setting fires again and he Was high on drugs and jumped off a roof and broke his shoulder and tail bone and went into the hospital and had to go into  treatment  And when he was done with treatment she picked him up and drove him down here so he could go to out patient treatment.  But he got out on a Friday and she couldn't take him to treatment until Monday so they stayed at a hotel while she was at work one of the nights they were at the hotel and he went to get drugs like he just started knocking on hotel room doors ( she only found out about the cuz she logged into his facebook a day after and saw the messages he had sent a friend telling her about the drugs and how he was gonna fail the entry drug test) she also smoked a bunch of pot and he drank half a bottle of vodka( and im only mentioning that to point out that she doesn't get that like substances are substances, he can't do them. At least not right out of treatment you know) 

 Well and now he did something that you can buy at a smoke shop that they test for that caused him to get kicked out of the outpatient.  And now she's talking about his mom paying for a rental deposit for them and they'd live together and I just I don't I don't know how to say I can't be your friend if you do that I can't watch you ruin your life for this guy.  Like if she wants to live with him after hes been out of treatment for like 6 months or year OK but I've seen her hurt herself because of him I've seen her cry so much and I just am  Like if he trashes this apartment again it's on you again He was out of treatment for one day and he couldn't even stay clean. 

 And I don't mean to make this sound like it's about me because it because it's not I'm just so angry at her because she's being so dumb about it  Like she's being lazy all she's thinking about is I'll have a place to live and he'll have a place to live will be together But it's not like a real world thought. 

And I'm like I'm a child of divorce so I've been around men like him all my life, and I can see them a mile away. And like I don't believe in love very much outside of TV shows and movies And I'm just like think of all the money this man has cost you the car the phone own all the shit you had to pay to fix at your apartment that he destroyed how are you not so angry. And like don't force your relationship to work because you feel Like you have to make it work.

I like I love her she's my best friend but he has like a felony he still needs to go to court for, he is out he isn't divorced yet.

I just don't know how to talk to her about it.

( Also please don't think I'm a judgy bitch because of anything I said in here I'm not I'm just scared and worried)

[engagedtobefree]

A Lot of Playfulness

Monday -   Scott comes in wearing his gray shirt. I turn around and when I smile at him I can tell he can't help but smile back. During my lunch, Glenn from Canadian Dewatering calls him. He calls Scott every day. We joke about how his co-workers must be tired of him and that that's why he calls to talk to Scott all the time. Scott asks me if I went out for lunch today and I tell him no, that I need to chill on buying lunches. He says he needs to do the same, that it adds up buying them every day. I ask him what's wrong with his voice and he says he lost it over the weekend but it's come back a bit. He wasn't sick or anything. It's weird cuz my throat felt oddly sore today, but I'm not sick. His voice isn't 100% back to normal and still sounds a bit off. I tell him I'm leaving at 3 today for a doctor appointment. He always tells me when he leaves early, so I want to do the same. I ask him how his weekend was and he says he took his daughter to Ocean City. I can't help but wonder if he purposely omitted his wife from this or if he really went down with just his daughter. He said it was nice but that traffic was bad going back home. He asks me how my weekend was and my Sunday off. I tell him brunch starts at 9:30 Sundays, so I set my alarm for 9:29 and watched it changed to 9:30 and enjoyed the fact that I was not at brunch but home in bed. He says that's funny. I tell him it was a bittersweet day though. I got so much done, but I will once again have to go back to Sunday brunches since I haven't left yet. I tell him I got a gelati at Rita’s and he asks me what flavor. I tell him chocolate water ice with vanilla ice cream. "What? Isn't that just like chocolate ice cream? The chocolate would overpower the vanilla." He tells me I should have gotten cherry water ice with chocolate ice cream, but I don't like either of those. His next choice would have been lemon. "Oh no, lemon is even below cherry," I say back. He slowly looks at me and smiles, then shakes his head a bit as he turns back to his computer. I also tell him how I went over my friend's place Saturday night and had a few drinks and still managed to wake up 10:30 Sunday (I went back to sleep after my alarm). Then I tell him i ordered Halloween decorations. He answers how I expect. "What? It's July." "Yeah, but I consider August pre-pre-Halloween, September is pre-Halloween, and then October is Halloween, so to me it's getting close." I show him the yoga skeletons I ordered since that was my fave purchase. I say how I couldn't pass that up, cuz when would I see something like that again. He agrees. We get on the subject of yoga and I tell him he should do it. He asks if many men do it and I tell him not too many usually. Then I say how I'm not really into male instructors much, but idk why. "No offense," I add. He laughs and says he doesn't care. "Yeah, so if you were an instructor, I probably wouldn't go to your class." "Nah, I think you would definitely go to my class." "You're right. I'd make an exception for you." Scott laughs and says thanks. I continue, "You know, on the off chance you decide to dedicate like 6 months of your life to it." I'm cracking up as he responds, "Yeah and with something I've never even tried before." Steve comes in which means my lunch is over. After Scott's lunch, when he makes his tea, this guy Chris goes into the warehouse saying "I fucking hate people" just as Scott is walking out of his office. Scott asks me what I did to piss Chris off. I say "Hey. Why do you think it's me?" He smiles and says, "Cuz you're the only one standing here." I feel really tired and so don't have the energy to act playful in this moment. When 3:00 hits, I go and throw the day's wasted papers in the paper bin by Scott's office. I stop in his doorway. He's texting or whatever on his cell phone. "Bye, Scott. See you tomorrow." "Aight, you leaving, Dane? See you tomorrow." Since Steve is right there I say bye to him too and he says bye. I grab my things, say bye to Pete and Joyce, and then leave for the day.  

Tuesday -   I had gone into the bathroom in the morning with my brush. It was 8:12. I had time before Scott comes in. I am looking in the mirror, feeling satisfied with my bun, and I hear the back door sound moments before I open the bathroom door. When I pull it open, Scott is walking by. I smile. This was unexpected. He says, "Hey. Watchu doing?" "Hey. Nothing. You're here early." He says something I don't quite catch. I walk behind him, looking at the butt. I go back to my desk and print some things. Scott walks by to use the bathroom. I go to make my coffee, but then the paper runs out at the printer. I usually bend at my knees, but since I hear the bathroom door open, I purposely bend over for when Scott walks by. He doesn't say anything as he passes. I had told him the previous day I would give him my Zyrtec since his allergies are bothering him. My mom had bought them for me but I don't have allergies, she just thinks I do no matter how many times I tell her I don't. I keep knocking the bottle over but don't want to move it to a different spot on my desk since it could get lost in the mess and I'd forget about it. I decide to go and give it to him now instead of at my lunch. I go in his office. Steve isn't in there. I hand it to him and apologize for there not being many left. He smiles. "I thought you didn't take them." "I don't. It wasn't full when she gave them to me." I also would give them to a friend I had dated for a few months last year since he's allergic to cats, but I leave this out since I'm afraid it may make Scott feel less important about me giving them to him. He tells me he's leaving early today to pick up his contacts since his eye doctor closes early. "It only took like a month and a half for them to come in," I reply. We talk for a few minutes about that and then Steve comes back in. Our conversation dies and I leave. When I go in to talk to Scott during my lunch, he's on his phone texting. We start talking, but he's also focusing on his phone. When he's done he explains how he's texting his mom and sister in 2 different conversations. His mom is coming up from Texas to visit and she's bringing her husband, Scott's step-father, who both he and his sister don't like. His sister has been texting him about it. He said last time she got in a screaming match with their stepdad. "Ah, so she's not shy about hiding her feelings." "No, not at all." I comment how his voice sounds a lot better today. It's pretty much back to normal. Nicolas Cage, I love his voice. He honestly has the best voice I've ever heard. I'm not just saying that cuz I like him either. I ask if he has scissors and he jokingly asks me what I plan to do with them. He won't give them to me until I answer. "I’m gonna cut your hair" is the best I can come up with. I need to cut a string off the bottom of my jeans. I keep thinking it's a bug. Scott also has a chiropractor/physical therapy appointment today aside from picking up his contacts. He has a few more sessions after this one. His neck already feels great. I look at my tattoo on my wrist and tell him how the girl who rung me out at the liquor store Saturday was the first to know my tattoo was harry potter. "Oh really?" He smiles. "Yeah, and then she gave me like 4 compliments. It was super nice." I tell him I'm staying late and he says "You're crazy" followed by "I'm just joking." I want to make up the time I missed yesterday since I won't get paid for it unless I make it up. We talk about that a bit. I ask him what music he listens to, if it's a reggae or ska station. I heard Sublime a few times and the rest of the music sounds the same. He's not sure exactly what the type of music would be called, and despite being a huge Sublime fan in my teenage years, I honestly don't know what to call it either. I ask if he listens to music all day and if Steve ever gets annoyed and he says no, one or the other always has on music or a podcast. He says Steve usually listens to heavy stuff, which he can't get into, and I agree with him. Steve comes in and I sigh about how my lunch is over. Scott says, "Well it's been fun. We'll do it again tomorrow." I smile and say, "Yup, and the rest of the week."

When Scott makes tea after his lunch, he tells me how Glenn called him from Canadian Dewatering. This rings a bell in my mind. "Oh, you know what I was thinking the other day? If you change the C in Canada to a D, it would be like I have a country named after me." A smile stretches across Scott's face and he shakes his head. I pronounce "Danada" out loud and we laugh. "You already have Scotland. Just add an extra T." "That's true," he says. After laughing a bit more, he says, "Danada. You're funny." I smile big at him. I have no clue what time Scott is leaving today, though I speculate it's a bit later in the day. When he does come to say bye, I'm jamming out with my headphones in while working. He makes me jump when he says bye to me. I turn around, startled, then smile and say, "Bye, Scott."  

