#i was eyeing up a nice camping chair but i’m not sure where i’d store it

[pawsandreflect]

just ordered some extra stuff i needed pre-move, including a blacklight flashlight, and now i’m being recommended stain removers. it’s for scorpions. those bastards won’t get me again.

[exploradora-writes]

Fireside Love: An Arthur x Charlotte Fic (18+ Only)

Warnings: NSFW, wholesome smut 

Summary:  During a snowstorm, Arthur and Charlotte decide to use their time cooped up in their cabin wisely.

Word Count: 3,455

Notes: Thank you @the-halo-of-my-memory​  and @unpocowboys​ for helping me out with this fic. The both of you are very talented writers! I plan on writing more Charlotte and Arthur fics in the future. These two are one of my favorite comfort couples, so I wanted to make a spicy yet cozy fic about them. Warning: Tons of wholesome smut ahead...

This fic can also be found on my AO3 under exploradora_writes

The first frost flakes began to stick to the window, the kitchen gradually becoming colder as snowflakes began to fall from the pitch black sky outside. 

Charlotte sighed, tossing another log into the stove, her stew stubbornly refusing to boil. She glanced at the woodpile, the three tiny logs lying there in an almost mocking sort of way. 

The clouds blocked out much of the sunlight, but she knew it would be dark soon. She held onto the counter, trying her hardest not to think of the worst, but she couldn’t help it.

He could be lost, stranded with no direction, no food, no warmth.

She shook her head, coming to her senses. Arthur may view himself as nothing but muscle and absolutely no brain, but as his wife, she knew better. He had an excellent sense of direction and survival skills. Any minute he’d be through that door with a load of firewood, and maybe even an animal or two.

She asked if she could come. Two heads were better than one, she tried to reason.

“No, darlin’, as much as I’d love to go with you, I need you stayin’ home and watchin’ over the house, keepin’ it warm. Wouldn’t want any strangers takin’ residence while we’re gone, would we?”

More than one weary traveller, some more hostile than others, had taken up residence in their home on more than one occasion while the two of them were off on hunting trips. While she understood where Arthur was coming from, she couldn’t escape her fear of the worst. She’d already lost one of the men she loved dearly to the harsh conditions of nature, she couldn’t bear to lose another one.

Her motionless broth seemed to stare back up at her as it refused to boil. “You ain’t making this easy for me, broth.”

Talking to an inanimate substance? The snow really was making her stir crazy. Arthur had better hurry up before I start talking to the logs, she thought. 

Figuring the broth was nowhere near boiling over, she took those three pathetic logs sitting on the woodpile and tossed them in the fireplace. She looked around for a match, lit it with a satisfying strike, and tossed it on the pile. The flames licked up the logs, but Charlotte knew it couldn’t last long. She lay back on a chair in the kitchen, staring into the flames of the fire. She smiled, her eyes following the flames as they danced along the logs, remembering all those years ago when her and Arthur danced around the campfire on their little outdoor honeymoon getaway. They drank and sang and made love their fair share of times by the roaring flames of the fire. Sure, it was no fancy trip in the big city, but it was simple and memorable. 

Unfortunately, the fire before her sounded more of a purr as opposed to a roar. She let out another sigh, looking back at the empty woodpile, longing for her strong handsome woodsman to return.  

As if on cue, she heard the door handle jiggle, as the man she had been longing to see emerged from the snowy darkness outside. 

“Arthur!” She arose, practically pouncing on him. He moved his scarf away from his cherry red face, panting from the effort of carrying.. firewood. Loads of it. Charlotte sighed with relief at the sight, wrapping her arms around him. She didn’t care that he was like an icicle, nor that she would get wet from the snow that dusted his wooly blue coat. Her hands met his face, cold despite the large beard he sported. Her lips met his, her warm pink lips melting his icy blue ones. 

“Charlotte,” he breathed. “Glad I made it in time. Bundle up and help me haul in some of this wood. I have a feelin’ this is only the beginin’ of this snow storm.” 

She threw on a sweater, a coat, and a pair of boots. She opened the door to the dark depths of the winter night. The bitter cold nipped at her entire body despite being bundled up head to toe. She tried to imagine how good the fire would feel against her and her lover’s bodies once they were in the warmth of their little home. 

Arthur had made quite the haul. Firewood, some supplies from the general store, and even a deer. She smiled, feeling her body warm up as she thought of how wonderful and lucky she was to have a man like him. 

They fought against the wind back into the house. It took the strength of the two of them to even get the door closed. They both panted and fell against each other. 

“Well, we best get cozy, darlin.’ We’re gonna be here awhile.” Arthur said, removing his snow covered clothes. 

Charlotte returned to the kitchen, the pot of broth finally showing signs that it was preparing to boil. She threw another log on the stove for good measure. 

Arthur came up behind her and kissed her cheek, his cold lips sending a shiver down her spine. “How’s everything comin’ along?”

She smiled as the both began to boil. “Rather nicely now that you’ve returned, cowboy.”

“Hmmm I figured I’d have the opposite effect. My coldness would ruin any hopes of ever makin’ a good meal.”

“Quite the contrary, Mr. Morgan.” She stirred in the ingredients: savory chicken, carrots, onions, and peas. “Because I think you’re so hot, you make pots boil. You made mine boil when you walked through that door.” She looked back at him, stirring the pot in lazy circles. “Cheeks still rosy from the cold?”

“Er, yeah,” he fumbled, “you could say that.” 

She rubbed his face, running her fingers through his beard. “You hungry?”

His hands ran along her hips. “Starvin’..” 

“We could eat in front of the fire if you’d like. It’d be a nice change, don’t you think?” 

“Sure, sounds cozy.” He gave her hips one last squeeze before getting two bowls from the above cabinets. “Smells delicious.’”

“You talking about the soup or are you talking about me, dear?” She gave him a small smile. 

“Can’t I be talking about both?” Like a magnetic attraction, his hands were back on her hips.

“Goodness you’re handsy tonight!” She giggled. “Alright, soup’s on.”

He gave her cheek a quick peck before serving himself a large bowl of soup. She unwrapped some bread she had been saving for tonight and placed it in each of their bowls. They brought their meals over to the fireplace, sitting in front of it. 

Arthur took a sip, his body quickly warming up from the combination of the fire and the broth. He let out a satisfied groan. “This soup’s real good, sweetheart.”

“Well I’m glad you think so,” she beamed. “I always worry I’ll muck something up.”

“That’d be pretty hard for you to do, Char.” He smiled at her, motioning for her to sit closer to him. She obliged, cosying up to him and resting her head on his shoulder.

The sounds of the crackling fire and the slurping of soup filled the room. Arthur tipped his bowl back, finishing the rest of the broth. He let out a satisfied sigh and took Charlotte’s bowl as well, putting them next to the sink to be washed. He’ll clean up eventually, he thought. Right now all he wanted to do was warm up his wonderful wife.

  He changed into his union suit, catching a glimpse outside the window. The snow came down with a vengeance. He grabbed a log from the pile and tossed it into the dying flames. The fire continued to dwindle. 

“Goddamm it,” he muttered, bending over to grab the poker and stir the ashes around. He felt the familiar sensation of a hand giving his behind a light smack. He turned around, his wife looking around, a mischievous grin plastered on her face. 

He arched an eyebrow. “Was that really necessary, darlin’?”

“Was what necessary?” She tried looking away, but try as she might, her lips continued to curl into a smile.

“You know damn well what I’m talkin’ about, missy. Your hand just loves smackin’ my ass, don’t it?” 

“That is quite the accusation, Mr. Morgan!”

“I oughtta smack YOU on the ass.”

She smirked, tilting her head. “Well? What’s stopping you?”

He studied her for a second, then knelt down next to her. “Goddamn, have you always been this naughty?”

“Always have, always will be. It’s one of the reasons you married me, remember?” She lay back on the carpet. “Now get me a blanket, would you, darling? It’s freezing in here.”

He sighed, tossing her a few blankets. He tossed another log on the fire, then lay next to her. He wrapped his arms around her as she shivered against him. He scooted the two of them closer to the fire. “There, now that’s better.”

She nuzzled against his chest and yawned. “Arthur?”

“Hmm?” He looked down at her.

“How long do you think we’ll be in here? Waiting out this storm?”

He looked outside again, the snow showing no signs of stopping. “Awhile. Don’t know how long exactly, but we’ve survived much worse. ‘Sides, I stocked up on food and supplies, we’ll be fine.

She sighed, looking up at him and kissing his cheek. “Well, we’ve got plenty of time, what should we do to pass it?”

He chuckled. “Well, there’s always dominoes, and redecoratin’, and we can always be workin’ on our marriage.”

“Oh? And how exactly do you want to work on that?” She held his hand, circling his palm with her thumb.

“Well, when’s the last time we’ve had to ourselves like this? Seems like we’re always busy with housework, farmwork, all kinds of work. This is a good opportunity for us to just… be in each other’s presence.”

She hummed against his chest. “Sounds wonderful.”

The flames of the fire crackled, and Charlotte let out a small, breathy laugh.

“What’s so funny?” Arthur asked.

“Oh just remembering our little honeymoon.”

Arthur smiled as the memories came flooding back. “That little camping trip.”

“Yes! Remember, out on the lake?”

“How could I forget? We tipped the whole damn canoe over!” He laughed, rocking back and forth and waving his arms around dramatically, reenacting the fateful moment. 

The two of them collapsed on the floor in a heap of giggles, cuddling up to each other to trap the warmth again as their laughter died down. Charlotte looked into the flames of the fire, a small smile on her face. “And the campfire,” she mused. “Illuminated the entire night sky. Millions of tiny stars, looking down at us.”

Arthur chuckled. “Yeah, I remember.Them crickets were noisy sons of bitches, weren’t they?”

“I think they thought the same thing about us, dear.” She ran her hands along his chest, gazing into his blue eyes that perfectly complimented his rosy cheeks. 

“Darlin’, you were the one makin’ all the noise,” he said in a low tone.

She sighed, resting her head against his chest. “You’re right, you always were a good lover.”

He rubbed her back, gazing into the flames as well. “You know, we could alway reenact that night. If you’re up to it that is.”

She smirked, smooching his cheek. “I thought you’d never ask,” she whispered in his ear, giving it a small nip. He let a gasp escape his lips.

“Jesus, darlin’.” His lips met hers as he gracefully flipped her onto her back. “I was on top, remember?” He pinned her wrists to the soft, welcoming rug beneath them. It was her turn to let out a gasp. A bead of sweat dripped down her brow, the weight of her husband’s warm body causing blood to rush throughout her entire being. 

She kissed his neck and moaned. “Are you sure I wasn’t the one on top?” She wrapped her legs around his torso and twisted her body around and caught him off guard. Arthur grunted, his wife now the one staring down at him. 

He couldn’t help but chuckle. Who knew such a typically mild mannered woman could have the drive and spunk of a working girl? He felt himself growing stiff beneath her. 

“No, darlin’, you’ve got it all wrong, remember? You were on top when we was by the lake, after we went skinny dippin’. I remember ‘cause the rocks were diggin’ into my back, but hell, it was worth is just to watch myself disappear inside of you over and over again.”

Warmth flooded her core as she began to grind against his leg. “Well, which was it, Arthur? Make up your mind before...before I..” She buried her face in the crook of his neck and moaned.

“Look at you…” he chuckled. “You gonna cum before I’m even inside you?” 

She shook her head. 

“Thought not. Goddamn, you must be soaked.” He held her against him and kissed her lips. He lay her back down against the soft texture of the rug, his hands exploring her body, as they had on that fateful night. “Now it’s all comin’ back to me. You were lyin’ there, the light of the fire dancin’ across your nude body…” His hands played with the straps of her nightgown before sliding them off, revealing her bare bosom. “Your breasts, milky white…” He planted kisses on them, his calloused fingers running across her pink buds. 

She bit her lip to stifle a moan. “Yeah? Then what?”

He slid the nightgown further down her body. “Your stomach, soft and delicate” His voice had grown low and a bit hoarse. 

Charlotte rubbed her thighs together, her breath shallow as she anticipated his next move.

Finally, he slid the nightgown completely off of her body, the cold air hitting her skin. She shivered, not from the air, but from the sensation of Arthur’s bearded face rubbing against the sensitive skin of her inner thigh. He kissed all the way up her thigh until he reached her core. He placed his fingers against it, and while a layer of cloth separated his touch from her body, she still left out a soft moan.

“Yes...yes…” he growled. “I’m rememberin’ now. How you tasted…” He looked up at her as he slid her panties down her legs. “Darlin’, it’s takin’ everythin’ in me not to devour you right now.”

“W-what’s stopping you?” 

That comment again. God, she was a relentless tease. 

He stared at her as he gave her pussy a long, teasingly slow lick. She let out a soft whimper at the sensation of his warm tongue against her intimacy. Her juices continued to flow, and he was right there to lap them up with his eager mouth.

Her taste was familiar to his tongue, sweet as summer honeysuckles. His beard rubbed the skin of her inner thighs, and she arched her back as his tongue continued to explore the familiar territory of her folds. His cock throbbed against the tight fabric of his union suit. He longed to be inside her, to hold her against him as their heartbeats began to sync. 

He growled, fumbling with the buttons of his suit and he moved his head back and forth. He ran his hand along his entire length, finally letting it free from its previous confines. 

His wife couldn’t help but glance down and moan at the sight of her husband pleasuring himself while he pleasured her. She bucked against his face, feeling herself reaching her peak.

His calloused thumb made lazy circles around her clit while his other thumb circled the head of his cock. 

Charlotte bit her lip and whimpered, squirming against her husband’s face. 

“That’s it, darlin’,” he growled, “cum for me. You can do it, I know you’re close. Fuck…” His cock leaked with precum. 

She arched her back and moaned out his name, and while no one could feasibly hear them in the middle of the woods, right at that moment it felt like the entire world knew that Arthur Morgan was filling her with ecstasy as she reached her climax. 

She panted, her body coated with a thin layer of sweat. “Oh...Oh, Arthur..”

He panted heavily as well, sliding beside her and kissing her, his face and beard still lingering with the taste and scent of her. 

“Mmm that’s a good girl…” he whispered in her ear. 

Her hands squeezed his glistening biceps, then trailed down to his chest and stomach. She played with his chest hair, a sly smirk on her face. “My big man loves to eat, hmm?” she teased, kissing his neck and nipping his earlobe. 

“You’re damn right I do.” He let out a grunt, his cock twitching. 

Charlotte kissed him and shimmied the rest of his suit down his body. 

“Now we’ve just gotta stay close together so we don’t freeze to death,” she said, her hand gripping his length and stroking it. She kissed his lips, muffling the groan that escaped his mouth. 

“Mmm I want us both facin’ the fire,” he whispered. “No more fightin’ to be on top.” 

“Yes sir.” She obeyed, laying on her side facing the fire. 

He slid her body against his, turning her face so he could kiss her. He lifted her leg, reaching a hand around to rub her pussy, still soaked from their previous interaction. 

He slid inside of her with ease, both of them gasping practically the same breath. His cock inside of her was a familiar feeling that seemed to bring her more pleasure with each thrust. 

His large hand clasped her smaller one, the both of them unable to take their eyes off of the other one. The fire continued to roar, and while the outside raged with icy wrathfulness, the inside of their little cabin was a hearth of comfort and pleasure. 

“Darlin’, I…” he growled, twitching inside of her.

A familiar, floaty feeling began to rise in her stomach, and she let out a soft moan. 

He brought their clasped hands down to her sensitive bundle of nerves. With his hand over hers, he guided her and pleased her, as an artist guides his brush across a canvas, and as an artist creates a passion filled work of art, so too were they.

She squirmed against him, barely able to contain herself as she moaned out broken pieces of his name. 

“That’s it, goddamn that’s it…” he growled in her ear. “Cum with me, be a good girl and cum with me..” 

The fire crackled and sparked and so did she, moaning as she came undone once more. 

Arthur pulled out and groaned, spilling his seed on her stomach. 

The two of them collapsed in a heap of sweat, the both of them panting and staring up at the ceiling, holding hands. 

Finally, Arthur mustered up the strength to get up and retrieve a wet cloth to clean up his wife. He smirked as he cleaned her. “You were so good tonight.”

“So were you, dear.” She kissed him. “You always know exactly what I need.”

The fire began to fizzle out. Charlotte sighed and arose, retrieving a log from the pile and tossing it into the fireplace. The light of the flames illuminated every curve of her nude form. Arthur’s heart beat a bit faster at the sight.

He wished to God he could capture her in that same pose. He’d be sure to sketch a replica of it, hell, maybe have her model for him just so he had an excuse to see her naked again. Either way, the sight of her looking like a work of art made his heart soar. She definitely beat all the dirty cigarette cards he and the old gang members used to trade. 

“Something on your mind, Arthur?” 

He blinked a few times before chuckling. “Nothin’. Just thinkin’ about you and how lovely you look.”

She smiled and lay down beside him, kissing his forehead. “You’ve still got it, darling.”

“Oh, is that so?”

“I’m not kidding. You were wonderful tonight. It was almost identical to our honeymoon.”

He furrowed his brow and turned his head to look at her. “Almost?”

“Well, we weren’t under the stars!”

He looked out the window, the snow still coming down fast. “Darlin’, you’d better be thankin’ the lord we weren’t doin’ it outside. We’d be freezin’ our asses off in all that snow.”

She giggled, nuzzling against him and kissing his chest. “Well we may not have been making love under the stars, but you certainly made me see stars tonight, Mr. Morgan.”

He chuckled, pulling her against him and kissing her one more time before drifting off to sleep. 

[marshmallow-phd]

Nine Little Letters

Genre: College AU, Fake Dating AU, To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before AU

Inspired By: This graphic made by @rcse-tvler​

Pairing: EXO x Reader

Summary: Just when you thought life was done shoving you down, it got much, much worse. After finding out that your latest crush was already in a relationship, you did what you always did when emotions ran high: you wrote a letter. Signed and sealed, you put it away with the eight other letters you’d written to past one-sided loves, never to be seen again. That is, until a mix up accidentally sends those letters out to their respective recipients and you find yourself in the middle of one confusing web of love. With fake relationships, insecurities, and revelations swirling around, things are bound to get a little messy.

Part: 1 I 2 I 3 I 4 I 5 I 6 I 7 I 8 I 9 I 10 I 11

The second letter you ever wrote was perhaps the most embarrassing of them all.

During the summer of your thirteenth year, Baekhyun had gone away to a summer camp that had lasted for over a month. Bored to tears due to the missing antics, you spent more time with your other friend, Yeonhee, though - as much as you loved her - her presence didn’t have the same level of comfort as Baekhyun’s did. You weren’t sure what the reason was, but there always seemed to be this invisible barrier between you and Yeonhee. You couldn’t get quite as close to her. There was so much relief the day that Baekhyun came back. But something else was there, too. Something that had been growing throughout the absence.

At first, you thought your heart was beating fast because you ran to the park where Baekhyun told you to meet him. You were excited - elated - to have your best friend back. When you saw him lying on the teeter-totter, you stopped. His skin was sun-kissed, hair a bit longer and tousled. You’d never realized how… handsome he was before. Your face was smiling before you knew it.

You liked him. That had to explain why you missed him so much, right? As soon as Baekhyun saw that you’d arrived, he lit up, jumping off the playground equipment and running towards you. He pulled you into a quick hug then stepped back, ruffling your hair.

“I missed you.”

“I missed you, too.”

“Come on.” He grabbed your hand and started pulling you away from the teeter-tatter. “Let’s go down to the creek!”

You followed him without hesitation, loving the feeling of his hand in yours. Later that night, you tossed and turned, unable to sleep because of this new information. At thirteen, you were a bit smarter than you were at ten, so you decided to put some feelers out. You would see if there was any chance that he felt the same way. The two of you were close, after all. The chance had to be there, didn’t it?

The answer was no. And you received that answer almost immediately. The next day Baekhyun went on and on about this girl he had met at camp. He talked about how funny she was and cute and playful. And beautiful. He wouldn’t stop talking about how pretty he found her. She was at a summer camp, for Pete’s sake, but somehow still managed to be soft and delicate and everything Baekhyun liked in girls. It felt like an uppercut punch to the jaw. You could be soft and delicate. You wore skirts and boots and cardigans. Your room was pastel colors! What was the difference between you and this girl he rambled on about?

Flashing back to Jongin and how much better you felt after writing him the letter, you sat down at the table while your parents were away at work and tried to see if it had the same effect.

 Dear Baekhyun,

How are you? I guess that’s an awkward thing to ask given how I always know how you are. You always tell me, whether you’re happy or sad or simply indifferent. You tell me everything. And I’ve always loved that, the fact that we could tell each other whatever we’re thinking. But lately, you’ve been telling me too much and I’ve been keeping quiet. You tell me so much about this girl you met at camp and how much you like her and what the two of you talked about on the phone last night and how you’ve made plans to meet up next week. You go on and on about her without seeing the hurt in my eyes. I stay silent because of that hurt. Because while you were away, I realized something. I realized that I like you. As more than just my best friend. I find myself wishing that you were talking about me that way. What does this girl have that I don’t, anyway? She sounds a lot like me. I even wondered at one point if you were secretly talking about me until you mentioned meeting up with her. You seem so happy, though. So, I wonder, should I say anything or should I just go on being just your friend? I guess I'll make the decision at the end of this letter. If I send it out or if I keep it hidden in my drawer. Do I come out and say it or do I risk forever thinking “What if?” Only time will really tell. Either way, I hope you’re happy. That’s most important.

Love,

(y/n)

 In the end, you decided not to mail it. Though you never met the girl from summer camp, Baekhyun ended up “dating” her for the fall semester of school - if it could be counted since they lived in different cities. He always went to see her, but she never made the same effort. That was why they broke up, according to Baekhyun. Though he never came to see you in the same light as far as you were aware, you found that you were able to move on, to see him once again simply as your friend. Perhaps the two of you were soulmates in the platonic way. You were thankful to your past self for not mailing out that letter. Where would your friendship be if you had sent it? Would there even still be a friendship?

“Okay, I know you’re not a professional or anything, but you’re even worse today. What’s going on?”

You blinked, coming out of your head just in time to watch your character crumple to the ground, dead. Great.

You weren’t the best at video games, but you found them fun and Sehun didn’t mind if you weren’t as good as him. He definitely carried the two of you in the team rounds.

“Nothing, I just have a lot on my mind.” Both the truth and a lie. You were mildly distracted at the moment. It was a small amount of connected things. Seeing Junmyeon with a girlfriend had conjured up some old insecurities. While you were fairly sure that you were over him, you were circling around your lack of love life - and lack of dating history. As in zero. Zip. A big old goose egg. Of course, when that happened, you tended to retreat into your books and movies. Which rom-coms you were going to binge tonight was currently at the forefront of your mind, held up by everything else.

“So, obviously, it’s not nothing,” Sehun pointed out over the headset. Touché.

“Okay, it’s not nothing, but it's not something you’d be interested in anyway.”

“Try me.”

You paused. “I was thinking about how I’ve never had a boyfriend, so I was going to watch romantic comedies tonight.”

Silence.

Well, not total silence since the video game was still on in the background, but there was no response from your partner. “Sehun?”

“Yeah, you’re right. I’m not that interested. But I also don’t see how watching movies about romance is a direct response to not having a boyfriend.”

You sighed as your character re-spawned and you continued with the game, covering Sehun from any surprise attacks as you inched closer to enemy territory. “They make me feel better.”

He took a pause to kill an enemy soldier before replying, “I still don’t get it. How can watching fake couples get together make you feel better? If you want a boyfriend, why don’t you go out and get one? It’s not like there isn’t a whole campus full of single guys.”

You scoffed. Yeah, right. Like it was that simple. There wasn’t a store or a catalogue that you could flip through and go “Oh, I’d like that one!” and have a boyfriend ready and raring to go. Although… someone should get on that revolutionary idea. It could be worth millions.

Part of you wanted to respond with “Fine, do you want to date me?” but you bit your tongue, knowing that you didn’t mean it. There had once been a time that you had thought about Sehun in that way. The two of you rarely saw each other in person. For a good year and a half, the two of you had been simple online buddies until you realized you lived in the same city. You’d invited Sehun along to outings with Baekhyun and Yeonhee, but they didn’t click very well, so it didn’t happen too often. After the first time you met Sehun, you thought he was cute. Que the letter.

 Dear Sehun.

I know you try to hide it, but you’re actually very sweet. And I know that you let me win sometimes. And you help me every chance you get. I like you because of that. Also, I never thought you would be cute. Is that bad? Do you think you could like me back? We could be that gamer couple. Those who play together, stay together, right?

Love,

(y/n).

 It was the cringiest of all your letters. Short, uninteresting, bland. After you wrote it, you realized quickly that those were the only reasons you liked him: his face and he was nice to you. Were your standards really that low? His letter always stayed at the bottom of the pile, hardly ever revisited. That was when you realized it was hard to truly like someone you didn’t know all that well. You still considered him a friend and could confide in him, but he didn’t make your comfortable triangle a square.

“Hey, (y/n)!” Baekhyun burst into your room with no warning. You jumped, letting out a rare curse into the headset.

“Baekhyun, what are you doing here?” On Saturdays he was usually busy giving piano lessons.

“And on that note, I’m out.” Sehun clicked off without a real goodbye. You shook your head. Boys.

You turned off your console and swiveled around in your chair. Baekhyun was seated at your vanity which made you nervous. He knew better than to go peeking into your things, but that hardly stopped him. And while he was aware of the letters’ existence, he was neither aware of his own nor where they were located.

“My pupil for the day canceled on me. They’re sick. I was bored so I came over. As per usual.” Looking over his shoulder at your mirror, he plucked off one of the pictures you had wedged into the frame. “Heard from your long-distance boyfriend lately?”

“Hardy, har-har.” You snatched the picture from him and replaced it. “He’s not my boyfriend and you know it.”

Zhang Yixing was your pen pal from high school. After seeing a flyer on one of the bulletin boards in the hallway, you jumped at the chance to communicate with someone from another country without really thinking about it. The partners were all chosen at random and you considered yourself quite lucky. The person you exchanged letters with was sweet and funny and really read what you wrote to him, always replying to your words before going into his own story. While life got in the way and the two of you weren’t able to exchange letters at the frequency you once had, you still received a surprise every so often.

And yes, before anyone asks, he was one of the nine. One look at his dimpled smile and charming eyes and anyone would be hooked. You’d giggled like crazy when you opened the letter junior year and his photo fell out. He’d wanted to show you the countryside school he’d volunteered at and the kids he’d helped. As cute as those children were, he was all you could look at. So, naturally, there was one letter you never sent. It didn’t make sense to send it. He was in an entirely different country. So, you used his letter as camouflage, keeping it on top at all times to hide the others underneath.

“And no, by the way. I haven’t gotten a letter for a little bit.”

“Too busy volunteering?” Baekhyun quipped.

“You could take a page out of his book, you know.”

“I do give back! I give free lessons all the time!”

Okay… that was true. Baekhyun did have a soft heart for kids that wanted to learn to play the piano but whose parents couldn't afford to pay for lessons. About twice a month on Sundays, he went to a local church and taught a class for anyone who wanted to join. It was actually kind of sweet. You’d gone a few times and he could be pretty adorable with the kids.

“Alright,” you said. “What do you want to do?”

“I don’t know.” Baekhyun pursed his lips and tapped a finger against his chin. His eyes slowly made their way around your room. He would smile when his eyes landed on pictures of the two of you or little souvenirs from your various adventures. Your room was like a scrapbook for the world to view. You enjoyed being surrounded by memories, like reading a book based on your life. “I’m kind of hungry.”

“Okay,” you laughed. “For what?”

He turned away from you, mostly still listening, but obviously distracted by something. “Let’s go to a grill.”

That suggestion sent sparks off in your brain. Your stomach, which had been neutral up until now, was roaring for the sizzling meat and spicy side dishes. In fact, you’d been distracted at the thought of a Korean grill that you didn’t notice Baekhyun’s hand twitching on the forbidden drawer. Before your brain could process what he was doing, the drawer was open. Baekhyun pulled the entire stack of letters out.

“Wow, you actually do keep all of these!”

“What the hell are you doing!” You bounced on him, tackling him down to the floor as you wrestled the envelopes from him. Once you finally pulled them free, you smacked his arm with the stack. “You jerk! You know those are private!”

He actually had the audacity to pout. “I just wanted to see!”

“They’re not for you to see!”

“Come on, (y/n),” Baekhyun sat up when you moved off him. You kept the envelopes close to your chest in case he tried for them again. “I thought I was your best friend.”

“Don’t you dare try to guilt trip me,” you snapped. “I have a right to my privacy. These aren’t meant for anyone else but me.”

“Fine.” He threw his hands up in defeat. “But you might want to find a better hiding spot. Let’s go eat.” He left your room, smiling to himself.

Grumbling to yourself, you placed the envelopes on your vanity. Later, you would find a better place to put them. For now, though, you draped a shirt over the stack so they were mostly covered.

You forgot about the letters for the most part by the time the two of you made it to the restaurant. Baekhyun had his moments where he didn’t think things through or he acted purely on impulse, but you could forgive those happenings. At least, when he was paying for dinner. On the way to the grill, you called Yeonhee to join.

“So, there’s this girl in my World Music three-oh-four class,” Baekhyun said right after shoving a stuffed sesame leaf into his mouth. “She’s really cute. And plays the cello. Her fingers are so nimble and small.”

“So, you going to ask her out?” you teased.

Baekhyun took some time to chew his food before answering. “Yeah. Actually, I think I might.”

“Does she seem interested in you?” Yeonhee asked. She was always the more practical one out of the three of you. She saw things in black and white. She either chose door number one or door number two. It was a philosophy she used in every aspect of her life. That realism rounded your little triangle out. Baekhyun was the carefree, never-knew-what-he-was-going-to-do-next type, you were the slightly anxiety-ridden, romantic daydreamer, and Yeonhee was the down-to-earth, rational one.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Okay. Then do it.” Yeonhee pulled her long, dark brown hair back into a scrunchy to keep it out of her face. To her, that was the end of it.

Baekhyun sent you a look, but he shrugged. “Alright. I’ll see her on Monday, so I’ll ask her to coffee then.”

Your phone vibrated against the table. Normally you would have ignored it, but given the lull in conversation, you checked to see the notification. It was a text from your mom.

I’m doing laundry. It looks like you have a full hamper. Do you want me to take some?

You smiled. You loved getting out of laundry. Yeah! Thank you!

