#i want to be everybody’s girl gramma

[lanitashiddencrackstash]

Skinny dip in your mind

[spine-buster]

The President Wears Prada (William Nylander) | Chapter 14

A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews on the last chapter.  I hope you guys like this one! :)  A quick reminder that I’ve set up a Ko-Fi incase you want to support my writing --> ko-fi.com/spine_buster .  Enjoy!

December 25th, 2019

Aberdeen Bloom was celebrating Christmas.

Siena was home from Ottawa, having finished another semester of law school.  Camden was the first one up, naturally, screaming at everybody that it was time to open presents.  The family had been to Midnight Mass the night before, a tradition Orla had the family do every Christmas since they were young.  After opening presents, everybody would shower and help her make the day’s big lunch before passing out in food and wine comas all over the house.  If all went well, Gramma Frances and Grampa Alistair would call and they’d all say hi in a short FaceTime.

“Get up!  Get up!  Get up!” Camden could be heard screaming from the hallway, his footsteps getting louder and louder.  “It’s time to open presents!”

“If he comes in here I’m gonna scream at him,” Siena mumbled into her pillow.  Aberdeen laughed from her side of the room.  

“Siena!  Aberdeen!”

“We’re coming!” Aberdeen yelled, not bothering to move.  

“Hey mom!  Can I finally try coffee?!” their little brother wouldn’t shut up.

The girls snorted, with Siena groaning as she stretched in her bed, unable to fall back asleep.  Eventually they got up and got ready, their little brother’s screams getting too annoying to ignore.  “He’s getting more annoying as he gets older,” Siena said playfully, running a brush through her hair.  

“Yeah,” Aberdeen agreed, “but at least he doesn’t jump into mom and dad’s bed like we did.”

“Remember that time you almost punctured dad’s lung?”

Aberdeen snorted.  “Remember that time you almost broke mom’s nose?”

“Maybe we should do it again for good measure.”

The girls finally emerged from their room, finding Orla in the kitchen pouring coffee.  Camden was dragging Mirza out of his room, Mirza playfully pulling him back in so Camden would slide on the floor.  The family hugged each other before Aberdeen opened a cupboard to get the Chips Ahoy cookies.  Camden snatched one right from her hands.  She chased him around the house.

Opening presents was always fun.  This year, Aberdeen was able to ask around the office for something for Camden, and she ended up with a Kyle Lowry Raptors jersey.  When he opened it, he automatically loved it and hugged it like he was five and it was his favourite new toy.  Aberdeen’s parents gifted her practical things – a chic new laundry basket and a nice throw she could use when she cuddled with Minerva and a bag of Doritos, and Siena bought her two new books she’d wanted to read.  To his credit, even Camden’s gift was cute: a mug that said, “Cat hair, don’t care” in fancy lettering.  

Once the gift giving was over and the family room cleaned of all the wrapping paper, everybody started to get ready.  Orla began seasoning the roast beef and Mirza began preparing the potatoes.  The kids showered and got ready so they’d look nice for photos and for their eventual FaceTime with their grandparents.  Siena stayed on the main floor to begin whipping up the trifle.  Aberdeen brought Camden to the downstairs kitchen with her to help with seasoning and roasting the Brussel sprouts and carrots.  

“So what are the Maple Leafs doing today?” Camden made conversation as Aberdeen sliced the carrots and he laid them in their tray.  

“Which ones?” she asked.  “It’s not like they’re spending it together as a team.  They’re all spending it with their families.”

“What’s John Tavares doing?” he asked.  Camden knew much more about sports than she did.  He found it genuinely cool that his sister was working for the Toronto Maple Leafs, even though he liked the Raptors a little bit more.  When she told him how she sat with Masai Ujiri at the Major Donor Gala, he freaked out and bragged to all his friends.  He was officially one of the coolest kids in school.

“Well, John and his wife Aryne just had a new baby in September, so this is their first Christmas with him.  I think they’re spending it at John’s house with both their families there,” Aberdeen explained.

“What about Auston Matthews?”

“Auston’s entire family came up from Arizona – they’re having a big family lunch like we are.”

“What about Mitch Marner?”

Aberdeen smiled.  “Mitch is spending it with his family, his girlfriend Stephanie, and his dog Zeus.”

“His dog?!” Camden’s face lit up.  “Mom and dad won’t let me get a dog yet.  They say I’m still too young.”

“Just wait,” Aberdeen encouraged him.  “Mom will eventually want to replace me and Siena with a dog, and dad will be too powerless to say no.”

“You think so?”

“Mhm.  What kind of breed do you want?”

“I want a German shepherd.”

Aberdeen laughed at her brother.  He always dreamed big, which was good for a kid his age, but a German shepherd would be bigger than him.  There was no way he’d be able to handle it out on walks.  “Aim smaller.  What about a corgi?”

“That’s your dream dog cause of their butts,” Camden furrowed his brows.  “If mom won’t let me get a German shepherd then I think I want a goldendoodle.  Greg at school has one and it’s really cute.”

“Why don’t you just get a regular poodle and cut its hair really weird like that lady in 101 Dalmatians?”

Camden started to laugh as Aberdeen sliced the last of the carrots.  She made sure they were all lined up nicely before starting on the Brussel sprouts.  “We can shave the Toronto Maple Leafs logo into its hair.”

“Exactly!”

“Then it can become the team dog!” Camden giggled, liking the idea already.  

Aberdeen and Camden stayed in the basement kitchen for almost an hour – enough time so that all the carrots and Brussel sprouts were sufficiently roasted and seasoned properly as Orla taught them.  When the carrots were ready to be brought upstairs, Aberdeen made Camden put on oven mitts and told him to grab the dish.  “Go run these up to mom,” Aberdeen said.  “And absolutely no funny business.  If these fall on the floor nobody in this family will forgive you.”

Camden did as he was told, going up the stairs slowly.  Aberdeen stayed down for another ten minutes, waiting for the Brussel sprouts to finish before putting on her own pair of oven mitts and bringing the plate upstairs.  By then, the roast in the oven smelled impeccably delicious and Aberdeen could already see most of the food on the table as she rounded the corner.  Before she could move any further, Siena came through and blocked her passage and sightline towards the front of the house, a look of panic on her face.  “Ab—Aberdeen,” she was staring at Aberdeen wide-eyed, like she’d just seen a ghost.

“What?  What’s going on?” Aberdeen whispered.

“Hey.”

Aberdeen knew that voice.  She knew that voice anywhere.  She’d be able to recognize it from miles away.  It was the voice that tortured and soothed her all at once.  What was it doing here?  In her house?  Her head turned quickly like she was in The Exorcist.  

And there he was.

William Nylander.  Standing in the middle of the family room.  Her family room.

With her mother.

Aberdeen was going to pass out.

“What are you doing here?” she demanded, almost dropping the plate of Brussel sprouts at her feet.  What was he doing here?  What was he doing here?  How the fuck did he even find out where she lived – where her family lived?  And why did he have a glass of water in his hands?  How long had he been here for him to have been offered a glass of water?  Why didn’t she hear the doorbell?  Why didn’t she hear a knock?  Why hadn’t her parents called down to her in the basement to let her know he showed up unannounced to their Christmas Day family celebrations and why didn’t they—

“Aberdeen!” her mother scolded her as she walked towards her.  “I know he’s a little early but that’s no way to treat the guest you invited.”

Aberdeen glared at William and then glared at her mother.  She was almost rendered speechless by William’s stupid grin on his face.  “I did not invite William to Christm--”

“Aberdeen, please, the Brussel sprouts,” her mother wasn’t having it, walking towards her and grabbing the plate from her hands, only to put it on the table.

Aberdeen looked at William, dressed in a nice pair of navy blue slacks and a fitted grey Ralph Lauren sweater with a collared shirt underneath.  He definitely looked the part of innocent-hockey-player-come-to-spend-Christmas-with-a-welcoming-Canadian-family, but he wasn’t fooling her.  Aberdeen looked back to see her mother disappear into the kitchen again.  Siena was already gone, too.  Good, it made it safe for her to cuss him out.  

“How do I look?” he asked, waiting for one of her famous retorts.

He wasn’t going to get one.  Not this time.  He looked too wholesome, but more than that, he didn’t deserve one for crashing her family Christmas.  “Seriously, what are you doing here?” she hissed as she stepped forward so she could get closer to him.  

“Better than spending Christmas alone,” he shrugged his shoulders, the playful grin still on his face.  

“I thought you were Skyping with your family,” she said, immediately regretting it.  She knew Skyping was nowhere near close to spending actual time, physically, with your family on one of the most important holidays of the year.

“I already did, while I was having breakfast and they were having lunch.  Six hour time difference,” he said.  

“Will, I’m serious, what are you—”

“I thought you’d need a friend here after everything that happened,” he said quickly, his tone serious.  His blue eyes looked into hers and every ounce of anger and shock in her dissipated.  “I figured you probably haven’t told your parents, and definitely not your brother, but I know you told Siena, and I just thought it would be nice for you to have a friendly face around beside your sister that…I don’t know…might make Christmas more fun.”

He knew her.  He knew he so well that she almost hated it, but mostly found it so admirable and so damn…cute.  He knew that she’d only tell Siena because Siena was the person she was the closest to in the world, and he knew she wouldn’t tell her parents because…well, because they didn’t need to know their daughter got sexually harassed at work.  She didn’t know what she was feeling right now.  “How do you even know where my parents live?”

That trademark grin came back.  “Don’t worry about it.”

“Aberdeen!  You didn’t tell me William Nylander was coming for Christmas!” Camden’s voice rang from behind her.  She turned around to see her brother with his arms crossed playfully around his chest.  “Would have been nice, you know.”

“I guess I forgot,” she said absent-mindedly.  She couldn’t believe this was happening right now.  She couldn’t believe William was at her house for Christmas; that he was going to be spending Christmas with her family because, well, it wasn’t like she could kick him out onto the street now.  

“Did you see I brought a dessert?” William said, his voice upbeat as he looked at Camden.  “I picked up some treats from a Swedish bakery in downtown Toronto.”

Camden’s eyes lit up at the words.  “Double dessert!” he screamed.  “Siena made a trifle!  You’ll like it.  It’s got strawberries in it.”

“Alright!  Everyone to the table!” Orla’s voice boomed throughout the house.  “Is the wine on the table?  Are there drinks?”

“Does everybody have a spot?” William whispered to Camden.

Camden nodded his head quickly before pushing William to the opposite side of the table.  “Mom sits at the head,” he pointed, “Siena sits there, dad sits there, I sit at the other head, and then Aberdeen sits here.”

“So I guess I’m sitting—”

“Right here,” Camden took out the chair for him.  

William took his seat.  Aberdeen slipped into her seat beside him, still staring at him like he wasn’t real.  Siena took her seat, then Mirza.  Camden last.  Then Orla brought in the roast, smelling absolutely delectable.  William’s eyes widened at how good it looked.  Everybody brought their plates forward and she put a few slices of the carved meat and gravy onto everyone’s plates – only then did the other dishes get passed around to fill up their plates: the Yorkshire puddings, the roasted potatoes, the Brussel sprouts, and the carrots.  

“Are you Catholic, William?” Orla asked as she sat down at her seat.  

“No ma’am.”

“Well, Christmas and Easter are the only two days of the year that we pray before our meal,” she informed him.  “So, congratulations.  Camden, why don’t you say a Hail Mary.”  William watched as everybody around the table except Mirza did the sign of the cross, though Mirza did bow his head in respect.  William quickly followed with his own sign of the cross.  He listened as Camden recited a Hail Mary.  When he was done, Orla spoke up again.  “Lord, we would like to thank you for bringing us together to celebrate your birth, and we would like to thank you for bringing us William today to celebrate with our family.  Amen.”

“Amen,” everyone said.

“Hallelujah!” Camden exclaimed, grabbing his fork.  Everyone else did too, while Mirza stood up to start pouring the wine in everyone’s glasses, save for Camden.  

“So you mentioned your family is in Sweden, William?” Orla asked, slicing her roast beef in pieces.  “Whereabouts?”

“Most of my family is there, right in Stockholm.  But I have a brother living in Chicago who also plays hockey.  My sister Jacqueline is also in Texas at SMU playing tennis, but she was able to get home for Christmas,” he explained.

“And where’s your brother in Chicago going?”

“He has a teammate and his family.  He lives in their basement,” William smiled. 

“Orla has a habit of wanting to feed the entire congregation, if you know what I mean,” Mirza smiled from across the table.  “Clearly Aberdeen knew, since she invited you.”

Aberdeen wanted to say that she didn’t, that he was hear because he somehow found their address and wanted to make her life a complete circus, but she decided against it.  It was Christmas, after all.  “Yeah, well when Aberdeen offered, I thought it was so nice, but I didn’t want to intrude,” William said from beside her.  She could have killed him right then and there.

“Intruding?  What are you intruding on?  The more the merrier.  And God knows I make enough roast,” Orla commented.  “Besides, it’s not the first time Aberdeen’s brought something home and said ‘Surprise!’.”

“We all love Minerva and she is a great cat,” Aberdeen said firmly before anyone else could say anything.  

Conversation flowed nicely.  William was a natural, Aberdeen thought, and she chalked it all up to his endearing charm – his best quality.  Well, at least to Aberdeen.  It was what attracted her to him in the first place.  That and the fact that he was so persistent.  But everybody seemed to take a liking to him, and despite being the only person at the table who knew what had happened between them, Siena was surprisingly calm, warm, and chatty.  Camden was an everyday 11 year old, asking William about the Leafs and if he’d met any Raptors and what playing hockey was like.  He made them smile.  He made them laugh.  He made them love him.  It was all so sickeningly sweet.

Camden cleared the dishes and Aberdeen cleared the food platters and Orla and Siena fetched the desserts. Mirza stayed to keep William company at the table.  Aberdeen watched as Orla scooped all the remaining leftovers into a Tupperware – Aberdeen knew she’d give it to William when he left, and now she was stuck thinking about how William was going to return one of her Tupperwares without anybody on the team or in the offices knowing.  It sent her head for a bit of a spin until Camden almost knocked her out with a swinging fridge door.  “Camden, get the dessert plates on the counter,” she ordered, and he did as he was told.  She got the trifle out of the fridge.