Wednesday -   Scott and I say good morning. I beam at him and he can't help but smile at me. Some time still in the early morning, I go into the warehouse to take an order out. When I come back in, I stop in his office doorway. "Did you see the hitchhiker this morning on the highway?" Scott smiles and says he didn't. There was a guy walking with his arm out and thumb up, a red bag thrown over his shoulder. I'm not sure if he was still there or if Scott just missed him. During my lunch, I bring Scott a cookie from upstairs. I tell him he startled me yesterday when he said bye and he apologizes. I quickly tell him it's okay, that I was just in my own little world. I don't want him to not tell me bye on days he leaves early. Hes texting his sister again and says she texted him at 5am this morning, waking him up. I ask him of he sleeps with his phone next to him and he says he does. I tell him i used to but I put it across the room now. It's easier for me to wake up too. I show him the beautiful sunflowers I got at ShopRite the night before and he asks who got them for me. I tell him i bought them for myself. "You like them, huh?" "Yeah, they're my favorite. It's the first time I've ever had any, actually." I tell him how I stayed late and both Pete and Joyce left before me, which has never happened before. Scott laughs. I tell him I'm seeing David Blaine tonight and that I'm excited. Scott tells me Steve is leaving early today. I like how he lets me know, even though I always see this stuff on their calendar lol. I know there is way more to our conversation today, but I can't remember a lot of it. At the end of my lunch, I ask if he can get me a Starbucks frappe from ShopRite, mocha or vanilla. He says sure. I try to give him my credit card, but he says he's not gonna take that to pay for something that's like $2 and to just pay him back later. I don’t care about giving him my credit card for several reasons: I have no money; I work with Scott, so like I know he’s not going to skip town with my card or do anything since I work with him; and I trust him, which is the biggest reason. I go to my bag and find $2 And some change and put it on his desk. "That should be enough," I smile. He laughs and says, "it's alright." Before he leaves, he stops at my cubicle. "mocha or vanilla, right?" "Yeah, mocha first, vanilla second." "Aight." "Thanks, Scott!" When he comes back in from his lunch, Joyce is in my cubicle talking to me, so Scott goes right into his office. He comes back out a few minutes later to give me my drink. I beam at him and thank him. Scott makes his tea right after. "How long do you take for lunch?" "45 minutes." "Mmm it's definitely longer sometimes. You definitely took a longer lunch today." He just looks at me. "And you even have a watch." He looks at his watch and slowly smiles. "What are you, my boss now?" "Yeah, I could be. How would you feel if I was your boss?" I smile and he smiles too. He says, "I don't know." "Don't worry, I'd go easy on you. Steve, on the other hand...I would be a little harder on him." Scott laughs. Steve is talking, and it takes me a few moments to realize he's on the phone. "I thought he heard me and that he was saying something about what I said," I laugh. Scott cracks up and says, "that would be really funny." Hes still laughing when he walks away. In the later afternoon, I go into the warehouse to bring out an order, then come back in. I turn a bit to Scott, who I don't expect to look at me, but he does, with a little smile on his face. I had started to turn away, then turn back at the last second to look at him again. Not even a minute later, Steve walks out and leaves for the day. I end up walking by Scott's office again not too long after so I go in and talk to him. I tell him how I woke up this morning thinking Its gonna be a good day, and it has not been too much of a good day. He asks me why and I tell him there's just so many problems with orders and whatnot. I tell him i just had some avocado though so that made me about 40% happier. He looks at me and then eagerly asks me if the coffee made me happier. I look at him, smile, and say, "Yeah, it did." He's so cute. I have to wonder now, if a week and a half ago, on the Monday after I confronted him, his ignoring me in the morning and the face he made when I walked by his office wasn't out of fear of me or being uncomfortable, but rather out of attachment to me and a fear of things between us ending. I still see him lounging in his chair, legs apart, hands on his arms rests, smiling big at me after my lunch was over that day. He was so freaking happy I had come in to talk to him. We get on the topic of salads. ShopRite didn’t have chicken today, but another worker was there when Scott was and they chipped in for a rotisserie chicken. He won't eat his salad without chicken in it. I ask him what else he puts in his salads. "Usually spring mix, carrots...." He takes a moment to think. "That's not a salad," I playfully scoff. "I’m not done!" He tells me Glenn called him again. "Are you 2 best friends now?" "Yeah, he's my best friend up in Canada." "When you go there you can stay at his flat, overlooking the city." "Nah, he's not in a good part. Hes in Edmonton. I want to go to Montreal." I laugh, " You're all about Montreal, aren't you?" I tell him for probably the 10th time that I'd love to see Canada in the fall, since I heard they have the best autumns there. I start mentioning Halloween. Scott smiles and says, "You're always about Halloween." I tell him how I love to try new haunted attractions and how most years I go somewhere. I tell him about the time I went with 2 friends and I did get scared that time cuz they had a mirror on one side of the floor and it reflected the ceiling, and they had made it all look like you would fall if you stepped on the mirror side. An actress grabbed me and pulled me and I screamed cuz I thought I was gonna fall. He didn't know they were allowed to grab you and I tell him how places usually have something, like wearing a glowstick thing around your neck to show it's okay to grab you. I got grabbed again by a doctor who put me on his gurney and his nurse held me down and my friends just kept walking and left me, then when I said, "what the hell you guys just left me" they just shrugged and said there was nothing they could do. And my one friend is like 6'5"-6'7", so no one was messing with him. We laugh at my stories. He starts telling me how a guy he used to work with in the other building recently came over to our building to work in the warehouse office. Scott was down there and he had some gum and balled up the wrapper, then flung it at the guy, hitting him in the face. Scott starts cracking up and I laugh too. I tell him i will come back and talk to him in a bit. I end up not talking to Scott again till the very end of the day. I show him a photo of a soap Oracle thing I saw and how now I think about it every time I use the soap in the bathroom. I sit in the chair next to his desk and start doing neck rolls. My hair is in a pony tail and it's pretty long, so my hair keeps flopping in my face. Scott looks at me and smiles. "What are you doing?" "Neck rolls," I respond. Then I add, "Nah, i like to flip my hair in my face for fun." He takes a piece of gum and then asks me if I want a piece. I accept, and as I take it from him, the tips of our fingers brush. He balls up his wrapper and acts like he's about to shoot it at my face, then thinks better of it. "Nah, I was gonna do that, but it might end bad." "Yeah, I'm too close. It would probably hit me in the eye or something." Scott says how he got a phone call from Steve earlier and he's having stomach issues. "Oooh, he got it from you," I say. I'm just kidding, obviously, but Scott starts to say, "what I had wasn't contagious" just as I shoot my wrapper into the trash can by the door. "Ohhh hohhh! Did you see that?!?" Scott laughs and says he did. He shoots and misses, through he hits the back rim of the trash can. He says I'm closer so I had a better chance, and I tell him that he's standing and higher up, so he had the better leverage. We start talking about how everyone this year has had stomach issues. I tell him how back in January when I was in the hospital, the doctor told me stomach issues were gonna be bad this year. I add on, "he should give up his doctor gig and become a psychic instead." Scott laughs and agrees with me. I decide to grab his wrapper and try to shoot from where he’s standing. I go and stand behind him, shoot, and miss. Scott says how he was closer. I try a second time, and a third, but I don't make any of the shots. It's time to go, so I go back to my desk to shut down, grab my things, and say bye to Pete and Joyce. I go back to Scott's office so we can walk out together. He throws his plastic cup in the trash. "You know, we pass a recycling bin on the way out." He smiles at me and says his hands are full, which they aren't, considering he just had the cup in his hand. We talk as we go down the hall to the back door. I turn to smile at him and can see through his glasses that his eyes are looking at my smile. We say bye and leave for the day.    

Thursday -   Scott had mentioned he would be coming in late today since he had a follow-up appointment with his stomach doctor, so I end up not seeing him at all until my lunch. I bring him a cookie again, and as he takes it from me, our hands touch. I wish I could just grab his hand and hold it in mine. I ask him how his doctor appointment went and he said everything went well. They finally took him off all of the medication and instead just gave him one last one to take for a bit. I tell him all about David Blaine's show and show him the picture I got with him. He looks at it and smiles. I tell him how I did get bad news earlier, how Angelo told me I've been put on hold again due to “operations issues”, which Scott and I both discuss. Angelo did seem mad about it this time because they keep doing this to me. He said he understands if I want to leave but that they like having me here and I'm an asset. Scott asks me what I'm gonna do and if I’ve been looking into other jobs. "Trying to get rid of me?" I joke. "No, I'm just trying to help." I wasn't expecting that. I wonder if Scott cares about me. He has hand sanitizer sitting on his desk with the lid unscrewed. I ask him why he doesn't just get a new one. He said he did, it's just on the other side of his desk and that he's gonna recycle that one. I tell him good job and he smiles. He has on different music than normal today, which I comment on. He said he likes to switch it up every now and then. An ad comes on and he says he hates this ad. I know his pain. I listen to YouTube a lot and I always get the stupid Italian ad, it's for wine or something, and a lady is singing. It's annoying, and half the time you can't skip it. Scott burps and says "excuse me." I say it's okay, how I hear him burp all the time and he says it's not just him, its Steve too. I laugh and say, "oh, I always just assumed it was you." Steve comes in and then goes to the water jug down the hall, but he has to change it. He goes into the warehouse and grabs another one. He grabbed it by the handle with both hands and is carrying it in front of himself as he walks. I watch him and say quietly, "Steve looks like he's struggling over there." Scott looks and then laughs and agrees with me. Steve then switches the jug to one hand and carries it by his side, which looks much better. I tell Scott I'll talk to him later and as I walk toward the door I turn my head around, and I just see Scott looking away from my butt at the last second.

When Scott goes on lunch, he asks me if I want anything and I tell him no thanks. When he comes back from lunch and makes his tea, he says ShopRite was out of chicken so he came back and had some sandwiches from upstairs. I tell him how the other week they had veggie sandwiches for a training group and how there must have been some vegetarians because they never have that. I tell him idk if I would have eaten them since they were probably touching the meat. He finds this weird, but I assure him amongst vegetarians and vegans, it's a common thing. It's cross-contamination and we don't want animal products in our bodies. I tell him if someone has a nut or shellfish allergy and something touches their food, they'd have an allergic reaction. He says that's different, but I don't see it that way. He asks me why it bothers me and I tell him i don’t want to eat something that died. "But you still eat eggs?" “Yeah, but they're not fertilized.” "Cuz nothing died?" "Yes." "And you still have dairy?" "Yes." "Cuz nothing died?" "Yes." I could go into detail how I actually replace most of my dairy products with vegan stuff now and how I do struggle with whether I should eat eggs and dairy at all, though I do only buy free range eggs after watching a documentary on how chickens are treated in cages. We somehow get on the topic of whipped cream and I joke how Scott is probably one of those people who squirt it into their mouths. He doesn't deny it. He says how his tea is hot and he puts it down. "Yeah, it goes right from hot to cold, and there's like a 5 minute period where it's perfect to drink. That's why I always heat it in the microwave." I get some water for my tea bag, and  see there's a tiny fly in the cup. I walk down the hall to the sink to dump it and throw my cup away, then head back. Scott and Steve are talking, and Scott is standing up, leaning on his elbow, and facing the door. Hes got a small smile on his lips as he watches me. I catch his eye and smile back at him. A little later I have to take an order out into the warehouse. This guy Chris is heading that way too, and he lets me go ahead of him. I come back and turn to smile at Scott, who I could see was turned toward the door, waiting for me to come back. I go in to talk to Scott at the end of the day and the same Chris comes in not long after cuz Scott had told him as he passed to check his email, but he came in instead. Chris assumes that what's on Scott's screen is what he was talking about, so he takes the mouse from Scott. Chris asks him what it is and Scott tells him that not it. Chris is like "what the hell" and Scott laughs and says, "well you just took the mouse from me!". Chris leaves and Scott notices I'm chewing gum. He asks what kind it is and I say, "I don't know, I just grab whatever and hope I like it." I go and get it and show Scott and he asks if he can have a piece, so I give him one. He balls up his wrapper, shoots, and scores. "Heeyyy! You made it today!" Scott says how he normally misses a lot though. I tell him how there was a little fly thing in my water earlier and he says, "that's weird" but I thought he had said, "that's rude." "Ohh haha I thought you meant it was rude of the fly to be in my water." "Well, it was rude." He takes forever to shut down his stuff, so it's around 4:50, but I'm staying late. We walk out of his office and he says, "have fun staying late" and I laugh and say I'll see him tomorrow.