Okay! A second text came through. Do you want me to take this shirt on the vanity, too?

Shirt? What- Panic swept through you. No! That’s okay! It’s clean.

Okay! Love you!

Love you, too!

Phew. That was close.

The rest of dinner was spent talking about classes and professors and new movies coming out. The three of you bounced from subject to subject, spending a good hour and half at the table slowly devouring the different meat courses. Multiple groups came and went while you sat there and enjoyed this time with your two best friends. When it was time to go home, Yeonhee volunteered to take you home since it was more on her way than Baekhyun’s. Once there, she parked in your driveway. Rounding the car, you bent down to tell her goodnight. A second or two later, Kyungsoo pulled into his parents’ driveway. He got out of his own car, eyes down on his phone. Noticing the two of you next door, he froze. There was an awkward tension as the exes made eye contact while you stood there like an unneeded third wheel on a bike. Finally, Kyungsoo broke the contact and went inside.

“Have you talked to him lately?” you asked.

Yeonhee shook her head. “Not at all. What’s the point? I ended it. Going back and opening the wound makes no sense.”

“Yeah, that’s understandable. I’ll, um, I’ll talk to you later.”

“Yeah, see ya.”

You straightened up and headed inside.

Yeonhee and Kyungsoo were a tragic story, at least in your eyes.

Kyungsoo was your next-door neighbor for your entire life though the two of you didn’t interact very often. He ran in different circles and seemed annoyed by Baekhyun most of the time - a pattern you were not blind to. But Yeonhee always took the time to talk to him if you happened to be in the front yard and crossed paths. Oblivious to what was going on while they conversed, you stood by, studying your neighbor.

He was handsome and sweet when he wasn’t frowning. In fact, his smile was quite stunning. And he was smart and, though rare, cracked jokes that had you in stitches. You found yourself admiring him. Imagine your shock when you discovered that he was dating one of your best friends. You were devastated. The strength of the feeling took you by surprise. But you’d managed to keep it together in front of both of them. Only when you were alone were you finally able to let it out. That night you’d locked yourself in your room, tears flowing in an unending stream. At some point, you were sitting down at your vanity, pencil flying across the page without you having to think it through.

 Dear Kyungsoo,

What am I even feeling right now? How am I feeling like this? You were always just my neighbor, the boy next door. Occasionally kind, helpful. I never even suspected that you liked Yeonhee or that she liked you back. I was completely left out, blind to what was happening in front of me. Mostly because I couldn’t see past myself. You were nothing like how I’d thought in our younger years. You are so much more. Amazing feels like too simple a word but that’s all I can conjure up. I’ve been so in awe that I couldn't completely understand what it was that I was feeling inside. But now… I feel like my heart has shattered. I had come to look forward to talking to you in between our yards. I never suspected you were coming out for Yeonhee. You chose her over me. I’m sure in your eyes, I was never even one of the selections. But why? Am I really that invisible?

You are a wonderful person. I’m not sure if there are enough adjectives in the world to describe how I see you. You’re like a portrait in the Louvre, unable for me to touch. You’re out of reach. And now that you’re with Yeonhee, you always will be. I know that you’ll treat her well. You’ll keep her hand warm with your own like I wish you could with mine. When she’s tired, she’ll rest her head on your shoulder. I hope you’re a comforting pillow. You seem like that kind of person. A comfort, a stronghold. I wish you could have been mine.

Love,

(y/n).

 They dated for two years before Yeonhee inexplicably ended the relationship. You knew she would have a very logical, analyzed reasoning for why she abruptly broke it off, though she never told you or anyone. However, you were surprised with how angry you were at her. How could she do that to someone like Kyungsoo, who had never treated her badly even for a moment? Your sympathy lied with him, but you had to show support for your friend. She wanted to move on, so you pretended to understand. She didn’t come around very often anymore in case of situations like tonight where she might accidentally run into or see him.

Up in your bedroom, you took a deep breath. Because it still hurt after all this time. You still longed to be the one he looked at, the one he wanted to see. Out of all your letters, his was the one that never worked. His was sealed up tight, but the feelings didn’t go away. They held on tight like a rock climber without a rope. You could distract yourself with other crushes, give in to fleeting feelings for others. And it would work for a little while. But in your weak moments, those feelings never failed to come back. Tonight was a reminder of that.

[bunnyywritings]

unconventional dates and kisses

tsukishima kei x fem!reader

𝕡𝕣𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕠𝕦𝕤 - 𝕤𝕖𝕣𝕚𝕖𝕤 𝕞𝕒𝕤𝕥𝕖𝕣𝕝𝕚𝕤𝕥 - 𝕟𝕖𝕩𝕥

[a/n: sorry for the wait but it’s finally here, part 3 of hollow words and misunderstandings, enjoy! -yours truly, bunnyy -`ღ´-]

Things were different after the summer training camp. Akiteru could tell that his little brother was...different. It was a good change but it was a change all together. He wasn’t as on edge as he used to be, he was more content. No matter how much he pried and pressed, Kei kept his lips sealed.

It was the same with you. Your parents couldn’t help but notice that you were happier and less stressed when you got home from volleyball practice. They didn’t really ask much, they were just happy to see you happy.

There was a couple days before the start of the Spring High tournament. Everyone was definitely a mix of being super pumped but also terrified.

Practice had ended on a relatively high note, everyone cleaned up and went to change. The usual two were persistent on staying for extra practice, Yachi staying to help them too. You here back in your school uniform and waiting for Tsukishima to finish changing, practically shaking with nerves. Neither of you had explicitly announced your relationship but everyone suspected that there was something going on. Yamaguchi was the first to figure it out and confront the both of you before being sworn to secrecy. It was hard for the others to tell since neither of you were super affectionate during school hours or during practice.

Little did they know, it was the small things that they hadn’t noticed that were painfully obvious indicators.The both of you walking side by side after practice or sitting with each other during lunch, pinkies hooked. Or the gentle smiles and soft eyes that you two shared when no one else was looking or was around. Him buying you a drink from the vending machine or you sharing your breakfast with him after morning practice was over. The whispered sweet nothings and tender kisses shared when he walked you to the corner where you both went your separate ways at the end of the night.

Tonight, however, practice had ended earlier as promised by Ukai and you and Tsukishima planned to go on a date. A convenience store date but it was honestly all you guys had time for.

“What are you gonna do with your extra time, (y/n)?” You jumped when Suga had popped up beside you.

“Oh well I-I was thinking that I’d probably get a bite t-to eat and g-go home. What about you?” You weren’t exactly lying.

Suga squinted skeptically at you, “Hmhhm, well I was gonna get in some extra studying. Relax a bit.”

“I h-hope you enjoy!” You smiled awkwardly. You could see Tsukishima and Yamaguchi approaching in your peripheral view. “Well, I should get going. Goodnight.” Then you escaped and wedged yourself in between them.

“What are you doing short stuff?” Tsukishima snickered, hand brushing against yours.

“Trying to stop myself from accidentally outing us, beanpole.” You bit back, slowly hooking your pinkie around his.

“Why don’t you guys want anyone to know?” Yamaguchi asked as you guys walked off of school grounds.

“Are you kidding me? Letting those idiots know would be a disaster, they’re so nosy.” Kei huffed. You just nodded in agreement. That would be a disaster.

The three of you had walked in a comfortable silence, bidding Yams a goodbye at his stop. The two of you continued walking until you arrived at the store. Wandering around, picking up things you’d want to eat as you went along. After making sure you grabbed everything, you made your way to the register and set everything down. You reached into your bag to grab your money when Kei held his arm out to stop you, pulling out his own wallet. A blush burned at your cheeks as he handed the auntie his money, he was absolutely unbothered to pay for you. You muttered a quiet ‘thank you’ before taking your things and heating up what needed to be heated before going to the tables that were set up outside.

You had sat down across from each other, saying a quick ‘itadakimasu’ before hungrily peeling back the cover to your instant ramen cup and shoving some of the delicious noodles in your mouth. Something you came to instantly regret. Tears sprung into your eyes at the searing hot pain that was happening on your tongue and the inside of your cheeks. You turned away and exhaled and inhaled rapidly, chewing as much as you could all at once. Kei was quiet for a moment before breaking into boisterous laughter, his annoying cackle doing nothing to stop the embarrassment filling your body. He watched in amusement as you opened and closed your mouth like a little fish, before finally swallowing down the scalding hot food and desperately reaching for your water, taking greedy gulps to soothe the pain.

“Wow, I thought I was dating a dragon for a second.” You glared at his smirk over the water bottle, putting it down with a pout.

“Tsukki, it really hurt.” The quiet whine came out a little slurred.

“What? Would you like me to kiss it better, my little dragon?”

“Yes.” His eyes widened just a bit before smirking wider.

“So shameless.~” He teased, leaning forward before meeting your lips with a gentle kiss, not wanting to cause you anymore pain.

Once he leaned back in his chair, he saw the victorious smile on your lips.

“You’re ridiculous.” He shook his head in amusement before taking a bite of his onigiri. You guys continued to joke round and eat, showing each other some memes or something just for shits and giggles. After finally finishing and cleaning up, you started to walk to the break off point when a thought came across your mind.

“When do you have to be home?”

“Hmm, technically by 10. Why?” He was confused but waited for you to elaborate, seeing the gears turn in your mind.

That meant that he time to kill. “Would you like to continue o-our d-date? At my house?” You were fiddling with your fingers.

“And what exactly would we do at your house? What would your parents say about you bringing a boy over so late?” He wore a teasing smirk as he leaned down to meet your eyes but his heart was beating rapidly against his ribs.

You blushed heavily. “Well I was gonna surprise you with it tomorrow but I made you something. A-and my parents don’t get back from my grandparents house till this weekend so...”

“Alright then, sweetheart. Lead the way.”

So you made the trek to your house, your mind racing at the thought of being alone with him. Your hands shook as you unlocked the door and walked in. Kei nodded as he looked around, it was minimalistic yet still very warm and homey. He slipped off his shoes, the sound of something tapping against the hardwood floors caught his attention. A rather big dog coming around the corner was not what he was expecting. He watched as a huge smile spread across your lips.

“Hello Aki, I’m home!” You cooed as the dog jumped excitedly before it suddenly turned to look at him, head tilted.

“Aki, be nice. This is Kei, my b-boyfriend.” He thought it was sweet how you stuttered while introducing him to your dog. “Kei, this is Aki. My puppy.”

“Puppy?” He quirked and eyebrow, “That’s a bear, (y/n).” He stood straighter as the dog let out a quiet woof before approaching him. The blonde stuck his hand out and let Aki sniff him. Aki did just that before sticking his tongue out and licking at his fingers. You giggled at the grimace that appeared on Kei’s face before Aki started to jump up and excitedly greet him.

“He loves you.” As you said this, Aki nuzzled into the palm of his hand, basically begging for pets. “He’s a japanese mastiff. So even though he’s only 4, he’s pretty big already.” You explained before Aki made his way to the backyard doors. “Uhm well, make yourself comfortable. I’m gonna let him out real quick.”

As you did that, Kei wandered into the living room, the multiple framed photo’s littering the mantle caught his attention. They were pictures from volleyball the year before. He smiled at how happy you looked in the photos. Wide smiles and rosy cheeks.

“So, what’s my surprise?” He asked as you made your way inside.

“Oh, right.” You motioned him to the kitchen, washing your hands before heading to the fridge. Opening it an pulling something out. “I spent the weekend finding the perfect recipe.”

His eyes were huge, mouth slightly agape in disbelief. Sitting on the table was the perfect strawberry shortcake. It was perfectly round, the creme looked fresh and shaped into the perfect peaks, the strawberries were dark and shiny under the kitchen light.

“My mom owns a-a bakery so I-I made it there. She wanted t-to help but I insisted on m-making it myself.” He was at a loss for words. You laughed quietly and went to grab two plates and a knife. Cutting two triangular slices and placing them on the plate, putting the rest of it in the fridge and grabbing two forks. “You just gonna stand there or are we gonna eat some cake?” He huffed out a laugh and grabbed a plate and fork before following you back into the living room and onto the couch.

Enjoying a little slice of heaven while sitting next to an angel. There was some random show playing on the tv as you both sat and ate, exchanging words here and there. Plates clean and bellies content, you placed the dishes in the sink before going back to join him. Before you could even sit, he gripped your wrist softly.

“Thank you, that was delicious.” He held your chin in between his fingers and met your lips in a sweet kiss, lips melding softly as the remaining taste of strawberries and sweet cream lingered on each others’ tongue. Pulling away rather breathlessly, he moved to grip your bare thighs in his calloused hands and tug you down onto his lap.

Running one hand through his hair and the other cupping his jaw, no words were exchanged as your lips met once more. This time they moved hungrily against each other, his hands gripping your plush thighs while humming in appreciation. You had hoped he couldn’t hear your heart beating wildly in your chest, he hoped you couldn’t hear his as his tongue moved experimentally against yours when you had turned your head and parted your lips for a deeper kiss. You blushed when a soft moan escaped your moan at the new sensation.

Pulling away, chests heaving as your foreheads rested against each others. There was a mischievous glint in his eyes before he moved his head down and his nose nudged at the spot where your jaw and neck connected.

“Kei-” You were cut off when his lips suddenly met the underside of your chin, you gave into the sensation and leaned your head back to give him free range. His lips started to move further down to the base of your neck, both of your hands were in his hair, fingers twisted in his golden locks. He gave an experimental nip at your skin, chuckling at the surprised yelp that left your lips. He went back to working on your neck, both of you lost in this new experience. 

Aki came out of nowhere and barked very loudly, causing the both of you to pull away from each other in a panic.

“Oh my god...” You gasped, hand coming over your beating heart.

“I can’t believe I just got cock blocked by your dog.” Kei groaned as he leaned forward and rested his head against your shoulder.

“Kei! Don’t say that!” You blushed, slapping his shoulder.

“Am I wrong though?” He asked quietly, placing kisses against your skin once more before the buzzing in his pocket stopped him. You were going to get off his lap but he stopped you, wrapping his arms around your waist and hugging you into him. You relaxed and melted into his embrace, wrapping your arms around his shoulders and resting your head against his shoulders. Enjoying the warmth before he had to leave.

Thanks a lot Aki...

taglist: @ewwis

[yacoka]

the journey back

ii. echoes of the past

character(s) — tsukishima kei, matsukawa issei, hanamaki takahiro, iwaizumi hajime

pairing — tsukishima kei x reader

genre — royalty!au, reincarnation!au, soulmate!au

warning(s) — none

beta(s) — @/doughnuts-5ever

masterlist

The first month of university flies past in a blur, and it is only when Issei drags you out of your room - which you haven’t left in a while except for school, meals, and showers - to meet your high school seniors that you snap out of the haze that’s been clouding your mind.

“Iwaizumi’s leaving for California in a couple weeks, figured we’d meet him and cause a little chaos while we still can.” Issei flashes you a mischief filled grin, and you can’t help but mirror it, memories of your high school days playing your mind. Iwaizumi had taken the brunt of you, Issei’s and Makki’s shenanigans, and he even had a scar on his left elbow to prove it.

“Where are we meeting them?”

“At Iwaizumi’s house, then maybe a nearby bar.” You watch as Issei’s shoulders shake slightly, his face tilted away from you.

“No,” you groan. “Tell me you told him we were going to meet.”

At this, Issei lets out his laughter, and the sound warms you, wrapping around your cold body like a thick jacket. His chuckles are infectious, and your giggles join his, filling the street you were strolling down with your joy.

It isn’t long until you find yourself turning a corner and facing a street that’s almost like a second home to you. Three houses down from the corner, past the tree that looks like an old woman hunched over in the dark, and there was Iwaizumi’s house. The setting sun casts a gentle glow, and the swirling leaves on the ground have your smile growing wider, happiness lifting your chin a little higher, your steps a little lighter. It’s been a while since you’ve felt this way, and you cherish every moment of it.

From your peripheral, you spy a familiar head of pink creeping up the alleyway on Issei’s side, and you bite your tongue in an effort not to ruin Makki’s fun, but Issei knows your tells better than you do, the little scrunch of your lips has him whirling around immediately.

Makki freezes, his hands a fingertip away from Issei’s nose. Issei goes cross-eyed and you burst into another round of laughter, bending over at the two idiots. Your idiots.

(You fail to notice the soft smiles they send your way, and the triumphant grins they exchange with one another.)

“Makki!” You grin brightly at him, moving around Issei to hug him. “I missed you!”

He wraps his arms around you, squishing your face into his chest. “Princess! It’s been too long since you’ve graced this lowly peasant with your beautiful face!”

Pulling away from him, a small pout rests upon your lips. “Stop calling me that, I thought we agreed to leave that nickname behind in high school.”

Makki pulls a face. “Uh, no? I don’t remember making such a ridiculous promise.”

You scowl, faking a kick at him. He yelps and darts away and you give chase, yelling at him all the while. It doesn’t take long for you to reach Iwaizumi’s house like this, and Makki bangs on the door.

“Iwaizumi! Open up before I get murdered by her royal highness!”

You reach him just as the door opens, and a hard shove has him falling through the open doorway and landing at Iwaizumi’s feet. Makki groans in pain, and you seat yourself on his back, grinning brightly up at Iwaizumi’s annoyed face.

“Hey Iwa-chan!”

He merely pinches the bridge of his nose, eyes narrowing. “I just wanted one last night of peace.”

“Well, you know you’ll never get that around us.” Issei snorts from the doorway.

“I know, that’s why I’m running away to San Francisco.”

“Rude!” Issei, Makki and you echo in unison. Iwaizumi slumps, and you swear you can almost hear his mental cries for strength.

There’s a few moments of chaos as Iwaizumi tries to lift you off Makki and Issei yanking Makki by his feet and someone’s shoes flying, but you somehow make it out of Iwaizumi’s house relatively unscathed. Said owner is currently tucked under Issei’s arm in a headlock, with Makki skipping happily beside. You trail behind them, watching your boys struggle to walk properly. If only Oikawa was here, your group would have been complete.

Issei turns around, eyes bright with joy. He grins brightly at you, one arm still around Iwaizumi’s neck, the other reaching out to you.

“Coming, Princess?”

You grin at him, sliding your hand into his, like you have since you were toddlers, and squeeze it tightly.

“Stop calling me that!”

Your first assignment receives a passing grade, and the sigh that you let out is painfully audible, drawing your seat partner’s attention.

“You did well?” He asks, the first bit of conversation he’s initiated out of the customary thank yous and excuse mes he usually offers.

You blink at him with wide eyes, shock filling every vein and artery that runs through you. He was making conversation? He was talking to you? There was no way this was actually happening, not when the last three months had been filled with him turning down everyone’s offer to hang out after school or eat together during meal times. The mysterious blonde who kept to himself was now talking to you.

“So?” The irritation in his voice jerks you back from the rush of thoughts, and your cheeks heat up.

“Ye-yeah, I guess so.” Your voice is small, and you just want to shrink into a tiny ball and disappear at the unimpressed look he sends you.

(“Tsukki,” he can almost imagine Yamaguchi admonish, a hand swinging out to lightly smack him. “You said you'd be nice!”)

He glares at the ground, and there’s a moment of hesitation before he speaks up once more, this time more gently.

“Yeah, me too.” It’s awkward, the air between you two filled with uncertainty. All you want to do is run away from it and go back home, back to familiarity where Issei was probably cleaning out the fridge once more. But there’s a voice that whispers that he’s trying, and he’s just as lost as you are. So you reach a trembling hand out, a silent offer to exchange papers.

His tensed shoulders sag, and wordlessly, you swap papers. You hadn’t planned on saying anything until you saw the big red mark on his paper.

“You got an A? Dude, that’s amazing!”

“It’s nothing,” he waves a hand dismissively, though you notice the light coating of pink across his pale cheeks.

“It’s not nothing, you did well, you should be proud of yourself.” You frown at your own paper in his grasp. “I would do anything to be able to do this well.”

“I can tutor you- that is, if you want?”

Your head whips up so fast it gives you whiplash. Tsukishima has his head turned away from you, though that does little to hide the blush that deepens with every second passing. It’s almost endearing, this bashfulness of his. It’s certainly more emotion than you’ve seen in the past few months as his seat partner.

“Yeah, I’d like that.”

The relieved smile that breaks out from him is enough to quell the pit of uncertainty bubbling in your stomach, and you settle back into your seat and wait for the teacher to start the class.

“Hey!” You raise a hand and wave at Tsukishima. “Over here.”

He jerks his head in recognition and makes his way over, weaving between the tables and chairs that separate you two. It takes him three near accidents and a slight trip over an outstretched leg, but he reaches your table and sets his bag down.

“Hey.” He nods, slipping his headphones down to his neck.

You smile at him awkwardly, though it wasn’t nearly as bad as it used to be. Several study sessions had passed, and the tension eases with each one as you learn to navigate around each other. That didn’t mean you knew how to react to his remarks all the time - some of them were especially aggravating and had you shrinking away from him.

“Are you going to order anything, or are you going to keep staring at me?”

You start, blinking at him in surprise. “I wasn’t staring at you, I was just- uhh, stoning.”

He snorts, a slight smirk slipping onto his face. “Sure, if that’s what you want to go with. Now go order. I want an iced mocha and a strawberry shortcake.”

It’s your turn to smirk as you register his order, and it’s years of growing up with assholes for friends that have the following words slipping out. “The salty bean pole likes sweet stuff? How uncharacteristic of him!”

Tsukishima’s smirk falls into a scowl, and he tosses a napkin at your grinning face. “Shut up and get me my food.”

“Alright, strawberry shortcake, I’m going.” Giggles erupt from you, even as you stand in line for the food.

It was a rather adorable fact - you never thought someone like him would enjoy such sweet things. Storing this knowledge for future use, you rattle off both your orders and when the cashier asks for your name, you shoot them a wink and whisper something else instead.

The red scrawl of ‘shortcake’ on the iced mocha has Tsukishima’s glare intensifying, a dark blush staining his cheeks as he splutters. It’s worth the absolute hell he puts you through later on during the study session.

“There is no way that happened!” You laugh, one hand covering your mouth to stifle the noise as the other smacks Tsukishima’s arm lightly. He no longer flinches away from your touch, nor bristles angrily when you come close to him.

“It did, unfortunately.” Tsukishima grumbles, glaring down at the papers spread across the table between you. “He turned up to the training camp and stayed all the way through as a ball boy.”

“You have to admit, it takes some guts to pull that off,” you chuckle, wiping the beginnings of tears away.

“Or a lot of stupidity and thick skin.” He mutters under his breath, pushing his glasses up slightly. But for all the complaining he does about his highschool friends, you still spot the smile hidden in the upturned corner of his lips, his eyes slightly brighter.

The conversation dies down into a comfortable silence that’s occasionally broken by the scratch of a pen on paper, or the shuffle of clothes as someone shifts around. You’re so focused on scribbling down the answers that you don’t notice the humming until it grows loud enough to catch your attention.

“I thought you said this song was a terrible song,” you remark, continuing to write even as you listen to his humming. It stops abruptly, and you glance up at him. “What? Don’t stop, I don’t mind it.”

“How do you know that song?” His voice is accusing, and the stare he shoots you is reminiscent of the guarded ones he used to give everyone before you became friends. Your brows furrow and the realization sinks in.

“How do you know that song?”

His mouth opens and closes, a bewildered expression forming.

“I don’t know. It’s just a song that’s always been in my head I guess.”

There’s a tangible tension in the air, thick and filled with a strange familiarity that feels out of place. You catch his gaze, and you can almost hear the tune of a half-formed song in your mind. It lingers with an achingly familiar scent of something sweet, something soft, something that settles a restlessness you hadn’t known existed.

“What a strange coincidence,” you say softly, unwillingly to snap the tension. But it does anyway, and Tsukishima leans away from you, an awkward laugh falling from him.

“It must be an old song we might have heard when we were younger,” he waves dismissively, shoving more papers to you. “Here, you got a couple of the questions wrong.”

You frown, but take the papers from him and return to your work, though you could still feel his burning gaze on you, brown eyes filled with an unnerving emotion you couldn’t quite place.

[crystalstar8]

Knights of the Night (chapter 2)

Chapter 2

Ch 1, ch 2, ch 3, ch 4, ch 5

https://archiveofourown.org/works/29139240/chapters/71536491

pairing: Jungkook x oc

genre: vampire au, college au, twilight, romance

word count: 1,628

warnings: blood (obviously), kidnapping, child kidnapping, needles, France

notes: vampires, vampire au, college, college au, so many twilight references, blood, needles, kidnapping, children, homelessness, dance, ballet, flashbacks, romance, slow burn, probably no smut, idk yet tho, France, French things, attempted genocide, inaccurate French history, bisexual main character, @strawberriewithchocolate-blog​

summary: Catalina starts college in a small town all the way across the country. She doesn’t know anyone and isn’t exactly looking for friends. She just wants to focus on dance. But when she meets fellow dance major, Jimin, and adventurous, fellow freshman, Jungkook, Catalina ends up discovering a whole new side to the small college town; one that is dangerous but oh so enticing...

              Despite complaining about walking to work, Catalina was sort of looking forward to the hike. She could see the mountains from wherever she was in this town, and they were beautiful. It was seven in the morning and Catalina was half dead. After a cup of coffee and a hearty breakfast though, she was ready to go. Jungkook had texted her the day before giving her a time, eight am, and his home address. No other details, such as what to wear to work, which would have been helpful. She had texted him back but he never answered, so she wore a plain black t-shirt with jeans. She figured that was neutral enough.

               Jungkook’s house turned out to be right around the block, so it was a short walk. The house was old, two stories, grey brick, square and narrow. Catalina knocked on the door and waited. Jungkook opened the door right away.

               “Hey, come on in,” he said, holding the door open. Catalina closed the door behind her and looked around. The inside looked like it hadn’t been redecorated since the 70’s, but it was still cozy and homey. Jungkook led the way up the stairs to a small bedroom at the end of the hall. His hair was still a mess and he wasn’t wearing shoes.

               “Are your parents home?” asked Catalina.

               “No, they’re at work. They’ll come home in a few hours,” he said.

               “The night shift?” asked Catalina.

               “Yeah, they’re nurses. They’ve worked the night shift ever since me and my brother started high school,” said Jungkook. He was sitting on his bed, lacing up a pair of Timberlands.

               The bedroom was a mess, clothes scattered across the floor, piles of tangled wires in the corner. A bookshelf was against the left wall filled with video games and stuffed animals. Beside the bookshelf, a surfboard, a snowboard, and a skateboard all leaned against the wall. A glass of milk sat on the desk by the door and there was a hole in the wall right above that. Catalina could see into the next bedroom through it, which looked similar to this room. The whole bedroom stunk like…

               “Dude, this milk is bad,” said Catalina. She scrunched her nose and shuffled away from it.

               “It is?” asked Jungkook. He picked it up and sniffed it. He reared back and gagged loudly. Catalina threw her head back laughing.

               “Why did you sniff it?” she asked.

               “I don’t know! Shut up!” he said. He took one last tentative sniff of it before setting it down and grabbing a hairbrush.

               “Have you eaten yet?”

               “No I just got up, like a few minutes before you got here,” he said. “I was thinking we could stop somewhere on the way.”

               “Won’t we be late?” asked Catalina.

               “Just McDonalds, nothing fancy!” he said.

               “What time do we have to be there?”

               “Eight.”

               “Dude! We’re gonna be late!”

               “Just quick! We’ll go through the drive through!”

               “We’re walking!”

                 A half an hour later found Catalina and Jungkook starting on the trail up the mountain. Jungkook was wolfing down three McMuffins, tater tots, and a frozen coffee. The walk through the drive through was something Catalina never wanted to do again.

               The hike, though intimidating, was very nice. They talked about their childhoods and other random stories while they walked. The woods were beautiful; enormous, ancient trees towering all around them. Catalina remembered Jungkook telling her about people skiing in these mountains. She didn’t know a whole lot about the sport, but she was pretty sure the trees would get in the way.

               “Now, I don’t know enough about skiing, but I feel like all these trees would get in the way,” said Catalina. Jungkook chuckled.

               “Yeah, there’s slopes at the top that you take lifts to get to. No one skis here,” said Jungkook. “We’ll go this winter.”

               “Yeah, you keep saying that. Anyway, this is a really nice hike, but I bet you we won’t feel like doing this every time,” said Catalina. “We’re gonna get sick of it after the first few times.”

               “No way. R.I.P. to you but I’m different,” said Jungkook.

               Catalina sighed. “That was lame. And you’re the only one here who has a car, so…”

               “I know, I’m just kidding,” he said.

               The trail let them out onto the road, which they followed until they reached the gift shop. It was a small building on the side of the road which advertised trail maps, souvenirs and camping necessities. A little bell rang above the door as they stepped inside. Hoodies, snow globes and tacky, racist Native American merchandise greeted them inside.

               “You’re late,” someone said. A woman in her late 40’s rounded one of the shelves and crossed her arms.

               “What? Not we’re not!” Jungkook checked the time on his phone. They were indeed late. Catalina sighed. Great first impression.

               “We’re really sorry ma’am. Someone had to get McDonalds on the way here,” she said.

               The woman sighed. “Call me Helen. And it’s okay. It’s not like they’re bustin’ the door down.”

               Sure enough, besides them, the store was empty. Helen showed them how to work the register, where the back room was, and how to close at seven.

               “Just be friendly with the customers. I’m not gonna be here on weekends, so keep yourselves occupied,” said Helen. And with that, she left the store. The rest of the day went by slowly. Not many people came in, so Catalina and Jungkook mostly just hung out and goofed around.

               When Catalina got home later that night, she was exhausted. They only had a few customers that day, the rest of the time was spent chatting and making fun of the Indian goods.

               Her bed, which was still just a mattress on the floor, was a welcome sight.

                  The only thing she could feel was a deep-seated fear. It made her palms sweat and the hair on the back of her neck stand on end. The narrow hallways seemed to be never ending. She needed to find a way out. If they caught up to her, she was dead. The faint sound of a floorboard creaking somewhere behind her made her spin around, breath caught in her throat. There was no one there, but the hallway seemed darker than it was before.

               All of a sudden, Catalina found herself in a den. A fire crackled in the fireplace, bookshelves lined the walls and a big desk sat in the corner. It was cozy, and Catalina felt the fear melt away. She felt safe here.

               “Have you read this one?”

               Catalina turned around. A man stood by the hearth. He held up a book, but Catalina couldn’t make out the title since the letters kept shifting.