“Show him mine!  I was so much cuter!” she heard Camden exclaim from the dining room.  What was he on about now?

Aberdeen turned the corner.  And then she saw it.

William Nylander.  Sitting at the dining room table with her father.

Looking through her baby book.

Her heart dropped into the pit of her stomach.  “Dad!!!” she exclaimed.

William looked up at her, the biggest, goofiest, most sincere smile on his face.  “You were a cute baby, Aberdeen.”

She was mortified.  She thought about walking outside and freezing to death because that would be a better option than what was happening in front of her.  She set the trifle down on the table loudly, her jaw on the floor.  “Dad, come on!” she complained.  “I work with William!  He doesn’t have to see my baby pictures!”

“Well excuse me for wanting to show off my two darling daughters,” Mirza waved off her complaint.  “Besides, I can’t say no when a guest wants to see.”

Aberdeen glared at William, who still had that smile on his face.  “Oh, you’re gonna get it when we’re back at the arena.”

“Am I?” he taunted her.

“Look!  Look here!  Siena at four, Aberdeen at two,” Mirza diffused the situation, pointing to a new picture on the page.  “We sent copies of this one to Orla’s parents in Derry.  They had it up for years.”

Aberdeen knew exactly which picture Mirza was talking about.  She and her sister were photographed by a professional photographer, with Siena wearing a frilly yellow dress and Aberdeen wearing a pink one, equally as frilly.  They were both smiling at the camera while sitting on some sort of box, and both wearing small, dainty necklaces.  They were adorable, but William didn’t need to know that.  “These are evil eyes, right?” he said, pointing to the necklaces they were wearing in the photo, a small smile on his face.

“We say nazar.  It protects from the evil eye,” Mirza nodded his head.  “They’re very popular in Iran.”

“What made you come to Canada?” William asked.

“The revolution, mostly,” Mirza said.  “I was fourteen.  My parents didn’t want me to stay so they changed my name and I escaped the country.  It wasn’t safe for me anymore.  I went to Syria first – to Aleppo – and had all my documents processed there to become a refugee.  I came to Canada when I was eighteen in 1984.”

William was quiet and had a solemn look on his face as he listened to Mirza.  It was so unlike any other story he’d heard before, in terms of people’s parents at least.  He grew up with a lot of “My dad played in the NHL” or “My dad works in hockey” – never “My dad escaped a revolution”.  It was very new to him, and he almost felt ashamed at the lack of diverse stories his friends, acquaintances, and all the kids he grew up with had in comparison to this.  “And you chose Canada?”

“Canada chose me, I think,” Mirza smiled.  “Look at these pictures here,” he said, flipping to the back of the photo album.  When he reached the page, he showed William, and Aberdeen already knew what it was: the few pictures he had of himself growing up in Iran with his parents, some photos of him in Aleppo, and the first photos of him in Canada.  “That one was the year before I left Iran,” he said, pointing to one, “and this one…the month I arrived in Canada.”

William smiled.  He looked up at Aberdeen, who was already expecting his reaction.  “Sugo hat outfit,” he said, like it was a code language.  “Holy hell.  You weren’t kidding, Aberdeen.”

“Told you.”

“Sugo hat outfit?” Mirza asked.

“It’s nothing, dad.  William just has an interesting fashion sense.  Very European.”

Mirza shrugged, letting it go.  “Canada led me to Orla.  Led me to have this,” he motioned around at his house, “led me to my job, led me to be a father,” he nodded towards Aberdeen.  “Canada has been very nice to Orla and I, because even she had her troubles.  Literally.”

“Troubles?”

“Orla grew up in Belfast and Derry during the Troubles in Northern Ireland.  There was religious violence all around her growing up.  Catholics versus Protestants,” he explained.  “She came to Canada to escape it, too, in 1988.  And it brought us together.  We met in 1993 at our citizenship ceremony, married in 1995, and had Siena in 1996.”

William couldn’t help but smile.  Meeting your future spouse at your citizenship ceremony as you swore an oath as a new citizen of Canada?  “That’s the most Canadian thing I’ve ever heard,” he giggled.

“I know!” Mirza smiled along with him.  “Orla married the mailman – I mean literally married the mailman.  You should have heard all the jokes we got from her friends when she got pregnant with Siena.  They never ended.”

Dessert and most of the afternoon continued as thus: retelling old family stories and recounting family memories as everyone devoured both desserts, with William explaining each of the Swedish pastries he’d picked from the bakery.  They called their grandparents in Derry just as they were finishing, with William politely staying out of view, and then everybody relaxed around the house.  William promised Camden he’d teach him some stickhandling tricks with the old sticks they had somewhere in the garage, “once my food baby has passed.”  Mirza and Orla sat on the couch, watching the Christmas specials on TV.  Camden opened and started to organize the pieces of a Lego set he’d received as a Christmas gift on the dining room table.  Siena, Aberdeen, and William went down to the basement to “watch Netflix”.  They got through one episode of Brooklyn 9-9 before Siena told them to sneak back upstairs into hers and Aberdeen’s bedroom for some alone time.  Aberdeen tried to say no but William was already up.  When he winked at Siena as a thank you, Siena immediately understood what attracted Aberdeen to him in the first place.

When he walked inside Aberdeen’s room, he thought that it was everything yet nothing he imagined all at once.  A small twin bed, a stylish comforter, a view pictures of her with friends strung along draped string and a corkboard above her headboard.  “So this is your room?”

Aberdeen nodded.  “Well, used to be just Siena’s room.  Then when the little monster was born we moved in together.”

“You didn’t care?  Didn’t demand a room in the basement?”

Aberdeen shook her head.  “I told you how close Siena and I are.  I actually didn’t mind at all.”

He sat down on her bed, looking up at some of the pictures she’d hung.  He recognized Kasha in one of them, and what he assumed to be other university friends.  There was even a picture of the family together, for what looked like one of Camden’s birthdays.  “You have such a nice house…” he started, looking around some more.  “A nice, like, home.  It’s very homey and just, like, perfect.  And your family’s really…warm,” he said, choosing his words carefully.  “They remind me a lot of mine.  Close knit and stuff.  You’ve all got each other’s back.”

“Yeah,” she agreed, sitting down on her bed next to him.  “Does it…I mean, does it make you miss your family?”

“Tons,” he replied automatically.  “Especially on days like today.  But it’s okay.  I know this summer when we’re all together it’s gonna be a blast.”

“I know…” Aberdeen began.  “Listen, I know you don’t like to talk about your feelings much, but if you ever do want to talk when you’re really missing them…you know I’m here to listen, right?”

William looked at her and smiled.  God, he got so lucky.  “I know,” he said.  “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

He paused, staring into her eyes before knowing he had to continue.  “Listen…I got you something,” he said.

“You what?” Aberdeen was flabbergasted.  As if enough didn’t already happen today.  He saw her baby photos for God’s sake.

“I couldn’t help myself.”

“I really think you could.”

He sighed and smiled, reaching into a bag Aberdeen hadn’t noticed was there and pulling out a wrapped box, a ribbon tied around it perfectly.  She had a hard time believing he wrapped it himself, but then again, he had a lot of siblings.  That was his excuse for knowing how to do a bunch of things that he had no other logical explanation as to why he knew how to do it.  “Merry Christmas, minskatt,” he said.

“I don’t have anything for you,” she blurted out, immediately regretting it.  

“I don’t need anything.  It’s fine,” he shook his head, pushing the box onto her lap.  “Open it.”

It was small.  Too small for her liking.  She gave him one last look before sliding the ribbon off and ripping the paper.  The box was neutral, which made her even more nervous.  She opened the lid.

Inside, she was met with a ring.  An evil eye ring made of yellow gold, with the centre of the eye bedazzled with a black diamond, circled by two bands of rich blue diamonds, and finished off with regular diamonds outlining and filling out the rest of the eye shape.  Her breath hitched in her throat audibly as she stared at it and took in its beauty.  She couldn’t believe William got this for her.  She couldn’t believe he…he…

“I hope you like it,” she heard William’s voice say softly.  “I know rings are…well, whatever, but…I saw it and I thought of you.  It…it went beyond when you told me your dad was Persian.  The blue…it sounds stupid, but the blue reminded me of your tattoo.  The waves.  Like now whenever I see anything blue I think of you and your tattoo and the waves and stuff, and…and—” he was rambling, and he knew it, but he couldn’t stop, “—and I just figured, I don’t know, you always wear nice jewelry, nice rings, and this can be part of it.  And it’ll protect you, according to tradition or whatever.  And maybe, I don’t know, every time you look down at your hand and see the ring, you’ll be reminded of me.”

Aberdeen took every word to heart.  She’d been looking at him the entire time, and her heart was so full by the end of his rambling that she couldn’t think straight; she couldn’t think of what to say, how to say it, how to thank him, how to truly express how much she loved it, so she did the only thing she could think to do.  The only thing she couldn’t do.

She kissed him.

It was slow at first, and it took William aback – never in a million years did he think Aberdeen would initiate any kiss, let alone a kiss on her bed while they were alone in her bedroom after he’d crashed her family’s Christmas celebrations – but eventually, and gradually, the kiss deepened and became more passionate, with William’s hand going lightly to her hip, and Aberdeen’s hand resting gently on his thigh.  They stayed like that for a while, just kissing on her bed, William absolutely basking in the feeling, as if a thousand lightning bolts were moving through his body all at once, having waited for months – six months – to feel his lips against hers again.  It intoxicated him as much now as it did that night in June so long ago; perhaps even more so now, now that he knew what her lips felt like but was denied for so long, only to be given the luxury again.  He was drunk on the feeling.  

It was only until William couldn’t help himself, when Aberdeen felt a slip of his tongue against her lips, that she was brought back down to earth, only for her to pull away quickly.  “Oh God,” she worried.  “I wasn’t supposed to do that.”

William half smiled as he bit down on his bottom lip.  “It’s not like I’m gonna tell anybody.”

She felt William’s hand on her hip move to hold her hand that was resting on his thigh.  He held it so warmly, still looking at her, and rubbed circles onto her hand.  His touch was so delicate, so tender.  So unlike other touches she’d experienced, other touches she never wanted to experience again.  “Will?”

“Hmm?” he licked his lips.

She finally met his eye.  “I…I never thanked you for going to Brendan about…you know…” she trailed off.  

His face shifted.  “Aberdeen—”

“No – please,” she interrupted him, looking down nervously at their fingers that had now entangled with each other’s on his lap.  She didn’t know why she couldn’t look him in the eye.  She’d just kissed him, for God’s sake.  “I never thanked you.  Or Pierre for that matter.  If you guys hadn’t gone to Brendan, I’d still have to be dealing with him, and…and I just…”

“Aberdeen, you don’t need to thank me for doing the right thing.  Anybody would have done the same thing,” William said.  “Believe me.  Any one of those guys in the locker room would have done the same thing.  Pierre and I actually made the decision to wait until after the holidays to tell everyone what happened so they wouldn’t get upset before Christmas.”

Aberdeen furrowed her brows.  “Why?  They…they’d get upset?”

“Are you kidding me?  Of course they’d get upset,” William said.  “Jason would have gone insane if he knew.  The guy has four girls.  Auston, Morgan, Kappy – everyone thinks you’re a bit of nerd or whatever, but they’d all go to bat for you.  And everyone’s gonna be really upset when they hear about it.  Actually, they’ll probably get mad at me for not telling them so they couldn’t whoop Ethan’s ass themselves.”

Aberdeen never considered that.  She knew the guys liked her well enough, but she never considered that they liked her enough that they’d be upset something like that happened to her.  She never considered that they’d be protective of her in that way.  For all that she was Brendan Shanahan’s executive assistant and on the administrative side of things, she never felt part of the team more than she did in this moment, in her room alone with William Nylander.  

“Can you…can you tell me something?” William asked as he watched her think.

“What?”

“Why didn’t you tell me…you know, what Ethan was doing?”

There was the million dollar question.  Aberdeen didn’t want to admit why.  She didn’t want to admit to William that the reason she didn’t tell him was because she didn’t want him to know, didn’t want him to get involved, didn’t want to endanger his position in any way with the team by him speaking up on her behalf.  She didn’t want to tell him it was because she didn’t think it was worth it.  But she knew she had too.  She took a deep breath and shrugged her shoulders.  “I didn’t think you cared that much,” she admitted softly.  “I didn’t think that it was…you know…worth caring about, even.”

It was William’s turn to furrow his brows.  He looked pained, physically pained, at the words that had just escaped her mouth.  “You’re always worth caring about, minskatt,” he said firmly, with no space to debate his tone or words.  “You’re always…fuck, Aberdeen, you’re always fucking worth it to me.”

She couldn’t believe the words that were coming out of his mouth; couldn’t believe how much conviction was in his voice and how much he meant each and every word.  Nobody had said those words to her before.  Well – no guy had said those words to her before.  She remembered Zane and how he refused to acknowledge how she wanted to become a writer.  She remembered how, a second after she told him, William said she’d make a great writer even though he’d never read any of her work.  To William, she was worth it; in every sense of the word, she was worth it.  She was worth late night walks back to her apartment.  She was worth sneaking into hotel rooms at night.  She was worth calls to Sugo and paying extra to get dinner long after they closed down.  She was worth sneaking around to get her phone number, and her parents’ address to show up for Christmas.  She was worth spending whatever amount of money on a ring that reminded him of her.  She was worth it.  She was worth it all.  

She moved closer to him again.

Closer.

And closer.

And…

“Aberdeen!” she heard Camden scream her voice down the hallway.  So he apparently knew they were in her room.  She and William moved at lightning speed not to be so close to each other.  She shoved the box into her bedside table.  Camden’s loud footsteps echoed down the hallway until they stopped outside her door.  