Friday -   In the morning, I feel really happy to see Scott. Not too long after, I go to refill my water, but our jug is empty. I put a new one on (our jug area has room to keep spare full ones next to it) and then go into the warehouse to take the empty one out. I go over to where the jugs are kept and there's a lot of empty ones piling up. I look at them to find a spot and then look at Scott through his window. Hes standing, leaning on his left elbow, and he's staring at me with a smile on his lips. I can feel my face light up and I smile big at him with my mouth still closed. I look back at the jugs and place mine down, then look at Scott again, who hasn't moved or anything. I'm still beaming at him. He looks so handsome and I love the way he's looking at me. I go back to my desk and my heart is fluttering. I didn't bring a lunch today since I was hoping for pizza, but the trainees finished yesterday. There are pretzels upstairs, so I grab one and heat it in the microwave. When I walk toward Scott's office on the way back to my desk, he looks at me and tilts his head up in a nod. When i go in to talk to him after i finish eating, Glenn calls. I ask Scott if Glenn calls Steve too and Scott says he does, that he talks to both of them daily. I tell him there's no food upstairs today and how I had a pretzel and he asks me if I want him to get me anything when he goes out. I brought a ton of healthy snacks, so I tell him I'm good. I ask him if he has any plans this weekend, and for the 3rd weekend in a row he tells me he doesn't. I work all weekend since I took a Saturday shift this week. We get on the topic of sleeping and waking up early. Scott was always the type of person to stay up late and sleep in, but now he stays up late and wakes up early. He said at his old job the hours were 11-7, so he didn't have to wake up too early. I tell him how I ended up seeing Angelo before I left yesterday and he told me he talked to his boss and that they were both still going to try and get me in permanent and to not have me put on hold again. Scott asks if Dan is Angelo's boss. Dan goes back and forth between our office and North Carolina. I tell Scott the story of when I first met him. I had been on lunch but finished eating and I was on the computer. Angelo and Dan came over to my cubicle, and when I turned around, hummus got on my hand, it must have been on my bag or something. So Dan reached out his hand and I said, "Hold on, I have hummus on my hand." And they stood there awkwardly as I got up to grab a paper towel, wipe my hand, then went back to my desk to use hand sanitizer, then I held out my hand for him to shake it. Scott and I are cracking up. It's a pretty funny story, though I was a bit embarrassed. Before Scott goes out, he once again stops by my cubicle to ask if I want anything. I consider asking for a frappe again, but instead tell him no thanks. When he's done lunch and makes his tea, I have nothing to print, but my water bottle is empty, so I get up to fill that. I drink it as I walk back and end up spilling water on my chin. I wipe my mouth and Scott looks at me with a smile. I stop and ask if they had his chicken today, but they didn't, so he went to WaWa and got a chicken sandwich. We talk for another minute or two and then he turns to go and get his creamer. He had forgotten to grab a stirrer, so he takes a big step to the right to grab one. I watch him move and ughhh his butt, it kills me. It's so nice. At one point, I come up the hall from the bathroom, and just as I reach the corner of my cubicle, the warehouse door opens. I turn and look and see it's Scott. I hear him not long after talking to the receptionist. He usually goes back to his office down his hallway, but I hear him talking down the larger hallway, so he must have gone to talk to someone. He walks by my desk and when I turn, I can see he had just turned away from looking in my cubicle. I go in at the end of the day to talk to him and he tells me Steve has off Monday, which of course I knew. I also know Scott has off next Friday. I'm curious as to   why, and hope it's nothing heartbreaking for me, though if it is, he probably won't give me a reason as to why he has off, or might omit his wife if she's part of the equation, or I may just overhear him telling someone about it. In any case, I'm bracing myself for the worst. I am looking forward to Steve having off though. Scott may be busy with it being just him, but it also means I can just go in and talk to him whenever I feel like it, and that if I go into the warehouse, I can always turn to smile at him. I'm entering Amazon giveaways on my phone and one thing is a rice cooker that’s worth $180. I tell Scott i don’t get the point of a rice cooker, since rice takes like 5 minutes to boil on the stove and that it seems like they're too expensive for something you don't even really need. He agrees. He seems like he's not in a talkative mood too much. It's time to go, so I go and shut down, grab my things, then say bye to Pete and Joyce. I go back to Scott's office since he's still not done. He just finished wiping his sunglasses with some sort of special wipe, and asks me if I want to use it before he throws it out. My glasses are pretty dirty, so I take it. We walk out together. When we're driving, Scott doesn't get on the highway but instead stays straight. I feel a pang in my heart as I watch him drive away. I hope all the time that this doesn't lead to heartbreak, though I have trouble seeing how the situation could ever work in my favor. Still, I hold out hope that some miracle happen. I just find it hard to believe that this is a man who goes home to a happy home life, who goes home and works on his marriage, who married the right person. Of course, I could be totally wrong and Scott could be perfectly happy with his home, his wife, his marriage, and I am just the wrench thrown into the equation, some sort of temptation he has to work through. But I don’t know. “It’s complicated” and “It would be easy if I wasn’t married” have popped into my mind a few times these past 2 weeks, but it’s so exhausting trying to figure out what he meant, because he gave me nothing to go off of. So I pretty much just let it be as soon as my mind goes, “Hey, what do you think these things mean?? We haven’t figured it out yet.” I could just ask Scott to clarify, though I’m doubtful it will get me anywhere. I’ve just accepted at this point that he’ll tell me in his own time and that it has nothing to really do with me, that he just has to be completely sure and ready before he tells me anything. I don’t know how I know this, I just do. Anyway, looking forward to what Monday has to bring and the rest of the week, and also getting my hair done Tuesday night. I’m getting a nice change, and besides being really excited to get something new and something I really want, I’m curious to see what Scott will say. I’m not expecting some big reaction or anything or even a compliment. I guess I just kind of want to see if he notices, which I’m sure he will.

[dr-dean]

An Unexpected Surprise

Fandom: Check Please!

Ship: Zimbits

Tags: ABO, Witch/Familiar AU, alpha!jack, witch!jack, omega!bitty, familiar!bitty, fluff, smut, knotting

Word Count: 3,445

Summary: Alpha Witch Jack finally gets to meet his familiar and is very happy its a cute little omega. Because the world needs more Zimbits ABO.

A/N: I already posted a link for it on tumblr, but I was too tired to do a proper post last night so here it is! Many thanks to @blue-reveries for betaing and @unforth-ninawaters for cheer-leading.

READ ON AO3

Jack was going for his morning run, his earbuds were in and he was finally zoning out. His morning runs were one of the few times that he could shut his mind off and not be so anxious all the time. They really helped to center him and were an important part of his daily routine.

As he was running through the park near his apartment he felt a brush of fur on his leg and his magic lit up inside of him. MINE , he thought. He looked down and saw a golden retriever running next to him. The golden was looking up at him and smiling with his tongue hanging out of his mouth. Jack reached down and scratched him behind the ear as he continued running. The dog practically melted into his touch and kept by Jack’s side.

Jack brought his hand up to his nose to wipe away some sweat, and instead of smelling dog, he smelled omega. The omega smelled like freshly baked pie. It was rare for familiars to be omegas, most of them were betas. As an alpha Jack knows that if his familiar is an omega there is no way it isn’t going to turn into a relationship if the omega is even slightly attractive. No way Jack could spend that much time and get that personal with a cute omega and not get involved. Luckily, it's no longer taboo for a witch to be with his familiar but it’s still uncommon. Unless it’s an alpha/omega pair and then it was just the norm.

Jack decided to cut his run a little short and the dog followed him home. Once he was in the apartment, he poured two glasses of water and started making breakfast. “Are you hungry?” he asked while his back was turned to the dog as he got the ingredients for a veggie scramble out of the fridge. “If you change, you can sit up at the island and we can talk, if you need there is a bathrobe in the bathroom, second door on the left.”

Not all familiars could change with clothes on and he didn’t want the omega to feel too shy. Jack heard the scrape of a chair on his floor and when he turned around he saw a small blond boy wearing a tank top and shorts sitting at the island. A cute omega guy as a familiar, Jack thanked his lucky stars. Not only were omega familiars rare, but male omegas in general were really rare. Jack really had no preference between guys or girls, but he definitely preferred omegas, especially blonds. Jack handed him a glass of water. “I’m making a veggie scramble, anything you don’t eat?”

The boy shook his head and gulped down the water. Jack refilled it and handed it back to the boy. “You know, you have the same eyes and same hair as you do in your dog form.”

“How’d you know?” The boy’s eyes were wide and he had a thick southern accent.

“That you’re a familiar?” The boy nodded his head. “When you touched me when I was running. My magic lit up and responded to you. And I just knew that you were mine.” Jack tried not to sound too possessive, he didn’t want to scare the boy away but he knew he would never let this boy go.

Instead of being scared the boy seemed to relax at that. “I thought that you’re my witch. I just turned 20 a week ago, and I started to feel this pull, you know? When classes were done on Friday I went out looking for you. I found that park last night and something about it just felt right. And then you came running through this morning and I just had to follow you. Your magic was pulling at me. And it just felt right when you scratched my ears. I had to keep following you to see.”

“Friday?!? But it’s Sunday now. What school do you go to?” With his southern accent that thick he might go to a school pretty far away, but Jack hopes that it’s something closer.

“Samwell.”

A forty minute drive, but most familiars looked for their witches on foot; it was still a very long walk. “How’d you get here?”

“I walked, in dog form the whole time. I couldn’t feel the pull as strongly when I was in my human form.”

Jack frowned, he didn’t like the idea of his familiar suffering. “When was the last time you ate a proper meal?”

The boy laughed. “Don’t worry,” he pulled out something from his back pocket of his shorts and set it on the table, “as long as I have stuff in my pockets when I change I still have it when I change back, so I had my wallet and was able to stop and buy food along the way.”

Jack relaxed a bit as he looked over and saw the wallet, he knew some familiars would go for days or weeks without properly eating when they were looking for their witch, not everyone could change back and forth with their clothes let alone their possessions. His familiar must be pretty powerful in order to do that.

“Plus, it really didn’t take that long to find you.” He pulled out a cell phone from his other pocket and turned it on. “Any chance you have an iPhone charger? I forgot to bring one and I’m sure my phone is almost dead.”

“Yeah, there’s one right next to the couch,” Jack pointed with his spatula.

The boy hopped off the chair and plugged the phone in and typed furiously on it before coming back, just as he was sitting back down Jack slid a plate of food in front of him. Jack ate his while standing on the opposite side of the island. “Do you have to get back for classes on Monday?”

The boy swallowed a bite. “Yes, but my first class isn’t until noon, so I can sleep over tonight and take an early train back tomorrow.”

“I’ll drive you, that should give you more time.” Jack wanted to have as much time to get to know his familiar while they were both free.

He smiled and his eyes sparkled at Jack. “Thank you, honey, I appreciate that.”

“So tell me about yourself.” Jack couldn’t just keep calling him ‘mine’ or ‘the boy’ in his head.

“What is this, an interview?” His familiar chirped.

Jack smirked, “No, but I’d like to get to know you. I’m Jack by the way.”

The boy pointed his fork at Jack, fake scowling and trying to hold back a grin. “I know who you are, Jack Zimmerman! I watch hockey! You’re the captain of the Falconers! But I had no idea that you’re a witch.”

“Yeah,” Jack stared down at his food, “that’s not something that’s public knowledge, so I would appreciate if you kept it under wraps.”

“Oh! Of course, sweetheart!” he nodded, “no one at school knows I’m a familiar! They just think that there’s a stray dog that likes to hang around the Haus.”

“Haus?” Jack asked, the way Bitty said it sounded German.

“It’s where I live. It’s an off-campus house where most of the hockey players live, I play on the Samwell team. I’m Eric, Eric Bittle but everyone calls me Bitty.”

This Bitty was just too much for Jack, a cute omega who was into hockey? Jack felt like he had hit the familiar jackpot. “An omega on the hockey team?”

Bitty scowled at Jack. “Hey! Just cuz I’m an omega doesn’t mean I can’t play ‘alpha’ sports.”

Jack holds up his hands in surrender. “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant you must be good, they have a good team, and it can be hard to be taken seriously as an omega in full contact sports so you must be the best player on the team. Do they treat you alright?”

Bitty’ scowl melted into a smile. “I’m not sure about best, but I am the fastest on the ice. They’re like a family to me. They’re like these huge overprotective brothers. You should see them if they think someone is gunning for me on the ice. They will beat him to a pulp and have no issues going to the sin bin for it.”

Jack smiled. “Good, I would hate to put the fear of God into them for not taking good care of you. I know until you graduate I’m not going to be able to be around all the time to protect you.”

“Going all big alpha on me already?” Eric chirped.

Jack turned the charm up as high as he could. “It’s hard not to when I have such a cute omega as a familiar.”

Bitty blushed and turned bright red. “Oh Lord, are you chirping me or flirting with me Mr. Zimmerman?”

“Let’s go with both,” Jack smirked and his eyes sparkled.

When they are done eating Jack cleared their plates.

“I don’t know about you but I need a shower. I have a guest room that has its own bathroom,” Jack said.

Bitty hopped off the chair. “That would be great, but I could use some clean clothes too.”

Jack nodded and headed towards his bedroom. He grabbed his smallest pair of workout shorts with a drawstring, and his tightest ‘Property of the Falconer's’ t-shirt. He liked the idea of seeing Bitty in a shirt that claimed him as his. He also grabbed a pair of compression shorts for Bitty to use as underwear. “I’m sure these are going to be a little big on you, but they are the smallest I have. Towels, soap, and shampoo are all in the guest bath.” Jack lead Bitty across the hall and placed the clean clothes on the counter in the bathroom. He opened a drawer and showed the contents to Bitty. “There’s also toothbrushes and toothpaste here for you. Do you need anything else?”