               “I’m not sure,” she said. This man was dangerous, Catalina could tell by the fear she still felt being around him. But she also knew he wouldn’t hurt her. “I don’t think I’ve read it. What book is it?”

               “I told you about this one yesterday. You would like it,” he said. When he smiled, his dimples caved and his eyes sparked. Catalina no longer felt afraid of him.

                  I Like It, by Cardi B. blasted from the speakers. Sweat dripped from Catalina’s brow.

               “One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, one, two, three, STEVE, GODDAMN IT YOU’RE STILL TURNING THE WRONG WAY!” the choreographer shouted. She paused the music and pinched the bridge of her nose. Catalina took the opportunity to breathe and turn to Jimin. He was trying not to laugh.

               “I don’t wanna be here when she kills Steve,” Jimin said under his breath. Catalina giggled.

               “I think it’d be some fun drama,” said Catalina. “Also, he deserves it.”

               Jimin laughed and they got back into position as the music started from the beginning again. Catalina wasn’t really a fan of Cardi B., but the dance was a lot of fun. It was a smooth hip hop, lots of body rolls and sexy partner dancing. Catalina was glad she got Jimin as her partner and not Steve. Steve was pretty bad.

               Once the choreographer called it a day, Catalina and Jimin took their time packing their bags.

               “Do you watch the news at all?” asked Jimin. Catalina shook her head. “Well, it’s the only thing ever on at my house, and I guess there’s like, people going missing in the town next to us.”

               “Whoa, really?” asked Catalina.

               “Yeah, and I was invited to this party, but my mom has been freaking out and she doesn’t want me to go out, so I don’t know if I’m going…”

               “Wow, that’s crazy. Yeah, I mean, it’s not in this town though. So it should be fine to go to a party,” said Catalina. Jimin shrugged.

               “Maybe. Anyway, how was the first day at work?” he asked.

               “Ah, yeah, it was nice. The hike is cool and there’s a bunch of racist Indian goods in the shop. There’s like, barely any customers, so it was pretty chill all day,” she said.

               “That’s cool. I don’t think I’d be able to walk that far to work every day. I’m too lazy,” said Jimin.

               Catalina shrugged. “I mean, a job is a job. But I’ll probably have a ride for a lot of my shifts,” she said. “What about you? Did you get that job in the theater?”

               “Yeah, it’s alright. I guess it’s gonna be mostly just moving chairs around and helping backstage for events,” said Jimin. “But what if I want to audition for a show?”

               “Then they’ll just have to find a replacement for you!” said Catalina. “You deserve to be on stage!”

               Jimin laughed and said, “Thank you. I do deserve to be on stage, don’t I?”

[artificialqueens]

Come Home to My Heart, Chapter 8 (Lemyanka) - Plastiquedoll

read on ao3 ✨| previous chapters

A/N: wow… I can’t believe there are only two chapters left after this one… that’s crazy. This little story is my baby now so I hope you enjoy it and thanks for reading it! <3

-8-

“Ouch!” Scarlett yelled as soon as Priyanka pinched her arm. “What was that for?”

“You’re friends with Lemon on Facebook? What the fuck?”

“Ah, yeah…” She rubbed her arm. “She befriended me a while ago.”

“Why didn’t you tell me? We live together.”

“I didn’t believe you’d mind and I thought she would add you too. I don’t know, I probably was high as fuck.” Scarlett sipped her Frappuccino.

“You, Kiara, and my mother back-stabbed me. I can’t believe it.”

“If it’s any consolation, she only posts pictures with her friends and when she’s at the dance studio… also, she spends an unhealthy amount of time rambling about The Sims.”

Seemed about right.

“I’m more worried about the pictures I appear as «tagged» on your page.”

“Yeah, you’re like a hot mess there.”

Priyanka and Scarlett went for a beverage that afternoon after stopping by the mechanical workshop to check on Priyanka’s car –it was still uncertain and the mechanic had ordered a few pieces that were supposed to arrive later that week- luckily her parents had lent her the family car for the afternoon.

Priyanka had ordered a strawberry smoothie but almost forgot about it. Her thoughts were somewhere else.

“Priyanka, are you there?” Scarlett called her.

“Yeah, sorry…”

“Girl, you’re like… gone.”

“What do you mean?”

“Uhm…”

Scarlett sat with her arms crossed and a smirk on her face. She had cut her hair recently and the tips of her blonde bob were perfectly symmetric, it was almost in discordance with her rock-star-punk-grunge aesthetic of ripped fishnets, piercings, and leather jackets but Priyanka knew her better, she was just a softie who had cried with The Little Mermaid.

Goddammit. Don’t you see the subtext of female liberation, Priyanka? She had said with tears in her eyes.

“Nothing… only that you’ve been distracted lately. How weird is it that this behavior coincides with the return of certain someone to your life? Odd, isn’t it?”

“Cut the sarcasm… I know what you’re implying. Lemon helped me out the other day only because that’s what any person would’ve done.”

“No, you’re overestimating human kindness. Trust me, spending your entire afternoon with someone to help them with their… how did she call it?”

“Jalopy.”

“I mean, accurate.” Priyanka stuck her tongue out. “What I’m saying is that’s a big gesture and you should take it as a white flag from her.”

“When you’re right, you’re right.”

“So… what are you going to do now?” Scarlett inquired.

“I have no idea… You’re the second person who said something like that. Denali thought she was provoking me the other night in the club –she’s out of her mind- but she also said that I should make the next move.”

“I agree.”

“But what if I make a fool of myself in the process?”

“That wouldn’t be a novelty.”

“Fuck you.”

Scarlett lighted up a cigarette.

Right at that moment, Boa walked out of the café with an Iced Americano in her hand, she spotted both girls sitting outside and approached them.

“Hey, you two! I was going to text you later today.” She greeted both of them.

“Hey, girl.” Scarlett waved.

“Hi, Boa! Nice to see you.” Priyanka hugged her.

“So listen, some of the girls –myself included- are planning a little day at that lake that’s like half an hour from here and since the more the merrier, maybe you’d want to join us.”

“Sounds cool. Do you have a date in mind?”

“We set Thursday but if any of you guys can’t we could change it.”

“No, I think Thursday is fine for all of us. Priyanka?”

Priyanka had her thoughts floating like a cloud.

“When you say «some of the girls»… you mean?”

“Tynomi, Kyne, me…” She began listing.

“Boa we’re looking for a name started with «L», five letters, common yellow fruit used often in the kitchen.” Priyanka elbowed Scarlett.

“Oh! Yeah… We’re trying to convince Lemon to go too. She wasn’t into the whole nature thing but…” She cleared her throat. “If we convinced some more people maybe she’d change her mind.”

“Great so we’ll be there.” Scarlett wrapped her arm around Priyanka. “Text me the details later.”

“Sure, see you on Thursday!”

“Bye…” Priyanka smiled and when the girl walked away, she immediately turned to Scarlett. “What was that?”

“«Thank you, Scarlett, you’re such a good friend» you’re very welcome, Priyanka.” She put out her cigarette. “I did what it had to be done.”

“I see… but what if Lemon doesn’t show up?”

“She will be there and even if she doesn’t we could still have a nice day on the lake or whatever. Jeez, do I need to give you a pep talk whenever we plan something?”

“We’ll need a car, I can’t borrow my parent’s car all week and you came here by bus. Can Juice drive us there?”

“Yeah about that… Juice broke up with me.”

Priyanka frowned. “I thought you guys weren’t dating.”

“We weren’t, that’s why she gave me an ultimatum.”

“And what did you tell her?”

“I said I’d think about it.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“She agrees with you, obviously.” Scarlett leaned back on the chair. “However, I never wanted to break her heart with promises I wasn’t sure I was going to fulfill. I never promised her more than what I gave and it worked for some time.”

“Until it didn’t…”

It wasn’t shocking for Priyanka, she had always known that Juice wanted more but Scarlett –being the stubborn she was- never was going to admit she felt the same way, instead, she acted reluctant whenever the idea of having a serious relationship was brought.

“Scarlett, are you sure this is what you want?”

“Listen, what’s the point of starting a relationship with someone who doesn’t live in the same city.”

“She lives literally half an hour from Toronto.”

“Besides, I don’t want to give my freedom away… I don’t see myself ready to be in a relationship and you can’t say anything, you haven’t dated anyone for more than three days.” Scarlett pointed.

“Well, you got me there but this isn’t about me… don’t you see it? You’re about to lose something real and why? Because you’re scared of admitting you want it too.”

Scarlett looked down. “She deserves better than me…” She whispered.

“You idiot, she doesn’t want better, she wants you and you alone.”

“I feel like you’re insulting me somewhere there but…”

“Scarlett, focus.”

“You’re right, okay? I’m scared, I don’t want to hurt her and I’m terrified I might be too stupid to make a mistake or something… and now I don’t know what to do, I’m not a romantic person, I know nothing about big gestures…”

“Maybe roses? Carriage rides? Singing songs under the starry sky?”

“Gross…” She paused. “maybe roses though.”

“You did set the bar very low so…”

“Oh, shut up.”

“C’mon, I’ll drop you at her house.”

After taking Scarlett back to Juice’s house for what hopefully meant there would be a reconciliation between them –Priyanka had her fingers crossed- in the meantime, she stopped by her brother’s house. She had promised one of her nieces she’d take her to rent some DVDs they would watch after dinner.

It took less than five minutes to lose her at the video store.

“Mel? Mel?!” She started looking around. “Where did you go?”

Priyanka heard her voice coming from one parallel aisle.

“You’re very pretty.”

“Aw, thank you…you’re very pretty too.”

Priyanka also recognized that voice.

“Are you lost?”

She felt undoubtedly relieved when she found her niece chatting with Lemon who had kneeled on the floor to be at the same height.

“What’s your name?” Lemon asked the little girl.

“I’m Melanie.”

“Nice to meet you, Melanie. I’m Lemon, like the fruit.”

“Nice to meet you… Miss Lemon.”

“Did you come here with your mom? With your dad?”

She shook her head. “With my auntie.”

“Ah, I see… What do you say if we look for your auntie?”

“She’s right there.” She pointed at Priyanka behind her.

Lemon turned around and met the brunette’s eyes.

“Oh. It’s you, auntie… I should’ve guessed.”

“The resemblance is uncanny, isn’t it?” Priyanka smiled proudly.

Lemon was wearing a yellow and white striped long dress with buttons in the front, white sneakers, and had her hair tied in a French braid.

“You really convinced your brother to name his daughter like two-fifths of the Spice Girls, didn’t you?”

Priyanka rushed and covered her niece’s ears. “Shhhh… He doesn’t know that yet. It took me seven of the nine months of my sister-in-law’s pregnancy to plant the idea… neither Ginger nor Emma were working, so it was down to Melanie or Victoria.”

Lemon chuckled.

The brunette released the little girl from her grip. “Mel, go pick the movie you like but stay close where I can see you, alright?”

The little girl nodded and skipped with joy toward the kids’ movie section.

Priyanka looked at Lemon. “What are you doing here?”

“Getting my nails done, obviously.” She had a DVD box in her hands.

Priyanka rolled her eyes. “Knowing you, it must be… let me see, either Legally Blonde, Clueless, something with Meg Ryan on it, or… Drop Dead Gorgeous.”

She showed the title on the box. It was Drop Dead Gorgeous, a movie Lemon worshiped for her love for beauty pageants and bizarre humor.

“Rita has never watched it, can you believe it?”

“And you’re looking for new ways to traumatize her.”

“That might be my mission on Earth all along, spread the words of wisdom that come from this film.” She tapped the box with her acrylic nails.

Priyanka peeped over her shoulder to check on her niece who was still deciding between two Disney movies.

“So… are you going to the lake thing Boa’s planning?” The brunette asked as casually as she could.

Lemon shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not that into nature and being eaten by bugs…”

“Oh, so she’s a city girl now.”

“Listen, I spent a good ten years of my life going camping with my dad and hating every second of it. I thought it was finally over when I moved.”

“The girls and I are going… and I’m sure we’re taking some type of booze with us, snacks, a campfire… It will be fun.”

Lemon tilted her head. “I didn’t know you wanted me to go.”

Priyanka felt the heat on her cheeks. “Boa said the more the merrier… plus my car is still at the workshop and Scarlett might have screwed up her relationship with the one person that has a car among us.”

“So you need a ride… that’s it?”

“Yeah… and it’ll be fun being all together again.”

“Sure… okay. I’ll tell Rita and we’ll be there.”

“Really?”

She nodded.

At that moment, Priyanka’s niece returned with a DVD of Brave in her hand.

“Are you dating my auntie Pri?” She asked unscrupulous and unfiltered like any six-year-old.

Priyanka’s mouth dropped to the floor.

“Mel! You can’t ask people… That’s not… You don’t get to…”

“But daddy said that you like girls and that if you were going to date someone it would be a girl… and she’s a girl.”

Logic.

Lemon covered her mouth with her hand, she was blushing underneath.

“Mel just because I’m talking to a girl it doesn’t mean that I’m dating her.”

“But she’s pretty… she’s prettier than you.”

“Oh, I like her.” Lemon giggled.

“Hey! You little brat, who’s the one renting movies with you.”

Traitors.

“Why aren’t you dating her, auntie Pri?” Priyanka covered the girl’s mouth.

She was asking the real questions.

“Okay, I think it’s time to go home. Brave, huh? Good choice.” She looked at Lemon. “See you on Thursday…?”

The blonde smiled. “I’ll pick you up.”

“Okay, great.”

“Goodbye, Priyanka. Bye, Mel.” She waved at them.

The girl barely had the chance to wave back since her aunt dragged her to the line of the checkout counter. She stared at Priyanka with her wide brown eyes.

“What is it?”

“You like her.” Mel said with a mischievous look on her face.

“Shhh… keep it low…” She looked around to check Lemon wasn’t around. “You can’t just say those things, Mel. Exposing people’s feelings isn’t right.”

“So you like her.”

“Jeez, calm down Regina George.”

“Who’s Regina Gorge?”

“It doesn’t matter… The thing is… Lemon and I are… friends? Just that, okay? We’ve known each other since we were your age and I don’t think she likes me that way.”

“Have you asked her?” Her niece inquired.

“Well, no…”

“Why not?”

“Because…” She was scared of the potential answer to that question. “It’s complicated… growing up is complicated.”

“I don’t want to grow up never.” She whined.

“Me neither.”

Priyanka took the DVD to register it and pay for it.

Brave, sure.

On Thursday morning, Priyanka received a call from Scarlett, she explained that things with Juice were smooth sailing and that –since they had left the problems aside- she was going to pick her at home. In the car, there were Juice, Scarlett, Kiara, Denali, and Priyanka whereas Lemon and Rita had relocated in a different car.

The day started on the wrong foot since that change in scheduling but Priyanka had the hope it could only get better from there. She had a full breakfast with her parents and then prepared her things in a backpack, including sunscreen, snacks, a towel, and things only her mom could remember to include –and that she yelled from downstairs to make sure Priyanka would remember.

Priyanka brushed her hair and tied it into a ponytail, then she put her turquoise bikini on –she liked how the color looked against her skin-, grabbed a pair of denim shorts with embroidered flowers and a white cotton tank top. She found a pair of aviator sunglasses on the drawer of her room that were definitely her sister’s –emphasis on the «were»- and with a pair of flip-flops, she was ready.

Boa had said that it was allowed to swim on the lake where the water was shallow and that there was a lifeguard just in case. The weather was in their favor, the day was all warm and sunny even when it started with a couple of clouds, it had cleared up since then. Her mother reminded her to take a light jacket with her because it could get colder during the evening.

Priyanka was about to argue with her when she heard the sound of the horn outside. She put the jacket on her backpack and said goodbye to her mom before opening the entrance door.

To her surprise, there was an egg yolk car parked in front of her house.

Lemon rolled down her window. “Get in loser, we’re going to a lake… for some reason.”

She had a pair of heart-shaped pink sunglasses resting on top of her head and a lollipop on her hand.

“What is this?”

“I told you I was going to pick you up.” She unlocked the passenger’s door.

Priyanka got in the car and buckled up. Her entire body was tingling.

“I thought you were sharing a car with the other girls.”

“Don’t change the plans I’ve already set, I’m a Virgo.”

“Don’t you have a bumper sticker with that written on it?”

“I’m glad someone has finally seen it.”

Priyanka threw her backpack on the backseat and noticed how empty it was.

“Wait, what about Rita? Wasn’t she coming with you?”

Lemon got the car moving.

“No, I pushed her down the stairs yesterday.” She said, dead serious. “I’m just kidding; I went to pick some things from Tynomi’s place, Kiara and she were speaking in French and got along well so she decided to go with them. Because of that, I have the trunk full with two coolers and their bags so –for their own good- I hope they gave me the right address.”

Just then it hit Priyanka it was just the two of them for the next half hour.

Lemon looked lovely with a yellow poplin puff-sleeve crop top with little lemons embroidered around the neckline and a pair of navy paper bag shorts. The strips of a bright yellow swimsuit could be seen underneath her clothes and she was driving with sneakers because driving with flip-flops is hell but overall the look screamed summer in the Italian Riviera with a glass of limoncello.

And well, Priyanka was gay and thirsty.

“Did you hear what I said?” Lemon asked raising an eyebrow when they stopped in a red traffic light.

“Something about music…?” It was a wild guess and she would be lying if she said her fingers weren’t crossed.

“Yes, can you put something on the radio?”

Priyanka scanned the CDs on the glove compartment and finally decided for the always great Good Girl Gone Bad –just because she wanted Shut Up and Drive to play while Lemon was driving- and because it had some iconic bops.

“Are you certain about the route we’re taking?” The brunette asked.

“What do you mean?” Lemon clicked her tongue. “I know how to follow directions. I also have a map… I’m a strong independent woman who needs no instruction on how to get to a stupid lake in the middle of nowhere-”

“Hello, my friend and I are lost; do you know which is the best way to get to the lake?” Priyanka had to pat herself on the back for that level of fake kindness, she even batted her lashes.

Lemon, on the driver’s seat, kept grumbling something in a low voice.

“Yeah, you’re almost there, it’s five minutes from here… you have to take the next entry to the left and then continue straight forward. You’ll be there in the blink of an eye.”

“Thanks, good man. We appreciate it.” She waved at the man at the gas station. Then she turned to Lemon. “You see? It wasn’t that difficult.”

“We were almost there.”

“Yes, except for the fact that we’ve been driving around in circles for the past fifteen minutes. I told you it was the right entry.”

Lemon huffed and puffed like a child.

Priyanka attempted to skip one of the songs but the blonde interfered by pushing her hand aside. Priyanka crossed her arms on her chest and pretended to be offended.

Just like the man had said, in no time they spotted the lake entrance.

Lemon sighed of relief while Priyanka cheered.

“Yay! We made it!”

Once they got closer, they agreed it was all worthy. The beautiful scenery of the lake with crystalline blue water framed by the rows of mountains covered in green and leafy pine trees left them in awe.

A figure waved at them –probably one of the girls- they were gathered in a small semicircle that resembled a beach with dirt and gravel next to a wooden port. There were other people around, families, some kids playing in the water, swimmers, boats, and canoes.

Lemon parked the car in an empty spot among others, some of the girls helped them with the coolers and the bags that were on the truck.

“Good night, ladies.” Scarlett mocked.

“You two finally made it.” Boa grabbed one of the coolers with the other girl’s help.

Priyanka was about to say something about their delay in the same joking tone but she caught a glimpse of Lemon, she was serious, noticeably embarrassed by the situation. So instead, she cackled and played it down.

“Yeah, can you believe I told her the wrong entry on the highway? Lemon almost killed me we were spinning around for like fifteen minutes, right?” She looked at the blonde and subtly winked.

“Ah, yeah…” Lemon’s eyes were big just like a deer caught in headlights, the tips of her ears turned red just like her cheeks. “But we’re here… so… it doesn’t matter.”

“Priyanka you dumbass, we’ve come this way before.” Scarlett nagged her.

“Oh, shut up… I forgot.” She picked her backpack and threw it over her shoulder. Lemon hadn’t moved. “Hey, let’s go. We have all day ahead.”

The blonde nodded and locked the car before following them to the port.

The view was even more breathtaking up close as the sunlight shone onto the waters of the lake, it also glinted on the gold rims of Priyanka’s glasses and bathed her completely in a warm sensation.

They were received with cheers –especially since they have the food on the coolers and it was almost noon-, she saw Kiara applying some suntan oil and chatting with Rita and Starzy over a small wooden harbor, as soon as Scarlett and Boa arrived with the cooler, the blonde started an argument with Ilona over the best way to ensemble a tent –and repeatedly called each other “sis”-, Kyne, Tynomi and Juice ignored them and started setting a grill.

“You didn’t have to lie to cover my blunder.” Lemon whispered.

“I know.” Priyanka stretched her arms. “I figured you’ve suffered enough for one morning. If you’re feeling generous you can get me a drink or something in return.”

Lemon scoffed. “Get it yourself.” She started walking to where Rita, Starzy, and Kiara were but before she was further in distance, she turned around. “Thank you, though.”

Priyanka smiled at her and then went to help the other girls with the food. They entrusted her washing the vegetables at some gazebo nearby with a little kitchen and a sink. Tynomi helped her peeling and cutting once she was done and then they prepared the skewers. Scarlett’s pyromania was helpful to light the fire, although the flame that rose in the air caused quite a fuss.

Right when Priyanka put the last skewer on the trade for Tynomi to take it to the grill, a paper cup with pink lemonade and ice appeared in front of her, Lemon held it steadily.

“Oh, hey there.” Priyanka took a sip, it was sweet and it had something that kicked in. “Thank goodness this has alcohol on it.”

“It’s vodka, careful with the empty stomach, though.”

“Signature cocktail?”

Lemon shrugged. “I guess it falls into the category of colorful and sugary.”

“I don’t know if it’s because it’s hot as fuck but this is actually delicious.”

“Of course it’s delicious, I made it.”

“That’s obvious; you can taste the modesty on it.” Lemon made a childish grimace. “Have you jumped in the water yet?”

“I just soaked my feet for a little.”

“And?”

“Cold like a penguin’s butt.”

“You’re exaggerating.”

Lemon took the cup back and drank a sip, her lip gloss stained the material. She kept biting her bottom lip as if she wanted to say something but she sneaked out to help Boa with something when Priyanka wasn’t looking.

In that part of the lake it was allowed to camp and there were several tents set around the land, there were also a couple of forest rangers roaming around –probably attracted by the fake fire alarm- but the girls had been clever enough to keep the bottles saved in the coolers.  They all ate vegetable skewers and hamburgers sitting in a big circle and drank beer and cranberry vodka in paper cups.

Someone had brought a radio and they all sang Stars Are Blind when it played. After having lunch they stayed there reminiscing and telling stories from school. They were all laughing and cracking jokes it took Priyanka by surprise when the story of her seven minutes in heaven was brought.

“More like seven minutes in hell.” She gagged.

She re-told the story for those who hadn’t heard it and then realized that Lemon was among those people. The blonde hadn’t said a word since she started her narration, in fact, she paid attention to every word that came out of her mouth. She didn’t laugh when Priyanka tried to minimize she kissed a guy she didn’t want to kiss or when she tried to use the humor as a shield as she had done before.

“What an asshole.” She said when the brunette finished the story. She was angry and it showed. She was so mad she had sobered up.

“Yeah… but on the bright side… that helped me realize things. It was enlightening, I dare to say… even when that closet was dark as fuck.”

“Still… I hope he chokes or something.” Lemon was fuming.

Later on, Ilona exposed Scarlett who had claimed to be in detention many times in high school when she was just in the library, studying. Even when she tried to argue, Priyanka caught her friend sitting right next to Juice as she tenderly held her and stroked her hand with her thumb. She assumed things were alright with them now and couldn’t help but feel a bit jealous of what they had.

Vodka, it’s me… I have seen what you did for others…

Lemon told a story about one time she got lost in the subway with their friends and they almost ended in Staten Island –Priyanka refrained from commenting on the fact that Lemon wasn’t good at following indications, indeed- and Denali, the only non-Canadian of their panel discussion mentioned it had happened to her as well.

“I’ll be in New York for a competition in a few months.”

“You should come to visit me.” Lemon smiled brightly.

“That would be fun… Priyanka could come as well.” She stared at the brunette who gaped at her in surprise. “And tell me, do you have any single friend?”

“I’ve got some… yeah. I could make some arrangements.”

“I’d love that.”

“Slut-Nali.”

“Proudly.”

Later during the afternoon, some of the girls were brave enough to try to dive in the shallow waters of the lake, Priyanka among them, and, she regretted the moment her body made contact with the glistening surface but once her body was fully immersed it was like a shot of adrenaline in her body.

She surely looked like she had seen a ghost when she emerged because Lemon laughed loudly at her. The blonde was cozily sunbathing on the shoreline at an unsafe distance for someone mocking the swimmers.

Priyanka moved her arms toward her.

“Don’t you dare… Priyanka, I swear to God if you even try-”

The cold droplets touched her skin before she could finish that sentence.

The blonde squirmed and squealed.

“Bitch…” She shook the water off her body.

“Who’s laughing now?” She moved like a fish in the water.

“You won’t be laughing when you need your towel to get out.” Lemon waved it like a flag.

“Listen, you…” Priyanka started walking out of the water, the other girl was already running.

It was way colder out of the water and it took the brunette a minute to get used to, get her flip flops, and chase after Lemon who still had her towel on her hands. She hid behind Rita and stuck her tongue out, the girl caught in the middle raised her hands in a sign of rendition. They were like a couple of kids. Priyanka was about to say something when Scarlett and Juice came near them.

“Hey, we rented a boat over there and we were wondering if you would like to come with us.” Juice grinned.

“I pass, I’m not going on a boat ride with these two.” Rita pointed at them, Lemon was still looking over her shoulder.

“Pri, Lemon? What about you?”

“Sure… it would be fun, as soon as this bitch gives me my towel back.” Priyanka cast an accusing glance at the blonde.

Lemon threw the towel directly to her face.

“What’s so thrilling about a boat ride?” She asked while Priyanka wrapped herself in the towel.

“You said the same about coming here today and yet you’re having a good time, right?” Lemon shrugged. “C’mon, I’m not going to push you in the water or something.”

“Now I know for a fact that you’ll try to push me into the water.”

“Are you possibly scared?” She taunted.

“I’m not scared of a boat if that’s what you’re saying.”

“It’s settled then, we’ll meet you in five minutes over the pier where the boats are moored.” Scarlett grabbed Juice’s hand and they walked away.

Priyanka put her shorts and sunglasses on; she grabbed her bag and hung it over her shoulder. She checked on Lemon when she was done putting clothes on too.

“Ready?”

The blonde hesitated for a moment. “I guess.”

“Listen, there’s really nothing to be scared of, we’ll get life jackets and everything.”

“That’s not- Never mind.” She shook her head and grabbed her things. “Let’s go.”

Juice and Scarlett were already waiting for them with their life jackets on, they explained to the girls how to put them on.

“You two get in the boat and we’ll untie the knots and push it in the water.” Scarlett indicated.

The boat was made of wood and painted in white with matching paddles, the name Perseverance was written in blue on one of the sides.

Lemon sat first and she helped Priyanka to get in.

“Did you know it’s bad luck to change a boat’s name?” She told Priyanka. “It’s said they always sink if you do.”

“We should double-check this isn’t repainted or something underneath, right?”

“Why? Are you scared?” Lemon mocked.

Priyanka elbowed her.

Juice was done with the knot and she jumped in the water to help Scarlett.

“Okay, one, two… three.” They pushed the boat that swayed a little with the waves before stabilizing.

“Have fun you two!” Juice waved at them.

“Wait…” It took Priyanka a moment before understanding what was going on. “Hey!”

“Oh my God…”

The girls behind were cackling as the boat was carried further by the water stream.

“I think we’ve been set up.”

“There might be a chance, yeah.”

Scarlett mouthed a soft «Sorry» but Priyanka knew she wasn’t regretting anything. This had to be planned beforehand and she had a vague idea what the point was. She stared at Lemon who had picked up one of the paddles and was examining it.

“Do you think we can go back?”

“I doubt that we can row against this current.” She declared after taking a look at how the water kept taking them away from the coast. “Our best chance is to let it drag us down to calmer waters where we can paddle from to the closest coast.”

“You really learned a few scout things when you were camping with your dad, didn’t you?”

“Aren’t you glad I did?” She smirked.

Certainly, Priyanka was glad because at least one of them had a clue of what to do and how to get them out of that situation but, at the same time, it meant that they were going to be stuck for a while in that boat.

As they started moving away from the coast, the silhouettes of his friends became blurry and they were surrounded by the vast scenery of the mountains and the woods. The sun was lukewarm and the little waves rocked the boat like a cradle, it was soothing.

Priyanka laid on the floorboards and looked at the clouds crossing the sky. Lemon watched the water around the boat to eventually join the brunette.

“This is nice,” Priyanka whispered. “I think it’s the longest we’ve been without arguing or bitching.”

Lemon chuckled. Priyanka looked at her and could see every detail of her face, the curve of her lips the little mole over them, the tip of her nose, the length of her lashes, the color of her eyes…

Suddenly she felt shy.

“It is a truth universally acknowledged, that I can be an annoying bitch sometimes but you’re the one person that’s always there for me…” Lemon murmured.

Priyanka’s cheeks turned red. “What?”

“That’s the first line of the last e-mail I wrote for you after we… drifted apart.”

“I never received it.”

“I never sent it.” She fidgeted nervously. “I don’t know if it would have made any difference, you seemed pretty determined to me.”

So they were going to talk about it. It was the conversation neither of them had brought up for the longest time but it was there, lingering in the air like a dark cloud of unsolved problems.

“I needed to put some distance between us…” Priyanka felt the unavoidable knot on her throat like whenever someone touched the subject. “I wasn’t being honest with you… I was scared. You had these plans that didn’t include me in your future, I felt like I was being left out while my plans always included you.”

“Priyanka, I had to move forward to survive… Yes, I met new people, I made new friends and I set new goals but you were never out of the picture. It was difficult for me because I don’t know, you were always the one that everyone liked instantly and you made friends in a heartbeat without even trying it. Your friends were our friends because of that but when I was on my own… I feel like I’m more an acquired taste, people tend to like me better when they know me but until then…”

She sighed.

“I had these problems that seemed small in proportion and I didn’t want to become a burden for you, being so far away from each other. I just wanted to share the good parts. You were the only thing in my life that felt like a constant and then… you were gone.”