Camden at least had the knowledge to knock.  She’d yelled at him one too many times for him to forget.  “Come in,” she said, her voice still a bit shaky from what had almost just happened.  

He opened the door and stuck his head through.  “William promised he’d play some hockey with me in the driveway before he left,” he said.  

“William and I are talking right now,” she said quickly, trying to get him to go away.

“About what?”

“About work stuff.”

“What’s happening at work?”

“Camden.”

“Is Mitch Marner okay?”

“Can you give us maybe, like, five or ten minutes to solve this problem?” William asked.  “I’ll meet you in the driveway after that.  Practice your stickhandling so I can show you what to improve on.”

Camden nodded his head quickly and closed the door behind him as he rushed back down the hallway, yelling at his dad to open the garage and get his hockey stick.  William looked at Aberdeen and laughed as she let out a breath in one long sigh, giggling to herself before shaking her head.  “God…what am I doing?” she mumbled to herself.

“Realizing you’re worth it,” William said quickly, inching closer to her and kissing her again.  It was nice, and it was innocent, and it was beautiful, and it was lovely, but it was also wrong.  Aberdeen pulled back quicker than last time, but William didn’t seem to mind.  He knew this kiss was gratuitous – an extra gift.  “I can’t wait to see you on the plane to New Jersey wearing that ring,” he mumbled, grabbing her hand and holding it in his.

She stiffened for a second.  “I can’t wear that to work.”

“Why not?”

“Because it’s from you.  Everyone’s gonna ask about it.”

“Have any of the guys, including Brendan, ever asked about any piece of jewelry you’ve worn before?” he deadpanned.  Okay, so he had a point.  “Besides, just tell them it was a Christmas gift from your parents.”

She shook her head.  “You underestimate how good of a liar I am.”

“You spent six months lying trying to convince yourself you didn’t like me.”

She blushed.  Okay, so he had another point.  “Touché, Will.”

He licked his lips, biting down on the bottom one gently.  “Why’re you so scared?”

“I’m not scared,” Aberdeen answered.  “I’m just aware of how inappropriate this is and how much I’m starting not to care anymore.”

William smiled.  And he leaned in again.  But before he could kiss her again – helping as best he could to get her to not care anymore – Camden’s voice boomed through the house again.  “Aberdeeeeen!”

She practically growled at another moment ruined.  “Camden!” she screamed out.

This time, he didn’t bother to knock when he opened the bedroom door.  He poked his head through again.  “Do you know someone who drives a black Porsche Cayenne?”

Aberdeen furrowed her brows.  As if she knew more than one person who drove a car that expensive.  “My boss does…” she said.

“Well, it’s in the driveway.”

Aberdeen’s eyes bulged out of her head.  She shot up from her seat and grabbed William and dragged him towards her closet.  “Is that—” he tried to ask.

“Quiet.”

“Is that Brendan?” he asked as she practically tore her closet door off her hinges to open it.  “What’s he doing here?”

“I don’t fucking know!” she exclaimed in one of those loud, frantic whispers.  “Do you honestly think if I knew he was coming sometime today I would have let you stay in my house this long?  Now shut up.”

“Aber—oooooowwwwww!” he protested as she grabbed the top of his head and pushed him down and into her closet like he was getting into the back of a cop car.  He belonged in a cop car, Aberdeen thought, for showing up at her house on Christmas.  “Aberdeen!”

“Shut up!” she said hurriedly, putting her hand over his mouth.  “If you value your life as well as mine you will stay in here and stay quiet until I come get you,” she warned, closing the closet door in his face.

“Who’s that now?” Orla asked as Aberdeen hurried to the front of the house, where she saw her mother looking out the window.  “We don’t know people who drive Porsches.”

“It’s for me.  It’s my boss.  Brendan Shanahan.  The president of the Toronto Maple Leafs,” Aberdeen informed everyone.  She saw Siena send a panicked look her way.

“Oh, did you invite him to Christmas too now and he just came late?” Orla joked.

“Is he here to see William?” Camden asked.

Aberdeen took a deep breath.  She felt like her heart was going to explode in her chest.  “Everybody listen,” she said loudly.  “Brendan cannot know William was here…is here.”

“Why can’t Brendan know about W—”

“I’ll lose my job, okay?” she said quickly.  Her parents’ eyes widened.  “Brendan doesn’t like the players, uh…he doesn’t…just please, please don’t ask me to explain.  Just take my word for it.  Just don’t mention anything and…please be normal.”  She knew Siena already knew.  And she knew her parents were good for it – though she’d have to explain to them in more detail later.  It was Camden she was worried about.  She looked down at him.  “You say a word about William being here and I take that Kyle Lowry jersey back and tell everyone at your school that you still sleep with Bubby.”

Bubby was the stuffed giraffe Camden got as a kid.  He slept with it religiously when he was small, but he didn’t still sleep with it, though it stayed perched on his shelf.  Camden grimaced but understood the ultimatum his sister was giving him – no kid would ever recover from that rumour being spread.  “Fine.”

Their doorbell rang.  Mirza moved to open the door.  He couldn’t even see Brendan’s face – it was obstructed by a giant basket.  “Oh my goodness!” he exclaimed, noticing it was teetering a bit.  “Let me help, let me help!” he said, taking some of the weight of the basket.  “Come in!  Come in!” he moved backwards, and the two men balanced the basket on the half-wall that separated the entrance from the front family room.  

Aberdeen felt like she was going to faint.  Brendan Shanahan was now in her front entrance while William Nylander was stuffed in her bedroom closet.  “You must be Mr. Bloom,” Brendan said, extending his hand to shake.  “And Mrs. Bloom,” he said once he noticed Orla, shaking her hand too.  “I’m Brendan Shanahan – I’m Aberdeen’s boss.”

“It’s so nice to finally meet you, Brendan,” Orla smiled.  “Aberdeen speaks so highly of you.”

He waved and smiled at Aberdeen.  Then he noticed Siena and Camden.  “You must be Siena,” he smiled at her, “and Camden.”  Camden nodded enthusiastically and silently.  “I don’t mean to intrude on your Christmas,” Brendan held up his hands slightly.  “I just – well, my family and I are on our way to my mother’s house in Mimico.  I’m an Etobicoke boy too, you see.  And when Aberdeen told me her mother was another Belfast lass, well, I had to see for myself.”

Orla giggled.  Mirza had a smile on his face.  “Irish too, then?  Well, with a name like Shanahan, how could you not be?” Orla quipped.  

“I don’t mean to stay long – we’re already late as is – but I just wanted to pass this gift along as a token of my thanks and gratitude,” he said, motioning to the giant wrapped basket.   It had an assortment of things in it that Aberdeen couldn’t make out because she was scared William was going to scream out from the closet or walk around the corner any second and then she’d be out of a job.  She knew Camden would take it all apart the second Brendan left, anyway.

“Oh, you didn’t have to do that, Mr. Shanahan—” Orla said.

“No no, I insist.  It’s the least I could do,” he said.  “I’m sorry for taking your daughter away from you so much and having her travel to every corner of this continent.  I know it must be hard on you as parents.”

“It is,” Mirza said, “but she enjoys her job very much.  She’s always letting us know about the cool things she’s doing or the cities she’s going to.  She feels very fortunate to be in the position she’s in.”

“We’re very lucky to have her as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs team,” Brendan smiled warmly.  “Anyways, I’m so sorry for taking up your time,” he turned to leave.

“Don’t be sorry at all, Mr. Shanahan.  This is a very lovely gift, thank you.”

As he stepped through the threshold of the doorway, he turned back.  “If I want to drop by St. Leo and bring some of the boys, am I calling you?” he asked Orla.

“You bet your arse you are, because you’re not going to anyone else’s class but mine.”

Brendan smiled.  “I’ll call you to arrange something, then.  Have a very Merry Christmas.”

When the door closed, Aberdeen let out a sigh of relief.  “Was that harmless enough, Aberdeen?  Was it to your liking?” Orla asked sarcastically.

“Don’t.”

“Camden, go fetch mummy a card from the drawer in the kitchen so we can write a thank you note to Mr. Shanahan for this enormous basket full of…full of…” she stopped, eyeing the contents.  Suddenly, she jumped up.  “Oh Lord!  Oh heavens it’s a basket of Irish and British goodies!  And sweets!  Oh, bless that man!  Bless that man!”

Aberdeen didn’t care about sweets.  She thought about William in her closet and rushed towards her room.  She closed the door to her room behind her and opened the closet door to see him holding up her high school kilt, like he was examining it.  “What the fuck are you doing with that?”

He smirked at her.  “Can you wear this for me sometime?”

“Get out of there!” she ordered, snatching her kilt away from his hands as he giggled like the schoolgirl she once was.  She hung it back up in the back of her closet.  “You’re a perv.”

“Only for you,” he continued to giggle.

***

William held on to the Tupperware Orla had given him full of leftovers as he and Aberdeen stood on her front porch.  Aberdeen made sure not to get too close; partly because she had a feeling that at least one member of her family was spying through a window, but also, because if she got close to him, she didn’t know what she’d do.  

William had charmed her entire family.  Her mother invited him back for Easter.  Camden thought he was the coolest guy around.  Siena understood now why Aberdeen was so drawn to him.  And Mirza – well, Mirza just liked him.  Thought he was a good kid.  And he was a good kid.  Despite his upbringing and despite his job being one of the stars of the Leafs, he was just a humble, polite, guy when he came over – just a guy from Sweden who worked with Aberdeen.  Aberdeen thought that maybe that’s all he wanted to be when he was around her – just a guy from Sweden.  Not William Nylander, hockey star.  He certainly showed that he liked and preferred it that way.

“You’re coming to Jersey, right?” he asked.  She nodded her head.  “What about New Years?”

“I’ll be there,” she nodded again.  “Kinda sucks that we won’t get to spend it here, though.  I think this is the first New Year’s I’ll spend outside of Toronto.”

“Well it has to be extra special, then,” he smiled.  

Aberdeen bit her lip.  She didn’t know what that meant.  A part of her didn’t want to know while another part of her did.  “Will…” she began.

“Minskatt?”

“Why didn’t you ever move on from me?”

William was taken aback by the question.  The notion was absurd to him.  “Why would I ever want to do that?”

Aberdeen couldn’t believe his answer.  Was there really nobody else for him?  Nobody in Sweden that summer he could have had fun with?  Nobody in Toronto he could call?  She didn’t know why he insisted on his life revolving around just her when she’d barely given him anything the past six months, three of which were spent in two separate continents.  Was he insane?  Was she?

A car pulled up in front of the house, and Aberdeen knew it was his Uber.  He glanced at it before taking one last look at her.  “Have a good night, Aberdeen.  I’ll see you Thursday morning.”

She watched him get into the car, watched it pull out of the driveway and drive down the street.  When she opened the door and stepped back into her house, she saw Siena waiting for her.  “You’re fucked,” was all she said.

Aberdeen nodded.  If other people could see it, then she needed to start accepting it.  “I know.”

[ilove-cedricdiggory]

I think it's due time I've made a little something for the guy my entire page is dedicated to 😅 So, here we have it!

Just say you won't let go

Cedric x Reader

Requested - no

Summary - Written as though you're inside the song, Say You Won't Let Go, with Cedric

Trigger Warning - Fluffy

I met you in the dark, you lit me up. You made me feel as though, I was enough. We danced the night away, we drank too much. I held your hair back when you were throwing up.

Cedric spun you once again, your giggled filling the nearly empty room. You had been surprised when he asked you to the ball, especially when you thought his eyes had been on Cho lately. But, the two of you had bumped into each other on your prefect rounds, late in the night. You had decided to stick together through your rounds, conversing on his first task with his Dragon. Right before you had separated, he smiled down at you, "Hey, y/n, would you possibly go to be Yule ball with me?" His arm bent at an angle, his hand scratching the back of his neck as he awaited your reply. "Ced, I'd love nothing more than to go with you."

The two of you had quite a bit of the spiked punch the twins told you about, now far from sober. You laughed once more as he lifted you up in the air, just like he had during the champions dance, only this time, your stomach churned. As soon as he set you back down, you took off, your beautiful dress being held up by your hands as you rushed to the nearest bathroom. Your insides quickly came out as your felt his hands scoop up your hair, holding it back as the other rubbed your back softly.

Then you smiled over your shoulder, for a minute I was stone cold sober. I pulled you closer to my chest. And you asked me to stay over, I said, "I already told you, I think that you should get some rest."

After you were finished, you took a deep breath and turned to glance at him over your shoulder. You smiled softly, even through the alcohol, you felt white embarrassed. But you looked into his eyes, seeing a sense of safety in them before he pulled you close, your head softly laying on his chest. "I'm really sorry." You mumbled, wiping anything off your face that might have come from your recent sickness. "Don't be, I lifted you up right after I spun you, I'm pretty sure any normal person would get sick after that." He laughed, smoothing your hair down now.

"Do you wanna come to my room?" You asked him softly, the two of you walking slowly to your common room. "I don't really want the night to be over yet. We could cuddle and just talk for a few hours." You said, looking up at him. His fingers softly pushed a piece of hair out of your face and behind your ear before speaking. "Love, I already told you. I think that you should get some rest."

I knew I loved you then, but you'd never know. Cause I played it cool when I was scared of letting go. I know I needed you, but I never showed. But I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old. Just say you won't let go.

The next morning, you slowly walked to the great hall, your head pounding. You had never been more thankful for a Christmas holiday. You stepped in the doors, glancing up to see Cedric already looking straight at you. He smiled a smile that filled his eyes with happiness at the sight of you, but you were too far to see. He motioned you over to the seat next to his, watching as you slowly walked over to him. The two of you ate in quiet whispers, both of your heads pounding unlike ever before.

You glanced over at him as he took a sip of his pumpkin juice, glancing at you from the corner of his eye. Your heart filled with an emotion you weren't really expecting so early on, if you're being honest with yourself. But, the only thing you could think of was how lovely he was going to look when he was old, and how much you hoped you get to sit next to him, watching the sun set as you sat in a quiet whispers, much like you both were now.