Bitty shook his head. “I think you have everything covered. You sure are prepared for guests!”

“Well, the toothbrushes and toothpaste are all those samples from the dentist’s office that they always give you. I have a fancy electric toothbrush so I don’t use them, but I can’t bear to throw them away. The soap and shampoo,” he pointed to a basket full of little travel sizes, “are from hotels, I kinda collect a lot of them with all the traveling that I do. The towels I just have.”

“Do you have lots of unexpected guests?” Bitty asked.

“My parents come to visit a bit but they always let me know first. You’re the first one to just show up out of the blue on me.”

“Sorry.” Bitty bites his lip.

Jack grabbed onto Bitty’s shoulder and squeezed reassuringly. “Don’t apologize! I’ve been waiting a long time for you. I was starting to worry that you’d never show up.”

Bitty smiled at him. “You’re not that old Jack! It’s not uncommon to not get a familiar until after you’re 25!”

“True, but both of my parents had theirs by the time they were 22. I know not every witch gets a familiar and I was starting to give up hope.” At 26 Jack was getting old for not having a familiar, it was almost unheard of for a witch to get one after they turned 30.

“Well have no fear, I’m 99% sure I’m your familiar.”

“Only 99%?” Jack chirped him.

“Oh hush you! I’ll be 100% sure after we both take a shower and I can confirm some things.” Bitty practically shoved Jack out of the bathroom. “Now go, we both stink.”

Jack met him in the living room a short time later. They both had damp hair and Bitty was checking something on his phone when Jack came out. Bitty patted the spot on the couch right next to him and Jack sat there. Bitty rested his head in Jack’s lap and Jack carded his fingers through Bitty’s blond hair.

“Mmmmmmm, that feels good,” Bitty mumbled.

“You like to be pet even in your human form?” Jack asked.

Bitty glared at him. “I’m not sure if that’s a chirp or a real question.”

“A real question. I know some familiars share some of their animal traits even in their human form.”

Bitty sighed and closed his eyes. “Yeah, I do like it.”

“Then I’ll keep doing it.” Jack scratched softly behind Bitty’s ears and Bitty seemed to just melt into him. “So what do you need to do to make you 100% sure I’m your witch?”

“I need to scent you.”

“Scent me? Isn’t that something more for mates to do then witches and familiars?” Jack liked where this was going but he had to be sure.

“Yes, but I’m an omega and you’re an alpha, if we aren’t compatible as mates then it's going to be very awkward living with you with your ruts and my heats and not sharing them. It’s already bad enough living in a house full of alphas when I go into heat.”

“Do they help you out?” Jack asked. He knew that it was a very personal question but he had to know.

Bitty turned bright red. “Um, yeah, my D-men do. They like sharing and it helps to have both of them so they can still go to class and trade off helping me out. I tried on my own once but with all the alphas in the house it was just too painful.”

“Next time you should come here. I don’t want anyone else helping you out anymore.” Jack knew it was too soon to really lay a claim on Bitty, and he didn’t mind that he had alphas to help him in the past, but he felt like Bitty was his and he didn’t like the idea of other alphas having what was his.

“But what if you’re on a roadie?” Apparently Bitty didn’t seem to mind the idea of coming to Providence for Jack to help him, he just didn’t want to be alone.

Jack continued to card his fingers through Bitty’s hair in a way that he hoped was reassuring.“Then I’ll just bring you with me. The other guys do it with their omegas all the time, you’ll stay in the hotel and I’ll only be gone for the game. Most omegas just seem to nap thru the games during heat anyways.”

“But the bus??” Bitty squeaked.

“We have some special divided rows in the back. Originally it was just meant for guys going through their ruts so it wouldn’t trigger the rest of the team to go into rut as well. But now some of the guys use them if their omega is in heat. They’re scent and sound protected so it doesn’t bother the rest of us.”

“Oh. That’s um, good.”

“When’s your next heat?” Jack had to know to start planning.

“In, like, two weeks.” Bitty bit his lip.

Jack smiled. “Well, won’t we have some fun then.”

“Why?” Bitty tilted his head in confusion.

“My rut’s due in two weeks. It sounds like our cycles might already be lined up.” Jack really liked the idea that they could already be synced up.

Bitty’s eyes went wide as he sat up, Jack kept his hand in Bitty’s hair wrapped the other hand around his waist and pulled him into his scent point. “No need to worry about that until you scent me anyways.” Bitty inhaled and then climbed up onto Jacks lap to nuzzle in and scent him some more. “Like what you smell?” Jack asked tentatively.

“Yes,” Bitty breathed out and melted into Jack.

“Can I scent you?” Jack asked.

“Yes.” Bitty tilted his head to the side and presented his neck to Jack.

Jack bent down and breathed Bitty in. Even clean he smelled like freshly baked pie. He had used some sort of fruity body wash and it just enhanced the pie smell. “Mmmmmmm, you smell good.” Jack felt his dick getting hard, and he felt Bitty’s getting on board too. Besides the smell of pie, the smell of arousal was hanging thickly over them. “If you don’t get off my lap soon, I can’t be held accountable for my actions.”

Bitty removed himself from Jack’s shoulder and bit his lip. “Maybe we can take this to the bedroom. I would hate to make a mess on your couch.”

Jack just stood up and threw Bitty over his shoulder in a fireman carry. Bitty let out an undignified squeak but didn’t complain otherwise. Jack carried him to his bedroom and then laid him down gently on his king-sized bed. Jack quickly divested himself of all his clothing and saw Bitty just staring at him with wide eyes amd his mouth open. “Like what you see?” Jack asked.

Bitty just nodded. “Can you, um, turn around?” Bitty timidly asked.

Jack did a slow turn and flexed his glutes when his back is turned to Eric.

Bitty squeaked. “That really is a thing of beauty! Oh Lord, you have no idea how many times I’ve jerked off to pictures of your butt, but to see it naked in person! I think I’ve died and gone to heaven!”

Jack laughed and pounced on Bitty. “What’s fair is fair, your turn to strip.”

Bitty takes a lot longer than Jack to wiggle out of his clothes as Jack doesn’t seem to have it in him to get off of Bitty or to stop kissing him. When Bitty finally was naked, Jack got up onto his knees looming over the smaller boy. “You look good Bits. I can tell you workout. Now let’s see if you have a hockey butt too.” Jack manhandles Bitty so that he is laying on his stomach. Jack put both his hands on Bitty’s butt and squeezed. “Mmmmm, I think you do.”

Jack laid back down on top of Bitty and nipped at his ear as his hard cock rests between Bitty’s ass cheeks. “What would you like to do?” Jack asked.

“Knot me,” Bitty breathed out, “I need you to knot me.”

Jack growled and rubbed a finger around Bitty’s hole, finding it soaking wet. Jack groaned. “Fuck, Bitty, you’re already so wet for me.” Jack was able to easily slid in two fingers and just went straight to rubbing Bitty’s prostate.

“Stop teasing me and knot me already!” Bitty squirmed beneath Jack.

“I don’t want to hurt you baby,” Jack said as he inserted a third finger.

Bitty groaned, “I’m an omega, unless you are extra rough it won't hurt. I was made to take a knot.”

Jack pulled out his fingers and wiped the excess slick off onto his dick before gently sliding it in.

Bitty sighed in relief when Jack was all the way in.

Jack moved slowly and gently while kissing Bitty’s neck for a while before picking up the pace and biting down onto Bitty’s neck, not hard enough to break the skin, but hard enough to leave a mark. Jack would love to bite Bitty and claim him not just as his familiar but as his mate. However, he wouldn’t do that until they got to know each other better, until Bitty begged him for it. It didn't mean that he would leave any other marks on Bitty in the meantime.

Bitty was moaning underneath him and pushing back as good as he was taking it. Jack could feel his knot starting to swell.

Apparently Bitty could feel it too. “Knot me, please, Jack, Knot me. I need your knot,” he begged.

Jack couldn’t say no, so he thrusted deeply until his knot caught and he came inside of Bitty. Bitty moaned and clamped down on Jack as he came as well.

Bitty turned his head so he could see Jack. “Your knot feels huge. And its pressing right on my prostate.”

Jack kissed Bitty on the lips. “Well, I hope you like how it feels because I don’t think that it’s going to go down anytime soon.”

Bitty kissed back. “It feels amazing, just don’t move or I’ll cum again.”

Jack slowly rocked his hips. “Why would that be a bad thing?”

Bitty scolded, “I’m not in heat you, asshole. Cumming so close together makes me over-sensitive!”

Jack stopped moving his hips and nibbled at Bitty’s ear. “I hope my knot convinced you one hundred percent that you’re my familiar.”

“Alpha,” Bitty sighed, “you’re my witch. One hundred percent.”

“Mine,” Jack said as he nipped at Bitty’s shoulder.

“Yours,” Bitty agreed.

[the-warmest-hands]

48/52

monday: it was an ok day. i did trash at jefferson and margaret hayward; also handweeded around at MH. it`s easier to hit weeds when they are not next to a pile of human poop, or underneath a shrub that also houses a pile of human poop. that said, i did step in human poop today while mulching gough side things i did to help myself get through this year: drew at lunch. gonna draw every day at lunch from now on. also, i moved a white achillea to my juncus raindrain. juncus are pretty much still alive! i am pleased. also i am glad jenny got me screened grindings and not that fucking chunky mulch

idk i guess it did feel good to cover an area that previously disgusted me. now it disgusts me slightly less. i fully expect the poops to increase given the improved *facilities*

tuesday: trash+blowing is now a thing i do. also need to fucking always roll around with a pile of mulch because there is so much poop in this park

pruned some viburnum (the sex+poop area), in hopes that it would discourage more pooping/sex i doubt it though i honestly do not know what to do about that area. maybe just let it be. it is not that annoying to manage honestly. i just throw some mulch over the poop every day.

then mulched with freddie. we made small berms and i stacked cypress branches (hehehehehhe) in trenches and covered it all with mulch

then i helped freddie weed/tidy up turk on the margaret hayward side. pruned back some artemisia powis castle then returned to jefferson and pruned more viburnum lastly started digging up the artemisia circle. i have a plan for this area and i am going to do it.

wed: i moved 6yd of mulch because that shit arrived unexpectedly, and i was like ........can i actually move the whole pile by myself?!?!?!?! and the answer was yes. also i talked to godfrey who suggested going back on modified duty cuz my wrist has some funky ligament issue idk the mri showed it i guess but i had all this mulch so i said let me wait to see what the hand doctor says then i told jenny i had an appt with hand doctor and in response she said maybe u should get a car instead of biking which made me very angry on the ride home but on the ride home i saw cole! actually cole saw me and honked and i was like who the fuck this mofo honking at me and then it was cole and i was happy to see him

thurs: group day with todd, omari, and sean kinson it was fun because i asked them if i was crazy for thinking that this psa is wack and they said no, the psa is wack thank you also jenny ordered more mulch lol

also we actually managed to get most of the flowering weeds hahahahahaha idk we probably missed a bunch but honestly who gives a shit no-mow is bullshit

friday: jenny was late and then she left early so i did not have to see her the whole day and it was awesome also i worked primarily in the shade of the pittosporum poop area so that was nice too. i hate the sun.

[baba-wolf]

Chapter 90 Review

Hi everyone, finally I got some time to do the review for the new chapter. If it comes out a bit late or it’s already Monday at your place it’s cuz I just slept all day mostly. I worked so much I just needed one recharge day. The review is here, but sadly the Obi > Zen character discussion is not done yet. I will be free on Thursday so I will finish and post it then. I’m really sorry about it :( I also will try to participate in this years Obiyuki week :D So without further delay, here is the chapter review. Please keep in mind, that this is only my personal thoughts and this post contains spoilers. :)

So chapter starts with Shirayuki showing off her new skill and the boys reaction. First page and I have to say a lot already :D

Shirayuki is such an independant and strong woman. She could be a lady, she could always ask one of her friend to let her ride with them. But no, she worked hard and she learnt something new again. I’m so proud of her. As well as Obi you can see it on the picture. But Zen is shocked. His image with the lady riding with the prince on his horse is gone. He wanted to do this with Shirayuki but now the chances are low. It could still happen if they have only one horse, but if there is a choice, like now, then she will ride on her own.