She looked at Lemon in the eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t think I’ve ever apologized for that. And just for the record, small problems, big problems… I should’ve been there for you no matter what. Back in the day, I don’t know… it’s not an excuse but I felt like it was easier to push you away and that you got to live a life without me at some point.”

“Why?” Lemon frowned.

“I don’t know.” Priyanka lied. “I didn’t want to be a burden either.”

“I’m sorry, too. I didn’t know what to expect when I saw you here but, these last couple of days I realized how much I had missed you. I wrote that in the e-mail too, I wish I had sent it.”

Priyanka’s heart skipped a beat.

“Me too.” The brunette spoke clearly. “I’m freaking proud of you and everything you’ve achieved… What I’ve heard because I didn’t befriend your New York friends on Facebook to find out.”

“They were my friends too. I didn’t add them only to stalk you or something like that. And, for what it’s worth, I think you’re doing amazing too… aside from that car of yours.”

“Laugh all you want but I bought that car to go visit you in New York someday.”

Lemon sat straight on the boat. “You were going to drive all the way there in that to visit me? That counts as risking your life, you know?”

“Well… yeah… that was the idea. I wanted to see you.” Priyanka sat down as well.

“Pri…”

“And you only came back for your dad’s wedding… why did you come back now? After so long?”

“My dad’s wedding was… an event. It would’ve been fun to have you there though, there was so much booze.”

“They can always renew their vows.”

Lemon laughed. “Well, and as I told you before, my mom was going on a cruise ship so I wanted to visit everyone here. The fact that it coincided with your visit was mind-blowing for me too.”

“Were you mad?”

“Yes, I was fuming.”

They both started laughing at loud.

“I’m not going to lie I did want to start a fight that day in the dining… and later on the club… and on the cereal aisle…”

Priyanka threw water from the lake at the girl’s face.

“Hey! Don’t!” Lemon shook her head. “I think it got on my eyes wait…”

“Oh no, sorry… I didn’t mean to…”

Priyanka got closer but at that moment the other girl counterattacked with some more water.

“Bitch…”

“You deserved it.” She cleaned some drops. “But I think it really got on my eyes, can you hand me my bag.”

Priyanka’s face was still wet but she did as she asked.

“Shit, my contact lenses are falling.” She looked through her bag until she found the container.

“Do you need help with that?”

“No, just a second…” She removed both contact lenses and saved them back. “Better.”

“I’m over here.” Priyanka mocked.

“Fine… I can’t see beyond my hand.”

“I know that.”

“Could you get me my glasses? They are there, somewhere…”

“Yeah, let me…”

Lemon’s bag had lip gloss, sunscreen, candy… transparent frame glasses.

“Here.” She put them in her hand.

“Don’t make fun of me.” She mumbled. “I never wear these in public…”

“Lemon, I’ve known you for ages I do remember how you look like with glasses on.”

Priyanka took them back and opened the temples before placing them gently on the blonde’s face. She adjusted the nose pads above her nose and removed some hairs out of her face.

“There,” She looked proud of her work. “See, nothing less than stunning.”

Lemon had a beaming smile on her face, she’d never look bad with or without glasses on.

She didn’t realize how close they were until Lemon batted her lashes. She could’ve kissed her right there but instead, she just moved away with her pulse running wild and her face feeling hot and no sunshine to blame for it.

The blonde extended her little finger as a white flag. “Are we good?”

Priyanka sighed with relief. “Best friends forever.” She sealed the pinky promise.

However, the word «friends» tasted bitter on her tongue.

“That’s right.” She was still holding their fingers together. “Priyanka and Lemon, Lemon and Priyanka.”

“You won’t happen to have something to eat in that bag of yours, will you?”

“I think I packed some Oreos this morning.”

“You’re my hero.”

It was almost sunset by the time they got back to the coast and they still had to border the lake to get back where the other girls were. Nonetheless, the setting of the sun was a spectacle they watched in awe as the daytime ended with the sun’s departure.

It was starting to get cold and Priyanka was the only one who had brought a jacket so she lent it to Lemon –it looked a bit oversized but she still looked good on it.

They walked for a little before meeting the rest of the group, luckily the place was fully enlightened and they had made sure they hadn’t gone too far to lose sight of the camping area. The other girls welcomed them back with a big cheer, some of them were already setting a little fire to toast marshmallows and sing songs with a guitar.

“I’m going to the bathroom.” Lemon headed to the public toilet while Priyanka joined the circle around the bonfire.

“So…” Denali sat next to her right away. “How did that go?”

“You knew.” Priyanka crossed her arms on her chest. “I can’t believe it, y’all helped to orchestrate this stunt.”

“…maybe. But it was for a good cause.”

“Which one?”

“Getting you a girlfriend.”

Priyanka rolled her eyes.

“I swear…”

“What happened over there?” Scarlett, Kiara, and Juice surrounded her like a group of teenagers.

“She doesn’t want to spill the details.”

“That’s because nothing happened and you should mind your own business.”

“What do you mean nothing happened? You two were there for like two hours.”

“We did talk about why we first fought and other things but it’s nothing close to what you think so you should drop it. I’m being serious right now.” She cleared her throat. “Lemon and I are friends… that’s it. Don’t try to push it further because it’s not going to happen.”

It was clear at that point that fixing their friendship was more important than risking her feelings; maybe she could tell Lemon one day and they could laugh about it just like they had done earlier but, at that moment, things were very recent and fragile to drop any more information into the mix. Priyanka wanted to have her on her life and she wasn’t going to lose her best friend over some unrequited love she had.

If she had dealt with it most of her life, she surely could do it again.

The girls protested but they sat back in their places. Lemon joined them shortly after, she sat next to Priyanka, the sleeves of her jacket looked like sweater paws on her.

“Hey, do you mind going back with the girls? I was talking to Rita and she’s kind of tired so I’m going home with her.”

“Oh, sure. No problem. Is she alright?”

“Yeah, just tired and maybe sunburn. I don’t want to drive when it’s too late either.”

“Alright. Are you still coming to dinner with my family? My mom said she’ll be waiting for you.”

“Saturday, right? I’ll be there.” She smiled. “I’m really glad we got to talk today, Pri.”

“Me too.”

She hugged her Lemon before she left; the blonde then greeted everyone else.

Priyanka watched in silence as the yellow car left the park.

Her heart shrunk, this was the right thing to do, they were friends again, and yet… she felt empty inside.

[afternoonpoppy]

Camping

Poppy awakens from her slumber, aaaaaa! This was for a commission but also something I’d wanted to sit down and write for a looong while, so this finally got me to do it and I’m glad for that. This turned out longer than I expected but I had fun writing it, so I hope it turned out well!

A bit of a chill had started to creep into the night air, but Allister hardly minded at all. Being sat by a modestly-sized campfire with Wolfram beside him, there was plenty of warmth to go around. And besides, Allister was camping again! 

Sort of, anyway - it was honestly more of a meetup with friends for the evening, and they weren't even more than a twenty-minute walk from Allister's house. But the group had gotten a fire together, brought out a cooler with drinks, and even found some sizable logs to sit on. Allister preferred fold-out chairs, but his cousin Sadie had insisted it would make the whole night more 'authentic.' Plus, it did allow Wolfram and Allister to sit closer together. In all, they'd ended up with about nine people gathered together, some of them being mutual friends of Allister and Sadie, with others being acquaintances invited by said friends. The total was 'about' nine since Allister's coworker Vincent had shouted that they were going on an impromptu snack-run to the nearest convenience store thirty minutes ago.

"Honestly, I don't know what she was expecting to happen," Sadie was saying very emphatically from across the campfire. While the group had split off into their own conversations and activities, she'd recruited Allister and Wolfram into listening to the evening's third rant about the obnoxious roommate she'd been putting up with for the past while. "Like, she was gonna yell at me and then just expect me to finish cleaning up the apartment for her? I am under no obligation to do her laundry, thank you very much." 

Marcus, the other of Allister's two coworkers that had been invited, walked over to take a seat by the fire just in time to catch what was being discussed and followed up with, "I mean, you gotta remember, Sadie. This is the same girl that thought she'd just hand in a Wikipedia article for one of her college assignments. You think she thinks this stuff through?"

Allister's eyebrows furrowed as he stared into the fire and tried to parse that statement. "Wait, as in she plagiarized a Wikipedia article, right?" Surely Marcus hadn't literally meant -

"I mean, I guess it's still plagiarism if you download an entire Wikipedia page and send it to your professor, yeah."

Oh. Allister nodded, struggling for something to say to that, but quickly gave up. Even if that anecdote weren't so absurd that it demanded speechlessness, he'd been content to let his friends steer the conversations of the night. Allister was just glad to hear what they'd been up to as of late, as well as to have a chance to sit outside and enjoy the wilderness. Crickets chirped in the trees of the woods and stars coated the sky up above, making a beautiful sight. 

That sight had been one of his favorite things about moving out here from the city. The other being that he'd been able to meet Wolfram. Wolfram who had spent the first part of the evening nearly dozing off by the fire after the walk to the group's meetup spot, but looked to have regained some energy now that he'd been sitting down for a while. He hadn't bothered to take part in the conversation much either and had also been focusing on either the fire or the stars for most of the night.  Allister wasn't very surprised, though. Considering this was the first time Wolfram had properly interacted with... anyone else in this world in person, Allister was just glad to get him out of the house. Getting into the car was still a no-go, but perhaps that would be another day.

"So, Wolfram, what do you do, anyway? You work, doing the whole 'actually trying to learn' thing, what?" Sadie asked abruptly, apparently letting the previous topic rest for now. "I don't think Allister's ever mentioned."

Allister's eyes widened and he glanced at Wolfram. The two had long ago decided not to mention the whole... 'magic and other worlds' situation to other people for any number of reasons. Not least of all being concerns as to what sort of attention Wolfram would draw as a (somewhat, at least) practiced spellcaster. It wasn't as if the pair hadn't discussed what their cover story would be to other people, but it hadn't come up very much as of yet and Allister couldn't help but worry.

Still, Wolfram seemed unphased by the question and smoothly answered, "I'm a writer. Primarily focusing on short fiction at the moment."

"Whoa, cool," Sadie said with a grin. "What do you write, like, romance, fantasy, sci-fi? Romance? I'm into romance if you've got any of that."

"Apologies, no. It is fantasy, my current project is a series of stories taking place in the same setting, so right now much of my time working on it is spent on world-building."

Allister was impressed at Wolfram's confidence in that answer. Sadie nodded, reaching into the cooler near her for a drink. "Neat. I don't actually read a whole lot, so no promises, but I'll try and give it a look when it's done. Either of you guys wants a beer?" She held up an extra can and tapped on the side with one nail.

"No, thank you," Wolfram said.

Allister shrugged. "Yeah, sure, I'll have one."

Sadie aimed to toss it to Allister but realized the fire between them might pose a problem. Rather than stand up and walk around it, she settled for instead trying to throw the can around the fire at an awkward angle, which resulted in it flying off to the side and rolling across the ground a bit. Marcus stared at Sadie with eyebrows raised.

"Uh, I think we can let that one settle there for a while," Allister said, standing from his seat to grab a can from the cooler. "Let's not ask you to throw things when you've had alcohol."

Sadie objected by holding up her freshly-opened can and saying, "Hey, this is my first one, Alli!"

"That was a sober throw?" Wolfram asked.

"Wait, shit. Okay, yeah, let's say I was drunk for that."

For a while longer, the conversation shifted back and forth through various topics among the group. Eventually, though, Allister glanced over to the trees around the campsite. He leaned closer to Wolfram and asked, "Hey, you wanna go for a walk?"

"A walk?" Wolfram leaned against Allister's shoulder. "Where did you intend to go?"

"Nowhere, in particular. I just wanted to stretch my legs and get away from the fire for a bit. We don't gotta go far."

Wolfram thought for a moment, then said, "We walked here and have to do so again to get home, so I would rather not. Feel free to enjoy yourself, though, so long as you don't end up lost."

"You sure?"

"I'm not frightened of people, Allister," Wolfram said with a smile. "I can handle any questions your cousin directs at me. Either that or I can ask her something about her housemate and let her talk for another thirty minutes."

"Hmm, I guess so. Alright then, if you're sure. I'll make sure I can still see the fire anyway." Allister stood up, stretching a bit, noting that Sadie and Marcus had both wandered off to the rest of the group and were yelling into someone's phone at Vincent, demanding they return from whatever had distracted them on their snack run. Allister had meant to tell them he'd be back shortly but figured he wouldn't disrupt anything if he just stepped away from the campsite.

Once he'd gotten some distance away, he noticed how quiet it was out in the woods. He hadn't been aware of the background noise his social circle's chatter made until he could hear the contrast in nature's quiet cricket chirps. It was nice out here. Much more Allister's pace than when he lived out in the city with his family, but this was the first time he'd taken the time to stop and appreciate it even after moving out here.

He leaned back against a tree, occasionally sipping the beer he'd brought with him, and started searching the stars for any constellations he knew. The answer was none, he'd always been terrible at telling constellations apart and never knew where one ended and another began, but at least they were pretty.

Allister's thoughts were interrupted, unfortunately, as a strong hiccup shook through his chest. 'HUP!' He raised a hand to his chest in surprise and instinctively tried to muffle the next 'HMK!' to follow, his own hiccups startling him as they broke the silence.

"Why n - HULP - now..." he mumbled to himself. As usual, Allister's hiccups were fast and obnoxiously loud. Considering it was almost unheard of for his cases to start up with no reason, he cast an accusatory look at the beer can in his hand. "Thi - HUC - this is you - HIC - your fault - HUC-UP!" He sighed - or tried to with yet another hiccup interrupting - and turned his attention back up to the stars.

Allister had planned to try to wait out his hiccups in the hopes they'd stop on their own. He preferred not to return to the party only to be a distraction for everyone. Unfortunately, he did wait for some time, looking back at the campfire now and then and eventually checking his phone to see that almost fifteen minutes had passed. It was becoming apparent that just the same as the hiccups didn't typically start without reason, they wouldn't stop on their own anytime soon either. 

Allister grimaced at that thought. He had wanted to be back by now, but here he was instead, without even so much as a bottle of water to try to solve the problem. He hated what he was contemplating, but he hated leaving Wolfram on his own even more. So, without putting too much thought into what a terrible decision he was making, Allister inhaled deeply and held his breath. In the past, that had always been a terrible idea, but maybe that had always been a coincidence?

Successfully holding his breath with hiccups leaping through his chest every other second proved to be more difficult than he remembered, and it felt like he ran out of air much faster than he would have otherwise. And he was forced to give up that effort and breathe fresh air when his hiccups abruptly became faster.

Allister immediately regretted his decision. "Wa - HUP - wait - HUC-UP - please ju - HIC! HIGK - just - HUK-ULP - h-hold on - HIC!" His attempt at talking his hiccups into calming down did little to help. Even worse, they had gotten stronger and were starting to hurt now. Allister would have said it was because his own body seemingly wanted him to suffer, but he knew this was his mind's fault instead, for thinking holding his breath might seriously work this time.

"Allister?"

Allister jumped when he realized Wolfram was now standing next to him. When that had happened, he had no idea. "Fr - HUP! HIC-ULP! - Fram, I - HUC-UP! HIGK! - what - HIC!"

Wolfram reached out and patted Allister gently on his back, a look of concern on his face. "Everyone at the fire is currently engaged in a round of trivia about media that is flying completely over my head, so I thought I would come to find you. And it didn't take me very long to hear where you were... Are you alright? Those sound worse than usual, somehow."

Unable to form anything even remotely close to a proper sentence at the moment, Allister could only answer with, "B - HIGK-UP - bad ch - HIC! HUC-ULP - choices - HUP!"

"I'm not sure what that - oh. Allister, did you try to stop them by holding your breath?"

Allister nodded.

"Haven't you told me that's the one thing you absolutely cannot do?"

Allister answered with another nod and a whine between hiccups.

"And why in the world would you do that?" Wolfram asked. "From what I was last aware, there are plenty of drinks available that you could have cured them with instead. That's at least had a partial success rate before."

At first, Allister contemplated how to phrase the answer in a way that his hiccups would allow, then settled for pulling up a note app on his phone and typing. 'I didn't want to bother anybody. My hiccups aren't exactly subtle.'

Wolfram stared at the message, thinking. "I hardly think anyone present tonight would mind as much as you think. You honestly did not need to make yourself suffer like this."

'Suffer' sounded melodramatic, but considering he was still putting up with nonstop hiccup after hiccup, Allister figured it wasn't exactly wrong. 'I know it was a dumb idea. But everyone's having fun, and I didn't want to be a problem.'

"Honestly, Allister, you worry too much about these things..." Wolfram sighed. "Though I... have also hidden in a crate to avoid being seen with hiccups, so... perhaps I am not the best person to hear this from."

"You - HIGK-ULP - what?" Allister asked, too surprised by that statement to bother typing his response on his phone.

Staring down at the ground and fidgeting a bit, Wolfram mumbled, "I, um, it was rarely an issue back home but I... did have a particularly stubborn case at one point and... Hiding away until they stopped seemed ideal..."

"But a - HUC! HIC - a crate?"  

"It - I panicked, I was in one of the Academia Arcana's storerooms to retrieve spell materials and - and I heard someone outside the door - the details aren't important. My point is, I do understand but don't do this sort of thing to yourself in the future, please."

Allister appreciated the thought, smiling at Wolfram and nodding. "Don't w - HUP! HIC-UP - worry, I - HIC - I won't."

"Good. Now then, I'll fetch you some water. Wait here, I'll be quick about it."

After a minute or two, Wolfram returned with a bottle of water, which Allister accepted gladly, trying and failing to state his gratitude, "Th - HIGK - thank y - HULP - you, F - HUC-ULP - Fra -"

"Just drink it," Wolfram interrupted. 

Allister did so, drinking the water in quick gulps between each hiccup. It took a few tries, but eventually, they slowed down somewhat and finally came to a stop entirely. He waited for a few seconds, still unsure if he'd genuinely been cured at first, but then finally sighed with relief.

"Better?"

"Much," Allister said. "Thanks, Fram."

Wolfram smiled and leaned his weight against Allister's side. "Very good. Shall we be returning to the camp?"

"Hmm..." Allister wrapped an arm around Wolfram's shoulder. "It is getting a bit cold, huh? I guess we should." He paused for a moment, then added, "But... Hey, how about we have a real camping trip sometime soon?"

"We won't have an oven for you to cook proper meals, then," Wolfram objected.

"I mean, I guess not. But you've never had s'mores before. Those are best when they're toasted over a campfire."

"I've heard of those... what are they?"

"Chocolate and marshmallows, Fram."

Wolfram's eyes widened at the statement, clearly intrigued. "When is your next day off? We can do it then."

Allister laughed and hugged Wolfram closer. "Okay, we'll talk about it when we get home. C'mon, let's head back to the camp before Sadie comes to chase us down."

[fangirlxwritesx67]

Cross Timbers

Dean Winchester x Donna Hanscum, Sam Winchester x Jody Mills, no warnings, mildly PG-rated Chapter 1 - 1830 words Chapter 2 - 2265 words Chapter 3 - 1885 words

A/N: This story was just a passing idea until I brought it up in my Slack chat and got a ton of great ideas from the folks there! Friends, I hope I have remembered everyone’s ideas and done them justice. Thanks for this and everything else!

@boondoctorwho

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@lastactiontricia

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@rockhoochie

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@there-must-be-a-lock

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@thoughtslikeaminefield

​_

/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_

Jody woke up early the next morning. She reached out and grabbed Sam's discarded flannel from the night before. She pulled it over her shoulders, wrapping herself in warmth and the smell of him. She bent down and brushed a kiss to his lips, and he murmured her name in his sleep, before she slipped out of the tent. 

She made a pot of coffee, enjoying the cool morning air and the sunlight warming her bare legs. She chopped apples, getting them ready to mix into oatmeal with cinnamon and brown sugar. She was bending over to tend the fire when she heard a low voice right behind her. She stood up and saw Sam striding towards her.

“Good morning,” she called softly. 

"Well, it’s definitely a good morning for me." A smile creased his face, pushing dimples into his cheeks. He held out his arms and she slipped into them, leaning in for a kiss. 

“Where are you headed so early?” she asked. Her fingers slipped under the waistband of his shorts, and then down over the curve of his ass. 

“Well, I was going running,” he murmured. A mischievous glint lit his hazel eyes. “But I can think of a more enjoyable way to get some exercise.”

“Oh yeah?” Jody sighed, as his lips trailed over her jawline, down her neck, and towards the buttons of her -his- shirt. 

“Let me show you.” He tugged her back towards the tent.  /\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_

When Sam and Jody exited the tent, hand in hand, he started. Next to his SUV was- what? An inflatable slice of pizza almost as tall as him. He blinked, and it was still there. He shook his head and decided to figure it out later. 

Dean and Donna were lounging by the fire. They had helped themselves to oatmeal, and coffee, and made more coffee. Sam and Jody got their own mugs and bowls before they sat down too. 

Dean waited until they were settled to speak. “So, what should we do today?”

“I thought we could hike?” Sam spoke up with an eager look on his face. 

Dean laughed as he took a big gulp of coffee. “Didn’t Jody give you enough of a workout? Do you two need more time in your tent?” 

Sam rolled his eyes at his older brother before turning to Jody with a smile and a soft kiss. 

“Today we should go to the lake. We’ve got the pizza float,” Donna chimed in. 

Sam’s eyebrows went up, furrowing his brow. “The … pizza float?”

“Don’t tell me you didn’t see it.” Dean gestured back. “When we went supply shopping for this trip, Donna just insisted that she needed it.”

“Stuff you, Dean,” she sassed back, dimples popping in her cheeks as she grinned. “You’re the one who loves pizza.”

“I love you,” he answered with a kiss. “

Well, the lake sounds good to me,” Jody spoke up.

“Oh, yeah.” Dean returned to the moment. “I already went to the store down at the park entrance, got some ice. We can pack the cooler full of beer and snacks.” 

/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_

Everyone changed into swimsuits. Jody insisted on sunscreen all around before they headed out, the boys carrying chairs and the cooler between them. She had the towels, while Donna wrangled the pizza float. 

The lake was a short easy walk away. Tall trees opened onto a sloped beach, pebbles mixed with gritty sand. The lake itself was wide and clear, sun sparkling bright. A gentle breeze swept waves across the surface, stirring the air damp and cool. In the distance, ducks paddled on the water, quacking softly. 

The four of them dropped everything on the sand and headed straight for the water. Sam and Dean jumped in headfirst, racing each other to some invisible point far out in the lake. Jody and Donna waded in more slowly, but the water was warm and inviting, and they soon joined the boys. 

In the lake, they were weightless, free. The worries of land slipped away, leaving them to enjoy the embrace of sun and water. The four of them stayed for a long time, talking and laughing and splashing. 

Finally, Sam and Dean headed towards shore. They settled into their folding chairs and cracked open beers. Both of them looked out across the lake where Jody and Donna had their arms on the pizza float, heads together in conversation. 

“Looks like trouble for us.” Dean chuckled.

“They’re the best damn thing that has ever happened to us and you know it,” Sam responded, scoffing. Dean tipped his beer wordlessly towards him in agreement. Both took a long cool drink, savoring the moment. 

Finally, Dean spoke again.“You know, it’s not quite the toes in the sand vacation I envisioned.” 

Sam looked at his sweating beer with a mock sad face, turning down the corners of his mouth. “And sadly lacking in umbrella drinks.” 

“Hah!” Dean turned to look at his younger brother. “Anyway, I’m happy. I think you’re happy. For two fucked up ex hunters, we have it pretty good.” 

Sam met his gaze with a bright, genuine smile. “We have each other. We have Jody and Donna. Yeah, I’d say I’m happy.” 

Before the chick flick moment could drag on, the aforementioned ladies splashed in from the lake, dragging the pizza float behind them. 

Once they dried off, they opened the cooler. Both took beers before digging into the snacks. There were crackers and pretzels, hummus and different kinds of cheese, green olives and red grapes. Everything was cool and tasty.

The four of them splashed in and out of the lake, basked in the sun, sat around talking, ate, drank, and ducked into the water again. The sun was golden bright, low in the sky, before they gathered up their things and headed back to camp.

/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_

Dean built a fire while Donna made sure the grill packs were ready to go. Sam and Jody hung around making sure dinner got into the coals. Then they left, hand in hand, to refill the collapsible water jug from Sam’s stream-fed irrigation system. 

The sun was sinking behind the trees, filling the campsite with golden bands of light, before dinner was ready. Everyone felt the chill of evening on sunwarmed skin. 

Sam pulled on a lightweight running shirt, while Jody returned to his button-up flannel. Dean grabbed a soft henley. Donna had the coziest solution of all: wrapping herself in a blanket, tossing the ends over her shoulders. 

Around the fire, they ate and drank, laughed and talked. That night they didn’t have to worry about anything else. They just enjoyed the moment. 

The fire had burned down to embers again when Dean cleared his throat. “You know, I think I might take Donna for a drive in Baby, show her where I’ve been fishing.” 

“Ooh, yeah,” Donna cooed, running her fingers through Dean’s hair. “You got something to show me?”

Dean winked at Sam before he turned his attention fully to her with a deep warm kiss. 

/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_

Dean drove in silence, Donna’s hand resting on his thigh. It took moments to arrive at the spot where he had been fishing the day before. 

The moon shone a silvery path from the dark sky onto the deep water. He put the car in park and rolled down the windows. Donna snuggled up against him.

“Oh yeah,” she breathed. “This is nice.” 

“Just you and me, sweetheart,” he answered with a suggestive tilt of his brows. “Alone, together.”

She didn’t need to hear any more before she landed in his lap, pushing his shoulders back against the car door.

/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_

“Hasn’t Dean been walking to the fishing spot?” Jody wondered, back at the campsite.

“Well, yeah,” Sam answered, as if it was obvious. “But he’s not gonna take Donna out and make love to her on a splintery old dock.”

“Oh. OH.” Jody’s big brown eyes widened. 

“Sex under the stars,” Sam continued as he reached out, and she slipped her hand into his. “Sounds nice, doesn’t it?”

“Until you mentioned splinters,” she retorted. 

“Wait.” He got up and took the blanket that Donna had discarded and spread it over one of the picnic tables. Then he sat down on the bench and held out his arms. Jody slipped eagerly into his embrace before he pulled her onto his lap. 

The moon and the stars in the velvet dark sky seemed to hang low over the trees. Kisses and whispers drifted into the night. Everything was close and stripped bare and perfect. 

/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_

It was long past midnight. The chorus of night sounds had settled to the whisper of running water and the occasional enthusiastic frog. Somewhere close, an owl hooted gently, keeping watch. 

Jody was in a camp chair, Sam at her feet beside a low but warm fire. He leaned his head on her knee as she gently stroked his hair. 

Dean and Donna drove up, holding hands as they got out of Baby. Her curls were more riotous than usual, his hair soft and all on end. They settled in a pair of chairs. 

For a long time, everyone was still and no one spoke. Eventually, Dean got up and went to the cooler and handed out beer all around. 

They were still again, enjoying the moment, when finally Donna spoke.“S’mores?” 

Sam laughed, actually laughed out loud. Of course that was what this moment was missing. Never mind that it was well past 1am. Never mind that he and his brother were grown men. What a camping trip needed was s’mores. 

He got up and dug around until he found the basics: marshmallows, chocolate, and graham crackers. Jody appeared at his side with long roasting sticks. 

Dean stoked the fire higher before he settled back into his seat. When Donna came up to him, he cupped a hand under her ass and then pulled her onto his lap.

Some marshmallows were burned to a crisp and others were toasted perfectly. More chocolate was eaten than made it onto graham crackers. They stayed up long after the snacks were gone, poking the fire now and then, casting a burst of sparks upward. 

Sam gathered the blanket off the picnic table and settled on the ground, his back against a cooler. Jody sat between his knees, her back against his chest. He wrapped her in the blanket and held her close.

Sam and Jody, Donna and Dean - they deserved so much more. But for one night, under the light of the stars, the Winchesters were happy. They would hold on to that moment as long as they could. Afterwards they would treasure the memories of their camping trip at Cross Timbers. 

/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_ _/\_

SPN First Last and Always: @boondoctorwho​ @dawnie1988​ @deanwanddamons @defenderrosetyler​ @divadinag​ @emoryhemsworth​ @fookinghelljensensthighs​ @idreamofplaid​ @kalesrebellion​ @kickingitwithkirk​ @maddiepants​ @magssteenkamp​ @onethirstyunicorn​   @there-must-be-a-lock​ @tloveswriting​ Sam Girl For Life: @awesomesusiebstuff​ @lilsylvia​ @winchesterxfamilybusiness​ Dean Curious:@adoptdontshoppets​ @awesomesusiebstuff​ @deangirl7695​ @deans-baby-momma​  @mrsjenniferwinchester​ @stoneyggirl​ @wayward-gypsy​ @winchesterxfamilybusiness​ Cross Timbers Tags: @deangirl7695​, @elliloumom, @meeshw777

[shebeafancyflapjack]

The One With Eleanor’s Chair

A cute little piece of S2 Hellstrop fluff I wrote because The One Where Rosita Dies was just on TV and it ends with Joey and Rachel sat enjoying their new La-Z boy together so it gave me ideas.

“Ugh. What are you doing here?” Eleanor asks, entering her creepy house and seeing its very own Architect stood waiting for her in the living room.

She’s past the point of being shocked or angry at him letting himself in as if he lives here, rarely even knocking before barging in. It seems to be an unspoken part of their truce to allow him a permanent invitation into the not-so-private homes he designed for them, as if he had his own demon doggy-door.

Michael raises his palm; “I get it. You’re still pissed at me.”

“Oh, ya think? ‘Don’t worry, Eleanor, Vicky’s only planning on making the unicorn poop a little bit on you’! I wasn’t expecting to be buried alive under it all!” She glowers at him.

“C’mon, it’s not as if it smelt that bad. Unicorn faeces are basically bubblegum.” He tries to console.

“Yeah, and you know how tough that is to get out?! I thought Janet was gonna have to shave my head!” Eleanor removes her jacket; “Look, if you came here to study, I am so not in the mood!”

Chidi and Tahani are out to see some boring ash opera, Jason is having an all-night Madden binge. The one silver lining for Eleanor has been looking forward to a night of sitting on her own watching wedding fails and avoiding every single stupid demon in this fake Heaven, including the one who could do nothing but watch her humiliation earlier today without intervening.