I'll wake you up with some breakfast in bed. I'll bring you coffee with a kiss on your head. I'll take the kids to school, wave them goodbye. I'll thank my lucky stars for that night.

It was years after hogwarts, years after the war. You had spent many of days thanking Harry for bringing Cedric back to you. The school had been stunned when the both showed up, panting with a fear stuck in their eyes. Cedric rushed to you, bringing you into his arms as he held you, forgetting everything surrounding him. His father came up, but he refused to let you go. You heard the voices around you grow quiet as Harry spoke.

"He's back." Cedric tightened his grasp on you, refusing to let you go.

Now, the war was over. He was fine, you were fine, and you were happy. Your nights weren't filled with nightmares as often as they used to be, and your children were growing up in a world you'd want for them.

"Love, wake up." His voice was soft, a kiss pressed to your hairline. "I got you breakfast." He helped you move to a sitting position, your full belly showed through the covers. You groaned as a kick pushed against you, your hand moving quickly to the spot, rubbing it carefully. "Thank you, love." You spoke, smiling up at your husband. "Coffee, just as you like, you weirdo." Cedric was always a tea person, but the second your mouth came in contact with the dark liquid, you were set on coffee. "The kids." You spoke, your eyes wide. "It's a school day." The two older boys, twins, were just 8 now, and we're attending a normal, muggle school.

"I'm gonna take them. They're both ready, putting their shoes on now." You smiled lovingly at your husband, so incredibly grateful for him. He kissed you softly before leaving you with your food, taking your boys to their school. He smiled as they rushed off, greeting their friends before sauntering into the front doors. His mind wandered to the night he bumped into you, that night at Hogwarts, and thanked whoever and whatever he could for it. The night he finally picked up enough courage to ask you to the ball, the night he spent hours walking the dark hallways, listening to your voice fill the empty air.

I'm so in love with you, and I hope you know. Darling your love is more than worth it's weight in gold. We've come so far my dear, look how we've grown. I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old. Just say you won't let go.

You laid in Cedric's arms, one of his hands rubbing your scalp, the other tracing shapes onto your arm. The two of you had just gotten back from dropping your twins off at the train, your daughter having stayed with Molly and Arthur.

"Our kids are already on their way to Hogwarts." You spoke, staring at your ceiling. "Hogwarts was terrifying when we were kids, Ced. Quirrel was Voldemort, a giant snake running around trying to kill muggle borns, Sirius on the loose, that God awful tri-wizard tournament. You were almost bloody killed!" Your anxiety was rising with each word, absolutely terrified of what your boys were about to face.

"Honey, honey, it's okay. The boys have Mcgonagall as their headmistress. They don't have Voldemort fighting to come back, they are safe. Heck, Neville is a professor there. The boys know him, if anything happens, I'm sure they'll go straight to him. Plus, Hogwarts was also full of such amazing things. Hogwarts gave me you."

His voice filled your ears, his words finding home in your heart. "We've grown up so much." You said softly, turning to look up into his eyes. "And I wouldn't trade a single day of it, because I've grown with you. I wanna stay with you until we're grey and old." He leaned down, kissing your forehead softly.

I wanna live with you, even when were ghosts, cause you were always there for me when I needed you most. I'm gonna love you till my lungs give out, I promise till death we part, like in our vows. So I wrote this song for you, so everybody knows, that it's just you and me until we're grey and old. Just say you won't let go.

"Hey, hey, Ced, wake up. Wake up." You shook your husband awake, your eyes softly moving to his cheeks. His eyes popped open, looking up at you. "I'm not dead." He whispered, his arms moving to wrap you up, just like they had so many years ago. Cedric had grown, just like you had, but his brain still occasionally forgot that Voldemort was unsuccessful at killing him, back in the graveyard.

"Baby, you're okay. You're right here with me. You're alive." You moved to sit in his lap, cradling his head in your arms, right at your chest. "Listen to my heart, you're alive." You whispered, running your fingers softly through his hair.

"You are always here for me when I need you the most." He whispered after calming down, pulling away to look into your eyes. "I'll always be here. Good and bad." You spoke, kissing him.

The two of you were laying in bed, his head resting on your chest as you continued to run your fingers through his hair. "When we die, we should become ghosts. Live forever in our home. That way, I'd know I'd never leave you." His voice was soft, but shaky, almost scared again. "Baby, even if we don't become ghosts, I'm never leaving you. I promised till death we part, but it's so much more than that."

The two of you slowly fell back to sleep, holding each other tightly. You and Cedric, until you're grey and old.

Just say you won't let go, oh, just say you won't let go.

Your wrinkly hands were tight in Cedric's, the both of you sitting together, in the silent whispers. The sun was setting before you both, the sound of your grandkids in the house behind you. "Just put your pajamas on!" Your son spoke, chasing his daughter. "Gramma said I can stay up until 9!" She yelled back, rushing past her father. "That doesn't mean you can't get dressed! Little girl!" She giggled loudly as he picked her up, leaving you and Cedric to laugh yourselves.

"Looks like we're finally grey and old." You whispered, glancing at your husband. As handsome as ever, he was, just like you knew he would be. "And you're as beautiful as you were the night I met you." You smiled as he brought your hand up to kiss it, smiling at you. You laid your head back against your chair, looking into his eyes.

You both were laying in bed a few weeks later, both of you knowing your time was coming to an end. You looked over at your husband, seeing him eyeing you from the corner of his eyes, once again. You slowly moved your hand to grasp his, your eyes watery.

Your voice was soft as you felt sleep slowly overcome you. "Just say you won't let go."

[hushedhands]

Challenge 70

America gripped her husband’s hand tightly. Six years since the massacre felt like no time at all. And yet, as she looked to her other side at the tiny red-head in a tiny black dress wrinkling her tiny version of Maxon’s nose, it dawned on America how much space there truly was between the three of them and that horrible day.

The Governor of Angeles was done with his eulogy now, and it was time for the laying of the flowers. America heard a sniffle and glanced back to find her mother dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief. Kenna, James, and Astra were home with the twins, but the rest of the Singer family was there to show their support.

Maxon, America, and Addy stepped forward and Maxon bowed to the stone likeness of his father. America curtseyed to the statue of Amberly. They both laid flowers with stems tied with black ribbons at the base the monuments.

Addy poked her mom with one finger as cameras clicked. America straightened from her curtsey. “What is it, Bird?”

“What’s that?” Addy whispered loudly, pointing to the statues.

“We talked about them this morning, remember? These are the statues of Grandmother and Grandfather.”

Addy blinked, surprised, “That’s those?”

“Yes, Little Love.” Maxon said softly. “That’s what my mother and father looked like.”

Addy took in the frown the stone man wore and the gentle, serene smile of the stone woman. She made up her mind and turned around to her family, then a line of guards and staff, then a row of reporters, then a sea of citizens, all watching her every move.

Addy spied who she was looking for and dashed over to him. Gavril stood between the reporters and the royal family, and he opened his arms to the princess as she approached, scooping her up so that they were eye level as she sat on his hip.

“Dabby, please can I take your flower?” Addy pointed to the white rose he wore on his suit.

“Why do you need a flower, your highness?” he asked, meeting Maxon’s and America’s eyes as he did to gauge their desires.

“I haveta give one to Grandmudder.”

Gavril nodded and gulped, “Right you are. Can you tug the rose out gently?”

Addy took her time slowly removing the rose from the little hole in Gavril’s suit. Then he placed her back on the ground and she dashed back to her parents’ sides.

“Mommy, can I give her the flower?” Addy finally asked permission.

“Yes, of course you may, Sweetheart. Do you need help?”

“No.” Addy suddenly felt shy as she took the few steps forward and placed the rose at the statue woman’s feet.

Addy returned to her parents and her father scooped her up. America wrapped an arm around her husband.

“That was very thoughtful of you, Bird.” Maxon said, then he cleared his throat heavily.

“Now can they wake up?” Addy asked.  

“Wake up?” Maxon didn’t understand.

“Now can they wake up since we gave them flowers?”

America softly replied, “No, baby. Statues are just art, like when you draw pictures. They look like people, but they’re not real.”

Addy looked back at the kind face of the woman, “I thought that was Daddy’s mommy.”

“Only art of her.” America clarified.

“Why did we give flowers then?” Addy demanded, betrayed.

“To show that we still love them, even though they died.”

Addy was disappointed. She’d wanted to wake up the nice lady and play with her. Would she never get to play with her?

“Somebody can wake her up, Mommy! Daddy can make a law!” Addy still barely understood what “law” was, but she knew it meant her Daddy could make things happen.

Maxon hugged Addy and said, “I know it’s not fair, Bird. Something very sad happened and now you don’t get to meet your grandmother…”

Addy looked between the sad faces of her mommy and daddy and felt overwhelmed. She lost control of the volume of her voice, “But I wanted her! I wanted Grandmudder…” Addy tried to explain with her limited vocabulary, but nothing was getting through to the grown ups.

Then, a warm hand squeezed Addy’s arm. Just when all hope was lost and Addy felt tears on her cheek, a savior emerged.

“Gramma?”

Magda smiled and wiped Addy’s cheeks gently. “Are you sad, Bird?”

The knot in Addy’s chest was loosening by the second. She’d wanted a grandma, and now she had one. “I wanted her.” Addy pointed to the nice statue lady.

“That’s your grandmother Amberly. Shall I tell you about her?”

“You know her??”

“Oh, everybody knew her. She was the Queen before your mommy.”

“Oh.” Addy lost track of how that whole succession thing worked.

Magda took Addy from Maxon’s arms and carried her back to the Singers as she continued to tell Addy all about the stone lady.

Maxon and America, alone again before the statues, clasped hands and stared up at the nearly perfect likenesses of the late King and Queen.

“Poor thing. I didn’t think how confusing this all must be for a child.” Maxon mumbled so that no microphones could hear.

“It’s my fault. We talked it all over at breakfast this morning, but I didn’t realize that she didn’t know what a statue was.” America replied.

“It’s just about the only thing in the world I can’t give her, Ames,” he sounded tortured, “Time with her grandmother…”

“But Maxon, look.” They turned away from the statues, back to see their daughter hanging on Magda’s every word. “She’s fine. No, she’ll never get to meet your mother, but that doesn’t mean that your mother isn’t influencing her. After all, you learned everything you know about being a good parent from her.” America turned back to the statues before them so no one could read her lips and muttered under her breath, “You certainly didn’t learn that from him.”

There was a time when Maxon would have resented America talking about his father that way, would have called her out on it even, but ever since Addy’s birth, Maxon was nothing but grateful that the two never met.

“I noticed that she didn’t lay any flowers to try to awaken Father.” Maxon’s lips quirked in a little smile towards America as she turned her head back around to face the public.

“That’s my girl.” America squeezed Maxon’s hand and smiled regally as dozens of cameras flashed.

[miafic]

“Well,” Mrs. Dawkins sighed, “it sounds like we’re on our own for Thanksgiving this year.” She smiled tiredly at the man and two teenagers standing in front of her. “Looks like I’ll be doing the cooking.” 

“Actually,” Ashton started, but he stopped. 

“What is it?” she asked kindly. 

He shook his head. “Never mind.”

That night, however, he went to her room and knocked on the door. Mr. Dawkins opened it and said, “Hey, Ashton. What can I do you for?” 

Ashton smiled a little anxiously. “Is, um... is she in there?” ‘Mom’ wasn’t something Ashton was comfortable with yet, but the mother of the family didn’t seem to like when Ashton called her ‘Mrs. Dawkins,’ so ‘she’ seemed like the best compromise at the moment.

“I’m here.” She patted the quilt. “What’s up?” 

He went over and sat. “I was thinking about what you said, about how, um, Gramma and Grampa and Aunt Lisa can’t have everybody over this year, and it’s just gonna be us, so I was thinking, maybe...” He swallowed. “Maybe I could cook.” 

“Oh!” Mrs. Dawkins said in surprise as Mr. Dawkins commented, “We hadn’t even thought of that.”

“Well, if you want to,” Mrs. Dawkins began -

“-I don’t see why not,” Mr. Dawkins finished. 

The couple smiled at each other, and Ashton looked between them. 

“I don’t have any money, but-”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Ashton,” Mrs. Dawkins said with a smile. “Would you like me to take you shopping? You can show me all the best stuff.”

“Really?” Ashton asked hopefully.

She leaned sideways to wrap an arm around his shoulders. “Of course.”

Ashton closed his eyes and tried to fight the tears. Any time either of his foster parents showed him physical affection, it caused him pain. He missed his parents terribly. “Are you sure?”

“Yes,” they both responded together.

Ashton nodded, and - quick to leave before he let them see him crying - disappeared back to his room.

---

“What other vegetables should we get? We’ve got corn, carrots... Anything else?”

“Broccoli,” Ashton answered, and he led her over to the greens. 

Mrs. Dawkins followed obediently with the cart. “You know, I was just going to get everything in cans.”

“No!” Ashton cried, aghast. 

She laughed. “I’m sure your way is much better. That sweetbread you made the other night was delicious; I know you know what you’re doing.”

“Well, I’ve had lots of practice with that,” Ashton admitted as he started scanning the shelves for the best-looking broccoli. “I’ve never made a turkey in my life.”

“I have.”

He looked at her. 

“I could show you how I usually do it. We could make it together,” she suggested, and Ashton could see that she looked nervous. “But only if you want!” 

Ashton nodded. “Okay.”

She smiled in relief. “Okay.” She seemed to relax a little. “I actually think this will be a lot of fun.” 

“Cooking is really fun,” Ashton agreed.

“I hate it,” she admitted, and his eyebrows rose again, and she laughed a second time. Then she explained, “I’ve never liked it. I think it’s boring, and the food is never worth the work I put in.”

“It’s not about the work,” Ashton disagreed as he reached into the center of the display and pulled out two heads of broccoli. 

She held up a produce bag for him, and he dropped them in.

“Thanks. It’s about the fact that you can take this,” he said, peering down at the raw broccoli, “which is honestly not very appetizing, and turn it into something that tastes really good.” 