Now this here bothers me. Shirayuki is happy and excited, Obi is excited too but I don’t see a smile from Zen. We only get an “hey” from him and my reactions is the same as Obi’s. She did something really cool, praise her or smile or something. Not this please...

Well at least this saves Zen for me a bit. When Shirayuki is kinda throwing up an idea of a date together in Lyrias, Zen says he wants to see his friend Ryuu. This is cute and it made me smile. 

After this we get a few pages of the trio getting a place to stay and sleeping. And then in this chapter once again we have Obi and Shirayuki deep talking and Obi getting character development. Lately the chapters and the mangaka treat me so well.

Obi looks great in his shirt, Shirayuki’s hair has grown quite a lot (I only noticed now, I’m so stupid) and she asks about if Obi found the stone necklace useful and was it worth holding on.

This here is amazing. Shirayuki was worried sick about everyone and she could only wait for the news. When Obi left she tried to do something that could still help and gave him the necklace. She wanted to do something helpful and meaningful. Now Obi tells her that her action meant a lot, and just her giving it to him was a lot. Shirayuki seems so happy here.

I needed the copy the whole page cuz every panel is great. She gives back the necklace to him for good, and she is formal like a noble too with saying it like that. She gives it to him to help him and for me this means she gives some of herself to him. Or a reminder of them, the team that worked together, Ryuu and everyone, the fruit of their work in Lyrias.

She could have given it to Zen too. She gave it to Obi. But for Obi who knows the hard work behind the stone, it means a lot more I think.

Obi changes here. You can clearly see that his whole being is moved and he changes. The color on the panel, the shadowing too. Obi who has been a person of th dark, the shadows of his past, is looking at the glowing stone, that is lighting his face up, bringing him into the light (this sounds cliche, forgive me)

And he opens up. Last time back in the early chapters between 20-30 Obi kinda dodged the question about his scar, his past. Now he talks about it. Talks about his feelings. This is a huge character development!

And it keeps on going. He talks about how he thought and lived back then and you can see it wasn’t all happy and sunshine. It was dark and unhealthy. And Shirayuki listens and she knows this is huge and I think she suspected it, but now Obi is telling it to her face and the gears are turning in her head.

He looks away for a second, just quickly thinking if he should say it or not, what he has been thinking about when he talked with Mitsuhide and Kiki. But he might thought “hey I told her this much let’s go all the way”. This is new to him, he never had a home to come to, people who cared about him, waited for him. And he says it to her, and he is a bit nervous and silly but Shirayuki is close to tears, she is so happy and proud and that little blush is adorable and Obiyuki moments like this is what I live for. And she says welcome home again and we are blessed.

The last page shows Obi showing off his memento with a big smile and Zen smiling too cuz he is happy for his friend cuz he knows this means a lot to Obi. Obi is changing, warming up, opening up and Zen is happy to see that. They are good friends.

The last page’s text: “Shirayuki’s horse-riding and Obi’s way of life. The warmth of the stone gently lights up everyone’s path to the future, forever and ever...” tells a lot. First it highlights that Shirayuki and Obi was mostly the focus in the chapter. We learnt Obi’s past and present way of life and how much it changed. The stone lights up the path forever and ever is that I think means it will keep on shining for a really long time. I think we will get focus on it in later chapters too. Everyone’s path might be a foreshadowing in changes of their path. I mean we know their current goals already, so this might mean in them deciding on something new or altering their dreams a bit.

Soo, this was a long read, thank you for your patience for getting this far. I hope you enjoyed reading this and the new chapter too. This is just my personal opinion again on the chapter. Wherever you are stay happy and safe ^^

[wrapupfam]

2019 Week 2 Wrap Up

Wow folks, another interesting week of matchups and I feel like I’m in the upside down. Literally, the standings are almost completely upside down from where we ended things last year! We’re going to go team by team this week, doing a little post-mortem on the first two weeks of the season. I have a feeling there are going to be some big changes to rosters coming soon for some folks that aren’t happy with the squad they started with. I expect to be approving some trades here very soon! Let’s get into it. 

Blondes take more L’s What do the bottom 3 teams have in common? Blonde hair, lack of depth, and 0-2 records.

Cry Me More Rivers: I maintain that Mandy’s starting roster is good. Who could have seen a dud performance of the “playoff hopeful” Chargers against the Lions coming? It’s not her fault Jimmy G might actually be a quarterback and she started the nearly 40-year old Rivers instead. Even with a goose egg from Njoku, she almost came back Monday night, making a terribly boring game terrifying. I was refreshing my stat tracker after every LeVeon run, and she would have gotten me if he hadn’t fumbled on the 3 after a great screen play. I think things are going to work out for Mandy, but until then she’s in last place. 

Not Theilen So Good: Attention Jamie’s running backs - you need to play every week. CMC and Josh Jacobs were the highlight of her team in Week 1, and while they didn’t get her the win the first time around, they ensured they wouldn’t be getting it this time around. I think some of you are learning about how difficult it is to be in a 12-team league. Like who is Mike Davis? He rushed for a yard. Jamie didn’t even come close to Dirt this week. She has her two weird QBs (BAKER AND JAMEIS) to thank for that. Send her trades, people. She needs the help. 

Karma’s a Miss: It looked like the trade Emily made with Alex before Week 1 even ended was going to make the difference here. Lo and behold, it wasn’t enough to get over the hump. Surely we all remember the week 1 57 point meltdown, but Em came back to break 130 this week. The double dip strategy of Matty Ice and Julio Jones paid off for a combined 46 points. Did you know that they used to call Julio “Waffle House” in college? Why? Because he’s open 24/7. Unfortunately for Emily, G closed it down with some great subs. I think Emily will get her first win this week, but I hope the Fantasy Football Gods somehow end this in a tie. 

Where’d You Gooooooaat?: Last week, we lauded over Terri’s decisive win and solid roster. But we can thank an awful Thursday Night game for the disappearing act performed by some of Terri’s main guys. Cam has something wrong with his foot and with his mind, resulting in a pathetic non-attempt on that final 4th down play. He’s stepping away from the team this week for personal reasons, leaving Terri to start Cam’s mini-me, Kyler “I can’t throw over my offensive line” Murray. Things didn’t get better for Terri when Kamara didn’t show up either for the Saints in a game where you’d want your rushing attack to be the main feature. Let’s see if there’s a bounce back game in her future. 

MaHopeless to MaHopeful: We were all worried about Dirt last week. An uncharacteristic implosion by a team that on paper, is solid, yet lacks depth. Those things were still true through Week 2, but he just happened to find a dance partner with two left feet that made his win an easy one. Still, questions of depth linger when you are carrying one inactive player and one retired TE that thinks he can cure CTE. Those spots could be used to players that aren’t 3.10 points from Duke Johnson. If your RB got ran out of Cleveland before they were good, that’s not a good sign. Dan finally made use of some of the dead weight he was carrying at QB by trading the vampire Tom Brady to Scott for Calvin Ridley, in a trade that I think makes both teams better, and that’s bad for all of us. He’s turning things around, but I think he might stumble this week. 

Brown Eyed Beast: It’s a sad day when I can’t make fun of my mom for losing in fantasy football. But it makes me happy when she beats T. I just looked at her roster for a solid 5 minutes wondering how we let her draft this team. Then I see guys like CJ Anderson on her bench and it makes me feel better. RIght now, Bob is at .500 all time for her fantasy career. 48 wins, 48 losses. Which way will the scale tip this week? 

Alex, Change Your F*)%$# Team Name: You have so many names on your roster that would make for great puns, it’s such a wasted opportunity. This joker had Lamar Jackson put up 28, Jones with 23, and a million and a half points on his bench and he still couldn’t get the win. Alex should have 6 trade offers in his inbox by tomorrow morning with all that WR depth. He’s got an easy win this week against a team ranked higher than him, but we can’t call it an upset. 

G…. ZZZzzZZZzzZZ: Effortless, just like his team name. Emily was losing her mind making trades and learning about fantasy football last week, and G was hanging out in Phoenix and probably didn’t know when kickoff was due to the time zone change from Florida. He DROPPED Matt Ryan, just to have Emily pick him up. He was happy to let her use his rejects, knowing that it wouldn’t work. I feel like this is a common theme when we jumped to 12, but I’ll say it again. DEPTH, people. I’m scratching my head about the drop of Matty Ice, and keeping Case Keenum, but hey, it’s working. I’m probably going to go in and change your team name to “Kerryon My Wayward Son” if you don’t. I have the power to do that. 

A Kittle Too Close for Comfort: I am without a doubt the worst team at 2-0. I might be the worst team in the league. If we go by points, I am 10 points behind last place. Strength of schedule, folks. If this were college, I wouldn’t even be ranked in the AP poll. I hated my team as soon as the draft was over, but it’s gotten me into a good spot. Weird, but good. Mandy almost had me this week, which makes me sad to say. I am going to say this: I’m open for business folks, let’s talk trades. I’m all ears. 

Cuz I Can’t Think of a Good Pun: Jojo continues to shock the world. She decided to go with the unheard of two-TE strategy this week and boy did it pay off in a big way. Both Kelce and Andrews broke 20 points, with John Ross trailing behind by a touch. Beating a team that I maintain as the deepest in the leauge, Jojo is proving herself against strong competition early on. The exact opposite of what I’ve been doing so far. Now we’re matched up together and I’m shaking in my boots. 

Right Moves Clyde: The auditors have arrived, folks. I’ve been waiting for this moment for years. I think we’re going to get an undefeated Scott season and I’m so happy. This man has been working off a dial-up modem and trying to draft players from 1999 since the inception of this league, and he finally hit refresh on his football knowledge and drafted a juggernaut of a squad. He could afford to trade Calvin Ridley, and his team won’t skip a beat. I don’t even think they’ve hit their stride yet. We should all be so honored to lose to Scooter. 

I like the way the schedule looks this week. We’re guaranteed to have a team that stays undefeated AND a team that stays winless. Sorry this came out late, I’m employed again and got ambitious with breaking down every team. Also, can everyone stop complaining to me about the waiver wire? It’s been this way since the beginning, people. Deal with it. See y’all in Week 3, I hope everyone loses :) 

[originalnovelist]

Laid back.

INVOLVED: Samuel Evans & Corey ‘CJ’ Evans. TIME FRAME: Monday, April 10th, 2017. LOCATION: CJ’s Home; Los Angeles, California. NOTES: Sam and CJ smoke.

CJ answered the door one child hanging from his leg the other in his arms, “man” he said looking to Sam shaking his head as he allowed his friend in the front door. “Get your bad ass off me boy and go put some pants on. Where your momma at, damn?” he said shaking the child off his leg as he moved to lock the door. In a fit of giggles CJ’s son scurried off in pursuit of his mother in the next room. “What’s up bro, these damn kids I tell you” he said as he moved to sit his daughter down near her toys.

Samuel chuckled at his friend walking into his home; he fixed the hat on his head turning it backwards as he looked to the little boy shaking his head as he ran off into another room just as were told. “Jit stay in a diaper and shirt” he commented with a chuckled again. “Man ain’t nothing going on, I just left that bitch Carla man. Had to get a DNA test done before I commit to her ass. I’m about to have everyone take one, ‘cause I am tired as the absolute fuck” he said as the little girl moved to play. “I gotta light up, I’m hit the backyard” he told him as he moved to the sliding glass doors.

CJ shook his head; how his friend managed to let one slip through his fingers he didn’t know. He’d fuck the bitch up himself but he only bite when Sam told him to. He chuckled at the dude “don’t do Mercedes like that, you know that girl would never do you like that” the tatted man said as he watched his friend. At Samuel’s announcement he nodded “alright, let me get my shit and some drinks. I’ma be out there” he told him. CJ moved for his bedroom grabbing something’s, her moved to his fridge next holding two beers before he turned around “man get these damn kids!” he yelled back to his girl friend before he moved to the backyard with Sam.