She knows it’s probably unfair, it’s not like he can do anything to help, in case it gives their game away. But that little devilish smirk she’d caught him sharing with Vicky when she thought they weren’t looking made her blood boil and it hasn’t cooled down all day.

“I actually came here to try to make it up to you. I’m sorry I couldn’t help earlier today, truly I am...As funny as it was! Sorry!”

Eleanor steps forward and Michael flinches back when he sees the urge to pummel in her eyes.

“Listen! I wanted to get you something to cheer you up! I thought long and hard about it...Close your eyes.” He smiles, his fingers poised in the air.

She tilts her head at him, suspicious; “Seriously?”

After everything today, he really expects her to let that much of her guard down around him?

“Come on! Remember our Kierkegaard lesson yesterday? Have a little faith!” 

Faith in a demon who has been torturing her for centuries? It’s ridiculous. But she knows there’s no easy way to get rid of him so Eleanor plays along, closing her eyes.

She feels Michael’s hands on her shoulders, guiding her to walk steadily to the side.

“Okay, so...Y’know how I designed all the furniture in this house to be as uncomfortable as possible to torture you? Hence why there’s hardly any cushions and why your back is always aching or your catching yourself on corners-.”

“Is your making-it-up-to-me supposed to be me hearing you brag?”

Because it’s having the opposite effect!

“Just...sit down.” He tells her; “Go on.”

Eleanor tuts and goes for it, keeping her eyes closed, expecting to fall into a giant bucket of pigs blood or whatever the fiendish towering imp has planned.

When her backside lands on something incredibly soft, she gasps, her hands feeling back as the firm cushions seem to instantly settle around her frame. She has to open her eyes, first seeing Michael’s wide grin, before she looks down to examine the chair that has manifested where her wooden excuse for a ‘sofa’ used to be when she entered the house moments ago.

Eleanor beams as she strokes the leather arms.

“Holy fork...Is this...?!”

“Yep. The chair that got you banned from the furniture store for making too many loud, orgasmic noises when you took it for a ‘test ride’.” He tells her, jovially; “With a few upgrades, of course, curtesy of Janet. For example, lift up the flaps on the arm.”

She does so, finding a freshly made margarita in one side and an endless pit of popcorn shrimp on the other.

“Oh, shirt! I’m never getting up again!” She giggles, stuffing several into her mouth before sitting back and switching on the massage system, thrilling as the leather vibrates into her back and shoulders, releasing all the tension that is only bound to appear after three hundred years in mental Hell; “Dude...this is pretty sweet!”

She’s gotta give it up to him. He knows what she wants and how to get around her. And, try as she might, she is a soft touch when it comes to her demon bud.

“So...are we cool?”

Eleanor twists her lips, reaching her foot to give his ankle a soft nudge; “Yeah, you’ve won me over. For now.” She closes her eyes to moan again, barely able to remember the last time she felt truly cosy in this damn house.

“Great! I’ll, uhm...leave you to your Lonely Mid-Thirties Loser Night then!”

“You do that.” She has no shame, nor is she going to try to correct that surely she’s way past that age now, as if she ever told the truth about that before. What’s another three or four lifetimes?

Still. She can’t help but think it was a nice gesture of Michael’s. It’s not like she had expressed any outright anger towards him or pressed him to apologise for letting Vicky overdo the torture.

He just...did it. By himself. He just wanted to cheer up his...friend?

“Hey, bud.” She says before he leaves, “This is a pretty big chair. Fancy filling up the rest of the space?” She scoots a little to the side.

The almost victorious smile almost falters on his face as she manages to surprise him.

“You...want me to stay?” He blushes and then tries to cover it up with a scoff; “I mean, not that I want to, I’m far too busy and our alliance is purely one of convenience so it’s not like I’d be interested in-.”

“I’m gonna watch Friday the 13th, man. Dumb, horny teens getting slashed, what d’you say?”

Ten minutes later, the two are smooshed together on Eleanor’s new chair with a blanket over their laps, cheering at every bloody kill on the tv screen, as if they were watching a sports game, as well as Michael guessing what type of torture would be planned for each murder victim, as well as the killer themselves. They have a good chuckle imagining how the others would react being chased by a masked man wielding an axe. Jason would arm himself with Molotovs. Tahani would be looking to complain to the camp manager. Chidi would defeat the murderer with some philosophical dilemma that would make him commit suicide.

Eleanor leans her head on Michael’s shoulder, his arm having somehow slid around her back, thinking to herself that she should act more upset after all these fake tortures if it means getting spoiled by her very own sugar devil like this.

[cowboisadness]

Hang ‘Em High {Arthur Morgan X FemOC} Chapter 5

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x FemOC Summery: Belle Hawthorne is high society looking to escape her mean husband. A robbery by the Van Der Linde gang could be her chance. Can she escape his cluches and possibly discover what love should feel like?

. . . . . 

Chaper 5

The two weeks that passed were a struggle, the pain was easing now but i couldn't ease my mind no matter how i tried. Sitting out on the edge of the overlook would help slightly, looking out at the vastness of the wild lands, being the same height as the birds. But my mind always returned to him, to Frank. Surely after two weeks I would have heard something or read something in the papers that Hosea or Arthur would return with each morning. Arthur had said maybe he won't look for me, maybe he's not as possessive when it came to me...his wife. I doubted his words but hoped they could be true.

Getting closer to the others here helped as a distraction and Miss Grimshaw made sure my time here wasn't wasted, having me wash clothing or stitch ripped garments when I was feeling more useful. The girls were very kind, the only one I didn't speak too much being Mrs Sadie Adler. She had been through so much and was still adjusting but she seemed like a strong woman, all of the women do in fact. Abigail had to juggle a young boy and a man that didn't seem to want to be a father. Mary-Beth let me borrow some of her books, to be honest, they are awful romances but entertaining enough not to put down. Karen would share her drink with me while we sat round the fire, Javier singing into the night.

This morning, Hosea asked me to join him in a game of dominos. Despite never playing the game before he was happy enough to teach me.  He was wise and seemed to be the only one of the guys that was more logical when it came to jobs that needed to be done and how they should be done.

“You sure you've never played before. It's a simple game but you got the hang of it quickly.” he said as he placed his tile down. “Used to play poker, blackjack and chess with my father. Frank never let me gamble, saying gambling is a man's sport that's too complex for a woman to understand.”

He scoffed at that and shook his head “Seems like a quality man, shame robbing him wasn't successful.”

I giggled, continuing our game in silence until Arthur approached, mentioning how he was going to Valentine to meet up with Javier, Charles and Bill. Hosea told him to keep out of trouble as Arthur turned to leave. 

I decided to cut the game short, telling him I needed to ask a favour before Arthur left. I made my way over to where he was saddling his horse, a beautiful Mahogany Bay Tennessee Walker named Barley. “Hey Arthur, could I ask a favor? If you're not busy.”

“Sure.” “I have a couple of things I'd like to sell, would you be willing to take me to a fence? He pondered for a moment, weighing out the pros and cons as he pulled out his cigarettes from his satchel and lighting one.

“Promise you won't fall off my horse again?” He grinned slightly, meeting my gaze. 

“I'll try my best.” I couldn't help but to giggle at his taunt, looking down the ground as i flushed with embarrassment. 

He nodded and blew out a puff of smoke as I turned to get what I needed. The first night I arrived my dress was ruined, now being used for rags and patches but my necklace and earrings were still intact and could sell for a good price. I put them into my new satchel, given to me by Charles as he had no use for it anymore. Him and Arthur brought back a few good pelts and meat a few days ago. I really need to gain the courage to ask if I can join in their next hunt. I hadn't hunted in years, that being another thing my father taught me. 

The ride to Emerald Ranch didn't take long, Arthur kept the ride slow thinking I might fall again, possibly seeing me as this delicate being that would shatter if we got anywhere near the speed of a gallop. The man at the fence, Seamus his name was, was more generous than I was expecting. $75 for the necklace and earring set. I didn't really care about how much I would get, I wanted to get rid. Frank bought them after all. I unconsciously fiddled with my hands as he counted the money, my fingers brushed over the ring on my left hand. Looking down at it, the three small diamonds glinting in the midday sun, thoughts of my wedding day flooding into my mind. White silk that pooled at my feet, a train following behind. The intricate floral embroidery that hugged around the bodice. It being so tight it lifted my chest till I felt like my breasts were directly under my chin. I felt like a princess marrying her prince. Life is nothing like Mary-Beths books. My Prince being the villain in my life. As i snapped back into reality i pulled off the ring without a second thought, handing it over to Seamus.

“How much for this too?.” I could see Arthur now staring at me out of the corner of my eye, he knew I was trying to rid myself of any memory of that man. Seamus took the ring, holding it close to his face as he examined it “Now this is nice. Not too old and made by one of the biggest diamond companies in New York by the looks of it.” He looked to me for confirmation. I nodded, mentioning that it was made only 8 months ago and one of a kind.

I came away with $175 in total, offering to give Arthur some as a thanks, he refused so I made a mental note to sneak it in his saddlebag when he wasn't looking.

He offered to take me back to camp before he headed to Valentine but i wanted to spend some of my new fortune, plus it was nice to be out of camp after two weeks of being in too much pain or scared to venture outside of it’s perimeter. Once in the muddy cattle town of Valentine, Arthur hitched his horse outside of the Saloon where he was meeting the others. He dismounted and held out his arms to help me down. I reached out to his shoulders and he took that as permission to hold me by the waist, making sure he was gentle on my left side. I was told my ribs would take a month or more to heal depending on how bad. Breathing was back to normal but the dull ache and sharp shooting pains still persisted. He headed towards the Saloon telling me to meet him back here when I was done. I'd never been to Valentine before, i haven't been to many places the last 7 months unless it was with with Frank at business parties or joining other business partners for a fancy dinner. I scanned my eyes around the various buildings and my eyes landed on my target, the Gunsmith. 

I don't need anything pricey or flash, just something capable of protection if the need arose. I was living with outlaws now, people who live a life of crime to survive and who knows what my life will be like when I leave. Maybe i’ll make my way to New York to find my brother, he might know where mother and father are now. I miss them all dearly.

A cattleman revolver seemed like the best option as I looked through the catalog, cheap and it would do the job. It had been a long time since I handled a gun. I still remember how displeased my mother was of my father teaching me how to get comfortable with one. I really should have asked for more lessons. I thanked the store owner for his help and his generosity in giving me a gun belt seeing as it was my first gun to own. Sloshing my way through the mud to the saloon, adjusting the belt till it was comfortable hanging off my hip I could hear a commotion behind the doors. Before I had the chance to ascend the stairs and push open the doors a loud smashing happened to my left, causing me to jump backwards as a body was propelled out of the window. Not some random someone, Arthur. Before I could react the saloon doors swung open, knocking me off balance as a huge burly man made his way out and towards Arthur, now on his feet ready to continue the fight. 

They laid into each other, fists flying in the air towards each other's face. I stood in shock, not knowing what to do until the large man had Arthur pinned to the floor, punching him relentlessly as he tried to block each blow to his face and gut.

An audience had circled them, grateful for the entertainment by the sounds of it. I couldn't just stand back, my feet unconsciously moving me towards the fight to somehow intervene but before I made it off the stairs a hand pulled my arm, pulling me back towards them gently. “Don't even try Palomita.” Javier said as he released my arm and then sat on the stairs to watch the show. 

“Aren't you going to help him?” My voice was louder than i expected, showing the anger i didn't know i felt about this current situation.

He just shook his head and giggled “He's a big boy, he can hold his own.” 

Letting out a huff, I turned to see that Arthur had now gained the high ground, punching the man in the face over and over as Charles and Bill shouted words of encouragement from beside me. Through the crowd of shouting onlookers a man comes through yelling them to stop. Intervening and stopping the possible last fatal blows. “Stop! Stop! Please!” he shouts, now facing Arthur “You won the fight already, surely that's enough?” he continues to beg, Arthur releases his grip on the bloodied man into the mud. “What business is it of yours?”

“No business, but please i beg you” the man continues to beg but Arthur just pushes him out of his way, making his way through the crowd as they now disperse. The fun now over. I hastily make my way over to him, passing the man still in the mud without even a glance, my eyes not able to avert from Arthurs sorry state, covered in mud and in obvious pain as he sits on a chair outside another store. At first I didn't know what to say to him. Is this normal for them? I shouldn't be making a fuss if it is. “Are you okay?” is all i can say, silently cursing at myself at my stupid question. He looks up to me as I kneel in front of him, he can sense my concern, snickering slightly as his hand reaches up to his jaw, trying to rub away the ache. “I’m fine. Don't be worryin’ bout me.” You can't help it for some strange reason, still wanting to help him.

“Let's get you cleaned up, the hotel has a bath.” I nod in the direction of the hotel across from us, hoping he will take up the offer. But before we can make our way an unfamiliar British voice calls over to us.

“Making new friends again i see Arthur”

We turn to the voice, a smartly dressed man making his way over to us along with Dutch.

“Look who we found sniffing about.”

“Josiah Trelawney...” Arthur calls to him as he takes a welcoming bow “...I thought you'd gone to New York.”

“And miss all this glamour? You must be joking.” They all laugh “How are you?” 

“Well. Quite well indeed…” His attention turns from Arthur to me as we make our way towards them. “...I’m sorry, we haven't been introduced. Josiah Trelawney.” He extends his gloved hand to me. 

“Bella Hawthorn. Nice to meet you.” i shake his hand and smiling politely.

“My, my. You still enjoy the company of high society women i see Arthur.” He smirks, not taking his eyes off me as he lets go of my hand. 

“Nothing like that Josiah.” I blush slightly at his comment but I excuse myself to leave the men to their conversation, motioning over to the hotel and hoping they didn't notice the sudden pink in my cheeks.

-----

The water was heated perfectly as Arhtur makes his way into the room, slight moans escaping his lips, placing what looks like clean clothes he must have had stored on his horse on a chair.

He shrugs off his sodden jacket, dropping it to the floor and he works on the buttons of his blue shirt and pulling the suspenders down his arms. I’m frozen, unsure of what to do before realising i should leave him to it. He moans in pain again as he attempts to pull his shirt off his arms, the fresh aches and pains making it a struggle.

Once again, without thinking, I make my way over to him to help, this time no one to stop me but myself. With his back turned to me, he jolts slightly at my touch as I gently guided both of his arms out of his shirt, it now joining his jacket on the floor. He turns to me, not meeting my eyes as he murmurs his thanks, his hands then turning to his gun belt to remove it. 

The silence between us is deafening and awkward, he's the one to break it. “I see you got yourself a gun.” 

“Thought i'd treat myself.'' I smile and finally turn to the door, pulling at the handle.

“I'll wait for you outside.” It was barely above a whisper but I didn't turn back for confirmation that he heard me. Instead I shut the door behind me gently, leaning against it and releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding in. 

[dontdietwd]

Day 66

My stomach was growling when Daryl and I stored the last of our few bags on Dale’s RV but I forced myself to ignore it, sure that everybody else were just as hungry. The truck where I’d been travelling since the beginning with Merle and Daryl was about to be left behind, just as T-Dog’s van and Shane’s Jeep, and Daryl and I would be hitting the road on the bike. I confess I got a bit emotional over the old truck Daryl has stolen from Mr. Walker, but just for a moment.

I took a couple more minutes to check if everybody was fine before moving to where Daryl was waiting for me, leaning against the bike.

“All set?” he asked with his head low but looking at me, trying to protect his eyes from the sunrise, a cigarette between his fingers.

“All good,” I stopped close to him. “Full tank?”

He hummed confirming and took a last pull of the cigarette before throwing it far on the street.

“God, I’m dying for a smoke…”

“Yeah, well,” Daryl said as he got up and turned to the bike, throwing one leg over it. “Ya ain’t havin’ it.”

I just groaned in response and waited for Daryl to get set. The RV and Rick’s car were already starting and he nodded to let me know I could join him. I settled awkwardly, the straps of the seat bag under me making it a bit uncomfortable, but the most uncomfortable part was not knowing what to do with my hands. Should I hold on to the bike seat? To Daryl’s shoulder, to his waist? He told me to hold on and I instinctively went to the last option, my hands holding on just enough to be safe rather than grabbing him as I’d like. He took off in front of the cars and they followed suit as Daryl made distance between us and the nursing home, the CDC and slowly away from the city.

“What’s up with the vest?” I asked as I leaned a bit closer to his ear.

Almost imperceptibly, Daryl flinched. It was for just a millisecond, and just slightly, but I caught it because I was touching him. He turned his head to me as he did, looking at me briefly from the corner of his eye, before turning again to look at the road.

“Found in the seat bag. Was Merle’s.”

“Oh…” I was quiet for a moment thinking of Daryl having inherited Merle’s things even though he was supposedly not dead. I’d never seen Merle use it, so thankfully I wouldn’t connect the vest to Merle. And again, damn. “Looks cool,” I told him, choosing ‘cool’ over ‘hot’.

He turned slightly to me again, “Yeah?”

“Yeah. Badass!”

He smiled a bit, just slightly, and looked back to the road. It was mainly empty and silent. It felt like it had been hours and we didn’t talk, just us and the deep roar of the motor and the sound of the cars behind us. I stretched her back, testing my balance on the bike, and Daryl looked at me sideways quickly and said something.

“What?” I asked aloud.

“Sore already?” he shouted.

“My back, a bit. Just adjusting. I’ll get used to it!” He just nodded at it. “How are your arms not tired?”

“What?” was his turn not ho hear me.

I relaxed my back, curving it a bit to get closer to his ear. “Your arms in this position, not tired?”

“Burnin’ like hell!” he nodded with a smirk.

I laughed at that and saw him smile more at it, eyes squinting against the wind. My discomfort seemed to vanish then. My arms went around him a little further, still not hugging completely by I rested my hands nearly on his stomach rather than on his waist. I decidedly liked riding with Daryl. We went quiet for a few more minutes then, but it was comfortable, companionable. I dared to raise my head up to the sky and close my eyes for a moment, feeling the warmth and the wind and allowing myself a moment of peace.

“Hey!”, Daryl called my attention, I opened my eyes to look at the back of his head.

“Yeah?”

“If there’s no Fort Benning?”

That was one damned important question that nobody had voiced yet. I hoped the others were feeling positive about it, because we all could use moments of positivity. I was on the realistic side, though. Just as I had felt about Atlanta before – we had to try it and make sure, but never really believed there was shelter – I felt about Fort Benning.

“If there’s nothing there,” I told Daryl, close to his ear. “We gonna have to stop relying on others to make do. Gonna stop going from a place to another looking for help. We’ll be done with it.”

“Make it happen ourselves?” he asked me.

“Yeah. Find a safe place.”

“Well, goes without saying…”

“I mean, find a place with walls, secure it, settle up. Staying on the road as we been won’t do. And settling camp in the open like the quarry won’t neither.”

“What you picture? A buildin’ or some?”

“Yeah, a condo, hotel, one of those fancy gated communities, anything that can be closed all around would do.”

“Maybe some land space to grow stuff,” he completed the thought.

“Yes!” I got excited and slapped his stomach a bit, more like poking him. “Grow food! ‘Cause canned and dehydrated food won’t last too long around. Maybe even animals! It’s what I mean, a place we can make life move on, you know?”

He was quiet for a moment and I let him thing, because my mind as also wondering far. He finally spoke again, “It’s a nice thought.”

“Ain’t it? There’s still so much we can do. It’s actually not the fuckin’ apocalypse. We’re still here after all!”

“Hey, look,” Daryl’s pointed ahead, the conversation dying then. “Road’s blocked.”

“Fuck… Things can never be too calm.”

We approached the last of the cars of what seemed to be an enormous traffic jam and Daryl slowed down. There were cars on the road and on the grassy area between the lanes, opened doors and no sign of life around. Daryl navigated through them carefully for a bit until I asked him to turn back to the cars. When we did, we found the RV and Rick’s car already stopped, waiting for us.

“You see a way through?” Dale asked us over the noise of the bike.

Daryl nodded as I answered, “Yeah, gotta go slow but I think we can pass.”

He rounded the RV with the bike. When passing between it and the car, we looked at Rick and I nodded, informing him they could go through. Slowly we crisscrossed among the cars, dead people inside, nothing moving.

“Lots a’ things here,” Daryl broke the silence. “Should scavenge a bit.”

“Yeah, can’t let all this gas go to waste,” I agreed as I twisted around to look at Dale on the RV and tell them we were stopping, but was instead met by his engine popping and smoke coming out of his hood. Daryl flinched at the sound, turning his head to look as well, alarmed, and stopped the bike.

“I said it! Didn’t I say it?” Dale was mumbling when everybody got out of the vehicles to gather by the hood. “A thousand times. Dead in the water.”

“Problem, Dale?” Rick asked the obvious.

Nodding at me in agreement, Daryl walked away from the bike and immediately started looking at stuff in an open car.

“Just a small matter of being stuck in the middle of nowhere with no hope of –” Dale paused to look at what Daryl was doing. “Okay, that was dumb.”

“Can’t find a radiator hose here?” Shane tried to joke but wasn’t smiling.

“A whole bunch o’stuff we can find,” Daryl grumbled from his position.

“I can syphon more fuel from these cars, for a start,” T-Dog was saying even as he already made his way through the cars.

“Maybe some water?” Carol said hopefully

“Food?” Glenn completed.

“This is a graveyard!” Lori said looking around with wide eyes, making everyone look at her. “I don’t know how I feel about this.”

“Well, I know damn well what I feel ‘bout this,” I said as I moved stuff on the same car Daryl was at and lifted one bottle of water in each hand to show everyone. “I feel like we have water!” I stepped towards Carol and gave her one of the bottles. “Everybody spread around and take a look, anything you think can be useful will probably be. Let’s gather stuff ‘round here and store them later. And watch out for walkers, could be some hidden ‘round here, you never know.”

Silently and quite a bit solemnly, people spread around. Daryl rushed to join T-Dog with the syphoning and I wandered. I found a bag full of some summer clothes that would not do any of any of us good these days and emptied it in order to fill it up with useful things. With it hanging from my shoulders, I grabbed anything eatable I put my eyes on – a can of Dr. Pepper, a bag of family size chips, crackers, another bottle of water, mints and, strangely, a catchup bottle – when I heard Shane celebrating somewhere behind me. Looking back, I saw he’d found water – lots of it – and was pouring some over his head, “It’s like being baptized, man!”

I smiled and kept moving. In a red car by my side, I saw a baby chair strapped to the back car seat and stopped to stare for a moment. The chair was thankfully empty, but I opened the door anyway. If there had been a baby on that car, there might also be baby stuff. Careful to check if the car was really empty, I scavenged through it and found a can of formula, a baby bottle and one small bag with baby clothes in it. Heart clenching at the thought of what might have happened to that specific baby, I dropped the entire content into the bag, the thought giving me a momentary stop as it always did. It still felt surreal that I was pregnant. I mean, I, Sam Danes, was pregnant.

“Sam!”

It was not simply Daryl calling me. It was him calling at an urgent whisper that alerted me something was wrong. Still sitting on the back seat of the car, I looked through the open door to see him crouching by one of the cars, crossbow in hand, a hand against his lips to tell me to be silent and then pointing down the road. I looked but the many cars on the way blocked my view, but I didn’t have to see the walkers to know they were there. I frantically gestured Daryl to come to me and enter the car where we could hide, but he gestured back that he’d be fine and I should close the door.

“Fuck, Daryl!”, I shout-whispered and grabbed the door to close it, but still whispering mouthed “Don’t die!” to him before pulling it quietly closed. I crouched on the floor of the car, making myself as small as possible, and barely dared to breathe.

The stench preceded them, the loud sound of their feet dragging and their low moans and groans following their procession. Long minutes passed and it seemed to never end. It was a large herd like none of us had ever seen before. They were apparently marching together, close to their own in search for food. And that was not good, that was no good at all. If they all started acting like this, it would most definitely complicate life a lot.

Once nothing could be heard again, I dared to stretch my neck and look outside. It seemed to be clear. I carefully got up from the floor and pushed the door open, sliding out slowly.

“Daryl?” I whispered again.

“Here!” he said nearly in a normal voice and I followed it to find him helping T-Dog up from the asphalt. My eyes instantly found his right forearm bleeding quite a lot, and his face was pale and sweaty.

“You bit?!” I asked as I knelt by him, Daryl standing next to us.

“No…” T-Dog said in a weak voice.

“Cut his arm wherever,” Daryl explained. “Was no walker. Come on,” he extended a hand for T to take. “Gotta go back to the group ‘n patch you up.”

As T-Dog stumbled to his feet, Daryl threw his unhurt arm around his shoulder and helped him walk back to the group, a little back on the road. We found most of the group together near the guardrail, looking out at the woods. Strangely, and what struck me he most, Shane was holding Carol in his arms.

My wrist ached.

“What happened?” I asked urgently, dropping the bag I’d been carrying.

“Man, are you okay?” Glenn asked as he approached us, eyeing T and his bloody arms. Dale also joined them, taking T from Daryl and helping him sit on the asphalt with his back against the car. As T explained what happened, Daryl and I approached the others.

“What is it, what happened?” I asked again, urgently. Carol let go of Shane and tuned to us, and now we could see she was crying, desperation clear in her face as she took a few unsteady steps towards me. “Oh, fuck, Carol, where’s Sophia?”

“She ran from the walkers and entered the woods and Rick went after her, she’s in the woods!” Carol cried without breathing.

“Carol, what? Rick went after her?” I asked looking past Carol to see Shane nodding.

“He was right behind her, he’ll bring her back anytime now.”

“Hey, it’s okay, she’s not alone, Rick’s there to help,” I tried but Carol kept on crying, although she nodded, and turned again to look at the line of trees.

“Why nobody keepin’ watch?” Daryl’s voice came from behind me. “Those were pro’ly not the only fuckin’ walkers in this road, ya know,” and at that he hopped up the hood of the nearest car, his crossbow in hand, and looked back and forth to check. Without a word, Shane did the same on other car.

The group went silent then, Glenn and Dale, now joined by Andrea – who I noticed, had her face smeared in blood – were helping T with his cut arm. The time passed for what it felt like hours, the heavy silence weighing on our shoulders as we just waited. The sun was scalding hot, burning our skins, bottles of lukewarm water being passed around, and we just waited.

The trees shuffled and dead leaves crunched announcing someone was there. In a moment Rick appeared, stumbling, bloody and sweaty, desperation clear in his features. Shane dropped from the roof of the car and the whole group gathered by the guardrail as Carol looked around frantically, looking for Sophia. She wasn’t there, it was just Rick. I instantly knew, and so did Carol because she was already crying when Rick asked even as he tried to catch his breath, “Where’s Sophia?”, and realization fell upon him as well. “She’s not back?” Carol sobbed and curved on the ground, a kind of pain nobody there knew, and Lori and Andrea went to hold her instantly.

 “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” I was mumbling under my breath as I walked resolutely to Rick, Shane close behind just as Daryl hopped from the car and joined us. “What the fuck happened, Rick?”

“There were two of them, I didn’t have a weapon, I had to attract them away from her. I told her to stay put – there’s a bank by the river, a hole, it was safe, she was supposed to stay there or come right back to the road! I got the walkers and went back, I went right back there and she wasn’t there, I thought she’d headed back here, she’s really not here?”

“No, buddy,” Shane told him in a grave voice. “We’ve been waiting for you to bring her back.”

“We gotta go back there and find her,” I said as I turned to Daryl who was slightly behind me.

“I’ll track her, but gotta go now or we’ll lose light”, he said already moving, knowing exactly what I was going to ask him. The three of us hopped over the guardrail to join Rick, who was already turning to Carol again, a deep breath to start speaking to her, but I held his arm strongly, making him stop.

“Don’t. Promise,” I whispered. “Don’t promise we’ll find her and bring her back safe.”

“I am not leaving her there!” Rick also whispered, angrily as if offended, affronted by what I said, taking even one more step closer.

“Obviously,” I said firmly. “But all you can promise her is that we’ll do our best. That you won’t give up. That you’ll do everything you can to bring her back. That you will put your own life at stake to save that scared little girl. That will have to be all because the fact is that we don’t know. We know all that’s out there. Don’t promise her girl will be fine when you don’t know you’ll be able to fulfill it.”

His face demonstrating a riot of feelings, desperation, anger, realization, Rick turned from me and told Carol simply that they were all going back there to look for her, and with a last glance at Lori, turned and marched away along with me, back to the woods where Daryl was already impatiently waiting. Right behind us, Glenn also joined without a word, clutching his rifle.

Rick practically ran through the woods, guiding us all, desperation coming out of his pores and quickly found the spot by a creek. He showed us where he’d left her, described exactly what had happened and Daryl started tracking immediately, no hesitation. He instantly took the lead of the group – this was his territory and his specialty, Rick close to him, Glenn, Shane and I staying a bit behind. After Daryl defined where Sophia had gotten away from the right track, we decided Daryl and Rick would continue alone, it’s was better to track with fewer people.

“Why you’re back?” was the first thing we heard when crossing the line of trees. “Where is she?” and Carol started crying again, but it wasn’t clear if she had ever stopped.

“Easier to track with fewer people,” Shane explained as he skipped over the guardrail.

“We were just standing on their way,” I said as I did the same and was approached by a weeping Carol. “Daryl and Rick are still there and Daryl found her trail,” I placed both my hands on Carol’s shoulders. Carol’s eye filled with a desperate hope at that. “Says she was on her way back here and for some reason went on a different way, but they’re tracking her.” Carol nodded mutely, lips tightly pressed. “Ok, now, you should sit a bit, have some water?”

“I’m not leaving, I’m staying right here,” the wet eyes woman said firmly.

“’Kay… I get it,” and with that I looked around to where I saw Shane organizing the others to start working on something. I excused myself and moved to him, a hand covering my eyes over the lowering sun, “Hey, you moving cars?”

“Huh, yeah. Figured we should clear the road so we can go through later.”

“Good, and gets people busy. But we ain’t going anywhere without Sophia, you surely know.”

“’Course not.”

“I gotta ask you something else, could you get a car seat like you did back at camp so we can set it for Carol?” I asked and Shane looked over my shoulder to the woman, standing there with her arms crossed. “Ain’t no way she’s leaving that spot and last thing we need now is anyone passing out from exhaustion…”

 ***

 I agreed with Shane when he decided Andrea should not have her gun back, not that I would ever say it. Making decisions about security and weapons was Shane’s responsibility after all, and as long as people were not trained to really use the guns, they could mean more trouble. This training, not only with guns but with any other sort of weapons should happen soon, I knew it. What was happening to Sophia was the best proof of that. Nobody at this group was safe and this had to change. The herd that had passed was a terrible sign for us who were prepared, even more for them who weren’t.