She nodded.

“And food brings people together,” Ashton said softly, and he looked at the tile floor.

“Ashton,” she said quietly. 

He didn’t reply.

After a moment, she set her hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”

He nodded, but his eyes were full of tears.

“Could... could I give you a hug?” she asked.

He stepped toward her, and she put her arms around him. 

“Ashton...” 

“Sorry,” he whispered.

“No, it’s okay.” 

“I just miss them a lot,” he explained weakly, but he didn’t wipe at the tears that had fallen from his eyes.

“I know you do.”

“More than usual.”

As she rubbed at his right shoulder right in the middle of the produce section and tucked his head beneath her chin, he allowed his emotions to wash over him. 

“Shh,” she soothed gently.

He turned inward and hid his face in the shoulder of her pale pink sweater. She hugged him tighter, so he let his arms come up around her, let himself feel the weight of his grief, which had grown considerably over the past week.

“Holidays are hard,” he confessed, his voice weak as he continued crying.

“I can’t imagine that they wouldn’t be.” 

Someone came over and asked her something - Ashton couldn’t make the words out over his own sobs - but she dismissed them. “It’s okay,” she told them. “Thank you, but we’re just having a tough day.” 

Ashton’s arms tightened around her, and after a moment, she kissed his hair. 

A few days ago, that would have made him cry harder. But in that moment, it made him feel better, not worse. 

He slowly straightened up and wiped at his eyes. “Sorry,” he muttered again.

She shook her head, giving him a tiny smile. “You wanna get out of here?” she asked knowingly.

“We didn’t finish,” he said, and he pointed down at the list. He sniffed hard and wiped at his face again.

“Should we keep shopping?”

“Yeah. If that’s okay with you.”

“Whatever you want to do, Ash.”

He looked down at what they had in the cart. “We need the gravy stuff.”

“Okay. What stuff is that?” 

---

“Well,” Mrs. Dawkins said later that afternoon, “there’s been a change of plans, it seems.” She looked between the boy and the girl in front of her. “How would you two like to have some houseguests?”

The foster siblings traded a confused glance.

“Mom was telling Aunt Lisa about how Ashton offered to cook,” Mr. Dawkins began, “and we’ve been raving about your food since you got here, Ash, so she was really disappointed that she was going to miss it. So she told Gramma and Grampa, and-”

“And they’re coming?!” Ashton’s foster sister, Lauren, interrupted excitedly.

“Nanny and Papa and Aunt Tammy, too,” Mrs. Dawkins added happily. 

“Yes!” Lauren cried. “This is gonna be awesome!”

Ashton, on the other hand, was suddenly feeling a lot more pressure. 

“Is that okay, Ash? We’ll help with whatever you need. And if you don’t want to cook, Mom and Aunt Lisa can do it.” 

“No, I want to,” Ashton assured. 

Mr. Dawkins seemed concerned. “Are you sure? You look a little...”

Ashton shook his head. “I was just thinking-” He looked to Mrs. Dawkins. “We’re gonna need a lot more pie.”

---

“Hi,” Ashton said hesitantly into the phone. “Um... N-Nanny?”

“Hello?”

“Hi.”

“Who is this?”

“Um, this is... this is Ashton...”

“Ashton? Ashton from Mark’s house?!”

“Yes.”

“Oh, hel-lo, Ashton! It’s so nice to finally hear your voice!”

“Hi. It’s nice to meet you, ma’am.” 

She laughed. “Oh, no need to call me ma’am, honey. Nanny will do just fine.” Away from the line, she said, “Phil, come here! Ashton’s on the phone!” There was a beat. “Yes, Mark and Megan’s boy. Come say hello!”

“Hello!” came a happy (and very shaky and old) male voice. “Ashton!”

“Hi,” Ashton said. They sounded so kind. “I’m so sorry to call, but-”

“Nonsense!” Phil (Papa) interrupted. “You call any time.”

“You’re on speaker, honey,” Nanny added. 

“He can call any time, don’t you think? He can call any time?”

“Of course he can, Phil, don’t be silly.”

“Thank you,” Ashton said a bit awkwardly. “Um, I had a question... I’m going to make pies for dessert on Thanksgiving, and I wondered what kind of pie you like.” 

“Oh, apple pie is my favorite,” Nanny said at the same time Papa simply declared, “Pumpkin!” 

Ashton hurried to write their answers down on a piece of paper. “Okay. Thank you!”

“Are you making them from scratch?” Papa asked.

“Yes,” Ashton responded. “Thanks! See you on Thanksgiving!”

And before they could say anything else, he hung up the phone.

“Okay, that’s three for apple, four for pumpkin, and two for pecan,” Ashton said, turning to Mrs. Dawkins. 

“You sure you wanna make three? Dad and Aunt Lisa both like apple and pumpkin pie if you want to skip the pecan.”

He shook his head and said determinedly, “I can do it.” 

She smiled. “Of course you can. And they’re going to be delicious.”

---

Three pies were sitting on the counter (and looking beautiful, if Ashton did say so himself), steam was rising from the vegetables and the potatoes, the sweet potato casserole smelled heavenly, the bread was waiting for its turn to be warmed, and Ashton held his breath while Mrs. Dawkins opened the oven door and set the turkey on the counter. 

It looked like something out of an advertisement. 

Ashton sniffed deeply and smiled, which made Mrs. Dawkins laugh. 

“We need the meat thermometer, right?” Ashton asked, and she nodded.

“Over there.”

He grabbed it off of the counter and passed it to her. 

“You’ll want to check the breast and the thigh,” she explained, pointing at both places. 

He watched her silently, remembering the times he had studied his mother as she used a stethoscope on a patient. 

“Alright! It's ready,” she said proudly, and Ashton grinned.

“Go Mom!”

They shared a high-five. 

“You put the bread back in to warm,” Mrs. Dawkins instructed, “and I’ll go get Dad to tell everybody to go to the table.”

“Kay.” 

She smiled fondly at him and then turned away, calling, “Mark!”

Ashton picked the bread up and slid it into the oven. He noticed Mrs. Dawkins’ shadow returning, but it stopped Mr. Dawkins’ shadow just before they crossed into the kitchen. Then he heard Mrs. Dawkins say excitedly in a hushed tone, “He called me Mom!” 

Mr. Dawkins’ shadow hugged Mrs. Dawkins’, and Ashton saw him kiss her forehead. “That’s amazing, Meg.” 

“I know!”

Their hands clasped together, and they resumed walking, so Ashton quickly busied himself at the sink. They came through the doorway, both smiling at him. 

“The bread’s in,” he told them. “Somebody just needs to carve the turkey.” 

“I can,” Mr. Dawkins volunteered.

Ashton nodded. 

“You go have a seat at the table, okay? Everybody’s been asking about you.”

“I’ve been busy,” Ashton said mock-defensively. 

“I know you have, kiddo,” Mr. Dawkins laughed. “Go take a break.” 

Ashton dried his hands, and as he headed out to the dining room, Mrs. Dawkins stopped him for a quick hug, which he returned. 

---

“Ashton, everything was delicious,” Aunt Tammy declared through one last forkful of corn. 

“Every single thing!” Mr. Dawkins agreed. 

“You did a great job, sweetheart,” Gramma smiled. “I am so glad that we all made it down here.” 

“Thank you,” Ashton beamed. He’d thought that the praise from the Peace and Purpose boys had been nice. But this... 

“Before we dig into dessert,” Aunt Lisa started, sitting up straighter, “let’s go around the table to say what we’re thankful for. Dad, do you want to start?” 

They all took turns, and when they got to Lauren, who had just turned thirteen, and she said that she was thankful that her parents had decided to foster Ashton, he thought he couldn’t be happier. Then Mr. Dawkins said he was thankful for Ashton and the fact that he came to live with their family and that it was because of him that the whole family was together for the holiday, and then Mrs. Dawkins said that she’d enjoyed getting to know him and that she loved him very much. She was thankful for his kind heart and his easygoing nature. 

Ashton was worried that he would dissolve into tears right there at the table. He knew that Lucas and Zakk loved him and that they always would, but he also knew that they would never be able to be his family. There was a safety in that. But these people - their kindness, their warmth... They’d laughed and enjoyed each other’s company all through dinner. Well, they’d argued for a moment, but just a moment. And it had been over football. 

“Ashton,” Aunt Lisa said, “it’s your turn. What are you thankful for this year?” 

Ashton looked at Lauren, looked at Mr. Dawkins, and looked at Mrs. Dawkins. He looked down the table at the four grandparents and the two aunts and then back at the people he’d been sharing a home with for the past several months. You, he’d wanted to say to the three of them, but instead, he hung his head and started to cry. 

Mr. and Mrs. Dawkins were both out of their chairs and on either side of him in a second, bending down and talking softly to him. 

Blindly, Ashton reached up and wrapped one of his arms around each of them. They hugged him back tightly. 

The room was silent; everyone was listening to Ashton’s quiet sobs. 

With a hand on Ashton’s knee, Mr. Dawkins crouched down beside Ashton’s chair and watched his face carefully. 

Ashton dropped his voice to a whisper as Mrs. Dawkins stepped around to the other side of the chair so she could see him. “I know I’ve been upset a lot lately, and it’s just cause it’s hard to be back doing the whole family thing after... mine all died. I haven’t had a family in years. And I’m so glad that I do again. It’s just been harder than I thought it would be. And it’s scary.” 

They nodded in understanding. 

“But I wanna say... thank you. For picking me.” 

“Of course, Ashton,” Mr. Dawkins replied, nodding. 

“We always knew that you were our missing boy,” Mrs. Dawkins told him. 

He smiled as best he could and let them wrap him up in their arms again. 

---

The family argued one more time - this time over who got to take home the leftovers.

[lfthinkerwrites]

Like Father, Like Daughter, pt. 3

Title: From the Case Files of Edward Nigma, PI

Fandom: Batman

Rating: T

Summary: Ellen gets a lead on where Marisol is being held and unknowingly attracts the attention of a potential ally.

Previous Chapters: 1/2

AO3 Link

12:15 AM

Bolton emerged from the apartment building with a smirk. Sanchez wouldn't be a problem anymore. As he walked to his car parked across the street, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. His call was immediately answered. "This is Dr. Hugo Strange."

"It's me," Bolton answered.

"Well?" Strange demanded.

Bolton grinned. "It's all taken care of."

"Good. You can be competent when the occasion calls for it. Is that all?"

Bolton frowned. "Don't you want to know-"

"Absolutely not. I've given your 'colleagues' the necessary tools, but that is as far as my involvement goes. Neither myself or the Mayor can be connected to this in any way. Clean up your mess with as little fuss as possible." The call disconnected with a click. Bolton scowled. Would it kill the good doctor to show him a little appreciation every once in a while? He shrugged, then dialed another number. This time, the phone rang three times before it was answered.

"Bolton? That you?"

"Yeah, it's me. Where are you guys?"

"We're still at the place on 55th."

"Kid been giving you any trouble?"

"Nah, we've been keeping her doped up on that stuff we got from Strange."

"Good. Meet me at the old shelter on 45th and Marshall in an hour. There's been a couple of dead junkies found down there. We'll make it look like an overdose." A noise suddenly caught Bolton's attention. "Hold on a second." He whipped around. No one was out on the street that he could see, but there was an alley located between the apartment building he'd left and the next. Bolton walked into the darkness, one hand going to the pistol on his belt. Nothing but trash cans and a large dumpster. He had taken maybe ten steps in the alley when he heard a rustling behind some garbage cans to his left. Bolton pulled out his pistol. "Come out!" A black flash ran past his feet. Bolton cursed and took a step back, only to relax when he realized that it was a stray cat. He shook his head and walked back out to the street, returning to his phone call. "Sorry about that. Anyway, we're good to meet in the narrows, right?"

"Yeah, but Bolton...she's just a kid. Do we have to kill her? It's not like she knows who we are."

"She's a liability, Morton. Besides, Sanchez has to learn a little lesson about shooting his mouth off. I'll see you in an hour." Bolton hung up his phone and walked off towards his car, without another look behind him.

As soon as she was sure the man had gotten into his car, Ellen peeked out from her hiding place behind the dumpster. That was too close. She'd tried to stay as quiet as she could when she heard the man come out from the apartment building, but when he had mentioned Marisol, she couldn't help the indignant squeak that had come out. If the Old Man were there, he'd have something to say to her about that. She watched his ugly red car start, then pulled her bicycle out. As soon as the car was in motion, Ellen followed. She was able to keep sight of the car as far as a block down 11th street, but a light turned green and it sped off, faster than she could ever hope to catch up with.

"Damn it!" she swore, smacking her palms against the handlebars of her bike. Well, she really should have seen that coming. What was that address she'd heard him say? 45th and Marshall? Ellen bit her lip. That was in the middle of the Narrows neighborhood. She'd never been allowed to go there in the day, let alone in the middle of the night, God only knew what was down there-

Ellen set her jaw. Marisol was down there. And if that man got there before she did, Marisol would die. Ellen wouldn't let that happen. Swallowing her fears, Ellen made a left turn on her bike, down Marshall. Hold on, Marisol. I'm coming.

Ellen noticed the further she pedaled down Marshall that the buildings were becoming gradually more run down. She crossed the intersection of Marshall and 25th and knew she'd officially entered the Narrows neighborhood. Her heart beat in her chest from the exertion of her bicycling and from the thrill of being in such a notorious place. The only people she could see out on the street now was the occasional homeless person. It was Saturday night-well, Sunday morning now, she guessed. Where was everybody?

She'd reached the intersection of Marshall and 27th when she hit the breaks on her bike. Right in front of her were two men, huddled under a street light. They looked up at her with surprise. "What the Hell-it's a kid!"

Ellen swore and tried to go around, only for one of the men to block her. "I need to get through. Get out of my way!"

"What're you doin' out so late little girl? Wait, are you wearin' a mask?"

Ellen narrowed her eyes at the men. "None of your business!" She tried to go around again, only for the man in front of her to knock her off. She fell to the pavement with a grunt.