Samuel nodded his head as he moved to sit down in CJ’s backyard, it was scattered with kids toys. It was interesting, he never saw his friend as the family man but then again he never saw himself as one either. He licked his lips slowly as he moved to drink down his protein shake from home that he brought with him. He held it in his hand, the other held his lighter that he flicked on and off repeatedly. He swallowed down the drink before closing the top of it and sitting it down, he pulled a cigarette out of his pocket and lit it, inhaling smoothly as he did.

“Man put that shit out, fucking cancer stick you smoking” CJ said as he moved to sit down. “I’ma roll up and you smoke this” he said sitting a pound of weed down. “All damn day” he told him. “You feel better?” he asked him curiously. He knew Samuel was going through some things so he had to ask, but he also knew his friend could take care of himself and hardly liked feeling dependent.

“Way better? Just needed to shake that shit off. I’ll be fine man.  A Bayer aspirin a day keeps a heart attack away” he said playfully as he tossed the cigarette down putting it out with his Gucci shoe. Samuel rolled his shoulders as he leaned back in the chair more, stretching out as he adjusted the hat again. “Yeah, I wasn’t sleeping well much lately but I’m Gucci now. A1” he said, forming an O with his fingers, three fingers up.

CJ nodded his head “good” he told him as he continued to roll the blunt for his friend. “So… what’s going on with Carla and what are you going to do about that shit man? Two kids? How are you going to manage” he asked him seriously.

Samuel shrugged his shoulders at the guy “I don’t know to be honest with you. If he is mine I am going to do what I have to do. But it will be hard to deal with I ain’t gone lie to you. With everything, and me needing a pacemaker… I will be down for a while and-“ he paused shaking his head. “I will figure it out, because I have to what I have to do” he told CJ.

“And what the fuck are you going to do about Mercedes?” CJ asked him curiously as he handed the blunt over to him to smoke, moving back to roll his own.

“I love her to death but I don’t think I love her enough to compromise the man I am becoming because she’s upset over a woman who doesn’t even play a factored role in her life. Carla isn’t the woman for me and if she can’t look past my mistakes its fine. I didn’t look past hers until now” Samuel said easily as he pushed the blunt between his lip lighting the opposite end as he inhaled deeply, filling his lungs as he did. “Mercedes is free to stay or go, either way. I won’t stress it” he told him. “Wouldn’t be the first time she left, or the last hell… women all the same” he told him as he exhaled slowly. Moving the blunt back to his lips he inhaled again.  

CJ looked to Sam as he spoke and he looked back down to his blunt, licking the paper and sealing it off. He put it up to his lips and he sighed heavily before he lit it with his own lighter. “Life gets hard sometimes cuz” he told him truthfully. “I think early in life you was given a shitty chance at real love and happiness because your fucked up father, knocks your mother around, knocked you around, and knocked your sisters around. Your environment sucked…” he told him shaking his head. “You ain’t finished with Mercedes…. but you don’t bow to women so” he trailed off. “Man… let that shit ride I guess” he told him as he exhaled slowly.

“None of that was motivational and this isn’t about my father and his short comings” Samuel said. “I don’t want to be my father; I don’t want to be him. I don’t try to be anyway” he shifted in the seat leaning forward, he placed the blunt between his lips again as he rested his head in his hand. “Life throws curve balls every day; you gotta roll with that shit man. You gotta make the best of it, and I want someone in my life who’s going to do that. Who’s going to stand by my side when shit gets to be real as fuck. Someone who doesn’t doubt me and always think negatively of me” he said exhaling. “She don’t trust me” he said looking towards the swing set before them. “I proposed because I thought I was giving her what she wanted and it was making me a man but she still sees me as that little ass boy she fucked over and left in Lima. I ain’t that motherfucker, I’m a grown as man” he said as he looked to CJ. “If Mercedes goes I am fine, because I am at peace with shit and I have forgiven her for all that pain years ago. It’s water under the bridge now…. that bitch can gladly set herself free” he told him as he leaned back in the chair again looking up at the sky as he exhaled a cloud of smoke through his nose.

CJ looked to Samuel out the corner of his eye as he spoke about the situation a little more. Samuel was the product of this father, Corey knew that but he let the boy live in whatever fantasy he needed to, to make it by every day and night. He licked his lips picking up his drink and sipping it lightly as he nodded his head showing the guy a clear sign that he was indeed listening to what he had to say to him. “Well man, I don’t know what to tell because I only have two kids, from the same damn woman, and any hoe better not ever dare try to pull some shit on me Carla did. She knows what she doing, but then again man. You promised her shit, that she didn’t get all because of Mercedes….” he trailed off. “You strung that girl along for year’s man, she finally got something to be happy about and even if it in at your expense you can’t be mad at her ass. You should have either been her or Mercedes. You never chose, now you reaping what you sow dude” he told him.

Samuel looked to CJ as he replied and he groaned internally, “fuck this shit man” he told him. “I don’t even want to think about this shit. I said nothing to Mercedes, she don’t need to say nothing to me. And Carla know this ain’t no friendship type did. I don’t need to be that bitch’s friend, fuck that” he told him. “I just want to do me and take care of my kid, kids, whatever the fuck” he told him shaking his head as he did. “Life crazy.”

[davidinosaka-blog]