The dusk sun was nearly gone, day rapidly turning into evening and there was still no sign from Rick and Daryl. I knew they had to come back soon, tracking at night was impossible even for a professional like Daryl, and it wouldn’t be safe for them. Either they’d bring Sophia with them or they’d have to restart the search in the morning, maybe set up a search party. I rationally knew that, but my heart was breaking little by little at Carol’s sight, her quiet desperation as she sat on the edge of the car seat Shane had set for her, looking at the woods, at the exact same point her baby girl had vanished from, as if her very will would eventually summon her back.

Instead, the two dirty, bloody men emerged just as the sun set, with no girl in tow.

Carol had already shot up and was close to tears once again, “You didn’t find her?”

I approached them then, carefully eyeing Daryl, who was even dirtier than Rick, but it was all the blood that worried me. I stared at him, eyebrows up in question, and he nodded, telling me he was fine.

“Her trail went cold,” Rick answerer as the jumped over the guard rail. “We’ll pick it up again in the first light.”

Carol hugger herself, “You can’t leave my daughter out there on her own to spend the night alone in the woods!”

“Hunt in the dark’s no good,” Daryl carefully told her, choosing his words. “We’d just be trippin’ over ourselves. More people to get lost.”

“But she’s twelve! She can’t be out there on her own!” Carol cried and she looked again at Rick. “You didn’t find anything?”

“I know this is hard, but I’m asking you not to panic. We know she was out there!” Rick said but it was clear he was panicking himself even when he willed his voice to be convincing.

“And we tracked her for a while…” Daryl completed.

“Is that blood?” Carol asked looking at Daryl up and down, dread dripping for her weak voice.

Daryl hesitated to answer, looking away from Carol and finding my eyes.

“We took down a walker,” Rick spoke instead.

“A walker?” Carol breathed heavily. “Oh God!”

“There was no sign he was anywhere near Sophia,” Rick tried do reason.

“And you know that how?” I asked looking at Daryl. I knew all that blood had something to do with that.

He looked at me for a moment before looking at Carol and filling the expecting silence with his answer. “We cut the son of a bitch open. Made sure.”

People were stunned shocked by that and were silent for a long moment. Carol sat on the guardrail trying to get her bearings, and sitting there she looked up at Rick again, the innocence in her voice instantly gone, “How could you just leave her out there, to begin with?” she paused. “How could you just leave her?!”

Rick let himself go then, his own desperation showing and he stared explaining all over again what had happened, trying to reason with a desperate mother who had a missing daughter as if any words would bring her peace. Even Shane tried to pipe in, but there was nothing that could be said now. No words could do anything.

“Rick, that’s not helping,” I placed herself between him and Carol’s sobbing form. “She already knows what happen, there’s nothing you can say now, ok?” Rick looked exasperated at me, trying to say something else while Shane’s look shot daggers at me, but I ignored it and just moved on. “What we need now is a plan. Actions, alright?” I looked at Daryl who was still across the guardrail. “Now, Daryl’s our tracker, he’ll lead this search. Okay?” I asked him and he nodded emphatically. “We do as he says. We leave at first light and we’ll spend all day looking and the next if needed!”, and I turned to Carol, who was still sitting there behind me. “We’ll do all we can, Carol, we ain’t giving up, this I promise you.” Weakly, Carol nodded, closely supported by Lori. I nodded back and looked again at Rick. “Now let’s just cool down and get some rest ‘cause tomorrow’ll be a long day and I want everybody up before dawn.”

The silence that followed was filled only by Carol’s weak cries on Andrea’s arms and Ricks loud, shocked stare at me. He then turned around and left the group, going to walk alone among the cars.

“Sam?” Lori called from where she was still sitting by Carol, just as Daryl hopped over it and went to the RV, leaving us alone. “You can’t seriously think Rick had any intention of leaving Sophia?”

“Never said that, Lori,” I then crouched in front of Carol, resting her hands on the woman’s knees but still speaking to Lori. “I know at that moment he thought that was the only thing he could do and I’m sure he regrets that decision with every breath. Really, wouldn’t want to be on his shoes.” At that Lori nodded, somehow relieved. “Carol? You need to eat something and rest a little. We’ll all be going to the woods tomorrow to look for her and you’ll need to be able to stand on your feet.”

“Can’t think of eating now when she’s out there!”

“I know. It’s fine. You don’t have to think, we’ll take care of you, ok? You’ll just eat and lie down until sun comes up,”

“I wanna stay here…”

I shook my head, “I know you do, but you won’t, ok?” I tried to say it and gently as possible. “Sophia will need her mom strong, staying here all night won’t do it. I’ll have someone watching all the time. Okay? Please, let’s go?”

I got up and reached for Carol’s hands, who looked up at me with her eyes filled with tears for a moment until she decided to take my hands and get up.

“But who’s gonna take care of you?” Carol surprised me by asking, still holding my hands.

“Me?” I took a second to understand and shook my head, “I’m fine, Carol…”

“I’m sick worried about my baby. You need to take care of yours too. If I gotta eat and rest, so do you. You haven’t eaten all day.”

“Go, Sam,” Lori spoke. “We’ll watch over her.”

“Yeah, go eat something,” Andrea agreed.

“See if you get some sleep,” and with that Lori leaded Carol away in the direction of the RV.

I watched them go and just as they got to the door Daryl hopped out of the RV, a shy look at Carol who nodded at him pressing her lips in an attempted smile. Daryl moved to stand by be.

“Got you some soup,” he pressed an opened can with a spoon inside in my hand.

“What about you?” I took it and felt the can was warm. My stomach growled at the prospect of warm food.

“Had beans just now. Come,” he turned around trusting I’d follow and led me to the nearest car where he opened the back door and pointed at the seat. “Ya sleep’ere, I’ll take the front seat ‘til it’s my turn to watch.”

My nose prickled and my chest warmed up. I felt so grateful for having someone making decisions for me for once I couldn’t even understand what I was feeling and had no idea what to say. I paused and Daryl just nodded in the seat’s direction once again, making me move to sit and start having my tomato soup. After the first spoonful I drained the can in a minute, starved and desperate for nutrition and decided not to think at all before dropping the can and spoon to the floor of the car and lying down. I could only hear the door of the car being closed before descending into sleep.

[writingfortoomanyfandoms]

3K Smosh Blurb Prompts

Here are the prompts for my Smosh day! Feel free to request without the prompts these are just here for inspiration

Speech:

“This is why we can’t have nice things”

“Well you see I was walking home and went past a pet store and I couldn’t help but think how cute one would be at home with us”

“I’m not pretty and I don’t have any bullets”

“I wasn’t ready to say goodbye - I’m not sure I’ll ever be ready to say goodbye”

“You may be the most adorable person in the world”

“Don’t give me that puppy dog face, how am I supposed to say no to that?”

“I would’ve had breakfast ready but you were sleeping on my arm, and I didn’t want to wake you”

“Where did all these puppies come from?”

“You’re so cute when you’re mad”

“It’s one in the morning and it’s raining, I’m not going to turn you away”

“Tell me one thing. Why wasn’t I fucking enough? I loved you. Oh fuck how I loved you. How I still love you”

“Wanna, like - I mean, if you’re not busy… we could get lunch? Or even just coffee if you don’t have a lot of time?”

“Jesus you’re whipped”

“How long have we known each other and you still don’t know my name?”

“We shouldn’t be doing this”

“I’m going to marry you one day”

“I’ve spent all this time wondering and worrying about you. You didn’t think of me once?”

“Alright, who the fuck drew a dick on my face?”

“I don’t know what I’d do without you. Hey - stop laughing! I’m trying to be serious here!”

“I love you even though you’re a complete dork”

“You have the sweetest smile”

“It’s been a long few months”

“Come inside I’m sorry” “Not until you apologise!” “I just said I’m sorry!”

“You’re never going to let that go, are you?”

“Come on, you can sit on my lap until I finish”

Meet Cute:

Sharing an umbrella at a bus stop as it snows

You fix your hair in the reflection of a window to see them smiling at you through it

Almost spilling a drink because you met their eyes and got distracted thinking how cute they are

They ask you to pretend to be their date at a bar to prevent an ex from talking to them

Sitting next to each other at a very boring meeting and bonding over your shared lack of attention

Accidentally hitting them with a snowball

They knock on your door rather than your neighbours

Texting the incorrect number but continuing the conversation anyway

Walking into them and spilling your coffee over them

You walk out of a dressing room asking if the outfit suits you, but it’s not your friend waiting outside the room like you thought

Pick Up Lines:

“Did it hurt when you fell from the vending machine? Because you’re a snack”

“Are you a volcano? Because I lava you”

“I seem to have lost my phone number - can I have yours instead?”

“I must be in a museum because you truly are a work of art”

“Did you survive the killing curse? Because you’re drop dead gorgeous”

“I’d rate you a nine out of ten, only because I’m the one you’re missing”

“You remind me of the sun because you constantly brighten up my world”

“If I had a dollar for every time I thought of you, then I’d only have one dollar because you never left my thoughts after the first time”

“Are you a banana? Because I find you a-peeling”

“Are you religious? Because you have the answers to all my prayers”

AUs:

Apocalypse!AU

Circus!AU

Wild West!AU

Camp Counsellor!AU

Winter Cabin (where you get snowed into the SSG cabin, not an AU but I like writing it)

Coffee shop!AU

Dad!AU

Royal!AU

University!AU

High School!AU

WTSILY:

Giving them your desert because you know it’s their favourite

Sharing a soft smile across a crowded room

Making sure to be quiet while they take a nap

Letting them warm their cold hands under your shirt

Pulling a chair out for them to sit down at the table

“I’m coming to get you”

“I missed you”

“I love your laugh”

“It’s okay I got two - one for you too”

“It’s okay, I wasn’t asleep anyway”

[yeet-or-be-hawed]

“Attempts For Attention” Arthur Morgan x Reader

A request from @notursdutch!

Arthur is trying to throw hints your way that he has feelings for you, but he’s a little shy and you’re a lot oblivious. 

“Whatcha drawin’?” You were pulled from your concentration and looked up to find Arthur standing over you. You handed him the journal as sat down in the grass beside you. 

You were sat under a shady oak tree overlooking camp; it had the perfect view, you could see everything from up there, plus the shade was welcome on the hot summer day. 

Arthur smiled as he looked down at the drawing. The sketch took up two pages. It was Clemen’s Point, complete with undetailed little drawings of the inhabitants and the horses at the edge of camp. “This looks great, Y/N.” Arthur’s finger pointed down at the small figure with the horses. “Kieran?”

You nodded and smiled as you pointed out all the people. Lenny was just below Kieran, brushing his own horse. Tilly, Karen, and Mary-Beth were by the laundry bucket, and you had captured Charles mid swing of his axe. Arthur smiled down at his own figure, leaned against the back end of his caravan, his own journal in hand. Arthur loved your art style, your lines were softer and your shading was a little more defined. “I don’t know how you do it.” He said, eyes still focused on your drawing. 

You laughed, “Sure you do, you could put me to shame with your drawing skills any day!”

He shook his head, “Nah, I’m too heavy handed, I can’t quite get my shading just right.” 

You smiled. “What were you workin’ on down there?” You asked as you pointed to the small Arthur you had drawn. 

“Just doin’ some writin’. Its been a few days since I had enough time to actually open my journal.” He flipped the page and frowned. “Looks like those were your last pages.”

You sighed. “Yeah, I know. I’ve been checkin’ every town we’ve hit since we left Blackwater tryin’ to find somethin’ new but I guess the folks this far east ain’t as refined as we thought.”

Arthur laughed. “I’ll see what I can do next time I’m out.” 

You beamed up at him, “You would do that for me?”

He smiled down at you. “Course I will.”

You wrapped your arms around him tightly. “Oh thank you Arthur, you’re the best friend a girl a can have!” 

This took his by surprise, but he slowly wrapped his arms around you, returning your hug. You felt so warm and soft in his arms he felt his heart lurch when you pulled away. Your face was towards the ground, but Arthur caught the slight shade of pink in your cheeks. “I should probably go before Grimshaw finds me.” You stood and looked down at Arthur, “If you ever want to practice with me, I can show you some techniques to keep your wrist loose, that should help you with your shading.” 

Arthur’s eyes followed you as you went down the hill and joined the other girls at the laundry station. Your smile was contagious as you reached the other girls they greeted you happily. You seemed to have that effect on everyone, but Arthur seemed to fall prey to your charm worse than anyone else around camp, the trouble was you had no idea. 

He had been crazy for you since you first arrived, it took him damn near a month and a half to even say hello to you, every time your eyes shifted his way and you gave him a smile he would turn redder than a tomato. Hosea eventually had to be the one to introduce the two of you, and he still gives Arthur hell to this day for turning to a nervous blundering mess when you first stuck out your hand and said, “Nice to meet you Arthur, my name is Y/N.”

Arthur was lucky you were just as outgoing as you were oblivious because he never had the nerve to talk to you, but you had no problem with joining him beside the fire or barging into his tent for conversation, but you never noticed how flustered you made him. At first it was a relief, but now Arthur wasn’t quite sure. He wanted to tell you how he felt, he wanted to grab you by the waist and sweep you off your feet, but that required a level of confidence he just didn’t have. He looked down and noticed you had left your journal beside him. He grabbed it and headed down towards you. 

“So,” Tilly began mischievously. “What were you and Arthur talkin’ about up on that hill?”

You rolled your eyes. “Nothin’, Tilly. He just wanted to see what I was drawin’ that’s all.”

“And you showed him?” Karen asked with a raised brow. “Why is it Arthur is the only one allowed to see inside that journal of yours?”

You tried to hide the blush forming in your cheeks. “He’s an artist, so I like his opinion, okay?” You tried to sound assertive, but your voice came out meeker than a barn mouse. 

“Mhmm, I’m sure that’s what it is.” Mary-Beth said sarcastically. 

“It is!” You shot back, a little more defensively than you meant.

“Oh please,” Snorted Karen. “You’ve had eyes for him since you got here, you can’t deny that.”

You looked down into the suddy water. “Yeah so?”

“Yeah so, he’s definitely had eyes for you too!” Karen rolled her eyes. “I mean it’s so obvious!”

“He gets all fidgety when he talks to you,” Said Tilly.

“And he turns bright red.” Added Mary-Beth.

“That’s not true.” You pouted into your laundry bucket. “He just-”

You looked up to see Arthur coming down the hill towards you. “Shut up the lot of you.” You hissed quickly.

“Wha-” 

You cut off Karen. “Hey Arthur!”

The women looked in the direction you were facing and each one shot you a look, and you tried to ignore it. 

“Hey Y/N, you forgot this.” He handed you your journal. “Thought I’d bring it back to ya.” He rubbed his neck and wouldn’t meet your gaze. 

“Thank you, Arthur. You’re too kind.” You tried not to look at the women around you.

He tipped his hat to you and turned towards his tent. “No problem.”

You turned back towards your water bucket, “Not a goddamn word.” You said as Karen opened her mouth. 

The four of you finished the laundry in silence.

Arthur’s eyes scanned the camp and they landed on just the man he was looking for. Hosea was sitting at the small table in the middle of camp. Arthur took the seat across from him. “Hosea.”

He looked up at Arthur, “Ah, hello my boy. How are ya today?”

“I’m fine, I got a question for ya. You know this area pretty well right?” Arthur fiddled nervously with his thumbs.

Hosea raised an eyebrow towards him. “Guess you could say that, I spent a good bit a time down here with Bessie years ago.”

Arthur nodded. “You know anywhere I could get a new journal?”

Hosea tilted his head, confused. “You already filled that journal you got in Blackwater?”

Hosea was sharp as a tack, “No, I...its for someone else.”

A sly smile curled on Hosea’s lips. “I see. It wouldn’t happen to be for a certain young lady would it?” 

Arthur’s eyes shot up to meet Hosea’s and his face went hot. “Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.”

“Don’t play coy with me Arthur.” Hosea said flatly as he crossed his arms. He lowered his voice. “You think I don’t see how you look at her?”

Arthur huffed, he knew there was no point in lying to Hosea. “Okay yeah it’s for her. I ain’t tryin’ to pull a move on her or anything, she just used up the last page in hers and I offered to pick her up a new one if I found one.” 

Hosea leaned back in his chair. “I see. But why aren’t ya makin’ a move then?”

This caught Arthur off guard. He sputtered and tripped over his words. “I-I can’t...I don’t know.” He let out a heavy sigh. “I don’t think she’d have me. She’s too good for me anyways.”

Hosea stood. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. When ya think like that you’ll be alone forever.” He turned to leave but threw a final glance at Arthur over his shoulder. “Saint Denis. It’s a big city not far from here. If I remember correctly they have an art supply store down there. It’s been years since I’ve been, but it’s worth takin’ a look into.”

Arthur nodded. “Thanks Hosea.”

Hosea threw up his hand in a wave and wandered off. Arthur took one final glance at you, your face was straight and focused as you did your work quietly. Even with Hosea’s words replaying in his mind, he still couldn’t seem to find himself worthy of you. You were breathtaking, and the kindest soul he had ever met. No one made him want to be good, not even Eliza or Isaac. Not even Mary made him want to be better, but when your kind eyes meet his, he wanted to feel like he deserved the genuine kindness behind your eyes. He nodded to himself and headed towards his horse. 

You wiped the sweat from your brow as you stood. You waved to the other women as you left, finished with your work for the day. As your eyes searched the camp, you felt a little disappointment as you noticed both Arthur and his horse were gone. You sighed and joined Abigail beside the fire. “You see where Arthur went?” You asked, trying to seen as nonchalant as possible. 

“I didn’t,” She responded, she took a sip of her coffee. “He rode out not too long ago after talking to Hosea. Probably got a tip off or somethin’.”

You nodded, “Yeah, that sounds about right.”

“Why ya ask?” You could tell by the look in her eye she knew exactly why you were asking.

“No reason,” You said quickly.

“Mhmm.” Abigail had a sarcastic tone. 

before you could respond, Micah and Dutch approached you. “Good afternoon, ladies.” Dutch said smoothly. “Either of you in the mood for some good ol’ fashioned stage coach robbin’?”

“Sure!” You responded quickly and stood. “Who all’s goin’?”

“Micah and Lenny.” 

You nodded and followed behind the two men. “I’ve been itchin’ to get outta here.”

“I thought you would be up for the job.” Dutch smiled down at you. “Go grab your pistol and meet the boys at the hitching post.”

“Yes sir.”

It was early evening when Arthur got back to camp. He hitched his horse quickly and pulled his satchel from his horse. His eyes searched the camp for you, he didn’t even see Dutch until he walked right into him. 

“Oof! Watch where you’re goin’, son.” 

“Sorry Dutch, have you seen Y/N? She asked me to pick somethin’ up for her in town.” His eyes were still searching as he spoke. 

Dutch had to stop himself from picking on Arthur, just like everyone else in camp, he knew Arthur had it bad for you. “I sent her with Micah and Lenny on a stagecoach job.” He said easily. 

Arthur’s eye shot up to Dutch. “Micah? Why the hell did you send her with Micah?”

Dutch raised an eyebrow. “She’s the one who wanted to go, I didn’t make her go. Besides, it’s not like they’re alone. Lenny will keep him in line.” 

Arthur huffed in frustration. “Ya know, I coulda gone instead of Micah.”

Dutch barked a short laugh. “I know.” He turned and walked back to his tent.

Arthur tried to push away the jealousy creeping into his stomach. He saw the way Micah looked at you and it made his stomach churn. He wouldn’t trust Micah with a wet sock, let alone you. But Dutch was right, Lenny would keep him in line from touching you and in turn your company would keep Micah from harassing Lenny over the color of his skin. It was a good trade off, but it still made Arthur uneasy. He pulled the journal he bought for you from his satchel and headed towards your tent. It was simple just like your old one, but it was a little bigger and the paper was a better quality. He spent a pretty penny on it, but it was worth it. You were worth more than all the money in the world to him, and he wanted to let you know. He gently laid the journal down on your neatly made bed. He also pulled out the candies he grabbed on his way out of Saint Denis. He remembered you telling him they were your favorite one day when he shared a bag with you. 

When he exited your tent, Abigail was standing there waiting for him with her arms crossed, looking suspicious. “Whatcha doin’ there Arthur?”

“N-nothin’. Nothin’ at all to concern yourself with.” He stuttered. 

“So, I shouldn’t be concerned that yer just sneakin’ around in some girl’s tent, huh?” She raised an eyebrow at him.

He groaned. “Come on Abigail, you know it ain’t like that.” “Do I?” She challenged.  She peeked behind his shoulder before he could move to block her vision. A knowing smile crossed her lips. “What’s that?” 

“What’s what?” Arthur responded, moving his body with hers as she tried to peek behind him again. 

“What’s that layin’ on Y/N’s bed?”

“It’s nothin’!” Arthur groaned. 

Abigail turned away. “Fine then, keep your secrets.”

Arthur sighed in relief and just as he took a step away from your tent, Abigail turned back around quickly and made a beeline for the tent. Arthur couldn’t react fast enough to stop her. 

“Oh Arthur, this is beautiful!” She said as she picked up the journal. 

“Yeah, I know.” He said sheepishly as he rubbed his neck. “Don’t go tellin’ her about it when she gets back, I want it to be a surprise.”

Abigail gave him a look when she walked out of the tent. “When are you gonna make a move Arthur?” His whole face turned beet red. “I don’t know what yer talkin’ about.”

She rolled her eyes. “Whatever you say.” She responded sarcastically as she walked away. 

Arthur yawned as he made his way back to his own tent. He laid down on his cot and began doodling in his journal. His eyes grew heavy and he didn’t even feel himself fall asleep. 

You pulled into camp riding between Lenny and Micah, the lot of you were still excited from the rush of adrenaline of a successful job. As you unmounted your horse, you turned to the two men you were with. “You boys did great today, let me know next time you wanna do this again and I’ll gladly ride with you.”

Micah turned and headed off towards Dutch’s tent, but not before you caught the rose color blooming on his cheeks. Lenny gave you his classic smile. “Anytime, Y/N. You did good today too.”

You smiled, “I appreciate the compliment, but stoppin’ a wagon and playin’ the damsel in distress don’t take much effort.”

Lenny looked at the ground, “Yeah, well it sure does help when you gotta a pretty lady playin’ the damsel.”

You laughed and patted Lenny on the back as you passed him, “Thanks Lenny.”

You spied Arthur asleep on his cot, journal still in his loose hands. It made you giggle, he looked so cute. You decided not to wake him as you headed towards your tent. When you looked down at your cot, you noticed the brown leather journal and the bag of candies laying there. Your heart skipped a beat as you picked up the journal and opened it. On the first page there was a message in Arthur’s hand writing. 

To: Y/N

I hope you like it, I thought of you when I saw it and had to grab it. 

Yours, Arthur

Your fingers lightly brushed the scrolling words on the page and you could feel your cheeks getting warm. Your fingers traced the words, ‘Yours, Arthur.’ It made you feel warm inside and your stomach fluttered. You grabbed the journal and the candy and headed out of the tent quickly. 

When Arthur woke, the day had fully transitioned into night. He stretched as he stood and noticed a folded piece of paper and a small pile of candies on his night stand. He smiled as he unfolded it. The paper was from the journal he had bought you and on it was a beautiful sketch of him, sleeping peacefully on his cot with his journal slack in his hands. He pinned the drawing up with the pictures above his bed. He grabbed the hand full of candies and headed towards your tent. When he looked inside, you were already curled up asleep, the new journal on the nightstand beside your bed. He found himself with a pang of disappointment, he was hoping he would get to see your reaction when you saw the journal, but he could ask you about it tomorrow, and he turned back to his tent. 

You woke early the next morning and made your way to the coffee kettle. You looked around confused when Arthur wasn’t there preparing the morning coffee. You looked over to his tent and he was still fast asleep. You rolled your eyes and headed his direction. As you entered his tent, you noticed the sketch you made him yesterday pinned up with his photos. You couldn’t help but smile. You gently put your hand down on his and shook him gently. “Arthur, it’s time to get up.” You cooed to him softly. “Come on Arthur, I’m ready for some coffee.”

His breathing hitched as he slowly opened his eyes. “Alright, alright I’m up.” He said groggily. 

You squeezed his hand and turned to leave. “Good, now come get the coffee goin’.”

He yawned as he pulled on his boots. “Don’t you know how to make coffee?”

You stood just outside his tent with your arms crossed, “Yeah, but I like the way you make it better.” 

As he stepped out of the tent, he put a hand on your lower back. “Yer right, you never make it strong enough.”

You rolled your eyes and leaned into his hand. “I know.” You looked up at him, “Thank you, for the journal by the way. It’s so pretty! How much was it? I’ll pay you back.”

Arthur scoffed. “It was a gift, I don’t want yer money.” 

You pouted, Arthur found it devastatingly cute. “Are you sure? I feel bad, you spendin’ yer hard earned money on me.”

He smiled down at you sweetly. “I tell ya what, you can just pay me back with those drawin’s like the one ya left me last night.”

You beamed at him, “It’s a deal.”

Arthur began buying you more gifts over time, it started small as candies and pencils and other little things he found on his journeys. In return, he would find a folded piece of paper on his night stand, always a lovely drawing usually of him or his horse. His caravan was slowly becoming covered in your sketches and he admired them often. His favorite was payment for the explosive ammo he crafted for your pistol. It was one of the most detailed one you had done. It was a picture of him, brushing his horse. You had caught the expression of his face perfectly, and the detail stunned him. It was one of your best works, he wondered how long you had been working on it. 

With time, Arthur gained the courage to give you the softest of touches. A hand on the small of your back here, an arm around your shoulders there, he even began complimenting you more, determined to show you how he felt, but to his disappointment, it seemed as if you were oblivious to his advances. 

He huffed in frustration as he watched you walk away from him. He had handed you a bag of your favorite candies and a new brush for your horse. His heart jumped in excitement when you hugged him tightly, but the excitement was short lived when you said, “How sweet! How did I get so lucky to have such a great friend?” And with that you turned and walked away. Friend? He was tired of being just friends. He thought he was being obvious about that and you weren’t picking it up. He sat down at the table in front of Hosea. “What’s eatin’ ya boy?”

Arthur rested his chin in his hands as he watched you walk up to your drawing spot under the oak tree. “I’ve tried everything, Hosea. What am I doin’ wrong?”

Hosea looked in the direction Arthur was gazing and he turned back. “Ah, I see. So have you told her how you feel?”

“God no,” Arthur grunted. 

“Well then how have you tried everything?” Hosea raised an eyebrow at him. 

“I’ve given her gifts, I compliment her just about every time I see her, I don’t know what else to do.” He said in a gloomy tone.

Hosea scoffed, “Listen, you ain’t gonna get anywhere beatin’ around the bush, just tell her how you feel.”

Arthur sighed. “Yeah what if I do? What if I tell her and she laughs in my face. I don’t think I could live with the rejection. Plus I don’t want to ruin what we have now.”’

Hosea stood. “Well you’re never gonna know until you try. And between you and me, I think you got a pretty good chance with that one.” He winked and walked away, leaving Arthur alone with his thoughts. He looked up at you again, your nose was buried in your journal and your head tilted up, you squinted, and then it went back down.With a gulp, Arthur steeled his nerves and stood. 

You were so focused on your picture that you didn’t hear Arthur approach. You about jumped out of your skin when he cleared his throat. “Jesus!” Your hand came up to your chest. “Damn it Arthur, you know better than to sneak up on me like that.”

He laughed as he took a seat beside you. “What are you workin’ on today?” 

You pointed down to Dutch, sitting on a crate puffing a cigar. He couldn’t help but feel a tinge of jealousy. He looked down at the drawing, “Wow, this may be your best one yet.” 

You had captured Dutch’s likeness perfectly. The way he slumped on the crate looked so natural, but the puff of smoke coming from his mouth was what really impressed him. “This looks so realistic, how did you get this talented?” 

You smiled, “My ma really enjoyed painting. I guess I got my base talent from her, but I guess it’s just practice.” You looked up at him. “Give yourself some credit though, you’re just as good as me, if not better.”

He pulled out his journal and flipped through his various sketches. “I don’t know about that.” 

“Wait, what was that?” Your finger caught the page before he could flip passed it. He turned blood red as you opened the journal to the page your finger had caught. “Oh Arthur,” You whispered as your looked down at the drawing in awe. It was a drawing of you, slumped against the tree asleep.”This is beautiful.”

He gulped, “Well, it helps when the subject matter is beautiful.” 

You looked up at him and he quickly averted his gaze. He cleared his throat, “Can you show me how you do your shading?”

“Sure.” You whispered as you handed his journal back to him. You scooted close to him, your shoulders were touching. You explained your process as you sketched Cain, moving your pencil slowly so he could see every move you made. When you finished you looked up at him, “Think you can do that?” 

He smiled as he flipped to an empty page. “Think so. Didn’t look too hard.”

As he begun, you leaned your head against his shoulder. This sent chills down his spine. He didn’t look at you, but he did lean his head down against yours. He held his wrist like you taught him, and as his own sketch of Cain came to life, his markings were lighter, allowing his shading to look more realistic. He held it out to you when he finished. “Whatya think?” 

You lifted your head and smiled. “Wonderful!” Your eyes met his and it seemed like time stood still. Your face was inches from his, and he felt your thumb gently graze his hand. This was it, this was his chance. You, looking up at him in awe, the golden rays of sunlight poking through the trees made you look angelic. He found himself beginning to lean into you, but then a voice came from the back of his head, she doesn’t want you like that. The voice whispered. Go on, kiss her. After you do she’ll go running and she’ll never come back. A girl like her could never love a degenerate like you.

Arthur sighed and stood. He put his hand out towards you, “Pearson should be done with supper soon. Let’s head back.”

Your eyes had a strange glint to them, something Arthur had never seen in them before. You looked back down into your journal. “You go ahead, I’ll meet you down there.”

Arthur kicked himself as he went down the hill. He chickened out, and found himself hating himself. Hating himself for not having the guts to tell you how he feels, hating himself because he knew you deserved better than him, hating himself for letting himself fall so hard for you. 