Another one of the men walked up to her. "We'll take your backpack too, little girl. Hand it over."

Ellen glared up at the man. "Screw you!"

The two men laughed. "Maybe when you're older," The first one said. "The backpack. Now." The man pulled a switchblade out from his pocket and Ellen's eyes widened under her mask when she saw the blade. "Don't make me ask again, little girl."

Ellen slowly pulled her backpack off. "You're making a big mistake, asshole," she said. "Did you see the question mark on my shirt?" She pointed at it for emphasis. "I'm the Riddler's kid."

The men exchanged a look with each other. "The Riddler?" one asked the other. "I didn't know he had a kid."

"He doesn't. Least, he didn't when I ran with his crew back in the day."

Jesus Christ, did every jackass in this city know the Old Man? Did he have some kind of beacon on him that attracted other assholes to him? While the men were talking with each other, Ellen unzipped her backpack and pulled out a hammer and a can of pepper spray her Gramma kept in her bedroom in case of emergency. She placed the pepper spray on the ground for now, then tightened her grip on her hammer. She crouched up, her eyes on the knees of the man closest to her. The man further away noticed her, however. "Oh shit, dude!"

Before the other man could react, Ellen lunged forward, swinging the hammer with all her might at the man's knee cap. It connected with a crunch and the man let out a scream of anger and pain. "Fuck! You little bitch!" he collapsed to the ground, his hands hugging his wounded knee to his chest. "Fuck, you broke my knee! Tommy, get her!"

The other guy lunged for her and Ellen jumped back, barely escaping his grasp. She reached down to grab the can of pepper spray and when the man charged towards her again, sprayed him dead on in the face. The man let out a shriek, covering his eyes with his hands. "Fuck! Denny, you're on your own, man!" The man ran down the street as fast as he could.

Ellen stood there, shaking a bit from the adrenaline. Holy shit. She'd taken on Narrows guys and she'd survived. Hell, she'd won. She let out a shaky laugh. If the Old Man could see her now...The first man, Denny, looked up at her, afraid. "Who-who are you?" he asked.

Ellen opened her mouth to say something, only to close it when she realized she didn't know what to say. Every superhero had some kind of catchphrase, didn't they? What should she say? 'Riddle me this-' no, she didn't want to copy the Old Man. 'Let's get dangerous?' Nah, been done before. 'In the name of the Moon, I will punish you?' No, too anime. Finally, she squared her shoulders and said in the deepest voice she could manage, "I'm Enigma, chuckle fuck!" She'd have to work on that. She then sprayed Denny in the face with her pepper spray, trying not to laugh at the shriek he let out. She then placed the pepper spray and the hammer back in her backpack, put it on and walked over to where her bicycle lay on the ground. She pulled it up, hopped on, and continued her way down Marshall, her heart soaring. If she could handle those idiots, she could get Marisol out, no problem.

She didn't realize that from the rooftops, someone had been watching her and was now following her.

Stephanie took another look down at the streets through her binoculars. "It's 12:45 and there's no sign of life, Oracle. I'm gonna stay here fifteen more minutes and then head up towards the West End."

"Good idea," Barbara said through the communicator. "Bruce doesn't want us patrolling this close to the Narrows anyway."

"And since when have I ever done what Bruce wants?" Stephanie joked. She put the binoculars back in a compartment on her belt and sat down on the roof of the building she was perched on. "Speaking of, has he spoken with Jason?"

"He's tried," Barbara answered. "But you know Jason. It didn't go well."

Stephanie didn't know Jason at all actually. She'd never met him when he was a Robin and after...she shook her head. And she thought she and Bruce had their issues. At least she'd never killed anyone. Jason didn't have any issue with her that she knew about, but that didn't mean she wanted to cross paths with him. "Great," she said. She sighed. "At least the rest of the city's quiet tonight, right?"

"Right," Barbara said, and Stephanie could tell she was glad to change the subject. "I just got done talking with Cass. She took down an armed robbery at the Fine Arts museum about an hour ago, but other than that, it's been a pretty low key night."

Stephanie huffed. "Cass has all the fun, I swear-" a sharp, pained cry caught Stephanie's ears. She turned towards the sound. It was coming from the Northeast, maybe two blocks away. Marshall and 27th. The Narrows. "Hold on, Oracle. I just heard something."

"What?"

"I'm not sure, but it sounded like someone's in trouble. I'm gonna go check it out."

"Where exactly are you going?"

Stephanie hesitated. "Marshall and 27th. I think."

"Batgirl, that's the Narrows."

Another shout reached Stephanie's ears. "Oracle, if someone's in trouble, I have to check it out. It doesn't matter where they are, right?"

Barbara sighed on the other end, which meant Stephanie had won that argument. "OK. But be careful. If you see Red Hood, don't engage. Just leave."

"No need to tell me twice," Stephanie said, pulling out her grappling hook. She aimed it at the neighboring building and took off, running across the rooftops. She made it to a building that overlooked 27th and Marshall and looked down to the street. A badly dressed man was lying on the ground, clutching his knee in pain, next to a bicycle that kay on the ground. He wasn't alone though. A slight masked figure stood over him. Stephanie realized that it was a girl. Stephanie leaned over to get a closer look and almost fell off the roof when she recognized her. "Oracle," she breathed into her communicator. "You're not going to believe this."

"What is it?"

"You remember when Damian and I ran into Nigma and his kid at Jezebel Center last December? Well, his kid is here. I think she just took out a guy who tried to jump her. And she's wearing a mask and a costume."

"You're joking. Please tell me you're joking."

"No way. It's her." Stephanie watched as the girl, what was her name, spoke to the man. She could just make out the girl calling herself Enigma and calling the man lying on the ground a 'chuckle fuck' before she sprayed him with what looked like pepper spray. The man yelled out in pain again and Stephanie shook her head. "Holy cow. Think Nigma knows what she's up to?"

"I don't want to be the one to tell him if he doesn't. What's she doing now?"

Stephanie watched Enigma pick up her bike and hop back onto it. "Looks like she's going down Marshall. I'm going to follow her and see just what she's doing out here."

"Good. I'm calling Bruce to tell him what's going on. The last thing anyone needs is for Nigma's kid to get herself on the news for breaking the Costumed Criminal Ordinance. Or worse. When it's safe, catch up to her and get her back home before anyone else sees her."

"Got it. Batgirl out." Stephanie hung up and quickly began to follow Enigma from the rooftops. Seeing her like this brought back memories of Stephanie's first days on the streets as Spoiler. Except, her motivation for putting on a costume was to prevent her father from committing crimes. What was Enigma doing out here? Did Nigma have any idea where his daughter was and what she was doing? Did he care? Stephanie followed Enigma for over fifteen blocks until she came to a stop on Marshall and 44th street. Enigma pulled over to a side street and pulled her backpack off. Stephanie watched her lock her bike to a street lamp before she put her backpack back on and walked up the street to the old abandoned homeless shelter. The old abandoned shelter that had two parked cars outside of it. "Oracle," Stephanie spoke. "I followed her to the old shelter on Marshall and 45th. There are two parked cars outside and she's walking around the building trying to look through the windows. Something weird's going on down there. What did Bruce say?"

"He's not happy. He tried to get ahold of Nigma, but he's not picking up. He said, and I quote, 'get her out of there.'"

"Sounds like Bruce." Stephanie watched as Enigma tried in vain to jimmy open a boarded up window. "I'm going down now." Time to find out just what was going on.

The thrill of winning the fight with those two idiots had worn off the moment Ellen caught sight of the abandoned shelter and the two cars that were parked in front of it. Neither of them was red, so that meant she'd beaten the Ugly Man there. She hoped that meant Marisol was still alive. There were no lights on in the building that she could see, but the windows were boarded up now. Ellen walked up to the front door and, screwing up every bit of courage she had, she turned the knob. Locked. Damn it. She should have expected that. Ellen took a step back and glared at the doorknob. More than anything, she wished she knew how to pick a lock. She'd have to try to get one of the windows open. Ellen walked around the side of the building and picked a window that was just at her level. It, like all of the other windows, was boarded up with pieces of wood nailed onto the frame. Well, she could fix that.

Ellen pulled her backpack off and set it on the ground. She opened it and pulled out her hammer. Hammer out, she got to work to try to pull out the nails. They were in deep, so it took considerable effort on her part to pull even one out. As she worked, Ellen thought about just how she was going to manage to get Marisol out without being caught. Hopefully, the people who were guarding her would be just as stupid as the guys she'd fought earlier tonight. But what if they weren't? Ellen frowned as she finally succeeded in pulling one nail out. Ok, maybe she could distract them somehow and get them out of the shelter. Then she could get Marisol and they'd make a break for it. But wait, the creep from outside her apartment had said something about making her death look like an overdose. Did that mean she was drugged? Marisol was taller than Ellen was, how was she going to manage to carry her out if she was drugged? How would she get her on the bike without her falling off? Ellen paused in her work and considered her options, biting her lip. There was a pay phone just up the block and she had about two dollars in change in her sweatshirt pocket, she had a location and proof now that Marisol was in danger, maybe she should call the Old Man-Ellen shook her head. He'd be too busy throwing a tantrum over what she'd done to listen to her. And anyway, by the time he could get here, if he decided to care, that creep would be here and it would be too late for Marisol. Ellen was on her own. With that thought in mind, Ellen returned to her work, pulling out another nail. That was half of one board. It was starting to come loose now. Once Ellen got it off, the next should be easier, she could sneak in the building without being seen and figure out her next step from there-

Ellen felt more than heard the presence of someone behind her. Gripping her hammer tight, she turned around ready to fight them off, only to have her mouth drop open in shock when she saw just who it was. "You-"

Batgirl raised a finger to her lips. "Don't make a sound."

Ellen squeaked a bit but quickly nodded. She couldn't afford to get caught now-well, too late for that. Any other time, she'd be thrilled to see Batgirl again, she could feel her face flush now, actually. "What-" she whispered. "What are you doing here?"

Batgirl raised an eyebrow. "I could ask you the same thing," she answered. "Does your Dad know you're here?"

Ellen frowned a bit at the mention of the Old Man. "As if!"

"Does anyone know you're here?"

"You now, I guess," Ellen shrugged. "I can explain."

"I'd love to hear it."

[lanitashiddencrackstash]

at the end of the day i’ll be fine

[lovesolance]

My brother's friend was dating this girl for the longest time, one day she jus says that she wanted to tell him something, that shes a NAZI!!!! i don't know what happend next, i heard they still dated for a while.

Keep in mind, i live in Brazil, things here a crazy everybody is multiracial. I never met a person who wasan't. The only person i "knew" one day just turn to me and say that her grandpa and gramma were jews.

(Sorry for my english)

[lighghghtht]

Dear Adi, About a week back, while trying to gather my thoughts and write a poem about something- anything at all- a friend suggested that I begin by listing ten things about myself that I know to be absolutely true. For a week, I've been turning this idea around in my head, and I decided that I had to write about the ten things I didn't know, because honestly, all I know is that I know nothing, really. But today- when pushed to think of you, as was probably destined- I realize, after riding out a wild emotional unlocking, that if there’s one thing I know for sure, it’s that I love you. I trust you, and I trust that I'll never ever give up on you. I know, without a doubt, that you're kind, wise, and loving in everything that you do- and the silly fights over food or the remote or the window seat or attention will never ever change that. For the sake of objective literary fodder, I could talk about what makes you 'real', 'human', but honestly, you are truly, simply, without aggrandizement, a wonderful, beautiful boy. I feel your warmth and see your light, and I know, within, that it's the closest to the truth I've ever been. I remember how lonely I used to be before you came into my life. I remember the countless puppies and kittens I’d adopted trying to fill that void, the dolls I’d dress up and play with, and the one time I built an ant house and called the ants my brothers. I remember how my knees would hurt as I knelt on the grounds at church, and whenever gramma asked me to pray to God, asking him fervently, as only a child can, for you. I remember the day mum told me she had a gift for me, for which I had to wait for nine months, and how I sat for countless hours with mum's USGs in hand, trying to see if you looked like me. I remember the day I told mum I was going to have a brother, because the report said 'abdomen'. I remember trying to decipher X and Y chromosomes from "encyclolopaedias" that weighed more than me, stickly as I was at the age of 7, because I wanted to know for sure if I had to choose a name for a boy or a girl. I remember laying my head on mum's tummy and whispering secrets to you, and the first time I felt your touch from within, as mum pressed my hands onto her skin to feel your kicks. I remember I played lullabies on the piano so it helped you sleep better, and I remember how playing the same lullabies put you to sleep even after. I know, then, for certain, that I've loved you since forever. I know that I experienced joy indescribable in words that Sunday afternoon, when I was in my room solving Benjamin the Jumbo Elephant jigsaws on the bed, waiting for dad's call, and the aunty next door came to tell me that I now had a baby brother. I remember the tears welling up in my eyes when I first saw you- the nurse holding you to me- and you, all pudgy and brown- nothing like one of the Pamper's babies on television I was expecting- and albeit fleetingly disappointed because I'd painted this image of you (blue eyes and dimpled cheeks) in my mind- honestly, you still were the cutest little boy on the planet- my very own brother. I remember how I went back to school and told everybody about you, the proudest sister in the whole wide world, as I still am. I remember all the nights you kept us awake, and the endless scolding I'd get from mum for being too excited about and around you. I remember learning to wipe your butt and change your diapers the correct way- never once flinching- to making you burp on my shoulders, and rocking you to sleep. I remember your sleepy smiles and the sounds of your cooing- to your first word (mama!) and the first day you learnt to sit up, to the day you took your first steps, and the day you rode your first bicycle. I remember nicking Lactogen from the cans whenever I volunteered to ready your milk, to trying to feed you Cerelac- and feeling smug and accomplished when you'd eat from my hands (because only you appreciated my funny faces). I know, surely, for example, that your Johnson's baby scent is still my favourite smell in the world, ever- and to sleep by you with my hands around your small chest, to the rhythm of your breathing, is the most secure and comfortable I've ever felt. I remember the one day mum and I both broke down in tears after one of our showdowns, and you, all but four years of age, brought us a towel and wiped away our tears, promising us, with your open smile, bright eyes, and baby babble, that it'll all be okay. I knew then, without a doubt, that your kindness and sensitivity, unmatched till date, will always inspire me to be more courageous and honest in life. And while that worries me because I don't ever want you to hurt- even though I know nobody can or should protect you from what the universe has in store- I think I would fight the stars and fate to keep you safe. I remember how I held your hand and taught you to write- and how you'd keep getting your 'b's and 'd's wrong- until you didn't anymore; and the times you'd explain, so relentlessly, how exits in airplanes work or about tornadoes or tsunamis or cats or ships or zombies after discovering National Geographic and Discovery Channel- almost knocking me over, persistently running behind me, going on and on about the new things you'd learnt. I know, for instance, without doubt, that you give my life meaning and purpose, and without you, I wouldn't be. You're my lighthouse in the dark, my blanket in the cold, and all I am and want is to be a better person for you. Aditya, you were named after the sun, and you are, indeed. You are the centre and focus of my existence, and for you and through you, I sustain myself- my spirit. You are my bestfriend, my truest critic, my son, my student, and so often, my teacher, my strength. While I am on this crazy journey of finding myself, my truth, to have known you is to have glimpsed at the point of it all, the reason why. Adi, I miss you so much. Leaving you behind has been the most difficult thing I've ever had to do, but I'm sure we can see this through. You are the best brother I could have ever asked for- you amaze me, over and over again- and even though I won't share my Nutella and definitely will tell on you when you watch too much TV- you and I are forever one team, I promise you. I admire your profoundness, and to see you take life in your stride and grasp the realities I find difficult coming to terms with fills me with renewed energy and determination to do right by you. Meow, you are a rockstar- and even though you don't read the books I ask you to read and eat all my food and hog the blankets at night and use the word 'literally' literally too much and are starting to grow a moustache- I love you more than I love pizza. You are the best brother in the whole wide world, truly. With as many icky hugs and un-cool kisses as are atoms, bytes, and genes in the universe,  Didi.