March 15

Hi again! I’m taking a bit more time between posts now, so I’ll try my best to keep the quality up. I’m going back about a month ago, starting bright and early at morning track practice. This was my first one because no one told me there were morning practices before then, but everyone came on that first day to say goodbye to the students leaving for foreign exchange. Every year, one sophomore age homeroom goes on a year long exchange to Canada. That’s the same program that my current host brother, Ryosuke, came home from in January. In track club, there was only one person going: a really outgoing girl named Ami. After morning practice, we took a last team photo with her, then went on to our normal day. The whole program is amazing to me; each homeroom has about 40 students in it, and for the most part each student goes to a different school in Canada, which is so many! The teacher in charge of making sure all of the students get to their school alright is Mr. Okada, who normally translates for our Japanese history class. Since he was gone on Wednesday, Mr. Mizou showed us some old Japanese artwork. It was strange at first, because he showed us paintings of hell and diseases, but it kind of fit with our topic that religion was very important? I’m not quite sure how it was related, but he also showed us the first Japanese manga, which depicted samurai as rabbits and commoners as frogs, and had them doing sumo, riding horses, and wearing kimonos. Again, not sure how it was related to class, but it was funny. The next day in our home economics class, we made hamburgers and apple pie, which felt pretty American, but then in our next class our teacher made my classmates and I clean our room by hand, which felt veeery foreign, cuz I don’t like cleaning so much. It wasn’t actually that bad, and we messed around a lot as we were working. My teacher also explained to me that it’s a sort of good luck thing, to clean your room yourself towards the end of the school year. My last class that day was PE, which we used to have with the class that went to Canada, but since they left, my host brother and his homeroom joined us. It was especially fun because they all speak almost fluent English, so they would yell and curse at each other as loud as they wanted and no one else understood. The next day my host mom packed me a pretty awesome lunchbox, but in particular she packed green beans. I have those a lot in the US, but I hadn’t had them since coming to Japan, so I kind of felt a bit homesick. Who would’ve thought I would miss something as small as that? After lunch we had volleyball, which I really like, but that day in particular was awesome. All we did were matches, and in our second one I served the first 15 points straight! My team was really hype about it, and eventually the coach came over and joined the other team to help them out. In general it was an awesome day, and a huge confidence booster for the class. After dinner at home, we celebrated a festival called Setsubun, which is supposed to keep out the bad spirits from your home. The way to celebrate it, though, is to have someone wear a mask and try to come inside while being pelted with soybeans. We all took turns, and it was really fun! The next night, Saturday, we had a welcome home party for Ryosuke and his classmates at home, and it was great! Like I said earlier, everyone knew English, and they knew a lot about American and Canadian culture, like twerking and rap songs. A few people brought cameras and took candids the whole night, which was really funny. The next week I went to monday morning, and I realized that the first time with Ami was exceptionally well attended, because at this practice I was one of only three people to show up. We did our thing, though, and it was easier to talk when there were less people around. On Tuesday and Wednesday both, I spent a lot of time after practice hanging around and talking to people. Once it was with the sprinters, and they were all super excited about speaking English to me and singing American songs. The other day I talked with the distance team about the summer trip to Okinawa, and they told me a bunch of different foods to try while I’m there. They’re going to England and Canada instead for a month to work on their English, so we also talked about the differences between American and British English. But the next day, Thursday, was my favorite day since coming to Japan. We had a half day, and after school one of my friends from math invited me to go and grab lunch with him and two girls. My host mom gave me the thumbs up, so we went and ate in Tennoji, the big station near the school, then saw Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. It was really fun, and it was really easy to talk about this and that. After the movie I went straight to my violin lesson, where we worked on vibrato for the first time. Then after the lesson, I went out to dinner with my teacher, his wife, and my host sister at a grilled beef place. I took more time to eat than everyone else since I ate more, so everyone else just drank for the last bit of the meal. Then we went on to another restaurant, this time Italian, for salads. Everyone else said they were too full to eat very much, though, so again, I ate while everyone else drank. My teacher and my host sister both got pretty tipsy. My teacher, Mr. Matsuda, alternated between roasting Korea and  complimenting Azumi and me on our instruments. My host sister didn’t do anything as dramatic as that, but she nodded off on the train and was hiccupping a little. It was a really fun way to end an awesome day. The next day was a holiday, so Ryosuke and I played each other in Super Smash Bros on the Wii, then he went to his soccer practice and I went to check out Kyuhoji park. I wanted to find a track, or at least some kind of lockers to put things in while I run, but there weren’t any. It was still a fun trip out to the park. I had only been once before, with my first host brother Kenta, so I got to explore more this time. The next day I went back to the Terakawa family to stay the night. I went on Saturday morning, and was picked up at Yao station by my host dad, Yu and Rina. The car ride back was fun, seeing the same neighborhood where I used to live, and talking with Yu and my host dad was nice. I realized how much my language skills had improved compared to the last time we had seen each other, so we were able to talk more than when we lived together. Once we got home, I met my host mom again, and we talked about how the Tsuchida family is to me. I sort of knew that we would talk about it, since it was a big change for both of us, but I hadn’t really thought of how it would feel to talk with my first host mom about how well I was doing with my second host family. While my host mom worked on lunch, (quesadillas!) Yu, Rina, and I kicked and threw some balloons around the living room, just like when I lived with them. Kenta’s friend came over again, as well as a family friend of the Terakawa’s, who I met on my first weekend. We met up together at Tennoji, ate lunch together, and went to get my commuter pass. His English is very good, and we talked about how I’d been doing since I arrived. The last time we had seen each other, I hadn’t been able to make a complete sentence in Japanese, so he was really interested in how much I had learned. We had a good time together until the late afternoon, then everyone who came for lunch went on home. We had some down time after that, and it really didn’t feel any different from when I lived there. We just sat around in the living room, watching Rina’s cartoons and talking during commercials. My host mom needed something from the convenience store for dinner, so Yu and I walked a few blocks over to buy it. When we walked out the front door, though, Rina started crying and throwing a fit that we could here through the open window. Yu just looked at me and gave me one of those “She’s three and I have to put up with this 24/7” looks, and we went and did our thing. When we came back home, though, my host mom told me that Rina had been crying because she thought I wasn’t coming back. I hadn’t thought of that, and I went through a lot of feelings and thoughts, like did she cry that much when I moved? It was a strange feeling, but she was fine when I came home, so we all put it out of our minds. Dinner was okonomiyaki, the cabbage and bacon pancake-ish dish. After that, we all took our baths and showers, then it was time for bed for Rina. She and my host mom went back to their room, but a few minutes later they were back, and my host mom said Rina wanted to stay up until I went to bed. It was pretty early, but I didn’t want to argue, so we went back and had an early night. The next morning nothing special happened. I had the same breakfast as I used to on normal school days, then the Terakawa’s drove me back to the Tsuchida’s house. The goodbye wasn’t bad at all, in terms of emotions, so I think that was a little bit of closure after the whole email thing. Then school on Monday was back to normal. After classes, my host family took me to go see a saxophone concert. The group was half Japanese college students and half Taiwanese college students, and Shinji, my host sister’s boyfriend, was one of the principal players. It was a great performance, and once it finished I found out that was the first time they had played together. Before they had been practicing separately, in Taiwan and Japan, but from the performance I never would have thought it. The next day was Valentine’s Day, which is very different from in the USA. In Japan on Valentine’s Day, only girls give chocolates. There’s a separate holiday called White Day that happens a month later when guys give gifts back to the girls they received chocolate from. I actually didn’t get very many from my homeroom, but when I went to my math class, almost everyone had something small to give to me. I was a little worried about White Day and remembering who I needed to give gifts to, but White Day falls during Spring Break, so I don’t think there’ll be much pressure to get chocolates to everyone. After school I checked Instagram, and I saw that track was starting up in Austin! Time really is flying by. I’ve realized now that once school starts up after break, I’ll only be in Japan for three more months. It seems crazy to me that I’m already that close to heading home, and even crazier to think that I’ve been in Japan for almost 7 months already. Anyway. Back to the story of my life. I had a really good day on the day after Valentine’s Day. First, as a disclaimer, I 100% meant to go to track practice. Was not planning on skipping. But, you know, life happens. We had an assignment in homeroom to create a poster about a college you want to go to, then choose which poster we thought was the best put-together. It was due Thursday morning, and the posters were in the classroom, so I had planned on scanning through them and filling out my ballot before going down to practice. It took me a while to read the posters, though, but my homeroom talked me through what the tougher ones said, and gradually our conversation kind of drifted away from school. I ended up completely missing practice, and talking with my homeroom until 6:30 when the building starts closing for the night. It was awesome to spend time outside of class with my friends, and I met a bunch of new people, too. The next morning, Bain and I were supposed to join a Skype call with Bain’s school back home and all the students interested in coming to Japan next year, but when we joined, there were no students. No one had applied to come. We talked with the head of the program at Bain’s school, and with a Japanese teacher about keeping up Japanese once we come home. In PE, we were wrapping up the school year, so we ran the 1500. My host brother, Ryosuke, and one of my friends from math, Takeo, had been talking trash to me and saying they were going to beat me, so we had a pretty serious race. I want to give a shoutout to Coach Carrozza, because I whooped ‘em. It was actually pretty slow, and I actually didn’t win by that much, but still. I just wanted to give a shoutout to Coach. The next day, Friday, we had our last volleyball and guitar classes, so we played matches and had a playing test, respectively. Both were really fun, and it was a little sad, because I don’t know if I’ll have the classes again next year, or if I’ll see my classmates again. On Saturday, Shinji and Goro both came over, and we played a giant game of UNO and another playing card game. We had a lot of fun, even though I got completely run over in both games. I also went and got my haircut again, which normally wouldn’t be big news, but again, I’m in Japan, so everything is big news. In particular, I went to the same barbershop as last time, which hasn’t happened until now. I even had the same barber! The next week at school was the last one before finals started, so classes were for the most part laid back. In music we watched these home video type movies, and our teacher played different soundtracks over it to show how music changed the feeling of a movie. Then he showed a different movie, that he explained as his recreation of the Terminator movies. It was very funny, in particular to see his personality outside of class. Our last judo class was as lit as always. I had to finish up the required number of matches, so I had to do 5 in the class period. The guys that I had talked with last time about nicknames cheered me on during my matches, and chanted USA pretty loudly whenever I did something good. It was a great way to go out, if a little embarrassing. I went running on my own after school that day, and the area at Nagai park in front of the stadium was packed with college aged guys doing skateboard and BMX bike tricks. They were blasting American rap music over speakers while they were at it, and it was really cool to watch while I warmed up. I’ve seen some small groups of friends messing around before, but it looked like a coordinated event this time. The next few days were pretty slow and relaxed before exams, but on Thursday when I was at Nagai, I ran into some guys throwing a frisbee while I was cooling down, and they let me join and throw with them for a little while. It was pretty cool; we met on the street, did our thing for 10 minutes or so, then said goodbye and went our separate ways. Friday and Saturday’s exams went well; I have my Saturday math exam back and I aced it! Once my exam finished on Saturday, my host mom, Goro, my host grandmother, and I went to the plum gardens at Osaka Castle. I was kind of dazed after my exam, so I wasn’t listening to the conversation in the car as we were driving, but at a stoplight, my host grandmother tapped me on the soldier and asked me how people in America are buried after they die. I was really confused and it showed, and Goro explained that they had been talking about if a zombie apocalypse could happen in Japan. He told me that in Japan most people are cremated after they die, so there aren’t any bodies to become zombies, and my host grandmother had been wondering if it was more likely to happen in America. I told them what I could, and we kept talking about it until we got to the castle. The plum blossoms were beautiful, and I got to take lots of pictures. The garden was very spacious, and lots of people were walking around just enjoying the view. The rest of exam week went by pretty uneventfully. I also got back my Japanese and Physics exams, 97% and 95%, and on Sunday Bain, Takeo, and I went to Nagai to throw a frisbee around and avoid studying. It was really fun, and it was a really cool place right in front of the stadium. We accidentally got the frisbee caught in a tree twice, and once threw it over a security fence, but we got it back every time. On Friday I went to Namba, the big downtown area, with Takeo and Isoyama, who are both in my math and home economics classes, and with Bain. We went sort of window shopping in the morning and walked down the big streets, then went to the best restaurant ever. It was a pizza, pasta, and curry all-you-can-eat for $7, with no time limit. Best. Deal. Ever. All four of us went back for thirds, and we might have had more if we hadn’t been planning on going to Round One. It’s an entertainment place, with games like an arcade, and three floors of indoor sport courts. We played tennis, volleyball, badminton, basketball, and even went rollerblading. There was also archery, segway lessons, and ping-pong, but we ran out of time before we could try it all out. It was awesome, but the closest one to the school is four subway stops away, so it’s a little inconvenient to get to, but I’m definitely going to try to go back again with friends. Now it’s getting into spring break, so the days are kind of disconnected. One day, we went to see another one of Shinji’s concerts. This one was special too, because all of the pieces were written by one British conductor named Philip Sparke, who came to Japan to conduct the concert. It was very interesting to hear so many pieces from one man’s mind, because you could kind of see how he viewed the world through it. For example, the last piece was called Symphony of Colors, or something along those lines. There were five pieces named after five different colors, and each one had its own personality attached to it. There were also several non-traditional instruments throughout the whole performance. I also noticed some of the cultural differences between Mr. Sparke’s conducting and what the performers were expecting. After each movement, the conductor pointed out the people who had a strong presence in the movement and had them bow, alone. At first, none of the Japanese performers were expecting it, and there was a bit of confusion about what was going on. By the end of the night everything was flawless, but the way Mr. Sparke left the stage was really surprising. He made a big show of saying thank you and bowing, then left the stage with everyone standing. He came back out a few seconds later, holding up the number one and mouthing “One more?” Then, in the middle of the last piece, he stopped conducting, walked around looking over the principal player’s shoulder at his music, then sitting in an empty chair in the percussion section. The song ended and the audience started applauding, and he just stood up, waved once, and stepped off stage to let the performers take the attention. I had a really fun time watching it. The next day, my host family woke up early to go spend the day driving around. Our first stop was an all-you-can-eat strawberry farm. It was amazing. We could walk around the greenhouses, pick whichever strawberries we wanted, and take as much time as we wanted. After that we went to this river in the next prefecture. It’s pretty famous because the riverbanks are over a hot spring, so if you dig out a hole, it’ll fill with clean, hot water. We tried to dig our own, but the process was taking a long time, so we used one that was already made. It was really cool, and we messed around skipping rocks and crossing the river to get to other springs. A few days later as I was about to head home from Nagai, I met these three guys who were finishing up their own workout. One of them, Kaoru, speaks really good English, and he and I talked for a little about this and that. We followed each other on Instagram, and since then we’ve met up once to workout, and Kaoru wants to go to a Gold’s Gym with me, then go get Mexican food. Honestly sounds pretty fun, but I’ve only met him twice, so I’m not sure if it’ll happen. On Wednesday, we had our last half-day of classes, and now we’re in a month long spring break! To sort of kick off the break, Ryosuke took me to a bathhouse in our neighborhood that has a “denki-furo,” which literally means “electric bath.” I was very skeptical about it, mostly because it has “electric” in the name, but Ryosuke sort of peer-pressured me into it. It was weeeeiiird. Like, it didn’t really hurt, but I could definitely feel the charge in my muscles. We both chickened out after, like, 2 minutes, then went back to the normal baths, but hey! I tried it. The next day I had track practice at Nagai Track for the third time ever, and it went really well! This was the first time I had on spikes all year, and it felt pretty good. My first time ever at Nagai was really bad; I came dead last in an 800 meter time trial and was almost in tears most of the way home. This time, though, was the exact opposite: I was either second or third for every interval, and coming home I had that one line from Bounce Back stuck in my head. The next day I went with Azumi to go see Moana in Umeda. It was opening day in Japan, and I had been seeing ads for it all over, and it was really good! After the movie we had dinner, then Azumi showed me some places where she thought I could get good pictures. On the 13th, I went to Universal Studios Japan! I had made plans with Misaki and Hana, who both went to Canada a few years ago and helped me get adjusted to Japan, and with Harada, one of my friends in my homeroom class. We met up before the gates opened and stayed all day, almost until the gates closed. We rode some of the big rides, but the lines were so long we couldn’t really do them all. While we walked and waited, though, we talked a lot! Communication wasn’t that hard, either, but by the end of the day I was pretty fried. It was an incredible experience! And finally, yesterday we went to hear Azumi’s graduation piece. She had been practicing the same piece since I moved here in December, and yesterday she finally performed it! It went really well, and tomorrow she’ll leave to go to New Caledonia as a graduation trip. One of my host mom’s piano students came with us to Azumi’s recital. I don’t know his actual name, but he told me to call him Boss. My host mom told me that when he was in his 20’s he was really cool and hot, but now he’s in his early forties, and even though he’s not what he once was, he still is called Boss by his friends. He was really cool, funny, and very easy to talk to. Aaaand that’s a wrap! I’m sorry it’s been so long since I’ve written, and I’ll try to stay on top of it from now on. Love y’all!

[welcometoerinsworld]

This one is definitely going to be more than 5 minutes.

HOW LIFE IS GOING:

Things are going okay. Got a bit behind on my homework and had to finish it up today, which sucks, but it didn’t take too long.

It’s been three weeks since I last did an update cuz things have been all sorts of crazy, so there are three weeks of things to update on. Where to start. lol. So, last update I wrote about how I reconnected with a friend from high school, Josh. We’ve stayed in contact and message pretty much all day every day. I would say he’s part of the reason I didn’t get all my homework done before Sunday this last week. haha. It’s fun talking to him. He makes me laugh a lot and we support each other. He’s going through a lot of post-divorce drama with his ex, so we talk about that a lot. I complain about work and school and needing back massages, so it evens out.

In other news, there was some crazy stuff. I can’t remember if I’ve written about this on here before, but last summer I found a lump in my breast and had to have some testing done. They did bilateral mammograms (ow) and an ultrasound. Results came back as cysts that eventually went down in size to where I couldn’t feel them anymore. Well, a few weeks ago the lump came back bigger and had constant pain along with it. Went back to the doctor a few days after my last post and was scheduled for another round of testing at the hospital. This last Friday I had my appointment. This time they did a mammogram on just the one side and two ultrasounds. I have several more cysts, but they don’t know which one is causing the pain, so they can’t do anything about it since there are so many and they’re all fairly small. The doctor said it would be trial and error on removing the fluid from each cyst to figure out which one is being mean and that it would just fill up again over. She said if I get a large enough cyst that they can pinpoint that particular one as causing pain, they can surgically remove it, but until then they’re not going to do anything. Some days I can feel it hurting without touching it, but other days I have to poke around before it hurts. It’s a little stressful on the days I can feel the pain all day long, but at least it’s not unbearably painful. It’s mostly like a bruise someone keeps pressing on, not like pain where I’m going to fall over and cry, so at least there’s that.