You watched Arthur as he left, was it just your imagination, or was he about to kiss you? You shook the thought, Arthur was your friend, as much as you wish he did, you knew he didn’t have feelings for you. You were a plain girl, not a single special thing about you, and he was...well he was Arthur. The most handsome man you had ever seen, and by far the most interesting man you had ever met. He had such a tough exterior, a badass gunslinging hunk of a man, but he also had a more sensitive side. The side that loves to draw and write, the side that sings silly songs when he’s drunk and always makes time for you.  He made your heart throb and most days it seemed like he was all you could think about. You sighed as you immersed yourself back into your journal. 

You had become so focused on your journal, you didn’t realize night had began to fall until you were squinting down at your journal. You looked up, and the next thing you noticed was the rowdy amount of noise coming from the camp. As you walked down the hill, Ms. Grimshaw greeted you and handed you a bottle of moonshine. “Courtesy of the Braithwaites, drink up, my dear!” 

You nodded and smiled as she walked away, you brought the bottle to your lips as you walked to the campfire. Most of the men were already quite drunk. even Arthur to your amusement. You could hear him loudly singing as you approached the campfire. When he looked up to you, he gave you the biggest grin you had ever seen. “Y/N!” He called drunkenly. He stumbled from his spot over to you and you laughed as he tripped over his own feet. You caught him before he could fall. “My hero!” He slurred. 

You laughed as you wrapped an arm around him. His arm looped around your waist and it felt so natural to hold him like this as he led you to the fire. “Found ma lady!” He announced as you joined the group at the fire. He sat back down and before you could move to sit on the ground beside you, he pulled you down on his lap. Your face was bright red and you hoped the fire wasn’t bright enough for anyone to see. “This okay?” He whispered. 

All you could do was nod your head yes and he wrapped his big arms around you tightly. Your head was swimming at his touch and as more liquor entered both of your systems, the nervousness melted from your bodies. By the end of the night, the pair of you were drunk as skunks. Arthur got a bit more handsier, his big palms slowly moved down your waist and by the end of the night his hand was cupping your ass. You were so drunk you didn’t care. You had one arm looped around his neck, playing with his hair. After awhile, it was just the two of you, Javier, and Charles at the fire. Javier strummed his guitar as Charles played the harmonica. Arthur took your hand and stood. Neither of you noticed Javier and Charles exchange glances as you walked away together holding hands. 

You swung the arm that had his hand, as you laughed and stumbled through camp. You found yourself on the hill under the shady oak tree. 

Arthur’s vision was blurry, but he could still see the look of desire in your eye as you looked up at him. “I gotta tell ya somethin’ but you can’t get mad.” He blurted. 

You laughed, giddy with alcohol. “No promises.”

Arthur let out a shaky breath and took your other hand in his. Before you could process what was happening, Arthur’s lips came down on yours. His lips were soft and he tasted like alcohol. As he pulled back, you loooped your arms around his neck and brought his lips back down to yours. You could feel his smile against your lips as you kissed him hard. He wrapped his arms around your waist and pulled you against him tightly. When you broke the kiss, he rested his forehead against yours and let out a breathy laugh. 

“What?” You asked self consciously. “Am I a bad kisser or somethin’?”

He put a hand on your cheek, “Not at all, just laughin’ at myself for how long it took me to do that.”

You smiled up at him, “Do it again.”

“Okay” He whispered, and his lips came back down on yours. 

[saxonspud]

Outlaw - Born and Bred Chapter 2

Posting this for @arthursgirl because she likes Micah, and he always gets killed off in most fanfictions (especially mine) but for a change, he kinda turns into the good guy in this one.

Casie quietly crept to the tent flap and opened it to peek out. The sun was only just rising, it looked pretty quiet. She crept across the camp to where the horses were hitched. Being careful not to spook them. She looked down the path, she couldn't see a guard. It was now or never. She looked at all the horses. That white one was nice, it would fetch a good price, even if it had no papers, she reckoned she might be able to get twenty dollars for it. That would get her a gun, some bullets and probably a hot meal. She crept over to it and stroked its neck. She had one last check, coast was clear. She unhitched it jumped on its back and kicked it on. It went almost from a halt to a gallop. This was a fine horse she thought. The horse hadn’t gone more than about 20 yards when she heard a shrill whistle. The horse immediately reared up and turned sending her flying as she landed on her back with a thud.

She lay there for only a second, “Crap” she said under her breath. Casie scuttled to her feet, but not fast enough as she heard the whoosh of a lasso then it tightened round her, sending her flying back to floor with another thud. Without a moment to think, she was already being tied up “Fuck off you mother fucking cow-son-of-a-bitch” she screamed. “Fucking perverts, let me go”. Arthur picked her up and held her by the arms, she turned her head and tried to bite his arm, but not quick enough as he quickly move his other are around her neck to put her in a headlock. “Let me go you cock sucking pervert” she screamed and tried to kick him. He carried her back to the tent in the centre of the compound. Dutch Van Der Linde walked out of tent and stood in front of her. “So you thought you would steal my horse, that's a mighty fine way to reward our hospitality isn’t it?” He said. “Let me go you mother fucking son of a whore” She screamed. The man who she had kicked in the balls the previous night walked up “I like her he said, she’s got spunk”. Arthur looked at Micah, not releasing his grip “Shut up, Micah”. Dutch laughed, “now then boys, lets not encourage her”. “Arthur” he said “let her go, I’m not sure I can stand much more of the foul language coming from her mouth”. Arthur threw her on the floor, releasing the ropes as he did. As she landed Dutch put his foot on her arm, applying just enough pressure stop her from getting up. Casie turned to look at him with rage in her eyes. “Get off my arm you...” He glared down at her, “Don’t you dare let another cuss come out of your mouth” he growled. “Least of all directed at me”.  He pressed a little harder with his foot. “Get off, you’re hurting me!” She screamed. “Yes I am” he replied calmly. “And I will until you start behaving like a human being and less like a feral cat!”.

Casie lay on the floor still raging, trying to calm her rage, she knew this law-man wouldn’t let her up and till she did. Dutch released some of the pressure and offered her a hand “Don’t even think about biting me either” he said, softening his look just slightly. She took the offer of his hand, and he released his foot. Once she was on her feet she snatched her hand away.

She straightened her clothes and glared at him. “I want my Pa’s gun, then I’ll go”.

Dutch looked at the girl, Micah was right, she had a helluva lot of spunk. But he thought that may well be her undoing.

He walked back into his tent and came out with the gun. He doubted that it would fire. Dutch handed Casie the gun, she took it and shoved it in her trousers. “Here, take this” he offered her a ten dollar bill. She gave him a filthy look “Keep ya money, Law-man, I ain’t no charity case” she said, and walked down the path out of the camp.

Arthur looked at Dutch and shook his head “That kid is gonna come to a sticky end, if she ain’t careful” he said.

Dutch looked as the small form disappeared out of view. “Not if I have anything to do with it” He said.

Dutch asked Hosea if he would head into town to see if he could find out any more information on the kid. So after a short while he headed into Valentine. He made a few discreet enquiries and returned back to to camp.

“Well that was an interesting conversation” he said to Dutch as he sat down. “She was right about the Sheriff” he said “He really doesn't like her.” Dutch looked at Hosea “What did you find out?”. He asked. Hosea began. “Her fathers name was Jessie Mallard. Name didn't ring any bells with me. He was hung as a horse thief”, Dutch laughed “Figures, she just tried to steal The Count” Hosea raised his eyebrow “I bet that didn't end well” “At least we know she has a good eye for horses” he laughed. Go on then, what else? Hosea continued “she’s 12 years old...” “Only 12” exclaimed Dutch “Where the hell did she learn the language that came out of her mouth this morning” Hosea raised his eyebrows “Anyway, they couldn’t pin the horse theft on her as well, so much to the sheriffs annoyance she walked. Couple of days after her father hanged, she was picked up trying to steal food from the general store. Chucked her in jail for a couple of days, gave her a good beating then kicked her out. Which is when she tried rob us.” “Well after it all kicked off here this morning she asked for her fathers gun, I offered her ten dollars, which she refused and she marched off.” Dutch said. He continued, “she's got a gun, that probably wont fire, and no money. I’d wager, give it a couple of days and she’ll end up back in Valentine jail. I’ll have the boys keep an eye open in Valentine, just in case.”.

Dutch’s prediction wasn’t far off. Three days after she walked out of the camp, Micah and Javier were in Valentine in the Saloon when they heard it kick off in the street.

The store owner grabbed Casie and chucked her out the door. "Get out of here you little thief" he yelled. Unluckily for Casie, the sheriff was standing right outside. Sheriff Curtis Malloy glared at her “You again”. “I ain’t done nothing wrong, I got money” she screamed. “No Doubt, he yelled “but I can guarantee you stole it off someone else”. Casie tried to run but the sheriff landed a boot in her ribs. The kick lifted her enough for her to land on her back with a thud. She lay there gasping for breath for what seem like an eternity as her chest felt like it had burst into flames.  “Leave me alone, you son-of-a-bitch”. She croaked. The sheriff grabbed her by the shirt collar and lifted her so that her feet were about a foot of the ground. He hit her 3 times round the face with his fist. “You’re coming with me you little shit” he growled. He dumped her back on the ground, face down and grabbed her wrists as he tied them together. “I warned you he said.” The deputy gave her another kick in the ribs for good measure. She heard a crack as it broke her rib. This time the pain was too much and for Casie and the whole world went black.

Micah and Javier watched the scene unfold. Javier looked at Micah, “ouch, that was a bit harsh” Micah felt a bit sorry for the kid, he’d been in similar situations, but not when he was 12. Javier looked at Micah. “You gonna go tell Dutch” He said. Micah laughed. “Gonna handle this one myself, that kid reminds me of me, so Uncle Micah is gonna retrieve his niece”.

The sheriff dragged the unconscious Casie to the jail house and chucked her in a cell. He sat down in his chair and looked at the kid. This time he thought, she’s gonna hang.

Casey was cold then she realised. She wasn’t cold, it was the stone floor of the jail cell that was cold. Apart from her chest, that was on fire. She wondered if this is what hell felt like. For the first time in ages Casie just wanted to cry. Everywhere hurt, she daren’t move, this pain hurt something fierce. For the first time in her life Casie was scared but like her Pa always told her, never show ‘em your scared even though you are. When she watched him hang, he just smiled at her, even though she thought he must have been scared. That was until his tongue lolled out his mouth and his eyeballs nearly popped out their sockets.

The pain took hold again and everything went black.

Micah walked into the jail house, and bent over the sheriffs desk. “I’m here for the kid.” He said. The sheriff didn't look up. “Kids not going anywhere, except to the end of a hangman's rope” he replied. Micah sighed “Don’t know what I'm gonna tell her family then” This grabbed the sheriffs attention “Family?” “Yeah” said Micah “Father ran off with the kid a few years ago, been looking for her ever since, heard he’d been hanged so guessed here was a good place to look”. The sheriff glanced over at the kid laying on the floor in the cell. He looked back at Micah “Twenty Dollars and you can take her off my hands” Micah reached into his pocket and chucked the money on the desk. The sheriff tossed him the keys “Go on” he said. “Before I change my mind”

Micah walked out the jail house carrying the kid. Javier had already bought the horses over, just in case they needed to beat a hasty retreat. Micah laid the kid over the front of his saddle. Javier looked at the kid, “is she alive” he said “Only just” he replied “lets get her back to Dutch”

It didn’t take long to reach the camp at a flat out gallop. Micah figured that Dutch wouldn’t be best pleased if he handed over a dead kid. If she was gonna die, it was best that she did it on someone elses watch.

He picked her off the horse walked over to Dutch’s tent Here ya go Dutch” he said. “Present for ya”. “Micah” he exclaimed “What the hell...” “Bought her off the sheriff for twenty dollars, she’s pretty beat up” he said. Micah wasn't wrong. Dutch beckoned to Micah to put her in the tent, where she had slept a few nights before. “Miss Grimshaw” he called “Can you look after her please.” Susan Grimshaw took one look “Mr Bell” she said “please put her on the bed, I’ll take it from here.”

[proxylynn]