[lanitashiddencrackstash]

[kampasaur-blog]

MY CITY IS BEING DESTROYED BY CHILDREN

So im picking up my son from monroe elementary after his bus ride home from camp. Bus arrives. I get out of the car and immediately i notice nearly all of the children, some with large bright red marks on both of their cheeks, sobbing so inconsolably that they could not breathe. Some were runnin away from the bus frantically lookin for their parents and some were already clutching their parents tightly and bawling, burying their lil tear soaked faces into their parents stomachs. they kept saying "please i dont ever wanna go back there, i dont wanna do this again, dont make me do this anymore, i was so scared, i didnt know what to do" let me tell you....these babies had the most traumatized faces ive personally ever seen on a kid and it just broke me. At this point i am very confused, concerned, and alarmed. my instincts kick in to try and help a little so i try to comfort some of em. im askin other parents what happened, but they understandably couldnt pay me attention as im sure their minds were probably as lost in all of this as mine. I keep aimlessly sayin wtf is going on and why is everybody crying like this. I start askin some of them if theyre hurt or if there was an accident but they couldnt even speak cuz they were too hysterical. Im trying to calm some of them down a bit like "hey its ok baby dont cry ur ok ur safe." still friggin looking around for adults who arent too absorbed in this mess to ask them wtf is happening. at the same time im searchin for my own kid in the crowd tellin ppl "hey, i cant find my son! is there another bus coming?!" A little girl said no this is the only one. So now im REALLY WORRIED. WHERE THE FUCK IS MY CHILD?! I run into a kid nate knows. him and a little girl are shouting, to what seems like essentially nobody in particular, about having the police called on them by the driver and that they coulda been tossed in juvi. (Honestly they should have been tossed in juvi! this particular kid brought a knife to camp and steals shit constantly from the kids at school especially my son) Grabbed his shoulder and said "calm yourself down and look at me! why?! what happened?! was there a fight? were u involved? Was nathan involved? Where is he??" The boy, (still shouting for some damn reason even tho he is right in front of me), says no nathan wasnt involved. He doesnt know where he is. (Turned out he knew where he was but lied cuz just minutes prior he threatened to beat him up and tried punching him, the little fucker, but staff grabbed his arm midswing) Then he tells me that almost the entire bus was gettin into fight after fight and there were kids punching, slapping, verbally abusing other kids, a lot of whom did nothing to warrant the abuse and continued being abused repeatedly for almost the ENTIRE 3 FUCKING HOUR RIDE, by much older kids whom they were afraid to defend themselves against. I was like "omg this is terrible. where in the hell is my son!" Some guy finally says "they are keepin some kids with staff up by the front of the bus" so i literally gotta force my way thru people who's kids were still hanging off of them in fear. now im crying, other parents are crying, some are screamin at the children who beat up their kids and the children who beat up their kids were screamin at them..... FINALLY.... I find nate. He had been slapped in the face by a 12 yr old girl but he was alright. they had made prior note of his behavioral disorder and quickly got him away from the situation while on the bus and sat him by camp staff. thank goodness. Im asking him, "are u ok?! did anyone hit u?!" before he can answer, suddenly i see an enraged mother almost attack an older girl who hit her kid in the head. The girl is shouting at the jefferson staff member who stepped in AND the mother. She yells out that she hit her in the head, at first, then 2 seconds later she says she didnt, and shouts "yea yea lady! bye bye! fuck off! shut up!!! i didnt hit her!! quit runnin ur damn mouth!! Shut your mouth!!". My. Jaw. Dropped. I saw her gramma or whoever she was doing absolutely nothing about this little shits behavior, actually trying to get the staff to stop speaking to her and leave her alone, and thats when i just plain SNAPPED. When i say snapped folks i mean i damn near deadass rowdy roddy pipered this child. It took every muscle i had to stop that train from derailing. I was pissed. Told her shes an awful disrespectful little shit and will go no where in life with that bullshit. She was like "thank u! Thanks bye! BYE!" Thats when i probably should have split. But i didnt. Conveniently forgot how to adult for a minute there. My bad! She was a repugnant little fart sniffing booger eater who felt a lil too validated from decking a much smaller kid in the head and just, just....fuck THAT... Then i word barfed. "good riddance to bad rubbish youre an awful AWFUL child and should be ashamed of yourself. Shame on you!" i looked at her gramma and shouted "good luck with your apparent lack of being able to deal with that mess of a child! Shes terrible! You have failed!" then basically i walked away tellin her shame on her for sucking. ****************************** A 16 yr old was shot n killed recently. A pastor was shot and killed recently. We got all ages of unsupervised kids vandalizing everything in site. Kids shootin off guns in parkin lots, stealin vehicles n crashin into buildings. breakin into cars 4 valuables or just breakin the windows cuz they feel like it. We got kids having knife fights n runnin round with gd knives, tellin other kids theyre gonna cut em or kill their siblings if they dont hand over cell phones money bikes hover boards u name it. Kids breakin into ppls homes. Kids stealing n vandalizing walmart 2-3 times a day. Kids stealin carts bringing em here and pushing each other around into ppls cars n then they run away. They beat on my son at school n bully him all the time stealin his things verbally abusing him. He got beat up by teenagers just playin with his toys in the backyard! Theres just hoards of em. Never supervised or disciplined. Not once have i seen the parents of any of the kids causing problems in my apt complex regardless of whether theyre 6 or 16. sumtimes theyre out there in the parkin lots screwin around til 2 am. They plain as day are simply not being parented and have no guidance. Sum of these piece of crap parents just dont wanna have the responsibility of raising their own kids period. Sum of em run away n their parents dont see em for days weeks months but never report em missing cuz they dont care. Theyre out there sleepin in abandoned sheds houses alleys parks n gotta steal their food. 12 yr olds smokin pot and having sex in ppls yards. Even when they mess up n end up at the police station n the police either cant even find their parents or they do n theyre told "i aint dealin with it find something to do with em urself" juvenile hall is FULL. There is no where to put them. And they just run away from annie whittenmeyer n nobody does anything. Im dead tired and fed up. I hate living here and im stuck. We dont feel safe anywhere. My kids cant have friends cuz u cant trust the kids nor their parents. Nate had a lil 9 yr old buddy next door and he would come to play n his mom would just leave n lock the door without saying shit to anyone not even him. He'd go home n come back like "nobody is over there" so i had no choice but to keep him with me even if i had shit to do or it was 10 pm n we wanted to go to bed. We have GOT to spread the word about this shit and try n get sum awareness. This is a crisis we are having in the qc. Im sick of the ever escalating crime here. I dont encourage ANYONE to move here. And i absolutely hate that i gotta raise my kids around this. Create a discussion about it. Get involved. if ur readin this n u kno ur kids causing mayhem but still u do nothin dont do right or make excuses then u better recognize UR JUST AS MUCH OF A PROBLEM. if u arent gonna give enuff of a shit about ur own offsprings lives 2 check n change urself then get u n ur kid the hell out of my city n away from me n mine!!

[trauma-13]

A L L T H E Q U E S T I O N S :)

Your wish is my command!! 1: is there a boy/girl in your life? Yep! He's pretty great!2: think of the last person who hurt you; do you forgive them? No. 3: what do you think of when you hear the word “meow?” super troopers. 4: what’s something you really want right now? To be off tomorrow. 5: are you afraid of falling in love? Not im the least. 6: do you like the beach? I love it!! 7: have you ever slept on a couch with someone else? Almost nightly i fall asleep on the couch with James sooo yes. 8: what’s the background on your cell? Lock screen is purple and teal sparkles, homescreen is floral. 9: name the last four beds you were sat on? Mine. ER bed at work. Moms guest bed. Uh...i dunno beyond that. 10: do you like your phone? Yeah i really do!! I have the note 8 and its awesome. 11: honestly, are things going the way you planned? For the most part, yep! 12: who was the last person whose phone number you added to your contacts? Alex. I used to have her number and then got a new phone and lost all my contacts. Moral of that, if you had my # text me cause i dont have yours anymore. Except @car-one-responding 13: would you rather have a poodle or a rottweiler?Rotti.14: which hurts the most, physical or emotional pain? Emotional. 15: would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum? Hmm.....both. 16: are you tired? Always. 17: how long have you known your 1st phone contact? Im going to go with first in my favorites which is my gramma, so literally my entire existance. 18: are they a relative? Yep. 19: would you ever consider getting back together with any of your exes? No. 20: when did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with? 2 seconds ago. 21: if you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today? Yep. 22: would you kiss the last person you kissed again? Yep. 23: how many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now? I have a watch on my left wrist and a hairtie on my right. I dont usually wear bracelets. 24: is there a certain quote you live by? "Que sera sera" (whatever will be will be.) And this too shall pass. My mom always told me que sera sera, and grams always says the other. 25: what’s on your mind? I dont wanna work tomorrow 😣 26: do you have any tattoos? Bro i have like 13. 27: what is your favorite color? Pink, teal. 28: next time you will kiss someone on the lips? Uno momento. 29: who are you texting? Nobody currently. 30: think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a couch? Yep! 31: have you ever had the feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right? Always. Trust your instict, kids. 32: do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to? Multiple! Love my guys. 33: do you think anyone has feelings for you? I would hope!34: has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes? Yeah. 35: say the last person you kissed was kissing someone right in front of you? Id probably punch him. 36: were you single on valentines day? Negative ghost rider. 37: are you friends with the last person you kissed? Smidge more than friends. 38: what do your friends call you? Lyn and Lyni are the common ones. 39: has anyone upset you in the last week? Yeah. 40: have you ever cried over a text? Yeah. 41: where’s your last bruise located? I dont currently have one but i had one a few days ago. 42: what is it from? From my dog. 43: last time you wanted to be away from somewhere really bad? Daily hah i need a vacation. 44: who was the last person you were on the phone with? Most likely my mother. 45: do you have a favourite pair of shoes? My teal chucks or my black and sparkly nikes. 46: do you wear hats if your having a bad hair day? No. Pony tail/messy bun is my go to! 47: would you ever go bald if it was the style? I doubt it. 48: do you make supper for your family? Dinner. But some times! 49: does your bedroom have a door? Yes. 50: top 3 web-pages? Prob tumblr, facebook and my school website. 51: do you know anyone who hates shopping? A few hah 52: does anything on your body hurt? Right now, no for once. 53: are goodbyes hard for you? They can be.54: what was the last beverage you spilled on yourself? Probably water. 55: how is your hair? Up in a pony tail. 56: what do you usually do first in the morning? Snooze my alarm. 57: do you think two people can last forever? Yes. 58: think back to january 2007, were you single? Uh, yes? 59: green or purple grapes? Purple. 60: when’s the next time you will give someone a big hug? Probably tomorrow before work. 61: do you wish you were somewhere else right now? Disneyland. 62: when will be the next time you text someone? Tomorrow. 63: where will you be 5 hours from now? Asleepin! 64: what were you doing at 8 this morning. Asleep!65: this time last year, can you remember who you liked? Lets not go there. 66: is there one person in your life that can always make you smile? My best friend. 67: did you kiss or hug anyone today? Yes. 68: what was your last thought before you went to bed last night? I was trying to figure out how to organize my ATI binder. I fell asleep instead hah 69: have you ever tried your hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end? Who hasnt? 70: how many windows are open on your computer? Im on my phone. But firefox has 1 tab open. 71: how many fingers do you have? 10! 72: what is your ringtone? Thunderstruck-AC/DC 73: how old will you be in 5 months? 25! 74: where is your mum right now? I would guess at home in bed, but i dunno because that heathen ignored all my texts today. 75: why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love? I was young and stupid and didnt know what love really was so i accepted less than i deserved and allowed him to control me and my life. 76: have you held hands with somebody in the past three days? Yes! 77: are you friends with the people you were friends with two years ago? Some of them, yep! 78: do you remember who you had a crush on in year 7? Year 7? As in 7th grade? No. 79: is there anyone you know with the name mike? My step dad! 80: have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms?ast night. 81: how many people have you liked in the past three months? Uno! 82: has anyone seen you in your underwear in the last 3 days? In the last 3 seconds is more accurate hahah 83: will you talk to the person you like tonight? Hes laying right next to me, so yes. 84: you’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with? My best friends. Theyre drunk too. We're all yelling. 85: if your bf/gf was into drugs would you care? They wouldn't be my bf/gf. 86: what was the most eventful thing that happened last time you went to see a movie? It was Black Panther and i called a lady a dumb bitch and got glared at sooo. 87: who was your last received call from? Random # 88: if someone gave you $1,000 to burn a butterfly over a candle, would you? No. 89: what is something you wish you had more of? Money. But no i wouldnt burn a butterfly or any other animal. 90: have you ever trusted someone too much? Ooooh yeah. 91: do you sleep with your window open? Sometimes! 92: do you get along with girls? Some of them. 93: are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth? No.94: does sex mean love? Oh no. 95: you’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem? Nope. 96: have you ever kissed anyone with a lip ring? Yes. 97: did you sleep alone this week? Just when i took a nap the other day. 98: everybody has somebody that makes them happy, do you? Yes, my boyfriend. 99: do you believe in love at first sight? Nope.100: who was the last person that you pinky promise? My boyfriend.