WHAT I LOVED ABOUT THE LAST (three) WEEKs:

My favorite thing about three weeks ago was getting to babysit Holly’s kids. I love watching those kids. They’re all really great and so much fun. The boys (3 and 4) set up a little blockade so Emma (1) couldn’t get down the hall and she just walked back and forth in front of it all confused. It was the cutest thing ever.

My favorite thing about two weeks ago was meeting up with Josh in Winnemucca and getting to finally see him after 17 years (!). More about that below.

My favorite thing about this past week was after my testing at the hospital, Josh arranged to have flowers delivered to my apartment. He said he wanted to make sure I had something uplifting in case I received bad news at my appointment since he couldn’t be here with me. It was so incredibly sweet of him to do that and I really appreciated it.

Another nice thing about this last week is that a surprise little package arrived in the mail yesterday. Someone sent me some pretty daffodil jewelry. No clue who it’s from, but it’s lovely. Thank you, whoever you are.

WHAT I DID THIS WEEKEND and the weekend before that and the weekend before that:

This weekend has been uneventful. I’ve mostly done homework, prepared my lesson for church, and went to a friend’s house to check out her Lipsense stock. Ended up buying a few and am so excited about them. I’ve never been a girly girl (Josh keeps calling me that, though), so it’s so weird for me to buy expensive makeup (thank goodness she was running a special). But I love it and I love how it looks. My favorite is the super sparkly gloss. lol. It’s just so shiny and sparkly and pretty. I want to wear it every day. Maybe I am a closet girly girl and never realized it. lol.

These are photos of me wearing my new bright red lipstick with and without the sparkly gloss.

Without sparkly gloss

With sparkly gloss

Sooooo, for last weekend. Josh was supposed to come visit me on the 17th, but that didn’t work out, so I spent that Friday out at the coast, driving around looking at all the pretty viewpoints I passed and checking out fun eateries. It was fun and relaxing and just so nice. I loved being able to just explore at my own pace and not have to worry about homework or work or anything other than having a good time. It was really nice. Here are a few photos from my little excursion. None of them are edited, sorry. I’m too tired to process them right now. I’ll do a full post about the coast once school is out and I have time to sit down and edit photos.

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Friday night, though, things got crazy. Josh and I started joking about meeting halfway and then it turned into a serious conversation about where we could meet up. We both decided to pray and sleep on it at the very last second Saturday morning we decided to meet up in Winnemucca and spend 24 hours together. Yeah, we totally drove a billion and a half miles to meet up for a day. lol. He drove about 7.5 hours and I drove 8.25 hours. It was crazy, but also fun. I panicked a little just before we were supposed to meet up (he decided to drive up and meet me along the highway to drive back together) and pulled off at a chain-up area. He found me and we hung out there for a while, walking around and talking. It was nice. Then we drove the rest of the way to Winnemucca, had dinner, checked into our separate hotel rooms, and hung out some more. He helped me finish up some homework I still had to do and we just chilled. It was nice and relaxing and very low-key.

The next morning, he knocked on my hotel door at the crack of dawn cuz (and I loosely quote) he was “so excited to see me and couldn’t stay in his own room any longer.” I was still asleep and gave him a minor stink-eye. haha. We chatted for a bit before he went back to his hotel room (or walked around, I have no idea) so I could shower and get ready. When he came back, he showed me a few self-defense things before we headed out to find breakfast and then somewhere to walk/hike/hang out. We ended up at some sand dunes where he read part of a conference talk and then we listened to another one by Elder Uchtdorf. Then it was back to walking around, goofing off, talking a lot, and self-defense before lunch and then driving our separate ways. It was definitely a whirlwind weekend, but it was worth it. Except for the part where I almost ran out of gas in the middle of nowhere, but that’s beside the point. Josh is pretty awesome. Weird as anything on this planet, but a really great guy.

Two weekends ago was the 12th and 13th. That would have been mine and Troy’s 6-year anniversary. It was weird to realize I would have been with him for 6 years, but it didn’t make me as sad as I thought it would. I miss the fun we had together and the comfort of our relationship, but I know us parting ways was for the best. We messaged a little that day to talk about how we’re glad we have the memories of all our adventures, which was nice, but it was just a short 5-minute thing. He’s never been much for long conversations. I miss his quirks, but I’m okay with how things are now.

WHAT I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO:

School being over. lol. Seriously. It just needs to be over. I’m so done with school. This is the start of Week 9 and finals are in Week 11, so I’m almost there! Last final is due June 12th, so it’s just barely over two weeks away. I’m kinda wondering if I should take the 12th off so I can do finals, but if it works out like all my other terms, I’ll just have a bunch of timed tests that I can do on Monday and then Tuesday afternoon. Let’s all cross our fingers for that, k?

PLANS FOR THE UPCOMING WEEK:

Ugh. This week. lol. This upcoming week is turning into a giant mound of stress and it’s just barely starting. So, Tuesday I have to attend a 5.5 hour training at work after my morning session with Kid 2. That means I’ll hardly have any time to get homework done. I know this training is important, so I’m going to go and hope for the best. It’s ABM training (advanced behavioral modification) that will teach me how to handle when Kid 2 bites me, hits me, kicks me, and when other kids throw stuff. Anyone remember when I had a chair thrown at me a few weeks ago? Sheesh. The training will also go over getting out of various choke holds, how to handle hair pulling, ways to lift and move kids who are in behaviors, and some other things. I’m super nervous about it, but hopefully it will help me become better at my job.

Other stuff for this week are homework (duh), babysitting Holly’s kids (hooray!), and the possibility of Josh coming to visit. He’s going to try, but there are a lot of things going on for him at the moment, so it may not work out. I’m going to do my best to get all my homework done early in the week so I can hang out with him if he is able to come out. Sooooooooooooo, yeah. This week is gonna be crazy. Bring it on.

WHAT I’M NERVOUS ABOUT:

Homework, finals, and this dang term project I need to get working on. I have to analyze a supply chain and I haven’t started it yet. From what I’ve read on the class boards, several other classmates have yet to start, either. Not too great for any of us since there are only two weeks left in the term. I think this project is due on the 10th, so there are literally two weeks left to get it done. I’d better get crackin on it.

WHAT I’VE BEEN DAYDREAMING ABOUT:

Not having to do homework anymore. Cuddling. Romantic walks on the beach. Getting this dang knot in my neck dealt with. lol.

HOW SCHOOL IS GOING:

School is going okay. I finally got my grades put into my excel sheet, so I can begin calculating how poorly I can do on my remaining assignments and still pass. haha. This is where I stand currently with all graded assignments.

This is what I’ve calculated to keep my A’s:

And this is what I’ve calculated to pass each class with a B:

I do this every term around the end cuz I get so burned out and just want it all to be over. Normally I keep a running tally earlier in the term, but I haven’t had time to do it until now. Well, I didn’t really have the time to do it now, but I wanted to see how badly I could do and still pass. haha. I think I’ll do okay this term. Pretty sure I’ll end up with two B’s and maybe two A’s, but we’ll see. I need to get this project started for MGT 322 so I don’t entirely bomb it. But it looks like I can get 50% on it and still pass the class, so there is that.

HOW WORK IS GOING:

Things have been going okay with work. Coworker drama picked back up for a few days and I issued a solid cease and desist message on the work messaging program. Dude started texting me again, was trying to be all flirty at work, and decided it was okay to touch me at work (just my arm, nothing like what made me mad), so I sent him a clearly worded message stating none of that was okay and that it needs to stop. Made me nervous to send it, but aside from a dumb text telling me he didn’t do half of that and giving me crap for some other stuff, it has stopped again. Hopefully that all stays stopped this time.

Other than that, things are going well with Kid 2. Their family is moving soon and the house is packed up, so Kid 2 is having additional behavior problems. I’ve been bitten quite hard a few times and there has been an emergence of other new behaviors, such as licking (me, walls, chairs, toys, etc), spitting food/juice on people (so far it’s just been Kayla), and hitting. Well, I guess Kid 2 has hit before, but it’s been a long time. And kicking. Those two are rare when I work with Kid 2. Mostly it’s sitting on the floor and refusing to move (until I invade space and slowly shuffle Kid 2 along the floor) or yelling no repeatedly or pushing. We’re all working through it, though, and there seems to be progress.

I’m still pretty sad about Kid 2 moving soon. Not sure when it will be, but their house is packed up and one of the parents already has a job in the new town, so it will be soon. Hopefully not too soon, though.

HOW RUNNING IS GOING:

It’s not. My foot has been giving me troubles, so I’ve been walking sporadically over the last few weeks. Driving for so long that one weekend did something to strain my foot, so I’ve been taking it easy the last couple weeks.

WHAT BOOK I’M READING:

Yeah, I haven’t read anything in the book I wrote about in my last post, but I did read a couple chapters in The Count of Monte Cristo a few days ago. Needed a break from homework, so I read for a little while. I love that book. As cliché as it sounds, the book is so much better than the movie in 1,000 different ways. I still need to remake that video talking about the differences. Someday I will.

GOALS FOR THIS WEEK:

Reached some of my goals, but not all of them. That’s okay, though. None of these really have a deadline, so I’ll just keep these the same as before.

Fitness

Slowly increase walking pace while maintaining a distance of at least 3.1 miles

Start doing weights or resistance exercises

Do 5 regular push ups

School

Get a little ahead with homework (haha)

Work

Do better at managing Kid 2’s new behaviors

Personal

Read at least one chapter of a non-school book

Religious

Be more consistent at reading my scriptures

Read one conference talk a week

HOW I DID ON LAST WEEK’S GOALS:

Fitness

Slowly increase walking pace while maintaining a distance of at least 3.1 miles

Kinda did this, kinda didn’t. I maintained my distance, but didn’t increase my pace at all. I actually went much slower with my pace. Oh well. At least I have my distance down.

Start doing weights or resistance exercises

So, yeah, about this one. lol. I meant to do this, but life got in the way. I’ll do this at least once this week.

School

Get a little ahead with homework

I swear, every time I get a little bit ahead, life blows up and I go right back to barely keeping up. Hopefully this week will be better. 16 more days and the term is over.

Work

Get Kid 2 to the bathroom more often

I’ve actually been doing really well at this! Hooray! lol. I’ve been getting Kid 2 to the bathroom probably every 40-60 minutes, which is better than the 60-90 minutes it was before. Kid 2 doesn’t fight going into the bathroom anymore, which is helpful. Some days I’m able to hit every 30 minutes (aside from the preschool hour), which makes me happy. Still not getting every 15 minutes, but I kinda feel like that is unrealistic in a place that has as many kids as we do and just one kid bathroom.

Personal

Read at least one chapter of a non-school book

Yes! I did this! Hooray!

Religious

Be more consistent at reading my scriptures

Yeah, I’ve been struggling with this one again. I need to get back into my routine. The thing I liked about working 8-12 M-F was that I had a routine every day and a set time every day to read my scriptures. Since I only work 3 days a week now, I struggle to maintain a routine. I listen to my scriptures while getting ready for work, but on days I don’t work it tends to slip through the cracks. I will do better, though. Ooooh! I’m going to set an alarm on my phone. That will probably help.

Read one conference talk a week

I feel like this one is kind of a cheat since I read multiple conference talks to prepare my lessons. But since I don’t teach every week anymore, I’ll have to make an effort to read the weeks I don’t have a lesson to prepare for. I have done this each week, though, so hooray! lol

ISSUES/PROBLEMS/CONCERNS:

Just about having enough time this week to get all the things done that I need to. This is going to be a rough week time-wise, so I need to go to bed so I can get up early and start getting stuff done.

WHAT ELSE IS NEW:

Nothing I’m writing on here. haha.

So, I guess that’s everything. Hope everyone has a wonderful week!

5 Minute Life Update 5/27/18 This one is definitely going to be more than 5 minutes. HOW LIFE IS GOING: Things are going okay.