Lynchtale: File Name Game of Death #5

Chapter 5: All power, little control, some hope, but no care. WARNING: THIS IS A MATURE STORY THAT WILL HAVE BLOOD, GORE, PSYCHOLOGICAL SURVIVAL HORROR, HEAVY CURSING, AND LIKELY SEXUAL THEMES/BONING. I DO NOT OWN UNDERTALE, THAT BELONGS TO LORD TOBY FOX. I DO NOT OWN DEAD BY DAYLIGHT, THAT BELONGS TO BEHAVIOUR DIGITAL INC.. I DON'T OWN THE AU'S THAT SOME OF THE CHARACTERS COME FROM, THEY BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE CREATORS. I DON'T OWN THE IDEA FOR LYNCHTALE, THAT BELONGS TO PUNNYSIDEUP (AKA. SANSFULPUNS). WHAT I DO OWN IS MY SELF-INSERT OC ANOMALY LYNSIE AND THE LOVE OF FAN PARODY. IF YOU'RE STILL READING THIS, THEN CONGRATULATIONS ON EITHER BEING ONE WITH STRONG DETERMINATION OR AN ENDLESS WILL TO OVERCOME THE CHALLENGE OF STOMACHING WHAT I HAVE IN MIND. EITHER WAY, IF YOU LIKE THIS AND/OR MY OTHER CONTENT, SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE ETERNAL PUNISHMENT. HAVE FUN SINNERS. ^_^ --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you ever have that odd sensation of floating? Like, there's nothing else, it's just space and you're simply drifting with nothing but this warm fuzzy feeling. Feels good. A nice feeling compared to the one I last felt. ...Crap. I've acknowledged this as a dream. That means I'll wake up soon and have to go back to all that other shit again. I hate that flaw of sleep. ...Oh well. Least this time I know I've died and ended up at camp. Worst comes to worst, David is sneaking a feel or Nea will hit me once I'm up. Either way, as long as I'm away from Legion then I'm fine. The last thing I want to see is that skeleton any time soon. Suddenly I feel something. A shift. Hands. God damn it, David, I will beat your ass black and blue! I faintly growl as my eyes struggle to open. "oh, look! she's waking up." I freeze. I don't know this voice. {big fucking deal. ya want a medal?} Another one? {just keep her quite. bones dose not want to be disturbed.} A third voice? Bones? Oh...Oh, fuck my life! I'm not at camp. I crack one eye open and find an overly chipper face grinning at me. And those eyes...light blue orbs with yellow stars for pupils. So full of energy and something else...something forced. His clothing, it's very similar to Bones but different enough to not be confused for him. This one has a pale blue hooded jacket that's fully zipped, the hood covering his head has no white fur around the collar. His shorts are the same color as the jacket, though the sleeves are dark grey, and he has dull grey knee-high socks. He has fingerless gloves too but are super pale blue and only the first two fingers are free from coverage. He spots light blue and pale blue sneakers. He doesn't have tape like Bones did, though he does have what looks like a long light blue scarf that's wrapped around his waist and tied into a bow on his back. Yet, of course, you can't forget the random splotches of blood that seem to make it look even better. "hello, human. did you sleep well?" Fully awake and trying not to freak out, I merely nod. It makes that grin of his stretch even wider. "good. i tried to make sure you were comfortable." Letting my senses come back, I find myself being cradled in this skeleton's lap and we are nestled by a fire pit. The fire that sits in the center of the chalet of their territory. Mount Ormond Resort. Ormond was once a small, remote ski town with idyllic slopes, but its resort turned obsolete when a deluxe ski village was built on Mount Richards less than two hours away. Mount Richards offered fresh slopes with luxurious stores and hotels, which crushed Mount Ormond's isolated, decrepit facilities. The fate of the mountain worsened when a mining project took interest in the coal present at its summit. The mountaintop was lined by explosives to extract coal seams from under it. The project caused public outrage and was stopped midway. Mount Ormond is now a soulful, deforested graveyard where gangs and teenagers go looking for trouble. Some people say that the mountain hides a darkness, a bottomless hole from where no one can return. And they aren't wrong. Legion lives here. "can you heal yourself?" Realization kicks in. I'm still injured. Of course, killers can't heal. So how have I not died this whole time? "well?" "Um...May I ask you something?" "sure." "Why am I not dead?" "oh, that's easy. you humans stop bleeding when held. so i figured i'd keep you in my arms till you woke up and do that yourself." "Oh...Makes sense." "also, you seemed cold. so i moved us over to the fire." "...Thank you." "but again, you can heal yourself...right?" "Yeah. Just...give me a moment to process this." "process what?" "The overly nice behavior. The general kindness. The attention to care and consideration. In short, and I mean no disrespect, but either you're so sweet it's unbelievable or you are trying way too hard to make me like you." {if ya call being a little bitch boy sweet, then it's the first one.} The second voice pulls my attention. Looking over my shoulder, there's another skeleton lounging sideways on a recliner and playing with his blade. But he's slightly transparent like a specter. This one, this is the killer you expect to find in Hot Topic. There is no blue on this one. Black, red, and yellow are his colors. Like a deadly snake. His eyes are wicked. Golden orbs surrounded by red filled sockets. And those teeth, it's like looking at the mouth of a shark but both bottom canine teeth are longer, protruding, and covered in gold. A red collar highlights his neck and the metal spikes add toughness. At first glance, he doesn't seem to have gloves, but he does, he's made finger-less gloves out of bandages. The jacket is black, a single red stripe runs down the length of each sleeve, the zipper teeth are like the golden fangs in his mouth, and the bottom hem has this red band with what looks like a silver bullet pattern. The jacket is also unzipped completely but form-hugging, so while you can see his rib cage he'd need to move around more to really expose it. He has matching black pants that, like Bones, he's rolled up the legs to his knees, showing off some of his tibia and fibula. The rest of his leg is covered by long scrunched black socks that can't go further than the top of the calf-high red combat boots, sporting yellow laces. Blood really shows on this guy but it matches him so well you could easily mistake it for design. As for the weapon he's playing with, it's a chained blade. One end locks it as a ring around his middle right finger in the shape of bone top, the gold chain coils around his arm to cross his back and coils down his left arm to where the bone-shaped metal knife is spinning in his left hand. "i am not! you're just a jerk!" {oooh, such strong language. ya sure showed me who's boss. *scoff* dumbass.} The blue skele-boy holding me pouts. "you're so mean." I am having a hard time understanding what is going on. Am I being punk'd? I feel like they're punking me. {your confusion is natural, human.} Oh right, there was a third voice. This one is a bit harder to find, I can't see him till he stands up behind what looks like a snack bar, apparently rummaging around for something. This one...He gives me chills. He looks like Bones yet...is off. He wears a blue jacket with a single white strip going down the sleeves, the hood is super fluffy with its furry rim, it's not zipped fully so his ribs are showing a bit, black shorts with two white stripes going down the sides, and short white socks in blue tennis shoes. His clothing is like the others, stained with blood. But that's not the scary part. It's his face. His physical appearance is what truly makes him stand out from the other. His bones appear weak as if he hadn't eaten anything for many years. His left eye glows blood-red while his right eye socket is completely black. He's got a big cracked hole on the top-left spot of his head and his smiley grin is wide and psychotic looking. The bone-shaped handle of a meat cleaver sticks out of a pocket on his left side. {we are not what your kind would see as normal.} He inspects a bottle but finds it empty and tosses it behind him into a wall, somehow not breaking it. "Not sure about that. You seem okay so far." Blue boy pokes into my wound and I yelp at his intruding digit. "please, if you would heal yourself now, it would be appreciated." "*wince* Alright, alright, sorry." He stops and I start the weird process of healing. At least with a medkit it makes sense. But somehow rubbing my hands across the injury for long enough undoes the damage. The Entity doesn't seem to understand how medicine and anatomy work. Occasionally I notice my "capture" watching this with interest. No clue if they can be taught how to heal but if possible I don't see anything bad about it. "wowzers. the hole is closing up. and all you're doing is rubbing it?" "Yeah. Makes no sense but if it works I can't knock it." Once the hole closes I do feel a bit stronger. Though the blood might take a bit longer to come to me. "all better now?" "For the most part. Sorry for the inconvenience...um..." I totally spaced on how I don't know these guys' names. I gently get off of him and rub my head like an idiot. "Sorry, I don't know your names. Just Bones. And he didn't mention you guys by name when we first met." "no harm done, human." The blue boy leaps to his feet and strikes an "I'm so cool" pose. "you may me boo." Why do I suddenly have the urge to call him boo-berry? "the potty mouth over there is chops." He points to the edge lord on the chair and said edge lord snarls while flipping us off. {piss off.} Such a charmer. "and mister doom over there is dead eye." The hungry one makes eye contact with me and after a moment of no emotion being expressed, he smiles but in an "I watch you sleep" kind of way with a slow wave hello. I force a nervous smile and wave back. His grin widens and I make a mental note to never be on that one's bad-side. "and together with bones, we make up the legion." "Nice to meet you all. Though, if it's okay to ask, where is Bones?" {that's none of your business, bitch.} {he is resting upstairs.} {mother fucker, don't undermine me in front of the meat!} Dead Eye pays Chops no mind. "after we got you here, he said and i quote...i'm so tired." {he said he was fucking tired.} "you know i don't swear." {pussy.} "jerk. you understood what i meant, right human?" I nod. "see? you don't have to curse all the time to explain things." {whatever, bitch boy.} Boo pouts and stomps his foot in annoyance. I can't help the small giggle that sneaks out at the childish act. "anyway, i bet you're wondering why you're here." Oh yeah, that is a thing. "It was a thought in the back of my head, yeah. But I figured Bones wanted to kick my butt in the privacy of his home turf." {no dice, meat. that was my idea.} Why is that not surprising even though I just met this guy? "actually, you were brought here so we could talk." "Talk?" "yes. see...we need your help." I fold my arms. "Forgive me if I find that a bit hard to believe." {you have trust issues.} Dead Eye suddenly speaks into my ear and I nearly jump into the fire from shock. This reaction has Chops laughing his bony ass off and Dead Eye smiling in amusement. Damn specter moved silently and fast for that. Boo comes to me and puts an arm around my back in comfort. "are you okay?" "Yeah. *shaky breath* D-Dude got me good. Nearly jumped out of my skin." Dead Eye's smile never falters. Yet his eye holds a stronger intent. I don't like it. {good one, creep show. maybe next time you can actually skin this kitten and we get some lady bone action.} That remark makes Dead Eye sneer. {do not call me that name. and there would be no point...} He turns away moving to examine a messy bookshelf. {it is not like you would know what to do even if you managed to get a female.} That stung Chops, he gets out of his seat and flings his blade into the shelf to make his point. {don't talk shit, freak. if you're gonna dis me, then have the balls to do it to my face!} The death glare shot to Chops is heart-stopping. {do not call me that word. you will not like what will happen if you do. this is your last warning.} Chops exchanges glares with Dead Eye before scoffing and yanking the weapon back effortlessly. {ya ain't worth the trouble.} They go about their previous activities as if nothing happened. I just look at Boo confused. "don't worry. this is normal." "If you say so." "here, let's go over there." Boo leads me away from the fire and we sit over by the stairs. Giving the other two their space. "so, like i was saying, we need your help." "Not sure how, but I'll bite. How?" "see...the thing is, when bones made that deal in the trial with you and carved our tag into you, he broke a rule set up by the others." "Go on." "um...from what i understand, he enacted claim of obsession when he cut you." "You'll have to forgive me. I know not the laws made by you guys." He rubs his jaw in thought. "if memory serves me right, the right of obsession was giving three main steps for a killer to have claim on a certain human. the first being the expression of intent to the group." "And he didn't do that, right?" "right. if anything, he did step three first then step one." "What was step three?" "leaving your mark on the target of obsession. be it mentally, physically, or emotionally." Memory has me look down the collar of my shirt. It's faint. Like stretchmarks. I can still see the lettering. "Yep. That step was achieved." "now we need to do step two. that one requires doing certain challenges when in trials with the target of obsession. that being you." I rock a bit. "So you boys need me to be in the loop and go along with this to make it easier. Correct?" He nods. "pretty much. there are no set challenges to do. the others come up with them at random. so there's no time to get ready once told what they are." "And how many are there?" "i believe there will be anywhere from three to five. the difficulty will be random as well." I ponder over this. "i must say, human, you're taking this better than we guessed." I stop rocking. "I like to think I am more excepting than most. But don't think my calm means I'm agreeing right off the bat." He puts his hands up. "fair enough. this is a bit crazy." "That and you haven't told me what I get out of this." He tilts his head. "i'm sorry?" "What benefits me in helping you? Granted, I think I know the answer, yet you've been straight forward so far and I'm hoping your nice-guy act is more real than fake." This has him lean back on his hands. He's quiet now. So my suspicion was right. This is less of a "this helps us both" type deal and more of a "this helps only one of us" thing. I guess some things never change even in this place. "honestly...i'm not sure." Okay, that's more than expected. "it's not that i'm saying nothing. it's more because i don't know. no one else that's tried claiming obsession rights has ever gotten past step two. plus, no other human has been willing to cooperate with monsters before." "No other human can communicate with monsters either, so that helps too." "true. so...are you willing to help?" I take a deep breath through my nose followed by a long exhale. "...Okay." His sockets widen. "really?" I nod. "But...I want some reassurance." "such as?" I offer my hand. "You probably have to talk this over with the others, but if we're doing this, I'd like it if we weren't just killer and target. But partners." He looks at me funny. "partners?" "I cover your back and you cover mine. Seems fair if you ask me." He looks at me and then my hand. "i want to...but..." I pull my hand back. "I get it. Baby steps. No rush here, buddy." He springs to his feet. "i'm not high up in the chain of command. i'm bottom tier." He looks over at his companions. "if they agree with you, it won't mean anything. bones is the leader. and they only listen to him." "If you're valued so low, then why give you this important job of talking with me?" He looks down at me. "because i'm the nice guy. the other two wouldn't deal with a human like this." He starts to step away. "you can stay if you want. my part is done." Well...that's a load of crap. "You shouldn't do that." He turns back. "do what?" "Putting yourself down. Because clearly, what you just said is shit." That gets his attention as I stand up. "You're more important than you give credit. You even said it yourself, the other two wouldn't have done this right. Bones trusted this to you. Remember that whenever you feel like you don't matter. You can do something they can't." His blank expression only adds to the dumb feeling washing over me for the shit that I just vomited out. I'm not sure if I've ever felt more embarrassed. Is this dumber than attempting to kiss that boy that liked me in taekwondo? Or that time I cried in sixth grade because my Digimon cards were stolen? Or during that same school year, I took choirs and sang "My Heart Will Go On" from Titanic even though I didn't like the movie? Fuck my childhood was weird. Just when my brain begins to flip the "apologize you idiot" switch I hear...chuckling? "heheh...that was really sappy. like...really really sappy." Yep. I'm a massive dork. A massive blushing dork. "Yeah. Sorry about that. It just...happens sometimes." He comes back over to me and I think he'll do something in a chummy way. Instead...he bashes his forehead into mine and I fall back into some debris. "it's a shame you're human." Trying to shove off this stuff is a pain but manageable. "*grunt* Why's that?" He smirks. "you're cute. that's why." I...I have nothing to say. I'm just utterly flabbergasted. "like i said...you can stay if you like." He walks off and I can't move. Every synapse in my brain died...and I can't figure out why. Why did he say that? Why did it affect me? Is he just messing with me? Is he for real? Why is this bugging me?! {you seem lost.} Dead Eye once more pops up beside me and I slam back into the debris. "Jesus fuck! How the hell do you do that?" He grins. {it is not my fault that you do not pay attention.} Once more I claw off this broken crap. "I take it you heard our talk then?" {i heard enough. hehe...partnership with a human? you are a gutsy creature.} I wipe some moisture off my face to find blood. Damn Boo hits hard. "I take it you don't like the idea." {on the contrary. i like the thought of having someone like you around.} And suddenly my creepy senses are tingling. "Dare I ask...why?" He comes closer. I move back. {i have been so bored...} He moves fast, pinning me back with his hands on either side of my face. {so very bored.} That eye. The hidden intent it holds, so strong and intimidating. Its gaze is paralyzing. And he knows it. {you are afraid of me. i see it in your eyes.} He leans in more. {it is my appearance. my face frightens you.} Suddenly...clear thought returns. "Actually...You look fine to me." This gets him. {wh...what?} "The thing about you that scares me is not your looks. Though it does add to it." That intensity of his dies down a bit. {then what is it?} "I can't tell what you'll do." His face is flat. Seemingly lost in his thoughts. I know not what part clicks on. But some moronic place in my head has the nerve to reach up for his face. Of course, I hesitate. Especially when his sight darts to my hand. Yet he doesn't move or say a word. Slowly, I try to touch his skull but my hand goes through him, giving off a cold sensation. An act that gets his grin to come back. {a brave move from a gutsy creature like yourself. but you should know that only one of us can have control of the body at a time.} The gears turn in my head. A sight that makes him snicker. {that is right. i am not physically present. neither is chops or bones. not as long as boo has the body. this place. outside of trial. this is the only time we can be seen outside of having the body.} Something foreboding comes to me. I should keep my mouth shut. But when have I ever done that? "Why are you telling me this?" The look of psychotic delight. Something I haven't seen outside of fiction. It's utterly terrifying. {because i want you to know there will come a time when i have control of the body. and unlike the others...} He leans into my ear. {i will not be gentle.} He backs away and loves the view of me visibly shivering. {oh yes. my boredom ends now. you are just what i need.} He leaves me and frankly, I'm not sure whether I've fucked myself up royal by agreeing to this. The saying goes that the enemy of my enemy is my friend. But with friends like these who's to say who my enemy really is? Yet what choice do I have? Either the humans that treat me like dirt or the monsters that do that too but are honest about it. Oh, what a messed up life I live. [AT THE SURVIVOR'S CAMPSITE] Tension is mounting among the humans. One antsy guy is not handling the current lack of his gal pal well and his pacing from one edge of camp to punch a tree to then do the same thing on the other side is starting to work on some people's nerves. "David, we know you're in a mood, but I don't think that's helping." David glares at Dwight. "And just what do you think I should do? Go out there with no clue where to bloody go? Did you really think I 'adn't thought of that when she fuckin' ran off?!" "Ease off him, man." Meg stands up for a trembling Dwight. "We get it. You're pissed. But you don't have to unload on Dwight..." Dwight feels respect. "He's got enough issues as it is." Well, that lasted all of four seconds. A new daily best. "Lil' grrl, don't tell me 'ow to vent. If I wanna rip that shrimp a new arsehole, then I'm gonna get loud and tear into him like fat fucker at an all you can eat joint." "Please don't." Dwight utters with the confidence of a man strapped into the electric chair with less than a minute left on the clock. "Yeah, please don't." Claudette mutters now broken from her thoughts. "Can we not turn on each other? It's only playing into the Entity's favor." Jeff adds while poking a stick into the everlasting bonfire. "The way I see it..." "No one asked you, Nea." Bill cuts Nea off. "All I'm saying..." "Shut it, cunt!" "Fuck you, cockney bastard!" "You wanna go, bitch? Come on then, let's 'ave it! I don't give a shit if yer a grrl. I'll kick yer arse just as hard!" "Whoa! Whoa! Slow down there. There is nothing that makes hitting a woman okay...Unless she's possessed by a demon and trying to devour your soul." Ash attempts using reason. "Wait...What if a woman has killed one of her children and is about to kill the second? Are you telling me it's still wrong to hit her to save the child?" Jane questions things, as is her talk show nature. "Uh..." "Stand down, Ash. There is no right answer." Adam pats Ash's shoulder. "It's a vicious cycle. Women want to be treated the same as men yet still want to be treated differently when it comes to certain things." Ace states with a shrug and earning glares from every female around him. "Oh don't even try to shame me. You can't tell me you want the same crap guys don't get away with but you do." "Name one thing we women get away with but guys don't." Kate demands and Ace tips his shades. "Flirting to get free stuff." "...Name two things." "*sigh* I hate my gender." Min groans into her palm. As dumb as this exchange was, and continued to be as some keep it going, it did do one thing well. It's made David not want to fight Nea. Though...It's made David leave camp to fight something else. Something that will last longer than annoying bitch and get some pent up emotions out. [AT MOUNT ORMOND RESORT] Since Boo gave me the option and I figure it looks better for me to do so, I have remained at the lodge with the four of them...well...three due to Bones still resting upstairs. I pretty much stay around Boo because he seems the most stable. Chops I'm unsure of. He's got attitude and a smart mouth, but he doesn't seem to want to bother with me. I'm cool with this. Dead Eye, however, I wish he'd stop eyeing me and making me uncomfortable even while he's across the room. Right now at least I can do something rare...relax. Even if it's short-lived. Being able to lounge by the fire and chat with Boo is refreshing. With David, he'd be hitting me with yet another flirt or one-liner or random story that makes him seem so cool. But Boo? Other than calling me cute one time he's been normal. Sure Boo's stories kind of involve the murder of the others at camp, sometimes getting the other two to add their own comments, yet it just comes off as common as someone talking about a pleasant day they had. I guess a bonus to this would be learning how they tend to attack in a trial. Who knows? It could pay off later. "so what do you think? was i unfair?" "Heck no. All four had flashlights and were blinding you every second while pallet bashing your skull. The ones you caught deserved being hooked." "so i wasn't being too harsh?" "Not at all." Chops scoffs. {bet ya wouldn't be saying that if you were on the hook.} I shrug. "If I'm being a turd, by all means, call me out and hook me. I won't complain about how karma works." {not even if you're right outside the gate and then get whacked?} "Hmmm...Maybe I'd be a little salty over it. But if you caught me than I wasn't giving it my all in the first place. So it's my fault." {...i can't tell if you're fucking with me or not.} {she is not.} Dead Eye interjects. {and how the hell would ya know?} {simple...what reason would she have to lie?} Chops opens his mouth but then rolls over in his seat. {yeah, whatever.} I look at Boo. "Is he always so cheerful or is this an off day?" Boo covers his mouth as he snickers. "no...heh...that's just how he is. you get used to it." "If that's the case, how do you know when he's really mad if this is his norm?" "easy...he doesn't talk when that mad." Note to self, if Chops isn't willing to talk than get the ever-loving fuck away from him. "but don't worry about it. only one human has ever made him that mad before." I bet it was Nea. "Do you know who it was?" {it was that jackass with the rose tattoo behind his ear. mother fucker thought it was funny to shove firecrackers in my pants when i got pallet stunned. heh...i sure showed him a thing or two.} Wait...David? For real? "What happened?" The tone in Chops's voice carries the ring on smug satisfaction hidden on his likely grinning face. {when i got him on the hook...i spilled his guts. the bastard learned to not pulled anything stupid like that shit again.} And now this feels weird. Thank god they have no clue about me being close to David. Otherwise, I think they'd be a lot less cool with me. {ya wouldn't pull any stunt like that...} He turns enough to give me a look. {would ya, meat?} I throw my hands in the air. "Dude, I get wrecked just doing basic junk. I ain't no masochist." I hardly see the faint smirk he gets before ignoring all life again. {smart meat. that's new.} "i think he likes you." "Better that than hating me." "and dead eye really likes you." I really wish he didn't. "How can you tell?" "i've never seen him smile so much. see?" Boo points and I crane my neck to see the monster in question looking at me like I'm a happy meal. Why? Why do I pull in such things? There's a sound not made by any of us. The sound of a doorknob being turned and squeakily opened. It's gotta be Bones but this confuses me as, if he's not physically solid, how can there be inaction with physical matter? Astral projection of the soul maybe? More Entity bullshit? Such thought leaves me once he leaves the room and peers out over the railing. The dark blue glow of his eyes in the shadow of his hood is spooky in a cool way. {boo...} "y-yes?" Poor guy is rattled. I guess Bones really does hold a lot of power. {did you do what i asked?} "yes, i did. and she said she'd go along with us." Pause for thought. {...then why is she still here?} Reasonable question. Yet not reasonably answered. Why, brain? Why you make me do stupid things? "Gooooood morning, bonehead." The others look at me as if I'll be shot. Bones just looks indifferent before slowly descending to the ground floor. {again...why are you still here?} "Nice to see you too." He glares. "i told her she could stay if she wanted. it's not like there are more trials for this feed cycle." Feed cycle? Is that how they measure time? {go back to your camp.} Okay, someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed. "What's wrong, buddy? Did you have a bad dream?" I ask sincerely. But Bones growls at me. Boo is worried. Dead Eye and Chops are intrigued. {go away.} I turn to Boo. "Did I do something wrong?" Boo readies to speak but quickly hushes himself. His eyes darting away in submission to Bones' leer. {you've agreed to help already. you have no other business here. so get back to camp with the rest of the humans where you belong.} Where is this hostility coming from? "Bones, I..." {just go!} I feel it...That pain of being used only to be discarded. Well...No more. I refuse to feel that again. I take Boo by the hand and begin to take him with me as I head outside. This doesn't go without incident from a fast-moving Bones. {what the hell do you think you're doing?} "If you want to be cranky, fine. Boo has the body and if he leaves the realm then you can't intimidate him into being quiet." {the hell is wrong with you, woman?!} "Me? What's wrong with you? I haven't done anything wrong. Yet you're being a dick for no reason." I can only imagine what the faces of the others look like as I keep eye contact with Bones. {i'm being a dick? you're the one dragging him into this.} I freeze. Déjà vu smacking me hard. Flashbacks to my parents arguing leading to the divorce. I release Boo's hand in shock. "I'm so sorry." He doesn't say a word. He just slowly goes back inside. {now go. we'll contact you when needed.} He follows Boo but... "Bones..." He didn't have to. He could've kept going. But he looks back. "Don't do this. Tell me what's wrong" {we have nothing to talk about.} Time to feel awkward again. "I'm sorry." His attitude lessens slightly. {you're sorry?} "That stuff I said...you know...before you started kicking my ass. I didn't mean to say that shit." I rub my arm shyly. "I don't know you or what you've gone through. It was a bitch move made at the moment to just lump you among the other jerks that mess with me. Can you forgive me?" Now he's the shocked one. {...you're serious?} I nod. {...the hell is wrong with you?} Well, that went as fine as I figured. {i kicked you within inches of death over some dumb remark and you're apologizing to me?} I merely shrug. "That's the gist of it, yes." I can't tell if the odd look he's giving is made in confusion or disgust at my ineptitude. {you are by far the oddest human i have ever met.} I merely give a weak smile. "I prefer quirky." He sighs and shakes his head. I take it as my cue to leave. But I have one last bit to say. "You know...You could've just asked." {huh?} "This whole thing with bringing me here and having Boo tell me about helping you with the obsession rights. You could've just asked me and I would've listened." He looks elsewhere. {no you wouldn't. not after the crap i pulled.} I step a bit closer. "You don't know that." {*scoff* you're telling me you'd give two shits about helping me after being stabbed?} "Dude, I get why you did it. The others were pushing your buttons and you snapped. It happens. I don't hold it against you." He gets in my face. {do you think this makes us cool? that telling me this will do anything?} I shrug. "Just being real with you. It's the foundation of any real trust. And if we're to work together in these trials..." I offer my hand out to him. "I'd prefer being on the level with my partner." He just stares at it. I may have pushed this on him too soon. {i can't shake on it.} "I know. Dead Eye already freaked me out about the whole 'not really here' thing. It's more of a symbolic gesture." The mention of Dead Eye seems to bug him yet it's ignored. {no, i mean, i can't shake because how do i know i can truly believe you?} I give him a flat face. "Dude...I could've run away at any point and told you lot to piss off. After everything, I'm still here. Trying as no human has. I've helped you once before. Can you truly say you doubt me?" The longer he avoids eye contact the more it strangely hurts. "Bones..." He finally looks at me as my other hand is placed over where he cut me and say what he wants to hear. "I belong to Legion." We remain like this for some time. Just staring at each other as words sink in. Suddenly...I feel it. A slight cold sensation on my hand as he takes ghostly hold of it. {your life is mine...lynsie.} I smile. His use of my name, something easily forgotten by most and replaced with nicknames, feels so unnaturally amazing. Wow, I'm pathetic if that's all it takes to win me over. Acknowledgment. It's all anyone wants. "Now and forever." {gay!} Chops shouts from inside. "Look, I know it's girly and cliché as fuck. But I ain't taking it back, edgy boy." There's quiet. {the fuck did ya just call me?!} Bone's snickers. {ignore him. i swear he gets off on attention.} "So...Are we cool?" He rubs the back of his head. {for now. i guess.} "Then...I can stay? Just a bit longer?" {why do you even want to?} This has me looking at the ground in wariness. {you're not sure they'd take you back even if you're like this. right?} Bones is right. There is no guarantee. I'll probably be let back in the campsite but I won't be trusted. They know the danger I am and now...now they know I will act on it. There won't be trust. Only suspicion on when I'll turn. When I'll kill any of them for just agitating me the wrong way. There will be a few that might be willing to overlook this danger. Yet it'll never be the same. "Yeah." He looks at me and then heads inside. {do what you want. just don't be annoying.} It's a small step. But every adventure starts with one. [IN THE SURVIVOR'S FOREST] Things aren't going well for David. Wandering the woods in search of a killer to take his frustration out on has not given him the satisfaction he craved. In fact...he's gotten himself lost. Resulting in only more building annoyance. Any sound triggers him to go attack it. A lot of ridiculous assaults on shrubbery and attempts to catch crows. One miserable pointless action and failure after another. All of which culminates in him beating his fists into the ground till his knuckles bleed and threaten to leave the cover of flesh. "Arrrgh! This ain't fair! It ain't! You can't do me wrong like this! A more than decent bird shows up in this 'ellhole and what do you do?! You make 'er into a fuckin' monster!" lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub... "Piss! Piss on all of it! Do you hear me?! PISS!" lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub... "Give 'er back, damn it! Give 'er back to me!" lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub... "She's not a monster! She's not yers! She's mine!" lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub...lub-dub... *LOW-PITCH YELP* In his fit, David failed to keep his guard and alertness up. Forgetting that some monsters have the skill of Undetectable in their power, a skill that keeps the Terror Radius and Red Stain from being, well, detected. While surprised, David sees enough to size up this opponent. The odds aren't good. It's Shape. "*wince* Oi! Fuck off, you flamin' tosser!" Shape, of course, says nothing. He swings his knife with his large range and David has to Dead Hard to get out of the way while negating any hit that might have happened. The chase begins. One that won't last long in his current condition. There are many monsters David has no trouble taking on. But this one? Even the most hardcore fighters know there's no shot of victory in tussling with something that doesn't give in to pain. As his spine begins to chill David grits his teeth in hate. Not at the monster about to cut him down. Nor the Entity for tangling a good thing in his face. No, he hates himself for being unable to do anything. He couldn't hold on to her. He couldn't help her. He couldn't keep his head straight. He couldn't be stronger. And he couldn't outrun the inevitable. *LOW-PITCH YELL* Add being face down in the dirt to the list of things he hates. "Just get it over with. I was bleedin' lost anyway." Shape looks down at him and shrugs, picking David up by the throat before plunging the knife up into his chest. With every fiber of his being wanting to live David beats on Shape's shoulder and tries to pull the knife out by pushing on Shape's wrist. Sadly for David, Shape is far stronger than he'll ever be. Shape pulls the knife out to then thrust it back in with more force, enough for the blade to go through bone to pop out his back. Massive internal damage takes its toll instantaneously. David's eyes roll back into his head and Shape discards the limp body as if were a toy cast aside by a bored child. To camp he shall go and alone he shall remain. [AT MOUNT ORMOND RESORT] I've made up with Boo by letting him play with my hair. I'll regret it later due to knots, but it makes him happy. So far he's been trying to braid it while I sit on the floor in front of him and when his fingertips scrape my scalp I try hard not to purr at the pleasantness of it. Though he often has to remind me to lean forward as I subconsciously lean back into him. Bones and Dead Eye don't seem to care about this friendly display. But Chops? He has some words about it. {getting awfully cozy with us, aren't ya?} Bones told me to ignore him, so I do. He glares. {bitch, don't ignore me.} I keep my eyes to the ground until he storms over and kneels to be in my face. {ya don't want to piss me off, meat. ya won't like being on my bad side.} Don't say anything stupid! For the love of God don't be stupid! {well? say something!} "chops..." {stay out of this. this is between me and the meat.} "I have a name." {*scoff* like i give a shit.} "Is that what your reflection said when you looked in the mirror?" A chill not from the snow enters. Chops' sockets widen. And I know mistakes were made. {did ya just...} {hey, chops, why not go outside and ice that burn.} {heh...nice one.} Bones and Dead Eye adding in only makes it worse. Chops gets a little flustered but is super mad now. {think ya can start shit and get away with it? nuh-uh. ya don't want any of this.} He cracks his knuckles and I mentally kick myself. What did I get sucked into? {your family tree must be a cactus. because you're a massive prick.} Oh...Oh damn. {come on, meat. try me.} I really don't want to. But with eyes all on me I feel forced. I tap Boo's leg. "This might get nasty. Sorry for the words I'm about to say." Boo stops. "Alright then...*ahem* The only way you'd ever get laid is if you're rammed up a chicken's ass and wait." Chops is surprised. {hmmm...seems the meat is going to give you a bad time.} Chops snarls at Bones's comment. {the hell she is...they broke the mold when ya were born. one retarded defect is bad enough.} A bottle is thrown across the room. {dis off!} Bones is more into this than he should. I guess I should get my head in this game then. "You're the reason the gene pool needs a lifeguard." {your gene pool needs chlorine.} "That insult was about as dense as a black hole." {karma takes too long. i'd rather just beat the shit out of ya now.} {oh snap!} Bones is acting like a hypeman. It's hard to not laugh at his enthusiasm. "It's better to let someone think you're stupid than opening your mouth and proving it true. Case in point..." {of course i talk like an idiot. how else would ya understand me?} "I'd like to see things from your point of view, but I can't seem to get my head that far up my ass." {ooooh!} At this point, Boo and Dead Eye are now an audience to this wacky show. {i guess ya prove even god has a sense of humor in making mistakes.} "Stop trying to be a smart ass. You're just an ass." {if ya really spoke your mind, you'd be speechless.} "Shock me by saying something intelligent." {why don't ya slip into something more comfortable...like a coma.} Bones gets in close. "If I wanted to kill myself I'd climb up your ego and jump down to your IQ." He then jumps up like a firework. I motion for a timeout. "Dude, is he okay?" {*sigh* he gets this way sometimes. makes him look like a fucking psycho.} Bones stops and puts his hands in his pockets before whistling innocently. I shrug and we resume. {so how'd ya get here? is there a zoo missing their exhibit?} "Did a thought cross your mind? That must've been quite the arduous adventure." {it looks like your face caught fire and someone put it out with a hammer.} "I wasn't born with enough fucks to give to that weak insult." {i don't really think you're stupid. ya just have shitty luck when it comes to thinking.} "Roses are red, violets aren't blue. I've got five fingers, and the middle one is for you." {if you're gonna be two-faced at least make one of them pretty.} "If you're the pretty one. That means I'm the smart one." {calling ya an idiot would be an insult to stupid people.} "The last thing I want to do is hurt you. But it's still an option." {i could explain why you're dumb, but i don't have the time or crayons.} "I thought this was a battle of wits. So why are you unarmed?" {the only thing that would ever fuck you is life.} "If life did fuck me, it would still do a better job than you." Chops growls at that line. I'm beginning to suspect he might have issues there. I feel bad about it. "Sorry. I didn't mean..." {i wouldn't fuck ya if ya were the last vagina in existence. in fact, i'd fuck myself before ever thinking of doing ya.} Okay...Don't push that button on him ever again. Best take this battle of words back into silly town. "You're about as useful as tits on a pigeon." {i'd call ya a cunt but you're not warm or deep.} That one stuns me for a second. Not that it hit hard but more like it made me think about it. "Huh...Never heard that one before. Bravo. Very creative." He smirks smugly, his mood getting better. {heh...had enough yet?} "Maybe. Honestly, this is kinda fun. But I think I still got something that might get you." {then bring it on, girly.} "Alright...You're so inbred that you're a sandwich." That one makes him pause. {what...the fuck?} "I know. That one's weird compared to pigeon tits." {it wasn't bad. it was just...} "Confusing?" {yeah.} "My bad." {screw it. i'm ending this now before ya say something else mood ending.} "That's what she said." My playful finger guns are met with his disinterested scowl. {don't ever bother playing hard to get. no one will ever want ya. period. and i ain't insulting ya either. i'm describing ya. ya miserable pile of unwanted trash.} Ouch. Like...OUCH. He saved one hell of a bomb for last, a dang nuke. There's no recovery for that. "Dude...That's not funny." {ah what's wrong, meat? did i hit a nerve?} He doesn't sound spiteful or sarcastic. Calmer than anything else. It's odd. {gotta say...ya got some good game. better luck next time.} He gets up and goes off somewhere. I'm still too devastated to pay attention. I turn to Boo who has a pitiful expression. "that was just uncalled for." "Did I upset him? I said sorry." "as mean as that was, i think he didn't mean it. he sounded...nice." "Still..." Chops' verbal lashing hit hard. Cutting deep at insecurities I don't like to acknowledge. "I should probably go. I've bothered you guys enough." Boo pouts. "do you have to?" {i thought you could not go back?} Dead Eye comments as he looks out at the snow blowing inside. {yeah, she's kind of screwed...} Bones plops down in a chair. {not accepted on either side. a killer to the humans and an oddity to the monsters. there's no middle ground for her to walk. in other words...she's boned.} I hate this. He's right. And the feeling I was hoping to forget comes back. Being stuck and unable to move. Like I'm a puppet on strings that are suddenly cut and I can no longer function. It scares me. "so...she's staying?" {if she's smart she'll stay. be a waste with those worms.} {dunno. that's on her.} {it begs the question...what are you going to do, human?} I feel my heart begin to speed up. I'm beginning to freak out. I've never had panic attacks. But this feels like it. Rapid, pounding heart rate. Trembling or shaking. Chills. Hot flashes. Chest pain. And a growing headache. Boo being behind me doesn't like this. "um...guys? she's not doing so well." Now they're all looking at me. This attention. It's adding pressure. I can feel it. That surge of power. That corrupting influence boring into my being. The Entity is getting to me! {she don't look so good. like a nut about the crack.} {boo, get ready to switch control when i say so.} They watch. They just watch while I grip my head and try to keep control over this demanding force. This feeling of being internally detached from everything that I am. I'm losing it. I'm losing this battle of control and it's terrifying. My throat is squeezing itself yet I'm hyperventilating noises like a frightened beast. I can't take it. This stress...I can't take it! I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE! {is she gonna change?} "guys, i'm freaking out!" {shush. just wait for it.} This time...It feels different. Probably because this was done out of trial. I feel the stretching of my bones. The extending of my nails. The contortion of certain parts. And the heightening of my senses. Yet the thing that doesn't have much feeling is my mind. It's numb. Uncomfortably numb. Like dizziness or faintness. Whatever you want to call this dull tingling in my brain. This transformation doesn't seem to phase Bones all that much. The others, however... {holy fucking ass crackers!} {so...this is what nurse got to see?} "*uncomfortable* d-do i move? am i safe?" I don't move from my spot. Being brain numb makes me slow. Simple. More prone to impulsive action than complex thought. But I'm not mindless. Just a little dull with no objective like in a trial. *SNAP-SNAP* Bones snaps his fingers and gets my attention. {come here.} I'm hesitant. Mostly because trying to move from a flat sitting position with altered limbs is like a baby deer crossing a frozen pond. I end up crawling and even then it's not graceful. {look at you...pathetic.} I'm taken back by his sudden tone. {you have no idea how to control this power.} "This is my second time." {in the same day and not by choice. you're letting your emotions get the better of you and that's what the entity preys on. you need to control this power and not let it control you.} My gaze is cast to the ground with a weak whimper. "don't do that." I look back at Boo. "he isn't trying to make you feel bad. if left alone and you do this a few more times, you probably end up being some simple animal. the entity doesn't want animals. it wants beasts. monsters. things that think as well as kill. and failed killers are cast into the void." "But...I don't want to kill. I don't want to hurt anyone." {then get your ass ready for the void. ya can't say no to the entity. bad shit happens when ya do.} Chops makes a point. {consider yourself blessed, human. the others would not be so willing to aid you like this.} Dead Eye says his thoughts. {true. if we were like the others, we'd turn you over to the doctor and have him figure your power out. he likes to be hands-on with all things he finds...interesting.} There's this melancholy tone in Bones' words. Did...did something happen to them? {but i already told you once...i'm not like the others. and you're not like them either. you're a misfit.} He mimics me from earlier, offering a hand out to me. {lucky for you, you're among fellow misfits. that and...well...} Bones' eyes shift awkwardly as if embarrassed to say what he wants. {you're...kind of okay...i guess.} I remember this side to him. That soft easily flustered side that came out when I made him blush. "Hey..." I get his attention. "Do you know the band most skeletons like?" The randomness of that puzzles him and the others. "Spinal Tap." I can see him putting that together in his head. Once he figures it out, the guffaw that leaves him is loud before he covers his mouth. The others are less quiet. Especially Dead Eye which surprises me. {*muffled* heheh...oh my god...that was so bad...} "Then why are you laughing?" It takes a moment for them to calm down. Though now that I think about it, Bones had a hard time keeping himself normal during some of the insult jokes. Maybe he has a thing for bad puns? "*coughs* okay...okay. *sigh* no more jokes. this is serious time now." I nod. {now...show me your soul.} I go blank. {don't give me that look. just do as i say.} "You've seen it already. Don't make this weird." He blushes and goes to slap me...but he's intangible and has no effect. {*huff* why do you always have to make things awkward?} Aside from thinking he has a weird thing for my soul, I still don't know how to make it come out. "i don't think she knows how." {geez. talk about a clueless woman.} I growl at Chops who flips me off. {damn it...this is more annoying than i thought.} That has me confused. How much of this did Bones plan? {i can help.} Like looming doom, Dead Eye stands ominously behind me and, even in this form, I tremble. My sudden shift in demeanor has Bones doing a double-take of looking at me, then the pleased looking Dead Eye, and then me again. {what did you do?} Dead Eye doesn't take his sight off me. {nothing.} {i thought i told you not to interfere.} {and i did as told. i did nothing.} Dead Eye's voice is unnervingly calm and the look on his face, his eye partly closed mixing with that sly Cheshire cat grin, doesn't exactly make him seem like he has good thoughts in that cracked skull of his. {i can get her to produce her soul. all i need...is the body.} My eyes widen along with his smile. His earlier words come hauntingly back to me. {because i want you to know there will come a time when i have control of the body. and unlike the others...i will not be gentle.} That primal part of my brain that handles the fight-or-flight response is spamming the "GET THE FUCK OUT!" button but my legs seem to be suffering from a connection error and not receiving the signal. Bones reads the room and smirks. {when i say stop, you better stop.} Connection error fixed...PANIC ENGAGED! "No! No! No! No! No! No!" Shoving off the floor, I bound for the closest way out. As luck tends to go for me...This is a fail. "*roar*" I'm stopped dead in my tracks by the sudden addition of a blade in my back. {i'm not the kind of guy to dole out advice. but here's something to remember...} I wearily cock my head to look back. Only to see a very solid Dead Eye directly behind me and still clutching the meat cleaver that's just inches shy of my trembling spine. How does he move so fast?! {never turn your back on dead eye.} I expect the cleaver to be yanked out and another strike to quickly follow. I should know by now not to expect things to go by normal logic. Dead Eye pushes onto the weapon and kicks the back of my knee, forcing me down on all fours. I'd reach back or kick like a mule but he's still pressing his might on that blade to the point it starts touching bone, so any move I'd make will result in losing balance then eating the floor. "gutsy creature, thinking you can run from me. i wonder..." A second sharp pain comes to my side as he thrusts his sharp phalanx tips into the soft flesh and digs them in deep. The howl of anguish as he claws into me is excruciating. "just what do those guts look like?" His intent is clear. I'll be disemboweled if I can't produce my soul. I'd think this was a bluff if he wasn't starting to pull on the chunk of me in his grasp. {you know how to make him stop.} "*seething* I don't know..." *CRACK* One of my ribs gives way to the cleaver's pushing and I lose my shit. Wailing like a banshee in sheer hell. {not so rough. she's no good to us broken.} Dead Eye lets the cleaver go, keeping it where it rests in me and grabs my neck to cease my writhing. The skin begins to tear as he pulls further on my side. I know not which will happen first, changing back to being human or passing out from the pain. I hope for the latter. "do keep this up. i have not had so much fun in ages." "*whimper* Please...stop..." "if you insist." And he does stop...by ripping that chunk in a single fast pull. The only good thing is that it's just flesh and muscle, any deeper would result in some spilled entrails. Two things happen at this moment. One, I feel so much pain that it overloads my system to the point it stops hurting. And two, due to the insane amount of adrenaline flooding me this causes some parts to be confused as to what to do. Case in point, I should be uttering some sound of hurt yet I'm silent but also crying...and my soul pops out thinking I'm dying which is entirely possible. The obvious shimmering heart doesn't go ignored. Dead Eye snatches it and just like that, I'm feeling awful once more, collapsing on my side. I feel paralyzed. Only my eyes work. "i told you i could get her to show it." {don't think ya can brag. any of us could've done that.} {you're lucky this even worked. you weren't supposed to interact with her at all.} "you are welcomed." Bones groans. {*huff* just show it to me.} {oooh...pretty.} {too many bright colors if ya ask me.} Boo and Chops get to see the odd mass of clashing colors. "i see why you wanted to look at it now." {yep. it's just as i thought. burning scars and blisters of light.} {*gasp* it's entity-touched.} {yeah...and by the looks of it, it's been touched a lot.} "what do we do with it?" {give a moment. maybe it'll heal on its own.} {that's retarded. you're retarded.} {you don't know that!} Chops and Boo quarrel as Bones and Dead Eye share annoyed looks. {we're surrounded by idiots.} "agreed." Dead Eye fades out and Bones becomes solid. "had enough fun already?" {...for now.} Dead Eye looks at me than the soul. {you will want to put her back together soon. that wound will not heal if she reverts to being human.} Was that...pity? Huh. Maybe he's not so bad. "got any ideas on lessening the entity's touch?" To that, he shakes his head. {you already know who might have the answers.} Bones sighs. "true. just...it's not going to end well." {neither would be letting the entity consume more of that soul than it already has. dealing with the doctor is a small price to pay compared to letting the entity have its way.} Bones rubs a hand across his skull as if moving it through invisible hair. "i hate it when you're right." Bones takes the soul before he comes over to me, kneeling and putting the torn chunk of flesh back where it came from. "you're not going to like what needs to be done to you." All I can do is blink a couple of times for a response. Putting the soul back is like putting a metal fork in an electrical socket. It jump-starts my body. The damage inflicted by Dead Eye begins repairing itself. Yet he hasn't let go of it. "*groan* What are you doing?" "if i let go now you'll change back. right?" I want to say nothing. But...that's not how trust works. "*wince* If I'm hurt enough while changed, it makes me shift back." "figured as much. you won't heal as a human. not with this much damage. as a monster, you can at least regenerate." This feels so uncomfortable. Sure he has a point and being this way is allowing my body to repair itself. But him holding my soul while I'm this weak feels about the same as being naked with four dudes are just staring at my goods. After some time, my rib reconnects as the shade of the cleaver is pushed out and my side is now one piece again. When he deems me healed he releases my soul and they watch these changes to my body reverse. Bit by bit. Bone crunch after loud pop. {stars...that has to hurt.} {if that shit happened each time we switched body control, yeah, i'd fight to prevent that crap too.} I force my upper half up but I'm wobbly. "talk to us, girl. what's wrong?" I try to shake this feeling off. I was mentally dumb as a monster. Now I'm lightheaded and tipsy. "Groggy. Like fog is filling the space in my skull." "need anything?" I shake my head slowly. "Nah. Don't trouble yourselves over this. I just need a moment." "good." Well, that was quick. Bones grabs me and carries me over to one of the sofas. Plopping me down a bit rougher than needed. "get some rest. you'll need it. once tomorrow's trials are done, we have to go pay the doctor a visit." I visibly cringe. "Must we?" "do you want to end up in the void?" "No." "then you're going." I roll over and do as told. Not much else I can do. I hear Bones leave me. Perhaps he'll find something else to do. {don't worry, human. the doctor won't kill you. at least, not intentionally. the dead can't be studied here.} {bitch boy, ya suck at pep talks.} {stop calling me that.} Chops snarls but is made silent. They both are. Suddenly there's a chill dancing on my neck. Like slowly moving fingertips. {you will behave for us tomorrow. right, human?} Damn it Dead Eye...Why are you so fucking creepy? "Y-Yes." {good girl. do not make us regret showing you mercy.} Fuck my life. I'm tired, cold, in pain, and just sick of it. I just want to shut my eyes and forget where I am. Even if it's only for a little while. To lose myself in unconsciousness. It's the only escape I have.