[misslowell]

John Surprises A Beyond Mega Fan (Part 1)

It's a Saturday Morning.Rex is in the kitchen, he said: (John, you Are surprising a beyond mega fan). John said: (Rex my son. I tell you, this woman, oh my God, she has her room filled from head to toe of all my products, toys, novelties, and payed top dollar for the rare mega fan collectible figurines. I saw and heard on the news that she bought huge building that used to be a Cosmo's Apparel Store, she opened a store and museum, she even had a restaurant and has food named after me and the workers at my clinic, She has a chapel in there, she provides a different religion mass on Sunday's, every hour, the chapel has services for each religion. She even wears a multi purpose strap that can hold the things you need when you go out, and today I'm going to her condo, everything she owns has my name on it, she is just amazing). Thomas pulls the car up to the door. John said: (Brownstone Condos, Unit 25). Thomas nods and He calls a local florist to get Some balloons and his new pink teddy bear that has stitched writing, it says: (I Love John Caswell), and the bear smells like candy. Thomas goes to the flower shop. John goes in and gets the Balloons and bear, the florist said: (the balloon are on the house, these are for a fan you are surprising). John said: (thank you Bob), He gets into the car. Thomas goes to the condo complex and pulls up at the woman's house. John said: (her name is Christine Pent). Thomas ring the doorbell, a few seconds later, a woman answers the door, he asked: (are you Christine Pent)? (YES)! Replies the startled woman. Thomas holds the door open, and John said: (Christine Pent! Surprise! I'm here to steal you for the day, you will come with me right now, and we will have a day full of surprises). Thomas Smiles. Christine screams, she's shaking an bursts into tears, she said: (oh my God! John Caswell, oh God! I, oh God)! John said: (we will start your day of surprises, in order to do that, you have to come with me right now). Christine said: (ok, let's start the day), she follows John to the car, when she enters she said: (I can't believe I'm wit thee John Caswell, this has to be a dream). John said: (your first surprise is a few minutes up the street). Christine us crying and fanning her face, she is shocked and overwhelmed). Thomas pulled into a park, she sees her boyfriend, she runs over to him, he said: (hi sweetheart. I know you are going to be with John today, but I wanted to present the first surprise. I have something planned for tomorrow. Christine,, follow me). Christine follows her boyfriend Chester, he said: (this is Rex, John's now famous friend and helper). Christine said: (holy cow, you are hot! I have your new ladies perfume, it smells like peppermint). Rex hugs Christine and said: (come with me for a minute). John nods, and she goes with Rex, he said: (this is your John Caswell Warehouse). Chester opened the door, and it's totally made over, solid gold color walls and floors, real cobalt blue shelves displaying all her decorative figurines, the walls had read (I love John Caswell). Christine noticed a new haul of John's new doll, plush doll, and keepsake lines. John said: (all of that stuff is all free. I personally signed every one throughout the week). John takes Christine's hand and takes her back to the car, she kisses and hugs Chester, then the car takes off. John said: (ok my ultimate fan. I have arranged a lunch at my restaurant downtown, get ready for the best food within 100 mile radius). Christine takes John hand and spurts her head on his shoulder, she said: (I'm living a dream. I needed this), as they headed downtown, 40 miles away. John asked: (what's wrong honey)? Christine said: (my grandfather passed away last night, My sister called me about 11pm, she was sobbing, she told Me that Grampa James had a major heart attack, he was in Really bad shape. Chester was working, he found out about 1 am. I really am sad. I was close with him, when I was a kid, my sister would go off with Gramma Kate and shop, do girl stuff. I did girl stuff too, but I did it with Grampa, we had a bond. I have a photo of Grampa and I, at 10 years old), she sighs and said: (Gramma snapped the camera, our special time together, and he would always give me a ride on his foot, he was so determined to stay close that, as an adult he demanded I sit on his foot, he was watching a video his mother made about child safety, and that Was why we bonded and stays. I will miss him). John said: (I'm so sorry for your loss). Christine broke down and said: (Grampa! Don't leave me)! John hugs Christine, she buries her face on his shoulder and sobs. John said: (Thomas, while Christine and I are at lunch, go to 12 West 52 Street, make a code black arrangement. I'll pay whatever the cost), he was talking in code.Christine didn't need to hear about the funeral stuff at this time). John holds her and let's her cry. Christine grabs a hanskerchief, blows her nose, she cries like crazy. John said: (you Are really troubled by the death). Christine nods. Thomas pulled up to the restaurant. Christine's eyes are red and puffy). John said: (ok, follow me), he handed her some dark glasses to disguise her red puffy eyes, Christine follow John into the restaurant, he said: (the table decked out in red is where you will have your very exclusive lunch. John and Rex, and Thomas all sat down at the table. Christine said after she takes a seat: (this is a dream, red is my color). John said: (I know, when I bring a fan here, the table is decked out in their favorite color. I even have multi colored things for people who have no color preferences). Christine sees all her favorite lunch foods that has been up scaled for John's exclusive restaurant. The lunch came in 5 courses, when lunch was over. Christine said: (oh man, the food was heavenly, and that triple chocolate cake, oh, delicious). John said: (my friend Andrea gave me the recipe and gave me permission to use it at my restaurant). John said: (ok, it's time for another surprise). Thomas drives back to the warehouse, there are people there, balloons and festive moods are the themes of the day. Christine sees Chrster, he said: (Christine), he goes over and said: (I love you with all my heart. I really want to share my life with you), he gets down on one knee and asked: (will you marry me)? Christine sees the ring, she said: (no. I can't), she pulls away from Chester.. Christine said: (I'm in love with John), she gives him a big kiss) . John was shocked at what Christine said, everybody ghasped in Total shock). To Be Continued

[positivelyhappywithlife]

I ask myself these questions because no one else does

1: Is there a boy/girl in your life? Yes, but unfortunately it’s not the same anymore. He doesn’t give me the attention I need anymore 2: Think of the last person who hurt you; do you forgive them? No, you don’t forgive for things like that 3: What do you think of when you hear the word “meow?” A cat 4: What’s something you really want right now? To know and understand what is going on in my love life and then to follow up accordingly 5: Are you afraid of falling in love? absolutely not. I look forward to falling in ove with someone who will love me just as much one day 6: Do you like the beach? I think so 7: Have you ever slept on a couch with someone else? Yeah all the time when I was in high school 8: What’s the background on your cell? The lock screen is a girl holding pillows with these beautiful patterns. The homescreen is my room with natural sunlight illuminating it 9: Name the last four beds you were sat on? Mine, the guy that I’m seeing, my sisters, and I’m not really sure about the other one maybe the previous guy I was with before this one. 10: Do you like your phone? It hardly ever works, but it gets the job done for the most part 11: Honestly, are things going the way you planned? With school and work, yes. With my personal life, definitely not. 12: Who was the last person whose phone number you added to your contacts? This girl from my education class. 13: Would you rather have a poodle or a Rottweiler? Neither 14: Which hurts the most, physical or emotional pain? Ooh this is tricky. I guess emotional pain because it’s harder to get over 15: Would you rather visit a zoo or an art museum? Zoos make me sad because of the tiny elephant exhibit, so I guess the art gallery 16: Are you tired? I’m always tired 17: How long have you known your 1st phone contact? Lol I don’t even know who that is 18: Are they a relative? Maybe it was my mom 19: Would you ever consider getting back together with any of your exes? I always said no, but I recently did and now I see why I always said no. 20: When did you last talk to the last person you shared a kiss with? In person, I talked to him on Wednesday 21: If you knew you had the right person, would you marry them today? No because I wouldn’t have to rush it if I knew he was the right person and I’m not financially stable enough to be married. 22: Would you kiss the last person you kissed again? If I honestly thought things could get better then yes. 23: How many bracelets do you have on your wrists right now? Zilch 24: Is there a certain quote you live by? Everything happens for a reason 25: What’s on your mind? What the fuck is going on with him?? and that I don;t want to do any of these final assignments 26: Do you have any tattoos? I have three 27: What is your favorite color? Pink! 28: Next time you will kiss someone on the lips? That’s a good question, my dear 29: Who are you texting? My friend from school 30: Think to the last person you kissed, have you ever kissed them on a couch? Nope 31: Have you ever had the feeling something bad was going to happen and you were right? Sure 32: Do you have a friend of the opposite sex you can talk to? Not that I can think of 33: Do you think anyone has feelings for you? No, I think I’m being used as a placeholder honestly 34: Has anyone ever told you you have pretty eyes? Sure 35: Say the last person you kissed was kissing someone right in front of you? I would be pretty aggravated, but not totally shocked. Definitely hurt because it shows a lack of consideration and care for me 36: Were you single on Valentines Day? Yeah, but I think Valentines Day is bogus. You should show the people you care about that you do every day 37: Are you friends with the last person you kissed? I thought so, but now I’m not so sure 38: What do your friends call you? Victoria 39: Has anyone upset you in the last week? Sure 40: Have you ever cried over a text? When I was younger, but not any time recently 41: Where’s your last bruise located? On my calf 42: What is it from? No clue, maybe working out? 43: Last time you wanted to be away from somewhere really bad? Today at work in between lessons 44: Who was the last person you were on the phone with? My sister 45: Do you have a favourite pair of shoes? No 46: Do you wear hats if your having a bad hair day? No I just roll with the bad hair day 47: Would you ever go bald if it was the style? Probably not, maybe, Idk 48: Do you make supper for your family? Lol no only for myself. Well, sometimes for my sister 49: Does your bedroom have a door? Yeah 50: Top 3 web-pages? Google docs, tumblr, facebook 51: Do you know anyone who hates shopping? No 52: Does anything on your body hurt? My hips from working out 53: Are goodbyes hard for you? Not if someone else is saying it to me, but for me to say it to someone else is hard because I hate the thought of hurting someone else 54: What was the last beverage you spilled on yourself? Water 55: How is your hair? A little ratty at the moment 56: What do you usually do first in the morning? Reset my alarm 20 times 57: Do you think two people can last forever? Yeah if they are dynamic 58: Think back to January 2007, were you single? I was like 11 so probably 59: Green or purple grapes? Green 60: When’s the next time you will give someone a BIG hug? I’ll probably give myself one tonight 61: Do you wish you were somewhere else right now? Yeah I wish I was with him expressing how I feel 62: When will be the next time you text someone? Whenever someone texts me 63: Where will you be 5 hours from now? Probably still in bed 64: What were you doing at 8 this morning.I was waking up for my workout class 65: This time last year, can you remember who you liked? No one, I was doing my own thing 66: Is there one person in your life that can always make you smile? Me 67: Did you kiss or hug anyone today? No and that’s sad. I need to hug someone, that would be nice 68: What was your last thought before you went to bed last night? Seriously? You still haven’t texted me? 69: Have you ever tried your hardest and then gotten disappointed in the end? Sure, but it was all meant to happen that way in the end 70: How many windows are open on your computer? 3 71: How many fingers do you have?10 million 72: What is your ringtone? Something that came with my phone, but it’s always on vibrate 73: How old will you be in 5 months? 21 74: Where is your Mum right now? At my grammas house 75: Why aren’t you with the person you were first in love with or almost in love? I was never in love, but I’m not with the guy I was in my longest relationship with because he was sexually abusive

76: Have you held hands with somebody in the past three days? No 77: Are you friends with the people you were friends with two years ago? Not really, but we’re not not friends 78: Do you remember who you had a crush on in year 7? Lol no 79: Is there anyone you know with the name Mike? Yeah 80: Have you ever fallen asleep in someones arms? Yeah, it’s only amazing if you really care about the person

81: How many people have you liked in the past three months? 3 82: Has anyone seen you in your underwear in the last 3 days? No 83: Will you talk to the person you like tonight? He probably won’t reach out so unfortunately no 84: You’re drunk and yelling at hot guys/girls out of your car window, you’re with? I wouldn’t do that 85: If your BF/GF was into drugs would you care? Yeah 86: What was the most eventful thing that happened last time you went to see a movie? I coughed too much and felt embarrassed because I felt like I was disturbing everyone else 87: Who was your last received call from? My sister 88: If someone gave you $1,000 to burn a butterfly over a candle, would you? Absolutely not 89: What is something you wish you had more of? Love 90: Have you ever trusted someone too much? I’m not sure 91: Do you sleep with your window open? Sometimes 92: Do you get along with girls? Yeah 93: Are you keeping a secret from someone who needs to know the truth? No 94: Does sex mean love? No 95: You’re locked in a room with the last person you kissed, is that a problem? No because in person it’s never a problem 96: Have you ever kissed anyone with a lip ring? No 97: Did you sleep alone this week? yes 98: Everybody has somebody that makes them happy, do you? The kids I work with 99: Do you believe in love at first sight? No 100: Who was the last person that you pinky promise? Probably a child at work